Kitchen Coach 101

November is Diabetes Awareness Month!

2009-11-05T07:24:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone! It has been a couple of weeks but I am back and ready to talk nutrition. However, since we are in the month of November, I would like to announce that it is Diabetes Awareness Month.

What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a disease in which the body is unable to produce or unable to properly use and store glucose
There are two major types of diabetes.

Type 1 (also called juvenile-onset or insulin-dependent) diabetes, the body completely stops producing any insulin, a hormone that enables the body to use glucose found in foods for energy. People with type 1 diabetes must take daily insulin injections to survive. This form of diabetes usually develops in children or young adults, but can occur at any age.

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease marked by high levels of sugar in the blood. It begins when the body does not respond correctly to insulin, a hormone released by the pancreas. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes.

How do people know if they have diabetes?

Certain symptoms include:

•being very thirsty

•frequent urination

•weight loss

•increased hunger

•blurry vision

•irritability

•tingling or numbness in the hands or feet

•frequent skin, bladder or gum infections

•wounds that don't heal

•extreme unexplained fatigue

In some cases, there are no symptoms — this happens at times with type 2 diabetes. In this case, people can live for months, even years without knowing they have the disease. This form of diabetes comes on so gradually that symptoms may not even be recognized.

People who have close relatives with the disease are somewhat more likely to develop it.

•Other risk factors include:

•Obesity

•High cholesterol

•High blood pressure

•Lack of physical inactivity.

•The risk of developing diabetes also increases as people grow older.

•People who are over 40 and overweight are more likely to develop diabetes, although the incidence of type 2 diabetes in

adolescents is growing.

•Diabetes is more common among Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Asian Americans/Pacific

Islanders.

There are also various things that everyone who has diabetes needs to do in order to maintain a healthier lifestyle

This includes:

•Maintaining a healthy diet.

•Partaking in at least a half an hour of physical activity everyday.

•Monitoring blood glucose. Daily testing, will help determine how well their meal plan, activity plan, and medication are working to keep blood glucose levels in a normal range.

•Everyone who has diabetes should be seen at least once every six months by a diabetes specialist (an endocrinologist). He or she should also be seen periodically by other members of a diabetes treatment team, including a diabetes nurse educator, and a dietitian who will help develop a meal plan for the individual.

Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet

2009-10-08T07:15:00.000-07:00

Lauren Here! It has been a few weeks, but I am back and ready to discuss some nutrition. Today's topic will focus on the benefits of the Mediterranean diet. For those of you that don't know, the Mediterranean diet is thought to reduce your risk of heart disease. In fact, a 2007 study conducted in the United States found that both men and women who consumed a Mediterranean diet lowered their risk of death from both heart disease and cancer.

Key components of the Mediterranean diet include:

Getting plenty of exercise and eating your meals with family and friends
Eating a generous amount of fruits and vegetables
Consuming healthy fats such as olive oil and canola oil
Using herbs and spices instead of salt to flavor foods
Eating small portions of nuts
Drinking red wine, in moderation, for some
Consuming very little red meat
Eating fish or shellfish at least twice a week

Fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains

The Mediterranean diet traditionally includes fruits, vegetables, pasta and rice. For example, residents of Greece eat very little red meat and average nine servings a day of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables.

Nuts are another part of a healthy Mediterranean diet. Nuts are high in fat (approximately 80 percent of their calories come from fat), but tree nuts, including walnuts, pecans, almonds and hazel nuts, are low in saturated fat. Nuts are high in calories, so they should not be eaten in large amounts — generally no more than a handful a day. For the best nutrition, avoid honey-roasted or heavily salted nuts.

Grains in the Mediterranean region are typically whole grain and usually contain very few unhealthy trans fats, and bread is an important part of the diet there. However, throughout the Mediterranean region, bread is eaten without butter or margarines, which contain saturated or trans fats.

Healthy fats

The focus of the Mediterranean diet isn't to limit total fat consumption, but to make wise choices about the types of fat you eat.

