Cooking at Home: Nutrition

Showing posts with label Nutrition. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Eating Healthy: It's as Easy as ABC Foods

Image via WikipediaMarch 20, 2011

EAST KINGSTON — Do you know what it takes to prepare healthy meals? Do you have enough time to do so? ABC Foods caters to those who answered "no" to either question.

ABC Foods (A Better Choice) is the brainchild of Peggy Evans, a culinary and nutrition educator who believes cooking light should be easy and fun, and the food flavorful.

"Many people are more concerned about healthy eating today," Evans said. "Obesity is on the rise, especially among children, so that's a huge concern. Parents want to eat better so they can set a good example for their children. They want to give them a healthy path to follow all their lives, but many people don't know where to start."

Evans said counting calories, weighing and measuring seems complicated and time-consuming. People also worry, she added, that so-called "healthy foods" will have as much flavor as cardboard.

"They see a lifetime of eating celery ahead and quit before they really start," Evans said. "I'm here to show them that it's easy to cook healthy and it tastes great."

ABC Foods offers public and private cooking classes and a chef-at-home service for which Evans will prepare a month's supply of healthy recipes for families to freeze and enjoy as needed.

"I've taught cooking classes through local schools and recreation departments and at several of the area kitchen stores," she said. "I'm happy to set up a series in any community. But, I'll also come to your home and teach you how to cook nutritious meals, or, if you like, you can get some friends together and we'll do an evening, or a series of classes that way."

For the chef-at-home service, Evans first sits down with clients to talk about food preferences, any allergies or diet restrictions and other key criteria. She then reviews what a client has on hand so she can bring any needed supplies or equipment. Lastly, she schedules a day to cook that is convenient for the client.

"Some clients prefer to choose exact menus and dishes for me to prepare, others want me to surprise them — whatever works for you, I'm happy to do," she said.

After preparing the meals, Evans labels and packages everything and cleans up the kitchen. The client has a freezer full of delicious, nutritious meals, and often a nice stew simmering in the slow cooker.

Evans said the chef-at-home service is a boon to busy mothers, new parents with little ones, busy professionals with little time to cook, aging parents, people recuperating from illness or surgery, anyone with special needs or mobility issues. She also said it can be just the thing for families who feel their food habits are in a rut and are looking for a healthy change — along with a little more free time in their schedule.

"Sometimes removing just one chore from the schedule helps families connect," she said. "We can all use a break now and then, and this service provides that, along with the health benefits."

Evans retired from Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in 2008, but returned to school to pursue a career in nutrition. She has always been passionate about food and for years has cooked for large groups of family and friends, and given of her time cooking at the Salvation Army soup kitchen. She also teaches cooking classes at her local food pantry.

"I've learned you can still make healthy, creative dinners for 60 to 80 people, even with limited ingredients," she said.

ABC Foods' Web site, www.abcfoods.net, offers free nutritious recipes, shopping lists for each recipe and a complete nutritional breakdown for each recipe. Evans said all of her ingredients can be found at the neighborhood grocery store.

Evans is offering food demonstrations at upcoming home and garden shows and is writing a column on healthy eating with recipes for the just-launched food and wine magazine, Northeast FLAVOR, www.northeastflavor.com.

Taken from SeaCoastOnline.com; source article is below:
Eating Healthy: It's as Easy as ABC Foods

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Home Nutrition = School Nutrition

Image by gniliep via FlickrNutrition at Home Is as Important as School Lunches
Jan 16, 2011 Barbara Pytel

School lunches are scrutinized but what care is taken to ensure nutritional food once children reach home? Quality food takes time and planning.

While Americans are living longer than prior generations, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, and cancer rates are rising over the past 20 years. Planning meals carefully at home could be the key to children’s health not only during childhood but into adulthood.

Children Need Nutritional Building Blocks

Convenience is very important but is there a high price to be paid for serving a family convenient foods? Children’s bodies need sound nutrition to build manufacture muscle, tissues and bones. Many convenience foods contain chemicals, dyes, and have been genetically altered. In many cases there are no vitamins or minerals in what children eat and the “food” is useless. Foods that come off a shelf have only a fraction of the nutritional value of foods in the produce and meat departments.

Very little of a meal preparation should comprise of foods from the pantry of freezer since pantry food has preservatives and freezing food causes a loss of vitamins and minerals. Living, whole foods should comprise the bulk of a meal.

To continue, follow the full article below:
Nutrition at Home Is as Important as School Lunches

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Food and Youthfulness

Ten Fountain-Of-Youth Foods

If you want to maintain your youthful appearance, be sure to get your daily dose of wild salmon.

Why? Salmon and other cold water fish are packed with omega-3 essential fatty acids and antioxidants that fight inflammation, keep skin looking young and decrease body fat.

It's one of many superfoods that can turn on protective genes and turn off negative ones, according to Dr. Nicholas Perricone, a dermatologist who has written several books on aging.

