It's been a while since I posted a recipe and I could not resist sharing both of these with you.  Kale is a stellar veggie that most people have no idea how to prepare.  Kale is a form of cabbage (Brassica oleracea Acephala Group), green or purple, in which the central leaves do not form a head. It is considered to be closer to wild cabbage than most domesticated forms.

Kale is full of powerful antioxidants and rich in beta carotene, Vitamin K, Vitamin C, lutein, zeanthin, and calcium. And when prepared correctly, it is delicious!

Recipe 1: Crispy Kale Leaves from Vegetarian Times
*I served this with Ginger Honey Glazed Salmon and my husband exclaimed "I love Kale! Kale is my new favorite food!"

INGREDIENTS
1 lb kale, rinsed and patted dry
2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat oven to 325. Coat baking sheet with cooking spray (I used foil).

• Tear kale into 3″ pieces, removing tough stems. Transfer leaves to a bowl.
• Toss kale leaves with the oil, until well coated.
• Spread on a baking sheet and bake 15 mins.
• Turn kale with tongs and bake another 10-15 mins or until edges are browned and leaves are crispy. Sprinkle with salt. Serve warm or cold. Enjoy!

Marci's Note: I drizzle a bit of balsamic vinegar on top of the kale leaves- scrumptious.

Recipe 2: Portuguese Kale Soup from Food Network
*After I finished dinner I was looking forward to my leftovers for lunch.  So so yummy.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1/2 cup diced onions
1/2 diced turnips (*didn't use)
1/2 cup diced carrots
1 bunch kale, stemmed and roughly chopped
6 ounces chopped chourico (spicy Portuguese sausage), or chorizo (*I used Trader Joe's Soy Chorizo)
3 bay leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
6 cups beef stock (*I used vegetable broth, it's more flavorful and not as heavy)
1 cup kidney beans
6 ounces diced tomatoes (*I used a 14 oz can of diced spicy tomatoes- yum!)
10 ounces diced potatoes (*I used 1 medium)

Directions
In a large stock pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, onions, turnips and carrots and cook for 5 minutes. Add the kale, chourico, bay leaves, parsley and thyme and mix well. Add the beef stock, beans and tomatoes. Bring the soup to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, bring salted water to a boil and add the diced potatoes. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the potatoes and add them to the soup.

Remove the bay leaves and serve hot.

Here is a fun article describing the wonderful world of IPhone Food Apps. You can find just about any app you need relating to food: locating a good restaurant, selecting gluten-free foods, creating a new recipe, helping you pair wine and cheese, and even listening to customized audio farts.  Yes, the practical and the useless available on your IPhone.  Enjoy. :)

So after writing my last post on being a wise consumer, I thought it'd be fun to start a monthly posting called "Product No Case."  I currently blog once a month about a product I love that supports healthy living (see Tag: Product Showcase).  So why not blog about a product that's a dud?  A product that masquerades as something "good for you" but actually isn't. 

So Kashi, you win both spotlights this month.

Product Showcase Winner: Kashi 7 Whole Grain Pilaf
Product No-Case: Kashi Go Lean Crunch Bars

Click on the links to read more.

February is "Wise Health Consumer Month"  and I believe that becoming more involved in your own health care is essential. My sister-in-law was finally diagnosed with Celiac Disease after doing some research and convincing her Dr. to test her for it. 

The American Institute for Preventive Medicine developed a Top 10 list of ways you can become more involved in your own health care.

One way you can become a wise consumer in the grocery store is learning how to decipher your packaged and boxed foods.  Here are three simple tips to get you started.

1.) Ignore the words on the front and back of the box. Catch phrases like "antioxidants" "more fiber" "natural" are simply a sales pitch.
2.) Read the ingredient list.  You should be able to recognize the words you are reading.  Better yet, if it's a grain-based food (as many packaged items are) the 1st ingredient ought to be "whole grain..." 
3.) Check out the number of servings in a package.  It's often more than one.

