New nutritional guidelines not tough enough on salt, target sugar instead

Anticipated U.S. Department of Agriculture dietary guidelines came out Thursday and, as I wrote last February, they let up a bit on salt concerns to focus on sugar as the worst of the evil three of salt, fat and sugar that we all eat too much of in the typical American diet.

“The average person eats 3,400 milligrams of sodium a day, and the guidelines say everyone should lower that to 2,300, or about a teaspoon,” notes the New York Times report on the guidelines, which are issued every five years.

Salt gets off easy in the new dietary guidelines, too easy, I think.,

“Lowering sodium intake was the major push of the 2010 guidelines, and that document recommended that those most at risk of heart disease, or about half the population, lower their intake to 1,500 mg. The new guidelines delete that lower amount as part of the top recommendations. Later on, though, the report says those with high blood pressure and prehypertension could benefit from a steeper reduction,” the Times reports. Continue reading “New nutritional guidelines not tough enough on salt, target sugar instead” →

January 7, 2016 0

Urban Agriculture examples from the Twin Cities

I mentioned my son’s commitment to the farm-to-table, local food movement in another post. He and I toured several urban agriculture sites during my recent trip to the Twin Cities.

I found them fascinating and am waiting to see just how widespread this movement becomes in cities like Chicago and Detroit, which have wide swathes of unused and abandoned land in their poorest enclaves where fresh food is most needed.

The House of Hope Community Garden, which is run by a local Presbyterian Church in St. Paul, was a personal favorite for me to see because my son has been involved in design and work there. The garden grows food to feed the needy. To know that he’s committed his time and efforts to such a worthy undertaking really made me feel proud and humbled by his great work. Continue reading “Urban Agriculture examples from the Twin Cities” →

October 21, 2015 0

Let us discuss lettuce, is it all the same?

Lettuce is something I eat daily since my angioplasty in 2012. A salad is my normal lunch when working at home, or eating away from home.

My wonderful salmon salad. — My wonderful salmon salad, made with leftover salmon. A salad is my lunch daily these days.

I generally buy a spring mix of various lettuce types at Costco or elsewhere if I see the one–pound box on sale. I also buy baby romaine hearts at Costco which can be used in place fo taco shells for some reformulated Mexican meals.

Is all lettuce the same? Not exactly, says fitness expert Jillian Michaels, the former Biggest Loser trainer. The greener the leaves, the healthier, she says. Iceberg lettuce gets a bad rap from her, and a lot other nutrition experts. It was the only kind of lettuce I ate as a kid, I miss it these days.

Jillian suggests mixing the lettuce types you have for some variety. It’s all green stuff to me.

John

September 24, 2015 0

Baby carrots more ways than you can imagine

Baby carrots are a simple yet tasty side dish. I steam them for dinner or eat them raw as a nibble food when we have guests over. I’ve also posted a recipe to turn them into a salad.

So I was excited to see this Food Network post about 14 ways to use baby carrots. Some of these are just plain wacky. Carrot freezer pops? Well maybe.

Carrot freezer pops? Not sure how tasty these would be.

Carrot juice is not my cup of tea (pun intended). And the glazed carrots involve butter which I don’t eat any longer. I may try them with just the honey or maybe with some olive oil first and then the honey to get a healthy fat on them. Continue reading “Baby carrots more ways than you can imagine” →

September 23, 2015 1

Oreo maker plans healthy snacks? Really? Here’s the rub

Mondelez International, maker of Oreos, caught my attention last week when it said it wanted to make more healthy snacks.

“Management stated that it plans to offer more good-for-you snacks and expects 50% of its product portfolio to comprise “well-being” items by 2020 instead of one-third at present.

Mondelez has to compete with fruit for the healthy snack trade, can it?

“Apart from simplifying the ingredients and improving nutritional benefits of the existing products, the snacking giant will also develop products to cater to the growing consumer demand for healthier and natural items,” reported investment site Zacks.

Welcome to the dilemma facing major food processors today. I love Oreos, absolutely love them so know that I am not a Oreo basher by any means.

