During the winter, when finding good quality, affordable fresh fruits can be a challenge, dried fruits are a great alternative. They are more affordable and contain almost the same amount of fiber and nutrients such as vitamin A, B and C, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus. While dried fruits are nutritious, remember the following… Be mindful of your serving size! Dried fruit contains natural sugars, which can add up if you get carried away. Choose a no-sugar-added variety. Natural sugars found in fruit are healthy for you. Excess added sugar intake can spike our blood sugar and also lead to weight gain. Try our Trail Mix recipe, it has the perfect amount of dried fruit for a healthy snack!

  By: Sammy Griffith, RD, LDN Growing up with both parents as Dentists, I wasn’t allowed to have many sweets. While most kids might feel bitter about a “no soda” rule, it taught me a valuable lesson in nutrition – don’t drink empty calories. What is an empty calorie anyway? It’s a popular nutrition term, but do you really know what it means? Empty calories are derived from foods containing no substantial nutrients. Soda, cookies, and candy are all examples of empty calories. This is because they provide a lot of refined sugar, and really nothing else. Fruit, on the other hand, is not an empty calorie. Although it often contains a lot of sugar, fruit is full of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. For those [...]

  By: Sammy Griffith, RD, LDN The first time I was introduced to nutritional yeast was during my dietetic internship. I was teaching a 2nd grade class about healthy eating and was tasked with bringing in a nutritious snack that would excite a bunch of 8-year-olds. Rather than bringing something boring like celery and peanut butter, I wanted to surprise the kids with something they might not expect. I decided to bring in popcorn topped with “Nooch” (nutritional yeast). Why? Dietitians know it is high protein and has an unexpected cheesy flavor. Plus, I knew if I called it “Nooch”, it would inevitably crack a few smiles! The snack was a great success, and many kids wanted to bring the recipe home to share with their family. [...]

I know what you’re thinking…what the heck are pepitas??? Pepitas are pumpkin seeds! When growing up, my favorite part of carving pumpkins was eating the roasted seeds afterwards with my sisters. It wasn’t until I became a dietitian that I realized that those tasty, crunchy snacks were actually good for me! ¼ cup of pepitas contains… 52% Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) of Magnesium: a mineral that's crucial to the body's function. Magnesium helps keep blood pressure normal, bones strong, and the heart rhythm steady. 57% RDI of Phosphorus: essential for many functions, such as filtering waste and repairing tissue and cells. 10% RDI of Niacin: also known as Vitamin B3, every part of your body needs it to function properly. 13 grams of unsaturated fats: the [...]

By: Sammy Griffith, RD, LDN Can you say “edamame” five times fast!!!??? We probably should just stick to “soybeans”. If you didn’t already know, they are one in the same! As a dietitian, I love edamame due to its high protein and fiber content. However, as a busy adult, edamame has become a staple in my diet because it’s versatile, cheap, and easy to cook. A bag of frozen edamame is less than $3.00 at most major grocery stores. Check out our Eating Healthy on a Budget: Protein blog post for other helpful protein shopping tips. They are quickly boiled in 3-5 minutes. They make a great salad topper, dinner side, or soup addition. I chose to feature edamame this week because it is one [...]

Eat more pasta! Yes…you heard it right…a dietitian telling you to eat more pasta! Stop cutting out pasta and start eating a new product that is gradually becoming more available in local stores...bean pastas. Although there are many variations, this week’s RD Kitchen is focusing specifically on black bean pasta. Don’t let black bean pasta’s squid-like appearance scare you away…it tastes similar to regular pasta, but made from black beans!  So what makes it so good? It’s the perfect noodle substitute.  Regular pasta contains nearly twice as many carbohydrates as black bean pasta per serving.  And if you’re a pasta lover (like most of us are) you know how hard it is to eat the right portion size.  This leads to too many carbohydrates, too [...]

Oats are the way to a dietitian’s heart, quite literally! You might have heard that oats are heart healthy, but do you know why? Oats have soluble fiber, which lowers our total blood cholesterol as it moves through our digestive track. They are also high in B-vitamins, which convert our food into energy through the day. This is one of the reasons that oats make a great breakfast in morning. Stay tuned for some of our favorite overnight oats recipes, that will be posted next week! Dietitians are often asked if any particular type of oat is more healthy – short answer is, NO. The difference lies in how they are processed, not their nutritional content. Here is an oat vocabulary according to the Academy [...]

You may be surprised we chose Deli Meat for our next RD Kitchen! Although deli meat often gets a bad rap, there are plenty of reasons it can be a good choice for many of us. Saves Time. Deli meats do not require any prep or cooking time. Saves Money. One pound of deli meat can cost as little as $2.79 and be used in a week’s worth of sandwiches. One pound of fresh meat can range from $3.99 for chicken to $11.49 for ham, but may only last a couple meals. Convenient. Homemade sandwiches are an easy meal option that saves time, money, and potentially calories versus eating out. Protein source. Just one thick slice of deli meat from the counter contains as much as 10 grams of protein. Lean [...]

Next up on our RD Kitchen menu...Beets! Why do dietitian’s love beets? They are high in antioxidants, a naturally sweet vegetable and easy to prepare!

What's on the menu for our first RD Kitchen...Greek yogurt! While you have almost certainly heard of it, you may not know why it is a better choice than regular yogurt.