July/August 2003

Summer, and the hot weather, has finally arrived! As July 4th barbeques, family vacations, and weekend getaways dominate your social calendar "don't" forget about your commitment to the "healthier you"! During these summer months, make an extra effort to exercise outdoors, and enjoy the season's wonderful fresh produce. This will make your commitment to healthy living easy and enjoyable!

In this month's newsletter, I'll give you another reason to soak up the summer sun, while munching on some delicious treats in "fresh at the market". I will also provide healthy alternatives and options for delicious iced coffee drinks. You'll find tasty recipes for turkey burgers that work fabulously on the grill, and a low calorie dessert that allows you to eat chocolate without the guilt! Enjoy the newsletter, and most of all, enjoy a healthy and happy summer!

July Nutrition Tips: Summer Shape Up!

Sinfully Sweet Summer Treats Beware! : As the temperature continues to creep up, so does our thirst to cool down! Yet, many people mistakenly cool down with a quick drink that may be doing much more harm than good! We have all seen those icy sweet drinks at Stabucks and Dunkin' Donuts, yet do you really know what they can do to your waistline? Hiding under mounds of whipped cream and added sugar, many of the popular iced teas and coffee drinks are packing on the pounds with each sip. Look below to see how your favorite drinks are adding up:

  • Starbucks Iced Tazo Tea Frappuccino Tazoberry Blended Cream -Venti (20 oz): 750 calories, 29g fat, 79g carbs
  • Starbucks Iced White Chocolate Mocha, Whole Milk - Venti (20 oz): 400 calories, 10g fat, 65g carbs
  • Starbucks Iced Tazo Chai, Whole Milk - Venti (20 oz): 400 calories, 6g fat, 83g carbs
  • Starbucks Ice Blended Coffee Frappuccino -Venti (20 oz): 338 calories, 4g fat, 69g carbs
  • Dunkin' Donuts Vanilla Bean Coolatta (16 oz): 440 calories, 17g fat, 70g carbs
  • Dunkin' Donuts Coffee Coolatta with Cream (16 oz): 350 calories, 22g fat, 40g carbs
  • Dunkin' Donuts Lemonade Coolatta (16 0z): 240 calories, 0g fat, 59 carbs
  • Dunkin' Donuts Coffee Coolatta, Skim Milk (16 oz): 170 calories, 0g fat, 41g carbs
  • Au Bon Pain Frozen Mocha Blast (12 oz): 270 calories, 6g fat, 43g carbs
If you are really craving one of the sweet treats above, remember to order it without the whipped cream, syrup, or other toppings and purchase the smallest size. Also, ask for skim milk, instead of whole! But better yet, try cooling down with one of these:
  • Starbucks Iced Café Americano - Venti (20 oz): 19 calories, 0g fat, 4g carbs
  • Starbucks Iced Café Mocha, Skim Milk - Venti (20 oz): 130 calories, 0g fat, 18g carbs
  • Starbucks Iced Café Latte, Skim Milk - Venti (20 oz): 125 calories, 0g fat, 18g carbs
  • Dunkin' Donuts Iced Hazelnut Coffee, Skim Milk (16 oz): 25 calories, 1g fat, 3g carbs
Here Comes the Sun: With the summer sun shining down, now's the time to get out and enjoy some of those blissful rays! A leading expert in the field of skin care declares, "Sunshine is good medicine!" Once shunned by so many who feared skin cancer and wrinkles, the sun's rays may be saving many more lives than it harms. According to Dr. Michael F. Holick, a professor of medicine, dermatology, and physiology at the Boston University School of Medicine, relatively brief but unfettered exposure to sunshine or its equivalent several times a week can help to ward off a host of debilitating and sometimes deadly diseases, including osteoporosis, hypertension, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, depression and cancers of the colon, prostate and breast, as uncovered in a June 17th report in the New York Times. But, like all medicines, the right dosage is key. It's important to reap the sun's benefits in small doses to avoid suffering any unwanted consequences, such as wrinkles, sunburn, and melanomas. In combination with a healthy, well-balanced diet, some extra sunshine can brighten up your life!

