This is the fourth, and final, installment of Naughty Nutrition Does National Nutrition Month by partaking in a new diet. For this final week I am trying out the vegan diet. A vegan diet is more of a lifestyle choice and there is no shortage of them here in Madison. A vegan diet is also a suggested medical nutrition therapy for arthritis. However, it is not an official medical nutrition therapy seeing as the evidence that suggests it is more anecdotal than scientific. One theory is that people lose weight on the vegan diet and when people lose weight there is less pressure on the joints. It could also be that vegan diets can be higher in omega-3 fatty acids, which can produce an anti-inflammatory response.
People on the vegan diet not only do not eat any animal flesh, but no animal products either. These animal products include eggs, milk, cheese, and even honey. You read that right, bees are spared the anguish of having their honey stolen from them. I am pretty confident though that a bee cannot tell the difference between a vegan and an omnivore. Vegans are probably stung by bees just as much as people who do eat honey. Unless of course the vegan is wearing pachouli, then everything with a sense of smell in a 100-yard radius stays as far away as possible.
What does one eat on a vegan diet? Fortunately the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans come to the rescue with recommendations. The guidelines do eliminate eggs, milk, and milk products. Similar to the lacto-ovo vegetarian diet, nuts and seeds, soy products, and beans and peas are the main sources of protein. Instead of milk, it is suggested that one consumes calcium-fortified plant based beverages. These include soy, almond, and rice milks. It is also recommended that people on a vegan diet take a supplement containing vitamin B12. This is because B12 is produces by microbes in the gut of animals. When you consume other animals and their products, you get some B12 from them. If B12 is eliminated from one's diet it can lead to neurological disorders. Fortunately these issues can be prevented and corrected by simply taking a B12 supplement. You may also want to take an iron supplement as well just to ensure you are receiving adequate nutrition.
Starting with where I usually start my week, we'll begin at the grocery store. I was in power grocery shopping mode, determined to get of the store in record time. However, my impending vegan-ism provided me with enough hurdles to ensure I wouldn't be out of there in a reasonable amount of time. I really only spent an extra 15 minutes there, but the greatest obstacle was food labels. I found that some frozen meals in the organic and natural food section were kind enough to put "Ingredients (Vegan):" on their labels. Now had I not been in the habit of reading labels in reverse (i.e. from the end to the beginning) as a random form of amusement, that would have saved me some time. I also ended up purchasing three different types of milk because I was unsure of which type would suit my fancy... or could tolerate. As for the total bill, it was once again about $20 more than my usual bill. For someone trying to avoid buying a ton of ibuprofen or other anti-inflammatory prescriptions, a vegan diet may not only save them money, but the stomach and intestinal distress those drugs may cause as well.
Day one was a little rough for me, as I have never used soy milk for more than on cereal before. I first tried 8th Continent Light Vanilla Soy Milk. I attempted to get myself excited about trying soy milk by telling myself that it was going to be better than cow's milk. Just awesome. At first it tasted a little bit like suntan lotion, as I drank more I found that it was better to follow each gulp with food or to hold my breath until after I had finished drinking. After I completed my first glass I thought that maybe soy milk was an acquired taste, maybe at lunch it would better. Nope, not better. Fortunately I also purchased Chocolate Silk, which was way better than the vanilla soy and I had that with dinner. Then I decided to have a gluten free Choco Loco bar for dessert, the chocolate from the bar negated the taste of the chocolate in the soy milk leaving me with just a soy milk taste. The next day I decided to make a smoothie with the soy milk in order to make it tolerable. This proved to be the best way to disguise the soy milk's taste.
On day two I went to dinner with a friend. I did my research beforehand and we decided to go to Monty's Blue Plate Diner, which is known for it's vegetarian options. According to their website, they had a vegan menu as well. I was little nervous because all their vegan options seemed to include tempeh. Tempeh is a fermented soy product, meaning it's soy beans held together by mold. Kind of like the blue cheese of soy. I had only tried it once prior to this in a food science class when we made chili with it. I wasn't a fan then and was hoping that the amount of seasonings I saw on the menu in the TNT BLT would fool me. Then our waiter came along and suggested a different tempeh containing sandwich. It didn't have any special seasonings, the tempeh was simply pan-fried with mushrooms and onions. I decided to put on my big girl pants and go for it. It was at that point that I decided I would opt for the waffle fries as well. He mentioned that they may contain animal products and he would go check for me. I did not want to be that pain in the butt customer that had my waiter running to the kitchen every time I had a question, so I confided in him that I wasn't really vegan. So we decided that waffle fries were a safe vegan food.
