Quiz Answer: Vitamin C

The work of Linus Pauling in 1970 stimulated public interest in the use of large doses of Vitamin C to prevent the common cold.

Vitamin C: Where can you find it?

As I'm sure you know, oranges are a great source of vitamin C.  However, all citrus fruits as well as many other fruits and vegetables offer significant amounts of vitamin C.  Here are a few examples of foods and the amount of vitamin C they contain:

• Red Bell Pepper (1/2 cup) - 140mg
• Medium Orange - 70mg
• Strawberries (1/2 cup) - 50mg

What does it do?

• Helps to produce collagen, a connective tissue that strengthens muscles, bones, and other tissues so it helps with cuts and wounds.
• Helps keep capillary walls and blood vessels firm, protecting you from bruising.
• Helps with iron and folate absorption from plant sources of food.
• Protects from infection by stimulating the formation of antibodies.
• Works as an antioxidant to inhibit damage to body cells.
• Essential for many metabolic reactions.

What if you don't get enough?

Ever heard of scurvy?  A strange disease plagued sailors and pirates alike several hundred years ago.  A Brittish surgeon recommended stocking ships with lemons, oranges, and limes, lending the nickname "limeys" to to Brittish sailors.  This provided a cure because citrus fruits contain abundant amounts of vitamin C, a deficiency of which is the cause of scurvy.  Symptoms of scurvy include:

• Loose teeth.
• Dryness in mouth and eyes.
• Swollen gums.
• Loss of hair.
• Poor wound healing.
• Excessive bleeding.

Scurvy is not common in the developed world but deficiency can occur in people that don't eat vegetables or fruit, alcoholics, the elderly, and severely ill individuals.  Signs that you're not getting enough may include:

• Poor wound healing
• Frequent colds or infections
• Lung-related problems

What if you get too much?

• Most of the excess will be excreted in you urine.
• Abdominal pain and diarrhea. 
• May contribute to kidney stones.
• Iron toxicity for those with disorders of iron metabolism.

How much do you need?

• Infants 0-6 months: 40mg
• Infants 6 months-1 year: 50mg
• Children 1-3: 15mg
• Children 4-8: 25mg
• Preteens 9-13: 45mg
• Males 14-18: 75mg
• Females 14-18: 65mg
• Males 19 and above: 90mg
• Females 19 and above: 75mg
• Pregnant women under 18: 80mg
• Pregnant women 19 and above: 85mg
• Breastfeeding women under 18: 115mg
• Breastfeeding women 19 and above: 120mg

The maximum amount assumed to be safe for adults is 2000mg.

Where can I get more information?

Check out these great resources:

• Linus Pauling Institute: Micronutrient Information Center
  
• Vitamin C DRI Report (only for the excessively curious)

And the winner is...

Congratualations to everyone else who guessed corectly - JM, stick to your gut next time!

Christine was the first person to get the correct answer.
Congratulations Christine, you are officially a Smartie Pants!

Quiz Time

Okay, so I've been AWOL for the last couple of weeks because there is a lot of craziness going on in my life, some bad, but mostly good. I won't get into it, but be forewarned that it will continue for the next while so likely my posts are going to be less frequent.  That said, here is a quiz to help us get back into the swing of things!

The work of Linus Pauling in 1970 stimulated public interest in the use of large doses of what nutrient to prevent the common cold?

That's it, just leave your guess in the comments and I'll post the correct answer and grant the winner Smartypants status on Monday.

Quiz Answer

The following shows how many resolutions are maintained as time goes on:

1. Past the first week: 75%
2. Past 2 weeks: 71%
3. After one month: 64%
4. After 6 months: 46%

While a lot of people who make new years resolutions do break them, research done at the University of Scranton and published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology shows that making resolutions is useful. People who explicitly make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don't explicitly make resolutions.

So if you've made resolutions, great! If not, don't worry, you can set goals for yourself any time of the year. The best way to ensure you reach your goals is to make them SMART:
Specific: don't make your goal too general.  Instead of saying 'get healthy', say 'lower my cholesterol'
Measurable: how will you know if you have reached your goal?  What do you want your cholesterol level to be?
Attainable: don't waste your time with impossible goals.  If you want to lose weight, don't think you are going to go from a size 20 to a size 4 in a couple of months.
Rewarding: make sure you have a reason to set this goal, otherwise you won't be motivated.  What will lower cholesterol or weight loss bring you?  Long term health can be your reward.
Time-Framed: set a deadline and mini deadlines.  If weight loss is your goal, you could aim for 1-2 pounds per week, and up to 10% of your weight over 6 months.

