Portion Size Quiz

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1. A typical bagel is nutritionally equal to four slices of bread.

a. True
b. False

2. Your waiter delivers your entrée with broccoli on the side, as you requested. You know it’s an appropriate portion because it’s the size of:

a. A mango
b. A can of soup
c. A tight fist.
d. Your palm

3. When you shop for fish, you estimate how much to purchase by assuming that each person needs a portion the size of:

a. A compact disc.
b. An ice cube.
c. Your palm.

4. At a buffet, you dish yourself up some rice, making sure it’s about the size of:

a. softball
b. A tennis ball
c. A golf ball
d. A marble

5. The place where you usually have brunch uses just the right amount of batter for its pancakes; you can tell, because each one is the perfect amount for a single serving of grains, which is the size of:

a. A Frisbee
b. A makeup compact
c. A silver dollar
d. A compact disc.

6. One serving of orange juice is equal to 16 ounces.

a. True
b. False

7. At a cocktail party, you make a beeline for the cheese platter. You allow yourself just a couple of servings, and each one is the size of:

a. A sugar cube.
b. A 9-volt battery
c. A business card.

1. A typical bagel is nutritionally equal to four slices of bread. a. True

Bagels continue to grow in size — they now typically range anywhere from four to six ounces, depending on the bagel shop, and register approximately four servings a pop! Since it is recommended that you stick to six to nine servings of breads and grains per day (unless you’re very active; then you can have up to 11), eat 1 bagel for breakfast and you’ve already consumed roughly half your quota — before noon! Next time you crave a bagel, try eating just half of one and saving the rest for later or even the next day. And opt for whole-grain!

2. Your waiter delivers your entrée with broccoli on the side, as you requested. You know it’s an appropriate portion because it’s the size of: c. A tight fist.

While vegetables (if prepared healthfully) are indeed great for you, it’s good to know exactly what a serving size is so you don’t overload on calories. One woman’s tight fist is equivalent to approximately ½ cup, the standard serving for cooked vegetables as well as cut fruit, pasta and rice. No matter where you go, you can gauge your serving size by using your fist!

3. When you shop for fish, you estimate how much to purchase by assuming that each person needs a portion the size of: c. Your palm.

Your body needs only two to three servings of meat per day, but given the average portion sizes, many of us eat that much at every single meal! Each serving is two to three ounces, which just about fits in the palm of a woman’s hand. When eating meat, be sure to opt for leaner choices, such as fish, white-meat turkey, chicken breast and pork tenderloin. The equivalent vegetarian single serving would be one cup of beans, approximately two fists’ worth.

4. At a buffet, you dish yourself up some rice, making sure it’s about the size of: b. A tennis ball.

It’s very easy to get portion distortion at a buffet with industrial-size serving utensils, gigantic plates and buckets of food. If you’re not careful, you could wind up eating several times the recommended amount for one person! Carbs such as rice can be especially difficult to judge, since they’re not served in a single chunk. Envisioning the size of a tennis ball is a helpful guideline.

5. The place where you usually have brunch uses just the right amount of batter for its pancakes; you can tell, because each one is the perfect amount for a single serving of grains, which is the size of: d. A compact disc.

CD-sized pancake is equivalent to one bread serving, but when was the last time you were served a portion that size? If your pancakes are significantly bigger, it’s possible that you’re getting all your bread servings for the day in one meal. Reduce your portion of flapjacks by splitting your dish with a friend or just not cleaning your plate.

6. One serving of orange juice is equal to 8 ounces. b. False

One serving of juice is equal to ¾ cup, or 6 ounces, which is about the size of a wine glass or a Styrofoam coffee cup. Given all the sugar in most juices, downing a supersize glass of the stuff can leave you taking in up to 400 calories — and that’s in addition to whatever you’re eating.

7. At a cocktail party, you make a beeline for the cheese platter. You allow yourself just a couple of servings, and each one is the size of: b. A 9-volt battery.

One serving of natural (not processed) cheese is 1½ ounces. Even though you have to watch out for the high fat and cholesterol content of many cheeses, it’s still important to get two to three daily servings of dairy in order to meet your calcium needs. If dairy is not your thing, try to eat at least three other calcium-rich foods, including calcium-fortified orange juice and cereal, tofu, and fish with bones, such as salmon or sardines.

