Percentages vs. Gram Macronutrient Recommendations

Thanks so much for all of your comments on my last post. As an RD I am always prepared to have people dispute what I write on my blog. In fact, I encourage my readers to share their opinions, whether or not it coincides with my own, and I'm always more than happy to comment with my own detailed thoughts and explanations. I also encourage you all to dispute anything I say if infact you believe I am wrong. I've actually had readers teach me stuff I did not know (when I did the MyPyramid post I said 1/2 cup cooked vegetables = 1 cup uncooked. WRONG! Apparently that's not the case with the new MyPyramid.gov. Now I know!).

I received another comment from a reader named Lara, to which I would like to respond. Again, her comment is in black writing, and my responses are in red.

In my previous post I wrote that my personal trainer at Urban Active had suggested that if I want to gain more muscle I should consider a 40% protein diet. In my blog post I wrote that I didn't think this was accurate, as I would likely lose weight if I chose such a diet. Lara said:

Why would you lose weight if you ate 40% protein. That makes no sense. Weight loss is primarily about calories. Yes, this is true. When my PT at Urban Active told me that I should consume 40% of my calories from protein, I was considering my own personal diet. I am aware that I consume an average of 2000 calories per day, and about 80-110 grams of protein. This equals about 16-22% calories from protein (there are 4 calories per gram of protein). When the PT said this to me I was considering what this would do for me personally, not the general public. If I started increasing my protein intake, I would likely decrease my carbohydrate and fat intake. I would also likely eat less calories, as higher protein diets have been proven to decrease a person's appetite, and I know that is the case for me.

And as an RD you should know that percentages are meaningless. 40% of 1500 calories is a lot different than 40% of 2500 calories. It is grams of the macronutrients that are what is important. Of course I know this. I don't feel that I need to explain every single thing I say, 100%, on my blog. If I did, my posts would be a mile long. I know that 40% protein for me would be about 400 grams, which equals about 4.2 grams per kg body weight. This is simply too much for me (and really too much for anyone if you ask me....).

Macronutrient intake is very personal of course, some do better with more of this or that but the comment that 40% would make the rest of your diet be unbalanced is totally unfounded. In my personal case, this is not totally unfounded. For others, you are correct. I was discussing my own diet, not the diet of someone else. That being said, perhaps I sounded like I was making a general statement, and I apologize for the confusion. I have seen people live happy and healthy lives on a high protein diet, and I really have no problem with these diets. If your kidneys are healthy and you compensate for the possible risk of dehydration, high protein diets are perfectly safe.


Any more comments out there? Bring them on! I'm happy to answer any questions, concerns, and/or complaints you may have. And please, don't ever hesitate to share your feelings.

This weekend I finally bought a new pair of shoes, thanks to Joanna's suggestion to do so on her post "Spring for Some New Shoes". I sprung!

The green inserts are for my high arches. I was told I have high arches, which is what causes my to get shin splints and stress fractures so easily. I started using these Dr. Scholl's inserts about 4 years ago and have not had any problems since. Of course, I also don't run outside as often anymore, and I think that makes a huge difference too.

Some of you asked me if I was sore after my session with the personal trainer on Thursday. The answer is YES. I was VERY SORE. I am now convinced that I need to do more resistance training. Nothing major, but more than my typical 10-15 minutes, 3 times a week. I actually enjoy it more than cardio anyway.

Coming Up

Did everyone watch Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution on Friday?? I finally had a chance to sit down and watch it last night, and I plan on actually doing a post about it tomorrow. Stay tuned!

If you're interested in how I would eat if I were a vegetarian athlete, check out my post on our workplace wellness blog. I've been really into tempeh lately and I think tempeh would be a major staple in my diet if I were to become a vegetarian (heck, it already is!).

Thanks for reading. And have a great day!

New Recipe and My Thoughts on Body Fat Percentage

Happy Saturday! Is it nice weather where you are? Yesterday morning I woke up to SNOW and ICE on the ground. WHAT?? It was almost 65 degrees last weekend, and this weekend it snows? Crazy. Today is nice and sunny, but still pretty chilly.

Today I wanted to bring some attention to a comment I received from an anonymous reader yesterday, regarding my last post. In that post I reported my body fat percentage (21.6%) and claimed that I am very happy with this percentage because it puts me in the range of "healthy and fit". I then proceeded to disclose that when I was anorexic I had been 11% body fat, which was definitely not something that I was proud of ( I made reference to the fact that this is an unhealthy body fat percentage, and it's no wonder I felt like crap all the time). The comment is written in black writing, with my comments in red:

I love your blog (thanks!), but there were a few things here that frustrated me a bit. Since your are an RD I have tremendous respect & appreciation for your knowledge, but nutrition for sport & fitness varies from the standard healthy diet. (Yes, I agree, depending on what type of training you are doing). Clearly a marathon runner needs to eat differently than a football player, etc. (Well, yes, but maybe not the offensive line. They do a lot of endurance training, similar to marathon runners. The defensive line, however, would clearly have a different diet and training protocol). Maybe you didn't mean to come off this way, but how you discuss the not-so-preposterous idea of being at 40% protein suggests being closed minded. Many people operate better and have more energy with a lower carb, higher protein diet. And as you know, loosing weight would have to do with the amount of calories from protein, not just from eating more protein vs. carbs or fat. (This is correct. What I should have said was that if that trainer was to suggest that in order for me to gain more muscle, I need to consume 40% of my calories from protein, he should have also said that I need to consume more calories that I burn. You cannot build muscle simply by eating a lot of protein, you have to be eating so as to create a positive calorie balance). What bothered me the most though was your statement about your body fat %. The way you suggest that 11% is unhealthy, I believe, is sending the wrong, perhaps irresponsible, message. There is a big difference between being anorexic at 11% and being healthy at 11%, which is very possible. That is actually around what I am, and I am very healthy & energetic, and in no way excessively skinny. (If you read any respectable and reliable journal, magazine, book, or talk to any professional RD or personal trainer, they will tell you that 12% is the lowest percent of body weight for women that is considered "not risky". I have two references right here in front of me, Sports Nutrition, A Practice Manual for Professionals by Marie Dunfor, PhD, RD, and The Complete Food and Nutrition Guide by Roberta Larson Duyff, MS, RD, which clearly state that this is the case. I also took several sports nutritional classes both while in undergraduate and graduate school, where 12% was cited as the lowest possible percentage of body fat for women that is considered not risky. That being said, I do believe you can reach 11% body fat while having a healthy diet. I should not have implied that those who have an 11% body fat are obviously anorexic or have disordered eating. But I will stick to my opinion that 11% body fat is simply too low. At that percentage of body fat you are putting yourself at risk, and I would never recommend staying that low for long periods of time. Some people may remain at that low of a body fat percentage while they are competing in a body competition, but otherwise they are likely to gain some back once they are not competing. That is always suggested. Even the not so reliable magazines report that the range of healthy body fat percentage for women should not go as low as 11%. You are at risk for infertility, heart problems, and improper insulation and cushioning of your organs and bones) Thanks for your comment, I really do appreciate it. If you would like to e-mail me and talk with me more about this subject I would be glad to hear your thoughts.

Quick, Tasty, and Healthy Recipe #19
Chicken Quesadillas

Ingredients
(Serves 1)
1 whole wheat tortilla
1/4 cup black beans
3 ounces chicken
1/4 cup red and green bell pepper
1 ounce shredded American cheese

Possible Modifications

• Use any type of meat/poultry/tofu you wish
• Add extra veggies
• Add extra spices
• Use different cheese
  

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place the tortilla on a baking pan and cover the tortilla with the above ingredients (don't add too much or it won't fold properly). Fold the tortilla in half, then place in the oven for 10-15 minutes (depending on your oven and how you well done you prefer your quesadillas to be). If you want, you can add a bit more cheese on top!

