Laura Zervos

Whether or not it came in like a lion or a lamb, March is National Nutrition Month, and as a registered and licensed dietitian, let me say; Welcome!  Dietetic students learn early on in their training the importance of nutrition outreach to the public.  Regardless of our everyday roles in hospitals, long-term care, grocery stores, schools, universities, or in corporate settings, dietitians create nutrition education materials, displays, and interactive lessons for the community.

Dietitians are called to inform the community.  We speak to moms’ groups, senior citizens, schools, and corporations, not only about the latest nutrition trends but common sense nutrition practices and the role it plays throughout the lifecycle and certain disease states.  We also provide tips on meal planning, feeding your family, food safety and more. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetic’s website has a short video and a brief sentence that sums up What a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Can Do for You; the image depicted below. Visit the website and watch the video.

National Nutrition Month 2019

In prior years National Nutrition Month has employed a theme to promote its message.  For 2019, National Nutrition Month is its own theme. This allows greater flexibility in promoting healthful messages and the original purpose of National Nutrition Month: “To increase the public’s awareness of the importance of good nutrition and position registered dietitian nutritionists as the authorities in nutrition.”(https://www.eatright.org/)

What National Nutrition Month Means to Me

As a dietetic student, it meant creating displays around campus and in the cafeteria for the student body.  Later as a Dietitian in a hospital setting, it meant specials in the cafeteria each week, food samples, fun food activities, contests, recipe handouts and more.  This year my outreach will include presentations at local libraries on meal planning for your family.   It is an excellent opportunity to start a conversation about nutrition and help others get on the path to wellness.

Happy National Nutrition Month!

 

Love baked potato soup, but feel like it’s too much work or too heavy and caloric?   Most of the goodness comes from the name itself; the potato has to be baked to get the delicious, hearty potato taste.  I love this soup for many reasons; of course at the top of the list is the taste, and with busy schedules; the potatoes can be cooked ahead of time.  Baking the potatoes the day before or two days before while you have a hot oven saves time, and the potatoes will be cooled and easy to handle when you are ready. I also like finishing the soup with milk and sour cream instead of heavy cream.  The soup is hearty–not heavy!

 

Let’s Get Cooking

It doesn’t take much for this tasty soup.  Begin to melt the butter in a 6-quart stock pot. After the leeks are soft, add sliced garlic and saute for two more minutes.

 

 

Baked Potato and Leek Soup

5 Large Baking potatoes, rinse and scrub well

1/4 c. butter

2 large leeks, washed and julienned

2 cloves garlic

Salt and pepper

2 cups of chicken broth

1/2 c. skim milk

1/2 c. regular sour cream

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1. After washing, but immediately before placing in the oven pierce potatoes several times, bake for 1 hour or until fork tender.
2. Scoop the potato out of the skin and roughly chop.
3. Melt butter in a 6-8 quart stock pot and add julienned leeks and sliced garlic cloves, cook for 5 minutes.
4. Add broth and water, cover and simmer for an additional 20 minutes.
5. Set aside one of the chopped potatoes and add the others to the broth mix,
6. Using a hand blender, working through the whole soup, pulse until evenly thick consistency.
7. Whisk the milk and sour cream together and add to the soup, and add the cheddar cheese.  After the milk and cheese have been incorporated, add the chopped potato, add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer on low for 5 minutes.
8. Serve with your favorite toppings, cheese, scallions, bacon bits or sour cream.

   

*Nutritional information for a one cup serving: 203 calories; 7.5g Protein, 29g Carbohydrate, 6.5 fat, and 2.8 Fiber

*varies with added toppings

Some food allergies are immediate and can have severe consequences if the individual does not receive immediate medical attention. We often hear about children with nut allergies that are unable to sit at a table where another child is eating peanuts; this is an example of a Type 1 IgG food allergy.   In comparison, a Type-3 IgG food allergy reaction could be delayed up to three days, making it much harder to identify what caused the reaction.

Your immune system produces food-specific IgG antibodies which can lead to inflammation.  These inflammatory reactions can have a negative impact on your health. Some symptoms of Type3 food allergies can include acne, headaches, nausea, fatigue, Irritable Bowel Syndrome and even overweight and obesity.  Since the symptoms are latent with Type 3 allergies, they can be difficult to pinpoint.

Immufood, a leader in the food allergy and sensitivity testing industry can test for up to 270 specific food allergens; they offer the most comprehensive services after diagnostics as well with their knowledgable staff and app database. I am excited to partner with Immufood and provide my clients this value-added service!

Once the initial nutrition consult is complete and an assessment shows that food allergy testing is indicated we can perform the test in our office.  After obtaining a few drops of blood, we will send your kit to the laboratory and have the results within a week.

Your results are emailed to you along with access to an app that allows you to have a list of your trigger foods at your fingertips.  As your Dietitian I can help you navigate through your results to ensure nutritional adequacy. Contact me today for special pricing offers.  

 

Do you want to love turkey burgers, but the lean meat ends up being so dry that you have to add sauce or cheese to them to make them taste better?   The beauty of turkey is that its mild flavor will readily accept any seasoning or twist.  The secret ingredient to my turkey burger; green chiles, they add moisture and flavor without extra fat.

Wash and either air-dry cilantro or squeeze excess moisture out with cheesecloth and finely chop.  Add to stainless steel bowl, along with turkey and undrained canned green chiles.

