Now THAT’S Healthy!

"Shelvic Exam"

Congrats to Lauren Harris-Pincus, MS RD, aka “Nutrition Babe”  who submitted a picture of her healthy refrigerator as part of my Sears FitStudio Shelvic Exam chat contest. These chats are held every Wednesday evening throughout November from 7:30-8:30pm CST on Twitter at #FitStudio as part of my Healthy Kitchen Makeover project.

What made Lauren’s fridge a winner? Take a peek below!

Where do I begin? Look at all of the yellow arrows of goodness!

Produce: Lauren has plenty starting from the bottom up. I like to see those crispers jammed packed with fruits and veggies. It’s hard to make half your plate fruits and veggies unless you have plenty in the fridge.

Dairy: From Greek yogurt, to low-fat milk, to cottage and cheese wedges, Lauren has plenty of calcium rich-dairy to build healthy bones. She even has an almond beverage as a change of pace – not super high in protein but it does have at least 30% DV of calcium, depending on the product.

Eggs: Lauren has both egg replacers and the real deal. Both are healthy but I always recommend whole eggs for their nutrients such as choline (good for brain health) and Lutien ( a nutrient that’s great for the eyes).

Others: She also has calcium fortified 100% orange juice, low sodium chicken broth, fun snack packs of hummus and some jarred white fish for a quick source of great protein.

What’s NOT there! Lauren still could have had some goodies in there from chocolate, a few cans of soda, and so on and I would have still awarded her 1st prize. But there is no doubt that Lauren has her eye on the prize -not just the lovely Yoga Mat she won courtesy of Sears and yours truly – but more importantly, her health!  Take one look at Lauren’s photo here on the Nutrition Babes website and you can see she is one RD who practices what she preaches! Great job, Lauren – congrats!!

Join me this Wednesday at 7:30pm CST on Twitter for more great Kitchen Makeover information and terrific prizes from Sears and the Guyatitian!

What Guys Want: Taste, Satisfaction and Performance

Well, I’ve taken the easy way out. If you haven’t heard yet, I’m now a food and nutrition blogger for WebMD – yay! The easy way out? I have to write a weekly post to their new blog called, “Real Life Nutrition: A Fresh Take on “Good for You”.”  So, as soon as the post is up, I will feature the beginning of the article with a link to the blog site for the remainder of the article. I hope you like it – my posts are all from the “guyatitian’s” perspective. Hit me up in the comments – I’d really like to know what you think. Enjoy!

Why do I refer to myself as the Guyatitian? For starters, I’m a male in the predominately female profession of dietetics who’s also outflanked at home by estrogen from my wife, three daughters, two female cats and two female dogs. But when it comes to eating, I’m just a regular guy. I enjoy all sorts of foods but don’t always make choices based on whether a food is “good” for me or not. Admittedly, for me, taste and satisfaction trumps nutrition.

Over the years, I’ve found that my food philosophy is not that different from other guys. So when it comes to approaching guys about changing their eating habits for health’s sake, not surprisingly, they are the most challenging.

Guys aren’t always driven to make lifestyle changes simply based on a diagnosis or a set of bad lab tests. Unless there is compromised physical, mental or sexual performance at stake, most guys won’t budge on their daily routine. If there is the slightest hint of deprivation or feeling that they’re being sentenced to lifelong dietary boredom, any hopes of adopting healthy habits will come crashing down like a house of cards.

Salient advice for the caretakers of men. Taste and satisfaction must come first.

Don’t come out of the gate with “Honey, try this…it’s good for you!” That’s certain death for any hope of change. I find the easiest thing to do is to start with dishes guys like and make simple and delicious, yet meaningful, modifications.

• Swap out/reduce saturated fats like butter for healthier fats such as olive, canola, or soy oil, avocado and nut butters
• Swap out fatty meats for lean cuts of beef, turkey, chicken or vegetarian meat substitutes, beans or mushrooms.
• Overload his plate with lots of salad, veggies, and fruit and make traditional center-of-the-plate items side dishes. For a visual of his, check out the MyPlate icon at www.MyPlate.gov .

