Ward off the Holiday Weight Gain

It is officially the week of Thanksgiving, which means holiday gatherings are already in full swing. Between all of the Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations with co-workers, families and friends, we now celebrate the holidays from mid-November thru the beginning of January. This is a fun time of the year and holidays are definitely meant to be celebrated, but all of the back-to-back celebrations can make it a little tricky to find balance when there is rich and delicious food waiting for you at every holiday party. A common concern during this time of year is how to ward off that holiday weight gain. The good news is your body can bounce back rather quickly after one day of indulging. However, when one day of celebrating turns into days and days turn into weeks and weeks turn into months, all of those extra calories can really add up. Here are a few tips to help you balance out the holiday fun and maintain your healthy lifestyle:

1. Anticipate the event, but focus on the non-eating aspects you enjoy. Too often we get wrapped up in all the food and forget to focus on socializing with those around us. When you look back at past holidays, what do your favorite memories consist of? Is it the people or the food? Interacting with those around you can help you keep your mind off of the piles of food that surround you.

2. Be active on the days of your celebrations and also throughout the holiday season. Start your day with a workout. Get up and go for walk, or jog or bike ride or head to the gym before you head out to the celebration. After the meal, try to get the whole group involved in a game of flag football, a group walk, a scavenger hunt around town or find a nearby ice skating rink. These activities can all help you burn off some of the extra calories you will be consuming.

3. Eat a balanced breakfast and/or a healthy snack before you head out to the main event. If the celebration isn’t until the evening hours, make sure you eat something for lunch too. Do not fast all day to save up for the big meal later. That will only make you more prone to overeating later.

4. Bring a healthy appetizer or dish to the event. This ensures that there will be something healthy for you to eat. A veggie tray is always a good option.

5. Socialize in a different room than where all of the food is located. If you sit around all of the food you will only be tempted to keep grazing on all of the appetizers before the meal. Grab a small plate of appetizers and your favorite drink and go hang out in a room away from all of the food.

6. Follow the plate method. If this is a new concept for you, here’s a visual of what this entails:

The plate method is a way to enjoy a variety of foods and helps keep your portions in check. A healthy plate includes selections from all of the food groups. If you follow the above plate method you will get fruit, vegetables, grains, protein and dairy. Indulge in your favorites but be mindful of portions. It should also be noted that the plate method is based on a 9-inch plate. Side note: Thanksgiving is the only day where green bean casserole gets to be counted as a vegetable :)

7. A lot of our favorite holiday recipes include ingredients such as butter, sour cream, cream cheese and mayonnaise. These ingredients are all very high in fat, which also makes them high in calories. Did you know that Greek yogurt can be a healthy substitution for these high-fat, high-calorie items? Here are some helpful substitutions:

• 1 cup butter = ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt + ½ cup butter
• 1 cup of oil = ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 cup of sour cream = 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 cup of mayonnaise = 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 cup cream cheese = 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 cup buttermilk = 2/3 cup plain Greek yogurt + ¼ cup buttermilk

Remember, above all else, enjoy the holiday season with those you love. I hope these tips help you conquer these next six weeks of celebrating effortlessly. And when it’s all over, get back to your normal eating and exercise habits as soon as possible. As always, please stop by the dietitian office if you have any questions or need some ideas for healthy appetizers! Happy Holidays! 

-Dietitian Amanda

Lightened-Up Broccoli Cheddar Soup

This broccoli cheddar soup is full of flavor, packed with protein and lighter on saturated fat grams compared to a traditional broccoli cheddar soup recipe. It tastes great on a cold, crisp November fall day...Or on a sunny and 65°F fall day (more typical of this year's Iowa fall weather)!

Makes 4.5 servings (about 7 cups)

Total time: 40 minutes

All you need:

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 cup diced onion

1/2 cup diced carrots

1/2 cup diced celery

2 tbsp. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. ground black pepper

2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 (12 oz or about 4 cups) bag frozen chopped broccoli 

1-1/2 cups unsweetened original almond milk

1 cup Fage fat free plain Greek yogurt

3 cups freshly grated reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese

All you do:

In a large saucepan, sauté onion, carrots and celery in olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook until onion is soft, about 7 minutes. 

Whisk in flour and black pepper, sauté 30 seconds. Gradually stir in broth and broccoli. Add lid to saucepan and bring soup to boil. Cook until broccoli is tender. Remove lid and blend mixture with handheld blender until mixture reaches desired consistency. Stir in almond milk and yogurt. Add cheese one cup at a time, stirring until thoroughly mixed. Simmer soup for an additional 5 to 10 minutes with lid on until evenly heated through. 