When the waiter came back with my sandwich he told me he was tempted to have them put the provolone cheese on it and say it was his mistake. The sandwich was a little intimidating at first glance. Like most restaurant sandwiches it was so full with fillings that the hoagie bun wouldn't close. This meant I would have to dare to eat tempeh not hidden in bread and other ingredients. The sandwich looked a lot like a philly cheesesteak minus the cheese; I bet it would have been awesome with the cheese on it. My fork managed to stab one lone piece of tempeh about three bites in. I took a deep breath and went for it. This tempeh tasted way better than the the tempeh I had in the chili. It was a little savory, with a slight meaty taste to it. I finished my entire sandwich and was still hungry. The other thing that Monty's is known for are their pies. Low and behold, they did have some vegan pies on their menu. Who was I not to try one of these pies out. I opted for the apple pie and by the time I finished it I felt full for the first time in over a week.
Later in the week I tried a few other products to get my calcium in with. Now I could not have the soy cheese because it contained casein, which is a milk byproduct. I was somewhat disappointed but to be honest I knew it just wouldn't be the same. Who really wants a cheese made from soy anyway? I did try a soy yogurt though. Here is where being vegan got a little tricky. I didn't find much of anything about vegans not containing microorganisms, like cultures in yogurt or alcoholic beverages. Probably because vegans wouldn't be able to move without killing or hurting these little bugs. The soy yogurt I bought was made with soy products, but the cultures used in the yogurt were grown in milk. I decided that the bugs used to make the yogurt only used the milk to grow on (because microorganisms aren't vegan) and it was okay to eat the yogurt. This proved to be a wise decision because the soy yogurt wasn't bad and it then cut out one glass of soy milk for that day. Looking at the nutrition label of soy products, most of them are full of sugar. I'm going to assume that this is done to make them tolerable. I tried a chai latte with soy milk as another option to get my soy milk in, but it didn't work. The combination of the tea and the soy milk made my chai latte taste more like dirt than usual. I also tried almond milk after I ran out of soy milk. I heard from numerous people about how great almond milk was. I tried it once, but I had made the fatal mistake of buying the unsweetened version. Almond milk also contained a ton of sugar and was really low in protein, which is probably why it doesn't leave you feeling satiated after drinking it. The almond milk wasn't bad alone, but it was even better when I mixed it with the chocolate soy milk.
When I first started telling people about this nutrition experiment, one person asked how my boyfriend felt about all this. I hadn't really thought about it until that point. What kind of person really puts these types of limits on themselves? Why would someone purposely restrict what types of foods they could eat? Out of the numerous vegans I have known, I have only met one of two that were actually pleasant. Most of them just question why you eat what you do and get all high and mighty about how moral they are. Around Madison there are billboards and ads on buses for simplyvegan.net, which for some reason utterly annoy me. Which probably makes this all the more perplexing on why I would do such a thing. I apologized in advance to the people I normally come in contact with that I may not be the most pleasant person to be around the last week of the month. But you know what? I haven't been too bitter or crabby this last week. The only time I started to get a little bitter was when I watched a show about BBQ and admittedly that was my fault. In fact I was joking around about it with people, albeit these were really bad jokes that one's uncle might make. For example, when I was telling my coworkers my theory about getting myself excited soy yogurt I told them it was "going to be soy good!" (Heck, just take a look at the title for this post.) From this I gathered that my good mood and lame jokes were being caused by the fact I was hungry and becoming delusional.
Being vegan probably was not the cause, but I needed to blame it for something.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Better Banana Bread
It is not very often that I have the opportunity to make banana bread. Not because I lack the motivation to put overripe bananas to use, but rather they don't last long in my kitchen. I go through a bunch a week myself, while the banana my boyfriend packs in his lunch Monday may take up residence in his bag all the way to Friday. More often than not, I don't have the problem of brown, shriveled bananas on my counter top.
That is of course if I don't go to the store for something during the week and when I see those perfectly yellow crescents I go into Great Depression Mode and buy more just in case. It is after those times I end up with a few brown bananas.
Last week was one of those weeks. I got a little excited and decided that it was time to revamp a baking recipe. Baking recipes make me a little nervous, mainly because baking ingredients are science-based unlike typical cooking ingredients. Baking ingredients all play a specific role. They can be so specific that if you replace one ingredient with the wrong thing (or don't use enough of it), a super fluffy cake may become a super dense brick. Putting candles on that brick cake doesn't improve it either, you still have a bad cake disguised by frosting and fire.
The source recipe I used was from the Food Network for Flour's Famous Banana Bread. Click the link for their recipe and look below to see what I did.
Ingredients
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup of Splenda Baking Sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup of lite cinnamon applesauce
2 small bananas, very ripe, mashed
2 tablespoons of light sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ounce of walnuts, chopped
Directions
Set oven to 350 degrees F. Coat the loaf pan with cooking spray.
Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Beat sugar and eggs with a whisk until light and fluffy. Drizzle in oil. Add mashed bananas, sour cream, and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients and nuts.
Pour into the loaf pan and bake for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Makes 10 servings.
