Hey Chicken: Take It Off - Take It All Off!

Half the fat is in the chicken skin...so take it off!

Half of the fat and saturated fat in chicken breast and thigh is in the skin, which is why so many of us enjoy our chicken skinless. I personally find the skin, dare I say it, "yucky" particularly if it's soft and not completely crispy. I actually can't remember the last time I ate the skin on chicken.

Here's the thing though...do you remove the skin before or after you cook it?

If you cook your chicken with the skin on only to take it off at the dinner table, then that's where all the great-tasting marinade, BBQ sauce, or BBQ rubs and seasonings are going to be. Plus it makes sense that some of the fat in the skin is going to melt into the chicken meat as it cooks. So go ahead and take the skin off before you prepare the chicken for grilling. It will grill much the same way as it did before except this time all the seasoning and flavor won't come off with the skin.

• 4 ounces of roasted chicken breast with skin contains 225 calories, 8.8 grams of fat and 2.5 grams of saturated fat


• 4 ounces of roasted chicken breast WITHOUT skin contains 187 calories, 4 grams of fat and 1.2 grams of saturated fat

You save about 40 calories, 4.5 grams of fat and 1.3 grams of saturated fat per chicken breast just by cooking and eating it skinless.

Related Topics:

• 10 Healthy Ideas for a Lean Barbecue Season
• The Good Protein Chart

Technorati Tags: chicken, fat, healthy diet

Taste Test Tuesday: Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Whole Wheat Blend Pasta

Photo Credit: Alex Dow

Another higher fiber pasta to choose from!

Ronzoni has gotten into the higher fiber pasta business with a new line of whole-wheat blend pasta. Each serving (2 ounces dry) contributes an impressive 6 grams of fiber. And that's not the only nutritional benefit...the second ingredient in the ingredient list is flaxseed meal, which is where the 360 milligrams of omega-3s (per serving) are coming from.

The first ingredient is durum whole-wheat flour and semolina blend, and the third is wheat fiber.

How did it taste? I tried the Penne Rigate shaped pasta and it definitely tasted like it had more fiber than regular pasta but it was still tender and tasty enough to pass muster with the family. I use whole-wheat blend pasta exclusively now because the health benefits attributed to eating more whole grains is impressive and unmistakable.

Here is the nutrition information for a serving of the Penne Rigate pasta (2 ounces dry):

180 calories
7 g protein
41 g carbohydrate
2 g fat
6 g fiber
0 mg sodium

Related Topics:

• Faster-Than-Takeout Dinners
• What's for Dinner?

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Frugal Friday: The Next 2 Healthy Foods for $2 or Less!

Week 2

#3 100% Whole Wheat Bread

• Great for: hot and cold sandwiches, bread stuffing, bread pudding, and breakfast strata.


• What's a serving? 2 slices. The label usually lists a serving as 1 slice of bread (about 40 grams per slice) but for our purposes, let's make a serving the amount of bread you would use to make a sandwich - 2 slices.


• Price per serving? About 31 cents. You can get a 24 ounce loaf of whole wheat bread for about $1.99 (on sale) with each loaf containing about 17 slices or 8 servings of 2 slices each.


• Nutrition info per serving (2 slices) worth noting: About 180 calories, 8 grams protein, and 6 grams fiber.

#4 Whole Wheat Flour (stone-ground)

• Great for: breakfast recipes like pancakes and waffles, and all baking recipes (use half whole wheat flour), including breads, muffins, cakes, and cookies.


• What's a serving? 1/2 cup


• Price per serving? About 6 cents. A 5-pound bag of whole-wheat flour, which sells for about $1.99 dollars to $2.50, contains about 37 servings (1/2 cup each) of flour.


• Nutrition info per serving worth noting: 180 calories, 8 grams protein, and 7 grams fiber (1.2 of which is soluble fiber).

This Series:
Week 1: 2 Healthy Foods for $2 or Less!
Week 2: The Next 2 Healthy Foods for $2 or Less!
Week 3: 2 More Healthy Foods for $2 or Less
Week 4: 2 Additional Healthy Foods for $2 or Less
Week 5: 2 Final Healthy Foods for $2 or Less

Related Topics:

• Whole Grains Fight Belly Fat
• Saving Money the Healthy Way

Technorati Tags: Frugal Friday, whole wheat, bread, healthy diet

I'm in Good Company!

