Swiss Chard, Black Beans, and Wheat Berries

I recently had fun working with Talk About Healthy making my first cooking video. It has been a learning experience. Most of all, I'm thrilled to present healthy and tasty recipes to my readers with a pinch of nutrition information to help you make the best food choices for you and your family. This video for Swiss chard, black beans, and wheat berries presents a very simple and nutritious recipe. The combination of ingredients provides a powerhouse of nutrients for health. Protein, iron, vitamin C, magnesium, lycopene, lutein, and fiber are only a few nutrients you'll get when you eat a serving. This recipe provides these nutrients (and more) in a tasty package. Give it a try and let me know what you think. You can add other seasonings to suite your taste preferences. My son always adds a nice dose of Sriracha! Happy and healthy eating! 

Swiss Chard, Black Beans, and Wheat Berries




2 T. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 small bunches or 1 large bunch Swiss chard, leaves and stems chopped

1 14-oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

2 large tomatoes, chopped into large pieces

1 ½ cup cooked wheat berries

1 bunch green onions, chopped

salt and pepper to taste



Cook wheat berries:

add ½ cup dry wheat berries to 1 ½ cup water. Bring to a boil under medium-high heat, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer about 15 minutes until all the water is absorbed. Set aside.



Heat olive oil under medium-high heat, add garlic and cook 1-2 minutes until fragrant, but not brown. Add Swiss chard in 2 batches. When the first batch cooks down, add the second batch. Cook approximately 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook another 3 minutes. Add black beans and wheat berries and cook until warm, approximately 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in green onions. Serve and enjoy.



Makes 6 one cup servings

“Gout” You by the Toe? Kick It with Good Nutrition

Lifestyle contributes to gout 

Gout has long been viewed as a malady suffered by the wealthy, those with means to afford rich foods and wine. Today, gout is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis suffered in men, effecting 3.4 million adult men and an increasing number of postmenopausal women. The incidence of gout is on the rise and lifestyle factors play a significant role in its occurrence.




Gout is characterized by on overproduction of uric acid or a decreased excretion of urate in the kidney. Uric acid is the end product of purine metabolism. Most purines are contained in the human body as DNA. Cells of the body are constantly turning over with the release of genetic material and their consequent breakdown to uric acid. Foods and beverages that we consume can also contribute to the overall uric acid load in the body. When the uric acid level of the body is elevated, crystals can form in the joints. These crystals activate an inflammatory response, which brings on the pain and swelling of gout. The big toe and ankles are common joints affected.



Gout has been shown to be related to the metabolic syndrome, which includes features that increase the risk of heart disease and diabetes such as obesity, elevated cholesterol, high blood pressure, and insulin resistance. Overweight and obesity seem to play a role in both gout and metabolic syndrome. Maintaining a healthy body weight is import in the control of gouty inflammation, however, sensible eating is important. Following a low carbohydrate, high protein diet for weight loss can exacerbate gout.



High protein foods tend to contain more purines with the potential to raise uric acid level, though not all high purine foods have the same ability to cause an attack of gout. Beef, lamb, pork and fish are primary offenders and should be eaten less often and in smaller amounts. A small portion is considered three ounces and is the size of a deck of cards. Most restaurants serve meat in portions of six ounces or greater. Plant foods higher in purines do not seem to bring on gout and do not need to be limited. These include whole grain breads and cereals, oatmeal, wheat germ, wheat bran, mushrooms, green peas, spinach, asparagus and cauliflower. These foods have other health properties that may protect against gout. Low fat dairy products seem to protect against gout and it is recommended to eat at least two servings a day. Dairy products are low in purines and increase the excretion of urate. Vitamin D may also play a role in gout. Many people who have gout are deficient in vitamin D. Urate may prevent the activation of vitamin D, which is believed to have anti-inflammatory properties.



Alcohol has long been known to be a risk factor for gout. Beer is high in purines but alcohol in general may also be implicated. Alcohol is dehydrating and poor hydration increases the risk of gout. Alcohol intake should be controlled; especially beer and special attention should be paid to drinking enough water. This is particularly true when traveling. Many people experience gouty attacks while on vacation. They are dehydrated from their travels and imbibe more than they would at home.