Nutritional Breakdown:
Calories: 162
Fat: 1.4 grams
Carbohydrates: 32 grams
Protein: 3 grams
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
For the Love of Babe
Last week on my drive home from Chicago I passed a semi-trailer carrying cows. It was dark, so I couldn't tell if these cows were meant for milk or hamburgers. For some reason my brain jumped to the latter and I was struck with a sense of sadness. The kind of sadness I felt after watching the movie Babe in middle school. Perhaps the reason I jumped to that conclusion was because I was about to embark on being a vegetarian.
A vegetarian diet is not a form of medical nutrition therapy, but rather a lifestyle choice. There are many reasons people decide to be vegetarian. Some people may have decided that an animal losing their life for the sake of adorning their dinner plate was not morally okay. Others may have read up on big industry meat slaughtering practices and now their stomach turns each time they so much as glance at the meat section. For whatever the reason a vegetarian may have, it's their choice to do so.
Being a vegetarian is not as simple as cutting out the meat and filling in the gaps with other foods. Cutting meat out of one's diet can make it more difficult to get adequate protein. It can also affect their intake of micronutrients such as iron. Previously the USDA did not have recommendations for vegetarians. Perhaps this is why some of the vegetarians I have talked with acknowledged they were vegetarian the "wrong" way and simply replaced meat with grains and cheese. These people knew they needed to replace the calories they were missing from meat, but were unaware of nutrients they needed to replace.
This being said, in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, there are recommendations for lacto-ovo vegetarians. Lacto-ovo vegetarians are able to have animal products such as milk and eggs. Basically, if the animal did not have to die to produce what is on your plate (or in your glass), then it's okay to eat/ drink. Eggs, nuts and seeds, beans and peas, and soy-based products are what fills out the lean meat portion of the food guide pyramid. That's where the changes end. Vegetarians following the guidelines do not need to increase their grain, fruit, milk, or even their vegetable consumption.
Starting with where I usually begin my week, I went grocery shopping. The bill this time was about $30 higher than my usual bill. However, my bill did include gluten-free chicken nuggets for my final day on the Celiac diet. With that in consideration, my bill was closer to what I spent on the DASH diet. Time wise, I spent about the same amount of time I typically spend grocery shopping.
On to what I am actually eating. Given what is recommended, I'm hungrier than usual. I think this partially due to the fact that what is recommended to replace lean meats are nuts, seeds, and soy-based products. When it comes to nuts and seeds, a half of an ounce of nuts or seeds is equal to one ounce of lean meat. Have you ever measured out how much that is? Take that handful of trail mix and cut it half... twice. You're left with about 5 peanuts, 10 sunflower seeds, 3 almonds, a cashew, and a couple raisins.
I have also tried tofu for the fourth time in my life, second time actually preparing it myself. With the right seasoning and cooking procedures, it can almost pass as meat. A real soft, not nearly as satisfying, meat. The other night out of sheer laziness I cooked up some Tofurky Italian Sausages on my indoor grill. Surprising to no one, there was approximately two drops of "fat" in the drip pan. This may be part of the reason why one is not left feeling totally satiated after eating tofu. As some who misses eating meat, it tasted close enough. This experience may have made me brave enough to order tofu next time I dine out.
But tofu will never replace my bacon.
A vegetarian diet is not a form of medical nutrition therapy, but rather a lifestyle choice. There are many reasons people decide to be vegetarian. Some people may have decided that an animal losing their life for the sake of adorning their dinner plate was not morally okay. Others may have read up on big industry meat slaughtering practices and now their stomach turns each time they so much as glance at the meat section. For whatever the reason a vegetarian may have, it's their choice to do so.
Being a vegetarian is not as simple as cutting out the meat and filling in the gaps with other foods. Cutting meat out of one's diet can make it more difficult to get adequate protein. It can also affect their intake of micronutrients such as iron. Previously the USDA did not have recommendations for vegetarians. Perhaps this is why some of the vegetarians I have talked with acknowledged they were vegetarian the "wrong" way and simply replaced meat with grains and cheese. These people knew they needed to replace the calories they were missing from meat, but were unaware of nutrients they needed to replace.
This being said, in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, there are recommendations for lacto-ovo vegetarians. Lacto-ovo vegetarians are able to have animal products such as milk and eggs. Basically, if the animal did not have to die to produce what is on your plate (or in your glass), then it's okay to eat/ drink. Eggs, nuts and seeds, beans and peas, and soy-based products are what fills out the lean meat portion of the food guide pyramid. That's where the changes end. Vegetarians following the guidelines do not need to increase their grain, fruit, milk, or even their vegetable consumption.
Starting with where I usually begin my week, I went grocery shopping. The bill this time was about $30 higher than my usual bill. However, my bill did include gluten-free chicken nuggets for my final day on the Celiac diet. With that in consideration, my bill was closer to what I spent on the DASH diet. Time wise, I spent about the same amount of time I typically spend grocery shopping.
