Long Winter Cocktail {ReDux}

This month for the Recipe ReDux challenge, we were given the broad category of beverages: Beverages Are Hot - That which is served in a mug, glass, or stein is becoming just as interesting as what’s on the plate. New cocktail-only blogs are emerging. Pinners are cooking with their Keurig K-cups. Hot beverages have gone way beyond hot cocoa. Beverages are in! Whether you’re serving something hot or cool, kid-friendly or happy hour worthy, show us your healthier drink.

I haven't tried cooking with a Keurig, but it does sound intriguing. I am more likely to play around with smoothie flavours or warm beverages (coffee, tea, hot cocoa). Interestingly, I've been trying to find a signature cocktail that I enjoy, so that I can have a 'usual' order and know what I'm getting. Currently, I tend to choose red wine if I'm having an alcoholic beverage, and I can admit to enjoying a cold beer on a hot day. Since we're still in the middle of winter, I tend to think of warm beverages, such as the winter julep we served at a friend's house recently (peppermint tea, bourbon, brown sugar simple syrup, and fresh mint) or the fruity tea soda beverage an intern found with carbonated water and flavoured tea.

For this challenge I wanted to use a fresh fruit to help me dream of summer and I was reminded of a beverage we tried in Finland called Long Drink.

For this Long Winter Cocktail you will require:

• 1/4 - 1/3 of a cup fresh squeezed pink grapefruit juice (from 1 grapefruit)
• 1 Tbsp coarse sugar 
• 2 oz gin
• 1/2 cup club soda
• ice cubes (optional)

Makes 2 beverages
To prepare:
1) Wash and scrub your grapefruit. Using a zester, knife, or vegetable peeler remove peel for your garnish attempting to go the diameter of the fruit 2-4 times. Wrap the zest or peel around a straw or chopstick to help form a curl.
2) Juice your grapefruit with a hand juicer, fork, or knife, and remove any seeds.
3) Place your sugar on a plate. Moisten the rims of your glasses with what remains of your grapefruit. Dip the rim in the sugar and shake off excess.
4) Divide the grapefruit juice into your glasses, pour 1 oz of gin into each and top with 1/4 cup of club soda. Garnish with your zest or peel and an ice cube or two (optional) and enjoy while thinking about walking along a sandy beach!

Cheers,
Steph Langdon, RD
something nutrishus counselling & coaching
www.nutrishus.com 

An InLinkz Link-up

Get Informed

Since so many people have been searching online for nutrition information, Google has decided to make that search easier.  Google recently introduced a user friendly nutrition search tool.  All you have to do is ask your smart device ("how much fat in an avocado?") or perform a Google search (corn) and you will get the nutrition facts for that food in a Knowledge Graph.  You can then change the serving size and learn more about the food item from Wikipedia.  You can find similar items as well (air popped, microwave, or oil popped popcorn).  The nutrition information is provided by the USDA Nutrient Database.  They will continue to add items and combination foods to help you sift through all the nutrition data you may find online and help you get informed from a reputable source (primarily the USDA). 


This can help if you're trying to choose your movie snack, wanting to experiment with a new ingredient, or decide between apples and oranges at the store.  Along with this nutrition at your finger tips, the USA has also approved voluntary nutrition labels for alcoholic beverages.  If you want to find the information, it's now becoming easier (less excuses, and fewer barriers).

Google Knowledge Graph

Happy eating/shopping!
Steph Langdon, RD
something nutrishus counselling & coaching
www.nutrishus.com

3 Things to Consider for a Healthier Long Weekend

It's a sunny day in Saskatoon and I feel like everyone is ready to evacuate the city.  With images of lakes and Canada Day celebrations, I know many people will be enjoying food and perhaps alcohol over the next few days.  For those that know me, you can already guess that I'm thinking of red and white flavour combinations - I know a recent favourite has been bocconcini, cherry tomatoes, and basil.  Although a change to red and white on a stick can be watermelon, feta, and mint.  I brought that as part of my appetizer dish to my foodie group this week.  Drizzled with a dash of red wine vinegar and a sprinkle of fresh ground pepper, it makes a nice refreshing (and colourful) treat, plus watermelon is so delicious right now!  I posted something similar as a salad previously.

If you plan to enjoy a few happy hours over the weekend (or summer), make educated choices when it comes to your beverages and snacks.

1. Mix it up
The proof of your alcohol, mix you choose to use, and size of your cocktail can all add up on you.  Liquid calories are harder to keep track of, but you don't have to throw your diet (or healthy eating goals) out the window.  Avoid the extra sugars of pop, juice, and syrup, and opt for a light beer, small glass of wine, or hard liquor with water or soda water.  Take your time sipping an infused vodka on the rocks to avoid the mix altogether.  Keep hydrated when it's hot out by consuming water between cocktails, this will help slow you down too.  See webMD for more tips to keep your alcohol calories in check and find out how many calories are in popular cocktails

2. Veg out
Go in any grocery store right now and you're likely to stumble upon a potato chip display.  They're convenient, you know they taste good, but now that you're eating for health, you need an alternative!  Change it up and see which vegetables you enjoy either raw or baked into 'chips'.  The food choices people tend to make when under the influence of alcohol aren't usually healthy choices, so make sure you have a healthy variety available when hunger strikes.  I quite enjoy kale chips but you can get creative with many other options such as zucchini, squash, beets, and sweet potato.  The Huffington Post has ideas and recipes for 12 different vegetable chips.

