Holiday MyPlate

Posted on October 2, 2017 by Stephanie Ronco

As a special holiday bonus, I want to offer you the wonderful MyPlate handout that accompanies the Holiday MyPlate poster. If you like what you see, it’s not too late to pick up some last minute-holiday resources in the Nutrition Education Store — now’s the perfect time to prepare for those New Year’s resolutions…

Holiday times are here! This means a lot more activity and disruption to regular meal and exercise patterns. The good news is that you can remember MyPlate’s most important message to lower calories and eat healthier! Make half your plate fruits and veggies.

Here is how to adopt that message during the crazy holiday rush:

#1. Fill appetizer plates halfway with vegetables.

Look at the savings:

Plate 1: 546 calories

4 mini quiche: 240
2 slices cheddar cheese: 226
5 crackers: 80 calories

Plate 2: 145 calories

1 cup carrots and celery 25
2 mini quiche: 120

Visualize a plate before you eat snacks (and bring your snacks!).

Are you zooming through the mall and tempted by large pretzels, cookies, and cinnamon rolls? They smell great and offer holiday spirit except they are really bad news for your waist. We have become oblivious to lare sizes because they are everywhere. Picture that item on a dinner plate. Does a cinnamon roll or pretzel likely take up a whole plate? That is too much! Bring an apple in your bag or choose a healthier item from the food court.

#2. Fill dessert plates halfway with fruit.

Instead of filling up your plate with pie, cake, brownies, and cookies, fill it up with fruit and leave room for a small slice or piece of one favorite treat.

Consider the savings:

Plate 1: 900 calories

Pecan pie slice: 500
1 butter cookie: 200
Peppermint brownie: 200

Plate 2: 145 calories

1 cup fresh fruit: 90
1 cookie or 1/2 of a pie slice: 200 calories

Hint: bring a beautiful fresh fruit salad or bowl of fruit so you can have this option.

#3. Make a healthy plate for lunch and dinner.

No matter where you eat, using the MyPlate method of portion control can help you lower calories.

1 big bowl of pasta with meatballs: 900 calories
MyPlate method: 1/4 pasta, 1/4 meatball, and 1/2 veggies = 400 calories

Make MyPlate at home, when you eat out, and when you are a guest somewhere else. It works in the cafeteria, the food court, the drive through and office parties!

#4. Eat a healthy snack plate with fruits and veggies before going to a party.

Okay so we realize it is not always easy to eat MyPlate at someone else’s house or the office party. So here is one more strategy. Eat your MyPlate fruits and veggies before you go out. Eat a small salad and a piece of fruit — that way when you go somewhere you can have a smaller serving of what they are offering and you won’t arrive starved only to fill up on a whole plate of fried chicken or fatty roast beef and fritters.

Will this be helpful for you or your clients? If so, don’t miss the free PDF handout available below. Normally it’s exclusive for people who buy the Holiday MyPlate poster, but I want to make an exception today…

Activity Idea: Crostini Bar

Posted on May 30, 2017 by Stephanie Ronco

You guys, I just got the coolest request from longtime reader Pat Hunter.

Pat wrote…

I am working on a simple demo for a table I am planning on the topic of plant-based meals. I thought a crostini bar might be an inviting stop for customers. Everyone enjoys make-your-own bars. I would like to use a whole grain cracker, hummus, etc. Have you ever created a handout on this topic?

I haven’t made a handout on this particular topic, but today I want to share a bunch of strategies in this blog post.

Here’s everything you need to build a tasty and appealing crostini bar that’s also good for health!

The Bases:

Crostini make the most sense as the base for a crostini bar. For a nutrient boost, make sure that you’re slicing and toasting whole wheat bread or using pre-made crostini that highlight whole grains.

As Pat suggested, whole grain crackers are also a delightful base for the toppings, and in this day and age it might be wise to throw in some healthful gluten-free crackers as well.

Sliced cucumbers can also be good bases for the toppings in this bar if people are looking to go low-carb or get an extra veggie boost.

