Peanut Dogs

I have talked about my dad before, but just in case you haven't read it, he is legally blind and has had a Leader Dog for the Blind for quite a few years. Dusty Dog is quite invaluable to my dad and has allowed him a lot more freedom in getting around. This picture is of my dad and Dusty going out for a walk.

The reason I bring this up is because I just heard about dogs being used for people with allergies, specifically peanut allergies. They are called Peanut Dogs! The dogs are trained for obedience but more importantly they are trained to detect the scent of peanuts and alert their owner of danger if they sniff it. The most common types of dogs used are Poodles, Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers and German Shepherds.

Dogs have 45 times the number of olfactory receptors than humans do, allowing them to smell one thousand times better than humans. Seems like sniffing out peanuts is a good job for a dog. Dogs love to be useful and I can't think of a better job!

Peanut allergies are on the rise, affecting about 1.5 million people in the United States. For those allergic, a peanut free diet is vital. Peanut allergies account for the largest number of deaths from an allergic reaction. If you or someone you love is allergic to peanuts, you know how serious the threat is. The scary part about a nut allergy is that there are many foods that contain nuts (and not just the obvious ones), causing a reaction in people who are highly allergic. These Peanut Dogs undoubtedly will save many lives!

Labels: peanut allergy, Tara Gidus

Permalink | 4 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

Fresh or Frozen?

Ever wonder if the frozen vegetables you are eating are as nutritious as fresh? If you are busy and don't have time to shop or prepare fresh veggies and are feeling guilty over not using the fresh, listen up!

Studies show that the nutrients in frozen vegetables are "locked in" following the freezing process. Fresh vegetables lose nutrients from the time they are harvested to when they are purchased, brought home, and sit in your crisper drawer until they are eaten. Frozen vegetables are picked at the peak of perfection, or at optimal maturity. They are picked, flash boiled, and frozen soon after harvest to lock in the nutrition and flavor.

Many frozen vegetables have no added sodium, or may have just a small amount added. Many frozen veggies are plain and can be used in a variety of recipes or side dishes, but some already have low fat sauces on them, so they are easy to microwave and serve! My favorite are the Green Giant boxed veggies. They are perfect for my husband and me to share. Green Giant also just came out with a Just For ONE! pack of veggies that provide just one serving. Make sure you read the labels of the veggies with sauce added to make sure the sodium or fat is not too high for your personal needs.

When it comes right down to it, any vegetable is good! Whether it is raw, cooked, frozen, canned, they all still have lots of health benefits. Eat your veggies!

For an interactive game for kids about vegetables, visit www.mightygiants.com
Photo courtesy of Green Giant

Labels: convenience, Tara Gidus, vegetables

Permalink | 0 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

More Than Goulash in Hungary

What is the first thing you think about when you hear about Hungary? Hungarian Goulash, of course! After spending nearly a week in Budapest, I am still not entirely sure what goulash really is! One night we went to a traditional Hungarian restaurant called Kehli where they served us hungarian goulash. It was very similar to beef stew and was served with very small noodles. They had some Hungarian guys playing music on their accordians and violins and we had a wonderful time.

Hungarians like to cook with several common ingredients, I learned. Paprika is very popular and is in shakers at tables just like salt and pepper. They also like to cook in lard and use a lot of pork and onions in their dishes. Sour cream is very common and a lot of soups and dishes I had were cream based. Strudel is popular and they have many flavors with the most common being apple, sour cherry, and poppyseed.

The last night of my conference we went to the most famous (and reportedly most expensive) restaurant in all of Budapest. It is called Gundel. We were a little bit disappointed because the menu was set and the food we were served was not as good as I think the restaurant normally serves. I heard later of the famous Gundel pancakes for dessert, but we were not served those and had some apricot with cream mousse instead. Quite disappointing, but if you are traveling to Budapest and want a nice dinner, I would still give it a try. I am convinced we had bad food because of our very large group.

My favorite place was a little vegetarian restaurant called Vegetarium. It was so yummy! The picture above is of our meal the first day I went there and it was so good I went back for lunch my last day in Budapest. The picture is of the Pumpkin Tacos and Lentil Moussaka. Both were vegan and that is a soy cream sauce on the moussaka. I also had split pea soup which was heavenly and the second time I went had a great chickpea dish with apricots in it and couscous on the side. Yummy! Oh, I almost forgot about the potato pancake we shared as an appetizer, too. It had dill and cheese on it and was mouthwateringly delicious!