To see the rest of this article, click on this link –

http://blogs.webmd.com/food-and-nutrition/2011/10/what-guys-want-taste-satisfaction-and-performance.html

Anti-Aging Foods

Ask The Guyatitian

Dear Guyatitian:

Are brown rice cakes and puffed brown rice cereal considered whole grain?  They only have 1 gram of fiber, but their puffed so you eat more.  Just curious.

Annie from Chicago

 

Dear Annie

Puffed brown rice is a whole grain. However, the puffing process changes the rice in a few ways.

 “Glycemic index” is a method of determining the effect of a specifc food on blood glucose (sugar). The higher the number, the greater the effect (in theory). Cooked brown rice, for example, has a glycemic index(GI) of 55. Once the rice is puffed and turned into cereal or rice cakes, the GI shoots up to 78. So for those who may be more ‘carb sensitive’, puffed rice by itself may not be the best choice.

Though only 60 calories a cup, it’s pretty much void of nutrition. There’s a smidge of potassium, a sprinkle of iron and a few traces of b vitamins such as thiamin and niacin.

Apart from that, I think there isn’t much whole grain goodness to get excited about  after the rice has been puffed. And in my experience, my patients are often STARVING an hour later if that is all that they had to eat.

If you are going to eat them, I would strongly advise pairing up your puffs with milk (cow or soy have the most protein) and perhaps top with berries and nuts and have an egg on the side. That breakfast might stick to your ribs for a while and provide much need nutrition that the rice puffs alone don’t deliver. Enjoy!

Ciao and Chow

The Guyatitian

Got a question for the guyatitian? Hit me up in the comments section or contact me through the contact page at the top of the blog.

 

Is This Guy Nuts (or Just Crazy About Them)??!

Tasty Things are coming Soon!

Before you make that decision, here’s some things you should know about me…

I’m a registered dietitian but I’m also a father, husband and a regular guy who LOVES food. I’m in decent shape but don’t sport a “six pack” nor aspire to but I’m happy that I’m not lugging around a “little pony” either.

If I screw up and don’t follow my own advice, guess what happens to me? My weight, cholesterol, blood pressure all go up, just like many of you who are reading this. It took quite a few years for this realization to sink into my head – “It’s a good thing to know about health but it is an even better thing to achieve it.” Wow! That’s quotable! :). Or did I just totally rip that off of someone else?

I’m also a realist. I know what people like to eat and where they like to eat. I don’t think it serves anyone to say this company is “bad” or that restaurant is “bad” – they wouldn’t exist unless there was a market for them and their offerings. I also think many idealistic food influencers out there tend to draw the line in the sand and forget that people gravitate towards certain foods and restaurants namely because  they bring something to the table so often overlooked by nutritionists and food influencers alike – FUN and ENJOYMENT. (My) Our continued challenge is how to we get people to salivate over fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds as much as they do over foods that are not that great for them? I have some ideas on this that I’m going to share with you from time to time – feel free to do the same. 

As you will see, I tend to run without much of a filter (much to my wife’s dismay). I like to call it the way I see it and I can become quite passionate about some topics – especially childrens’ health and nutrition. I’m committed to providing YOU with good sound information… something that you and\or your family can use that might make your lives better. But I promise I will keep  my posts “clean” and I ask that any responses that you are kind enough to offer, also contain suitable language. I would love for the kiddies to come by and stay awhile ;).

He’s naked!

Nice. I thought you were going to keep it clean, Dave?! No worries, I’m not going to blind-side you with a shocking nude photo of myself when you scroll down. What I mean by “naked” is that I come to you in the spirit of full-disclosure.

As the sisters of St. Francis once said, “No Money, No Mission”. How I put food on the table is by being a nutrition counselor, a writer, a spokesperson and a consultant for the food industry. If I find products\foods I believe in, I may do spokesperson work for them from time to time. I promise that I will disclose any relationships that I have with any companies\partners in my posts. No fine print here. But also keep in mind that you won’t see me hawking things I don’t believe in which may include but not limited to:

• Artificial anything – sugar replacer, fat replacers, etc.
• “Foods” that are questionable as to their ability to nourish the body – ones full of white flour, sugars, chemicals, etc don’t score big nutrition points with me but trust me, it doesn’t mean you won’t see me eating some “junk” every now and then. Now, let me state for the record that I love me some junk every once in a while – sure… you may see Dave scarfing down a honeybun, candybar, a sat fat burger – anything that might clog the arteries. But though I choose to eat them doesn’t mean that I’m going to help “push someone off of the ledge”. You want to eat junk? Do so with my blessing. This blog\website thingy is all about adding in good food, NOT staying away from OR promoting the consumption of, junk.

