Are you plagued by the Fast Food Devil? Do you feel like you can’t get enough of Fast Food? What DO you do?

My husband loves fast food–KFC, Taco Bell, Arby’s, and Wendy’s are a few of his favorite places. Before we had our “no eating out on weeknights” rule, we would sometimes stop by a fast food restaurant after the gym (I know, it defeats the purpose!). Luckily, we examined our finances and determined that we wouldn’t eat out during weeknights–just weekends, and for only one of the three meals during the weekends (so Friday night, once Saturday, and once Sunday were acceptable, if we chose to).

During that rule-setting time, we also decided that we were going to limit our fast food consumption to UP TO ONCE A MONTH. That’s right–only once a month. I am sure my husband craved his fast food, but he never complained. I would always let him choose where we went to eat fast food, and sometimes I would order something on the menu, other times I would make myself food at home (as we often got our food “to go”, I could then still eat with him). Over the past year, our stops at fast food restaurants has dwindled from once a month to less than 3-4 times a year.

Now, I’m not saying that fast food is necessarily bad for you–you CAN order food on the menu that can be healthy and low in fat. However, if you are plagued by wanting that Spicy Baconator (TM) from Wendy’s (substitute your favorite item from your favorite fast food restaurant here) all of the time, then consider making fast food a treat rather than a norm. Your body will thank you.

Photo by Ebruli

How many of us want to eat healthy food but don’t have the time or the ability to cook “good” meals? Well, I stumbled upon a cookbook recently that gives a lot of “down-to-earth” recipes but that are healthy and tasty at the same time. Chef Jennifer Bucko and Registered Dietitian Lara Rondinelli wrote a cookbook called “The Healthy Carb Diabetes Cookbook: Favorite Foods to Fit Your Meal Plan.”

Published by the American Diabetes Association, this book is meant for those of us who have diabetes and anyone who is looking to eat healthfully by watching sodium and fat content!

What I Liked About the Cookbook:

• Easy ingredients!! I didn’t have to go far to make a recipe–most of the ingredients were in my home or easy to find at the grocery store
• Simple recipes–the recipes were easy to follow and gave concise directions
• Variety of recipes–There are a variety of recipes (Asian, Mexican, Italian, “American”, “Soul Food”) to choose from. Examples include: Asian Beef Kabobs, Beef Taco Supreme, Bruschetta, Oven-Fried Chicken, Spinach Artichoke Dip, Baked Tilapia, Italian Wedding Soup, Blueberry Muffins….
• Cooking and Nutrition Tips–each recipe had either a cooking tip or a nutrition tip that tells you foods/ingredients that can be substituted and nutrition tidbits on ingredients (for example, the benefits of fish). These tips came in handy when I was using the cookbook.
• A Nutrition Label–every recipe had a nutrition label (which looked exactly like the ones you see on your food).

What I Thought They Could Do Better:

• The Nutrition Label–it was a great addition to the cookbook but did not give an explanation of the label in the front of the book. The cookbook assumed that you already have knowledge of how to read a nutrition label.
• The Diabetes Section–The cookbook also assumed that you already are knowledgeable about diabetes–if you are just diagnosed with diabetes and don’t exactly know what you should be eating, you would need to pair this cookbook with a general book on diabetes and nutrition.
• Photos–There are no color photos (and minimal photos if that). I assume this is to keep the cost of the book to a minimum, but this would help to see if the recipe looks appetizing or if what I made looks like it is “supposed to!”
• Format–Put it in a format that would be easy to lay down on a countertop while cooking. Again, they probably didn’t do this in order to keep the cost down.
• Desserts–The dessert section was “skimpy”, but then again, I guess that’s what the “Big Book of Holiday Desserts” cookbook is for!

Taste Test:

I tried the French Toast muffins, which were made with fat-free half-and-half, wheat bread, and egg substitute (besides a few other ingredients). Although my husband did not like them (but he doesn’t like wheat bread and french toast in general so he was not a good judge!), I thought it was a great morning meal, full of protein and whole grains (depending on the bread you used). It reheated well and filled me up for several hours afterwards.