The Middles:

Plain hummus is a great topping for the next section of the crostini. Its mild flavor complements the toppings to follow, and its creamy texture makes it an effective “glue” for holding the toppings to the bases. Set out a few different flavors of hummus and let participants try their favorites.

Artichoke tapenade, olive tapenade, and red pepper tapenade are all also colorful and tasty options for the “middle” section of the crostini bar. Choose the options with the lowest sodium to keep your bar heart-healthy.

Finally, bean dip makes a great high-fiber addition to this crostini bar.

The Toppings:

Now let’s add some color! Sliced and diced raw vegetables are phenomenal toppings for a crostini bar. Plus, they add the necessary visual appeal and crunch that a topping should provide. Go for a mix of things like shredded carrots, halved grape tomatoes, ribboned cucumber (use a peeler to make thin ribbons), diced celery, sliced radishes, chopped bell peppers — really whatever is in season and looks appealing would be great at this part of the bar.

A shredded green salad with a light dressing can also be a great crostini topper. Consider ribbons of raw kale or chard, bulked up with shredded carrots or Brussels sprouts, then tossed with a bit of oil and fresh lemon juice.

You can also add steamed and sliced beets with goat cheese as a final option in the toppings section of your bar.

The Finishing Touches:

Salt, pepper, olive oil, citrus juice, fresh herbs, toasted and chopped/sliced nuts, and/or salad dressings can all add the perfect “finishing touch” to a crostini bar. Consider setting out a selection of those ingredients at the end of the bar for people to add to their creations before they eat them.

So, what do you think? Are you ready to build a crostini bar for your next presentation or event?

Fruit: Nature’s Fast Food

Posted on May 9, 2017 by Stephanie Ronco

I’ve got a fun new poster in the store, and today I want to share a little bit about it with you!

First things first, here’s my latest creation:

I was inspired by the fresh produce available last summer at one of my local markets, so when I got home I couldn’t resist setting up a quick still life to highlight these tasty stone fruits at their peak.

Imagine my surprise when this print won 1st place in the Open Print category of the 2016 Annual Print Competition at the Palo Alto Camera Club. Ron Herman was the judge, and I was completely floored by his decision.

Soon after this picture won, I decided to feature it in my gallery showing this past winter. The showing was titled “A Visual Feast” and took place at the Avenue 25 Gallery in San Mateo California. In fact, if you look closely, you can see this photo hanging with a few other favorites in the picture below.*

I was so proud of this original photo that I decided to turn it into a poster. But what to call it?

I wanted to steer clear of additional artistic commentary and let the image speak for itself, so I focused my brainstorming on key health lessons and nutrition topics. Then, out of the blue, it hit me. Fruit is nature’s fast food! I often grab a peach or a handful of cherries on my way out the door or to snack on as I work at my desk, and I realized that these snacking habits had — over time — gradually replaced my reliance on fast food. I’m sure that this change in my routine was great news for my health, and so now I want to share that epiphany with your clients in order to encourage them to also change their habits.

And that’s how this poster came to be. How will you use it?

Nature's Fast Food Poster - Peaches and Cherries Food Photo Poster - Motivational Poster

$19.00 ~~$24.00~~

Add to Cart

And here are some other resources that can help make your life easier…

3 Activity Ideas to Make Every Bite Count

Posted on April 25, 2017 by Stephanie Ronco

New wristbands have hit the store and I couldn’t be more thrilled.

Check out these great reminders to help your clients build a healthful eating pattern:

The thing I love about wristbands is that they are present every day. You can get the reminder whether your motivation is waxing or waning, and their placement on the wrist ensures that wristbands don’t get overlooked. The eye-catching color of these particular wristbands is an added bonus.

Today I want to celebrate the debut of these wristbands by featuring 3 activities that bring home the message that it’s important to make every bite count. These wristbands can be used as prizes for achievement and/or participation.

Activity #1: Word Cloud

Give each participant a blank sheet of paper and some colored pens or pencils. Have everyone write “Make Every Bite Count” in large letters in the middle of the page. Then, working individually, have each student write down words that can inspire them to make every bite count. Recommend varying the font size based on that idea’s importance to each student.

