That wonderful aroma of raspberries you smell as I commented in my You tube is the chemical compound, raspberry ketones.  The real deal with the raspberry are  the anthocyanins or antioxidants and raspberries own it.

But I had to address as a dietitian /nutritionist the weight loss gimmicks that are out there in regards to losing fat. Ketones are extracted from a bushel of berries that are reducd to a 1000 mg of the substance. There is minimal research to support the theory that it enables adiponectin  to lose body fat and reduce appetite. Raspberry Ketones, are only considered possibly safe when taken with caffeine to lose weight in 8 weeks. Can increase blood pressure and create shakiness. So let’s forgo the  gimmick and get down to the real nutrition of the fruit!

Enjoy the anti inflammatory, goodness  improving your skin and adding high fiber to your diet as a low carbohydrate- 1 cup has 15 grams of carbohydrate and 65 kcals.

Try a recipe! CRANACHAN

The Scottish have a recipe which included raspberries and oats with heavy cream or yogurt. Sorta like a parfait. They add a dash of whiskey and I have that as option on this blog.  

Adapted from Serious Eats

• 2 cups of heavy cream or full fat whole milk yogurt

• 2 cups of raspberries

• 1 teaspoon of vanilla

• 2/3  cup rolled oats or quick oats

• 2 tablespoon of butter melted or coconut oil

• 3 tablespoons of honey

• 3 Tablespoons of sugar  (brown or white)

•  1 teaspoon orange zest

• a dash of whiskey (optional)

Mix oats, melted butter and vanilla extract with 2 tablespoons of sugar and flatten into a thin layer  on a cookie sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes until the  mixture resembles brittle or a granola bar. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Break the oats mixture apart  and set aside.  In a separate bowl, crush the raspberries until pureed with chunks and the honey and remaining sugar.  Layer whipped heavy cream or whole milk yogurt flavored with orange zest with raspberry puree and granola in parfait glasses.

 

Blueberry Clafoutis can be considered a pancake, a custard or a crust less pie. A classic dessert worthy of breakfast or dessert with great nutrition in every bite!

Did you know that just 1/2 to 1 cup of berries can pack enough nutrients to do the following:

• Build immunity with anthocyanins, an antioxidant  

• Ward off diabetes with fiber

•  Myricetin and quercetin which are flavonoids can lower cholesterol ?

Well blueberries do! I will enjoy being on my turf of Connecticut to revisit the farms that are all showing off there berry abundance and blueberries are the last of the pickings in July.

The nutrition line up:

Blueberries are 85 kcals/cup

The diabetic exchange is 1 cup for 15 grams of carbohydrate

Low glycemic load good for diabetics at 53

Great fiber at 2 grams per 1/2 cup

Individuals taking Warfarin (coumadin)  may have to consult with their physician due to the Vitamin K levels in the fruit  may conflict with the drug.

Lets get started and make a BLUEBERRY CLAFOUTIS

• 2 cups of blueberries

• 1/4 to 1/2 cup of sugar ( white, coconut or brown sugar)

• 2 eggs

• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

• 1/4 teaspoon of Mace   NOTE:  (a must have spice for blueberries!)

• 1/2  teaspoon of lemon zest

• 1/2 cup coconut flour, all purpose flour or whole wheat flour

• 1 cup whole milk, low fat milk, 1/2 and 1/2 or almond milk

• 1/2 cup of low fat or whole milk yogurt

Preheat an oven at 375 degrees. Lightly butter or non stick spray a 8″ baking dish or 4 small ramekins.

Mix the blueberries together with the lemon zest and the one tablespoon of the sugar. Pour the blueberries into the baking dish. In the same bowl, beat 2 eggs and sugar until lemon colored and slightly thick and add the vanilla extract and the mace.  Add the flour and the milk and mix until well combined. Let rest for 10 minutes. Stir again with a mixing spoon and pour over the blueberries in the baking dish.  Bake for 45 minutes or until the top is puffed and lightly golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes and serve with yogurt or ice cream.

 

Easy soup for a hot day:  Equipment:  pot and a blender

We are in hot weather again and cold soup can do the trick to add electrolytes and hydration to a meal. Take those spices out of hiding in the cabinet and use them for this soup! Spicy food not your style? Scoville units too high when you see the word jalapeno?  This recipe is not too hot to handle with the right spice flow.

