The other day I received a box of Uncle Sam cereal to taste and review. I’ve eaten Uncle Sam cereal before and love it for its simplicity and high quality nutrient profile. I don’t like to do anything fancy with my breakfast cereal, so lately I’ve been enjoying it sprinkled on top of my morning yogurt parfait with soy yogurt and fresh or frozen berries.

Take a trip down the cereal aisle of the grocery store and you’ll see what feels like miles and miles of cereal options, from sugary candy-like cereal to hot oats, there is something for everyone. But if you’re going to start your day off right, you need a nutrient powerhouse first thing in the morning. I tell all of my clients to aim for a cereal that has more than 5g of fiber per serving, and less than 10g of sugar. This will help ensure the fiber is there to keep you full all morning, and that you’re not having candy for breakfast. Not all of my favorite cereals even fit this bill (like Kashi Go Lean Crunch) but it’s best to strive for those guidelines for a “best breakfast.”

Fortunately, Uncle Sam meets my cereal guidelines with 10g of fiber per serving, less than 1g of sugar and 7g of protein to boot! This is a cereal that keeps you satisfied. And the clean cut ingredient list trumps all those cereals that contain added sugar, marshmallows, fruity bits, fake yogurt clusters, and nutrient-free flakes. If your favorite cereal doesn’t fit the “best breakfast” bill, you can always mix cereals. Add ½ of a serving of Uncle Sam cereal to your favorite breakfast cereal to boost the nutrient profile without sacrificing any of your favorite flavors.

What’s your favorite cereal?

Disclaimer: I was not paid to promote Uncle Sam cereal.

Last week I made a massive batch of my mom’s famous coleslaw for a health fair I was working. I used bags of shredded carrots and broccoli slaw as the base, and had one bag leftover of each that I never used. Since I was slaw’d out, I decided to use the pre-shredded veggies as a stir fry base and had a meal in minutes that couldn’t have been easier.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag broccoli slaw (made from the sweet stems of broccoli)
• 1 bag shredded carrots
• sweet and hot sauce (or any stir fry sauce you like)
• 1 package Nasoya cubed tofu
• 1 peach, diced
• canola oil

I heated some canola oil in a pan for a minute or so before dumping in the drained tofu cubes. I let those cook for a minute then added in the entire bags of slaw and carrots, some sauce, and the diced peach for added sweetness. Cook until the veggies start to soften then plate and enjoy! I wasn’t in the mood for more food, but this would be great over a bed of brown rice.

This post is part of my July Vegan series as Featured Health Editor for FoodBuzz’ new sub-division, HealthBuzz.

When I tell people I eat a primarily meat and dairy free diet, they always ask…Well, what do you eat? I’m certainly never at a loss for what to eat, cook, or snack on so I thought I’d share what a typical day of eating looks like for me.

Breakfast options:

• Fruit & yogurt parfait with soy yogurt, fresh or frozen berries, whole grain cereal
• Oatmeal with peanut butter, banana, vanilla soymilk, cinnamon and any other ingredients that inspire me (my latest favorite is chocolate soynut butter and a scoop of cherry jam)
• Whole grain cereal with soymilk and fresh or frozen berries
• Smoothie blended with yogurt, frozen banana, mixed fruit, and dry oatmeal

 Mid-morning snack:

Typically fresh fruit and almonds or homemade “trail mix” of pretzel bits, dried fruit, and nuts.

Lunch – this always varies and depends where I’m eating…at work, from home, between talks at a Starbucks, etc. Usually I like:  

• Leftovers for lunch, either as-is or rolled up into a whole wheat tortilla
• Instant tacos: 2 mini whole wheat tortillas, mashed avocado, salsa, and soy cheese
• Triscuits with hummus and salsa
• Hearty soup and crackers in the winter
• And if there is nothing in the house to eat, I can always count on a whole wheat roll-up with hummus, soy cheese, and some veggies

I always have fresh veggies like carrots or sugar snap peas with lunch, and some fresh fruit. All day I drink water, water, water.

Throughout the afternoon I might have some more fresh fruit, a bar (Larabar), some crackers and salsa or hummus, or anything else to tide me over til dinner.

Dinner is hardly ever the same recipe twice! And many of my dinner creations show up on this blog. I’m usually inspired by the season and a veggie I’m craving, so if it’s mushrooms, we might have stuffed portabellas. If it’s something heartier, I’ll roast root veggies, and if it’s a mix of whatever fresh veggies we have in the fridge, I might make a stir fry. We include some whole grain (couscous, whole wheat pasta, bulgur, quinoa, brown rice) and a protein source if I don’t think there’s enough from the grain and veggies (tofu, tempeh, beans). I’m always googling for new recipes and cook enough for at least 1 night of leftovers for dinner or lunch. As much as I love cooking, it’s always easier to cook once, eat twice!

Usually I can go without an evening snack, but sometimes my sweet tooth kicks in and I try to stick with dried fruit (current favorite is dried peaches) or frozen berries topped with cinnamon. Of course my daily diet varies with my schedule, foods I’m in the mood for, exercise, vacations, dining out and more, but you get the gist of it!

So there you have it: a typical vegan day of eats from me. Want more vegan meal plan inspiration? Here is a great 3 day vegan meal plan sample with nutrient breakdowns from fellow dietitian Dina Aronson on VeganHealth.org.

Look familiar? The Tuscany version:

My version. A close second:

Tomatoes have been popping up on my blog a bit, and that’s because not only do I LOVE fresh tomatoes in the summer, but I also love how darn healthy they are for you. I was reading an article about tomatoes recently (nerd alert) and want to share some healthy facts:

Reserachers have found a number of health benefits linked with eating more tomato products, from helping to protect against the sun’s damaging rays to promoting healthy bones. But the strongest proof for eating more tomato products is linked to their ability to fend off heart disease and certain types of cancer, particularly prostate cancer. The nutrients in tomatoes help put the brakes on free radical damage and inflammation, which is at the root of many disease killers of our age such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.

Tomato products are packed with important nutrients such as vitamin C, potassium, fiber, and the powerful antioxidant, lycopene- all in a low-calorie, low-fat bundle. In fact, the lycopene found in processed tomato products (like canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato soup) is even more available to your body compared with fresh tomatoes. These products are always available, shelf-stable, and inexpensive to use.

(Source: ADA’S SCAN dpg newsletter, Fall 2009)

Bottom line: Eat more tomatoes.

Disclaimer: I was not paid to review Pomi products.

This post is part of my July Vegan series as Featured Health Editor for FoodBuzz’ new sub-division, HealthBuzz.

If you’re following a vegan diet, the obvious foods to avoid include ones that come from an animal: milk, meat, poultry, cheese, eggs, fish, yogurt, etc. Sounds self-explanatory, right? But what about those foods that don’t scream “vegan!” at first sight? If you’re going to go completely meat-free, it’s important to be aware of some of these foods that have animal by-products lurking in the ingredient list.

Wine and beer – Some wines and beers are made using a product called isinglass, which comes from fish, or bone char. Although there is no animal ingredient in the final beverage, you might not want your glass of vino even touching those animal products. Buyer beware: Not all wines and beers that do use animal products even list it on the label.

Soy cheese – Soy cheese sounds like it’d be completely dairy free, when in fact many varieties contain casein, which is a milk protein that helps the cheese melt. It’s hard to find a great, gooey, melty cheese that is also vegan, but I’ve scoured the grocery store shelves and my current favorite is Daiya Vegan Cheese.

“Vegetarian” dishes – Don’t go into a restaurant to order a vegetable noodle dish, or bean based soup thinking you’re completely in the clear of any animal ingredients. Oftentimes restaurants will use beef or chicken broth as a base to many foods, even those listed as vegetarian! Ask before you order to be sure.

Sweets made with gelatin – I love chewy fruity snacks more than I love chocolate, but I was not pleased to find many (like Starburst, and gum with a hard shell) contain gelatin. Marshmallows and Jell-o contain gelatin, too. I can’t say I’ve ever tried these brands, but if you want some s’mores for this summer’s campfires, try Sweet & Sara or Dandies vegan marshmallows, which get great reviews.

Gel-cap medications – Did you know that anything “gel-cap” contains gelatin? Yikes! Look for non-gel-cap versions of the medication you’re prescribed and speak to your doctor if you have any concerns.

Have you found any animal product-containing foods you once thought were vegan?

The other day I got a present in the mail that I am SO excited about. The nice people at TofuXpress  sent me their tofu press to review. I love any new kitchen gadgets and within hours of the UPS man dropping this off at my door, I got to work on a tofu dish for dinner. After a few tofu-eating years, I finally learned how to prepare tofu well. For a while, I was squeezing my big block of tofu between two plates in the sink, and would clunk a heavy pot on top to weight it down while some moisture drained into the sink. This tofu tower in the sink method was always a tedious process and messy, too. Then I discovered the freeze method for tofu where you drain it, slice it, freeze it, defrost it the next day, and squeeze it out again to get a great textured tofu that soaks up sauce so well. As good as this method is, it takes planning way ahead and while I’ve been known to have a running dinner list in my head for the week, sometimes I like my tofu dishes to be impromptu.

With TofuXpress, all I needed was an hour to squeeze out as much wetness as possible and then it was good to go. The gadget couldn’t be any easier to use. Plop in your block of tofu and set it up to squeeze. TofuXpress recommends you let it squeeze out the water for an hour or more, so I got mine set up, let it hang out in the fridge for an hour, and when I came back to it there was six ounces of water drained out!

