Planning Family Dinners

When my husband and I first got married 12 years ago, we were already committed to having family meals together. In our younger and freer days before having kids, we used to walk to dinner at 10 pm many week nights. Those spontaneous days are behind us now that we have two young daughters, but we are more committed to family meals than ever. The logistics are infinitely more complicated now though. That’s why when it’s 4:30 on a weekday, the last thing I want to be asking myself is “what’s for dinner?”

It’s time to stop the weekday afternoon panic by getting organized and planning in advance. I’m going to share my menu planning strategies with you so that you too can get organized with a family-friendly dinner menu plan that will support you in having family meals.

Family Meal Motivation

Before I delve into how to become an expert menu planner, I want to make sure you’re sufficiently motivated to actually sit down with your family to eat! We all have our own personal barriers that prevent us from regularly getting a good family meal on the table. My barriers are disorganization and not having a lot of time. Other people’s barriers could be a lack of confidence in the kitchen, a near-empty pantry or fridge, a family of picky eaters, a busy family schedule, or even not being in the habit of eating together. However, the benefits of everyone sitting down to a meal together, especially a homemade meal, are enormous. Keep in mind that although dinner is the focus of this newsletter, any meal can be a family meal—breakfast may be easier than dinner for many families, and if you can make both breakfast and dinner family meals, that’s even better!

Research shows that children who eat meals with their families perform better in school, eat a better diet, have better mental health and verbal development, and are at lower risk for obesity, substance abuse, and other risky behaviors. Family meals help children learn to like new foods by exposing them to variety and adult role models who hopefully eat and enjoy an array of foods. Adults who eat with other people tend to have better mental and physical health, stronger social connections, and have a lower risk of high blood pressure and obesity. I hope that’s sufficient motivation for you to start making family dinners a priority.

You need to know that family meals are a commitment. Eventually they become second nature, but in the meantime, there are plenty of ways to get derailed. I hear from many people who get so bogged down with nutritional rules that they become paralyzed when it’s time to actually plan a meal because they are afraid that something won’t be healthy or that their child will eat too much or not enough. Sometimes, kids behave badly at meals, or even refuse to eat something you’ve worked hard to make. Yes, all of these things can be discouraging, but don’t give up on your commitment! Approach this with a positive attitude and resolve to enjoy your work--including the planning, shopping, cooking, and eating parts. This is important parenting because you’re facilitating structured family time that will provide exposure to new foods, social support, sharing, connection, and opportunities to model positive eating habits for your family.

If you’re child’s behavior or eating habits are preventing you from even wanting to have family meals or are making your mealtimes together unpleasant, here is a life-changing strategy called the Division of Responsibility from the feeding expert Ellyn Satter: It is up to the parent or caregiver to decide what, when, and where kids eat and it is up to the child to decide whether and how much to eat.

Everyone has a job to do with feeding and eating. Do yours respectfully and trust your child to do theirs in order to bring the joy back to mealtimes. To learn more about feeding kids, listen to my 4th podcast, called Family Meals.

Your Menu Framework

My goal is to teach you how to take one day a week to plan and shop for five night’s worth of dinners. But if you’re not yet in the habit of having family meals, first get into the rhythm of sitting down together to share a meal without worrying about the nutritional value or quality of the food. Go to a restaurant, order takeout, or pick up some items from our Service Deli. At the same time, start practicing Ellyn Satter’s Division of Responsibility. Once you’ve got those pieces in place, you can add in menu planning and cooking. (By the way, menu planning is 100% your job, so please don’t ask your kids what they want for dinner.) I don’t expect you to cook every night, so I’m assuming you’ll eat out one or two nights a week and maybe have leftovers once. If cooking three or four nights a week is more realistic for you, that’s fine; it’s still worth the effort to take some time to plan, shop, and cook. Just be realistic about what will work for you and your family.

As regular listeners know, my family uses the Mediterranean diet as a framework for our eating. That means we eat two to three vegetarian meals a day and eat animal flesh, such as fish or poultry, up to once a day. We usually make breakfast and lunch our vegetarian meals and dinner our higher protein meal where we basically have fish or chicken with a variety of non-starchy and starchy vegetables, I use organic extra-virgin first cold pressed olive oil for cooking (olive oil is an essential part of the Mediterranean Diet). We have fruit for dessert most nights and have portion-controlled “real dessert,” as my 7-year-old calls it, about twice a week.

Recipes Redux

Choosing recipes can be the most fun, but also the most time-consuming part of this whole process. The keys to success here are (1) finding recipes that match your cooking abilities and time limits, (2) using recipes your family likes, and (3) organizing those recipes so that they are easily accessible when it is time to plan your menus and cook.

It’s important to have a reliable resource for healthful, easy and tasty recipes. I use my own recipes that are conveniently posted on the Gelson’s website at www.gelsons.com. Epicurious.com and cooking.nytimes.com are other great websites for finding good recipes because they are reviewed by people who have tried them. Magazines, cookbooks, family members and friends are other resources. I tear interesting sounding recipes out of my cooking magazines and store them in a folder that I can browse through on days when I’m looking for recipe inspiration. When collecting recipes, try to amass a good variety of fish, poultry and vegetarian recipes and always be on the lookout for easy vegetable recipes.

There are many ways to organize your recipes. You can create your own shopping list and save the recipes you like to a personal recipe book on various cooking websites. For recipes you pick up at Gelson’s, print, or tear out of a magazine, try to use a notebook with clear plastic sleeves that will become an organized home for all of your recipes. If you also use cookbooks, you should keep a piece of paper in your recipe notebook with the name of the recipe, the cookbook it came from and the page it is on (you can download my “Favorite Recipes” form available on www.gelons.com). Alternatively, you can make a photocopy of the recipe from the cookbook and store it in the notebook. Some super-organized people actually scan their favorite recipes into their computers so that they can access them all from one place. Whichever method you decide on, finding one centralized home for your recipes is a must.

Once you have been planning menus for several weeks, you can start to reuse the ones you like, so keep good records!

Planning the Menus

The best way to start the menu planning process is to pick one or two days a week when you have time to sit down, look at recipes, plan menus, and shop. On your designated menu planning day, begin by looking at your family members’ schedules to see what events that week might get in the way of your cooking or having a family meal. Perhaps you will need to schedule take-out or leftovers for a very busy night. Alternatively, if you will have some extra time one morning, make a slow cooker meal in which you prep all of the ingredients and add them to the machine so the meal will be ready at dinnertime on a night when there’s no time to cook.

The menu should be the same for everyone, with textures and seasonings modified according to your child’s ability and age. You can be family-friendly with your menus without limiting them to only foods that your child likes. Do not short order cook! Do a good job with menu planning, cooking, and providing structured meals and snacks so your child can come to the table ready to eat the variety and amounts that are right for his or her body at each meal. Just try to include at least two healthful foods (like milk and fruit) that your child has accepted when planning your dinner menus, especially if you are trying a new recipe, or including new foods or not-yet-accepted foods.

When planning dinners, try to envision a dinner plate arranged with at least one-half vegetables, a quarter protein, and a quarter starchy vegetables or whole grains. You’ll want to include a variety of colors, flavors and textures on the plate. Once in a while, a “one-pot” dinner is nice, too. One-pot dinners include vegetables, protein and starch all in one dish. Every week we also have “clean out the fridge dinners” where I heat up all of the leftovers from the last several days, put them on the table, and let everyone choose what they want. I include portion controlled desserts twice a week in order to teach my children how to handle sweets.

To get started with planning your menu, first decide which protein you will have each night and build from there (for instance, fish on Mondays, poultry on Tuesdays, vegetarian on Wednesdays and Fridays and red meat on Thursdays). Plan to use the most perishable foods like fish and poultry earlier in the week so that they are at their best when you use them, since your meal is only as good as the quality of the ingredients you use. With that in mind, use convenience and processed foods strategically to complete your menus. I am totally in favor of using ingredients from our salad bar or service deli, frozen vegetables, canned beans, pre-cut fresh vegetable blends or jarred sauce, but I try to use healthful convenience foods and be picky when reading the ingredient lists (especially with sodium). By all means, please use prepared foods if they will help you get a healthful, semi-homemade meal on the table for your family!

