Quick and Healthy Recipes/You Ask, I Answer: Heart-Healthy Waffles

Over the past few weeks I've received a handful of e-mails asking me to post some easy, quick, and nutritious breakfast recipes.

"I want to have a healthy breakfast on the weekends, when I don't have to run out the door after heating up some oatmeal in the microwave. I don't like to cook, so I don't see myself making vegetable omelettes. I'm getting tired of cereal," writes Danielle Rowd of New York, NY.

Melody Lee of San Francisco, CA says that although she loves "brunching with my friends on the weekends, it's starting to get expensive. I'm vegan, and I'm always having the same things for breakfast: cereal, a Lara bar, or a fruit smoothie."

Hopefully, this recipe will help them -- and you.

All you need is a toaster (or toaster oven). This is a perfect example of how some creative mixing and matching can yield a tasty and healthy breakfast.

INGREDIENTS:

2 whole grain frozen waffles (some brands I recommend: Nature's Path, Van's, Lifestream)
1 banana (sliced)
4 tablespoons plain, fat-free yogurt (preferrably Greek; if vegan, try soy yogurt)
10 - 14 walnut halves

Toast the waffles.

Once done, evenly distribute remaining ingredients on them.

Enjoy! This is one tasty and filling breakfast I don't even need maple syrup for, since the banana adds the perfect sweet touch, while the yogurt and walnuts provide a variety of textures.

NUTRITION FACTS:

425 calories
1 gram saturated fat
9 grams fiber

A good source of: fiber, protein, Omega-3 fatty acids, manganese, calcium, and potassium.

All About Corn

King Corn opens in Manhattan today, and it's one of my "Weekend To Do" items.

I'll post a review in a few days.

In The News: When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Lose Weight

This short piece in The New York Times presents an interesting situation.

Using Cuba as a case study, it states that in times of economic crisis, calorie consumption drops, leading to decreased rates of obesity and heart complications. Once the scenario improves, more food is purchased, more calories are eaten, and waistlines expand.

One factor worth pondering, I think, is that nutrition education and awareness could really shift these values.

After all, it is the people with higher expendable incomes -- at least in the United States -- who can afford the gym memberships, the personal chefs, daily meals at expensive health-centered restaurants, etc.

In this country, studies have shown that obesity rates are higher among children and adults of lower socio-economic status.

While I do not believe healthy eating can only be achieved with a lot of money, extra income permits certain luxuries that make healthy living easier.

Not to mention, when it comes to dining out, most unhealthy, highly-caloric foods in this country are available at dirt cheap prices (mainly because of agricultural subsidies that favor corn and wheat, which can be processed into things like high fructose corn syrup and fiberless white flour, rather than fruit).

A dollar can get you chicken nuggets at McDonald's, but you'll need at least one more dollar to score a side of brown rice at a standard restaurant.

Thoughts?

Bypass Queen

Dairy Queen is gleefully promoting its "Blizzard" (ice cream with candy mix-ins, which has put them on the ice cream map since 1985) treat of the month -- the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup flavor (pictured alongside this post).

Not surprisingly, you can get it in either a regular or large size.

The large size weighs slightly over a pound! Its nutrition label would read something like this:

Calories: 1,050
Total fat: 38g (58% of the daily value)
Saturated fat: 29g (145% of the daily value)
Sugars: 133g (11 tablespoons!)

What is truly disturbing is that this size is not advertised for sharing -- it's all about wolfing it down solo.

Is there really a need to sell a mammoth-sized portion of an item that, even in its regular size, is already quite an indulgence?

Do You Know What You're Sipping?

Ah, autumn! Leaves turn, pumpkin is all the rage, animals begin stocking up on food, and we trade in iced lattes for soup.

As nutritionally innocent as a hot cup of it may sound, you can make some real blunders as you navigate the canned soup aisle at the supermarket.

Read below to mak sure the soup in your cart will do more than soothe your soul.

Calculate calories!

Although many people consider one can of soup to be one serving, food companies beg to differ. A standard can of soup is considered two servings, meaning you need to multiply every single value on that food label by two.

