The Real Buzz Kill?

The Real Diet Doozy this Memorial Day weekend...

Alcohol!

Alcohol is a double doozy because it increases hunger AND it lowers inhibitions.  Yikes!  So it makes us want to eat more while it also makes us care less about doing it.

This definitely is not a good combination when we're around tempting, high-calorie BBQ foods.  So stick to one drink (we know, easier said than done!) and use diet soda or seltzer as mixers and not tonic, which is high in calories.

For the hard alcohol, a portion is 1-1/2 ounces (yes, unfortunately, you read that right), which is the size in a shot glass, not the size of the drinking glass!   This shot-glass serving has 120 calories, the same amount of calories that you'd find in a 5-ounce glass of wine.  Just remember that many restaurants now have big wine glasses--you get 10 ounces of wine, which is 250 calories that you didn't bargain for.

So what are your best bets?  Go for one small glass (5 ounces) of wine or a light beer in a can or bottle (100 calories).  And if you really stick to 1-1/2 ounce serving of liquor then it can also be your best bet.  

What is your drink of choice and how do you keep the calories in check?

Do you suffer from cravings that you feel like you can’t control?

If you're craving a cupcake, visualize yourself eating that cupcake and your craving will go away.

Can you believe it?!  We can-- we, for two, actually tried it-- and it works... sometimes...

And new studies prove it works. You can actually trick your mind into thinking that you’ve already eaten the cupcake, making it less likely for your craving to continue. How cool is this?  Feel as though you've already eaten your favorite treat, minus the guilt and extra calories?! 

However, if this doesn't work for you and your craving does persist, grab a snack that won’t wreak havoc on your diet, such as air popped popcorn, nonfat yogurt, tea, or berries.  Or if you are able to control the portion, allow yourself to have a small portion of the food that you are craving. This is usually what we have to do at times when visualization doesn't work for us.  Otherwise we end up unsatisfied and we still have a craving.

Have you ever tried this “visualization” trick when a craving hits?  Did it work for you? Do you have a food that you have tried to nibble on to outsmart your cravings?

You Scream, I Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream!

The warm weather has us screaming for ice cream & frozen yogurt!

The great news is there’s a way to get your delicious treat without sabotaging that beach-ready body you've been slaving over!

If you’re someone who won’t settle for anything other than the real deal, then keep your portion of ice cream to 1/3- ½ cup.

If frozen yogurt is your thing (you may be our long lost triplet), look for those that are non-fat or low-fat since they’ll be lower in calories. Some of these yogurts are even a decent source of protein, calcium and contain those beneficial bacteria, probiotics. Even so, the calories can add up and many have a lot of added sugar.  So as delish and healthy as they may appear, you still need to keep portions in check. Believe us, this is challenging for us too, and we know it’s hard-- but if you stick to about 3/4 cup (which is roughly 150 calories) and savor every mouthful, it’s more than doable!

What’s your frozen delight-- frozen yogurt or ice cream? What flavor is your favorite and what do you do  to keep the portions in check?

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5 Healthy Summertime Meals with 5 Minutes Prep

De-lish Fish Dish (This makes one serving, just double, triple, etc for each additional serving)

Ingredients:

• 6 oz. raw cod, bass, or favorite white fish
• 2 slices lemon
• 1 tsp. I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Light
• 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 tsp. crushed garlic
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 8 thin (or 6 thick) asparagus stalks, tough ends removed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine butter, parsley, garlic, and salt in a small bowl and mix. It will form a thick paste. Set aside.

Lay a large piece of heavy-duty foil in front of you. Line up the asparagus side by side in the center of the foil. Place the fish on top of the asparagus (as if the stalks are a boat for it).

Spread the garlicky butter paste evenly over the fish, and top with lemon slices. Fold and seal the top and bottom edges of the foil, and then the side edges. Make sure you have a well-sealed packet.

Place packet on a baking sheet. Cook in the oven until asparagus is tender and fish is cooked through for about 15 minutes.

