December 09, 2018 at 06:30PM From kicking it into gift shopping mode every weekend to making your holiday party rounds, your life during the winter season—and oftentimes your diet—are thrown off track, and your gut’s the one to pay. You’re not the only one feeling this off-putting shift. Rachel Paul, RD feels you. “This time of year brings on a lot of added stress—the mental stress of choosing what to eat, eating too much, and the physical stress your body is under from the extra cold and flu germs,” Paul adds. No wonder you’re feeling a little on edge. To help find your way through this wild ride of a holiday season and avoid the dreaded head cold, too, we asked Rachel Paul to share some gut-friendly tips that’ll help you crush the season without a meltdown. Keep reading for 3 tweaks to your holiday meals that’ll ensure your gut (and overall health) is at 100 percent all season long. Photo: Stocksy/Jeff Wasserman 1. Be mindful of added sugars and refined carbs—but don’t ban them! If you have a hankering for something sweet, eat something sweet—just be aware of the amount of added sugars and refined carbs. “Foods high in refined carbohydrates and sugars can cause a lot of inflammation in the lining of our GI tract, which can lead to bloating, lethargy, and gas,” Paul says. More than the discomfort factor, you don’t want to feel in urgent need of a nap when catching up with that friend you haven’t seen in
Category: Vegetarians
Searches for meatless holiday recipes are majorly increasing on Pinterest
December 09, 2018 at 03:00AM With the holiday season in full swing, people are scouring the internet in order to find the perfect recipes to enjoy with family and friends. And you know what that means: browsing Pinterest for hours on end. Well, if you’ve been thinking about switching things up and swapping your traditional meals for something meatless, you’re definitely in good company. According to VegNews, searches on Pinterest for “meatless Christmas meals” have increased by 53 percent this year alone. That’s not all, though: Both vegetarian and vegan dishes were top categories in the 2018 UK Food + Drink Awards with trending pins that could easily replace roast beef or ham as the star of the show, including Seitan Butter Chicken, Mushroom Lasagna, and Harissa-Roasted Cauliflower. Talk about yum. No matter if this will be your first meat-free holiday ever—or you’re already a seasoned pro—here are five recipes to try this year. Photo: Greenhouse Juice Co. 1. Glazed butternut squash If you want to display a dish that’s just as pretty as it is delicious, try this glazed butternut squash. The fiber-rich meal takes minimal effort to make, and with a sweet glaze made with maple syrup, no one will be able to resist it. Photo: Hell Yeah It’s Vegan! 2. Matzo ball soup Seconds will certainly be in order for this vegan matzo ball soup. The healthy mix uses veggie stock instead of chicken, and you get heaps of protein from the tofu. Photo: Laura Lea Goldberg 3. BBQ chickpea and sweet potato loaf This
Another day, another alt-milk: what you need to know about sesame milk
December 07, 2018 at 08:53AM Just when you replaced your almond milk for oat, there’s a new alt-milk popping up in grocery store aisles: sesame milk. (Seriously, what can’t you milk?) Chicago-based company Deliciousness just launched the world’s first organic, packaged sesame milk: Hope & Sesame. There are five flavors—original, unsweetened original, chocolate, vanilla, and chocolate hazelnut—available for purchase online. View this post on Instagram The very first box of our #sesamemilk ships out today! #vegan #organic #glutenfree #brandspankingnew #proteinrich #proud @hopeandsesameco A post shared by deliciousness.com (@bydeliciousness) on Nov 28, 2018 at 1:01pm PST //www.instagram.com/embed.js The brand maintains that a serving has just as much calcium as cow’s milk (30 percent of your recommended daily value) as well as eight grams of protein (on-par with cow’s milk, too). They’re also hoping consumers are into the slightly nutty taste. (The chocolate hazelnut does sound like liquid Nutella, IMO…) How does it compare to other nut milks? This sesame milk certainly wins on the protein front compared to almond and oat milks, both of which typically have about 1 gram of protein per serving. (The protein punch likely from the brand’s use of “sesamein,” which is second on the ingredients list and is a combo of organic sesame protein and pea protein concentrates). Sugar-wise, like other milks, this one tends to get higher once flavors are involved (up to 17 grams per serving). Other good-for-you benefits you’ll reap from sesame milk: magnesium, vitamin, E, and healthy fats. The milks are organic, gluten-free, kosher, vegan, and
Here’s What Dietitians Actually Eat For Dessert
December 07, 2018 at 05:23AM It sure might seem like dietitians and nutritionists have never taken a bite of pie or enjoyed a slice of pumpkin bread in their lives. After all, they encourage us to avoid sugar, right? But really, even though dietitians embrace all things wellness (and everything they post on Instagram looks sooo healthy), that doesn’t mean they lead lives completely devoid of tasty treats. The reality: they get a sweet tooth just like the rest of us, and when they do, they eat dessert—plain and simple. And not just a nibble of something halfway tolerable to kick the craving, but a treat they find truly delicious. Seriously—fudge bites and no-bake cookies, included! “It’s not realistic to go through life never enjoying dessert, so let go of any guilt,” says Cynthia Sass, RD, CSSD. “Choose desserts you enjoy that offer some nourishment, and won’t make you feel completely sluggish or bloated afterward, and let your body guide you.” If you’re working on cutting out sugar or skipping it for health reasons, awesome. But if you really crave something sweet, then go for it—no judgement from us. Find out here what top dietitians love for dessert, and how to really savor the moment in a mindful way. Photo: Getty Images/Feifei Cui Paoluzzo 1. Freezer fudge bites “I am such a dessert person,” says Stephanie Middleberg, MS, RDN, CDN, and founder of Middleberg Nutrition. One of her favorite treats is freezer fudge bites. “I pour them into ice cube trays