3.  Move away from the food
Enjoy the sunshine, or even a walk in the rain (if it happens!), don't just plant yourself in the kitchen, around the fire, or on the beach with various bottles and bags.  Move your body, I know we've been pulling out the bikes, golf clubs, discs, frisbee, etc. to enjoy the sunshine and sneak in some activity.

Enjoy the mental break from work and chores, and enjoy some great food, friends, and fitness.  Just remember what your health goals are and choose those 'treats' carefully (and mindfully).

Happy Canada Day!
Steph Langdon, RD
something nutrishus counselling & coaching
www.nutrishus.com

Calorie Conscious Canada Day

If you tuned in to Saskatoon's CTV Morning Live today you may have caught my Canada Day themed segments.  Andrea and I discussed the calories in alcoholic beverages and made a cocktail and snack.

Some calories to note:
5 oz of wine, 1.5 oz hard liquor, and 12 oz light beer are all about 100 Calories!  Regular beer is about 150 Calories, and coolers can be 175-350.

The recipes I used and/or adapated for the show are below: 


Canada Day Cocktail (adapted from Chatelaine)
Ingredients:
6 fresh raspberries
1 tsp maple syrup
1.5 oz gin
3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
1 can club soda

Directions:
1. Muddle raspberries, maple syrup, gin and lemon juice into a tall glass.
2. Fill with ice. Top with club soda and a lemon wheel.

Bruschetta with Tomato and Basil (from SimplyRecipes)
Ingredients
6 or 7 ripe plum tomatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 baguette French bread or similar Italian bread
1/4 cup olive oil

Method
1. Prepare the tomatoes first. Parboil the tomatoes for one minute in boiling water that has just been removed from the burner. Drain. Using a sharp small knife, remove the skins of the tomatoes. (If the tomatoes are too hot, you can protect your finger tips by rubbing them with an ice cube between tomatoes.) Once the tomatoes are peeled, cut them in halves or quarters and remove the seeds and juice from their centers. Also cut out and discard the stem area. Why use plum tomatoes instead of regular tomatoes? The skins are much thicker and there are fewer seeds and less juice.
2. Make sure there is a top rack in place in your oven. Turn on the oven to 450°F to preheat.
3. While the oven is heating, chop up the tomatoes finely. Put tomatoes, garlic, 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, vinegar in a bowl and mix. Add the chopped basil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Slice the baguette on a diagonal about 1/2 inch thick slices. Coat one side of each slice with olive oil using a pastry brush. Place on a cooking sheet, olive oil side down. You will want to toast them in the top rack in your oven, so you may need to do these in batches depending on the size of your oven. Once the oven has reached 450°F, place a tray of bread slices in the oven on the top rack. Toast for 5-6 minutes, until the bread just begins to turn golden brown.
Alternatively, you can toast the bread without coating it in olive oil first. Toast on a griddle for 1 minute on each side. Take a sharp knife and score each slice 3 times. Rub some garlic in the slices and drizzle half a teaspoon of olive oil on each slice. This is the more traditional method of making bruschetta.
5. Align the bread on a serving platter, olive oil side up. Either place the tomato topping in a bowl separately with a spoon for people to serve themselves over the bread, or place some topping on each slice of bread and serve. If you top each slice with the tomatoes, do it right before serving or the bread may get soggy.
Serves 6-10 as an appetizer. Or 3-4 for lunch (delicious served with cottage cheese on the side.)
Yield: Makes 24 small slices.

Bean There. Dunked That (from LooneySpoons cookbook)
Ingedients
1 can (19 oz) white kidney beans (cannellini), drained and rinsed
1/4 cup low-fat sour cream
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp tahini
1/2 tsp honey
1/4 teaspoon each ground coriander, salt, and black pepper 

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and process until smooth.  Chill for at least 1 hour before serving.  


Have a happy and healthy long weekend!
Steph Langdon (Wheler), RD
something nutrishus counselling & coaching
www.nutrishus.com

Healthier Happy Hour

I'm getting ready for my Monday, June 25 CTV Morning Live segments (at 8:37am and 8:47am) on eating and drinking over the Canada Day Long weekend.  I'll be talking about different alcoholic beverages and a few Canada Day themed recipes.

With happy hour and summer holidays in mind, today I am asking:

What do you like for happy hour?

Oddly enough I came across a beer article from HealthCastle.com this morning which fits right in with what I was working on.  I'm more of a wine drinker if I have anything, so it was quite interesting for me to learn more about the different types of beer.  Here is some of the information Gloria posted:

Beer Calories Guide

Regular Beer: Regular beer, mostly lagers and ales, usually contains not more than 5% alcohol.