A successful meal really comes down to how much thought you put into the details. If you have one recipe that is complicated or time-consuming, then the other meal components should be relatively simple to prepare. You also want to be mindful of which flavors and types of foods go together—Chicken Parmesan and teriyaki vegetables will not be a big hit, trust me! You can also choose a theme for each night, like Mexican (Taco Tuesdays) or Italian (Milanese Mondays). I have created a Weekly Dinner Menu Planner that you can download from www.gelsons.com to help remind you of all of the important food group components as you plan your meals.

Making the List

How you bring all of your recipes together and make your shopping list will depend on your recipe sources. I personally just print out my recipes and take them to the market with me. Once I know what I’m making, I go through my pantry and refrigerator and check off the items that I already have. At the market, I check off ingredients as I put them in my cart. Some websites make a shopping list for you. You can also handwrite or type your shopping list, or you can cut and paste your various recipe ingredients into a new shopping list document on your computer. I’ve also made room for you to write your shopping list on my Weekly Dinner Menu Planner.

Going to Gelson’s

Realistically, you’ll probably have to go to the market twice a week but you can still take just one day to plan a week’s worth of dinners and then split the ingredients into two separate shopping lists. Try to group foods by department (e.g., produce, deli and dairy) so that you won’t be crisscrossing the store for items you forgot because they were written down in random order. Start by buying the heaviest items first and finish in the produce department so the most delicate foods can go on the top of your cart.

Ready, Set, Cook!

Some of you may start preparing dinner once you get home from work, but if you have some spare time the night before or in the morning, consider preparing the ingredients ahead of time. I’m encouraging you to cook a lot of vegetables, and vegetable preparation takes time. Squeezing in some measuring and chopping when you have a few extra minutes will shave time off your total cooking time in the end. Another time saver is to recruit kids and adults in your household to help out in the kitchen (it is important to bring younger kids into the kitchen to help, but it will probably not save you any time). For extra time-saving convenience, explore Gelson’s produce department for pre-cut fresh vegetables and fruits and the freezer section for frozen pre-cut vegetables. Frozen vegetables are just as nutritious as fresh vegetables and they save my life on a daily basis!

Start out with the recipe that takes the longest to prepare and cook, then work on the next most time-consuming item, and so on. Take preparation and cooking time into account so that you can get everything on the table at the right time. Beyond that, just jump in and start cooking!

Eating Family Dinner

Once the food is on the table, your only jobs are to eat and enjoy your food. Keep in mind that this is a meal for you, too! Set a good example for your kids by using good table manners, making conversation, and taking pleasure in eating, but don’t make a big deal about the food. Be matter-of-fact; don’t be manipulative in any way. Just offer it and eat it yourself, don’t negotiate, threaten, praise, or even talk about the food. Kids don’t have to take a bite or even touch it. Unless they are very young and can’t feed themselves, don’t get enmeshed or chase them with the food. It is important to find the right balance between offering help when they need it and being too involved. Let them do what they can do and help them advance to the next level of eating. At the end of the meal, give everyone age-appropriate jobs for helping to clean up. Finally, please be sure to keep all electronic devices away from the table for the duration of the meal, including phones and TV, plus any low-tech distractions, like books. This is a time for everyone to come to the table at the end of the day and reconnect over a shared meal.

I hope I have inspired you to start planning, cooking, and eating family meals. Whether you’re cooking for a family of one or six, you can make family dinners on weeknights. Start with structure, approach the process with enthusiasm about planning, shopping, cooking, eating, and feeding, and then try some of my family’s favorite recipes from the Family Dinner Menu and the accompanying recipe cards on our show notes page at Gelsons.com.

Five Seasonal Seasonings

When my older daughter was a toddler, she was fascinated with herbs and spices. She would stand in front of our under-counter spice cabinet, one by one, unscrew the lid of each jar, sniff its contents, screw the lid back on, replace the jar, and move on to the next spice. Occasionally she would stick her finger or tongue into a jar and taste the spice, too. In the cutest way possible she was exploring the seasonings that contribute flavor and depth to the foods we eat. Herbs and spices minimize the need for us to add excessive amounts of salt to foods, and preliminary research is showing that they may add health benefits, as well. Many seasonings are concentrated sources of protective antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. Phytonutrients are plant nutrients that may be beneficial for health, so you can potentially reap big nutritional benefits just by eating small amounts of herbs and spices. Today, I’m highlighting five of the most nutritious, versatile, and delicious seasonings: Cilantro, cinnamon, garlic, ginger, and turmeric.

Cilantro

Let’s start with cilantro and coriander. This one is one of the most interesting to me. Cilantro and coriander are parts of the same plant, making it both an herb and a spice. The leaves and stems are called cilantro and the seeds are called coriander. The plant contains over 13 phytonutrients, including quercetin and limonene. Both the herb and spice may aid in blood sugar control. They may also help fight cancer and help you secrete digestive enzymes. Cilantro and coriander contain iron, magnesium, and manganese.

Some people carry a gene that makes cilantro taste like soap, but to other people it has a pleasantly pungent, fresh, green flavor. Coriander is one of the main ingredients in curry powder and is therefore commonly used in Indian and Asian cuisines. Both the herb and spice are also used in Mexican, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern cooking. You can add them to salsas, soups, stews, curries, salads, vegetables, beans, fish, and chicken dishes.

Cinnamon

Next is everyone’s favorite: Cinnamon. It contains cinnamaldehyde, an essential oil that gives it both its flavor and aroma. Studies have shown it may be beneficial for blood sugar control and insulin sensitivity in people with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Additionally, cinnamaldehyde has antibacterial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory activity. Other studies have shown that smelling cinnamon may boost brain activity (be careful not to snort it, though)! The spice also contains calcium, iron, manganese, and fiber.

You can sprinkle cinnamon powder in cereal, smoothies, and coffee. It can be used in baking and to season meats. I use cinnamon to add flavor to my oatmeal so that I don’t need to add any sweetener. Cinnamon can be combined with turmeric, ginger, and cumin to make a Middle Eastern-flavored seasoning for meat, poultry, and vegetables. Check out my recipe that uses this mixture on our Show Notes page. It’s called Fall Flavored Vegetables.

Garlic

Another popular seasoning is garlic, which is the bulb of the underground stem where the garlic plant stores its food. It contains sulfur compounds called allyl sulfides that may help prevent the growth of certain cancerous tumors. The sulfides can also help reduce cholesterol and make the blood less sticky, thereby possibly reducing the risk of stroke and heart attack. These sulfur compounds may also help boost our immune systems. Garlic is rich in the antioxidant mineral selenium, which is important for immune function and cancer prevention.

The key to reaping all of garlic’s health benefits is crushing, chopping, or slicing the cloves before using in order to release these phytonutrients. Whole garlic cloves do not contain the active forms of allyl sulfides. Allow prepared garlic to sit for ten to 15 minutes before cooking with it. You can hardly ever go wrong with garlic; add it to any savory dish to enhance the flavor. It goes especially well with other vegetables, meats, and fish.

Ginger

Ginger might not be as popular as the three seasonings I’ve already discussed, but it is very healthful! The beneficial phytonutrients in ginger are gingerols and shogaols. These two phytonutrients are responsible for ginger’s pungent/hot flavor. They also work directly on the digestive tract to aid in digestion and calm motion sickness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and gas. Gingerols and shogaols also seem to be responsible for the anti-inflammatory activity of ginger. Ginger is often used in Chinese medicine to help treat inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis. The mild anti-inflammatory properties may also be useful for controlling migraines, chronic pain, muscle aches, and arthritis. Finally, these powerful phytonutrients may help some people recover from colds and flus when drunk as a tea. A word of caution, however: individuals with gallstones and those with blood-clotting disorders or on blood thinners should not self-medicate with ginger supplements and should eat ginger sparingly.

Ginger comes in many forms, ranging from fresh ginger root, dried powdered ginger, crystallized ginger, pickled ginger (which you eat with your sushi), ginger juice, ginger beer, and powdered ginger extracts in dietary supplements. It can also be used in a variety of ways. As a seasoning, fresh ginger can be peeled and minced, like garlic, and cooked with foods. In powdered form, it can be used in baking and cooking. Crystallized ginger is often eaten plain or used in desserts. For tummy troubles, try Reed’s Extra Ginger Beer (it’s non-alcoholic) or combine one tablespoon each ginger juice (made with a garlic press), lime juice, and honey.

