Choosing Healthy Foods

The end of the semester is approaching.  Which means more time studying and the need for quick food options.  Here are some easy convenient meal and snack ideas to ensure you are continuing to eat healthy while you finish out the semester. Some of these can be made in your dorm room- so there is no need for a full kitchen.  All you need is a refrigerator and maybe a microwave!  Meal and Snack Ideas Grains : Great source of B vitamins, fiber and important minerals (iron, magnesium..) Hot oatmeal – Microwave ½ c. oats, 2/3 c. water (or with milk to add protein, calcium and vitamin D) for 2 minutes. Top with granola and some blueberries or raisins. You can also add a scoop of Greek Yogurt for added protein.  Overnight oats – Mix oats, milk, fruit, chia seeds and nut butter. Let sit overnight. Grab & go in the morning. Whole grain bread – Make sandwiches with sliced turkey or tuna salad or toast (try topped with peanut butter & banana). Whole grain wraps/pit...

with campus executive chef Tom Barton Hi all! It’s quite busy around here and I wanted to let you know about a few of the things we have going on around campus. In January, we started doing Foodie Tours of each of our dining locations. These are in depth tours with our nutritionist Christine Clark and me. We select a dining location and go station-by-station talking about the back stories of how are menus are created, where we source many of our products from, and, in some cases, the science behind some of the things we do. We have received great feedback from the tours we have done and anticipate continuing this initiative next semester. They are open to all students, faculty, and staff and are – of course – free! We have also been busy planning for our upcoming Lobstah Night . We are happy to say that we will be working with Red's Best to obtain the 1,000 lobsters needed for this event. It is certainly one of the highlights of the school year so be sure to get to Stetson West ...

If you follow food trends, you’ve surely noticed that plant-based foods, recipes and restaurants have been getting a larger share of the spotlight lately. Does this mean that more of us are becoming vegetarians? Should we be? Why more plants? Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, peas, nuts and seeds are key features of some of the healthiest diets in the world. Plant based foods are a common theme in the Mediterranean Diet, the DASH Diet and most dietary guidelines. The balance of health promoting nutrients with moderate calories and less of the stuff we should be limiting make plant based foods an easy fit for most people. Looking beyond personal health, to the health of our planet, plant based foods tend to more sustainable and less taxing on the environment. What is a flexitarian? Or a pescatarian? With the expansion of plant foods on our plates has come an expansion of how we refer to the way we eat. Vegetarian still refers to people who don’t eat meat, fish or poultry, but the...

Recent studies focus on the benefits of whole grains in lowering risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and other chronic conditions. But what types of carbohydrates should you choose for workouts and for keeping your energy high throughout the day? Incorporating grains into a healthy lifestyle Carbohydrates act as the primary fuel for your brain and muscles. Remember those pasta nights before the big game? The reason for the “carb load” was to increase your glycogen, or your stored carbohydrates, to be available as energy while you exercise. Fast-acting energy sources, such as refined grains, can provide quick energy before, during and after a game or workout. But what about energy over the course of the day, while you are at work or taking care of the kids? Throughout the day, active men and women should consume 6-8 ounces or servings of grains. What kind of grains should I look for? According to the Dietary Guidelines, at least half of your grains should be whole ...

Up to 40% of the food in the US is wasted and never eaten. Considering how many people don’t have enough to eat, the idea of so much food ending up in landfills is startling. Here are some tips on how you can do your part to reduce food waste: Plan Ahead There are two rules of shopping that can help you reduce food waste, save money and improve how well you eat – don’t shop when hungry and bring a list. A good shopping list is based on what you plan to eat for the next week or so. Remember though, that meal planning doesn’t mean you have to cook from scratch every night. Map out days for quick meals, new recipes and no-cook nights of leftovers or eating out. If your shopping includes the local famers’ market, go there first and then make any adjustments to your meal plan and shopping list to include any great finds you weren’t expecting. Choose Wisely Buy what you need. While bulk discounts can seem like too good a deal to pass up, if you end up buying more than you need, the deal may ...

In our busy lives, we often rush through our meals sometimes not even pausing to sit while we eat. This hurried way of eating certainly deprives us of the pleasure of the meal, but could it also be impacting our health? Could all of the distractions be causing us to eat more than we need? Or causing us to make less healthful choices? The philosophy of Mindful Eating seeks to reverse this habit and transform our relationship with food. Eating is one of the few activities that allow us to engage all of our senses. Mindful eating encourages you to take time to explore your food through sight, touch, smell and sound in addition to taste. Your responses to each aspect of your food, whether positive or negative, should be acknowledged, but not judged according to the principles of Mindful Eating. Learning to be aware of physical hunger and satiety cues to decide when to start and stop eating is also a key aspect of Mindful Eating. How do you know if you are eating mindfully? For starters, if...

Mindfulness is about paying attention. Mindfulness promotes balance, choice, wisdom and acceptance. 1 Mindful eating has benefits that will enhance health and well-being. Mindful eating also allows you to be more aware of physical hunger and fullness (satiety) cues to help determine when to begin and when to stop eating.  Although the trend these days is to eat while working, watching TV, playing video games, or even texting. This type of behavior may result in eating carelessly and more often you may not be aware of feelings fullness, which could result in taking in extra calories that may contribute to future weight gain. Health and proper nutrition may be forgotten while this type of convenience is practiced.  Some tips to help guide you to more mindful eating: Prepare meals or at the very least think about meals ahead of time. Take time to think about and/or prepare the following day’s meals. When you are busy this can take extra time, but it is worth it.   Allow 15-...

With no shortage of diets to choose from, picking the best one can be difficult. US News and World Reports recently released their list of top diets as rated by health experts. The results may surprise you. How did they choose? US News consulted a panel of experts in the fields of diet, nutrition, obesity, food psychology, diabetes and heart disease and asked them what they thought of the most popular eating plans. The experts ranked each diet on a variety of factors including overall healthfulness, likelihood of helping you lose weight, how easy they are to follow and how beneficial they are for certain diseases like diabetes or heart disease. Which diets ranked highest? The DASH diet took the top spot for best overall diet followed by the Mediterranean Diet and the relatively new MIND diet. The MIND diet focuses on brain health and combines aspects of the Mediterranean and DASH diets. Plant-based diets scored well overall with the Flexitarian Diet taking the #4 spot overall and the V...