Dessert For Breakfast?

I find a lot of misleading nutrition related articles on yahoo often, but sometimes they have some worth reading. This morning I read an article about cereal, specifically cereal marketed to children. Luckily, WIC has a large variety of cereals to choose from if you are on the program, all which are healthy and made of whole grains. But for the rest of America, it's open season. Unfortunately, most of the cereals marketed directly to children are packed with sugar and void of any nutritional value. The company's suck them in with fun commercials and toys and silly cartoon characters. I find it really sad that companys are brain washing our little ones and helping to set them up for a lifetime of unhealthy food choices.

The article on Yahoo, New Report Slams Kids' Cereals, discusses a new report done by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) about the sugar content in children's cereal. It lists the top 10 worst children's cereals based on sugar by weight.

At the top of the list is: Kellogg's Honey Smacks with a whopping (55.6% sugar) You may as well give your child a Twinkie for breakfast!

The report states, "more than half of the 84 brands tested contained at least 12 grams of sugar, or the equivalent of three teaspoons, per serving. That's more sugar than three Chips Ahoy! cookies"

They go on to say, "only one out of four cereals tested met the federal government's proposed guidelines for food nutritious enough to be marketed to children. These guidelines were established to combat the childhood obesity epidemic.

If you're going to eat cereal, stick with those that have a first ingredient of whole grains and no added sugar.

To check out the rest of the cereals on this list, as well as their top 10 cereals that DO meet the nutrition guidelines, click the article link at the top.

Quotes and picture taken from the referenced Yahoo article.

School Lunch in a Downward Spiral

As if school lunches weren't already looking bleak, Congress is taking it to another level.

"A new Congressional bill that looks likely to pass quickly will slow down reductions in sodium by requiring further study on long-term requirements, block whole grains by haggling over the definition, and help pizza stay on the menu by allowing two tablespoons of tomato paste on pizza to keep counting as a vegetable."

Many are outraged by these possible last minute changes, including Mission: Readiness, a group made up of hundreds of retired military Generals and Admirals who have been raising alarms about the readiness of our armed forces due to current childhood obesity. Amy Dawson Taggart, the director of Mission: Readiness, recently stated in a letter to politicians:

"We are outraged that Congress is seriously considering language that would effectively categorize pizza as a vegetable in the school lunch program. It doesn't take an advanced degree in nutrition to call this a national disgrace.”

"They are making sure that two of the biggest problems in the school lunch program, pizza and french fries, are untouched."

The above quotes and photo were taken from Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Blog, "Playing Potato Pizza Politics"

How do you guys feel about school lunches? Do you think pizza and french fries should count as vegetables for our children?

WIAW: I have a new addiction

Finally jumping back on the What I Ate Wednesday bandwagon :)

Breakfast: I actually woke up early enough for the first time ever, and made it to Starbucks. And then it allll went downhill from there! I just went to get a coffee, non-fat vanilla hazelnut latte (my fav!). Then I saw this yummy muffin and of course I had to have it. The cream cheese was a little much for me, but it had pumpkin seeds in it which i absolutely love. And then it happened...I saw the naked smoothie. I've seen so many of you make these yummy smoothies at home and I have yet to take it on. So when I saw this one already made, I figured I'd give it a go. Holy crap, it's my new favorite food/drink/amazingness! I'm seriously addicted now. My favorite part about it, aside from the obvious greatness of all the fruits and veggies, is it has no added sugar and no GMOS! yay! I am now ready to attempt making my own fruit/veggie smoothie at home. (This one at Starbucks was almost $4, yikes!)

Lunch: Matt made me tuna salad, which I haven't had in what seems like a million years. I have no idea why, I actually really like tuna salad, I just never think about it. We made a delicious salad to go with it. I used this asian seasame dressing my friend Alex @ Cucumbers & Cowboy Boots left me when they, sniff sniff, moved to Virgina. Probably my new favorite dressing now. I put some honey roasted almonds I bought forever ago from publix on it too and Matt made crutons with focaccia bread. Supper yummy salad!