Sometimes, this leads to higher numbers than one would expect. For instance, a can of Campell's Chunky New England Clam Chowder clocks in at 480 calories, while the same variety made by Progresso adds up to 460 calories. Amy's Organic Tom Kha Phak Coconut Soup is also a significant source of calories, at 440 per can.

Stay vigilant of sodium levels.

Canned and frozen goods -- except for flash-frozen fruits and vegetables -- are often loaded with sodium, a mineral that is necessary for basic cellular functions, but can contribute to several health risks if consumed in high amounts.

Although the recommended daily allowance is set at no more than 2,400 milligrams, the average adult in the United States is getting 150% of the amount.

The worst culprits in soup world? Progresso's Savory Beef, Barley, and Vegetable Soup (1,980 mg per can), Progresso's Chickarina (2,020 mg per can), and Campbell's Chunky New England Clam Chowder (1,960 mg per can).

Luckily, there are some sodium saints. Amy's Organic recently launched a new line of "light in sodium" soups which, on average, contain approximately 550 milligrams of sodium per can.

Health Valley offers "no salt added" soups which are extremely low in sodium, contributing a mere 140 milligrams per can.

Don't saturate yourself.

If you're not careful, you could be taking in a lot of saturated fat with your soup of choice.

Consider the following. A can of Campbell's Chunky Sirloin Burger with Country Vegetable soup packs in 10 grams of saturated fat (50% of the recommended daily limit, and more than a Crunch bar).

Don't be fooled by organic products either. Despite offering many nutritionally sound purposes, some of Amy's soups deliver a wollop of artery-clogging saturated fats. The organic potato soup? 12 grams per can! Her organic corn chowder? 9 grams! The Tom Kha Phak coconut soup? An alarming 22 grams (more than a day's worth!) in a single can.

One good strategy is to be careful of chowders and other cream-based soups.

Find fiber.

Those of you seeking to get more fiber in your diet should turn to soup for help.

Varieties chock full of beans and legumes will offer significant amounts of fiber, protein, and healthy fats -- the three pillars of satiety!

The average can of black bean soup will provide a powerful 14 grams of fiber, while lentil varieties typically contain 10 to 12 grams of the intestinal tract clearing, cholesterol-lowering, colon cancer protecting all-star.

You Ask, I Answer: Sauces/Chinese Restaurants

When eating at a Chinese restaurant, is garlic sauce or oyster sauce a better option?

-- Anonymous

It depends on what you mean by "better option."

What I can tell you off the bat is that both sauces are very high in sodium.

One tablespoon of garlic sauce contains 290 milligrams (12% of a day's worth), while the same amount of oyster sauce packs a whooping 492 milligrams (20% of a day's worth!).

Yes, that's only in one tablespoon! The average dish at a Chinese restaurant has five or six times as much -- more than a day's worth of sodium, in many cases.

From a caloric standpoint, neither is a huge concern. A tablespoon of garlic sauce adds 25 calories to your meal, while one of oyster sauce contains an almost non-existent nine (even if you multiply those values by five you aren't getting alarmingly high numbers).

If a garlic sauce is made with fresh garlic, you are taking in some anti-inflammatory, immune system strengthening antioxidants.

When eating out at a Chinese restaurant, I recommend the following.

First, ask for all sauces on the side. You can then either dip your fork in the sauce before sticking it into the morsel of food you are about to eat, or lightly sprinkle your dish with it (leaving plenty in the side dish).

Keep in mind that what you are putting sauce on is very important. Avoid deep-fried dishes. Always accompany entrees with brown -- instead of fried -- rice, and go for a side of steamed -- rather than sauteed -- vegetables.

Avoid noodle dishes, that offer nothing but refined carbohydrates. Instead, look for entrees that include vegetables (ie: shrimp and broccoli). This way, you get your share of greens without having to order an extra side dish.

Skip the spring roll, which is nothing but fried dough (and, in my opinion, are always tasteless). If you're in the mood for an appetizer, opt for the always-delicious (and healthier) summer rolls, or give grilled skewers of lean proteins (chicken or shrimp) a try.

Watch the portions! Chinese restaurants are notorious for providing huge dishes -- often times a day's worth of meat and half a day's worth of grains.

