Best Sports Nutrition Supplements: Pros & Cons

Wondering what sports nutrition supplements you should choose when preparing for or running your next race?  Here are some great guidelines from an article from Active.com to help you find the optimal energy foods.

SPORTS DRINKS

Sports drinks are designed to maximize fluid absorption and enhance performance by delivering readily absorbable carbohydrate and electrolytes, the most crucial being sodium. The better-formulated (and tasting) ones intended for use during exercise usually contain both simple carbs (sucrose, fructose and glucose) and complex carbs (glucose polymers, maltodextrin). Choose a sports drink instead of plain water when exercising or running 60 minutes or longer at a moderate intensity.

PROS: Multiple flavors and brands to choose from; readily usable liquid carbohydrates are absorbed more rapidly than solid food; sodium enhances the drive to drink and facilitates the absorption of carbohydrate.

CONS: Unnecessary added ingredients can contribute to digestion woes; you're hostage to the sports drink provided at aid stations unless you carry your own; unlikely to be enough to meet energy needs in marathons and ultras.

ENERGY GELS, CHEWS AND BLOCKS

These sports foods provide fast-acting, easy-to-digest carbohydrate--exactly what hard-working muscles and the brain require to perform while running fast or long.

PROS: Easy to chew and digest; many varieties also provide sodium and small amounts of caffeine, another performance booster during prolonged exercise.

CONS: Need to be taken with recommended amount of water (6 to 8 ounces); semi-solid chews and blocks may boost blood sugar levels more slowly than gels; toting enough with you requires wearing a carrier of some sort.

LIQUID FOOD SUPPLEMENTS

In addition to carbohydrate, these beverages provide varying amounts of protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, electrolytes and other lesser-proven ingredients, such as herbs and metabolites.

These nutrient-dense "liquid energy bars" provide considerably more fuel or energy per ounce than traditional sports drinks.

PROS: Convenient mode for consuming a concentrated dose of energy (calories) and carbohydrate; star as prerace meals or post-recovery drinks due to low fiber and higher energy content; typically a well-tolerated option for ultra-endurance athletes.

CONS: Can lead to digestive problems and dehydration when consumed during moderate-to-high intensity exercise; energy-dense beverage can contribute to unwanted weight gain if routinely consumed in place of meals or snacks.

ENERGY BARS

With practice an energy bar can be easy to carry, chew and digest while running. Unless you'll be on the move longer than four hours, however, choose varieties that obtain most if not all of their calories from carbohydrate (70 percent or more). It's only during longer hauls that the body has time to actually digest and assimilate the fuel from other sources.

PROS: Wide variety of flavors and textures to choose from; travel well; welcome alternative to sweet-tasting drinks, gels, chews and blocks; another option for meeting higher energy requirements of long-distance runs.

CONS: More difficult to chew and digest than liquids, especially when you're fatigued; must take with ample fluid for proper digestion; solids can take much longer to boost blood sugar levels than liquids.

REAL FOOD

Ultra runners can be seen refueling with everything from sports drinks and energy gels to sandwiches, fried chicken and pizza. Ditto for walkers and back-of-the pack marathon runners who often rely on real food for fuel, such as candy, dried fruit or pretzels. The longer duration and slower pace (lower intensity) allows these athletes to profit from consuming real food despite the extra time required to convert energy into fuel the body can use.

PROS: Helps fight "flavor fatigue" common when consuming only sweet-tasting sports foods; allows athletes to meet the high energy demands of prolonged ultra running; can be mentally uplifting or rewarding.

CONS: Protein, fiber and fat in real foods can slow absorption and digestion time and increase potential gastrointestinal problems; more complicated logistics of carrying and consuming while on the move.

A YouBar For A New You

As the holidays are quickly speeding by, our thoughts now turn to welcoming in the New Year. Of course with the New Year come all those resolutions - with health and fitness goals being some of the most popular ones. While I'll be blogging about New Year's resolutions later this week, you can jumpstart your journey back to healthy eating by creating an energy bar made just by you.

