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An Apple A Day . . .

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An Apple A Day . . .

Keeps the doctor away!  How often have you heard that – and who said such a thing?

It seems to be a variant of a Welsh proverb, published in 1866, equating eating an apple when going to bed and keeping the doctor from earning his bread.

What’s So Special About Apples?

Magical and aphrodisiac powers are attributed to lots of foods and the apple doesn’t disappoint – remember the Garden of Eden? Ancient Greeks would toss an apple to propose to a woman. Catching it signaled acceptance.

Apples are good for you. They grow in every state in the continental US.  They have Vitamin C and flavonoids (antioxidants) to help immune function and aid in preventing heart disease and some cancers.

They reduce tooth decay by cleaning your teeth and killing off bacteria. They are easily digestable and their high fiber content adds bulk that helps the digestive process. They have pectin, a soluble fiber, that encourages the growth of good bacteria in your digestive tract.They are a good source of potassium, folic acid, and vitamin C.

What Makes An Apple An Apple?

Apple flavor is a blend of tart, sweet, bitter, and that distinct apple aroma — a mysterious blend of 250 trace chemicals naturally contained in the fruit.  The sweetness comes from the  9 – 12% sucrose and fructose content.

A medium apple weighs about 5 ounces, has around 81 calories and 3.7 grams of fiber from pectin, a soluble fiber. Unpeeled apples have their most plentiful nutrients just under the skin.

Popular Apples Found In Markets:

  • Braeburn:  sweet/tart flavor; yellow with red stripe/blush; firm, great for snacking. Season: October to July.
  • Crispin: sweet flavor; green-yellow; firm, great for snacking and pies. Season: October to September.
  • Empire: sweet/tart flavor; solid red, crisp, great for snacking and salads. Season: September to July.
  • Fuji: sweet/spicy flavor; red blush, yellow stripes/green; crisp, great for snacking, salads and freezing. Season: Year round.
  • Gala: sweet flavor; red-orange, yellow stripe; crisp, great for snacking, salads, sauce and freezing. Season:  August to March.
  • Golden Delicious: sweet; yellow-green; crisp, great as a snack, in salads, sauce and pies. Season: Year round.
  • Granny Smith: tart and green; occasionally has a pink blush; crispy, great for baking, snacking, sauces, pies and salads. Season: Year round.
  • Honeycrisp: sweet/tart flavor; mottled red over a yellow background; crisp, best for snacking, salads, pies, sauce and freezing. Season: September to February.
  • Jonathan: spicy and tangy; light red stripes over yellow or deep red; less firm and good for pies and baking. Season: September to April.
  • McIntosh: tangy; red and green; tender and best for snacking, sauce and pies. Season: September to July.
  • Red Delicious: sweet; can be striped to solid red; crisp; good for snacking and salads.  Season: Year-round.
  • Rome: sweet; deep, solid red; firm and great for sauce, baking and pies. Season: October to September.

SocialDieter Tip:

Basic apple info: Try to find apples that haven’t been waxed. Farmers’ markets are probably the best places to look. You might want to peel the skin off if it is waxed.

Wash your apple thoroughly before eating or cutting it up to decrease the amount of pesticide residue or bacterial contaminants.

Keep apples in the fridge to keep them in their best shape and so they last longer. Unrefrigerated they get mushy in two or three days. Apples should be firm and blemish-free.

Cut apples will turn brown, a result of oxidation.  To prevent that, toss them with citrus juice — oranges, lemons, and limes all work equally as well.

Red Berries Or Not?

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My husband loves his “red berry” cereal.  Not just any red berry cereal – but Special K Red Berries.  Plain old Special K, blueberry almond, or any other array of color and flavor just won’t do.

