Healthy Eating

Super-Satisfying Salads

Written on May 7, 2013 at 9:55 am , by Guest Blogger

By Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD

As summer approaches, we start craving fresh foods. Hello healthy salad season—and just in time to help us slim down for summer!

With the help of Dole Salads, I am posting 31 delicious and simple salad recipes throughout the month of May—enough for a different salad every day.

Here’s the thing about salad: If you make one that’s too light, you’ll be hungry in an hour. But add the wrong ingredients, and your salad can have more calories and fat than a burger and fries. The trick to making a healthy salad that’s a satisfying meal is in the ratio of ingredients.

This the general equation for the perfect entrée salad:

2-3 cups veggies
+
3/4 cup or 3 ounces cooked protein
(~150 calories; beans, egg, turkey, tuna, etc.)
+
3/4 cup cooked grain or starchy carb
(~150 calories; brown rice, whole grain pita, quinoa, baguette, etc.)
+
2-3 Tablespoons fat
(~100 calories; dressing, cheese, nuts, etc.)

Each of this week’s salads has the perfect ratio of ingredients to fill you up without weighing you down. Try one for dinner tonight!

Garden Tapas with Tuna
Who says a salad has to be served in a bowl? This one is served on top of thinly sliced baguette pieces…

INGREDIENTS

• 1 package (6 oz.) DOLE Tender Garden, coarsely chopped
• 2 (2.6 oz.) pouches chunk tuna or 1 (5 oz.) can chunk light tuna in water, drained
• 1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 2 tablespoons chopped pimento
• 1 tablespoon coarsely chopped parsley leaves
• 2 teaspoons bottled capers, drained
• 1 hard-boiled egg, coarsely chopped
• Juice from 1 medium lemon (about 3 tablespoons)
• 1 (8 oz.) baguette French bread, cut into 12 slices, toasted
• Salt and pepper, to taste (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, mix and toss all ingredients together thoroughly, except baguette. Season to taste with salt and pepper if desired.
2. Top bread slices with salad mixture.
3. Transfer to plates and season with fresh pepper, if desired.

Serves 4. Serving size: 1/4 salad. 317 calories and 7g fat per serving.

Here are  more Super-Satisfying Salad recipes. Check back next week for a new round of salads!

• Mediterranean Salad with Grapes and Sausage
• Miso-Garlic-Roasted Tofu Caesar Salad
• Quinoa Salad with Shrimp, Mango and Butter Lettuce
• Bulgur, Chickpea, Pistachio Salad
• Peanut Tempeh Thai Salad
• Grains & Greens Salad with Hummus Dressing

About the Author: Dawn Jackson Blatner, RDN, CSSD is a registered dietitian nutritionist and certified specialist in sports nutrition based in Chicago. She is the author of The Flexitarian Diet. Dawn is working with Dole throughout the month of May to inspire more salad eating.

Heart Health Tips to Live By

Written on May 6, 2013 at 11:11 am , by mohrresults

A few months ago, we were reminded during “heart month” about how heart disease kills way too many women. As the seasons change and some of us feel reinvigorated to revamp their diets and routine, we want to urge you to remember these super-simple steps to reduce your chances of heart disease. By employing these easy strategies, you’re helping to make sure you don’t wind up a statistic.

1. Engage in at least 30 minutes of structured physical activity, 5 days/week.  This isn’t for weight loss but basic heart health.  Whatever exercise you like — walking, cycling, weight lifting, swimming — works, though variety is ideal.  No matter how busy you are, everyone has the time, so try to make it!

2. Stand up.  Sitting is the new smoking.  Where can you find time in your day to stand and move , beyond structured physical activity?  Maybe rather than watching TV, you go for a family walk before or after dinner.  Start a walking group at work or investigate stand-up desks if you work at home.  If you have dogs, take them for a walk instead just letting them out back.  There are a lot of opportunities to move — you just need to be creative, take control and make a conscious effort to make you a priority.

