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What a Fantastic Experience

by Erin McCallum

“What a fantastic experience this has been for me over the past year. Kelly was an absolutely amazing teacher, listener, counselor, and friend to all of us at Carolina Preserve, and she is the reason I achieved my goal and will continue to do so going forward.

 I am eighty-one years old and have tried losing weight for most of my married life but never was able to “get it”.  She taught “mindful eating” lessons as long-term goals over and over again each class.  She made us realize that simple strategies we change each day can make a permanent difference in our lives for the future.  I can have unhealthy or not-so nutritious foods and still maintain my weight, but I have finally learned how to do that in moderation and infrequently instead of daily.

Kelly has been such an inspiration to me, and she will always be in my thoughts reminding me that “I” can control food rather than” food” controlling me.”

–Sue, an Eat Smart, Move More, Prevent Diabetes Participant

Are My Coffee Habits Healthy?

by Erin McCallum

Coffee, in many places, is more than just a beverage- it can often symbolize connection, culture, history, productivity, and daily routine. Worldwide, approximately 2.25 billion cups of coffee are consumed each day, and in the U.S., nearly 3 in 4 Americans consume coffee each day. But should our consumption be this high? Coffee is ambiguous in that way- most of us aren’t sure if its healthy, unhealthy, both, or neither. As a daily coffee drinker myself, I, coffee in hand, set out to explore some coffee and health FAQs.

Q: Can I drink coffee on an empty stomach?

A: For some, drinking coffee on an empty stomach can cause heartburn, upset stomach, or loose stools, as it is an acidic beverage and creates more acid in the stomach. If consumed with or after food, the increased stomach acid has food to break down in the stomach, easing its negative effects.

However, some people may not experience gastrointestinal upset, but may experience adverse hormonal response from the caffeine in coffee. Caffeine stimulates the release of cortisol, a stress hormone that serves many purposes: helping to control metabolism, aiding in regulating the sleep cycle, reducing inflammation, and regulating blood pressure and blood sugar. For most people, cortisol levels are naturally at their highest in the hour after waking up in the morning. Without food in the stomach, caffeine is absorbed more quickly, raising cortisol even higher during this time frame and potentially causing jitters, anxiety, headache, and racing heart.

Everyone’s sensitivity to acidic foods and caffeine is different and some may feel fine drinking coffee on an empty stomach, but in general, its recommended to consume coffee with or after food in order to avoid gastrointestinal issues and a cortisol spike and subsequent crash.

Q: Does time of day matter?

A: It’s recommended to drink coffee in the morning as opposed to afternoon, evening, or all day, so that sleep is not disrupted by caffeine late in the day. Studies have also shown that morning coffee drinkers, as opposed to those who drink coffee all day, have lower all-cause mortality rates and lower rates of cardiovascular disease.

Q: How much is too much?

A: It’s recommended to keep caffeine consumption under 400mg a day, which is about the equivalent of 4 cups of coffee.

Q: What about all the fun coffee drinks?

A: There are new flavored lattes and other coffee drinks every season at both chain and local coffee shops. The options can be overwhelming. Most of these ultra-flavored coffee drinks have a shocking amount of sugar and calories. Drinking coffee black is clearly the “healthiest” option, as it it has nearly 0 calories and no added sugar. But for people who don’t like black coffee, there are still healthy options, such as adding a little dairy or non-dairy milk, or a teaspoon of a coffee creamer with minimal ingredients. They key is to moderate and reduce the added sugar.

Q: Does drinking coffee dehydrate me?

A: Contrary to popular belief, research shows that coffee, while a mild diuretic, does not dehydrate you unless consumed in excessive amounts.

To summarize, to make your coffee habits work for, not against, your health, drink under 400mg of coffee before noon after eating food, and limit added sugars.

