Month of July, 2009

Planning a backyard BBQ or picinc to celebrate the Fourth? A cookout is a great way to celebrate with friends and family and enjoy the longer days of summer. Here are my top three ways to make your Independence Day BBQ a healthy and tasty celebration!

Grilled to Perfection:

For a quick and flavorful marinade for chicken or shrimp, try light Italian or light Greek dressing. In just about 30 minutes, your meat will be full of flavor and ready for the grill. You can also make your own dressing/marinade by combining 2 parts oil with 1 part vinegar and adding your own spices and herbs. Another good reason to marinate meat is that marinating has been shown to destory harmful heterocyclic amines (HCAs). According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, HCAs  are a mutagen created by grilling meat (or cooking it at high temperatures) that can cause cancer due to changes to the DNA. However, marinating meat seems to remove the compounds that turn into HCAs. Another way to eliminate up to 90% of the HCAs in meat, chicken, or fish is by microwaving it for 1 and a half to 2 minutes and then pouring off the juices before grilling it. This helps because the less time the meat is on the grill, the less HCAs are likely to form. Avoid charring your meat as well to limit HCAs. The more crusty and brown the meat is, the more likely HCAs have formed on the surface.

A Creamy Concoction:

Hi Everyone! Today I want to share with you a great guest column written by my brother, Bradley Shields. Bradley is from Oxford, MS, and is a sophomore at Harding University. He enjoys playing many different sports and lifting weights. I think you will enjoy this well-written blog entry describing just how advertising and the media can shape our views about nutrition, body image, and health, for both men and women. Enjoy! 

The August 2008 cover of Men’s Health features a picture of The Dark Knight movie star Aaron Eckhart.  With the number one movie of the summer, Eckhart might just be the coolest guy in America.  Needless to say, his image sends this month’s copy of Men’s Health flying off the shelves.  Directly under Eckhart’s picture is the line, “The Dark Knight star shares his secrets to a blockbuster summer.”  Now I don’t know about you, but who doesn’t want a blockbuster summer?  While Men’s Health does contain some good information about general health, the majority of the articles, advertisements, and the cover attempt to show that the only barriers between you and your blockbuster summer are the many products that shape up your body, make your job less stressful, and get you lots of attention from ladies.

Looking for a way to spice up your summer? Here's a recipe for a wrap that makes getting supper on the table easy or gets a picnic lunch together in a snap. Everyone can make their own just how they like it! For a no-cook option, just use leftover chicken or pre-cooked frozen chicken that you just have to warm up! This wrap has the same crunchy flair that restaurant wraps do, but instead of fried tortilla strips, the carrots and cabbage provide the crunch in this cool wrap!

Cool and Spicy Chicken Wraps

1/4 cup canola oil mayo

2 tablespoons chili garlic sauce

1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

4 whole wheat wraps (such as La Tortilla Factory)

2 cups chopped roasted chicken breast

4 fresh lime wedges

3/4 cup thinly sliced romaine lettuce

1/2 cup chopped cabbage

1 cup matchstick carrots

1 cup green onions, sliced (about 7)

Don’t you just love enjoying all the fresh produce of summer? This salad is a colorful celebration of that produce. It starts with dark leafy greens, which have been shown to be great anti-agers, then red ripe strawberries, which are a great source of fiber and Vitamin C. Red onion is the perfect compliment with its flavorful bite and cancer-fighting compounds! Top all this off with some sliced almonds, which are full of nutrients such as heart healthy fats, Vitamin E, and even Calcium, and some creamy, tangy goat’s cheese, which is naturally lower in fat than harder cheeses. What you have when you’re finished is an easy way to tickle your taste buds with both nutrition and flavor!

Strawberry Summer Salad:
Ingredients:
1 bag pre-washed spring mix salad
1 bag pre-washed baby spinach salad
2 cups strawberries hulled and sliced
½ large red onion, sliced
½ cup sliced almonds
¼ cup crumbled goat’s cheese
Wash and dry the salad greens. Toss greens with strawberries and onion. Top with almonds and goat’s cheese. Serve with a balsamic vinaigrette, if desired. Enjoy! Serves 6-8.

What do you think of all these new healthy acai chocolates?

Recently several people have asked me about these new “healthy chocolate” products being sold and marketed by independent consultants. While it is true that dark chocolate and acai berries are both great sources of antioxidants, are these chocolates really worth $150 or more per box? I’ll give you the facts below and then let you decide for yourself.

What Dark Chocolate/Acai CAN Do:
According to the American Dietetic Association, research has shown that true Dark Chocolate (at least 60% or more cocoa bean content) is high in antioxidants and may help prevent cholesterol from sticking to artery walls, reducing your risk of a heart attack or stroke. Chocolate also contains flavonoids, which are the same compounds that give red wine and tea their disease-preventing benefits. The darker the chocolate, the more antioxidants and flavonoids it contains.