Diet & Nutrition

Coach’s Kitchen: Have Your Cake and Sweeten it Too

Posted by Coach Stacy on February 18, 2012
Posted in: Diet & Nutrition. Leave a comment

Depending upon how you choose to sweeten your pot, here are a few dessert recipes that will satisfy your sweet tooth without spoiling your diet:

Super-Sweet Blueberry Muffins (from The “I Can’t Believe This Has No Sugar” Cookbook by Deborah E. Buhr)

1 cup mashed banana

2 egg whites or 1 extra large egg

1/3 cup vegetable oil

½ cup unsweetened apple juice concentrate (any brand)

1 Tbsp water

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, left to thaw in a strainer

2 tsp baking soda

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare 18 standard-sized muffin cups with paper liners.  In a large bowl, stir together banana, egg, oil, concentrate, and water.  Add flour and mix.  Gently stir in blueberries.  Stir in baking soda quickly, and then mix (28 to 30 beats).  Immediately spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.  Bake about 20 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of one muffin comes out clean.  As soon as they are done, remove muffins from tins and cool on a wire rack.  Serve warm or cool completely and store in an air tight container on countertop or freeze. 

Yeild:  18 muffins

Per Muffin:

Calories: 117; Protein: 2 g; Fat: 4.3 g; Carbohydrate: 17.9 g; Sodium: 148.8 mg; Diabetic exchanges: starch – 1, fat – 1

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Sugarless Apple Cookies (from www.recipe4living.com)

¾ cup chopped dates

½ cup finely chopped peeled apple

½ cup raisins

½ cup water

1 cup plus 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt (optional)

2 eggs

1 tsp liquid sweetener

 In a large saucepan, combine dates, apples, raisins and water.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes.  Remove from heat; cool.  Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt, if desired.  Stir into apple mixture and mix well.  Combine eggs and sweetener, add to batter.  Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a nonstick baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. 

Yeild: 2 dozen

Per Serving:

Calories: 54; Sodium: 24 mg (without added salt); Cholesterol: 18 mg; Carbohydrate: 18 g; Protein: 1 g; Fat: 1 g; Diabetic Exchanges: starch – ½, fruit – ½

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Ultra Mini Cream Cheese Tarts (from www.sparkrecipes.com)

1 – 8 oz package of Cream cheese (regular)

1 – 8 oz package of fat-free Cream cheese

1 cup Splenda sweetener

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

12 vanilla wafers

12 paper liners for muffin cups

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place a paper cupcake liner in each cup of a muffin pan.  Beat cream cheese with a hand-held electric mixer until fluffy.  Add Splenda sugar substitute and vanilla and beat well.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Place vanilla wafer, flat side down, in each muffin cup.  Spoon Cream cheese mixture over each vanilla wafer.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Allow to cool completely.  Serve as is or add your favorite pie filling (i.e. blueberry, cherry, peach). 

Yield: 12 servings

Per Tart:

Calories: 101.8; Fat 7.5 g; Carbohydrates: 2.3 g; Protein: 2.5 g

Do you have low-sugar or sugar-free recipes you’d like to share?  Feel free to post them under “Leave a Comment” and we’ll share them with the rest of our readers!

Sugar: How Much is Too Much?

Posted by Debby Ridgell on February 15, 2012
Posted in: Diet & Nutrition, Pass the Health. 1 Comment

Are you eating too much sugar? Coach Stacy and Joe Fowler demonstrate how much — is too much — sugar.  Click on the video icon above.

HealthyLib: Resources to Help You Lick the Sugar Habit

Posted by Debby Ridgell on February 14, 2012
Posted in: Diet & Nutrition, Health & Fitness Library. Tagged: , , , , , . 1 Comment

That which we call sugar by any other name would taste as sweet.

Stop by your local library or bookstore and browse the cookbooks section.  You’ll find dozens of low sugar, low carb, and diabetes cookbooks.  Do your homework beforehand, though.  Many cookbooks touting “totally sugar-free” meals actually feature recipes containing Splenda, an artificial sweetener approved by the FDA.  Splenda is a popular calorie-free baking alternative to sugar because it provides both sweetness and bulk, but if you have any concerns about ingesting artificial chemicals these cookbooks might disappoint. 

Other “sugar-free” cookbooks call for “sugar substitutes” such as fruit juice concentrate and agave nectar, which are in fact……um……sugars.  Don’t be fooled.  As Coach Stacy says, “Sugar is sugar.”  If you’re trying to cut back or eliminate sugars altogether, you’ll want to recognize the many sugar aliases on the market.  Just because a recipe doesn’t contain white or brown sugar doesn’t mean it’s sugar-free.