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What I Learned at Cooking School- Part 4

by Carolyn Dunn, PhD, RD, LDN

Cooking is my passion. I am fortunate that this passion often overlaps my career in nutrition as we work to build healthy recipes, test cooking techniques, and write curricula that helps everyday cooks make healthy food for their family. As with any passion, you should sharpen your knives from time to time.

The way I do this is to attend cooking classes. I have had the opportunity to train at Le Cordon Bleu, Culinary Institute of America, and most recently, at the Institute for Culinary Education. My latest class was four days of intensive training in cooking skills. The class included traditional French techniques that are centuries old and are still used as building blocks for many cuisines of the world. This four-blog series will include one technique from each day that I believe may help you as a home cook. Cook along with me as we explore fine cooking techniques.

Day 4

The fourth class in this four-class series included handling shellfish, fish stocks, shucking oysters, fish food safety, sauces for seafood, and making fruit sauces. The technique I would like to share is actually one that was taught and demonstrated throughout the four days at the Institute of Culinary Education, and that is using a board scraper.

This simple, inexpensive tool will serve you well as you prep vegetables for recipes, make salad, and a hundred other kitchen tasks. Every class, a board scraper was part of our station so I used it frequently. This is something I had not used as part of my usual cooking routine. I found it very helpful in moving cut product from my cutting board to my bowl or into a pot or pan. You can move so much more vegetable or fruit at one time than you can with your knife. It helps you keep your cutting board uncluttered so you can work more efficiently. You can find a board scraper at any department store or kitchen store. You can even get a really inexpensive plastic one that works great too.  

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What I Learned at Cooking School- Part 3

by Carolyn Dunn, PhD, RD, LDN

Cooking is my passion. I am fortunate that this passion often overlaps my career in nutrition as we work to build healthy recipes, test cooking techniques, and write curricula that helps everyday cooks make healthy food for their family. As with any passion, you should sharpen your knives from time to time. The way I do this is to attend cooking classes.

I have had the opportunity to train at Le Cordon Bleu, Culinary Institute of America, and most recently, at the Institute for Culinary Education. My latest class was four days of intensive training in cooking skills. The class included traditional French techniques that are centuries old and are still used as building blocks for many cuisines of the world. This four-blog series will include one technique from each day that I believe may help you as a home cook. Cook along with me as we explore fine cooking techniques.

Day 3

The third class in this four-class series included poaching fish, poaching fruit, making handmade pasta, pasta sauce, and vinaigrettes. The skill that you, I, and anyone who cooks even a little will use over and over is a good vinaigrette. I have blogged several times about how easy it is to make your own salad dressing. It is cheaper, better tasting, and you know what ingredients are going into your dressing. To make a French vinaigrette takes practice and a lot of skill. Getting the emulsion just right so the sauce is perfectly blended is difficult. Don’t worry, you don’t have to do it that way; there is an easier technique that works like a charm.

You need a jar with a leak-proof lid.  Place all the ingredients into the jar and shake very well to combine all of the ingredients. Use what you need and store the rest in the refrigerator. The oil will harden slightly so pull it out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before you need it again and shake well.

Simple Vinaigrette

Ingredients

  • 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2 Tablespoon sherry vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 4 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 Tablespoon minced fresh herbs (parsley, thyme, tarragon, rosemary)
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Place all ingredients in a jar with a leak-proof lid.
  2. Shake vigorously to combine all ingredients. Make sure the mustard is completely combined with the other ingredients.
  3. Serve on mixed greens or any salad.
  4. Store the remainder in the refrigerator for another meal.

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What I Learned at Cooking School- Part 2

by Carolyn Dunn, PhD, RD, LDN

Cooking is my passion. I am fortunate that this passion often overlaps my career in nutrition as we work to build healthy recipes, test cooking techniques, and write curricula that helps everyday cooks make healthy food for their family. As with any passion, you should sharpen your knives from time to time.

