National Nutrition Month 2017 – “Put Your Best Fork Forward”

Meet Melissa!

Melissa is currently completing her dietetic internship as part of her pursuit to become a registered dietitian and has been interning with the West Lakes Hy-Vee dietitians during the month of February. She is our guest blogger this week and she wrote a really fun and informational piece for you that relates to the theme for National Nutrition Month, which officially starts March 1^st. Get a jump start on National Nutrition Month and enjoy her blog below!

National Nutrition Month 2017 – “Put Your Best Fork Forward”

March is National Nutrition Month, and this year’s theme is “Put Your Best Fork Forward.” Now you may be wondering what in the world this means, but don’t you worry. I’m here to help!

Okay, to get things started, raise your hand if you’ve ever tried to lose weight. Did you just put your hand up at the office? Or at your kitchen table? In your car? (I hope not in your car… distracted driving is dangerous.) If your answer was yes, how did that go? If it went well, how long did it last?

If you’ve ever tried and failed to lose weight, this message is for you. First of all, I want you to know that you did not fail. The diet failed. Statistically, diets fail more often than not, and you are not to blame. Since diets have a tendency to fail, it may seem like weight loss is impossible, but that is just not true. Weight loss is very possible, but today try to start looking at it from a different standpoint. Instead of focusing on weight loss, focus on improving your health. That may seem like a daunting task, but I am here to help you get started.

What do you think you could do this week to improve your health? Could it be getting an extra serving of fruits or veggies? Or finally giving that whole grain pasta a try? How about getting active, even if you can only spare 10 extra minutes during the day? Could you drink more water?

Whatever it is, give it a shot! Even if you only squeeze in one more serving of veggies or one more walk this week, that is improvement! Every effort matters. Everything we eat and drink matters. Every time we move our bodies, it matters. That is the whole point behind this year’s theme of putting your best fork forward. It is to remind you that every time you pick up your fork, it matters. You are fully capable of improving your health, one step at a time. One bite at a time.

Set one goal each week this month that will help you improve your health, and focus on how great these accomplished goals are going to make you feel. Make sure they are SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timely) goals, because then you will have an easy way to measure your success. For example, if your goal is to drink more water, your goal could be, “I will drink one glass of water before dinner three evenings this week.” You don’t have to commit to doing it every day, because this is probably not attainable at first, but work on building up to it. As the month goes on and these goals start becoming habits, work on thinking up some new goals. Over time, these seemingly small changes will add up, and you will feel the positive results.

You know what they say (whoever “they” are), Rome wasn’t built in a day. (It was built in a large, unspecified amount of days…) But you get the point. It’s wild to think Rome could be built in a day, likewise, it would be wild to think we could reach all our health goals in one day. Rome was built slowly, and over time, and we should work on improving our health in the same manner. One brick at a time. One forkful at a time.

Examples to get started: 

Week 1 Goal: Walk for 10 minutes 3 different days this week.

How-to: Wake up a little earlier and walk 5 minutes away from home and 5 minutes back; walk 10 minutes over the lunch hour; walk while on a conference call; walk a full lap through the mall before shopping; get off the bus a stop early and walk the rest of the way; take a walk after dinner.

Week 2 Goal: Drink one glass of water before dinner 3 times this week.

How-to: If you like plain water, by all means drink it that way! If water isn’t your thing, that’s ok too. Try adding a squeeze of lemon, or muddling up some fruit and adding that. Whatever makes you want to drink it.

Week 3 Goal: Have an extra serving of veggies 3 times this week.

How-to: Mix some tomatoes and peppers (or any veggies you’d like) in with your eggs at breakfast; try adding a side salad at lunch; microwave a steam-able bag of veggies with dinner.

Week 4 Goal: Make ½ your grains whole grains 3 times this week.

How-to: Have a breakfast burrito with a whole wheat tortilla instead of flour; enjoy whole wheat bread with your sandwich at lunch; try whole wheat pasta or brown rice with dinner.

Good luck and enjoy the journey of putting your best fork forward J  

-Melissa

Healthified Chocolate Cupcakes!

As I was brainstorming ideas for this blog, I thought I’d reference a book a dietitian colleague of mine had brought to my attention awhile back. Check out the book, Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. It’s full of recipes that have “hidden” fruits and vegetables in them. I found this book at Barnes and Nobles here in town.   

As today marks the anniversary of my birth, I thought I’d try out the chocolate cupcake recipe and have some treats to bring to work with me. These cupcakes have hidden butternut squash and pumpkin in the recipe. 

