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Snacks-a-go-go

May 22, 2012 by Tali Sedgwick, RD

Taking a long road trip this summer or flying to Europe?  Here are some handy healthy snacks ideas to make sure you don’t give-in to the Cinnabon at the airport (880 kcals for the classic!) or Doritos at the gas station…and of course bring a refillable water bottle wherever you go too!

I also like to travel with my own herbal tea bags for the decadent taste of home (decaf chai for me please).

Non-Perishable Suggestions:

• Energy bars: Make your own or look for low sugar (<10g),high fiber(>3g). A few brands to try: Kind bar, Larabar, Kashi, FiberOne or Luna/Cliff bar.

• Plain or low sodium almonds, peanuts, cashews, soy nuts, mixed nuts, etc without added oils. Keep servings to a small snack sized baggie (pre-make several as necessary).

• Dried fruit (mix with nuts for a protein boost)

• Pistachio seeds, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds with shells- this will keep your hands busy (bring an extra baggie for empty shells)

• Trail mix- homemade or from the store, keep the serving to a snack sized baggie

• Canned fruit (in water not syrup and remember to bring a spoon!)

• Instant oatmeal packets (low sugar ideally). Top with handful of nuts for an extra protein boost and/or dried fruit for added sweetness.

• Peanut, almond or apple butter with whole grain crackers ( like Akmak or Wasa). I like Justin’s single serve nut butter

• Air popped popcorn  or microwave popcorn (look for low fat, “natural” brands”)

• Brown Rice cakes;flavored (sweet or savory) or plain and spread with peanut, almond, nut butter.

Perishable Suggestions (pack a soft cooler bag with a ice-pack):

• Low fat string cheese or wedge cheese and whole grain crackers

• Apple slices with snack sized packets or containers of nut butter

• Mini Pita and hummus sandwiches-add lettuce and tomato too or eat with baby carrots

• Mini or scooped bagel. Spread with light cream cheese, cottage cheese or peanut butter and whole fruit low sugar jam.

• PBJ on whole wheat bread (>3g fiber per slice)

• 6 oz low fat yogurts, I like greek yogurts in the lowest sugar flavor possible or plain with berries.

• Protein roll ups-roll up turkey, roast beef or light cheese, wrap and pack in plastic

•  Hard boiled eggs

•  Cut up veggies with low fat dip (you can find this prepackaged in many local supermarkets)

• Hummus with cut up veggies, pretzels or pita chips

• Unshelled edamame (Trader Joes sells these fresh or find them in the freezer section and thaw on the road

• Homemade low sugar whole wheat fruit muffins

Posted in Food food food, Knowledge | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Power to the People: being heard in DC

May 1, 2012 by Tali Sedgwick, RD

This isn’t my normal nutrition post but I just had to share my DC adventures since they were so inspiring and made me get psyched about my electoral voice!

Two weeks ago today, I had my first visit to “The Hill” in Washington, DC as  I was awarded a stipend to travel to DC for PPW 2012 by the Bay Area Dietetics Association (BADA) board, on which I sit  as a Community Co-Chair.  The “Public Policy Workshop” (PPW) is a yearly event put on by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly the American Dietetics Association) in conjunction with their full time public policy Washington staff and dietitian representatives from all 50 states.

The workshop consisted of two FULL days of training where we learned everything from your “elevator pitch” (who are you and what you want in 1 minute), the ins-and-outs of having a voice in politics (and various levels and ways to do so) and the importance of wearing patriotic socks (might pass on that one) to important issues around government spending priorities (prevention is a big buzz word finally) and how First Lady Michelle Obama has inspired and supported cities like Austin and New York to start “Lets’ Move” campaigns.

The third day, a Tuesday morning, we went to the hill and with RD’s from our region (Go California!) pitched our support for two of the four pieces of legislature that were our given priorities:

1) The Farm Bill (or “The Food, Farm, and Jobs Bill” as Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsak urged us to call it in his Keynote address)- and ensuring that the SNAP (food stamp program) and SNAP-ED (Nutrition education) programs are funded adequately as well as Agricultural/Nutrition research, the TEFAP program (food banks), the commodity food program ( CSFP- remember those cans of peanut butter at school or camp?), the Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program (FFVP) at schools and the Senior Farmer’s Market program (cool!).  Key message here was empowering consumers with nutrition education (!) and ensuring access to healthy safe foods.

2) The Older Americans Act (OAA)- pass this bill currently stalled in Congress (and develop a bill for the House) and include language that supports having nutrition professionals (RD’s) at all levels (local, state, federal) of the “aging network” to ensure cost-effective nutrition services and evidence-based results.

