"Fuel your body...Delight your senses"
Stephanie Brina-Herres, MS, RD, CDN
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Nov
17
2012
Many people are considering the merits of a Whole Food focus basis for planning their upcoming Thanksgiving meal.
Of course, the most important aspect of Thanksgiving is truly the opportunity give thanks for the blessings in our lives and to share that sentiment while being able to spend time with family and friends, so any food choices should enhance that overall experience.
Memories of Thanksgivings past are connected to our emotional perceptions of those times, so there are sounds, sights, smells/aromas, tastes, textures that all contributed to the sensory perceptions we have locked in our memory banks of those special times. When we again hear similar sounds, perceive similar smells, etc., it brings back a rush of emotion that makes us feel connected to that past and to hopefully many cherished memories that we can enjoy re-experiencing in the present.
Adults often want to recreate and evoke those sensory memories for themselves, while at the same time helping younger members to create similar sorts of hopefully happy memories for children and grandchildren, nieces and nephews, cousins, etc.
For many families, Thanksgiving conjures up memories of home and home is a safe haven most of us yearn for at holiday time.
To help insure those memories are as happy as they can be this year, it is important to take into account any particular dietary needs of family and/or other guests.
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Aug
8
2012
Have you ever wished you could easily build a customized grocery shopping list that would make it easier when it comes time to head to the farmers market and stores for supplies?
There are MANY “kitchen” and “pantry” focused food item shopping lists that have been posted over the years, with some being much more comprehensive than others.
In this technical age there are both low tech and high approaches to dealing with coming up with those grocery shopping lists and we’ll cover some details of each type of approach.
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Aug
7
2012
In the Northeast, August is the month where truly more localized produce variety increases and all sorts of marketplaces will start to feature a wider range of locally sourced product.
We’d like to share some tips below to help make shopping for August Abundance that much more enjoyable for you. We’ll include ideas for before you head out shopping, once you arrive at the market place destination and while you are there, and then after you get back home again.
In PA the weather has often been more temperate in the growing regions and they’ve had enough rain fall to enable farmers to send their harvest to stores that buy directly from them, including ones in NY.
(Photo of corn stalks growing in a farmer’s field courtesy of our webmaster in PA).
As the month progresses, here in the Northeast, we expect to see sweet corn (including the classic “butter and sugar” variety), along with some early apples showing up at farm stands, farmers markets, and in grocery stores that buy “locally” as well. (Usually some produce will come in from both NJ and PA as well as NY).
Do you remember what other fruits and vegetables are typically seasonally available in the Northeast right now?
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Jul
10
2012
Tomatoes qualify as a very popular non-starchy “vegetable” (even if they are botanically a “fruit” per se) based on per capita consumption in the USA, second only to potatoes.
Year 2005 data from USDA noted tomato consumption from various sources, including primarily canned & frozen, as well as some fresh, to be close to 100# of farm weight/per person/per year.
The next closest non-starchy vegetable category item, carrots, was noted to have consumption levels at just above 10# of farm weight/per person/per yr.
(Different Tomatoes 2 graphic courtesy of salsachica at rgbstock.com)
What contributes to the wild popularity of tomato products?
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Jul
3
2012
We’ve discussed the importance of eating food choices from the “rainbow of color” options out there, but some readers wrote in asking for even more specifics than we have previously listed in various blog posts.
Although within the US we have moved from using a model of a food guide pyramid to using a model of a plate to encourage healthful choices in dining, there are still some useful pyramid options out there.
(Fresh Produce on Display in Taormina, Sicily, Italy, graphic courtesy of Betty H)
The “Mediterranean Diet” (general Mediterranean style dietary intake as part of a total lifestyle) visualized as a food guide pyramid is one example; and an anti-inflammatory pyramid popularized by Dr. Andrew Weil is another example.
For infotainment purposes only, we’ll share some anti-inflammatory food item options in the following listing, which is by no means all-inclusive, but should give you the gist of the breadth and depth of wonderful food source options that have been reported to have some anti-inflammatory properties. A dietetic colleague, John S. Pasztor, MPH, RD, CDE, over at the The Regional Diabetes and Endocrine Center, Cape Fear Valley Health System, gladly shares another version of a list from 2009 with his patients and with members of a dietetic practice group one of us belongs to.
