Sweet Potatoes are Healthy and Weight Loss Friendly

Sweet potatoes are a healthy food that can be prepared in a variety of ways. Once cup of sweet potatoes has
180 calories. They are high in fiber making them good for digestion and also are a complex carbohydrate helping keep your blood sugar from spiking and dropping.

You can just bake sweet potatoes and enjoy the sweet delicious flavor as a side dish or a snack. One side dish to try is Thyme Roasted Sweet Potatoes. This dish has 107 calories per serving and 5 grams of fat, 3 grams of fiber, and 1 gram of protein. A nutritional profile of this recipe is available.

Don't forget to save this recipe to your my ND Recipes. As you start planning your Thanksgiving menu think about making a healthy dish with sweet potatoes so you know you have a dish that is weight loss friendly.

A Spicy Recipe Rub - Help for Inflammation

A few weeks ago I was discussing the anti-inflammatory diet. Since a big component in this diet and food plan includes adding in specific spices I thought I’d share a great recipe I came across on EatingWell.com.  It’s a “rub” which can be used on most protein sources; it contains very few calories and has all the great benefits of fighting inflammation regardless of your own diet plan! So here it is:

ACTIVE/TOTAL PREP TIME: 5 minutes

EASE OF PREPARATION: Easy

• 6 Tablespoons curry powder
• 3 Tablespoons coarse salt
• 4 teaspoons crushed red pepper
• 1 Tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 Tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 Tablespoon dried mint
• 2 teaspoons turmeric
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger

Combine curry powder, salt, crushed red pepper, cumin, coriander, mint, turmeric and ginger in a small bowl. "Rub" on your favorite protein source and cook as desired. Note: not for those of you who prefer milder tastes although you could easily eliminate the red pepper and still get some great benefits.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per teaspoon: 5 calories; 0 g fat (0 g sat, 0 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 1 g carbohydrate; 0 g protein; 0 g fiber; 211 mg sodium; 19 mg potassium.

To fight any kind of inflammation (heart disease, diabetes, obesity, lupus, etc.) utilize ND's IF factor on any food you do a search on. Go here and check out what the label can tell you.

 

Hummus, More than Just a Dip!

As a nutritionist I am always encouraging my dieters to consume more veggies because they not only benefit weight loss but they are so darn good for you! Hummus (a healthy Middle Eastern mix of chickpeas and tahini) is a natural for dipping veggies (and chips) but it certainly can be used for other nutritious options as well. (Note: A generous serving size of one fourth cup  according to the Diabetic Exchange System is equal to one starch serving and one fat serving equaling about 125 calories.)  The following are some other ways to use this tasty versatile dip:

• Try broiling some chicken or fish with it and then sprinkle some diced tomatoes and black olives over it. Remember though both the hummus and olives are (healthy) fat sources so consider your total fat intake  for the day when consuming it. Fat sources are calorie dense.
• Use it in egg white omelets. Top with your favorite veggies like broccoli or asparagus and onions.
• You could also thin out the hummus with some freshly squeezed lemon juice and use as a sauce over steamed vegetables and rice or even a salad.
• This also makes an obvious choice of dip for football season as well!

Enjoy. Readers do you know any other ways to use this healthy food?

Eating with the seasons

In many cultures people eat with the seasons. As it gets colder people eat less cold foods and start eating warmer foods. One way to eat with the seasons, and still get your fill of vegetables, is to eat soups.

Soups are easy to prepare and can help you with your weight loss. Studies have shown that if you start off your meal with a broth based soup you will eat less during the rest of your meal.

White Bean, Kale, and Roasted Vegetable Soup is a great recipes to try at the start of the fall season. This soup can be a great starter for any meal or can be a meal itself. You can also prepare this soup ahead of time and freeze it in individual containers so you always have a quick meal to go. This soup is low in calories and high in fiber making it a great addition to your weight loss plan. A nutritional analysis of this recipe is available.

photo by: Carrie Lloyd

Brussels Sprouts at the Farmers Market

The picture on the right is Brussels sprouts on the stalk. I remember the first time I saw it and had no idea what it was because I was so used to seeing Brussels sprouts in a small container wrapped with plastic in the supermarket, which I'm sure is the way many other people know of them.

If you have the chance to get to a farmers market see if you can find fresh on the stalk Brussels sprouts. By doing this you are supporting local farms and are getting connected to the story behind your food. Amazingly this connection can make food taste better and can encourage children to eat their vegetables.

Preparing Brussels sprouts is easy. Just cut off the bottoms and cut them in half. Steam over boiling salted water for about 10 minutes then saute in olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Another easy recipe is Carrots and Brussels Sprouts. This is a low calorie, high fiber dish that can be a great side dish for any dish. It can also be combined with whole wheat pasta, brown rice, or quinoa to make a delicious vegetarian dish. A nutritional analysis of this recipes is available.

A Great Low-Calorie Noodle, Really!