Dinner: OOOhhhh boy. I LOVE SUSHI!!!! There is something about this one roll I just can't get enough of. If my stomach was big enough, I would have ordered 10 more of it!! I'm not even sure I know what's in this roll, but I think it's tuna, and it's fried... and has spicy sauce, soooo, all my favorite things. I want some right now! Why are all my favorite foods so expensive! boo. And now I'm going to figure out a way to convince my husband we need sushi for dinner...again. :) Wish me luck!

The Future Of HFCS?

Taken from the Nutrition Business Journal:

On Oct. 22, a federal judge recently ruled that a deceptive marketing suit brought against the Corn Refiners Association has enough merit to move forward. The suit focuses on TV commercials comparing high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) with real sugar.

In this brief video, Connor Link, associate editor of Nutrition Business Journal, reviews the interesting twists to the case and explores what this means for the future of HFCS.

Click HERE to see the video.

Whatever, I Do What I Want!

Ohhhh man. I had a married couple come in to see me with their 6 month old. I should have known things were not going anywhere good when the clerk told me that he was being really nasty to his wife out in the lobby. When I asked if the baby was getting any water the dad said, "yeah, glucose water." uhh. In my head I'm all...are you putting glucose tablets in her water?? But instead I said, "What do you mean?" He says, "You know, sugar water." I don't even know where people get this bright idea from! And when I explained to him why NOT to do this, he had the nerve to roll his eyes at me! Then he said, "I have 5 other kids and I'm going to feed this one just like I fed them." I bet they all have a mouth full of rotten teeth too...yea, I didn't say that either...At that point I just said ok and directed everything else I had to say to the mom, who was actually interested. I told her normal stuff...introduce a sippy cup, when to introduce other foods, ext. By the way, dad never even made eye contact with me again, and sat there with his arms crossed the whole time. So, when they went back out to the lobby the clerk up front heard him say, "Everything she said is crap." WHAT! agh! Clearly he knows more than I do about how to feed children, I mean, after all, he has 6 of them and all I have is a nutrition degree and my RD...why would I know anything?

I wanted to go out there and tell him that just having children doesn't mean you know more than I do and it certainly doesn't make you a good parent, and it's blatantly obvious that your not a good husband either...didn't say that either, for obvious reasons.

Don't Eat The Cantaloupe...

I have never like cantaloupe, and boy am I really glad about this right about now!!! Apparently Colorado is trying to kill us with their deadly cantaloupes! Well...their probably not TRYING to kill us, but they are certainly doing a good job at it. Death by Listeria = Super Scary! Check out the link below to the yahoo article on the latest listeria outbreak.

Cantaloupe Outbreak Is Deadliest In a Decade

How Whole Foods "Primes" You to Shop

Read this article on Yahoo this morning and thought it was rather interesting.

How Whole Foods "Primes" You to Shop



Stop Throwing Rocks at Me!

I have a kidney stone. Booooo. A 3mm stone has been stuck in my ureter for a couple weeks now and doesn't seem to want to come out! 3mm's isn't THAT big but unfortunately it's stuck on scar tissue. Bottom line- I'm having a basket extraction surgery today to have it removed. Now you're probably wondering how I'm able to sit here and write a blog post when I have a kidney stone! Well let's back up 14 years... I got my first kidney stone when I was 12 years old. Fun, I know! The doctors wouldn't give me pain meds for hours because they didn't even consider a stone because of my age. They were sure it had to be my appendix. Of course, it was a stone, and several test/hours later they finally figured it out. Anyway, since then I've had probably over 400 stones (hence the scar tissue). Most of them pass, but a couple times I've had to have them removed either by extraction or lithotripsy. So basically I'm just used to it now...which is kinda sad, but what can ya do! The stones I get are calcium oxalate. I'm supposed to be on a low oxalate, 3 L water, no caffeine diet. The low oxalate thing is something the urologist recently told me,so I obviously haven't seen if it has produced any positive results yet.

