I'm not like a lot of dietitians. I work predominantly with people who struggle with disordered, compulsive, or emotional eating. So my job is to help my clients feel less obsessed and connected to food on an emotional level, so they can get to living a healthy full life that isn't centered around food 24/7.  And part of that work is helping my clients be at peace with any and all foods.  

So I was entertained by an article written by Jenna Bell-Wilson PhD, RD.  She asked thousands of dietitians which foods they indulge in.  A lot of people assume that because dietitians know a lot about nutrition and because our professional lives center around healthy living- we eat super healthy, all the time.  I can assure you, this is simply not so! (Just ask any of my friends and/or family members.)

Jenna took these responses and crafted a clever article about what kinds of "cheat foods" dietitians love to eat, even though they don't offer much in terms of nutritional value.  And she also discusses the importance of incorporating these foods into your diet (in moderation of course!) just for the sake of their yumminess!

This got me thinking about my own favorite indulgences and I had a hard time narrowing the list.  Here are a few of my favorites, in no particular order: cupcakes, Mint Oreos, Hot Tamales.  Here's to celebrating a diet that is full of whole grains, fruits, veggies, and a consistent sprinkling of the not-so-healthy indulgences as well.  Now that is a diet I can live with!

Looking for a simple & delicious summer recipe?  I think this one fits the bill.  I like making a batch of this Ginger & Lemon Grilled Chicken to use throughout the week.  I'll throw it on salad greens, in a whole wheat tortilla with arugula and tomatoes, or on some rice with veggies.  Enjoy!

Your dietitian in Harvard Square,
Marci



Ginger & Lemon Grilled Chicken
Serves 6

Ingredients
1 cup plan yogurt, whisked until smooth
1 T Cumin
1 T Garam Masala
1 tsp Chili Powder
1 4-inch piece of fresh ginger, minced (fresh makes all the difference)
Salt, to taste
Juice of 2 lemons (again, fresh makes all the difference)
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 lbs chicken (I use about a lb of the chicken tenderloins since we don't need 2 lbs of chicken)

Directions
Mix all the ingredients in a pie dish, add chicken and coat.  Marinade for 2-3 hours.  Grill for 5-6 minutes.  We do ours on our little George Foreman and it comes out perfectly!

In March I wrote a blog post about Oprah's interview with Geneen Roth.  And just last week, she had Ms. Roth on her show.  Unfortunately I missed the show but have been thinking a lot about her vow to never diet again.  And several questions came to mind:

* How many billions of dollars will the dieting industry lose now that Oprah has hopped off the band wagon?
* How many women will decide that they are tired of going on/off diets?
* If not dieting, what will Oprah have time to think about instead?
* What will happen to Bob Green, her nutritionist?
* She may not be dieting, but is she dealing with her emotional/compulsive need to eat?
* How do we define dieting and are all diets bad?
* What's the difference between dieting vs. embracing a healthy/balanced lifestyle?
* Does giving up on dieting mean total self-indulgence?

One of my colleagues noted that Oprah is heavier now that she has decided to "stop dieting."  I will just say that there is a big difference between ending a diet and actually dealing with the underlying issues of emotional eating.  Oprah may be feeling less emotional stress now that she doesn't have the stress of dieting in her life, but she will likely continue to gain weight if she isn't dealing with the triggers which encourage her to reach for food.

I fully believe that Oprah, along with anyone else who can identify with her emotional connection to food, can work through this emotionally painful stuff, learn to cope without food, and begin to embrace a much physically and emotionally healthy way of living.  

And most of us will be interested to watch her along the way. Let's hope that she is on to something permanent this time.

Each month I pick a product that glows with a "health halo." A product that claims to be healthy, but actually is not.  And this month The 5 Hour Energy Shot takes center stage.  Their website brags: "At only two ounces it goes down fast. It has zero sugar, zero herbal stimulants and only four calories. It's packed with B-vitamins, amino acids, nutrients and as much caffeine as a cup of the leading premium coffee."

Now why would an average consumer need to take shots of caffeine throughout the day? I can think of two obvious reasons- you're either hungry or tired.  And I know of only two effective antidotes: food or sleep.  When your body asks for fuel or a nap and you respond with caffeine, you are masking the underlying issue (not to mention running on a serious insufficient fuel source.)