Turmeric

The final seasoning I’m highlighting today is turmeric. This may be the most unfamiliar spice for most listeners. It comes from a rhizome (an underground stem), much like ginger. We have fresh turmeric in our produce departments at Gelsons. It looks like mini ginger roots, but it is bright orange on the inside instead of pale yellow. It is usually dried and ground and added to curry powder and is what gives curry its bright golden color. Curcumin is the phytonutrient in turmeric that makes it one of the healthiest spices in the world. Some preliminary studies have shown that this antioxidant and anti-inflammatory may help prevent certain cancers. Curcumin’s anti-inflammatory properties may also help in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, and possibly other auto-immune diseases. Though research is only in the preliminary stages, there even seems to be an association between turmeric intake and decreased risk or Alzheimer’s disease, as people in India consume large quantities of turmeric daily and have much lower rates of the disease than we do. Turmeric also contains vitamins B6 and C, iron, potassium, and manganese.

I try to add turmeric powder to my cooking whenever possible. I add it to my Favorite Homemade Granola recipe, along with cinnamon and allspice, and I use it to season fish and soups. If you don’t care for the taste, add it to strongly flavored sauces, where its presence will not be detected. You can also cook with curry powder since it contains turmeric and has a more familiar, less astringent flavor. Yellow mustard usually contains turmeric.

Fresh herbs are always my first choice, but dried herbs are usually a fine substitute. Dried spices and herbs should only be stored for one year at the most from the time they are opened. Older spices lose their potency and flavor if they are stored for longer than that (ground cloves and coriander only keep for half a year). I try to replace my spices yearly around this time of year, when I do more entertaining and cooking for holidays and want to make sure that my recipes are as flavorful as possible.

Although most people think of herbs and spices as a way to add flavor and interest to recipes, they actually add nutrients and healthful properties, as well. Of course more research needs to be done to confirm the health benefits of herbs and spices, it is clear that they are nutritious and flavorful. I urge you to become more adventurous with your seasonings and try cooking more ethnic and highly spiced foods. Marinades made with olive oil, vinegar, herbs and spices (fresh or dried) or dry rubs are a great way to start experimenting. Additionally, play with seasoning your vegetables with more than just salt and pepper. For flavorful ideas and inspiration, check out my Seasoning Suggestions chart and try my herb- and spice-rich recipes this month, all available on Gelsons.com.

Q: What other herbs and spices are especially healthful?

A: Cloves, parsley, rosemary, oregano, mint, and all forms of hot peppers, both fresh and dried seem to have the potential to improve our health. You can read more about these seasonings, too in my October Nutrition Notes newsletter on Gelsons.com

Seasoning Suggestions for Common Foods

Protein Foods

Spices

Beans and legumes

Basil, bay leaf, cayenne, chiles, cilantro, coriander, cumin, garlic, marjoram, oregano, paprika, parsley, rosemary, thyme, turmeric

Beef

Bay leaf, cayenne, chiles, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, curry, dill, garlic, ginger, mustard, paprika, marjoram, mustard, oregano, paprika, parsley, rosemary, savory, thyme

Fish and Seafood

Allspice, anise, bay leaf, cayenne, chives, coriander, cumin, curry, dill, fennel, garlic, ginger, marjoram, mustard, oregano, paprika, parsley, pepper, tarragon, thyme, turmeric

Lamb

Allspice, basil, coriander, curry, garlic, marjoram, mint, mustard, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, savory, thyme, turmeric

Pork

Allspice, bay leaf, caraway, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, fennel, garlic, ginger, marjoram, mint, mustard, nutmeg, paprika, parsley, pepper, savory, tarragon, thyme

Poultry

Allspice, basil, bay leaf, cayenne, chiles, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, curry, dill, garlic, ginger, marjoram, mustard, nutmeg, oregano, paprika, parsley, pepper, rosemary, sage, savory, tarragon, thyme, turmeric

Vegetables

Beets

Allspice, anise, caraway, chives, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, fennel, ginger, mint, mustard, nutmeg, parsley

Broccoli

Basil, garlic, mustard, nutmeg, sage, savory, pepper

Brussels Sprouts

Chives, garlic, marjoram, mustard, parsley, pepper

Carrots

Allspice, anise, cardamom, chervil, chives, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, dill, garlic, ginger, mint, mustard, nutmeg, parsley, rosemary, tarragon, thyme

Cauliflower

Cumin, curry, garlic, ginger, mustard, nutmeg, parsley, pepper, tarragon, thyme, turmeric

Eggplant

Basil, cumin, garlic, marjoram, nutmeg, oregano, parsley, pepper, sage, savory, tarragon, thyme

Green Beans

Basil, dill, marjoram, mint, mustard, oregano, rosemary, tarragon

Mushrooms

Basil, cardamom, chervil, dill, garlic, nutmeg, oregano, parsley, pepper, savory, tarragon

Peas

Basil, chervil, chives, coriander, dill, ginger, mint, parsley, pepper, sage, tarragon, thyme

Spinach

Allspice, basil, cardamom, cayenne, chervil, coriander, dill, garlic, nutmeg, parsley, pepper

Summer Squash

Basil, chiles, cilantro, dill, garlic, marjoram, oregano, parsley, pepper, tarragon, thyme

Sweet Potatoes and Winter Squash

Allspice, cardamom, chiles, cilantro, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, ginger, marjoram, nutmeg, pepper, sage, savory, thyme

Tomatoes

Basil, chervil, chiles, chives, cilantro, coriander, cumin, dill, garlic, ginger, marjoram, mint, oregano, parsley, pepper, sage, savory, tarragon, thyme

Note: Not all herbs and spices listed with each food combine well with each other.

Fearsome Food News

Today I want to address all of the scary food news that we’ve been hearing lately about the association between processed meats, red meats, and certain carbohydrates with cancer. It’s certainly not news that ham and French fries aren’t health foods, but all of this negative food press can make us feel like there’s nothing safe to eat anymore. If you feel confused and worried about what you’re eating, I want to help guide listeners towards the healthiest approach to eating these potentially carcinogenic foods and offer some ideas for healthful alternatives.

First, here’s some background on the recent report that made so many headlines.

The World Health Organization (WHO) released a report in October stating that there is convincing evidence that eating too much processed meat can increase the risk of colon and rectal (and possibly stomach) cancer.

The report also said that red meat is probably carcinogenic, as it is positively associated with pancreatic and prostate cancers. Although this is not exactly new or surprising news, the recent report has had the benefit of getting people to pay more attention to what they are eating, as few people may have realized that regular consumption of turkey deli meat (for example) could increase their colon cancer risk.

I think it’s worth assessing how much and how often you eat red meat and processed meat. Although the lifetime risk of developing colorectal, pancreatic, and stomach cancers is low for most of us, the more often we eat processed and red meats, the more our risk of developing these cancers increases.

So what exactly is processed meat?

Processed meat is defined as meat that has been transformed through salting, curing, smoking, fermenting, or the addition of nitrates or other chemical preservatives. Poultry; fish; and Red meat, which includes beef, veal, pork, lamb, mutton, and goat; can all be processed meats.

Here are some specific examples of processed meats.

 Processed Meats

• Hot dogs*
• Sausage
• Bacon
• Turkey bacon
• Canadian bacon
• Pepperoni
• Ham
• Prosciutto
• Jamon
• Cold cuts or deli lunch meats* (such as roast beef, turkey, pastrami, corned beef, bologna)
• Salami
• Jerky
• Smoked fish

*including meats made with natural nitrates from celery juice

You don’t have to give up processed meats completely, but you should eat them infrequently—once or twice a month. That’s going to be easy for some people who already eat them on occasion, but harder for people who eat a turkey sandwich for lunch every day or have a side of bacon with their eggs every morning. The same goes for red meat; you don’t have to give it up, but aim for a limit of eating it about once a week. When you do eat red meat, try to avoid charring the outside and cooking it over very high heat, as this causes the formation of additional carcinogens. Grass-fed beef and lamb is also preferable, since the meat from these animals contains anti-inflammatory omega-3 fats that are not present in conventionally raised meats.

