ADA's Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo

      This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend the American Dietetic Association's Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo in San Diego, California. The event featured 4 days of speakers on a variety of nutrition and dietetics topics, a HUGE expo with all kinds of vendors from the food and nutrition world, poster sessions, excursions, and other events. It was a great way to stay current with nutrition trends, learn about new topics, catch up with friends and colleagues and network with others in the field. This year was my first year attending and I had a great time! I learned a lot from the great speakers, got to sample a ton of products, and got to explore San Diego!

San Diego!

Shipment of Bananas arrives at the Port of San Diego!

   
     All-in-all FNCE was a great time and I look forward to attending again in the future! Look for more posts in the upcoming days about all the great nutrition information I learned at the speaker sessions!

Cheers, Brittney

Community Garden

Tomatoes!

   
     This community garden is really great because it uses land along a fence that would otherwise not be used to grows fresh, healthy food for lots of people to enjoy! If you are interested in a community garden for next summer check on bulletin boards at your local town hall, in your local newspaper or on your city's website for information! It is a great way to improve the quality of your diet, get some exercise and meet your neighbors!

Cheers,
Brittney

More Homemade Pizza!

      I absolutely love the bread dough function on my bread maker! When I am planning to make a pizza for dinner, I toss the ingredients in the bread maker as soon as I get home from work and by the time I'm ready to make dinner it's ready to go!

Pizza dough on the pizza stone!

     This time I used homemade pesto for the sauce and added: eggplant, onions, tomatoes, black olives, and a jalapeno!

Fresh veggies for the toppings!

   
     You don't need to pre-bake the dough, just add the sauce, toppings and cheese and bake for ~25 minutes!

Ready to go in the oven!

Fresh, homemade, healthy, and delish!

The finished product!

   
     This is a great meal to make with kids! They love to help and its a great opportunity to teach them about a variety of fresh veggies and where their food comes from! Enjoy!

     I am currently looking for a good thin crust dough recipe for the bread maker, if anybody has any goods ones, let me know!

Cheers,
Brittney

Food Trend: Heritage Meats and Poultry

     Heritage meats are from animal breeds that have been around for hundreds of years but are, until recently, rarely used in the food market. In current times, food companies and factory farms, which produce the vast majority of the meat and poultry consumed today, use breeds that have been specifically selected or designed to gain weight faster and be ready for slaughter sooner. This is of course more efficient for the food producers because less time is required before the meat can get to market, but having such a large majority of the meat and poultry come from a single breed is potentially dangerous for our health and our economy.

     Maintaining a variety of breeds in the food supply is beneficial because it prevents a single disease or condition from wiping out the main supply of a food source. Heritage breeds have survived over so many years because they are have shown adaptability to a variety of environmental conditions, diseases, and food sources. For example, the Irish potato famine occurred in the 1800's because only one breed of potatoes was predominantly being grown and it was wiped out by a fungus. Starvation and economic disaster ensued.

     Today there has been a resurgence in the popularity of heritage meats. Many chefs, restaurants, farmers markets, and CSAs are becoming interested in providing heritage meats to their customers. Heritage meats are often organic and pasture raised. Many claim that they have better flavor than traditional meats. Nutrient value compared to traditional meats has only begun to be looked at, thus far no nutritional benefits over traditional meats have been found, aside from the benefits of organic production, which does not contain dangerous pesticides and hormones.

Cheers,
Brittney

Avoid These (literally) Toxic Foods!

     This blog post isn't about any trendy diets that claim average foods are "toxic". Instead, it is about actual toxic foods. Foods that may be perfectly fine if they are prepared properly, but are dangerous when eaten raw. Or, spoiled foods that may be in the back of your pantry from who knows how many years ago, that need to be tossed, and definitely not eaten!

     Green potatoes are toxic due to a build up of solanine and should not be eaten!

     Uncooked red kidney beans have phytohemagglutinins which are toxic.

     Rhubarb leaves are toxic to humans.

