I've joined the Around the Plate community!

I'm one of the newest Nutrition Experts on Around the Plate! Around the Plate is a community that brings nutrition experts and everyday people together online "to improve the way the world eats one plate at a time." Click the icon on the right to view this awesome sight run by registered dietitians. Check out other blogs written by dietitians, recipe gurus and healthy eating champions to find resources for healthy living. Thanks for welcoming me, Around the Plate team!

Medicare will cover obesity--but there's a PROBLEM!

Dear readers,

You may have heard the news recently – it was widely reported – that Medicare made a decision to cover Intensive Behavioral Therapy for Obesity. In the past, Medicare has only covered nutrition counseling for diabetes and renal disease. While this is good news, there is a major problem with their ruling- it has excluded registered dietitians from directly providing obesity treatment for Medicare patients. This would be like deciding to offer coverage for physical therapy treatment but not by a qualifed physical therapist. I think I can speak for most dietitians in saying that we feel very passionately about our professions and have worked very hard to become “the experts in nutrition” in order to best help our patients.

Perhaps you’re asking, if not RDs, than who can provide this treatment? Nutrition counseling for obesity under Medicare will now fall under the primary care physician’s (and some other healthcare professional’s who are not RDs) responsibility. Granted, there are some MDs that are knowledgeable about nutrition, however in a recent survey of primary-care physicians, 78 percent said they had no prior training on weight-related issues. After all, this isn’t most primary care MDs specialty.

Number one: This ruling doesn’t make sense. Number two: This would take away the time that physicians have to care for the medical concerns of their patients. Registered dietitians have the knowledge, training, experience and time to devote to patients.

Please sign this petition to help us – registered dietitians, the nutrition experts. We need 25,000 signatures for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to reconsider their decision. It won’t take long – maybe 2 minutes – to register for an account (free) and sign. Please note though that apparently the site has been a bit finicky – so if it doesn’t open in Internet Explorer, please try in Firefox, or another web browser. I signed yesterday! Here is the link: http://wh.gov/DWX.

Thank you so much for your time and help. Please forward this post to anyone you think might be interested too!

Sincerely,
Liz Patton, RDbyyourside

HCG off the shelves

I wrote about HCG back in August (see the post here). I'm pleased to find out that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is now taking action too: they issued warning letters to companies who sell over-the-counter HCG products noting that they have not been approved as weight-loss agents and pose several health risks. Bottom line is that the claims made by manufacturers of these products (ie. miracle weight loss) are unsupported. Now the message will be heard loud and clear! Thanks, FDA.

I know from my clients that weight loss can be a struggle and maintaining your action plan for health isn't always easy. Sometimes products like HCG are a last resort or seem like they might help (these companies are really good at marketing!). Even if we don't want to believe it, a quick-fix approach is not the answer--and it could even be hazardous to our health. So formulate a long-term plan for health and weight loss. And stick with it! You can do it.

If you need help, visit my website for more information about nutrition counseling.

Source: Reuters

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

If you've carved pumpkins this year or cut up leftover pumpkins to use in recipes, don't throw away the seeds! They're great toasted. And so simply healthy: just a little oil and a little salt. That's it! Pumpkin seeds are also a great source of unsaturated fat and one of the few plant foods that is a good source of iron. I love to snack on them plain, but they're very versatile. Add the seeds to salads, sprinkle on yogurt or try in a homemade trail mix. I'd mix them with unsweetened dried cherries and mini chocolate chips for a sweet n' salty snack.

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Now it's time to dig in to the "pumpkin guts" that you have set aside! Separate the stringy stuff from the seeds and place the seeds in a collander. After you've done the dirty work, rinse the seeds in the collander and get rid of any remaining stringy pieces.

Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan on the stove. For every cup of pumpkin seeds, use 4 cups of water and 1 tablespoon salt (more or less to taste). Mix all ingredients together and simmer for about 10 minutes. Spread about a tablespoon of olive oil on cookie sheet and spread pumpkin seeds in an even, single layer. Bake for 20-30 minutes until toasty and golden brown. Remove from oven, cool and enjoy!

Creative ways to use your leftovers: Pumpkins & Pumpkin Bread

Remove the skin. It's really easy--it just peels right off when the pumpkin is still warm. Place pumpkin pieces in a food processor with a couple tablespoons of water and puree. You may have to do this in a couple batches.

Part Two: Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 cups pumpkin purée (prepared above)
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup light margarine
• 2 eggs and 4 egg whites, beaten
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Stir together the flours, salt, sugar and baking soda in a small bowl.

2. Mix the pumpkin, oil, margarine, eggs, water and spices together in a large bowl. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients, but do not mix too thoroughly. Fold in the nuts.

3. Pour into two 9x5 inch loaf pans, sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Bake 50-60 minutes until a thin skewer poked in the center of the loaf comes out clean (mine took 70 minutes). Gently turn out of the pan, using a knife for assistance, and let cool on a rack.

This recipe makes two loaves. The product was fantastic and it refrigerates and freezes very well. Mini loaves would make an excellent holiday gift! 

Leftover pumpkins? Sure they made excellent holiday decorations, but they can be much more than that! If you've never cooked with fresh pumpkin, that would make two of us. But this year I decided to give it a whirl (I'm always up for something new with food!). Here's two easy and delicious ways to use your fresh pumpkins: pumpkin bread and toasted pumpkin seeds.

In the past, my focus in cooking has not been baking (and I've never made pumpkin bread before), so I searched the internet for a recipe and discovered an excellent blog: Simply Recipes (love this site, by the way!). I modified the author's recipe slightly to cut down on some of the fat, so you'll see my version below. This was the first time I've made baked goods with olive oil and now it's something I will be sure to do again in the future. Why make the switch? Olive oil apparently provides a similar buttery taste in your product and its a fantastic source of monounsaturated (heart healthy) fats versus its counterpart, butter. Use extra virgin olive oil so that the olive flavor is less potent.

Start by preparing the pureed pumpkin. Don't worry; it's not difficult, but it does take a little time. So save this recipe for when you've got at least an hour to work in the kitchen (most of your time will be spent on the pumpkin puree). I pureed two pie pumpkins and ended up with 6 cups of pumpkin puree. That's enough for 6 loaves of bread! I used 2 cups in my recipe and froze the remainder in 2 cup portions for later. I'll be looking forward to more bread :)

Part One: Pumpkin Puree

If you remember what it's like to carve a pumpkin, you'll know it takes a little strength and a sharp knife. I found that it was easiest to make the first slice alongside the stem, then cut around the stem to remove it. Then I cut the largest part of the pumpkin into three sections and the smaller part into two, ending up with five sections.

Take a metal spoon and scrape out the seeds and "guts." Place them in a bowl to sort through later (will be used in toasted pumpkin seed recipe).

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil and place pumpkin sections so they're not touching. Roast for about 45 minutes until the meat of the pumkin is soft (a fork should easily poke through). Remove from the oven and cool, just long enough for you to be able to handle it.