Nutrition Facts

Rating: 10 out of 10 for both of us!
I used a wheat free tortilla, since I do not eat wheat.

I served this with a side of steamed veggies. You can never eat too many veggies! I also served it with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt and red hot (not shown in picture).

Coming Up

I've been so busy lately, I don't even have time to watch TV anymore! That being said, I may or may not have time to watch Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution today (we have it saved on Tivo). If I do, I will write a review, if I don't....well...you'll have to be surprised I guess!

Have a great weekend everyone, and thanks for reading :)

The Dietitian Vs. The Personal Trainer

Today I got my A*S kicked!! I had my physical assessment with a personal trainer from Urban Active.


Meet Vaughn, my personal trainer for the day. He's a great guy....even though he kicked my butt.


This is where all of the initial assessments are done (body measurements and questionnaire).


First he weighed me and took my body fat percentage. The instrument they used to measure body fat percentage was called a bioelectrical impedance analyzer (below).


I clocked in at 21.6%. I was happy with this number. It's in the range of "fitness and health". When I was anorexic my body fat percentage was 11%. Can you believe that??? No wonder I had zero energy and felt like crap.

After the weight and body fat measurement they asked me multiple questions about my medical background. Then they asked me questions about my dietary habits. They also asked me if I had any goals, and I had to think about this question for a while. I finally told them my goal was to get a bit more toned for bathing suit season (that's a reasonable goal, right?). He responded by saying I need to up my protein intake from 30% (about where I am at currently) to 40%. I laughed. Sorry, that's not going to happen. In my professional opinion a diet of 40% protein will mean I would loose weight. I don't want that. Plus, I wouldn't necessarily gain muscle by eating 40% protein, unless I am also eating more calories than I burn. I believe I can become more toned by eating exactly what I eat now, I just need to up the resistance training a bit. I didn't argue with him though, I kept my thoughts (mainly) to myself. It was good for me to hear this though, as I will be doing dietary consults with many of the personal trainer's clients. I needed to get an idea of what type of dietary advice they are providing to their clients prior to them meeting with me.

So after the questions were answered, I was asked to warm up either on the treadmill or the elliptical. I chose my favorite, the elliptical. I did a slow warm up for about 20 minutes.


Then it was time for me to go to hell. I was humbled by the next 20 minutes of the fitness assessment......

Even after this first exercise, I was ready to be finished. I sort of felt like I was on the Biggest Loser! I'm not sure what this exercise was called, but it was HARD!

I jumped up on the stepper (stacked three steps high), then squatted when I jumped to the ground. I did this for one minute (although it felt like five).


After ten minutes of some other stuff, Vaughn had me do push-ups on a stability ball (BOSU ball, turned upside down). I also had to touch my knee to my chest (this worked the abs).

I always thought this exercise (below) looked fun. HA! It was not fun. It was hard. I had to grab the rope as high as I could, then pull it down, for 2 minutes.


I found out I actually have some cleavage......

We worked with this 15 pound ball for quite some time. We did exercises for my arms and my abs.


After my last exercise, I thanked Vaughn for proving to me that I need to do more resitance training. Then I ran to my car and scarfed down a sweet potato and a string cheese. My body thanked me.

Question: Have you ever been to a personal trainer? Were you humbled like I was??

Coming Up

Tonight Nick and I finally get to spend some time together. Little does he know most of the time will be spent on him giving me massive body massages. Oh, did I mention that we had our house inspected today??? Yeah, the results were ok. There are definitely some issues, but nothing too serious.

On Saturday I will post a new recipe and a review of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution! Have a great night everyone, and thanks for reading :)

What Does the Scale Really Reflect?

