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Resolution Ideas For the Eater In All of Us

It's such a cliché, but where did the year go? It's been a big one. I graduated from college, started graduate school, moved to a new city and got to know my inner germ-a-phobe. Let's not forget about starting this blog. Epic. 2011 was good to me. I hope 2012 will be just as giving. While on Christmas holiday, I've settled into my childhood bedroom where I will stay for the next few weeks. This acclimation process was short and simple, however, a couple things have become glaringly obvious.  I am way more mature than the 18-year-old hoodlum who used to live in my room. The fact that I have high school yearbooks still sitting on my bookshelf is an embarrassment. While my mother tries to convince me to gut the room, I continue to argue that I still need my Doc Martins, slap bracelets and a dusty one-eyed Furby. As we head into January, I will continue this battle, all the while listening to New Year's resolution babble from just about everyone.

New Year's resolutions are a bit of a joke these days.  At least I think so. What makes January 1st so special? Do you really need a whole new year to turn over a leaf in your life? Nine times out of ten, most resolutions revolve around health.  Shouldn't you want to lead a healthier life each day?  Ugh enough.  I am so above you, I cannot even write on this topic any longer. Instead, I thought I would give you a new way to look at these so-called resolutions. I don't personally do them, but if I did, I would do something along the 'more-is-less' line.

I find most people resolve to choose some form of restriction when it comes to leading a healthier life. I will loose weight, I will eat less, I won't eat dessert anymore, I will stop biting my nails, I will give up fried foods, etc. To me this sounds so exhausting, not to mention it's ultimately a set up for eventual failure. I am here to save you. You can use my name to bail you out of the tired commitment to deprivation. Replace that limited mindset with something you actually long for: surplus.  No, I don't mean eat more sugar or drink more beer. Read on sweet child.  

If I were to make a New Year's resolution I would want to pick up a healthy 'habit', not focus on eliminating an unhealthy one. Just some suggestions:

1. I will eat more fiber - shoot for the recommended 20-35 grams each day
2. I will eat more fruits - eating at least 3 servings a day
3. I will eat more vegetables - have one snack consisting of baby carrots, bell pepper strips or cucumber slices 
4. I will increase dairy intake - drinking a glass of low fat milk with one meal a day or eating low fat cheese or yogurt
5. I will drink more water - shoot for five, 8 ounce glasses a day if the idea of downing 8 glasses makes your bladder hurt

It doesn't take a genius to figure out what I'm doing here.  If you load up your day with more fruits, vegetables, and fiber you're going to wind up feeling full more often. Where will you fit in your 3pm Dorito snack time? Adopting one of these five suggestions may make it more difficult to indulge in some less-than-favorable behaviors. Maybe not. Is this little trick a cure all? Heck no.  But it is a start and we all must learn to walk before we run.  Some poor souls attempt dietary overhaul when January arrives. Personally, I think that is too much to handle for most sane individuals.  It might last for a day, a week, a month, but it will come to a screeching halt the moment you get a) bored, b) tired, c) anxious, d) upset, e) constipated...you get the idea. 

If it's weight loss you seek, this surplus approach may seem counter productive.  It's not. Weight loss doesn't have to equal starvation. Your best ally is going to be capitalizing on satiety and always keeping your hunger in check. If I am driving home from work, riding the subway home from school or making dinner in my kitchen and find I am ravenous, I'm never above reaching for a piece of fruit or some vegetables. Eat a little low calorie, high volume nosh and take the edge off.  It might be the difference between a third piece of pizza or a second scoop of chili.  The goal is to fill you up without filling you out.  

Lifestyle changes have their merits and if you are bold enough to try one then I support you one hundred percent, no matter how much I trash talk New Year's resolutions. God bless and good luck.  

