Ask the RD

September 2nd, 2010
ask-the-rd

by Jae Berman

Tune in the first Thursday of every month as Jae Berman answers your questions about healthy living and diet. Got a question? Email them to friends@attunefoods.com with “Ask the RD” in the subject line.

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Can you eat too much fiber? - SHELLY
The American Dietetic Association suggests we eat 25-30 grams of fiber daily. Most of us have a hard time reaching this goal with recent research showing the average American eats 11-13 grams a day. One can eat more than 25-30 grams a day and be fine but please do so gradually. The bacteria in your stomach and intestines needs time to adjust. If you add more fiber to your diet too quickly or consume too much on a regular basis you may end up with gas, diarrhea, cramps and bloating. Everyone has different digestions and fiber will affect us all a bit differently. If you are a healthy adult, eating a large amount of fiber along with protein sources, having regularly formed bowel movements and are not experiencing any gastrointestinal symptoms then you likely are fine.

Some populations do need to be a little more cautious when increasing fiber intake.

  • When young children eat a diet with a lot of high-fiber foods they may fill up too fast and not eat anything else. A child needs a variety of foods in their diet for proper growth.  Also, excessive amounts of fiber may also interfere with their body’s natural absorption of vitamins and minerals.
  • If you’re older than 65, have suffered from a difficult digestive tract or have had surgery on some part of your stomach, intestines, colon or rectum, check with your doctor before adding large amounts of fiber to your diet.

I have a friend who is doing a cleanse that involves only drinking lemonade with cayenne pepper and honey in it. I am skeptical, but some folks swear by these type of cleanses and I’m curious to find out more about the benefits of cleansing and how this is good for the body. – BETH
Our body is an intricate system and it already has multiple cleansing systems in place to remove toxins such as the liver, the kidneys, and the gastrointestinal tract. There is no science or evidence behind these cleanses and they can have adverse results for children, teenagers, pregnant women, the elderly, or anyone with a chronic disease condition.  The short-term weight loss that coincides with these cleanses are mainly due to fluid shifts and the weight is quickly regained once the cleanse is over. Instead of doing a Master Cleanse for 10 days, increase your fruit and vegetable intake one serving every 2 days and aim for 5-9 servings a day plus make sure to eat a lean protein source at each meal. Maintain this fruit and vegetable intake daily and all the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytochemicals present is a variety of fruits and vegetables will naturally keep your body clean.  Protein along with the fiber present in fruits and vegetables will help your body feel satisfied so you don’t over eat.

How many carrots do you have to eat to turn your skin orange? – LIZ
It is true that if you eat too many carrots, your skin will turn orange.  In regards to the exact amount of carrots, that answer is unknown.  I suppose it may vary for people of different ages and would also depend on your liver function, because vitamin A is stored in the liver. This would be a good question for MythBusters. One carrot has 835 micrograms of vitamin A and the recommended daily intake is 700 micrograms for women and 900 micrograms for men for ages 19 years and older.  One pound of carrots has 1276% of your RDA for vitamin A. If you are eating mass quantities of carrots daily, you will likely saturate your body’s ability to store vitamin A and the beta carotene, which is the precursor to vitamin A, will produce an orange tint on your skin.

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Jae’s diverse background and extensive education in nutrition and exercise provide her with the unique ability to implement simple strategies and useful tools to create powerful results. In addition to heading Jae Berman Nutrition, Jae serves as the Regional Registered Dietitian of The San Francisco Bay Club and clinical Dietitian for the UCSF Medical Center. In addition, she is a certified ACSM Health Fitness Specialist and has been a personal trainer, yoga teacher and Pilates instructor for eight years. Jae earned a master’s degree in Applied Physiology and Nutrition from Columbia University and completed her dietetic internship at UCSF Medical Center. Her specialties include nutrition for weight loss, wellness, sports nutrition, cardiovascular nutrition, digestive disorders, eating disorders and blood glucose control.