The way I do this is to attend cooking classes. I have had the opportunity to train at Le Cordon Bleu, Culinary Institute of America, and most recently, at the Institute for Culinary Education. My latest class was four days of intensive training in cooking skills. The class included traditional French techniques that are centuries old and are still used as building blocks for many cuisines of the world. This four-blog series will include one technique from each day that I believe may help you as a home cook. Cook along with me as we explore fine cooking techniques.

Day 2

The second class in this four-class series included chicken butchery, stuffing and breading of poultry, pastry, and basic soup. The French know a lot about cooking but one of the things they do best, in my opinion, is soup. While traditional French soups usually have cream and butter, we can learn from how they combine flavors to make a very healthy and easy soup.  Here is an adapted recipe that you will make again and again. It can be served hot or room temperature.

Simple Potato, Leek, and Carrot Soup

Note: Only ½ of the soup gets pureed so make sure you dice the vegetables in small pieces that are of similar size.

Ingredients

  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large leek ,well cleaned and diced (white part only)
  • ½ pound potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 1 large or 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth (or another cup of water or milk)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • Minced parsley or green onions for garnish
  • Plain Greek yogurt for garnish

Directions

  1. Heat the olive oil in a medium soup pot.
  2. Add the leeks and cook on medium heat until soft, about 10 minutes. Do not allow to brown.
  3. Add the remaining ingredients except for the garnish.
  4. Cook until the vegetables are very soft, 30-45 minutes. Stir frequently.
  5. Remove ½ of the soup and puree using a blender or emersion blender.
  6. Return the puree to the pot and heat through. Adjust seasoning if needed. There is a good chance it will need additional salt depending on the type of broth you use.
  7. Serve in flat bowls and garnish with parsley or chopped green onion and a teaspoon of plain Greek yogurt.

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What I Learned at Cooking School- Part 1

by Carolyn Dunn, PhD, RD, LDN

Cooking is my passion. I am fortunate that this passion often overlaps my career in nutrition as we work to build healthy recipes, test cooking techniques, and write curricula that helps everyday cooks make healthy food for their family. As with any passion, you should sharpen your knives from time to time. The way I do this is to attend cooking classes.

I have had the opportunity to train at Le Cordon Bleu, Culinary Institute of America, and most recently, at the Institute for Culinary Education. My latest class was four days of intensive training in cooking skills. The class included traditional French techniques that are centuries old and are still used as building blocks for many cuisines of the world. This four part blog series will include one technique from each day that I believe may help you as a home cook. Cook along with me as we explore fine cooking techniques.

Day 1

The first class in this four-class series included fish butchery, searing fish filets, making the sauces Béchamel and Volute, fish stock, and cooking and seasoning couscous. The one technique I think I will use again and that you also can use is how to easily cook couscous. Couscous is a pasta; it is made by steaming semolina and passing it through a fine mesh strainer. Not to worry, you don’t have to actually make the couscous. It is easily found in almost all grocery stores. Sometimes you can even find whole-wheat couscous which is even better.


Couscous cooks quickly, making it a great work-night side dish. You can season it with many different combinations of flavors – saffron OR herbs from the garden OR cumin and cinnamon. Here is a recipe to get you started. This recipe uses instant couscous, as there is also Israeli or pearl couscous that requires a different cooking technique. Couscous is great with chicken or fish as a side dish. You can also use it as a base for a bowl meal. It is also good mixed in a green salad to add an interesting texture.

Couscous with Fresh Herbs

Ingredients

  • 1 cup instant couscous
  • 1 ½ cup chicken or vegetable broth
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • Fresh black pepper (about 6 grinds from a pepper mill) OR a generous pinch of ground pepper
  • 2-4 Tablespoons finely chopped herbs (thyme, parsley, dill, tarragon, cilantro, chives, oregano – any combination or even a single herb)
  • 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
  • Lemon zest from 1 lemon (optional)

Directions

  1. Place couscous in a medium glass, ceramic, or metal bowl.
  2. Add the herbs to the bowl.
  3. In a small pot, heat the broth with the salt and pepper until boiling.
  4. Add the hot broth mixture to the couscous and herbs.
  5. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let steam for 10 minutes.
  6. Uncover and add the lemon juice and zest if using.
  7. Fluff with a fork and adjust the seasoning.