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On an unrelated note, I am about to get political on you. Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services determined that preventive services for obesity could only be furnished by primary care providers in the primary care setting. Meaning they are going to exclude Registered Dietitians in the prevention/treatment of obesity in terms of direct billing.  This will seriously hinder patients' access to qualified individuals. Those of you, who think dietitians need to be directly involved in reversing the obesity epidemic, sign this petition! We're almost there and there is only one week left!

Gabby's Crazy Oats: Deliciousness Like You've Never Tasted Before

I was going to make this the Product Placement of the Month for December, but I chose not to for two reasons. First, I think those posts cheapen the product. I like the Product Placements because they familiarize all of you with products I enjoy, but these posts sometimes feel like low quality work. Not to mention they also get less foot traffic. Second, Gabby (of Gabby's Crazy Oats) is a very dear friend of mine and I just couldn't do that to her culinary creation. Before I get the ball rolling on this one, let me just tell you she ships. So if you live outside of the St. Louis area, don't leave just yet!

Based on the post title and that opening paragraph, you may have deduced by now that Gabby's Crazy Oats are in fact oatmeal cookies made by Gabby herself. Let me tell you, this girl makes some serious cookies. I like to think of her as a Keebler elf who makes wicked good human-size confections. A few years back, she was making these delectable treats for family and friends.  People quickly caught on to how unique these oversized cookies were so in 2009, she made it official and set up her own company at the encouragement of her loyal clientele. During that same year she partnered with Straub's Market, a gourmet grocer in St. Louis. Today, you can find her cookies in all four of their stores' bakery sections. What was once just a pipe dream has become this entrepreneur's reality. Did I mention she did all this while we were lowly nutrition undergrads at Saint Louis University? Needless to say, I was insanely jealous and super impressed. Now heading into the fourth year of business, Gabby's Crazy Oats are carving out their own niche in the gourmet baking world of St. Louis.

This picture doesn't do them justice.

Much to the delight of her customers, she has expanded the variety of oatmeal cookie flavors and sizes offered over the years. One thing that hasn't changed is her tried and true dedication to real, quality ingredients. I've said it on this blog numerous times, but an ingredient list can sometimes tell you more about a product than the nutrition facts label. If I can't pronounce it, I'm not eating it. Well, these cookies are no exception to that rule. Each one of Gabby's Crazy Oat cookies is made with the same basic dough recipe: rolled oats, flour, brown sugar, butter, eggs, pure vanilla, baking soda, spices and sea salt. That's the order they appear on the label. For those of you who may not know, all food labels list the ingredients in order of weight. The ingredient with the greatest amount of weight is listed first; the ingredient with the least amount is listed last. Notice the first ingredient in these cookies isn't sugar or butter; it's rolled oats. Those of us the nutrition world like to see this. But don't let this fool you, Gabby's Crazy Oats are still dessert and shouldn't be misconstrued for a breakfast item. However, should you want to eat one for breakfast, no judgment here.

What's more is these cookies are never frozen. Buy them in the store or have them shipped to you, they will never see the inside of a freezer. That's a guarantee. Aside from their quality and freshness, there is something I love even more about Gabby's Crazy Oats - they are incredibly unique. We've all had an oatmeal cookie before. But Gabby takes it to the big leagues with flavors like Chocolate Peanut Butter, Cranberry Orange Almond, Dark Chocolate Cherry Walnut, and Espresso Dark Chocolate. These aren't your grandmother's oatmeal raisin cookies, that I can promise you. Straub's Market describes the six-ounce cookies as 'honkin' big beauties' and they are exactly right. They are large, in charge and absolutely scrumptious.

Gabby's Crazy Oats are the perfect holiday treat. They have a wow-factor all their own and are sure to be a hit at any holiday party. They also make wonderful gifts for Christmas or New Years! Don't want to spend your weekends slaving away in the kitchen? Wrap these up and give them out, just be sure to keep them in their packaging to ensure freshness. With their homemade quality, your family and friends are sure to be impressed. Gabby's Crazy Oats tagline reads: "Everything you want in a cookie and more...". And let me tell you, it couldn't be more right.