And the winner is...
Anonymous had the closest guess.
Congratulations Anonymous, your are officially a Smartie Pants! - but next time leave your name so you can prove it when you brag about your Smartie Pants status!

What goals and resolutions have you set for yourself?

Quiz Time

40 to 45% of American adults make one or more resolutions each year.

Among the top new years resolutions are resolutions about weight loss, exercise, and stopping to smoke.

Guess how many people maintain their resolutions over the following periods of time:

1. Past the first week 
2. Past 2 weeks
3. After one month
4. After 6 months

Leave your guess in the comments and I'll post the correct answer on Monday.  Whoever guesses closest will be granted Smartypants status.

Hello Panda Lunch at Home

Contents:
Kung Pao Chicken (3/4 Cup)
Brown Rice (1/2 Cup)
Steamed Broccoli (1 Cup)
Hello Panda Biscuits with Milk Cream (1/2 of a 57.5g package)

The husbandpants is on holidays this week and all of my lunch stuff (containers, cookie cutters...) is packed up for my big move on Saturday.  And I got these fabulous Hello Panda Biscuits in my stocking from Santa.  That is the story of why today's lunch is on a plate and it's cuteness comes from store bought cookies.

MyPyramid Breakdown:
1 ounce Grains (1 ounce whole grains)
1 1/4 cup Vegetables (1 cup dark green veggies, 1/4 cup other veggies)
4 ounces Meat and Beans
2 teaspoons Oils
180 Discresionary Calories

Kung Pao Chicken

Even the name is fun!

I bought a Kung Pao Pepper plant last spring and it continued to live after I brought it home, and it even made little peppers.  So I had to figure out what to do with them.  Googleing Kung Pao Pepper gave me a bunch of sites about seeds and plants and recipes for Kung Pao Chicken or Kung Pao Beef using dried peppers.  So I used some of those recipes to give me ideas and I think what I came up with turned out pretty well.

Ingredients:
1 lb Boneless, Skinless Chicken, thinly sliced*
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp Sesame Oil**
3 Tbsp White Wine

2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
3 Fresh Kung Pao Peppers, split in half***
4 Cloves Garlic, minced or 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 Tbsp Fresh Ginger, minced or 2 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper
1 Red Bell Pepper, thinly sliced (I used green too cause that's what I had on hand)

2 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
1 tsp Sugar
1 Cup Chicken Broth
1 Tbsp Cornstarch

* I love chicken thighs but you can use breasts or another kind of meat entirely.

** Other types of vegetable oil work too (canola) but sesame oil just gives it an extra special flavor.

*** This time around, I waited to long to use my peppers and some of them had gone bad so I used 3 small peppers plus a jalapeño pepper for a little extra heat.  You could really use whatever fresh or dried peppers you can get your hands on and adjust until you get the right amount of heat.

Directions:
1. Combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, and white wine in a bowl. Add the chicken and stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate for an hour or so.
2. Place vegetable oil in a wok and turn heat on to high. Add the Kung Paos and cook until they begin to darken - this happens quickly. Add garlic, ginger and crushed black pepper, and cook for about a minute. Add the green onions and red bell pepper.
3. Add the chicken and marinade to the wok. Stir-fry until the meat is no longer visibly pink. Add rice wine vinegar and sugar. Stir the cornstarch into the chicken broth and add it to the wok. Stir until slightly thickened. 4. Serve over rice.

Hint: This stuff is yummier and the sauce will be thicker if you refrigerate and reheat to serve the next day.

Nutrition Information:
Number of Servings: 4
Serving Size: 3/4 cup
MyPyramid contribution per serving:
1/4 cup Vegetables (1/2 cup other veggies)
4 ounces Meat and Beans
2 teaspoons Oils
30 Discresionary Calories

Grains

Any food made from wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley or another cereal grain is a grain product. Bread, pasta, oatmeal, breakfast cereals, tortillas, and grits are examples of foods in the grains group.

Grains are divided into 2 subgroups, whole grains and refined grains.  At least half of all of the grains eaten should be whole grains.

Whole grains contain the entire grain kernel: the bran, germ, and endosperm. Examples include:
whole-wheat flour, bulgur (cracked wheat), oatmeal, whole cornmeal, popcorn, and brown rice.