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Menu planning for Labor Day Celebrating

September 1st, 2010
menu-planning-for-labor-day-celebrating

by Annelies @ attune
Long weekends. Who doesn’t love getting to luxuriate in one extra day to spend with family or friends? The best part is Labor Day is one that you get paid to take. Something about celebrating a year of labor with a day paid to not labor is pretty exciting. It’s also a day everyone gets to take (well except perhaps certain retail stores or restaurants).  I don’t know about you, but typically there is at least one party or cook-out in those three days- it somehow isn’t the Memorial Day weekend or the Labor Day weekend without one. While potlucks are uber-easy, hosting a fun get-together doesn’t necessarily require weeks of planning in advance. I’ve put together several scenarios for planning the impromptu Labor Day shindig.  In both instances, I give examples of prep day before and day of timing. I’m a big fan of cleaning as I go and think the multi-tasking of cooking is a fun dance. Decorations are good to help set the mood of your party as Sabrina reminded me at HLS a few weeks back. Pick a color scheme and coordinate around that. For example if yellow is your “it” color right now, maybe fill a glass vase or bowl with lemons and pick up some yellow paper or cloth napkins at the store. This could also inspire your beverage of choice- in this case a citron presse (freshly squeezed lemon juice with sparkling water and agave to sweeten as desired).

Gluten-Free Get-Together

  • MAIN: Marinated flank steak
  • VEGGIES: Summer Squash, Zucchini, coined; Red Onion, slices
  • SIDE: Baby Red Potatoes, cubed with Rosemary, Sea Salt & Cracked Black Pepper
  • DESSERT: Gluten Free Brownies, topped with a square of attune Mint Chocolate

DAY BEFORE: You’ll want to let the steak marinate overnight so all the good flavor of the marinade gets soaked into the steak. I would also recommend making the brownies the day before so all you have to do the day of the party is serve them. After the brownies come out of the oven, let them sit for 10 minutes. Break attune bars into two squares each. Position one square of attune mint chocolate on top of brownie square and press down so that as it cools, it will be affixed to the top.

DAY OF: Turn the oven onto 400 degrees when you start the grill. When the grill is ready to go, put your steak on- it will only have to grill for 16 minutes total.  Drizzle EVOO on the potatoes and toss with rosemary, freshly cracked black pepper and sea salt until well coated. Once the oven is at the right temperature, stick the potatoes in for about 10 minutes. Pull them out and test to see if they are fork tender- if not, stick them back in for a few minutes. (This is one of my favorite ways to make potatoes- rosemary brings out the best in the potato!)  After the meat is done, remove from grill and let sit for 10 minutes. During that 10 minutes, get those veggies on the grill and brush them with EVOO. With a little bit of prep, you’re ready to go!

Small Soiree (no grill required)

DAY BEFORE: My Mom swears by marinating chicken in milk overnight. She has oft said that it brings out the juiciness of the chicken. After you’ve done that, I would recommend chopping your carrots in angled coins and sticking in a container so they’re ready to go the day of your party. Also if you can bake the pie at this time, it will let the flavors set (and be one less thing on your plate for tomorrow).

DAY OF: Turn the oven onto 375 degrees. Mince a few sprigs of chives. Then start peeling and quarter your potatoes as well as setting the water to boil. Start making the Uncle Sam encrusted chicken breasts (and make sure to pulverize the Uncle Sam cereal in a food processor to make the coating fine). When the oven is at the right temperature, stick the chicken in as it will need to cook for 25 minutes. Once water is boiling, gently drop in the naked potatoes. For the carrots, I’m a big fan of chervil. Set the angled carrot coins on your cooking sheet. Lightly brush with clarified butter (add in some honey, some chervil, a small splash of orange juice and a pinch of salt). Place in the oven for 5 minutes. Check your potatoes and when fork tender, remove and drain them. The way I make mashed potatoes is all about tasting along the way as that helps you know what you need a pinch or splash more of.  So start mashing the potatoes and add some goat cheese, a splash of warm milk and some of your minced chives. Do this until you’re happy with the consistency and taste and perhaps crack some pepper and a little bit of salt on them.  This particular menu incorporates healthier takes on familiar favorites as well as a slice of indulgence.