Here are six ways that you can reduce your intake of processed and red meats:

1. Eat them on special occasions, like holidays, vacations, celebratory meals, and at sporting events. Think about having a hot dog at a baseball game, a steak at your birthday dinner, or some bacon at a Sunday brunch with some friends. Plan for these occasions rather than making a hamburger or pepperoni pizza your default meal.

1. Use beans and lentils in soups, stews and chili instead of ham, sausage, and bacon.
2. Flavor your mixed dishes with fresh herbs, garlic, onion, and dried spices instead of sausage.
3. If you frequently eat eggs with a side of bacon, turn your eggs into an omelet filled with a variety of sautéed vegetables and skip the bacon.
4. Try to eat more vegetarian meals. Two a day should be your goal. Instead of red meat, try beans, legumes, edamame, tofu, eggs, yogurt, milk, cottage cheese, nut butters, nuts, seeds, fresh turkey, chicken and fish.
5. Substitute some of my suggested Processed Meat Alternatives for your deli meat sandwiches (discuss table). Visit gelsons.com for my recipes for tuna salad, egg salad, turkey salad, curried chicken salad, Chickpea spread, almond butter and banana blueberry tartines and more!

Processed Meat Alternatives for Sandwiches and Wraps

• Tuna Salad
• Salmon Salad
• Egg salad
• Fresh chicken breast
• Fresh turkey breast
• Turkey salad or chicken salad
• Hummus
• Cheese
• Beans
• Nut butters

If you’re interested in lowering your overall cancer risk but are wondering what to eat in place of your regular turkey sandwich, there are plenty of healthful alternatives! Please first consider vegetarian alternatives, since eating a plant-based diet, such as the Mediterranean Diet (which includes at least two vegetarian meals a day), has been shown to be the most cancer-protective eating pattern.

As for burnt toast and crispy French fries, starchy foods that are well-cooked using high heat causes the formation of a substance called acrylamide, a “probable carcinogen” according to WHO. You can and should limit your intake of potato chips, French fries, and other deep fried foods, and try not to burn your toast. As with red and processed meats, these are foods to eat occasionally, not daily.

When it comes to eating to prevent cancer, your overall diet pattern is the most important factor. If you eat a mostly plant-based, Mediterranean-style diet most of the time, then eating a hot dog or crispy French fries once in a while will probably not cause cancer. Eating red meat, processed meat, and well-cooked starches in moderation and without fear or guilt is the best and most realistic approach, since what you eat most of the time will have a much greater impact on your health than foods you eat only occasionally.

Q &A

Q: What foods are on the processed meats list that surprised you?

A: I think the smoked fish, like lox, was the most surprising. Also, the deli meats made with celery juice was a bit of a surprise.

Q: Do you ever eat any processed meats, and if so, what, and how often?

Recipes for Show notes Page:

Tuna Salad

Egg Salad

Turkey Salad

Chicken Salad 

Hummus  

Almond Butter

Satiety Strategies Part 1

Being hungry is not fun.  It’s uncomfortable and distracting and it is a major reasons why people struggle with their weight.  People experience hunger in different ways: some individuals can tolerate or even ignore hunger pangs, while even the slightest twinge of hunger can feel like an emergency to others.  There’s no simple reason to explain those differences.  Hormones, gut bacteria (microbiota), sensory processing, past experiences with starvation, emotions, and even the childhood feeding environment can affect how we sense and respond to hunger.

Satiety is the state of feeling satisfied after eating.  As you would imagine, it’s a crucial component of weight control, since hunger is a fundamental reason for eating.  About 65% of Americans are on a diet at any given time, and of those dieters, two out of three admit that they are driven to “cheat” on their diet because of hunger. 

Hunger can undermine any attempts at healthful eating.  I’ll tell you a personal story about one of my more memorable experiences with hunger.  I recently had such a busy day traveling among stores for work that I inadvertently skipped lunch.  By the time I got to my last store at 3:00 p.m., I was ready to eat anything that wasn’t nailed down!  I ordered a slice of pizza and scarfed it down while standing over a trash can—not my finest moment as a dietitian. That experience was a good reminder of how powerful hunger can be.  I naturally incorporate several satiety strategies into my daily eating, so I sometimes forget how hard it can be to make a good choice at a meal if I feel ravenous. 

Weight control is really complex, with many factors influencing success.  Of course, we all want easy answers for weight loss like “eat fewer calories than you burn,” “use your willpower,” “cut out carbs,” or “eat like a caveman.”  But, those simple recommendations just don’t address the causes of overweight and will not afford long-term success.  For successful weight control, we need to take into account all of the different and complicated factors that affect appetite and satiety.

Blood Sugar Control

I have long said that everyone should eat as though they already have diabetes in order to prevent it and many other chronic diseases.  It is also an excellent strategy for weight control.  Processed carbohydrates from foods made with flour or sugar and carbohydrate-heavy meals all require your pancreas to secrete a hormone called insulin to collect and deliver sugar to your cells for energy.  Insulin also tells your body to store fat.  People who are insulin resistant or diabetic also become hungry when there is excess insulin floating in their blood, while the rest of us may experience a “crash” or blood sugar low after eating these types of foods, which can also trigger hunger and cravings for sweets and carbohydrate rich foods.  Eating to control blood sugar is a good way for everyone to get a handle on appetite control.  I’m going to talk more about eating to control blood sugar in my next podcast, but you can review this topic in depth with my tenth podcast called “Shaking off Sweets”.  In a nutshell, you need to eat balanced meals that contain protein, some minimally processed carbohydrates, and some healthful fat—and you need to eat three meals a day.

Good Gut Bacteria

Our microbiome--the community of bacteria that live in our guts--is emerging as an influential factor in satiety.  The microbiome can influence our appetite, metabolism, and even the number of calories we absorb from food.  Obese people have higher representations of less desirable strains of bacteria, as well as fewer varieties of bacteria in their microbiomes.  Studies indicate that people who have the greatest diversity of good bacteria in their microbiomes experience greater satiety with eating, and tend to be leaner.   Eating a plant-based, vegetable-rich diet that also includes probiotic foods, like yogurt, can help to nurture a more diverse microbiome.  You can learn more about this topic by listening to my podcast “10 reasons to grow your good bacteria.”

Hunger Hormones

One factor that makes appetite even more complex are the hormones that are involved in appetite regulation.  Fat makes hormones and the more body fat you have, the more hormones you make.  There is really interesting evidence that being overweight actually increases your appetite and makes it harder to feel satisfied.  Furthermore, resistance to certain satiety hormones can develop in overweight individuals, making it harder to fill up and thus lose weight. 

If you think about what the implications of this cycle are, you can see how challenging it is to lose weight if the state of being overweight makes it harder to feel satisfied.  One way to break this cycle is by eating a more anti-inflammatory diet since this cascade of appetite hormones that overweight people experience is considered a pro-inflammatory condition.  Therefore, eating an anti-inflammatory, plant-based diet like the Mediterranean Diet is one approach that can help improve the situation.  My listeners know how much I love the Mediterranean Diet as a framework for healthful eating.  It’s great because it’s flexible and can be adjusted to fit your individual needs and preferences.  It’s pretty much already an anti-inflammatory diet, but you can add extra anti-inflammatory emphasis to it if you understand both diets.  I’ve covered the Mediterranean diet extensively in my first few podcasts, so you can go back and review them at anytime.  Here are some important things to know about anti-inflammatory eating:  most foods that grow on farms are anti-inflammatory and highly processed foods are pro-inflammatory.  Since the med diet is a plant based diet that emphasizes minimally processed foods, you can see how easily these eating styles fit together.

In order to combat inflammation, you need to replace most of the harmful pro-inflammatory foods in your diet with healthful, antioxidant-rich anti-inflammatory foods.  Pro-inflammatory foods, which should be minimized or avoided are mainly unhealthy fats; processed foods; and processed foods that contain refined grains, sugars, and unhealthy fats. 