3. Eat more omega-3 fats.  Omega-3 fats are amazing for us. The best way to get them in the diet is from foods like wild seafood (salmon, tuna, sardines, anchovies), among others.  Read more

Slimmed-Down Cinco de Mayo Cocktails (Including that Margarita!)

Written on May 3, 2013 at 1:48 pm , by FITNESS Intern

Written by Carrie Stevens, editorial intern

Plan to celebrate Cinco de Mayo this Sunday?  Even though its signature cocktail is a potential diet disaster—one frozen margarita can contain tons of sugar and sodium, not to mention upwards of 500 calories—you can indulge without the bulge.  We enlisted Tequila Herradura to slim down some of our favorite drinks that pack the same taste for 200 calories or less.  Bottoms up!

Pineapple Serrano Margarita

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz. Herradura Silver
• 3 cubic inches pineapple, diced
• 3/4 oz. lime juice
• 1/2 oz. simple syrup
• 3 slices Serrano chili with seeds

Crush pineapple and chili slices in the base of a shaker with a muddler. Add cubed ice and remaining ingredients; shake hard. Strain over ice. Garnish with a chili and star Anise pod (optional).

Calories: 169

Apricot Cooler Margarita

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz. Herradura Silver Tequila
• Large bar spoon of apricot jam
• 3/4 oz. lime juice
• 1/4 oz. simple syrup
• 1 kumquat

Shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and pour into an ice-filled old-fashioned glass.  Garnish with kumquats, apricots and a mint sprig (optional).

Calories: 156

Read more

Slim Down Your Cinco De Mayo Spread

Written on May 2, 2013 at 3:49 pm , by FITNESS Intern

Written by Carrie Stevens, editorial intern

Fruity margaritas, creamy guacamole, crunchy chips…there’s a reason Cinco de Mayo is such a popular holiday!  We love Mexican fare (and plan to fully fiesta), but the high calorie content can be a real party pooper.  To keep our waistlines and tastebuds happy, we consulted Rick Bayless’ new cookbook, Frontera, full of unique spins on classic Mexican recipes.  Here are just a few delicious ways to slim down and spice up that classic chip dip.

Grilled Corn and Poblano Guacamole

Makes about 4 cups

Ingredients

• 1/2 medium white onion, sliced crosswise into 3 rounds
• A little olive or vegetable oil
• Salt
• 1 small ear of fresh corn, husked and cleaned of silk
• 1 fresh poblano chile
• 3 ripe medium-large avocadoes
• 1/4 cup crumbled Mexican fresh cheese (queso fresco) or other fresh cheese, like salted pressed farmer’s cheese or goat cheese
• 2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 1 to 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh epazote (or cilantro)

Directions

Heat a gas grill to medium. Lightly brush both sides of the onion slices with oil, sprinkle with salt and lay on the grill. Oil the corn and lay it beside the onion. Grill corn and onion 4 to 5 minutes per side,. Roast the poblano for 5 to 7 minutes, turning evenly until blackened.

Remove onion and chop into 1/4-inch pieces. Cut kernels off the cob..  Rub the blackened skin off the poblano, pull out and discard the stem and seed pod. Tear open and briefly rinse to remove stray seedss. Cut into 1/4-inch pieces.

Halve avocadoes and remove pit, scooping the flesh from one avocado into a large bowl. Scoop flesh from the other two onto a cutting board and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Mash the avocado that’s in the bowl.

Pour diced avocado into the mashed avocado bowl, along with the grilled onion, corn, poblano and 2 tablespoons of fresh cheese. Sprinkle with lime juice and epazote, then gently stir mixture.  Taste and season with salt. Cover with plastic wrap pressed directly on the surface of the guacamole and refrigerate.

When ready to serve, sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Read more

Flat-Belly Salads

Written on May 1, 2013 at 11:30 am , by Guest Blogger

By Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD

Happy May! Beach season is right around the corner, so now’s the time to get bikini ready with some delicious and nutritious salad recipes. That’s right—you can eat your way to flatter abs!

