Vacation Nutrition

Last week I had the pleasure of taking a couple of days off of work and going on a mid-week mini-vacation.  It was just what I needed, a relaxing 36 hours of no stress and no worry of what was going on at home.  As I was walking around the outdoor water park area, a couple of things struck me.  One being the fact that I am surprised ANYONE can find their child once they take one step off the elevator (child leashes would be a good idea), and there is nothing to eat except fried cheese curds, french fries, fried mozzarella sticks, or bacon.  And of course sugary, calorie-packed blended adult beverages are a must.  I began to wonder, how can you still eat healthfully on vacation?

The best thing to do is be prepared that you will probably be hungry at some point and know that buying concession foods might be the only option.  So, what can you do to avoid having to buy those fatty foods?  Try to pack some healthy snacks in a bag before you head to the hotel.  Some great ideas would be raw almonds or pistachios, soy chips or pretzel thins with hummus, nut butter and whole wheat bread, veggies like carrot sticks, celery, and cucumber, fruit such as apples, grapes, and berries, or for that sweet tooth bring along some dark chocolate with almonds.  Make sure to check whether or not your hotel room contains a refrigerator before bringing food with you that needs to be kept cold.  If there is no refrigerator and you really want to bring food that needs to be kept cold, you can always bring the food in a cooler and use the ice from the hotel to keep it cold.

Plan, plan, plan!!  Before you head out of the hotel room for the morning, afternoon, or whole day, plan when you will be eating and stick to the plan.  If you did bring snacks for the room, try to have something with some carbohydrate and protein to hold you over until you can have something a bit more nutritious and you don't have to stop at a fast food venue or concession stand for food.  Most hotels these days have continental breakfasts with some healthy options.  Shoot for some fruit, whole grain cereal, or a muffin made from whole grains or oats.  Try to stay away from those pastries or pancakes covered with butter and syrup.  These options might taste great, but all the sugar and refined carbohydrates will fill you up fast and give you a crash in couple of hours, leaving you feeling hungry sooner.

If buying food from a concession stand or other less-than-ideal fast food venue is the only option, try to go for something with at least a little nutritional value.  If possible, stay away from something fried, which I am very aware can be next to impossible.  Try to choose a turkey or ham sandwich, even if the bread uses refined flour.  Ask for extra lettuce and tomato on that sandwich to get the most nutrition, and no need to have fries with that.  If the only items you have to choose from is fried, fried, and more fried, always get the smallest size and try to not eat the whole thing.  Even leaving one or two bites will reduce the amount of calories and saturated fat you consume.  Try and choose a fried food that might also give you some sort a nutritional benefit (I know, that sounds a lot like an oxy-moron).  Something like fried mushrooms, pickles, or sweet potatoes would be better choices than fried cheese curds, funnel cakes, or fried butter (yup, I went there: fried butter!).

Now, lets talk about the booze.  Most of us dream of a perfect vacation as sitting on a white sandy beach with a perfectly blended, brightly colored, fruity drink quaintly topped with a mini umbrella.  Because that is what most Americans dream of on vacation, most vacation destinations have plenty of these drinks in a bountiful supply.  Unfortunately, these drinks also can pack up to 550 calories per glass!  That can add up fast.  Instead, try to stay away from blended and fruity drinks that are a bright neon color.  That color comes from sugary syrup that gets added and packs in the calories.  Try to stay with clear colored alcohol, mixed with a diet soda, soda water, or light fruit juice.  Also, try some mixed drinks that are flavored with herbs like cilantro or mint.  The herbs won't add any calories and will pack in the flavor.

As I sat on the picnic table eating my basket of fried cheese curds, I couldn't help but think: I better start telling my clients to do as I say and not as I do.  But I had an amazing vacation!  If you don't want to over think your vacation, my favorite saying is perfect in this situation: everything in moderation!  Enjoy your vacations!

The Battle Of The...Un-Bulge?

Recently, I volunteered with a local Health Club to help them out at a Wellness Fair that was being put on.  It was my responsibility to answer nutrition-related questions for individuals looking to join the Health Club.  The afternoon was going great until one potential client came up to me, interested in joining the Health Club, and asked me, "I really need to gain some weight, can you give me some good nutrition-related advice to healthfully gain weight?"  I was taken a bit off guard.  All we ever hear about lately is how obese and unhealthy the United States is, but in reality, there is a population that is underweight and struggling to gain a few pounds and keep it on.  Sounds pretty rough, doesn't it?  But actually, there can be some serious medical issues related to being too underweight as well.  So what are some good nutritional tips to gaining weight?  Let's take a look!

Just with weight loss, a healthy rate for weight gain would be about 1 pound per week.  But how much more should you eat to gain weight at that rate?  Well, there's 3500 kilocalories per pound, so if you do a little division, you come up with about 500 kcals/day.  This means you should shoot for eating about 500 more kcals/day to gain about a pound a week.

Most people are probably thinking at this point that adding 500 kcals/day wouldn't be too difficult in our fatty-food driven environment in the United States.  One Burger King cheeseburger packs about 560 kcals in just the sandwich (you don't want to know how many grams of fat or saturated fat are contained in that burger...).  But is that really a good choice of food when your trying to gain weight healthfully?  No!!

Again, just like losing weight in a healthy way, there are much better foods to consume when trying to gain weight in a healthy way.  Let's break it down a little.

As we know from MyPyramid and now from MyPlate, at least half our meal should contain fruits and vegetables.  But for an individual trying to gain weight, having plain fruits and vegetables may not be the best option.  Yes, they are incredibly nutritious and healthy, but they are also very filling and contain low amounts of calories per portion size.  Fruits and vegetables are an important part of the diet and should still be on the menu when attempting to gain weight, but add cream cheese, fruit dips, or a nut butter on top to pack on some added protein and calories.

When choosing proteins, keep sticking with the lean choices such as chicken, fish, eggs, beans, nuts, even pork.  Although there are other sources of protein that are higher in caloric content per serving, those added calories are coming from saturated fat and not lean protein.  It would be a better option to increase the portion size from the lean protein, to ensure a higher caloric content and to sustain muscle mass, than to choose a protein with a higher saturated fat content just for the added calories.

Its important to still stick with whole grains as well, when deciding what sort of carbohydrate to choose.  Whole grains are packed with more nutrients than the refined alternative, and sometimes add more calories.  Stick with packaging that states "100% whole wheat" or "100% whole grain". 

Now, what about those fats?  True, fat contains about twice as many calories per serving than protein or carbohydrates, but that being said, no need to overindulge, even if you are trying to gain weight.  Keeping in mind that not all fat is bad fat, choosing healthier fats will provide extra calories for weight gain while still providing many healthful benefits. Increase monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats by including nuts, seeds, fish and avocados in your diet. You can also add canola, flaxseed or olive oil to salads and vegetable side dishes. Including more of these good fats in your diet will easily increase caloric intake, and doing so in a healthful way.

Now, lets talk about fluid intake.  That's not usually something discussed quite as much as the amount or type of food to eat.  Fluids tend to fill you up, so for an individual looking to gain weight, omitting fluids during mealtime will make more room in your stomach to fill with food.  Consume your fluids in between meals, and try adding protein packed smoothies or even an Ensure or Boost Shake.  These will add extra calories and still provide healthy helpings of important vitamins and minerals at the same time.

As I blinked a couple of times and thought about how to answer the potential client's question at the Health Fair, I realized that there is a population in the United States that needs this information, and usually get overlooked.  Although it may not seem like gaining weight healthfully would be that difficult, it can be, and is, just as difficult as shedding pounds healthfully.  Happy munching!!

Adorable School Lunches

Its back to school time!  And with that comes new school clothes, new school supplies, practices, sporting events, band lessons...and school lunches.  Thinking up and making school lunches can seem like a daunting task each and every morning, but it doesn't have to be!  Now, I know what your all thinking..."how would I know anything about having to make school lunches when I don't have any kids of my own?"  Well, I don't actually have any kids that I need to pack a lunch for quite yet in my life, but I do have an incredible boyfriend that, at times, can seem quite similar to having a child of my own. 

So, how do I keep packed lunches interesting?  Well, my boyfriend, Tyler, isn't competing with anyone for the most creative packed lunch at work.  All he asks for every week is a salad for lunch.  But, just because all he asks for is a salad, doesn't mean that can't be jazzed up a little!  I try to make each salad a little bit different with a little different flavors.  Adding a different fresh herb to the top of each salad gives it a unique flavor.  Changing up the protein each day can be a great way to make it different.  What about putting some tuna in on one day, chickpeas in on another day, some cheese and nuts on the third day, left over thinly sliced steak, and on the last day, maybe a hard-boiled egg.

I know, I know, what ten-year-old is going to ask for a salad every day for lunch?  Not many.  But even without much direction in what you child would like to eat for lunch, you can still make it interesting!  Don't give your son or daughter the same old peanut butter and jelly sandwich on white.  Jazz it up a bit!

Some creative Mom's are even turning their children's lunchbox into adorable art.  Check out these colorful and tasty lunchboxes that some creative Mom's put together for their kids:

Wallace and an all-cheese Gromit

Angry Sandwiches

Doc Says To Eat Those Veggies!





Mater From Cars

Jiminy Cricket And Pinocchio

The Wicked Witch Of The West

Frankenlunch

Snoopy And Woodstock

Spongebob Square Sandwich

Now, not everyone can be quite this creative and have the time to prepare these fun, creative lunches in the morning.  But, it is not too difficult to prepare healthy, original lunches every morning for your kids.  Making sure they have something different and nutritious every day is the most important thing.  Have fun with those lunches this school year!!