Sara Ryba Nutrition

September 2003

Autumn is upon us. Leaving rainy weekends and power outages behind us, the fall can be a welcome change for many. As we return to school and to more regular workweeks, September is a good time of year to reevaluate your diet and exercise routine. Many people think of September as the beginning of a 'new year', which makes it a great time to recommit to healthy resolutions!

In this newsletter, we will analyze your salad bar and uncover high calorie ingredients that may be sabotaging your weight loss efforts. We will also review important food safety tips, and take a trip down the produce aisle to find out what fruits and vegetables are coming into season. And finally, you will find some healthy recipes that use this season's best produce.

September Nutrition Tips: Fall into Good Health!

September is Food Safety Education Month: Store It, Don't Ignore It! As much of the Northeast was paralyzed by the Blackout of 2003, many important questions regarding food safety were uncovered. People were unsure about which foods to throw out after the power was restored to their refrigerators and freezers. Now is a good time to get reacquainted with food safety guidelines that will keep you and your family protected from food-borne illnesses.

The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service has declared September as Food Safety Month. On their website, www.foodsafety.gov, there are a number of guides for both retail establishments and consumers to keep food safety a priority in our kitchens! Here are just a few of the food safety guidelines that they highlight:

Wash your hands well before, during, and after you prepare food.
If freezing meat and poultry in its original package longer than 2 months, overwrap these packages with airtight heavy-duty foil, plastic wrap, or freezer paper, or place the package inside a plastic bag.
Store eggs in their carton in the refrigerator itself rather than on the door, where the temperature is warmer.
Always wash and sanitize cutting boards after using them for raw foods, such as seafood or chicken, and before using them for ready-to-eat foods. Consider using one cutting board only for foods that will be cooked, such as raw fish, and another only for ready-to-eat foods, such as bread, fresh fruit, and cooked fish.
Cooked foods should not be left standing on the table or kitchen counter for more than two hours. Disease-causing bacteria grow in temperatures between 40-140°F (4-60°C).
If the power is out for less than 2 hours, then the food in your refrigerator and freezer will be safe to consume. While the power is out, keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to keep food cold for a longer period of time.
If the power is out for over 2 hours, a freezer that is half full will hold food safely for up to 24 hours. A full freezer will hold food safely for 48 hours. Do not open the freezer door if you can avoid it.

Salad Slump! A new salad trend has been popping up all over Manhattan: luncheonettes that offer a 'toss-your-own' salad lunch. The customer chooses a small or large container of salad greens (iceberg, romaine, spinach, or a spring mix) for a base price, and is then able to choose from a large assortment of toppings. Great idea, and healthy too, right? Well not always so healthy. Some of those toppings can make a salad that is higher in calories and fat than a bacon cheeseburger! Let's toss a couple of salads together...

Salad #1
Romaine Lettuce (39)
Corn (65)
Chick Peas (120)
Cucumber (7)
Tomatoes (17)
Scoop of crumbled blue cheese (70)
Grilled chicken breast (200)
Tortilla strips (100)
Honey mustard dressing (225)

Sounds pretty good, huh? Would you believe that this salad has 850 calories, 44 grams of fat, and 66 carbs!! Take a look at the calorie breakdown (in parentheses above). You may be surprised that even "healthy" ingredients like corn and chickpeas add a hefty dose to the calorie tally. Let's make a few adjustments and toss a better salad.

Salad #2
Romaine Lettuce (39)
Artichoke hearts (28)
Roasted peppers (28)
Hearts of Palm (20)
Cucumber (7)
Tomatoes (17)
Scoop of feta cheese (50)
Grilled chicken breast (200)
Low fat balsamic vinaigrette (50)

Sounds like another good salad, right? This one has just 411 calories, 35 grams of carb and 9.5 grams of fat. The key is to limit the high fat, high calorie ingredients like cheese, dressing, and croutons/tortilla strips, etc. If you are going to have cheese, opt for feta or goat cheese instead of blue cheese ? it is naturally lower in fat. Take a look below for some other helpful tips.

Salad Dressing: It is the last decision that you will make ? what to dress the salad with. Most often you will end up with 2 scoops of dressing ? which is about 4 tbsp. Take a look at below the calorie content of those 2 scoops! You are better off with low fat dressing, and it would be best to get the dressing on the side.
Crunchies: Avoiding those crunchy toppings, such as croutons and wonton noodles, will save you a bunch of fat and calories.