Also keep in mind that I only associate with food\products that are congruent with my nutrition philosophy. And yes, you should always read everything with a skeptical eye (even from me) but don’t fall into the trap of automatically writing off info you read as “tainted”  because there is a business relationship involved.  I am commited to sound science and truth. I have a reputation at stake and good standing amongst my nutrition brethren so I’m careful about who and what I affiliate with (see Nutrition Housecall page for a full listing of past and current affiliations).  

The Shelvic Exam

Some of you may know that this blog was originally going to be called “The Shelvic Exam” . Those who I hold in high regard advised me not to do so (wife included). They thought the name was  a little “out there”.  But what I mean by ‘Shelvic Exam” is that I want to offer to you, the reader, the same service I offer my patients through my Nutrition Housecall practice. I want to take a peek into your cabinet and shelves and give you the opportunity to submit your pictures of whats in your refrigerator, freezer and pantry shelves…any shelf that has food on it. I want to know what you are eating and what’s eating you?  My goal is to render a “diagnosis”, “prognosis” (what may happen – good or bad- if you keep eating THAT food) and a “prescription” that advises you to:

1. Keep up the good work – great food selections
2. It doesn’t make much difference the food choices are neutral –  like Switzerland!
3. You may want to get rid of the food or don’t eat it as often. But I discourage you to give any food that I consider to be “a poor choice” to the poor. They have never done anything against you. So give some thought on giving these foods to a neighbor you don’t like.

Another part of “The Shelvic Exam” will be reviewing nutrition and cook books and food products. Warning! Anything that is less-than-truthful, misguided and claiming to be something that they are not, please be on notice – wherever there is food injustice and nutrition misinformation  – I will call you out.

Rules of engagement

I hope you will  like what I will be posting here. There will be recipes, food photos, my rants and raves, my “Shelvic Exam” and other stuff, I’m sure. I hope to have contests and giveaways. I welcome book and healthy product submissions for review (see Contact Me). By the way, my kids will be doing all food product reviews. So here’s fair warning. If my kids like it, they will tell you so. If they don’t …? For my kids, it’s about taste and enjoyment, not nutrition. I respect that. But I also believe that you don’t have to sacrifice one for the other, right? 

I truly do want to hear what YOU want to hear about not just my ramblings. Feel free to ask questions and certainly post your comments. I want your pictures\videos here, too – open up your cabinets and let me take a peek! I promise, it won’t hurt a bit ;).

1. Your comments. Make them clean please.
2. Disagreeing is a healthy thing. If you don’t feel what I posted or what a reader has submitted for comments is right, say so. But let’s not be unkind or resort to name calling. I promise that this is me without a filter but it doesn’t mean getting nasty – keep me in check in case I get too passionate and violate rule #2.
3. Companies who have products that you want me to review, I’m happy to try it all. But know this:
   1. If I feel it’s a fit for my nutrition philosophy, I will tell you so. I will be quite honest about the taste, cost, ease of prep and such.
   2. If it’s junk but tastes good, I will identify it as such.
   3. If it’s junk, pretending to be healthy, and taste great, I will identify it as such.
   4. If it is junk, pretending to be healthy and tastes like poop, prepare to be skewered!

That’s it for my first post. Oh yeah, I’m going to Florence, Italy next week and plan on taking some sweet pics of what’s on the shelves of Italian homes. I will eat and blog my way through the city. I hope to take a picture of “David by the David”. I’m bringing my Flip Camera and hope to provide you with some neat interviews of people who will be attending the food conference that I will be presenting at. So, swing by as often as you like – I hope to things interesting. Oh, by the way, the photo at the beginning is of a dish called “Rosemary Nuts” (as in the herb Rosemary) from my new book, 101 Optimal Life Foods. So the answer to the title is “Yes and “YES”!

Chow and Ciao!