Three words that’ll make your day: veganized Crunchwrap Supreme
December 07, 2018 at 03:05AM Back in my days of going through drive-throughs without caring about the health consequences, crunchwrap supremes—a truly iconic Taco Bell staple—never failed to hit the spot. Years of health writing later, looking at the ingredients list truly makes me cringe: That crispy combo filled with ingredients like sodium-packed seasoned beef and cholesterol-loaded nacho cheese isn’t exactly the most heart-friendly combo. But what if I told you there was a way to have your fast food and eat it, too? Lindsay Ostrom, the food blogger behind Pinch of Yum, created a totally vegan version of the meal that’s loaded with fresh, wholesome ingredients you can feel good about putting between those perfectly-wrapped tortillas. And the best part? Creating it at home is pretty fuss-free. “I had some mega requirements for this recipe before I started. It needed to be reasonably fast, have easy-to-access ingredients, and customizable to whatever protein, sauce, and vegetables I had on hand. And above all else, super ridiculously delicious,” she writes in the recipe. Well, check, check, check, and check. In only 30 minutes of prep time and 15 minutes of cooking, you’ll have a veganized crunchwrap supreme that includes sofritas tofu, tangy marinated cabbage, black beans, plenty of veggies (both fresh and roasted), and—arguably the best part—an extra-creamy cashew queso to tie it all together. Now, obviously this isn’t an everyday staple, but it’s certainly more nutritious than the OG version that’s packed with 25 mg of cholesterol. After taking a big bite into the
Give your holiday appetizer spread a healthy upgrade with this cauliflower harvest pizza recipe
December 06, 2018 at 06:30PM Picture this: Your besties lounging in your living room at your annual holiday get together, sipping vino, noshing on a homemade platter, and asking how you possibly managed to whip this up after a crazy 6 p.m. commute. Your hack for prepping a restaurant-worthy spread without leaving the office early (or caving and ordering less-than-healthy takeout)? Leaning on the shortcut of dinner-party mavens everywhere—CAULIPOWER’s frozen cauliflower pizza crust. For real: Just top the superfood crust with seasonal ingredients like butternut squash, cremini mushrooms, and baby kale—plus generous spoonfuls of cheese (or nut-based cheese for a dairy-free option), pop it in the oven, and you’re ready for guests. Say goodbye to the classic Pinterest fails of DIY cauliflower pizza crust. “I love the crispy, thin-crust bite,” says founder Gail Becker, who was inspired to make a veggie-based, gluten-free crust for her sons who have celiac disease. “If you’ve ever tried to make cauliflower crust at home, you know how difficult it is to get that real, pizza-like consistency. That was really important to me, which is why it took eight months to perfect the recipe.” As a result of her attention to detail, you’ll never have to worry about the classic Pinterest fails of DIY cauliflower pizza crust like soggy bottoms or crust that instantly falls apart. You just get pizza crust that tastes and feels like, well, pizza crust. And since the crust is gluten-free and dairy-free, you don’t have to worry about your guests’ dietary restrictions.
Here’s some definitive proof that takeout orders are getting way healthier
December 06, 2018 at 11:30AM The thought of takeout food doesn’t quite conjure images of the healthiest meals. Rather, the term has long been associated with the stuff of fried, greasy, highly processed plates, like General Tso’s chicken or pizza (with a side of cheesy bread, natch). But it turns out that a growing number of people are actually likely to order options full of health benefits, like a bean burrito or a cauliflower rice bowl. Need proof? Food-ordering and -delivery service Grubhub just released new data pointing to top 2018 food trends, and the biggie was none other than plant-based foods. “According to Grubhub’s ordering data, bean burritos took the top spot as the food surging the most in popularity in 2018, rising 276 percent as compared to 2017,” the release reads. Another healthy food trend rising in takeout popularity is poke, with orders up over 200 percent. And it bears mentioning that red meat doesn’t appear at all in the top 10 rising food trends. “Bean burritos took the top spot as the food surging the most in popularity in 2018, rising 276 percent as compared to 2017.” —Grubhub And get this: The top trending breakfast order is a peanut butter acai bowl—winning over breakfast sandwiches. So clearly, people aren’t using a lack of food in the fridge as an excuse to load up on bad-for-you meals—or at least doing so isn’t a trending habit. Grubhub, which serves 1,700 cities nationwide, compiled these stats by analyzing millions of orders placed
What’s better for your bod: fish oil or krill oil supplements?