I'm not saying the caffeine is evil (but here's a link to an article that discusses the potential side effects of caffeine.)  In fact there is research to show that caffeine is an effective ergogenic aid for athletes (although banned by many professional organizations).  However, most of us are not athletes and most of us need to focus on proper sleep, moderate exercise and sound nutrition for a high-energy day.

I can promise that with adequate rest and several balanced meals and snacks evenly distributed throughout the day, you can avoid the dips in blood sugar that may have you running for a 5 hour shot of caffeine mid-afternoon.  Interested in learning more?  My colleague Karen Giles Smith wrote this article that may be of interest.

DISCLAIMER: I am not opposed to eating things that are non-nutritious but tasty. I would be the last to turn down a homemade chocolate chip cookie! My purpose is to help you see through the marketing ploy of food companies and understand how to feed your body based on sound nutrition. The goal is to fill our diets with nutritious foods and enjoy the yummy but not particularly healthy foods in moderation. My hope is to give you a little clarity with these "No Case" postings.

Your friendly dietitian in Cambridge,
Marci

I have a fear of sharp objects.  It stems from an accident I had in my adolescence but irrational fears still remain.  So you may be surprised to know that the one thing I wanted for my birthday was a real chef's knife.  So after a bit of research and help from my friend Kris Widican (dietitian and chef extraordinaire) I decided on this MAC chef's knife (scroll down to MTH-80). I am truly in love.

Due to my fear of sharp objects, I decided to take a knife skills class at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts.  After three hours of slicing and dicing, I began to wonder how I ever lived without this fabulous kitchen staple.  Using a sharp, well-crafted knife is worth every penny and truly makes cooking easier and more enjoyable.  I had heard it from many people before, but if you spend a reasonable amount of time in the kitchen, invest in a good chef's knife!

Here's a useful article for Gourmet Food's Top Picks for a Chef's knife.  My recommendation is to try out multiple styles before committing to and buying one.  What works for one person may not work for you.  I love the way my knife fits in my hand and is relatively light so I feel in control of it.

My knife certainly came in hand this weekend as I was whipping up several recipes for my busy week.  It's super simple and absolutely scrumptious.  The chopping does take a bit of a time, so for me this is a good weekend recipe that makes great leftovers.

Crustless Leek, Greens, and Herb Quiche
Source: Vegetarian Times May/June 2010 P. 63
Ingredient List

Serves 4

2 Tbs. fine dry breadcrumbs
2 small leeks, white and light green parts halved and sliced 1/2-inch thick
2 cups chopped Swiss chard, kale, collard greens, or mustard greens
4 egg whites
3 whole eggs, beaten
1/4 cup low-fat milk
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1 Tbs. chopped fresh tarragon
1 tsp. chopped fresh basil
2 oz. soft goat cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Coat bottom and sides of 9-inch glass pie dish with olive oil cooking spray. Scatter breadcrumbs over bottom of pie dish.
2. Bring 4 cups salted water to a boil in large pot. Add leeks; boil 3 minutes. Remove pot from heat, add Swiss chard, and let stand 30 to 45 seconds, or until greens are wilted. Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain again, squeezing out excess water with hands. Set aside.
3. Whisk egg whites until frothy. Whisk in eggs. Whisk in milk and nutmeg; season with salt and pepper, if desired. Whisk in tarragon and basil.
4. Scatter leeks and Swiss chard over breadcrumbs in prepared pie dish. Dot cheese on top. Pour egg mixture into pie pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown on top. Cool 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

As a Registered Dietitian (RD) I subscribe to multiple nutrition listservs. One such listserve was discussing their responses to this article I recently blogged about.  As a result, many of the RDs were claiming how easy it is to pull together a nutritious meal in under 30 minutes.  One of the RDs decided to collect all of the quick and nutritious meal ideas and post them in her blog.

So I share with you 25 Healthy Meals in 20 Minutes or Less.  Hope you find some simple meal solutions that strike your fancy.  Enjoy!