YouBar is a fun company that lets you create your own customized nutrition bar. Just go through the steps to build your own bar by first choosing a base (such as almond butter or organic dates) and then adding in your choice of protein powders, nuts/seeds, dried fruits and berries, natural sweeteners, grains/cereals, and even infusions such as a shot of vitamins or fiber. As you build your bar you can see how it stacks up nutritionally in the nutrition facts label. You then name your bar and voi·là you receive your customized box of bars in the mail.

Overwhelmed by all the choices in creating your own? Then check out their link on some of their popular bar flavors for suggestions.

Not into nutrition bars? They also have links to make your own protein shakes, trail mix, or even craft your own healthy cookie.

New Year's resolutions never tasted so good!

Happy Holidays!

With the holidays upon us, our company has arrived and more than doubled the normal size of our household. Nowhere is this more evident than at the grocery store. Making sure the house is stocked with everything we need has sent me to the grocery store three times just in the past two days and yes, I'm planning to make another trip today. As soon as I return from the grocery store, new needs suddenly emerge and I start making my next list. I'm sure any mothers of teenage boys who are reading this are laughing at my "amateur" status thinking that this is their life everyday.

Even with the many trips to the grocery store, I really enjoy having company, especially at mealtime, because it causes me to slow down and enjoy the moment. In the typical business of day-to-day life, eating tends to be more functional. It is often a short break to quickly eat something and then get back to the task at hand. The holidays inspire me to create a more special eating experience - from fancy table decorations to meals that require extra preparation time and care. Instead of bolting down our food while working on the computer or watching TV, the holidays inspire us to be really present for the meal, sitting at the dining room table, enjoying hearing about our guests lives while also laughing as we reminisce about the past. It is a good reminder that food is not only nourishment for the body but also for the mind and spirit.

I wish you all happiness, health, and a mindful holiday season!

10 Myths About Eating Right

Here's an article I found in The Times-Picayune by registered dietitian Molly Kimball that I wanted to share with you. It addresses 10 myths about eating right. Since these are some of the most frequent questions I get asked by clients, I hope you will find this helpful.

10 Myths About Eating Right

Myth No. 1: Eating late at night will make you fat.

Your body doesn’t know what time it is. It’s not like a meal at 6 p.m. will be stored in your muscles or burned for immediate energy, yet suddenly that same meal at 8 p.m. will go straight to your butt. Instead, your body recognizes an accumulation of calories over time, or a deficit of calories over time.

So why is it that so many diets ban eating after 6 or 7 p.m.? For many, the evening hours are when willpower falters. So it’s not simply that you’re eating late at night; it’s what you’re eating late at night. Cookies, ice cream, chips, crackers — all those mindless nighttime nibbles can add up to hundreds, even thousands of calories.

Dinner at 8 p.m.? No sweat. Just make sure it’s a sensible dinner (most people can get by with a lean protein entree, veggies on the side, and salad) and curb the late-night munchies. For good digestion, try to allow at least two hours between dinner and bedtime.

Myth No. 2: Muscle will turn to fat if you don’t work out.

Muscle and fat are two entirely separate substances in our bodies. We can gain or lose muscle, just like we can gain or lose fat, but we can’t convert one into the other.

If you stop exercising, you’ll start losing muscle. This results in a slower metabolism, meaning that you burn fewer calories. The result: It’s easier to gain body fat.

Myth No. 3: Eating shellfish raises your cholesterol.

If you’ve been hesitant to dive in at crawfish boils for fear of raising your cholesterol, here’s some good news: Cholesterol from food has a minimal impact on most people’s cholesterol levels. So while crawfish, shrimp and lobster are high in cholesterol, they are very low in saturated and trans fats, the main culprits that the American Heart Association says can raise our blood cholesterol levels. As long as it’s not battered and fried or swimming in butter, dig in, guilt-free.

Myth No. 4: Carrots are high in sugar.