On to what I am actually eating. Given what is recommended, I'm hungrier than usual. I think this partially due to the fact that what is recommended to replace lean meats are nuts, seeds, and soy-based products. When it comes to nuts and seeds, a half of an ounce of nuts or seeds is equal to one ounce of lean meat. Have you ever measured out how much that is? Take that handful of trail mix and cut it half... twice. You're left with about 5 peanuts, 10 sunflower seeds, 3 almonds, a cashew, and a couple raisins.
I have also tried tofu for the fourth time in my life, second time actually preparing it myself. With the right seasoning and cooking procedures, it can almost pass as meat. A real soft, not nearly as satisfying, meat. The other night out of sheer laziness I cooked up some Tofurky Italian Sausages on my indoor grill. Surprising to no one, there was approximately two drops of "fat" in the drip pan. This may be part of the reason why one is not left feeling totally satiated after eating tofu. As some who misses eating meat, it tasted close enough. This experience may have made me brave enough to order tofu next time I dine out.
But tofu will never replace my bacon.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Hold the Crouton
For week 2 of National Nutrition Month I have been on the gluten-free diet. A gluten-free diet is currently the only form of treatment for Celiac Disease. In Celiac Disease a person has an immune response to the protein gluten, which is found in wheat, rye, and barley products. When a person with Celiac consumes a product containing gluten it can cause intestinal discomfort similar to lactose intolerance and irritable bowel syndrome. Due to how similar it is to these disorders, Celiac is commonly misdiagnosed. It is believed that as many as 1 in 4 Americans have a gluten intolerance such as Celiac Disease.
The havoc that Celiac can wreak on one's digestive tract is not limited to gas, bloating, and the big D. The immune response to gluten damages cells of the digestive tract. When this damage occurs, it can make it difficult for the intestine to do it's job, which is to absorb nutrients. If Celiac goes untreated it can lead to anemia, soft bones, arthritis, and dry, itchy skin. Sounds like a blast, right?
When a person with Celiac begins a gluten-free diet, it's not like a switch is flipped and they are magically cured. It can take at least 2 to 8 weeks for their digestive issues to subside. If the person developed any of the problems listed above, it can take months or years for those issues to be resolved. The key is to identify Celiac Disease as the problem early on in order to avoid having to resolve any accompanying issues too.
Being gluten-free isn't as easy as looking at the label for wheat, barley, or rye. Products, such as modified food starch or hydrolyzed vegetable protein, can be made from wheat, corn, soy, or a combination of these. Oats are considered to be a safe grain, however oats are commonly processed in plants that also process the gluten containing grains. It is important to read the packaging to make sure that the oats are gluten-free. I found the Celiac Sprue Association has a comprehensive list of food and food products commonly found on labels. Their list gives these foods a red, green, or yellow light to signify their safety consideration for a gluten-free diet.
My first endeavor while on the gluten-free diet was to go grocery shopping. Typically it takes me about an hour in the grocery store to do my shopping. With having to read all the labels (and an awkward conversation concerning locker room etiquette with a former gym member) my trip to the store took an hour and a half. I suppose this time would go down as I became more familiar with the products I was looking at and price comparing. Leading into my grocery bill, it came in at about $10 more than my usual bill.
This week I've been on the move as well. My first adventure was meeting a friend from class for lunch. She was kind enough to allow me to select where we went for lunch. After what happened at Qdoba, I decided to take a look at restaurants that had posted nutritional information. I would have went for sushi, since the main grain involved is rice. However, soy sauce, contains gluten. I'm the type of person who requires wasabi and soy sauce for my sushi, so that option was out. I ended up choosing Chin's Asia Fresh, which does list on their site what entree and sauce options are gluten free. Fortunately I made my decision before I arrived at the restaurant because this information is not readily available at the restaurant.
The next day I headed to Chicago for an internship interview. Since it was a three hour drive and I was close to 3 Floyds (one of my favorite brew pubs), I decided to stop by and pick up a bomber for my boyfriend. While there I decided to get lunch as well. I decided on Green's (Gluten-Free) Triple and their Beet Soup (minus the crouton). Green's Gluten-Free Triple was my first taste of a gluten-free beer. Besides the water, hops, and yeast always found in the brew, it contained buckwheat, rice, sorgum, and millet. Surprisingly, but probably shouldn't have been, it tasted more like a cider than a triple.
Do you know what else is gluten-free? Shamrock Shakes!!!!! Note: I looked that up before I left for my Chicago Trip in the off chance I finally broke down and got my first one of the season.