For more information on sodium, please check out issue 3 of the Small Bites newsletter.

Numbers Game: Fishy Business

A 2004 New York Times investigation (led by renowned food writer Marian Burros) of eight high-end New York City food specialty stores revealed that _____ of them were labeling farm-raised salmon as "wild".

a) 6
b) 5
c) 7
d) 4

Leave your guess in the "comments" section and come back on Sunday for the answer, as well as a brief tutorial on the nutritional differences between wild and farm-raised salmon.

All-Star of the Day: Mushrooms

The term "fungus" does not necessarily make one think of nutrition and wellness, but a healthy eater knows not to judge food by its name.

Not only are mushrooms a dieter's dream food, they could also soon become one of the absolute best sources of the sunshine vitamin!

Although the meaty texture of a grilled portabella mushroom might have you thinking it was a high-fat food, that couldn't be further from the truth.

A four-ounce portabella cap only provides 42 calories and 1 gram of fat, while simultaneously delivering 3 grams of fiber, 31% of our daily selenium needs, and 18% of the potassium and phosphorus we should be getting each day.

Selenium is one mineral -- and antioxidant -- you want to make sure your body is getting, since it works alongside vitamin E to cut down on cell damage caused by free radicals.

If you prefer shiitake mushrooms, consider that one cup of these cooked veggies contains a mere 81 calories and also provides 3 grams of fiber, 13% of our recommended daily intake of zinc, and half a day's worth of selenium.

Coincidentally, it is the white button variety that has become the vegetable world's hot button player.

Recent microcellular research has concluded that if a serving (half a cup) of these unique-shaped mushrooms is exposed to five minutes of ultraviolet light after being harvested, they become vitamin D powerhouses, providing 869 percent of the daily recommended intake!

This is a huge development, considering that recent estimates classify two thirds of adults in the United States as Vitamin D deficient.

That number does strike me as absurdly high, though. If consumed in a consistent basis, such a large amount of vitamin D can cause nausea, kidney failure, and hypertension.

Hopefully, they can find a way to expose this vegetable to UV light for a shorter amount of time and get them to provide a much more reasonable 75 to 100 percent of the sunshine vitamin.

In the meantime, don't fear fungus. Add it to salads, stir fries, or even as a topping on a soy burger (throw in some pesto, grilled onions and grilled peppers on that soy burger, too -- you'll thank me later.)

You Ask, I Answer: Flavored Coffee

I drink vanilla or hazelnut flavored roasted coffee almost every morning. Is that high in sugar?

-- Lori Frankel
Atlanta, GA

I am assuming you are referring to roasted coffee beans infused with flavor. If so, you can consider that to be equivalent to plain black coffee in terms of calorie and sugar content.

Coffee beans are flavored with chemical solvents, not sugar. A hazelnut roast does not have more sugar than a non-flavored one.

Mind you, this is very different from drinking regular coffee with added flavor shots.

At Starbucks, a tall coffee with a syrup shot has 8 grams (2 teaspoons) of added sugar, a grande clocks in at 12 added grams (3 teaspoons), and a flavored Venti contains an additional 20 grams (5 teaspoons) of sugar.

Powdered flavored coffees – to which you simply add hot water – also contain sugar. For example, a tablespoon (one serving) of International Foods’ French Vanilla coffee powder contains 8 grams (2 teaspoons) of sugar.

Administrative Announcements: Thank you, St. Louis!

A friend just forwarded me a review of this blog that was posted on the St. Louis Post Dispatch's website in late September.

I was never contacted for the piece, so I had no idea of its existence until just now. Needless to say, it was a wonderful surprise!

So, again, a big thank you to Jessica Milcetich for her kind critique and helping spread the word.

Save The Skin!

I'm glad to hear McDonald's offers apple slices to its customers, and is even toying with the idea of using them as substitutes for French Fries in happy meals.

However, why in the world would they offer peeled apple slices? Removing the skin takes away every shred of fiber.

By providing peeled apple slices, McDonald's is denying consumers three important grams of fiber.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

ADA Conference: Hot Import

One of the hottest new food products in Australia -- Sippah milk flavoring straws -- has arrived to this side of the Pacific Ocean.