A thoughtful reader was kind enough to email me a photo of what he found when he went to his bookstore to buy my new book, FOOD SYNERGY....The first thing that came to mind as I glanced at the photo was "WOW they actually included my book in some sort of display!"

The second thing that I thought was "I'm in good company!" On one side is a book by the well respected Dean Ornish, M.D., and on the other is a book by another one of my favorite researchers, Brian Wansink, Ph.D., on a topic I have written about for WebMD, Mindless Eating.

Thanks to the reader for sending the picture - it made my day to be on display with these two inspiring experts!

Related Topics:

• 5 Food Synergy Secrets for Weight Loss
• 3 Tactics to Prevent Overeating

Technorati Tags: Food Synergy, books, healthy diet

Taste Test Tuesday: More Teas To Choose From!

I'm always on the look out for new teas to try. What can I say...I like to change it up when I can. When you drink tea a couple of times a day like I do, it's nice to have some new fun flavors to dunk into your cup.

Celestial Seasonings, a well-known tea company based in Boulder Colorado, to the rescue! I tried three of their six new flavors - one that's a sweet herbal blend (Saphara Tropical Rooibos), one that's a white tea with sweet and tangy schizandra berries (Saphara White Tea with Schizandra), and a decaffeinated green tea with sweet mango and ginger (Saphara Mango Ginger Green Tea).

Each morning for the last three mornings I tried one of the new teas. My favorite is the Mango Ginger Green Tea. I love the subtle hints of mango and ginger flavors with the mild green tea flavor as the base. I also really liked the other two flavors. The White Tea with Schizandra Berries would appeal to someone who likes fruity and floral tasting teas. The berry/floral flavor becomes stronger the longer you steep the tea bag, so try a fairly quick steep if you want the berry flavor to be more subtle. The Tropical Rooibos herbal tea tastes as nice as it smells. It is made with a lovely blend of apples, orange peel, ginger, lemongrass, coconut, and spices like cinnamon and cardamom.

If caffeine is a concern, the Tropical and Mango Ginger flavors are decaffeinated and the White Tea with Schizandra contains about 40 milligrams of caffeine per serving.

These teas are environmentally progressive in more ways than one:

• Each of the teas are USDA Organic certified.


• The tea cartons are made from 100% recycled paperboard.


• Everything about the packaging of this tea is biodegradable (from the pyramid shaped tea bags to the string and the tag on the tea bag.

Happy tea drinking!

Related Topics:

• Green Tea Lowers Risk of Heart Disease
• Green Tea Ingredient Slows Breast Cancer

Technorati Tags: Taste Test Tuesday, tea, healthy diet

Frugal Friday: 2 Healthy Foods for $2 or Less!

Each Friday for the next 5 weeks, I will share two healthy foods you can buy for 2 dollars or less! Stay tuned each week for two more great choices that will keep your health high and your food budget low. Now, for Week 1:

#1 Brown Rice

• Great for: side dishes, rice salads, fried rice, casseroles, soups and stews.
• What's a serving? 2 ounces of dry rice
• Price per serving? 15 cents per 2 ounces dry rice
• A 2-pound bag costs about $1.99 (on sale) and contains 16 (2-ounces dry rice) servings.
• Nutrition info per serving worth noting: 209 calories, 2 grams fiber, 5 grams protein.

#2 Whole Wheat or Multigrain Pasta

• Great for: hot and cold pasta dishes.
• What's a serving? 2 ounces of dried pasta. A serving of pasta for most people translates into about 2-ounces of dried pasta, which means you get about 7 servings of pasta in one of these boxes or bags.
• Price per serving? About 28 cents
• You can get a 13-16 ounce box or bag of dried pasta for about $1.79 to $1.99 (on sale)
• Nutrition info per serving worth noting: About 190 calories, 9 grams protein, and 4 grams fiber.