Refined grains have been milled, a process that removes the bran and germ.  This is done to give grains a finer texture and improve their shelf life, but it also removes dietary fiber, iron, and many B vitamins.  Some examples of refined grain products are white flour, degermed cornmeal, white bread, white rice.

Most refined grains are enriched.  This means certain B vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid) and iron are added back after processing.  Fiber is not added back to enriched grains.  Check the ingredient list on refined grain products to make sure that the word “enriched” is included in the grain name.  Some food products are made from mixtures of whole grains and refined grains.  Look for ingredient lists where whole grains are listed before enriched grains.

In general, 1 slice of bread, 1 cup of ready-to-eat cereal, or ½ cup of cooked rice, cooked pasta, or cooked cereal can be considered as 1 ounce equivalent from the grains group.

What is your favorite way to incorporate whole grains into your diet?

Food for Thought - Ebenezer Blackadder on Christmas

I trust Christmas brings to you its traditional mix of good food and violent stomach cramps.

- Ebenezer Blackadder in 'Blackadder's Christmas Carol' (1988)

Quiz Answer: Vitamin D

Vitamin D is commonly known as the sunshine vitamin.

Vitamin D: Where can you find it?
Vitamin D is known as the sunshine vitamin because your body can make it after sunlight hits your skin.

• Just 10-15 minutes of sunlight on your hands, arms, and face, 2 to 3 a week between the hours of 8am and 4pm.
• People with darker skin need more exposure (30-60 minutes), and people with lighter skin need less.
• Be sure to apply sunscreen if you're out for longer than this.

In northern climates, especially north of the 50th latitude and during the winter, sunshine does not provide enough vitamin D so you need to rely on food sources:

• Fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, herring, sardines
• Milk (fortified with vitamin D in North America)
• Vitamin D fortified yogurt, cheese, orange juice, soy drinks, cereals - check the label

What does it do?

• Promotes the absorption of calcium and phosphorus and regulates how much calcium remains in the blood.
• Helps deposit these minerals in bones and teeth.
• Helps regulate cell growth.
• Involved in nerve and muscle function.
  
• Plays a role in immunity.
• May help protect against high blood pressure.
  

What if you don't get enough?

• Loss of bone mass as you age (osteoporosis).
• Softening bones (osteomalacia).
• Rickets or defective bone growth in children.

What if you get too much?

• Kidney stones or kidney damage.
• Weak muscles and bones.
• Excessive bleeding.

How much do you need?

• Everyone under the age of 50: 5 micrograms or 200 IU
• Adults over the age of 50: 10 micrograms or 400 IU
• Adults over the age of 70: 15 micrograms or 600 IU

Where can I get more information?
Check out these great resources:

• Get your D
• Vitamin D Council 
• Vitamin D UV Calculator 
• Vitamin D DRI Report (only for the excessively curious)

And the winner is...
Marc was the first to guess correctly - Vitamin D.
Congratulations Marc, your are officially a Smartie Pants!

Quiz Time

Fill in the blank.

________ is commonly known as the sunshine vitamin.

That's it, just leave your guess in the comments and I'll post the correct answer and grant the winner Smartypants status on Monday.

Star Lunch Box

Contents:
Steamed Spinach (1/2 Cup and you can't see it because it is on the bottom)
Ground Nut Stew (1 Cup)
Plantain Fufu (1 Cup)
Cherry Tomato Halves (4)
Red Pepper (little slice for the mouth)
Capers (2 for the eyes)

The husbandpants thought this one was so cute which was great for me because it only took a couple of minutes and a star shaped cookie cutter - yay!   

MyPyramid Breakdown:

1/2 cup Vegetables (1/2 cup dark-green veggies, 2/3 cup other veggies)

1 cup Fruit

6 ounces Meat and Beans

9 teaspoons Oils

This lunch box is really high in Oils and Meat and Beans, so depending on what your personal MyPyramid says you need, you may have to count some of it towards Discretionary Calories.

Ground Nut Stew

After finding the plantain fufu recipe the other day, I decided I needed some sort of African inspired dish to go with it.  I learned on Wikipedia (the source of all knowledge), that fufu is often eaten with your hands by forming it into a little cup and scooping up soup or stew.  I found several recipes for ground nut stew which is something else completely new to me, but after looking at a number of recipes, I felt like I had a pretty good idea of what it is supposed to be like.  And I'm pretty durn happy with the result - I mean, can you really go wrong with a dinner of peanut butter and banana?

