How to meet your daily fruit recommendation

Did you know that in South Carolina, the wonderful state where I live, that 91% of us aren’t eating the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables!? (CDC, 2011).  And it’s not just South Carolina my friends.  A 2014 CDC indicator report found that not one state meets the fruit and vegetable intake recommendations (CDC Indicator, 2013).  

So, last week I shared “how to eat the recommended amount of vegetables” and today I'm sharing “how to meet your daily fruit recommendation.”  So here we go.  The fruit serving recommendation is.... drum roll please...

According to the USDA, women ages 31 and over should eat at least 1.5 cups of fruit a day. This is what a cup and a half looks like.

For men ages 14 and older, the fruit recommended is 2 cups a day.  This is 2 cups...

Here’s what a cup of fruit looks like….

How do you know if you’re actually eating 1 cup or not in real life?

Don’t get too caught up in this.  But generally speaking, one medium size fruit will do the trick or 2 small handfuls.  Most importantly, make sure you’re just eating fruit at least twice a day and then, think more about how much you’re actually eating.

How can you make sure to eat the recommended amount of fruit every day?  

Always eat fruit at breakfast and as a daily dessert.  Starting your day with whole-grains and fruit will ensure you’re off on a good start to meet the recommendations.  

Here’s 3 ideas for how to eat fruit at breakfast:

1. Oats topped with fresh and dried fruit such fresh strawberries, banana and blueberries and dates.
2. Oats cooked with frozen fruit such as cherries and topped with dates (that’s fruit!) and other goodies such as cinnamon and walnuts.
3. Berry breakfast crisp

I don’t recommend eating just fruit for breakfast because it’s not very filling so it won’t keep you full very long.  Be sure to eat a Foundational Filling Food with your breakfast so you’ll have energy for the next 3-4 hours.  

As we discussed last week, we want to be sure our lunches and dinners are primarily vegetables (potatoes, corn, non-starchy veggies and beans) to ensure we actually eat our veggies.  Then, you can save your daily dessert for more fruit.

What is a daily dessert you might be wondering?  

A daily dessert is one that satisfies your sweet tooth, but is healthy enough to eat everyday.  If you’re ever unsure if a food or meal is a daily dessert or not, ask yourself “is this healthy enough to eat for breakfast?”  If it is, it’s a daily dessert.

Here’s 3 daily dessert ideas to help you meet your daily fruit recommendation:

1. Berry chocolate banana ice-cream
2. Microwaved baked apple
3. Apple-pineapple crisp

Now it’s time to make use of this knowledge and put it into action.  Here’s what I want you to do for today’s...

Take Control Action Challenge

Just as you did last week, I want you to write down everything you ate yesterday.  Then, tell me how many servings of fruit you ate during that 24 hours.  And, what’s one way you can make sure you eat the recommended fruit serving everyday?

Let me know by clicking ‘comment’ below.

Sources

DHEC, 2011.  South Carolina Obesity Burden Report, CDC.  Accessed online, May 2016 at:  https://www.scdhec.gov/Health/docs/Obesity%20Burden%20Report%202011.pdf

CDC Indicator report, 2013.  Accessed online May 2016 at: http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/downloads/national-action-guide2013.pdf

USDA fruit and vegetable recommendations.  Accessed online, May 2016 at http://www.choosemyplate.gov/fruit

How daily desserts can help you stop eating sweet treats

Have you ever been on a diet and been told “you can never eat (enter your favorite dessert here) again?”  Or on the flip side, you love (enter favorite here) so much that it’s always in your house so you eat it all time? 

How do you stop eating indulgent sweet treats on the regular without swearing them off for life?  The answer lies behind “the double D."  Nope, I’m not talking bra sizes here ladies.  Rather, “daily desserts.”  Daily desserts are 100% healthy foods that satisfy dessert and sweet cravings.  Here’s a few examples...

Daily Desserts:

• Banana ice-cream
• Blueberry crisp
• Berry-chocolate banana ice-cream 
• Microwaved baked apples 

The trick is to keep your kitchen stocked with daily desserts well, daily.  Always have frozen fruit, dates, cocoa powder and maple syrup in the kitchen, this way, you’re always ensured a yummy daily dessert.

At the same time, you have to get the tempting treats out of the house and you can’t bring them into the house either.  This is worth repeating:  “Get the treats -- cakes, cookies, candy, ice-cream -- out of your kitchen.”  If you don’t, it’s only a matter of time until you eat them.  If you go to a party and are offered to bring the left-over cake home -- don’t do it.  If you do, you’ll eat it.  If you have a party and there’s dessert left-overs, have someone else take it home, bring it to work for others or, throw it away.

