Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Engine!

Last night, fellow What’s In Your Cart? assistant Colleen and I had the opportunity to kick off a 28-day Healthy Eating Challenge through a program run by Whole Foods Market, Ann Arbor. The challenge is built around the “Engine 2 Diet”, and the Whole Foods Market “Health Starts Here” healthy eating philosophy.

We will primarily focus the next 28-days around the Whole Foods Market Four Pillars of Healthy Eating: whole foods, nutrient dense, whole food, plant-strongTM & healthy fats. Our goal will be to eat a diet in which the majority of our nutrients come from vegetables (especially the leafy green ones☺), fruit, legumes & beans, nuts & seeds and whole grains. Being a nutrition company with a focus on a vegetarian / vegan diet, we’re psyched to explore all the new recipes and products that this month will bring (and excited to share them with you!)

We will also be cognizant of the sources of our dietary fat, aiming to get essential fatty acids from whole foods such as nuts, seeds & avocados rather than processed oils. We will set goals, track our progress, try new foods, meet & support one another & have fun!

It was truly inspiring to be around such a motivated group of people, excited to learn about what a plant-strongTM diet can do for their health. Whole Foods Market Healthy-Eating Specialist, Jan Kemp, has a great 6 weeks planned for us and I can tell the added support of weekly meetings, recipe sharing, and learning will be a bonus to all of us making this effort.

I look forward to learning and experiencing the power behind the foods we choose to eat as well as sharing it with you all as we embark on this challenge. Be sure to follow us daily on facebook as we post new products, recipes and tips not only from the 28-day challenge, but from our own findings too!

Whole Foods Market is Coming to Detroit!

It’s a big day for Detroit—Whole Foods Market just announced their plans to open a store in Detroit in 2013! The store will be located in Midtown at the corner of Mack and John R.

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What’s In Your Cart? is absolutely thrilled to hear this news! Healthy options and nutritious products will be just around the corner in the D, and we can’t wait to offer our grocery store tours and nutrition services at the new location.

Check out the full story in the New York Times here.

Partially Hydrogenated Fats

What’s the difference between partially hydrogenated fats and fully hydrogenated fats? Are they all bad?

A client recently asked this question, and we’d like to share the response with all of you because it is a common topic of confusion.

We’ve all heard about the dangers of trans fats, but where do they come from? Trans fats are naturally occurring in many animal products such as beef and dairy, but they are also present in a man-made form known as partially hydrogenated fats. These oils are made in a lab by adding hydrogen atoms to vegetable oil, which is naturally unsaturated, thus making the oil “partially hydrogenated.” Partially hydrogenated fats are attractive to the food industry because they:

- Have a longer shelf life than nonhydrogenated fats
- Can withstand heat
- Contribute to the desired texture of snack foods such as chips and cookies
- Can be easily converted to solids for transportation.

Partially hydrogenated fats are used in some fried foods, baked goods, and processed snack foods.

As scientists and researchers have learned about the negative effects of trans fats and partially hydrogenated fats—mainly that these fats increase LDL (bad) cholesterol and lower HDL (good) cholesterol levels and increase the risk of coronary heart disease—many manufacturers have responded by eliminating or reducing the levels of partially hydrogenated fats present in their products. Some cities, such as New York City, have banned the use of partially hydrogenated fats for frying in their restaurants.

It’s also important to note that food manufacturers in the United States may market their products as “trans fat free” if the product contains less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving. This is vital information for the consumer because if you eat multiple servings of the product (as many of us do with chips and cookies!), you may consume substantial levels of trans fats.

We know to stay away from partially hydrogenated fats. So what about fully hydrogenated fats?

Liquid oils that are naturally unsaturated (such as vegetable oils) can be transformed to fully hydrogenated oils by exposing them to hydrogen gas for a longer amount of time than that required to form partially hydrogenated fats. Thus, the oils are completely saturated and trans-fat free. However, the fat is very hard and waxy , so it is not as popular in the food industry. It must be blended with vegetable oil to reach a desirable consistency to be used in margarines and baked goods.

Now what?

As the public becomes more aware of the detrimental effects of partially hydrogenated fats, the food industry has responded by turning to olive, canola, corn, and soy oils for their fat needs. Palm and coconut oils are also becoming more popular. Recent research suggests that coconut oil raises HDL (good) cholesterol levels.

Be a proactive consumer and get to know your fats!

Sources:
S., Sareen, Jack L., and James L. Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism, 5th ed. Wadsworth Pub Co, 2008.
The Nutrition Source. Harvard School of Public Health. “Shining the Spotlight on Trans Fats.”

Danialle Karmanos’ Work It Out!