I spent the weekend attending the 2010 MEDA Conference: Getting Unstuck: Revitalizing the Prevention and Treatment of Eating Disorders.  The closing keynote speaker was Kitty Westin, a woman who's daughter commit suicide as a consequence of her eating disorder.  Kitty has turned her grief into activism and has committed her life to advocacy for the research, prevention, and treatment of eating disorders.

She informed us that on 4/27/10 a monumental bill called the FREED Act was introduced into legislation. The Federal Response to Eliminate Eating Disorders (FREED) Act is the first comprehensive legislative effort introduced in the Senate to confront the seriousness of these diseases by:
*expanding research
*improving training and education of treatment providers
*improving surveillance and data collection to track prevalence and severity of eating disorders
*facilitating eating disorders prevention through grants
*providing more opportunities for affordable care.

Eating disorders are devastating illness.  Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of all psychiatric illnesses and the suicide mortality rate of people suffering from anorexia and bulimia is 23 times that of the general population. As a dietitian who works almost exclusively with eating disorders, I urge you to contact your local congressman and advocate for their support of this bill. I did so and it took approximately 5 minutes.  Those 5 minutes may result in the passing of a law that radically opens doors for better research and treatment of these debilitating illnesses.

I got a kick out of reading this article.  Michael Ruhlman says the old excuse of being too busy to cook is a bunch of BS.  He states that we all have the same 24 hours in a day and that we all choose how to use those hours.  If you don't have time to cook, he thinks it's just not high enough on your list of priorities.

What do you think?

I for one spend multiple hours in a day helping people develop simple strategies for healthier meals, made with fewer processed ingredients.  But I don't actually cook 5/7 days of the week!  I developed a strategy that works for me.  Cook 3 meals on Sunday that last through the work week, eat out on Saturday and cook a nice meal on Sunday.

What works for you? 

No matter how you look at it- eating fewer processed meals and incorporating better nutrition into your diet does take time, a bit of sacrifice, and some serious planning.  But I just don't know that I can agree with Ruhlman.  For many of us, cooking on a nightly basis isn't a matter of priorities, it's just a matter of reality.

It's been a while since I've posted a recipe simply because I haven't tried any news ones I've been crazy about.  But I made this bulgur chicken salad yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Truth be told I had never used bulgur in a recipe before.  Turns out its super cheap and an extremely easy whole grain to prepare. 

This salad is packed with whole grain goodness, fiber, Vitamins C & E.  Plus I can carry it to work in one container, which makes my life much easier.  Enjoy!

Bulgur Chicken Salad
Source: Nutrition Action Healthletter April 2010

Ingredients:
1 cup bulgur
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1  lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
Freshly ground black pepper
4 T Olive oil, divided
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
2 T fresh lemon juice
Arugula, roughly chopped (or any other salad green you like)
2 cups grape tomatoes, quartered
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1 avocado, chopped

Marci's Additions:
Slivered almonds, lightly tasted (love that crunch)
Orange slices, cut into chunks (adds sweetens and a little juice)

Directions:
Place bulgur in a large bowl, pour boiling water on top and cover.  Let stand 10 minutes, uncover and allow to cool.

Season chicken with pepper (and anything else you like), then grill or saute over medium heat with 1 T olive oil.  Allow chicken to rest 5 minutes then slice.

Whisk the remaining 3 T oil, orange & lemon juice, along with salt & pepper to taste.

Add the arugula to the bulgur, toss with dressing, and top with tomatoes, scallions, avocado, almonds, and oranges.  Enjoy!

Marci's note: I actually mixed the bulgur, dressing, and toppings together, then topped my arugula with the bulgur mixture.  I'm keeping the bulgur mixture separate from the arugula for leftovers in one container.  I have found that it keeps in the fridge pretty well.  You may want to leave the avocado out and simply add it right before you eat it since it tends to turn brown.

A colleague of mine wrote a great blog post on creating a healthy kitchen that is earth-friendly.  I think she has some great ideas, so check it out!

Here's my #1 earth-friendly tip: Stop buying water in plastic bottles.  Cut down waste by drinking from a reusable BPA-free water bottle.  I bought one for $2 at Old Navy and love it!