Ingredients:
1 Cup Peanut Butter
1/4 (6 ounce) can Tomato Paste*
1 (10 ounce) can Diced Tomatoes With Green Chile Peppers
2 cups Chicken Broth**
1 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
3 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs, cubed
1/2 Onion, chopped
1/4 cup Fresh Mushrooms, sliced
Cayenne Pepper

*Why they don't make smaller cans of tomato paste I will never understand, but you can freeze any unused portion in a ziplock bag.

**I'm too lazy to make my own chicken broth so I just use bouillon but if you have homemade, even better!

Directions:
1. Melt peanut butter in a large pot over medium heat.  Stir in tomato paste, and blend with peanut butter.
2. Mix in diced tomatoes with green chile peppers and chicken broth.  Cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Saute chicken and onions until chicken is no longer pink.
4. Add chicken, onions, and mushrooms into the peanut butter mixture, and continue cooking for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Season to taste with cayenne pepper.

You could easily add some more veggies to this and I wish I had (but not becauase it wasn't totally yummy already).  I think next time I'll try adding more mushrooms, carrots, and bell peppers.

Nutrition Information: 
Number of Servings: 6
Serving Size: 2/3 cup
MyPyramid contribution per serving:
1/2 cup Vegetables (1/2 cup other veggies)

4 ounces Meat and Beans

6 teaspoons Oils

Plantain Fufu

This time of year, I tend to like eating alot of warm starchy comfort foods.  But honestly, pasta, potatoes, perogies, and rice are getting a little old.  My friend Kimberly sent me this link to recipes from fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov and I was excited by the first recipe for fufu so I gave it a try and may I say...yum!  It's alot like mashed potatoes but with a sweet, banana-y flavor.

Ingredients:
5 Cups Water
4 Ripe Plantains*

*Plantains look much like bananas but are ripe when their peels turn black.  Green and yellow plantains can also be used for other purposes.

This is super simple but you can add other ingredients too if you want to add more flavor but I loved it plain.  Try minced garlic, orange juice, or fresh mint.

Directions:
1. Peel plantains and slice into 1-inch pieces.
2. Bring water to a boil. Add plantain pieces and cook on medium-high for 20 minutes.
3. Scoop the plantains out of the water and mash with a fork, potato masher, or meat tenderizer.  Add cooking water if need to keep it moist. 

Nutrition Information: 
Number of Servings: 4
Serving Size: 1 cup
MyPyramid contribution per serving:
1 cup Fruit

6 Way Cool Gift Ideas

Okay, so if you are anything like me, your are realizing it is a third of the way through December and you are totally freaking out.  However, unlike me, your stress is likely at least in part holiday related.  I, on the other hand, have enough to stress about without Christmas but I do want to help you deal with your stress - this is perhaps why my stress load is so high!  So here are just a couple simple but thoughtful gift ideas people will appreciate at Christmas or any time of the year.

1. Water bottle: Because who doesn't need to drink more water AND there are some really cool ones out there.  Sigg makes some great ones in all sorts of shapes and sizes, or how about this one from Gaiam?
   
   
2. Mini herb garden: One year my mom gave my' teacher a pot of parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme, and called it Scarborough Fair.  AeroGrow makes these cool indoor gardens - I want one (a big one).  Living Whole Foods makes an Indoor Culinary Herb Garden Starter Kit.  Bonus - gardening will make it feel like summer even in the middle of winter.
   

3. Books: I highly recommend Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink which talks about why we overeat without even being aware of it.  In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan is an interesting read too - his manifesto: Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants.
   

4. Fitness gear: Wouldn't you love some new stuff to help keep you active?  How about a yoga mat, some shiny golf balls, or a hula hoop.  C'mon tell me you don't want one.
   
5. Baking mixes or spice mixes:  This is a really easy one and it's great for your loved ones as well as casual acquaintances.  Just mix up the dry ingredients to any favorite recipe and the write out the recipe on a notecard.  You could do dry beans and rice (just add water and pork), or cookies (just like a boxed mix but with more heart), or a Spicy Butter Chicken spice mix.  Your imagination is the limit!
   
6. Lunch box: A quick search on Amazon.com will show you that there is a plethora of funky options out there and it's a great incentive to encourage you, uh, I mean, the gift recipient, to pack his lunch.

What are the way cool gifts you've gotten over the years?

Quiz Answer

Okay, so your guesses were nowhere near correct, I'm disappointed but I guess I will have to take it upon myself to train you better!  The product those ingredients belong to is Nestle Toll House Refrigerated Sugar Cookie Dough.

