Food for Real

Last weekend was so memorable! After a fun night with friends after work on Friday, I spent Saturday afternoon and night surrounded by some amazing women. First, I attended the first Massachusetts Student Dietetic Association (MSDA) potluck event on the Boston Common. It was truly one of the most beautiful days of the season, and everyone brought stand-out culinary creations. The MSDA is an organization of dietetic students from all over Massachusetts, and I write the newsletter and do a little marketing for the group. The other officers, Nathalia, Nikita, Erin, Alex, and Elizabeth worked seamlessly together to make the event successful and fun and full of delicious lunch foods.

It was really nice to meet some new local RDs-to-be, and I think everyone had a good time. After the event, I headed out to Cape Cod to meet some of my life long friends Katy and Donna and two wonderful new friends Monica (also a future RD!) and MK. The five of us drank wine, danced up a storm, and made one of the best dinners I’ve had in a while (No thanks to me! I simply sat on the porch with MK and a couple of glasses of wine while the other girls whipped up dinner. How unlike me! But it was totally worth it to sit back and relax).  We had salad, fish, edamame salad, grilled veggies, pasta salad! All my favorite things!

"Grillin' Things" Photo Credit: Katy Rais

Cheers to Monica - our grillmaster that evening!

Cheers to good friends

Next week on Guiltless, I’m writing about Kelly Valen’s new book/research called Twisted Sisterhood. It’s about how many women treat each other badly and tear each other apart in a petty rage for no reason at all. Well actually, this book examines the reasons and the science behind why “frenemies” exist. During my research on this topic, I’ve gained such an immense appreciation for not only my amazing friends, but also my profession. I am surrounded by women who are truly supportive of one another! Did you know that female/female friendships have actually been scientifically shown to boost immunity? Pretty cool.

Having lunch with my colleagues and new friends followed by dinner with my besties made me remember how important it is to have good friends and good food in life. It’s a simple formula for happiness. Be well, and enjoy the day!

I woke up this morning thinking about milk. Odd, I know, but true. I’ve noticed lately that milk is getting a bad rep! What’s up with that? Let’s begin with an example from the ever-so-popular militant vegan book Skinny Bitch. Before I entered grad school for nutrition, I read this book. And I must say, it scared me. With lines so sharp and evil geared toward food, I felt trapped and like I had done such wrong in my life simply because I once ate a cheeseburger! But now, I am older, I’m months away from becoming a Registered Dietitian, and I’ve been dying to bust open the lies threaded throughout this book. So let’s start with this one: The crazy idea that milk is bad for you and may even cause cancer. (Please excuse me if I get a little fired up in the next few paragraphs).

Here is a direct quote from Skinny Bitch:

“The dairy industry is a multi-billion dollar industry based on brilliant marketing and the addictive taste of milk, butter, and cheese. It has convinced most doctors, consumers, and government agencies that we need cows’ milk. We have been told our whole lives, ‘You need milk to grow. Without milk, your bones will break. If you don’t drink milk, you’ll get osteoporosis. You need the calcium.’ Bullshit. Researchers at Harvard, Yale, Penn State, and the National Institutes of Health have studied the effects of dairy intake on bones. Not one of these studies found dairy to be a deterrent to osteoporosis (76).”

I need a minute to cool off………ok……..I’ve regained composure. Time to break this down for you:

First of all, are these authors implying that The National Dairy Council has enough money, time and brilliance to completely brainwash not only consumers, but also highly trained physicians, scientists, dietitians, schools, government agencies, and researchers to believe that milk has beneficial properties when in fact it’s just pure evil? That’s just simply insulting, not to mention irrational. Secondly, milk DOES have properties that prevent osteoporosis!  Ever hear of calcium and vitamin D? I almost want to “LOL” at the authors’ sad attempt at trying to convince their readers otherwise.

Wolverine drinks milk..obviously

Countless Studies and millions of dollars have been dedicated to the investigation of the connection between milk (calcium and vitamin D) and bone health. The pathophysiology of osteoporosis and the mechanism by which adequate intake of both calcium and vitamin D helps to prevent osteopenia and osteoporosis is pretty complicated…but it goes something like this: Low vitamin D status and inadequate calcium intake (as well as genetic tendency, excess phosphorus consumption, lack of physical activity, low estrogen status, prolonged use of certain medications, low body weight or sarcopenia) will lead to an increase in a hormone known as the parathyroid hormone. This hormone is highly involved in bone remodeling, which is constantly happening in our bodies. Without adequate calcium and vitamin D, our peak bone mass will be suboptimal, and it will get more and more difficult for our bodies to rebuild our bones – This can lead to low bone mass, osteopenia and later, osteoporosis. But disease aside, studies have also shown that intake of low fat or fat-free dairy products is an important part of maintaining a healthy weight. My question, therefore, is: Why’s everyone picking on milk?

Calcium & Vitmain D (both found in milk) help maintain healthy bone mass

Finally, you’ll notice the number (76) in the quote above. This is a reference number inserted into the sentence with the purpose of assuring readers that this statement has been well researched and is therefore reliable. So I turned to the back of the book to check out the citation, and this is what it said: [ "Milk Sucks," milksucks.com."] Really? Come on. I don’t want to be a complete jerk here, but how can you back up such a strong statement with a reference like “Milk Sucks?” I do applaud the authors for their efforts, but it’s really difficult to take it seriously when these are the types of references they are using.

I’m not saying that if you’re not a milk drinker, you’re at nutritional risk, because that’s simply not true as long as you make sure you’re getting the adequate nutrients elsewhere. There are great calcium supplements out there and soy milk or lactose-free milk are usually fortified with both calcium and vitamin D. I could probably go on and on about this subject. But today, I just wanted to stick up for milk a little. It’s a nutritious option with tons of benefits, and it shouldn’t be forgotten or shunned!

