Falling in Love with Fall

October is my favorite month of the year- there are so many reasons to celebrate! My birthday (a questionable reason to celebrate), Florida finally reaches less than 90 degrees, and of course the wonderful seasonal food! I would not be surprised if I woke up orange one day from the amount of pumpkin I've been eating. It can be added to everything- oatmeal, cookies, pudding, brown rice, smoothies, sauces...this list goes on. In addition to pumpkin, there's cranberries, pears, butternut and acorn squash and the debut of soup/chili season. I've got more recipes than I can keep up with. A fun one I tried with a friend recently was a butternut squash-apple-cranberry mixture with a little bit of brown sugar and butter. Can you say delicious?

As dietitians, we encourage people to eat from the "rainbow;" meaning the brighter the colors the more nutrient-filled the food (vegetable or fruit). It's true- they are loaded with vitamins, minerals, and other health-boosting, disease fighting nutrients. Fall foods provide such a good opportunity! It's never been more fun to eat healthfully. Baked or poached apples, peaches or pears tossed with seasonal spices like cinnamon and nutmeg make the perfect side dish or dessert. No kidding, my roommate and I have gone through at least 3 bottles of ground cinnamon.

I'll be sad to see all these foods go, but until then I'll experiment all I can. I know it's a little premature for New Years resolutions, but this year I think I'll resolve to eat pumpkin all year long. To whet your taste buds, check out this yummy recipe below-courtesy of Whole Foods of course :) www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2377.

Yes, No, Maybe later...

Did you know the average person makes about 200 food-related decisions per day? Wow! There's a lot more to it than deciding "what will I have for dinner tonight?" We are constantly making decisions and many of those are influenced by our environment (i.e. do I eat the candy sitting on my co-workers desk? If so, how many? One handful? Two?) . I ran across this article that highlights some other examples: http://www.ahwatukee.com/ahwatukee_medical/article_5c985a3a-c827-11df-9837-001cc4c03286.html

I always encourage my patients to set themselves up for success. The less decisions you have to make, and the less contact you have with environmental eating cues, the easier it is to eat healthfully. For example, it's a lot easier to say "no" to the ice cream ONCE in the grocery store than it is to say "no" every time you open your freezer. (Trust me, I know from experience.)

Mission: In Progress

I have been a bad blogger. Life got (extra) busy for a few weeks and I did not share about my GF adventures. I successfully finished my GF month with only a few minor slip-ups. My biggest rookie error was eating a non-GF frozen mac'n'cheese entree thinking it was GF (I swear it was when I grabbed it off the shelf). Since I last blogged, I have transitioned into the young old age of 26 with GF pumpkin cream cheese cupcakes (thanks roomie), successfully navigated an unplanned eating out experience (it was Mexican), and experimented with some delicious quinoa recipes (I'm obsessed)!

I also got to refine my explanation of a gluten free lifestyle to the many people who asked me why on earth I would do this. My knowledge is far from complete, however. I know that it would take many months to become truly expert in the day-to-day living, but I am confident that I could function fairly well.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading other people's blogs about gluten free living and talking with friends-it has been enlightening! I also kept my eyes open for professional updates that came through my work contacts and found several new resources. One I was particularly happy about is that General Mills brands (including Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Progresso, etc) is introducing several new products in the coming months and will have more than 350 soon. And all will be labeled 'Gluten Free.' You can find recipes, menu planners, product listings, and additional resources at http://www.liveglutenfreely.com/.

I am taking a hiatus for the next few weeks until I decide on my next mission. I am open to suggestions! I will plan to stay connected with interesting articles and fun recipes in the mean-time. Until then- per la salude!

She must have read my blog...

An article came out today quoting Shelley Case (the Registered Dietitian who is a leading expert in Celiac Disease) on her stance that Gluten Free products should focus on nutritional quality and not just taste/texture. As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, many GF products are not fortified with vitamins and minerals that regular wheat/grain products are. The result is that people following GF diets that may not be health-conscious can become deficient in certain nutrients. (Who would ever think to check if they are getting 100% of their daily riboflavin besides a dietitian anyway?)

Here's a link to the article: http://www.bakeryandsnacks.com/Formulation/Industry-warned-over-nutritional-content-of-gluten-free-products