Summer BBQ Menu Makeover

I had some friends over for a little Memorial Day BBQ and plan to do it again for the July 4 holiday and many other weekends before summer ends. While grilling is a healthy cooking technique—it requires no added fat and lets excess fat in meat and poultry drip away—there are many foods that we should keep off our grill sdue to their high calories, saturated fat, and/or sodium content.Here’s my summer grilling menu, which is a lot healthier than the traditional BBQ. I hope it inspires some of you to share your favorite outdoor summer dishes.

Grilled Poultry Sausage vs. Bratwurst
I was at the supermarket and, out of curiosity, picked up a package of bun-sized Hillshire Farm Cheddar Wurst smoked sausage. The pork-and-beef sausages weighed in at 240 calories and 21 grams fat, 8 grams of which were heart-stopping saturated fat. Not to mention the 660 mg sodium. Then I bought my Aidells Portobello Mushroom Smoked Chicken and Turkey Sausage. Each of these stocky sausages weighs in at only 140 calories and 8 grams of fat (with only 2.5 saturated), and 540 mg sodium.

If your dog starts at 250 calories and you add another 120 calories for the bun and at least 75 for condiments, one dog will add up to 450 calories or more. No chances of seconds with that chubby dog.

Poultry sausages deliver all the taste and texture of beef or pork sausages without the calories or fat. Serve them in buns for a healthier alternative. To go even leaner, I cut the sausages into chunks, top with fresh basil and a slice of heirloom tomato, and serve with toothpicks and condiments.

Save: At least 300 calories, 10 grams of fat, and 5.5 grams saturated fat

Grilled Veggie Skewers vs. Coleslaw
I nix coleslaw—more than 250 calories and 15 grams of fat a cup—and grill up summer squash, bell pepper, and mushrooms, and skewer them with small pieces of feta cheese and grape tomatoes for a healthy appetizer that doesn’t add extra fat or calories.

Save: At least 150 calories and 10 grams fat

Portobello Burgers vs. Beef Burgers
I am in my flexitarian (semi-vegetarian) phase, so I’m off beef for now. Instead I like to grill portobello mushroom burgers and serve them with a heirloom tomato slices and goat cheese on a multigrain bun. A traditional, small (3 ounces cooked) beef burger made with 80% lean ground beef served on a plain bun with ketchup and mustard packs in just over 400 calories and 16 grams of fat. The portobello burger—prepared with a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper—comes in under 300 calories, even with the bun and condiments.

Skinny Cow Bars vs. Ice Cream
Who doesn’t want ice cream or some frozen dessert in the summer? I do. To satisfy my craving, I opt for Skinny Cow Skinny Dippers chocolate-coated ice cream bars. Premium chocolate ice cream has about 200 to 250 calories per half cup, with 15 grams total fat (11 grams saturated). These Skinny Cow treats weigh in at 80 calories, 3 grams of fat (2 saturated). They satisfy my desire for a creamy, sweet, frozen dessert without blowing the calories in my diet.

Save: At least 120 calories, 10 grams fat, 10 grams saturated fat.

These simple dietitian-approved substitutions can cut hundreds of calories and a day’s worth of saturated fat from your summer menu. And guests won’t feel the least bit deprived—at least, no one complains when they come to our house.

By: Julie Upton, MS, RD
(ALEXANDER SHALAMOV/ISTOCK)

Last Updated: February 20, 2009
Filed Under: Experts and Bloggers

Is Fasting Dangerous?

From Health magazine

Q: Is fasting a couple of days a week dangerous?
A: If you plan to eat and drink nothing, then, yes, it’s risky. It could cause dehydration and dangerously low blood sugar levels, which can make you pass out. If you’re otherwise healthy and still drink water, 100 percent fruit juice, and no-calorie beverages, you probably won’t suffer health consequences if you do it only for a day at a time every once in a while (not twice a week). But get your doctor’s OK first, and know that most of the weight lost will be water and muscle, not fat. Our advice: Forget the fast and make small changes you can live with for a lifetime.

