Nutrition for Health Living

 Maureen Boswell, RD, CD, is Maureen a Registered Dietitian and a Health & Fitness Instructor with the American College of Sports Medicine. She’s a graduate of Seattle Pacific University where she earned a degree in Food & Nutritional Sciences with concentrations in Dietetics and Sports & Exercise. Maureen’s special interests include nutrition interventions for the spinal cord injury population.

The Dietitian's Pantry

While many Americans gravitate toward extreme (and often short-lived) measures when it comes to weight loss, just a few small changes can spell big gains in the nutritional quality of your diet as well as a minimized waist line. Now keep in mind, some tweaks are worth it and others are not.

For example, consider reduced-fat peanut butter. Though this may sound promising, think about it. Peanuts are naturally very high in fat, so what’s to reduce? A quick look at the Nutrition Facts label reveals that while there is in fact a 4 gram reduction in fat, there is also an additional 8 grams of sugar and 10 extra calories. Unfortunately, this tends to be the problem many nutritionally altered convenience foods. Where one nutritional “no-no” is taken away, another is added. The trick is finding swaps that will actually make a difference and yet still be enjoyable. Here are a few swaps that I have found that are dietitian (and Maureen) approved.

• The Switch: Barilla Plus pasta for White pasta. The Benefit: Made from lentils, chickpeas, spelt, barley, flaxseed, oats, and wheat, Barilla Plus is higher in fiber, protein, omega-3 fatty acids, iron and folate. But even better? My husband actually prefers the stuff! It has a great bite without being gummy.

• The Switch: Soy Crisps for Mini Rice Cakes. The Benefit: Okay, while neither of these innovations are nutritional powerhouses, they are a great low-cal snack when the munchies strike. While both have similar calories and less than 30% of calories from fat, the Soy Crisps have 2 grams of fiber and 7 grams of protein with small amounts of iron and calcium. The rice cakes make a poor showing with 0 grams fiber and a mere 2 grams protein.

• The Switch: Quaker’s Vanilla, Almond, and Honey Simple Harvest Instant Whole Grain Cereal for Quaker’s Cinnamon Pecan Supreme Instant Oatmeal. The Benefit: Though the latter is only 20 calories less, it has less fat and sugar and more fiber. Made with oats, wheat, barley, rye, flaxseed, and almonds, Simple Harvest is definitely a hearty (and heart healthy) whole grain addition to your breakfast. Besides, who could turn their nose up at sliced almonds?

• The Switch: Mission’s Carb Balance flour tortillas for Basic flour tortillas. The Benefit: A miracle of modern food science, Carb Balance tortillas have a whopping 11 grams of fiber and yet remain very soft and pliable. Though I typically avoid anything sporting a “low-carb” endorsement that isn’t naturally so, these actually taste good. One caveat, just be sure you don’t buy a squished batch—they can be hard to separate when stuck together.

• The Switch: Brown Cow’s All Natural Nonfat Strawberry Yogurt for Yoplait Light Strawberry Yogu