With only 50 calories and less than 6 grams of sugar per cup, carrots have a lower sugar content than a cup of strawberries (8 grams) or milk (12 grams). The carrots-are-high-in-sugar myth is based on the glycemic index, which is unfortunately often misinterpreted when it comes to certain foods. Glycemic index is a measure of how carbohydrate-rich foods impact our blood sugar and insulin levels. Carrots are classified as high glycemic, meaning they cause a sharp rise in blood sugar and insulin levels. But there’s the catch: Since the glycemic index is typically based on consuming 50 grams of carbohydrate, you would need to eat five cups of carrots to have an impact on your blood sugar and insulin levels.
Is it possible to get too much sugar from carrots? Possible, yes, but not likely. And really, when’s the last time someone told you that their extra weight was a direct result of chomping on too many carrots?

Myth No. 5: Sweet potatoes are lower in calories, carbs, and sugars than white potatoes.

Ah, another glycemic index misinterpretation.

Here’s the deal: Ounce-for-ounce, sweet potatoes and white potatoes have the same calorie and carbohydrate content. And sweet potatoes actually have a higher sugar content (8.3 grams of sugar for a medium-sized potato) compared to white potatoes (1.2 grams of sugar for same size potato).
Sweet potatoes are higher in fiber (six grams, compared to 2.6 grams for a white potato), so they are digested at a slower rate, and classed as low glycemic.

While they may provide more fiber (which can keep you feeling fuller, longer), sweet potatoes contain roughly the same calories and same carbohydrates as white potatoes, with an even slightly higher sugar content.

Myth No. 6: Olive oil has less fat and calories than butter.

Olive oil gets so much press about its heart-health benefits that we can easily forget that it’s still 100 percent fat, not to mention sky-high in calories. Rich in monounsaturated fat and low in saturated fat, olive oil is certainly a more artery-friendly choice than butter. But don’t think that you’re saving any calories by making the switch. Every tablespoon of olive oil packs in 119 calories and 13.5 grams of fat, compared to 102 calories and 11.5 grams of (mostly saturated) fat per tablespoon of butter. And “light” olive oil refers to the flavor, not the calorie count. It’s a fabulous source of cardio-protective monounsaturated fat, but be mindful of how much olive oil you pour on, particularly if you’re watching your waistline.

Myth No. 7: Taking vitamin C will keep you from getting sick.

Taking extra vitamin C hasn’t been proven to reduce our risk of developing a cold, and it also doesn’t seem to lessen the severity of our symptoms. The good news: If we do get sick, taking vitamin C may result in a small (10 to 15 percent) reduction in how long our colds last. The exception: People living in extreme circumstances — athletes training in sub-arctic conditions, for instance — experience about a 50-percent reduction in the risk of developing a cold when taking extra vitamin C.

Unless you’re an intense athlete or you live in an extreme environment, it’s not likely that supplementing with vitamin C will help you fend off the common cold. But taking a little extra vitamin C won’t hurt, so if you truly believe that it’s the reason you almost never catch a cold, then keep taking it. If nothing else, the placebo effect can be powerful.

Myth No. 8: If you cut out carbs, you can eat all the protein you want

Too many calories from any type of food can be stored as body fat. But certain types of calories are more diet-friendly than others. Carbohydrates — particularly white, refined carbohydrates — break down rapidly. Protein takes longer to digest, so it can help to keep you feeling fuller, longer. Plus, our bodies have to use more energy to process protein, as compared to carbs, so we burn slightly more calories when we digest high-protein foods.

It’s still calories in versus calories out. So while it’s true that most of us can benefit from limiting our intake of refined, processed carbs, most of us can also benefit from a dose of moderation with our portions of all foods, including protein.

Myth No. 9: Stick with salads if you’re dieting

Some restaurant salads top 1,300 calories and 50 grams of fat. Sure, they may start out as an innocent pile of leafy greens, but by the time they’re loaded down with cheese, bacon, egg, and ladles of dressing — not to mention tortilla strips and pita wedges — your oh-so-innocent salad may be the nutritional equivalent of a few burgers and an order of fries.