This doesn’t mean you can’t ever eat tempting treats ever again, but what living by “the double D” does do, is allow you to eat guilt-free desserts on a regular basis.  How can you gauge if it’s a good time to eat a tempting treat or not?  Ask yourself this question -- “Is this a special occasion outside of my house?”  (Think wedding anniversary, Christmas dinner...).  If the answer is yes, then it’s okay to eat a treat.  No guilt.    

Even vegan tempting treats should not be in the house on a regular basis.  If I kept this amazing and easy Sweet Treat Chocolate Pudding in my house all the time, my husband and I would eat a  pound of chocolate chips every week.  Although it’s made with tofu instead of dairy, it still doesn’t make the “double D” list (but if you need a sweet treat -- it’s a good one).  

Now I'd love to hear from you.  Click 'comment' below and answer...

Take Control Now Question

What are your favorite daily desserts?  How has getting treats out of your kitchen helped you eat healthier?

The Difference Between Processed and Refined Foods

It's a general rule of thumb that 'processed foods are bad for you.'  If you stay away from processed foods, you'll be doing yourself a health favor right?

Generally, this is true, but precisely, it is not.  

Why?  Because some processed foods are really good for you AND they can help you eat more whole-grains, fruits, veggies and legumes, foods mostly all Americans need to eat more of.  

So, how can you tell the difference between a processed food that's good for you and one that isn't?

It's actually a matter of vocabulary.  You need to know the difference between a processed food and a refined food.  When the word 'processed' is thrown around, it generally means refined.

A refined food is a food that doesn't contain all of its original nutrients.  You can't pick a refined food out of the garden and eat it (it's not a whole food).  

Refined foods include oil, sugar, white flour and products made of these ingredients.  Examples include white and wheat breads, cakes, pastries, pretzels, cookies, most wraps, chips, Doritos etc. 

A processed food is simply a food that has gone through a process.  A processed food can be a refined food, however it can also be a healthy whole food that has simply been chopped, rolled or ground, aka gone through a process.

A processed food could be good for you or bad for you.  It depends on whether it's a processed whole food or a processed refined food.

Processed foods that are bad for you include white bread, most 'wheat' breads, chips, cookies, most crackers, cakes and treats.  These processed foods are bad for you because they contain refined ingredients.  You aren't eating a whole food or a food made from just whole foods.

Processed foods that are good for you include 100% whole-grain breads, crackers, pitas, pastas, ground corn tortillas or other 100% whole-grain products.  Additionally, rolled or steal cut oats, dried fruit or frozen vegetables are also health enhancing processed foods.  They've all gone through a process, but the food still contains 100% of its original nutrients, unlike refined foods.  

Kapeesh?  If you have any questions about processed versus refined foods, ask in the comments section or contact me.  I'd love to hear from you :)

Take Control Now Question

What healthy processed foods do you enjoy eating?  What unhealthy refined foods are you still eating regularly that you shouldn't?  

Answer by clicking 'comments' below.

15 Healthy Halloween Treats for Trick-or-Treaters

Halloween is creeping upon us... mwahahahaha.  Which means, midget robots, witches, ninjas and clowns will be knocking at your door for a trick or a treat.

If you aren’t graced by cuties in costumes for trick or treat night, maybe your students, your children or grandchildren will be engaging in ‘treating’ at school (or your staff at work for that matter).  

If this is the case, I want you to have the opportunity to be prepared with healthy alternative Halloween treats to help you and your kids not eat endless amounts of junk this Halloween.

Why is this even important?  Shouldn’t kids be able to eat candy for Halloween?

Yes, kids should be able to have treats for special occasions.  The problem is your child may eat pounds of candy for Halloween, then Thanksgiving comes, then Christmas, New Years and then Valentine’s Day is right around the corner.  Not to mention all the birthdays in between AND the daily servings of refined foods, meat and dairy you and your child are most likely eating and all of this adds up!

Ridding yourself and your kid's dietary pattern of these foods are a must if you want them to be lean and healthy adults.  It's never too late to start.

And psst… you don't have to not let your kid trick-or-treat or have any Halloween candy, but set boundaries to how much they can eat (a few pieces on Halloween night) and explain to them why you can't eat 5 pounds of candy in one month.

Likewise, kids are more likely to remember the experience of trick-or-treating at your house than the actually candy you give them.  Light the driveway with candles or scare them from the bushes… that will make the below 'treats' more enjoyable for kids.

