Soups and stews

This time of year is perfect for cooking a big batch of soup or stew on the stove or in the crockpot. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension put together a recipe list of seven healthy soups and stews.

Included soups are:

• Ten minute corn chowder
• Turkey stew
• Turkey or chicken soup
• Italian white bean soup
• Ground beef - corn chili with rice
• Brunswick stew
• Quick chili

Some other tips for healthy soups:

• If you have extra vegetables, throw them in a bag in the freezer. These mixed veggies will come in handy in your next soup or stew.
• Cook extra chicken, beef, or turkey for dinner one night and then use it in a soup the next night.
• Repackage big pots of soup or stew into smaller, shallow containers. This ensures the food will cool safely and be handy for lunch or dinner the next day. It  can take up to 24 hours for a large pot of soup to cool to a safe temperature, so use smaller containers and refrigerate immediately. This could lead to food borne illness if not handled properly.
• If your soup is bland, try using some seasonings. Not sure which ones? MU Extension has information on spices and seasonings.

Food additives

Have you ever wondered what all those crazy sounding ingredients are when you read the food label?

Food additives are added to foods to preserve flavor or enhance its taste and appearance. There are over 700 food additives that the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has deemed GRAS (generally regarded as safe). 

There is controversy regarding food additives. Some organizations have a list of additives that they do not consider safe, but the FDA has determined them as being safe.

Safe is defined by Congress as "reasonable certainty that no harm will result from use" of an additive. Some substances that are found to be harmful to people or animals may be allowed, but only at the level of 1/100th of the amount that is considered harmful. This margin of safety is a protection for the consumer by limiting the intake of a dangerous substance (from Medline Plus: Food Additives).

The Center for Science in the Public Interest has a list of food additives to avoid. They include sodium nitrate, saccharin, aspartame, Acesulfame-K, caffeine, olestra, and food dyes (including some artificial colors). However, some of  these are still considered safe by the FDA. You can find the entire list on their website.

Of course, the less ingredients that a food product has, the less processed and typically more healthy. "Natural" food additives do not mean they are any safer than artificial or synthetic additives, they may cause allergic reactions.

It is a personal decision on whether to eat foods with certain food additives. People who have intolerances or allergies should always check the ingredient list and food label for their own protection.

The USDA has an entire website on food additive information.

Want to lose weight?

The time of New Year's resolutions is upon us and it is thought that over half of people want to lose weight for their New Year's resolution. That's great and many do a good job of getting started, but have a tough time maintaining their weight loss efforts. Lack of time, boredom, and cravings cause us to fail on our weight loss goals. Here are some things to remember about losing weight safely:

1. It's easier said than done. Many of us know what we should do, but we don't. It's tough, you have to change habits, and it takes patience and time. Remember that.

2. We give up too soon. Unrealistic goals lead to unrealistic expectations. When the weight doesn't fly off like people think after changing habits, many give up. Once again, it takes patience and time.

3. Physical activity is essential. Can you lose weight without physical activity? Yes, you can. But if you want to keep your lean tissue and keep your metabolism up, you have to be active. And on that same note, you have to be active regularly for the rest of the your life. You can't just exercise for a few months and be done. Find things you enjoy, figure out how to stay motivated, and make it a habit. Add small ways of being active into your daily habits, such as parking further at the grocery store or taking the stairs.

4. You may have to reduce or cut out foods that you enjoy. That includes sugar, desserts, sugary drinks, fast food, or other calorie-laden foods. This is tough and can lead to cravings. Cutting down on portion sizes is really tough. No one ever said it would be easy, and if they did, they aren't honest. 

5. It takes extra time. Meal planning, shopping for healthy choices, preparing healthy meals, and exercise all take time. You may have to get up earlier, skip an hour or two of television each night, or figure out something to fit it in.

6. Find support around you. Friends, family members, and colleagues all have an influence on your healthy habits. Surround yourself with supportive people and mimic their healthy habits, not the unhealthy ones. Find a buddy to check in with if that helps.

7. Realize that everyone is different. Our body shapes are different, our eating styles are different. We all lose weight at different paces. Find out what works best for you and focus on that.

8. Find motivation in the small things. Maybe your pants are fitting a bit looser, your knees feel better, or you can walk a mile without getting winded. Focus on the small victories and those will lead to greater things.

9. Focus your eating around fruits, vegetables, whole grains, water, lean protein, and some dairy. It's hard to find a good selection of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains when you eat out (there are some choices though) so you may have to bring your lunch or eat dinner at home much more often.

10. Get started with a good breakfast. Most people load up on sugar and starchy carbohydrates for breakfast and don't eat enough protein. Try a veggie omelet, plain yogurt or oatmeal with nuts and fruit, or a breakfast smoothie. Not hungry? Eat something small within a few hours of waking up.

11. Don't give up! Stay positive and keep working at your goal. If you get off track, don't beat yourself up, just get back on track as soon as possible.

Good luck with your New Year's resolutions and changing your habits for the better.

Guest blogger

I was recently asked to be a guest blogger on http://www.nexercise.com. Check out my article on balance!

Cereals and sugar

A recent report came out by the Environmental Working Group on the amount of sugar in 84 cereals they analyzed. They did not analyze all brands and varieties of cereals, just ones that are more commonly eaten by children.

The 10 most sugary breakfast cereals are:

1. Kellogg's Honey Smacks - 55.6% (sugar by weight)
2. Post Golden Crisp - 51.9% 
3. Kellogg's Froot Loops Marshmallow - 48.3% 
4. Quaker Oats Cap'n Crunch's OOPS! All Berries - 46.9% 
5. Quaker Oats Cap'n Crunch Original - 44.4% 
6. Quaker Oats Oh!s - 44.4% 
7. Kellogg's Smorz - 43.3% 
8. Kellogg's Apple Jacks - 42.9% 
9. Quaker Oats Cap'n Crunch's Crunch Berries - 42.3% 
10. Kellogg's Froot Loops Original - 41.4% 

Kellogg's Honey Smacks and Post Golden Crisp have between 18-20 grams of sugar in a one-cup serving. A Twinkie has about 18 grams of sugar for comparison. This information is important for parents because cereal is one of the quick go-to breakfast options. Some cereals have just as much sugar in a one-cup serving as many desserts. One-cup is not a huge serving, if someone is eating a big bowl of cereal, the amount of sugar adds up even more. 

Some of the best cereals include

1. Kellogg's Mini-Wheats: (Unfrosted Bite-Size)
2. General Mills Cheerios Original 
3. General Mills Kix Original

Cheerios Originial, Kix Original, and Mini-Wheats Unfrosted Bite-Size have between 1-3 grams of sugar and lower levels of sodium than others. Some other cereals may have lower amounts of sugar, but have higher amounts of sodium.

To put sugar amounts into a better perspective, four grams of sugar equals about one teaspoon of sugar. 

When buying cereals at the grocery store, try the following:

1. Read the nutrition label. Pay attention to the sugar amount in grams, the serving size (they may vary in different cereals and we may eat more than just one serving), and how many ingredients have some type of sugar in them. The more ingredients that indicate sugar and the higher they are on the list, the more sugar in that cereal.
2. Shop for the cereals that are above or below eye level. The ones that are most appealing to children are usually placed at eye level, but are not usually the healthiest.
3. Look for the WIC label for cereal. They have less sugar and must contain iron and folic acid.
4. If your child needs some sugar in their cereal, buy one with less sugar and add a little bit of sugar yourself. You can control the amount and it will typically be less than the amount in the high-sugar cereals. Remember, one teaspoon is about 4 grams of sugar.

For more information, the full report from the Environmental Working Group has more information, including sugar levels in various cereals that were not mentioned above.

Fifty best websites of the year

Time magazine has listed their 50 best websites of the year. The categories range in anything from music and video, family and kids to shopping and travel and social media. One of the categories is health and fitness, so here are those websites with a little information about each.

CalorieKing is a website that provides nutrition information about thousands of different foods. The foods range from foods purchased at the store to restaurant and fast food. The basic information from the website is free, but there is paid access too that provides more options on the website.

Healthgrades includes ratings for health care providers and hospitals, as rated by those who visited the website. It also includes specialty areas and insurance information. This can help narrow your search to find an A+ health care provider.

MapMyRun helps runners keep track of runs. You can also find runs that have been shared by other runners, as well as workout and meal planning information. There are paid plans, but also many features that are ad-supported and free. If you don't run, you can check our similar sites, such as MapMyHike, MapMyRide, and MapMyWalk.

Summer Tomato is a blog by a scientist that includes photos, links to other recommendations, recipes, and answers to reader's questions. The blogger is an advocate of eating healthy, delicious, local, and seasonal foods. 

Zen Habits is a tranquil blog, providing both sensible and practical information. The blogger only posts 5 to 10 times a month and helps us slow down a little and appreciate life.

While this is not an exhaustive list of health and fitness websites that are available, these are the five that Time decided to choose. With so much information available at our fingertips, it is important to find what websites provide you with beneficial information or the information you are searching for.

Cook it Quick newsletter and cancer prevention

The December edition of the Cook it Quick newsletter from the University of Nebraska Lincoln is available. 

In the newsletter this month you will find recipes and a slide show about making food mixes in jars for holiday gifts. The recipes include (warning: you may be hungry after viewing the page):

• cranberry oatmeal cookies
• easy-as-a-mix pizza
• country chili mix
• homemade cornbread
• sloppy joes
• friendship soup
• master mix for pancakes and muffins
• and others!

One a separate note, a research study was released today about cancer prevention. In a comprehensive review of cancers and lifestyle factors, it was determined that four factors - tobacco, alcohol, diet and obesity - cause about one-third of all cancers.

That means that just under half (about 40%) of cancers can be prevented and are not just related to genetics. Smoking is by far the biggest risk factor in both men and women. There were some gender differences in other risk factors.

Are you starting to think about a New Year's resolution? Maybe one of the above listed lifestyle factors could make the biggest improvement in your health over a lifetime.

For more information, you can read one of the news articles that was released today.