Any way you serve it up, long weekends are meant to be enjoyed. A brunch would be another different spin on the Labor Day celebration. If you’re planning a party this weekend, what are you cooking?

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Discovering Downward Dog

August 27th, 2010

by Daniel @ attune

I live in San Francisco, which is a relatively unique place in America.  People here are focused on eating well and living a healthy lifestyle – which more often than not, means regularly participating in yoga classes.  Yoga is definitely taking off across many parts of the country, but in San Francisco it appears to be an incredibly popular exercise regimen.  Perhaps being more of a traditionalist, I tend to exercise by running, doing push-ups and lifting weights. But I walk the streets seeing a surprising number of people carrying yoga mats, and hear from many of my friends who practice many types of yoga.  Universally, it’s described as relaxing, energizing and therapeutic.  Surely it must be something that I would enjoy as well?

I thus embarked to find an introductory yoga class.  Simple enough.  My local gym has a class called “Stiff Guy Yoga”, described as follows:

“Finally a class for tight, stiff and inflexible guys. All levels welcome and of course women are always encouraged to attend…”

Perfect.

I rushed from work trying to make it to the class on time, and arrived 3 minutes late…to a room of 80% women in rather challenging looking poses.  Ignored at first, I noticed people had mats, so I grabbed one from the corner and found a place in the corner.  My initial reaction was that I must have been in the wrong class.  People were doing yoga, but there were no stiff guys (apart from me, of course).  The instructor was directing rather than explaining.  Or, for better perspective, this is what I heard:

“And, into downward dog…hold…hold…pull your right hip out and flex for three seconds…you should feel a tight stretch in your left inner thigh…that’s right, for 3 more seconds…breathe in..exhale…hold…and back into cobra…exhale…cobra…exhale…and,  into hero 2…hold…exhale…extend your right arm out and twist left…twist right…flex and exhale….downward dog…back to child’s position…cobra…hold…exhale…hold…back to downward dog…cobra…child’s position…and relax, flex, relax…and back to downward dog.”

Was someone playing a trick on me?

For 60 minutes I found myself staring at the women in the room trying to replicate their poses – some of which may have been close to the cobra, hero 2 or this downward dog position.

For something that can be intimidating to an ordinary person who has never tried it before, this stiff guy yoga class seemed to contradict its intention.  Sadly, I left the hour class more intimidated and confused, which ironically made me far less relaxed than the apprehensive state I was in before.

I’m not saying I don’t like yoga…but, my discovery of downward dog left me feeling a bit too much like a stiff guy, rather than flexing for more.

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Fiber: Holding steady in a sea of fads

August 26th, 2010

byAnnelies @ attune

There is never a lack of fad diets. In the late 80’s, the trend revolved around the all-importance of oat bran in your diet. A few years ago and still present today came the superfruits. At one point there was a diet that promoted high protein intake with minimal carbohydrates. Another diet involved eating based on your blood type. Yet another one of popularity revolved around eating based on the glycemic index of food. While still another one involved going vegan for weight loss. It would be safe to say that each year a new book comes out touting the latest trend.

One exception to the long list of health crazes and trends that has held its own is fiber. In fact, during 2009, a resurgence of the importance of fiber started becoming visible through fiber fortification of foods not typically associated with fiber. Not all fiber is created equally. Naturally occurring fiber-rich foods are best, with examples including fruit, vegetables and whole grains. Our Uncle Sam high fiber cereal is a good example of a food with naturally occurring fiber in its toasted whole wheat flakes. Insoluble and soluble fiber both work to keep your digestive system operating properly. Another kind of fiber that you might see in the list of ingredients for fortified fibered up foods include inulin. Many companies have jumped on the bandwagon adding inulin to their ingredients to back a fiber-rich claim. I have written about why we use inulin in our attune Münch probiotic granola before, but it never hurts to have a small refresher.