With the help of Dole salads and in honor of National Salad Month, I am going to give you yummy, healthy and simple salad recipes every week this month for a total of 31 recipes—enough for a different salad every day. You’ll give your taste buds a treat (no boring salads here!), get more veggies and reach your better-body goals.

Each of the salads below has ingredients proven to help you slim down and fight belly fat. Dig in and you’ll be rocking a two-piece on the beach in no time!

Blue Watermelon Feta Salad
Flat-Belly Ingredient Spotlight: Watermelon
Watermelon has high water content and research shows foods with high water content may help you naturally eat hundreds less calories per meal.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lime, juiced (about 2 tablespoons)
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1 bag (5oz) Dole arugula
• 1 cup cubed watermelon
• 1/2 cup blueberries

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix lime juice, onion and feta until combined.
2. Toss with arugula.
3. Top with watermelon and blueberries.
4. Culinary Notes: Mixing the lime juice with the onions mellows the onions’ flavor. For a quick dressing anytime, mix your favorite citrus juice with your favorite shredded/crumbled cheese.

Serves 2. Serving size: 3 cups. 130 calories and 5g fat per serving.

Here are  four more Flat-Belly Salad recipes. Check back next week for a new round of salads!

Mango Salad with Ginger Raisin Vinaigrette
Flat-Belly Ingredient Spotlight: Red Wine Vinegar
Vinegar at meals may help increase feelings of fullness, decrease calorie intake by about 70 calories per meal, improve blood sugars after meals and lead to less body fat over time.

Fresh Fruit Salad with Baby Spinach and Yogurt Poppy Seed Dressing
Flat-Belly Ingredient Spotlight: Pineapple
Pineapple contains bromelain, which improves digestion and decreases post-meal bloating.

Granada Seafood Salad
Flat-Belly Ingredient Spotlight: Sardines
Sardines contain omega-3 fat which may control appetite, increase calorie burning and decrease the amount of fat your body stores.

Spinach Salad w/ Thousand Island Yogurt Dressing
Flat-Belly Ingredient Spotlight: Mushrooms
Mushrooms are the only plant-based source of vitamin D, which research suggests may aid in the loss of belly fat.

About the Author: Dawn Jackson Blatner, RDN, CSSD is a registered dietitian nutritionist and certified specialist in sports nutrition based in Chicago. She is the author of The Flexitarian Diet. Dawn is working with Dole throughout the month of May to inspire more salad eating.

Join the Food Revolution This Month

Written on May 1, 2013 at 9:29 am , by Colleen Moody

An interesting stat: The average U.S. elementary school child gets just about 3.4 hours of food and nutrition education a year. And with over 43 million children overweight or obese, if this epidemic continues on this road, that number will rise to 60 million by 2020. Yikes! Take a stand and join celebrity chef and food activist Jamie Oliver on May 17 for Food Revolution Day, a movement to raise awareness or funds for better food education and cooking skills in your area.

Started last year as an effort to get back to basics with healthy cooking skills, Food Revolution has racked up 1,000 events in 664 cities across 62 countries. This year, Oliver is asking individuals, schools, businesses and organizations everywhere to host or attend activities in their areas to combat obesity and health epidemics that affect more than 500 million adults worldwide. Interested? Check out foodrevolution.org for a list of events in your city, recipes and ideas on how you can host your own Food Revolution Day. Below, Oliver shared one of his favorite recipes with us, proving that getting your kids interested in healthy eating doesn’t have to be a drag.

Jamie Oliver’s Berry Ice Cream

Ingredients

1.5 pound pack of mixed frozen berries

5 ounces blueberries

3-4 tablespoons of honey

1.5 pound tub of natural yogurt

Directions

1. Get ahead by putting 4 small glasses in the freezer for a few hours, or until nicely chilled.

2. Then, get the glasses and the frozen berries out of the freezer and divide the fresh blueberries between the glasses.

3. Put the honey and yogurt into a food processor and mix, then add the frozen berries and mix again until combined. Spoon the frozen yogurt over the fresh berries and serve.