It's all quite ingenious, really. Here's how they work.

Each straw -- designed to flavor exactly one cup of milk -- contains patented flavored beads that dissolve as milk travels up. The result? Flavored milk containing only two grams of added sugar (half a teaspoon) and a mere 15 calories.

Mind you, part of the reason for the low sugar and calorie numbers is that these straws contain a little sucrose (table sugar) and some artificial sweeteners. I'm not a big proponent of young children having Splenda. Occassionally? Fine. Every day? Not the best idea.

Down under, straws are available in are chocolate, banana, strawberry, cookies and cream, chocolate mint (eek), and green apple (double eek) flavors. So far, the United States market is offering the first four flavors.

I taste-tested the chocolate, banana, and strawberry straws and can see this becoming a surefire hit with young kids.

Not only do the see-through straws make it to fun to drink milk, they also provide flavor without all the sugar and calories in ready-to-drink bottled flavored milk. Consider that a cup of chocolate Nesquik adds 110 calories and 17 grams of sugar to a cup of milk.

I do have one bone to pick with Sippah's website. They refer to plain milk as "boring white milk."

While I understand they are talking to their target audience with those statements, I also think it's important for young kids to know that regular milk is also tasty (for instance, by using it as the base for a banana and peanut butter smoothie).

I also wish Nestle -- the company behind these straws -- would market Sippah as a treat rather than a daily addition to regular milk. I wouldn't oppose to a young child having two of these straws a week as a "special snack", but I would definitely have a problem with a parent allowing their child to flavor two daily glasses of milk with artificial sweeteners.

Anyhow, a box of 10 straws retails for $3.79. I'm interested in knowing if any readers with children have bought these, and, if so, what the children thought.

ADA Conference: No Comments

I'm not even going to bother to comment. The photo on the left was taken at one of the many booths present at the ADA's Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo.

The chart on the right-hand side of the board lists calorie contents of several beverages, promoting beer as one of the lower calorie alternatives.

I've tried to make sense of this booth's presence, but I can't. Anyone care to help? What connection am I not seeing between beer and nutrition?

ADA Conference: Perfect Pears

The Pear Bureau was present at the ADA's Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo last weekend, and I finally learned how to store my favorite fruit.

Pears at the supermarket -- or green market -- are not fully ripened, and whenver I bought a few, I would constantly make the mistake of immediately storing them in my fridge as soon as I got home.

I was halting the ripening process!

Here's how to perfectly ripen a pear. Store it in a brown paper bag for three days. At the end of the third day, lightly press into the top of the fruit. If it gives in -- not sinks -- to pressure, it's ripened.

At this point, you can store it in the fridge until you are ready to eat it. If kept out at room temperature any longer, it will spoil.

At a mere 96 calories a pop, pears provide 5 grams of fiber and 12% of our vitamin C needs!

Say What?: Script Check, Please

Yesterday night I finally got around to watching The Bourne Ultimatum.

While the fast-paced, loud action scenes were definite attention-grabbers, one thing that stuck with me as I walked out of the theater was a scene where a character orders a "heart-healthy omelette with goat cheese and peppers."

At the end of that scene, another character at the table leaves in a huff and states, "enjoy your egg whites," confirming my belief that "heart-healthy omelette" was another word for "egg-white omelette."

I find this so captivating because it is a nutrition mistake I see people making all the time -- ordering "heart-healthy" items and then sabotaging them.

Adding goat cheese -- or any cheese, for that matter -- to an otherwise fat-free omelette is ridiculous. A mere ounce of goat cheese contains thirty percent of a day's worth of saturated fat (the heart-unhealthy fat).

Meanwhile, an omelette made with two whole eggs and no cheese contains 15 % saturated fat!! In other words, a regular omelette with two vegetables is, hands down, heart-healthier than an egg white and cheese one.

A better solution for those of you seeking heart-healthy omelettes? Add healthy fats like avocado or seafood to your omelette, or ask the waiter to have your heart-healthy omelette cooked in vegetable oil, rather than butter.

Besides, as I mentioned several months ago, including yolks in your omelette isn't as bad as you might think.