This Series:
Week 1: 2 Healthy Foods for $2 or Less!
Week 2: The Next 2 Healthy Foods for $2 or Less!
Week 3: 2 More Healthy Foods for $2 or Less
Week 4: 2 Additional Healthy Foods for $2 or Less
Week 5: 2 Final Healthy Foods for $2 or Less

Related Topics:

• How to Cook Whole Grains
• A Healthier Bowl of Pasta

Technorati Tags: Frugal Friday, brown rice, whole grain pasta, healthy diet

Taste Test Thursday: Starbucks Vivanno Blend Smoothies

They both start with one whole banana...then comes the whey protein and fiber powder. You choose the milk (low fat, nonfat, or Silk vanilla soy milk) and then if you order the Orange Mango Banana Blend, orange mango juice finishes it off. If you order the Banana Chocolate Blend, then it's bittersweet cocoa that is added.

If you want to take these blender drinks up a notch, you can add green matcha powder to the Orange Mango Banana Blend (if you like this flavor and the color green, you will like this addition) or you can add a shot of espresso (even decaf) to your Banana Chocolate Blend.

The fiber in the "whey protein and fiber powder" comes from inulin. This is a naturally occurring soluble fiber that, in this case, comes from chicory root. There may be a little added bonus to inulin too - it is thought to stimulate the growth of friendly bacteria in the large intestine.

I tried the Orange Mango Banana Blend with the soy milk and very much enjoyed it. The Banana Chocolate Blend had a subtle chocolate flavor and if you like chocolate covered bananas, my guess is you will like this blend too.

The Orange Mango Banana Blend (Grande) contains:
250 calories
16 g protein
47 g carbohydrate
2 g fat (1 g saturated fat)
5 mg cholesterol
5 g fiber
120 mg sodium
35% Daily Value Vitamin A and Vitamin C
10% Calcium and 6% Vitamin D

The Banana Chocolate Blend (Grande) contains:
270 calories
21 g protein
44 g carbohydrate
5 g fat (2.5 g saturated fat)
15 mg cholesterol
6 g fiber
170 mg sodium
8% Daily Value Vitamin A, 15% Vitamin C
20% Calcium and 15% Vitamin D

Related Topics:

• A Buyer's Guide to Milk
• Cool Summer Drinks: Your Best Bets

Technorati Tags: Starbucks, smoothies, Vivanno Blend Smoothies, healthy diet

Taste Test Tuesday: Hostess 100 Calorie Pack Blueberry Streusel Muffins

At the risk of sounding like Randy Jackson (from American Idol) - these were "just okay for me." Yes, they were moist but there were itty-bitty pieces of blueberries (that didn't even seem real) and the flavor was on the bland side.

Each packet of 3 mini muffins contains 4 grams of fiber, seemingly from guar gum and cellulose gum, and 7 grams of sugar. I did notice the alternative sweetener, acesulfame potassium, is in the ingredient list, which might help explain why the grams of sugar aren't too high.

If you are accustomed to taking big bites, you will probably be tempted to pop the mini muffin in your mouth all at once. But if you can, each mini muffin can account for about three bites each. Do the math and each bite will cost you about 11 calories (because there are 100 calories total and 3 mini muffins).

The first seven ingredients: enriched bleached wheat flour, sugar, polydextrose, eggs, water, egg whites, soybean oil.

Each serving (3 mini muffins) contains: 100 calories, 2 g protein, 20 g carbohydrate, 3 g fat, .5 g saturated fat, 10 mg cholesterol, 4 g fiber, 120 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 27 percent.

Related Topics:

• Breakfast on the Run: Thinking Outside the Box
• Healthy Breakfast Ideas and Recipes

Technorati Tags: Taste Test Tuesday, muffins, Hostess, breakfast, snacks, healthy diet

Do You Have Trouble Sticking To A "Diet"?

I was recently asked in an interview, "Do you have any advice for people who have trouble sticking to a diet?"

Anyone who knows my work knows that I'm an anti-dieting dietitian, particularly where "fad" diets are concerned. But that's a reasonable question, especially since this could include people who are asked to follow a particular diet plan for a condition or disease.