Flavors Include:
Chocolate Chip, Raisin, Cranberry Orange Almond, Espresso Dark Chocolate, Sweet and Salty, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Dark Chocolate Cherry Walnut, M & M, White and Dark Chocolate Macadamia Nut

Cookie Sizes: *Priced per dozen
6oz. (the big ones)...$24.00
3oz. (typical cookie)...$12.50
1oz. (mini cookie)...$ 5.50

She asks for 3-5 days for local orders, so be sure to give her enough notice! You can also hop on over to your nearest Straub's and pick one up today. If you live outside the St. Louis area, contact her by email at berragm@gmail.com to place your order. You'll thank me later.

Sage Advice For Holiday Eating From Someone Who Knows Nothing

It's that time of year again. When we head over to Aunt Sheryl's, load up those red plastic plates with horse ovaries (more commonly known as hors d'oeuvres), hunker down on a fireplace hearth and wait for the self-loathing and regret to kick in. Trust me. We've all been there. Why did I eat that ninth macaroon?  Who poured me this fourth glass of eggnog?  How did I get pieces of gingerbread down my bra?  Sooner or later though, the holiday feasts reap what they sow and sweatpants suddenly seem like appropriate work options. Enter in New Year's resolutions.

Well, this year that will not happen. This year will be different. This year I will control myself - I will eat only half the ham, seven turtle cookies and limit myself to three hot toddies. Take that Saint Nick! I am not perfect, nor do I pretend to be. I believe the holidays are a time to enjoy the wonderful foods we, and the people we love, churn out. However, enjoyment does have to equate to perpetual gluttony. And so, to save you from yourself, I present to you...

Kimberly's Strategies for Surviving the Smörgåsbords

1. Don't Go To The Party Hungry

This is the kiss of death.  You've been running around all day trying to find that Pokémon bean bag chair your eight-year old god son wants, you perform your Mariah-Carey-5-minute-costume-change at the house, grabbed your keys, your significant other and are out the door. Sure enough, as the car pulls out of your driveway you realize that snack bag of Bugles you ate for breakfast and lunch may not have been enough to power you through the day. Suddenly your stomach starts talking like Kimmy Gibler from Full House, you're light headed and you need sustenance...fast. Cut to you licking the crumbs off your fourth (stupidly small) appetizer plate as you walk it to the trash can.  The presence of others is all that stops you from reaching into the garbage and polishing off that half-eaten piece of fruitcake sitting right there on the top.  

I've been there. I am a firm believer of never getting overly hungry.  Whenever I hit that point of blinding hunger, I end up reaching for foods I will a) regret and b) over-eat.  It's for those reasons I never leave home without snacks.  At any given time, my purse/book bag/satchel looks like a go-go-gadget of munchies.  

Holiday parties are wonderful.  You get to see half-drunk people you sort of like in dim lighting while you all stuff your faces with the hostess' provisions. This suggested 'rule' hardly implies showing up to a party puffer fish full.  Just don't arrive to the front door seeing spots and drooling unconsciously. I find I make wiser food choices when I arrive any place where free food is in abundance free of that malnourished feeling. I will actually select the foods I really want to try and not simply reach for anything containing cheese whiz. Not only that, I won't suffer the all-too-common conundrum of overzealous food selection. This doesn't mean you can't go up for seconds, but arriving semi-full will allow you to be selective and therefore, more aware of how much you're eating. 

2. Be The Change You Wish To See In The World 

By this I mean, bring a more healthful dish.  If I had a dime for every time I went to a party where the only vegetable served qualified as great Aunt Rebecca's bloomin' onion or the olive in my martini, I'd be a less poor woman.  This does not mean you have to bring a vegetable tray.  I curse those things. I am working towards becoming a dietitian and even I hate eating raw broccoli flowerets. Surely there must be some middle ground. Off the top my head - tomato bruschetta, edamame hummus, roasted potato wedges with sun-dried tomato pesto, Caprese on a stick (tomato, basil, mozzarella), kale chips, maple glazed Brussels sprouts. BAM! Vegetables don't have to be gross. And don't worry, just because you're bringing a 'healthy' dish doesn't mean everyone else is going to do the same.  You will still get your true holiday fix in at the party, mark my words. You're dish will just lighten up the spread. 