Fresh at the Market

Peppers
Many believe that citrus fruits are the real nutrition powerhouses when it comes to Vitamin C. However, bell peppers, in their varied colors, have them beat. Green peppers have twice the amount of Vitamin C than citrus fruits, and this powerful punch of Vitamin C is an antioxidant that may be effective in preventing certain cancers. Red and yellow bell peppers have nearly three times as much Vitamin C as the green varieties, and red peppers, in particular, are a good source of beta-carotene. So, toss some in your stir-fries, add to your kebabs, or just grab a handful as a quick snack; at 20 calories per 1/2 cup, how can you go wrong?

In the summer months, bell peppers are more plentiful and less expensive, although they are in fresh supply all year round. They come in variety of colors, shapes, and sizes, but when selecting them, follow the same guidelines. Their skin should be firm without any wrinkles, the stem should be fresh and green, and should feel heavy for their size. Avoid peppers with sunken areas, slashes, or black spots. Store unwashed bell peppers in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. They will stay fresh for about a week. Green bell peppers will stay fresh a little longer than the yellow and red ones.

Peaches
First cultivated in China and revered as a symbol of longevity, the peach is actually a member of the rose family. Inside the fruit, the color can be either yellow or white. The white flesh is a "sub-acid" fruit with a more sugary sweet flavor. However, the more traditional color is yellow, which is more acidic giving the sweet fruit a bit more flavor. When selecting fresh peaches, look for ones that are soft to the touch, blemish free, and have a fragrant smell. Peaches that are mildly fragrant will ripen into a deliciously sweet treat. Some peaches may have some red "blush" depending on the variety, but this isn't a sign of how the fruit will taste after it's ripened. At home peaches can be ripened at room temperature in a brown paper bag in 2 to 3 days.

At only 42 calories per medium-sized peach, they are a good source of Vitamins A and C and are high in fiber! So don't hold back! Grab a peach on the go, or add slices to your smoothie, yogurt, cottage cheese, salsa, salad, or relish this summer! And, don't forget that you can also bake, grill, or broil and serve along with your favorite meat or fish dinner.

July Recipes: Beat the Heat with these Healthy Treats!

Salsa Burgers
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients 1 1/4 pound ground turkey (white meat is preferable)
1/3-cup store bought salsa (personal favorite is Desert Trading Company Corn and Black Bean Salsa)
1/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
*4 toasted whole wheat English Muffins
4 thick slices fresh tomato
4 slices red onion

Combine turkey meat, salsa, and breadcrumbs in a large bowl. Form into four uniform burgers and set aside. Prepare the grill or broiler. Grill/broil burgers until they are cooked through (about 8-12 minutes), turning over once. Serve on toasted English muffins with fresh tomato and onion.

Nutrition information per serving: 350 calories
36 grams of protein
35 grams of carbohydrate
6 grams of fat
5.5 grams of fiber

(*By omitting the English muffin, you can save lots of calories! The nude burger would be 220 calories and 8 grams of carb, however you would lose out on the fiber from the whole-wheat muffin.)

Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Makes about 12 servings

These berries are always a crowd pleaser. They allow you to indulge in chocolate without the guilt. (If you are making these for a July 4th BBQ, use white chocolate with the red berries, and decorate the platter with blueberries, for a classic red, white and blue theme!)

Ingredients
24-30 large strawberries (look for the kind with the stem in tact)
*12-ounce package of chocolate morsels
waxed paper

(*you may use, white, milk or dark chocolate. Dark chocolate has been recently touted for improving heart health, so to further improve the nutritional value of this dessert go for the dark chocolate)

Wash and dry the strawberries, (do not do this ahead of time, as the berries will not last as long). Over a very low heat, melt the chocolate morsels (may do this in a double boiler if you have one). Place waxed paper on a cookie sheet. Hold the strawberry by the stem and carefully dip about 1?2 of the berry into the melted chocolate, then place berry onto the wax paper. (During the process of dipping the berries, you may turn the heat off, and then turn it on again if the chocolate starts to harden.) Repeat the dipping process with remaining berries.

Place the tray of berries in the refrigerator to harden. Remove from the fridge 1?2 hour before serving.

Nutrition information per serving (about 2-3 berries): 120 calories
0.2 grams of protein
16 grams of carbohydrate
0.5 grams of fiber
7 grams of fat

I hope that you are enjoying some summer fun! Get out there, get moving and enjoy the beautiful weather, while staying focused on the "healthier you"! As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns!

All the best,
Sara
Sara Ryba Nutrition

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