Eating healthy: Tips from Husker Nutritionist

[NUance]

5 Huskers walk into a Hy-Vee ...

 

By Katy Healey, LIVEWELLNEBRASKA FITNESS REPORTER, Published Tuesday June 12, 2012

 

<snip>

 

 

Then Lindsey Remmers, director of the university's sports nutrition program, started her lesson. That day, picking produce was more important than setting picks.

In the 90 minutes that followed, players Dylan Talley, David Rivers, Corey Hilliard, Brandon Ubel and Jordan Tyrance followed Remmers around the store, inspecting tomatoes, tasting deli meat, reading nutrition labels and resisting the aroma of the store's ready-made meals.

 

 

<snip>

 

 

A few other things Remmers said to keep in mind:

 

• Produce is on sale during the summer months because it's in season. Take advantage.

 

• Rule of thumb: The darker the skin of the fruit or vegetable, the more ripe it is. Know when you plan to eat your produce, and buy accordingly.

 

• Ripe watermelon should be heavy for its size and have a creamy yellow spot on the rind.

 

• Ripe cantaloupe will smell like cantaloupe, even through the skin. Unripe cantaloupe won't smell like much of anything.

 

• The word “hydrogenated” – often seen in front of the “oil” – is a fancy way of saying fat. Avoid it.

 

• The clearer the dressing, the healthier it is. (Sorry, Ranch lovers!)

 

• The more whole foods – think apples and potatoes, not snacks with loads of ingredients – you eat, the more you can eat.

 

• If you're looking for a quick, easy meal, saute veggies – you can use frozen packages – in a pan with low-sodium soy sauce and season to taste with cumin. Add chicken.

 

• The least expensive deli meat is pumped with sodium and water. Splurge for the pricier stuff. Ask for a sample before you buy – you'll be able to taste the difference.

 

• It's smart to shop around the perimeter of the store, which is lined with fresh food, but it isn't foolproof. Stores often stock the end of each aisle with unhealthy, packaged sale items.

 

• Don't shop when you're hungry.

 

• Bring a list.

 

LINK

Mostly basic, commonsense stuff. But a couple of the tips are pretty good.

[Hingle McCringleberry]

Hey thanks for this. So many of us dont know how to eat healthy and just run from fad to fad. Alton Brown lost 50 pounds in nine months by changing (permanently) his diet. Pretty much the same advice, he drinks smoothies for breakfast etc and uses quick frozen fruits to minimize waste. Personally I am on the verge of going vegetarian for most of my meals (also skipping pasta), and having fish 2-3 times during the week, saving pork and beef for Saturday and Sunday....

[knapplc]

• Produce is on sale during the summer months because it's in season. Take advantage.

And when it's not on sale, shop at Trader Joe's, or buy frozen (and/or buy frozen veg at Trader Joe's). Nearly half the stuff on my list is from the produce dept these days, whereas I shopped mostly in the pre-packaged areas as a younger man.

 

• Rule of thumb: The darker the skin of the fruit or vegetable, the more ripe it is. Know when you plan to eat your produce, and buy accordingly.

A great tip, because it's all too easy to buy fruits and veg on the weekend, then come Thursday or Friday it's rotten. It's pretty much common sense, but you may need to practice if you're not used to buying produce.

 

• Ripe watermelon should be heavy for its size and have a creamy yellow spot on the rind.

Exactly, and if you don't know what "heavy for its size" means, pick up a few watermelon of the same/similar size and feel the different weights. One note - heavier/wetter watermelon won't keep, so if you buy one that seems ready to go, eat it right away. Cut up what you don't eat and refrigerate in tupperware or a plastic bag, but eat it soon.

 

• Ripe cantaloupe will smell like cantaloupe, even through the skin. Unripe cantaloupe won't smell like much of anything.

So will peaches, nectarines, plums, and similar pitted fruit. People tend to notice when you're smelling the produce, but who cares - you're out to get the good ones, not crap. Maybe they'll learn something from watching you.