I love it! I felt like I got so much more of the water out this way than in my other cumbersome methods. I took a nibble of the tofu right then and there and loved the texture. It didn’t have that slippery, wet, slimy texture that tofu has right out of the container. I didn’t even put my TofuXpress away in a cabinet. I left it right out after I used it (and washed it) for easy access every time we want tofu with dinner.

For dinner I wanted to make a take on a tomato mozzarella salad, sans mozzarella. I figured tofu looks just like mozzarella, so why not? I picked some fresh basil leaves and cut them into thin ribbons, and used a pint of cherry tomatoes, rinsed and sliced in half.

For the dressing I used a drizzle of this garlic olive oil (on the right) that we got in Tuscany.

And for the tofu, after squeezing it out with my TofuXpress, I cut the block into small cubes, then tossed them with a tablespoon of cornstarch and a few shakes of salt. I read somewhere (probably EatingWell) that by using cornstarch on your tofu before pan-frying it, you can actually fry it with less oil and still get a nice golden, crisp finish on your tofu. I pan fried the tofu in some canola oil until it started to get slightly brown and crispy, while still soft like mozzarella. Then I seasoned with more salt and pepper, and the garlic olive oil. Final product mixed all together:

We paired the salad with some crusty bread dipped in olive oil (I love the bread from Trader Joe’s that is half baked, and you finish off the baking at home. Makes me feel all domestic.)…

And some Chianti Classico with the pink label and black rooster. Thanks TofuXpress for making this tofu dish delish!

Disclaimer: I was not paid by TofuXpress to review this product.

One of my favorite aspects of my job is working in Corporate Wellness. I love going into big companies to give talks on nutrition topics relevant to a working professional’s busy life, working with a wide variety of clients, and getting a glimps into how people stay healthy (or not) while working the 9-5 (or more). I wrote this article for Corporate Wellness Magazine on How to Eat Well While at Work. Check out what I have to say about brown bagging it, luscious lunch ideas, and loving your leftovers. Here are some of my tips:

If you’re anything like me, you love leftovers. But leftovers don’t always have to be eaten the same way they started out. You can transform your leftovers into new lunch ideas.

• Fill a whole wheat tortilla with leftover meat, vegetables, brown rice, add salsa for a filling burrito
• Make a healthy tuna, chicken or turkey salad with leftover meat – use low fat mayo or Greek yogurt and add in lots of healthy fillings for added flavor and crunch, such as dried cranberries, walnuts, chopped carrots and celery
• Mix leftover meat or vegetables together with some stir fry sauce – add in extra rice or couscous
• Fill your sandwich with leftover vegetables – get creative! You don’t always have to stack your sandwich with tomato slices and lettuce leaves. Try grilled zucchini, grated carrots and roasted peppers
• Turn a hot rice, couscous or other grain dish into a cold rice or pasta salad by adding chopped vegetables and mixing in some light salad dressing or marinade
• Top a fresh salad with leftover turkey or chicken
• Put grilled fish in a hearty whole wheat bun topped with pineapple slices
• Add meat, vegetables and pasta to soups and stews

On another note, if you’re looking for DIY veggie burger recipes, check out my Food Network’s Healthy Eats Post.

Recently the people who make POMI tomatoes contacted me to see if I’d like to try their product. I jumped at the chance because lately I’ve been more and more concerned about some of my favorite canned products (tomatoes and beans) with their dangerous BPA lining in the cans. My friend Nicole wrote a great post about this called BPA Blues. A growing body of research is finding a link between BPA and a variety of health problems, such as infertility, heart disease, prostate cancer, and breast cancer. But on the flip side canned tomatoes are actually healthier than fresh tomatoes because the antioxidant lycopene is enhanced in the processing. What’s a tomato lover to do!? Go with POMI.

POMI tomatoes are extremely low in sodium and come in a box so you don’t need to worry about BPA contamination from containers or rust from the cans. Here are some other healthy facts about POMI:  

• Pomi’s manufacturer Boschi is a certified producer of organic foods in Italy and prides itself on ONLY using seeds that are not genetically altered
• No preservatives
• Low in sodium [10 mg. vs 250 – 400 mg sodium for Del Monte and Hunts]
• Rich in Lycopene
• Antioxidant-rich
• BPA free

You can most likely find POMI in any specialty store that stocks organic/natural products or gourmet Italian food.

The other night I decided to use my POMI strained tomatoes in a quick stuffed pepper recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 green bell peppers
• 1 cup uncooked buckwheat
• 1.5 cups sliced mushrooms
• 1 cup POMI strained tomatoes
• shredded soy cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Open and cut seeds out of peppers and set aside. Preheat oven to 350. Meanwhile, cook buckwheat in 2 cups boiling water. In the last few minutes of cooking, add in sliced mushrooms.