If you’re in the mood for a salad, you’re better off making it yourself. Start with dark leafy greens, add loads of veggies, a source of lean protein (grilled shrimp or chicken), and top it with a light vinaigrette or a drizzle of your favorite dressing, for a fabulously diet-friendly choice. If you’re ordering a salad out, make special requests to limit the amounts of higher-fat items. Ask for proteins to be grilled, not fried, and request salad dressings on the side so that you determine how much you want to add.

Myth No. 10: White wine has more sugar than red wine

Although exact stats vary for different types, red and white wine (and champagne) contain less than 2 grams of sugar per 6-ounce glass. And moderate intakes of red and white wine are associated with a reduced risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes, as well as a delayed onset of Alzheimer’s disease. One drawback: White wine lacks the antioxidant-rich compounds found in the seeds and skins of the grapes that are used to make red wine.

Whether your preference is white or red, you’ll get about 150 calories per 6 ounces of wine, so it’s important to factor into your daily calorie intake. And remember that “moderation” is considered one drink a day for women; two for men.

A Guilt-Free Treat

Here in the DC metro area we are being blasted by snow. So besides going out and shoveling every few hours, it's definitely a day to stay warm and toasty inside. I love to bake on these cold, wintry days; however, with the prospect of being stuck inside for most of the weekend, staring at a plate of homemade goodies is like playing a game of temptation island - trying to keep your portions modest while resisting the urge to do a face plant on the cookie tray. Instead of engaging in feats of willpower, here's a recipe for a sweet treat minus the guilt. I found this recipe for baked apples from Self magazine. I love baked apples because you get the apple pie taste without the added calories. Stay warm and enjoy!

Cinnamon Baked Apples

1 small baking apple (Braeburn, Empire, Honeycrisp, Jonathan or Rome)

2 tsp dried fruit (raisins, chopped apricots, cranberries,etc.)

1 tsp chopped walnuts

1 tsp brown sugar

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp unsalted butter or canola oil

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and dry an apple. Using an apple corer or small paring knife, remove half of the apple core. (Don't cut a hole all the way through the apple, or the contents you stuff it with will fall out.) Place 2 tsp dried fruit, 1 tsp chopped walnuts, 1 tsp brown sugar, and a sprinkle of cinnamon into the hole in the apple. Place 1/2 tsp unsalted butter or canola oil on top of the stuffing and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes, until apple is tender.

Serve warm, topped with 1/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt or light vanilla ice cream.

Per serving (1 apple): 183 calories, 3 g protein, 33g carbohydrate, fiber 3g, fat 6g (2g saturated), calcium 69mg (6.9% DV), 29mg sodium, 23mg cholesterol.

Quick and Easy Greens to Make You Lean

I have a confession to make. While I absolutely love my veggies - espcially green ones - even I occassionally "hit the wall" and think: "Ugh, not another stalk of broccoli." That's when I know it's time to step up my game and mix things up.

Here's a great recipe from Whole Foods using swiss chard. Swiss chard tastes similar to spinach but is a relative of the beets. You can find it in red, white, and rainbow colors (I kid you not). Chard is also a nutritional powerhouse with 1 cooked cup providing 4 grams of fiber and more than 100mg of calcium. It's also packed with potassium, vitamins A and C, and the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin that support eye health and protect against macular degeneration. Here's the recipe:

Swiss Chard with Tomatoes, Feta, and Pine Nuts









Serves 4

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 bunch Swiss chard, stems and leaves chopped separately, divided
Sea salt and ground black pepper
2 tablespoons low-sodium chicken broth, vegetable broth or water
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes or 1 tomato, cored and chopped
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

Method

Heat oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and chard stems and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Cover and cook 5 minutes more. Uncover, add chard leaves, salt, pepper and broth and cook, covered, until chard leaves are bright green and tender, about 5 minutes more. Remove from heat and gently stir in tomatoes. Scatter cheese and pine nuts over the top and serve.

