Skip to main content

How can we get in more fruits and vegetables?

Hello!


Today we're focusing on how we can get more fruits and vegetables in that day! We are not perfect and we all can improve on getting in more fruits and vegetables (yes even dietitians)! Here are some good tips to get in more fruits and vegetables in the day:


• Pre-chop your ingredients so it is quick and easy to grab for a snack or put in a dish!

• Have your family help choose the fruit or vegetable of the week. If they are all included, it may help with their consumption

• Buy in season to save the most on fruits and vegetables 

• Do not be afraid of frozen or canned items

• Make it fun and tasty..... it does not have to be bland! 


If you want to learn more and get helpful tips from registered dietitians, listen to our mini-podcast here. All 4 of the dietitians at Crossing Healthcare and our dietetic intern Emily will provide helpful tips on getting in those fruits and vegetables! 


And to help you out, we've got 5 fun and tasty meals for you to try for family meals!! 


Mixed Berry Smoothie

Ingredients: 

1 frozen banana

1 cup frozen mixed berries

1 cup unsweetened milk (nut, soy, animal)

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

Honey or maple syrup, to taste


Directions: 

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender, and process until smooth.


Nutrition Facts: 

Servings: 1 smoothie 

Calories: 477 kcal 

Total Fat: 6 grams

Carbohydrates: 89 grams 

Protein: 23 grams 

Fiber: 9 grams

Sugar: 56 grams 


Angel Food Cake with Strawberries 

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 cups egg whites (from 11 large eggs)

3/4 cup + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour 

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar 

Pinch kosher salt 

2 tbsp lemon juice 

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced

2 tbsp granulated sugar 

lightly sweetened whipped cream


Directions:

1. Put the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and let them warm until they’re a little cooler than room temperature (about 60°F), about 1-1/2 hours. 

2. Position a rack in the bottom third of the oven and heat the oven to 325°F. Have ready a 10-inch tube pan with removable bottom. Sift together the flour, 1/2 cup of the sugar, and the salt; set aside.

3. Add the lemon juice to the egg whites and beat on medium-low speed until the mixture is quite frothy and has increased a little in volume, 1 to 2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium and slowly, about a tablespoon at a time, add the remaining 1 cup of sugar. Continue beating until the whites thicken and form soft droopy peaks when the beater is lifted, 6 to 7 minutes from when you began adding sugar. Do not beat the whites until stiff. In the final minute or so of beating, add the vanilla extract. The mixture should be voluminous and light but still fluid enough to pour.

4. Sprinkle about one fifth of the flour and sugar mixture over the egg whites and with a large spatula, gently fold it in. Continue folding in the remaining flour-sugar mixture in 4 more additions until it’s fully incorporated. Gently pour the batter into the ungreased tube pan. Run a spatula once through the batter to eliminate any big air bubbles and then lightly smooth the batter if necessary.

5. Bake until the top is a light golden color and the cake feels spongy and springs back when touched very lightly, 45 to 55 minutes.

6. Toss the berries with the sugar and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. 

7. When the cake is done, insert the neck of a bottle or a funnel into the tube part of the pan and invert the pan. Let the cake cool completely before removing it from the pan.

8. To remove the cake, run a thin knife or spatula around it to loosen it. Lift the cake from the pan. Run the knife or spatula between the cake and the bottom of the pan. Invert the cake onto a cake plate and remove the tube section.

9. Slice the cake with a serrated knife using a gentle sawing motion. Serve topped with the strawberries and a dollop of whipped cream.


Nutrition Facts: 

Servings: 10 

Calories: 290 kcal 

Total Fat: 9 grams

Carbohydrates: 46 grams 

Protein: 6 grams 

Fiber: 1 gram

Sugar: 35 grams


Baked Zucchini Fries 

Ingredients: 

1 cup Panko

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

4 zucchinis, quartered lengthwise

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 large eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves


Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Coat a cooling rack with nonstick spray and place on a baking sheet; set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine Panko, Parmesan and Italian seasoning; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.