Once everyone has created their word clouds, reconvene the group and discuss what they wrote. You can either collect their papers and turn them into a display, or create a larger word cloud on a piece of posterboard with everyone’s suggestions.

Make Every Bite Count Wristband 8" Adult - 20 pack - with forks

$26.00 ~~$25.00~~

Add to Cart

Activity #2: Bite Buffet

Have each person bring in enough bite-size portions of their favorite healthful snack for each other member of the group to try. (Discuss food allergies and aversions before introducing this activity). As people snack, discuss what makes each food healthful. How does a single bite play into a larger eating pattern?

Activity #3: Bedazzle the Band

Distribute one Make Every Bite Count wristband to each person, along with a few colorful sharpies. Discuss the key topics addressed in this page, highlighting MyPlate’s encouragement to make small changes and remember that every food and drink you consume matters.

Have people decorate their wristbands with images of healthful foods and drinks or other reminders that every bite is important, keeping attention focused on the central premise highlighted on the band itself. This can be done in a group setting or individually at home.

And here are a few more wristbands for your perusal…

8 Things We Learned About Sugar

Posted on April 13, 2017 by Stephanie Ronco

When the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) released their recommendations about sugar intake, we thought they made a lot of sense. After all, the World Health Organization has been recommending a 10% calorie limit on added sugars for over a decade. The DGA committee now recognizes that sugar makes up about 30% of daily calories in our country, so changes are needed to cut down on sugary beverages, snacks, and desserts with added sugars. Treat foods and beverages are no longer treats but daily staples, which in turn is a significant cause of obesity when people are not getting enough physical activity and when high-sugar foods are replacing high-fiber foods that can help people feel more satiated.

Yet if you tell people to keep their sugar intake to 10% of their daily calories, this advice doesn’t necessarily have much real-world meaning.

People would have to do a bit of math to figure out how much sugar that that recommendation is allowing for each day. To calculate it, they would first need to land on a daily calorie intake. A 2,000-calorie-per-day eating pattern is pretty typical, so in our example let’s use that as a base number. 10% of 2,000 calories is 200 calories each day. There’s the maximum in an easier format to apply to day-to-day life.

Of course, some people prefer to calculate their sugar needs in grams. To do that, divide the daily total calories from sugar by 4 (calories per gram). For a 2,000-calorie diet, the max is 50 grams.

Just for kicks, let’s set that out in teaspoons too. There are 4 grams of sugar in a teaspoon. That means that the daily cap is set at roughly 12 teaspoons of added sugars per day.

I hope those mathematical measurements can help your clients apply the DGA’s sugar recommendations to their daily lives. You can find all these measurements in the Sugar Math poster, which is what started this entire mathematical exercise.

Of course, the importance of sugar math isn’t the only thing we learned as we were putting the poster together. Here are the top 8 lessons that really made us think as we created that resource…

One 12-ounce soda can have about 40 grams of sugar. That’s almost a full day’s supply of added sugar. Kid-sized sodas at most fast food places are 12 ounces — the same amount as that can of soda!
Regular and large sodas at fast food places are usually equivalent to 2 or more cans of soda.
Sweetened iced tea contains a surprising amount of sugar, roughly 22 grams per cup. Most bottles contain a couple cups or more, which in turn makes it easy to consume a day’s supply of sugar in one bottle of iced tea.
Sweet treats are not only high in sugar but they are also high in calories. The average large cookie contains over 400 calories and a day’s supply of added sugars.
Coffee drinks, tea, sodas, snacks, sweetened yogurt, and dessert can easily supply three days or more’s worth of sugar. It all adds up.
A surprise to our team was that a can of soda is equivalent to a serving of candy!
50 grams can add up quickly, but if we could get to dinner without putting sweetened beverages in our day, then we had a little of our sugar budget left over for a half cup of frozen yogurt. In a typical day, I used the rest of my budget on a cereal bar and jam for a sandwich. Overall, the guideline helped us lower our calories, especially in beverage calories.
It’s a great idea to track what you eat and drink in a day so you can make better choices.

