The Junk Food Nutritionist

I was happy to see a package at my doorstep. It’s the little surprises at the end of a long day that count, right? I opened it up to find a copy of Sarah Koszyk’s new book, 365 Snacks For Every Day of the Year.   Sarah is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and blogger at Family.Food.Fiesta . You can also find her on Twitter , Facebook , and Instagram . Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book to review. I was not paid for the review nor was I told what to say. The opinions expressed here are my own... Sarah starts with a little introduction. She snacks, just like the rest of us, and sometimes those snacks come from convenience stores. She also provides a little bit of information about why we need to snack. She keeps it easy to understand, which is great because not everyone has taken anatomy or biochemistry. Sarah wrote this book to help others determine the healthier snack options available at stores. It is not so much a cookbook as it is a list of sn...

No, the mono diet isn't what you eat when you have "mono" also known as mononucleosis, the kissing disease, and Epstein-Barr.  Although if you have mono, you might feel so poorly you only eat one food. And that is the mono diet. What is the mono diet? The mono diet is eating only one food per meal. So, breakfast might be an apple. It could be multiple apples as long as all of your items are the same food. You wouldn't be able to have an apple with peanut butter. Depending on how strictly you follow the mono diet, you wouldn’t even be able to eat peanut butter by itself. Most peanut butters are not just made from peanuts. They have oil and sugar added. Sometimes they have salt. Some peanut butters also have fillers, emulsifiers, or other additives.    What is the theory behind the mono diet?  The theory is that early man only ate one food per meal. 

On Thursday, I posted a look at my food intake to show how I get enough protein even though I’m a vegetarian. But I don't always eat animal protein. Here’s what I ate on another day, following a vegan diet…. I started off with a nutrient dense, high calorie, high protein breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right? Breakfast: 2 slices bread, toasted (130 Calories, 5 g protein) 2 Tablespoons peanut butter (190 Calories, 7 g protein) 2 Tablespoons chocolate nut butter (200 Calories, 2 g protein) 2 clementines (80 Calories, 2 g protein) 1/2 cup coconut milk (20 Calories, 0 g protein) 1/2 cup coffee (0 Calories, 0 g protein) Total for meal: 620 Calories, 19 g protein

A lot of times vegetarians don't get enough protein. Certainly, there are some who don't. I've heard of vegetarians who just eat white pasta or just eat potato chips. But, if you eat a variety of foods, you can get enough protein on a plant-based diet. I will show you a day of eating in my life as a vegetarian and a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist.   First, I want to remind you that the portions I've listed below are only there so I can show you how much protein is in what amount of the product. I don't usually go around measuring my food and you don't need to either. Also, those portion sizes may not be the size you eat and that's okay. I'm not presenting this as a strict meal plan for you to follow. I'm just trying to show you it's possible to get enough protein. So, what is "enough protein"?  Well, that will depend on your body. RDNs usually use a minimum of 0.8 grams protein per kilogram body weight. People with certain c...

I have a go-to no sugar added dough recipe that I use for scones and biscuits. So, when I was looking for something to serve with tomato soup, I decided to use it to make cheesy biscuits.  The beauty of this recipe is it works with both animal dairy products and vegan non-dairy versions. This recipe also can be doubled or quadrupled to serve more people. When I make larger batches, I sometimes need to adjust the milk to flour ratio. If you feel comfortable measuring by feel, I recommend you do so rather than measuring out the milk exactly. Easy Cheesy Biscuits Serves 2

A reader asked me to compare the nutrition of junk food options out there and advise readers on best to eat. So, today we’ll look at gummy candies... Gummy candies are usually mostly sugar. They're low in protein, fat, vitamins, and minerals. Healthier choices might be foods that contain more nutrients (like protein, vitamins, and minerals) or healthier choices might be lower in added sugar or other artificial ingredients. I've included some of each. Gum Drops Take gum drops, for example. They're corn syrup, sugar, corn starch and/or modified food starch, coloring, and flavoring. 4 large gumdrops are 150 calories, all of which come from the 37 grams of carbs. There's no protein, fat, vitamins, or minerals.

Yesterday, we discussed things to think about before deciding to avoid added sugar for your New Year's Resolution. Today, I present a sample meal plan taken from my own life. Breakfast: Banana and oatmeal cooked in milk, vanilla, ground flaxseed and cinnamon Tip: Flavored oatmeal packets contain sugar, but you can easily and quickly make your own flavored oatmeal by adding extracts, spices, fruit, etc.) Another Breakfast Idea: I have been making no-sugar-added scones for years without any sugar substitues! It's flour, baking powder, butter, and your choice of mix-ins. The scone pictured above was made with cinnamon and raisins, but you can use other dried fruits, other spices, nuts, extracts, flavored oils, cacao nibs, anything.