Back in October I did a post about weighing yourself, and why I choose not to weigh myself often. In my opinion it's not good to focus on a number as a way to gauge your fitness and health (well, at least not the pounds number, other numbers may be helpful, such as blood pressure and cholesterol). Many people tell me that they weigh themselves everyday, and that it can have a major effect on their mood. But does the number on the scale really reflect what you think?


What does your weight (the number on the scale) reflect? Fat, muscle, fluid, skeletal tissue, and other tissues/organs

What changes when your weight changes? Fat, muscle, and fluid. The others do not change with weight, but they may change with age.

Body Fluid

• Changes regularly, throughout the day.

• Is effected by hormones, diet, heat, medications, and exercise.

• If you weigh yourself in the morning, you may easily weigh 3-4 pounds less than you do later at night! Fluid can fluctuate tremendously throughout the day.

• Women who are pre-menstrual can experience a 3-8 lb fluctuation in fluid weight.

Muscle

• When you are losing weight, you will loose muscle. Help combat this loss by including a workout regimen, with weights, that lasts 60-90 minutes, 5 days a week.

• People who are overweight actually have more muscle than people of normal weight. Why? They need to be able to support their extra weight.

• When you exercise to loose weight, you may not see the weight loss right away because your energy from fat will be used to power your workouts. Working out will help your muscles grow larger in size (no increase in the number muscle cells, only muscle cell size). Muscle weighs more than fat, therefore the scale may not show that you have lost weight.

Fat

• Fat loss is seen when you consume less calories than you burn.

• Fat loss can be measured multiple ways, but the most common is via bioelectrical impedance. Your local gym's personal trainers should have a machine to do this, or you can buy a special scale.

Bottom Line: If you want to weigh yourself everyday, that's fine, but keep in mind the number may not accurately represent your efforts to maintain, loose, or even gain weight. If your mood or your diet for the day tends to change depending on the number you see on the scale each day, you may want to consider weighing yourself once every other week, in my opinion.

Healthy Body Fat Percentages

For Health

<55 yrs women: 20-35%
>55 yrs women: 25-38%
<55 yrs men: 8-22%
>55 yrs men: 10-25%

For Fitness

<55 yrs women: 16-28%
>55 yrs women: 20-33%
<55 yrs men: 5-15%
>55 yrs men: 7-18%

Source: ADA Sports Nutrition; A Practice Manual for Dietitians

Bottom Line: These body fat recommendations may not be as low as you thought, am I right? Fat is important for brain function, insulation, and nerve impulse transmission (to name a few). Don't ignore the value of fat!

Coming Up
Tomorrow I will share with you some new products that you will start to see in stores soon! Have a great day everyone, and thanks for reading.

Grass-Fed Beef and a Bean Burger Recipe

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. This was a particularly exciting weekend for me. Nick and I are officially in contract for our house! We put an offer in and it was counter-offered, then we counter offered the owner's counter offer, they counter offered again, and we accepted! We are moving in on April 23rd. I may take a couple weeks off from blogging while we get settled. But BOY are we excited!

Now I'm diving right into today's blog post topic:

Grass-Fed Beef

If you've read any of the posts by Evan at "Food Makes Fun Fuel", you have at least heard of grass- fed beef. Heck, you have probably heard of it anyway. Truth be told, I've never tried it.

A couple weeks ago The New York Times' "Well Blog" posted a great article about the benefits of grass-fed beef, compared to grain-fed beef.

Pros

• Lower levels of unhealthy saturated and trans fat

• Higher levels of Omega-3 (EPA/DHA)
  

• More vitamins A, and E

• Twice the levels of Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA), which may have chemoprotective properties and also may help prevent other chronic diseases.

• May be better for the environment, compared to grain-fed beef.

• 100-percent grass-fed beef is typically free of antibiotics and hormones (not always...).
  

Cons

• Regarding the "lower levels of saturated fat and trans fat", well, you can buy lean grain-fed beef (90 percent lean and 10 percent fat), which also has incredibly low levels of unhealthy fat.