I wanted to try a soup which could be hot or cold, against a thickened background of potatoes, cauliflower and peas.  Spice mixture :  ginger, ground coriander, chives and onions and liquefied with some vegetable broth and 1/2 and 1/2 or light cream. Must have ground coriander ( the seeds)  AND fresh coriander leaves!

Cauliflower is getting a new  take on healthy by it’s high Vitamin C content and a free food as a low starchy carb.  It possesses Sulforaphane and a sterol, 3-indol carbinol,  important in preventing  Diabetes 2, Ovarian and Prostate cancers.

If lactose intolerant, use plain soy milk or almond milk instead of half and half.  Served cold, keeping it overnight in the fridge, this soup has a minty green hue and all blended together makes it an easy choice for summer. The French, have a cold potato soup with chives called Vichysoisse.  This soup, Harva Shorva or Green Soup has been adapted  from Madhur Jaffrey’s book, “Indian Cooking”.

Cold Indian Cauliflower, Pea and Potato Soup with chives

• 1  1/2 cup of frozen peas
• 2 cups chopped cauliflower
• 3 medium size potatoes any kind peeled
• 3 cups of vegetable stock or chicken stock
• 1/2 medium onion chopped
• 1 /2 teaspoon dried ginger or 1 teaspoon of  fresh grated ginger
• handful of chives chopped for garnish on the top of the soup
• handful of fresh coriander leaves
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 2  tablespoons of lemon or lime juice
• 1 teaspoon of fresh green chill (optional) or a generous pinch of red cayenne pepper
• 1 /4 cup of light cream,  half and half or almond milk unsweetened

Combine the cauliflower, stock, chopped onions, ginger, ground coriander and cumin in a pot with water to cover and add a 1/2 tappoon of salt. Bring to a boil and lower heat to simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes  and cauliflower are soft.

Add the peas, fresh coriander, cumin,  chopped chili,  lemon or lime juice  and cook through for an additional 4-5  minutes on medium heat.

Remove from heat and let cool for 15 minutes. In a food processor or blender, add all the ingredients in the pot and pulse until pureed, or very smooth.

Add 3 cups of vegetable or chicken stock,  1/4 cup light cream, almond milk or 1/2 and 1/2 , salt and pepper to taste. Again pulse in a blender or food processor for an additional minute. Adjust seasonings if needed.  Pour into soup bowls and serve. Garnish with chopped chives. Serves 4

 

What are those pink to reddish stalks anyway that we see in the produce shelf? It is not celery and nor is it related to it either. …so what do you do with them? It is time to revisit in the spring this vegetable that thinks it a fruit!   It makes strawberries more flavorful, and adds flavor with a small amount of sweetness. Can be used in savory dishes as in Middle Eastern recipes with beef or lamb.

Rhubarb can be made into a sauce for ice cream and is great with pork chops. Quick cooking with only 27 calories to a cup, 5 grams of carbohydrate /cup and 0 fat, rhubarb can be sweetened  with a small amount of honey, coconut sugar or granulated white sugar. 

Don’t consume the green tops, they have toxins called oxalic acid so only eat the stalks. Since impromptu is sometimes the best,  I made a low fat, low carbohydrate quick munch- a cluster of rhubarb, chopped strawberries, unsweetened coconut, honey with oats, ground almond flour and a small bit of all purpose flour.   Add a drop of vanilla extract and  allspice (the secret to making rhubarb taste more rhubarb).  A touch of fat with butter or soy based spread is added to the mix.  Here’s the recipe.

 

• 2/3 cup of  almond flour ( almonds ground to a flour consistency)
• 1/4 cup oats
• 1/2 cup of chopped rhubarb
• 1 cup of sliced strawberries
• 1/4 cup of shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar or coconut sugar
• 2 additional teaspoons of sugar
• 2 tablespoons of  very softened unsalted butter or soy based butter
• 1/4 cup of all purpose flour
• 2 drops of vanilla
• 2 generous pinches of ground allspice
• 1 egg beaten
• 1 tablespoon of honey or maple syrup
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all the dry  ingredients together in a bowl except for the 2 additional teaspoons of sugar, beaten egg and honey. Add the softened butter and mix together until a loose dough is formed. Add the fruit, beaten egg, honey and vanilla and continue to mix  until well combined and form into clusters placing them 2 inches apart on a parchment covered cookie sheet. Sprinkle with the additional sugar on the clusters and baked until the fruit is oozing out and the tops are golden about 30 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let’s try a combination brought to us by Indian cuisine, who are masters of everything vegetarian. The dish is called Saag. We talk about low carbohydrate diets and what is good for diabetics and weight loss and this dish is one of the them.  I think part of our eating should include a vegetarian dish or meal frequently through the week. I have been making this dish for years and it features spinach and a southeast Asian low sodium, lower lactose cheese called paneer.