Other diet and lifestyle factors important in the management of gout are:

• Reduced fructose consumption. Fructose is the only sugar that increases urate. Fructose is found most in soft drinks, sweetened juices, apples and oranges.

• Increased fruit and vegetable consumption (except apples and oranges). These foods are known to decrease inflammation with the potential to lower urate.

• Increased vitamin C intake. Vitamin C found in many fruits and vegetables decreases urate. Supplementation of 1500 mg vitamin C daily may be helpful. Vitamin C supplementation should be split throughout the day (500 mg with meals three times a day is suggested).

• Cherries are known for their anti-inflammatory ability. Consumption of cherries and cherry juice decrease gouty attacks.

• Increased physical activity is associated with decreased risk of gout.



As with all diet and lifestyle recommendations, do not undertake dramatic changes in your habits without supervision and advisement from your physician.

Nutritionists Blog About MyPlate

A more simple model for healthy eating 

MyPlate is barely a week old and the nutrition world is buzzing about it. If you are curious about what this new icon is and what it might might mean to you, read on.

I'm happy to share a link with you that is a collection of blog posts written by dietitians (myself included) on the new MyPlate. Much thanks goes the Janet Helm of Nutrition Unplugged for organizing this list. Enjoy reading the various comments on MyPlate from nutrition professionals and add to the discussion with your own comments if you feel so moved. We'd love to hear your voice!

MyPlate Blog Link

Keeping Your Food Focus in an Attention-Grabbing World

Isn't all yogurt probiotic? 

It seems that almost every month there is some new concept in nutrition that seeks to grab our attention. Many eating styles and food products are developed to help people adopt these "new" eating principles. Some examples of these are the Paleo Diet, Atkin's Diet, glycemic index, raw foods diet, gluten-free diet, juicing and super foods (this list goes on and on). There is a lot to grab our attention and the end result for many people is not better health and vitality, but a short stint following an unmanageable eating pattern, a little weight loss, and more weight gain down the road. All of this is for the privilege of spending a small fortune.

I'm not saying that diet and nutrition principles don't have merit. A gluten-free diet is vital for people with celiac disease and the rest of us could probably stand to consume less refined wheat products. Rather, I think we lose our focus on eating a healthy diet by being drawn into food fetishes that may not make any sense for us. As an example, I've heard many people claim that they won't eat carrots, grapes or watermelon because they contain sugar. To equal the amount of sugar in a 12-oz can of Coca Cola Classic you would need to eat 4 cups of watermelon, 10 large carrots, and 45 grapes. Some people might be able to eat this much, but I'm sure that they would be quite full and not able to eat much for a period thereafter which is not the case when you drink a can of Coke. Also, consider that natural foods such as carrots, grapes and watermelon contain nutrients that promote health.

I was recently asked my opinion about Joe the Juicer who has a website called Fat Sick and Nearly Dead. Joe found "religion" (health) through juicing and now is on a crusade to transform the world. There is some sensible nutrition advise promoted on Joe's website and it is this advise that is responsible for transforming lives. Juicing is the vehicle that is used to promote a more plant-based diet. If you can live on juice, then this is the diet regimen for you. If not, then you better pay attention to adopting healthy lifestyle habits that you can maintain, and forget the juice.

When adopting a healthy lifestyle, ask your self this question: Can I maintain this change over my lifetime? If the answer is no, figure out what you can do to be healthier and establish SMART goals for yourself. A SMART goal is specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-lined. A SMART goal will lead you to the healthy lifestyle you are seeking, one goal at a time.

My kids often joke about being distracted by shiny objects. There is a lot of "nutritional glitter" out there vying to take your attention away from more sensible practices. Trust in your common sense and your ability to stay the course. It may not be as dramatic as juicing, buying amped up yogurt or getting your stomach stapled. But it is what works. Slow and steady wins the race, as long as you stay on the course.

MyPlate Introduced. Now What?