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What I’ve Learned from (Finally) Committing to my Yoga Practice

by Erin McCallum

Yoga is for every BODY.

I’ve been doing yoga sporadically for about 12 years. While occasional drop-in classes and Yoga with Adriene YouTube videos provided momentary benefits, it wasn’t until I committed to the practice that I started reaping longer-term benefits. 

While I was in middle and high school, my mom was a registered yoga teacher and taught “yochilates” classes, which were a combination of yoga, Tai Chi, and Pilates. If I was in my off-season from volleyball, cross country, track and field, or dance, I would occasionally attend her class. Truth be told, I hated it. My mom was a great instructor, but I was used to fast, competitive movement, not movement that was slow and intentional. It felt boring to me. My mom would joke, “Just wait until you’re an adult and have more stress in your life, you’ll appreciate classes like this.”

It was little surprise to her when she would call me during my freshman year of college and I’d answer with, “I’m in my dorm basement doing a yoga video, call you later after my exam!” She had been right- I found yoga to be an effective way to relieve stress, even if I was just following along with a YouTube video. For the next many years, my yoga practice was random and mostly at home. There were times I would do yoga 2x a week and times I wouldn’t practice for 6 months or more.

It wasn’t until recently that I committed to the practice. After being diagnosed with a chronic illness and no longer being able to run at the capacity I used to, I wanted to find an exercise routine that challenged me and built strength without causing a major flare-up.  After doing a free trial month of Class Pass, which allows you to try out local fitness studios in your area, I found myself coming back to yoga as movement that felt good for me both physically and mentally.

I was ready to commit to improving my health and bought a membership at a local yoga studio. Paying for the membership monthly incentivizes the experience and gives me more motivation to go to classes. I’ve been going to 2-3 classes a week for about 5 months now, and here’s what I’ve learned:

Yoga is for every BODY-

My classes are filled with people of all ages, shapes, and sizes. Anyone- and yes, I really mean anyone- can do yoga. My instructors often remind us at the beginning of class that if all you can do that day is savasana (laying flat on back) that is still yoga- and you are allowed to do that! While some classes are more beginner-friendly than others, most yoga poses are modifiable, meaning you can adapt them to your body’s needs. I find it to be one of the more inclusive kinds of fitness classes.

Disconnect to connect–

Yoga is about the mind-body connection. Many sequences are designed to help you disconnect from your thoughts to connect to your body. This means becoming aware of what’s going on in your body and how you are feeling and moving. I always leave class with a greater awareness of my body and in turn, what I need to do to take care of it. This awareness often lends to me making better food choices for my body as well. Many people, including myself, also find a spiritual connection through yoga. Overall, it helps ground and connect me to myself and the world I exist in.

Move to the music-

These days, most yoga classes don’t contain just instrumental “zen” music. I’ve taken a Taylor Swift, a White Lotus, and a throwbacks themed class. Classes consist of all kinds of music, often upbeat, inspiring, and fun to move to. It always motivates me and helps me focus if class gets challenging, and I love hearing new songs to add to my playlists.

Seek progress, not perfection-

There are no benchmarks in yoga to reach to prove that you’ve “got it.” However, when you practice consistently, you can see the progress you make; whether it’s finding more flexibility, trying a new pose for the first time, or holding a balancing pose for longer than before. As time goes on, I feel myself becoming stronger and am proud of the progress I’ve made.

Committing to my yoga practice and making it a part of my weekly routine has taught me a lot about my body and mind and given me a renewed sense of confidence in both. If there’s something you enjoy doing that you’ve always said you should do “more” of… see what you can do to actually make it a part of your routine. You may be surprised by the difference commitment and consistency can make!

If you’re looking to get into yoga, Yoga with Adriene on YouTube is a great place to start!

