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

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.

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?

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!

Nutrition News

In honor of the impending weekend, and a few thoughts I have been meaning to put on here for your reading enjoyment, I have two things for you today.

First and Foremost: The research was compiled and after much debate the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) were release January 31, 2011. Yes, something that was supposed to be out in 2010 was released in 2011 by the federal government. Shocking. To be fair, it has taken me two weeks to post a blog about them.

For those of you who are not familiar with the DGA, these guidelines are what gives us the basis for the Food Guide Pyramid. Without further ado, here are some key points for you to think about when making food choices.

Foods and Food Components to Reduce:
-Reduce Sodium to 2,300 mg or less per day.
- Keep saturated fat intake to less than 10% of total calories.
- Keep trans fats as low as possible.
- Reduce intake of solid fats and added sugars

Food and Food Components to Increase:
- Increase intake of fruit, vegetable and whole grains.
- Increase intake of non-fat and low-fat milk and dairy products.
- Increase the amount and variety of seafood in your diet.
- Use oils to replace solid fats.

For more information, visit the USDA website link above.

Next up, March is National Nutrition Month. In honor of it I am going to try out a new diet each week of March. For weeks one and two I am going on a couple nutrition therapy diets. These diets are the DASH diet, used to treat hypertension, and Gluten-Free Diet, used to treat Celiac's Disease. I am doing these to have a better idea of the types of diets I may one day be recommending for my clients/ patients.

I am also going to try a couple lifestyle diets that are gaining popularity. For this portion of my experiment I will be Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian and Vegan. For both of these diets I will be following the USDA Food Patterns recommended in the 2010 DGA. I am trying these diets to get a better sense of what it is like trying to follow these diets. It has been noted, although it is antidotal evidence, that vegan-ism does have some implications on rheumatoid arthritis.

Each one of these diets presents a challenge for me. Let's face it, I'm a Sconnie Girl through and through. But just because someone is diagnosed with Celiac's doesn't mean they leave the state. I'm just going to have to be resourceful and mindful of my food choices. My goal is to go out to eat at least once a week because people on these diets aren't hermits, or at least the majority of them aren't. My intention is to update my blog at least weekly with my insights about each of these diets. Maybe I'll post a few recipes on here too.

Know Your Beer, Know Your Brewer

This fine photo was taken with cutting edge technology (in 2003)... my Motorola Razr.

Last week I was on the road for an internship's open house. I made good time getting to Chicago and decided to take a break from driving. I was sitting in an overpass oasis enjoying a coffee and when I gave Mr. Naughty Nutrition a call. I was feeling adventurous, and being close to the Illinois- Indiana border, thought I could swing by 3 Floyds Brewery. Mr. NN was able to give me directions to it because my not-so-smart phone was incapable of doing so. My phone was however able to take pictures and was the only piece of picture-taking technology I had to chronicle my journey with.

3 Floyds Brewery and Brewpub is located in a business park in Munster, Indiana; you would never guess that once you get inside. One wall inside serves as a movie screen that a Dr. Who movie was playing on when I arrived. The decor can best be described as a man cave of a metal head/beer connoisseur.

That blurry, brown mass in the front of my picture was hands down the most delicious grilled cheese I have ever had. When the bartender, Phil, asked me how my food was I told him, " They don't make grilled cheese like this in Wisconsin." This grilled cheese was made with cheddar cheese, arugula, sliced apples, and stone ground brown mustard on pumpernickel bread. Say what you will about them doctoring up a grilled cheese, but having the addition of greens and fruit made me feel healthier. In the background is the Imperial IPA Arctic Panzer Wolf. I know I should have paired my food with a beer a little nuttier, but I'm a hop-head at heart. I also knew I would have trouble finding that beer in Wisconsin.

With a plate full of food and beer that was intended to be sipped, I had the chance to converse with a few of the locals. The best story came from Phil. I asked him how his day was and he responded, "I'm just living the dream." He didn't say it in a cocky tone, but grateful. To many beer geeks, he was living the dream. He had been working at 3 Floyds at the brewpub for 2 years. Prior to that he had been a regular there. When the economy tanked in Munster, Phil lost his job. He was having problems finding a new job and the guys at 3 Floyds offered him a job bartending there. With no better prospects in sight, Phil signed on. Now not only does he sling beers, but he also helps in brewing the beer. Phil really is living the beer geek's dream.

There is a big movement to know where your food comes from. The same line of thought should apply to your beer as well. If you show them your support, they may return the favor.

Resolution to Real Solution

Nothing like one season of gorging ourselves on cookies and ham followed by washing it down with egg nog or champagne to get us in the mood for making a lifestyle change. If you are a Sconnie you probably didn't start you resolution until Monday (blame it on a big football weekend). Right now, your jeans are feeling a little tighter, your liver has been put through the ringer, and that treadmill you loathed in October is calling your name. A few days in on your New Years' Resolution and already you can envision how ripped you will be in June. You've been eating your veggies and going to the gym every day this week... all two days of it. Great start! You may be going strong now, but what happens in February? You may notice the crowds have thinned out at the gym or you may not see this because you're taking a break. How do you make this New Years' Resolution work for you and not end up another New Years Casualty?



New Years' Resolutions don't work for numerous reasons. Let's face it, New Years is a pretty arbitrary day. Do you really think in one day you have prepared yourself to really commit yourself changing your lifestyle? Sure, it seemed pretty plausible while you cursed life lying on the couch, but what about Friday night? Having a whole week back at work, going to the gym, eating right. You totally earned Friday's Happy Hour. But that might be the beginning of the end of your great week of work. By Monday, you may be back at the gym or may need a little recovery time. The next week you're down to going to the gym 3 days and by the end of the month you've lost your gym card. You begin to think I can't go if I don't have a card... Horse apples, you know the gym is more than capable of replacing your card. (Note: gym cards are cheaper than heart surgery.)

Don't get caught in the New Years Trap! Your habits (and waistlines) were not built in one day. First, accept the fact that it is going to take some time to achieve your goals. Going gung-ho with no specific plan can leave you feeling like a failure if you miss just one thing on your list of things to accomplish. Start small and make just one change. Be it eating a fun size candy rather than the regular size, having one less cigarette a day, or going for a walk twice a week. Write down your goal and say it out loud three times. Saying your goal out loud reinforces it more than merely thinking it. When you are about to do something that goes against what your plan is, say it out loud again. You can post your goal in places such as the refrigerator, television, or in your cigarette box. Try to keep it in areas where you are likely to be tempted to do something else. You can always take these small goals and make them bigger or add new goals. Think of your resolution as though you are playing with building blocks. It takes more than one block to build a house, plan on it take a lot of blocks to achieve your goal.

Don't be afraid to ask for help. Ask a family member, significant other, best bud, or work friend to help you out. It's easier when you have someone else to lean on and help motivate you when you're not feeling it. Just make sure this isn't the friend who is likely to suggest a bloody mary bar rather than the juice bar. Explain to them why you need to make this change and why their support is essential.

Most importantly, do not abandon ship! If you screw up it's okay, you're only human. (Except for that guy in the gym training for the Iron Man, he may actually be part robot.) Your New Years Resolution does not have to be an all or nothing attitude. Accept the fact you slipped up, come up with a plan to avoid repeating the mistake, and move on. Do not admit defeat, you can do this!

I wish you all a Happy, Healthy 2011!!!