Nutrition

Per serving (about 6oz/177g-wt.): 130 calories (70 from fat), 8g total fat, 3g saturated fat, 15mg cholesterol, 700mg sodium, 10g total carbohydrate (4g dietary fiber, 3g sugar), 5g protein

Healthy Dining Finder

This time of year is always overwhelming as we're getting ready for the holidays, socializing more with family and friends, and often traveling. While it's hard to keep nutrition a priority, planning ahead is the key to success.

The Healthy Dining Finder makes planning a lot easier. All you have to do is enter your zip code or city and state, select your price range, and "bam" - dietitian-approved entree recommendations pop up automatically. Options are offered from fast food to fine dining. This tool helps to take the guesswork out of what to eat when eating out. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Movie Theater Popcorn - The Heavy Truth!

Well I don't mean to be a "Debbie Downer" but I just couldn't let this story go by without mentioning it. The nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) recently conducted new lab tests on movie theater popcorn - and the truth is not only ugly but downright shocking. According to CSPI, a medium popcorn and soda combo at the Regal movie chain has 1,610 calories and 3 day's worth of saturated fat at 60 grams. (The medium size has 20 cups of popcorn and 1,200 calories while the 44 oz/5.5 cup medium soda has 400 calories.) This is the calorie equivalent of eating 2 sticks of butter. The saturated fat is the same as eating 1 1/4 cups of the shortening Crisco. Or to think of it in terms of food, that is like eating 6 scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese, 4 bacon strips, and 4 sausage links. As Homer Simpson would say: "D'oh!"

What's really interesting to note is that CSPI's lab tests found that the nutrition numbers the theaters provided were understated. Regal said its medium popcorn has 720 calories but the test results showed it actually has 1,200 calories. Quite a difference!

Feeling thirsty from all that salty popcorn? Sodas range in calories from 150 for the 16 oz small up to 500 calories for the 54 oz large. Candy doesn't do much better as most packages range anywhere from 300-500 empty sugar calories to a gut busting 1,160 calories for an 8 oz bag of Reese's Pieces.

Okay - so we're coming up on a high calorie holiday weekend where many of us venture out to the movies. What's a movie-goer to do?

If you can't resist the smell of the popcorn, one strategy is to follow your mother's advice and share. Buy one popcorn and ask for courtesy cups from the counter. Instead of eating directly from the container, scoop out a serving of popcorn in the courtesy cup. Sometimes the simple act of having to scoop out a serving helps to slow you down and be more mindful about what you're consuming. This is especially important since we tend to eat more when distracted.

I also recommend reading the CSPI article - especially page 3 since it has a nice graphic breakdown of the calories in the different sizes of popcorn for 3 movie chains and page 4 has a breakdown for the soda.

Well I know the truth is ugly but to paraphrase Gloria Steinem, the truth will set you free, but first it will tick you off.

I'm Out of My Gourd for Pumpkin!

With Thanksgiving on the way, I have "pumpkin on the brain" syndrome. Since cans of pumpkin are now on sale in the grocery store, I couldn't help but stock up. Now I'm adding pumpkin to everything - smoothies, pancakes, and soups. I really like pumpkin because it packs a great nutritional punch of being high in potassium, Vitamin A, and beta-carotene while being low incredibly low in calories. One cup of canned, unsweetened pumpkin has only about 83 calories and over 500 milligrams of potassium. What's so great about potassium? While we all think about needing potassium to prevent muscle cramps, a number of studies link a high potassium diet with a decrease in blood pressure. Pumpkin is also a food superstar when it comes to eye health with it's high level of vision protecting nutrients of lutein and zeaxanthin along with Vitamin A.

Here are some quick and easy recipes to use canned pumpkin. Just make sure you buy the plain, canned pumpkin rather than the canned pumpkin pie mix with added sugar.