But I no longer eat them since having an angioplasty in 2012 because of my concerns about clogging my arteries and/or driving my blood pressure to unhealthy levels. Continue reading “Oreo maker plans healthy snacks? Really? Here’s the rub” →

September 14, 2015 0

Salt-free beets, a good choice for your do-it-yourself salad

Salad has become my regular lunch choice since my 2012 angioplasty. When I was still working in Chicago Loop, I would frequent a local salad bar. I had a choice of three near my last downtown office.

Now that I work at home, I buy large boxes of spring greens at Costco and make my own salad at least three days a week, sometimes more. So I’m always looking for low-fat, low-sodium, low-sugar items to add. I regularly put on slices of portobello mushrooms, tomatoes, reduced-sodium olives and fat-free feta cheese. And I’ve gotten in the habit of cooking more protein than we’ll eat at a given dinner so I have some leftover salmon, chicken or ground turkey to add to my salad the next day as well.

Look for no-salt-added beets to add to your salads.

One item I routinely added at salad bars was slices of beets. But when I went to buy them at a supermarket I found salt hidden inside, 250 mgs per serving to be exact. I didn’t want all that salt from something so innocuous, so I’d given up on beets until recently. That’s when I found a sodium-free beets alternative at my local supermarket. Continue reading “Salt-free beets, a good choice for your do-it-yourself salad” →

August 4, 2015 1

Americans are eating less, finally, but what about the salt?

Americans are consuming fewer calories, finally, according to widespread media coverage of recent government statistics. But there’s still too much salt, fat and sugar in most people’s diets, in my opinion after looking at the statistics involved.

“Calories consumed by the typical American adult, which reached an alarming peak in 2003 having risen inexorably since the late 1970s, are undergoing their first sustained decline since the US government started monitoring them more than 40 years ago,” notes the Daily Mail, a British publication that provides an interesting overseas view of America’s bad eating habits.

“The most dramatic fall has been in the amount of sugary soft drinks consumed by Americans. The average American drinks 25 per cent less of such drinks than since the late 1990s, when he or she drank an astonishing 40 gallons a year,” the Mail reports. Continue reading “Americans are eating less, finally, but what about the salt?” →

July 28, 2015 0

Purple potato chips — make them fat-free, salt-free

Potato chips are difficult to squeeze into a low-fat, low-salt diet, but I found a way to make my own with no salt and no fat thanks to a handy microwave device, Top Chips chip maker, that I bought last year. I’ve come to make them as a special treat from time to time, usually making one large russet potato into chips.

Purple potatoes can be turned into fat-free, salt-free chips in minutes.

I recently ran across purple potatoes at our local farmers’ market and wondered what those would taste like turned into chips. I was a little surprised to learn the inside of the potatoes was not actually purple. A few purple flecks were noticeable but other than that they looked like regular potatoes. so these must have been a hybrid of some sort since information I’ve found about true purple potatoes shows them with a purple color inside. Continue reading “Purple potato chips — make them fat-free, salt-free” →

July 27, 2015 0

Bye bye trans fats — the FDA finally lowers the hammer

Trans fats, which unfortunately Americans have been eating for the past half century or so, are finally being banned from U.S. foods. The Food and Drug Administration finally has set a deadline for the complete elimination of partially hydrogenated oils, the main source of trans fats in our diets, from things like cake frosting, microwave popcorn, cakes, cookies and other things we used to think tasted good.

Bye bye trans fafts. Maybe now movie popcorn will get healthier.

I say finally because this has been a long time coming. I blogged about it way back in 2013, not long after I started this blog. As I wrote then, “food makers and restaurants saw the writing on the trans fat walls long ago and have been phasing it out of most products.” Continue reading “Bye bye trans fats — the FDA finally lowers the hammer” →

June 22, 2015 0

Edamame pasta? I sampled and liked it

Edamame is a favorite snack or meal side dish of mine. So I was intrigued on a recent Costco trip to see a free sampling being offered for edamame spaghetti.

A new find at Costco, I will report back when we make it.

The sampled variety was made simply by boiling it, with a bit of cheese and possibly olive oil on it. I found it tasty and not sticky or stiff to the palate. I tried it several times and then bought a box if it, something I rarely do after sampling products for free. Continue reading “Edamame pasta? I sampled and liked it” →

May 21, 2015 2

Category: no-fat