I recently met with a client who wanted some nutrition counseling for PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome). She had already made great strides with her diet and was seeing me for "fine-tuning." At our first session she brought in a food label of a Kashi bar she likes to eat.  She thought it seemed like a healthy way to take care of her sweet tooth and wanted my opinion.  So, we dissected the food label together (too see the nutrition facts, click on this link then click on the button that says nutrition facts).

Together we learned that the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th ingredients are all sugar!  By the looks of the wrapper, you'd think she was making a healthy snack choice.  Besides, Kashi has a reputation for selling pretty healthy foods.  But in reality, all of those highly processed sugars would actually do more harm to her PCOS than simply having a small serving of dark chocolate after dinner (which what she really wanted!).

So don't be fooled by your packaging.  It's the ingredients that count.  I have a simple handout called "Decoding the Ingredient List." If you'd like a copy, send me an email to marci@marciRD.com.

So I just saw this article on ABC's website.

Taco Bell is unleashing a weight loss advertisement campaign with Christine who lost weight on a Taco Bell diet like Subway's Jared Fogle. But dieticians are on the fence about whether these campaigns ultimately hurt or help a nation facing an obesity epidemic.

Check out Taco's Bell's new website for their "Drive-Thru Diet." I think it's hilarious that at the bottom of the page they state that "Drive-Thru-Diet® is not a weight-loss program."  Isn't that the crux of their markeing campaign?  Don't they want us to believe that we can eat Taco Bell all of the time and lose weight- just like Christine?

I would love to hear your guys' thoughts on this.  While having healthier options at fast-food restaurants is wonderful, is it really good promote it as a daily diet?

My two cents: Taco Bell is a company looking to sell a product...and weight loss sells.

I don't always love the diet-related articles posted on the Yahoo! and MSN homepages.  But today is an exception.  MSN posted article entitled Top 10 Overrated Health Foods and I think it's worthy of a blog post.  After checking out the article, do you notice any trends or themes?  I certainly did.  Nearly every one of the overrated health foods is highly processed but with added nutrients (i.e. omega-3s, Vitamin D, fiber, etc.) pumped into the product in an attempt to make it look healthy.  What a racket!

In fact, I blogged about this back in March.  The fact is that food companies are a business and they will use the latest science "breakthroughs" to sell their product.  So stop buying highly processed foods that seem healthy because of the claims slapped across their packages.  Enjoy the non-nutritious stuff in moderation (hey, I've got to have my Oreos!) and rely on non-processed foods to form the bulk of your diet.  This will provide your body with the essential vitamins and minerals it needs and in a form that your body can actually use more effectively.

I'm off to peel my clementine....

Your neighborhood nutritionist in Cambridge. Marci

Did you know that frozen fruits and vegetables may have a higher vitamin & mineral content than your fresh fruits and vegetables?  It's true!  And this cool video from Dole can show you why.  Ok, it's not cool, it's sort of cheezy.  But the content is good.

That is one of the many handy tips I picked up while browsing the information packed website from www.dole.com.  I first went the website because I wanted to highlight my product pick of the month which is "Dole's Wildly Nutritious Tropical Frozen Fruit" which I LOVE.  It has all of my favorite fruits: pineapple, mango, and strawberries.  Whipping it up with some yogurt is truly one of my favorite ways to start my day.  Does that sound over the top?  Yes, but it's true!

But after checking out the website, I was amazed at all of the great nutrition information and recipes that are available.  I found a recipe for Spinach, Arugula, & Orange Pesto that sounds fantastic.  I've posted it below.  If you give it a try, let me know what you think!