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Easy Egg Bites

by Carolyn Dunn, PhD, RD, LDN

You may be familiar with egg bites that are offered at Starbucks or in the freezer section. They are super convenient and offer a grab and go high-protein option for breakfast or lunch. They can be, however, loaded with too much cheese and have a steep price tag. Even with escalating egg cost, you can make these at home for a fraction of the cost of buying them out and can control the ingredients to make them a lot healthier.

The addition of cottage cheese makes the egg bites fluffy and adds protein. Adding vegetables is a great way to get vegetables in your morning meal, something that is not always easy. One key to successful egg bites is the right recipe (see below) and the right pan. I have found that a silicone pan lightly sprayed with olive oil is the ticket. You can find a silicone pan for under $10 at most stores that have a kitchen equipment section or online. Make sure you don’t get the mini muffin size or the large muffin size. You want a pan that makes 12 regular size egg bites and is 2.75 inches in diameter. You can, of course, also use a regular muffin pan, just spray well with olive oil spray and be ready for the possibility of the egg bites sticking.

Egg Bites Recipe

Makes 12 2.75inch egg bites

Ingredients & Directions:

  • 7 eggs
  • 1 cup cottage cheese
  • Black pepper, to taste
  • Olive oil spray
  • Toppings/filling as you desire*

*You can use any fillings that you like. Make sure fillings are precooked as they will not cook very much in the oven. Chopped mushrooms, chopped onions, spinach, jalapeno peppers, all make great additions. Cook and drain them well so you don’t add too much liquid to the egg bites. Note: if you use fresh spinach, cook it well and squeeze out the liquid using a clean kitchen towel or paper towel. You can also top the egg bites with a bit of shredded cheese.

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Place the eggs, cottage cheese, and black pepper in a blender.
  3. Blend until smooth.
  4. Place silicone muffin pan on a cookie sheet or baking tray.
  5. Pour egg mixture evenly into a 12-muffin pan.
  6. Top with desired fillings.
  7. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the egg bites comes out clean.
  8. Cool for 5-10 minutes and remove from the pan.
  9. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
  10. Reheat in the microwave for 45 seconds prior to serving.

Nutrient analysis is for egg bites made with 2 t each of cheddar cheese and cooked spinach.

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What I Learned About Salads from Sweetgreen

by Carolyn Dunn, PhD, RD, LDN

Sweetgreen is a fast causal restaurant that serves salads, bowl meals, and protein plates. They are a growing chain with a loyal following. I don’t usually eat out as I prefer cooking meals for my family. When traveling, however, it is an opportunity to try new restaurants hence my visit to Sweetgreen during a recent visit to New York City. We needed a quick lunch and Rockefeller Center had a Sweetgreen.

It had the usual suspects of different lettuces, choice of protein, vegetables, fruits, and nuts. The thing, to me, that set the salad apart was the addition of grain. You had a choice of white rice, mixed rice, or seasoned rice. I chose the mixed rice that included wild rice, brown rice, and what looked like red or black rice.

The addition of the whole grain to the salad made it much more appealing especially as an entrée. It mixed nicely with the dressing and gave a great texture to the salad. To see other ways to make your salads taste great, check out another blog on what we can learn from restaurants about making delicious salads at home. Here is a recipe to get you started that includes the grain farro (Kale, Arugula, and Farro Salad).

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In Need of Meal Planning Inspiration this Week?

by Christine Lavelle

In need of meal planning inspiration this week? Pam Outen was recently honored by NC State University for her 50+ year career as an Extension agent. Pam’s goal was to help people plan quick, easy, and nutritious meals. You can find Pam’s videos on her YouTube channel Pam’s Kitchen*. I hope this will fuel your inspiration for meal planning this week!

*Not all recipes on this YouTube channel follow the Mediterranean eating pattern.

You might also enjoy:

Meal Planning 101

Homemade Freezer Meals

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