Have you guys ever had a kidney stone before or have friends or family that have? Are you on any type of special diet and does it work???

Rising Food Costs

I read this article on yahoo this morning titled, 4 Rising Food Costs That Will Hurt Your Wallet. Basically it was about the increased cost of wheat and corn; and we all know everything is made with wheat...and corn, hence the rising food costs. They say the increased costs of these 4 items will be the most obvious:

1. Cereals, Breads and Pasta Products
2. Sweets
3. Beef, Pork and Chicken
4. Cat and Dog Food

Their solution?

"You might not be able to do anything directly about rising grain prices, but you can shop smarter. Look for loss leader sales on those groceries that you purchase regularly. Make more of your own food directly from raw ingredients, such as cookies and rolls. Pet food can be stored for six months to a year so stock up when you can find a good price. Paying more attention to prices in the grocery store will help you stretch your food budget the farthest."


Blah- here is my solution

How about stop eating all that crap you don't need anyway. ;) We would all continue to live just fine, if not a lot better, without wheat and corn. Now, with all that money you're saving you can buy grass fed meat. And for the love of God- stop feeding your animals ground wheat flour, corn, and soybean meal.

1,690 calories of nasty

I'm not even sure where these ideas come from. It's almost as if they have people sitting in a cubicle somewhere going..."ok, so there is an obesity epidemic, how can we contribute?"

Mac n' Cheese Big Daddy Patty Melt: A burger patty layered with slices of cheese, macaroni and cheese, another layer of cheese, some kind of tomato-based "frisco" sauce and two pieces of buttered-up potato bread. Still hungry? It comes with a side of fries.

This sandwich is basically breakfast, lunch, and dinner all piled on top of each other. Maybe you can get it for breakfast and take small bites of it throughout the day....or not.

I took this quote from the yahoo article:
Denny's joined Burger King and more than a dozen chains on a health initiative recently, offering more veggie and fruit options for kids. Adults? They can go to you know where...by way of the cheese menu. Direct quote from the company's press release: “With America consuming around 8.8 billion pounds of cheese annually, Denny’s is answering to the appetites of the nation by introducing a dedicated menu that celebrates all things cheesy." Other items on their new cheese menu include a strawberry cheesecake milkshake and a cheese-filled omelette drizzled in cheese sauce.

Gross.

I'm an RD!!!!!!!!!

OOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I passed my boards today and am officially a Registered Dietitian!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is the best day of my LIIIIIIFFFFFEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LIFE- something I will now have back! Thankyouverymuch

Starting a New Life

I've decided to make the biggest change I have ever made in my entire life, (besides marriage..possibly...but maybe not!) I don't want to say what it is yet, but I am so excited I can hardly contain myself. Also, really nervous. I can't wait to share with everyone once I know where it's going to take me! Nutrition is my passion and my life and I'm going to get everything out of it that I can!

Have you ever made a life-altering change that turned your world upside down, for the better?

I'm a (dedicated) slacker

So I've been extremely MIA recently. I just realized I haven't even posted on my blog since August first. AND I missed WIAW last week which I never do. :( But I do have good reason. I've been studying like a crazy woman for the RD exam. I basically get up at 6, work from 8-5, get home 5:30ish, have dinner with the hubby around 6, then study until 11. This has been my life everyday for the past month. Hopefully it will all be over soon and I can have a life again (blog and otherwise) :) I'll try my very hardest to post something semi-interesting tomorrow ;)

New Approach To Weight Loss?

I don't know what it is about parents these days, but they ALL seem to think their baby has reflux. And not just reflux, GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease). Babies spit up, that's what they do..well that and eat and poop.