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

3/4-1 cup low fat vanilla soy milk or low fat milk

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Drizzle of honey or non-calorie sweetener of your choice

6-8 ice cubes

Optional ingredients: 1 scoop vanilla protein powder and/or 1 tablespoon almond butter

For additional drama, top with a spray of light whipped cream.

Nutritional Info: Calories will from about 150 for the original recipe up to around 350 if adding in all the optional ingredients

Pumpkin Soup

Makes 6 servings

This would be a great soup to serve on Thanksgiving prior to the meal. Instead of having lots of appetizers, you could offer your guests a nice mug of soup to sip on while they socialize and wait for the big meal. Soup helps to take the edge off the hunger without filling up on too many calories.

Ingredients

2 teaspoons (tsp) Olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp peeled, minced fresh ginger or bottled ginger

2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Pinch of cinnamon

Salt and pepper to taste

1 can (14.5 oz) pumpkin

1 potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

4 cups veggie or chic broth (preferably reduced sodium)

1/4 cup nonfat sour cream

2 green onions, chopped

Instructions

1. In a large stockpot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, garlic, ginger, and sugar and cook until tender.

2. Add nutmeg and cinnamon. Season with salt and pepper to taste; stir to coat. Add pumpkin, potato, and broth. Bring to a boil.

3. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover and simmer 20 minutes, until the potato is tender. When done, you can either leave the soup chunky or puree in a blender or with a hand blender. Top soup with a drizzle of sour cream and green onions.

Nutritional Info per serving: 89 calories, 2g fat, 3g protein, 2g fiber

Spiced Pumpkin Mousse

Serves 10

Don't be afraid of the tofu in this dish. Tofu is a great way to add protein and creaminess to a dish without all the saturated fat and cholesterol. Just remember to get the silken style of tofu for this recipe.

Ingredients

Two 15-oz cans 100% pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

One 1-lb pkg silken tofu, drained well

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

3/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 cup nonfat plain or vanilla Greek-style yogurt or light whipped cream

1 oz dark chocolate, cut into thin shards (about 1/4 cup)

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine pumpkin and tofu. Process until combined, about 30 seconds. Add maple syrup, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Process until combined, about 30 seconds more.

2. Transfer mousse to a resealable container, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

3. Drain any water that has accumulated from the mousse. Give it a quick stir and scoop 1/2 cup mousse into each of 10 small glasses or ramekins. (You may have some mousse leftover.) Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

4. Top with a dollop of yogurt or whipped cream and 1 tsp of chocolate just before serving.

Nutrition Info for 1/2 cup mousse, 2 tsp yogurt, 1 tsp chocolate: Calories 130, Fat 3.5g, Carbs 22g, Fiber 4g, Protein 4g

If Food Calls Your Name, You Don't Have to Answer.

I'm reading a great book by Debbie Danowski called The Emotional Eater's Book of Inspiration. I highly recommend this book if you struggle with using food to manage your feelings and cope with your emotions. This book provides 90 funny and poignant truths about overcoming food addition.

Many of us are unaware of the ways we use food to soothe our feelings. Some people eat when they're happy, sad, frustrated, bored, lonely, or tired or all of the above. According to Danowski, when we don't want to experience our feelings, we turn to food to help us feel better. Somehow the notion of hunger gets lost in a sea of emotions and we forget why we're eating in the first place. We then become disconnected with our bodies and what true hunger feels like. Using food to cope creates a new host of problems and doesn't address the original issue.

So if the ice cream in the freezer is calling to you and saying "come and get me," Danowski offers the following thoughts in her book:

"Despite what we may think, food cannot speak to us. It does not breathe. It is not living and we cannot hurt its feelings if we don't eat it....By giving human characteristics to food we create a relationship with an object. Once we create this relationship we become emotionally attached to it. This allows us to manufacture situations that make it nearly impossible for us to resist overeating. In a sense, we are using food to replace the human relationship that involve the person who once served them to us."

