Going Whole Hog on “Nose-to-Tail” Eating

A few months ago, a friend of mine invited me to celebrate her birthday at an upscale restaurant. This particular restaurants was known for one dish in particular: pig cheeks. I agreed, mostly because I couldn’t imagine how they would serve this dish to our table. When the meal arrived, we all stared (along with most of the restaurant) at what amounted to half of a pig’s head staring back at us. To some, reading this is enough to make you sick. But eaters, chefs, and butchers alike are starting to use meat from the entire animal, include parts you would usually discard. Like pig’s cheeks. This practice, sometimes called ‘whole animal’ or ‘nose-to-tail,’ exists for a few different reasons. Some find creativity and adventure in cooking and eating unique cuts of meat from animals. Others do it for claimed health benefits. Many folks feel it is one approach to being sustainable in our production of animals, not letting any parts of it go to waste. What are ‘nose-to-tail’ cuts? If pig’s cheeks aren’t quite your thing, you still have a range of options to choose from. Some examples of muscle-cuts include lamb neck, tomahawk steak, tri-tips, or even short ribs. On the flip side there is offal, if you have the stomach for it! That includes an animal’s entrails and organs, such as liver, heart, kidney, tongue, and even tripe (stomach) and bone marrow. Special health benefits? Many claim that eating the whole animal comes with health benefits. Meats, especially red meats, can be high in protein, B-vitamins, vitamin D, iron, and zinc. Any of these unique cuts could provide sources for at least some these nutrients, but it’s important to keep in mind total saturated fat and calories. The 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommends Americans select lean cuts of meat and to limit your portion sizes […]

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5 Nutrition and Food Safety Pregnancy Myths

Pregnancy can be both an incredibly exciting and nerve-racking time. And as the logistical reality of pregnancy sets in, women who are expecting often swiftly come to understand all the ways they may not be able to eat exactly as they did before—particularly when it comes to the safety of many foods and beverages. But not to worry: If you’re pregnant or trying to become pregnant, there are a wealth of resources to help you eat well during this special stage of life. In this article, we round up and debunk some of the most common myths surrounding nutrition and food safety during pregnancy so that you can feel more confident about your food choices and eating patterns over the next 9 months. Myth 1: You need more calories during all stages of pregnancy. Ever heard the phrase “eating for two”? It can be a little misleading. You might be surprised to learn that you don’t need any extra calories to feed a growing baby until the second and third trimesters of your pregnancy. For the first trimester, you can eat about the same amount as you did before you were pregnant. Then, in the second trimester, your calorie needs will increase by about 340 calories per day—about the amount in two tablespoons of hummus, one pita bread and raw veggies or about five ounces of yogurt, one fourth cup granola and one cup berries. In the third trimester, you should aim for about 500 extra calories per day. Note that these calorie needs may differ depending on your pre-pregnancy weight, activity level and if you are carrying multiples, and it’s best to speak with your healthcare provider about your specific needs. If counting calories makes your head spin, try focusing on tuning into your hunger and fullness cues. Your […]

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Going Beyond the Grill: Nutrition Tips for Dad

My dad does most of the grocery shopping. He did while I was growing up, and he still does for my mom and for my brothers and sisters who live at home. But, even though he grills sometimes, my dad doesn’t really cook (spoiler: my mom does most of it). And, actually, if I had to guess, I would say that my dad is not really that interested in food at all. While I sometimes wish my dad paid more attention to food, like me, I know that he’s not unique in that regard. Many American men don’t read nutrition facts panels, ingredients lists, or other information about the healthfulness or nutritional benefits of different foods. HOWEVER: Men do tend to trust friends and family to let them know which foods to eat or avoid. In the hopes that maybe you’ll trust me, Dad, here are my top food and nutrition tidbits for you to keep in mind the next time you’re buying groceries, grilling, or figuring out what to order at a restaurant: 1. Fiber matters: Fiber consumption is associated with a plethora of health benefits, from weight management to blood glucose control to gut health. Many plant foods are good sources, including fruits and veggies, beans, oatmeal, and even (your favorite) popcorn. 2. Eat fish twice a week for heart health: Salmon, sardines, and tuna are all great options rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Canned fish is just as good as fresh! 3. Frozen vegetables and fruits can be just as nutritious as fresh ones: I know you figured this one out a long time ago since frozen produce also can be more affordable when feeding a big group, but it never hurts to have a reminder. Frozen produce may offer even more nutrients than fresh. 4. Keep […]