The endless junk food aisle 

Yesterday was a big day in the world of nutrition. The 20 year old Food Pyramid was retired by the USDA and the new MyPlate was unveiled. The new food guide shows a plate with four sections for the basic food groups: grains, fruits, vegetables and protein. To the side is a cup of dairy. The new food icon was introduced by USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, US Surgeon General Regina Benjamin and First Lady Michelle Obama at a press conference yesterday morning. Vilsack commented that the personal health of the nation is as important to the wellbeing of the country as its fiscal and economic health. It is an issue of national security when many youth are too overweight and unfit to protect the country. Dr. Benjamin concurred that childhood obesity is one of the greatest challenges facing our nation. She stated that the goal of the new food icon is to provide clear and simple information based on science to guide the American people to make healthier food choices. First Lady Michelle Obama commented, "What is more simple than a plate?"

Michelle Obama goes on to say that there is still work to be done in leading our nation toward health. I can't agree more! I like the simplicity of the icon and the message to the American people to eat less that is a central tenet of the Dietary Guidelines. But I wonder if this new food guide will have any impact upon the way that Americans eat?

At the Future of Food Conference in Washington, DC last month, Secretary Vilsack commented that the way farm subsidies are appropriated will change with the new Farm Bill. He hopes to empower more small family operated farms which means decreasing (or ending) the subsidies paid to larger agribusinesses. To me, this is a more important step in changing the US food and health environments than the combined efforts of the new MyPlate, Dietary Guidelines and universal health insurance. The endless aisles of junk foods, cereals and beverages are directly related to subsidies paid to grow corn, wheat and soy which allowed the creation of cheap processed foods. Cheap processed foods are bad for health for many reasons, one of which is that they displace healthier foods such as vegetables, fruits and whole grains. When soft drinks and junk foods are more expensive and vegetables and fruits are less expensive, Americans will buy less junk. When we see smaller displays of junk foods at the grocery store, then we'll know that we are moving in the right direction.

Vilsack goes on to say at the MyPlate press conference yesterday that you have to walk the talk. He tells a story of how the new icon influenced him recently at a dinner where he was served a piece of steak that covered more than half his plate. He purposefully didn't eat it all. I hope Congress has the same good sense when it comes to passing a Farm Bill that will change the US food and health environments. Congress will have to turn a deaf ear to the wealthy and powerful food lobbies and do the right thing for the American people by voting to reduce subsidies to large agribusiness. Our national security depends upon it.

Moving Beyond SAD: Embrace the Mediterranean Lifestyle

The Mediterranean Diet Pyramid

The standard American diet is often referred to as the acronym SAD. The SAD is indeed sad when we consider the impact that it has upon the health and wellbeing of Americans. The increase in chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes is of great concern. Lifestyle choices have a large impact on the development of chronic illnesses. In 2005, one of every two adults had at least one chronic illness. With the current increasing trend in obesity, this number is expected to rise with serious social and economic outcomes.

The SAD is a result of US farm and economic policies. Laws were created throughout our history that gave advantage to companies. These companies in turn controlled what crops farmers would grow and how food was developed from them. High fructose corn syrup and soy protein isolate are two examples of food additives cheaply created from subsidized corn and soy crops. Processed foods flooded the markets and Americans responded by buying them up. It appears that now the devil is collecting what is due. What is truly sad is that our children won't even have a chance. Obesity rates in children have skyrocketed with a concomitant increase in chronic diseases. Many healthcare professional are expecting children born today to have shorter lifespans than their parents.

Across the globe, people developed eating patterns that were consistent with their natural environments. This way of eating offered people the greatest advantage for survival. The Mediterranean diet is a prime example of this. I can wax poetic on the benefits of following a Mediterranean diet pattern, but there are wonderful resources that already exist. Instead, I'd like to focus on a few of the Mediterranean eating and lifestyle habits that Americans can easily follow in their natural environments.

1. Tend a garden: This is not a foreign concept in American history. Most families used to have to grow their own food. Gardening has become almost quaint with our busy lifestyles and the greater availability of convenience foods. If gardening is too challenging you can frequent farmer's markets weekly or join a Community Supported Agriculture group. Either way, you'll be connected to the land and the life-giving foods that come from it.

2. Plants, plants and more plants: Place focus on eating more plant-based foods. We certainly aren't lacking for protein in the US. What we are lacking is eating more plants. Every meal and snack of the day should contain plant food. We can explore eating a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and whole grains that offer a bounty of nutrients.