Summer interns Kim Devine and Colleen Davis visited What’s In Your Cart? partner organization, Danialle Karmanos’ Work It Out last week. Colleen shares her experience!

Childhood obesity is a true epidemic in our country–1 out of 3 American children are considered obese.  Danialle Karmanos’ Work It Out (DKWIO) program is a non-profit organization that uses a holistic approach to nutrition education and yoga practice to prevent childhood obesity in at-risk children in Detroit and the surrounding areas. 

The benefits of yoga for children are numerous.  Participating children are able to increase their physical strength, flexibility, coordination, and body awareness, in addition to gaining a sense of calm and relaxation.  Additionally, yoga is a non-competitive sport that children can participate in on their own in the safety of their own homes.

The program uses a 10-week series of one-hour formulas to maximize learning opportunities for students.

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• Introduction – 10 Minutes
• Nutrition – 5 Minutes
• Activity (Yoga Practice) – 30 Minutes
• Relaxation – 10 Minutes
• Recap and Resources – 5 Minutes

Each class also incorporates a theme, such as Energy, Strength, Healing, Flexibility, Peace, Joy, Compassion, Brain Development, Concentration, and Gratitude.

Kim and I arrived at the DKWIO office housed in the Compuware headquarters in Detroit and Director of Operations Laura Mackiewicz explained the details of the program.

 DKWIO provides services at the Detroit Boys & Girls Clubs, Detroit Public Schools, and various charter schools in the community.  DKWIO supplies the teacher and all materials needed for the 10-week session in this handy kit!

We also discussed the nutrition lessons that are presented during each session.  What’s In Your Cart? owner Stacy Goldberg developed these short lessons to include in each child’s handbook.  Topics include everything from the benefits of calcium to the importance of showing gratitude for our food.  The main emphasis of the nutrition education is to make healthy choices when you have a choice.

We also had the opportunity to observe one of the sessions with the theme “healing”.  Each child sat on his or her assigned mat and listened to the teacher give a quick lesson on the importance of protein for their growing bodies.  They brainstormed protein sources, including beans, dairy, and meat.

Then it was time for some yoga action!  It was fun to see the kids so excited!

We had a great experience at DKWIO and are looking forward to staying involved with the program! 

Camp Sea-Gull Women’s Spa Retreat

What’s In Your Cart? had the pleasure of presenting nutrition information at Camp Sea-Gull Women’s Spa Retreat last week!  Nutritionist Stacy Goldberg gave a lecture on Portion Distortion at camp on Tuesday night, highlighting the importance of being aware of portion sizes and servings.

Grab your measuring cups the next time you portion out a snack!  You might be surprised at what a true serving is.  Did you know a full  banana is actually 2 servings of fruit? 

The What’s In Your Cart? team also provided a grocery store tour to camp participants at Glen’s Market, a Spartan store in Charlevoix.  Stacy utilized the Spartan Nutrition Guide to point out nutritious products, such as those containing high levels of fiber and low amounts of sodium.

We had a great time strolling through the aisles and highlighting nutritious carbohydrate, protein, and fat choices.  In the bread aisle, each woman selected her favorite bread from the shelf and we walked through the label-reading process.

Words of wisdom for the bread aisle from Stacy: “Make sure you aren’t just selecting white bread with a suntan.”  Bread can be sneaky!  Look for 100% whole wheat bread, high in fiber and without any high fructose corn syrup.

Thank you Glen’s Market and Camp Sea-Gull!  We had so much fun getting to know the ladies at camp and providing nutrition education!

Out with the old and in with the new!

As we all know (well hopefully..) the food pyramid has become “MyPlate” and yes, what a wonderful change that is! Although the concept appears to be simple it can get confusing to understand the idea behind this new and improved method of eating.

Use this Powerpoint to guide and educate you as you dive into the new and healthy way to eat!

choosemyplate1—-click for Powerpoint!

You Don’t Have To Be Vegan To Enjoy Vegan!

Enjoy this healthy, easy and extremely yummy vegan dish!

Ingredients

1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup walnuts
2 to 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
4 packed cups basil leaves
5 teaspoons mellow white miso
3/4 cup silken tofu
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Method

Pulse pine nuts and walnuts in a food processor until finely chopped. Add garlic and pulse a few more times to blend. Add basil in batches, pulsing after each addition. Add miso, tofu, yeast, salt and pepper and pulse again until creamy and well combined. Chill until ready to use.

Nutrition

Per serving (2 Tablespoons/31g-wt.): 70 calories (50 from fat), 6g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 125mg sodium, 3g total carbohydrate (1g dietary fiber, 1g sugar), 3g protein

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2765