 

In the Midwest, it's really difficult to ripen unripe fruit at home. I've done the paper bag trick, set it in the sun, grouped it with other fruits, etc. It's hit-and-miss, so you're better off buying ripe fruit and eating it right away than buying unripe and letting it ripen at home. If there are no ripe fruits at the store, buy frozen. It's usually pretty decent.

 

• The word “hydrogenated” – often seen in front of the “oil” – is a fancy way of saying fat. Avoid it.

Yep, and this is a great example of why you should spend time reading the labels of EVERYTHING you buy.

 

• The clearer the dressing, the healthier it is. (Sorry, Ranch lovers!)

Do not like - but it's true. I love, love, love Cardini's Caesar Dressing (and Ranch is OK), but I know it's not good for me.

 

Good Season's Italian Dressing is really good, useful as a salad dressing, marinade and mop sauce, and not very expensive if you buy in bulk. Since you SHOULD BE eating a lot of salads (we eat one with nearly every meal), you should get friendly with this dressing.

 

--

 

If you're interested in trying to make your own, a simple rule of thumb is to use a ratio of 3:1 when it comes to oil:vinegar. Buy a good olive oil - ONLY buy "First Cold Pressing" olive oil. Ignore any olive oil that says "Extra Virgin," because it means nothing. First Cold Pressing is the oil that is produced the first time the press comes down on the olives. That oil is then removed, and the press continues, generating heat and changing the chemical composition of the oil (not to mention the flavor). You can buy a three-liter container of FCP olive oil at Sam's in Lincoln for about $15. I use olive oil in a LOT of cooking, and one of those bottles lasts me about two months. If you don't cook as much as I, it'll last longer and be a good purchase.

 

Buy the store brand balsamic vinegar for your salad dressing. It's not as important to have top-quality for this if you're on a budget, and it's usually easy to get a decent brand for not so much cash.

 

Put 3/4 of a cup of olive oil and 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar in any glass container with a sealed lid (the Good Season's Italian Dressing cruets obviously work very well for this), and add some pepper (fresh-ground if you have it), a tiny pinch of kosher salt, and a pinch of oregano and/or basil. I like to crush a garlic clove and throw that in as well, but you don't want to leave your garlic in there - it'll turn brown and nasty. Close the lid, shake vigorously, remove the garlic and you're good to go.

 

--

 

• The more whole foods – think apples and potatoes, not snacks with loads of ingredients – you eat, the more you can eat.

Yep. This goes along with the "shopping the perimeter of the store" concept. If you cannot pronounce every ingredient in your food, it's best not to eat it. If it has more than a dozen ingredients, you may not want it. Simple foods with less ingredients are typically best - unless you're making the food and adding the ingredients yourself.

 

 

• If you're looking for a quick, easy meal, saute veggies – you can use frozen packages – in a pan with low-sodium soy sauce and season to taste with cumin. Add chicken.

Very true, except saute the chicken first (your veg will be mush if you throw the chicken in last). Don't buy pre-cooked, frozen chicken, either. It's crap, full of preservatives, and you're not getting a good value. Get a pan quite hot, throw in your whole, raw chicken breast, let it sear, turn it over to sear again, then remove it from the pan. Let it cool for a minute, then slice/chop/dice it and throw it back in the pan. Hot, quick and sleazy - just like GSG's future girlfriend - that's what you want. Sear the raw chicken quickly, let it go for maybe 3-5 minutes this second time, and stir constantly (cheap bamboo utensils that you can buy at the dollar store work wonders for this kind of cooking). Once all sides of your chicken slices/cubes have some color, THEN add your veggies. You can even fully cook your chicken, remove it from the pan, and cook your veg separately.

 

Toss it all back together, get it hot, and serve immediately. A side salad, some couscous, rice and beans, or any other simple side works well. Try a small amount of pasta tossed with some olive oil, thyme and a touch of dry parmesan cheese as side.

 

NOTE - cutting boards can be bought cheap (they sell huge ones for $10 at Sam's), but you MUST NOT use the same cutting boards for your meat as you use for your veg. Have at least two cutting boards and mark which is used for meat. Don't mix the two. You only have to make the mistake of cross-contamination once and spend the night on the pot to learn this mistake - or you can trust me and never, ever do it. I have eight cutting boards, and only use two for meat. They're not expensive, and you don't need anything fancy.