2. Mix in POM strained tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste. Scoop buckwheat filling into pepper cavities and top with a few teaspoons of shredded soy cheese. Place the pepper caps back on the peppers and bake for 15 minutes.

Unfortunately this is the last you’ll see of my pretty red cereamic dish. It split in half after coming out of the oven. Sad! That was a Valentine’s gift from my mom.

This one lil’ pepper didn’t look like a lot but buckwheat is so hearty and filling that this simple meal did the trick. I rediscovered my love for buckwheat with this meal, too. I remember when growing up, every so often my mom made kasha varnishkes, which I liked a lot. I’ll have to make that next!

The POMI strained tomatoes were great, but I had to add an extra dash of salt or two, since I’m so used to sodium-laden canned tomatoes and tomato sauce. Soon I’ll be sampling the POMI crushed tomatoes in another recipe for the blog – stay tuned!

Disclaimer: I was not paid by POMI to review their products.

On one of the two nights in Florence where we weren’t wined and dined in the Villa San Michele restaurant, Funk and I had plans to visit Acqua al 2, at the recommendation of Jaime and some twitter peeps who raved about it. We actually wanted to go there on our first night in Italy and had our driver (doesn’t that sound swanky?) take us there but with some major language barrier going on, we didn’t understand that Italian restaurants aren’t even open between 6-7:30pm. It was 5:45. We were jet-lagged, tired, and starving. So Acqua al 2 had to wait a few nights and we were so excited to see what all of the fuss was about. When we arrived (when doors opened at 7:29pm) we sat down at a table with a bottle of house red wine and asked the waiter about the multi-course meal we were supposed to order. He gave us some tips and we ordered a salad sampler, pasta sampler, and dessert sampler to share, all which came with bread and spread and the vino (all for very very cheap).

I was not a good blogger and don’t remember all the meal specifics, and can’t translate the Italian menu online. But we loved the salad sampler, especially this corn salad with olives. We also had some bread with a warm white bean spread to dip. The spread was so good I didn’t mind that we weren’t eating the Italian way with bread dipped in olive oil. Next up was our round of five pastas to sample and they came and went so fast, I didn’t even snap a picture! I do remember loving the gnocchi best – it must have been homemade.

We finished with a yummy dessert sampler that had a divine tiramisu somewhere on the plate. And right when we finished the last drop of red wine, the waiter brought us each some complementary lemoncello.

We think it was his way of saying sorry for bumping Funk in the head with a plate earlier in the evening, but it was worth it for the lemoncello, as I was dying for some since we arrived in Italy. Apparently this restaurant is also in San Fran and DC so I’ll be sure to look it up next time we’re in that area. But if you’re in Florence, go to Acqua al 2. I don’t care if it’s a tourist trap. It’s worth it.

On our first full day in Italy, we went with a driver for a full-day tour of the Tuscany wine region. Funk and I love wine tours and this one did not disappoint. Our guide, Suzanna knew the region and wine information inside and out. She was such a wealth of knowledge! And she handled the curvy, tight roads like a pro. If you ever go to Florence, you must use Suzanna! Thanks for the recommendation, Jaime!

On our tour we went to Fattoria Di Montecchio for a guided visit, lunch and wine tasting. It was a semi-private tour of the old winery that is known for its Chianti Classico. Did you know Chianti Classico is government regulated wine with specific bottling standards and can be spotted by the symbolic pink label and black rooster stamp?  Since we’ve been  home, we made sure to pick up only that variety of Chianti.

Having lunch with our wine tasting was key, as wine tastes better with food. Our lunch was so simple, but I will never forget it. We started with bread (unsalted, in the Tuscany region), olive oil to dip, a bowl of white beans, and bowl of crushed tomatoes. So simple, but it was an unbelievable meal. The tomatoes were so incredibly fresh and flavorful, I couldn’t get enough. The beans were perfectly seasoned. The olive oil tasted great drizzled on everything and the wine we paired it with was the best red wine I’ve ever had (multiplied by the 6 glasses she poured for us, which I could not keep up with!).

Our meal was a simple bowl of pasta and tomatoes, followed by a green salad and plate of Pecorino cheese (When in Rome…).

We ended with a sweet sliver of biscotti, which was better than any dry, scratchy, tasteless biscotti I’ve ever had here, eaten alongside a shot glass of a dessert wine that tasted more of a liquor.

The Italians dip the biscotti in the dessert wine, just like cookies dipped in milk! We were full, happy, and buzzing off Chianti (good thing we weren’t driving the Tuscan hills!). I don’t know if it’s possible to recreate the flavors we had at this meal, but I’m sure going to try soon.