The Skinny on Fat

We have all heard that eating too much fat can make us overweight, and that if we cut out fat then all the weight will come off. Well, there are many common misconceptions about fat and I want to bust them all!

First, lets talk about fat and fat cells. In the science world, they are called adipose cells or when there is a collection, it is called adipose tissue. When we eat and the body does not use all of the energy we ingested, it is stored. It can be stored as glycogen (stored energy in our muscles) or as fat. It is only stored as fat when our glycogen stores are full and the food has no other place to go. Carbohydrates and protein can be stored as fat too; it all gets broken down into the same type of compounds and stored.

Surprisingly, we cannot burn off fat cells; they do not just go away. Fat cells will grow in size as more unused energy is stored, and when it is burned, the cells shrink in size. We do not kill or burn away the cells. That is why it is easier to gain weight back after you lose a good amount because the cells are already there. And, we can add new fat cells as well.

I have heard from many people that they are trying a low fat diet in hopes that they will burn off their excess weight. Our primary energy source is carbohydrates. They help us when we need that sudden burst of energy to sprint as well as a long distance run. When the body uses up its stores of carbohydrates, it turns to fat. As your sitting here reading this and I am sitting here typing this, our bodies are using fat as its energy source. When you're walking on the treadmill at about 3.5 miles per hour with a decent incline at a heart rate of about 120 bpm, you're primarily burning fat. When you take fat out of your diet, and you burn all of your carbohydrate stores, the only thing left for the body to turn to is stored protein, which is muscle. If you cut out fat, and all you have left stored is protein then your body will break down it's muscles to feed itself.

We, as future dietitians, learn in school that 20-35% of our daily caloric intake needs to come from polyunsaturated fat or monounsaturated fat. These fats are known as the "healthy fats". Saturated fat is what can clog arteries and raise cholesterol levels, while poly and monounsaturated fats reduce cholesterol and prevent clogged arteries. Based on a 2000 calorie a day diet, at the most 16g of fat or 144 calories should be coming from saturated fat.

So don't be scared of fat, you need it, our bodies need it, and it does have a purpose for us.

Let's Taco 'Bout It!

I got really into meal prepping over the past few weeks for my internship, and one thing that I loved to have and make was taco salads! The beauty over making your own Taco salads rather than buying them from the store or a fast food place is that you decide what is going in them, how spicy they will be and how much you want! Best of all is that they are really, really cheap to make. I grabbed a can of corn, a can of beans, and black olives, as well as salsa, sour cream, low sodium taco seasoning, romaine lettuce, 90/10 ground turkey and reduced fat taco cheese.

One thing to be aware of when making your salad is to try to avoid excessive salt content as well as excessive fat content. When buying your canned veggies, look for the ones that say low sodium on the label. When you take them out of the can, rinse them in the strainer to reduce up to 40% of the salt content! Low sodium taco seasoning generally has between 30-40% less sodium than regular seasoning.

Go for the reduced fat cheese and sour cream to keep this lunch a low fat lunch, but super high in protein. Ground turkey is generally lower in fat than ground beef but when you use seasoning on it, it tastes just the same!

Remember, because this meal is has little to no carbs, it is good to include a pita or some baked tortilla chips with it to make sure you're getting all your macronutrients. Carbohydrates are your body's main energy source and when you try to go on a low carbohydrate diet, your energy levels will fall. Carbohydrates are good!

Rethink your (alcoholic) drink!

So I'm back! I apologize for my little hiatus; I was completing my Medical Nutrition Therapy rotation at a long term care facility and taking an online history class while going home or to see my boyfriend in Connecticut on the weekends! It's been a very busy few weeks and I am hoping to get back completely in the swing of things on here.

In May, I turned 21 (yay!) and that means that I can now legally drink alcohol. Being that I am now legal, I thought I should do a post about choosing your drinks wisely (we actually learn about this in my nutrition classes and in sports nutrition). Did you know that 1 grams of alcohol contains 7 calories?! That's more than protein and carbohydrates and almost as much as fat! And that most alcohol is actually pretty heavy in carbohydrates? That's why after you drink you feel bloated and full.

But just how many calories and marconutrients are in my drink?

Lets take wine as an example

A 5 ounce serving of dry white wine will give you about 123 calories and about 4 grams of carbohydrates. The calories and carbohydrates increase with the sweetness of the wine, so a dry Chardonnay or Merlot will have the least calories and carbohydrates. Check out this infographic I found to give a little more details into each wine and it's nutrition.



Beers

When choosing your beer, light beers and lagers tend to have the lesser amounts of carbohydrates as well as calories compaired to heavier beers like IPAs. Light beers like Bud light, Miller light, Coors Light all are around 100-130 calories with about 5-10 grams of carbohydrates per 12 ounce serving. Having a few really add up calorie and carb wise! Ales, stouts and IPAs calories are about 150-200 calories per 12 ounce serving with around 15 grams of carbohydrates.

Hard Liquors

Hard liquors are all around the same range in calories, but what really packs the nutritional punch is what it is being mixed with. A shot of whiskey has 70 calories, vodka has 64, rum has 64, and tequila has 64. When looking for a mixer for your liquor, choose a calorie free option like seltzer water, diet soda, or club soda. If you're looking to make that fruity drink you love, go for the no sugar added mixers or low in sugar ones. The higher the sugar content the worse the hang over will be the next day!

Remember, for women it is acceptable to have 1 alcoholic drink a day and for men it is acceptable to have 2 alcoholic drinks a day and no you cannot save up all week to binge drink on the weekends!