This mom tried to tell me her 2 1/2 month old 17 POUND BABY, wholy crap, has reflux. Uhhh.. if your 2 1/2 month old baby has tripled it's birth weight, pretty sure he's keeping something down. Then she actually says to me, "I think he weighs too much, maybe I should start giving him food since he is so hungry."

 I can't fathom how this woman went from my baby is fat to I should feed him more... Maybe I've had this weight loss thing wrong all along and what I really need to do is just eat some extra ding dongs...

*Just to clarify, I do not advocate weight loss for babies, nor have I ever eaten a ding dong

WIAW Casino Edition

This past weekend Matt and I made our way over to Biloxi, Mississippi. One of the many perks of being married to a musician is all the people you get to meet. Matt played in an 18 piece orchestra for Regis Philbin at the Hard Rock Saturday night. I got to hang out backstage during rehearsal, eat lots of yummy food, watch the show (obviously) and meet Regis! Most of us honestly had no idea what Regis was going to be doing for this show. I mean, he is a funny guy, and I love him on Regis and Kelly...but what was this show?? Turns out he is also a fabulous vocalist! So basically he sang a lot of songs and told some jokes in between, and best of all, incorporated his "host chat" he is so famous for. It was such an awesome show and I'm super happy I got to go. 

We were given free tickets to eat at the huge buffet in the casino. I don't know about you...but Laura + Buffet = food piled 5 feet high! well...maybe not quit that high, but you get the idea. ;) I forgot to take a picture of my first plate of food...haha..but I did manage to get the second. (missed dessert too-figures).


Ribs, salad, cranberry sauce, limas, some other kinda bean?? yams, biscuit

 Those yams were soooooo goooooood! I had a lot more on my first plate. I've only had yams a couple times in my life and have never cooked them. I have no idea why, but it's def something that needs to change!!!

Since I forgot to take pictures of the rest of my food (I'm always so hungry), here is what I'm going to be filling up on today. Ok...so I'm probably not going to eat the lunch box ;)


Matt made more Ooey Gooey Banana Bread.

He also made that lamb stew (I'll probably post a blog tomorrow with the recipe)

I had been eating edamame for snacks, but I ran out..so it's trail mix for me!

We havn't quit run out of peaches, but Matt informed me the rest are for "cooking"...looks like we need to make another trip to Chilton County :)

Check out all the other WIAW posts over @Peas & Crayons

Here are some other non-food pics from the day :)

L-hallway to dressing room,                R- dressing room

Matt tried to have Regis be in the middle...Regis offered me some advice, "Make sure you are always in the middle." Yes sir! (He was holding my hand too, so sweet)

Changes For The Golden Arches

I just read an article called, Happy Meal Change a Step Toward More Nutritious Fast Food Options. (Click the title to link to the article). I'm not sure how I feel about this yet. On the one hand, yes encouraging more fruits/veggies is always a good thing. But are we forgetting what else is still coming along with this healthy side?? Either a burger, nuggets which we know have 30 some odd ingredients (check them out here), and french fries. Last time I checked, eating a few carrot sticks doesn't cancel out a plate full of fried food. Second, with the way people latch on to the media and advertising, it wouldn't surprise me if we just end up with more kids going to McDonalds more often, because hey! you get...some raisins? Apparently McD's thinks they "may have a small impact on the childhood obesity epidemic." What a joke! Yeah you have an impact all right. Here's an idea: don't go to McDonalds?

It's no secret that the catalyst to this change is stemming from the pressure of consumers and government.

What do you guys think about this new change? A step in the right direction? or just more advertising tricks disguised as "healthy" to increase customers/profits??

Another great article on this topic from NY Times

Birthday Heaven!

Yesterday was my 26th birthday and as usual Matt's culinary talents exceeded my expectations. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband who loves me so much. He put so much effort into making my special day more than I could have asked for. He had a glass of wine waiting on me when I walked in the door after work. Then...he served this "appetizer". I can't even explain to you how amazing this was. And all completely made from scratch.


