Supermarket Savvy- Nutrition and Culinary Talk

Hi! I’m Dee Krupnick,  a Registered Dietitian  (MSRD) with a lot of culinary training and want to help you shop better and healthier. Great dishes and meals are created from a market visit. I also incorporate the products into recipes which I think you will enjoy. So a  blog was in order. I also have a designation Certified Specialist in Oncology  (CSO) and worked with many patients towards an improved lifestyle, through nutrition and shopping wisely.

New kids on the block: corn syrup free, fruity and 10 grams of sugar per tablespoon.  Everyone loves jam. On toast, with peanut butter, on crackers and when mixed in butter we have a wonderful whipped flavored butter. Today we applaud Smucker’s for their use of cane sugar  in their new fruit spreads. The Natural line is jam like and wonderful tasting. Orange Marmalade and Raspberry are great. The “Simply Fruit” is another wonderful fruit spread sweetened with fruit juices at 8 grams of sugar per tablespoon.

I have a special passion to supermarket shop. I utilize my nutrition knowledge from the produce aisle to canned goods and the frozen food section.  This blog will be there to encourage and  educate you the consumer. As author of A Connecticut Kitchen, I do come from a state with lots of fresh produce but also a winter which can be demanding, and being house bound and not able to shop was a frequent occurrence . This brings me to my point. A stocked pantry is important. How we stock it is equally so when we shop.

Whether you are a busy mom holding down 2 jobs, with no free time, weather standing in your way or the thought of shopping is just another chore to see my money fritter away, the pantry will save you every time. On my blog I will feature an award gallery for the manufacturers who took the time to produce healthier and tastier products for the consumer. They are RD approved, having tried the product and used it in my kitchen.

We all love something sweet and what better way to start my blog then with a product that I felt good about and use it myself. I know sugar is sugar, whether it is fructose from HFCS or sucrose but it is the portions we are consuming which causes obesity.  Fructose from corn is an invert sugar that is produced cheaply and can be sold in greater quantities, into products such a soda.

Research shows that sucrose  does not block leptin, the hormone of satisfaction.  Leptin supposedly acts on the hypothalamus blocking the drive to eat. In the case of fructose  (HFCS) or  high fructose corn syrup, it appears this satiety producing event does not occur and is a possible factor in the rising obesity in this country alongside the bigger portions of soda and other products being consumed with HFCS.  More research is needed regarding this topic, to do or not do fructose or table sugar sucrose in a healthy diet regimen, but for sure, watching caloriesbad

“High Fructose Corn Syrup, Energy Intake and Appetite Regulation”  Am J Clin Nutr December 2008 vol 88 17385-17445

I decided to create a biscotti and a compound butter with orange marmalade recipe.  The great alternative to butter can be an Earth Balance brand non dairy butter spread  which does not contain potassium sorbate  an additive.  The biscotti are almost non fat, for I use 2 egg whites and one egg and add chopped corn and cornmeal for alternative take on cornmeal bread in a biscotti. These are easy to make. The pink peppercorns are a berry from the Peruvian Peppertree and have a slight sweet peppery taste great and are great paired with orange marmalade.

Can be found in a gourmet shop where green and black peppercorns and other spices are found.

Orange Marmalade Spread

• 1 stick of butter softened or 6 ounces of Earth Balance Spread
• 2 tablespoons of Orange Marmalade
• 1 teaspoon pink peppercorns
• Mix together in a food processor and whip for one minute. great on toast, cornbread or crackers.
• Copyright 2013 Connecticut Kitchen
• Corn Biscotti  (adaptation from Eating Well magazine)
• 1 cup of frozen corn or fresh corn cooked and shucked
• 1/ 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2  teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon  of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 large egg
• 2 large egg whites
• 2  teaspoons of hot sauce.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all the dry ingredients together . Whisk the eggs and tobacco sauce together and add to the dry ingredients. Then add the corn. Mix well. Working on a floured surface roll into 2 eight inch long logs and place on parchment or foil line cookie sheet and bake until firm to touch, about 25 minutes. Take out of the oven and slice. Put the sliced biscotti back into the oven to bake and dry at a reduced temp of 275 degrees for another 30 minutes. Let cool and serve.

Stay tune for rating the Tomato Sauces on the next blog.