by Glenna | Feb 12, 2012 | Blog, Nutrition
Yep, you were right. The “Naked One” on the commercial during the Super Bowl was none other than a dancing red M & M. If you didn’t catch it you can watch it here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbbLCvUtHGo
I voted for this as the best commercial. It made me laugh outloud. I love to laugh outloud!
That brings to mind the age old question: Is chocolate good for me or bad for me?
I know you think I am going to suck the joy right out of your life when I answer this question. So, just stop reading right now.
Ha, you couldn’t resist, could you? Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Let’s start by answering: which came first the chocolate kiss or the chocolate bean? The Kiss came first, you silly goose, how else could the bean have been born?
The cocoa bean is from a plant. It is super rich in anti-oxidant goodness. The bean is roasted and processed. This processed bean is the cocoa (or cacao) that is used to make chocolate kisses. The more cocoa used the darker and more bitter the chocolate. (Nobody wants a bitter kiss.)
So, the healthiest chocolate is the darkest. When you see those candy bars out there that are “dark chocolate” beware. I have contacted companies to ask for the cocoa percentage. No one seems to know. (Watch your national news. I am sure they will have Breaking News on this soon.)
Primer on How to Choose the Best Chocolate:
Always choose chocolate that states it contains at least 70% cocoa. (We had a taste test and 85% was still considered pretty tasty. The 90% was a little too bitter.)
Read the ingredient list on the label. Look for the basics; cocoa, cocoa butter, sugar and not much else. This indicates the chocolate is basically all cocoa.
If you see butter and sugar as the first two ingredients and cocoa later in the list then it is mostly saturated fat and sugar.
So, my final answer is:
Chocolate that is at least 70% cacao (cocoa) is a great anti-oxidant rich food. You can enjoy 1/2 ounce every day.
Milk chocolate is NOT a healthy choice and should be limited.
If you really love your Valentine and want to receive lots of Kisses then give him/her a box of expensive extra dark chocolate.
The good news is just a few nibbles of dark chocolate calms that burning desire for chocolate. (But, not the burning desire for Kisses.)
I hope you have an extra dark chocolatey Valentine’s Day filled with lots of Kisses! (in case you want to send me a Valentine, I like Lindt 85% Cacao with Blueberries.)
XOXOXO WD
Now aren’t you glad you didn’t stop reading this half way through?
A Blog written with love by Glenna Moe, Kansas City Dietitian
www.kansascitydietitian.com
by Glenna | Oct 23, 2011 | Blog, Nutrition
Nutrition help from Glenna Moe, Kansas City Dietitian
Are you trying to follow a healthy diet but instead feel dazed and confused?
Wonder Dietitian is here. I will not leave you alone and confused. (Although most of you wish I would just leave you alone.)
This week I met with a wonderful well meaning client. He had heard the message that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and had decided to start eating breakfast. He had gone from No breakfast to 2 whole wheat biscuits and turkey bacon. He knew that he should eat whole wheat and he thought that turkey bacon was good for you, at least better than regular bacon.
I hear you, “What’s wrong with that? It sounds like he is making good choices to me.”
Here are 3 mistakes my poor friend is now making:
1. This new breakfast is a lot of calories. He is now gaining weight. This was NOT his goal.
2. Whole wheat biscuits are minimally better than regular biscuits. They are still high in fat, particularly trans-fat and sodium. (Say it ain’t so!)
3. Turkey bacon can have just as much fat as pork bacon and typically it has more sodium and often contains added sugars.
These 3 mistakes can have these disastrous results.
1. Obesity which increases risk for heart disease, diabetes and cancers.
2. Artery clogging fats also resulting in heart disease.
3. High sodium intake resulting in heart failure and/or stroke.
Wonder Dietitian has decided it is time to separate truth from fiction in her upcoming Blogs.
If you have specific questions just click on Reply and send it to me. I’ll do my best to help.
Love, WD
by Glenna | Aug 19, 2011 | Blog, Diets, Nutrition
Kansas City Dietitian creates Thought for Today
If Wonder Dietitian creates Simple Diets at the Speed of Light what kind of diets would she create at the Speed of Dark?
After you come up with an answer to that one, here is another thing to ponder.
Are all carbohydrates evil?
No, only naked carbohydrates are evil.
So, if Veggies are Sexy and naked carbohydrates are evil then are naked carbohydrates sexy?
No, naked carbohydrates are gross.
Veggies are gorgeous.
I bet you wish you knew what a naked carbohydrate was, don’t you?
I will also answer this one. Aren’t I nice?
A carbohydrate is basically anything that starts out as a plant.
A naked carbohydrate is a plant that has been stripped of any nutrients and left to stand there with just its sugars showing.
For example, a beautiful piece of wheat is golden yellow and has a wonderful outdoorsy smell. If you were to sit on the fence and just chew that beautiful piece of wheat you would be eating all sorts of yummy nutrients. (My grandpa used to spend hours chewing a piece of wheat.)
Now take that beautiful piece of wheat and strip off its husk, germ, and bran. Then roll what’s left between steel rollers over and over again. And just to make sure nothing is left, bleach it. Now you have a skinny little naked piece of wheat that we call “flour.”
Now to add insult to injury, mix that naked flour with some naked sugar. Then throw in some butter.