Make vegetables, fruit, whole intact grains, beans, legumes and healthful fats the basis of your daily diet.  Produce (including herbs and spices) contains phytonutrients that have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties; grains, beans and legumes are nutritious slow-digesting carbohydrates and proteins that help to control blood sugar; and extra virgin olive oil, nuts, and fatty fish are rich in monounsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids, which are strongly anti-inflammatory.  Try to eat plant proteins, like beans, lentils, and nuts instead of animal proteins.  You can still eat fish and seafood, organic yogurt, cheese, milk, and eggs several times a week--but not necessarily daily, and poultry and red meat even less frequently, as it is better to reduce your consumption of animal products if you’re trying to reduce inflammation.

Now that you understand some of the factors that can influence appetite and satiety, tune in next time when I’ll discuss some more concrete strategies for planning satisfying meals and snacks.

Q: What are some of the most satisfying foods you can recommend to our listeners?

Top Satisfying foods

Almonds

Apples

Avocado

Beans and bean soups

Chia seeds

Eggs

Fatty fish such as salmon and sablefish

Greek yogurt (plain)

Oatmeal

Water

The Care and Feeding of your Good Bacteria 22

Today I‘m going to talk about a topic that I’ve been following for a few years and I think we finally know enough about to make some useful dietary recommendations. I’m going to tell you about the care and feeding of your good bacteria.

Believe it or not, the bacteria in your gut could hold the key to your health. There are over 100 trillion microbes living on us and inside us and they can influence factors as far reaching as appetite, mood, and even mental health. I have been fascinated for the last few years with this emerging area of research into what is called the human microbiota, or microbiome.

The terms microbiota and microbiome may be unfamiliar to a lot of listeners, so before I go any further, I want to explain them.

The human gut microbiota is defined as the trillions of microscopic organisms (including bacteria, viruses, and fungi) –some good and some bad – living in the digestive tract of the human body.   And the microbiome is the whole community of microbes, or the collective “genome” of the microbiota (bacteria have genes, too!). There are usually over 1,000 different species of microbes in this diverse community, which used to be referred to as “flora”. Normally, the bacteria live in harmony with the human body and are, in fact, essential to human survival.

By some estimates, we have more than three times the number of microbial cells in our bodies than we do human cells – in a way, we are more microbial than human! – though our collective microbiota only weighs about two and a half pounds.

Humans’ microbiomes have evolved over thousands of years, but they seem to have changed significantly over the last few decades, which some researchers believe has contributed to the rise in autoimmune diseases, food allergies, asthma, and even obesity. They attribute this striking change to a handful of lifestyle factors, including a diet comprised of highly processed, industrialized food, aka the “Western Diet,” and an overly clean and sanitized environment that overuses antibiotics and antibacterial products.

You’re probably wondering why I’m telling you all this? Well, I know the beginning of the year is the time that most people shift their focus from holiday eating to losing weight and eating better. Instead of putting yourself on a restrictive eating plan or a fad diet, I want listeners to instead focus on gut goodness. Set your sights on promoting the balance and diversity of your gut bacteria to influence your weight and health.

Our microbiota can influence:

Our immune systems

Inflammation

Moods and behavior

Aging

Diabetes, metabolic syndrome

Obesity and weight loss

Cancer risk

Digestive health and regularity

How well we absorb nutrients from our food

And even susceptibility to allergies

I’m not going to discuss the relationship between the microbiome and each of these aspects of health, but I will say that on a basic level, it’s probably easy to see how having a strong and diverse microbiome can keep you healthy by fighting off pathogens that you might eat or swallow and also how it can keep your digestive tract healthy. On a much more complex level, the microbial composition of the gut can affect parts of our bodies as far away as the brain! The gut microbiome can influence how our brain processes behaviors related to stress, mood, pain, and cognition in conditions such as depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, and anxiety. How fascinating is that?

Suffice it to say that all of the ways our microbiome has the potential to influence our health is extremely complex and still very much unknown. In some instances, our microbiome may influence the onset of disease while, in others, disease may be altering our microbiomes. Either way, many researchers believe that promoting balance in our individual gut bacteria may be an important way to prevent or treat an amazing array of conditions and diseases.

Ok, by now I hope I’ve convinced you that you should be thinking about how to influence your microbiome in order to improve your health.

Here’s how you can achieve and Maintain Microbial Balance:

First, let me tell you what not to do!

Poor nutrition (especially, a high fat diet, a high sugar diet or a low-fiber diet) is terrible for your microbiota! Also, antibiotics, stress, inflammation, and a few other factors can negatively affect the diversity and robustness of our microbiota. We all encounter at least one of these issues sporadically in our lifetimes and in reality, it’s just part of life—sometimes you have no choice but to take an antibiotic and life can be very stressful at times. That’s why having a resilient bacterial community in place to help protect our microbiome from undesirable, lasting changes is important for our long-term health.

The best way to influence your microbiota is through diet. We know that eating patterns can impact bacterial diversity. Plant-based diets, such as the Mediterranean Diet, as well as vegetarian and vegan diets are best for encouraging a good bacterial population that produces anti-inflammatory substances called short chain fatty acids (SCFAs). People whose diets consist of mostly vegetables, fruits, beans, legumes, and grains tend to have well-balanced microbiomes. These eating patterns are also associated with good overall health and lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers, overweight, and obesity. As most of my listeners already know, I recommend the Mediterranean Diet as the best framework for healthful eating. It emphasizes two vegetarian meals a day and extra virgin olive oil as its main fat, but is flexible so that fish, poultry, and meat can be eaten weekly. It is an enjoyable diet and most people are successful with this eating pattern because of its flexibility. You can change your microbiota quickly by changing your diet, but maintaining those changes for the long-term will be the key to life-long health benefits.

There are three specific dietary factors that can alter your microbiome: (1) Fiber, (2) Probiotic foods and possibly supplements, and (3) Animal flesh and saturated fat.

Dietary fiber plays a key role in influencing and nourishing your gut bacteria. Specific types of fiber that are only digestible in the large intestine are called prebiotics, and these are the desirable types for growing our good bacteria. (Other types of fiber are good for other purposes, so don’t exclude them simply because they don’t have prebiotic properties.) Naturally fiber-rich foods, such as vegetables, fruits, beans, legumes, nuts, seeds, and grains, provide nourishment for gut bacteria to flourish. When our gut bacteria ferment the fibers in these foods, they produce desirable SCFAs that promote the microbial diversity we are seeking to help prevent inflammation and chronic diseases. Our goal should be to eat a wide variety of naturally fiber-rich foods (not fiber-enriched processed foods). The average American who eats a typical Western Diet that is high in processed and refined packaged foods and low in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains consumes about 15 grams of dietary fiber a day, while our goal should be between 25 to 38 grams of fiber a day depending on age and sex. If you’re not currently eating a lot of fiber, it’s important to increase the amount of fiber in your diet slowly to prevent gas and bloating. You also need to increase the amount of water you drink as you up your fiber intake. Approach this fiber increase seriously, since if you develop gas and bloating by increasing your fiber too quickly, you may be more likely to give up on this important endeavor.

Probiotics are good microbes that we can eat or take in supplement form to help introduce new species of microbes into our systems. Probiotic foods are important for supporting bacterial diversity in our microbiomes. They are found in cultured foods such as yogurt, kefir that say “live and active cultures” on the package, and in lower concentrations in cultured foods such as Kombucha, cultured butter, buttermilk, and cultured cheeses like cream cheese and crème fraiche. Probiotics are also found in fermented foods like unpasteurized sauerkraut, pickles, and kimchi, and miso, tempeh and sourdough bread. A list of probiotic foods and a listing of specific foods at Gelson’s that contain live and active cultures can both be found on the show notes page at gelsons.com. Try to eat at least one probiotic food daily, but experiment with different foods and even brands of yogurt and kefir to see which strains of bacteria make you feel your best. If eating fermented foods on a regular basis is not possible, consider a probiotic supplement, especially if you are taking antibiotics. Please keep in mind that the research in this area is still very young and we need more studies to confirm what certain strains and brands of probiotic supplements can—and can’t--do for us. These recommendations are general and are intended for healthy adults; individuals with compromised immune systems and those undergoing cancer treatment should not take probiotic supplements. Everyone should consult with their physician before beginning to take a probiotic supplement.

