The FIRST ingredient should start with “Whole” when it comes to grains!

Food manufacturers are really good at tricking the public into thinking that the food they are eating is healthy, especially when it comes to grains. In particular, snack manufactures trick those people trying to make health conscious decisions by calling products “multigrain” or even “whole grain” crackers or chips, when they are not even close! For example, Stacy’s Multigrain Pita Chips, “Whole Grain” Ritz Crackers, and Lance Whole Grain Peanut Butter crackers all have “Enriched Wheat Flour” (i.e: white, refined flour) as their FIRST ingredient. Rye is technically a whole grain, but good luck finding a whole grain rye bread at the supermarket. Every sliced rye bread I have found on store shelves has “enriched wheat flour” as the first ingredient. The only true rye bread I have found at a grocery store is the Mestemacher brick of a bread loaf. 

Whole grains are incredibly important to health because of their antioxidant, phytonutrient, fiber, and vitamin and mineral makeup. Whole grains are essential to expedite weight loss and for people looking to maintain weight loss. Eating refined grains won’t do you any good, so do your best to make it a habit to look at the ingredients when purchasing products. Don’t fall into the marketing tricks!

My recommendation: Try new grains! Get more adventurous than just whole wheat flour, whole grain corn, brown rice, and wild rice- though they are all very nutritious. Try quinoa, farro, oats, barley, bulgur, spelt, teff, amaranth, millet, etc- many of which are found in the bulk bins at Whole Foods! I also recommend making your own bread. It really isn't that difficult to do. Try making your own homemade roti, which requires no yeast and can be made in a matter of minutes. Whole Wheat Beer Bread is also a crowd pleaser, and very easy to make (I recommend using ALL whole wheat flour, or whole wheat pastry flour). Becoming more domestic will make you a healthier, richer person!

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

I am a big advocate of making smoothies for dessert. I recommend for most of my clients to invest in a Magic Bullet or any generic individual-sized blender so that they can make a quick smoothie everday and have very easy cleanup (instead of having to dismantle the blender every time). Smoothies are a great way to get in your dairy and fruit servings... and if you get adventurous, you can even add in some leafy greens to get some veggies in there too (and perhaps peanut butter for your protein group). Smoothies are also a cool summertime treat that can be very low in calories and a great alternative to ice cream. During this summer, I will try to post a new recipe regularly to get you all enthused about making your own frozen treat.

I love canned pumpkin and have posted previously about how nutritious and versatile it is. Below is one of my favorite desserts that I have made into a smoothie recipe (my favorite easy dessert is just cottage cheese, pumpkin butter, cinnamon and canned pumpkin mixed together into a mousse-like dessert). Even if you don't like cottage cheese, I recommend you try it in a smoothie because it makes it thicker (i.e: more milkshake-like) than yogurt does.

Kelly's Pumpkin Pie Smoothie Recipe

1/3 cup canned pumpkin

1/3 cup Breakstone’s 30% reduced sodium 2% cottage Cheese

1/3 cup vanilla unsweetened almond milk

½ cup ice cubes

Dash of vanilla extract

Dash of pumpkin pie spice

1 tbsp pumpkin butter (Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods)

* Variations:

- Top with nonfat whipped topping if desired

- You can substitute no-sugar added pumpkin butter for fewer calories, or use honey (or any other sweetener) if you don't have pumpkin butter on hand

- Substitute a light vanilla or plain nonfat yogurt if you don't have cottage cheese

- Add more liquid or ice if it isn't the right consistency or you want to add more volume

Makes 1 serving:

Nutrition facts: 160 calories, 3 g fat, 241 mg sodium, 16 g carb (3 g fiber), 14 g sugar, 9 g protein,

Good Source of Vitamins A & D

That's not potato in your salad... it's Jicama!

Jicama (pronounced Heek-a-ma) is a white root vegetable common in South Asian, Central and South American cuisines (also known as the Mexican potato and yam beat root) that is not a common staple on the average American's dinner plate. However, that being said, many restaurants are now incorporating jicama into salads and it is becoming more trendy, so I imagine you will be seeing it much more often. Jicama has a brown flesh but is very white on the inside.


Picture Source: jicamanutrition.org

Jicama can be eaten raw or cooked and is slightly sweet. It is kind of a mix between a water chestnut and pear, so it is perfect for salads. Personally, I like to eat it dipped in hummus or guac. So, if you are looking for a unique twist to the old veggie party tray, try adding jicama slices to your usual celery and carrots.
Nutritionally, one cup of sliced raw jicama has only 46 calories, a whopping 6 grams of fiber, and is a good source of potassium and Vitamin C.

So where do you buy this veg? I usually go to Gentiles (in Newtown Square, PA) to get my jicama, but I believe Whole Foods usually carries them (or a Mexican grocer). You really can't go wrong when picking a jicama, just look for a round tuber with a healthy looking skin (no holes or bruises). The skin is very thin, so it peels off easily. You can store jicama in the fridge in a plastic bag for up to 2 weeks.

As mentioned previously, jicama makes a great dipper for hummus or guacamole, can be added to salads, and if you Google it, you will most definitely come across cole-slaw recipes. I add it to sauteed veggies, use it in soups, and even add to omelets. A traditional Mexican way to eat the veg is to cut it into sticks and toss in lime juice with cayenne pepper.

So, go out and buy a jicama and let me know how you like it!

Kelly’s Ultimate Trail Mix Recipe

I created this trail mix recipe over many months of adding to and substituting new alternatives for traditional ingredients.Finally, I got it down right. This trail mix is extremely delicious and healthy, and is chock-full of fiber.  You get a much larger serving size for fewer calories than traditional trail mixes. Enjoy as an afternoon snack or while your hitting the trails!

Ingredients

1 1/3 cup Trader Joe’s High Fiber Fruit & Nut Multigrain Medley

1 cup Newman’s Own High Protein Pretzels *

¼ cup Dried Cranberries

¼ chopped Dates

¼ cup carob or chocolate chips

¼ cup Emerald Cocoa Roast Almonds

¼ cup Raw Almonds

¼ cup Roasted Peanuts

Directions

Mix all ingredients together. Put in a re-usable container to take to school, work, or to put in your hiking backpack.

*Newman's Own High Protein Pretzels are available at Whole Foods in the snack aisle. You can also get the nuts and dried fruit in the bulk bin section there.

Nutrition Info

Makes about 9 servings

Per serving (~ 1/2 cup)= 150 calories, 8 g fat (1.5 g SFA, 1.8 g  MUFA, 4.1 g PUFA ), 1 mg cholesterol, 59 mg sodium, 21 g carbohydrate (4.5 g fiber, 8.6 g sugar), 5 g protein

Mung Beans

I spent the past 24 hours soaking and making mung beans. This is my first time working with this legume, and I owe it all to my friend Mikey, who inspired me to make them for a St. Paddy's party tomorrow ((okay, it was more of a joke b/c I'm the nutrition girl, but I figured why not make a delicious and very nutritious treat? (I also made an Irish specialty-Irish soda bread- to be discussed next week, as well as a not-super healthy dessert: PB Cheerio bars)). 

Most likely you have eaten Mung beans but are just unaware of it. If you have ever eaten "sprouts" (not alfalfa sprouts) you  probably have eaten mung beans. Their most common use in the western world is in sprout form, which is used in stir fries, sandwiches, salads, etc. However, over in Asia they have many different uses. In Thailand, they are used in a lot of dessert recipes (custards, puddings, etc.). In China they are used in their sprout form as well as soaked/boiled and used in soups or made into noodles. Indians use Mung beans in dal (Moong dal) recipes with curry, coriander, turmeric, etc. 

Just like other beans, mung beans are very high in protein, fiber, and iron. In fact, just one cup of Mung beans contains 14 grams of protein, 15 grams (61% DV) of fiber, and 16% the daily value of iron. You have to be careful with portions though if you are watching your weight, one cup has about 215 calories... but if you are going to eat 1 cup of anything, mung beans (or any beans for that matter) are the way to go (along with veggies!).  

For the party tomorrow I made a Mung Bean & Lentil Curry (I merged a few recipes together) recipe which goes something like this:

Spicy Mung Bean & Lentil Curry

1 cup of mung beans, soaked overnight

1/2 cup of lentils
2 cups of water
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
1 teaspoon of chili powder
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1/4 cup diced mango
1 tbsp parsley flakes
1 large tomato, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp red pepper flakes

1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp olive oil
1 teaspoon of cumin 

1 tablespoon of ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon of cayenne powder

1 cup light coconut milk

Soak mung beans over night (be careful, they double in size!). Transfer to a medium size saucepan, along with the water, turmeric, salt and chili powder. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low and cover and simmer until the liquid is absorbed - about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. 
Add rest of ingredients and set aside.
Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. When starting to sizzle, toss in the cumin, coriander and cayenne, stir a few times and pour over the mung beans.

Serves 4 - 6.

So, if you are looking to expand your legume repertoire, try eating Mung beans... which can be found in the bulk foods section of Whole Foods (they look like tiny green balls).