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Strawberry Black Pepper Sorbet
Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 Tbsp coarsely crushed black peppercorns
6 cups sliced strawberries (about 2 pounds)
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
PreparationCombine s ugar and water in a small saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. Stir in peppercorns; let stand 20 minutes.
Drain sugar syrup through a fine sieve into a bowl; discard solids. Place half of sugar syrup, half of sliced strawberries, and fresh lemon juice in a blender, and process until smooth. Pour pureed mixture into a bowl. Repeat the procedure with remaining sugar syrup and sliced strawberries.
Pour mixture into the freezer can of an ice-cream freezer; freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Spoon sorbet into a freezer-safe container; cover and freeze 4 hours or until firm.
Nutritional Information
Calories: 93, Fat: 0.3g, Protein: 0.6g, Carbohydrate: 23.4g, Fiber: 2.2g, Cholesterol: 0.0mg, Iron: 0.6mg, Sodium: 2mg, Calcium: 17mg
Source: www.myrecipes.com
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Hello !
I am happy to say that I had a successful trip to the bustling town of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, earning my upper level certification as a Certified Wellness Program Director (CWPD) through the Nat'l Wellness Institute and Web MD program! I met a lot of very interesting and dedicated wellness professionals and feel even more confident in the role that wellness plays in the worksite setting. The data is astounding and the strategies around ROI (return on investment), employee engagement and population management had me at the edge of my seat, eager to hop back on the plane to Boston to implement these new ideas! Interested in discussing this? Call anytime!
Have a healthy week! -Debra |
| Cartoon Characters Sell Kids Unhealthful Foods |  Popular cartoon characters like Dora the Explorer are driving young children to choose higher calorie, less healthful foods, a new study finds. Researchers at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University found that children believed foods to be tastier when branded with the likeness of a beloved TV or movie character.
"The bottom line is that when kids are presented with a choice of graham crackers, fruit snacks or carrots, and the only difference is that one package has a licensed character on it, they actually think that the food with the character tastes better," said study author Christina Roberto, a doctoral student at Yale's Rudd Center.
Roberto's study focused on 40 children ages 4 to 6 at New Haven area child care centers. Over the course of two visits, Roberto's team gave the children samples of three types of food: low-nutrient/low-energy graham crackers; low-nutrient/high-energy gummy fruit snacks; and high-nutrient/low-energy baby carrots. All three types of food were packaged with the same colors, fonts, shape and design. However in each test, one package was branded with the likeness of Scooby Doo, Dora or Shrek.
Researchers had the children sample each of the foods and rate which they found tastiest. By the study's conclusion, all of the children had sampled each type of food in both a branded and non-branded package. Overall the children chose the character-branded foods as being tastier than the non-character-branded foods.
Roberto and her team believe these findings point to a need to restrict character branding on unhealthful food. "We restrict this kind of cartoon marketing of cigarettes to kids because it's a public health issue," she noted. "We want to protect our children. So I think there's a great parallel there...the priority should be first to get these characters off of unhealthy foods. And then as a goal, ultimately to get them actually put on the packaging for healthy foods."
Roberto's study did find that character branding on the healthiest option was not quite as persuasive as it was on the less healthful options. "We think what might be going on with that is familiarity," Roberto theorized. "Which means that kids are simply really used to seeing characters on foods that are processed, and those foods are also more palatable, so the effects might be accentuated."
Rahil D. Briggs, director of Healthy Steps at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City and an assistant professor of pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, agrees that combining popular imagery with unhealthful foods is problematic and likely contributing to the obesity epidemic.
"What is unique about children at this age is that although they have fairly advanced cognitive skills and short-term and long-term memory in place, they do not have the ability to be skeptical about the messages they are receiving," she said. "So what we, as adults, think of as advertising - and we know how persuasive it can be - it is not different to them than simply choosing the Dora the Explorer coloring book over a random coloring book. They identify with the coloring book, and they want everything Dora, from soup to nuts."It follows then, Briggs added, "that when in the grocery aisle with Mom absolutely they will choose the Dora cereal to complement the rest of their Dora collection."
Briggs pointed to the marked increase in obesity among very young children - rates have more than doubled since the 1970s, she said - as the result of a parallel spike in the amount of money that the food industry spends on targeted advertising to very young children. "So when you pair the very sweet foods with the character brands, it's almost too powerful for parents to battle," she concluded. "It's like a one-two punch."
Adapted from Health.com June 21, 2010. |
| McDonald's Faces a Not-So-Happy Lawsuit |  Some say giving away toys with Happy Meals contributes to childhood obesity. McDonald's claims healthy menu choices. What do you think?
Several weeks after a Silicon Valley county in California banned toys from McDonald's Happy Meals and other food promotions aimed at children, a public health watchdog group challenged McDonald's to remove all toys from all its Happy Meal packages. The Center for Science in the Public Interest used "Shrek" toys as an example of Happy Meal prizes that lure children into a McDonald's restaurant where they are more likely to order food high in calories, fat and salt. The organization served a letter to the fast food giant expressing intent to sue if they toys are not removed. (The letter is legally required in several states before lawsuits can be brought under consumer protection statutes.)
Stephen Gardner, the litigation director for the advocacy group, stated that "McDonald's use of toys undercuts parental authority and exploits young children's developmental immaturity." While McDonald's strongly disagreed, saying that its meals were "right-sized for kids" and that it offered healthful choices, like apple slices instead of French fries and milk or juice instead of soda. A spokesperson for McDonald's claimed that the Happy Meal toys are "just one part of a fun, family experience at McDonald's."
Those against offering toys in fast food meals say the promotions are feeding the nation's obesity epidemic by making unhealthy food seem more fun and desirable to children. But the food industry says that healthier choices are now available to children and parents should take more responsibility for what their kids order.
Adapted from: The Los Angeles Times. June 2010. |
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 Ever wonder if your metabolism is what is keeping you from reaching your weight goals? Let a Sensible Nutrition RD measure YOUR metabolism and tell you the truth! Call 781-741-5483 or send an email to nutritionist@sensiblenutrition.com to schedule your appointment.
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Sensible Nutrition (www.sensiblenutrition.com) is a consulting firm established in 1994 that provides nutrition and fitness services to individuals, universities, corporate wellness programs and nonprofit groups. SN's client list includes The United States Coast Guard, Blue Cross Blue Shield, EMC, Putnam Investments, Corcoran Jennison, Harvard Business School, Boston Ballet and Children's Hospital. For more information about our corporate wellness services, please check us out at www.wellnessworkdays.com
Services: One-to-one counseling, fitness counseling and training, group lectures, metabolism measures and more! Let the Sensible Nutrition staff develop a nutrition program to help you finally reach your health and weight goals!Gift Certificates are available!
Debra Wein, MS, RD, LDN, SN President and Co-Founder writes a regular nutrition column for the National Strength and Conditioning Association's Performance Journal, has been quoted in Family Circle, Shape, Self, Men's Health, Allure and Prevention and has appeared on Fox 25, Channel 56 and Channel 5 news.
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