The great garbanzo

Posted by Diana in Uncategorized and tagged with , , , , ,

As much as I love hummus, after having it as my workday snack (with carrot and celery sticks) for the past week I decided that I wanted to try chickpeas in another state next week. I bought a can (if you’re feeling more ambitious, feel free to start with dried chickpeas). Preheat the oven to 350F. Drain and rinse. Place a tea towel or paper towel on a baking sheet. Dump the chickpeas on top then gently press another towel on top to dry. Remove the towels and toss with a teaspoon of olive oil. Place in the oven and roast until crispy (not smooshy!) and deep golden brown, about 40 minutes, stirring or shaking the pan occasionally. Remove from oven, place in a container with an airtight lid and sprinkle with your seasoning of choice (I went with chipotle seasoning), cover and shake, remove cover to cool. Once cooled these will keep for up to a week in an airtight container.

Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans are a great inexpensive vegan-friendly source of protein. They’re also a good source of potassium, magnesium, iron, and calcium. They’re great in salads and stir-fries.

The ultimate diet, only 27, 575 calories a day!

Posted by Diana in Uncategorized and tagged with , , , ,

I stumbled across this book review for a book entitled Naked Calories the other day. I was a little shocked to read that the book asserts that the average number of calories a person would need to consume in one day is 27, 575 in order to become sufficient in all 27 micronutrients (I’m also a little curious as to what micronutrients were selected for this analysis as there are more than 27 in our diets). 27, 575!!??? That’s more than ten times the average number of calories a person needs to consume in a day. I’d like to begin by pointing out that the authors of this book have their own line of supplements and the central premise of their book is that we are unable to consume sufficient nutrients through food alone. The author of the review does point this out but not until the end of the review and it seems more like an afterthought than the huge red flag that it should be. I know that when I was in school we analysed our own diets for both macro- and micronutrient content and I was only a teensy bit shy of a couple of micronutrients. I’m not quite sure how the authors of this book reached the conclusion that the diets they assessed (which included the DASH diet and Mediterranean diet) delivered, at most, 56% of RDI requirements. It’s an interesting premise that our diets are so deficient in nutrients. However, as a dietitian I am constantly recommending that people aim to get as many of their nutrients from whole foods as possible. We don’t know for certain that isolated micronutrients (as in supplemental form) provide the same benefits to us as when they are in whole foods. I’d like to read the book so that I can completely debunk it but I have no intention of giving them any of my money in order to be able to do so. I would suggest saving your money, eating a varied diet, and consulting with a health care professional (i.e. your primary health care provider and/or a dietitian) to determine if you should be taking a supplement. Don’t start eating 27, 575 calories a day and don’t start buying supplements that you don’t need.

Farm-grown soup in a can

Posted by Diana in Uncategorized and tagged with , ,

I saw a commercial the other night for a ubiquitous soup company. Among their marketing statements they said that their soup is “made with farm-grown ingredients.” It’s funny how nutritious and back-to-basics that sounds because when you really think about it, what else would their soup be made with? We’re not yet at the point where we’re growing carrots and chickens in petri dishes for mass consumption. Their soup can also help you achieve a healthy weight. You could probably say that about pretty much any food if you only consumed enough of it that you were ingesting fewer (or the same) calories than you were expending. Marketers are savvy. They know that we want to be thinner and that we want to know where are food comes from. So they provide us with the illusion that their product is the answer. This soup ad made it seem like it was the next best thing to growing, harvesting, and cooking the vegetables yourself. I decided to take a little peek at the nutrition facts for one of their “healthy” options. This particular soup had 480 mg of sodium per roughly one cup serving. I don’t know about you, but if I’m having soup for a meal I’m liable to eat more than that. Even if you do stick to the serving size on the label that’s still a large chunk of your daily sodium in one small bowl. You’d be much better off making a pot of soup yourself.


How much “real ginger” is in ginger ale?

Posted by Diana in Uncategorized and tagged with , , ,

My colleague has decided that I’m her own personal investigative reporter. She asked me to find out how much ginger is actually in ginger ale and to report on it in my blog. Unfortunately, my investigation hasn’t been particularly fruitful. Here’s what I was able to find out: I went to the Canada Dry website and found the ingredients in their ginger ale: Carbonated Water, Sugar/Glucose-Fructose, Citric Acid, Natural Flavour, Sodium Benzoate, Colour. In their little write-up they state that their ginger ale has “100% natural flavours, including real ginger”. Their FAQ section has the question: “How much real ginger is in Canada Dry ginger ale?” and the answer: “That information is part of our proprietary formula and is not divulged.”  Clearly, the “real ginger” is just one of the ingredients included under “Natural Flavour.” I emailed the company to ask what the other “natural flavours” are and what form the “real ginger” is in (e.g. ginger syrup). This is the response I received: “The amount and source of our natural flavors is considered proprietary information. The “natural flavors” listed on the ingredient statement contains flavor from many types of real ginger roots. The ginger flavor in ginger ale is extracted from the ginger roots and then blended with other citrus flavors to produce the unique flavor in ginger ale.  Since the ginger flavor is combined with natural flavors, we chose to label the combination “natural flavors” on the ingredient statement.” I can understand that Canada Dry would be concerned that someone might steal their secret recipe. However, I am a little surprised that they wouldn’t reveal the source of the other “natural flavours” as this would be important information to someone with a food allergy or intolerance. I’ve hit a dead end with my investigation, so this is where my conjecture comes into play. As ingredients are listed by weight (therefore the most common ingredient is the first ingredient and the last ingredients are generally quite negligible) and ginger is part of “natural flavours” (not even listed individually) I don’t think that there’s a whole heck of a lot of “real ginger” in Canada Dry’s ginger ale. If you want to be sure that you’re getting ginger root in your ginger ale, and you have a little bit of time on your hands, you could try making your own. I found a recipe on Simply Recipes for homemade ginger ale. My only suggestion would be to use less simple syrup than the recipe recommends. Try adding to your glass by the teaspoon, stirring, and tasting until you obtain the desired sweetness. I’m not endorsing this as a healthy recipe, but in relation to the questionable quantity of “real ginger” in commercially produced ginger ale it’s a better option.