Here's What I've Been Up To.....

I'm on summer vacation now, because I don't start my job until July 6th. However, I have a list about a mile long of things I want to accomplish before I start my job. I've already crossed a few things off.....



We chose paint for our master bedroom, bathroom, living room, and kitchen.





I started painting the kitchen on Tuesday, and my mom and I finished it last night. What do you think?




We need new curtains, a new table, and blinds for the windows (we are getting white wooden blinds). Once that is all finished I will show you the entire kitchen. For now it's just a little teaser because the decorating has only just begun!






We bought mulch for our front yard and laid it all last weekend. It was a lot of work, but check out how much nicer it looks.






Next step is to plant some pretty flowers.





I've been planning out our workout room, which will revolve around this elliptical that Nick's sister gave us! She moved out of her apartment last weekend and said we could take the elliptical, which she claimed to have never used. Crazy. This will eventually get moved into our new workout room (another thing on my to-do list).




Until we move this thing inside, it's stuck in the garage. Working out in the garage in 90 degree weather means I have to get out there as early as possible in order to beat the heat. I've been working out before eating breakfast, which is something I think I could get used to. I do eat a handful of berries, a few bites of granola, and a cup of coffee before I get on this thing (I carry water with me too).

What Have I Been Eating?


THIS...

Messy Pumpkin Oat Bran

(oat bran, soy milk, regular 2% plain yogurt, 1/2 T almond butter, and 1/2 cup pumpkin)

Fresh Ohio grown tomatoes, which are amazing at this time of year.

Sliced on top of some egg whites, cheese, and greens.

And tons of strawberries. Thank goodness I can eat berries on this FODMAPs diet, or else I may go crazy.

Gina's To-Do List Before July 6th

- Plan our house warming party (July 3rd). Who's coming?!

- Order blinds for the kitchen

- Paint the living room

- Put together out workout room

- Prepare meals for Nick since I will be doing most of my training in Pittsburgh (if I don't prepare him anything, he will order pizza every night, or just not eat at all. Crazy)

- CLEAN the house after out July 3rd party


QUESTION: What projects are you working on at the moment?

Coming Up

On Saturday I will be posting a review on a new dietary supplement I received. Until then, have a great week/weekend! And as always, thanks for reading.

Agave, HFCS, and Some Banana Chocolate Dreams Fro Yo

Before I begin this post I want to answer I question I received about my yogurt post. I was asked why I don't buy fat free yogurt. The reason is because I just don't think it tastes as good as yogurt with a little fat. I don't buy the full fat yogurt (because full fat yogurt typically has a lot of saturated fat) but I usually buy yogurt with about 3-4 grams of fat per serving, simply for the creamy texture and wonderful taste!


I'm glad everyone enjoyed yesterday's Thurman Burger post! I loved reading about all of your recent indulgences. I was drooling the entire time ;)

Sugar is Sugar

The other day I was contacted by our local NBC4 station to provide my thoughts on High Fructose Corn Syrup. While I don't have a clip of the video, you can read the article here; High fructose corn syrup. If you read my blog regularly you know that I don't really consider HFCS any worse that regular table sugar. It's 55% fructose, compared to table sugar's 50% fructose. Not much of a difference in my opinion. Need more evidence? I tweeted this article earlier this week.

What about Agave Nectar? A few weeks ago I tweeted an article about Agave Nectar, which confirmed my opinion that it's really not any better for you than other sweeteners. To read the article, click here. The bottom line was this;

The bottom line is that refined agave sweeteners are not inherently healthier than sugar, honey, high-fructose corn syrup, or any other sweetener. Nutritionally and functionally, agave syrup is similar to high-fructose corn syrup and sucrose (Karo) syrup. It does contain small amounts of calcium, potassium, and magnesium, but not enough to matter nutritionally.



Question: What are your thoughts on HFCS and Agave?

Coming Up

Tomorrow I will also be posting a bit of info about the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Have you see the preliminary write-up yet? I will also provide a little update of my life. I've been quite busy!

Thanks for reading everyone! Have a wonderful day.