For dinner last night I tried out a quinoa spaghetti instead of my usual whole wheat. I tried one piece plain and it had a texture similar to ramen. It didn't taste too far off from regular pasta either. I did notice, however, that I had a hard time twirling it on my fork. That kind of made it hard to eat. Some of it also formed a clump after it had been drained as it sat out for a bit. When I bit into that clump it had different texture that was undesirable, so the one piece that was easy to get on a fork was inedible. I would have the pasta again, however the pasta draining to putting sauce on it time will have to be quicker.
Today I am midway through the week and this morning I ran out of my gluten-free cereal. Now the one I had first chosen wasn't bad, but I thought why did I not just pick up Rice Krispies when I was at the store last time? While at the grocery store I checked the Rice Krispies' label today to see if they were gluten-free. Looking at the box you would think, "It's puffed rice, how could it not be gluten-free?" Upon further investigation I noticed that it contained "malt flavoring" which is derived from barley. I would have the nix the Rice Krispies and opt for the organic, gluten-free option in the natural food aisle.
When it comes to the lunches and snacks that I typically pack, it now takes more space to get the same amount of grains. It takes 3 rice cakes to equal one crunchy granola bar. The snack bars I picked up by Enjoy Life are actually pretty tasty. They have a texture and taste pretty similar to a Clif bar. Now for the cons, first they are a $1.50 more than what I usually pay for my crunchy granola bars. They also only contain 5- 1 ounce bars per package rather than the 8- 1 ounce bars I get when I buy granola bars. When I went to get more cereal for this week I ended up getting another box of bars. With the additional bananas I needed it added another $10 to my grocery bill for the week. That puts the gluten free diet at about the same as the DASH diet when it comes to grocery cost.
This week has been a little more difficult than the DASH diet. It definitely takes more planning when it comes figuring out meals and snacks. I also find it hard to know what is considered safe when I go out to restaurants unless I do my research before hand. This week I have one more trip to Chicago planned for a conference. The breakfast there is going to be sponsored by Kellogg's, I wonder if there will be anything there I could eat?
The havoc that Celiac can wreak on one's digestive tract is not limited to gas, bloating, and the big D. The immune response to gluten damages cells of the digestive tract. When this damage occurs, it can make it difficult for the intestine to do it's job, which is to absorb nutrients. If Celiac goes untreated it can lead to anemia, soft bones, arthritis, and dry, itchy skin. Sounds like a blast, right?
When a person with Celiac begins a gluten-free diet, it's not like a switch is flipped and they are magically cured. It can take at least 2 to 8 weeks for their digestive issues to subside. If the person developed any of the problems listed above, it can take months or years for those issues to be resolved. The key is to identify Celiac Disease as the problem early on in order to avoid having to resolve any accompanying issues too.
Being gluten-free isn't as easy as looking at the label for wheat, barley, or rye. Products, such as modified food starch or hydrolyzed vegetable protein, can be made from wheat, corn, soy, or a combination of these. Oats are considered to be a safe grain, however oats are commonly processed in plants that also process the gluten containing grains. It is important to read the packaging to make sure that the oats are gluten-free. I found the Celiac Sprue Association has a comprehensive list of food and food products commonly found on labels. Their list gives these foods a red, green, or yellow light to signify their safety consideration for a gluten-free diet.
My first endeavor while on the gluten-free diet was to go grocery shopping. Typically it takes me about an hour in the grocery store to do my shopping. With having to read all the labels (and an awkward conversation concerning locker room etiquette with a former gym member) my trip to the store took an hour and a half. I suppose this time would go down as I became more familiar with the products I was looking at and price comparing. Leading into my grocery bill, it came in at about $10 more than my usual bill.
This week I've been on the move as well. My first adventure was meeting a friend from class for lunch. She was kind enough to allow me to select where we went for lunch. After what happened at Qdoba, I decided to take a look at restaurants that had posted nutritional information. I would have went for sushi, since the main grain involved is rice. However, soy sauce, contains gluten. I'm the type of person who requires wasabi and soy sauce for my sushi, so that option was out. I ended up choosing Chin's Asia Fresh, which does list on their site what entree and sauce options are gluten free. Fortunately I made my decision before I arrived at the restaurant because this information is not readily available at the restaurant.
The next day I headed to Chicago for an internship interview. Since it was a three hour drive and I was close to 3 Floyds (one of my favorite brew pubs), I decided to stop by and pick up a bomber for my boyfriend. While there I decided to get lunch as well. I decided on Green's (Gluten-Free) Triple and their Beet Soup (minus the crouton). Green's Gluten-Free Triple was my first taste of a gluten-free beer. Besides the water, hops, and yeast always found in the brew, it contained buckwheat, rice, sorgum, and millet. Surprisingly, but probably shouldn't have been, it tasted more like a cider than a triple.
Do you know what else is gluten-free? Shamrock Shakes!!!!! Note: I looked that up before I left for my Chicago Trip in the off chance I finally broke down and got my first one of the season.
