When the warm weather hit this week, all I wanted was some ice cream for dessert so I snagged some soy vanilla ice cream from Trader Joes. Ice cream can be part of a perfectly balanced diet – the key is balance. Many of my clients wince when they walk me through their typical daily diet. When it comes to their bedtime snack, they sometimes embarrassingly admit they scoop out a big bowl of ice cream and have their fingers crossed that I won’t nix it from their diet. Not me! I’m not the type of dietitian to tell you to completely omit a food from your diet (with a few exceptions…like whole milk. People – please stop drinking whole milk!!!).
Instead, I recommend that if you’re going to eat a not-so-good-for-you food, at least boost the benefits by pairing it with a good-for-you-food! So have your bowl of ice cream, but top it with some fresh berries. It’ll add more volume to the bowl so you still feel like you have a large serving, but it leaves less room for high fat ice cream, and more room for nutrients and antioxidants. If you’re going to take home pizza tonight, fine, but microwave a side of frozen veggies to enjoy on the side. Can’t give up your afternoon snack of a massive chocolate chip cookie? No prob – enjoy half of the cookie and pair it with a piece of fruit.
I followed my own recommendation by pairing some of my vanilla soy ice cream with a diced kiwi. It was sweet, tangy, and a little bit tropical. Just what I needed to satisfy my sweet tooth, and get a serving of fruit in to boot! Last night I had a bowl of mango and papaya topped with just a few tablespoons of the ice cream – there just wasn’t enough room in the bowl for more ice cream with all that fruit! See? Natural portion control. Satisfy your sweet tooth with this simple tip.
My sister’s friend inspired last week’s dinner of Savory Pancakes…thanks Heather! I never really thought of having pancakes for anything but breakfast but my mind and taste buds have been changed.Pancake batter is mainly made up of flour. In my case, I used Trader Joe’s multigrain pancake mix. Real pancake batter tastes so much better
There has been a surge in burrito popularity lately. They’re filling, inexpensive fast food, and with ingredients like rice and beans, people think they’re healthy too. Places like Q’doba, Anna’s Taqueria, Bocca Grande, and Chipotle are popping up everywhere, touting fresh ingredients. But when massive amounts of those fresh ingredients plus cheese, sour cream, refried
The other day I was grumpy after an exhausting day at work. My doc had just recommended I lay off the caffeine for some unspecified length of time and my wagon was draggin’. I needed a pick me up. I needed something to soothe my day.It was as if the mighty powers from Mighty Leaf
Potatoes and portabellas were on the menu for dinner. I tend to under-use potatoes in my cooking, even though I love their variety and versatility. A baked sweet potato with some vegetarian chili can make a quick main meal, while seasoned diced potatoes can make a great side dish. I purchased some confetti potatoes at
Passover just isn’t Passover without a whiff of nose-busting horseradish. I love horseradish year-round, especially Trader Joe’s horseradish hummus! Grated horseradish root, which is is consumed at the passover Seder as the “bitter herb,” is used to remind us of our ancestors suffering. If you’ve ever been hit hard in the sinuses by a sting
Can’t let Passover pass over without making matzo brie for breakfast. Matzo brie is like french toast where you use matzo (and we used whole wheat) in place of the bread. First I soaked a few broken sheets of matzo in warm water for about 10 minutes then drained them. Next I put the matzo
Typically my weekday breakfasts are either a fruit, cereal & yogurt parfait, cereal with berries and soymilk, or oatmeal with a banana and some nuts. All three of those morning meals make the “no” list for Passover, which started this past Wednesday. What to do for the next week to jump start my metabolism and
I’ve posted about eggplant sandwich recipes I’ve made in the past, but since eggplant is such a versatile veggie, and sandwiches are so satisfying, I figured it can’t hurt to showcase another sandwich. When Funk came home from Trader Joes with some oversized focaccia sandwich rolls, I knew we’d have a sandwich to sink our
You know spring has sprung when you see asparagus in the supermarket. Granted, the asparagus I got was from Mexico where it is constantly spring-like, but those green shoots just scream spring! to me. I wanted to make a cold salad with the asparagus and had some fresh beets in the fridge. I didn’t know