Here are a few cookbooks you might like if you’re trying to reduce or eliminate the amount of sugar in your diet.  The right choices for you depends upon what you’re trying to accomplish:

  • Everything Sugar-Free Cookbook by Nancy T. Maar;  and Eat What You Love: More Than 300 Incredible Recipes Low in Sugar, Fat, and Calories by Marlene Koch

Both cookbooks feature recipes which are, indeed, delicious as well as low in calories and sugar, but do call for Splenda as a sweetener.  If you’re not averse to using artificial sweeteners in your food, these cookbooks are good choices.

  • Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Cooking: Over 200 Delicious Recipes to Help You Live a Healthier, Allergy-free Life by Susan O’Brien.

You’ll find no table sugar in the ingredients for these recipes.  Instead, sugar substitutes such as fruit juice concentrate, agave nectar, brown rice syrup, honey and maple syrup are called upon to sweeten the dishes.  While many would contend that the recipes might be healthier than those contained in Splenda cookbooks – and certainly suitable for individuals with food allergies — if you’re trying to lose weight or reduce your sugars, this cookbook won’t help you. 

  • The “I Can’t Believe This Has No Sugar” Cookbook by Deborah E. Buhr. 

The cookbook is aptly titled – because you shouldn’t believe it.  There’s plenty of sugar in this book’s recipes – just not the refined variety.  However, I’ll contend that these recipes are, without doubt, healthier than those found in most “sugar-free” cookbooks because they contain no additives or preservatives.  They also feature natural fruit in their ingredients, which add vitamins and fiber.   However, most also contain fruit juice concentrate, which essentially falsifies the title.  Be that as it may, check out Coach’s Kitchen later this week for Buhr’s delicious Blueberry Muffin recipe.  The muffins are easy to make and call for a fresh banana and blueberries (along with unsweetened apple juice concentrate) as its natural sweeteners.

  • The American Diabetes Association Diabetes Comfort Food Cookbook by Robyn Webb, M.S.

Definitely comfort food, but the recipes contained in this volume are most definitely not sugar-free.  The recipes call for table sugar and honey, but less is used than in “normal” recipes because they’re combined with Splenda or stevia, which is an herbal sweetener extracted from a plant that grows in South America and Southeast Asia. 

 You’ll also want to check out these two web resources:

Sugar Stacks:  The home page of this website poses the question, “Would you eat a stack of 16 sugar cubes?”  Probably not, right?  Wrong!  If you drink a 20 oz bottle of Classic Coke, that’s exactly how much sugar you’d be pouring into your body.  This is a clever website offering sobering visual representations of how much sugar we ingest when we consume common foods and beverages, including breakfast cereals, sodas, candy bars and snacks as well as various fresh fruits and vegetables.  The sugar stack representing a complete Thanksgiving dinner is the real eye opener – over 26 sugar cubes.  By the way, did you know that a 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk, which is a staple in many holiday baking recipes, contains 220 grams of sugar?  That’s a stack of 55 sugar cubes, or 1,300 calories.  Was it any wonder you felt bloated last November 24?

The USDA Database for the Added Sugars Content of Selected Foods:  This is a helpful tool in calculating the amount of added sugar in your diet.

Coach’s Kitchen: Super Healthy Tailgate Recipes

Posted by Debby Ridgell on February 5, 2012
Posted in: Diet & Nutrition. Leave a comment

Avoid super-sizing your waistline during the Super Bowl with some of these healthy snacks:

Broiled Buffalo Wings (from USA Weekend’s food columnist Ellie Krieger)

2 pounds chicken wings, split at the joints

¼ cup cayenne pepper sauce, preferably Frank’s Red Hot, plus more for serving

1 Tbs. Fresh lemon juice

3 Tbs. low-sodium chicken broth

3 large ribs celery, cut into sticks

1 recipe Blue Cheese Dip (below)

 Preheat the broiler.  Place the wings in a large pot and fill the pot with water to cover by about 2 inches.  Bring to a boil, then continue to boil for 10 minutes.  Drain. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the cayenne pepper sauce, lemon juice and broth.  Reserve.

 Transfer the wings to a baking sheet, drizzle with the reserved sauce and toss well to coat.  Place the baking sheet under the broiler for 1 minute to heat the wings and sauce together. 

 Serve with extra hot sauce on the side, celery sticks and the Blue Cheese Dip.  Yield: 4 servings.

