[Guest Post] Adopting a Plant-Based Diet
October 4, 2012 by KathyG · Leave a Comment
This is a guest post by Tristina Brown, MS, RD, CSO. Ms. Brown is the registered dietitian at CentraCare’s Coborn Cancer Center. She’s a board-certified specialist in oncology nutrition. She designs individual nutrition plans for patients based on individual needs. She is a frequent contributor to Survivorship Momentum – a quarterly newsletter for cancer survivors created and distributed by the Coborn Cancer Center.
Eating healthy is important for everyone, but even more vital for someone going through cancer when your immune system is at its weakest. A growing body of evidence even suggests that eating healthy can reduce the risk of reoccurrence.
Adopting a plant-based diet does not mean becoming vegetarian, but instead limiting animal foods and consuming more plant-based foods. Plant-based diets may include whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, legumes, nuts and seeds, as well as small amounts of dairy products and lean animal protein such as fish, chicken and lean cuts of beef or pork. Consuming a plant-based diet can help lower your risk of cancer, heart disease and other chronic diseases, help manage diabetes and lower your blood pressure. Plant foods also tend to be much lower in calories.
Tips for getting more plant-based foods into your diet:
- Cover 2/3 of your plate with whole grains, beans, fruits and vegetables and 1/3 of your plate with fish, poultry, meat or low-fat dairy foods.
- Think color! Try to consume a minimum of five fruits and vegetables per day whether fresh, canned, frozen or dried.
- Consider going meatless for at least one meal per week.
- Limit consumption of red meat and avoid processed meats such as cold cuts, bacon, sausage and hot dogs that contain carcinogens.
Mushrooms: A great source for valuable nutrients
While most mushrooms are available year round, many are at their peak in the fall and winter. Portobello mushrooms are known for their meaty flavor and can be used as a meat substitute. Low in calories and with no saturated fat or cholesterol, portobellos are also packed with nutrients and vitamins.
After removing the stem from the cap, wash both sides with a wet paper towel. Next, drizzle with oil, Italian dressing and other seasonings you like, such as garlic. Then grill or broil each side for a couple of minutes.
Try the following:
- Fill the mushroom cap with pesto, then top with mozzarella or parmesan cheese and grill or broil until warm and cheese is melted;
- Fill with wild rice, chive and onion cream cheese and top with cheddar cheese, grilling or broiling until warm and cheese is melted;
- Boil with potatoes, drain, then mash, adding cream of mushroom soup and salt/pepper to taste;
- Use in place of beef in stroganoff or other recipes.
Go to this link to view and print a healthy grocery shopping list!
[Guest Post] NuVal Spokesmom – Kelly Radi!
July 27, 2012 by KathyG · 3 Comments
This is a guest post by Kelly Radi, our NuVal spokesmom. Passionate about food and nutrition, she’s excited to share how NuVal helps simplify grocery shopping and promotes healthy eating.
You can follow Kelly’s Blog every other Tuesday starting July 31, 2012.
Greetings from your Central Minnesota NuVal Spokesmom!
I am a Minnesota mom who likes to cook and loves to eat. I am passionate about food, good nutrition and feeding my family. I’m not a registered dietician or a gourmet chef. Ok, so I WISH I were a gourmet chef, but I don’t think wishing counts). I am a mom who is very excited to help other Central Minnesota folks understand how to change the world of nutrition into something simple, practical and fun. With a husband and two active teenage daughters to feed, I am continually looking for ways to get more good nutrition into them. They need delicious, healthy foods to fuel their brains and energize their bodies. I need it just to keep up with them!
In my quest for tasty and healthy foods, I became confused by the labels and marketing. Was “reduced fat” actually better? Did “low calorie” mean healthier? Or, were all the added ingredients I couldn’t pronounce actually hurting my kids? I found myself looking for a more simple way to cut through the confusion of nutritional labeling. I wanted to come up with healthy options for my family that didn’t make us feel like we were on a diet. Basically, I wanted to make each calorie count!