For dinner last night I tried out a quinoa spaghetti instead of my usual whole wheat. I tried one piece plain and it had a texture similar to ramen. It didn't taste too far off from regular pasta either. I did notice, however, that I had a hard time twirling it on my fork. That kind of made it hard to eat. Some of it also formed a clump after it had been drained as it sat out for a bit. When I bit into that clump it had different texture that was undesirable, so the one piece that was easy to get on a fork was inedible. I would have the pasta again, however the pasta draining to putting sauce on it time will have to be quicker.
Today I am midway through the week and this morning I ran out of my gluten-free cereal. Now the one I had first chosen wasn't bad, but I thought why did I not just pick up Rice Krispies when I was at the store last time? While at the grocery store I checked the Rice Krispies' label today to see if they were gluten-free. Looking at the box you would think, "It's puffed rice, how could it not be gluten-free?" Upon further investigation I noticed that it contained "malt flavoring" which is derived from barley. I would have the nix the Rice Krispies and opt for the organic, gluten-free option in the natural food aisle.
When it comes to the lunches and snacks that I typically pack, it now takes more space to get the same amount of grains. It takes 3 rice cakes to equal one crunchy granola bar. The snack bars I picked up by Enjoy Life are actually pretty tasty. They have a texture and taste pretty similar to a Clif bar. Now for the cons, first they are a $1.50 more than what I usually pay for my crunchy granola bars. They also only contain 5- 1 ounce bars per package rather than the 8- 1 ounce bars I get when I buy granola bars. When I went to get more cereal for this week I ended up getting another box of bars. With the additional bananas I needed it added another $10 to my grocery bill for the week. That puts the gluten free diet at about the same as the DASH diet when it comes to grocery cost.
This week has been a little more difficult than the DASH diet. It definitely takes more planning when it comes figuring out meals and snacks. I also find it hard to know what is considered safe when I go out to restaurants unless I do my research before hand. This week I have one more trip to Chicago planned for a conference. The breakfast there is going to be sponsored by Kellogg's, I wonder if there will be anything there I could eat?
Thursday, March 3, 2011
DASH Diet
Start your engines, National Nutrition Month has begun! For this first week of National Nutrition Month I am experimenting with the DASH Diet. For those of you who are not familiar with DASH, please allow me to elaborate. The DASH Diet is not the latest celebrity diet craze promoted by three sisters in California who own a store by the same name, nor does it include a frantic run before (or after) each meal. DASH stands for "Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension." Hypertension is the medical term for High Blood Pressure. The DASH diet emphasizes the consumption of fruits, vegetables, and nonfat dairy; while still including lean meats, nuts, and grains as.
What DASH limits, however, is the amount of sodium. In the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, it is recommended that Americans get no more than 2,300 mg of Sodium per day. The same applies to DASH, but the lower your sodium intake is the better. DASH also limits the amounts of sweets one consumes. One sweet is considered to be equal to 1 tablespoon of sugar or jelly, 1/2 cup of sorbet or gelatin, or 1 cup of lemonade. Please note these aren't small servings of cookies, cakes, and brownies, all of which can be high in saturated fat.
DASH promotes weight loss which is a treatment for obesity, a common risk factor for hypertension. The WELL study showed that participants with weight loss on the DASH Diet had a further decrease in blood pressure compared to participants with the same weight loss on low-calorie diets alone.
Now that you have the background on DASH, let me share my experience this week using DASH. I typically follow the Food Guide Pyramid when making my food choices through out the day. Comparing the Food Guide Pyramid and the DASH plan, they aren't totally different. In fact, I chose this diet to experiment with first because it isn't too far off of what I normally eat so I would be able to ease myself into this endeavor. According to DASH, my consumption of fruits is the only thing that is increased. My recommendations for grains, vegetables, and milk all remain the same. What does decrease though is my consumption of lean meat. Allow me to note here that it is recommended that I consume seeds, nuts, or legumes at least 4 times a week. I should also note that I am allowed 5 sweets or less a week. After my sugar binge that lasted from January through February, this may be rougher than I anticipated.
Day one of this experiment I was flying back from Vegas. I could have postponed trying DASH for one day, but the way I look it life doesn't pause when you're diagnosed with a chronic disease. So I threw caution into the wind and went with it.
Prior to my trip I had packed bananas and granola bars in my carry-on. I picked bananas because I view them to be a self-contained fruit. No need to wash them, they have their own wrapper, and they're not easily squish-able. That last part would prove to be a fatal mistake for the extra pants I packed just in case my luggage was lost. Now it was the morning I was to begin my challenge and the remaining banana was looking pretty beat up from being in my carry-on. I knew that fruit options would be limited so bit the bullet (or banana in this case). In actuality, the banana looked worse than it actually was. One serving of fruit done, three more to go.