Allow packet to cool for a few minutes. Cut the foil to release steam before opening it entirely. Be careful since the steam will be hot. MAKES 1 SERVING

Scrumptious Chicken, Fruit and Avocado Salad

Ingredients:

• 3 cups pre-washed and bagged romaine lettuce or spinach
• 3 ounces Tyson’s Grilled & Ready Frozen and Refrigerated Chicken Strips
• 1 ounce Haas avocado (3 slices or 1/5 avocado)
• 1-2 Dole Fruit Bowls (use fruit juice to spread over salad to combine with olive oil for fruity vinaigrette
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

Breakfast for Dinner

Ingredients:

· 1 serving of your favorite Whole grain cereal (We like to eat cooled oatmeal in the summer)

· 1 serving of low-fat or nonfat milk, yogurt, cottage cheese or cheese

· 1 piece of fruit like a Florida grapefruit

Directions: Add milk to cereal and eat with a piece of fruit. Or for a different twist, mix cereal in yogurt or in cottage cheese. Yep, it’s that easy!

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a bowl! Couldn’t be easier!

Pizza in a Pinch (Pita Pizza)

Ingredients:

· Whole wheat pita bread

· ½ cup low-sodium, low fat tomato sauce

· 1/3 cup sliced mushrooms

· 1/3 cup chopped broccoli

· ½ cup low-fat cheese

· Other favorite vegetables (optional)

Directions: Slice pita bread along circumference to make 2 small circles (open face pizza). Spread ¼ cup tomato sauce on each circle. Spread mushrooms and broccoli evenly on both pitas. Top with cheese. Bake in the toaster oven until cheese is melted. Enjoy!

Busy Burrito (can be open-face or rolled into burrito shape)

Ingredients:

· 1, 6” or 8” whole wheat tortilla (ideally 130 calories or less)

· 1/3 cup beans (kidney, black bean or favorite bean)

· ½ cup cut romaine lettuce

· ½ cup diced tomato

· ¼ cup corn

· ¼ cup low fat cheese

· salsa (optional)

Directions: Lay tortilla flat on plate. For an open-faced burrito, combine all ingredients and place on top of the tortilla. Bake until warm and cheese is melted. If you want a true burrito, after mixing all ingredients, place them in the center of the tortilla and roll the tortilla around ingredients, tucking sides in. Bake until warm and cheese has melted.

If you’ve been following our blogs, you already know that when we were growing up, our mom literally cooked dinner for us every night. We were completely spoiled, we know it.

And that’s one reason why we so enjoy a good home-cooked meal—the great memories of our delicious childhood. However, because we probably only went out to dinner two times a year, going out to dinner was also a real treat. Still to this day, eating out is a treat for us and we’re not your typical New Yorkers in that we aren’t eating out every meal!

Tammy’s been raising her twin daughters, Summer and Riley to appreciate delicious, healthy home cooking, however, we can see how much they love the treat of going out to eat, the same way we did. So on nights when they want to eat pizza, and making Pita Pizza isn’t on the agenda, the family (Auntie Lyssie included), hit the pizza joint, rather than trying to muster the energy to knead the whole-wheat dough like our mom did.

So you may wonder how as registered dietitians we make sure everyone loves the pizza they are eating at a restaurant while ensuring that their waistlines and hearts love them back.

Here are our tips.

1. First, before you go, decide what you are going to order. The smell of the pizza alone gets our mouths watering and it’s hard not to over-order and make a poor decision if you don’t have a game plan! So know in advance what you are going to eat.

2. Eat no more than half of your individual pizza- bring the rest home! Or if you are ordering with the family, stick to two slices and if you are still hungry keep filling up on salad and/ or steamed veggies.

3. Always add a salad- a great starter or addition for any meal!

4. Order a thin crust pizza-preferably whole grain! You can save a lot of calories by doing this because you are eating less crust!  (A typical large slice of pizza will have at least 60 calories less when it’s thin crust)

5. Ask for light on the cheese (save 50 calories a slice)- or choose a pizza made with one cheese instead of many cheeses and blot your cheese if there is a lot of grease on top. Sometimes, we actually order “cheeseless” pizza and have a grilled chicken on top for protein. We find that if the pizza sauce is killer, you don’t miss the cheese and the grilled chicken makes a delish lean protein!

