Flatiron Flavor

Tips

Short List #1 (Healthy Eating/Living!)

1. Be prepared- always have healthy snacks available. Only keep healthy snacks in the house. If they aren’t there, they can’t be eaten! Always have cut up veggies  and easy to carry fruit (bananas and apples) on hand. Granola bars/cereal (ones with fiber and protein!!!) are good too.

2. Portion size- be aware of how much you are eating. Cereal, crackers, pasta, and rices can always be tricky! If you have to measure out your portion a few times just to see what it should look like, do it!

1 cup= size of your fist

4 oz portion of meat = size of a deck of cards

1 Tablespoon = size of your thumb

3. Don’t drink your calories- insead of juice eat the actual piece of fruit! Buy a reusable water bottle and refill it! Keeps you hydrated and is green! (I’m in boulder, gotta go green!)

4. Caution with sauces, condiments, and EATING OUT! It only takes 10 min to cut and steam a veg. and make a high protein grain.  It’s one of the easiest meals you can make!

5. Be as active as possible! Besides the normal gym workout, take a stroll around the block, always take the stairs when possible, do sit ups if you are watching TV, calf raises when you brush your teeth, everything counts!

Short List #2-

1. What to do when…You have the urge to much!- Oftentimes, I just want to eat because I love eating! When I get in this kind of mood, I try to find a lower calorie and nutrient dense snack. Baby carrots, pepper slices, or sugar snap peas are my favorites. I probably always have at least one of these foods in my refrigerator at all times. So, try munching on these veggies before turning to the other snacky foods such as chips and cookies. For the most part, this takes care of my craving to just EAT!! Hope this helps you too.

2. “I feel hungry, but I just ate!?”- Sometimes dehydration can make you feel hungry. Try chugging a class of H2O and waiting a few minutes. If you are still hungry in 15 minutes, then hey, maybe you really are hungry! At least you got one of your needed glasses of water in!

3. Nutrition Labels- For the most part, nutrition labels can be one of your best friends. I do not mean counting calories and going into the ‘crazy mode’, but rather they can be a quick reference to what kind of choice you are about to make. Some general guidelines I like to follow are:

• The fewer the ingredients, the better. When you read the ingredients, you should know what the ingredients are (chemical names….not so much).
• For every 100 calories, I like to see at least 1 gram of fiber.
• Avoid hydrogenated anything as much as you can.

**Please remember that this is not an exclusive list at all. This is a list of things I made for my dad and I thought that these were a great place for him to start and maybe others would be interested as well. **

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Pantry Staples- I always like to keep the following items on hand for making quick and easy meals. My schedule is always hectic and I travel a lot for work so having these starters always helps.

Refrigerator/Freezer Goods

• Frozen spinach and fresh spinach
• Frozen berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries)
• Yogurt (Greek yogurt has been my favorite recently)
• Eggs

Dry Storage Goodies

• Olive oil
• Rice (brown or an aromatic rice such as basmati)
• Couscous
• Quinoa
• Oats
• Canned Beans
• Canned tomatoes or Stewed Tomatoes
• Dry pasta in fun shapes

I always have fruit that I can grab and put into my lunch bag or take on the run. For the most part, I usually have bananas, apples, oranges, or pears. I also like to have more ‘fun’ fruits in the fridge, but I wouldn’t consider them a ‘staple’.

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Avocado

• Avocados are technically large berries with one large seed.
• They will ripen within a few days sitting out at room temperature. If you need the avocado to ripen faster, sit it next to an apple or a banana which give of ethylene gas which will help ripen it faster. I’ve put the two in a paper bag to help ripen before. Typically I use apples because bananas will often impart some of their flavor into whatever is next to it.
• 75% of the total calories come from the GOOD kind of fat (monunsaturated). In addition to these good fats; for 3.5 oz of avocado flesh, you get tons of B vitamins, vitamin C, and lots of fiber!

Quinoa

• This is a great ‘grain’. It contains all of the essential amino acids, which makes it a complete protein source.
• It’s also super high in fiber, phosphorus, magnesium, and iron.
• Oh, and gluten free!

Flax Seeds

• Lignans – good for the heart and possesses anti-cancer properties
• Omega 3 Fatty Acids
• May lower cholesterol levels in women

Kabocha Squash

• Originally known as the Japanese pumpkin. Kabocha is hard with nubby skin. It is shaped like a short pumpkin. It has a dark green outside and orange flesh inside.
• The skin actually turns soft when cooked and apparently you can eat it. I haven’t tried eating the skin yet, but next time. More on this to come.
• The orange flesh indicates it’s high in beta carotene, it’s also only about 30 calories for 3/4 cup and it’s full of fiber!

Eat more blueberries!

• Recently, researchers at Tufts University analyzed 60 fruits and vegetables for their antioxidant capability. Blueberries came out on top, rating highest in their capacity to destroy free radicals.
• Packed with antioxidant phytonutrients called anthocyanidins, blueberries neutralize free radical damage to the collagen matrix of cells and tissues that can lead to cataracts, glaucoma, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, peptic ulcers, heart disease and cancer.
• A recent study found that blueberries deliver 38% more of these free radical fighters. In this study, published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, researchers found that a moderate drink (about 4 ounces) of white wine contained .47 mmol of free radical absorbing antioxidants, red wine provided 2.04 mmol, and a wine made from highbush blueberries delivered 2.42 mmol of these protective plant compounds.
• Extracts of bilberry (a cousin of blueberry) have been shown in numerous studies to improve nighttime visual acuity and promote quicker adjustment to darkness and faster restoration of visual acuity after exposure to glare.
• In laboratory animal studies, researchers have found that blueberries help protect the brain from oxidative stress and may reduce the effects of age-related conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. Researchers found that diets rich in blueberries significantly improved both the learning capacity and motor skills of aging animals, making them mentally equivalent to much younger ones.
• In addition to their powerful anthocyanins, blueberries contain another antioxidant compound called ellagic acid, which blocks metabolic pathways that can lead to cancer.
• In addition to containing ellagic acid, blueberries are high in the soluble fiber pectin, which has been shown to lower cholesterol and to prevent bile acid from being transformed into a potentially cancer-causing form.
• Laboratory studies published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry show that phenolic compounds in blueberries can inhibit colon cancer cell proliferation and induce apoptosis (programmed cell death).
• Among their rich supply of phytonutrients, blueberries include a flavonoid called kaempferol. Research calculating flavonoid intake in 66,940 women enrolled in the Nurses Health Study between 1984 and 2002 revealed that women whose diets provided the most kaempferol had a 40% reduction in risk of ovarian cancer, compared to women eating the least kaempferol-rich foods.
• Blueberries can help relieve both diarrhea and constipation. In addition to soluble and insoluble fiber, blueberries also contain tannins, which act as astringents in the digestive system to reduce inflammation. Blueberries also promote urinary tract health. Blueberries contain the same compounds found in cranberries that help prevent or eliminate urinary tract infections. In order for bacteria to infect, they must first adhere to the mucosal lining of the urethra and bladder. Components found in cranberry and blueberry juice reduce the ability of E. coli, the bacteria that is the most common cause of urinary tract infections, to adhere.