MARCH NEWSLETTER – 2017

March is National Nutrition Month. This means the American Dietetic Association focuses attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits.

Are you still keeping your January New Year resolutions? Don’t be too hard on yourself if you answered no… statistics show that unfortunately most people fail at keeping them for more than two weeks.

For National Nutrition Month perhaps set one realistic, measurable goal. For example, lose six pounds in three months. Keep it simple! Set yourself up for success!

National Nutrition Quiz

1. In addition to Walnuts, which food is  a good source of omega-3 fatty  acids?

A. Spinach             C. Flaxseed

B. Peanuts              D. Apple

2.  Which of the following has the  least amount of calories per  serving?

A. 1 med apple        C. 1 oz cheddar

B. 1 slice bread        D. 4 ripe olives

3.  Americans tend to underestimate the amount of food consumed by what %?

A. 25%              C. 50%

B 40%               D. 75%

4. Eating a colorful range of fruits and vegetables ensures a wide variety of vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals to stay fit and healthy?

(True or False)

5.  Vegan diets are appropriate for  Children.

(True or False)

 Answers to Quiz:

1. C  – Flaxseeds (also known as linseed) are rich in heart healthy Omega-3 Fatty Acids

2. D  – 4 ripe Californian olives contain 24 cals per serving and 2.5 g of healthy mono-

unsaturated fat. (apple = 80 cals, 1 oz cheddar = 80  cals , 1 slice bread = ~ 80 cals)

3. C  –  Many people have no idea what constitutes a standard serving size. The result is

decreased attention to hunger cues, and inability to regulate appropriate intake.

4. T – Researchers have begun to uncover the value of pigment- related phyto (plant)

nutrients. A recent study showed that “blue/purple” such as blueberries, eggplant, fresh

plums, and purple cabbage within a lowfat diet aided in memory function, healthy

aging, healthy urinary tract, and  helped lower risk of cancer.

5. F –  General vegetarian diets that include lacto (milk) and ovo (egg) sources can

accommodate the needs of growing children, however, strict vegans should consult a

medical professional or RD to ensure they are getting enough calories and nutrients

such as Vitamin B12, zinc, iron, and calcium needed for growth and development.

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  Did you know – there is a day dedicated to the harvesting of pecans.

Pecan Day (March 25)

Pecans are source of protein, potassium, zinc, vitamin E, magnesium, carbohydrates, and folic acid. They contain mainly polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fat — the type considered “heart healthy.” A handful of nuts a day, such as pecans, can help you stay on a diet by contributing to satiety. This means they will help you feel full longer.

PECAN MERINGUES

Notes on working with egg whites.

Before you start, remove eggs from refrigerator and let them come to room temperature. (A couple of hours will do, or if you are rushed for time, immerse them in warm water for 10 minutes.) Make sure that all bowls, hands, and utensils that might touch the eggs are clean and free from oils. To separate the whites:  crack them in half and gently move the yolk from one egg shell half to another, allowing the egg white to drip down into a clean container.

 INGREDIENTS

 1 cup whole pecans

3 egg whites

Pinch salt

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vinegar

METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 300°F.

2 Place pecans in zipper baggie and beat them with a wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Set aside.

3 Put egg whites into a standup mixer bowl. Add salt. Start the mixer speed on low, gradually increasing the speed until soft peaks start to become visible and the egg white bubbles are very small and uniform, about 2 to 3 minutes.

4 Increase the speed to medium-high, and slowly add the sugar to the egg whites. Continue to whip the eggs and sugar for a few minutes. Then add the vinegar to the bowl. Increase speed to high and whip the egg whites until they fluff up and become glossy, and stiff peaks form when the whisk is lifted, 4-5 minutes.

5 Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the pecan pieces. Drop by teaspoons onto a cookie sheets that have been lined with wax paper.

6 Put the cookies sheet in the 300°F oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Leave them in the oven overnight. In the morning they should be ready – crisp on the outside, light and airy on the inside. If they are a little marshmallowy or chewy on the inside in the morning, just let them dry out for a few more hours.

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FITNESS –

Turning what we eat into optimal fuel

Great Cardio workouts

Interval training is associated with fat burning is because the higher the intensity the more likely the physiological response is to overcome lipogenesis sensitivity (in layman’s terms, fat storage mode). To keep it simple, the mechanism is related to how the different hormones bind to either alpha or beta receptors. Before going into a physiology dissertation, in its simplicity, high intensity can overcome problems associated with alpha-receptor dominance in stubborn body fat. Well, why not keep the intensity high all the time, you may ask. The answer is that while high intensity can break down fatty acids in the cell, it does not burn fatty acids as a fuel, so that’s where the intervals become important. Switching between high and low creates that magic bullet.

 Elliptical, treadmill and stationary bike rotation  – 1 hour and 15 minute work out       (starts with treadmill, then elliptical, and ends with bike)

 Repeat this rotation twice:

Treadmill:  10 straight minutes.

Form: long stides and squeeze glutes at end of each stride.

Min 0 – 5:       set at a pace of ~ 4.0 at 0% grade.

Min 5 – 10:    12% grade and pace at ~ 3.5, maintaining stride form

Elliptical:  16 minutes.

set program that is most like a consistent running stride.

Set level (resistance) at moderate (should be about 160 – 180 strides per min)

Cycle: 10 minutes

manual setting 3. Pedal hard (feel your hamstrings) for straight 10 minutes

After 2 rotations: THEN     Cool down on cycle for 3 minutes

 

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ONE MORE FUN RECIPE :

 Lazy Sunday Guiltless Pancakes

 On Sunday, I was just in one of those moods, its been years since I had a pancake for breakfast. I sifted through what I had available in my fridge and grocery cupboard, threw some ingredients in my blender and made some delicious, perfectly-pancaked textured, low-cal, low-fat, health-packed  pancakes. I thought this would be a great choice for the pecan addition of my newsletter, as guess what a perfect addition to these panckes would be?? Yeah – you got it – yummy, fresh pecans !!

  (makes 5 servings)

1 scoop vanilla whey protein

1 cup raw oats

6 egg whites

1 cup low fat cottage cheese

2 T silken tofu

1 T  wheat germ

Optional – ½ cup chopped pecans

Optional – TRUVIA  to taste

Blend all ingredients in a blender. Spray skillet with pam. Pour ½ cup batter in pan. When batter bubbles, flip until both sides golden brown. The recipe makes about 12 – 15 pancakes, 3 pancakes = 1 serving.

1 serving (without the pecans) = 135 cals, 20g pro, 12g carbs, 3g fiber, 200mg sodium. 

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