The Naked Truth:
Naked flour, sugar and butter = the diabetes epidemic in America.
And that my friend is the truth about naked carbohydrates.
*Warning: Not suitable for young children. In fact, not suitable for any audiences.
by Glenna | Aug 18, 2011 | Blog, Diets, Nutrition, The Simple Diet
Kansas City Dietitian Sets Cape Aside
The wild and crazy celebrations are over. The red carpet has been rolled back up. My husband has told me that I can’t wear the Cape to bed anymore. I have taken it off for the moment but I may don it at any time. (I am picturing me running into a phone booth and quickly changing from RD to WD with a swish. Oh wait, there aren’t any phone booths.)
So, back to fractions and veggies. Sigh!
We left off at healthy protein grams. Guess we may as well start there.
Include 20 grams of protein at each meal. Aim for at least 80 grams per day.
I see that glazed look.
Simplify!
Instead of grams I have created this list to offer protein choices. Make sure you include 8 protein choices each day and at least 2 at each meal.
Each of the following meat servings equal 3 protein choices.
- skinless white meat from chicken or turkey, ground turkey breast- 3 oz.
- fish (fin) – grilled or baked- cod, flounder, haddock, halibut, trout, tuna, salmon, catfish, tilapia-3 oz.
- shellfish- cooked with no added butter or salt- clam, crab, lobster, scallops, shrimp- 3 oz.
- game/other- venison, buffalo, ostrich, goat- 3 oz.
- beef- well trimmed-eye round steak, top loin steak, round tip steak, top round steak, tenderloin steak, top sirloin steak, 3 oz., limit to once weekly
- pork-well trimmed- tenderloin, boneless sirloin chop, boneless loin roast, sirloin roast, loin chop, rib chop, boneless top loin chop, 3 oz., limit to once weekly
Each of the following protein choices equal 1.
- fat free or low fat cottage cheese- limit to 1/4 cup per day
- fat free sugar free yogurt- 8 oz. (Try Chobani Greek yogurt =2 protein choices)
- milk- fat free, light soy, light almond- 8 oz.
- cheese- fat free, string, cheese stick, feta, part skim mozzarella, ricotta, farmers, provolone, or alpine lace- 1 oz.
- egg whites or egg substitutes-limit egg yolks to 3 per week
- soy meat substitutes, light soymilk, tofu, edamame
- raw nuts or seeds- almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, soy nuts (no salt added) ¼ cup
- natural peanut butter or other nut butter- almond, sunflower seed etc., 2 Tablespoons
- beans-red, pinto, black, kidney, lentils, split peas etc. ½ cup
- quinoa (Keen-wah) found in specialty food stores) ½ cup
- whey or soy protein powder 2 Tbsp (See Smoothie Recipe)
…mutter…mutter…dashing around in my Cape is much more fun!
by Glenna | Aug 10, 2011 | Advice, Blog, Diets, Nutrition
Fractions
Start with a circle. A dinner plate is a circle.
Divide the circle into two equal parts.
Each piece is ½ of the circle.
Fill one of the halves with whole grain carbohydrate grams.
Divide the other half of the circle into two equal parts. Each part is ¼ of the entire circle.
Fill one of these quarters with lean protein grams.
Fill the other quarter with mono-unsaturated fat grams.
This is the template for healthy eating.
To remain healthy do not ignore this lesson in fractions.
Wild eyed crazy radicals (no I’m not talking about tea partiers, although tea is an excellent addition to any diet) sometimes decide that one of these halves or quarters are unnecessary. They may lose weight quickly (and then put back on twice as much, twice as fast. This will be covered in our lesson on exponentials, on another day).
Our next lesson will teach us how to translate these grams into actual food.
I mean really, what the heck is a lean protein gram?
by Glenna | Jul 18, 2011 | Blog, Fats, Health, Nutrition
Kansas City Dietitian Chews the Fat
Verb, 1. chew the fat – talk socially without exchanging too much information; “the men were sitting in the cafe and shooting the breeze” …
Wonder Dietitian Dictionary- chew the fat– to chew and swallow something full of juicy calories that are harmful, artery clogging, and void of nourishing nutrients.
As you know, Wonder Dietitian wants to make your diet simple. So, to put it simply, if you eat something that has fat in it that you have to chew, spit it out. (If you are at a fancy shmancy restaurant, please spit it out into you pretty white linen napkin, and not out on to your plate ugh, disgusting.)
All fats are not bad. In fact about ¼ of your daily calories should come from fat. The healthy fats are primarily mono-unsaturated fats. You find these in nuts like almonds, walnuts (and Wonder Dietitian). You also find these in extra virgin cold pressed olive oil. Some day we will talk about the virtues of olive oil. Another good source of healthy fat is avocados. Yes, guacamole made with fresh avocadoes, chili peppers, lime juice, and onions is a great way to eat an avocado.
There are also other bad fats that you don’t have to chew. These are found in dairy products like cheese, butter, sour cream, and cream cheese. These fats are saturated fats.
There is a lot more very important information that you need to know about fat, but, for today we will stop here. It is enough to gross you out by talking about greasy chewy fat wrapped up in a pretty white linen napkin. UGH.
Have a nice day!
