milk – Jenna Jamieson, Author

Holidays…family, friends, and FOOD!

By Jenna Jamieson | November 19, 2015 | Comments 0 Comment

This is the weight-gaining, cookie-eating, mouth-stuffing time of the year! It’s the time of the year when people eat cookies, cupcakes, chips, dips, and other sugary and salty foods. It’s the time of the year when diets seem to be filled with more junk food than fruits and veggies. It’s the time of the year when there are parties, potlucks, and events. And, it’s the time of the year when health educators and counselors know what to expect come January when New Year’s resolutions come around!

I am getting ready to cook my “gluten free” Thanksgiving this weekend so that I can actually enjoy it! Otherwise the day of Thanksgiving I get stuck with meat and potatoes without all the other lovely sides that fill the Thanksgiving table (but are often filled with gluten)!

As a way to cut back on fat and to reduce the calories in my gluten free dishes I will be making roasted brussels sprouts and corn with a couple of slices of bacon rather than a corn casserole or corn pudding which are filled with heavy cream, cream soups, and other fattening additives. This is a great way to reduce fat and calories while still having great flavor. The bacon will provide flavor along with chili powder, but since the two bacon slices will be divided among 6 people the amount consumed is very little.

My homemade mashed potatoes will feature part cauliflower. That may sound awful to some, but I promise you won’t taste the cauliflower and it will save a ton of calories! I will also use potatoes, but I will combine them with cauliflower to reduce the calories and add some veggies. I will use reduced sodium, reduced fat cream cheese or greek yogurt to add creaminess to the potatoes.

I will not have bread since I will be making cornbread stuffing. I made cornbread with reduced fat milk and will make the stuffing using reduced sodium chicken broth. To save calories, it is great to consider how many “bready” sides or carbohydrate sides you will serve with your Thanksgiving dinner. Consider having stuffing or bread, pie or cake, with more sides filled with veggies or fruits (i.e. brussel sprouts, corn, green beans, cranberries, mixed fruit, sweet potatoes – healthier than regular potatoes).

If your family does a green bean casserole each year consider roasted green beans, grilled green beans (these are delicious!), or pan seared green beans to cut back on the creamy soups, butter, and fried onions that are all high in calories.

Remember to fill your plates with more veggies than “bready” items and when you go back for seconds fill up on the veggie sides rather than more stuffing, bread, pie, and other high calorie dishes. Oh, and take a quick walk before or after dinner so your food doesn’t sit in your stomach all day or all night. You will thank yourself later when your food has a chance to digest rather than sit and make you feel miserable all night! 🙂

Happy eating, enjoy spending time with your friends and family, and have fun making new memories that you will remember forever!

~jj

#ProjectKindnessBook

#AlwaysChooseKindness

Tis’ the season for healthy casserole dishes!

By Jenna Jamieson | November 20, 2014 | Comments 0 Comment

Winter is upon us again and with the cold weather comes lots of holiday favorites and casseroles being baked for dinners, parties, and holiday festivities. Casserole dishes and holiday favorites tend to be full of cheesy, creamy, delicious goodness, which is also known as endless calories in the minds of dietitians and an extra 10 pounds in the minds of many people. I thought it would be appropriate to share some tips that will help keep casseroles healthy, but still satisfy our appetites! There are great ways to keep casseroles healthy this holiday season while also incorporating tons of great flavors. People often think that without the pound of butter, whole milk, pound of cheese, or heavy cream that dishes lose their flavor, and that is definitely not the case…I promise! Keep reading for some great tips to maintain the flavor and decrease the calories in your casseroles this holiday season…you will thank me later! 😉 There are 3 major tips that I think are beneficial when making casseroles.

First, consider replacing cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, and other cream soups with plain Greek yogurt, which you can flavor with garlic, salt, pepper, onion powder, etc or even add regular, low-sodium broth soups such as chicken broth or vegetable broth to flavor your dishes without the added calories. Further, try to buy items that are fat-free, low fat, low sodium, or sodium free. For example, green bean casserole calls for cream of mushroom soup, so replace it with Greek yogurt and vegetable stock. Be sure to check the labels because sometimes low calorie, low fat, and low sodium items can be deceiving. By this I mean that sometimes they have other equally bad ingredients for you, so you have to determine which products will be best. This is why plain Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and other plain, non-flavored items that are less processed can be great because you can add the flavor you want to them.

Second, cut back on the dairy products if possible and yes, this includes cheese! I know how awful that sounds because cheese is delicious, but I am not saying cut it out completely. Rather, be cognizant of how much cheese you are putting into your casserole dishes, especially if they have other dairy products in them such as heavy cream, milk, and butter. What I mean by this is that a veggie casserole can easily be made unhealthy and fattening by adding tons of cheese and cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, and other cream soups. Milk, heavy cream, cheese, and other dairy products can quickly add calories, making healthy veggie casseroles unhealthy. So the best thing you can do is stick to what recipes call for. If the recipe calls for one cup of cheese, use one cup of cheese rather than a cup and a half to add additional cheesy goodness. I realize it is the holiday season, but I promise you that your guests will still love your casserole side dishes and will appreciate the fewer calories in their already high calorie holiday meal!

Third, stick with vegetable casseroles or vegetables rather than carbohydrate-heavy or starchy casseroles that are high in calories. I realize that many people love potatoes and what says Thanksgiving more than turkey and mashed potatoes?! I am not suggesting that you completely do away with your mashed potatoes, but consider doing a split in your potatoes of part potato and part cauliflower. Also, consider having one potato casserole or mashed potato dish rather than several. Instead, make up for the fewer starchy dishes by having several vegetable casseroles or vegetable dishes such as sweet potatoes with brown sugar and pecans as a side dish rather than sweet potatoes with marshmallow fluff on top. Some other options might be brussel sprouts with bacon, butternut squash with a butter sauce, or honey and balsamic glazed carrots.