Red Berry Facts

The ingredients in Special K Red Berries :

Rice, Whole grain wheat, Sugar, Wheat bran, Freeze-dried strawberries, High fructose corn syrup, Soluble wheat fiber, Salt, Malt Flavoring, Ascorbic acid (vitamin C), Reduced iron, Alpha tocopherol, Niacinamide, Pyridoxine hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Thiamin hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Vitamin A palmitate, Folic acid, Vitamin B12

A one cup serving size has:

  • 110 calories (150 calories with ½ cup of fat free milk)
  • 0 grams of fat
  • 0 grams cholesterol
  • 190 mg sodium
  • 27 grams Total carbohydrate
  • 3 grams fiber
  • 2 grams protein

Good, Bad, Or Indifferent?

Over 50 years ago Kellogg produced Special K as an alternative to Corn Flakes.  It is often marketed as Kellogg’s cereal for weight loss because it is made from rice and wheat.

110 calories isn’t bad for a one cup serving of Red Berries.  Just remember that most of us eat more than one cup. At three grams of fiber (over 10% of the recommended daily value), the package can say:  “A good source of fiber.”

By weight, most of the cereal is rice (the first ingredient listed).  Whole grain wheat is second. The added fiber comes from the wheat bran and the soluble wheat fiber.  Sugar is the third ingredient, freeze dried strawberries the fifth, and  high corn fructose corn syrup the sixth.  The two sugars and the berries add up to nine grams of sugar in each cup – the equivalent of a little more than two teaspoons of sugar.  The sodium accounts for 8% of the recommended daily amount.

A Good Breakfast Choice?

How does the breakfast of red berry cereal with fortified skim milk stack up?

It’s all about choices. Eating nothing followed by black coffee and a bagel or pastry sometime during the morning ranks in the negative zone way below good. Having a breakfast that has some protein and fiber and not too much sugar gets the body and brain geared up for the day.

Even though there could be a superior breakfast choice, this is a lot better that the breakfast of a whole lot of nothingness that my husband ate when his only fuel was what was in the gas tank in the car followed by numerous cups of black coffee, no sugar, in his office.  My guess is that the coffee kept company with conference room bagels, snack room cake, and some snagged desktop candy.

In the ranking of good, better, and best – I’d have to give it a good minus.  Adding fresh fruit makes it a good choice.  A better choice would be mixing a cereal with more fiber and protein and less sugar with Special K Red Berries, topped with some fresh fruit.

SocialDieter Tip:

Look for breakfast cereals with:

  • Whole grains  like “whole wheat” or “wheat bran,” not just “wheat.”
  • At least 3 grams of protein per serving.
  • No less than a four-to-one total carbohydrate-to-sugar ratio. This means if the “total carbohydrate” line says 24 grams, the “sugars” should be 6 grams or less, indicating that most of the carbs come from the grain and fibers, not from added sugars.
  • Follow the “five and five” rule:  less than 5 grams of sugar and at least 5 grams of fiber.

What Can You Do With All Of Those Darn Tomatoes?

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It’s a banner year for tomatoes in the northeast and I have red ones — both large and small — pinkish ones that are sort of heart shaped, plums, green striped ones, and canary yellow ones. The voracious woodchucks and chipmunks (I watched a little Alvin wrestle a tomato off a plant on my deck, roll it across to the stairs, and  then snag it in his mouth like a toddler carrying a giant beach ball) are feasting to their hearts’ content and there is still a surplus.

An Experimental Mixture

Some unexpected company for a casual dinner gave me an opportunity to experiment, to use up some odds and ends in the fridge,  and to invade the tomato surplus.

Aside from my  tomato abundance, I had a big bowl of ripe peaches from the farmers market, lots of basil growing on the deck, and a hunk of feta cheese.

Do Things That Grow Together Go Together?

I had read somewhere that things that grow during the same growing season go together.  Now that may or may not be true, but why not try peaches and tomatoes together?

To go with a roasted chicken I picked up at the market (of course I know I could have grilled some cutlets, but sometimes a shortcut or two is a sanity saver), I made an absolutely delicious tomato, peach, feta and basil salad.

Tomato, Peach, Feta, And Basil Salad

I did not use any precise measurements although the chopped amounts of tomatoes and peaches looked about the same.

Ingredients:

  • Equal amounts of tomatoes and ripe peaches
  • Crumbled feta cheese to taste
  • Fresh basil to taste
  • Salt
  • Balsamic vinegar

1.   Core and seed the tomatoes.

2.  Chop tomatoes into bite sized pieces salt them and let them drain

3.  Remove peach pits and chop into bite sized pieces about the same size as the tomatoes

4.  Make a chiffonade of basil (cut into thin strips)

5.  Mix everything together

6.  Add the crumbled feta

7.  Mix again

8.  Correct the salt and add balsamic vinegar if desired

9.  Serve at room temperature

10.Refrigerate any leftovers which are great the next day as a type of tomato/peach salsa on fish, chicken, sandwiches or anything else you can think of.

Finish Dinner With Blueberries

The perfect — and easy end to such a simple and delicious dinner was the blueberry buckle I wrote about a couple of weeks ago. I had blueberries from the farmers market, too, so I used those, bit I could have combined blueberries and peaches or other berries or stone fruit, too.

SocialDieter Tip:

Roasted chicken; tomato, peach, and feta salad; and blueberry buckle add up to a rather low calorie, low fat meal especially if you have the chicken without the skin, use fat free feta in the salad, and skim milk and decreased amounts of sugar and butter in the blueberry buckle recipe.  Delicious, nutritious, low in calories, and easy.

What Do You Eat With Your Movie?

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I went to the movies Saturday night.  It was a long, long day and I was tired – so my guard was down.  As I walked into the theater the first thing that hit me was the wafting and delicious smell of freshly popped (and it was freshly popped in this theater) popcorn. I could have had a label plastered across my forehead:  sucker coming around the corner, start filling the popcorn bag!  Elbow in my husband’s ribs:  buy some!

It was the first time I’ve had movie theater popcorn in about two years.  Not that I don’t love it – I do.  I also know a little bit about it.  Thing is, after writing another post about popcorn I even asked the guy behind the concession stand several months ago what they pop their popcorn in.  “Oh, I think it’s some combination of coconut oil and other stuff.”  Fat gram numbers spiraled and multiplied in my head. Yet, the siren call of freshly popped popcorn was too strong to overcome.

I Don’t Care, I’m Going To Have It Anyway

I had set myself up for a “I don’t care, I’m going to have it anyway” caloric splurge.  Why?  I was hungry, tired,  and it was the tail end of a very busy week.  And, two other important factors:  our friends had already bought their popcorn (ever sit next to someone who is eating something you really like and that smells delicious?) and I really love popcorn.

SocialDieter Tip:

I’m not suggesting that you – or I – should never have movie theater popcorn. What I am suggesting is that If you are going to have popcorn it should be figured into your overall caloric balance.  Popcorn today – lots of fruit and veggies the next day – or maybe earlier in the day.  The same thing is true if your weakness is that box of Raisinets – or Goobers – or Milk Duds.

Not the greatest foods in the world, but if you are going to have them as an occasional splurge build the splurge into your day – or weekly – food plan. If you’re going to eat the stuff, at least do it mindfully.  Oh – you could also not eat anything during the movie, it is only about two hours – or, you could bring some healthy snacks like a lower calorie protein bar or trail mix with you (a crunchy apple doesn’t lend itself to quiet eating).  And ditch the soda for plain old water.

FYI: Some Popular Movie Theater Snacks – And Their Calorie Counts

(Note the serving sizes, movie theater boxes of candy are often huge and may be double or triple the size shown below.)

Popcorn, Nachos, Soft Pretzel

  • Buttered popcorn, small, 5 cups:  470 calories, 35g fat
  • Buttered popcorn, large, 20 cups:  1640 calories, 126g fat
  • Cheese nachos, large (4 oz):  1100 calories, 60g fat
  • Soft pretzel, large (5 oz):  480 calories, 5g fat

Soda and Lemonade

  • Coke, small (18 oz:218 calories, 0g fat
  • Coke, large (44 oz):  534 calories, 0g fat
  • Minute Maid Lemonade (18 oz):  248 calories, 0g fat
  • Minute Maid Lemonade (44 oz):  605 calories, 0g fat

Candy

  • Junior Mints, 3 0z box:  360 calories, 7g fat
  • Sno Caps, 3.1 oz box:  300 calories, 15g fat
  • Milk Duds, 3oz box:  370 calories, 12g fat
  • Raisinets, 3.5 oz bag:  400 calories, 16g fat
  • Goobers, 3.5 oz box:  500 calories, 35g fat
  • Twizzlers, 6oz bag:  570 calories, 4g fat
  • M&Ms, 5.3oz bag:  750 calories, 32g fat
  • Peanut M&Ms, 5.3 oz bag:  790 calories, 40g fat
  • Reese’s Pieces, 8oz bag:  1160 calories, 60g fat

Watermelon: Tastes Good, Looks Good, And Fills You Up

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How much fun is it to sit on some porch steps or on a big rock and spit watermelon seeds. (I know, seedless watermelons not only exist, they are the most popular watermelon in the US.)  Maybe even have a contest.  Okay – so not everyone gets as much of a kick out of it as I do, but it has been fun since I was a kid.

Watermelon was – and still is – a treat.  It certainly finished off lots of camp meals and family picnics.  How great is sweet, juicy watermelon on a hot day?  What about the college special: watermelon infused with vodka – or when money was scarce, grain alcohol?  And, how pretty are those intricate carved watermelon baskets filled with watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew balls?  Labor intensive.  My mother was good at that.

A Melon With History

The first recorded watermelon harvest was in Egypt, nearly 5,000 years ago. Now you can find more than 1,200 varieties which are are grown in 96 countries.  Watermelon, 92% water and 6% sugar, is a cousin of cucumbers, pumpkins, and squash and is the most consumed melon in the US, followed by cantaloupe and honeydew.

Some Watermelon Trivia

  • Because of its water content, watermelon is a volume food. It fills you up and quenches your thirst and is great for weight control.
  • 1 wedge (about 1/16 of a melon, 286 g) has 86 calories, no fat, 22g carbs, 1g fiber, 2g protein.
  • 10 watermelon balls (122g) have 37 calories, 0 fat, 9g carbs, 0g fiber, 1g protein
  • 1 cup of diced watermelon (152g) has 46 calories, 0g fat, 11g carbs, 1g fiber, 1g protein
  • Two cups of watermelon chunks will supply 25% of your daily vitamin A, 30% of your daily vitamin C, B6 (6%) of B6; 8% potassium, 4% phosphorus, and 8% magnesium as well as beta carotene and lycopene (red flesh melons).
  • The inner rind is edible and has a bunch of hidden nutrients.  The outer rind, also edible, is sometimes used as a stir-fried or stewed vegetable or pickled condiment.
  • When you buy a watermelon look for one that is firm, symmetrical, and free from bruises, cuts, or dents. It should be heavy for its size and its underside should have a creamy yellow spot from where it sat on the ground while it ripened in the sun.
  • Whole melons will keep for 7 to 10 days at room temperature but lose flavor and texture if they’re stored too long. They’ll keep for three to four days in the fridge after they’re cut.

SocialDieter Tip:

I love the combination of sweet and salty – with a sweet/sour dressing.  Here’s a recipe for a great watermelon, feta, and greens salad that is low in calories and fat.

Mediterranean Watermelon Salad

Ingredients: (adapted from watermelon.org)

  • 6 cups torn mixed salad greens
  • 3 cups cubed seeded watermelon
  • 1/2 cup sliced red onion
  • 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 1/2 cup watermelon vinaigrette
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Mint sprigs

Watermelon Vinaigrette:

  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1/4 cup pureed watermelon (puree chunks in a food processor)
  • 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil

Directions:

Make vinaigrette.  Whisk together all ingredients; store in refrigerator; shake well before using. Makes about 1/2 cup.

In large bowl, mix all salad ingredients except vinaigrette, pepper, and mint. Just before serving, toss salad mixture with vinaigrette. Garnish with pepper and mint sprigs.

Makes 6 servings. About 75 calories per serving.