You know, we get A LOT of questions about things like the ‘paleo diet’ or the ‘precision diet’ (or Gundry, Atkins and every other carb-a-phobe diet you can think of); the biggest hang-up people seem to have is accepting that ‘carbs’ are not the enemy.  Now don’t get me wrong…I’m not suggesting you head out and fill your plate with white bread and white rice!  But skipping the ‘grain’ category means skipping out on your main energy foods.  Grains also provide many nutrients like iron and quite a few B vitamins that are important for health.

So instead of steering clear of grains altogether, try these super hardy whole grain mixtures as part of your meal to boost your energy and nutrition!

1. Mix equal parts of black barley, pot barely and oat groats or spelt berries together.  Simmer 1 cup with 2 cups of water for about an hour (just like you would cook brown rice, only a little bit longer 😉 – and WOW! You’ve got a whole grain medley that will keep you going all day! (Contains about 170 calories per cooked cup and 8g fibre)

2. Kelly’s Hardy Whole Grain Muesli: see our recipe section for full recipe, but basically you mix equal parts of rolled oats (the old fashion kind), rolled rye, rolled barley and add in a small amount of dried fruit and seeds.  No need for cooking – add this mixture to some Non-fat Greek Yogurt and you’ve got a high fibre, long lasting breakfast or snack – enjoy!

***All these grains can be purchased at most health foods stores including Whole Foods in the bulk bins***

Have you ever wondered how many calories are in a bowl of Pho? The nutritional information is actually quite tough to track down but after some digging, here is what we found.

For those of you who don’t know, pho is a Vietnamese dish consisting of predominately rice noodle (which has little to no fiber), with some beef or chicken, very few veggies and salty broth.  One large bowl of Chicken Pho (equivalent to ~3 cups) has approximately 600 calories. Not so shabby if calories were all you were concerned about.  At Spectrum Nutrition we recommend using the plate model so your meal lasts as long as it should while keeping calories in check.  Pho actually has all the right ingredients for the plate model, but there are far too many noodles and not enough vegetables; with some slight modifications however, you can fit a bowl of Pho into the plate model.

Here is what I would recommend to makeover this meal:

1. Choose chicken, shrimp, or tofu versus beef to keep calories down.

2. Specify that you would like a ½ portion of noodles (this could trim nearly 150 kcals off your meal).

3. Ask for extra vegetables in the soup (you might pay extra for this – but well worth it, just ask your waistline).

4. Take advantage of the bean sprouts that are served with the soup for an extra boost of veggies.

If you live in Vancouver, it’s hard to not develop a love affair with sushi. But the truth is for sushi to be ‘healthy’ you must choose wisely. You can easily hit your daily quota for calories and sodium in one meal if you aren’t careful, not to mention most sushi falls short on fibre. I have dug up the nutrition information for some popular sushi items below to help you navigate your options:

• 1 piece Nigiri (raw fish/seafood on rice) = ~60 calories, 5g protein
• 1 piece sashimi (~ 1oz raw fish/seafood)= ~30 calories, 5g protein
• Cucumber Roll = 135 calories
• California Roll (6 pieces) = 255 calories
• Tuna Roll = 185 calories
• Spicy Tuna Roll = 290 calories
• Dynamite Roll = 500 calories
• Miso Soup (1 cup) = 40-70 calories (depending on tofu)
• Edamame (1 cup in pods = ~3/4 cup of beans) = 150 calories, 12g protein, 6g fibre
• 1 piece Tempura = ~145 calories
• 1 tbsp Soy Sauce =  10 calories, 900-1000mg Sodium

As you can see, not all sushi is created equally. So next time you place your order, here’s what I recommend:

Starch: For women, one sushi roll (6 pieces) and for men 1.5 rolls (9 pieces) is appropriate. Avoid rolls with tempura, cream cheese, extra mayonnaise or creamy drizzles (these yummy extras will cost you serious calories). And always remember to choose brown rice, it’s a whole grain and has more fibre than white (every little bit counts!)

