December 2008 « askGeorgie.com

Chicken and Gorgonzola Flatbreads/ Spinach salad

Looking forward to waking unto a new year, with new possibilities and bigger and better things!
But for now, two recipes to finish out the year:

Chicken and Gorgonzola Flatbreads

2 low carb multigrain tortillas
4-6 oz leftover cooked chicken
2 oz gorgonzola cheese
2 oz lowfat mozzarella cheese
roasted red peppers
garlic powder
Top the tortillas with everything else, pop in a 400 degree [...]

What’s with the new sweeteners? What is Stevia?

If you use products like Equal or Splenda, you might have noticed some newcomers on grocery store shelves alongside the familiar products. Seemingly forever, the choices have been: Equal (aspartame), Splenda (sucralose) and Sweet N Low (saccharin). There have been less expensive asparatame and saccharin products, (including Natrataste and store brands), but Splenda was the only [...]

Contaminated Diet Pills

I hope none of my readers or clients is foolish enough to take a diet pill, but I’ll send out this warning anyway because it’s interesting. On Monday the FDA issued a warning about several brands of diet pills sold in retail stores and over the internet. The pills were found to contain ingredients not stated [...]

Sneaky Trans fat: long product list here

It all started in the granola bar section.

I was checking out Fiber One granola bars, thinking “I really like that cereal, maybe I could take a box of the bars on the climbing trip next weekend.” But reading the ingredients list, oh shucks, why did you have to spoil them with trans fat? And back on the [...]

Happy Holidays!

So Hannukah is underway, and Christmas is around the corner, among other celebrations this time of year. It’s a time for food, family, gift giving, and taking a break from work. Soon after the holidays pass, it’s time for New Years, which lets us all reflect on the last year and the 365 days which lie ahead. If [...]

Surviving Finals

Thanks LG for this article suggestion. You rock.

As the holidays approach, we’ve all got some health-challenging situations coming our way! Between holiday shopping, parties, and family gatherings with waaaay too much food, our fitness and nutrition plans can get pushed aside.
Being a student at this time of year gets you a double whammy! Several weeks leading [...]

What about diet soda?

I got the above question from a reader, and figured others might wonder the same thing. (If you havent read the previous post, go read that one first)

Great question. As far as sugar, answer is simple: diet sodas don’t contain sugar. In my book a switch from regular soda to diet is definitely a smart idea, [...]

Think Before You Drink

A recent study from Johns Hopkins University shows that the beverage choices Americans make are really getting us into trouble. Alcohol? No, we’re talking about sugar! Americans are consuming dramatically more sugar sweetened beverages than 20 years ago, including soda, sweetened teas, fruit drinks, and sports drinks. Especially alarming, the average young adult (between 20-44 years of [...]

Didn’t we know that?

A recent study reports that childbirth increases a woman’s risk of becoming obese.

I’m not a mother, but I’ve heard it more than enough times. In various phrasing, women complain that they weren’t overweight until after starting a family. Rather than boo-hoo about this unfortunate destiny, let’s look at the reasons and what we can do about [...]

Butternut "Fries"

This isn’t an original idea, so I can take no credit here! Making squash “fries” was something I had heard of and wanted to try. I’m not a french fry lover, or even much of a potato fan, but this is hands-down a new favorite of mine! It takes some work to cut up the squash, [...]

How does vanilla flavor add so many calories?

“How on earth does vanilla flavor add so many calories?”
(Referring to plain yogurt versus vanilla yogurt). -K.A.

Good question, but that means you haven’t been a label sleuth! Check out the Nutrition Facts panels on those yogurts, as well as the ingredients list, and you’ll see it’s not the vanilla flavoring but the added sugars that jack [...]

Gettin’ Wild

My husband brought home a large piece of venison a few days ago (from a friend of a friend who goes hunting). So being entrusted with this slab of wild game, I have to figure out how to cook it! It’s a very dark red meat, with a fair amount of connective tissue but not a [...]

Finding Vitamin D

In my earlier post, I mentioned all the health benefits of making sure you get adequate vitamin D. Now, let’s get to the important, useful stuff. What can we do to get more vitamin D?

Many people know that you can actually synthesize Vitamin D in your skin with exposure to sunlight. However, several factors can limit [...]

Weight loss, not bone loss

One concern regarding weight loss is that as the pounds drop, so does bone mineral content. Many research teams across the country (including one at my home university, Rutgers) are studying this phenomenon. It’s hoped that ways can be found to reduce the amount of bone mass lost on weight loss programs.

I read an article today [...]

Vitamin D: Beyond Bone Health

Vitamin D has been getting a lot of attention lately. In the past it was lumped in with Calcium as a bone-builder, and that was about it. It is true that insufficient vitamin D can cause weakening of the bones and osteoporosis. But now, studies are showing that vitamin D status goes way beyond bone building, [...]

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