Low Calorie, High Cost
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Tara Gidus, MS, RD, CSSD, LD/N
I was reading a new study out in the
December issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association that I found really interesting. The researchers looked food costs and found that lower calorie foods like fruits and vegetables are getting more expensive! As if eating right wasn't hard enough!
General inflation rates for food is about 5%, but the inflation rate for fruits and vegetables has gone up 20% in recent years. Foods that are rich in refined grains, sugar, and fat hardly went up at all in price. Unfortunately this is making it more difficult to follow the advice of health professionals. This kind of news is what is leading Americans to be undernourished from a perspective of nutrients but overfed from calories from sugar and fat. The result is a population suffering from overweight and obesity and not having the energy to get ourselves out of this dilemma!
The obesity epidemic in this country has been happening for many reasons. It always comes down to eating too many calories and not moving enough. But now we have an economic cause that plays into the equation. If someone does not have the financial resources to buy healthy, low calorie foods it is going to be near to impossible to eat right and maintain a healthy weight.
The solution? We need to make farming more economical and support our farmers. Please talk to your congressmen about the
Farm Bill!
What do you think? Have you been buying fewer fruits and vegetables because of the cost?
Labels: food costs, fruit, low calorie food, Tara Gidus, vegetables
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Autumn Apples
Monday, October 22, 2007
Tara Gidus, MS, RD, CSSD, LD/N
Fall is definitely here, and we even had a "cold front" come through Florida last week when it got down into the low 60's overnight and high 70's and low 80's during the day. While I love living in Florida, I do miss the change of seasons. My favorite season is fall and it is tough to get into the spirit when you live down here. I miss crisp Saturdays watching football and the leaves changing.
One food that always reminds me of fall is a good crisp apple. A caramel apple is especially good, but be careful because just one could top off at over 500 calories. Instead, enjoy the natural sweetness of the apple itself without drowning it in added sugar. I also remember the sign going up at the local apple orchard advertising "Fresh Cider."
Cider is different from apple juice in that it contains solids from the apple and is often not pasteurized.
Apples aren't just for eating whole or in the great American Apple Pie. You can use them in stuffing, slice them into salads, or even bake them with chicken or pork. Sliced apples go really well with a little bit of peanut butter or a slice of cheese.
Apples might be one fruit you might want to consider to purchase organic. They are high on the list of
pesticide residue. If you do not buy organic apples, make sure you wash them and wipe them vigorously before eating to remove as much as possible.
Fun facts:
- A large apple has about 100 calories and 5 grams of fiber
- Contain phytochemicals called phenolics found in the skin of the apple
- The largest source of phenolics in the American diet
- High in antioxidants, specifically quercetin, catechin, phloridzin, and chlorogenic acid
- The antioxidants and phytochemicals in the apple, especially the peel, may be very potent against cancers of the breast, liver, and colon
- An apple a day may indeed assist in prevention of many diseases including heart disease, cancer, and diabetes
- The fiber in apples may assist in lowering cholesterol
- The average US consumer eats 19 pounds of apples per year, or about one per week
- More than half of apples grown for fresh eating in the US are grown in Washington state
- There are nine major varieties of fresh eating apples
Check out this
recipe for Sage Apple Chicken with BrieFor more
apple recipes, click herePhoto courtesy of http://www.bestapples.com/Recipes/Labels: apple, fruit, Tara Gidus
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Cheers to Cherries
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Tara Gidus, MS, RD, CSSD, LD/N
You have heard about the antioxidant benefits of blueberries and other berries, but what about cherries?
I personally love cherries.
The good news is that they are not just a summer fruit anymore.
You can get them dried, frozen, canned, or even as juice!
I often buy them frozen and put them in my oatmeal before I microwave it and they add some wonderful flavor and sweetness.
The compound that makes tart cherries so red is anthocyanin, a phytochemical known as a flavonoid.
The compounds found in cherries may help to:
- Reduce inflammation and pain of arthritis and gout
- Offer protection against heart disease and certain cancers
- Reduce risk of diabetes
- Aid in treatment and possible prevention of memory loss
Tart vs Sweet
There is a distinct difference between tart and sweet cherries. Sweet cherries are grown primarily for fresh eating. The most famous sweet cherry variety is the Bing cherry. Bing cherries are a dark red/burgundy color, but there are also lighter sweet cherry varieties such as Ranier and Queen Anne.