6. Pick toppings that add nutrition- like chicken, LOTS OF VEGETABLES, and seafood!

How do you like your pizza? Do you use any tricks to keep the calories in check?

Food Facts.  Find Out What's REALLY In Your Food.

The Nutrition Twins Advise on Hot Summer Diet Trends on Good Day New York

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What’s the Low-down on the Three Most Popular Diets for the summer?

Diet #1: The Dukan Diet—gained its popularity because Kate Middleton was on it as she prepared to walk down the aisle. J. Lo & Kelly Osbourne have followed it.

· Created by a French doctor, Dr. Dukan, about 10 years ago, but it’s hitting shelves in the US now. The plan has 4 phases with the first one being ultra-strict, only allowing lean protein (skinless chicken, fish, beef, eggs, low-fat dairy) but no carbs (no fruits, vegetables, beans, grains).

· Pros:

• You are supposed to focus on eating leaner proteins, so you shouldn’t clog your arteries with high-fat protein foods.
• Dieters have reported that they liked that they didn’t have to count calories.
• You may be motivated since you may see results due to quick water loss and calorie reduction diet

· Cons:

• Mineral and vitamin deficiencies in phase one
• Headaches, flu-like symptoms, mood swings and fatigue from no brain or muscle fuel from lack of carbohydrates
• Constipation from lack of fiber during phase one
• Bad breath is evident in phase one
• Avoidance of healthy foods like fruits, veggies, beans and whole grains

The Nutrition Twins words of advice: Skip this diet unless you’re interested in being exhausted, constipated and having bad breath. You may lose a few pounds during the extremely restrictive first phase, but your body may also not get many important nutrients necessary for good health. It’s not worth it.

Diet #2: The Master Cleanse: Made popular by Beyonce; she went on it to look her best for Dreamgirls. Beyonce was said to have lost 20 pounds following it and then gained it all back. Robin Quivers was said to have followed it too.

· What it is: The cleanse involves drinking only a mixture of fresh lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper, as well as a laxative tea and/or a saline solution to flush out the lower gastrointestinal system. No solid food is eaten for the entire cleanse.

· Pros:

• Some followers claim it alleviates cravings.

Cons:

• Some common side effects of the diet include sores in the mouth, feeling tired or fatigued, having body aches and similar feelings to the flu. The diet creators say this lousy feeling is from the toxins your body is ridding, but more likely it’s from not getting enough fuel to function normally.
• No scientific evidence that it removes any "toxins", or that this diet achieves anything beyond temporary weight loss. Though unlikely to be harmful over the short term, it can be harmful over the long term.
• This is the ultimate yo-yo weight plan because there is no protein and you’re consuming so few calories that your body ends up eating your own muscle for fuel. When you return to eat normally you have less muscle so you burn fewer calories and gain the weight back quickly.
• The body is designed to eliminate normal everyday toxins on its own through the lungs, kidneys, liver, and other eliminator organs, so this extreme diet isn’t necessary.

• There’s a lack of essential nutrients in this program: it’s deficient in protein, vitamins, and minerals.
• Followers may experience headaches, dizziness, weakness and a variety of other symptoms in the short term and the diet is potentially harmful over the long term due to its’ restrictive nature.

The Nutrition Twins final words: Skip this diet unless your goal is to gain back the weight you lose and more within days of coming off of this diet.

Diet # 3: Atkins Diet-The forever popular high protein, low carb diet.

Pros:

• It makes followers aware of the carbohydrates they are getting. Most of us tend to overdo carbohydrates, so it’s good to be careful not to overdo it.

Cons:

• People often feel very deprived and wind up stopping the plan and bingeing.

• Followers often feel exhausted.
• The plan is usually high in artery clogging saturated fat and cholesterol and low in fiber and vitamins. The plan avoids whole grains which can help to prevent cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

The Nutrition Twins final words on this diet: If you want to cut back on carbs a bit, this may not be a bad idea as most people do tend to overeat them. However, if you cut them out completely, you’ll lack many important nutrients in your diet including fiber and you’ll feel exhausted—we don’t recommend this! We want you to feel good! So follow these tips below.