Finally, consider the dietary factors you need to minimize in order to nourish your microbiome. Red meat (from beef, pork, and lamb) contains a nutrient that certain bacteria break down into a dangerous substance that can increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Eating red meat up to once a week (as is recommended on the Mediterranean Diet) should not be problematic, so long as you are also eating a mostly plant-based diet. Eating red meat regularly, however, can be unhealthy for your microbiome and your heart. Additionally, saturated fat from animal flesh sources such as fatty steaks and chicken skin, can be problematic for our microbiome. Eating significant amounts of saturated animal fats as part of your regular diet (as is common in a typical Western Diet) can reduce the diversity of gut bacteria and may encourage the proliferation of bacteria that are associated with inflammation and obesity. Eating a mostly plant-based diet that contains high-quality carbohydrates most of the time will allow room for an occasional steak or hamburger without disrupting the homeostasis of your microbiota.

The microbiome is a fascinating area of study that has the potential to reveal many new ways to influence our health and even treat diseases. We are still a long way off from knowing what that each person’s right balance of bacteria is, BUT there are ways to influence the balance and diversity of the bacteria in our guts through our diets, lifestyles, and environments. Changing these factors has the potential to improve our general health and wellness. Additionally, what we do know about eating to promote the diversity of the vast ecosystem that lives in our guts is in line with another significant dietary recommendation to support overall health: eat a plant-based diet like the Mediterranean Diet. To learn more about the Mediterranean Diet, download my first few Nutrition Bytes podcast or pick up a copy of my Healthy Living Guide at your local Gelson’s. Wishing you a happy, healthy, and (good) bacteria-filled new year!

Q&A

Q: can you talk more about specific foods that are good for our gut bacteria?

A: So, I talked about the importance of eating fiber-rich foods for feeding our bacteria, but there are some specific foods that are really nourishing:

Vegetables

Jerusalem artichokes, chicory, garlic, onion, leek, shallots, spring onion, asparagus, beetroot, fennel bulb, green peas, snow peas, sweetcorn, savoy cabbage, and mushrooms

Legumes

Chickpeas, lentils, red kidney beans, baked beans, soybeans

Fruit

Cherimoyas, nectarines, white peaches, persimmon, watermelon, grapefruit, pomegranate.  Dried fruit (e.g. Prunes, dates, figs)

Bread / cereals / snacks

Barley, rye bread, rye crackers, pasta, gnocchi, couscous, wheat bran, wheat bread, oats

Nuts and seeds

Cashews, pistachio nuts

Other

Human breast milk

Notes:

List January recipes

Mediterranean Chicken

https://www.gelsons.com/cooking/recipes/new/Mediterranean%20Chicken

Banana Walnut Oatmeal

http://www.gelsons.com/cooking/recipes/all%20recipes/Banana%20Walnut%20Oatmeal

Tzatziki

http://www.gelsons.com/cooking/recipes/Portals/Tzatziki

Link to Episodes 1, 2, and 3 on the Mediterranean Diet

http://www.gelsons.com/nutritionbytes/001

http://www.gelsons.com/nutritionbytes/002

http://www.gelsons.com/nutritionbytes/003

Boost Your Immune System

Were heading into prime cold and flu season now, so today I want to talk about things you can do to boost your immune system to help keep yourself health this winter. We’re all more susceptible to getting sick in the winter since we’re spending more time in dry indoor environments where we have more exposure to other peoples’ germs, and our protective mucous membranes are weakened when they are dried out. The holidays can also increase our stress levels and interfere with our sleep and digestion, which leaves us even more vulnerable to illnesses. Of course, our eating habits can also suffer during the winter months, especially during the holidays when nutritious foods tend be replaced by more “special occasion” foods. A less-than-optimal diet can lead to nutrient deficiencies, which in turn significantly weakens our immunity.

Now I’m going to share some specific dietary components and lifestyle strategies that you may want to incorporate right now to give your immune system a little boost in defending itself against winter bugs:

Antioxidants, specifically vitamins A, C, and E, are a key line of defense against immune system invaders since they keep our skin and outer mucous membranes healthy so they can block any germs that try to enter our bodies. They also help repair cells inside the body. Top food sources of vitamin A include carrots, orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, and kale. Good sources for vitamin C are red bell peppers, broccoli, kale, cantaloupe, citrus fruits, strawberries, and kiwi. And you can get vitamin E from nuts, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, avocado, and olive oil. If you want to make a delicious recipe that includes foods that contain all these antioxidants, I have a delicious recipe called Local Strawberry, Kale, and Avocado Salad* (please note that some of the ingredients for this recipe may not be available from local sources in the winter).

Vitamin D plays an important role in immune system function; in fact, there is some evidence that people with the lowest levels of vitamin D are more likely to catch a cold. Really, the best sources of vitamin D are sunlight and supplements. But egg yolks, salmon, sardines, and tuna, as well as fortified mushrooms, milk, and cereal also contain some vitamin D. Honestly, though, it is very difficult to get adequate vitamin D through diet alone. Since it is almost impossible to get enough sun in the winter, even here in sunny Southern California, you may want to consider a daily vitamin D3 supplement. The best way to determine your optimal dose is to have your physician test your blood levels and recommend a supplemental dose based on your current level.

The next group of nutrient to focus on are the trace minerals Zinc, iron, and selenium. They are all immune-boosting minerals found together in egg yolks, whole grains, lentils, chicken, turkey, beef, fish, and seafood. They work together to help produce white blood cells and other immune-protecting cells. Our bodies only need small amounts of these nutrients (that’s why they’re called trace minerals), so it’s not necessary to increase your portions of these foods or take supplements. So little is needed that target levels can easily be reached by eating a variety of the foods listed here. For a delicious recipe that includes foods with all these minerals, plus some omega-3s, try my recipe for Miso and Truffle-Glazed Sea Bass*.

Beta glucans, a type of soluble fiber that enhances the immune system can be found in mushrooms and some whole grains, like oats and barley. Mushrooms, such as the shiitake, oyster, enoki, Portobello, and maitake varieties, are usually touted for their immune-boosting powers, and these large carbohydrate molecules are the reason. They may help increase the number and activity of immune cells and defend against bacteria and viruses that enter the system. Make a satisfying pot of my Mushroom Barley Soup for a beta-glucan boost.*

Something else to consider are Probiotics. These are the live and active cultures found in yogurt and other fermented dairy products, like kefir. Certain probiotic cultures can help to strengthen the body’s defenses by populating the gut with “good” bacteria. Our digestive tract is considered the largest immune organ in the body. Probiotic bacteria, as well as our stomach acid, can help to fight off germs we ingest. Taking a probiotic supplement such as Culturelle and/or eating a good quality yogurt or kefir every day can help populate your gut with immune-enhancing bacteria. Look for dairy products that say “contains live and active cultures” on the container.

You know, I have to put in a good word for water. Water is important for optimal hydration, which helps keep nasal passages and other mucous membranes moist so that they can act as barriers to bacterial and viral invaders. Water is also important for helping your immune system run smoothly. Drink plenty of water throughout the day.

That’s all I have in the diet section, and I just have a few lifestyle tips to help with keeping yourself healthy.

The first is actually the most important recommendation of all. It’s washing your hands frequently. Use soap and water and rub your hands together vigorously for 20 seconds (or sing “Happy Birthday” twice) to kill all the bacteria that can cause colds, flus, and diarrhea. Be mindful of what you touch and try to avoid touching your face, especially your mouth, nose, and eyes, as much as possible since they are common points of entry for infections.

The next recommendation for helping to maintain a healthy immune system is for moderate, regular exercise, especially yoga and walking. Both have stress-reduction benefits, which can help free up our immune systems to make more powerful disease-fighting cells. Yoga seems to be especially helpful for those prone to respiratory problems, like colds, asthma, allergies, and chest infections. If you’re already sick though, try to stay out of the gym or yoga studio, since it’s bad karma to spread your germs and you may run down your immune system even more. Surprisingly, intense or prolonged workouts can actually weaken the immune system, so don’t overdo it.