 Per Serving:

Calories 240

Protein 27 g

Fat 12 g ( 4 g saturated)

Cholesterol 95 mg

Fiber 1 g

Sodium 710 mg

Blue Cheese Dip

¼ cup plain Greek-style non-fat yogurt

2 Tbs. mayonnaise

1 tsp. white wine vinegar

1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese (1 ½ oz)

In a small bowl, stir together the yogurt, mayonnaise, vinegar and blue cheese.  Mash any very large chunks of blue cheese with the back of a spoon to integrate the cheese into the dip.

Make the dip up in advance and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  Allow to come to room temperature before serving.  Yield: 4 servings

Per Serving:

Calories 70

Carbohydrates 3 g

Protein 4 g

Fat 6 g (2 saturated)

Cholesterol 10 mg

Fiber 0 g

Sodium 210 mg

Cheesy Crab Dip

Cheesy Crab Dip (from www.familycircle.com/recipes)

8 oz reduced-fat cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup light mayonnaise

1/3 cup fat-free milk

2 Tbs. chopped fresh dill, plus more sprigs, to garnish

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

¼ tsp. garlic salt

½ pound imitation crabmeat, coarsely chopped

6 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese

Fresh vegetables for dipping

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat a 9-inch pie plate with nonstick cooking spray.  In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, mayonnaise, milk, dill, Worcestershire sauce and garlic salt.  Fold in imitation crabmeat.  Spoon mixture evenly into prepared pie plate.  Sprinkle Parmesan cheese evenly over top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until lightly browned.  Cool slightly.  Garnish with dill sprigs and serve with sliced vegetables.  Yield: 12 servings

Per serving:

Calories 114

Protein 6 g

Carbohydrates 5 g

Fat 8 g (4 saturated)

Cholesterol 25 g

Sodium 464 mg

 Nat's Oven Baked Zucchini Sticks

Oven Baked Zucchini Strips (from www.food.com)

3 medium zucchini

¾ c whole wheat bread crumbs

¼ c freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 tsp. oregano

½ tsp. fresh ground pepper

½ tsp. garlic powder

¼ tsp. salt

1 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Spray a large baking sheet with oil cooking spray.  Cut zucchini into slices. Toss zucchini in a bowl with the olive oil.  Mix dry ingredients in a plastic bag.  Place zucchini, a handful at a time, in the plastic bag and shake to coat.  Spread coated zucchini on the baking sheet and bake 20 minutes.  Turn zucchini and bake another 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.  Serve with your favorite dip.  Yield: 4 servings.

spinach artichoke recipe

Spinach Artichoke Balls (from www.foodrepublic.com)

Balls:

1 pound package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and chopped finely

½ pound frozen artichokes, thawed and chopped finely

5 eggs

1 large onion, minced

4 Tbs butter, melted and cooled

1 ½ cups Parmesan cheese, grated

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ tsp. Cayenne powder

2 c. Italian-style breadcrumbs

Dill sauce:

1 c mayonnaise

1 c sour cream

¼ c dill, chopped

2 scallions, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all sauce ingredients together in a bowl, cover and refrigerate.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Squeeze excess water from spinach and put in a large mixing bowl.  Add remaining ingredients and mix well by hand.  Form mixture into 1 ½” balls either by hand or with a small ice cream scoop.  Roll them between the palms of your hand to get a uniform smooth finish.  Place balls on a parchment lined sheet pan and cook until firm to the touch, 20-25 minutes.  Serve warm with dipping sauce.

HealthyLib: Sweet Misery

Posted by Debby Ridgell on February 4, 2012
Posted in: Diet & Nutrition, Health & Fitness Library. 2 Comments

A few weeks ago I started thinking about how much sugar I put down on a daily basis.  I decided to monitor my intake closely and have been scrutinizing my food labels.  One day, as a visual aid I poured one teaspoon of sugar into a measuring cup for every four grams of sugar that I swallowed.  The result?  Good mercy, I’m like a walking sugar plantation.  The teaspoons added up in a hurry and the sources were many:  2 spoons full of sugar in my morning coffee (oops make that two morning coffees and four spoons full), my bowl of Fiber One cereal for breakfast (Really? 14 grams of sugar?), the fruit and walnut salad and large McDonald’s Sweet Tea at lunch, my Lindor truffles in the middle of the afternoon (goodness, three of ’em), the Girl Scout cookies that veritably screamed from the pantry after dinner. 

Take a look at what that much sugar looks like:

Yuck.

It was clear that I had a problem – but how did I get this way?  Why had I become such a brazen sugarholic?  To figure it all out I hit the library and here are some of the useful resources that I found:

  Sugar Shock! by Connie Bennett:  A former journalist, Connie Bennett suffered from a host of physical maladies, but eventually discovered that drastically cutting back on the sugars and simple carbs in her diet helped her to regain her health and happiness.  Bennett offers evidence that many others in America are suffering from “sugar shock.”

