Kent State Interns

Do you want some coffee with that sugar? At my new food service site, there are two cafe's that sell Starbucks beverages to patient families and visitors. When I started to learn how to make some beverages I thought "well this couldn't be too hard, its just come coffee with cream or sugar?!" BOY, WAS I SOOO WRONG! I am not much of a Sbux girl myself, so I wasn't aware of the assortment of beverages customers can purchase at the infamous coffee shop. I also was not aware of just how much goes into one simple drink. For example, somebody orders a grande white chocolate mocha frappuccino (this is a popular item). In goes 12 fluid oz of whole milk, 5 pumps of chocolate syrup, 3 pumps of white chocolate sauce, some ice, some coffee and we blend it all up. Top that with a hefty portion of whipped cream and chocolate drizzle and you have yourself a sweet treat! Nutritionally, we have 420 calories, 16 grams of fat, 10 grams saturated fat, and 64 grams of s...

~Probiotics~ Want to learn how to make your gut happy and healthy? Then listen up! Your gut is filled with both good and bad bacteria. Probiotics are good bacteria that have many wonderful benefits. They are the same or similar to the bacteria that is already in your body. An imbalance in good/bad bacteria can cause many issues such as weight gain, diarrhea, constipation, and skin conditions. No one wants that right??? Well making sure probiotics are a part of your daily life can help keep that good bacteria in check! Probiotics can be found in some cheeses and yogurts, sauerkraut, kimchi, lactobacillus milk and kefir. Look for foods labeled “live and active cultures”. Probiotics also help with ulcerative colitis, IBS, Chron’s disease, vaginal infections, H. Pylori, Clostridium difficile, and UTI’s. These wonderful little things can play a big role in your gut health. JM https://www.mayoclinic.org/what-are-probiotics/art-20232589 https://www.health.harvard.edu/vitami...

De-fatted nut... What? I am a huge peanut butter fan; the only problem is I tend to eat more than the recommended serving size. Peanut butter can be a great snack but if you’re eating 2-3 servings in one sitting you’re consuming way more fat and calories than your body needs.   The other day I was at the grocery store looking for peanut butter (shocker) and one jar caught my eye. The jar said it had 85% less fat. It looked like it had the same consistency as peanut butter and it said it had nuts in it so I was really confused. I know there are some powdered peanut butter with less fat but this was not powder.  Being a nutrition major, I was a little concerned about what this “peanut butter” was really made of.  I looked at the ingredients and the first ingredient was “de fatted nuts” …. I had never in my life heard of that so I obviously had to look it up.  I struggled to find information on this process for peanuts specifi...

Straight Off the Vine It seems the older I get, the more I dislike winter. I don’t like to be cold, I don’t like driving in hazardous conditions, and more than anything, I hate the short daylight hours.  Now that I got that out of my system, it’s March, and March makes me happy. It’s still cold outside, but the daylight hours are getting a little longer and it’s time to start planning my garden…..summer will be here before I know it!! I don’t have a large garden, so I have to give careful consideration to how I use my space. This year I’ve settled on 12 tomato plants, 4 cucumber plants, 6 assorted pepper plants, kale, summer squash, and a variety of herbs. I like to grow my plants from heirloom variety seeds, so I have checked the calendar and March 16 is going to be seed starting day…..very exciting!! Gardens are great, but for those of you that don’t have the space to grow your own foods, you should give consideration to buying locally grown produce when it’s in ...

Don’t Like That Food? Keep on trying! I’m a big believer that if you don’t like a food, you just haven’t had it prepared properly.  Sometimes we decide we don’t like a food without even trying it. For instance, my brother says he doesn’t like guacamole because it’s green….what???  Honestly, I have no right to judge. Many cultures consume a variety of bugs in their diet and I’ve pretty much decided that I don’t like the taste of bugs. I am definitely not planning to test that theory either! My loss, I’m sure! There are certain foods that I don’t enjoy due to the texture and there’s not much I feel that I can do about that---escargot and raw oysters come to mind---I guess I don’t like slime. There are however, a variety of foods that I don’t enjoy based solely on taste. Some of these foods I want to like because of their nutritional value . If foods offer excellent nutritional qualities, I’ll keep trying them, hoping one day I will suddenly find a pleasurable pr...

Reliable Sources: Know Your Supplements  Being in the field of nutrition, working through my internship experience, and even just personal experiences in general, I received questions regarding various supplements, programs, or diets that people are interested trying because they read a blog about it or someone they know lost a certain amount of weight while following that regimen.             This has opened my eyes to the scary world of dieting that is today. There is so much mixed information and literature out on the internet and social media that promotes these products or diets without any evidenced-based science to support them.             Terms like “Clinically Proven” are used to support the product or diet and to many people that sounds convincing enough that this product is going to be beneficial to them and help them achieve ...

I am sure many of you have heard the word antioxidant but do you know what it is and why it is important for your health? Well if so, great! If not, I am about to tell you.    Antioxidants are naturally found in food but can also be man-made. They are amazing because they help delay or prevent some types of cell damage by neutralizing free radicals. Free radicals are harmful to the body and can cause inflammation and damage to the cells. This could eventually lead to chronic diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. YIKES! Free radicals are found in air pollution, cigarette smoke, and sun light and are formed naturally when you exercise and when your body converts food to energy. Therefore, a great time to consume antioxidants is post-workout! Now that you understand the importance of antioxidants….hopefully. I am going to tell you how to make sure they are present in your diet! Some examples of antioxidants are vitamin C, Vitamin E, carotenoids, selenium, bet...