Lemonade

It was Thanksgiving morning. My mother had cooked most of the food the day before, and all that was left was the Turkey. At 11am, she went to pre-heat the oven; only to notice that the oven would not light. It is a modern-type oven - the ignitor is electrical, not manual. So there was no way to light it - the oven was done. What's a dietitian daughter to do to help out mom and save Thanksgiving?

It was 25 degrees outside and snowing, but I knew that the old reliable Webber grill would do the trick. We left the turkey in the roasting pan, put some liquids in the bottom of it, and put the top on. We fired up the grill (dad was in charge), and in went the turkey.

Two and a half hours later, out came a DELICIOUS cooked 18 pound turkey. We warmed the side dishes up on the stove-top and in the toaster oven, and no one would have known that the oven never lit.

Lesson learned - you can always make lemonade out of lemons!

What's in a Hand?

My husband is on a real health kick. And of course, as both a dietitian and his lovely wife, I am excited and supportive of all of his efforts. He is logging his meals, and making time to get on the elliptical every day. One thing he's been asking a lot of questions about is portion sizes. I've engrained into his head that there are no bad foods - its just how much and how often we eat them. That being said, he wants to learn how much of everything he should be eating.

One great trick I've learned is that your hand can be an excellent measuring tool. This comes in especially handy when dining out, when there are no measuring cups and scales available - just your eyes.

Here are a few general hints on how to measure with your hand:

• a serving of protein (meat, fish) is the size of the palm of your hand
• a cup is the size of your fist
• a serving of nuts is one handful
• the tip of your thumb is 1 oz

With these tips, it is much easier to log your meals accurately, which is vital when you want to know how many calories you are taking in versus how many you are using.

In my husband's case, we are loading up on fruits and vegetables, which helps you to feel like you're eating more but actually taking in less calories. After all, it's all about mind games...

Good Food... Calorie Free?

We tried a "new" restaurant on Friday that was great. Really great. It isn't really new (2 years old?) but it's new to us. Bazin's on Church is located in Vienna, Virginia on Church Street. While this is technically outside of the beltway, it really isn't too far of a drive - 15 minutes without traffic.

We arrived and the architecture of the building was very welcoming. While its a new building, the style is traditional but new. We were seated promptly (which I love - I hate having to wait for a reservation) and were instantly greeted by our waiter. He was very knowledgeable about the wine and pointed us to a great pinot noir.

After looking over the menu about 10 times, we finally decided on our meal. All of the options sounded yummy and it was really a tough choice!

We started our meal splitting the:
1. Potato & Onion Ravioli with lobster sauce (all house made; 6 tender pasta dumplings topped with large chunks of lobster!)
2. Chopped Salad (which included green beans, chick peas, tomatoes, and a VERY light lemon vinaigrette)

I ordered the Seared Tuna (which I ordered rear), which came with sesames noodles and bok choy (my favorite!). Jeff ordered the braised lamb shank, which came with mashed potatoes and spinach. Both were delicious, and I have to admit my portion control didn't come into play. The portions we were served were generous (approximately 8-9 ounces of meat and fish each), but there were plenty of vegetables involved as well - I had a whole 1/2 bok choy on my plate!

When dessert time came, we ended up sharing 2 desserts with the couple at the table next to us, who happen to know the owners / chef of Bazin's and were able to recommend 2 perfect desserts. We all took about 2 bites of each and were stuffed and satisfied.

I can't wait to come back to this restaurant and try some of the other delicious sounding dishes available. The menu changes seasonally, and this was the first day our menu was available. We'll have to come back in the winter to find out what's new.

Needless to say, we paid our dues at the gym the next day to try to burn off some of the calories...if only good food was calorie free:)

More Matters

The new campaign for fruits & veggies is "More Matters". This means that if you are only eating one serving of fruit each day, then you should aim for one more serving.

I don't know anyone who has ever gained weight from eating too many fruits and veggies - I mean, with a serving ranging from 25 calories for veggies and 60 calories for fruit, how bad can it be?

I'll admit - I am not a big fruit girl. I'll eat vegetables all day, but when it comes to fruit, I can go without.

Well today I made a pack with myself that I'm going to eat more fruit. And I did! I had a banana and an apple. They're both easy to carry with you, and for a girl like me who's always on the run, they fit the bill. I'll make sure to include a variety of other fruits in my diet, as each of them has different vitamins and minerals that my body needs. But in the mean time, I'm pretty proud of my accomplishment today - even a dietitian can have nutrition challenges...

Breakfast - The Most Important Meal!

This a.m. I was in a rush. I ran out the door to teach a class and see clients, and by 11:00 a.m. realized - I HADN'T HAD BREAKFAST!!! And I was starving. On my way to some meetings, I passed Lebanese Taverna and ended up grabbing a falafel sandwich to go. Now I could have opted for a salad or a side dish, but I chose the sandwich with the balls of fried chickpea. As a dietitian, I am constantly saying, "Everything in moderation...", but I ate the entire sandwich. And you know what? It was good. I mean really good. I enjoyed every last bite.

And then 2 hours later I was starving again.

So, what lessons did I learn (again) ?

1. When you skip breakfast, it can throw off your metabolism for the rest of the day. I've felt hungry all day since I skipped breakfast this a.m.

2. I can enjoy some of my favorite foods - but not on an empty stomach. While the sandwich was really good, I'm sure it would've tasted even that much better had I not inhaled the whole thing.

3. Dietitians are human too:)

Tomorrow, I think I'll try some Kashi Go Lean Crunch! with strawberries and plain soy milk...

Dining with a Dietitian

Yes, I'm a dietitian. And I love food. Now most people would assume that as a dietitian, I will only eat healthy food. This leads me to the bigger question, what really is healthy food? I tell people time and time again that there really is no such thing as a bad food; the more important thing to focus on is the amount of ANY food that we eat, and with what frequency.

I really enjoy eating at restaurants - any kind that has an interesting menu with fresh ingredients. And when I'm dining with people who don't know me well, I enjoy, even more, watching people's expressions as I order a meal at restaurants - astonished that I'm not just ordering a salad.

I think one of the easiest ways to control calories while dining out is to order an appetizer as an entree. As it is, most appetizers are even too big these days! Pair the appetizer with a salad or side of steamed vegetables and you're on your way to a healthy meal. Just try to stay away from the fried foods.....