Fresh at the Market:

Apples
This is the season for sweet, tart, and crunchy apples. They make great snacks, and can be a welcome addition to salads and stir-fries, as well as desserts. When choosing apples, pick ones that are firm with no soft spots and avoid those that are discolored for their variety. Store apples in plastic bags in the refrigerator after purchasing to prevent further ripening. They should keep up to six weeks, however, be sure to check apples often and remove any that begin to decay or the others will do the same.

There are a many different varieties of apples to choose from, and while some are available year-round, others are at the peak of their season this fall. Look for Rome Beauty, Jonagold, Braeburn, Gala, Winesap, and McIntosh this September and October. With only 80 kcal per medium apple, they boost your nutrition by adding plenty of fiber!

Lettuce
This vegetable is widely popular throughout the world and is readily available in supermarkets year round with hundreds of varieties to choose from. Christopher Columbus introduced lettuce to the new world, and from there lettuce in the United States began cultivating. There are four main types of lettuce (Butterhead, Looseleaf, Crisphead, and Romaine) and under each type there are different varieties, such as arugula, endive, escarole, chicory, field salad, and raddicchio.

Lettuce is a delicate vegetable and great care should be taken when selecting and storing. When selecting your leaves, be sure that they are fresh and crisp, with no signs of wilting or dark spots and/or edges. Lettuce will keep best in a plastic bag in the crisper section of the refrigerator. Iceberg lettuce keeps the best, lasting around two weeks, while Romaine, ten days, and butterhead types and endives lasts approximately four days. The very delicate greens don't last very long, so it's best to buy only as much as you need at one time and use immediately. And, also, please note that greens should not be stored near fruits that produce ethylene gases (like apples) as this will increase brown spots on the lettuce leaves and increase spoilage.

Most dark greens are good sources of vitamin C, beta-carotene, iron, calcium, folate, and dietary fiber. So enjoy that salad (1 cup of Romaine is only 8 kcal!), toss a few leaves on your sandwiches, and get creative and line plates with some dark leaves (1 looseleaf is a mere 2 kcal!) for that added taste and appeal.

September Recipes: Classics to Fall Back On

Lowfat Tarragon Chicken Salad
This salad makes an easy weeknight dinner, or weekend lunch. It is a nice departure from grilled chicken on a salad.
Makes 3-4 servings

2 tbsp reduced fat mayonnaise
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1-2 dashes of Tabasco hot sauce
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper (or to taste)
2 tbsp fresh tarragon, or 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
15 purple grapes, cut in half
1-pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 Chicken bullion cubes
salad greens, try something new like adding arugula or radicchio to your basic greens

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil and add 2 bullion cubes. Add chicken breasts to water and cook until no longer pink inside (time will vary based on the size of the chicken breasts), about 8-15 minutes. Remove chicken from water and allow to cool. As chicken is cooling, prepare dressing by mixing the first 6 ingredients in a small bowl. Then cut chicken breasts into 1/2-1 inch cubes. Combine cubes chicken, purple grapes, and salad dressing in a medium sized mixing bowl and place in refrigerator until you are ready to serve.

Arrange salad greens on 3-4 plates. Top with chicken salad, and enjoy.

Nutrition Information per serving (4 servings)
254 calories
7.5 grams of fat
8 grams of carbohydrate
37 grams of protein
3 grams of fiber

Baked Apple Crisp A La Mode
Makes 10 servings

8 large Braeburn Apples or Granny Smith Apples (braeburns for sweeter, granny's for tarter) peeled and cored, then sliced into 1 inch wedges
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1-tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup of low fat store bought granola
2 tbsp of butter; coarsely chopped into small pieces
1 pint of non-fat vanilla frozen yogurt
Cooking Spray

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Combine apples with sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice. Toss until well coated. Spray a 10-inch x 10 inch x 2-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Add the apple mixture to the baking dish and cook for 15-20 minutes ? or until apples begin to get soft. Pull out apples and sprinkle with granola and butter ? cook for another 15-20 minutes, or until it becomes brown on top and apples feel soft when pierces with a fork.

Serve with a small scoop of low fat vanilla frozen yogurt.

Nutrition Information per serving
120 calories
2 grams of protein
23 grams of carbohydrate
2 grams of fiber
2.5 grams of fat

I hope this newsletter finds you and those around happy and healthy. Enjoy this wonderful season ahead by keeping focused on your healthy resolutions. And, as always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns!

All the best,

Sara
Sara Ryba Nutrition

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