Top with additional shredded cheese, salt, and black pepper to taste.

Nutrition Facts per serving (1 ½ cups): 375 calories, 21g fat, 7.5g saturated fat, 974mg sodium, 16g carbohydrate; 3g fiber, 28g protein.

Featured Kitchen Gadget: Immersion Blender

In this recipe, I used an immersion blender to blend the vegetables.  An immersion blender, also known as a handheld blender, is used to blend ingredients or purée foods in the container in which they are prepared.  It can be a useful tool for soups and sauces and is typically less messy than using a traditional blender or food processor.  The blended vegetables in the broccoli cheddar soup attributed to its creamy texture and consistency.  

As always, be sure to reach out to your West Lakes Hy-Vee Dietitians for all your health and wellness questions!

Enjoy!

-Dietitian Natalie 

Yogurt's Hidden Gem–Probiotics

Some of you may have seen this article in the Des Moines Register last week, but in case you missed it, here it is:

The human digestive system is naturally inhabited by billions of bacteria that are collectively called the microbiome. Most of the bacteria resides in the lining of the human gut, which contains about three pounds of bacteria. The balance of beneficial and harmful bacteria is vital for immune health, and can be thrown out of balance by a wide range of circumstances. These include antibiotic use, poor diet, excess alcohol intake, stress and disease. In circumstances like these, beneficial bacteria can decrease in number, allowing harmful competitors to thrive. Beneficial bacteria aid in absorption of nutrients, fight against infections and help with digestion. Poor gut balance can cause digestive problems including gas, diarrhea and constipation. Emerging research is showing healthy individuals tend to have a more diverse makeup of bacteria compared to people with certain diseases. Research is being done studying the link between gut bacteria and almost every disease in the body. While the evidence is still forming, there appears to be a link between certain cancers, obesity, inflammatory and intestinal diseases and bacteria makeup of the gut.

A diet containing probiotics and a wide variety of plant foods that are low in sugar and saturated fat may help create a more diverse microbiome. Dannon® Oikos® Triple Zero yogurt is the dietitian pick for November, and is a great source of beneficial probiotics, plus it contains prebiotics as well. Prebiotics act as food for the beneficial bacteria in the gut. Chicory root is the prebiotic source in Oikos® Triple Zero yogurt, and is naturally sweet, but provides no calories. The main sweetener in the yogurt is stevia, a natural plant-based sweetener. Other sources of prebiotics include fibrous plant foods, especially leeks, artichokes, asparagus, bananas, legumes and oatmeal. 

There are many other probiotic products on the market with claims for potential health benefits, many of which only have preliminary research to support at this time. The following foods contain probiotics.

• Yogurt
• Kefir (fermented dairy product, consistency of liquid yogurt)
• Sauerkraut
• Fermented foods, such as mirin and tempeh
• Look for “live and active cultures” logo
• World Health Organization states that probiotics must remain alive for duration of shelf life and be in amounts high enough for beneficial effect for product to claim probiotic effect

Adding Oikos® Triple Zero yogurt to your daily diet is a delicious way to increase your probiotic intake. It comes in many delicious flavors including Banana Crème, Chocolate, Coconut Crème, Coffee, Strawberry, Salted Caramel and more. In addition, each single serving size container boasts 15 grams of filling protein, making this a great addition to your breakfast or afternoon snack.

If you have questions regarding probiotics, stop by the dietitian office and I’d be happy to answer your questions!

-Dietitian Amanda

Power Up Your Plate With Pork

October is National Pork Month and a great time to power up your plate with pork. The high quality of protein in pork may help you feel fuller longer, provide you with an excellent source of many B vitamins for energy and may even help you lose weight.

For a healthy and balanced diet, choose lean cuts of pork. To identify lean cuts of pork at the grocery store, look for the word “loin” on the label, such as pork tenderloin or loin chop. Pork tenderloin is just as lean as a skinless chicken breast. An analysis by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found there are six cuts of pork that are considered either extra lean or lean by labeling standards (less than 10g of fat, 4.5g saturated fat, and 95 mg of cholesterol per serving). These include pork tenderloin, pork boneless top loin chop, pork top loin roast, pork center loin chop, pork sirloin roast and pork rib chop.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends that the safe end-point for cooking pork is now 145^oF (lowered from 160^oF). At 145^oF, the pork will be a little pink in color, but is safe to eat. Since today’s pork is leaner than ever, the lower cooking temperature results in a juicier, more flavorful meat. Always use a meat thermometer to ensure proper cooking temperature.