Inulin can be derived from chicory root, agave or Jerusalem artichoke. What makes it of such interest to us at attune is that it’s a prebiotic. Gibson & Roberfroid defined prebiotics in 1995 as “Non-digestible food ingredients that beneficially affect the host by selectively stimulating the growth and/or activity of one or a limited number of bacterial species already resident in the colon, and thus attempt to improve host health.” Prebiotics and probiotics work really well together, as prebiotics help feed and nourish the probiotics. So, while you might see inulin on ingredient panels of many different foods, our addition of inulin is intentional for adding fiber but more importantly for creating the synbiotics of probiotics in combination with prebiotics. And that does a tummy good.

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American Originals

August 24th, 2010

by Annelies @ attune

The word innovation is not unfamiliar to most people. We, Americans love innovation- it’s part and parcel of our history and future. To innovate means to create something new or introduce something different. The act of innovation brings new methods or things into existence. Innovators are people who think outside of the box, but first recognize that a box exists. They are game changers. Another way of saying this is they are originals.

In 1908, Lafayette Coltrin’s doctor told him he needed to incorporate flaxseed into his diet and from there Coltrin invented Uncle Sam Original cereal. Over 100 years later, we still use the same recipe. An idea that lasts beyond 100 years definitely shows staying power and we are pleased to offer a cereal with such a rich heritage as this.

In the spirit of celebrating American Originals, we are kicking off a sweepstakes on September 6th, asking people to upload a photograph and then tell us why they think they are American Originals. We have some pretty good examples along with a nifty date countdown over at www.unclesamoriginal.com. We see this as a good opportunity to share what makes you unique and also join us in celebration. One person will win $5000, drawing to be held on January 1, 2011 and we will select one winner twice a week for a $100 drawing. So as you are mulling over which photo and explanation best sums you up as an American Original, we are also curious- how do you define innovation personally and who are some other good examples of innovators?

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A week later

August 20th, 2010
a-week-later

by Annelies @ attune

This time last week I was rousing myself early in the morning from a late night arrival into Chicago’s Midway airport Thursday night. I had flown into the Windy City to attend and participate in the Healthy Living Summit. Started by five bloggers who regularly read each other’s blogs, they had become friends and in 2009, they envisioned what it might be like for healthy living bloggers to come together in one place. Those conversations led the way for plans and the plans built the first HLS event in Boston with 75 people attending. A year later in Chicago, 225 bloggers and readers gathered.  The flurry of post-HLS blog recaps definitely give evidence to what a fantastic life-changing event it was, which I would echo.

I have worked in the food industry now for almost nine years. As a child, I was that kid in the kitchen peering into the pot my aunt was stirring, ready to trace my finger along the inside of the mixing bowl. I was that kid who experimented early on with successes (chocolate macaroons that garnered a grand prize win in a baking competition) and failures (tuna surprise- surprise, there’s apricot jam in there! Ew.) It’s no surprise that some of my favorite jobs during school involved foodservice, both at a french patisserie and then later at a steakhouse. Food is a language I both understand and am passionate about. My love of food permeated into my joy of extending hospitality to the people I encounter, either at homeless youth drop-in centers or hosting parties in my home.

This paints a terribly rosy picture, but let me speak plainly that each of us is on our own road to healthy living and mine has been fraught with bumps and detours. This year is no exception as personal tragedy has struck close to home, sometimes finding me eating my emotions. But out of my desire to continue the baby steps of healthy living begun last year (including taking probiotics daily) and get back on the right track, I joined Weight Watchers two days before HLS.

Reading the enthusiastic recaps of bloggers who attended HLS, I can’t help but relive the wonderful weekend all over again. One blogger described it as getting over the nervousness of walking into a room where you can walk up to anyone and start a conversation. We were all there for the same reason. I know a blogger who signed up to run her first half-marathon after attending HLS. Others are talking about hosting a meet-up in their city. What I love about this is what my “job” is all about: community & solidarity.