At airport I had the task of finding food before the flight. I needed to have some sustenance with me seeing that our first flight would be too short to have more than beverage service and our layover before the next flight would be too short to pick up food. I first went to near by vendor and found a fruit and yogurt parfait and a mixed fruit cup. Both were $4.59 a piece and the parfait was a little high in sodium. I realized that being on a budget and on DASH was going to be a challenge. I walked down the way and spotted a kiosk with yogurt and fresh fruit. I was able to get a 6-ounce container of nonfat yogurt and an orange for $3.87. I had the yogurt at the airport and saved my orange for the plane to have with my granola bars.
Like I had anticipated, we just made our next flight after a run between terminals. Once I boarded I had my orange and granola bars. After that I was at the mercy of the airline as to what might be able to eat next. When the flight attendant came around, she had a box of snacks with questionable sodium contents. I nixed the peanut, pretzel, and cheese filled crackers right away. I decided to forgo the shortbread cookies (there was no way I was going to use up one of my sweets on those) for the pita chips. Surprisingly, they weren't too high on sodium, only 8% of my daily recommended needs. That could probably be attributed to the fact that the bag was the size of a wallet.
Judging by what I had consumed so far that day, it was safe to say that I would probably be getting dinner on the road. While on the plane I played with a restaurant app on my iPod to see the sodium content in foods. A hamburger from McDonalds has about 500 mg of sodium in it. Which isn't bad, but how many people have just one burger? Or pair that burger with fries? Most of the foods I found were high in sodium mainly due to processing.
After the plane landed, we were in the car on our way back home. Now home was an hour and half away and I was beginning to get really hungry. We decided to stop at Qdoba for dinner. I was unable to find nutrition information inside the restaurant so I was flying blind as to what to get for dinner.
From what I remembered seeing on my app, most food with meat tended to be saltier than the vegetable options. I ultimately decided on the grilled vegetable burrito. One reason was that it was described as being seasoned with garlic and herbs, also I had yet to get one vegetable in that day. I could have ordered a salad, but we were on the road and burritos are easier to handle. Without a second thought I opted for the black beans, corn salsa, cheese, and sour cream. I would calculate it out when I got home I thought as I tore into it.
I did just that. That one veggie burrito had over 1900 mg of sodium in it. That was 85% of my recommended daily sodium intake! After playing with their nutritional calculator I found that the major culprit for the sodium content was not what was inside the burrito, but what held it together. 700 mg of sodium came from the tortilla alone. I did feel little better when I calculated a chicken burrito that had all the add-ons I had on my burrito; a chicken burrito had 200 mg of sodium more.
Day 1 was not the greatest day I could have had on the DASH Diet. On Day 2 I went grocery shopping. First I had to make a list, but in order to know what I was going to need, I needed know to what I was going to make. I found that the Mayo Clinic had a great list of DASH Diet recipes. After I complied my list I headed off to the store and picked up what I needed. My bill was $20 more expensive than my typical bill. I did opt for a container of sorbet which added $4.50 and is not an item I typically buy. I figured that if I wanted something sweet I better have it on hand and people attempting DASH were likely to do the same. The extra $20 wasn't terrible, but spending an extra $20 could really have an impact on people's finances who are already on a budget.
As for how I have been eating since, days 2 and 3 weren't bad. In fact, they've been pretty good. I don't find myself starving through out the day or before bed. Sorbet has also been a good sugar fix when I'm looking for something sweet. The most difficult thing has been figuring out what to eat. I highly suggest sitting down and planning out a day worth of meals to ensure you're getting the calories and nutrients you need. Once you have your main meals figured out, it's pretty easy to fill in the gaps. The part to remember is that you don't need to be perfect, you just need to be close enough each day during the week that it all averages out.
Stay tuned to see what else National Nutrition Month has in store for the Naughty Nutritionist!
What DASH limits, however, is the amount of sodium. In the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, it is recommended that Americans get no more than 2,300 mg of Sodium per day. The same applies to DASH, but the lower your sodium intake is the better. DASH also limits the amounts of sweets one consumes. One sweet is considered to be equal to 1 tablespoon of sugar or jelly, 1/2 cup of sorbet or gelatin, or 1 cup of lemonade. Please note these aren't small servings of cookies, cakes, and brownies, all of which can be high in saturated fat.
DASH promotes weight loss which is a treatment for obesity, a common risk factor for hypertension. The WELL study showed that participants with weight loss on the DASH Diet had a further decrease in blood pressure compared to participants with the same weight loss on low-calorie diets alone.
Now that you have the background on DASH, let me share my experience this week using DASH. I typically follow the Food Guide Pyramid when making my food choices through out the day. Comparing the Food Guide Pyramid and the DASH plan, they aren't totally different. In fact, I chose this diet to experiment with first because it isn't too far off of what I normally eat so I would be able to ease myself into this endeavor. According to DASH, my consumption of fruits is the only thing that is increased. My recommendations for grains, vegetables, and milk all remain the same. What does decrease though is my consumption of lean meat. Allow me to note here that it is recommended that I consume seeds, nuts, or legumes at least 4 times a week. I should also note that I am allowed 5 sweets or less a week. After my sugar binge that lasted from January through February, this may be rougher than I anticipated.