I spent most of my time in Budapest, but we did go one day to Vienna, Austria. In Austria my friends and I wandered around a market for a few hours and sampled dried fruits, vegetables stuffed with goat cheese, spinach pie, and an Indian eggplant dish. We then moved on to the famous chocolate Sacher torte. We actually went to the Sacher hotel cafe and had it there. It was divine!

The market in Budapest had a lot of meat and fresh vegetables, but I did sample some yummy fresh yogurt. I just LOVE European yogurt. It is tart and thick and is not bogged down with so much sugar (or artificial sweetener) like we have here in the US. The yogurt in the market was not quite as thick as other European yogurt I have had, but it was yummy.

So that is a tour of the foods I sampled in Hungary and Austria. I ate well and enjoyed every meal!

Labels: hungarian food, market, Tara Gidus, travel

Permalink | 0 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

Didn't Go Hungry In Budapest

I couldn't resist...get it? Not hungry in Hungary? Hehe.

I just got back last night from my trip to Budapest and I had a fabulous time! I had a conference over there and I learned a lot and saw lots of cool sights and ate lots of good food! I always do at these conferences. They took us out to really nice dinners every night and I spent some time in the market, too. I will talk more in tomorrow's blog about all of the culinary adventures I had. I love traveling to other countries that have such unique food with much different food than you can find in the states.

I have attached a few pictures. Both are from the market. One is of me and my friend Keri sitting on a bench in the market eating our bread and cheese that we just bought. There is a cute old Hungarian woman in the picture, too. You can see a bottle of Activia Kefir on the bench, too. My friend Bonnie who took the picture was drinking that. Activia is quite popular over there.

The other picture is of me picking out some pieces of Marzipan candy. I love marzipan and become slightly obsessed with it and brought some back to enjoy.

Tune in tomorrow for more details on the food experiences I had in Hungary (and one day in Vienna, Austria).

Labels: Hungary, Tara Gidus, travel

Permalink | 2 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

Happy Valentine's Day

It is the day for lovers all over....Valentine's Day! I personally love chocolate (hint, hint to my husband), and just in case you may be getting some chocolate from your sweetheart, I thought I would remind you of the health benefits of chocolate.

Have a wonderful day with your sweetie!

I am leaving to go to Budapest (yes, in Hungary) today for a conference, so I will probably not be posting for a week. I will definitely write all about my adventures when I get back!

Photo of chocolate heart tower courtesy of emilywjones

Labels: chocolate, Tara Gidus

Permalink | 0 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

One Drink or Two?

I just read a very interesting study on alcohol and the potential health benefits. The study was in the February issue of the American Journal of Physiology, Heart and Circulatory Physiology. They studied the effects of red wine or other alcohol in varying amounts.

They found that the results were the same, regardless of whether people drank red wine or another alcoholic beverage. The potential health benefits are found in the ethanol (alcohol), not just the antioxidants of the red wine. Good news for people who enjoy a beer or mixed drink instead of wine. Alcohol has an effect similar to taking an aspirin every day in the blood thinning aspect.

The other interesting finding was that there was a big difference between the effect of one drink vs two drinks per day. People who drank one drink per day had blood vessels that were more “relaxed” or dilated, which reduced the amount of work the heart had to do. But, after two drinks, the heart rate, amount of blood pumped out of the heart, and action of the sympathetic nervous system all increased. At the same time, the ability of the blood vessels to expand in response to an increase in blood flow diminished. This counteracted the beneficial effect of one drink of red wine or alcohol.

I usually recommend following the moderation principle for alcohol intake, which is basically one drink for women or two drinks per day for men. One drink consists of 5 oz wine, 12 oz beer, or 1.5 oz liquor (80-proof). However, this research may make some rethink whether or not to stop after just one drink.

Cheers!

Photo courtesy of istockphoto.com

Labels: alcohol, heart health, Tara Gidus

Permalink | 0 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

Diet Drink Making You Fat?