ADA Conference: Define "Great"

Frito-Lay had the following sign you see on your right at their stand (in case you can't quite make it out, the first sentence reads, "Frito-Lay chips are a great way to add healthier oils to the diet.") at the ADA's Food and Nutrition Conference Expo.

A "great" way? I think the marketing team got a little carried away.

While their products do contain healthy fats, they aren't exactly a nutrition powerhouse (offering a measly 1 gram of fiber per serving and not much in terms of vitamins and minerals, except for their potato chips, which contain a fair amount of potassium).

I could think of better ways to get heart-healthy fats -- avocados, almonds, walnuts, peanuts, sunflower seeds, tempeh, tofu, salmon, tuna, and flaxseed, to name a few.

Adding avocado slices to a salad, or some ground flaxseed to a smoothie truly are great ways to add healthy fats to your diet, since they also contribute vitamins and minerals.

Besides, this sign is making a confusing claim. Notice that the terminology isn't "healthier fats" (ie: chips containing vegetable oils rather than something friend in animal fat or butter), but rather "healthier oils." Huh?

What exactly is an "unhealthy oil"? I can think of unhealthy fats, like lard and butter (none of which are oils), but despite there being some oils (i.e.: olive oil) that are heart-healthier than others, I can't think of one I would categorize as unhealthy.

Enjoying a handful of Tostitos is far from being a nutrition no-no, but if someone needs to incorporate heart-healthy fats into their diet, chips are far from the first thing I would recommend.

One Doctor You'll Love To Visit

Crackers and flatbreads often present a problem for me. Many tasty ones are filled with artificial ingredients and completely lack fiber, while several wholesome types are the equivalent of crunchy cardboard.

Luckily, Doctor Kracker has the cure!

I came across these crackers last month at my local health food store and, coincidentally, ran into the company's booth at the American Dietetic Association's Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo last week... and loaded up on free one-ounce sample bags!

These flatbreads have me hooked. In fact, they have knocked Triscuits off the top of my "favorite crackers" list.

Not only are they extremely crunchy, tasty, and loaded with heart-healthy seeds; each satisfying slice also offers 100 calories, 3 grams of fiber, 0 grams of sugar, and 100% organic whole grain goodness.

Enjoy!

Numbers Game: Answer

A 2007 study published in the Academy of General Dentistry's General Dentistry journal reported that colas' -- both regular and diet -- enamel erosion potential is 10 times higher that of fruit juice.

What does this mean? In essence, it gives another reason to think of sodas -- diet or not -- as occasional beverages, rather than daily staples.

Turns out the citric and phosphoric acids in sodas wear out our enamel, the protective substance covering the crowns of our teeth. Over time, constant attacks on our enamel lead to tooth decay.

What's crucial to understand is that the lack of sucrose (table sugar) in a soda does not mean it is automatically safe for our teeth. If you see phosphoric or citric acid listed as an ingredient, my best recommendation is to consume that drink with a straw. That way, the liquid goes straight to the back of the throat, reducing our enamel's exposure to it.

Taking tap water as the benchmark (which has a very neutral pH of approximately 7.6), here is how some popular sodas measure up:

Cherry Coke: 2.52
Coke: 2.53
Pepsi: 2.53
Dr. Pepper: 2.9
7-Up: 3.2
Diet Coke: 3.29
Root Beer: 4.0

I do want to point out that a few fruit juices -- such as grapefruit, with a pH similar to Dr. Pepper -- also have the propensity to attack our enamel. However, the vast majority (when fresh squeezed and not loaded with sugar) do significantly less damage on our enamel.

You "Ask", I Answer: Kevin Trudeau

I just received Trudeau's new book about weight loss. I haven't read but a few pages and decided to research this guy on the net and came across yours.

Trudeau makes a statement at the beginning that discounts embellishments in his story. Also, I already think the government, the ever-so-caring USDA and FDA- whom are supposed to be protected [sic] Americans from bad stuff- allows companies to put in additives.