So, here they are….

15 Halloween Treats for Trick-or-Treaters

1. Mini boxes of raisins (I've done this in the past and parents have appreciated it)
2. Cups of unsweetened applesauce
3. Baggies of dried fruit
4. Trailmix
5. Peanuts in their shells
6. Small packs of pistachios
7. Granola bars
8. Lar bars (like a granola bar, but made only of dried fruit and nuts and pricey)
9. Clementines (draw spooky faces on their skin with a permeant marker.  They look like mini pumpkins!)
10. Bananas (glue on googly eyes to make it a funny face)
11. Packets of popcorn without oil or butter they can pop at home
12. Fruit leathers (I use to get these for Easter as a little girl and loved them)
13. Pencils with a Halloween theme
14. Erasers that look like bats or ghosts
15. Stickers (what kid wouldn't love these!)

Or, you can always just trick them! 

Take Control Now

Which healthy Halloween 'treat' would you serve?  Have another idea?

Please answer by clicking 'comments' below.

How to Safely Gain Weight

Do you know anyone who wants to gain weight?  (Lol yes those people do exist).

Before you close this article because you don't think it applies to you, stop, because it does.

One of the most important things you can do to take control of your diet and your weight to get the long-term health results you want, is to have a complete and whole understanding of nutrition and what causes weight loss and weight gain.  The more you understand and learn about the big picture no matter what weight you're trying to move towards, the easier it will be for you to achieve your health goals.  

So listen up because today I give you 3 things you need to do to gain weight (or not do if you want to lose weight).

How to (Safely) Gain Weight

1.  The first thing you need to know before you start the weight gain venture is… do you really need to gain weight!?

In the land of the USA where 69% of Americans are overweight and 35% are obese (1) skinny people look abnormal!  Lean people now look like misfits compared to 30 to 50 years ago. 

This promotes comments such as "that boy needs some meat on his bones" when ideally, being as lean as possible without being underweight is optimal -- the best weight to be at.   

Before you start implementing my below weight-gaining tips, make sure you really need to gain weight.  How do you do this?

Check your BMI here.  If you're at a normal weight, great!  Know you're where you're supposed to be.  If not...

2.  Eat more food

I've noticed this frequently, especially with hard-working men.  When they're highly focused and working they just don't eat!  If you want to gain weight you have to eat food and you're going to have to eat more of it.

If you traditionally eat a meat and cheese sandwich for lunch and are now substituting that for an avocado veggie sandwich, you're going to be eating less calories for the same quantity of food.  

So, you're going to have to either eat 2 sandwiches and or eat it with a baked sweet potato or a box of black bean soup.  Additionally, you should eat snacks or mini-meals between your meals.

Starting to eat more food and interrupting your work to eat it, is nothing but a big ol' HABIT.  You need to start doing it everyday and after a 1-3 months, this habit will stick and will become second nature.  Set an alarm on your watch for the same break and lunch times each day.  When it goes off, eat! (no matte what!)

3.  Eat more high calorie dense foods

Calorie density is a measurement of the amount of calories per volume of any given food.  This means some foods will have more calories even though they're in a small amount of food and these are great for someone trying to gain weight.

Why?  Because they're an easy way for you to get more calories in your diet without having to eat food that will contribute to you getting chronic disease (or erectile dysfunction) later in life (skinny people die of heart attacks too).

Healthy, calorie-dense foods include...

- Processed 100% whole grains such as whole-grain breads, crackers, pitas, tortillas, english muffins etc (I love Ezekiel whole-grain flour products)

- Juice and drinks.  Calories consumed in liquid form don't prevent people from eating less in food form.  Great news for weight-gaining wanna-bees.  Choose 100% fruit juice or add plant-milk to your oatmeal or smoothies instead of water.

- Dried fruit.  Because the water has been removed from the fruit, dried fruit isn't as filling as fresh fruit.  You can easily eat 2 TB of raisins and still be hungry versus the same amount of calories in grapes.  Add dried fruit to your meals or eat as snacks.

- High-fat plant foods such as olives, nuts, seeds, coconut, avocado and whole soy products can be added more generously to your meals to increase the caloric-density of your food.  Add an extra TB of ground flax seed to your oatmeal (along with dried fruit and plant-milk) and you'll easily add more calories to this important meal.

Take Control Now

What's the greatest insight you gained from this article?

Share your comments by clicking 'comment' below.

References

1.  CDC, Overweight and Obesity FastStats. Accessed online Oct. 2014 at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/obesity-overweight.htm