If you are consumer of diet drinks or really anything that contains artificial sweeteners (and there are plenty of foods on the market that do), then yesterday's news of a study linking the consumption of saccharin to increased odds of gaining weight may have left you dumbfounded. Isn't weight gain just calories in vs calories out? If I am drinking a diet drink (or eating a light yogurt) aren't I getting fewer calories than the sugar sweetened and therefore preventing weight gain? Yes, you are getting fewer calories, but this study says that may not matter.

Let's look more closely at the research. The study looked at rats who were given sugar (glucose) sweetened yogurt vs yogurt sweetened with saccharin (Sweet'N Low). They found that the rats who ate the saccharin sweetened yogurt gained more weight and increased body fat than the rats who ate the yogurt sweetened with sugar. The reason was that they did not cut back on food later in the day and ate more calories.

The researchers think this is because saccharin changes the body's ability to regulate intake. Sweet foods provide a stimulus that predicts that a person is about to intake a lot of calories. The body gears up with digestive reflexes and when it gets false sweetness, it gets confused. People end up eating more or expending less as a result.

Even though this study was done using saccharin, the researchers think aspartame (Equal), sucralose (Splenda), and acesulfame K (Sunett) would all have similar results.

Bottom line
To be honest with you, I am not sure what to think about this study. As a moderate consumer of artificial sweeteners myself, part of me believes that it is still calories in vs calories out. This study was done on rats and not humans, and the rats gained weight because they ate more later in the day. I think (personal opinion) that you can still consume artificial sweeteners in moderation (just use common sense and don't have too many diet drinks, packets in your coffee or foods containing these sweeteners). Pay attention to your total calories for the day and be conscious of not eating more calories other places to make up for the reduced calorie food items containing the sweeteners. I look forward to future research in this area to see more on the exact effect of these artificial sweeteners on our appetites and bodies.

If you are opposed to anything artificial in your diet to begin with, that is great! I am not advocating using artificial sweeteners, but simply saying that if you choose to use them, pay close attention to how your body, and now mind, are reacting to them in your body. If you are not sure, go for a few weeks without them and see if it makes a difference in your appetite or craving of sweets. It may be an eye-opening and interesting experiment to do for yourself!


This study can be found in the February issue of Behavioral Neuroscience.

Logo of Sweet'N Low courtesy of www.sweetnlow.com

Labels: artificial sweeteners, Tara Gidus, weight gain

Permalink | 0 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

The Incredible Edible Egg

Remember back 20 years when the egg was thought to be so bad for you? Some people still have a fear of eggs. I have to admit, I was in the "please make my omelet with egg substitute" side for a while. But I have changed my tune now that I have learned more about some of the many positive nutritional aspects of the incredible edible egg.

We used to think that the cholesterol in eggs was a culprit in raising our blood cholesterol. Much research has been done on the effect of eggs on cholesterol and the consensus now is that an eggs are fine, and actually can be very good for you! Saturated fat and trans fat are far worse than dietary cholesterol at raising blood cholesterol. All of the dietary cholesterol is found in the yolk, and that is why we were so "egg yolk-phobic" for so many years. But I am here to tell you, eat the yolk! There is some saturated fat in the yolk, so we still want to use a little bit of portion and frequency control, but an egg every day is not excessive and can fit into a heart healthy diet.

5 Reasons to eat eggs:

1. Weight management. Eggs contain high quality protein that keeps you full longer, helping to maintain a healthy weight.
2. Strong muscles. Protein helps active people build muscle and can help aging adults prevent muscle loss.
3. Healthy pregnancy. Egg yolks are an excellent source of choline, an essential nutrient that contributes to fetal brain development and helps prevent birth defects. Two eggs provide 250 mg choline, about half of the recommended daily intake for pregnant and breastfeeding women.
4. Brain function. Choline helps all people maintain the structure of brain cell membranes, and is a key component of the neuro-transmitter that helps relay messages from the brain through nerves to the muscles.
5. Eye health. Lutein and zeaxanthin are two antioxidants found in the egg yolk. They may help prevent macular degeneration.

