Five Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Go on A Diet

Before you agree to follow the latest and "greatest" fad diet, ask yourself these questions.

1. Can I eat like this the rest of my life?
2. Does this diet promote balanced eating?

3. Does this diet include ALL food groups?
4. Does this diet promote regular physical activity?
5. Is this diet free of pills to assist in the weight loss process?

If you answered NO to any of these questions, avoid the diet and save yourself from continued failure and constant disappointment!  Diets Don't Work!    What does?  Simple balance.  Simple moderation. Simple food.

Have you had your vitamin D level tested lately?  If you have, did your blood level come back low?  Many individual's vitamin D levels are low as a result of increased use of sunblock, reduced time spent in the sun and decreased dietary intake.  If you suspect your vitamin D levels are low or your lab results show that it is in fact low, try incorporating these vitamin D-rich foods into your daily diet.  Always seek the advice of a health professional, such as a Registered Dietitian or Physician before taking vitamin D supplements.

Mackerel
Tuna Fish
Salmon
Herring
Sardines
Eggs
Mushrooms
Cod Liver Oil
Fortified milk products
Fortified Soy milk
Fortified cereals


    

Simple Snacks for the Young (and young at heart)

I prepare snacks for my family daily.  But I am often asked for recommendations for healthy snack ideas.  So here goes!

Whole wheat pita or flat bread with hummus or white bean dip
Carrots/cucumber/peppers and hummus or yogurt dip
Apple slices with caramel (hey, if it gets them eating apples, so be it!)
Berries with yogurt
Yogurt with sliced almonds and/or wheat germ
Banana with peanut/sun/almond butter
Good ol' fashioned cheese and crackers (preferably crackers without partially hydrogenated oils)
Cereal and milk (my son's fave)
Cottage cheese with or without fruit
On-the-go bars (read label for one's without high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated oils, food dyes, etc)
Nuts (make your own trail mix and let the "kids" pick the ingredients)

Here's a few ideas for ya!  I hope you enjoy and are willing to try a new thing or two.  Introduce something new to your family today.  If you lead by example, it's amazing what will follow!  Enjoy and keep it simple!

Get rid of the Fad

I am sure we are all well aware of the multitude of fad diets, diet gimmicks and paid weight loss programs.  Many of us have likely experimented with them and most of us who have experimented with them have failed.  Not because we are failures, but because diets fail.  We go on a diet, we go off a diet.  We lose weight, we gain it back.  That's the cycle. Just another reason for keeping your goals reasonable and your food simple. I thought I'd do a bit of research and comprise a list of fad diets, diet gimmicks and paid diet programs from A to Z.* 

A- Atkins
B- Blood type
C- Cabbage Soup
D- Dukan
E-  Ediets.com
F- Fruitarian
G- Glycemic Index
H- HCG
I- Instinct
J- Jenny Craig
K- Special K
L- Liquid
M- Master Cleanser
N-Nutrisystem
O- Oxygen
P-Paleolithic
Q- Quantum Eating
R- Raw
S- South Beach, Subway
T- Tapeworm
U- Ultimate Weight Solution
V- Volumetrics
W- Weight Watchers
X- X-Factor
Y-Yoga Body
Z- Zone

*This list is not all-inclusive.

A Simple Saturday Morning

It's Saturday morning...early! I was hoping the little ones would sleep in and I could have some peace and quiet to write and have a cup of coffee before they awoke.  But, such is life with children.  Now as I write I am also getting them set-up for their morning routine: cuddle, watch their favorite shows, breakfast, etc.  Good thing I can multitask.  What's for breakfast, you ask?  Good old fashioned oatmeal!   Yes, the kids do in fact like it.  I make it from whole oats using nonfat milk (Calcium), a bit of brown sugar, raisins (fiber, fruit) and a tad of butter.  The kids say it tastes like cookie dough!  It is pretty darn good.  Serve it with a fruit of their choice. (it's good to give them some autonomy with food choices).  What if your kids gag at the thought of oatmeal?  You have to keep reintroducing it.  Try it this way for a change.  It has to taste good and for many kids, it has to be a little sweet!  Maybe you are surprised to see that I use butter and sugar?  Don't be.  I believe in real ingredients and real food.....simple!

To keep in line with the simple theme of this blog, I like to throw in some of my personal food favs from time to time.  I have a family of four (2 of which are kids under the age of 10) and I love to cook for them.  I am not a chef, however.  Nor do I desire to be one.  I love to cook simple food simply.  My family also loves to eat that way.  So, most of the time our meals consist of a protein, such as chicken, turkey or fish, a starch, such as rice, pasta and at least 1 vegetable and sometimes a fruit, too.  My goal would be to serve two veggies at each dinner meal but I don't always get there.  So, here's an example of what we ate last night: baked lemon-herb chicken breast, sweet potatoes and steamed broccoli and green beans.  Gourmet?  Absolutely not!  Yummy?  Yes!  Another example, whole wheat spaghetti with ground turkey tomato sauce, steamed spinach and mixed berries.  See what I mean?  Simple!  My children love it this way and eat without complaints!  (Disclaimer: My younger one did go through a bit of a phase where he didn't want "anything".....but I continued serving what I always had to the whole family despite his protests.  And low-and-behold, he joined in!)  We are all entirely too busy to be gourmet chefs or short-order cooks for that matter.  So, lets take a deep breath and start looking at food prep simply: simple ingredients to simplify our lives!  Stay tuned for more simple meals ideas including breakfasts and lunches.  Feel free to share yours, too!  Bon appetit!

For the love of food.....

Ever wonder why eating has to be so difficult and convoluted?  Honestly, break it down and food has one simple function: to sustain health.  We eat because we need nutrition for our body to function.  Why make it any more difficult than it has to be?  Enough already!

I am a registered dietitian who happens to have a busy personal and professional life.  We as busy individuals, families, couples do not have time to struggle with this issue of food confusion.  I like to help people be less confused and more focused on simplifying the eating process.  Join me on this journey of renewed clarity and a new found joy in eating!