December 06, 2018 at 09:22AM The vitamin aisle can be an overwhelming place—like, more baffling than figuring out what kind of sneakers you should be wearing to bootcamp class. The sheer number of supplement options alone is enough to cue vertigo. Take omega-3s, for example. I thought fish oil was the end-all, be-all, but now it seems so many people (particularly people on the Bulletproof train) are touting the benefits of krill oil. But what the heck is the difference? To find out, I checked in with dietitian Whitney Crouch, RDN, CLT. While both krill oil and fish oil contain the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA—the ones credited with improving cardiovascular and cognitive health—she says there are a few key points of difference between the two. Supplement showdown: Krill oil vs fish oil First up: Both fish oil and krill oil are animal sources of omega-3s with slightly different origins. “Krill oil is derived from krill, which are small crustaceans,” Crouch explains. “Fish oil is derived from fatty fish, often sardines, anchovies, mackerel, and salmon.” One key difference between the two, she says, is that the EPA and DHA fats in each one take slightly different forms. “The fatty acids found in krill are delivered to the body in phospholipids (PL), while the EPA and DHA found in fish oil is delivered in a different formulation called a triacylglyceride (TAG).” She notes that although krill oil was once thought to be more bioavailable than fish oil—in other words, more easily utilized
I bet you didn’t know that olives are actually fruit (because I didn’t)
December 05, 2018 at 01:21PM If you’re anything like me, you’re probably only eating whole olives in a chopped Greek salad or on top of a cauli-crust pizza (or perhaps in the bottom of a martini). But there’s actually a pretty good argument for grabbing a jar on your next Trader Joe’s run—like the olive oil they generate, whole olives are a simple way to add a hit of nutrients and flavor to pretty much any savory meal. As The Domestic Dietitian Brynn McDowell, RD, points out, these tiny fruits (yup, they’re fruits!) are a staple in the Mediterranean diet for a good reason. Research indicates that this way of eating slows the aging process, promotes longevity, and boosts good gut bacteria, which is why it’s a favorite of doctors and nutritionists. Of course, olives alone aren’t responsible for all these perks. But it’s safe to say that they pull their weight alongside the rest of the diet’s key foods, given all their healthy attributes. Are olives healthy? Let’s investigate 1. Olives are packed with heart-healthy fats McDowell points out that, like olive oil, olives are rich in monounsaturated fats, which fall under the “healthy fat” category. “Monounsaturated fatty acids have been linked to decreased inflammation and a reduced risk of heart disease,” she explains. But there’s one caveat: You’ll be getting considerably less fat if you opt for whole olives as opposed to olive oil. “Olive oil is made up of 100 percent fat, while olives contain about 20 percent fat,” says
Sorry, PETA: I’m vegan, but I won’t be saying I’m “bringing home the bagels” anytime soon
December 05, 2018 at 09:56AM Growing up, I didn’t think much about what I ate (seriously, I was anti-vegetable), which is why it took me until I was in my twenties to realize my love of animals didn’t align with my diet, prompting me to go vegan. And as a journalist, I like to think I choose my words carefully—but some idioms have become so ingrained in my vocabulary, they slip from my lips without a second thought. Which is why, even though I traded meat and dairy for tofu and mylk years ago, I still catch myself saying common phrases that aren’t exactly animal-friendly. Idioms like “kill two birds with one stone,” for starters. Killing birds isn’t nice, even if you’re doing so efficiently! But old habits die hard, and phrases like “bringing home the bacon” have been around for a long, long time (that particular one may date back to the 1100s). Which is, in part, why I definitely won’t be replacing them with things like “bring home the bagels” anytime soon. Words matter, and as our understanding of social justice evolves, our language evolves along with it. Here’s how to remove speciesism from your daily conversations. pic.twitter.com/o67EbBA7H4 — PETA (@peta) December 4, 2018 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) recently tweeted a list of anti-animal phrases and suggestions for updated, animal-positive replacements. “Words matter, and as our understanding of social justice evolves, our language evolves along with it,” the tweet reads. And I totally agree. The language