Nutrition facts for one large egg:
75 calories
6.5 g protein
0 g carbohydrate
5 g fat
1.5 g saturated fat
0 g trans fat
212 mg cholesterol
Contains: Vitamin A, iron, phosphorus, selenium, riboflavin, Vitamin B12, folic acid, Vitamin D, zinc

For more information check out these links:
Fun Recipes and Tips: www.incredibleegg.org
Info on Benefits of Eggs from the Egg Nutrition Center: www.enc-online.org
Recipes for eggs
Blog on eggs and nutrition science: www.unscramblingthescience.com

Photo of eggs courtesy of cursedthing

Labels: cholesterol, eggs, heart disease, Tara Gidus

Permalink | 2 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

Cholesterol Lowering Plants

If you are trying everything you can do lower your cholesterol, add plant sterols to your list. Even if you don't have high cholesterol, plant sterols can be something you may want to consider adding to your diet.

What are plant sterols?
I know the name is kind of scary, but they are simply parts of a plant membrane that resemble the chemical structure of cholesterol (only in animals and humans) but perform a similar function in the plant. They are naturally present in very small quantities in fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, legumes, and vegetable oils.

What do they do?
Plant sterols have been found in research studies to help lower LDL, or "bad," cholesterol by blocking its absorption. If enough sterols are consumed in the diet, they will compete with cholesterol in the digestive tract and the result is less cholesterol being absorbed by the body. Studies have found that LDL cholesterol can be reduced between 6 and 15 percent. Some studies even suggest a reduced risk of cancer in people who consume plant sterols on a regular basis.

How much?
The hard part is getting enough of these plant sterols to make a difference. Because they exist in such small quantities in the foods we eat, many food manufacturers have started fortifying foods with plant sterols to give us more.

The FDA approved a health claim which reads:
Foods containing at least 0.65 grams per serving of plant sterol esters, eaten twice a day with meals for a daily total intake of at least 1.3 grams, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease. A serving of [name of the food] supplies ____ grams of plant sterol esters.

Foods that contain plant sterols:
Promise activ Super Shots: 2.0 g
Promise activ Butter Spread (formerly Take Control): 1.0 g
Corazona's Tortilla or Potato Chips: 0.4 g (I love these chips!)
CocoaVia Chocolate bars: 1.1 g
Various products containing Corowise: Vitalicious chocolate muffin tops, milk, orange juice, Nature Valley Healthy Heart granola bars, Lifetime Lowfat Cheese, even vitamins.

Consult with your doctor to see if adding plant sterols to your diet daily is a good idea.

Photo of orange juice courtesy of Corowise
Photo of chips courtesy of Corazonas

Labels: cholesterol, heart disease, plant sterols, Tara Gidus

Permalink | 0 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

Heart Month

Labels: heart disease, Tara Gidus

Permalink | 0 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

Alternative Peanut Butter

If you are one of the 3 million Americans who has an allergy to nuts, you know how serious it can be if you accidently eat nuts. How can you enjoy a good old fashioned PB and J without the peanuts? What if you are just looking for alternatives to peanut butter?

If are allergic peanuts or tree nuts, you still have options.
Soynut butter: It is actually quite good. Many schools are switching to soynut butters, making their schools nut free. Soynuts are actually not nuts, but rather soybeans roasted to taste like nuts. Soynut butter is 30% lower in fat than peanut butter and has 7 grams of protein. You can find soynut butters in several varieties and flavors such as creamy, crunchy, honey, and even chocolate.
Check out these websites for tasty soynut butters:
www.soynutbutter.com
www.simplefood.com (You'll love these butters)

In addition to soynut butter, you could go with a seed butter such as sunflower seed, pumpkin seed, or sesame seed butter. Sesame seed butter is called tahini and is used in Mediterranean dishes. I personally love sunflower butter and think it tastes excellent! Sunflower butter is about 200 calories per 2 T. with 16 grams of fat, 7 grams of protein, 4 g fiber, and is a good source of copper, magnesium, Vitamin E, and various antioxidants.
Check out www.sunbutter.com

Other alternatives to peanut butter, but these are not nut free:

• Cashew butter
• Almond butter
• Macademia butter
• Pecan butter
• Hazelnut butter (think Nutella)
• Walnut butter

All of these nuts and nut butters are about 180-220 calories per 2 Tablespoon serving with about 16 grams of fat and 6-10 grams of protein and 2-4 grams of fiber (each nut and brand varies a little bit). Each nut has a unique blend of different vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. If you enjoy peanut butter, give one of these other butters a try and see what you think!