Day one of this experiment I was flying back from Vegas. I could have postponed trying DASH for one day, but the way I look it life doesn't pause when you're diagnosed with a chronic disease. So I threw caution into the wind and went with it.
Prior to my trip I had packed bananas and granola bars in my carry-on. I picked bananas because I view them to be a self-contained fruit. No need to wash them, they have their own wrapper, and they're not easily squish-able. That last part would prove to be a fatal mistake for the extra pants I packed just in case my luggage was lost. Now it was the morning I was to begin my challenge and the remaining banana was looking pretty beat up from being in my carry-on. I knew that fruit options would be limited so bit the bullet (or banana in this case). In actuality, the banana looked worse than it actually was. One serving of fruit done, three more to go.
At airport I had the task of finding food before the flight. I needed to have some sustenance with me seeing that our first flight would be too short to have more than beverage service and our layover before the next flight would be too short to pick up food. I first went to near by vendor and found a fruit and yogurt parfait and a mixed fruit cup. Both were $4.59 a piece and the parfait was a little high in sodium. I realized that being on a budget and on DASH was going to be a challenge. I walked down the way and spotted a kiosk with yogurt and fresh fruit. I was able to get a 6-ounce container of nonfat yogurt and an orange for $3.87. I had the yogurt at the airport and saved my orange for the plane to have with my granola bars.
Like I had anticipated, we just made our next flight after a run between terminals. Once I boarded I had my orange and granola bars. After that I was at the mercy of the airline as to what might be able to eat next. When the flight attendant came around, she had a box of snacks with questionable sodium contents. I nixed the peanut, pretzel, and cheese filled crackers right away. I decided to forgo the shortbread cookies (there was no way I was going to use up one of my sweets on those) for the pita chips. Surprisingly, they weren't too high on sodium, only 8% of my daily recommended needs. That could probably be attributed to the fact that the bag was the size of a wallet.
Judging by what I had consumed so far that day, it was safe to say that I would probably be getting dinner on the road. While on the plane I played with a restaurant app on my iPod to see the sodium content in foods. A hamburger from McDonalds has about 500 mg of sodium in it. Which isn't bad, but how many people have just one burger? Or pair that burger with fries? Most of the foods I found were high in sodium mainly due to processing.
After the plane landed, we were in the car on our way back home. Now home was an hour and half away and I was beginning to get really hungry. We decided to stop at Qdoba for dinner. I was unable to find nutrition information inside the restaurant so I was flying blind as to what to get for dinner.
From what I remembered seeing on my app, most food with meat tended to be saltier than the vegetable options. I ultimately decided on the grilled vegetable burrito. One reason was that it was described as being seasoned with garlic and herbs, also I had yet to get one vegetable in that day. I could have ordered a salad, but we were on the road and burritos are easier to handle. Without a second thought I opted for the black beans, corn salsa, cheese, and sour cream. I would calculate it out when I got home I thought as I tore into it.
I did just that. That one veggie burrito had over 1900 mg of sodium in it. That was 85% of my recommended daily sodium intake! After playing with their nutritional calculator I found that the major culprit for the sodium content was not what was inside the burrito, but what held it together. 700 mg of sodium came from the tortilla alone. I did feel little better when I calculated a chicken burrito that had all the add-ons I had on my burrito; a chicken burrito had 200 mg of sodium more.
Day 1 was not the greatest day I could have had on the DASH Diet. On Day 2 I went grocery shopping. First I had to make a list, but in order to know what I was going to need, I needed know to what I was going to make. I found that the Mayo Clinic had a great list of DASH Diet recipes. After I complied my list I headed off to the store and picked up what I needed. My bill was $20 more expensive than my typical bill. I did opt for a container of sorbet which added $4.50 and is not an item I typically buy. I figured that if I wanted something sweet I better have it on hand and people attempting DASH were likely to do the same. The extra $20 wasn't terrible, but spending an extra $20 could really have an impact on people's finances who are already on a budget.
As for how I have been eating since, days 2 and 3 weren't bad. In fact, they've been pretty good. I don't find myself starving through out the day or before bed. Sorbet has also been a good sugar fix when I'm looking for something sweet. The most difficult thing has been figuring out what to eat. I highly suggest sitting down and planning out a day worth of meals to ensure you're getting the calories and nutrients you need. Once you have your main meals figured out, it's pretty easy to fill in the gaps. The part to remember is that you don't need to be perfect, you just need to be close enough each day during the week that it all averages out.
Stay tuned to see what else National Nutrition Month has in store for the Naughty Nutritionist!
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