Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Improve your eating habits from the ground up
The theme for National Nutrition Month this year, “Nutrition from the Ground Up,” focuses on eating more plant-based foods. To recognize the occasion throughout the month of March, the www.backushospital.org/nutrition web site will feature blog posts, recipes, videos and columns to help people improve their eating habits and their overall health.
Be sure to check out this website for the latest nutrition information and use the site to add your own comments and questions.
One question I am often asked as a dietitian is “Are fresh vegetables recommended over frozen or canned?”
While fresh vegetables are recommended, some frozen or canned can be just as nutritious. For example, canned tomatoes are higher in lycopene (the cancer-fighting phytochemical) than fresh.
If using canned, use immediately after opening to retain the most flavor and nutrition. Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container promptly.
Nutrition experts recommend making half your plate vegetables at every meal. Sound difficult? It doesn’t have to be. Here are some tips to help you achieve this goal:
• Have a veggie omelet or add sautéed peppers, onions and tomatoes to scrambled eggs. Make a quiche or frittata featuring your favorite vegetables for breakfast or brunch.
• Make a breakfast burrito with black beans, tomatoes, peppers and reduced fat cheese.
• Have a big salad for lunch; add chickpeas, black or navy beans for extra protein and top with a colorful variety of raw veggies.
• Decorate a baked potato with vegetarian chili, broccoli, or cauliflower and reduced fat cheese.
• Add shredded zucchini or carrots to meatloaf mixtures; make a mixture of frozen chopped spinach and shredded carrots and add to ricotta cheese filling for lasagna.
• Use hummus as a spread for sandwiches; fill a flour tortilla with broccoli slaw, baby spinach, bottled roasted peppers and sliced tomatoes.
• Dip bell pepper strips, carrot or celery sticks in hummus for a tasty, healthy snack.
• Make a soup featuring pureed pumpkin or roasted butternut squash. Season a soup or stew with aromatic veggies like sautéed celery, onions, garlic and carrots then add dried beans or peas, leafy greens or canned tomatoes.
• Top your pizza with veggies -- sautéed spinach or other greens, broccoli, mushrooms, peppers, artichoke hearts, onions or tomatoes.
• Make your own sweet potato fries by tossing raw cut up potatoes with a little oil, salt and pepper and baking in the oven.
• Double the amount of veggies and halve the amount of meat in your favorite casserole recipe.
• For non-vegetarians: plan your meal around your favorite vegetables; think of the vegetables as the “main dish” and your meat/protein as the “side dish.”
The possibilities are endless and only limited by your imagination. Start “from the ground up” -- experiment with new recipes and different cooking methods to broaden your vegetable repertoire. Your waistline and wallet will thank you for it.
Catherine Schneider is a registered dietitian in the Food and Nutrition Department at The William W. Backus Hospital. This column should not replace advice or instruction from your physician. E-mail Schneider or any of the Healthy Living columnists at healthyliving@wwbh.org. To comment on this or other Healthy Living columns, click below or go to the Healthy Living blog at www.backushospital.org/backus-blogs.
Be sure to check out this website for the latest nutrition information and use the site to add your own comments and questions.
One question I am often asked as a dietitian is “Are fresh vegetables recommended over frozen or canned?”
While fresh vegetables are recommended, some frozen or canned can be just as nutritious. For example, canned tomatoes are higher in lycopene (the cancer-fighting phytochemical) than fresh.
If using canned, use immediately after opening to retain the most flavor and nutrition. Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container promptly.
Nutrition experts recommend making half your plate vegetables at every meal. Sound difficult? It doesn’t have to be. Here are some tips to help you achieve this goal:
• Have a veggie omelet or add sautéed peppers, onions and tomatoes to scrambled eggs. Make a quiche or frittata featuring your favorite vegetables for breakfast or brunch.
• Make a breakfast burrito with black beans, tomatoes, peppers and reduced fat cheese.
• Have a big salad for lunch; add chickpeas, black or navy beans for extra protein and top with a colorful variety of raw veggies.
• Decorate a baked potato with vegetarian chili, broccoli, or cauliflower and reduced fat cheese.
• Add shredded zucchini or carrots to meatloaf mixtures; make a mixture of frozen chopped spinach and shredded carrots and add to ricotta cheese filling for lasagna.
• Use hummus as a spread for sandwiches; fill a flour tortilla with broccoli slaw, baby spinach, bottled roasted peppers and sliced tomatoes.
• Dip bell pepper strips, carrot or celery sticks in hummus for a tasty, healthy snack.
• Make a soup featuring pureed pumpkin or roasted butternut squash. Season a soup or stew with aromatic veggies like sautéed celery, onions, garlic and carrots then add dried beans or peas, leafy greens or canned tomatoes.
• Top your pizza with veggies -- sautéed spinach or other greens, broccoli, mushrooms, peppers, artichoke hearts, onions or tomatoes.
• Make your own sweet potato fries by tossing raw cut up potatoes with a little oil, salt and pepper and baking in the oven.
• Double the amount of veggies and halve the amount of meat in your favorite casserole recipe.
• For non-vegetarians: plan your meal around your favorite vegetables; think of the vegetables as the “main dish” and your meat/protein as the “side dish.”
The possibilities are endless and only limited by your imagination. Start “from the ground up” -- experiment with new recipes and different cooking methods to broaden your vegetable repertoire. Your waistline and wallet will thank you for it.
Catherine Schneider is a registered dietitian in the Food and Nutrition Department at The William W. Backus Hospital. This column should not replace advice or instruction from your physician. E-mail Schneider or any of the Healthy Living columnists at healthyliving@wwbh.org. To comment on this or other Healthy Living columns, click below or go to the Healthy Living blog at www.backushospital.org/backus-blogs.
# posted by ----------------- @ 9:43 AM 