 

• The least expensive deli meat is pumped with sodium and water. Splurge for the pricier stuff. Ask for a sample before you buy – you'll be able to taste the difference.

This is true, but you shouldn't be eating much deli meat anyway. It's all full of sodium and nitrates, and you just don't want it. If you want a sandwich, go to Jimmy John's or Subway, or if you're lucky enough to have a real deli close by, get their sandwiches instead of making your own. My family can eat at Jimmy John's for the same price it costs to buy the deli meat, cheese and bread, and you don't have to make it at JJ's.

 

If you really like your own deli meat sandwich, then she's very much correct - spend the extra dough and get the more expensive deli meat. And make sure you ask for a sample before you buy it - they don't mind, and you'll know you're getting something you like.

 

• It's smart to shop around the perimeter of the store, which is lined with fresh food, but it isn't foolproof. Stores often stock the end of each aisle with unhealthy, packaged sale items.

So have some self-control and don't buy that stuff. It's pretty simple. You'll have to go into the aisles for stuff like cereal or flour/sugar, beans, pasta/rice, etc, so not everything in the aisles is bad for you, but again, read the ingredients. If there's a bunch, or anything that's obviously chemical-ish, don't buy it.

 

• Don't shop when you're hungry.

Meh. This is negated if you do the next thing - shop with a list.

 

• Bring a list.

Every weekend I sit down and plan my meals for the following week. I never, ever go shopping without knowing what meals I'm making. This helps negate the effects of shopping while hungry - it helps cut way back on splurge/impulse buying, and it gives you an idea what you're spending. You can waste a LOT of money going to the store without a plan. Don't. It's too easy not to.

 

I plan every single meal, salad and side dish, I know my fridge/freezer/pantry inventory, and I only buy what I need for the week - unless there's a really good deal, at which point you stock up. That's just smart shopping.

 

I cook probably 80% of the meals my family eats, and after years of some really awful meals, I've gotten to the point where I cook well enough that the family rarely wants to go out anymore (which is nice, but something of a drag when I'm tired and don't want to cook). The benefit to all that is that I know with a greater degree of certainty what I'm feeding my family. And we eat pretty well.

 

Anyone can cook. It takes practice, and you have to be willing to suffer while learning, but the inevitable burned/undercooked/incorrectly seasoned/misread recipe meal will be offset by the great food you end up with when you learn.

[The Dude]

• If you're looking for a quick, easy meal, saute veggies – you can use frozen packages – in a pan with low-sodium soy sauce and season to taste with cumin. Add chicken.

I do something similar to this all the time. I'm talking several times per week, it really is a staple of my diet.

 

I cut chicken breast into very thin strips. Cook it in a wok with a little extra virgin olive oil, set it aside and saute the veggies in the leftover chicken juice/olive oil. Then I'll add it together and fry it all until the liquid has evaporated. Sometimes I add a little low-sodium soy sauce like they said here.

[Stumpy1]

• Produce is on sale during the summer months because it's in season. Take advantage.

And when it's not on sale, shop at Trader Joe's, or buy frozen (and/or buy frozen veg at Trader Joe's). Nearly half the stuff on my list is from the produce dept these days, whereas I shopped mostly in the pre-packaged areas as a younger man.

 

• Rule of thumb: The darker the skin of the fruit or vegetable, the more ripe it is. Know when you plan to eat your produce, and buy accordingly.

A great tip, because it's all too easy to buy fruits and veg on the weekend, then come Thursday or Friday it's rotten. It's pretty much common sense, but you may need to practice if you're not used to buying produce.

 

• Ripe watermelon should be heavy for its size and have a creamy yellow spot on the rind.

Exactly, and if you don't know what "heavy for its size" means, pick up a few watermelon of the same/similar size and feel the different weights. One note - heavier/wetter watermelon won't keep, so if you buy one that seems ready to go, eat it right away. Cut up what you don't eat and refrigerate in tupperware or a plastic bag, but eat it soon.