3. Mind What You're Swilling

God, to talk about calories here is just too boring. It's also been done a million times. What I can't stand is when some health nut writer tells me to avoid booze at holiday parties. Has she never been to one before? Sometimes a social lubricant is required for survival at these kinds of functions.  Your ex-boyfriend is avoiding you like the bubonic plague, your girl friend is crying the bathroom because 'if one more person asks her when she plans to start having babies, she's going to adopt a Himalayan whistle kid by March', and your mom commented that your eye makeup made you look like an extra in an off-Broadway production of the Grinch as you walked out the door.  

All I will say is this: booze has calories; it's not a 'free food'.  As we all learned in D.A.R.E., alcohol also impairs our judgment. Those repulsive deep-fried Oreos you first saw when you walked into the party might suddenly look downright appetizing after four glasses of mulled wine. So easy does it.  Plus, the person who has raced to the end of the night by 8pm never goes home or wakes up a winner.  I can sadly say this from experience.  Lastly, if you plan to drive home, do not drink. It's a no brainer, but it would feel irresponsible to endorse moderate drinking at holiday parties to those who may go on to be designated drivers.  But Kimberly, you told me it was okay! I have only you to blame for my poor decision-making. No! Not on my watch. 

4. Back Away From The Food Table

Okay, I'll admit this one is easier said than done.  The act of walking away from mountains of appetizers can, at times, require the Jaws of Life. Unless you have the will power of a much stronger man, standing near plates of copious amounts of food is like going to Mexico and never wearing sunscreen. You will burn yourself time and time again. After you've had your fill, thrown away your plate and utensils comes Act II of the night. It opens with the scene titled "Grazing" and concludes with you unbuttoning your pants on the car ride home. Don't act like you're better than it because you're not. 

From personal experience, I've found that removing myself from the vicinity of all the foods that taunt me to have the greatest effect. After I've eaten and I am feeling full, I try to migrate to a different room.  However, I do realize the kitchen is often a congregation location. So instead of wandering into the host's personal office or sitting alone with the cat watching reruns of the Match Game, put those Crescent dogs out of arms reach. At the heart of it, we're all lazy.  Maybe all it takes is the required extra four steps to snatch the last smoked salmon quesadilla to deter you from overindulging. 

5. Return to Normalcy 

Hypothetically, let's say you decided to ignore strategies one through four and ate until it hurt. The next day you arise thinking, "Today I will eat less to make up for last night."  Please, please, please don't do this.  Food isn't about atonement and the holidays shouldn't be filled with self-induced regret. So what? Last night didn't go so well. You came home, popped the Pepto and woke up every two hours mumbling "never again". That's probably a little dramatic, but you get the idea. Nobody is perfect. So instead of skimping on calories following an epic holiday bender, just get back to normal. Wake up, eat some breakfast and go about your day as normal - eating when you're hungry and stopping when you're full.  Besides, if you decide you're going to start a 'diet' on December 17th you, my friend, may just be dumber than first grader. Don't even get me started on diets.  That's for another day.  There's nothing quite like intentional self-denial while all those around you indulge in the very thing you've sworn off.  Say hello to crying in the shower and aggressive journal entries. 

Bottom line here: when we decide we're going to enter into Calorie Deficit Land in an effort to amend for last night's destruction, nine times our of ten we wind up hitting 3pm ravenous. And the cycle repeats.  The biggest favor you can do yourself is to wake up and kick your metabolism in the pants with some breakfast.  