• The levels of Omega-3 found in grass-fed beef are still far lower than that found in salmon and tuna.

• Some grass-fed beef may have a "grassy taste". I don't think Nick would like that a whole lot....

• It's almost three times as expensive as regular, grain-fed beef.

• When the label says "grass fed" it may not mean the cattle were fed grass their entire life. It could mean they were fed grass just at the beginning of their life. The article said to look for the label from the American Grassfed Association for assurance that your beef was likely on a 100% grass diet, throughout their life.
  

** Check out this fantastic article about the difference between grass-fed and grain fed beef; CNN.com (article) **

Quick, Cheap, and Healthy Recipe #17
Bean Burgers

Ingredients
1/2 diced onion
1 can drained black beans
1/2 cup wheat flour
1 slice cubed whole wheat bread
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Canola oil for frying the onions and the burgers

Possible Modifications

• Use any spices you wish
• Use any type of bean (pinto, red, etc.)
• Use any type of flour or bread
  

Instructions
Sautee the onions until they are soft to your liking. Puree the beans in a blender, or mash them with a fork in a medium (don't make them too smooth, chunks are good!). Add all of the ingredients to the mashed/pureed beans.

Form the mixture into 6 medium sized (~1/2-3/4 inches thick) patties (or you can make them larger and make 4 or 5 patties). Add a bit of canola oil to a pan and heat the oil on medium. Disperse the oil throughout the surface area of the pan, and then fry away! Cook until they are slightly brown on both sides. Cut through to the middle to make sure they are hot inside. Then enjoy.

I served Nick's burger with some cheese and pickles, with extra pepper on top.

Nick's Rating: 9 out of 10

I didn't try one because they contained wheat, plus I don't really eat beans because they give me awful gas (I would have to take about 5 expensive Beano in order to prevent the gas.....). So Nick had the pleasure of enjoying these babies. He loved them.

Nutrition Information

Coming Up

Tonight I am heading over to Urban Active for a couple hours, to market our services some more. As for tomorrow's post, well, I'm fairly certain it will be focusing on body composition. What is a healthy weight and body fat? What are the factors that effect our weight status?

Have a great evening!

Agave vs. Honey, Carob vs. Dark Chocolate

We did it! We signed the papers and made an offer.....

but it was counter-offered by the owners last night :( What are we doing? Making another counter-offer of course! We'll hear back tonight. What an ordeal.

Last night, after hearing that our offer was declined, Nick and I watched the movie 2012. Do you want to spend 2.5 hours watching the most ridiculous movie ever made? Go ahead and rent it yourself! It was so lame. I laughed pretty hard throughout the movie, just making fun of it.

Q & A

About a month ago Kristen of Change of Pace asked me about Agave Nectar vs. Honey, and Carob Chips vs. Dark chocolate. Here is some information.

AGAVE

I recently did a post about HFCS and Agave nectar on our new workplace wellness blog. To read the post, click here. For a brief overview, dietitians really aren't recommending agave nectar as an alternative, "healthier" sweetener. While it may be "slightly less processed", it is actually 84% fructose! This is much higher than high fructose corn syrup. What's wrong with fructose? Nothing, really, especially in the form of fruit, but too much can cause major health issues. Fructose is not used for energy quite as readily as glucose, and most of it is taken up by the liver and turned to glycogen or stored as fat. THIS IS ONLY A PROBLEM IF YOU CONSUME TOO MUCH OF IT! Since sweeteners such as HFCS are found in so many foods, it's no wonder it gets the blame for all the chronic disease and the obesity epidemic. In comparison, honey is 50% fructose, 44% glucose, and 1% sucrose (fructose and glucose combined).

My opinion? I'd choose honey over agave nectar in a heartbeat. If you want the less processed honey, choose organic.