Overall, I think it’s a good cookbook for those of you who like to cook simple, healthy meals! I am already planning my list of foods to cook this week based on this cookbook! Enjoy!

Ah, Spring has sprung! Many of us are preparing for the warmth of the summer months by cleaning up our yards and homes. But in the midst of the vacuuming, laundry, and mulching, how many of us clean out our cupboards and refrigerators?

That’s right! Take some time to clean out your cupboards!

1. Throw away ALL:

• Food past expiration date
• Bulging or dented cans
• Cracked jars
• Partially opened boxes that you haven’t used “in a while” (for example, stale cereal)
• Uncooked pasta if you have had it over a year.

2. Clean the cupboards with soap and water too.

3. Take inventory of the foods you have and foods that you will need to replace. Who knows, maybe you will find some foods still within expiration date that will give you a good idea for dinner tonight!

4. Take note of foods items that you still had a lot of when it expired. Maybe next time you shouldn’t buy so many of that item! We are guilty of this as one time we bought several cans of tomato paste and never used it. Unfortunately, before we realized that we hadn’t been using it, it went out of date.

Take time to clean out your spices

How many of us think to clean out our spice rack? Yes, even spices can go “bad” (i.e., lose flavor and freshness). According to McCormick & Company, you can keep:

• Ground spices, 2-3 years
• Whole spices and seeds, 3-4 years
• Herbs, 1-3 years
• Seasoning blends, 1-2 years
• Extracts, 4 years

That’s a relief as I thought that some of my spices might be going bad!

Take time to clean out your refrigerator:

1. Throw away any:

• Products past the expiration date
• Moldy products
• Any products that smell bad or rotten (and aren’t supposed to!)
• Cracked eggs

2. Use the following as a guide for how long food can be in your fridge:

• Fresh/uncooked poultry; ground meat; ground poultry; uncooked sausage– throw away after 2 days
• Fresh or uncooked beef, veal, pork, lamb–throw away after 3 to 5 days
• Cured ham–throw away after 5 to 7 days
• Eggs–throw away after 3 to 5 weeks

The Food Safety and Inspection Service has detailed information on how long other foods can be kept in the refrigerator. Check it out!

3. Clean the refrigerator. Wash the shelves, bins, and walls of the fridge. Also vacuum the compressor fan (usually behind and underneath the fridge)

4. If your fridge has any filters in it, replace them!

Take time to clean out your freezer:

The USDA recommends the following storage times for frozen foods for best quality:

• Meats (bacon, sausage, lunch meats, hot dogs)–1 to 2 months
• Casseroles; soups; stews; gravies; cooked meats–2 to 3 months
• Frozen dinners; uncooked ground meat; cooked poultry–3 to 4 months
• Uncooked meat (roast, whole meats)–4 to 12 months
• Uncooked whole poultry; egg whites/egg substitutes–12 months

Rotate, rotate, rotate!

Next time that you bring home groceries, make sure that the foods that were already in your cupboard are used first! For example, you buy chicken broth and you already have a can in your cupboard. Whichever can is set to expire first put at the front of the cupboard and use this one first. We call this process “first in, first out”; whichever was put in there first and expires first must be used first!.

I hope that in the process of cleaning out your cupboards, refrigerator, and freezer, you can find something delicious to make for dinner tonight. Take note of the foods that you have had to throw away and see if there is a pattern to the foods you are not using. Try to buy less of these food items next time or attempt to use them more frequently. Good luck cleaning!

_{Photo by GotPlaid?}

One of the things I enjoy is tasting new product on the market; my husband will attest to my supply of coupons and list of foods that I want to try. I will be honest and tell you that a lot of the foods I try are because I have a coupon for them or have gotten a sample!

