Baby food is for babies? Not exclusively. Hollywood A-listers are eating baby food now. The Baby Food Diet, made famous by Tracy Anderson, is for those who want to control their food portions and curb cravings with pureed fruits and veggies. The diet works for celebrities, but for those who would rather not revert back to their infant days it isn’t an ideal diet.

I asked our resident dietitian Mary Hartley, RD if the serving size of a baby’s jar would satisfy grown adults? She tells us, “No. A little four-ounce jar of pureed baby food ranges from 40 to 80 calories, and so an adult would need many, many little jars if the diet consisted only of baby food.”

The jars of baby food might make reasonable replacements for snacks during the day, but frankly, just eating the whole fresh fruit or vegetable is going to be far more satisfying, as many if not less calories, and none of the preservatives or other additives common to jarred baby food.
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It’s true, the fruits and vegetables most Americans eat today are less nutritious than the ones our grandparents ate. A landmark 2004 study at the University of Texas established that in a fifty year time span, six out of thirteen nutrients in a general selection of produce had measurable declines of important nutrients. The losses ranged from 6 to 38 percent, and included protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, vitamin B2, and vitamin C. An illustration of this loss is that for every orange a person ate fifty years ago, you need eight to get the same nutritional value.

The environmental factor responsible for this is soil depletion. When farmers began to utilize enhanced crop production techniques after World War II they got greater yields, faster growing times, and pest resistance. The tradeoff was that the soil was quickly stripped of nutrients and not allowed a rest period to regain them.

Because of this, each successive generation of fruits and vegetables has been less nutritious than the last. This should not give you an excuse not to eat your spinach, though, because today’s fruits and vegetables are still very nutritious, and much healthier than many other foods.
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By Rachel Berman, RD – Director of Nutrition, CalorieCount.com

Spring time is here and your spring cleaning may already be well under way. This year, in addition to tackling your closet and cleaning underneath the couch, focus on ‘detox’-ing to spring clean your health. No, I’m not talking about expensive drinks and celebrity cleanses which can be harmful to our bodies with short-lived results. These are marketing gimmicks to get you to shell out money for something you will have to do time and time again. By making changes to your diet, you can naturally ‘detox’ with healthy foods. Add these foods on a regular basis to optimize your health and feel your best inside and out.

Leafy Greens such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and kale contain cancer fighting compounds called glucosinolates. They are also a great source of calcium which is important for muscle contraction and therefore, can improve the ‘spring in your step.’ Frozen veggies can often be even more nutritious than fresh since they are frozen at the peak of ripeness. Try always keeping a bag in your freezer for quick and easy addition to meals.

Citrus Fruits are loaded with soluble fiber. This type of fiber increases the amount of healthy bacteria in your colon to help flush out toxins from your system. They are also loaded with immune boosting nutrients and antioxidants such as vitamin C, which can improve the health of your skin. Choose the whole fruits, not juices, to get the maximum fiber benefit and improve satiation.
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by Rachel Berman RD, Director of Nutrition, CalorieCount.com

Growing your own food sounds very overwhelming but you can do it easily with very little space, even in an urban environment. March is also the perfect time to start preparing your own garden to grow plants and herbs for the spring and summer months ahead. As if you need reasons why, it ensures you have fresh produce on hand, is a great way to teach your children about eating healthy, can help you save money, plus studies show that gardening relieves stress! From an environmental standpoint, you can help decrease pollution by growing without the use of pesticides and reduce the need for trucks that transport food all over the country. Finally, what could taste more delicious than a plant that you grow and pluck at its peak of ripeness just steps away from your kitchen door?

Contain your garden

Many people in urban environments do not have a backyard let alone a square foot of land to grow plants. By practicing ‘container gardening’, basically growing in any sort of container that can hold soil, plants and drain water, you can bring your garden to a patio, or even indoors as long as there is plenty of sunshine. Check out this comprehensive guide to how to get started with container gardening and what fruits, vegetables, and herbs are easiest to grow.

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There are stories that Elvis Presley would eat one food, in particular meatloaf, for weeks. It would be the only thing he’d eat. I tend to get in to similar ruts with breakfast. It will be three months of nothing but scrambled eggs and toast. And then I’ll switch to months and months of Cheerios, or yogurt with granola. Last week, it was time for a change, and I rediscovered my blender.

Smoothies are a perfect breakfast. They are fast, simple, and can give you several full servings of fruits and vegetables in a glass. Drink it on the go and you can’t complain about not having time for breakfast!

I assessed the smoothie-making ingredients I had on hand… fresh baby spinach, an avocado, a pint of blueberries, bananas, ice, and Chobani Greek yogurt. I had a few flavors to choose from (because we’re rarely without) and I opted for the brand new blood orange. I hadn’t yet tried it, and figured this was a perfect opportunity to add a burst of sweetness to my smoothie. The color, when all stirred and combined, wasn’t as bold as I’d expected (I mean, have you seen the raspberry Chobani? Pop!), but the flavor was perfect.
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