Indulge Guilt-Free Using Yonanas At-Home “Ice Cream” Machine

Written on April 30, 2013 at 1:10 pm , by FITNESS Intern

Written by Carrie Stevens, editorial intern

Have you scooped out your first dish of ice cream this season? If warmer temps have you jonesing for this cold and creamy dessert—hey, we’re right there with you—then check out Yonanas, an appliance that turns frozen bananas into better-for-you “ice cream.”

Here’s how it works: Pop a frozen banana into the chute, along with any mixings for your desired flavor (think strawberries, mint or dark chocolate), use the plunger to push down and let it do its thing. High-torque blades cream the fruit, so it’s ready in less than a minute and tastes like the real deal. But instead of the fat and calories often laden with the standard frozen treat, you get nutritional boosts from the fruit’s natural flavor. Talk about a tasty trade up.

Oh, and don’t forget about sprinkles—or better yet, Frinkles: freeze-dried fruit, like strawberries, raspberries and blackberries, that add a bite of crunch. These all-natural toppings come in four flavors, so you can indulge your inner child wishes without worrying about your waistline.

For a bright pop of red to your kitchen appliances, opt for the Elite version ($119.99, available this summer), which boasts a quieter motor and the ability to cream every type of fruit, regardless of how frozen. For a lower price tag, you can get the original Yonanas ($49.99)—just make sure you let the fruit thaw for a few minutes before tossing in the machine.

Now you tell us: Would you make at-home ice cream?

3 Skinny Summer Cocktails to Pair with Our Bikini Body Boot Camp

Written on April 23, 2013 at 12:15 pm , by Colleen Moody

By now, you’ve been revving up your workouts at the gym with our Trim and Tone Circuit Workout  but as they say, a girl needs to unwind a little too, right? (At least we sure do!) To make sure you don’t completely blow all your hard work, Voli Light Vodka has given three super slim, super summery cocktail recipes that you can sip without guilt. Bonus: If you’re a morning smoothie lover, you probably have most of the ingredients already! Get the recipes below and tell us your favorite in the comments!

Island Oasis

1.5 ounces Voli Mango Coconut
6 blueberries
2 strawberries
1 ounce Sweet and Sour Lite Mix
1 ounce light orange juice

Directions: Muddle fruit, add all ingredients together and stir. Garnish with skewered blueberries and strawberries. (Approximately 94 calories) Read more

Study Shows That Snacking Is the Key to Your Happy Weight

Written on April 22, 2013 at 11:08 am , by Colleen Moody

There should be no shame in your snacking game. That’s because a recent study by The NPD Group found that 83 percent of Americans snack, and those with the healthiest lifestyles are also the ones who snack most frequently. Score! Below, we chatted with Jessica Levinson, MS, RD, CDN and founder of Nutritioulicious, a nutrition consulting and counseling practice in New York about the benefits of snacking, especially when it comes to managing your weight.

Why is snacking so important?
This is something I’ve talked to clients for years about. Snacking is what really keeps your metabolism going. Think of the analogy of wood in a fire—the more you put in, the more you burn. The same is true with eating. Skipping meals or waiting too long causes your metabolism to slow down, while also putting you at risk for overeating the next time you do sit down to eat.

Does it matter when you snack?
It is a big nutrition myth that the time of day that you eat impacts your weight. If you have a 1,600 calorie allotment for your diet and lifestyle, then what matters more is if you’ve taken in that many calories or not. Let’s say you’ve consumed 1,400 calories by the time 6:00 p.m. rolls around. Now you only have 200 calories to get you through the rest of the day (taking exercise out of the equation here, which of course gives you some of those calories back). But if you’ve only eaten 1,000 calories by 6:00 p.m. then it doesn’t matter what time you’re eating or having a late-night snack, as long as you don’t go past your daily allotment.