CAROB CHIPS

It's hard to compare carob chips to dark chocolate because it really depends on what kind of dark chocolate you buy. Some brands are much better than others. For example, if you buy "Dark Chocolate Chips", chances are they are just darkened chocolate, and are not much different than milk chocolate chips. If you buy Ghirardelli 85% dark chocolate, or Lindt's 85% dark chocolate, they actually provide many benefits. The same might be true with the different brands of carob chips, but I really don't know enough about carob chips to be sure. Overall, here are some nutritional differences between the two:

• Carob chips are said to be free of oxalate; Oxalate binds many minerals, such as calcium and iron, and may impede their absorption. It's ok to get some oxalates in your diet, just not too many. Dark chocolate has a good amount of oxalate. So does spinach.
  

• Dark chocolate is packed with heart healthy and chemoprotective (cancer preventative) phytonutrients! Carob chips? Not so much.

• Carob chips have more calories than dark chocolate, but this probably depends on the brand.

• Carob chips have more calcium, but dark chocolate has more iron (again, this depends on the brand).

• Carob chips have about the same amount of fiber, but more protein than dark chocolate (again, this depends on the brand).
  

• The author of one of my favorite books, Dr. Steven Pratt, tweeted the other day that a serving of dark chocolate a day (60% or above) may have a beneficial effect on metabolism!

Bottom Line: There are benefits of both. I'm sticking to my dark chocolate :)

Coming Up

I'm really not sure what's coming up in future CandidRD posts. Obviously I will keep you updated on out quest to buy a house, but as for topics, I'm not sure. I guess you'll have to be surprised!

Have a great day everyone. Thanks for reading!

A New, and Better Polenta!

Because I am not longer eating wheat, due to my fructose malabsorption, I have been exploring many new flours and grains. I recently made my first polenta from scratch, using cornmeal (not a whole grain, unfortunately). It was very tasty, but I wanted to try a new recipe that maybe had a little more "pizazz". Astra Libris posted this recipe on her blog a few weeks ago, which I immediately wanted to try! I finally made it this week, and I was not disappointed.

Polenta, "Food For Laughter" Style

As I do with just about all recipes, I made some slight modifications to Astra's recipe. I don't have the money to go out and buy ingredients that I will most likely never use again, so I had to substitute some ingredients. To see her original recipe, click here.

Ingredients
(makes 2 large servings)

1/2 cup cornmeal
1.5 cups Almond milk (yes, I said almond milk!)
3/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp pepper

Tomato "Sauce" Topper

1 can fire roasted tomatoes, seasoned with garlic
2 T plain Greek yogurt

Directions

Combine the first three ingredients into a saucepan and heat on medium. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Heat until polenta starts to thicken (make sure you really work out the chunks of cornmeal at the beginning). Add the spices.

Once the polenta gets thick enough (basically once it gets to the point where there is no extra liquid, and it's thick to your liking), grab a small saucepan to start making the tomato "sauce" topper. Add a can of tomatoes to the saucepan. Heat the tomatoes on medium heat until they reach a simmer. Add the yogurt, and stir. Meanwhile, be sure to continue watching and occasionally stirring the polenta.


** Astra suggests blending the tomato "sauce" topper (tomatoes and yogurt) with an emulsion blender or other blender, but I didn't not do this. **

Pour the polenta into a shallow bowl and then add a heaping scoop of the tomato "sauce" topper.

Nutrition Facts
(Recipes makes 2 servings, this is for 1 serving)

It scored an "A" in nutrition, and an "A" in taste! Even Nick liked it :) The sodium was 20% of the DV, which is not good, but hey, it could be much worse!

Urban Active Fitness

Recently my colleague, Kyle, and I embarked on a new business venture. While our workplace wellness side of the business has been sort of slow, we decided to take advantage of the clientele at some local gyms. We are starting at Urban Active Fitness. Here are some pictures of this amazing facility:

Our advertisement table: Starting March 29th we will provide dietary classes for moms, the older generations, and to the general groups (general advice). We will also provide one-on-one dietary consults. Visit our website at www.imagination2burn.com.