3. Go fishing: I mean this metaphorically, but if you actually can go fishing more power to you! Replace eating beef and pork with fish. The fish in the market today is fresher than ever and there are many wonderful options that come from our lakes, rivers and oceans.

4. Be a little nutty: Nuts are a plant-based source of protein and healthy fats. Many nuts such as almonds, pistachios, walnuts, pecans and peanuts are cultivated in the US. Nuts can be used to enhanced the flavor of recipes or they can be a satisfying and nutritious snack when paired with a fruit or vegetable.

5. Cook and eat together: Nurturing is an innate human instinct, although some are more in tune with it than others. Our convenience-oriented environment has made it more difficult to become in tune with our more natural nurturing instincts. Cooking food to share with your family and friends is a great bonding activity. It is part of being human. Get everyone involved and enjoy the experience!

6. Get on your feet: Gardening, cooking, and walking to the market are all activities that support health. Life used to be very physical and now we have to exercise to replicate what we used to do on a daily basis for survival. An interesting thing is that all the exercise in the world won't save you if you sit for hours on end in a day.

A new US Food Guide will be unveiled June 2nd, 2011. Word has it that it will be very different from the Food Guide Pyramid of the last decade. A new icon was developed to more simply help Americans adopt the Dietary Guidelines into their lives. Whether or not the Food Guide is wonderful, all Americans can make little changes to move them to a healthier and closer relationship with the land that they live on.

How to Mindlessly Eat Better



Arrange your home and work environments
 to help you to make healthy food choices 


The food industry knows what we like. Sugar, fat, and salt have incredible power over us, and for a very good reason—survival. I recently had an opportunity to interview and attend a lecture by Brian Wansink, PhD, behavioral psychologist and author of Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think. We are programmed to love the taste of sugar, salt and fat according to Wansink. Our ancestors knew that sweet berries were safer to eat than bitter ones, and that they supplied us with much needed quick energy to help us build civilizations and flee danger. Fatty foods provided energy reserves to help us through periods of famine. Salt helped our active forbearers to retain water and prevent dehydration. Finding convenient food was also important for survival. The less time prehistoric humans spent in the pursuit of food, the less risk they had of encountering something that would pursue them as food. The concerns that our ancient ancestors had for survival are not as relevant to us today, but our preferences for sugar, fat, salt and convenience persist. Do not blame the food industry for the overabundance of convenient foods loaded with sugar, salt and fat. Dr. Wansink contends that the food industry’s only concern is to sell you the foods that you want. “They could care less if you eat it” he claims.

Our desire for sugar, salt, fat and convenience paired with a very marketing savvy food industry are a part of the reason we have become the fattest nation on earth. We make over 200 food decisions in a day, and many of those decisions are mindless. Dr. Wansink’s research shows that calorie consumption is greater when we are cued to eat mindlessly. He also discovered that no one is immune to it. Wansink studied graduate students who were trained to understand the concept of mindless eating, and found that they were just as likely to engage in eating mindlessly as anyone else. Education and intelligence do not prevent mindless eating.

It seems the answer to mindless eating would be to become more mindful of what we put into our mouths. However, Wansink believes that mindfulness requires too much energy to maintain. Instead he believes that we should adjust our environment to allow us to mindlessly eat better.

Eating Cues

There are many cues that promote mindless eating and they very often trump hunger. The cues around us suggest when it is time for us to eat; we may habitually eat at a certain time or take a specific amount of food because that is what we are used to doing. We develop unhealthy habits that we engage in frequently simply because they have become normal. Wansink has discovered that we can eat on average 20% more or less without being aware of it. He calls this the mindless eating margin. Big portion sizes and giant-sized packages have helped us to become accustomed to eating more. Making a few small changes can help us to eat less. The following is a list of cues that promote mindless eating with suggestions how we can re-engineer our environment to mindlessly eat better.

• Dish and Utensil Size: Larger plates, bowls and serving spoons can encourage us to eat about 25-30% more food.
Mindlessly Eat Better: Use smaller plates, bowls and spoons when serving and eating food.

• Glass Shape: We pour a greater volume of beverage in short wide glasses than in tall narrow ones. A study conducted on bartenders showed that they over poured beverages an average of 37% in short wide glasses.
Mindlessly Eat Better: Drink only from tall thin glasses.