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes

Cupcake batter:

1 cup canned pumpkin puree 

1/2 cup yellow squash puree

1/2 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup canola oil

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I left out the chocolate chips and added ¼ cup of unsweetened cocoa powder instead)

Frosting:

1 8 ounce package reduced-fat cream cheese 

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray or line with paper baking cups.

2. Put the pumpkin and squash purees in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the brown sugar, water, oil, and vanilla, and beat until well blended.

3. Now add the flour, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips, and mix until completely incorporated. Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Bake until the tops of the cupcakes are lightly browned and spring back to the touch, 20 to 25 minutes. Turn the cupcakes out onto a rack to cool before frosting them. 

4. For the frosting, beat the cream cheese with the maple syrup, vanilla and salt until smooth. Spread the frosting over the cooled cupcakes.

5. Store the cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or wrap individually and freeze for up to 1 month. 

I did make a couple of tweaks to the recipe. I left out the chocolate chips and added ¼ cup of unsweetened cocoa powder. The batter was a little more orange in color than I had expected (due to the added squashes) and I wanted the cupcakes to look a little more disguised. 

Personally, I thought the cupcakes were pretty tasty (as you can see I consumed one prior to getting a picture of the finished product….yum!). Being a dietitian, I realize I may have a palate for “healthified” foods, so I wanted another opinion on the outcome of these cupcakes. Who better than Chef Alex?

He gave it a 7 out of 10. I'll take it. Who says birthday cake can’t be healthy? J

-Dietitian Natalie

Dietitian Pick of the Month: Green Giant Fresh Cauliflower Crumbles

6 Reasons to Try This Month's Dietitian Pick:

1. Washed, cut and ready to use (aka less prep time in the kitchen)!
2. Steam-in-pouch cooks in minutes for quick, easy prep and clean-up.
3. Ready to steam, saute, roast, bake or mash. Add to soups, stir-fry, salads and casseroles.
4. One cup of cauliflower provides nearly all of your daily vitamin C needs, which is important for a healthy immune system. 
5. Three varieties available:  Cauliflower Crumbles, Cauliflower Crumbles "Fried Rice" Blend and Sweet Potato & Cauliflower Crumbles.
6. Each variety comes with a recipe on the back of the packaging, such as these:

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Serves 10 | Prep time: 1 hour

All you need:

-1 bag (16 oz) Green Giant Fresh Cauliflower Crumbles Chopped Cauliflower

-1 egg white

-1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

-2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

-1 tsp garlic powder

-1 tsp onion powder

-1/4 tsp dried basil

-1/4 dried oregano

-1/2 tsp salt

-Pinch of pepper

-1/4 cup corn meal or flour

All you do:
1. Heat oven to 425^o F.
2. Steam the cauliflower in the package it comes in following these directions:

a. Tear bag at notch.

b. Close bag with zipper leaving 1-inch opening.

c. Place bag standing up in microwave; microwave on HIGH 4 minutes, or until desired tenderness. Let stand one minute in microwave. (Time may vary a little depending on microwave). 
d. Carefully remove bag. CAUTION: BAG WILL BE HOT!

3. Line large baking sheet with paper towels. Place cooked cauliflower on baking sheet and let cool 10 minutes.
4. Return cauliflower to a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients to the cooled cauliflower. Stir well to combine. The mixture should come together to form a loose dough ball.
5. Place mixture onto parchment paper; pat into a 10-inch circle. Place rack in oven. Bake 15-17 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven; cool 10-minutes before topping.
6. Carefully flip cooled pizza crust over onto cookie sheet. Remove parchment paper.
7. Add your favorite pizza toppings; bake 6-10 minutes at 425^o F or until toppings are hot and cheese is melted.

Cauliflower Crumbles "Fried rice"

Serves 8 (1/2 cup each) | Prep time: 10 minutes

All you need:

-1 tbsp olive oil

-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

-1 (16 oz) bag Green Giant Fresh Cauliflower Crumbles "Fried Rice" Blend

-1 tsp garlic salt

-1 egg, beaten

-2 tbsp soy sauce

-1 tbsp Hoisin sauce

-2 green onions, sliced

All you do:

1. In a medium skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add garlic and saute for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring frequently until garlic begins to brown.

2. Add "Fried Rice" blend and garlic salt. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 to 7 minutes until vegetables soften.

3. Stir in egg; stir constantly 2 to 3 minutes until egg is scrambled and incorporated into vegetables.

4. Stir in soy sauce and Hoisin sauce; mix well.

5. Garnish with green onions.

-Dietitian Amanda

Meal Prep Made Easy!

Are you looking for new meal planning ideas? Do you wonder what to bring to work for lunch every day? Are you struggling to get those 5 daily servings of vegetables in? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, keep reading. These meals are colorful, healthful, delicious and convenient (once prepared)!