Tart cherries, also known as sour cherries, are used for canning and processing to make jams and pies. Tart cherries have a distinct, bright red color. Tart cherries are rarely sold fresh because they are so tart. Montmorency is the only tart cherry grown commercially in the US.
Other fun facts about cherries:
- Cherries were brought to America by ship with early settlers in the 1600s
- Michigan is the leader in producing tart cherries. They produce 200-250 million pounds of tart cherries per year
- In 1852, Peter Dougherty,a Presbyterian missionary living in northern Michigan, planted cherry trees on Old Mission Peninsula (near Traverse City, Michigan). Much to the surprise of the other farmers and Indians who lived in the area, Dougherty's cherry trees flourished and soon other residents of the area planted trees. The area proved to be ideal for growing cherries because Lake Michigan tempers Arctic winds in winter and cools the orchards in summer.
- There are 7,000 cherries on an average tart cherry tree and it takes 250 cherries to make a cherry pie.
- The third week of July is usually the peak of cherry harvest in the US.
- Cherry pie filling is the number one pie filling sold in the US
- Tart cherries contain 19 times the of beta carotene of blueberries and strawberries
- They are also rich in Vitamin C and Vitamin E and also provide potassium, magnesium, folate, iron, and fiber
- Tart cherries are one of the few known food sources of melatonin. Melatonin is an antioxidant that helps regulate our circadian rhythms and natural sleep patterns
- A recent study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that tart cherries ranked 14 in the top 50 foods for highest antioxidant content per serving size—surpassing red wine, prunes, dark chocolate and orange juice
Get creative with your cherries! Here is a link to more cherry recipes than you will know what to do with! For snack ideas, especially for the kids, click here.
For more information on cherries and even more recipes, check out www.choosecherries.com
Photo of cherries courtesy of www.choosecherries.com
Labels: antioxidants, fruit, Tara Gidus
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Red, White, and Blueberry
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Tara Gidus, MS, RD, CSSD, LD/N
Happy National Blueberry Month! I am sure you already had July on your calendar as blueberry month, right? I actually just found out this fun piece of trivia myself!
I celebrated National Blueberry Month this morning by making blueberry pancakes for my parents and husband. Mmmmmm…….they were yummy!
Fun facts:
1. Blueberries are one of the few native fruits to America
2. The colonists in Plymouth in 1620 learned from the Native Americans how to dry and store blueberries for the winter
3. North America produces 90% of the blueberries in the world
4. Even though North America is largest producer, other countries are growing more blueberries, especially Japan
5. The harvest runs from April through October with the peak in July
6. 50% of blueberries harvested are sold fresh and the others are dried, frozen, juiced, or canned
7. The US ships more than 100 metric tons of blueberries to Iceland and 500 metric tons to Japan each year
Health benefits:
Blueberries are among the highest
antioxidant foods available
Blueberries contain Vitamins C and E (antioxidants)
Blueberries contain anthocyanins, phenolics, carotenoids, and ellagic acid (
phytochemicals)
Antioxidants and phytochemicals have been shown to help prevent heart disease, cancer, aging, and many other potential preventive roles.
Nutrition:
Very low in fat and sodium
1 cup of fresh blueberries contains
84 calories
21 carbs
1 gram protein
0 fat
3.6 grams fiber
Good source of manganese, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, and copper
Contains smaller amounts of many other vitamins and minerals
Uses:Blueberries are sweet and tasty and can be used in so many ways!
Pancakes, muffins, smoothies, pie, in oatmeal, coffee cake, salads, cheesecake, sauces, and even
blueberry catsup! Click
here for links to a vast number of blueberry recipes. Also check out
http://www.justberryrecipes.com/ for more recipes.
I always have a bag of frozen blueberries in my freezer so I can just pull them out and throw them into a smoothie or my oatmeal. I love dried blueberries to put on top of my cereal, too.
Photos courtesy of gari.baldi and atul666 Labels: antioxidants, blueberries, fruit, Tara Gidus
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