• Food Package Size: The larger the food package, the more we tend to eat.
Mindlessly Eat Better: When buying larger packages for value repackage the food into smaller portions at home right away and hide the extras.

• Variety: When presented with a greater variety of food we will eat more total food than when we are given fewer food choices.
Mindlessly Eat Better: Provide a greater variety of healthy foods during meals such as offering two vegetables and/or a piece of fruit every time you eat.

• Visibility: If we see food we will most likely eat it. In one study, participants ate 71% more candy when the candy in the dish was visible.
Mindlessly Eat Better: Place healthier foods in visible locations and less healthy foods in less visible locations in your workplace and home.

• Family-Style Meals: We tend to take more food per serving and take additional servings of food when it is offered family-style.
Mindlessly Eat Better: Serve foods such as vegetables and fruits family style and serve entrées and bread, rice or pasta from the counter. Having to get up from the table to serve more food provides enough pause for us to determine if we are still hungry.

• Distractions: Eating while doing other activities such as reading, working on the computer, watching TV or eating with other people promotes mindless eating.
Mindlessly Eat Better: Eat only fruits and vegetables when doing other activities. When eating with other people, pace yourself to be the last one to start eating and the last one to finish eating to avoid taking extra food.

Wansink says that, “it is easier to change your environment than to change your mind.” He is currently involved in a program called The Smarter Lunchroom Initiative whose mission is “to design sustainable research-based lunchrooms that subtly guide smarter choices.” Most lunchroom changes cost less than $50. By making healthy foods more visible (serving fruit in a nice bowl in a well-lit area) and offering a greater variety of healthy choices (two vegetables instead of one) schools can significantly promote healthier eating among students.

These strategies can also be used in home and work environments. Anyone can make two easy changes to eat better. You will hardly notice that you are hungry with a daily decrease of about 100-200 calories, but you will be establishing new eating patterns that will lead to significant weight loss and improved health over time. Don’t let another day, month or year go by without making a consistent change. Think about it, in a year you could be ten pounds heavier if you do nothing or ten pounds lighter if you change your environment.

This article will be published in Rochester Healthy Living.

What Do Box Tops for Education Really Promote?

I collect Box Tops for Education for my daughter's elementary school. One or two products that I buy are involved in the program and I dutifully clip the box tops for the school. I recently noticed a commercial for Pillsbury® Toaster Strudel® Pastries promoting their affiliation with the Box Tops for Education Program. It got me thinking: How healthy are the food products that are involved the program?

"Box Tops for Education is a program created by General Mills to provide funding for education." This is the description of the program on the eHOW website. The official Box Tops for Education website claims to have raised over $320 million for schools since 1996 (each box top collected is worth ten cents). Compare this with the annual cost of obesity which was recently stated as $147 billion per year, and the benefit of the Box Tops program pales in comparison! With increasing rates of overweight and obesity in kids, it's pretty important that programs designed for schools promote healthy eating habits.

I surveyed the food products involved with the program and created three categories: healthy, pseudo-healthy, and refined. I classified each food in a category for each division of food products (refrigerated, frozen, beverages, etc.). This is by no means a scientific study and my criteria for healthy vs. pseudo healthy foods is perhaps a bit blurred (I classified Juicy Juice as a pseudo-healthy food. Consumed in small amounts, it is fine, but even 100% juice can contribute to weight gain when over-consumed). If a food contained a majority of whole grains, was in its natural state, contained lower amounts of sodium, and had limited added sugars, I considered it a healthy food. Food products close to their natural state, but with some added sugars (or high natural sugar content) and added ingredients to bump up their dietary fiber were considered pseudo-healthy. Foods with a high amount of refined grains and sugars (including artificial sweeteners) and higher in sodium were classified as refined foods (notice how I didn't call them unhealthy, although it is implied).

As you can image, most of the food products promoted by the Box Tops for Education program are processed. You can view the participating products for yourself. The list changes often as new products are added and limited products are deleted. Of the one hundred and eighty-eight products that I looked at, 14.3% were healthy, 14.8% were pseudo-healthy, and 70.7% were refined. These results are not so impressive, especially when it comes to feeding our kids!