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.  Line a large sheet pan (I used a 15x21-inch) with aluminum foil and lightly coat with olive oil.  I used Hy-Vee Select 100% extra virgin olive oil cooking spray.   

2. Brussel Sprouts.  Slice fresh Brussel sprouts in half (lengthwise) and line along sheet pan as shown below.

3. Tomatoes. Place thoroughly washed pint of whole grape tomatoes next to Brussel sprouts on sheet pan.  

4. Squash. Chop one zucchini squash and one yellow squash.  Cut the squashes in half (lengthwise) and then in half again (lengthwise).  Proceed to chop squash as shown below.

5. Sweet Potatoes. Cut off the ends of a large sweet potato.  Slice in half.  Slice halves in half one more time, so you are left with 4 quartered sweet potatoes.   

 Slice each quartered portion as shown below. 

6.  Onion. Chop onion and place on top of sweet potato portion.  Lightly spray vegetables with 100% Olive Oil spray.  Season with desired seasonings (I used salt and pepper). Place in oven and bake for 25 minutes.

If you don’t enjoy eating raw vegetables, you may enjoy oven-roasted vegetables.  This method of cooking vegetables brings out their natural sugars and will give them a slightly sweeter taste.  

7. While vegetables are roasting, cut 1 ½ pounds chicken breast into 1-inch cubes.  Transfer to skillet and season with Mrs. Dash chicken seasoning mix.  Allow to cook through.

8. While chicken is cooking, microwave two bags (one at a time) of Green Giant’s broccoli cauliflower rice blend according to package directions.  Divide steamed veggie rice blend into 6 individual containers.

9. Remove vegetables from oven. 

10. Evenly divide vegetables over portioned rice blend. Top with cooked chicken.

Enjoy!

-Dietitian Natalie

 

Protein for Weight Loss

If you made a New Year's resolution to lose weight or eat healthier, this post is for you. Protein is an important nutrient that goes hand in hand with weight loss and healthy eating. It is the nutrient most known for providing that feeling of satiety, or fullness. Consuming 25 to 30g of protein per meal is recommended, yet many people consume the majority of their protein intake during their evening meal only. This post provides ideas on how to consume protein at each meal, a strategy that could be helpful when trying to achieve weight loss.

Breakfast:
If your morning breakfast involves a piece of toast, an English muffin, a bagel or a waffle, be sure to top these options with a protein-based spread. Natural peanut butter or almond butter are good choices. Greek yogurt cream cheese is also another option that will get you closer to the 25-30 gram goal than traditional cream cheese. The bagels and waffles pictured below are traditional breakfast items with protein added.

If you haven't heard, the Hy-Vee Dietitian Pick of the Month for January 2017 is Kura protein smoothie powders. One serving of these powders contains 14g of protein. Blend powder with non-fat Greek yogurt and some skim milk and you've got a protein rich breakfast.

Eggs are a great source of protein as well. Regardless if you prefer them hard-boiled, scrambled or over-easy, one large egg can provide you with 7 grams of complete protein.

Below are some protein options that could be used for lunch and dinner meals. Just Bare chicken breasts and our Farm Fresh Atlantic salmon fillets are on sale this week!

Flatout wraps contain anywhere from 7-12 grams of protein per wrap. They're not only great for making wraps, but they can also be used as a flatbread personal pizza crust. Barilla has a Protein Plus pasta that contains 10g protein per 2 oz serving. Pair this pasta with some lean chicken breast and you'll be at 25 grams just like that!

Consuming healthy snacks can also help you reach your daily protein goal. Snacks that are good protein sources include almonds and pistachios, reduced-fat string cheese, cottage cheese, edamame and Greek yogurt. Nutrition bars such as KIND, Rx Bars and Picky Bars have anywhere from 7-12g of protein per bar, where Quest bars have around 20g per bar.

For more ideas on how to increase your protein intake to sustain your weight loss efforts, contact your West Lakes Hy-Vee Dietitians.

-Dietitian Natalie

Become the Best Version of You in 2017

You may have pictured it in your head numerous times- the best version of you. This could mean the healthiest version, the happiest version, the smoke-free version or the less-stressed version. Whatever your best version means, the following tips can help you reach your maximum potential in 2017.

1. Set Goals For Yourself, Rather Than Resolutions—Why? New Year’s Resolutions often are difficult and often fail by the end of January because change isn’t happening as quickly as the person would like due to the resolution being extremely difficult to achieve. Instead, set goals and realize that it may take you 6 months or a year to reach these goals. Most goals revolve around behavior change, which has been known to take time to achieve. Be specific when setting goals and make sure they are both realistic and attainable.