 

• Ripe cantaloupe will smell like cantaloupe, even through the skin. Unripe cantaloupe won't smell like much of anything.

So will peaches, nectarines, plums, and similar pitted fruit. People tend to notice when you're smelling the produce, but who cares - you're out to get the good ones, not crap. Maybe they'll learn something from watching you.

 

In the Midwest, it's really difficult to ripen unripe fruit at home. I've done the paper bag trick, set it in the sun, grouped it with other fruits, etc. It's hit-and-miss, so you're better off buying ripe fruit and eating it right away than buying unripe and letting it ripen at home. If there are no ripe fruits at the store, buy frozen. It's usually pretty decent.

 

• The word “hydrogenated” – often seen in front of the “oil” – is a fancy way of saying fat. Avoid it.

Yep, and this is a great example of why you should spend time reading the labels of EVERYTHING you buy.

 

• The clearer the dressing, the healthier it is. (Sorry, Ranch lovers!)

Do not like - but it's true. I love, love, love Cardini's Caesar Dressing (and Ranch is OK), but I know it's not good for me.

 

Good Season's Italian Dressing is really good, useful as a salad dressing, marinade and mop sauce, and not very expensive if you buy in bulk. Since you SHOULD BE eating a lot of salads (we eat one with nearly every meal), you should get friendly with this dressing.

 

--

 

If you're interested in trying to make your own, a simple rule of thumb is to use a ratio of 3:1 when it comes to oil:vinegar. Buy a good olive oil - ONLY buy "First Cold Pressing" olive oil. Ignore any olive oil that says "Extra Virgin," because it means nothing. First Cold Pressing is the oil that is produced the first time the press comes down on the olives. That oil is then removed, and the press continues, generating heat and changing the chemical composition of the oil (not to mention the flavor). You can buy a three-liter container of FCP olive oil at Sam's in Lincoln for about $15. I use olive oil in a LOT of cooking, and one of those bottles lasts me about two months. If you don't cook as much as I, it'll last longer and be a good purchase.

 

Buy the store brand balsamic vinegar for your salad dressing. It's not as important to have top-quality for this if you're on a budget, and it's usually easy to get a decent brand for not so much cash.

 

Put 3/4 of a cup of olive oil and 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar in any glass container with a sealed lid (the Good Season's Italian Dressing cruets obviously work very well for this), and add some pepper (fresh-ground if you have it), a tiny pinch of kosher salt, and a pinch of oregano and/or basil. I like to crush a garlic clove and throw that in as well, but you don't want to leave your garlic in there - it'll turn brown and nasty. Close the lid, shake vigorously, remove the garlic and you're good to go.

 

--

 

• The more whole foods – think apples and potatoes, not snacks with loads of ingredients – you eat, the more you can eat.

Yep. This goes along with the "shopping the perimeter of the store" concept. If you cannot pronounce every ingredient in your food, it's best not to eat it. If it has more than a dozen ingredients, you may not want it. Simple foods with less ingredients are typically best - unless you're making the food and adding the ingredients yourself.

 

 

• If you're looking for a quick, easy meal, saute veggies – you can use frozen packages – in a pan with low-sodium soy sauce and season to taste with cumin. Add chicken.

Very true, except saute the chicken first (your veg will be mush if you throw the chicken in last). Don't buy pre-cooked, frozen chicken, either. It's crap, full of preservatives, and you're not getting a good value. Get a pan quite hot, throw in your whole, raw chicken breast, let it sear, turn it over to sear again, then remove it from the pan. Let it cool for a minute, then slice/chop/dice it and throw it back in the pan. Hot, quick and sleazy - just like GSG's future girlfriend - that's what you want. Sear the raw chicken quickly, let it go for maybe 3-5 minutes this second time, and stir constantly (cheap bamboo utensils that you can buy at the dollar store work wonders for this kind of cooking). Once all sides of your chicken slices/cubes have some color, THEN add your veggies. You can even fully cook your chicken, remove it from the pan, and cook your veg separately.

