Everyday Nutrition: Fun with Food

Friday, April 29, 2011

Fun with Food

In case you didn't know, I am a little obsessed with cupcakes. Long before Sprinkles and DC Cupcakes I was in my kitchen making tiny masterpieces out of cake and frosting. Cupcakes are individually portioned tiny treats that are oh so fun to make.

I especially love making birthday treats, remember these guys? This past week end we had two very special celebrations for my grandma's birthday, one with our family on Saturday night and the other on Monday for her actual birthday with her friends. I love any excuse to use my creativity and came up with two different cupcake creations.

1. Individual Flower Pot Cupcakes

I started by baking brownies in a muffin tin. Once cooled I put one into each little flower pot.

Then I added chocolate pudding

Topped with crushed oreos to look like dirt

Then placed cupcakes baked in green wrappers and decorated with fondant flowers into each pot.

To make it more "birthday" I added a chocolate sucker and candle to my grandma's.

2.) Cupcake Garden

I started by baking 2 1/2 dozen cupcakes, some chocolate, some vanilla. Then I decorated them. Some like this with large frosting flowers

And some with fondant flowers

Then I made the stand. I took two boxes, wrapped them in green tissue paper and attached fence posts made out of a poster board. Lastly, I added a chocolate "HAPPY BIRTHDAY", some chocolate butterflies and a few silk flowers to fill in the gaps.

It was a big hit!

And most importantly, my grandma loved it!

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Welcome!

My name is Kristin and I am a Registered Dietitian living in the heart of Chicago.

Everyday Nutrition is a blog set out to show how nutrition can be easy, fun, creative and most importantly part of everyday. Some posts will be nutrition and health focused where as others may be more indulgent to show that in moderation any food can be part of a healthy lifestyle.

I have worked in a variety of settings including home health care, women, infant and children's nutrition, diabetic wellness, rehabilitation as well as community health promotion.

I feel that nutrition is one of the most important components of a healthy lifestyle, but in addition to nourishing our bodies food has to make us happy, fit our budget and must be adaptable to daily changes we may face.

I like to think of myself as a realistic Dietitian and strongly believe in the following:

1.) There are no "bad" foods. Eat in moderation and don't deny yourself. Eat healthy 80% of the time and splurge the other 20%, not only will it help you stick to a healthy eating plan but you deserve it!

2.) The more visually stimulating your meals are the more you will enjoy them. A low-fat item will taste better if it looks appealing so add some creativity into your meals and save calories while eating healthy.

3.) Save money where you can so that you can afford healthy foods or match sales with coupons to pay less for those foods. I hear patients say all the time that healthy foods are expensive but it is possible to make healthy foods part of any budget.

4.) Eating is a numbers game, keep your "calories in" and "calories out" the same and you set yourself up for weight stability over time. Know that you will be eating a larger dinner? Make sure to hit the gym in the morning or scale down breakfast and lunch portions to compensate.

5.) Nutrition does not have to be difficult! Eat a balance of foods, avoid high calorie high sugar items and make sure to have a large glass of water at each meal, it can be that simple. I often tell patients to eat as their mother taught them growing up, going back to basics helps ground us in good health.

Thanks for stopping by and please check back soon for updates!

Link Descriptions:

RECIPES:

This section is dedicated to everything cooking! It includes sections such as:
- Once Upon a Dinner Party; Things That I Learned From Friends (Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian, Lactose Intolerance)
- Products that I LOVE (Pumpkin, Squash, Fiber One)
- Hidden Nutrition
- Treats for our puppy friends
- Splurge, no calorie counting here!
- Fun with Food
- Try something new

HOW TO CALCULATE CALORIE NEEDS:

Provides instructions to figure out how many calories you need to eat each day to satisfy your health and wellness goals.

300 CALORIE MEALS/100 CALORIE SNACKS:

So now that you know how many calories you need daily you can start planning meals! Start with three 300 calorie meals and add 100 calories to each meal or snack to until you reach your total caloric needs.

HEALTH AND NUTRITION INFORMATION:

New health and nutrition topics discussed each month.

HEALTHY SUPER COUPONING:

Super couponing (the science of combining coupons with local sales) has been increasing in popularity over the last few years. While there are a lot of unhealthy items in these sales it is important to note that it is possible to stick with good choices and save money, let me show you how!

WHAT DOES A DIETITIAN EAT?

Ever wonder what a Dietitian eats? Find out here! I will truthfully blog days throughout the month as to what I ate.

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Friday, April 29, 2011

Fun with Food

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