2. Balance Your Diet—Take a look at your daily food intake. Does it include fruits and vegetables? How about protein and fiber? Do you get at least 3 meals per day? If you need help determining whether your diet is both balanced and fulfilling, I would be happy to help (my contact info is listed below).

3. Water, Water, Water—Focus on making the majority of your daily beverage intake water. To help increase your water intake, carry a water bottle with you everywhere you go- the gym, work, shopping, road trips, etc. If you have water readily available, you are more likely to actually drink it. Make it a goal to drink a minimum of 60 ounces every single day. If you currently drink very little water, start with a goal of drinking 20 ounces a day. Once you have accomplished drinking 20 ounces every day, bump your goal up to 30 ounces and keep increasing the goal until you reach 60 ounces.

4. Relax, Renew and Refocus—Whether you like to listen to music, read, meditate or exercise, try to take time each day to give yourself a mental break. This mental break can help you refocus your time and perhaps make you more productive.

5. Move More—Start slowly and do something you enjoy; find an exercise routine that you LOVE. If you thoroughly enjoy the activity, you are more likely to continue doing it long-term. After about 3 weeks it will become a new healthy habit for you. Who knows, you may even get addicted to exercise (hey, it CAN happen J)

6. Give Yourself Some Attention—Make it a point to write down the things that make you happy.  Focusing on your happiness may inspire you to have a better outlook on life. Write your happy moments and thoughts on a sticky note and fill up a mason jar or other container of choice. Revisit these happy thoughts and moments as needed.

Small changes can lead to big changes over time! Be patient with yourself and take it one day at a time. If your goal for 2017 revolves around health, your West Lakes dietitians can help. Here is a list of some of the services we provide:

-Diabetes Prevention Program

-Diabetes Self-Management Education/Training

-Medical Nutrition Therapy/ Nutrition Education (for various healthy conditions including heart disease, diabetes, weight management, food allergies and others)

-A1c Testing

-Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) testing

-Biometric Screenings

-Begin Healthy Lifestyle and Weight Management Program

-Store Tours

-Simple Fix Freezer Meal Workshops

Call (515-223-7389) or email (adevereaux@hy-vee.com) me if you have questions about these services or would like to set-up an appointment.

Cheers to your health in 2017!

-Dietitian Amanda

Hy-Vee’s New Balance Magazine

Today’s blog features a few highlights from Hy-Vee’s new publication, Balance magazine. Balance magazine provides content for readers that focusses on staying healthy. You can find this premier issue as well as future issues at your local Hy-Vee. Stop by the West Lakes Hy-Vee dietitian office and pick up a copy!

Rise and Dine
You can find the top 10 on-the-go breakfast grabs on page 30 of this Balance issue. The Egg Scramble suggestion is quick and convenient, not to mention it uses fewer dishes than your typical scrambled egg entrée – less cleanup time is always a plus! “Beat 2 protein-rich eggs and 1 tbsp. milk in a mug.  Microwave on high for 1 to 2 minutes or until done.” Pair with a piece of fruit and you’ve got a complete meal.  It’s as easy as that to start your day the healthy way.

Begin™ New Year, New You
Balance does a great job highlighting Hy-Vee’s Begin program. This healthy lifestyle, weight-management program is taught by dietitians and is offered at your West Lakes Hy-Vee. “Nearly half of Americans look to improve their lives through New Year’s resolutions.” If your resolution involves losing weight or learning to eat healthier, check out Balance’s article on Begin™ and be sure to contact your West Lakes Hy-Vee dietitians to get signed up today.

Pump It- Diet and Fitness for Heart Health
This section of Balance focuses on eating for heart health. “Research has found that a Mediterranean diet high in nuts and olive oil can reduce the risk of heart disease. Another study in the American Heart Association’s journal, Circulation focused on the effect of a high-sugar diet on cardiovascular health.” Incorporating healthy fats and limiting added sugars is important for keeping your heart healthy. “Remember life’s Simple Seven for a healthy heart: 1. Get Active, 2. Control Cholesterol, 3. Eat Healthy, 4. Manage Blood Pressure, 5. Lose Weight, 6. Reduce Blood Sugar, 7. Stop Smoking.”

Foods that Cut Carbs with Cauliflower
Low carb diets have been trending for quite some time now. You’ve likely noticed there is a cauliflower replacement for many high starch, high-carbohydrate foods such as bread, rice, and potatoes. While it is not necessary or recommended to avoid carbohydrates for good health, increasing your cauliflower intake means you’re likely getting more fiber throughout the day, something the average individual struggles with. On page 56, you’ll find this delicious recipe for Cauliflower Crust Pizza.

 -Dietitian Natalie