Holy Potatoes...

Potatoes are a carbohydrate.

Potatoes are a complex carbohydrate.

Carbohydrates are various forms of sugars.

The brain runs on carbohydrates.

Excess carbohydrates are stored as fat.

Potatoes contain vitamins and minerals.

All this being said, do I think this is a good idea? No.

www.20potatoesaday.com

The Executive Director of the Washington State Potato Commission is going to eat only potatoes for 60 days straight. This escapade began on Friday October 4th. Potatoes aren't unhealthy, as I've demonstrated with the facts above, but eating a diet strictly made of carbohydrates without a balance of other nutrients, vitamins and minerals sure is.

Lets watch and see what happens...

Read More

Free Dietitian Appointment

Hershey's is the last company that you would think would promote nutrition, health and dietitians...but low and behold, they are!

Hershey's has 2000 free certificates available to anyone on their website, promoting their new campaign "Moderation Nation". Clever.

1) Go to http://www.hersheys.com/moderationnation/connect.aspx

2) Search for an RD in your area - or just skip this part and write "Ashley Harris, RD, CD" on the certificate.

3) Bring the certificate to any Registered Dietitian (it MUST be an RD, "Nutritionists" don't count and wont be covered) for one full hour appointment, paid for by Hershey's. Offer open through March of 2011.

The dietitian or the client will then submit the certificate along with a copy of the clients drivers license to the Hershey's address for full coverage up to $250 for a one hour session.

Now there really isn't any excuse for you to not make an appointment. You'll learn something, and its free.

---

Okay and just to explain my view on this...I don't like when corporate companies like candy, soda, cereal, etc try and partner with health care because I think its contradictory and just a blatant conflict of interest - yes I'm saying I don't agree with ADA sponsorship. BUT...when anyone actually goes out of their way to promote Registered Dietitians, who are the nutrition and food experts to give FREE nutrition care to ANYONE...then I'm all for it. I still wont be happy if you tell me you are eating Hershey bars, but Ill thank the company for paying for your visit.

Read More

Health Food at the Mariners Game

Hummus Plate with olive tapenade, hummus, bell peppers, feta cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers and whole grain pita slices with a veggie dog on the side....$12.50.

Feeling full and having fun without killing your arteries....priceless.

Read More

Back to School Nutrition

Tweaking some of the favorites

Bring or buy? What to pack? Snacks? Soccer practice?

There is so much planning involved with food away from home that its important to know where to start and how to make the process as easy and as healthy as possible.

1) Keep “buying” school lunch to 2-3 days maximum.

The independence that comes with buying school lunch is a good thing. For a student, having money in their possession and getting to choose whatever they want is a step towards independence and confidence. There is a social aspect and a health aspect here. Make sure your child understands what components they need at lunch:

· Carbohydrate or Starch – For energy, brain boost and blood sugar
· Lean Protein – For blood sugar stability and satiety
· Healthy Fat – For satiety
· Non-Starchy Veggies – Vitamins, Minerals, Water & Fiber

2) Breakfast is non-negotiable.

So make it balanced, nutritious and fast. You’ll need:

· Lean Protein
· Carbohydrate or Starch
· Healthy Fat

**NO CEREAL & MILK.
**Try a flavored, 0% fat greek yogurt with 1/4 c of nuts or seeds for a fast grab & go option.
**English muffin with a Morningstar Patty, 1 slice cheese and 2 tsp butter for a quick made- at-home breakfast sandwich
**Protein Smoothie: protein powder, 1 cup fruit, 1T Peanut Butter, water + ice

**Breakfast Parfait: 0% Fat Plain Greek yogurt with layers of berries and whole grain cereal

for a fun option.

3) Dessert is not a daily meal.

So don’t pack it in their lunch every day! If you are the one packing the lunch then you are the one setting the examples and creating the habits. Desserts should not be an everyday occurrence despite what you may be used to. They will get enough energy and carbohydrates from their sandwich bread, fruit, jelly, etc.

4) Have your kids EAT their calories, not DRINK them.

Juice, soda, hot chocolate, or any other liquid beverage that has calories listed on the back shouldn’t be a staple in your home or in their meals. An appropriate serving of juice is about 4 oz or ½ cup. When was the last time you saw someone drink just 4 oz of juice? Liquid calories go down fast and don’t fill you up.

Better options are:
· Plain Water (adding lemon, lime or orange slices to the bottle)
· Sparkling Waters like Perrier
· Flavored Sparkling Waters like Talking Rain (find ones flavored with fruit essence, not

artificial sweeteners)
· Flavored Flat Waters like Hint – no artificial stuff
· Adding cucumber or mint or basil to flat water
· Pre-Flavored Mint waters like Metromint

Read More

Return of the Dietitian

Ok, so the handful of you that actually read my blog might have noticed a little inactivity lately...I've been a little distracted with all the excitement going on.

On a personal note - I got engaged!

Tyler proposed in Lake Chelan on May 1st and since then I have had weddings on the brain!

But I am coming back to blogging this fall with the first post about "Back to School Nutrition" so stay tuned and I promise I didn't leave!

Blessings,

Ashley

Read More

Kirkland Health Fair

Saturday June 19th, 9am-7pm

FREE!