Pork is a versatile product that can easily be incorporated into all your meals. Try these simple ideas and remember to choose lean cuts of protein!

At breakfast:

-Make your own healthy breakfast sandwich at home. Start with a light whole wheat English muffin and top with an egg, Canadian bacon (more lean than regular bacon) and low-fat cheese.

-Scramble together eggs, Canadian bacon and veggies and place on a whole wheat tortilla. Serve with your favorite salsa.

-Try Stick-With-You Sunrise Muffins (recipe below).

At lunch:

-Substitute pork for chicken in your favorite homemade chicken noodle soup recipe, or substitute pork for beef in your traditional chili recipe.

-Top romaine lettuce, spinach or kale with thinly sliced pork tenderloin, black beans, pineapple and one of your favorite citrus fruits.

-Fill a whole wheat wrap with lean pork, avocado, red onion and diced green chiles.

At dinner:

-Stir-fry cubed pork loin with your favorite vegetables and serve with quinoa.

-Consider lean pork as a pizza topping; use a whole wheat pizza crust and top with lots of vegetables and 2% shredded cheese.

-Make stuffed peppers using 96%-lean ground pork.

Get your day started off with a powerful punch of protein from pork with these simple and delicious muffins!

Stick-With-You Sunrise Muffins

Serving size: 2 muffins

Serves 6.

All you need:

Hy-Vee olive oil spray

6 tablespoons minced green onion

9 tablespoons chopped red bell pepper

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

12 ounces baby spinach leaves

8 large eggs and 4 large egg whites

3/4 cup skim milk

24 slices Amana Canadian bacon

4 ounces grated reduced–fat crumbled feta cheese

All you do:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F and arrange rack in middle. Spray muffin pan with olive oil spray.

2. Spray olive oil in a large frying pan and heat to medium. Add onion and bell pepper; season well with freshly ground black pepper and cook until softened, about 1 minute. Add spinach and cook until spinach is well wilted, about 2 minutes

3. In a bowl, scramble eggs and egg whites and mix with skim milk.

4. Place 2 Canadian bacon slices in the bottom of each muffin cup to line it and top with vegetable mixture

5. Divide eggs into muffin cups and divide feta cheese evenly among the cups.

6. Put muffin tin on a baking sheet and bake for about 15 to 18 minutes.

Easy Tip:  Prepare multiple muffins and keep frozen. Muffins can be easily microwaved for 1-2 minutes to re-heat for an easy grab-and-go breakfast.

*Adapted from the National Pork Board.

-Dietitian Amanda

Ingredient Spotlight: Pumpkin

October has arrived. This means fall is in full swing. If you’re looking for and craving all things pumpkin spice, this fiber-ful dip should hit the spot! It will be a festive addition to all your tailgates, fall parties and potlucks. 

Pumpkin Spice Dip

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)

2 (5.3 oz each) containers vanilla yogurt, such as Oikos Triple Zero Vanilla

2 packets stevia

1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice, plus additional for garnish

1½ tsp cinnamon

Graham crackers and/or apple and pear slices, for serving

All you do:
Stir together pumpkin, yogurt, stevia, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon. Sprinkle with additional pumpkin pie spice. Serve with graham crackers, apples or pears, if desired.

Pumpkin is a vegetable from the squash family. It offers a variety of health benefits, one of the most prominent being its vitamin A content. Just one half cup of pureed pumpkin offers 280% of the daily value of vitamin A. That half cup also provides 4 grams of fiber, making pumpkin a diabetic-friendly choice. It also has just 10 mg of sodium and 65 mg potassium, making it a heart-healthy choice. With only 50 calories per half cup serving, this fall favorite is also weight-management friendly. 

Happy Fall!

-Dietitian Natalie 

Conversation Starters

Looking for ways to get the conversation going with your kids at meal times? Check out these ideas that were featured in the Back to School edition of the Hy-Vee Seasons magazine!

Preschool:
-If you could be any animal, what would you want to be and why?
-What is your favorite book? What characters did you like and why?
-In the book, Green Eggs and Ham, Sam-I-am says he will not try green eggs and ham. Then he does and he likes them. Have you ever tried something for the first time and said, "Hey, I like this!"