As we are in this patching together what healthy living looks like, we get to encourage each other to “make one healthy choice. Now make another.” We get to determine what smart eats and smart activity look like. We get to share those victories (however small) and the struggles that would seek to hold us back. We get to change our lives and lifestyles.

attune believes that feeling good starts from the inside out and we support that by making real food for everyday enjoyment of our customers and fans. For our employees, that also involves providing a stipend for each person’s gym membership or yoga studio membership. We recognize the importance of living healthily in community and try to do it here in the office as well as in our lives outside.  Stay tuned in future weeks to hear the ups and downs of what my personal health journey looks like.  How do you stay healthy? Do you find it helps to have someone do it with you?

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HLS Recap

August 17th, 2010

by Annelies @ attune

This past weekend, 225 healthy living bloggers converged upon the city of Chicago for the Healthy Living Summit.

attune foods gladly sponsored and attended HLS for the first time. We provided chocolate probiotic bars and coupons for the coveted swag bags. Lindsay joined me from Boston and was the perfect sidekick! Together, we had a blast serving up cups of Münch, taking instant pics and hosting some pretty sweet giveaways.  A whole slew of people won something to take home with them whether it was Uncle Sam cereal, Erewhon organic cereal or attune chocolate goodies. Rock on giveaway winners: Nicole, Molly, Heather, Andrea, Courtney, Julie, Monica, Sana, Mary, Amy, Gabriela & Sarah.

There is something really special and socially interesting about blogger conferences. While many of the people may never have met before face-to-face, there’s a synergy that happens. It’s where the online meets the offline. And boy did they meet. At Friday night’s cocktail party we mingled and snapped pics in the photo booth, after enjoying tasty eats and drinks. We narrowly avoided the downpour on the way back to the hotel, purported to be haunted (in the room where yoga was practiced the next day no less)…

On Saturday morning, the conference kicked off in earnest. The sunrise was spectacular, glistening over the water. Attending a few of the sessions, I listened to bloggers talking about topics that are important to them. Evan and Lin to discuss ethical eating. While Evan took on dairy and meat, primarily considering the source of where your food comes from, Lin brought a perspective on veganism and how to lessen your carbon footprint with suggestions like even buying vintage clothes- who doesn’t love that?

Anne led a panel discussion on “The Ups and Downs of Blogging” with Sana, Julie, Andrea and Heather. They addressed important questions like how do you respond to negative comments on your blog as well as the comparison trap of newer bloggers who maybe don’t have as many readers as more popular ones.

During the final session, “Stop Staring over Your Shoulder: How to Avoid the Self-Comparison Trap,” Katie spoke about how blogging changed her life. Her journey of an unhealthy relationship with food to a healthy approach of eating and exercising was inspirational. Part of her speech really hit home:

“It’s difficult to reverse a lifetime of unhealthy brainwashing, but I know that by leading by example, this community can make a difference for others as it has for me. These blogs that we all write show real women eating real food and exercising for pleasure rather than punishment, and having a really damn good time doing it. This is a message we don’t always see in mass media, but thanks to blogs, we all have a voice, and our voices are important.”

And at the end of the day, each of us has our own story of what living a healthy life looks like personally to share. Our stories can benefit untold people around us. Each of us has something to teach and each of us has something to learn. So many good tips and relationships emerged from a weekend celebrating the goal of living healthier lives, knowing it takes a village to do so.

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Packing for HLS is like packing for life

August 13th, 2010
packing-for-hls-is-like-packing-for-life

by Annelies @ attunefoods

On Thursday evening, I set out to represent attune foods at our first collaboration with Healthy Living Summit. Started by several influential (and inspiring) healthy living / healthy food bloggers, HLS as it’s lovingly known, is a chance for people who share their food diaries, healthy food tips and workouts through their blogs to come together. A weekend of community-building activities like a cocktail party Friday night, a full day of seminars on blogging and real life stories on Saturday and then finally a fun run on Sunday comprise the HLS weekend. As I was packing for HLS, it occurred to me that some life principles were in play.