  Sugar Blues by William Dufty:  A pioneering work in the toxic effects of sugar consumption, Sugar Blues posits that sugar is a kind of poison that causes overweight, irritability, premature aging, diminished mental acuity, and lethargy.  He describes an encounter he had with screen legend Gloria Swanson, who had sworn off the stuff years before, which inspired his lifetime of work researching the health problems associated with sugar addiction.  Interesting reading.

  Suicide by Sugar by Nancy Appleton:  Clinical nutritionist Nancy Appleton  describes her own sugar addiction and how too much sugar caused her body’s homeostasis to become completely out of whack.  She details the many physical maladies tied to high sugar consumption, including hypoglycemia, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and dementia, and outlines an action plan for beating sugar addiction.

You might also want to check out this Nightline report featuring Dr. Robert Lustig, a Pediatric Endocrinologist, on the health concerns surrounding sugar consumption, including rising obesity levels due to eating foods containing high fructose corn syrup.

I’m now determined to cut a lot of the added sugars out of my diet.  Next week, I will outline other helpful tools, including low sugar and diabetes cookbooks as well as websites geared at helping us monitor and reduce the amount of sugar we eat and drink.

Just a Spoonful of Sugar

Posted by Coach Stacy on February 1, 2012
Posted in: Coach's Daily Dose, Diet & Nutrition. 2 Comments

“Attention all units.  Crystalline substance suspected of causing obesity.  Suspect is considered fattening and dangerous and last seen hiding in thousands of food labels under a number of aliases.  Suspect is recognized as white or brown granules but often disguised as an amber liquid as well.  Approach suspect with caution.  Ingest at your own risk.”

It’s sad but true.  Sugar is the number one suspect in our nation’s obesity epidemic.  Sweet and addictive, sugar hides in massive quantities in a variety of unsuspecting foods like yogurts, condiments, soup, peanut butter, salad dressings, lunch meats, canned fruits and vegetables, sauces, and non-dairy creamers.  Sugar is considered “nutritive,” meaning it contains calories – but they’re empty calories offering no nutritional value whatsoever.  Once a rare delicacy enjoyed only by the affluent, sugar – in its many forms – has saturated the food market and is now the number one food additive.  Today, the average adult consumes over 150 pounds of sugar per year.  That’s nearly a half a pound, or around 50 teaspoons, of sugar each day.

Let’s break this down:  Sugar is a carbohydrate with a calorie count of 4 calories per gram.  Four grams of sugar is equivalent to one sugar packet or just under one teaspoon – which would be just about 16 calories.  Now consider this:  Those 50 teaspoons of sugar you’re putting down each day?  They account for 800 of your daily calories.  That 20-oz. bottle of soda you just drank?  66 grams of sugar or 264 calories.

It’s no shock, then, that according to the CDC, more than one third of American adults and 17% of children in the U.S. are obese.  In addition to adding inches to our waistlines, sugar consumption has also been linked to heart conditions, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, candida, hypertension and dramatic spikes and drops in blood sugar leading to adrenal failure.  And let’s not forget that high sugar consumption is a leading cause of tooth decay.  There’s even some evidence that high sugar consumption causes “body-wide biochemical stress and inflammation” which leads to a weakened immune system.

This begs the question, “How much is too much sugar?”  In 2009 the American Heart Association suggested that women limit themselves to 6 teaspoons of sugar per day, men 9 teaspoons, and children 3 teaspoons – a tall challenge in today’s sugar-laden processed food and beverage market.  Take, for example, the following culprits:

  • Fat free yogurt with fruit:  47 grams (nearly 12 teaspoons)
  • 1 can of Coke Classic: 39 grams (nearly 7 teaspoons)
  • 1 cup of Fruit Loops: 16 grams (4 teaspoons)
  • Grande Starbucks vanilla Frappuccino: 58 grams (over 14 teaspoons)
  • 1 cup of canned pineapples in syrup: 43 grams (almost 11 teaspoons)

 So what’s a sweet tooth to do?  Tune in next week for tips on finding hidden sugars in foods and strategies for cutting back on the amount of sugar you eat.  We’ll also give you the low-down on the many artificial sweeteners currently on the market.  And later this week we’ll post some recipes for low-sugar, healthy Super Bowl snacks and meals.  Meanwhile, keep in mind that a spoonful of sugar may help the medicine go down, but it won’t help you pull up your skinny jeans!