Tips to lose weight by summer: This is the healthy way, without turning to starvation or extreme diets! Simple changes equal big long-lasting results!

1.  Lose 5 pounds:

This is our “Drink Your Nutrients, Not Your Calories” trick: Instead of your daily soda, swap it for tea or iced tea with lemon, orange or lime for extra flavor. If you swap out 2 sodas daily, you’ll lose 5 pounds by the end of June! Plus, tea is packed with disease-fighting flavonoids and keeps blood vessels healthy.

2. Do this and lose another 5 pounds = 10 pounds total lost!

Ditch the butter in your pan for cooking, on your toast, on your corn and on your veggies and replace it with butter spray. The spray is calorie and fat free, but gives you the great buttery flavor. Plus, by getting rid of the 3 tablespoons of butter that you would have used, you’ll save another 5 pounds by the end of June!

3. Do this and lose 5 more pounds = 15 pounds lost!

Swap out those snacks for pistachios! Instead of going for the chips or pretzels that will set you back hundreds of calories in minutes. Have 30 pistachios instead. They take time to open and they’re just 100 calories. Instead of 2 ounces of chips, go for the pistachios.

4. Do this and lose 5 more pounds= 20 pounds lost!

Leave the last 4 bites off 2 of your meals each day. It’s an easy thing to do, you’ll save about 25 calories a bite and it will create another 5 pound weight loss by the end of June! Small changes equal massive results!

5. Do this and lose 5 more pounds = 25 pounds lost by the end of June!

Exercise! No one wants to hear it, but walk daily for 40 minutes and you’ll burn 300 calories. This means you’ll lose another five pounds by the end of June!

How About a Fresh, Organic Frittata of Eggs, Broccoli, Potatoes, and Goat Cheese for Mother’s Day Brunch?

We found this delicious recipe from Chef Dan Barber of Blue Hill Stone Barns in O Magazine. If you don’t have the organic ingredients don’t worry…

Photo from O Magazine

At Blue Hill Stone Barns, the food the farm staff gathers each day "really writes the menu," says chef Dan Barber. Inspired by the harvest, he came up with this fresh, organic frittata of eggs, broccoli, potatoes, and goat cheese.

This is so delish!

Servings: Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

8 large eggs

3/4 cup skim milk

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper

3 Tbsp. olive oil

1 medium onion halved and thinly sliced

1 all-purpose potato (7 ounces), cut into 3/8-inch cubes

1 cup small broccoli florets

1 cup small cauliflower florets

5 Tbsp. fresh goat cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°. Beat eggs, milk, salt, and pepper in medium bowl.

Heat oil over medium heat, in medium nonstick (10-inch) sauté pan. Add onions and potatoes and cook until onions are softened, 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in broccoli and cauliflower; cook until vegetables are tender, 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Reduce heat to low and pour in egg mixture. Drop small spoonfuls of goat cheese on top. Cook about 2 more minutes on the stove.

Transfer to oven and bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the eggs have just set in the center. Note that if you are using a skillet with a nonmetal handle, wrap it with double-thickness aluminum foil before placing in oven. Remove from oven and slide out of pan onto a cutting board. Cut into wedges and serve warm

What did you cook your mom for Mother's Day Brunch?

Wanna know what the biggest nutrition misperceptions are?

Tune in for the next four days to learn about some of the most common nutrition misconceptions that we hear and different ways to fix them!

Confusion #1: You go for a food that says “0 grams of trans fat” and you believe it's void of any trans fat.

The Truth: Foods that say “0 grams of trans fat” aren’t always 100% trans fat free!

How could this be?

A few years ago, the FDA came up with some guidelines for food companies to follow that don't really make sense when it comes to listing the trans fat content of their food in the food's nutrition facts panel. Basically, trans fat content only needs to be listed if the food contains 0.5 grams or more of it per serving.

What does this mean for you?

So, if you’re like most people and you tend to have more than one serving of foods like crackers, etc., you can easily eat more than 1 gram of trans fat. (The American Heart Association recommends we get no more than 2 grams of trans fat in an entire day).