This final tip is the one I want to focus on most right now, Kris. It’s for getting adequate sleep since sleep helps your body repair itself and boost the number of killer cells your immune system makes to fight off illness. Even minor sleep deprivation can suppress our immune systems. Most of us need seven to nine hours of shut-eye each night.

The best cold and flu protection is integral: try to eat a variety of nutritious foods, engage in regular aerobic exercise, drink plenty of water, attain adequate sleep each night, and have fun this holiday season. Laughing can help boost your immune system, too!

Q &A

Q: Do you have any other recipes that you use when you get sick to help you get better?

A: Absolutely! An important recipe in my family is for chicken soup. We eat it pretty often when someone in my family is sick and my mom always has some in the freezer. Our family’s recipe is on our website. It’s called Nana’s chicken noodle soup. Lately, we’ve been turning this into a whole meal by adding in cauliflower florets and golden enoki mushrooms at the end. I also make a garlic and ginger tea when I have a cold, since these foods seem to have anti-viral properties. I slice up two cloves of fresh garlic and dice about an inch of fresh ginger, boil them in 1 cup of water for five minutes, then strain it into a mug with 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon of honey. It’s a very healing tea to drink when you’re feeling awful!

Recipes for Show Notes

Local Strawberry, Kale, and Avocado Salad http://gelsons.com/cooking/recipes/all%20recipes/Local%20Strawberry,%20Avocado%20&%20Kale%20Salad?search=local%20strawberry

Miso and Truffle-Glazed Sea Bass http://gelsons.com/cooking/recipes/all%20recipes/Miso%20and%20Truffle-Glazed%20Sea%20Bass?search=miso

Mushroom Barley Soup http://gelsons.com/cooking/recipes/all%20recipes/Mushroom%20Barley%20Soup?search=barley

Nana’s Chicken Noodle Soup http://gelsons.com/cooking/recipes/all%20recipes/Nana's%20Chicken%20Noodle%20Soup?search=nana

Contact

[email protected]

www.gelsons.com/nutritionbytes

I just returned from a fabulous vacation with my husband. We always joke that we just go from table to table when we are on vacation because food is such an important part of how we experience the places we are visiting. Whether I’m traveling for work or pleasure, I always like to enjoy the regional cuisine and try local specialties of the places I’m visiting—that meant jamon in Spain and gelato in Italy on my most recent vacation. And I was thinking that since so many listeners will be traveling over the upcoming holidays, it would be helpful to hear some of my strategies for eating healthfully while traveling.

First, I want to make the distinction between different purposes of traveling, because in my mind, your approach should be different depending on the type of travel you are doing. In my mind, I divide this topic into two categories:

Overall though, one important thing to keep in mind is that if you have an eating pattern that really works for you in your day-to-day life, then you know how good you can feel when you eat right. When you have a good eating plan in place, you don’t ever want to deviate from it too much because you don’t want to feel terrible while you’re traveling, especially if you’re on vacation! So my approach is to stick with my core healthy framework and give myself some extra flexibility.

When I’m on vacation, I like to relax my typical style of eating a bit. I don’t go crazy, but I do eat dessert more often, dip into the bread basket, and drink wine with more meals.

I like to sleep later whenever I can, so we typically end up sleeping through breakfast and going straight to lunch, so our calorie allotment in divided between two meals instead of among three meals, which can help to compensate for the little extra, bread, dessert, and wine. We are also a lot more active on vacation; we walk more if we are sightseeing and we swim more if we are just having a relaxing vacation with the kids. Being more active also helps compensate for some of the extra calories we consume.

I want listeners to understand that vacation eating doesn’t mean that all bets are off, it really means loosening up the structure and routine of your daily life to allow for more foods while maintaining your core eating structure.

When traveling for non-vacation purposes, it’s important to have a plan and lots of strategies for eating healthful meals and snacks. Although airport food is improving, you don’t want to find yourself stuck as a captive audience in an airport, or even worse an airplane and having to choose from mostly poor quality processed foods. I have some helpful strategies that will hopefully help you avoid that trap.

Try these strategies for all of your travels to help you eat your best so you can feel your best when you’re away from home.

A lot of listeners are probably thinking that you can make your own brown bag lunches at home to take on the plane, which is totally true if you are organized enough and have enough time to do it for your whole family yourself. I’m not that organized.

Another alternative is to do some research into the best food options for the airports you are using. There are tons of websites and articles online that provide this information.

I always buy a big bottle of water at the airport so I can drink throughout my flight. It’s really important to prevent dehydration, which can happen really easily on planes and I don’t want to have to wait for the beverage cart to get a tiny cup of water. By the way, it’s best to stick with water as your main beverage while flying, and while on the ground, most other beverages are too sugary, which isn’t great for your immune system, and alcohol is very dehydrating. If you get dehydrated, you’ll feel pretty bad by the time you get to your destination and it could set you up for constipation during your trip.

I know that many listeners will be traveling over the holidays. That means you’ll probably be having at least one holiday feast in addition to eating most of your meals at restaurants while you’re away. Planning ahead will be your best bet for eating healthfully and feeling your best on your holidays.

Whether you’re traveling for business or pleasure, try to incorporate the strategies I discussed here so you can stay healthy and feel great when you’re away from home.

Q: What do you eat if you are stuck with only airport food options?

A: I look for simple foods that I can combine to make a satisfying meal. Fresh fruit and nuts are always available. Starbucks oatmeal is what I eat most often because it means I’m at the airport early in the morning and haven’t had a chance to eat breakfast beforehand. You can add nuts, cinnamon and milk so it ends up being similar to what you would make at home and it’s a really satisfying way to kick off your travels. I will also buy a salad if it looks pretty fresh. Sandwiches are not my first choice, but if I do buy one, I try to only eat half of the bread to help control some of the sodium to prevent bloating. Choosing lower sodium foods is a priority for me since they can make you feel pretty awful when combined with a dehydrating plane flight. As I mentioned, I also buy a big bottle of water to drink throughout my flight to help prevent bloating, dehydration, and constipation. Doing some research on healthy dining choices at your airport terminals beforehand will help you make the best choices.

Contact

[email protected]

Can you believe holiday season is upon us already?  Are you ready for all of the holiday feasting?  Making it through the holidays without gaining weight is not about willpower; it’s about having a plan!  Keep in mind that a few holiday meals will not destroy your health or your weight; rather it is your overall eating pattern that is important for maintaining your general health, preventing disease, and achieving a healthy weight.

My philosophy is that if you eat healthfully 80% of the time, then there is absolutely room in your diet to eat holiday foods, too.  That works out to about three or four “special celebration” meals per week.  The other 17 or 18 meals should be well-planned, balanced, and healthful.  It can be close to impossible to lose weight during the holidays, but preventing weight gain is certainly an obtainable goal.  Set yourself up for success by aiming to keep your weight stable this month instead of planning to lose weight.  Don’t try to be virtuous.  I think it’s important to enjoy your food and the special holiday treats that are part of this season.  If you give yourself permission to eat the foods you love and maintain structure with all of your meals, you will be successful.  Here’s how that looks:

·      Make structured meals and snacks a priority.  Eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day, even if your previous meal was huge.  Eat at regular meal times and have snacks in between meals if you are hungry.  Skipping meals is not a way to compensate for eating too much and actually sets you up for overeating again.  Tune into your internal cues of hunger and satiety and eat the amount you are hungry for.  Breakfast is especially important because it influences your appetite and the healthfulness of your food choices for the rest of the day.

·      Next, make ceremony and pleasure part of your meals. Sit down, slow down, use dishes and silverware, take smaller bites, chew thoroughly, and savor your food.  The faster you eat the less attention you pay to your food and the more calories you consume.

·      Finally, try to have family meals where you eat with at least one other person—relative or friend.  Family meals and structured eating go hand-in-hand.  Both are associated with more nutritious diets and the likelihood of being at a healthy weight.

You can manage your weight by being prepared to take care of yourself and by being thoughtful about having really satisfying meals.  Planning all of your meals can help prevent you from skipping meals, eating haphazardly, or arriving at a party starving.  Having a plan, rather than relying on willpower will set you up to be successful with your eating this season.  I have some menu suggestions you can use as inspiration for your regular, nonspecial occasion meals and visit our shownotes page on gelsons.com to try the delicious recipes I’m going to discuss to see how satisfying it is to eat fresh, balanced, and regular meals.