Q: I need to lose 30 pounds. If I do will I go down a bra size?

A: Breast tissue is virtually all fat, so it shrinks when you lose weight. But exercises that build up chest muscles can help keep breasts looking full. Every other day, do Push-Ups (2–3 sets of as many as you can). Then do Chest Presses (2–3 sets of 12–15 reps): Lie on your back with a 5- to 8-pound weight in each hand, arms open, and elbows bent. Press weights up toward the ceiling, then lower.

Julie Upton, MS, RD, is a media resource for the American Dietetic Association.

Last Updated: February 26, 2009
Filed Under: Experts and Bloggers

Yes, You Can Eat Pasta Again

If you’ve been in the pasta aisle recently, you’ve seen the explosion of whole-grain and other newfangled pastas pumped up with protein and heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. They’re being marketed as better-for-you alternatives to traditional pasta, but are they?

Being active myself and married to a former professional cyclist who is still very competitive in the sport, you can bet that we go through a fair share of carbohydrates each week. My husband, Craig, who lived in Italy while racing on an Italian cycling team, is all about perfect pasta. It must be cooked just right, and he knows how to match the thickness of sauces to the specific shapes.

So when I came home the other day with all the new whole-wheat, high-fiber, fancified pastas, Craig was perturbed. “What’s the matter with regular pasta?” he grumbled.

“Nothing,” I assured him. “I just need to try these for research, then we can go back to our regular pasta.”

After cooking up batches of the six brands charted below, we taste-tested them with various tomato-based sauces. We liked them all, but the standouts were Ronzoni Healthy Harvest and Barilla Whole Grain, both of which are whole-grain pasta blends that use 51% whole-wheat flour.

The other four products are made with 100% whole grain, which lends a stiffer, chewier texture and somewhat nutty flavor. While we could get used to that, it was too different from our regular white pasta diet.

Here, you can compare some of the new whole-wheat pasta options to De Cecco traditional durum semolina-based pastas. The whole-grain has double to triple the fiber and more protein than regular pasta. And some varieties offer omega-3 fatty acids from flax, which is nutritious, but a less absorbable type of omega-3 than the kind found in fish.



Note: Nutrition information is based on a 56 gram serving, or about ½ cup uncooked pasta.
*Top picks in the Upton household.

Some tips for cooking up whole-grain pasta.

Don’t overcook by following the package cooking directions. Unlike traditional pasta, when you overcook whole-grain pasta, it turns to mush (as I quickly found out).

Thinner noodles, like spaghetti, in a whole-grain version, often turn out better than thick because they don’t cook as long.

When you pair any whole-wheat pasta with quality ingredients such as freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and extra-virgin olive oil, you really can’t go wrong.

Whether you eat whole-wheat or white pasta, the sauce is where you can make or break your diet. Avoid cream sauces and saturated-fat-rich meat sauces, which can sabotage the healthiest of staples.

By Julie Upton

Last Updated: February 20, 2009
Filed Under: Experts and Bloggers

Why We Eat Junk Food When We’re Stressed … and How to Stop

By Julie Upton, RD

I was having a particularly stressful day last week while cramming for a major certification exam, and my husband brought home a card and small bag of one of my favorite sweets—Swedish Fish. The inside of the card said what I knew all too well: “Stressed” is “desserts” spelled backward.

Yes, stress and desserts are inexorably linked for many women who, like me, feel that a sugar fix is sweet salvation from deadlines, 401(k)s, traffic, bills, your husband (boyfriend, girlfriend), a demanding boss or sick child … and the list goes on.

As a dietitian, I know all about the problems that go along with emotional eating. And I have the tools in my arsenal to recognize the source of my cravings—stress—and find healthier ways to cope that don’t involve sugar, chocolate, or saturated fat.

I know I’m not alone in my noshing. Everyone I talk to lately is concerned (and stressed) about the economy. In fact, so many people have been gaining weight from the prospects of their portfolios that new terms have been coined—“layoff lard,” “the “reorg 15.”