So even if you just eat 1 serving, any trans fat is still too much trans fat and, over the course of the day, adds up.

What should you do about it?

So read your labels and if a food lists partially hydrogenated or hydrogenated oil, the product cannot be completely trans fat free! For your health, aim to get NO trans fat every day.

We’ve found trans fat in most granola bars and in most crackers and have decided not to let the ones with hydrogenated oils into our pantries. Are there any foods that you have noticed this with? Any pretzels? Snacks?

Fish Tacos in Pumpkin Seed Chipotle Sauce with Pan-Fried Avocado

Ever looking for delicious Mexican recipes?  We always are and were thrilled to stumble upon this one. It's to die for!

We're huge fans of South of the Border flavors and we don't need Cinco de Mayo as an excuse to whip up some yummy Mexican food.  We're always game :).

We adore the Mexican spices, and love salsa, corn, beans, tomatoes, squash and avocados--and hot peppers don't scare us either!  And these ingredients actually are the very ingredients that make Mexican food healthy!  They pack Mexican meals with fiber, antioxidants, nutrients, and all of the veggies that keep calories in check.

We realize that if you’re like many of our clients, you avoid Mexican food because you think it’s always loaded with calories and fat.  But not so!  You just need to know a few tricks to keep your Mexican food lean.

The things to watch out for are the fried options, along with those chips that come before the meal and the full-fat cheese.  So if you steer clear of the fried items and focus on the beans, veggies, poultry breast, corn and seafood, you can really have a meal that is nutritious and that won’t ruin your healthy eating plan.  And if you want to add cheese, use a low-fat variety or use a very small amount of strong cheese like cotija since it just takes a little bit to get a lot of flavor.

When it comes to tortillas, in general, from a flavor and health perspective, we favor corn tortillas over flour ones.  However, often, we find that they tend to crumble.  We were thrilled when we recently stumbled across La Tortilla Factory's Hand Made Style Corn Tortillas.  They are delicious, healthy and are authentic. Plus, they are soft like a flour tortilla so they don't crumble! Woohoo!

So, for just 90 calories, a gram of fat and 5 grams of protein, we are going to use these tortillas to make quick burritos with grilled chicken, veggies, salsa, avocado and low-fat cheese.

And when we have a few minutes more?  We're making the fish tacos (see below).  Mmmm...

Fish Taco in Pumpkin Seed Chipotle Sauce with Pan-Fried Avocado

Serves 4

1 pound white fish fillets (cod, tilapia or halibut)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 poblano peppers, seeded and cut into medium slices

½ cup toasted, unsalted pumpkin seeds

¼ cup chicken or vegetable stock

2 teaspoons adobo chipotle sauce

½ medium yellow onion

½ cup fresh cilantro leaves, leaves and stem part, reserve some for garnish

¼ teaspoon dried oregano

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 avocado, peeled and cut into small dices

½ cup thinly sliced fresh lettuce

4-6 La Tortilla Factory Hand Made Style Corn Tortillas

1. Lightly sprinkle a pinch of salt, ground pepper and chili powder on the fish fillet.
2. Preheat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a non-stick heavy sauté pan. Pan-fry the fish over medium-heat for about 1 minute on each side, or until the fish is cooked or turns opaque. Remove the fish from heat and set aside on a plate.
3. In the same pan, lightly sauté the poblano pepper for about 1-2 minutes and combine with the fish.
4. Meanwhile, combine the pumpkin seeds, stock, chipotle sauce, onion and cilantro, oregano, salt and pepper into the blender and blend until smooth.
5. Then, transfer the sauce mixture into a small saucepan and simmer the sauce for 10 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.
6. Stir in the sauce with the fish and poblano pepper.
   To serve, put a handful of fish, poblano pepper, avocado and lettuce onto a tortilla and fold into a taco.

Do you make Mexican food?  If so, what do you make?  Share with us and you'll be entered to win the raffle for some scrumptious La Tortilla Factory Hand Made Style Corn Tortillas. They are available in White Corn, Yellow Corn and Chipotle varieties across the country.

* La Tortilla Factory was kind enough to send us samples of their Hand Made Style Corn Tortillas.