Enjoy preparing your holiday dishes and remember that while the holidays are a fun time, it doesn’t mean you should give yourself the excuse to eat whatever you want and as much as you want! While it might sound like a novel idea at the time, it won’t be when you gain 10 pounds, can’t button your jeans, or feel so full you want to bust! So, make some healthier casseroles that encourage cleaner eating, but still impart great holiday flavors that you and your family enjoy! Happy clean eating this holiday season from my table to yours!

~jj

Replace + Reduce > Rationalizing

By Jenna Jamieson | July 29, 2014 | Comments 0 Comment

All too often I hear people say, “I worked out earlier, so it means I can eat this cake and cookies now” or “I ate fruit at breakfast and a side of vegetables at lunch so I can cheat at dinner” or the best one is “I ate clean all week, so it means I can eat whatever I want this weekend” but rationalizing your choices when it comes to your health is not a good compromise or balance. Try replacing rather than rationalizing to reduce your calories and your chances for heart disease (which I will add is the number one killer of Americans yet can be reduced by the choices we make).

I am not suggesting that you don’t allow yourself to eat sweets or desserts, but getting into the habit of rationalizing your choices is a sure way to lose track of your fitness goals and see a decrease in your progress. Instead, eat in moderation and remember that replacing with fruits and veggies rather than rationalizing with junk food will boost your energy level and make you feel much better. Consider replacing at least one food item at each meal to reduce the fat content, sodium, and carb load that is almost always higher than it should be. Replace unhealthy sides such as mashed potatoes for a baked potato or make mashed potatoes that are 1/2 cauliflower and 1/2 potato and use Greek yogurt, low fat milk, and unsalted butter to get the creamy consistency you want. Replace onion rings or french fries for healthy veggies such as grilled onions or roasted potatoes. Further, at breakfast, replace potatoes and bacon in an omelette for veggies such as spinach (leafy greens are great for you!) and mushrooms. At lunch, replace BBQ potato chips for plain tortilla chips or unsalted almonds and a BLT or chicken quesadilla for a turkey, spinach, and cheese wrap. Small healthy choices at each meal may not seem that important, but small steps can help make a big difference in the overall progress you see. Three small healthy choices (one at each meal) is a great way to work on making progress over time.

Remember that when you eat like crap, you often feel like crap so don’t use your weekend as an excuse to give up on your goals. Instead eat for success because no diet does what healthy eating will do for your life. It will change your mood, stress, and energy level! Eating healthy doesn’t mean you have to eat less, just eat right! 🙂

~jj

Go meatless (sometimes)…and love it!

By Jenna Jamieson | February 26, 2014 | Comments 0 Comment

As I was working out tonight I was thinking about the blog and what might be a good entry this week. I recently started eating more meatless meals, not to lose weight, not because I think it is healthier, but because sometimes I just don’t crave meat or the thought of meat kind of grosses me out (at times) when I go to fix dinner. No, I am not a vegetarian and while I know that some people would say it is better for you, I truly believe in “everything in moderation.” I do what I feel is right for MY body and I suggest you do what you feel is right for yours, too! In all of my posts, I want to continually emphasize that you should always do what YOU think is best for you and take my advice or leave it, use some of it, and realize that I do not have the answers to each individual’s unique lifestyle and routine.

Since I have been going meatless more frequently than I usually do, I decided I actually kind of enjoy my meatless meals, maybe some more than the ones where I do eat meat. I typically enjoy “Meatless Mondays” each week, but I have now taken it even farther and decided to also eat at least one meatless meal per day. So, whether you already occasionally eat meatless or whether you never eat meatless I challenge you to “Meatless Mondays.” This is a great way to start and ease into what meatless meals can offer! I promise meatless meals can be just as delicious, fun to cook, and can make your creative juices flow! 🙂 This means you will eliminate meat on Mondays, so no meat at breakfast, lunch, or dinner! No cheating either! Sounds challenging maybe, but it really isn’t. Consider peanut butter toast and sliced apples for breakfast, grilled cheese and veggie soup for lunch, and pizza or pasta minus any meat for dinner.

Once you have “Meatless Mondays” down I encourage you to take it one step farther as I have by eating one meatless meal per day. That should not be hard and should be a routine that you already have in place. One meatless meal per day is actually very healthy as the consumption of meat at every meal is not necessary (or healthy)! It does not have to be the same meal each day. It can be breakfast one day, then dinner the next, followed by breakfast again, and then lunch the following day. For example, you might have a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit for breakfast, a spinach and feta quesadilla for lunch, and then chicken parmesan with broccoli for dinner. You went meatless at lunch so you met your goal for one meatless meal that day.

You say that you can’t get full on meatless meals? I DON’T buy it! That’s crazy! Eat more veggies, which are one of the best things you can fill your body with! Consider some of the following if you don’t believe me: 1) veggie stir fry with brown rice 2) pasta with a meatless marinara sauce and garlic bread 3) sliced potatoes layered with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, olives, and ranch dressing (potato nachos) 4) breakfast foods including eggs, hashbrowns, waffles, pancakes, french toast, biscuits 5) veggie pizza. You can’t tell me that none of these foods speak to you because it includes nearly every food group (and all are meatless)!

So, next time you sit down for a meal think MEATLESS! I know I do and my body still loves me and I feel great!

~jj