My daughter is in 3rd grade this year. As a mom and Registered Dietitian, you might be surprised to hear that I rarely pack a lunch for her from home. Why? Because I know that school meals are a healthy choice. How do I know? I’ve spent most of my 13 years as a dietitian working directly in a school nutrition department, and indirectly as a School Wellness Consultant.
As more and more people are becoming interested in gut health, fermented foods have quickly risen in popularity. Kefir (pronounced kuh’FEER) is one of the latest fermented foods to reach newfound fame, and it touts all the benefits of dairy in addition to being packed with probiotics.
Let’s talk turkey. Every year, many of us buy too much food for the holidays. And once the holiday is over, we banish it to storage containers in our fridge, destined to never see the light of day. Food waste in this country costs all of us money – more than $370 per person, per year. Let’s try to turn that around. With a little planning, you can go from food waste to great taste.
Dairy MAX represents more than 900 dairy farm families across our region – not just in spreading the word about dairy, but also in giving back to our community. Here are the top five examples of how Dairy MAX and local dairy farmers are promoting nutrition in schools.
Every burger deserves some love, and by love, I mean cheese. Am I right?!
Burgers are the blue jeans of the culinary world. We have burgers on a regular busy weeknight. We invite our favorite people over to enjoy burgers on the grill. We can dress up burgers or serve them as sliders. But burgers are just plain without ooey, gooey, melty, yummy cheese!
Whether you’re trying to recover from a brutal workout or please the taste buds of your family members, there are plenty of reasons chocolate milk is the all-star in your fridge.
Our kids snack. Why shouldn’t we?
As a busy mother of two and a nutrition whisperer (technically, family and consumer science educator), I can assure you there are real benefits to smart snacking. According to Densie Webb, PhD, RD, “Research suggests nutritious snacks that fit into your client’s calorie needs may control weight and improve overall health.”1
Most Americans are falling short on key nutrients. Smart snacking can fill important nutrient gaps, as long as we stay within our caloric needs for the day.
Research shows that eating 25-30 grams of protein at breakfast helps with weight maintenance and blood glucose control, and promotes lean muscle. Milk and other dairy foods are an easy way to add high quality protein to your morning routine.
1 cup of milk provides 8 grams of high quality protein, plus eight other essential nutrients. One cup of skim milk only has about 80 calories, making it an ideal addition to fuel your morning.
Who doesn’t love cheese? Sliced on crackers. Melted on pizza. Grated over spaghetti. And the good news is, cheese is a nutritious food with important health benefits! It can fit into any healthy eating plan.
So as a registered dietitian nutritionist and self-proclaimed cheese aficionado, I’m officially giving you permission to enjoy cheese with these seven delicious ways.
You probably heard when you were a kid that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Yet many Americans skip breakfast frequently. So is the morning meal really that important?
As a registered dietitian nutritionist, here’s what I know based on the science.
Is breakfast really the most important meal of the day?