3) Prevention Diabetes in Medicare Act (H.R. 2741)-  support or sponsor this bill to cover lifestyle intervention that include dietary changes (that’s my job) by RD’s for Medicare recipients who have pre-diabetes (vs only those with WITH diabetes as that and CKD are currently the only diagnoses covered by Medicare).  Almost 1 in 10 have Diabetes but almost 4 in 10 have pre-diabetes.  Studies show that 50-70% of Medicare participants with pre-diabetes can avoid diabetes with lifestyle interventions.

4) Drug Shortage Prevention Act (H.R. 3839)- support this bill as well as H.R. 2245 and Senate bill S 296 to help curtail and prevent the drug shortage phenomena that has been taking place more frequently since 2012 and puts patients across this nation at risk.  RD’s, pharmacists and doctors are all unable to do their jobs fully when drugs, vitamins and minerals are taken off the market or under-produced due to low profit margins or other reasons.

Coming off my three meetings with Congresswoman Barbara Lee (I met with her people all alone!), Senator Diane Feinstein, and Senator Barbara Boxer, I felt powerful and that my voice was heard, our opinions mattered.  What a great feeling.  Later that evening I even got an email from the young man I met with at Lee’s office, letting me know she would support one of the bills I spoke especially passionately about (#3 above)- awesome!

Want to feel heard?

If you are a Dietitian, you can speak up around these issues and/0r others that you feel passionate about.  A great resource is the Grass Roots Manager section of the eatright.org website , or join and get involved with the Political Action Commitee (ANDPAC).

Just a regular joe? Check out House.gov to find/write your representatives or go to the user-friendly gov.track.us or the dense Library of Congress Thomas site to follow a specific bill or see what is being voted on this week…

Thanks for listening! And yes– I did have a fun Vegan shawarma sandwich while in DC, check out a recipe here… Now go be a voice yourself…

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Flourless Carrot Cake Recipe

April 4, 2012 by Tali Sedgwick, RD

This crunchy carrot cake is light and lovely and since its wheat/gluten-free it is Kosher for Passover!

For best results, wrap the cake tightly in plastic after it cools and serve it the next day. It will keep for five days in the refrigerator if wrapped airtight.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups (1/2 pound) unsalted toasted almonds
1/4 cup raw brown (turbinado) sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
4 large eggs
1/3 cup organic white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups finely grated carrots (about 10 ounces or 3-4 large carrots)*
*It’s important to grate the carrots on the fine holes of your grater, or else they’ll remain too crunchy.

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil a 9-inch pan, (ideally springform lined with parchment).

2. Combine the almonds & brown sugar in a food processor and blend until almonds are finely ground. Add the baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg & lemon zest, and pulse together.

3. Beat the eggs until thick in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or with an electric beater. Add white sugar, continue to beat until the mixture is thick and forms a ribbon when lifted from the bowl with a spatula. Beat in the vanilla. Add the almond mixture and the carrots in three alternating additions, and slowly beat or fold in each time.

4. Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan. Place in the oven, and bake one hour until firm to the touch and beginning to pull away from the pan. A toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean. Remove from the heat, and allow to cool on a rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the pan, and carefully remove from the pan. Allow the cake to cool completely, then wrap tightly in plastic.

Yield: Serves 10 to 12.

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Nutritional information per serving (10 servings): 209 calories; 13 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 85 grams cholesterol; 18 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 135 milligrams sodium (does not include salt added during preparation); 7 grams protein

Recipe from the New York Times by Martha Rose Shulman.

Print a copy here (or in resources).

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Bite Sized Behavior Change

March 26, 2012 by Tali Sedgwick, RD

I love working with folks around food choices, exercise goals and weight loss and most often what we talk about is behavior change.  It starts like this…

“I want to lose 20 lbs”

“I want to eat better”

“I want to avoid diabetes since it runs in my family”

And then comes the hard part– how to get there…

So often we want to make HUGE commitments (think of your last New Year’s Resolutions) but it turns out that small change over time works best.  Setting small goals that are measurable and realistic = Bite sized behavior change!

So instead of saying “I want to lose 10 pounds”, try “I will only eat dessert once a week” or “I will walk 10 minutes at lunch every day”.

Dr. BJ Fogg from Stanford’s Persuasive Tech Lab agrees and in fact has started a program based on tiny habits and counters the argument that change happens with “will power” and instead encourages people to make it as easy as possible by setting up your environment to promote the new behavior and attach your new “habit” to one that already exists (eg. brushing your teeth, eating a meal etc).

I love his website which you can sign up for free and pick your own 3 tiny habits to work on.

