The Junk Food Nutritionist

I will be honest. I have not always been a good eater. Even after I became interested in nutrition, my diet was not as good as it is today.  Fifteen years ago (or more!), I decided to become a dietitian & started learning about nutrition...I switched from eating one processed breakfast to another, though. I cut back on processed toaster pastries & replaced them with cereal. Less calories & sugar means it's healthier, right? At least, that's what I thought.  I still eat cereal on occasion, because it is convenient. But, now, I look for something with nuts & seeds for protein. Other protein choices at breakfast include cottage cheese, yogurt, and tofu. Several brands of frozen waffles & pancakes offer higher-protein versions. Occasionally, I will eat eggs or vegetarian sausages. (I don't eat meat, but meat is another protein choice.) For lunch, I often ate peanut butter on bread, carrots, & applesauce. That's four food groups--protein, grains, veg...

Every day it seems that there are new diet products on the market. Are the chemicals used in them safe? Artificial and natural no and low calorie sweeteners which are often added to these products are considered safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).   Similar agencies have also approved these sweeteners for use in other countries.  That said, there are still possible side effects, just like medications recognized as safe may result in side effects. Let’s explore these sweeteners and their potential health risks, starting with the oldest first.

I haven’t shared an entrée recipe in a while. Sometimes I think about sharing one but worry that it detracts from the “junk food” aspect of the blog. Well, today’s dinner was deli cious junk food. Carbs or starches often get labelled as "junk." The star of tonight's meal was two carb-heavy ingredients: mashed potatoes and white flour.   Seriously. These two carbs come together to make a dish called gnocchi. Often, chefs will add egg, but I don't cook with eggs and my gnocchi turned out just fine. Here's what I did... I combined 1 cup of leftover mashed potatoes with ½ cup of white flour. I kneaded them together on a cutting board. (Any flat surface will do.) Then, I rolled the dough into a rope and cut it into segments. I was raised eating gnocchi without any fancy lines. If you want to make lines on it, like many stores sell it, you can roll the dough against the tines of a fork.   I brough...

Six years ago, I didn’t drink coffee. I didn’t drink tea. I didn’t drink caffeinated soda. If I drank soda, it was root beer which is not usually caffeinated. But that was six years ago.  Four years ago, I was introduced to naturally caffeine-free herbal teas, which I still love. Then I was introduced to coffee and flavored caffeinated teas. Both of which I liked and both of which I thought helped me get through working part time, interning full-time, and going to night school.  That lifestyle ended a year ago and I continued drinking coffee and caffeinated teas…until I was hospitalized. 

The Philly "Soda" Tax may be old news to non-Philadelphians. But, those who live in and near Philadelphia know that they still hear about it all the time.  I hear advertisements about it on the radio, watch commercials about it on T.V., and read signs about it in stores.   I'll confess...I am not originally a Philadelphian. When I first heard of the plans for the Philly Soda Tax, I was living in the suburbs. I didn’t think it would affect me but I thought it could be a decent idea.  Even when I moved to Philly, I thought it wouldn’t affect me. I don’t drink soda. I don’t buy lemonade, sweet tea, cranberry cocktail, or the other beverages frequently discussed.

I spent the past month writing a series trying to determine whether or not certain snack foods were junk foods. It made me ask myself, “What is junk food?” The thing is, we all define it differently. 

On Thursday, I posted a look at my food intake to show how I get enough protein even though I’m a vegetarian. But I don't always eat animal protein. Here’s what I ate on another day, following a vegan diet…. I started off with a nutrient dense, high calorie, high protein breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right? Breakfast: 2 slices bread, toasted (130 Calories, 5 g protein) 2 Tablespoons peanut butter (190 Calories, 7 g protein) 2 Tablespoons chocolate nut butter (200 Calories, 2 g protein) 2 clementines (80 Calories, 2 g protein) 1/2 cup coconut milk (20 Calories, 0 g protein) 1/2 cup coffee (0 Calories, 0 g protein) Total for meal: 620 Calories, 19 g protein

A lot of times vegetarians don't get enough protein. Certainly, there are some who don't. I've heard of vegetarians who just eat white pasta or just eat potato chips. But, if you eat a variety of foods, you can get enough protein on a plant-based diet. I will show you a day of eating in my life as a vegetarian and a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist.   First, I want to remind you that the portions I've listed below are only there so I can show you how much protein is in what amount of the product. I don't usually go around measuring my food and you don't need to either. Also, those portion sizes may not be the size you eat and that's okay. I'm not presenting this as a strict meal plan for you to follow. I'm just trying to show you it's possible to get enough protein. So, what is "enough protein"?  Well, that will depend on your body. RDNs usually use a minimum of 0.8 grams protein per kilogram body weight. People with certain c...

Yesterday, we discussed things to think about before deciding to avoid added sugar for your New Year's Resolution. Today, I present a sample meal plan taken from my own life. Breakfast: Banana and oatmeal cooked in milk, vanilla, ground flaxseed and cinnamon Tip: Flavored oatmeal packets contain sugar, but you can easily and quickly make your own flavored oatmeal by adding extracts, spices, fruit, etc.) Another Breakfast Idea: I have been making no-sugar-added scones for years without any sugar substitues! It's flour, baking powder, butter, and your choice of mix-ins. The scone pictured above was made with cinnamon and raisins, but you can use other dried fruits, other spices, nuts, extracts, flavored oils, cacao nibs, anything.

A year ago, if someone had told me I was going to be living on ice cream, yogurt, and smoothies, I’d have been pretty happy. When I actually have to do it, I dread my next meal.  For once, I don’t want to eat. Every swallow hurts.  I was encouraged to eat a diet of soft foods, like yogurt and ice cream, until additional medical testing could be completed. So, I bought three flavors of ice cream and four of yogurt. I bought flavors and brands I like regardless of the price, telling myself I’d need the calories if everything else hurts too much. But the fact is, even a bowl of warm, melted ice cream is hard for me to get through. It tastes good in my mouth, but I get stabbing pains along my esophagus once food or beverages enter it. And doctors don’t know why yet.

Losing weight without trying sounds great, right? For many overweight and obese individuals, it sounds great. But, for me, an already healthy-weight nutritionist, it means something’s wrong.  What it means for me is that I’m not nourishing my body . The good news is that I know why I’m losing weight. My dietetic internship keeps me busy and broke. Here’s a look at yesterday’s food intake: