Healthy Food – Advanced Nutrition Services, LLC https://nmrdn.com Nutrition Counseling & Medical Nutrition Therapy Wed, 26 Aug 2020 18:55:14 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 https://i0.wp.com/nmrdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/cropped-logo-icon.jpg?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Healthy Food – Advanced Nutrition Services, LLC https://nmrdn.com 32 32 171795859 Pulses Are Delicious, Affordable, and Sustainable https://nmrdn.com/pulses-delicious-affordable-sustainable/ https://nmrdn.com/pulses-delicious-affordable-sustainable/#respond Wed, 26 Aug 2020 09:00:25 +0000 http://nutrical-demo.creativesplanet.com/nutrition/?p=6941 Pulses are the superfood you’ve never heard of… until now. Pulses are the edible seeds of various legumes such as dry peas, beans, lentils and chickpeas. The term “pulses” is derived from the Latin word “pulse” which means “thick soup”.

What makes pulses delicious, affordable, and sustainable?

Pulses are packed with essential nutrients such as protein, fiber, folate, iron and potassium. Pulses can contain up to 2-3 times more protein per serving than wheat, oats, or rice. A 1/2 cup serving of lentils has as much protein as 2 cups of rice! Not only are these nutrient-dense super food seeds healthy for you, they are delicious, affordable and sustainable.
Pulses can be cooked in a million delicious ways – they can be used as a vegetable, meat substitute, and even in smoothies and desserts!

  1. Try a variety of cooked pulses in your favorite salad, soup, stew, curry, casserole, spaghetti or meat sauce. Adding pulses can increase the nutrient content and volume of a meal while reducing cost.
  2. Try incorporating pulses in your favorite dips, smoothies, brownies, cakes, and breads using chickpea or pea protein flour or mashed or pureed pulses for an extra boost of nutrients. It won’t alter the flavor of your dish very much!

Pulses are and have been a staple in many cuisines around the world for centuries. They are found in almost every supermarket or grocery store around the country and are cheaper than other protein sources like meat. The cost of one serving of lentils (1/2 cup) is about $0.10, whereas beef can cost up to $1.49 for a similar serving.

Finally, pulses are good for the environment and leave a smaller carbon footprint than other food sources, especially meat and poultry. They grow very well and provide much needed nutrients to surrounding crops. Additionally, they use one tenth of the water than other proteins. It takes only 43 gallons of water to make one pound of pulses compared to 800 – 1,800 gallons of water to produce the same amount of animal protein (beef, pork, chicken, etc.).

Now that you know how awesome pulses are, how will you use them in your next meal? See the recipe below for some inspiration! If you want other great ideas and recipes, check out USA Pulses to learn more.

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Pulse Tacos

RECIPE CONTRIBUTED BY: Chef Michael Smith

Source: pulses.org

Course: Dinner

Prep Time: 5 min

Cook Time: 40 min

Total Time: 45 min

Yield: 12 tacos

Serves:

Ingredients

  • Pulse Filling:
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 onion thinly sliced
  • 6 cloves garlic thinly sliced
  • 1 tbsp chili powder (heaping) (18 mL)
  • 1 tsp cumin ground
  • 1 cup lentils green, (250 mL)
  • 1 19 oz can chickpeas or your favourite beans; rinsed and drained
  • 2 cups water (500 mL)
  • 1⁄2 tsp salt (2 mL)
  • 1⁄2 tsp hot sauce your favourite
  • Taco Toppings:
  • head lettuce Bibb or iceberg
  • 12 taco shells hard
  • few handfuls cheddar cheese or taco blend; shredded
  • salsa Your favourite
  • large bunch cilantro fresh
  • 2 lime cut into wedges

Directions

  1. Make the pulse filling:
  2. Splash the vegetable oil into a large skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Toss in the onions, garlic, chili powder, and cumin. Sauté until the vegetables soften and the spice flavours brighten, 3 or 4 minutes. Stir in the lentils, beans, water, and salt. Bring the works to a slow, steady simmer. Cover tightly and continue slowly cooking until the lentils are tender, 35 minutes or so. Stir in the hot sauce.
  3. Assemble the tacos:
  4. Fit a full leaf of lettuce into a hard taco shell. This will hold the fillings in when the hard shell inevitably breaks. Fill each taco with a heaping spoonful of the lentil bean filling. Pack with cheese, salsa, and cilantro. Serve with the lime wedges and share!

Amount Per Serving (12)

  • Calories: 200
  • Protein: 8g
  • Sugar: 4g
  • Carbohydrate: 27 g
  • Fat: 7 g
  • Cholesterol: 0 mg
  • Sodium: 210 mg
  • Fiber: 5g

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]]> https://nmrdn.com/pulses-delicious-affordable-sustainable/feed/ 0 6941 Prebiotics and Probiotics – The Dynamic Duo https://nmrdn.com/prebiotics-and-probiotics-the-dynamic-duo/ https://nmrdn.com/prebiotics-and-probiotics-the-dynamic-duo/#respond Thu, 16 Jul 2020 09:00:36 +0000 http://localhost/projects/solar/?p=8665

Probiotics are most commonly known as the “good bugs” found naturally in your gut. Found in a variety of fermented foods like yogurt and kefir to sauerkraut and kombucha, probiotics can be helpful in improving gut health, increasing immunity, and reducing inflammation associated with several diseases (Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis, inflammatory bowel disease).

Nutrition research says that probiotics can indeed be beneficial, so why do we care about prebiotics? More importantly, what are prebiotics and what foods contain them?

I like to think of prebiotics as the stuff that feeds the “good bugs” in your gut. In order to keep your gut bacteria healthy, it needs to be fed the right type of food. This gut “food” is a type of non digestible, fermentable fiber.

Hopefully the term fiber is not a stranger to you. You may have heard that fiber “keeps me regular”, “makes my heart healthy”, and “helps me feel full”. While yes, fiber does all of those things, it also feeds the good bacteria in your gut. Fiber (aka “roughage”) is a plant-based compound found in fruits, vegetables, beans and legumes, whole grains, and nuts. Foods such as leeks, onions, banana, garlic, beans, artichokes, apples, and whole grains are high in fiber and contribute to a healthy gut.

Should I have prebiotics or probiotics?

Trick question, the answer is both! For optimal gut health, it is best to have both prebiotics and probiotics. Having a good variety of both in your diet contributes to synergy.

Synergy is the combined power of a group of things, when they are working together, which is greater than the total power achieved by each working separately. – Cambridge English Dictionary

When you combine these two types of foods (bananas on yogurt or miso soup with onions), you have a powerful “synbiotic” food pairing, which is not only delicious but also really healthy for your gut!

If you have stomach issues (ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s, or other stomach condition) or a weakened immune system and are considering adding pre and probiotics to your diet, it would be beneficial to talk with a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) to figure out a personalized eating plan.

References:

  1. Marchesi JR, Adams DH, Fava F, et al. The gut microbiota and host health: a new clinical frontier. Gut. 2016;65(2):330-339.
  2. Giorgetti G, Brandimarte G, Fabiocchi F, et al. Interactions between Innate Immunity, Microbiota, and Probiotics. J Immunol Res. 2015;2015:501361-501361.
  3. Sood A, Midha V, Makharia GK, et al. The probiotic preparation, VSL#3 induces remission in patients with mild-to-moderately active ulcerative colitis. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2009;7(11):1202-1209, 1209.e1201.
  4. Saez-Lara MJ, Gomez-Llorente C, Plaza-Diaz J, Gil A. The role of probiotic lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria in the prevention and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease and other related diseases: a systematic review of randomized human clinical trials. Biomed Res Int. 2015;2015:505878. doi:10.1155/2015/505878
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