Start your day right with breakfast!  Don’t even think about skipping this meal unless you are going to a brunch party.  To feel your best all day long, try to eat a balanced breakfast within an hour of waking up A balanced breakfast contains plenty of protein and fat and minimally processed carbohydrates.

Good options are scrambled eggs sautéed with vegetables like kale, mushrooms, and onions in olive oil and a slice of Ezekiel toast

Or for a nice dairy-free breakfast try oatmeal cooked with almond butter, chia seeds, and frozen cherries.

For midmorning snack, have something as easy and balanced as a handful or raw nuts.  You just need a little protein, fat and fiber to get you through until lunch.  My morning snack is a cup of coffee with steamed whole milk for some protein and fat.

Lunch should be a vegetable heavy meal with some protein and fat, as well.  Vegetables are nutritious and filling.  Try to make at least half of your plate vegetables at lunch and dinner.

I always prefer to have a vegetation lunch with lots of beans.  Salad bar with beans as my protein is my favorite feel-good lunch.  As it gets colder, a nice vegetarian chili or lentil soup with lots of vegetables would be a wonderfully satisfying option, too.  If you feel better when you eat more protein, then a tuna salad on a bed of greens with veggies and beans mixed in, would be a great choice.

A nice afternoon snack would be hummus for protein and fat (try to get yours made with olive oil) and some carrots and other crudités. Or you could do nuts and a piece of fruit again.

At dinner, I like to do lots of vegetables—at least two, but usually three—and some heavier protein, like fish or chicken, and maybe red meat once a week.  To get a good variety of veggies, you can mix it up with a salad, some roasted vegetables, and a vegetable that is cooked with your protein.  For instance a chicken stir fry with lots of veggies, some steamed sugar snap peas, and a side salad.  Or do a large salad and a protein, like fish on the side.  For example My Dried Fig, Goat cheese and arugula Salad and Wild salmon with orange olive tapenade are a nice combination.

I like to end my dinner with fruit for dessert on most nights.

Try to eat dessert as part of a full meal so the protein from the meal can slow the release of sugar into your system.  Aim to eat fresh fruit most days and more indulgent sweets 2-3 times a week.  

I believe that it’s important to fully enjoy the holidays by participating in the eating rituals and partaking of the special foods.  Healthful eating is really about the overall quality of your diet and having a healthy relationship with food.  In other words, eat foods that are lovingly made with the best possible ingredients and feel good about the foods you choose to eat so that you enjoy every bite of your holiday meals. Incorporate the strategies and menus that I discussed today.  With these tools, you can successfully savor and appreciate everything you eat without feeling out of control this holiday season.  Healthy holidays everyone!

Q: Any tips for handling holiday buffets?

A: Buffets can be challenging because they really encourage overeating.  It’s a proven fact that just the sheer variety of foods to choose from can lead to overeating because you want to try so many foods and you end up filling your plate with more foods than you normally would.  This is where the mindfulness and awareness practices I discussed can really be helpful.  Remember, you want to enjoy your holiday meals without feeling bad or guilty afterwards, but that doesn’t mean tearing into a buffet with reckless abandon.  Just take your time and make some informed decisions.  I recommend surveying the spread first, and maybe even asking people who went before you what was good.  Taste everything you want to taste, but really try to be critical about what you like.  In other words, if the stuffing is just so-so, don’t keep eating it.  Not all cookies that look delicious actually taste delicious.  Try to pay attention to how things taste and only eat what you are enjoying.  No matter how you end up handling your feast, resolve to not have any guilt or shame about what or how much you ate.  I want you to be able to look back on the meal and recall how much you enjoyed it.

Sauteed Kale With Wild Mushrooms

Cherry Almond Vanilla Oatmeal

Super Antioxidant Chili

Lentil Soup

Mediterranean Tuna Salad

Dried Fig, Goat Cheese and Arugula Salad

Wild Salmon With Orange-Olive Tapenade

Sautéed Brussels Sprouts with White Beans

Roasted Yams and Shallots

Asparagus and Chicken Stir-Fry 

Email Jessica at [email protected]

Gelson's Registered Dietitian, Jessica Siegel, has a Masters in Public Health. However, she is not a doctor and her nutritional recommendations are not tailored to specific health problems. Always consult your physician before beginning any nutritional program.

In this episode, Jessica tells us about her five favorite items that you can find in your pantry. (Including some bonuses!)

She really likes steel cut oats because they take longer to digest. She does also use the instant oats as well. Oats also help your “gut health.”

Jessica also likes muesli and granola. In fact she has her own recipe: My Favorite Homemade Granola.

When she can’t make it, she really likes the Boulder Organic Granola which she pairs with Strauss Family Organic Yogurt or Organic Valley Grassmilk, or Westsoy Organic Unsweetened Soy Milk. 

Oats are good for blood sugar when you add protein and fat. 

It’s one of Jessica’s main protein choices. It helps you to eat more vegetarian-based meals. 

You can add them to soups, quesadillas, salads, dips, etc. 

Beans are really high in antioxidants, have a lot of fiber, protein, and are a great source of iron. 

Sue uses both canned and dry beans.  

Try substituting meat with beans.  

Favorite canned beans are the S&W Organic beans. 

It’s a good main fat to use for cooking, dipping and making salad dressings. 

It has a lot of antioxidants. 

Favorite Olive Oil is the Napa Valley Naturals Organic Olive Oil. It’s good quality and flavor at a good price. 

These are great for snacking and can be added to granola. 

They have healthy fat and protein to help. 

Try adding chia seeds to oatmeal and granola. 

Healthy fats can help you control weight. Go for the raw, plain, unsalted nuts. 

Jessica recommends Blue Diamond 100 calorie packs. They’re portable and help with portion control. 

Cocoa should be the main ingredient in the chocolate you get. 

 It’s been shown to help prevent the oxidation of bad cholesterol and raise good cholesterol. 

It can also help to bring your risk for strokes down. 

Jessica recommends Green & Black Organic 85% Dark Chocolate. 

If you’re eating milk chocolate, make gradual adjustments over a week or so going up to the more intense chocolates. 

A little goes a long way. 

Do you have a list of your favorite foods that listeners can reference when they shop?

Jessica’s Healthy Shopping List

Are there any other items in your pantry that you’d like to mention as well? (Honorable mentions.)

Salt - Le Saunier De Camargue Fleur De Sel Sea Salt

Bread - Look for a flourless sprouted whole grain bread like Food For Life Ezekiel Breads. 

Canned seafood - Wild Planet Tuna and Salmon

Broths that are low in sodium like Pacific Natural Foods Organic broths and Imagine Broths. 

Green Tea like Mighty Leaf Organic Jasmine Green Tea. 

Email Jessica at [email protected]

Gelson's Registered Dietitian, Jessica Siegel, has a Masters in Public Health. However, she is not a doctor and her nutritional recommendations are not tailored to specific health problems. Always consult your physician before beginning any nutritional program. 

Interview with Jessica Siegel

In this episode, I get the opportunity to interview Jessica about her career and her thoughts on different subjects. 

Here are the questions that I ask Jessica:

• Career aside, could you talk about your personal journey in eating healthfully?

• Could you talk about what got you started you in this field? What interested you in it in the first place?

• What about Gelson’s made you feel it was the right fit for your talents?

• Who are your heroes in the industry? Who do you most look up to?

• How do you keep current in your field?

• What are some things you would like to learn more about?

• What’s your favorite part of being a dietitian?

• You’ve created many salads in our service deli. Could you talk about your creative process you use to create your signature salads?

• What is your favorite salad at the service deli currently?

• What are some of your favorite ingredients you use in your cooking at home?

• What is one quick tip for people looking to cook more healthfully at home? 

Email Jessica at [email protected]

Gelson's Registered Dietitian, Jessica Siegel, has a Masters in Public Health. However, she is not a doctor and her nutritional recommendations are not tailored to specific health problems. Always consult your physician before beginning any nutritional program.