The 12 Ounce Thurman Burger Indulgence

Last night Nick and I brought my dad (and a few others) to The Thurman Cafe. This place was featured on the Travel Channel about a year ago. Here is a picture of the burger consumed by Adam of the Travel Channel's Man Vs. Food:




Saturday I posted about the dangers of heating high fat proteins, but of course last night I ate (and bought my dad) some high fat protein, which I'm sure was not prepared using the tips I provided in my post. I did order my burger medium rare, which helps (less cooking time means less time to form those harmful AGEs). But as I always say, everything in moderation! I don't do this often.


This is a picture of the burger I ordered......

12 ounces of fatty ground beef, 2 slices of Swiss cheese, mushrooms, lettuce, tomato, and lots of yellow mustard

Calorie estimate: ~1100

About 20 minutes later......

I almost ate the entire burger, even the wheat-filled bun. I ended up leaving about 1/4 of the bun and a little bit of the cheese on my plate. I didn't touch the chips because they weren't anything special. I was so proud of my burger accomplishment (although I've admittedly done this three times in the past).

Question: When was the last time you let yourself INDULGE and order something that you typically wouldn't? Did you eat the entire thing?

Coming Up

Tomorrow I'll be posting about Agave, High Fructose Corn Syrup, and some new fro yo; Banana and Chocolate Dreams.

Thanks for reading everyone! Have a great day.

Update: Who Am I, and What is This Blog?

Hello readers! Welcome to my blog. My name is Gina and I'm a Registered Dietitian from Columbus, Ohio. I graduated from Miami University with a Bachelor's degree in Dietetics, then graduated from The Ohio State University with a Master's degree in Human Nutrition. I am currently the Dietitian and Wellness Coach for a local supermarket.

Not too long ago my fiance and I moved into a new house (that's Nick, below!). We are both working really hard to save for a wedding, update our house, maybe get a dog, and eventually have a family. The picture below was taken our first day in our new home. We were so excited to be first-time home buyers!

Nick and I are BIG Ohio State fans. Here we are at the National Championship game in 2007. This was before we got our butts kicked by some nasty team down south.

I started this blog in March of 2009, and since then Nick and I have gotten used to taking pictures of just about anything that involves food, or anything even remotely interesting. Nick is even used to holding food up to me when he's driving. I have to be candid and capture even the fast food moments!

You know what they say, dating makes you gain weight. In my case it was a good thing. I had an eating disorder from my junior year in high school, through my junior year in college. It was never life threatening, however I restricted my fat intake enough for there to be lasting effects, both physical and emotional. Even though I was cured by the time I met Nick, over 4 years ago, he still helped me put on a much needed 10 pounds. It may not seem like a lot, but I was proud of myself, and still am.


I know a lot about nutrition and I always try to practice what I preach, which means eating healthy about 90% of the time, and enjoying an indulgence at least once a day (for me it's homemade ice cream, Lindt's dark chocolate, and sometimes a really good beer!). Get used to seeing a lot of this on my blog:

We may be slightly addicted to ice cream (I actually make frozen yogurt), and I love to make crazy flavors with our ice cream maker!

Life is a journey, and a fun one at that. I like to try to live like a child, and laugh as much as possible. I like to live by a child's philosophy of food as well. In other words, eat when you are hungry, and don't eat when you are not. In other words, be an intuitive eater. At the same time, listen to what your mother always told you and "Keep your choices varied, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, and choose sweets and alcohol in moderation!!" (my mom truly used to say stuff like that).



This is who I learn from, just as much as he learns from me (I hope). He's Joe, my 13 year old brother. And the coolest kid in America.

Topics For My Blog

• Random Nutrition Tidbits and Video Blogs: This is where I share all the random knowledge I have stored in my brain! Topics range from pre and post workout snacks, to how to choose a good supplement or choosing the perfect yogurt.
  

• Nutrition and Health Updates: This is where I update you on the latest health and nutrition research and information. I'll keep you updated on the latest diet, food, and health trends and research.

• Gimics and Fads: There are so many lies, and so much nonsense being preached to the public. I will cue you in as to what to look out for and about which to be weary. But, I don't mention brand names, sorry. That's one of the drawbacks of working in a grocery store.
  

• New Eats/Products: I'm always finding new food and health products, that I either love or hate. I will share those with you and provide my honest opinion.
  