Elementary:
-What do you like most about school so far?
-What do you want to be when you grow up?
-What can you give or do for someone that doesn't cost any money?
-What do you think about rules? Do you think they're important? What are some rules you have at school?
-If you have three cookies and five friends, what would you do?

Middle School:

-Did you read any new books from the library? 

-If you had three wishes, what would they be?

-Talk about something nice someone did for you this week or something that you did for someone to make them feel better.

-What makes someone a good friend?

-What do you do when you disagree with your friends?

High School:

-How did your science experiment turn out?

-What special talents do you bring to the table when you work on group projects?

-How do you know when you can trust another person?

-What traits about your mom or dad would you like to have as an adult?

College:

-What are your favorite classes?

-What types of food do you enjoy eating around campus?

-What do you enjoy doing for fun?

-What is the best thing that's happened to you since you started college?

-Are you finding any classes more interesting that you expected? Why?

-What is one way that you take care of yourself?

-Dietitian Amanda

National Family Meals Month–Whole-Grain Lasagna Cups

September is National Family Meals month. Your West Lakes Hy-Vee Dietitians encourage you to eat one more family meal together each week. Below shows a step-by-step method in creating a healthy, tasty and fun recipe. The whole family can be involved in making these Whole-Grain Lasagna Cups!

Gather the following ingredients:

Reduced-fat mozzarella cheese, whole-grain lasagna noodles, dried parsley, dried basil, lean ground turkey, low-fat cottage cheese, pasta sauce or marinara sauce.

Traditional lasagna ingredient	Ingredient to swap	Health benefits of swap
White flour lasagna noodles	Whole-grain lasagna noodles	Increase in fiber
Whole milk shredded cheese	2% reduced-fat shredded cheese	Decrease in calories and saturated fat grams
Ground beef	Ground turkey	Decrease in calories and saturated fat grams
Part-skim ricotta cheese	Low-fat 1% cottage cheese	Decrease in calories, saturated fat grams, increase in protein
Traditional pasta sauce	Prego Light Smart pasta sauce	Decrease in calories and grams of added sugar

Cook entire box of lasagna noodles according to package directions. Drain noodles. Spread noodles out on a paper towel to dry and cool.   

While noodles are cooling, brown ground turkey in a skillet with ½ tablespoon basil and ½ tablespoon parsley. Drain turkey.

 Stir in 2 cups pasta sauce. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Set aside.

Place a cooled lasagna noodle on a cutting board. Find a household item that is similar in size to the bottom of a muffin cup, such as a wine glass. Cut the cooled lasagna noodles into circles. You’ll use about 3 whole lasagna noodles for this step. Discard scraps.

 Coat a standard 12-cup muffin tin with olive oil non-stick cooking spray. Place one cut-out lasagna noodle circle in the bottom of each muffin cup.

Place cooled lasagna noodles on cutting board. Using a knife or the edge of a spatula, cut the noodle in half lengthwise. You’ll use 6 lasagna noodles for this step.  

Wrap each noodle half around the inside of a muffin cup to form the sides of the lasagna cups.

Spoon about 2 tablespoons of turkey mixture into each noodle cup.

In a small bowl, combine 1 cup low-fat cottage cheese, ½ cup reduced-fat mozzarella cheese and ½ tablespoon ground black pepper.

Place cottage cheese mixture on top of turkey mixture.

Top cottage cheese layer with another layer of turkey mixture, followed by shredded mozzarella cheese.

 Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

Serve with additional pasta sauce. 

It’s important to make your family meals balanced to ensure everyone is receiving proper nutrition from each food group. Use MyPlate as a guide to help visualize what a healthy plate looks like. These whole-grain lasagna cups primarily represent the grains and protein food groups. The pasta sauce is also a non-starchy vegetable source and the cottage cheese is a calcium-rich dairy source. To balance this plate furthermore, pair with a leafy green strawberry salad along with an 8 oz. glass of skim milk, and you’ve got a complete meal!

Take the Hy-Vee Family Meals challenge today! Simply post a photo to your social media of your family enjoying a meal together and use the hashtag #hyveefamilymeals. Hy-Vee will donate $1 per post to Meals for the Heartland, up to $100,000. Sharing or retweeting the posts below will also count toward the $1 donation. 

 https://www.facebook.com/HyVee/photos/a.95639907796.97759.84150862796/10153766361267797/?type=1&theater

https://twitter.com/HyVee/status/775724595294986241

-Dietitian Natalie