How can you keep your snacking portions controlled?
This is a big issue for most people, because it’s hard to stop once you start! My biggest tip is to portion out in advance at home. For example, if you like almonds portion out an ounce (23 almonds) into 5 brown bags at the beginning of the week. Then you can grab a bag for your snack every day as you walk out the door. Just bring one bag at a time; if you take the whole stash you’ll be more tempted to dig into multiple bags. There are also a ton of companies who make portion controlled snack packs. Justin’s Nut Butter is great for baby carrots or a banana or a bag of 100-calorie air popped popcorn is perfect for salt lovers. And of course, fruit! You can’t really ever overdo it on fruits and veggies. Fruit especially is a good sweet tooth fix while also quenching your thirst and filling you up since so many have a high water content.

Now tell us: What’s your healthy snack go-to?

More from FITNESS: Healthy Food Awards: The Best Snacks from the Store

 

Celeb Chef Rocco Dispirito Talks Spring Cleaning In the Kitchen, Plus One Party-Friendly Recipe!

Written on April 17, 2013 at 10:09 am , by FITNESS Intern

Written by Carrie Stevens, editorial intern

Listen up, ladies: Triscuit’s new brown rice crackers aren’t your mother’s snack. The brand has developed delicious spins on its classic namesake snack—like sweet potato and sea salt and black pepper—that get two nutritional thumbs up from celeb chef and FITNESS advisory board member Rocco DiSpirito. The bestselling author developed three healthy, easy-to-make recipes centered around the cracker, and after sampling his culinary creations in Times Square (the turkey chili recipe below is OMG good), we chatted with DiSpirito about his cooking inspiration, eating for the season and saving calories with simple ingredient swaps.

Your Triscuit-inspired recipes were delicious! Why did you partner with the brand?

When an established food company like Triscuit/Nabisco decides they’re going to put a lot of money, time and effort to make something better for you, I’m a big fan of that decision. It’s brave because most food companies are like, “Why change it? It’s perfect, we sell a ton of food, we make a gazillion dollars, we have big homes in the Hamptons, we don’t need to do anything.” But this shows recognition that America needs healthier choices, including their snacks, and I’m proud to associate with a company that feels that way because that’s what I do every day: I try to convince Americans to make healthier choices.

What’s your main goal when developing a recipe?

My priority is to make a recipe that people can reproduce at home very easily. So I work backward from what I find in grocery stores. Every time I start a book, I go to the grocery stores and research what’s available, and that changes all the time. From the time I wrote Now Eat This to now, a lot has changed. There are a lot more healthy ingredients available, so that makes my job a little easier and more exciting. The point is to get people to try it and understand that when they cook, they’re in control, and cooking is better than buying from a restaurant. So those are my priorities: to make it super easy for people to make it at home.

How do you “healthify” a recipe?

You want to swap fats, dairy and sugar: those are the ones that are the most calorically dense.  One ounce of any of those has more calories than one ounce of vegetables, for example. For dairy, fat-free Greek yogurt is a great swap. For fats, using something like xanthan gum. So let’s say you want to make an ice-cream smoothie, but you don’t want to use any ice cream. Skim milk and xanthan gum is a great way to create that texture that you’d get from cream. And for sugar, my favorite new sweetener is monk fruit extract. It’s an amazing calorie- and sugar-free sweetener.

What are some of your go-to spring produce?

It’s ridiculous what happens in spring! I start with asparagus, which is fresh in early spring. White asparagus is one of my favorite things on the planet. I plant a garden, so I grow several kinds of tomatoes, zucchini, squash, watermelon, cucumbers—I look forward to all of those things. If you’re one of those people who doesn’t like cucumbers, you’ve never had a home-grown one. Sometimes I pick off the leaves of squash blossoms and fry the blossoms, or make a squash blossom omelet. There are so many wonderful fruits and vegetables that are in season.

Click for the mouthwatering chili recipe we sampled, then recreate at home – it’s perfect for a party!

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