Protein: For women, order 3 pieces (3oz) of sashimi and 5 pieces for the men; this will cover your protein needs. Dislike raw fish? Choose a serving of edamame instead…and you’ll get the added bonus of 6g of filling fibre!

Vegetables: Always ask for a side of steamed veggies-they add bulk and will help the meal last you longer. Add the veggies to a small bowl of miso soup for a little more excitement 😉

Just when I thought the entire collection of RD approved ‘traditional style’ breads had been taken off the market …in comes “Foldit”!  Those of you who’ve been to Spectrum or have ever attended one of our nutrition seminars know that in order for a bread to be RD approved, it should contain at least 4g of fibre and tout around 100 calories per slice. Yes, of course Silver Hills Squirrely bread or some good hearty whole grain dense rye bread (think pumpernickel) will meet these criteria, but these types of breads are not for everyone!

Sure, there used to be Pro-cardio by Dempsters and Healthy Way, but for some reason all the soft, squishy, yummy breads that meet Spectrum’s fibre guidelines have not been stocked on store shelves as of late.  …that is until now – Meet “Foldit”.  These little round flat breads are 110 calories each and have 7g of fibre.  You fill ‘em, fold ‘em and eat ‘em.  Why not try filling up these little gems with one of the following:

• 1.5 oz of Allegro 4% M.F. Cheese
• ½ cup egg white omelette
• 3 oz chicken breast
• 70g of smoked tofu
• ¾ can of tuna

Couple that with a nice big green salad (mind the dressing – aim for 40 calories per tbsp. or less) and you’ve got yourself the perfect plate – and all for less than 350 calories!  For the men, you might want to double up (350 calories is a bit low) – Enjoy!

By the way…I found these little gems at Safeway 😉

For anyone who’s come through our program at Spectrum Nutrition, you know we’ve talked a lot about ‘high impact’ foods; foods that pack a lot of calories, for not too much volume. High impact foods aren’t necessarily unhealthy for you; think nuts, nut butters, seeds, cooking oils, cheese, avocadoes and salmon to name a few.  All these foods are healthy for you, but they have so many calories associated with them that minding your portion size is still important.

….and mind the portion size they did!  We’ve discovered a perfectly pre-portioned, individually sized Brie cheese product that we’d like to share!  Ever heard of “Coeur de Lion”?  These little gems come in 25g ‘tubs’ containing only 70 calories.  One portion will cover 4 finn crisp crackers perfectly and together will run you about 150 calories.  What a perfect way to enjoy that afternoon snack – guilt free!

Portioned controlled foods help you keep the calories in check while enjoying the finer things in life – bon appetite!

Veggies are more than just healthy for you, getting enough ensures you feel fuller longer and don’t overeat the other foods on your plate.  Follow the plate model and always fill half your plate with vegetables (this is equivalent to 2 overflowing handfuls or a minimum of 2 cups) at lunch and supper. It sounds so simple and yet many people struggle to meet this requirement. Here are some ideas that will ensure you get enough veggies and enjoy them too:

1. Go for convenience- If veggies involve too much prep, you’re likely to skip them. Try pre-cut, pre washed broccoli, shredded cabbage, mixed greens, spinach, baby carrots etc.  Two large handfuls and you’ve got your veggie requirement covered!
2. Stock up on fresh produce on your day off. Chop vegetables in advance, refrigerate in a Tupperware and use for salads, stir-fries, etc, throughout the week.
3.  Have frozen vegetables on hand as a back-up. They are as nutritious as fresh vegetables (if not more), and they save you from skipping the veggies altogether when you have nothing fresh on-hand. Add frozen veggies to soups, curries, pastas, or simply microwave!
4. Make your greens taste good by stocking your fridge at home (and work) with calorie-reduced salad dressing. Pick your favourite flavour, just make sure it has ≤40 calories per tablespoon. Use 2 tbsp of dressing to keep calories in check.
5. Prefer to make your own dressing?  Keep oil to 1 tsp for one serving (a whole tablespoon will cost you 120 calories). Mix with any flavourful, low-calorie ingredients like balsamic vinegar, fresh/dried herbs, spices, shallots, garlic, salt/pepper, dijon mustard, and lemon juice. Enjoy!
6. Remember, eateries like McDonald’s, Subway, sandwich/salad bars and all grocery stores sell garden salads. If you haven’t had time to pack your veggies, go for one of these options.