     Any mushrooms that are you are not 100% sure are edible. Harvesting your own mushrooms should only be done with the help of  a qualified expert.

     Canned foods that are dented or have bulges may be contaminated with foodborne illness. Always choose cans that are not damaged in any way.

Cheers,
Brittney

Does Raising the Cost of Junk Food Decrease Our Intake?

     I was browsing through an old issue of the ADA Times and found this interesting tidbit:

     "Taxing Unhealthy Foods May Encourage Healthier Eating Habits: Research in the [2010] March Psychological Science finds taxing unhealthy foods reduced overall calories purchased, while subsidizing the prices of healthy food increased calories because mothers used money saved on subsidized fruits and vegetables for less healthy treats for their family".

     I think this is a very interesting public healthy finding, and it may be considered in drafting legislation in the future. Programs such as WIC and SNAP (formerly Food Stamps) may be able to use data like this to increase the consumption of healthy foods in the participant population!

Cheers,
Brittney

How Much Protein Do You Really Need?

     Protein is usually seen as more is better, especially among atheletes and people trying to increase their muscle mass. However our bodies can only use so much protein and do not store much for back-up. Our muscles and cells need protein to grow and replenish, and our livers store some protein. Extra protein is filtered out of the blood stream by our kidneys and passed in the urine. Extreme excessive protein intake can be damaging to the kidneys. Conumption of added protein through supplements and powders creates what can be referred to as "expensive urine". This is true because protein supplements are often pricey and for most people they are almost entirely passed through the body without being used to increase muscle mass. For serious athletes a small amount of protein beyond what is consumed in food can be used to increase muscle mass, but this requires a person to take part in regular cardiovascular and weight bearing exercise.

    For the average person, male and female, protein recommendations are 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight.

     To figure out what your protein requiement is: convert your weight in pounds to kilograms by dividing it by 2.2. Then multiply that number by 0.8. The number you come up with is the number of grams of protein you should be consuming per day from animal and plant sources.

     For example: if you weigh 150lbs, divide this by 2.2 to get 68.2 kilograms. Then multiply this by 0.8 to get about 55 grams of protein per day.

      Most Americans consume way more protein per day than their bodies can use. See the list below for protein content of common foods.

Approximate Protein Content of Common Foods:

8oz beef (ground round, chuck, rib, rump, or sirloin)               56 grams protein
8oz skim milk                                                                    8 grams protein
5 oz lean pork                                                                    35 grams protein
3 strips of bacon                                                                15 grams protein
3 oz cheese (American, bleu, brie, cheddar, Swiss)              15 grams protein
5 oz Fish filet                                                                     35 grams protein  
1 Hot dog                                                                           14 grams protein
4 oz processed sandwich meats                                           28 grams protein
5 oz baked chicken breast                                                   35 grams protein
5 oz shellfish (clams, crab, lobster, scallops, shrimp)            35 grams protein
4oz canned tuna                                                                 28 grams protein
Yogurt Cup                                                                         8 grams protein
Veggie Burger                                                                     14 grams protein
1 tablespoon peanut butter                                                   7 grams protein
1/2 cup refried beans                                                           7 grams protein
1/2 cup tofu                                                                        7 grams protein

     Here you can see that a 150lb person can easily meet their protein requirement by having peanut butter toast for breakfast and a chicken sandwich with cheese for lunch! Don't worry, going over your protein requirement a little bit in the normal course of eating isn't going to hurt you. Excessive supplement use however, may be damaging to the kidneys.

     Don't forget to use the guidelines set by the USDA for recommended servings of each food group. The new My Plate guidelines are very helpful and easy to use. Find more information here: http://nutritionall-rd.blogspot.com/2011/08/new-my-plate-icon-and-guidelines.html

      Always discuss with your doctor before starting an exercise program or beginning or ending any supplement use! Consult your doctor of personal Registered Dietitian to discuss protein needs for your specific condition.

Cheers,
Brittney

Dietitian Approved!!

Have a good Labor Day Weekend!

Cheers,
Brittney