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nutritional

• Boost flavor with seasonings. Fill a few salt shakers wi th heand spice blends to complement different recipes. Rosemaryand tarragon do wonders for chicken. Try some Cajun seasoningin soups. Experiment – you might acquire a taste for fenugreek.

• Reward yourself with planned indulgence. A Saturday fafood run won’t undo the benefits of a week of low-fat, low-sodiumeating. It will make those burgers and fries taste and smell evenbetter, and help you stay motivated for the next six days .

• Think of the supermarket as a black hole of nutritionaldecision-making. You’re safest around the perimeter, amongthe fresher, less-processed foods. The forces increase closer tothe center. The pull in the snack and soda aisle can be irresist-ible.

• Make the Nutrition Facts and ingredients list on food labelsrequired reading. Label reading is empowering. It makes youfeel like a CSI detective. (“Aha! High fructose corn syrup! Justas I suspected.”)

• Explore your local farmers market. These places are alshotbeds of food awareness. When you want to learn moreabout your role in the food chain, this is where to start.

Building a Better Diet With those pointers in mind, shore up your diet on these nutri-tional foundations:• Whole grains: As an ingredient or served alone, the variety of

grains is eye-popping. Try brown rice pilaf and chilled bulgursalad. Buy or make breads and pasta with whole-wheat flour.Use bran cereal, run through a foo d processor, instead of breadcrumbs in meatloaf.

• Fruits and vegetables: They’re like Fruit-Loops for gr own-upbrilliantly colored and naturally sweet. Sweet veggies? Yes, andthey’re good introductions if you’re vegetable averse. Say hellowith sweet potatoes, butternut and acorn squash, and sweetvarieties of onions, peas, and corn. Work up to the strongerpersonalities: green beans, broccoli, and perhaps, one day…Brussels sprouts. Ripe, locally raised, freshly picked producepacks the greatest punch. But with modern processing, somecanned and frozen varieties keep some nutrients better than“fresh” food that traveled 500 miles and sat two weeks betweenpicking and purchase. Just watch for added sodium and sugars.

W e have all been told since we were small about theimportance of "eating right." But what if we just don'tlike the taste of "heathy" food? Are we doomed to stay-

ing at the table until we finish our vegetables? No, there is a wayto combine taste and nutrition. Now is the time to learn howto eat right. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has namedMarch as National Nutritional Month. This year's focus is on howto combine taste and nutrition to create healthy meals that followthe Dietary Guidelines.

Chances are you’ve heard the doctrines of eating right: eatcomplex carbs for time-released energy, fresh fruits and veg-etables for age-fighting antioxidants, and lean meats for low-fat protein. So, why haven’t you pitched those pork rinds andstocked up on shredded wheat? Because shredded wheat tastesabout as good as the box it comes in.

It’s an image problem good nutrition has battled since the1830s, when Sylvester Graham (of cr acker fame) gave us his (day-old, high-fiber) bread-and-water, no-meat, spice-free diet: road torighteous health is a narrow path, paved with Post Toasties.

Don’t believe it. There are cheeseburgers in paradise – just notas many as in… the other place.

In that spirit, and at the risk of confusing religious traditionseven more, we offer a balanced, Zen-like approach to achievingnutritional nirvana – in other words, painless steps to improveyour health, possibly save a few dollars, and maybe shed a fewextra pounds.

One caveat: before changing eating habits significantl y,recheck the information on food-drug interactions for any medi-cations you’re taking. Good-for-you foods aren’t so good for youif they affect the medication’s effectiveness. Grapefruit juice, forexample, has been shown to interfere with some cholesterol-lowering drugs.

Listed below are a few tips to help ease your transition tohealthier diet and eating right:• Work on one habit at a time. Instead of an extreme pantry

makeover from “teenage sleepover” to “Soviet peasant,” pickone problem area — sugary foods, say — and focus on findinghealthier alternatives.

• Go halfsies. If cutting caffeine is your goal, mix regular and decafcoffee. Blend full-fat and 2 percent milk to lower your fat intake.

By Christine Venzon

8/12/2019 Mar14 Nutritional

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• Legumes: Yes, that means bea ns . Think beyond the tomatosauce-covered stuff in the red can. Think lentils and limas,black beans and black-eyed peas. Think meatless main dishesand satisfying sides. To avoid embarrassing “gastric events,”boil dry beans a few minutes, then refrigerate overnight. Mostof those troublemaking indigestible sugars will dissolve in thewater. Rinse the beans and cook in fresh water until tender.

What about artificial fat and sugar substitutes and foods madewith them? Most studies show they’re not harmful in moderation.But don’t use them as a prop; develop a taste for the naturalflavors and textures of healthful foods instead. Why buy low-fatsalad dressing low-fat sour cream when (for less money) you canget a quart of equally zesty, naturally low-fat buttermilk to makeyour own homemade dressing, seasoned just the way you like(maybe with fenugreek), and have some left over to zip up yourbaked potato? Or your Brussels sprouts. You can "Enjoy the Taste of Eating Right" and March is the timeto start. Check out the website: www.eatright.org to learn more.

Fenugreek The major use of fenugreek is in curry powders. It is an ingredientof Panch phoron, the Indian five-spice mixture. When fish is curried,particularly strong-tasting fish such as tuna and mackerel, fenugreekis frequently included in the spice mixture. Many chutneys and pick-les incorporate it and it also gives a tangy aroma to vegetables. Theleaves, both fresh and dried, are used in meat curries, dhal andvegetable dishes, and chutneys. The seeds are an ingredient of theMiddle Eastern confection, halva. Flour mixed with ground fenugreekmakes spicy bread. In India, the roasted ground seeds are infusedfor a coffee substitute or adulterant. A tea can also be made byinfusing teaspoon of seed with two cups of water for five minutes.

Source: Encyclopedia of Spices, www.theepicentre.com

• Provide world class health care that is patient focused, compassionate, appropriate, and effective for the treatment ofcancer and hematologic disease and assimilate evidence from scientific studies related to patients’ health problems

• Demonstrate compassion, integrity, and respect for others with emphasis on patient needs

• Incorporate considerations of cost awareness and risk-benefit analysis in patient care as appropriate

• Advocate for quality patient care and optimal patient care systems with main focus on improving quality of life

• 15 years of experience in Cancer Care.

Center for Blood

Disord er s & CancerCare with Compassion

4505 N Rockwood Dr. Ste 2Peoria, IL 61615.

309 -713 -3510My ability to help people with Cancer and Blood related problems toreach their goals with realistic expectations, gives me the greatestsatisfaction of contributing to the society for a better future.

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