What tiny habits would you like to add to your life?

Image

Photo by zole4

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Carb Free- a Tofu and Shiitake Lettuce Wrap Recipe

March 9, 2012 by Tali Sedgwick, RD

I taught this to my “Healthy Living” class last month as a way to show off the gorgeous Butter Lettuce they were growing in their Community Garden.

I love the idea of wrapping up all sorts of yummyness in a crunchy green leaf of lettuce (or cabbage) and you can either serve these as finger food at a party, serve as an appetizer or pack up a few for lunch.

Lettuce Wraps with Shiitake Mushrooms

lettucewraps_png

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

1 8 oz. package ready-to-eat, seasoned tofu (Soy Boy’s Tofu Lin works well)
salt and pepper, red pepper flakes, to taste
soy sauce to taste
3 tablespoons chopped garlic
2 tablespoons chopped ginger
2 1/2 cups shiitake mushrooms, chopped
bean sprouts
carrot cut into fine strips
1 head lettuce, use large leaves
1/2 lemon

Directions

Stir fry chopped garlic, ginger and carrot with some water in wok for a few minutes until soft.

Add the shiitakes, soy sauce, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.

Cook about another 5-10 minutes, then add the dried tofu and finish up the cooking, about 2-5 minutes. Spoon the mixture into the lettuce/cabbage leaves, add a few drops of lemon juice, and roll them up!

Recipe from PCRM

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Small and Mighty: Snacking can be healthy

January 30, 2012 by Tali Sedgwick, RD

I have been really busy really lately working with a lot of new clients and especially new moms who had Gestational Diabetes (GDM) in their last pregnancy and a theme that has come up is EATING REGULARLY.   These new moms of course are busy and sometime forget to eat breakfast or go 7-8 hours without eating anything! The stress of new motherhood (or your busy workday) can over-ride your hunger cues and before you know it, when you do eat you eat way too much or just end up slowing your metabolism down and holding on to those fat stores.

Eating regularly is important for blood sugar control and this applies to everyone, not just those with GDM or Type I or II Diabetes and one way to do this is to get a healthy snack between meals so that you are not going more than 3-5 hours without eating something.

Having a healthy snack is also another opportunity to get some healthy stuff in- like fiber, protein or fruit and vegetables!  Plus having a snack with protein + fiber will keep you full longer.  Make that snack small but mighty!

How much to snack on?  Well that depends on when your next meal is going to be and how much you typically eat at a meal. A good rule of thumb is that if you are going to be eating in the next 1-2 hours, choose a smaller snack (around 50-100 calories) and if you aren’t getting to that next meal for 2-3 hours choose something a bit more substantial (around 150-200 calories).

Below are some snack ideas but even yesterday’s meal can be a snack if the portion is adjusted!

Snack ideas:

▪ Low Fat String cheese & whole-grain crackers

▪ Non/lowfat yogurt mixed w fresh fruit & 1 Tbs granola

▪ Cut-up fruit or vegetables with yogurt dip or hummus

▪ whole-wheat pita filled with hummus

▪  Corn tortilla with bean dip

▪ whole wheat tortilla filled with turkey, cheese & vegetables

▪ 1 slice whole wheat toast topped with nut butter & banana slices

▪ 1 slice of whole wheat toast with tuna salad (low fat, low sodium)

▪ Low-fat popcorn with grated Parmesan cheese or Nutritional Yeast sprinkled on top

▪ Handful of nuts mixed w a peice of fruit.

▪ Small salad topped w grilled chicken/tofu/fish (1 oz protein)

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Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

December 12, 2011 by Tali Sedgwick, RD

Came home from a lovely relaxed Sunday tapas dinner with Adam at Barlata in Oakland and was hankering for a healthy dessert that I could whip up at home.

I remembered a recipe I had been saving from the weekly recipe email blasts I get (and highly recommend) from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

I whipped up the recipe in about 5 minutes and decided to add a browning banana for some extra creamyness and YUMMMMM the whole thing was delicious (and low calorie, low fat, vegan and high in Vitamin A and Beta Carotene) and a perfect dessert (or midday treat or breakfast).

My husband and father-in-law liked it too, so  I think we have a keeper!

Ingredients

Makes 6 servings  ( I halved the recipe for the 3 of us)

1 15-ounce can pumpkin purée
2 cups soymilk, or to taste
2 cups ice
2 tbsp maple syrup, or to taste
1 tablespoon vanilla extract, or to taste
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice, or to taste (alternatively, can use a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice)

1 banana (optional)

Directions

Combine all ingredients in blender. Blend.

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

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