The Mediterranean diet is similar to the American Heart Association's Step I diet, but it contains less cholesterol and has more fats. These fat sources include canola oil and nuts, particularly walnuts. Fish — another source of omega-3 fatty acids — is eaten on a regular basis in the Mediterranean diet.

Choosing oils and fats

The Mediterranean diet emphasizes using olive oil as your primary source of fat, rather than animal or dairy fats. All types of olive oil provide monounsaturated fat — a type of fat that can help reduce LDL cholesterol levels when used in place of saturated or trans fats.

Wine

Red wine reduces the blood's ability to clot, and also contains antioxidants. The Mediterranean diet typically includes some red wine, but this should be consumed only in moderation. This means no more than 5 ounces of wine daily for women (or men over age 65), and no more than 10 ounces of wine daily for men under age 65. Any more than this increases the risk of health problems, including increased risk of certain types of cancer.

I hope you all enjoyed today's topic. Now take everything that you have learned today, and create a delicious Mediterranean feast! However remember, limit yourself on that red wine!

Herbed Lamb Chops with Greek Couscous Salad

Ingredients

1 cup water
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 pounds lamb loin chops, (about 8), trimmed of fat
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup whole-wheat couscous
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 medium cucumber, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup crumbled feta
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill

Put water on to boil in a medium saucepan.
Combine garlic, parsley and salt in a small bowl. Press the garlic mixture into both sides of lamb chops. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the lamb chops and cook to desired doneness, 5 to 6 minutes per side for medium. Keep warm.
Meanwhile, stir couscous into the boiling water. Return to a boil, reduce heat to a low simmer, cover and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes; fluff with a fork. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add tomatoes, cucumber, feta, lemon juice and dill. Stir to combine. Serve the couscous with the lamb chops.

Enjoy!

Lauren

Welcome!

2009-09-30T11:18:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, Lauren here! I am very excited to get started with my blog (this is my first blogging experience) Before I get started, let me first tell you a little bit about myself. I am currently a junior at Ithaca College, majoring in the Health Sciences with a concentration in Clinical Dietetics. Nutrition is basically my life. I live, breathe, and obviously eat nutrition. Which brings us to the next subject; the purpose of this blog.

The purpose of this blog is to provide fun and interesting nutrition facts, issues, as well as healthy everyday recipes. Some of my recipes will include meals in which I designed for meal plans during my dietetic internship this past summer.

So lets get started!

Living Nutritiously

I first want to discuss the purpose and benefits of living a nutritious life. Why eat healthy? Eating the adequate amount of nutritious foods provides various benefits. It can prevent heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and various other diseases. Eating healthy also makes us feel better; making us more active and prosperous in everyday life. The bottom line is, a healthy life is a happy life. Who Doesn't want to be happy?

Simple Steps

A few simple steps one can take to eating healthier are;

1. Eat a diet rich in both soluble and insoluble fiber including: whole wheat products, oatmeal, bran cereals, vegetables

2. Have variety in your diet: mix it up, be creative!

3. Think Color!: make sure that your plate is filled with colorful foods. Especially vegetables. The most colorful vegetables contain the most nutrients. (When choosing lettuce, the darkest greens are the best for you)

4. Portion Control: This is the most important step. I will discuss portions later on, however you must pay attention to serving sizes!

5. Exercise: Get off that couch and get in at least 30 minutes of cardio a day.

That is all I have time for today. Here is the first recipe idea. Healthy Salmon mmmmm...

Salmon With Lemon, Capers, and Rosemary

Ingredients

4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
8 lemon slices (about 2 lemons)
1/4 cup lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1/2 cup Marsala wine (or white wine)
4 teaspoons capers
4 pieces of aluminum foil

Directions

Brush top and bottom of salmon fillets with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and rosemary. Place each piece of seasoned salmon on a piece of foil large enough to fold over and seal. Top the each piece of salmon with 2 lemon slices, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of wine, and 1 teaspoon of capers. Wrap up salmon tightly in the foil packets.

Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Place the foil packets on the hot grill and cook for 10 minutes for a 1-inch thick piece of salmon. Serve in the foil packets.

This dish is rich in Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids, and protein.

Enjoy!

Lauren