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Enjoy a Variety of Food? Thank a Pollinator.

Imagine a beautiful, orange Monarch butterfly flying around your garden. Do you know why it’s there? Do you know what would happen if it wasn’t there? Probably not. But, this beautiful butterfly can pollinate all of the flowers in your garden and make it possible for more flowers to grow! Pollination is how we get seeds. Seeds give us many of the flowers, fruits, vegetables and plants we love. The pollination process involves pollen from one type of flower (specifically from the flower’s anther, or male part) being transferred to another flower (specifically to the female stigma). The result is flowers producing seeds! How do pollinators pollinate? More than 20,000 wild bee species and countless species of butterflies, flies, wasps, moths, beetles, birds, bats, and many other animals are pollinators who help support the foundation of our food supply. When a pollinator such as the Monarch butterfly needs a meal, it flies over to the nearest flower to obtain nectar or protein-packed pollen that provides the butterfly with energy. Food (nectar and pollen) is the clear driver for a butterfly to visit a garden or field of flowers. However, many flowers may also use specific scents, colors, and petal shapes to attract pollinators. While the butterfly is eating, pollen grains can attach to the outside of the butterfly and stick to its body. When the butterfly flies away from the flower, it carries this pollen on itself and when it lands on another flower (of the same species) it is able to fertilize it via a pollen transfer. This type of pollination is called cross-pollination. So, fundamentally, when a pollinator takes pollen from the male anther of a flower to another flower, there is a chance that this pollen will fall off into the new flower’s stigma, which may result in […]

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A Printable Guide for Introducing New Foods to Your Baby

Download the Calendar (PDF) Being unsure about how and when to introduce new foods to your baby is common. We’re here to help with even the pickiest of eaters. While skillfully introducing new foods can improve the health of your baby, it isn’t as simple as 1-2-3. Introducing foods takes time, patience and effort. The World Health Organization recommends that after birth, a baby should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life if the mother is able to do so. If breastfeeding is not an option, iron fortified formula is the next best choice. Around 6 months of age, complementary foods may be introduced in addition to breast milk or formula. Because eating is an experience that utilizes all of a baby’s senses, the complementary foods should be varied in taste and texture. Preparing foods in different ways will help transition babies from eating pureed food all the way to soft, solid foods. Babies may be fussy when trying foods for the first time, but don’t despair – it can take several attempts before an infant accepts a new food. Below is a plan for introducing new foods to your baby. Additionally, we’ve created a printable calendar to keep track of the types, textures and frequency of new foods as well as your baby’s reaction to them. One final thought: Your baby is likely to mimic your eating behaviors, so it’s important to model healthy behaviors as a family. Sit down to eat together and try the foods that you are giving to your baby. Check out our First Year Feeding Practices video for more info on when and how to safely introduce solid foods.

