Debra Wein Pic
Friday, April 8, 2011
This Week's Topics
Recipe: Spring Vegetable Minestrone
Worthwhile Links
Eating More to Feel Better?
Problem with Protein Supplements
Measure YOUR Metabolism!

Spring Vegetable Minestrone

 

Serves: 8

 

Ingredients:

3 Tbs. olive oil, plus more for drizzling

2 large shallots, finely diced

3/4 cup dry white wine

3 large cloves garlic, minced (1 Tbs.)

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice (11/3 cups)

1 large Yukon gold potato, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice (11/3 cups)

2 medium young turnips, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice (11/3 cups)

4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

12 Italian parsley sprigs

8 fresh thyme sprigs

2 bay leaves

10 oz. fresh or frozen shelled peas (2 cups)

4 oz. snow peas, stems trimmed and cut into 1/8-inch-wide slices (1 cup)

3 cups lightly packed spinach leaves (2 oz.)

2 Tbs. minced fresh tarragon, for garnish

 

Directions:

1. Heat oil in saucepan over medium-high heat. Add shallots, and sauté 2 minutes, or until shallots begin to soften. Add wine, garlic, and cayenne. Simmer 4 minutes.
2. Add carrots, potato, and turnips, and saut� 1 minute. Add broth and 5 cups water. Tie together parsley sprigs, thyme sprigs, and bay leaves with kitchen twine, and add to soup. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 20 minutes.
3. Stir in peas, snow peas, and spinach. Cover, and simmer 5 minutes more. Remove herb bundle, and discard. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Ladle soup into bowls, sprinkle with tarragon, drizzle with olive oil, and serve.

 

Nutrition:

180 calories, 11g total fat (2g saturated fat),19 g carbohydrate,  4g protein, 4 g dietary fiber, 90mg sodium.

 

Source: www.vegetariantimes.com

 

 

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Hello !  
  DW

There are several movies my kids can't wait to see... Hop, Rio... Like all families, when we go to the movies, it is always a challenge to avoid the snack line. One thing we do avoid is the HUGE vat of buttery popcorn... for a good reason. A large buttered popcorn has over 1,460 calories! That is more calories than either of my children, and some adults, for that matter, need in an entire day! While fast food restaurants post the calories of their foods, many other snack foods slip through the cracks. Stay tuned, but I support the FDA's push to require movie theaters to post caloric information as well.  

 

What do you think... will seeing that your favorite buttery snack has more than 1,460 calories make you think twice before choosing it?

 

Have a healthy week!

 ~Debra   

Eating More to Feel Better?

face plateSometimes the best thing after a hard day is a little of your favorite comfort food to make you feel better. Well this isn't just in your head; there is a real physiological reward response to eating foods that we enjoy. For many people, that occasional treat can be balanced by a few extra minutes on the treadmill. However, for some people,an occasional treat can turn into an everyday occurrence, leading to overweight and obesity.

 

When we eat, dopamine (a feel-good brain chemical) is released; the more we enjoy a particular food, the more dopamine is released. Studies have found that people who are obese have fewer dopamine receptors in the brain compared to their leaner counterparts. This led to speculation that these obese individuals overeat to compensate for having fewer receptors for this feel-good chemical.

 

Researchers from The Oregon Research Institute recently found that it may not just be that obese individuals naturally have fewer receptors, but that these receptors may decrease as weight increases.

 

The researchers took 60 lean adolescents, some at-risk for developing obesity (they had two obese parents) and some who were not at-risk for developing obesity (they had two lean parents), and while looking at their brains using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), watched as their brains were activated while drinking a chocolate milkshake or given a monetary reward.

 

What the researchers found, was that in the brains of the adolescents who were at-risk for developing obesity, the reward part of the brain was more active when given either food or money. This told the researchers that individuals at risk for obesity may show greater responsivity to reward, in general (both food and money), and did not have a natural deficiency of pleasure receiving sensors in the brain.

 

Bottom Line: Whether at-risk or not, high-fat, high-sugar foods should be a sometimes food for both teens and adults alike. Staying within a healthy weight may enhance the enjoyment of your meals. 

 

Source: The Journal of Neuroscience, 23 March 2011, 31(12): 4360-4366 

 

Problem with Protein Supplements 

protein supplementsWhile many people can easily get the protein they need through food, there are some who decide to take protein supplements such as whey or soy isolate powders to meet their needs. For this latter group, there is some important information from the FDA. Last week, the FDA posted a voluntary recall notice from Nutrition Express of Torrance, CA regarding products containing whey protein isolate sourced from one supplier because they have the potential to be contaminated with the disease-causing bacteria Salmonella.

 

For information on which brands were recalled and what to do if you suspect you may have a contaminated protein product, check out the FDA's announcement.

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm248977.htm 

 

As mentioned, there are some people who may need these supplements to meet their very high protein needs, such as large body builders and vegetarian athletes. However, for most of us, we can easily meet our protein recommendation through food.

Source: www.msnbc.com

About Sensible Nutrition 

How is YOUR metabolism?  
Ever wonder if your metabolism 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.  

 


About Sensible Nutrition

 

Sensible Nutrition 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.

 

SN 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.

 

Contact us at www.sensiblenutrition.com or 781-741-5483.

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