Although I devoured my Swedish fish in a record-setting 20 minutes last week, I normally try to take steps to tame my sweet tooth when I feel the pressure rise. Here are my favorite edible anxiety antidotes that hit the spot without sabotaging my waistline.

Sugar-free gum
Keep it at your desk, or in your purse, gym bag, or car. I find mint flavors are best because their flavor lasts longest and makes just about everything sweet taste funky, so sugary snacks are less appealing.

Crystal Light lemonade
I mix up a bottle of water with a Crystal Light On the Go packet, and it hits the spot for at least 20 minutes.

Silk Light hot chocolate
A deliciously smooth treat that brings me back to the comfort food of my youth is hot chocolate. These days I whip up a healthier version with 80-calorie Silk Light soy milk and dark cocoa powder, so I get all the antioxidants of cocoa flavonoids in less than 100 calories.

Sunsweet Ones
These sweet prune gems are great because they are packed with fiber but only have 25 calories per prune. And because they are individually wrapped I have to take a break after eating each one to get to the next. That little process helps the brain make a decision to either continue eating or stop.

Chocolate-covered biscotti
When chocolate is the only thing that will satisfy, I will get a chocolate-covered biscotti at the local Starbucks. Biscotti are lower in calories and fat than other cookies and have just the right amount of chocolate to tame my sweet tooth.

Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Latte
Oh, and while I’m getting my biscotti, I opt for the Tall Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Latte. It’s supersweet, but because it’s made with skim milk it contains all the nutrients of milk (like calcium) in a mere 90 calories.

Last Updated: March 13, 2009
Filed Under: Experts and Bloggers

How to Eat Greener This St. Patrick’s Day

By Julie Upton, RD

My maiden name is Walsh, which automatically made me somewhere between ¼ to ½ Irish (my mom was adopted). So, I’ve officially declared myself an Irish-American, and I’m here with a few tips for eating green this St. Patrick’s Day.

You may think I’m about to extoll the virtues of Irish soda bread, corn beef and cabbage, and drinking lots of beer. But no, I’m talking about “green” in terms of being eco-conscious.

Here are some steps I’m taking today—and most days—to make my American SUV-like diet more like a hybrid.

Eat lower on the food chain
Since plant-based foods require a fraction of the fossil fuel to produce compared to dairy, beef, poultry or seafood, I’m going meatless today. (I’m normally a flexitarian, and most days I’ll have a few ounces of lean poultry or fish.) If you can eat a meat and dairy-free diet at least once a week, that can have a big planetary payoff.

Nix bottle water
It takes tons of energy to produce plastic bottles, fill them, ship them around, so we can down them and send them to landfills. Use a BPA-free reusable bottle instead.

Eat more American-grown and produced foods
Start looking at labels: Are the pastas or pistachios you’re eating produced in the United States? Beginning yesterday, food companies are required to include the country of origin on their fresh meats, frozen and fresh fruits and vegetables, and other foods. The energy required to ship products into the country wastes precious energy—plus, it doesn’t support our country’s agriculture.

Choose more organics
Manufacturers of organic foods must meet USDA organic regulations, which do not allow for synthetic pesticides, bioengineered or irradiated ingredients, or animals that receive antibiotics or hormones. (The Union of Concerned Scientists report that 70% of total U.S. antibiotics are given to chicken, cows, and pigs for non-therapeutic purposes.) Although organic foods are not necessarily more nutritious (Some might be!), they are ecologically sound. If you’re concerned about the extra cost of organics, here’s a quick guide of when you should splurge and when you should save.

Ride a bike
Okay, this isn’t an eating tip, but it still ties in with healthy food shopping. The bicycle is the most energy-efficient form of transportation, so I’m gong to make an effort to use my bike (and a backpack) on trips to the post office and grocery store for small purchases. Bikes don’t emit exhaust, they’re easily built and repaired, require little space, and are affordable. Plus, you’ll work up an appetite—and won’t have to feel guilty about that celebratory Guinness. Erin Go Bragh!

Last Updated: March 16, 2009
Filed Under: Experts and Bloggers