That is where NuVal® comes in. NuVal is a nutritional food scoring system — available at your Minnesota Coborn’s stores. The NuVal System scores food on a scale of 1-100. The higher the NuVal Score, the better the nutrition. It’s that simple. Developed by an independent panel of nutrition and medical experts, the NuVal system helps you see – at a glance – the overall nutritional value of the food you buy.
Watch this YouTube video – it’s my debut as the Central MN NuVal Spokesmom!
I am new to this whole blogging world, but eager to jump in. I am so excited to give you a place to come for plenty of delicious recipes that are actually healthy, tips on getting the most out of the NuVal system (for both new-to-NuVal users as well as those of us who have already taken advantage of it already) as well as helpful information on how to add quality to your grocery-shopping experience. If you have any topics you’d like to see addressed in this blog, please feel free to send them my way. I’d love to hear from you! New to NuVal? Great! Let me know your questions. A seasoned pro? Wonderful! We’d love to hear your tips for using NuVal in your kitchen. I welcome your feedback and suggestions. Please email me at kellyr@centracare.com.
Don’t forget – my next blog is Tuesday, July 31 – BBQ Bliss (NuVal and the Grill)!
Hope you enjoy!
Kelly
Healthy Foods in Schools
May 31, 2012 by KathyG · Leave a Comment
Salty snacks, sugary drinks, pizza, ice cream, and french fries may soon be hard for students to purchase in school vending machines, school stores, and cafeteria à la carte lines. In the coming weeks, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is expected to issue its new national nutrition standards for foods (snacks and beverages) sold in schools. These standards could limit the amount of sugar, salt and fat foods could contain.
Any food or beverage that “competes” with the school lunch program is considered a “competitive food”. Today, kids are consuming more than half of their daily calories in school – unfortunately, more and more students are getting most of their calories from competitive foods like snacks and drinks, not meals.
A lot has changed since the USDA last updated there guidelines in 1979. The school food environment has dramatically altered and so has the health of our children. Students have access to a lot of varieties of foods and often they are not the healthiest. The soon proposed national nutrition standards comes at a time when more than one-third of U.S. children are overweight or obese.
A recent poll by the Kids’ Safe & Healthful Foods Project finds that the vast majority of voters are in favor of national nutrition standards for snacks and beverages sold in schools.
- 80 percent of voters favor national standards limiting the calories, fat, and sodium in snack and à la carte foods sold in U.S. schools; and
- 81 percent of voters are concerned about childhood obesity, including more than half (54 percent), who say they are very concerned.
Watch this video to learn more about the issue of snacks and beverages sold in schools.
What do you think – do sugar-sweetened beverages, candy bars and other unhealthy foods deserve a place in schools?
Is Food Healthier Abroad? – by Lydia!
May 9, 2012 by KathyG · Leave a Comment
Here I am on Prom Night!
Well, I thought it would never happen, but I’ve decided on a college and as it turns out, I’ll be studying abroad in England for the first year.
That got me thinking, what will the food be like in England? Healthier? Less junk food? More tea? I wish there was a NuVal app on my phone I could take to the UK with me!
So, I did a little research, the websites did say that generally, people in England are very accommodating to diets, and there are a lot of vegetarians! Another website said “People in England eat more fruit and vegetables and less salt and fat, reducing heart disease and some cancers, say Oxford University experts.” So that’s really promising!
Also, tea is a huge deal over there, so I went to the NuVal website and saw that I can trade up from Coca Cola (1) to Arizona Diet Green Tea with Ginseng (35). I’m not sure if they drink a whole lot of iced tea over in Britain, but that’s a promising trade up!
One thing I will miss is the Minnesota apples in the fall, especially honey crisp apples. I suppose I could just eat applesauce, but the NuVal website informs me that Mott’s Plain Regular Original Applesauce is a 4 while fresh apples are a 96. Maybe my family can mail me a few honey crisps? They might end up as applesauce in transit though…
Anyways, I’m looking forward to trying new things and hopefully staying healthy!
Lydia
P.s. Watch my “Stalker” video and trade up for health! 