Baked Brie, Peach & Cherry Compote, Candied Pecans

I could have eaten that all night! But I had to save room for the main course. Rack of lamb!!! My absolute fav!!!!!!!! It was cooked to perfection. And the okra...wow, I was speachless. The potatoes were mighty delicious too. I pretty much just dove face first into this...

Lamp Lollipops, Tempura Fried Okra, Okra & Tomatoes, Baked Fingerling Potatoes

We had this delicious red wine with dinner, Coppola Rosso. Matt's pretty great at picking out our wine selections too...of course ;)

After dinner, I wanted to open my present!!! But made had made me a dessert and wanted to sing me happy birthday first :) So sweet. All I've been wanting for a week is chocolate chip cookies and I haven't had any! So what did he make me? Chocolate chip cookie cake! With some champagne on the side.

Now it was present time!!!! Yay! I had no idea what Matt was getting me!! When I saw how big the box was, I was even more confused. You can tell by my face that I was quit pleasantly surprised :)



Acoustic/Electric Fender Guitar

 Now I just have to learn how to play this thing!! And now I'm ready for some birthday dinner leftovers :)

I'm Allergic To Low-Fat

A 300 pound pregnant woman just came in my office with a prescription for whole milk...let that sink in...

We only give whole milk to 1 year olds, and children/adults who are malnourished. Her excuse? "I don't like the way it tastes." To make it better, she got really mad at me when I (nicely) told her no. Not that I'm surprised. If you're 300 pounds do you really think you need whole milk? Really? REALLY??

WIAW + F/V Stand Goodies

It's Wednesday again, and I'm just as unprepared as usual! Figures. I wasn't feeling so hot yesterday so I really didn't eat much. But Matt was in Tuscaloosa for a few days and last night he came home with some goodies!! I was raving last week about how much I am IN LOVE with JIMMY JOHNS. Well my sweet hubby brought me back an Italian sub and jalapeno chips all the way from Tuscaloosa. It was heavenly, as expected :)

If you are from the south and you know anything about peaches, you know Chilton county has the best peaches you will ever eat! They are sooo beautiful, delicious, juicy amazingness. So every summer we always stop at this stand on the side of the road, in the middle of the country (Chilton County) to get our peaches. Well Matt made sure to pick us up not only plenty of peaches, but some okra and tomatoes too(our tomatoes in the garden are being stubborn and insist on turning red one..at...a...time)! I can't wait to eat them all!!!

 On a side note, tomorrow is my BIRTHDAY! yay! :) Can't wait to share with you guys the, what I'm sure will be incredible, meal Matt is going to make me! In the meantime, go on over to Jenn's page @ Peas & Crayons and check out all the other WIAW posts!

AnyDay Picnic Salad (WIC Recipe)

Florida WIC has a new cook book for our clients called Healthy & Homemade Recipe Book. Sometimes the recipes I see in these books seem a little odd to me. But this one is actually pretty great! On a staff meeting day, a bunch of the girls cooked different recipes from this new book and we all tried them. I had a few favs, and this is one of them:

1 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken

1 apple, cored and diced

1/3 cup chopped celery (about 1 stalk)

1/3 cup light ranch dressing or creamy salad dressing

1/8 tsp pepper

1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Optional: use 1 cup halved seedless grapes instead of an apple



Serves: 4 - Serving Size: 3/4 cup - Per Serving: $.59

1. In a medium bowl combine chicken,apple, and celery. Add dressing and pepper and stir to coat. Stir in pecans or walnuts.
2. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours. Serve on a lettuce leaf, spread on bread or tortillas for a sandwich, or spoon into a halved tomato or cucumber.



Cooking Tips:

* If desired, use two 6-ounce cans of water-packed tuna instead of  cooked chicken. Drain off the liquid and flake tuna with a fork before adding. Cooked roast beef or pork also can be substituted.

* To make a full-meal salad, add 2 cups cooked pasta.

Anyday Picnic Salad from Iowa State University Extension on Vimeo.