Ehow suggests using the program only for products that you normally buy. But we all know that this is not really how promotions and coupons are intended to be used by their creators. They want us to buy their products and the more we buy the better. It behooves manufacturers to offer promotions to encourage us to buy; if we think that they are socially minded in the process, all the better for them. I wish they would just donate money to the schools without pushing us to buy products, but that's not how America works.

Fortunately, there are non-food products that are involved in this program, so you don't have to worry about contributing to childhood obesity because you want to clip a few box tops. Even better is the online program. There are many participating stores selling many non-food products that will provide a multiple of box tops per every $10 spent.

I'll continue to clip the box tops for the three food products that I regularly purchase and resist the urge to buy more because I think that I'm helping my daughter's school by doing so.

5 Healthy Tips for Your Best Holiday Season Yet!

Keep your healthy habits through the holidays

'Tis the season for overeating and inactivity, but it doesn't have to be. You've worked hard all year to change unhealthy habits and now it's time to run the gauntlet of holiday parties and coworkers bringing cookies and treats to work. If you can make it through the holidays unscathed while practicing your healthy habits, you are truly a new person. Here are five tips to keep you focused on having a happy and healthy holiday season.

1. Be positive. Positive emotion is necessary for behavior change. To flourish, we should exhibit three positive emotions for every negative emotion. Flourishing is like navigating a sail boat. Negative emotion is your rudder and positive emotion is the sail that soars high into the air. Your sail should be three times as high as your rudder to keep you on course. Of course, you need both a sail and a rudder to navigate. The trick is to have enough positive emotion to balance the negative. We typically focus too much on negative feelings, so lighten up and be positive. You can track your emotions at positivityratio.com. Emotions change daily, so track yours often. It might help you focus a little more on the positive aspects of your life.

2. Catch up on your ZZZ's. During the holidays, most people overstuff their days and weekends with activity and short change sleep. Adequate sleep is vital for health. Lack of sleep is a risk factor for diabetes, heart disease, obesity, accidents and it lowers your immunity. You may have to resist the urge to be a party animal, but getting enough sleep will ensure that you enjoy your celebrations to the fullest. Allow at least one day a week to catch up on your sleep. You might have to delegate some holiday shopping or cooking, leave a party early once in a while, and resist the urge to stay up late watching TV, playing video games, etc.

3. Keep moving. The best way to avoid weight gain over the holidays is to move daily. Face it, we are made to move and without movement we couldn't survive. Preserve your regular exercise routines as much as possible. If you notice that you can't exercise as much as you used to, wear a pedometer and track your activity as daily steps. The goal is to log at least 10,000 steps a day which is equivalent to walking about five miles. I did this last year between Thanksgiving and New Year's. It was a great way to keep moving. When I noticed that I was short of my goal, I would take the dogs for another walk (god for the dogs as well as me) or take an extra lap in the mall while shopping. Taking a walk after a larger meal is also helpful. The artery clogging effects of one high fat meal can literally be visualized. Fortunately, so can the health promoting effects of one bout of activity. So get up after your meal and take a walk!

4. Maintain your weight. Most people only gain about one pound over the holidays, but that one pound hangs around long after the holidays are over and is often joined by more pounds the next year, and the next, and the next... Setting your sights on weight loss may be too difficult at this time. The goal should be to maintain what you've already lost. You have to measure this somehow. I encourage my clients to weigh themselves daily. You will notice small changes in your weight that you can equate to your eating and exercise habits. If you notice a weight increase in one day, examine what you ate earlier. If you ate a meal in a restaurant, chances are the meal was excessive in calories, fat, and sodium. You can make corrections in your eating and activity and work to bring your weight back to where it was. If you don't measure, you won't know to correct. Before you know it that one pound will be sitting on your hips or mid-section and will be hard to lose.

5. Be thankful.  There is so much flurry around the holidays that is is easy to forget what they are about. Enjoy the time that you are allowed to be with your family, friends, colleagues and coworkers. Humans are social beings and having a supportive community around us is one of the best ways that I can think of to be happy and healthy. We bring the burden of the season upon ourselves. It is within our power to lighten that burden with humor, love, kindness, thoughtfulness, friendship and thankfulness.

I wish you the best holiday season yet!