• Recipes: Something I really enjoy is cooking quick, simple, and healthy meals at night. I find that many people (especially busy parents) don't realize just how easy it can be to cook a quick and healthy meal for their family! I am working on compiling a list of dinner recipes to be put into a cookbook eventually. I will show you tons of meals that can be created with few ingredients, and little time. Oh, and they are healthy too!
  

Thanks for stopping by, and I look forward to getting to know you!

AGEs in Our Meat

Is everyone having a nice weekend? Today Nick and I are working on the front of our house. We picked weeds last weekend and today we are laying down the mulch. I can't wait. It's going to look so much better, even just by adding the mulch. As you all know tomorrow is Father's Day. Any plans? Nick's father passed away a few years ago so he is coming with me to my family reunion (we do a family reunion every Father's Day) then we are hitting the outlet malls on the way home! I have to get some new clothes for my new job.....right?!

AGEs

If you are a registered dietitian, I hope you are also a member of the American Dietetic Association. Although it's quite pricey to join, in my opinion it's worth the price (and I'm cheap!). I especially love the direct access to their journal; The Journal of the American Dietetic Association. In this month's issue there was an interesting study about AGEs (Advanced Glycation End Products). These AGEs are a "diverse group of highly oxidant compounds". You know antioxidants? They are supposed to protect us form things like AGEs. AGEs, and other oxidative compounds, are known to cause inflammation in the body and thus contribute to higher risks for heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic diseases. They are found mainly in animal protein foods, but more will form when these animal proteins are cooked (especially high fat animal proteins).

How can you prevent the formation of these AGEs?

Use shorter cooking times

Cook with moist heat

Cook at lower temperatures

Marinate your meat and poultry in acidic ingredients prior to cooking (I really like to add balsamic vinegar to my ground beef prior to cooking it)

If I don't use balsamic vinegar as my acidic ingredient, I use lime juice. The chicken below was used for Nick's poker dinner (I pack him a dinner to take to poker every Tuesday so he doesn't get stuck eating wings and pizza with his friends. I swear he likes it!). Prior to cooking it on the stove, I marinated the raw chicken (1 pound total) for about 30 minutes in; 1/2 cup lime juice, 1/2 cup BBQ sauce, and 2 tsp. seasoning mix. After cooking this chicken I put most of it away in the freezer, and I put the remainder on a bed of brown rice for Nick's dinner.


I then topped it with some spinach, broccoli, and more BBQ sauce (he loves BBQ sauce, I can't be too much of a food Nazi).


The next time you cook your meat or poultry, try to follow some of the above tips! You'll be glad you did (or at least your body will). Did you know that inflammation also causes premature aging? Yep, so go get some acidic ingredients for your next marinade!

Coming Up

Ironically, on Monday night Nick and I are taking my dad to The Thurman Cafe for Father's Day (one day late). Their signature burger was featured on the show Man Vs. Food. Let's just say it's HUGE and I'm going to prove to my dad that I can eat the entire thing. Yes, I know what you're probably thinking "Gina, you just posted about the danger of heating and eating high fat proteins without following the above tips". True, but as I always say, everything in moderation ;)

Monday's post will be a video blog about YOGURT. I will talk about three different types of yogurt; soy, regular, and Greek. They each have positive and negative qualities, but they are all a fantastic addition to a healthy diet!

Thanks so much for reading everyone, and have a great day!

Fat is My Friend

You may have read my Tweet earlier in the week, but I'll repeat it here.....I ACCEPTED A JOB WITH A LOCAL GROCERY STORE!!! Could I be any more excited?? No! This is my dream job, literally, as I will be doing store tours, food demos, private consults, and so much more. The only "bad" thing is that I have to do 8 weeks of training, starting July 6th, which will require that I travel and stay mainly in Pittsburgh. I know this might sound pathetic to you, but I have never spent so many days away from Nick, and I'm sort of anxious about this. I'm such an independent, and I don't need Nick to make me happy or satisfied, but it's going to be strange. We don't even see each other a whole lot on a typical day, only at night, but that's when I will really miss him. Oh well, distance/absence makes the heart grow founder, right?! I'll have to find some really great books to keep my occupied. YEAH NEW JOB!!!