Crave Health will be present with Free Nutrition Information at the booth!

www.KirklandHealthFair.com

Read More

Lettuce Linked to E coli

Lettuce in 23 states recalled over E. coli fears: Shredded romaine, ‘grab and go’ salads linked to 19 cases of the illness

Freshway Foods of Sidney, Ohio is recalling lettuce sold under the Freshway and Imperial Sysco brands in 23 states and the District of Columbia because of an E. coli outbreak that has sickened at least 19 people, three of them with life-threatening symptoms.

See the full article here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37005016/ns/health-food_safety/?Gt1=43001/from/ET

The lettuce was sold in: Alabama, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.


In order to prevent contamination in your food – always wash your salad greens and produce no matter what! If you re-wash the “pre-washed” lettuce, you’ll likely prevent getting sick in some of these contamination cases. Once, I found a bug in my “washed 3 times organic salad mix”, so it’s worth the extra 5 mins!

Blessings,

Ashley

Read More

It's Baseball Season!

When I think of baseball season in Seattle I see Ichiro, Griffey, fresh cut grass, kids in baseball caps and a giant pile of garlic fries or “rally fries” as the locals like to say. Add to that a few beers and a jumbo hot dog and baseball season is officially underway!

Watching the game with your friends and family is something that I encourage you to do, and with the lineup with have this year, the Mariners might just have a shot at a winning season! But you may want to pack more than a blanket and a glove, because there are plenty of savory meals waiting to tempt you at Safeco. (As you can see behind me in the picture, I went for the light beer...)

1) Hot Dogs
Americans will eat enough hot dogs at major league ballparks this year to stretch to and from Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia and Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., the two sites of the 2008 World Series. (Source: National Hot Dog and Sausage Council)

In 1893 a local German bar owner - and also the owner of the St. Louis Browns MLB team - came up with the idea to sell these easy-to-eat hot dogs in baseball stadiums. The popularity and ease of this meal makes it a fan favorite from Wrigley to Safeco. Hot dogs are made using a variety of different animal proteins (pork, beef, and poultry) most often from a process called “Advanced Meat Recovery” or “Mechanically Separated Meat.” The USDA does regulate the labeling that goes along with these processes and all meats and meat byproducts (heart, kidney, liver, etc) must be listed on the ingredient label.

The average hot dog contains: 250 calories, 14 grams fat, 770 mg sodium, 21 grams carbohydrate and 9 grams of protein.

2) Safeco Field Garlic Fries
The infamous garlic fries of Safeco Field come from a little stand called “Grounders” which is actually owned by Ivar’s. ESPN’s senior writer Jim Caple gave Safeco Field concessions a “5+++” out of 5 in the rankings of 30 stadiums across the country, noting the Garlic Fries as the signature concession item. In 2006 there were 183,000 orders placed for these smelly potatoes.

French Fries are deep fat fried potatoes (you knew they came from potatoes right?). Most companies used to use trans-fat oils to fry in but with the change of most cities regulations, restaurants have had to find alternative oils to fry in. Most choosing coconut or palm oil. But coconut and palm if you recall are both sources of saturated fat, which leads us right back to where we started. Neither are necessarily “good” for someone struggling with high cholesterol; however any avoidance of trans-fat is a good thing for anyone.

A serving of Garlic Fries provides: 455 calories, 43 grams fat, 2322 mg sodium, 77 grams carbohydrates and 9 grams of protein.

3) Beer
Beer and baseball games seem to go hand in hand in people’s minds. It’s important to understand what alcohol does to your metabolism so that you can make informed decisions like “Do I really need the Jumbo Hot Dog, Garlic Fries AND the Pyramid Hefeweizen?” Probably not.

In your body there is one organ that owns alcohol metabolism and that is the Liver. Tap your side and say thank you every once and a while. The problem is that the liver is kind of the “dummy” organ because it really only likes to do one task at a time. Unfortunately another major job responsibility for the Liver is Fat Metabolism. There is a priority list, and toxins (which include alcohol) always take top priority. That means that whenever there is alcohol in your system your liver has to stop metabolizing fat and start metabolizing the toxin. This is why it’s rare that people can drink while trying to lose weight. It just makes it that much harder.

The average regular beer such as the Safeco favorite, Pyramid Hefeweizen (12 oz) contains: 145 calories, 0 grams fat, 0 grams sodium, 11 grams carbohydrate, 0 grams protein.

Some better choices at Safeco:

· “The Natural” at Section 132 is an organic vendor that sells everything from garden burgers and veggie-dogs to hummus platters, vegan soups, fruit smoothies and offers allergen-free foods as well.

· “Rice n Roll” at section 136 offers miso Soup edamame and brown rice sushi upon request.

· “Thai Ginger and Intentional Wok” at Section 133 has veggie stir fry and other Asian-infused dishes that a few “sauce on the side” requests can help.

· Ordering “light” beer over “regular beer” can save you 50 calories a pop.

· Always bring a backup option like a favorite protein bar or a bag of peanut butter pretzels just in case you are a little hungrier than you thought. You can bring sealed food items into Safeco.

Now get out there and support your local sports team this weekend! And remember that you can still enjoy your food, even if you’re being more conscience about your decisions.

Blessings,

Ashley

Read More