For those that are mildly lactose intolerant, paneer can be digested more easily.  One ounce of cheese is  90 kcals. At 5 grams of sodium per one ounce of paneer, the Saag is a low sodium, high protein, low carbohydrate dish!  The cheese is made with whole milk and is a fresh not fermented cheese, so no tyramine here to cause migraine headaches.

I have been a fan of Indian food for a long time and their spice combinations add so much depth to vegetables and meat, that you would not miss the salt.  Too spicy for you? Cut back on chilis or delete them from the recipe all together.  The spice, turmeric, a key component to the dish, considered an anti inflammatory in Ayurvedic medicine, alleviates osteoarthritis in the knee and other conditions. Spinach at one cup cooked, has  59% of dietary value for Vitamin A and 25% for Vitamin C. Spinach provides a high amount of Vitamin K at 442 mcg per 1/2 cup to aid in our clotting abilities.

Note:  Patients  should  consult with their physician when taking Warfarin, due to the high content of Vitamin K per serving of spinach , which may conflict with the medication.

400 kcals per serving, 20 grams of sodium, 18 grams of protein 40 grams of carbohydrate

RECIPE:

• 1/2 onion chopped

• I -16 oz bag of spinach or bundle of fresh spinach washed and leaves trimmed

• 8 0z of paneer cheese cubed

• 1 teaspoon of turmeric

• a dash of salt

• a dash of chili flakes

• 1/2 teaspoon of chopped green chile  (hatch or jalopena) with seeds removed (optional)

• 1/4  teaspoon of ground ginger or grated fresh ginger

• 1 teaspoon of garam masala

• 2 teaspoons of olive oil

• 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro

• 2 tablespoons of water

Trim stems off the spinach and set aside. Cube the paneer and place in a mixing bowl with one teaspoon of oil, all the dried and fresh spices, salt, pepper and paneer and coat the cubes. Let sit for 10 minutes.

Add one teaspoon of oil to a frying pan,  turn to moderate heat for 30 seconds, add the chopped onion and saute until onions are slightly golden.

Add the paneer to brown on all sides and combine with the spinach and cook until wilted. If dry, add the water to moisten and stir.  Take pan off the heat.

Serve chopped cilantro and rice if desired.  yields: 4 side servings.

 

 

 

Herb Omelet with Gouda cheese , Guacamole,  Shrimp Scampi with garlic butter.. yum sounds good doesn’t it?

It is delicious and a healthy addition as a low carbohydrate meal.  Just remember to balance the diet with some carbs as well. Why?

There is a lot of talk about the ketogenic diet. It is a way of eating that puts your body into ketosis, a  process by which  the body utilizes  fats and protein  (or non carbohydrate precursers we were taught) to create energy. The consumption of fats doesn’t make you fat BUT  makes your body use it as energy because there are too few carbs to use as energy. Sound possible? Yes. So far so good but if ketosis is kept up we lose a balanced way to making fuel for the brain and for making glycogen for our muscles.

The average ketogenic diet has very high fat content which can  increase cholesterol levels if saturated fat like steak is consumed frequently with cheese and butter bypassing the avocados and walnuts. (!)

Ketogenic diets may lack fiber which th GI tract needs. Fiber can come from non starchy vegetables ( and you better like your vegetables then!)  but fat and protein doesn’t have fiber and grains and starches can fulfill the fiber requirement.

One can prevent ketosis by having a a carbohydrate controlled diet maintaining 120-140 grams of carbohydrate over 3 meals and still lose weight. Why? no overeating of carbohydrates to raise blood sugars and creating increased fat cells. 40-45 grams per meal would look like this:

 Breakfast: 2/3 cup of whole grain sugar free cereal , 1 cup of milk, a handful of berries, a sprinkle of coconut sugar or an omelet and 1 piece of toast with berries on the side or 1/2 cup of juice.  

Lunch: an Avocado vegetable turkey sandwich with  2 slices of bread and salad

 Dinner: chicken breast with sauce and a small baked potato or 2/3 cup pasta  with vegetable side and a small cookie or fruit. Snacks: yogurt with fruit  or cheese and crackers.