On Tuesday I posted 5 "Urban Food Legends". Today I want to talk about another food legend that began about 20 years ago; "Fat free and low fat is best!".

I will take you back to a post I wrote in October of last year:

New Research Regarding Omega-6 Fatty Acids

Omega-6 fatty acids are essential fatty acids, like Omega-3 (found in salmon and other fatty fish), but they are not often discussed because most Americans have no trouble getting them. Why? They are found in vegetable oils (canola, soybean, safflower, peanut), which Americans have no trouble getting in their diets (think fries, dressings, chips, etc.). When I was in school to become an RD (about 5 years ago) we were sort of taught to look down on Omega-6's. They are important in the diet because our body can't make them. They do play essential roles in our body, but too many Omega-6s are linked to pro-inflammatory processes in the body, and have been linked to heart disease and other inflammation diseases.

New studies, however, have been showing an association with Omega-6 and LOWER cardiovascular disease risk, and improved blood lipids. Five studies were cited, with specific results that associated higher percentages of Omega-6s to lower CVD risk, improved total-HDL cholesterol ratio (good cholesterol), and a reduction in LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol).

New recommendations: The American Dietetic Association and the Dietitians of Canada are now recommending that 5%-10% of your diet should be Omega-6s and .6% to 1.2% should be Omega-3s (11-22 grams Omega-6 and 1.3-2.7 grams Omega-3, on a 2000 calorie diet). Keep in mind, the lower percentage is for those who eat less calories, while the higher percentage is for those who eat more.

SOURCE: Today's Dietitian Magazine

In another previous post I talked about my opinion of fat free vs. reduced fat peanut butter. Check it out here.


She-Fit did a post about "The Dangers of a Low Fat Diet", which I thought was fantastic. Bring on the fat!

My Overall Opinion of FAT

For about two years of my life I hated fat. I avoided it at all costs. I would pour the oil off of my almond butter, eat plain bread without any butter or margarine, only buy fat free ice cream, fat free yogurt, and fat free cheese. When I went through this period of anorexia, I gave up all forms of fat, including my beloved peanut butter. At this point in my life I had no idea why fat was so important. So what happened to me physically, and mentally? I couldn't think straight,I was always in a bad mood, I lost some hair (which in some parts of my head has still not grown back, and I'm not holding my breath), and I know it had an effect on my memory. This is because fat plays essential roles in growth, brain development, nutrient absorption, and so much more. Back in 1990 our government decided to take a stand against fat, but their initial thought was to start eliminating it from foods like dairy products, meat, and poultry. This was a good idea because these are all sources of "bad" saturated and trans fat (although saturated fat is necessary in the diet. The DV is about 20 grams per day). While their intentions were good, the food companies took it about 100 steps too far. They started taking fat out of cakes, ice cream, crackers, and cookies. America started to become afraid of fat, and instead turned to fat's high carbohydrate/sugar and sodium counterparts. "It's fat free, which means I can eat as much as I want and not get fat!" Yeah, so we thought. As it turns out we did get fatter and even more unhealthy (our triglycerides went up, our good cholesterol/HDL went down, and our brains stopped functioning quite as nicely). Why? FAT IS GOOD! Thankfully now I am in love with fat and I have discovered how much fat loves me too!

Here are my favorite sources of fat:

Peanut butter
(My addiction is Smart Balance crunchy peanut butter. They add extra Omega-3 fats to theirs!)



Almond Butter




Smart Balance Margarine
(With omega-3 added, in the form of flaxseed)



Olive Oil




Canola Oil
(Smart Balance adds extra Omega-3 to their canola oil too)


Flaxseeds

Walnuts

Pistachio

How many tsp. of oil should you consume each day? Find out by going to the MyPramid Website.

QUESTION: What's your favorite source of FAT?!

Coming Up

Monday I will post a video blog about three different types of yogurt (all of which have fat!) Soy, regular yogurt, and Greek yogurt. I don't do fat free yogurts, ever (or sugar free for that matter.). Tomorrow I will be posting some information about AGEs. Don't know what those are? Find out tomorrow!!

Happy Friday everyone! Thanks for reading.