If food is calling your name and you're not sure if you are physically hungry, take a few minutes and distract yourself by going for a walk, calling a friend, or doing an errand. Then if you're stomach is grumbling, go ahead and eat. If not, just remind yourself that "food doesn't speak and that even if it did, you don't have to listen. You can choose to walk away instead."

You have the power.

Become a Grocery Guru: Rate Your Receipt

Want a quick and easy way to see if you're making healthy choices at the grocery store? Rate your receipt. Here's a great tip from Prevention Magazine. Save your receipt from the grocery store. Get 3 highlighter pens - a blue, yellow, and pink one. Sit down with your receipt and mark it up as follows:

• Blue: For every fresh food you purchase (or frozen without extra sauces), such as fruits, veggies, fish, unsalted nuts and seeds, and lean meats (chic, turkey), use the blue highlighter.

• Yellow: Use the yellow highlighter to mark all those not-so-healthful packaged foods, such as cookies, crackers, chips, soda, etc...

• Pink: Use pink to highlight those better-for-you in-between foods: wholesome but packaged products such as Greek-style yogurt, brown rice, or whole grain crackers, bread or cereal.

Ideally at least 75% of your foods should be blue or pink. If not, take a look and see what you can change on your next visit so you have healthier choices available.

Is Brown Fat the Secret to Being Lean?

Oh brown fat - we hardly know you. We're all too familiar with white fat - the unwanted party guest that keeps showing up uninvited on our hips, thighs, stomach, arms, and butt. But brown fat is different. Though they share the same last name, brown fat is white fat's much cooler cousin. Instead of storing excess calories from food as "love handles" or the dreaded "muffin top," brown fat helps to burn incoming calories. How is this possible? Brown fat has a much different job than white fat.

The purpose of brown fat is to help regulate body temperature. Brown fat are specialized cells packed with mitochondria - the powerhouse of the cells. Instead of producing a high energy compound called ATP (adenosine triphosphate) to help keep us moving and shaking, brown fat cells instead burn through fuel (calories) to produce heat to help keep us warm. Brown fat is prevalent in infants and hibernating animals, which both need it to help stay warm in cold temperatures. It was previously thought that brown fat stores shrink as we age since we become more efficient at regulating our body temperature. However, recent studies indicate that adults actually retain a significant portion of brown fat in the neck area. (Sorry - there goes your excuse to act as immature as a baby or take the winter off to hibernate like a bear in your hopes of boosting your brown fat stores.)

Is there a way to harness of the power of brown fat to become a weight loss dynamo? Researchers at the Univeristy of Gothenburg in Sweden learned in experiments that exposing people to cold temperatures increased the activity of brown fat. Scientists estimate that 50 grams of brown fat could burn 20% of an average person's daily caloric intake - or about 400 calories of a 2000 calorie diet.

Now before you head off to your doctor asking for a pill or injection of brown fat or stand out in the cold shivering, it's important to keep in mind that the body is extremely efficient. A boost in calorie burning is often accompanied by a boost in appetite.

While researchers predict that real world interventions with brown fat are at least 5-10 years away, scientists also state that these treatments would only be effective when paired with changes in nutrition and exercise. (Oh snap - we still have to make lifestyle changes.) Brown fat - I guess we're still trying to get to know you.

Here are links to a few articles discussing the metabolic power of brown fat:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/10/brown.fat.obesity/index.html

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1890175,00.html

http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-brown-fat2-2009nov02,0,3235554.story

Have a "Souper" Weekend!

Now that the weather is turning colder, there is nothing like a nice bowl of hearty, hot soup to keep you warm and toasty. The weekends are a perfect time to plan ahead and make a double size portion so you have one to enjoy and one to freeze and have later. Soups are also an easy way to add more veggies in your diet. So turn on the big game and fire up the stove as you try out these recipes.