Regarding artificial sweetners [sic], overprocessed and nutrient dificient [sic] foods---they are so readily available AND CHEAP. Folks buy and consume, get fat, stay fat, are unhealthy and thus go to doctors who prescribe the other manipulated and deceiving racket of manufactured synthetic drugs. What is being pumped into everybody= nothing healthy and pure that's for sure.

So there's a guy out there that sees this and decides to enterprise on it. Yeah! We all should be scratching our heads going 'why didn't I think of that'.....oh but then those Doritos wouldn't be wonderful a thing anymore. Long live prepackaged overprocessed nutrient dificient colon clogging wholesome goodness---with a side of carcenigens for ya!!!! GOVEG.COM PETA.COM - meet your meat........watch this and tell me something.

-- Anonymous (not surprisingly)

Boy, where should I start?

Well, firstly, I'm sorry to hear you spent money on Kevin Trudeau's new weight loss book.

I haven't had the opportunity to peruse it myself, so I'm not sure what statements he makes in the introduction that discount embellishments in his story.

Considering his track record, though, I would take most of what he says with many grains of salt.

There are many issues here worth thinking about. For one -- the subsidizing of certain crops certainly does not help improve this country's food supply.

Corn is extremely cheap, so it's no surprise that high fructose corn syrup is in so many foods. This is a topic well beyond the scope of this blog, and one which I myself am not too clear on, but those of you interested in food politics and the current state of farming should DEFINITELY, without a doubt, read an excellent guide to the farm bill called Food Fight.

Onto the United States Department of Agriculture and the Food & Drug Administration. Yes, they have their flaws (I think they often approve some artificial ingredients and components without hesitation), but this idea that they are conspiring to make us fat by adding secret ingredients to foods is far-fetched and completely misses another pressing issue -- our food environment.

The reason behind the obesity crisis in the United States is simple -- not only are we eating more (due to increasing portion sizes), we are also in an environment that provides constant access to food.

It's a clear fact that visual reminders of food trigger a hunger response.

It doesn't take a genius to realize that when you are driving down a road or walking down a street littered with food advertisements, fast food places, and the encouragement of eating on the run, you are much more likely to overeat.

Additionally, as discussed in Issue 5 of the Small Bites newsletter, the problem with large portion is that, as research has shown, the more food we have in front of us, the more we eat, even if physiologically our hunger has been satisfied.

Kevin Trudeau has not discovered anything. The only thing he enterprised on was the opportunity to make unfounded claims (i.e.: bouncing up and down on a trampoline helps beat depression) and make a quick buck.

As I have pointed out on this blog, the suggestions in many of his books are laughable (there is more to come -- over the next few days, I'll reveal more of his "weight loss secrets", one of which, I kid you not, is to take deep breaths).

It is obvious the man knows nothing about nutrition. He thinks he is a weight loss genius because he tells people to eat a mere 800 calories a day (yet contradicts himself by recommending that people eat as many apples all day as they want and chow down on burgers and fries as long as they are organic).

Disagreeing with Kevin Trudeau does not mean I think Doritos are healthy or a 'good food'. And, as far as your PETA links, I am not sure what the relevance is.

I have not eaten beef, pork, or poultry since 1998 out of personal choice due to my disagreement with the conditions that exist in the animal processing/farming industry, and while diets rich in meat products and lacking in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains increase the risk of certain diseases, I certainly do not think people who occasionally eat meat are endangering their health.

Thanks for writing and allowing me to bring these issues to light.

Mega (Fattening) Mac

The United States may have the world's highest percentage of obese adults, but competition is heating up.

Take a look at the Mega Mac -- Japan's hottest McDonald's hamburger, advertised as "beef heaven". Just how hot, you ask? Try 3 million sold within FOUR days of its January 2007 launch.

It was so popular, in fact, that what was supposed to be a limited two-week New Year's offer was brought back in April and May. Sales soared.

It is, in essence, the equivalent of two Big Macs, thanks to its four beef patties.

That comes out to 1,020 calories, 50 grams of fat, 100% of the maximum saturated fat intake, and 86% of a day's worth of sodium.

What intrigues me more than what your body must feel like after you finish that last bite is how people fit this in their mouth. Is it a two-layer process?

More importantly, does this mean we can expect Supersize Me, San in theaters soon?