Can’t get enough of nutrition blogging? Check-out Andrew Wilder’s Eating Rules American-based blog. Andrew subscribes to the same line of thought as I do. That is, while nutrition can be complicated, healthy eating doesn’t need to be. He writes about whatever inspires him, as well as having menu Mondays (where he dissects restaurant menu items) and posting recipes. He’s also the co-author of that fantastic cooking-oil chart I linked to in a previous post.
Tag Archives: healthy eating
Remarkable Rhubarb
It’s just about rhubarb season and I’m so excited! I’ve already seen some at the farmers’ market but I’m going to hold off until I can get it for free from my parents garden.
Rhubarb is one of my favorite vegetables. I love the tartness. When I was a child I used to eat stalks straight from the garden. That might be a little too tart for most people though. Rhubarb is pretty versatile. It’s great in many desserts, especially paired with strawberries in a pie or crisp. Or make it into a chutney to be served with meat or crackers. One of my favourite rhubarb recipes (strawberry-rhubarb fool) comes from the LCBO. I like to make the strawberry-rhubarb part and either use it as in the recipe or mix it with yoghurt and granola for breakfast.
Rhubarb is a good source of calcium, vitamin C, and potassium. It also only contains 27 calories per cup!
Serving up outrage: Are school food and beverage policies the way to go?
Some students in Ontario have launched a Kony-esque campaign to bring “junk food” back to school cafeterias. You can check out their video here.
As a public health dietitian in Ontario I was mandated to support the implementation of this policy. However, I have very mixed feelings about it and now that I’m no longer in that position I feel that I can voice them more freely. I think that the foods that the policy targets are not necessarily the sensible foods to be targeting (for example, a chocolate chip granola bar will make the cut but the same brand of granola bar with almonds added will not because it contains too much fat!). Replacing regular potato chips with baked chips (and then categorizing those chips as a vegetable) strikes me as ludicrous. Again, the government was swayed by the lobbying of the dairy farmers and chocolate milk made the cut. Many of the foods that are still permitted for sale in schools are of poor nutritional quality but are being pushed as healthy choices. What is this teaching parents and students? Clearly, there are major flaws with the policy.
While I agree with the students that removing all of the “junk food” is not teaching them to make healthy choices I also believe that it is wrong for schools to be profiting from sales of nutritionally void to students. Schools should be nurturing children’s minds and bodies. Unfortunately, I don’t have all the answers. I’m not sure how to reconcile these two concerns. Perhaps school cafeterias should be prevented from being profit-driven. Then we might see the development of more creative and appealing meals and snacks for sale in the schools.
Fiddleheads
It’s the season for fiddleheads, and it’s a short season so get them while you can! They should be available at your local farmers market and most grocery stores.
When I was younger (okay, up until about the age of 31) I loathed fiddleheads. But, then I learned that, as with many vegetables, it’s all about how you prepare them. The simplest way is to steam or boil them them until they’re tender and then toss them with a little butter and lemon juice. You can also throw them into pasta dishes, stir-fries, and egg dishes.
There have been a number of instances of people becoming ill from eating undercooked fiddleheads so be sure to cook them properly and NEVER eat them raw. Check out Health Canada’s Food Safety Tips for Fiddleheads for the complete low-down on safe fiddlehead consumption.
Fiddleheads are a good source of calcium (25 grams in a 100 gram serving). They’re also a pretty decent source of fibre, potassium, and beta carotene.
Cheeseburger stuffed pizza
I’m sure that by now you’ve heard that Pizza Hut has created a “cheeseburger stuffed pizza”. Personally, I think that this sounds revolting. Don’t get me wrong I love pizza and I love a good burger but in my mind those items do not belong together. It’s also got me to thinking about this interesting dichotomy we’re seeing in the world of food these days. As people become increasingly health conscious there also seems to be a growing proliferation of over-the-top decadent creations. It’s like we’re thumbing our noses at health professionals (yep, I’d be one of those) who are preaching the importance of eating a healthy diet. Little do we realise that we’re only hurting ourselves. No skin off my nose if you want to wash down a cheeseburger stuffed pizza with a large pop. Okay, actually, it drives me nuts! WHY would you want to do that??? I understand the allure of duck fat fries and I am the same girl who hosted a bacon-themed potluck for my birthday a couple of years back. I’m okay with a little decadence now and then. But use it wisely and in moderation. Realise that whether you’re having a double down at KFC or a gourmet steak and those aforementioned duck fat fries that this should be a very occasional occurrence and you probably shouldn’t eat the entire portion. This is not how you should be eating on a regular, or even semi-regular, basis.