What the ingredients mean:
Bleached enriched flour - not whole wheat, but some vitamins and minerals are added back, not the fiber, healthy fats, protein, and phytonutrients though, which is sad because phytonutrients have magical powers
Sugar
Partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oils - trans fats
Water - this is a very important nutrient
Margarine
  (Soybean oil
   Partially hydrogenated soybean oil - oh look, more trans fats
   Water
   Salt
   Whey - by-product of cheese production
   Soy lecithin - it's an emulsifier so it keeps the dough all mixed together instead of separating
   Mono- and diglycerides - more emulsifiers
   Artificial flovor - shhh, it's a secret
   Beta-carotene color - a carrot would be better, but might taste strange in a sugar cookie - maybe not
   Vitamin A palmitate added - a synthetic form of vitamin A)
Eggs
Salt
Baking soda
Artificial flavors - more secrets`

Is there a better choice?
Healthy Eats has an easy recipe for sugar cookies with the following ingredients:
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup orange juice
2 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Doesn't that sound so much better? and simpler? and more pronounceable? Go ahead, give their recipe a try, I dare you!

And the winner is...
Marc had the closest guess - bread?.
Congratulations Marc, your are officially a Smartie Pants!

Quiz Time

I think it is time for another ingredient quiz.  So, here is an ingredient list - it's your job to name the product it belongs to. I'll post the correct answer on Monday.

Leave your guess in the comments and be as specific as possible. Good luck!

Ingredients: 
Bleached enriched flour
  (Wheat flour
   Niacin
   Reduced iron
   Thiamin mononitrate
   Riboflavin
   Folic acid)
Sugar
Partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oils
Water
Margarine
  (Soybean oil
   Partially hydrogenated soybean oil
   Water
   Salt
   Whey
   Soy lecithin
   Mono- and diglycerides
   Artificial flovor
   Beta-carotene color
   Vitamin A palmitate added)
Eggs
Salt
Baking soda
Artificial flavors

Made on equipment that also processes peanuts/nuts

Contains: Milk, Egg, Soy, Wheat ingredients

Turkey Sandwich Lunch Box

Contents:
Whole Wheat Bread (2 circles equivalent to one slice)
Cheddar Cheese (1/2 oz)
Muenster Cheese (1/2 oz)
Turkey (1/2 oz)
Green Pepper Slices (1/2 cup)
Mushroom Slices (1/2 cup)
Cherry Tomato Halves (1/4 cup)
Almonds (1 oz)
Turkey Pepperoni (2 oz)
Nori

I used a flower shaped cookie cutter to cut the cheese and a cup to cut the bread and turkey.  Apparently my design looks kinda like a lion - at least I won't have to think too hard when I decide to make a lion =)  It didn't look like it would be enough at first so I asked the husbandpants what else he wanted and he said turkey pepperoni - looking at it now, there was way too much meat and beans, but at least it was tasty - so I heard. 

MyPyramid Breakdown:

1 ounce Grains (whole grains)

1 1/4 cup Vegetables (other veggies)

1 cup Milk

4 1/2 ounces Meat and Beans
3 tsp Oils
120 ounces Discretionary Calories

Quiz Answer

According to a study done by Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab, the average calorie count for a modern Thanksgiving dinner is 2057 kcal.

This is more than many of us need to consume over an entire day!  And that is just the dinner - not counting breakfast, lunch and appetizers.  (Get an estimate of your daily calorie needs at MyPyramid.gov)

It takes 12h 42min of Black Friday shopping to burn this many calories for a 150 lb person.
To estimate how long you would have to do other activities to burn off this many calories, see healthstatus.com, but be careful not to let the ads hurt your eyes.

And the winner is...
gravityfalls had the closest guess at 2100 kcal.
Congratulations gravityfalls, your are officially a Smartie Pants!

Quiz Time

Fill in the blank.

According to a study done by Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab, the average calorie count for a modern Thanksgiving dinner is ________ kcal.

Leave your guess in the comments and I'll post the correct answer on Monday.  Good luck!

Smileys Lunch Box

Contents:
Basil Pasta Salad (1 1/2 cups)
Yellow Squash (3 slices)
Italian Sausage (1/2 link, sliced)
Babybel cheese (1)
Nori cut with kitchen scissors and kitchen hole punch (itty bitty bit)

MyPyramid Breakdown:
5 ounces Grains
1 cups Vegetables (1/2 cup dark green veggies, 1/2 cup other veggies)

1 1/3 cup Milk

2 ounces Meat and Beans

2 1/2 tsp Oils