My nephew asked me a very common question and I thought I’d share the answer with you all. His question was: “isn’t dairy bad for your digestion?” The short answer is NO.

There are some caveats to that answer. Dairy is a very healthy food and an important component of a healthy diet (it’s one of the four food groups in Canada’s Food Guide for Pete’s sake!). But some people develop the inability to digest dairy properly. This is usually caused by a deficiency of an enzyme called lactase which breaks down the milk sugar in dairy products.

When we’re children, we all have enough of the lactase enzyme. As we age (and this is truer for certain ethnic groups) our lactase enzyme production can decrease. If this happens, we can’t tolerate the volume or load of dairy as we used to. Tell-tale symptoms that you might be having difficulty tolerating lactose is gas, bloating, abdominal discomfort or diarrhea associated with the consumption of dairy products.

If you think you’re experiencing some of these symptoms due to dairy products, not all hope is lost. Dairy products are not all created equally. There is less lactose in cheese and yogurt than there tends to be in fluid milk. So what do I recommend?

• Try taking a the lactase enzyme orally with dairy products (ask your doctor about “Lactase”).
•  Try replacing just the fluid milk in your diet with Lactaid milk (has the enzyme in the milk) or a fortified soy milk; you may find you’re still able to tolerate cheese and yogurt.

Short answer is, not really.  Coconut and coconut oil are predominately made up of Saturated fat, the artery clogging fat found in meat and dairy products (think butter).  Saturated fat does not have to be avoided all together but a prudent diet consists of no more than 10% saturated fat.  So why do some ‘experts’ recommending taking loads of coconut oil?

Coconut oil contains more medium chain fatty acids than do other typical forms of dietary saturated fat.  Medium chain fatty acids (when converted to ketones) can be used by the brain for fuel. Your brain typically only uses glucose (blood sugar) for fuel, but with conditions like Parkinson’s disease for example, the brain is not ‘feeding’ itself adequately with this blood sugar and so parts of the brain function less optimally.  Coconut oil, which is made up of about 60% medium chain fatty acids is purported to help.  The only problem is that there are no human studies to date that support this assumption.  That’s not to say good studies have not been done to show positive effects of taking medium chain fatty acids to help fuel the brain, they have – but the results have not been consistent from taking coconut oil (which has less medium chain fatty acids or the chains are not used efficiently enough from this source to show a measurable effect).

So what do I recommend? If you feel comfortable exchanging some other forms of saturated fat in your diet for coconut oil (like replacing your butter or cream with a coconut based product), I’m all ears.  In fact, there might even be some benefit in doing just that.  But just don’t go replacing the other fats (or foods!) in your life with coconut oil without proper nutritional assessment – you may be doing more harm than good.

Shellfish – a ‘dieters’ friend or foe?

In the 4th lesson of our six step weight loss program at Spectrum Nutrition, our dietitians teach clients a little known fact about the calories in the different protein sources they eat.  One that often comes as a surprise for many of our clients is how low calorie protein from the shellfish family is.

Shrimp, prawns and scallops are all about 0.8 calories per gram.  So every 100g (or about ¼ of a typical package of frozen shrimp), you’ll only get about 80 calories (give or take depending on the food label).  If the prawns are fairly large sized, that’s a good cup of shrimp for only 80 calories, and all the protein most of us need in a meal!

Compare that to a piece of salmon which weighs in at about 1.8 calories per gram which means you’re looking at more than double the calories for the same amount of salmon compared to shellfish.  It is true that prawns, in particular, are much higher in dietary cholesterol than many other foods so if you’re cholesterol is on the watch I would recommend consuming prawns no more than once weekly, otherwise – enjoy! …for a whole lot less calories.