And there you have it! 8 things we learned while putting together the Sugar Math poster. I’m really proud of this poster — it’s a great resource for nutrition and health educators because it lays out key lessons about added sugars in a fun and memorable way.

Want to share these lessons with your clients? From our collection of free printable nutrition education materials comes a new PDF handout all about added sugars!

And here are some other fantastic sugar education resources, straight from the Nutrition Education Store!

Sugar-DVD - Sugar Video - Nutrition Education DVD

$79.00 ~~$79.00~~

Add to Cart

$Sugar Math Tearpad - Nutrition Education Store$

Sugar Math Tearpad

$42.00 ~~$46.00~~

Add to Cart

Are You Drinking Candy? Sugar and Beverage Awareness Poster

$22.75 ~~$25.50~~

Add to Cart

Inside Look: Fabulous Fruits and Veggies

Posted on September 2, 2015 by Stephanie Ronco

You already know that September is Fruits and Veggies More Matters Month, but have you seen our new fruit and vegetable poster?

This is one of my favorites yet, and it offers a great way to promote healthful eating patterns. Fabulous Fruits and Veggies is perfect for offices, health fair displays, cooking demonstrations, cafeterias, schools, and more!

So how did this one come to be?

Here’s a sneak peek…

After seeing all the gorgeous fruits and vegetables at the Davis farmers’ markets, I knew that I had to feature their magnificent colors and textures in a new poster. I wanted to highlight the brightness and freshness of fruits and veggies, but I wasn’t quite sure how to start.

The answer lay in a collage.

I combined images of various fruits and vegetables, arranging them into bright patterns and stripes. And that’s when it hit me — fruits and veggies can take you up, up, and away! What better way to highlight that health and energy boost than with the colorful hot air balloons that so often dot the skies by my house.

I worked with my team of artists to create a picture of people setting off on hot air balloon adventures, adjusting and tweaking the picture until I got it just right.

But what to call the poster?

That’s where my editorial team came in. We did a few rounds of brainstorming, exploring titles like “Fuel Your Adventures with Fruits and Vegetables,” “Fruit and Vegetable Explorations,” and “Get and Fruit and Vegetable Boost,” but ultimately, we decided to keep it simple with “Fabulous Fruits and Veggies.”

And here comes the best part.

The handout.

My team and I decided that we wanted the free handout that accompanies this poster to feature lots of fun ways to incorporate fruits and vegetables into a healthy eating pattern. Pretty great timing for Fruits and Veggies More Matters Month, huh? The best part is that you can get this handout, today! Simply click on the picture of the handout above and you can download your very own PDF copy, for free. Hooray!

And of course, if you like what you see, consider getting a print of this wonderful poster. It’s as engaging as it is versatile, and is sure to brighten up any space!

There are lots of great new resources in the Nutrition Education Store these days! Which one will make your life easier?

Fruit and Veggie Pens

Diabetes 101 Presentation

Exercise Poster

We’re here to help you look your very best, right now.

Testing Recipes from the Internet

Posted on December 24, 2014 by cheryle

I’ll warn you before you start reading — today I’m on my own personal soap box.

This box is all about recipes on the internet.

It starts small. A new recipe appears somewhere on the internet. It’s got a great photo, a clever name, and a health claim to fame. It asserts that it is “Diet-friendly!” with “No Added Sugars!” It could announce that it is a “Sweet treat without the splurge!” or “Better than candy!” The options are endless.

I watch as this recipe spreads across the internet. It hits Pinterest, then gets shared on Facebook. People tweet it and blog about it. It gets featured on news sites and healthy living guides. All this time I keep seeing it again and again. “NO ADDED SUGAR!!!!” it screams. “AMAZING FOR YOUR DIET!!!” it raves. So what’s the problem?

Sugar.

Yes, there is no sugar added to those miracle banana bars or healthified refrigerator cookies. Yes, the ingredients are all actual foods. But there’s something that these recipes don’t seem to consider, and that is the calorie and sugar content of the actual ingredients.

Why do people think that just because you don’t add sugar to a recipe that it doesn’t have calories or natural sugars?