Choose the healthier option.

Vegetable Noodles!

Vegetable noodles sound very weird, I'll admit it! When I first thought about them I thought it was actual pasta made with vegetables as one of the ingredients, but its not! It's far from that.Vegetable noodles are vegetables that are spiralized using a spiralizer, and flash cooked on the stove. 100% vegetables and nothing else. Vegetable noodles are great for those trying to lose weight, or have a better source of carbohydrates than having regular pasta. Here I made zucchini noodles with homemade pesto and grilled chicken. Good source of heart healthy fats, vitamins and minerals, protein, and antioxidants.

How to make the Pesto-

2 Cups of Fresh Basil
1 Cup of Arugula
1/2 Cup of Parmesan
1/4 Cup Pine Nuts
1/2 Cup Olive Oil

In a food processor, combine argulula, basil and olive. Blend until smooth. Add parmesan and pine nuts, blend. Enjoy!

Store in an air tight container to keep fresh, freeze within 5 days of making.

Snack Time!

I'm a huge fan of munchy snacks, especially ones with a little heat in them. Over spring break, I made a delicious and addicting snack mix that everyone in my house enjoyed. It was Buffalo Ranch Snack Mix!

Here's the recipe so you can become addicted too!

Buffalo Ranch Snack Mix


Ingredients-

4c Chex Rice Cereal
3c Reduced Fat cheese crackers (cheez-its)
3c mini pretzels
1c shelled salted peanuts
1/2c Franks Red Hot
4Tbsp unslated butter
2 1/2 tsp dried dill weed
1tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp garlic powder


Directions-

Preheat oven to 225 degrees.

Combine rice cereal, crackers, pretzels and peanuts together in a large bowl.

Heat hot sauce and butter in a small pan over medium heat until butter mealts. Once melted, whisk in dill, parsley, and garlic. Pour hot sauce mixture over cereal mix. Toss until everything is coated.

Spead mix onto a cookie sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour stirring every 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Colorful Lunch to Brighten Your Day

It's amazing what a great, healthy and tasty lunch can do to your day. Last week was such a rainy and dreary week and it called for a colorful lunch to brighten everything up. I got to thinking of what I haven't had in a while that would taste good and I immediately thought of Stuffed Peppers! Taco stuffed peppers actually, but they were very tasty and filling. A stuffed pepper can be made a variety of ways, taco style or Italian style, with lots of options for fillings too! These ones has rice, ground turkey, taco seasoning, tomatoes with chiles and cheese! They had something from every food group, how could you go wrong? They are also good because they portion themselves out. All I had to do in the mornings was grab one and put it in a microwaveable contained to be heated later.


The recipe is super easy and doesn't take much time at all. They can be made for dinner tonight or meal prep for the whole week!

Ingredients

• 5 - 6 medium to large bell peppers
• sea or kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 pound groung turkey
• 1 packet of taco seasoning
• 1 can (11 ounces) Ro-tel diced tomatoes & green chiles
• 1 cup uncooked white Minute Rice or 1 + ¾ cups cooked rice
• 2 cups shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
• shredded lettuce, for serving
• sour cream, for serving

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Slice the tops off the peppers and clean out the seeds.
2. Stand the peppers up in a casserole dish and sprinkle the insides with salt and pepper.
3. Cover them with aluminum foil and bake 15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, make the filling:
5. In a large frying pan over medium heat brown the ground turkey, breaking it apart as it cooks. Drain off the grease.
6. Add the taco seasonings and follow the directions on the package.
7. Once the taco meat is ready mix in the Ro-tel with the juices and the rice. Simmer 5 minutes, stirring often.
8. Stir in the cheese. Fill the peppers.
9. Bake 25 minutes - uncovered.
10. Serve over shredded lettuce with a dollop of sour cream.

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist vs Nutritionist

So I have been running my blog now for over a year and have been talking about nutrition, health tips and sharing recipes, but I have not explained the difference between a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) and a Nutritionist. To many people, these titles are interchangeable and mean the same thing. However, that is not the case at all! There is a huge difference between what an RDN and a nutritionist is. So, I made up a handy chart to explain the differences and help you to better understand who you can trust with your nutrition advice and those who you cannot.

Here is a detailed descrition of the difference between RDNs and Nutritionists!

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist

Nutritionist

-Has a degree in Nutrition and Dietetics (bachelors or masters) from ASCEND accredited institution- the accrediting body of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics -Completed a mandatory internship of 1200 hours from an ACEND accredited internship program -Has passed the national licensing exam in     order to achieve the credential of RDN -Must maintain credential status by ongoing learning credits -Considered a nutritional professional -Is trained in and licensed to perform Medical Nutrition Therapy (an essential, cost-effective, component of the comprehensive nutrition care of medical diseases and conditions) -Provides food, nutrition and related services -Protects the public, community and populations from wrong information -Enhances the wellbeing of patients/clients -Delivers quality products programs and services, including Medical Nutrition Therapy across all focuses -Assesses and Diagnoses nutrition related health problems, plans an Intervention to correct the problem and Monitors and Evaluates the patients/clients outcomes -Can work in hospitals, assisted living homes, acute care facilities, schools, food service, private practice, sports, institutions, corporate venues, etc -Follows Standards of Practice, a Code of Ethics and Scope of Practice set in place by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

-No qualifications or classes or degree needed to be called a nutritionist -Self-proclaimed title- anyone can call themselves nutritionists due to not needing a credential or license -Not legally considered a nutritional professional -Not legally able to make sound nutrition advice due to the lack of appropriate training