This place is huge. There are televisions everywhere. You sure feel "Urban" when you are in this place.


Basketball courts with scary man coming after me....

A track that goes around the entire facility!

Coming Up

Tonight Nick and I are signing the papers to make an offer on our house. Am I nervous? HECK YEAH! Am I excited? VERY. I will update you later in the weekend. I will also be posting the answer to a question I received a while ago, regarding Agave Nectar and Carob chips vs. dark chocolate.

Thanks for reading everyone! Have a great weekend.

Veggie Omelet and Nutrition Tidbit; Chia Seeds

Thanks for all of your fantastic comments about my issue with the "NOT SO HEALTHY" section in the grocery store. You all made such great points and some of you gave me a good laugh :) Ironically I found this article today online, which focused on the same exact issue!!

I've been on a role lately with my recipes for my 2010 cookbook. I'm now on to number 10. This means I'm right on target with my new year's resolution of two new recipes a week!

Quick, Healthy, and Cheap Recipe #10
Veggie Omelet

Ingredients
2 eggs
1/4 cup fat free milk
1/4 cup spinach
1 t oil (for the pan)
2 T plain Greek yogurt
1 T cheddar cheese
Dash of salt and pepper

Possible Modifications

• Use egg beaters
• Use any non starchy vegetable, in place of spinach
• Use 1% milk, soy milk, rice milk or almond milk
• Add any kind of cheese
• Use light sour cream
• Use butter to grease the pan, instead of oil
  

Directions

Crack the eggs into a small bowl. Add the milk, salt, and pepper. Use a whisk to beat the eggs and milk until blended. Add oil to skillet and turn on heat to low/medium.

Heat the skillet for about 30 seconds. Add the egg and milk mixture to the skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until eggs are "set but still shiny". Add the spinach on top of the eggs in a single layer, then fold the omelet in half. Cook for another 30-60 seconds.

Take out of pan, place on plate, and add a dollop of Greek yogurt and the cheddar cheese.


Check out those layers of spinach! I served this on top of some quinoa.


Rate: 9.5 out of 10
I love eggs. Period. Nick doesn't like anything in his eggs, other than cheese and Red Hot, so he didn't try this amazing creation.

** I used Omega-3 enriched eggs for extra healthy fats!**

Nutrition Tidbit
Chia Seeds

What are they? Chia seeds come from the Salvia hispanica plant, which happens to be a member of the mint family.

Origin: It is believed that Chia seeds originated in Central America, where the seeds were a staple of the Aztec diet (I actually remember writing a report about the Aztecs when I was in 3rd grade! I don't remember Chia seeds though...haha).

How do you eat them?: You can eat them raw, or add them to a variety of dishes, such as breads, biscuits, other baked goods, oatmeal, oat bran, or smoothies!

Why have they become popular?: Chia seeds have recently gained attention from health enthusiasts due to their high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids (in the form of ALA, a precursor to the EPA and DHA found in fish oils). They also contain protein, fiber, minerals, and antioxidants.


Research: Studies have shown that including chia seeds as part of a healthy diet may help improve heart disease risk factors, such as lowering cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure. However, there really aren't many high quality studies that have been done, and most studies have used either animals, or a very small number of participants.

Bottom Line: If you like chia seeds, fantastic! Enjoy them as a part of your healthy diet. Don't go out of your way to "try to like them" or to incorporate them into your diet as much as possible, as there are other foods with similar benefits, and which actually have reliable and valid research to back up their benefits.

Updates

• Giveaway alert! If you want a chance to win a yogurt maker, baking pans, or a steamer, click the link here.

• I posted new information about saturated fat on our Imagination To Burn blog.

• Don't forget my own "Random Giveaway", which ends on Friday. Check it out here.

Coming Up

Tomorrow I'll be sharing my new "must have foods". No, they will not all revolve around the FODMAPS diet, these will be foods that everyone can enjoy.

Thanks for reading, and have a great night/day!