Pack Light

During the third sweep of all the clothing that wanted to make it’s way into my humble carry-on, before me was Coco Chanel’s famous quote: “before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off.” In this case, it was take one thing out. When traveling, being nimble is a good thing, as it allows the ability to not be burdened by too much and determine just what is enough and appropriate.

Consider the Source

Knowing this is a conference for healthy living bloggers made it easy to chuck the uncomfortable fashion shoes and clothing. Instead, my editor’s eye narrowed it down to workout clothes- check. Dress for the party- check and indoor duds for the seminars. This made deciding to reach for and fold the lululemon yoga pants an easy one.

Running Shoes

This is the place to meet people who could easily be the new workout partner (for the weekend) and being in Chicago, means definitely being out and about on foot. While running can be a very solitary thing, it also gives way for making new friends and perhaps even learning tips to better your runs.

Prepare to be Inspired

Many of the bloggers at HLS were not always so healthy. And herein lies an amazing truth: just because you haven’t been healthy doesn’t mean you can’t be. Through making different choices and even through the amazing community online, they share what works and what hasn’t. Caitlin Boyle, one of the HLS organizers, wrote a book of post-its that she would stealthily put in public places to help remind women that they are beautiful. This was prompted by a time when she was feeling pretty low personally and trying to find a way to replace the negative tapes playing in her head. Operation Beautiful was released several weeks ago and continues building momentum.

The group at HLS and many who aren’t here, have chosen another way of life that is putting into practice the components of healthy living: eating balanced meals, exercise, and knowing you can’t do it by yourself. This is something attune is proud to sponsor, believing we can help each other make healthier decisions. So if you see me around, DM me on Twitter (@attunefoods) and come say hello- I would love to meet you and hear more about what brought you to this point.

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The Non-GMO project

August 10th, 2010
the-non-gmo-project

by Kent @ attune

There’s (unfortunately) a lot to be sad about in today’s food system … increasing cases of contamination, fake organics from abroad, deteriorating nutritional value in vegetables. And then there are some bright spots: improving organic sales, country of origin labeling, Michelle Obama’s campaign against childhood obesity.

One of the hot topics we at Attune have been following is genetically modified organism (GMO) research and regulation. Regardless of where you stand on the issue, we hope people will come together at least around the idea of labeling for GMOs. That way consumers will be given a choice. We fundamentally are against the use of genetically modified ingredients in our products and are working with the Non-GMO Project to certify our products. This process entails working with each of our supplier partners to understand the exact inputs of each ingredient in every product.

Proponents of GMOs argue (often quite convincingly) that GM foods are 1) safe, 2) resource efficient, and 3) inexpensive. For the most part, these arguments have been supported by the U.S. government and big agribusiness companies. They often cite research showing that GM crops can be produced ‘fence row to fence row’ and have greater yield using fewer pesticides than conventional crops. Proponents often extend this argument that GM crops are therefore the best way to feed the increasing number of the hungry across the globe.

While we clearly agree that feeding the world’s hungry should be a priority, we disagree wholeheartedly that GMOs are the answer. We’re doing our part to bring you the best GM-free food because we believe the negative consequences of GM crops are not yet fully understood and the externalities they create are not worth the cost of cheap food.

One of the issues that concern us the most is the potential for a perpetual effect of even a single GMO introduction on the entire environmental ecosystem. A GM crop may cause significant changes to the entire ecosystem by changing the balance of naturally occurring (and beneficial) insects and wild crops. Once introduced, the seed may continue to spread altering adjacent ecosystems unintentionally. Unlike a herbicide which eventually dilutes, a seed’s impact may last into eternity. Additionally, a farmer planting an herbicide-resistant crop may be more likely to liberally spray the herbicide instead of judicially protecting the soil, which may eventually yield herbicide resistant pests. (…evolution gone very wrong…).

From a human perspective the possibility of antibiotic resistance or allergic reactions make us cautious about the long-term implications of GM crops. And fundamentally, if a food is grown to be resistant to a chemical substance that is supposed to kill it, we don’t want to eat it!

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Ask the R.D.