Spinach, Arugula, and Orange Pesto
8 Servings

Ingredients
1/4 cups livered almonds, toasted
1-1/2 cups loosely packed fresh DOLE Spinach leaves
1-1/2 cups loosely packed fresh DOLE Arugula , sorrel or watercress leaves
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
1/2 teaspoon finely shredded orange peel
3 tablespoons orange juice
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions
1.Place almonds in a food processor or blender container. Cover and process or blend the almonds until finely chopped.
2.Add the Spinach and Arugula, sorrel or watercress; cover. With the machine running, gradually add the oil in a thin, steady stream, processing until the mixture is combined and slightly chunky.
3.Add Parmesan or Romano cheese, orange peel, orange juice, ground red pepper and salt. Process or blend just until combined.
4.To Store: Divide into 1/4-cup portions and place in airtight containers. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
5.To Serve: Bring pesto to room temperature and spread on grilled salmon, grilled chicken or toasted bread. (Makes 3/4 cup)

So I have a surprising number of people ask me about eggs.  It seems that a fair number of you like them but are afraid that their high cholesterol content will have a negative impact on  your cholesterol.  As it turns out, the newest research shows that it's actually excessive intake of saturated fat, rather than cholesterol that negatively affects risk factors (i.e. high blood lipids, cholesterol, and blood pressure) for the development of cardiovascular disease.

Here's a quick little abstract from the Journal of American College of Nutrition which states that "The most recent American Heart Association guidelines no longer include a recommendation to limit egg consumption, but recommend the adoption of eating practices associated with good health."  In fact, there just doesn't seem to be good data that eating a lot of eggs directly increases cholesterol levels.

Currently, the AHA recommends 6 or fewer eggs per week.  This article provides a list of cooking tips to consider if you are worried about your heart health.  Remember, it's the overall pattern of your diet that matters most!  It's not about obsessing over one food in isolation.

But I say, let's focus on the positive.  Eggs offer some really fantastic nutritional benefits.  It's a great source of protein, fat soluble vitamins (vitamins A,D,E,K), and they are super cheap!  So I say scramble a couple of eggs with your favorite veggies and serve it up with some whole grain toast.  Here's how I serve up my eggs at home:

1.) Saute whatever veggies I have in the house (peppers, tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms, onions, etc) in some olive oil, black pepper, red pepper, and garlic for 5 minutes (or so).
2.) Whisk together an egg or two with some skim milk and season salt.
3.) Pour the egg mixture into the pan with the cooked veggies.
4.) Scramble until desired consistency (I never can make a beautiful omelette so I just end up scrambling them up).
5.) Toast some whole grain bread and serve your eggs with hot sauce, salsa, ketchup, or plain!

As I munched on breakfast this morning, I thought to myself " I LOVE this cereal....I should blog about it!"  And then I thought, hey, I should blog about some of my favorite food products on a regular basis.  So, if things go as planned, you'll be getting a "product showcase" on the 10th of every month...if not more frequently.

First up, Barbara's Shredded Spoonfuls from Whole Foods (and other chains like Trader Joes).  A single box costs $4.99 (gosh, cereal is not cheap).  I topped mine with blueberries and it was delicious.  Why do I love the multigrain bites of shredded cereal?

1.) Great texture and mouthfeel
2.) First ingredient is "whole oat flour." A great source of fiber and whole grains which is great for digestion, gut health, and heart health.
3.) TASTE! It's a whole grain cereal that is very low in added sugar but doesn't taste like cardboard!  Most whole grain cereals are either hard and icky or contain loads of sugar to make up for the unpalatable taste.

So if you've been searching for a low sugar, high fiber whole grain cereal that actually tastes good, Barbara is your gal!  Plus, there is a whole line of products for people with special dietary needs (i.e. gluten free, dairy free, Kosher, vegan, etc).

If you try a box today, let me know what you think.  And if you think there is a product I oughta' try and recommend, please email me!

A cost effective and delicious way to take advantage of summer's fresh berries is to buy in bulk and freeze them.  I found a deal on a huge case of blueberries.  I kept some for eating and some for freezing.  And my favorite thing to do with frozen berries is whipping them up into delicious fruit smoothies. 

Blend together your favorite yogurt (I steer clear of fat-free varieties to avoid artifical sweeteners.  Plus the bit of fat in the yogurt provides a creamier texture and helps ignite those hormones which tell your body that you are satisfied!), a bit of milk, and some frozen berries.  For an added kick you can sprinkle cinnamon or ginger in as well.  And that's it!  In a matter of minutes you have a a delicious and refreshing snack.  Enjoy!