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Perricone's most recent book, Forever Young, introduces a field he calls "nutrigenomics" or the study of how diet can affect the way genes work and prolong health.

Perricone's claims about foods activating and de-activating genes may be a stretch. "We have DNA that we have inherited from our parents, and it may carry the propensity for certain diseases and the aging process," he says. "But there are certain foods that are very effective in regulating the expression of our genes, to give us a more youthful appearance and prevent the onset of age-related disease." Perhaps. What's clear is that his list of recommended foods are packed with healthful properties.

Perricone recommends stocking up on "rainbow foods" like blueberries and eggplants, colorful fruits and vegetables that provide disease-preventive nutrients. These foods are rich in anti-aging antioxidants.

Eating a watercress salad with olive oil three times a week can work wonders for your health, says Perricone. Used by the ancient Greeks as a therapeutic energy enhancer for soldiers, watercress is dense with anti-oxidants and other minerals. Perricone claims that watercress activates a series of genes that flood the body with self-protective enzymes, improving the immune system. The green vegetable also has diuretic properties to help remove toxins from the body and is believed to prevent cancer as well as maintain eye and skin health.

On your next trip to the grocery store, make note of the nutritional value of foods, not the number of calories, advises Perricone.

"One of the most common mistakes people make in their diet is focusing on calorie restriction, which usually leads to nutritional deficiencies, rather than eating the correct categories of foods," Perricone says. "Follow the recommendations for food categories that stabilize blood sugar, keep insulin low and have anti-inflammatory properties."

Perricone recommends staying away from what he calls "pro-inflammatory foods," which turn off protective genes, resulting in poor skin. Cinnamon, for example, is a powerful anti-inflammatory spice that regulates blood sugar and keeps skin wrinkle-free, he says.

If your sweet tooth craves chocolate, it's OK to indulge in a piece. Like tea and blueberries, cocoa has a high level of catechins, antioxidants that can turn off damaging transcription factors and turn on protective ones. Cocoa contains procyanidin B-2, which protects brain cells from inflammation and can stop the production of pro-inflammatory chemicals that are released in the skin.

"The baby boomers are probably responsible for the big push to look and feel young," says Perricone. "Even with younger generations, everyone knows that by taking a proactive role in your health, eating the correct diet, getting moderate exercise and reducing stress, we can look 25 years younger than an identical twin at age 60 who didn't make the same lifestyle changes."

Twenty-five years may be a lot to ask from salmon and cinnamon. But Perricone's recommended foods are certainly high in nutrition and may even prolong youth.

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; source article is below:Ten Fountain-Of-Youth Foods
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Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Obesity and our kids

Image representing EzineArticles as depicted i...

Image via CrunchBase

What better way to make sure that our next generations are also eating health foods, and practice good eating habits than to pass down our own personal habits of healthy eating? This is one sure way to rest assured that when our kids are on their own, they won't be lead astray (well, at least, they will eat right and get the proper nutrition that they need for their daily life).
By the way, my wife said it best: "You want your kids to eat fish and vegetables, show them!" That means being a role model, and it may be difficult if you are not used to it.
Read on...

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Teach Your Child About Good Eating Habits to Fight Obesity

Nowadays, many children are overweight and reaching the brink of obesity. The rapid increases in the rates of obesity are at a disturbing pace which makes it a worldwide issue that should concern each and every parent. It has been said that kids are naturally attracted to junk food and sugary treats and tend to push away all that's good for them. Hence, it is up to you parents to monitor your child's food intake and make sure they do not consume too much calories.

Studies show that between the age of 1 till 5, kids tend to be picky eaters and only eat certain things and at certain times. Often enough, this could be difficult as your child would create a big fuss. To avoid your child from growing up overweight, there are a few ways to teach them good eating habits.

First, children are more likely to eat their vegetable if it is cooked rather than raw. Also, give them small portions of a variety of vegetables so that they see different colors and get different taste. It would be best to stick to small portions at each meal so that they don't see too much of it. Also, put nutritious food in front of your child. Don't worry on how much he is eating. It is the quality of the food that is important, not the quantity.

Furthermore, satisfy your child's sweet tooth by serving nutritious fruit based desserts. You can occasionally add the delight of ice cream but not too often. Aside from that, try serving food in attractive ways like cutting vegetables in odd shapes, decorating with ketchup or herbs. Presentation matters to kids, the more attractive it is; the more likely they are to try it.

Primary Health Series Health: Food and Nutrition [Grade Level K-6]

In conclusion, keep your child happy by serving foods in ways they would happily eat. During those frustrating moments at the dinner table, handle those situations with patience, a positive attitude and firmness. Don't be aggressive or emotional.

For more facts about childhood obesity including preventing childhood obesity, visit SolvingChildhoodObesity.com.

Article Directory: EzineArticles

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Cooking at Home

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Eating Healthy: It's as Easy as ABC Foods