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Gut Check: Fiber and the Microbiome

If I were to go out and do a Jimmy Kimmel-esque Pedestrian Question on why fiber is good for us, I’ve got a few guesses on how it would go: “Fiber keeps you regular (hehe)” “I think fruits and vegetables have a lot of it?” “It feeds our gut” “You’re the dietitian, aren’t you supposed to be the one telling me?” All of these responses would technically be correct – including the last one (and yes, that’s a large part of my day job). We’ve recently written about the basics of fiber and its many health benefits, including lowering cholesterol, blood glucose control, weight management, and yes, constipation relief. But exactly how does a nutrient that we’re not even able to digest play such a big role in our health? A large part of the answer lies in our microbiome. Right now, every one of us has billions of bacteria living in us and on us (sorry if you’re in the middle of lunch right now). Most of these are concentrated in our lower digestive tract, known as the colon. And ongoing research is coalescing around the idea that some of fiber’s benefits aren’t delivered directly to our bodies, but are mediated by our gut bacteria. Humans are total pros at breaking down fats, protein, and many forms of carbohydrates. But we’re not great at metabolizing fiber – we just don’t have the right enzymes. So while the rest of our food is being digested and absorbed along the gastrointestinal tract, fiber passes through essentially unchanged until it hits the colon. There it’s broken down by many types of bacteria that use fiber for their food supply. We humans are then gifted with the byproducts of this bacterial feast, which are called short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). The cells lining our […]

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Gut Check: Whole Grains and the Microbiome

We’re back again with another edition of Gut Check. This time, we’re exploring the connection between whole grains and the gut microbiome. If you’ve spent some time poking around FoodInsight, you’ve probably noticed that we’re big fans of whole grains. Diverse foods like oatmeal, popcorn, brown rice and whole wheat bread all have one thing in common: the entire grain seed of the plant — including the bran, germ and endosperm — is intact in the final product. This distinguishes them from refined grains like white bread or white rice, where processing leaves only the endosperm, the largest, carbohydrate-rich component of the grain, in the finished product. The bran and the germ are full of vitamins, minerals, a small amount of healthy fats and a good deal of fiber. When we lose those parts of the seed, the nutrients leave right along with them. Like we mentioned in our first Gut Check post, our microbes love fiber, a vital component of whole grains. So how does eating whole grains impact our gut microbiome? Let’s take a closer look. Our Gut Loves Grains We humans, as incredible and talented as we are, aren’t able to digest fiber. We just don’t have it in us. Literally — we don’t have the enzymes needed to break it down. When we eat a piece of whole wheat bread or a bowl of popcorn, some components of the food are broken down in the stomach and small intestine, but fiber passes through the gastrointestinal tract intact. When it reaches the large intestine, it’s fermented by the gut microbiota. The end result of this fermentation is the production of the short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) butyrate, propionate and acetate. These SCFAs are then either taken up by the intestinal cells themselves (which use butyrate for energy) or […]

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Gut Check: Low-Calorie Sweeteners and the Gut Microbiome

We’re back again with another edition of Gut Check, our series on the relationship between food and the gut microbiome. So far, we’ve taken a closer look at how whole grains, fiber, and fermented foods affect our gut microbes. In this article we’re taking a closer look at low-calorie sweeteners (LCSs) and the growing body of research on their connection to our microbial communities. LCSs (sometimes referred to as non-nutritive sweeteners, high-intensity sweeteners, artificial sweeteners or sugar substitutes) provide sweetness without adding a significant amount of calories. They have a long history of safe use in a variety of foods and beverages, ranging from soft drinks to candy to tabletop sweeteners. In the U.S., the most common LCSs are acesulfame potassium (ace-K), aspartame, monk fruit, saccharin, stevia and sucralose. LCSs are some of the most studied and reviewed ingredients in the world today. And yet, research on their relationship to the gut microbiome is very much in its infancy. Most LCSs are not metabolized by our digestive enzymes, so they travel through the digestive system intact and pass out of the body unchanged. Because of this, scientists have long thought they have no effects on the body. However, recent research has revealed that some LCSs may influence the bacteria in our gut. Most of these studies have been done in animal models and have shown wide-ranging results—from reductions in total bacterial count to increases in short-chain fatty acids, which are made by gut bacteria and are thought to be beneficial for gut health. The translation of these results to humans can be tricky and, in many cases, it’s just plain impractical. A primary reason? Lab animals are often genetically identical to each other and live their lives in the same environments, while in humans the microbiome is reflective of widely […]

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