This past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend a professional meeting in one of the greatest culinary cities in the country – New Orleans – with a group of dietitians who work in the culinary world.  These dietitians teach cooking demos, write cookbooks, and their goal is to combine the sheer enjoyment and pleasure of food with nutrition.  Spending three days with them and dining at great restaurants reminded me of a key issue that we often forget.  Food, not nutrients, is what we eat and should be enjoyable.

My favorite dish, Shrimp and Tasso Henican, at brunch at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans.

Too often, heath professionals (myself included!) and researchers whittle food down to a microcosm, to the individual nutrients it includes and their impact on our health.  Instead of talking about the type of oil that is best – canola or olive or soybean or butter – we talk about the type of fat – omega-3 vs. monounsaturated vs. saturated vs. trans.  Instead of researching the impact of milk on bone density, researchers look at calcium levels in eating habits and what that means for osteoporosis risk.  We encourage people to get more fiber, separating the nutrient from all the glorious whole grains (think quinoa and millet), beans (think navy, pinto, garbanzo), and vegetables (think purple cauliflower, crunchy red peppers) that are naturally great source of fiber but just as importantly, enjoyable to cook with and eat. 

So the next time you grocery shop or find yourself harping on your spouse about fat intake or struggle to put something “healthy” on the table, take a minute to focus on the pleasure and enjoyment that food – including nutritious foods – can bring.

Visit www.nuval.com to see scores of the total food’s nutrition.

It was recently announced that starting with the 2011-12 academic year, Hawaii schools will require that 15 of the 25 monthly entrees in the school lunch program must be made from scratch.  The belief, based on the press releases, is that this will improve the overall nutrition quality of the food served.  On the surface, this seems like a great announcement, and we envision grilled, skinless chicken breasts with a side of steamed broccoli.  But, in reality, simply making items from scratch doesn’t guarantee they will provide better overall nutrition quality.  Fried chicken, while made from whole chickens that a food service employee cuts, can still be fried in lard.  Mac and cheese from scratch is often made with butter and regular cheese, which can be high in saturated fat and sodium. 

It feels like this is a message cropping up in places beyond policy meetings on school lunch; places like mommy blogs and during Monday morning water cooler talk.  It’s an assumption that what people call “whole food” is always better than processed food.  But it just isn’t true.  Whether the school lunch meals in Hawaii are made from scratch or from processed foods, the overall nutrition quality can range across a fairly broad continuum.  This is true in each and every one of our households, too — scratch cooking is not necessarily synonymous with healthy food.

Visit www.nuval.com to see a system that rates the nutritional value of all foods.

A frequent thread that runs through my blogs is the importance of eating vegetables and fruits.  In looking through previous blog posts, I have realized that while I often tout the benefits of this eating habit, I have not done a good job of providing actionable tips for getting more fruits and vegetables.  So to make up for the error of my ways, today is about actionable advice. 

My Tips for Getting more Fruits and Vegetables

• With lives as busy as they are, it’s not uncommon for adults and kids alike to be complaining that their “starving” while dinner is being prepped.  With a growing almost-13-year-old son at home, I hear this all the time.  My advice is to cut up a bowl of veggies (think baby carrots, cucumbers, red peppers, jicama) or fruit (think strawberries, kiwi, pineapple) and set it out for all to munch on while you get dinner on the table.  I know you may be thinking “it will ruin their dinner,” nutritionally speaking, I don’t know that eating more fruits and vegetables can be considered ruining dinner, right?
• It’s June, and soccer, baseball, and lacrosse are all in full swing.  If you’re asked to bring a “treat” for after a game, think about bringing ice cold sliced fruit.  What’s more refreshing after a hot, sweaty game than biting into frozen grapes or sliced oranges?
• Kabobs are an easy way to add vegetables to any dinner.  Cut up a variety of vegetables, and let family members build their own kabobs.  Season with a salt-free seasoning or Italian dressing and cook on the grill. 
• While it has been a wet spring in the Midwest and many crops are behind schedule, this season provides a great opportunity to pick your own fruits.  Find a picking farm and take family and friends out to the strawberry or blueberry patch, the cherry farm or later this fall, the apple orchard. 
• Getting five to nine vegetables and fruits in every day means you have to get some in with breakfast.  Add berries to cereal, make a smoothie with whatever fruit you have in the house, eat an apple while commuting to work.  My favorite is scrambled eggs with asparagus  (my mom used to make this when I was a kid).  The other day I had cottage cheese with watermelon (I know it sounds weird, but it was good).  Just try and get one in at breakfast.
• Around 10:00 every morning I look for a snack.  To get veggies in, my habit is to always have a quick and easy veggie for that morning snack.  I pull fresh green beans out of the fridge (easy, right?) or stew rhubarb in the microwave (I add an Equal after) or chop celery and dip in almond butter.

