Spicy Black Bean Panini

This week in the dining halls, we will be focusing on going meatless.  Leaving out the meat not only reduces saturated fat intake but can make more room on your plate for more fibrous and filling choices like vegetables and fruits.  Going meatless doesn’t have to be a lifetime commitment – just give it a shot a couple times a week!

The picture above shows a great meatless meal example – it consists of spinach, corn, tomatoes, black beans, hot sauce, swiss cheese, whole wheat bread, and apple slices on the side!  It’s both delicious & filling!

WebMD

Last week, we had some success in the dining hall in educating about portion sizes.  We had some great visuals and also had a quick game that students could play that involved estimating portion sizes – most students did really well and had fun Remember to be conscious of how much food you are actually putting on your plate – it all adds up fast!

Egg Sandwich with Apple Slices

Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day.  It kick-starts your metabolism, makes you feel energized, gives you brain power, and keeps you from overeating at lunchtime.  Many students skip breakfast, so educating on this topic was important.  When we were in the dining halls, we provided visuals with creative breakfast ideas and informational handouts and brochures to motivate the non-breakfast eaters!

Colorful Stir-Fry

Did you know that the average American diet is beige?

Making sure your plate has a variety of colors ensures that you are eating a well-balanced, nutrient-dense meal.  Each color contributes its own unique benefits to your body.  When in the dining halls, we provided some great examples of colorful and creative meals that can be made every day.  Our goal is to help reduce the beige and increase color variety.  Try getting stir-fry for a quick and easy way to include color!

Delicious Veggie & Cream Cheese Sandwich

I have recently taken on a new educational task at UNH – similar to that of my Creative Eating project – to get students to recognize healthy and delicious choices in the dining halls.

Each week, we will be focusing on a new nutrition topic.  For example, during “Eat with Color Week,” we intend to emphasize the benefits of incorporating a variety of colors into meal combinations.  We will also be focusing in on portion, eating vegetarian, healthy snacking, mindful eating, stress management and eating, and the importance of powerful breakfasts.

To get started, I teamed up with the UNH Dining dietitian Rochelle L’Italien, and a fellow nutrition student and we brainstormed heaps of tasty meal ideas.  Last week, Rochelle and I spent some time in the dining hall actually putting together a few of the masterpieces to photograph.  We utilized all of the different food stations to create a variety of mouth-watering dishes – I even took the liberty of gobbling up one of the sandwiches we made.

As we progress with our education in the dining halls, I will post pictures of our involvement, weekly meal ideas, and fun insights.

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Suffering from the heat and humidity?  Try making a cold fruit salad.  Go to the grocery store and pick out your favorite fruits.  Cut them up, combine them in a bowl, and store it in your fridge.  It’s easy to make, refreshing, delicious, and good for you.  If you want to satisfy an extra-sweet tooth add a small sprinkle of sugar or a dollop of whipped cream!

http://www.eatingwell.com/food_news_origins/seasonal_local/gardening/container_gardening_with_salad_greens

Try using the Eatingwell.com instructions found at the following link to grow your own salad greens this Spring (you don’t even need a garden!)

http://www.eatingwell.com/food_news_origins/seasonal_local/gardening/container_gardening_with_salad_greens

Once you have grown them, try my favorite & refreshing salad combination:

Salad greens

Dried cranberries

Sliced strawberries

Goat cheese

Blush wine vinaigrette

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A question my friends always asked me: What exactly should I buy organic?

Knowledge changes every day about this topic, but we do have some information regarding the amount of pesticides used on certain produce.  This can lead us to make the decisions for ourselves.  Eatingwell.com provides us with the “Clean15″ which is a list of the produce that are safe to not buy organic.  They are:

1. Onions
2. Avocado
3. Sweet Corn
4. Pineapple
5. Mangos
6. Sweet Peas
7. Asparagus
8. Kiwi
9. Cabbage
10. Eggplant
11. Cantaloupe
12. Watermelon
13. Grapefruit
14. Sweet Potato
15. Honeydew Melon

Go to the following link to read more and get some creative recipes for each of the Clean 15: http://www.eatingwell.com/food_news_origins/organic_natural/15_foods_you_dont_need_to_buy_organic

The following are the 12 “Dirty Dozen” foods that you should purchase organic to avoid pesticides:

1. Celery
2. Peaches
3. Strawberries
4. Apples
5. Blueberries
6. Nectarines
7. Bell Peppers
8. Spinach
9. Kale
10. Cherries
11. Potatoes
12. Grapes (imported)

http://www.eatingwell.com/blogs/brierley_wright/2010_03_02/trying_to_save_money_15_foods_you_don_t_need_to_buy_organic

CNP Digital Studio (Self.com)

Spice up your life with making a smoothie for breakfast.  It’s quick, easy, and tasty.  It’s a great start to the day but can also take the place of a dessert later on in the day…as it is a healthier way to satisfy that sweet tooth.  Try out this delicious recipe that I found on Self.com:

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 1 cup plain soymilk
• 1 1/2 cups raspberries
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp ground flaxseed

Preparation

Puree all ingredients in a blender. Pour into two glasses.

This recipe is great because it is a good source of protein, Omega-3, and is 190 calories per serving.  Nothing like having something delicious that also benefits your body in so many ways!  Check out this recipe and many others at: http://www.self.com/fooddiet/2009/06/healthy-smoothies-slideshow#slide=2

Just recently, I declared the burrito my favorite meal.  I love it because it includes almost all of the food groups:

• Grains (whole wheat tortilla, whole grain rice, corn)
• Vegetables (red & green peppers, spinach)
• Fruit (tomato slices, salsa)
• Milk/Fat (sour cream)
• Meat & Beans (black beans)

It is really easy to put together a burrito whether you are cooking at home or you are at the dining hall.  Follow my dining hall friendly recipe for a hearty, healthy, and scrumptious meal:

1 whole wheat wrap (found at the sandwich station)

1/4 cup of whole grain rice (found at the stir-fry station)

1/4 cup of black beans (found at the sandwich station)

3 tomato slices (found at the sandwich station)

2 tablespoons sour cream (found at the condiments by the grill station)

2 tablespoons salsa (found at the condiments by the grill station)

A sprinkle of corn (found at the salad bar)

Onions, red and green peppers (found at the salad bar)

Fold in the ends & roll it up! ENJOY =)

*Optional* Place in microwave for 30-45 seconds.