One cup of skim milk provides about 85 calories, 8 grams of protein, 300 mg of calcium, and 3 mcg of vitamin D as well as many other vitamins/minerals.

What are your thoughts?

I woke up early this morning to get some work done, and I came across an interesting article, “Potential Effects of the Next 100 Billion Hamburgers Sold by McDonald’s.”  The article takes a unique approach to pointing out the potential harmful effects of fast food consumption. In order to illustrate that fewer health disadvantages would be experienced by consumers if McDonald’s sold veggie burgers instead of beef burgers, the authors compared the nutrition content of 100 billion beef patties with 100 billion veggie patties. Check this out:

“Consuming 100 billion McDonald’s beef burgers versus the same company’s McVeggie burgers would provide, approximately, on average, an additional 550 million pounds of saturated fat and 1.2 billion total pounds of fat, as well as 1 billion fewer pounds of fiber, 660 million fewer pounds of protein, and no difference in calories.”

Holy cow! (Pun intended). So you mean to tell me we can get the same amount of energy from veggie burgers minus all the artery clogging fat, plus more protein and fiber? There is no doubt that this data suggests that McDonald’s step up to the plate and start putting in an effort to make those McVeggie burgers fly off the grills. As we know, advertising and PR is really more than half the battle. And the truth is that, unfortunately at this time, we are a “fast food nation,” so why not try to improve the nutritional content of this widely consumed food and put a little $ behind the plant based menu items? I’m all for it, how about you?

Millions of dollars have been spent in an effort to demonstrate the harmful effects of fast food and saturated fat, and the scientific literature reveals a pretty strong connection between the two. Considering this data was released in 2005 and we’re now 5 years down the road, it’s highly unlikely that this single article influenced the most powerful fast food company in the world to change its ways. But maybe if we all just keep plugging away at it, fast food will soon be real food too. Hey, anything is possible!

Happy Labor Day! Hope everyone has a chance to relax and recharge today.

Yesterday was the triathlon! I finished successfully with a time of 1 hour and 41 minutes. The race was 1/4 of a mile swim, a 13 mile bike ride, and a 5K run. I attribute a lot of my ability to complete this race not only to the training I put in, but also to the meal choices I made throughout the weeks prior to the race.

One of the toughest meals for most is lunch. If you’re working full time or studying as a full time student, it’s often difficult to make, pack, and carry a homemade lunch. This usually leads to last minute lunch decisions that may not always be our first or happiest choice. During training, I didn’t always have a lot of time to prepare lunch, which was usually the most important meal for me because I would train in the morning after breakfast. Here are a few quick power lunches that you can put together in 30 minutes or less. These lunches are jam packed with vitamins, minerals, and healthy carbs, fats, and protein to help you keep your energy up during the day:

Salad w/edamame, heirloom tomatoes, cucumber, and dill

Brown rice tuna and salmon sushi rolls, sesame crackers, and hummus

This was my lunch on the busiest training day I had last week. It’s quick, because I just bought the sushi, crackers, and hummus, and the salad is easy to throw together:

• Add greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, and edmame to a bowel
• Wash and add dill to taste
• cover in balsamic vinegar and a little olive oil

This lunch contains healthy omega-3’s from the the fish, soy protein from the edamame, and the salad contains healthy antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. The brown rice gives the sushi an extra health kick, and the olive oil on the salad is rich in monounsaturated fat which has been shown to lower bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol in the body.

One trick I love is making a big batch of something and keeping it in the fridge for later use that week. I usually make a big salad, cook a large batch of grains like brown rice or quinoa, bake a few chicken breasts and use these to make salads throughout the week. Add some of your favorite herbs or salad extras, and a homemade lunch actually becomes more convenient than ordering from a restaurant:

Baked chicken, quinoa, and salad with dill, tomato, and cucumber

Dill is a really nice addition to any salad. It’s an herb that is usually paired with fish, but lately, I’ve been using it on everything.  Its fresh and unique flavor turns your go-to salad into something new. Give it a try and see what you think!

The night before the race, I had dinner with my parents at the Cape. My father cooked the meal below, so I don’t have the exact recipe. But the local cod was grilled with herbs and olive oil, the salad was made of organic greens, peaches, and tomato, and the mushroom pasta salad had salt, pepper, and olive oil in it.

Mushroom pasta salad, grilled cod, steamed brussel sprouts, and salad with tomato, peach, and greens

The morning of the race, I woke up feeling a bit tired, so I knew I had to fuel correctly if I didn’t want to finish last! I decided on a black cup of coffee, ezekiel flax seed granola, a plum, and a cup of freshly squeezed orange juice. And before the race started, I had a cashew cookie flavored Lara Bar (two ingredients: dates and cashews…love Lara bars!)

I really never thought I would do a race like a triathlon…especially considering I’ve never even ran in a road race before! But my good friend Elizabeth Jarrard once said to me, “Do something that scares you.” And so I did!

Is there something you’ve always wanted to try but didn’t out of fear that you would fail? Could this be the year that you go for it? If it’s an athletic feat, how will you treat your body in order to reach your goals? If it’s an emotional journey, how will you keep your strength to work through it all? If it’s an intellectual or academic goal, how will you keep your brain energy up? If it’s a business objective, how will your health influence your ability to stay focused? It’s interesting that the one connection between all types of goals is the connection between our health and our abilities. If there is one thing I’ve learned recently, it’s that your body and mind are more connected than you think, so the better you treat yourself physically, the easier it will be for you to see and do the things that make you happy. Be well, and enjoy the Labor Day!