We have used for inspiration bits and pieces of various skeleton listings out there and then come up with our own fleshed out infotainment version, subject to change/further updating, which follows. Research is ongoing and some items will show up on one list, but not another, in various reviews of research, so realize the list* is always subject to modification/updating as newer research results are reported and older results further clarified.
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Jun
26
2012
It’s summertime around the USA.
That means a plethora of fresh herbs, vegetables and also some fresh fruits for consumers to enjoy can be found in various Farmer Markets, State & local Fairs, road side stands, community & backyard & sideyard vegetable gardens, grocery stores, convenience stores including bodegas, as well as push carts, food trucks, etc.
In certain instances even area food banks and food pantries are lucky enough to receive some of nature’s abundance to be shared with others.
How can you find out what produce options will be available in your locale during any given month?
(Image source: University of MN Extension Farm to School Toolkit, Vermont Guide to Using Local Food, pg 85 of 116)
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Jun
12
2012
This salad favorite is perfect for late “springtime” or else “summertime” enjoyment. We look forward to eating every year (especially at a “BBQ” type event).
Once mint is again growing in the garden, it is time to make Tabbouleh!
Tabbouleh is a classic chopped vegetable salad of which there are many variations, depending upon where in the Mediterranean or Arab/Middle Eastern world the recipe version originated from.
Photograph ©Stephanie B-H/SensoryNutrition/US12
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Jun
11
2012
With Father’s Day being celebrated on June 17, 2012, it seems appropriate to take a moment and talk about Men’s Health Week, June 11-17, 2012.
Reportedly, Men’s Health Week was designated by the US Congress back in 1994 to occur during the week prior to Father’s Day.
(Graphic courtesy of duchesssa via rgbstock.com)
It has grown to be a global international effort since 2002 recognized and reportedly now promoted in Africa, Asia, Australia, Austria, Canada, Central America, Denmark, UK (England, Scotland &Wales), Netherlands, South America, and the United States. International Men’s Health Week as part of International Men’s Health Month provides a rich opportunity for many terrific health promotion activities to be scheduled and carried out world-wide.
When it comes to general guidance for protecting a man’s health status, there are a variety of resources one can consider. It only takes a moment to review some of them. Check them out because health status should matter to every man since it affects not only his own well-being, but also has an impact on every family member and friend in any man’s life who are counting on him to be there for them.
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May
25
2012
Everyone knows how important Food Safety is when it comes to summertime cookouts.
The “Fight Bac!™” program of The Partnership for Food Safety Education has provided lots of pertinent information to help everyone think ahead about how to reduce their risk of foodborne illness. This is especially true when it comes to warm weather food preparation and eating food items from summertime cookouts either outdoors or indoors.
Image for “Keep Food Safe From Bacteria” courtesy of the Fight Bac!™ program.
Follow sound, proper pre-preparation & safe cooking advice when it comes to food items as provided by USDA via their convenient fact sheets or searchable food safety education site. Putting into practice their practical materials concerning food purchasing, transportation & pre- as well as post-cooking storage, along with cooking caveats and then adhering to the four main Fight Bac!™ or Home Food Safety™ steps of:
- Clean/Wash,
- Separate,
- Cook to proper temperature, &
- Chill/Refrigerate any leftover food items promptly & properly can really make a significant difference when it comes to food safety.
You can download a BBQ food safety handout from USDA that will remind you of these many important considerations so that you can more safely enjoy your summertime cooking & entertaining.
This approach also ties into the ongoing series over the past two months on this blog site dealing with Beyond Watchful Waiting (Food, Nutrition & Prostate Cancer). Remember that the following only qualifies as infotainment and that you should seek advice personalized for your own health needs from your own health care practitioners.
When it comes to the “cook” step for “meats”, one should avoid overcooking lean “meats” per se, which include lean beef, fish, pork, or poultry, at very high temperatures either via pan frying or grilling over an open flame as that practice has been shown in laboratory studies to lead to the production of carcinogenic heterocyclic amines (HCAs), one of which is PhIP, known to promote prostate cancer in animal studies when very high doses of it were ingested.
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