Let’s look at an example. A super-popular oatmeal banana bar recipe had hit social media (and my inbox) hard. Since I was looking for snack ideas for my ongoing weight loss class, I gave it a try.

As soon as I started to cook, I wondered if anyone who had sent this recipe to me or posted a link to it had actually tried it. After all, it didn’t specify what size pan I needed. I tried an 8×8 pan and the results were awful. It tasted like cold oatmeal. At this point, I still held out some hope. Maybe it was just me. Maybe my pan guess was wrong. Since I’d gotten this recipe roughly 2,174 times, I figured that I should try again, this time with a 9×13 pan. Sadly, the results were comparable. No matter how long I baked them or the size of the pan, the bars was still really moist and gooey. I even added some nuts for crunch. They worked, but they couldn’t save the dish.

I’m afraid that that’s not where this story ends. Deciding to dig deeper, I did a quick nutrition analysis of the bars using the USDA nutrition database. Since the recipe didn’t specify number of servings or serving size, I really didn’t know how many of these oatmeal banana bars I was supposed to get. Eyeballing the figure, I guessed that each pan held roughly 12 servings. My quick calculations came to 105 calories, 2.4 grams of fiber and 8.5 grams of sugar in one 3-inch square bar from a 9×13 pan. That’s from a recipe whose claim to fame is “no added sugar.” Doesn’t that seem a bit calorie-dense for a healthful sweet treat?

I can think of many other ways to spend my 105 calories in a snack that actually tastes better. A good starting point would be to eat the banana, applesauce, bowl of oatmeal, or raisins that were all called for in this recipe.

Was I alone in my assessment of this social media phenomenon? I took to the internet. Comments on the recipe largely matched my experience, with complaints about sponginess and soggy textures. Claims that these are the perfect healthful snack “if you have a sweet tooth” fell flat. After all, you’d have to be pretty desperate to eat these things.

Okay, let me hop down from my soap box for a while and get to the point.

Just because you saw it on the internet doesn’t mean it’s really good.

Is the recipe truly healthful, or does it just spout health claims? What are the ingredients? How do they come together to form the dish? What is the nutrient content?

I make a point to always test a recipe before I give it to a class or print it in a piece I’m writing. The only exception comes when I know the developers and they are trusted sources. For example, I know that Chef Judy from Food and Health Communications has a strict policy for all the recipes that she publishes. They must work and they also must taste good.

I also realize that not everyone looks at a recipe in the same way. If you’re sharing a recipe, be specific about can sizes, pan sizes, and box sizes. Please don’t make nutrition claims about a recipe unless you know for sure.

So, want to make a tasty snack that actually offers health benefits while staying low in calories? Try Garden Pinwheels, a recipe from Judy Doherty that features fresh veggies and light cream cheese, rolled up in a tasty tortilla and sliced into cute wheels. With only 66 calories and 56% of your daily value for vitamin A, this snack is good for your health and your taste buds! Take a look.

By Cheryle Jones Syracuse, MS, Professor Emeritus, The Ohio State University

Want tried-and-true recipes that you know will work and be healthful at the same time? Check out these resources…

Home Run Cookbook: Healthful Meals and Cooking Tips

Fruit Tooth Dessert Cookbook: Healthful Recipes that Satisfy a Sweet Tooth without Empty Calories

Salad Secrets Cookbook: Salad Doesn’t Have to be Boring

Free Handout: The Pillars of Healthful Snacking

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Stephanie Ronco

It’s that special time again — free handout time! This month’s handout is all about healthful snack habits, setting up the 4 pillars of healthful snacking in a simple, fun, and accessible format. It goes particularly well with this Healthful Snacking Poster, which is available in the Nutrition Education Store.

Download the Pillars of Healthful Snacking now!

There is so much you can do with this handout, from leading a snacking workshop, preparing a cooking demonstration, or just distributing it to participants as they need it. What are you going to do with yours? If you need more inspiration, check out the other resources that the Nutrition Education Store has to offer…

Healthful Snacking Poster

Cooking Demonstration Kit

Home Run Cookbook

Remember to check back here next month for another free handout!

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