Not bad.. This day is aprox 1500 kcals,  50-60 grams of protein 130 grams of carbohydrate.

Ketosis induced diets were tailored made for epileptic children, where it was found that the high fat diet instead of glucose fueled metabolism was better for the brain and prevented seizures.

Research ahs found that mechanisms for the weight loss effect in ketogenic diets are really a  “Reduction in appetite due to higher satiety effect of proteins [38,40], effects on appetite control hormones [41] and to a possible direct appetite suppressant action of the ketone bodies [42]”.

As a registered dietitian, I always accentuate the balance of all food intake and vote for including all carbohydrates in your diet.  The key to weight loss is portion control and protein intake.  Most vegetables are low in starch carbohydrate (5 grams per serving)  except potatoes, peas and corn and some winter squashes .  The following recipe includes tomatoes which are low carb  at 5 grams of carbohydrate per medium tomato.

Recipe:

Avocado, Tomato, Red Onion Salad with Chipotle dressing

• 2  medium yellow tomatoes sliced
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes chopped
• 1 whole avocado cubed
• juice of 2 limes
• pinch of sea salt
• a handful of cilantro chopped
• 1 -2 teaspoons chopped chipotles (from a can)
•  3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 small red onion sliced

Mix the lime juice, oil,1 teaspoon of chopped chipotles and salt together and pour over the slice tomatoes, chopped cilantro, sliced red onion and avocado.

 

 

HI!  It’s Dee Krupnick RDN again.  Us Nutritionists/Dietitians need some fun in the kitchen and no better way than to make a chocolate treat !

So I thought I would” throw” together some chocolate truffles all made in a mixing bowl- yes this is quick recipe with high cacoa 70% to 80% chocolate (bittersweet), unsweetened or sweetened shredded coconut, a little coconut  oil, ground almonds and sweetener (your preference ). This recipe is adapted from several recipes and made lower in fat and sugar.

Ingredients:

• 6 ounces of dark 70-85% chocolate 

• 1  1/4 cup of shredded coconut, unsweetened or sweetened

• 1/4 cup ground almond flour

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 4 heaping tablespoons of Strawberry Powder (freeze dried strawberries pulverized in the Cuisinart )

• 1/4 cup coconut cream unsweetened

• 4 tablespoons of maple syrup or (any other sweetener to taste including artificial sweeteners)  

Mix together all the ingredients except the chocolate in a mixing bowl and roll into truffle balls and place on a parchment covered cookie sheet and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. 

• On low heat,  melt chopped chocolate in a bowl over simmering water for 4 minutes. Take chocolate off the heat to cool for 5 minutes.

• Take truffles out of the refrigerator and dip  into the room temperature chocolate .

• Cool on the cookie sheet pan lined with parchment paper and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

• yields 8-10 truffles

You don’t have to get sugar loaded chocolate to enjoy this treat, which is packed with antioxidants, and good fats. The following, is a recipe for chocolate bark using dark chocolate, dried cherries, pistachios, dried organic pineapple and apricots.

Most chocolate we eat is milk chocolate and semi sweet chocolate. Here is a quick lesson in chocolate. The higher the percentage of cocoa mass, (>60%)  the healthier the chocolate. We are talking 72%-85% cocoa having more nutritional bang.  Lot less sugar is added and more nutrients like flavanoids are available to you. Milk cancels out antioxidants, so milk chocolate or hot chocolate with milk will not have any nutritional effect. Fat? We have 0 cholesterol in chocolate and yes, stearic acid is a saturated fat but has no effect on raising  cholesterol. Health benefits? Lowering of blood pressure, and preventing artery plaque buildup are a few of them.

1 ounce of 72% chocolate has around 170 kcals and 5-6 grams  of sugar.  I discovered Green & Black’s chocolate to be creamy rich with a hint of sweetness.  Great for making bark with dried fruit added to the mix.

Dark Chocolate Bark with Dried Fruits and Nuts

• 6-9 ounces of 72% dark chocolate or 85%  (preferably Green & Black’s Organic ) or other chocolate

• 1/4 cup dried cherries, apricots and pineapple or any combination of dried fruit.

• 1/2 cup pistachios or other nuts

• parchment paper or waxed paper

• 1 cookie sheet

Chop up  the chocolate and place the pieces into a stainless steel or other heat resisitant bowl.

Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper covering the entire surface.

