Are Ultra-processed Foods Making You and Your Family Sick?
In today’s world, many Americans are eating more ultra-processed and processed foods and not eating real foods that contain adequate amounts of dietary fiber and other nutrients. 75% of Americans are overweight with 45% of children being labeled as overweight. 20% of kids are labeled as obese with about 1/3 of kids having diabetes or pre-diabetes around age 12.
Vegetable Beef Stew
This one-pot meal is a family favorite. It has lots of vegetables and is gluten-free. You can add salt and pepper to taste. One of my granddaughters like to add brown rice to her bowl of Vegetable Beef Stew. She has to be gluten-free so the extra calories are warranted. It seems like she is always training for a ½ marathon somewhere.
Sweet Potato-Spinach-Black Bean Quesadillas
This quesadilla recipe combines many of my favorite foods which are high nutrients: sweet potatoes, spinach, red pepper and black beans. It’s no secret, I love Mexican foods and so does my family. You can easily make this gluten-free if you substitute the whole wheat tortillas for corn tortillas. I like to top my quesadillas with a little salsa, some yummy guacamole, a dab of lite sour cream, and I make a side salad with diced tomatoes and chopped romaine lettuce.
Magnesium Keeps Your Body Running Smoothly
Recently a family member told me his health professional recommended he take a magnesium supplement daily. She told him to look for a magnesium supplement that contain at least 200 milligrams (mg). He’s 75 years old and is also on blood pressure medicine. He asked me about what foods were high in magnesium which prompted me to write this column about magnesium. As a nutritionist, I always recommend foods over supplements unless my client doesn’t eat the foods high in the nutrient needed, they have a medical condition where they don’t absorb the nutrient well may cause a magnesium deficiency. In fact, when I was working as a performance nutritionist, when an athlete suffered from muscle cramps, besides discussing hydration, potassium status, calcium status, I also talked about magnesium. Many of energy & muscle system reactions are magnesium dependent to work effectively.
Mexican Cheeseburger
This is a very quick and easy grandkid-loving recipe my grandkids love to eat especially the college grandkids who are doing their own cooking. Included is an excellent homemade sauce recipe but full disclosure, my college grandkids, just use their own store purchased toppings like thick salsa, mayonnaise and ketchup instead of making their own sauce. If you want to lower the calories, you can use reduced fat cheese and use thick salsa instead of the sauce. You can also stack the Mexican Cheeseburgers to make a double.
Keeping a Daily Food Diary Can Help You Lose Weight
In today’s world there are calorie counting apps you can add to your I-phone, I-pad or Android which makes keeping track of your foods and beverages easier. Some of the calorie counting apps are really good but many now are charging a monthly or yearly fee.
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