So...my advice to people who have trouble sticking to their diet plan is to focus NOT on a fad diet or extreme plan but a healthful way of living. Eat and exercise for the health of it and let the pounds fall where they may. Get off the fad diet roller coaster and choose total health (by enriching your mind, body, spirit). Become more aware of your true hunger and satisfaction and truly enjoy the food and meals that you eat.

This is more possible if you are in a peaceful, mindful, and aware state when you eat. (For more on mindful eating, you can go to The Center for Mindful Eating.

If you have some deeper issues with eating, you might want to pay attention to what makes you turn to food. If there are some underlying emotions from your past or present, then it's important to seek professional help for this so that it doesn't get in the way of your happiness and health.

The goal for me as a dietitian is to help people be healthy, yes, but also free from obsession and eating extremes. That's I how I look at it.

Related Topics:

• Keeping Food Diary Helps Lose Weight
• Slow Down, You Eat Too Fast

Technorati Tags: healthy diet, mindful eating

Taste Test Tuesday: Klondike Slim a Bear 100 Calorie Bars

Summer is here and for many of us that means time to have some light, low calorie frozen treats in the freezer! On a hot day or night, a little something something from the freezer just hits the spot, doesn't it?

One of the new low calorie options comes from Klondike and the Slim a Bear line - 100 calorie bars. The 8 bar box contains both English Toffee Bars and French Vanilla Bars.

I'll warn you straight up - these bars are smaller than your typical Eskimo pie or Nestle Crunch bar. But what do we expect for 100 calories? These bars still have that milk chocolate flavored coating with contains a vegetable oil blend of coconut and soybean oil, sugar and whole milk powder, as the first three ingredients. The first three ingredients for both flavors of the ice cream filling are nonfat milk, sugar, and polydextrose.

They contain more saturated fat than I wish they did, with each bar contributing 6 grams of total fat (54% calories from fat) and 4.5 grams of saturated fat. Each bar also contains 8 grams of sugar (9 grams for the French Vanilla flavor) with the English Toffee bar also containing 1 gram of Sugar Alcohol.

Each little bar also brings 2 grams of fiber most likely from three sources of soluble fiber listed further down in the ingredient list--cellulose gum, locust bean gum, and guar gum. And each bar adds a total of 12 grams of total carbohydrate per bar.

Here's the bottom line on these bars...My whole family liked both flavors of these bars and they can be a nice way to enjoy a 100 calorie frozen dessert. But while I loved that the bars contain 2 grams of fiber and zero grams of trans fat, the fact remains that they each also contain 4.5 grams of saturated fat (something we are all trying to eat less of as well.)

Related Topics:

• The Best of the Light Ice Creams
• Make-It-Yourself Frozen Treats

Technorati Tags: Taste Test Tuesday, Klondike bars, Slim a Bear, healthy diet

Summer Salads: What About the Mayo?

Just wanted to pass along one of my favorite RECIPE DOCTOR tips for those creamy and popular mayo-drenched salads that seem to typify summer eatin'.

Here's the tip:
Instead of adding mayonnaise to salad recipes (as called for), use a combination of light mayonnaise and fat free sour cream. This works really well - I've doing it for years. I use the fat free sour cream that comes in the container that looks like a cowhide (Naturally Yours is the brand I believe). It has a subtle flavor so it extends the flavor of the light mayonnaise nicely.

You can use 1/3-cup light mayo and 2/3 cup fat free sour cream to replace a cup of regular mayonnaise.

If that seems too gutsy, start off with 1/2 light mayo and 1/2 fat free sour cream.

Here's what you save:
If a recipe that makes 8 servings calls for a cup of mayonnaise and you use the 1/3 cup light mayo and 2/3 cup fat free sour cream suggestion, then each serving of your salad will have about 150 fewer calories and 18 fewer grams of fat! Saturated fat also goes down (from 3 grams per serving to .7) along with cholesterol (from 10 milligrams to 5).

And it tastes great too - pretty cool huh?

Related Topics:

• The 10 Most Fattening Foods of Summer
• 10 Tips and Tricks for Healthy Summer Salads

Technorati Tags: summer salad, mayonnaise, healthy diet