Coach’s Kitchen: Skinny Girl Margaritas

Posted by Coach Stacy on January 25, 2012
Posted in: Diet & Nutrition. Leave a comment

Awhile ago one of my clients suffered from severe migraines.  It was finally determined that her headaches were being caused by too high a sugar intake and she was placed on a diet restricting her sugars.  This helped enormously, but she found that every now and then she really craved certain high sugar foods and beverages like margaritas.  Her cravings were solved when she discovered this recipe for Skinny Girl Margaritas:

2 oz Patron Silver Tequila

1 oz Cointreau Liqueur

1 oz Lime Juice

1 Lime Wedge

Salt (optional)

Mix Patron, Cointreau, and Lime Juice in a shaker with ice.  Rim a glass and pour margarita over ice.  Garnish with a lime wedge and enjoy

Calories:  199.7; Fat 0.0 g; Carbohydrates: 2.6 g; Protein 0.1 g

Check out Bethenny’s website for additional Skinny Girl drink and cocktail recipes.

Coach’s Kitchen: Healthy Eats after a Day at the Rodeo

Posted by Coach Stacy on January 21, 2012
Posted in: Diet & Nutrition. 4 Comments

Got a hankering for something spicy after a day at the rodeo?  My friend and client Toni sent this dish in from her stash of Weight Watchers recipes.  She says it’s quite simple to prepare and cook – and easy on hips too.

  Mexican Chicken and Bean Pizza

Prep time 12 minutes; Cook time 12 minutes

3 sprays cooking spray

4 small corn tortillas

8 oz uncooked ground chicken

1 tbsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 cup canned pinto beans rinsed and drained

1/3 cup salsa

1/2 cup cilantro, fresh, chopped, divided

1/4 cup low fat shredded cheese sharp variety

8 tsp reduced fat sour cream

1 medium tomato diced

1/2 medium avocado diced

1 tsp lime juice

 Preheat oven to 425. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

 Place tortillas on the baking sheet and bake for about 6-8 minutes till they brown a little bit.

 Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat. Add chicken, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper.  Cook breaking up chunks of chicken with a wooden spoon until cooked through, about 4-5 minutes.

 In a bowl mash beans and salsa with a fork until well blended; stir in 1/4 cup cilantro.

 Spread 1/4 bean mixture over each tortilla; top each with chicken mixture and sprinkle with cheese. Bake until cheese melts and topping is hot – about 3 minutes.

 In a medium bowl toss together tomato, avocado, remaining 1/4 cup cilantro and lime juice.

 Remove pizzas from oven and top with sour cream and avocado mixture.  Toni says you can play with the spices a bit and add what you like to the chicken. This is the original recipe except she added the pepper and more garlic.  Sometimes she adds red pepper flakes too and for reduced calories, she sometimes substitutes more salsa for the sour cream.

This next recipe comes from eDiets.com.  It too has just the right amount of kick after a day of riding and roping.

  Mexican Turkey Bean Chili

 3 oz lean ground turkey

½ cup reduced sodium vegetable broth

1/3 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained

½ cup canned corn, drained

¼ onion, chopped

1/3 cup celery, chopped

½ cup tomato, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tsp chili powder

¼ tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp ground oregano

2 tsp vegetable oil

 Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add the turkey, onion, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and garlic.  Cook until the turkey is well browned, stirring frequently.  Add in the broth, tomato, beans, corn and celery into the saucepan.  Heat to a boil then reduce heat to low.  Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, and serve.

Coach’s Kitchen: Dukan Diet’s Oat Bran Pancake

Posted by Debby Ridgell on January 13, 2012
Posted in: Diet & Nutrition. 4 Comments

If one of your resolutions is to lose weight, one of the first habits you’ll want to begin is eating a healthy breakfast daily.  Eating breakfast will give you the energy and brain power to take on your day.  Furthermore, studies have shown that a healthy breakfast will provide satiety which will help you avoid over eating during the remainder of the day.

If you’re not accustomed to eating breakfast, here’s an easy recipe for you to try.  It’s the Dukan Diet Oat Bran Gallette:

1 egg white

2 tablespoons of oat bran

2 tablespoons of fat-free plain Greek yogurt

1 teaspoon of Splenda (for a sweet pancake)

Or

Pepper, herbs and/or chopped garlic (for a savory pancake)

In a small bowl, beat the egg white until it’s foamy.  In a separate bowl, combine the oat bran, yogurt, and sweetener or seasonings.  Add the egg white and mix until its consistency is smooth like pancake batter.  Pour the batter into a nonstick pan and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes until golden.  Flip the gallette and cook on the other side.  Total preparation time about 10 minutes.

The Dukan pancake is a terrific source of protein and fiber and it’s quick and easy to make.  Pair it with an apple or berries for a filling and healthy breakfast.