• Budweiser: 145 calories (10.6 g carbs)
• Coors: 149 calories (12.2 g carbs)
• Heineken: 150 calories (11.5 g carbs)
• Corona Extra: 149 calories (14 g carbs)
• Beck's Pilsner: 138 calories (11.7 carbs)

Light Beer: Light beer usually contains less alcohol (~4.2%) and fewer carbs, giving it a lighter taste and fewer calories. Ultra light beer, with even lower carb levels, are also available - they are often marketed as low-carb alternatives.

• Bud Lite: 110 calories (6.6 g carbs)
• Coors Lite: 104 calories (5.3 g carbs)
• Natural Light: 95 calories (3.2 g carbs)
• Michelob Ultra: 95 calories (2.6 g carbs)

Dry Beer: To produce minimal aftertaste, dry beer is usually made with fewer carbs.

• Bud Dry: 130 calories (7.8 g carbs)
• Asahi Super Dry: 149 calories (10.7 g carbs)

Draft Beer: Bottled draft beer is marketed as beer tasting and appearing like beer from a keg. It is usually filtered, which results in a lighter tasting beer.

• Miller Genuine Draft: 143 calories (13.1 g carbs)

Stronger Beer: Stronger beer, like porters and stouts, usually has a higher alcoholic content (sometimes as high as 8 - 9%).

• Guinness Extra Stout: 174 calories (12.4 g carbs & 5.6% alcohol)
• Sierra Nevada Porter: 194 calories (18.4 g carbs & 5.6% alcohol)
• Michelob Porter: 196 calories (17.4 g carbs & 5.9% alcohol)

Gluten-free Beer: There are even beer options for the Dads who are intolerant or allergic to wheat! These beers are usually made with gluten-free grain sorghum.

• RedBridge: 160 calories (16.4 g carbs, made from sorghum)
• Bard's: 155 calories (14.2 g carbs, made from sorghum)

Non-alcoholic Beer: For the Dads who are not able to drink alcohol for health or religious reasons, or who simply prefer a non-alcoholic option, non-alcoholic beer (< 0.5% alcohol content) is a great substitute for the real thing that has way fewer calories, too.

• O'Douls: 65 calories (13.3 g carbs & 0.4% alcohol)
• Coors Non-Alcohol: 66 calories (14.8 g carbs & 0.5% alcohol)

Note: Nutrition information quoted above is based on a 12-oz serving from US formulations.

Have a safe and happy summer!
Steph Langdon (Wheler), RD
something nutrishus counselling & coaching
www.nutrishus.com

A Healthier Happy Hour

Tomorrow is Canada Day and Canadians will be celebrating the summer in many different ways. With the increased heat often comes an increase in the consumption of chilled beverages. Whether or not you are choosing to have alcoholic drinks, beverages are often an easy way for calories to sneak into our diets. Alcohol contains 7 calories per gram, but the amount in your drink depends on the amount and proof of the alcohol, the type of mixer used, and the size of the drink.

What is considered to be a standard drink?
12 fluid ounces of regular beer (~144 calories; light is ~ 100 calories)
5 fluid ounces of wine (white is ~ 100 calories, and red ~ 105 calories)
1. 5 fluid ounces of 80 proof distilled spirits (~ 96 calories)
(American Dietetic Association, Adult Beverage Consumption, 2008)

You can lighten up your drinks by choosing a calorie free mixer (such as club soda), using a garnish for added flavour (lemon, lime, mint, frozen berries), using just a splash of juice for flavour and colour, having a wine spritzer, and making drinks from scratch rather than from pre-made mixes which can be high in sugar, etc.

Here are some "lighter" versions of classic drinks from Registered Dietitian Cynthia Sass:

Slim Vodka Seltzer — 100 Calories
1 shot vodka
¾ cup all natural lemon lime seltzer
Ice
Lemon & lime wedges

Fill glass with ice. Add shot then seltzer and garnish with fruit.

Bloody Mary Light — 175 calories
1 shot vodka
1 cup 100% spicy vegetable juice
Ice
1 large celery stalk

Fill glass with ice. Add vodka and juice and garnish with celery stick.

Slender Sangria — 185 calories
5 oz wine
½ cup 100% fruit juice blend (like cranberry/blueberry/grape)
Ice
¼ cup diced apple and oranges

Stir juice into wine. Pour over ice and garnish with fruit.

Pina Skimlata — 220 calories
1 shot rum
½ cup (4 oz) 100% pineapple juice
¼ cup skim or plain organic soy milk
¼ cup frozen banana slices
Ice
Fresh pineapple wedges

Add rum, juice, milk, banana and ice to blender. Whip until smooth. Pour into glass and garnish with fresh pineapple.

If you want more inspiration, many websites offer low calorie cocktail and mocktail recipes such as fitness magazine.

As always, if you are consuming alcohol, please do so responsibly (and do not drink if you are pregnant or have been advised not to based on a medical condition). Moderate drinking is considered to be one drink per day for females and two per day for males because of differences in weight and metabolism. The spacing out of drinks is also important - you shouldn't save up to have a week's worth all in one day! Space your drinks an hour apart and consume water in between to help quench your thirst.

Steph Wheler
www.nutrishus.com