Quick Fall Minestrone Soup

Source: Cooking Light, October 2003

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups soup and 1 tablespoon cheese)

Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups vegetable broth
2 1/2 cups (3/4-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash
2 1/2 cups (3/4-inch) cubed peeled baking potato
1 cup (1-inch) cut green beans (about 1/4 pound)
1/2 cup diced carrot
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups chopped kale
1/2 cup uncooked orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
1 (16-ounce) can cannellini beans or other white beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preparation

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté 2 1/2 minutes or until tender. Add broth and the next 7 ingredients (broth through salt); bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 3 minutes. Add kale, orzo, and beans; cook 5 minutes or until orzo is done and vegetables are tender. Sprinkle with cheese.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 212 (21% from fat)
Fat: 5g (sat 1.6g,mono 1g,poly 1.2g)
Protein: 9.6g
Carbohydrate: 36g
Fiber: 3.9g
Cholesterol: 5mg
Iron: 1.9mg
Sodium: 961mg
Calcium: 164mg

Broccoli Cheese Chowder

Source: Eating Well, Winter 2004

6 servings, 1 cup each
Active Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 large carrot, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 large potato, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 14-ounce cans vegetable broth, or reduced-sodium chicken broth
8 ounces broccoli crowns, cut into 1-inch pieces, stems and florets separated
1 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/8 teaspoon salt

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot and celery; cook, stirring often, until the onion and celery soften, 5 to 6 minutes. Add potato and garlic; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in flour, dry mustard and cayenne; cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes.
2. Add broth and broccoli stems; bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Stir in florets; simmer, covered, until the broccoli is tender, about 10 minutes more. Transfer 2 cups of the chowder to a bowl and mash; return to the pan.
3. Stir in Cheddar and sour cream; cook over medium heat, stirring, until the cheese is melted and the chowder is heated through, about 2 minutes. Season with salt.

Make Ahead Tip: Prepare through Step 2. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 2 months.

Nutrition

Per serving: 205 calories; 9 g fat (4 g sat, 3 g mono); 21 mg cholesterol; 23 g carbohydrates; 9 g protein; 4 g fiber; 508 mg sodium; 436 mg potassium.

A Healthier Halloween While Supporting the Troops

Happy Halloween! We have now officially entered what I like to call "The Eating Season." It starts with Halloween and continues through the holiday season until at least Super Bowl Sunday and often even into Valentine's Day. Enjoy yourself tonight and indulge in some Halloween treats. Having fun with food and friends is all part of healthy eating. Just make sure that tonight's party doesn't continue for the rest of the week. Focus on the 90/10 rule - 90% of the time be consistent and more targeted with healthy choices while having fun 10% of the time. For example, if you eat 3 meals and 2 snacks daily, seven days a week, that would total 35 meals and snacks. So having fun about 10% of the time would mean that you might make a more fun choice for about 3-4 of those meals or snacks. Just keep in mind portion sizes. A "fun" snack might be having 1-2 cookies but not the entire package.

In a quest to stay on track, many people remove temptation from their house by bringing that excess Halloween candy to work. Another suggestion is to send it to Boatsie's Boxes - a non-profit, charitable organization dedicated to supporting our troops. Items, such as candy, can be sent to the address listed in the following link:

http://www.boatsie.com/contactdonationinformation.html

Not overrun by Halloween candy? Here is the link to the list of other items needed:

http://www.boatsie.com/itemsneeded.html

Make a comment and let me know if you have other creative ideas for that extra Halloween candy.

How Sweet It Is!

Would you eat a stack of 16 sugar cubes? If you're saying "Heck no," you might not realize you already are. According to the Sugar Stacks website, drinking a 20 oz soda provides you with 65 grams (about 16 sugar cubes) or about 240 calories just from sugar alone.

This is a fun and informative website as it shows you visually exactly how much sugar is in the food you're eating - everything from beverages to breakfast foods to sauces. Find out surprising facts such as eating 1 tablespoon of ketchup is the equivalent of eating 1 cube of sugar or that eating 6oz of yoplait light yogurt has 3.5 cubes of sugar.

Check it out at http://www.sugarstacks.com/

Let me know what you think and if find out anything that surprises you.