 

Toss it all back together, get it hot, and serve immediately. A side salad, some couscous, rice and beans, or any other simple side works well. Try a small amount of pasta tossed with some olive oil, thyme and a touch of dry parmesan cheese as side.

 

NOTE - cutting boards can be bought cheap (they sell huge ones for $10 at Sam's), but you MUST NOT use the same cutting boards for your meat as you use for your veg. Have at least two cutting boards and mark which is used for meat. Don't mix the two. You only have to make the mistake of cross-contamination once and spend the night on the pot to learn this mistake - or you can trust me and never, ever do it. I have eight cutting boards, and only use two for meat. They're not expensive, and you don't need anything fancy.

 

• The least expensive deli meat is pumped with sodium and water. Splurge for the pricier stuff. Ask for a sample before you buy – you'll be able to taste the difference.

This is true, but you shouldn't be eating much deli meat anyway. It's all full of sodium and nitrates, and you just don't want it. If you want a sandwich, go to Jimmy John's or Subway, or if you're lucky enough to have a real deli close by, get their sandwiches instead of making your own. My family can eat at Jimmy John's for the same price it costs to buy the deli meat, cheese and bread, and you don't have to make it at JJ's.

 

If you really like your own deli meat sandwich, then she's very much correct - spend the extra dough and get the more expensive deli meat. And make sure you ask for a sample before you buy it - they don't mind, and you'll know you're getting something you like.

 

• It's smart to shop around the perimeter of the store, which is lined with fresh food, but it isn't foolproof. Stores often stock the end of each aisle with unhealthy, packaged sale items.

So have some self-control and don't buy that stuff. It's pretty simple. You'll have to go into the aisles for stuff like cereal or flour/sugar, beans, pasta/rice, etc, so not everything in the aisles is bad for you, but again, read the ingredients. If there's a bunch, or anything that's obviously chemical-ish, don't buy it.

 

• Don't shop when you're hungry.

Meh. This is negated if you do the next thing - shop with a list.

 

• Bring a list.

Every weekend I sit down and plan my meals for the following week. I never, ever go shopping without knowing what meals I'm making. This helps negate the effects of shopping while hungry - it helps cut way back on splurge/impulse buying, and it gives you an idea what you're spending. You can waste a LOT of money going to the store without a plan. Don't. It's too easy not to.

 

I plan every single meal, salad and side dish, I know my fridge/freezer/pantry inventory, and I only buy what I need for the week - unless there's a really good deal, at which point you stock up. That's just smart shopping.

 

I cook probably 80% of the meals my family eats, and after years of some really awful meals, I've gotten to the point where I cook well enough that the family rarely wants to go out anymore (which is nice, but something of a drag when I'm tired and don't want to cook). The benefit to all that is that I know with a greater degree of certainty what I'm feeding my family. And we eat pretty well.

 

Anyone can cook. It takes practice, and you have to be willing to suffer while learning, but the inevitable burned/undercooked/incorrectly seasoned/misread recipe meal will be offset by the great food you end up with when you learn.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with this.

[GSG]

Hot, quick and sleazy - just like GSG's future girlfriend - that's what you want.

 

WHAT THE F?!

[knapplc]

Hot, quick and sleazy - just like GSG's future girlfriend - that's what you want.

 

WHAT THE F?!

You know it's true.

[Chaddyboxer]

Not a bad list of recommendations. ; P

[krc1995]

i understand why people want to eat lunchmeat- it taste pretty good, its easy to slap between bread for a quick sandwich, and its cheap. Unfortunately it full of nitrates and nitrates are really bad for you. FYI , you can find bacon that is nitrate free and it is delicious.

 

I am a teacher that is has been on break now for about 2.5 weeks. I have lost yearly 10 pounds in those two weeks, as verified by doctor, yesterday, by not eating any bread or rice (I do you corn tortillas), no refined sugar, eating an apple before every meal, reducing my workout schedule, drinking 80 ounces of water everyday(I fill my water jug every am and put in in frid to monitor), and drinking 2 beers every night.