A Day of Hiking

Today's post is going to be almost wordless. Why? I don't feel like typing. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Before I share my pics I want to say HAPPY NATIONAL EAT YOUR VEGGIES DAY!! Yeah, who knew, right?! In honor of this day I plan to eat some pumpkin, cucumbers, squash, and fresh tomatoes. How about you?








Yesterday we went to The Inn at Cedar Falls in Hocking Hills, Ohio. Our plan was to do some hiking, eat a nice lunch, then get a massage, but after the hike we were so tired and ready to go home, we skipped the massage! We were exhausted and a massage would have put us to sleep. Plus we couldn't all get in at one time, which was a real bummer.


Here are the pictures of our day trip, with as few words as possible.

Right as we started our hike we realized (obviously, after three days of RAIN) it was really muddy. We ended up hiking about 10 miles. That may not sound like a lot, but our bodies felt each one of those miles! There were a ton of hills, and zero flat land. I didn't take many pictures because a lot of the scenery was kind of ugly (from the rain). I did take pictures of the beautiful water falls.

This is the fire tower that marked the half-way point.

The view from the top.

We stopped at a market on the way home. They sold tons of plants, plus some fresh tomatoes, zucchini, onion, cucumber, peaches, and rhubarb! I ate some of the tomato and zucchini when we got home. They both tasted heavenly.

This is me, Susan, and Ruth (two family friends of ours).
We had to get a picture on the wagon :)

Coming Up

Tomorrow I will post about fat. Hopefully after tomorrow's post you will love it as much as I do.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures! Thanks for stopping by.

New Book, New Puppy, and a Sprouting Garden

Happy Monday!!! I am trying to stay really positive this week because it may be my last week of freedom from a job. I have to make this week the best one yet. While I will miss having all the free time in the world, I really can't wait to start working again, especially because it's going to be a job that I LOVE!

My Family's Newest Addition

All my life my dad has insisted that he would never buy a small dog. When I was young I had a large Airedale Terrier, named Nicki. We got rid of Nicki when Joe was born (my parents, both at age 40, couldn't handle a dog, a 13 year-old, and a newborn...oh well, I understood). So now that my brother is 13 my parents have finally decided to let him have a dog. For some strange reason they chose one of the smallest dogs known to man (and the ugliest, in my opinion); a wire haired dachshund (aka a Weiner dog!).

When they told me they were buying a weiner dog, I laughed out loud. I'll admit, however, this dog is actually quite cute, but what dog isn't cute at 10 weeks old? My family chose this small dog because they had met its mother and saw how tame and relaxed she was. My dad had this false impression that all small dogs were wild and crazy, but this dog proved him wrong.

Oh, by the way, her name is Scarlet. When you live in Ohio it's fairly common to have a pet named Scarlet, Gray, or Buckeye (yeah, we're all OSU football freaks!).

Garden Update

Not only do we have flowers blooming in our backyard....

We also have kale (below), pumpkins, and acorn squash! The broccoli, peppers, cilantro, and spinach have yet to show their pretty little faces.

These (below) are the rows of pumpkin and acorn squash. We've got about three pumpkin and three acorn squash sprouting. We're not sure why the other seeds haven't sprouted yet, but we're not too worried about it. This was our first experience building a garden from scratch so we didn't expect everything to go perfectly.

Funniest Book Ever

Are you in the mood to laugh so hard, you cry? You've GOT to read this book! It's called "This is Where I Leave You", By Jonathan Tropper. I'll admit straight up, it's pretty crass. Believe it or not I'm pretty crass myself, so this was right up my alley. It's about a Jewish family who is sitting shiva (sitting for 7 days, mourning the death of a loved one). The man narrating the story is taking us back through his hilarious childhood throughout the seven day shiva. The stories are just so funny, I can't put this book down! I promise you will not regret checking this book out at your local library.

GIVEAWAY UPDATE

Gina is having a SALSA giveaway to celebrate here one year blog anniversary!

Coming Up

Tomorrow I will post 5 urban food legends (ex: sugar causes diabetes....not so much!).

Here is a challenge for you; today, stay positive no matter what. My plan is to look at everything as if the glass is half full. This will help make the day fly by.

Thanks for reading everyone, and have a GREAT Monday!