Using a #8 disher; scoop eight equal portions of turkey mix onto a plate.  Not only does this ensure that the burgers will cook evenly; that is roughly finishing at the same time but also that the nutrition information is accurate.

Sprinkle with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (this helps form a nice crust)

The loose texture of ground turkey breast differs from ground beef and makes it difficult to shape into burgers not to mention hard to turn over on a grill without losing part of the burger.  Pour 1/2 teaspoon of canola oil into your hands and gently pick up and shape each burger.  Gently place on griddle or grill and cook 5-6 minutes on one side before turning.  Cook 5-6 minutes more on the other side.

 

My Favorite Turkey Burger

Preheat griddle to 350 or the High setting on the  Grill

2 pounds organic ground turkey breast
1 5-ounce can of mild diced green chilies
2 T. fresh cilantro; washed, dried and chopped

canola oil as needed

Kosher Salt and Fresh Ground pepper to taste

1.  Mix all ingredients in a stainless steel bowl.
2. Using a #8 disher, make eight equal portions of turkey burger mix.
3. Sprinkle each side with Kosher salt and fresh black pepper.
4. With oiled hands gently shape into burgers ensuring the burger has oil on each side.
5. Place on heated griddle or grill and cook for 5-6 minutes on each side, turning only once.
6. Serve with avocados or sauteed mushrooms and onions.

 

Nutrition Information for one patty: 170 calories; 9.3 g Fat; 1 g Carbohydrate; 24 g Protein

Nothing is better on a cold day than hot soup!  Especially hot soup with a kick!

My family knows that Tortilla Soup will be on the menu during the winter months, they will come home to this spicy soup served with their choice of toppings, including sour cream, tortilla strips, and Monterey Jack and Cheddar Cheeses– they will also find it in their thermos for lunch.  There’s nothing better than a thermos of hot soup to make an ordinary school day a little tastier!

The key to the bursting flavor of this soup is fresh ingredients.  Begin by pulsing fresh cilantro, onion, garlic, green chiles or jalapenos in the food processor to make a pungent paste.

Once all of the ingredients are finely chopped and are uniform in size, add to a 6-quart stock pot, add chicken stock and crushed tomatoes, and begin to cook on medium heat.

 

Next, add the cumin, salt, and pepper, corn, and black beans. Cook over medium heat for 30-45 minutes to allow the flavors to come together.  

Serve with the toppings mentioned above, sour cream, tortilla strips, shredded cheese, scallions, and avocado.  If you are looking for something a little heartier, you can add chicken or finish the soup with ½ cup heavy cream for the final 3 -5 minutes. Either way, this is a tasty way to add some spice to your week! Enjoy!

Laura’s Favorite Tortilla Soup

(Makes 14- 1 cup servings)

1 large bunch of cilantro washed (squeeze out extra moisture in cheesecloth if you don’t have time to dry)

1 medium onion

3-4 cloves of garlic

1 jalapeno pepper or 1/3 c. of mild diced chiles

Salt and pepper to taste

2 cups of chicken broth

6 cups of crushed tomatoes

2 ½ tsp of ground cumin

2-15oz. cans of organic corn

2- 15oz.  cans of organic black beans

 

1. Pulse cilantro, onion, garlic, and peppers together in a food processor
2. Add paste to 6-quart stock pot, then stir in chicken broth and tomatoes.
3. Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes; add corn and beans, cumin, salt, and pepper, and cook an additional 30-40 minutes.

Nutritional information for 1 cup serving

109 calories; 4.8 g protein; 20.6 g carbohydrate; 2.2 g fat; 5.6 g fiber

 

Out of 41 eating plans, the Mediterranean diet ranks the “best overall diet” for 2019 by US News and World Report. This eating plan also ranked high in other categories of diets; best for Diabetes, easiest to follow, and best for healthy eating.

The word diet itself can come across as restrictive.  Focusing on only the constraints rarely contributes to a plan’s success.  Clients can tend to focus on foods that they need to avoid and immediately label them as “bad.” Imagine the message we are sending our body when we eat the so-called bad foods not included in our “diet.”

Instead, I think of it as the Mediterranean Lifestyle plan which is an all-encompassing approach to not only what foods we choose to eat but with whom we eat, and when we eat.  The cultures from this region embrace mindful eating principles, and mealtimes focus on spending time with others.

Key Features of the Plan

• The focus is on plant-based foods including vegetables, whole grains, beans and nuts versus protein from animal sources.
• Olive oil is the fat of choice and used in most preparations.
• Fish and shellfish dishes are prepared simply and consumed more often than red meat. Egg and dairy consumption is more frequent but eaten in small quantities.
• Refined sugar and white flour consumption are considerably less than found in Western diets if consumed at all.

 

 Nutrition professionals like the diet, because of its efficacy in the management and prevention of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Followers of the plan love the fresh variety.  Thinking of the Mediterranean eating plan conjures up images of an abundance of colorful foods varying in texture and flavor.  Sun-kissed fruits and vegetables, fresh fish from the sea dressed with local olive oil, and prepared simply!  Take cues from this regional eating pattern and make it your own and you’ll stay on the Path to Wellness.  Want to makeover your current eating patterns but aren’t sure how–choose Nutrition for Life!  Call or email today to schedule an appointment!