Beat the Heat with a Watermelon Treat

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Watermelon – not just for seed spitting.

Not only is watermelon is a favorite summer food selection and barbeque closer, it is equally beneficial to health. The antioxidant lycopene is a chemical found in plants that gives certain foods (watermelon, tomatoes, red grapefruit, and guava) their red color.

Part of the large class of plant compounds called carotenoids, which help protect and preserve body cells from oxidation and damage, lycopene may reduce one’s risk of various cancers, particularly prostate cancer. Watermelon is also a good source of antioxidants, that work towards preventing heart disease, lowering cholesterol.

CHOOSING THE PERFECT WATERMELON

Choose a firm, symmetrical fruit that is free of bruises, cuts, and dents. Pick up the melon, it should feel heavy. (A good watermelon is 92% water.) The underside should have a creamy yellow spot where the melon sat on the ground and ripened in the sun.

Watermelon-Strawberry Smoothie

(16 oz serving)

  • 1 cup seeded watermelon, diced
  • ¾ cup lemon sorbet or sherbet
  • 8 frozen whole strawberries
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 4 cubes of ice
  • 1 cup water

Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth.
(cals; 224, carbs: 50g carbs, 4g fiber (net carbs = 46g (mostly natural sugar: fructose), 2g pro, 0 g fat.

Watermelon Sorbet

1 seedless watermelon (peeled and cubed)

1. Arrange the watermelon cubes in an even layer on a baking sheet and freeze until the watermelon is solid, about 2 hours.

2. In a blender, puree watermelon cubes until smooth

3.  Put the puree in loaf pans or dish, packing it down as you add more on top.

4. Freeze until the sorbet is scoopable, 1 to 2 hours more.

5. To serve, scoop the sorbet into dishes and eat immediately.

Watermelon Parfait

(2 servings)

  • ½ cup low fat granola
  • 1 cup seedless watermelon, cut into small chunks
  • 2 cups of low fat vanilla yogurt
  • 1 sliced banana, sliced
  • ¼ cup of Almond slivers

In 2 tall glasses layer ½ of each of the granola, watermelon, yogurt and banana
Repeat layers with the other half of the ingredients.
Garnish with slivered almonds.
(cals per serve: 230 cals, 4g fat, 9g pro, 35g carbs, 5 g fiber)

M.O.D – meal plan of the day!! CHALLENGE!!

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Green monster shake  recovery after a morning work out  (made with vanilla protein powder, 1 c spinach, 1/2 banana, 1/2 c pineapple, and ice and water)

mid morn – greek yogurt,

lunch: grilled chicken on big salad (lots of veggies, oil and vinegar),

2 hs after lunch: 13 Mary’s gone crackers and 2 Tbsp hummus.

mid aft2:  apple and 14 almonds

Dinner: stir fry veggies and egg whites, serve over 1/2C  cooked quinoa.

Ways to use Whey

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Whey protein is typically known amongst the work out crowds as a lean muscle recovery protein. It works hand in hand with the breakdown of muscle during the work out to rebuild and repair those muscle fibers. However, whey also has its place in a regular healthy diet for similar reasons: it can be a nutritional and complete source of all amino acids, and not necessarily only for athletes.

The most common use for whey is making protein shakes/smoothies however whey can also be incorporated in any overall health plan as quite the versatile ingredient in many simple and fun recipes. In all of these options, it offers a high quality dairy protein boost.

Here is one favourite created by Chris Mohv, owner of Mohv Results, Inc. This interesting way of using whey not only adds variety and interest to a meal, but it also offers 22 grams of protein and 10 grams of fiber.

VEGETABLE QUESADILLA WITH PROTEIN GUACAMOLE

Ingredients:
Quesadilla
– 3 snack bites of Cabot Light Cheese (50% less fat) or 2.25 oz shredded cheese
– 1 sprouted whole grain tortilla
– ¼ onion, grilled
– 3 slices of fresh tomato

Guacamole
– 1 avocado
– ¼ cup whey protein isolate, unflavored (about 1 scoop)
– 1-2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
– Juice of ½ lime
– Pinch of salt

Makes 2 servings

Quesadilla:

  1. Place the cheese on the whole grain tortilla.
  2. Spray a small pan with nonstick cooking spray and warm over medium heat.  Add the tortilla to the pan, cheese side up.
  3. When the cheese is melted, top with grilled onions and fresh tomato.  Fold the tortilla in half and remove from the pan.  Cut in half.
 Guacamole:
  1. Slice the avocado in half and remove the pit.  Scoop out the avocado and place in a medium bowl.  Mash until smooth.
  2. Add whey protein isolate, cilantro, and lime juice.  Combine until smooth.  Flavor to taste with salt.
  3. Scoop half of the guacamole onto each quesadilla slice.  Serve immediately.
Variation:
Substitute grilled onions and tomato with your favorite vegetables.
Ingredient substitutions will change the nutrition information.

Nutrition information for 1 serving (½ of the quesadilla topped with ½ of the guacamole): 368 calories, 22 g protein (including 8 g of whey protein), 26 g carbohydrate, 10 g fiber, 22 g fat, 6 g saturated fat, 291 mg sodium
Also contains: vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin C, folate, vitamin K, calcium, copper, potassium

For more information and about whey, visit:

http://wheyprotein.nationaldairycouncil.org/

There are many more recipe ideas on this site too!!

Culinary herbs and spices : Can they interact with your medicine?

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Ilana Katz MS, RD, CSSD

 

One of the major responsibilities a dietitian/nutritionist may have is to analyze an individual’s intake and ensure most appropriate and healthy solutions to goals and needs.

For people who regularly take medications, even over the counter products, this can become quite challenging.  So then, can some ingredients in various dishes have a pharmalogical interaction?

Specific examples best defines what a pharmalogical interaction is:  Combining a statin drug (most likely prescribed to lower cholesterol) and  a daily dose of grapefruit juice may likely cause too much of the statin to stay in the metabolic system, increasing the risk of liver or kidney failure.  Another example is that certain nutrients in grapefruit juice (and some other juices too) may decrease the effectiveness of some medications, the most well-known in this category is for allergy symptoms.

What then should we be concerned of in multiple ingredient recipes? A tablespoon of this, a teaspoon of that, a dash, a dollop or a pinch…

As a supplement for example, Ginger is thought to remedy nausea or upset stomach and  garlic is reported to reduce risk of heart disease and cancer. But did you know that both ginger and garlic may also slow blood clotting when interacted with an anticoagulant drug such as warfarin or Coumadin. The practioner prescribing the anticoagulant should warn the patient against eating garlic or ginger, and this should also be reinforced by the pharmacist dispensing the anticoagulant drug. But what about these ingredients used in small quantities in many recipes?

It is likely a different story when one compares cooking and baking to supplementation. The amounts in a recipe are typically significantly smaller compared to their use as a supplement. Interactions may lurk in the background but would typically not be clinically significant. Unfortunately there is very little published research on the potential for drug interactions with herbs and spices that are typically used for culinary purposes versus supplements. The research that is available usually focuses on specific compounds in the herb or spice and will usually use concentrated preparations which logistically do not match the culinary amounts.  An example to demonstrate this is an alkaloid called piperine, found in black pepper: piperine has been proven to increase the bioavailability of several drugs yet no interactions have been found with the use of pepper as an ingredient in a recipe. Other examples where research has discovered a drug interaction, yet no significant reaction as a culinary spice are anise, cayenne pepper, fennel, and several curry spices. It thus seems that research in food and medication reactions is complicated with many variables besides the amount used that need consideration.

The variety of the herb/spice, the potency, how much may be taken in throughout a day and over a time period, even specific genetics of the individual in question may determine the metabolic effects of their medications and thus the potential interaction between the herb or spice and their medications.

Mixing a sprinkle of all spice or a teaspoon of cinnamon into a recipe for a dozen muffins or blending chopped garlic into lasagna is not usually a concern for a drug interaction.

Unfortunately there is very little published research on the potential for drug interactions with herbs and spices that are typically used for culinary purposes versus supplements.

However, before taking any supplements, speaking to a physician, pharmacologist or dietitian about potential interactions is recommended.

“It may be a case of the dose makes the poison”  (Paracelsus – a 16th century physician)