August 5th, 2010
ask-the-r-d

August 5, 2010
Tune in the first Thursday of every month as Jae Berman answers your questions about healthy living and diet. Got a question? Email them to friends@attunefoods.com with “Ask the RD” in the subject line.

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What is it about chicken soup that makes it such a good choice to have when someone is sick?  – DEBORAH

Most people think chicken soup as a cure to the common cold is an old wife’s tale but grandma’s favorite recipe really does have some beneficial properties. Scientists have recently put chicken soup to the test to see if there is any real merit to why it seems to help cure a cold.  They found that chicken soup has an anti-inflammatory property, which prohibits neutrophils (a type of white blood cell or immune cell) from producing mucus, therefore reducing symptoms of a stuffy nose and congestion.  Cold viruses thrive in a dry environment, which is why more people get sick in the winter. Therefore, the warm temperature and moisture from chicken soup provides an undesirable environment for viruses to live in.  In addition, chicken soup is a balanced meal as it contains protein, carbohydrates and fat and the warmth of the soup is soothing for anyone who is not feeling well. While I doubt chicken soup should replace going to your doctor, having a bowl when you are feeling under the weather may actually help you out. Yum!

I try to live a healthy lifestyle making good choices about what I eat and staying active. With all the options out there of full fat / low-fat and non-fat, what should be my non-fat or low-fat “go to items?” – TRACY

Going to the grocery store can be overwhelming—so many options! It is important to notice the fat content in foods because full fat foods can be so high in calories, but it is also necessary to keep in my mind which foods should be eaten in a low fat or non fat version. For example, if you buy low fat EVERYTHING—cookies, bread, cheese, sweets, you will likely not feel satisfied and then overeat later in the day. Even when you are trying to eat low fat, it is still very important to eat whole foods. Otherwise, you end up eating processed “air,”–a bunch of empty calories that leave you wanting more. Non-fat or low fat dairy products such as milk, cheese, yogurt and cottage cheese are great choices because the fat that is in dairy is saturated fat (which you want to avoid) and there are a lot of great low fat/non fat dairy products on the market. Check out a market near you with a huge yogurt selection—try a bunch and see what you like best. Aim for one that has greater than 10 grams for protein to make it even more nutritious. Greek yogurt is a great product to start with. Low fat cottage cheese, low fat string cheese or even a carton of low fat or non-fat milk are great on the go and a wonderful source of protein. Any paired with fruit would be a great mini meal. Nuts are high in fat, but are predominantly heart healthy fats and very convenient. Just be sure to manage the portion so you do not eat more than 200 calories of nuts at a time-that is about 2 tablespoons. Attune bars and granola are great on the go and an excellent source of probiotics. A bar instead of a sweet or granola mixed with yogurt, cottage cheese or milk would make a great snack on the go. Don’t forget that fruits and vegetables are also naturally non-fat and an excellent way to keep you satisfied without the calories. Radishes, carrots, bell peppers, celery, broccoli, grapes, bananas and apples are great fruits and veggies that you can throw in your bag all day. Remember, no need to fill yourself with low fat calories that do not keep you satisfied. Eat foods that fill you up without the saturated fat. The way to be successful eating well on the go is have a few go to items and know where you can buy them. Have your spots near work and the office so you never are far without a yummy, balanced snack.

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Jae’s diverse background and extensive education in nutrition and exercise provide her with the unique ability to implement simple strategies and useful tools to create powerful results. In addition to heading Jae Berman Nutrition, Jae serves as the Regional Registered Dietitian of The San Francisco Bay Club and clinical Dietitian for the UCSF Medical Center. In addition, she is a certified ACSM Health Fitness Specialist and has been a personal trainer, yoga teacher and Pilates instructor for eight years. Jae earned a master’s degree in Applied Physiology and Nutrition from Columbia University and completed her dietetic internship at UCSF Medical Center. Her specialties include nutrition for weight loss, wellness, sports nutrition, cardiovascular nutrition, digestive disorders, eating disorders and blood glucose control.

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