Photo courtesy of www.simplefood.com

Labels: nuts, seeds, Tara Gidus

Permalink | 2 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

Peanut Better?

I love peanut butter. I feel really sorry for people who have an allergy to peanuts because there is nothing like peanut butter, especially with chocolate. I had an aversion to sweets during my pregnancy (which is quite odd for me because I have a mean sweet tooth), but as soon as Basil was born, the sweet tooth came back and it had nothing but peanut butter and chocolate written all over it. Luckily the craving has subsided, but I still love peanut butter.

Is peanut butter good for you? I get asked this question quite often. People are so fearful of carbs and they learn about the glycemic index so they think they can't eat a banana by itself (high glycemic) so they slather peanut butter all over everything to bring the glycemic index down.

Peanut butter (PB) is high calorie at 190 calories per 2 T. serving (some brands are as high as 210 calories). Many think of it as a source of protein, but it is really more fat than it is protein. Most PBs have 16 grams of fat and 7-8 grams of protein. Most also have about 2 grams of fiber. Most of the fat that is in PB is monounsaturated, the "healthy" fat, but it is still fat and calories which can eventually end up around your midsection. About 3 grams of the 16 grams is saturated fat, the artery clogging type (about 15% of your max for the day). Some PBs add hydrogenated vegetable oils, but usually they are only 1-2% of the total weight and not enough to contribute a level of saturated fat that registers on the food label (it needs to be 0.5 grams to register).

Peanuts do have nutritional benefits. They do have protein, fiber, magnesium, Vitamin E, niacin, and riboflavin. Researchers have actually found peanuts to be as high or higher in antioxidants than many fruits and vegetables. One of the antioxidants in peanuts is resveratrol, the same one that is in red wine. These antioxidants may have heart disease and cancer preventing benefits.

Interesting facts:

• By law PB must contain 90% peanuts. Some brands add sugar, salt, hydrogenated oils, or stabilizers to make up the other 10% of the ingredients by weight.
• Natural PB does not have added hydrogenated oils or stabilizers. The result is often PB that separates and oil collects at the top. Don't pour it off because you will get PB that is too stiff to spread. Mix it back in for best results.
• Some natural PB companies are now using patented techniques to mix their PB to keep it from separating without using the hydrogenated oils or stabilizers.
• One serving of 2 Tablespoons is roughly the size of a golf ball.
• Reduced fat peanut butter is NOT reduced calorie. Most have added sugar and sodium to make up for less fat. They also have more hydrogenated oils.
• If you are looking for fewer calories in your PB, look for Whipped PB. It is similar to the whipped tub vs block cream cheese. The trick is that more air is whipped in, so for a 2 T. serving it has fewer calories. It is also easier to spread, so you end up using less while saving even more calories!
  
• About 50% of the peanuts consumed in the US are in the form of peanut butter
• Peanuts are not really a nut, but rather a legume and are grown underground!
  

Flavored PBs are all the rage. Right now at home I have deep chocolate PB, caramel PB, banana PB, and raspberry PB. I got them from a company called Peanut Better. Yes, I stole their name for the title of this blog.
They have other flavors such as sweet molasses, vanilla cranberry, and even savory flavors like rosemary garlic, thai ginger, spicy southwestern, and hickory smoked. They have recipes and ideas of what you can do with these unusual flavors such as dips, sauces, desserts, and even in soups. Check it out!

Another interesting PB is called "PB2". It is powdered peanut butter and only has 54 calories per 2 T. serving with 3 grams of fat. You can find it at Bell Plantation I also have some of this at home and I will mix it into smoothies or into my Greek Yogurt. It is actually tasty and has far fewer calories than regular PB. You can also mix it with water and have a normal PB and J sandwich.

I know not everyone can eat peanut butter, so tomorrow I will talk about other nut butters and alternatives to peanut butter for you allergy sufferers. Stay tuned!

Photo courtesy of Dr Stephen Dann

Labels: nuts, peanut butter, Tara Gidus

Permalink | 1 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment