So far, our focus has been on the main dish, but we all know that summer picnics and barbecues are known for their side dishes too. Popular meal additions include chips, potato salad, macaroni salad, baked beans and festive desserts. These can be tremendous sources of calories, fats and carbohydrates as well. For example, one half cup of traditional potato salad contains about 180 calories, 10 grams fat and 15 grams carbohydrate!
Slim down your side dishes by using low-fat mayonnaise or plain, non-fat yogurt in place of regular mayo. Omit the yolks in side dishes that contain eggs and use vinaigrette versus mayonnaise in coleslaw.
Serve veggies that you (and your guests) can fill up on! One cup of raw vegetables contains only 25 calories, 5 grams carbohydrate and is loaded with filling fiber. Eat your vegetables first and you won’t be as tempted to overindulge in higher calorie sides. If you’re not so keen on veggie trays or green salad, try marinating veggies in low-fat vinaigrette dressing or vingar–mushrooms, cucumber, onions and green beans all taste great marinated.
There are so many vegetables to choose from to enhance your menu!
Since you’ve already got the grill going, why not toss some vegetables on there too? Zucchini, yellow squash, bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, eggplant, asparagus and corn on the cob are excellent grillers (and you might be able to pull them straight out of your garden!). Brush vegetables with a small amount of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and garlic before grilling to enhance their flavor.
For some healthy side dish recipes, check out our Recipe Exchange! Three-bean Salad, Summer Spinach Salad, Strawberry-Rhubarb Everything and Cantaloupe and Yogurt Ice Pops are the perfect healthy summer party sides!
How do you slim down your side dishes? Do you have any side dish “makeovers†to share? If so, please post them on our Recipe Exchange by typing them in the comment section.
For more ideas on keeping your cookout healthy, take a look at last year’s Summer Picnic Series.
Inspired by Summer Grilling by Lea Ann Holzmeister, RD, LD published in the May/June 2012 Issue of Diabetes Self-Management.
Photo credit: www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net
You’ve taken the first step towards a healthy cookout and selected some lean cuts of meat to grill. But what you add to that meat can also make or break your best laid plans.
Watch out for higher calorie, higher fat toppings such as cheese, mayonnaise and bacon. Instead have plenty of healthier alternatives on hand to build your own “better†burger or sandwich! Get creative with:
- Lettuce
- Tomato
- Onions
- Mushrooms
- Pickles
- Salsa
- Reduced fat cheese; the stronger the better because you can use less! Opt for sharp cheddar made with 2% milk, reduced-fat blue cheese crumbles or light feta.
- Ketchup
- Mustard
- Reduced-fat mayo (limit to 1 tablespoon)
- Steak sauce
- Relish
- Canadian bacon versus bacon
- Avocado or guacamole (limit to 1 tablespoon)
To pack in even more nutrients, try eating your burger or sandwich on a whole grain bun or roll; they have more fiber.
Basic marinades contain a mixture of oil (use heart-healthy olive or canola), lemon or lime juice, a dash of salt, pepper, herbs and spices. The Mrs. Dash line of products boasts an array of pre-mixed seasonings to give you a head start in creating a delicious product. Marinate meats in a covered glass container or plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours in advance of cooking. Do not use the same marinade to baste meat while cooking unless you bring the marinade to a boil first in order to kill foodborne illness causing bacteria.
Barbecue sauce is another popular addition to grilled meats, but use it with caution because of its higher carbohydrate content. I suggest marinating meat with seasonings then brushing on barbecue sauce in the last 5 to 10 minutes of cooking to add flavor with fewer carbs.
Dry rubs also add great flavor to meats, but store-bought rubs can contain high amounts of sodium and/or sugar. Read labels carefully or concoct your own blend of seasonings. Rub the blend onto meats right before cooking or allow to marinate for up to 24 hours to let the meat absorb the flavors. Apply the rub by working it into the surface of the meat with your fingers or place meat and rub in a large plastic zipper bag and shake.
By using some of these simple techniques, you’ll be surprised how much flavor you can add to your grilled meats sans the fat!
Next week’s summer grilling topic: Slimming the Sides.
Inspired by Summer Grilling by Lea Ann Holzmeister, RD, LD published in the May/June 2012 Issue of Diabetes Self-Management.
Photo credit: www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net
We would like to announce that one of our program’s Certified Diabetes Educators, Nancy Trebilcock, RN, CDE, has been named the 2011 Diabetes Educator of the Year by the St. Louis Diabetes Educators, a local networking group of the American Association of Diabetes Educators. Congratulations, Nancy! This is a well-deserved achievement and we’re happy and honored to work alongside you.
Please click here to read more about Nancy and her journey to Diabetes Educator of the Year.
Looking for something a little different to throw on the grill this summer? Try this yummy-looking recipe from Stevia in the Raw. It’s a healthy, easy to prepare dish that is sure to please with only 210 calories, 1.5 grams of fat and 19 grams of carbohydrate per serving. Plus you can cross off 1-2 servings of fruits and vegetables from your daily goal!
Photo: Stevia in the Raw
Click here to view the recipe.
Next summer grilling topic: Slashing Calories in Condiments, Toppings and Marinades
Every third week in June is Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy Week in Missouri–a week aimed at raising public awareness of a condition that can cause:
- Loss of sensation in fingers and toes
- Intense pain, aching, tingling, burning and numbness of the feet
- Non-healing wounds or ulcers in the feet and lower extremities
- Increased risk of lower extremity amputations.
These complications are a result of neuropathy, or nerve damage, caused by prolonged exposure to high amounts of glucose in the bloodstream (uncontrolled diabetes).
Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy (DPN) is highly preventable by maintaining control of diabetes and blood sugars. Download this card to screen yourself for DPN and to guide your daily foot exams. Bring it with you to your next doctor’s appointment and make sure to discuss any symptoms you may be having. Prevention and early treatment is key in prolonging the progression of neuropathy and preventing complications. Read more about neuropathy here.
Typical cookout fare includes hot dogs, bratwursts, hamburgers and, here is St. Louis, pork steaks. In short, these are all high fat, high saturated fat cuts of meat. You can still enjoy grilled meats by looking for healthier alternatives. Your heart will thank you since foods high in saturated fat are known to increase cholesterol levels, which can lead to heart disease.
Instead of regular pork or beef hot dogs, opt for reduced-fat options or low-fat turkey franks. When I decide to splurge on a hot dog, my long-standing favorite is the Kosher brand Hebrew Nationals’s 97% Fat Free Beef Franks. Many processed meats, like hot dogs, contain nitrates (a precursor to carcinogenic nitrosamines), and these still do. But the reductions in fat and saturated fat still make it a better alternative in my book if you plan to indulge in a dog.
The hamburger is still is a very viable option for your cookout; just select lean ground beef! Look for at least 90% lean beef (90/10) or ground sirloin. If you can, purchase 94 or 96% lean beef for the greatest reduction in calories, fat and saturated fat. Turkey burgers are another good substitute for higher fat beef burgers; just make sure you purchase ground turkey breast. Regular ground turkey isn’t necessarily lower in fat than ground beef. To find the leanest cuts of ground beef, you’ll likely have to buy fresh beef instead of pre-packaged patties. Save yourself some time the day of the event by portioning and patting out your burgers ahead of time. If you’re buying steaks, also be on the lookout for the leanest cuts of beef, such as sirloin, flank steak, filet mignon, top loin, tenderloin or T-bones. Use a marinade to help meats retain moisture and stay tender.
Chicken can be a very low-fat, low-saturated fat grilling option too and is perhaps the least expensive lean meat. Select white meat chicken cuts, like chicken breast, and make sure to remove the skin before eating.
Last but not least, consider fish! Fish is a heart-healthy, low fat protein food fresh out of the package. Select any type of fish you like—halibut, tilapia, cod, salmon, scallops or shrimp. They’re all great grilling options. Try marinating in one teaspoon lemon juice per serving with herbs for a flavorful and healthy entrée.
When selecting meats to grill, the first step is to bring home the leanest cut you can. Secondly, make sure to keep an eye on portion size. Most adults require only about six ounces of meat or protein foods per day in order to control calorie and fat intake. Meat, poultry and seafood will not significantly raise blood sugar, but they do affect cardiovascular health. You can have your meat and eat it too…just choose carefully!
Next summer grilling topic: a healthy grilling recipe!
Inspired by Summer Grilling by Lea Ann Holzmeister, RD, LD published in the May/June 2012 Issue of Diabetes Self-Management.
Photo credit: www.FreeDigitalPhoto.net
Grilling can be a healthy way to prepare food, as long as you have a few tips in your apron. They include picking the right cuts of meat, using the best condiments and sauces, adding healthier side dishes and reducing the risk of cancer-causing potential in charred meats.
This summer we’ll be featuring a series of posts related to all of the above. Stay tuned! The sizzling fun starts next week. You’ll definitely want to stock up on these tips before the 4th of July rolls around!
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Diabetes is primarily a self-managed disease. Tools to help in the management of diabetes include Healthcare Provider’s partnership/guidance, education, healthy meal planning, exercise, glucose testing and possibly use of diabetes medication. Many health insurances cover the costs of Diabetes Self-Management Training (DSMT) and/or Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT), diabetes testing supplies and some diabetes medications/supplies. In some cases, however, obtaining and keeping health insurance and life insurance can be difficult.
On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Affordable Care Act, which establishes comprehensive health insurance reforms. These reforms are meant to guarantee more health care choices, enhance the quality of health care, lower health care costs and hold insurance companies more accountable. The Affordable Care Act is designed not just to control health care costs, but also to improve quality of care. To help you be an informed consumer, the federal government has created several on-line tools that allow you to compare a variety of quality measures of health care and service providers:
The Partnership for Patients program highlights hospitals and other providers that have made a commitment to reducing medical errors, improving health care quality and reducing costs.
The Compare Physicians tool helps you search for and compare Physicians. It provides information on medical specialty, clinical training, foreign languages spoken and more.
The Compare Hospitals tool lets you compare the quality of care that hospitals provide. It includes hospital demographics (location, hospital type), and lists 44 quality-of-care measures; and includes data on some Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers.
The Compare Nursing Homes tool helps you compare the quality of care that nursing homes provide. It provides a list of U.S. nursing homes which includes demographics (location and type of facility) and nursing home ratings, which include health inspection reports, staffing data and quality measures.
The Compare Home Health Agencies tool provides comparison information on the quality of care that they provide, including demographics, services provided and quality measures.
The Compare Dialysis Facilities tool compares the quality of care that dialysis facilities provide. It provides a list ofU.S. dialysis facilities which includes services provided, quality measures and resources.
The Affordable Care Act will not be implemented all at once, but rather in stages. Portions of the law have already taken effect, while some of the regulations will be implemented through 2014 and beyond. For the most-up-to-date information on finding insurance options, the Comparison Tools and other information, refer to the Health Care Web Portal at www.healthcare.gov. Additionally, for a timeline of what is changing and when, refer to this link.
This time of year is often known for unpredictable weather and for variable pollen/mold counts in the air. We often attribute allergy symptoms to a cold or vise-versa. “Many people misdiagnose allergies as a cold or the flu, so they never receive appropriate care,†says Stanley Naides, M.D., Medical Director for immunology, at Quest Diagnostics.  He notes that untreated allergies can cause problems, such as sinusitis (a sinus infection due to fluid build-up); middle ear infections (inflammation or fluid build-up in your ear) or can cause asthma.
Allergies are the body’s reaction to outside substances called allergens. When allergens are encountered, the body tries to protect itself by making chemicals, called histamines, which can cause allergy symptoms. Common allergens include airborne particles like pollen, dust, animal dander and mold. Certain foods, insect bites, medications and latex can also cause allergic reactions. Allergy symptoms will vary according to the parts of the body that an allergen touches. Symptoms can include: breathing problems, coughing, sneezing or runny nose; burning, watering, itchy or swollen eyes; itchy skin, hives and/or rashes.
Do you know the difference between a cold and an allergy? The information in this chart provides only general guidelines and does not take the place of your health care Provider’s advice, but it may help to prevent delay of treatment.
| Symptoms | Cold | Airborne Allergens |
| Cough | Common | Sometimes |
| General aches/pains | Slight | Never |
| Fatigue/weakness | Sometimes | Sometimes |
| Itchy eyes | Rare or never | Common |
| Sneezing | Usual | Usual |
| Sore throat | Common | Sometimes |
| Runny nose | Common | Common |
| Stuffy nose | Common | Common |
| Fever | Rare | Never |
| Usual duration | 3-14 days | weeks |
Talk to your Doctor and/or Pharmacist before using any over the counter remedies, as many can cause interactions with your prescription medications, especially if you have diabetes, high blood pressure or kidney problems. Be aware that antihistamines can cause drowsiness and dry mouth. Decongestants might cause a jittery or nervous feeling, a rapid heartbeat or interfere with sleeping. Talk to your Doctor to determine if your symptoms are from an allergy. Allergy testing can help you both choose the appropriate treatment.
Photo credit: David Castillo Dominici
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