Heat up to simmer 3/4 cup of water in a shallow pan, and place the bowl of chocolate over the water and melt until smooth. Remove from the heat.  Pour the chocolate onto the parchment paper to cover approximately a  10 inch by 6 inch rectangle. Sprinkle the fruits and nuts of any combination over the chocolate and  keep in the refrigerator to cool for 1-2  hours. Remove from the refrigerator and peel away the paper and break into small pieces.

After feasting on cookies, rich foods (chocolate, egg nog and the like ) and another round of cocktails, our gut needs a break so a resolution can read: include foods on a daily basis that help our immune system.

That’s where prebiotics step in. In the last blog, we spoke of the importance of a healthy GI tract and the foods that are prebiotics, helping the intestines to create beneficial bacteria.  In this blog , here is an example of a recipe for a prebiotic vegetable that gets passed up a lot.

A regular shopping trip to Walmart or other grocer will do- for foods that prep your immune system for a healthy winter and more seasons to come. Prebiotics are fibers, which allow the GI tract to function better and improve intestinal flora. They are bananas, artichokes, onions, Jerusalem artichokes (sun chokes), garlic, asparagus, oatmeal  and apples.  Also they possess inulin (a non starch carbohydrate) which does not increase blood sugars like a starches do. The glycemic index for sun chokes is 50 based on 1 cup as opposed to 1 medium potato at 85.

Roasted Sun chokes, a non starchy vegetable are sweet and taste like sweet potato chips when roasted.  With tomatoes, lemon and honey  dressing, they  are another way to get prebiotics  in your diet . Called the “diabetic potato” sun chokes are little knobby tubers, containing  inulin a prebiotic fiber.  1 cup of these vegetables provide 6.2 grams of protein, and a low 20 grams of carbohydrate, a little more than a carbohydrate  serving for diabetics.

RECIPE:

Roast them in olive oil and dress with lemon juice, a little lemon zest, a 1/2 teaspoon of honey, a sprig of thyme  and salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Thinly slice the sun chokes and cover with olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper and roast for 45 minutes until golden brown and slightly crispy. Toss them with cherry tomatoes, honey, lemon juice and honey.

Time to put my clinical hat on alongside my kitchen apron and talk about a very important GI tract matter.

What is the difference between prebiotic and probiotic? We seem to have these words circulating everywhere now. What are they? Well for starters, prebiotics are carbohydrates that are like a fertilizer for the probiotics we get when consuming fermented product (yes I know fermented doesn’t sound too tasty!) like yogurt, kefir or sauerkraut.

You probably already eat an occasional yogurt (that’s a probiotic) so lets take another step forward and include prebiotics in our diet. The two work together to keep a healthy gut in the world of fast food, rushed meals, processed food and high starch low fiber foods like pizza, pasta,  bagels ect ect .  Our gut, specifically the colon needs this fiber to manufacture SCFA or short chain fatty acids to produce colonocytes that increase immunity and reduce cancer promoting enzymes. 

These special complex carbohydrates called …get ready-fructooligosaccharides or FOS to help colonize the good bacteria like lactobacillus, bifidobacteria  in our gut already  and enhance our immune system. 

There is a special case where the FOS may not be tolerated and that is in certain IBS  situations where the individual may be on a Low FOD Map diet due to gas and pain from the high fiber FOS additions to the diet.  Start with very small  amounts of prebiotic fiber rich foods, one at a time to see if there is toleration. Consult a gastroenterologist and dietitian regarding Low FODMap diet.

We don’t consume enough Prebiotics!

What are they? 

• Jerusalem artichokes (as featured recipe in next blog )

• Raw Honey

• Bitter greens- Arugala, Dandelion greens 

• Onions

• Leeks

• Slightly green Bananas 

• Jicama

• Asparagus

• Apples 

  An easy way to start would be to include onions in your cooking a meal. They are a prebiotic that contain inulin, for blood sugar lowering properties. We all can get a quick prebiotic boost with an apple a few times a week or some chopped arugala in a salad.

  Prebiotics may help with:

• Diarrhea

• Ulcerative Colitis

• IBS

• Candida

• IBD

 

 

Sanders, M. E ,  Salminens  et al “Probiotics and Prebiotics: Prospective for Public Health and Nutritional Information 2012”

Holmes E, Li Athanasian T, Trends in Microbiology “Understanding the Gut  Microbiome -host metabolic signal disruption in foods”