What do you do to get your fruits and veggies in?

At www.nuval.com, vegetables and fruits are the highest scoring category of food.

I consider myself to be fairly up-to-speed when it comes to nutrition trends.  But a few weeks ago, I was out to dinner with a few nutrition friends, and was totally unaware of a trend they mentioned – drinking RAW MILK.

Most of the milk sold in the U.S. is pasteurized, which means the milk is subject to heating and then quick cooling to kill harmful bacteria in milk that can cause food poisoning.  Before the process of milk pasteurization became wide spread, up to 25% of food-borne illnesses were from milk.  Today, because of the broad use of pasteurization and laws requiring it, only 1% of food poisoning is linked to milk.

While the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requires that all milk sold across state lines be pasteurized, they don’t govern what is sold within states.  Different states have different laws about the sale of raw vs. pasteurized milk, with about half outlawing the sale of raw milk.

Why do they outlaw it?  If you think about the anatomy of a cow, you’ll realize that milk and feces (yes, poop) come out of the same end of a cow.  So there is risk that harmful bacteria in the feces can get into the milk.  While pasteurization would kill these bacteria, raw milk isn’t pasteurized, so there’s the risk that people who consume raw milk may be drinking harmful bacteria. 

But proponents of raw milk say that the heat required in pasteurization destroys many beneficial components found naturally in milk including enzymes, vitamins C, B12 and B6, and good bacteria.  They suggest the heat ruins milk protein and lowers the vitamin content.  They believe that raw milk can reduce everything from allergies and skin conditions to rheumatoid arthritis.  They also like the idea of supporting small, local farms that are focused on ethical treatment of animals.  Other research suggests the nutrition composition of raw milk isn’t superior to processed milk. 

So what’s the bottom line on raw milk?  Who wins the pro/con debate?  While we tend to view them as organizations that put all kinds of rules in place, the role of government entities like the USDA is to protect the consumer, which is the case with milk.  From my perspective, you can’t just hop on the band wagon of drinking raw milk because it’s the latest trend.  You have to do your homework and get educated, intentionally choosing a farm to buy it from that has safety measures in place to prevent the contamination of the milk and to test the bacteria levels in the milk.  If you’re going to pre-empt the role of the USDA, you have to assume the role yourself. 

The other point to consider is whether you are looking at raw milk as a silver bullet, believing it will cure all that ails you and perfect the nutrition of your eating habits.  There are many things we can all do to improve our eating habits, and I don’t know that drinking raw milk is at the top of the list.

Visit www.nuval.com to see scores of the overall nutrition quality of milk in all its varieties – skim, whole, with chocolate, soy and more.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know I believe many of our country’s health problems (think obesity, childhood obesity, heart disease) could be solved if we all truly ate the 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables we’re supposed to get each day.  Well, today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reiterated this exact message with the launch of MyPlate which recommends half your plate at every meal be comprised of vegetables and fruits.  MyPlate replaces MyPyramid, which many viewed as difficult to understand and put into practice.

In the press conference held this morning, First Lady Michelle Obama stressed that families are busy and that parents have many jobs (think referee, doctor, employee, chef), but that we all want to serve healthy foods and meals.   MyPlate provides a simple and understandable visual for adults and kids alike to understand what foods to eat in what proportions.

In reviewing the new food icon and the materials provided along with it for consumers, my first impression of MyPlate is positive, and here’s why:

• Obesity in adults and children is by far the biggest public health issue in our country today.  To this end, the first three tips related to MyPlate address this important issue – balance calories, enjoy your food, but eat less, avoid oversized portions.  The focus here is spot on.
• Stressing half a plate as fruits and vegetables is a simple and easily understood message.  It provides a mental and visual reminder to get vegetables and fruits at meals where we might not always think about it, like breakfast.  I know most days my son eats a bowl or two of cereal before he heads out the door to school.  Adding a fruit or vegetable will help ensure he gets that 5-9 he needs every day.
• There are messages weaved throughout the material that are aligned with healthy eating habits.  For example, there is a recommendation to take your time with meals, savoring the flavors and paying attention to when you feel full.  This is absolutely an important nutrition message.  Using smaller plates is another recommendation made.  Work done by Brian Wansink, PhD, clearly shows that environment – including the size of your plates, bowls and glasses – can impact the amount of food you eat.  Again, the message is spot on.

Of course, it’s too early to tell how effective MyPlate will be in helping consumers achieve healthy eating habits that prevent disease and maintain healthy weights, but it is absolutely movement in the right direction.

Visit www.nuval.com to choose nutritionally dense foods for all sections of your plate.