Product Tested

Perdue® Perfect Portions® (Uncooked) Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, which are (raw) 4.8 ounce singly-wrapped chicken breasts; 6 breasts per package; cost at my grocery store: $9.99

Flavors Available

Regular, “All natural”, Herb and Pepper, Italian Style, Roasted Garlic with White Wine, Teriyaki, and Tomato Basil

Nutrition Comments

For a 4.8 ounce portion, these chicken breasts have:

• About 130-160 calories (the teriyaki has 160 calories because of the sweet sauce)
• Less than 3 grams of total fat per serving (the garlic has 3 grams, the rest have 1.5-2 grams)
• 0-0.5 grams of saturated fat
• No trans fat
• 65-105 mg of cholesterol
• And about 28 grams of protein (or 4 servings of protein if a serving size is 1 ounce).

The biggest issue is the sodium content: the all-natural has minimal sodium (60 mg) but the italian style, garlic, teriyaki and tomato basil have between 480-690 mg of sodium per serving! (Remember our sodium goal for the ENTIRE day is less than 2300 mg)

Taste Test

I like the idea of each chicken breast being individually wrapped for a time saver, as you don’t have to take the time to buy a package of chicken breasts, trim off the fat, and package it yourself. However, if you are concerned with being environmentally friendly, then this individual packaging isn’t the best thing. Also, boneless, skinless chicken breasts cost about $0.22/ounce; this product costs $0.35/ounce. Of note, it takes about 20-25 minutes to bake each chicken breast.

Due to the limited availability of several flavors in my supermarket, I was only able to try the garlic and the all-natural. My initial thoughts with the garlic was “it’s too garlicky and salty!!!” I gave the portion on my plate to my husband, who thought it had good flavor and taste. He remarked that the chicken was tender and the flavoring was equal throughout the chicken.

The all-natural chicken, when cooked, had lots of flavor and was juicy (I grilled it and added no spices or liquids to it), and tasted a whole lot better than most of the chicken I buy and defrost!

Overall Rating

On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being “gross, take it off the market” to 10 being “yum! Can I get stock in this company?”), I would rate the flavored products a 6. It had good taste (and I think the reason I didn’t like the garlic one was because I don’t like a lot of garlicky foods), but the sodium content of the flavored items was a big drawback to me.

Nutritionally, the all-natural or regular ones I would rate a 9, and they too, had good flavor. The only drawback to those items is the packaging and cost–if you are on a tight budget and are concerned about the environment (which we are), then this product is not for you. Otherwise, I would recommend the all natural or regular product to anyone who likes chicken and needs a low-fat protein source.

_{This is not a paid endorsement for this product.}

Variety to your diet is key to a healthy lifestyle. However, sometimes we would like to know if our diet really does add up to give us the nutrients we need.

MyPyramid.Gov now has a “menu planner” feature (MyPyramid Tracker), that, once you’re logged in (for free), you can enter in what you eat for the day, or even week (and can do so for your family too!). It’s a great feature that lets you see if you have had enough vegetables, fruits, milk, grains and meat/meat substitutes each day/week.

Once you log into the site, it will ask for your height, weight, and amount of physical activity that you do each day. Then, it will give you a goal calorie level. Time to enter in what you ate! While you are entering these food items, it will show you how that food measures up to your MyPyramid goals (for example how that slice of pizza fits in to the grains, meats, and milk group).

Once you have entered in your data for the day, you can get a daily report or a weekly report, and then you can make one change to a food category. For example, if you chose to increase your vegetable intake, it will give you several choices to make from this. You then choose a goal to strive for (for example, by choosing that you want to increase your vegetable intake, it will tell you to “eat carrot sticks for lunch, buy frozen vegetables for easy side dishes, etc” and you can choose this goal and then track how many days of the week you made this change).

Once you have made a step towards a change in your diet, the program will save this information, and you can view any of the information you entered in at your next visit.

Check it out, and if you’re not convinced as to how it works, check out the Site Map! In my opinion, one of the drawbacks to the program is that the calorie goals are general, there is not an extensive list of foods to choose from, and the program does not automatically take you to your “suggested goals” once you log back in. But overall, it is a basic, and free, way to track your diet and see if you really are meeting the guidelines!