To my delight recently I discovered a very interesting type of Asian noodle that I can eat in a generous portion totally guilt free!  It tastes pretty good with a little doctoring up and it’s very filling and cooks in a few quick minutes. The noodles are called Shirataki noodles made either from soy or yams. They are available at Asian markets, Whole Foods and Safeway.

They have about 20 calories or less for a generous three ounces. Just make sure you thoroughly rinse the noodles as they have a bit of a sour smell which is characteristic of them when you first open them up.

I love cabbage so I’ve made several great dishes with the noodles and the cabbage as a base. Here are a few:

Chicken noodle soup: just cook some add cabbage, onions, water and add chicken bouillon for flavor. You can eat that alone or add carrots, celery, tofu or chicken and the noodles.

Cabbage Asian Salad: Add to pre-chopped cabbage some snow peas, water chestnuts, ginger, the noodles and Asian salad dressing. I top it with almonds or sesame seeds.

I'm sure there are more ways you can use these low-cal little noodles for as well. Enjoy!

A Low Calorie Vegetarian Meal

Spanish Style Stuffed Bell Peppers is described as paella without the seafood making this a satisfying, low calorie, vegetarian dish. Each serving has 222 calories, 9 grams of fat, 5 grams of fiber and 6 grams of protein. A nutritional profile of this recipes is available.

This recipe can me made ahead and frozen in individual portions so you have a healthy meal available for busy nights and it can also make an easy take-to-work lunch.

As prepared, this dish is vegetarian, but depending on your caloric needs, or the diet you follow, you can add lean ground beef, chicken, or turkey to the rice mixture as well as seafood.

Don't forget to save this recipe to your My ND Recipes.

Cool, Refreshing, and Low in Calories

Elaine blogged this weekend about eating ice cream. As much as ice cream is a summer treat it is not the most diet friendly, especially when a serving is only 1/2 cup and can have up to 200 calories. Instead of eating ice cream when you need a cool and refreshing treat try one of these that are lower in calories and fat:

Chilled Watermelon Soup

Yellow Gazpacho

Banana Coffee Crunch Smoothie

Wild Berry Pops

Melon Slush

What's the Scoop on Ice Cream?

Recently I saw how twenty-five years ago our former President Reagan declared July to be National Ice Cream Month (as if the jelly beans weren't enough to contribute to America's desire for sweets). The Mercury News boasted how popular ice-cream sales nationwide are at about $702, 858, 3000 just in the month of July. (They should have reminded us of the obesity and diabetic epidemic along with it.) Don't get me wrong here, I enjoy moderate amounts of ice cream myself now and then, but really, is there a need to push the sale of it, especially when there are viable great tasting alternatives?

Try deliciously creamy Fage fat free yogurt (it needs only a hint of sweetener; stevia is my choice for a trul low calorie natural sweetener) with fresh strawberries or blueberries. I can work that in my daily diet guilt free every single day with about 160 calories compared to probably more than double that considering ice cream serving sizes and flavors. (The serving size for regular ice cream is a half cup for about 150-160 calories, but who eats a mere half cup as a serving, or even just the plain varieties which can double or triple the amount of calories.)  Fage yogurt and fruit gives me a real nutrition punch (and the natural benefit of probiotics to support the digestive tract) rather than just a bunch of empty sugar calories that I may end up feeling guilty about especially if I eat more than the tease of a half cup serving.

I've also been know to make my own natural smoothies/shakes with a frozen banana, vanilla extract, stevia, protein powder and ice. Yum! It truly is what you get used to. I literally haven't "craved" ice cream in years because I use great tasting substitutions.

What's your favorite "scoop solution"

Fat Fighting Foods

Most fruits and vegetables could be considered fat fighting foods but some foods contain specific nutrients that give them a little edge when it comes to fighting fat. Here are some foods that might give you some extra fat fighting properties:

• Remember the old saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away?” Well not only do apples taste good they are just plain good for you, and they can help with the weight loss.  Apples are just so satisfying, either on or off any diet. They are delightfully crispy, crunchy, filling and full of fiber, particularly pectin, which may be particularly helpful with weight loss and fighting fat.
• Another fat fighting food food is fennel. Both the bulb and stem can be consumed, raw or cooked. I like it raw as a  refreshingly different salad with carrots and  then  use  a lemon and olive oil dressing. Or gently cook it with a sweet cooking wine and olive oil. Its mild sweet flavor is delicious. For centuries fennel has been known to be a helpful digestive aid which might help metabolize fats. It has been suggested that it may help promote better cholesterol and help cleanse the colon which many health authorities now believe may contribute to a better weight loss.
• Another fat fighting food is the radish, typically used in salads. It’s very low in calories, fat and cholesterol, but high in iron, magnesium and other nutrients. This little veggie helps clean the body’s mucous membrane and dissolve fat in cells.

Just remember you still have to watch your total calorie consumption in your daily diet so make sure you know how many calories you should be consuming every day and  track your foods for weight loss.