Fast food in Schools
Two students, from  St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Brampton, decided to make their opinions heard regarding the legislation in Ontario to serve "healthy" food in schools.

Here is my opinion, as an Adult, Registered Dietitian and a Mother (whose child is in the school system and occasionally purchasing 'hot lunches' from the school).

To be fair, here is an excerpt of why the Ontario Government decided to implement this initiative.

• Ontario's new nutrition standards for food and beverages sold in schools will give our students healthier places to learn and help them perform better in school.  

• Twenty-eight per cent of Ontario children between the ages of two and 17 are overweight or obese -- putting them at risk of diseases including diabetes. Less than half of Ontario kids, ages 12-19, eat the recommended daily minimum of fruits and vegetables.

My Opinion, As an Adult
I rarely, if at all, ate from the cafeteria when I was in high school. I credit my parents, who always encouraged me and yes often prepared for me, a home made lunch. I didn't have to buy food, because my parents provided it for me. And if I did eat out, it was rare, not routine and that makes all the difference when it comes to healthy eating. 

My Opinion, As a Registered Dietitian
I am not surprised to hear this negative response from high school students. This is a difficult age to introduce such legislation. In my opinion, the legislation will have growing pains. It will benefit students currently in the primary, elementary school system, as they will learn to eat these foods and find healthy foods can taste good!

STUDENTS HAVE TO BE EDUCATED! 
Orange juice can re-hydrate you just as well as Gatorade! 

My Opinion, As a Parent
My son is in JK and I allow him to participate in the Hot Lunches program at school, as I am on parent council and proceeds of the lunches go back to support school initiatives. However I limit his participation to twice per month. Parents have a responsibility to teach children that these foods are "treat" meals and should be consumed in moderation. A child eating a "healthy" version of chicken fingers or pizza will not be able to distinguish it from a "non-healthy" version from your local community food establishments. Why the options at school are considered "healthier" should be discussed in the classroom and at home.

10 Ways to Increase Your Fibre Intake

Fibre is all the craze in marketing these days, unfortunately most of the fibre in packaged foods is sourced from inulin, a fibre that may not cut the mustard in offering you the health benefits such as lowering cholesterol levels, improving blood sugar control or minimizing your risk of cancer.

Meeting the recommended 21-38g fibre daily, is no easy feat.
Here are 10 ways to increase your daily fibre intake.

1. Choose whole grain breads at meals, with at least 3g fibre per slice.
2. Use peanut butter instead of margarine or cream cheese - tasty on bread, apples, bananas, whole grain crackers.
3. Choose high fibre cereals, with at least 6g fibre per serving.
4. Eat an apple (or pear). 
5. Eat 1/4 cup raw almonds.
6. Sprinkle 1 tbsp ground flax into your oatmeal. 
7. Add 1/4 cup blueberries into your yogurt.  
8. Eat a bean salad, minestrone soup or chili (containing beans).
9. Enjoy a medium-sized baked sweet potato at dinner.
10. Serve a side of green peas (1/2 cup) next to your sweet potato.

Remember to increase your fibre intake slowly, and compliment with plenty of water (1.5-2L per day).

Five ways to convert a picky eater

I was a picky eater growing up. Enjoyed my meat and potatoes, loved pasta and bread. I limited the fruits I would eat and even more so the vegetables I would eat.  Then I grew up.

Part of my evolution in eating is because I am a dietitian and I have to eat what I preach! A lot also had to do with the positive influence of family, friends, and an openness to try new things.  When I mention tofu or fish to some of my clients, they cringe. Tofu was not in my vocabulary growing up and fish, my parents never forced me to eat. Just the smell was enough to make me sick! But in time, under my own circumstances, I have learned to incorporate these foods and many others into my own fridge and lifestyle.

Here are 5 ways to convert the picky eater in you. 

1.    Mix it up with what you love. I learned to eat vegetables through pizza, rice and minestrone. I enjoyed carbohydrates so if vegetables were diced and covered in mozzarella, tossed into a stir-fry or incorporated into a soup, I was more likely to try it…and like it.

2. Start small.  The first time I cooked fish I avoided the fresh fish department and instead purchased a simple, frozen salmon, available in 4 x100g servings. I baked one serving as suggested in the oven and thought, “It’s not so bad” once I tried it. So I tried it a few more times. I moved onto rainbow trout, and enjoyed that even more.  I went from eating no fish, to some fish.

3.     Eat in company. I will never forget as a child, and neither will my mother, when we were sitting as guests at the host’s table in Italy, and when offered an afternoon snack my mom replied on my behalf “don’t bother, she does not eat that” only to see me eat the entire serving. Sometimes the pressure of being with others encourages us to try new foods. You may find out you like it or not, either way, be open to trying new foods.

4.     Look for simple recipes.  If you are unsure how to use a new ingredient search out recipes until you find one that is simple enough for you to try, at least once.

5.     If at first you don’t succeed, try try again...and in different ways.  I prefer baked carrots to raw, unless shredded in a salad. I prefer spinach in a salad than in a soup. Try preparing foods in a variety of ways until you find a way best suited to you and your family’s tastes.  

How to Combat Obesity

I was listening to the conversation on the Arlene Bynon show entitled Fighting Obesity in Canada, while driving home from work this afternoon. The conversation started by suggesting a majority of Canadians surveyed want the Government to take more action in managing childhood obesity. There was also discussion about whether the term obesity should even be used between doctor and patient. I found the conversation interesting and compelling and if I had the phone number handy, I would have placed a call.

In this blog I’m going to share with you some of my thoughts on obesity and the Government’s role in reducing the obesity rates in Canada. I hope you will join me in the conversation.

•           I believe once someone commits to nutrition counselling for healthier eating and/or weight loss it is irrelevant whether the person is defined as overweight or obese
•      I believe there is more value in speaking about the health benefits associated with improved eating habits and weight loss
•      My (short-term) target weight loss is typically 10% of total body weight, regardless of starting weight or BMI (body mass index). This amount of weight loss would be significant in lowering risk of developing heart disease, diabetes or high blood pressure (to name a few).
•      Parents have to take responsibility for their children’s’ health and realize the eating habits and food choices parents are making for themselves and the family will directly impact the children’s eating behaviours and health outcome.
•      The Government can assist by placing pressure on the food industry to produce “healthier foods” by reducing the amount of trans fat, sodium, sugar, antibiotics and pesticides etc. that are used in growing or producing foods as well as encourage marketers to avoid targeting children for non-nutritious foods

Here is an example of a Canadian government initiative to reduce the sodium intake of Canadians.

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/sodium/sodium-intake-apport-reduction/strateg/index-eng.php

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•      The individual Canadian must commit to reducing the amount of processed food in their diet and focus on including more home cooked meals, with fresh, locally grown and produced foods.

You can start by visiting http://www.dietitians.ca/search.aspxsearchtext=home+cooked+meals&searchmode=allwords

• An individual can get assistance in adapting healthier eating into their lifestyle by enlisting the services of a registered dietitian

Find a registered dietitian in your area by visiting http://www.dietitians.ca/Find-A-Dietitian.aspx

Must Have Foods In Your Daily Diet

This year's final edition of Nutrition Action Health Letter arrived in the mail. The cover story "Eat Smart: Which foods are good for what" inspired me to write this blog and share with you what I aim to teach all my clients - to incorporate a variety of foods into their diet. Variety and moderation are the two fundamentals in achieving health through nutrition.

Here are 4 categories of Must Have Foods that you want to incorporate into your daily diet.

1. Oils - Oils from corn, sunflower, olive or canola, nuts and fatty fish are important to lower cholesterol levels. Canada's Food Guide recommends 2-3 tbsp of unsaturated fat each day. Limit nuts to 1/4 cup. Aim for fish 1-2 times per week.

2. Colourful Vegetables - Dark leafy greens (spinach, kale, collards, Swiss chard), and deep orange vegetables (butternut squash, sweet potatoes) offer protection against some cancers, blood pressure and eye health. Vegetables should be a part of every dinner and raw vegetables make a great mid-day snack.

3. Low-fat Dairy Products - Skim milk, yogurt, and low-fat cheese can offer the benefit of calcium, vitamin D and potassium which may lower the risk of developing certain cancers i.e. colon, and lowering blood pressure. Top your All Bran Buds with skim milk or a serving of low-fat yogurt at breakfast or as a mid-day snack.

4. Beans - Lentils, chick peas, kidney beans etc. are high in fibre which is effective in lowering cholesterol, lowering blood pressure and helping you stay "regular". Aim for at least one vegetarian meal per week that includes a serving (3/4 cup) of beans.

I'd love to hear your strategies and share your recipes that include these Must Have Foods!

Inspiration sourced from: http://www.cspinet.org/nah/ 

How do I manage holiday eating?

If “sweets” is your weakness, look out because chocolate and candy are everywhere and next week “trick or treat” leftovers will be creeping into your office lunchroom, shared desk space or kitchen cupboard.

If you’ve eaten 4 of those “bite-size” treats you possibly ate the equivalent of an entire chocolate bar or 240 calories, 12g of fat, and 24g sugar. Have I spoiled your fun yet?

Consider this blog my “treat” to you, to help you enjoy the pleasures of what Halloween and the upcoming Holiday season brings, without  “tricking” you into two months of gluttonous eating and ending your year off with 5lbs of extra seating!

Halloween Tips

1. Buy treats for distribution that you DO NOT like.  If you crave chocolate, buy candy, if you crave candy, by chips, prefer salty snacks, then buy sweets.

2. Consider an alternative treat this year such as stickers or pencils.

3. Do not keep leftovers. Distribute all treats to the trick or treaters. 

4. Allow yourself to enjoy 1 or 2 treats on Halloween Day. 

   (Smarties snack pack has 45 calories and 1.5g fat, Areo has 40 calories and 2g fat)

Holiday Tips

1. Review your holiday calendar in advance. Many people’s calendars are filling up with annual functions, parties, and potlucks.  Aim to schedule one event per week, maximum. 

2. Limit eating out other than at these scheduled events.

3. This time of year make an effort to bring a homemade healthy lunch to work.

4. Increase your consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables.  

5. Increase your water consumption.

Ingredients to avoid in processed foods

Occasionally, clients will bring in packaging of a food product to get my opinion on whether it is a good food choice. Recently, a client brought to me the label for Fibre 1 chewy bar. The first thing I did was start reading the ingredient listing out loud.

glucose-fructose, inulin fibre, sugar, whole grain oats, puffed wheat, high maltose corn syrup...


and the list goes on, 37 ingredients in total.


Ingredients in Canada are listed from the highest concentration to the lowest concentration. So the first few ingredients can be very telling. In this case, three of the first six ingredients are types of sugar. Needless to say, I suggested she avoid these bars as a snack option.


Here are 3 more ingredients you may want to avoid when purchasing packaged foods.

1.  partially hydrogenated oils - these oils are responsible for creating trans fats, the worst type of fat, the one that may increase your bad cholesterol levels and contribute to heart disease

2. sodium nitrates - these additives are commonly found in deli meats, hot dogs, and bacon. They may have a carcinogenic effect, which means cancer-causing.

3. enriched wheat flour - refers to wheat that has been stripped of its natural goodness and then "enriched" with nutrients after the fact; generally less fibre content that its whole-wheat or whole grain counterparts

When shopping, look for products that contain whole grains, unsaturated fats such as sunflower or canola oil, and additional fibre sources such as ground flax seed.