Posts

‘Tis the Season for Sugar Substitutes

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The leaves are falling, the temperature is dropping, and the urge to bake a cozy late-night treat is stronger than ever. When I think of Fall, I immediately conjure up dozens of ideas for a homemade treat: apple crisp, banana bread, pumpkin cookies. Anything with a touch of apple, pumpkin, or anything cinnamon is usually a win for me. With a sweet treat of course comes sugar. During the colder months, many individuals worry about sugar consumption and weight gain due to the amount of busy holidays lined up, since these holidays usually bring large social meals, and of course, a hoard of delicious desserts.  Some individuals try to cut down their sugar consumption by replacing real sugar with lower calorie or non-nutritive sweeteners, such as aspartame, sucralose, or saccharin. These low-calorie sweeteners have become some of the most common food additives in regular and functional products. The use of these sweeteners seems to be at an all-time high with around 140 million American...

Unleashing Your Inner Squirrel This October

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  Unleash your inner squirrel  The start of October marks the season where our nutty friends start to bury nuts for the winter. Us as humans have a little bit of a different approach to how we can incorporate nuts and seeds into our October meals! Seeds from pumpkin, squash, and sunflower seeds can all be good for adding texture, nutrients, and fun to whatever you make. Some nuts that are also popular during this season include hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts, and pistachios.  It can be as easy as roasted pumpkin seeds or adding them to a baked good or salad. Whatever it is, they are filled with many different essential micronutrients and even phytochemicals to contribute to antioxidant effects. They carry fiber, essential fatty acids, and even small amounts of protein. The nutritional value of pumpkin seeds sometimes goes unseen. You can even roast pumpkin seeds with sweet ingredients like brown sugar and cinnamon, but here is a hardy recipe with a wide variety of nuts and p...

We need our own Florence Nightingale!

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  We need our own  Florence Nightingale !   Florence Nightingale  or “The Mother of Nursing” long story short a wealthy English woman who chose to pursue nursing as a religious and personal calling, walking around with a lamp, caring for wounded soldiers, lamp in hand during the Crimean War.  If you ask any nursing student or nurse well ever “who created nursing” they will tell you good old Florence Nightingale . Note: Florence Nightingale is also cited by some historians as the first pioneer of dietetics due to her revolutionary use of proper food and sanitation to nurse soldiers back to health during the Crimean War in the 1850s, though Rorer established the formal profession and title in the U.S. (But honestly, she has nursing so she can lay off the RDN train because we have someone wayyyy better). But when you ask who the mother of Dietetics is? Crickets! Because she has been forgotten to the historical dark pages, tucked away in a book no one reads. Well. T...

"Nothing Taste As Good" a comprehensive review

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"Nothing Taste As Good" by Luke Dumas describes as:      Retail worker Emmett Truesdale has never fit the Southern California mold of six-pack,            suntanned masculinity. Over three hundred pounds, he carries the weight of his childhood trauma and millennial ennui around his waist and in his soul. After trying every diet under the sun, he remains stuck—in his dead-end job, in love, and in his body. Desperate for help, he enrolls in a clinical trial for a new weight loss product called Obexity. The treatment is as horrifying as the results are miraculous and as Emmett sheds pounds at superhuman speed, every part of his life improves overnight. Unfortunately, Obexity comes with some killer side effects, including lost stretches of time and overwhelming cravings. Worse, people who were cruel to him have started disappearing and when the police warn of a cannibalistic killer on the loose, he fears that Obexity is turning him into a monster...

Things I Wished I Knew Before Starting my Internship

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It’s My Last Semester as a Dietetic Intern! As I approach the end of my internship, it is such a bittersweet moment. I am extremely proud and excited to complete this chapter of my life, but it is also sad to leave. Kent State has given me so much more than two degrees. It has challenged me beyond what I could have imagined, given me confidence, leadership skills, and provided me with countless memories and, hopefully, lifelong friends. This experience has truly been one of the most challenging yet rewarding things I have done so far in my life. Now that I am nearing the end, there are so many things I wish someone had told me at the beginning of my internship… Mistakes Are Going to Happen! You are going to make mistakes. We are human! If you think you are going to be perfect, think again. Mistakes are part of learning and growing. Instead of being afraid of them, learn to embrace them. Every mistake is an opportunity to learn something new and become a better dietitian. Ask Questions!...

Spilling the tea. Chai not?

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            Masala Chai dates back to India 5,000-9,000 years ago. Some people believe it has a Thai origin. Since then, masala chai has been developed during the 20th century. Its development is aimed at increasing its availability, cost, and variety, but did you know that masala chai (spiced tea) was used for royalty and herbal medicine? Chai can now be enjoyed all over the world with many different variations. For example, in India, it is made from ginger and spices. The Chai commonly known in the U.S comes as a syrup concentrate, which is added to milk for a latte variant. Different areas in the world use a variety of spices and even the tea leaves themselves. As a result, masala chai has a variety of different ways to be made. Even the milk varies. In India, it is common to use whole milk, but around the world, almond, soy, oat, and skim milk may be used instead.  Even the name masala chai evolved as popularity rose in the US. Somehow, the ...

Falling for fiber!

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  Falling for fiber  With fall in sight, now is the perfect time to search for your nearest apple orchard and find some good fresh apples! The end of September is the perfect time for this fun fall activity because it is peak apple harvest season spanning from mid September to the end of October.  Apples are a great fruit for the fall because of their autumnal smell but also their crisp taste in some amazing recipes. If you eat them with the skin on they provide about 4-5 g of fiber per day which is about 15% of your daily fiber intake! It provides antioxidants, polyphenols, acts as a prebiotic, and are perfect for fall recipes! No wonder why they say an apple a day keeps the doctor away. As a way to say hello to fall, try adding an apple into your fruit rotation a couple times a week. You can have them as a snack, put them in oatmeal, and pair them with peanut butter whatever might satisfy your fall favorites! Ask yourself could I add an apple to this rotation? Here are ...