Zucchini Banana Nut Muffins

Welcome back.  I hope you all survived the holiday with your dignity and jeans still intact. Mine was lovely, thank you for asking.  I picked up a head cold but powered through.  I think it probably had something to do with the 13 kids under the age of ten on my flight home.  Upon landing on Missouri soil, I felt compelled to update my Facebook status to: "One airplane. 13 kids. 3 hours. For the price of one plane ticket, I bought 5 years of birth control." True story. 

As promised, I am here to deliver my Zucchini Banana Nut Muffins. As many of you already know, I had a slight farmer's market mishap back in Boston before I left for break.  It involved one vendor, three vegetables and a humbling experience on how pushovers never fully get what they really want.  Luckily, my failure to rectify the situation lead to some tasty kitchen creations. First it was the roasted vegetable frittata and now I give to you a great breakfast option or on-the-go snack idea. 

This recipe is a hybrid of about two or three I found online.  I like 'healthy' muffins just as much as the next girl, but I am also a dirt-poor grad student so I demand normal ingredients from recipes I wish to try.  No evaporated cane juice crystals, pomegranate molasses or arrowroot powder for this penny scraper. If you want to make these into a dessert, I would recommend folding chocolate chips in with the nuts.  Yum.

Zucchini Banana Nut Muffins 
Makes 12 muffins

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1 egg

¼ cup honey

1 1/2 cups grated zucchini 

1/4 cup canola oil

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

¾ cup all purpose flour 

¾ cup whole-wheat flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350F.

Grate zucchini (either by hand or using a food processor), then squeeze grated zucchini to remove some of the water. Measure 1 1/2 cups zucchini and mix with the mashed bananas.

In a medium-sized bowl, beat egg and honey. Stir in the grated zucchini-banana mixture, then the oil.

Into a separate bowl, sift together flours, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add to the zucchini-banana mixture and mix until just combined. Fold in walnuts.

Spray individual muffin cups with non-stick spray, then divide batter evenly among cups to make 12 muffins. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thought I'd do a little post today in honor of my favorite holiday. There is a great Native American saying that goes - “Give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.” Just something to think about on a day where we gather together the people we hold most dear and enjoy a labor of love.

Have a wonderful (overindulgent) Thanksgiving!

An Easy Weeknight Dinner: Part One

With Thanksgiving break approaching and my return to the Midwest on the horizon, my food shopping for last week was scant. In an effort to reduce wasted food and the precious green paper in my wallet, I made a small grocery list and tried to survive the week. To say it was a week of leftovers would be an understatement. It was more like a week of scraping out my refrigerator and cupboards for bits of food I could compile into a meal. Was it enjoyable? Not really. Was it cost effective? Yes. Luckily, my super frugal mentality lead to this creation.

This dish is as easy as it gets and it tastes divine.  All you need is some lettuce, one grain/vegetable based burger and one whole egg. It's also sure to impress should you want invite someone over to join.  I picked up a quinoa cake from Whole Foods.  You can find them in the pre-prepared section.  I'm sure any grocer will have something similar.  Black bean, brown rice, chickpea burger - you name it, it will work. Trust me.  If you're a kitchen super star, here is a recipe for quinoa cakes. However, I haven't tried them so make at your own discretion.

On to the main event.  Quinoa is a great grain to get familiar with.  It's a complete protein, meaning it contains all nine essential amino acids. Virtually no plant food contains all nine. Animal proteins are always complete, but plant foods - not so much. I was actually pretty impressed with myself after assembling this little number. The quinoa cake was on sale and I needed to eat the cup or two of lettuce  left in my refrigerator. Giving you an ingredient list on this one after reading the recipe title seems silly, but you can never be too safe. 

Quinoa Cake, Poach Egg with Mixed Greens 

Serves One

1 egg

1 quinoa cake

1-2 cups mixed greens

Pepper

Poach the egg in water. Place mixed greens on plate.  Top with quinoa cake, followed by the poached egg.  Crack some fresh black pepper on top and dig in!