3. Working in batches, dredge zucchini in flour, dip into eggs, then dredge in Panko mixture, pressing to coat.

4. Place zucchini onto prepared baking sheet. Place into oven and bake for 20-22 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp.

5. Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.


Nutrition Facts: 

Servings: 6 

Calories: 135 kcal 

Total Fat: 5 grams

Carbohydrates: 15 grams 

Protein: 8 grams 

Fiber: 0 grams

Sugar: 0 grams


Veggie Omelet

Ingredients

1 tsp olive 

2 tbsp red bell pepper, chopped

1 tbsp onion, chopped

¼ cup mushrooms, sliced

1 cup loosely packed fresh baby spinach leaves, rinsed

2 eggs, beaten 

1 tbsp water

Dash salt

Dash pepper

1 tbsp shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese


Directions

1. In 8-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper, onion and mushrooms to oil. Cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until onion is tender. Stir in spinach; continue cooking and stirring just until spinach wilts. Remove vegetables from pan to small bowl.

2. In medium bowl, beat egg product, water, salt and pepper with fork or whisk until well mixed. Reheat same skillet over medium-high heat. Quickly pour egg mixture into pan. While sliding pan back and forth rapidly over heat, quickly stir with spatula to spread eggs continuously over bottom of pan as they thicken. Let stand over heat a few seconds to lightly brown bottom of omelet. Do not overcook; omelet will continue to cook after folding.

3. Place cooked vegetable mixture over half of omelet; top with cheese. With spatula, fold other half of omelet over vegetables. Gently slide out of pan onto plate. Serve immediately.


Nutrition Facts

Servings: 1

Calories: 140 kcal 

Total Fat: 5 grams

Carbohydrates: 6 grams 

Protein: 16 grams 

Fiber: 2 grams

Sugar: 3 grams


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Mending your relationship with food

Mending your relationship with food  Did you know intentionally trying to lose weight results in weight gain 95% of the time? Frequent dieting is one of the top predictors of weight gain and the top predictor of eating disorder development.   This is because your body doesn’t know the difference between dieting and starvation . All your body sees is that it is not receiving the amount or the type of food that it wants at the time it wants. Therefore, it thinks that you must not have enough food around you and there must be a famine.   When your body goes into starvation mode, you experience increased cravings and hunger, “uncontrollable” eating, and a slowed metabolism. Your body wants to conserve as much energy as possible because it thinks your access to food is limited. Food insecurity can actually have this same effect on the body.   Here are the 10 Intuitive Eating Principles that help you to mend your relationship with food. Intuitive Eating is a book written by two

Introductions!

Hello World!  Welcome to The News Beet with the Dishing Dietitians. This podcast is going to be loads of facts, food, and fun. The podcast will be available on this blog, along with recipes from each episode.  This podcast is here for you. It is brought to you by Crossing Healthcare, who cares about your quality of life and believes in providing excellent comprehensive healthcare that is affordable and accessible. This podcast is here to be a helping hand in bettering your nutrition and lifestyle.  Here is a link to our introduction podcast:  Turn up the Beet- Welcome to our podcast about food, nutrition, and you! MEET THE TEAM:   The Dishing Dietitians     Allison  &  Elizabeth There will also be Dietetic Interns (students working towards being a dietitian) who could be on the podcast. Interns will be great for big topic podcast episodes. Have any questions about nutrition, wellness, and you? Email them to us at newsbeetdishingdietitian@gm

Fad Diets

  Adkins. Keto. Paleo. Intermittent Fasting. Raw Diet. Carnivore Diet. The list goes on and on and on ! There is a new diet out there every day! It can be very challenging for those who are on a health and wellness journey to decipher which one is the best! Worry no more! This blog and podcast are going to discuss the biggest fad diets right now and why they are good and why they may not be the best for our health.   Be mindful that all this information is bias free . I have taken all the evidence-based information and compiled it into this blog! Is there more information out there? YES! However, you are an advocate for your health and you need to make the decision on what is going to work best for you! Let’s start at the beginning though…. What is a fad diet?   A fad diet is a way of eating that typically restricts certain foods, has crazy health claims that are “to good to be true” and will have a spike in popularity and then feather off months or years later. It is typicall