Ingredients

Quick oats. I use quick oats because they cook faster than old-fashioned rolled or steel cuts. My goal with this recipe was to make it as fast and convenient as possible, and quick oats are just as nutritious.

Brown sugar. I like to use dark brown sugar because it has more molasses and is richer in flavor. That means you don’t need as much to make your oatmeal taste delicious.

Cinnamon. To me, oatmeal requires cinnamon. Use as much or as little as you’d like!

Kosher or sea salt. Just a pinch will do. As in all other recipes, salt brings out the flavor of all the other ingredients and just makes everything taste better.

Mix-ins. My favorite mix-ins are dried fruit and nuts, and you can go crazy with whatever kind you love!

Water or milk. Water works well, but milk makes oatmeal a bit creamier. It’s your choice!

Fresh fruit. This is optional, but I love adding fresh fruit like berries just before serving!

Mix-In Options

Dried fruit. Try raisins, cherries, blueberries, strawberries, apples, bananas, mango and coconut. If they’re in large chunks like dried apple slices, chop them up first.

Chopped nuts. Almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews and pistachios are all great options.

Dark chocolate. The regular-sized or mini chips work well here. Or you could use cacao nibs.

Powders. Dark cocoa powder, ground flax seed or peanut butter powder can be mixed in with the oats before microwaving. You may need to add a bit more liquid to accommodate. You can also try adding protein powder if you’d like – I haven’t tested this so I can’t vouch for it, though.

Serving Options

Chopped nuts. Why not add more nuts? A few sprinkled-on top before serving will add the crunch factor to your oats.

Nut butter. Once you’ve microwaved your oatmeal cup, go ahead and stir in a dab of your favorite nut butter.

Fresh fruit. I love adding fresh fruit like berries, cherries and peaches to my oatmeal just before it’s time to eat.

Substitution Options

Oats. You can try this recipe using old-fashioned rolled or steel cut oats, but you may need to adjust the amount of liquid and cooking time.

Brown sugar. Any sweetener will work here. Light brown sugar, dark brown sugar, brown sugar substitutes, granulated sugar or another natural sugar substitute like stevia. Another option is to omit the brown sugar and add honey, molasses or maple syrup to the oats once they’re cooked. Remember you can always alter the amount of sugar/sweetener you use to accommodate your taste and dietary preferences.

Spices. I use cinnamon, but you can swap with or add in other spices as well, such as ground ginger, nutmeg and cloves, if you like.

Milk. If you’re using milk instead of water, you can use any kind you like, whether it’s cow’s, almond, soy, coconut, rice, cashew or oat milk.

To make it gluten free: Use gluten free oats. Oats are naturally gluten free, but are often processed in the same facility as wheat products, so it’s important to purchase oats that are labeled gluten free if you follow a gluten free diet.

To make it dairy free and vegan. Use a dairy alternative, such as almond, soy or coconut milk.

Instant Oatmeal in a Cup

Serves 1

Ingredients

• ½ cup quick cooking oats
• ½ tablespoon dark brown sugar
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch coarse salt
• 2 tablespoons mix-ins
• ¾ cup water or milk

Instructions

Pour the oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt into a pint-size jar. Stir to combine. Add 2 tablespoons of desired mix-ins to the jar. Seal the jar and store at room temperature up to 2 months.

When ready to cook, add the water or milk to the jar, stir and microwave on high 1 minute 30 seconds. Place the lid on top and let sit 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

Serving Tips:

• Stir in a tablespoon of nut butter just before serving.
• Add fresh fruit and more chopped nuts on top before serving.

Cilantro Lime Brown Rice

Ingredients

• 1 cup brown rice
• 1¾ cups water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 lime, zested and juiced
• Black pepper to taste

Instructions

Add water to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the rice and olive oil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes or until all of the water has absorbed.

While the rice is cooking, zest and juice the lime and finely chop the cilantro.

When the rice is done, remove from heat and let it sit covered for 10 minutes. Remove cover and fluff with a fork. Stir in the cilantro, lime juice and lime zest. Add black pepper to taste.

Cooking notes:

• The cooking time may vary according to which brand of rice you are using. Refer to package directions.
• I used small grain rice, but you could also use long grain.
• If you are short on time, you could even use brown minute rice.
• One lime will provide about 2 tablespoons of juice and 2 tablespoons of zest.

SERVINGS: 6
SERVING SIZE: 1 fritter (47 grams)
PREP TIME: 10 minutes
COOKING TIME: 5 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons (20 milliliters) lemon juice
• ¼ cup whole-wheat flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon (14 milliliters) avocado oil

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, stir together chickpeas, lemon juice, flour and salt. Mash with potato masher or fork until a thick paste is formed, leaving a few chickpeas whole for texture. Stir in Parmesan cheese, basil and lemon zest.
2. With clean hands, form mixture into 6 golf ball-sized balls. Flatten into patties, roughly 2 inches to 3 inches in diameter. Place on a plate.
3. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add 3 to 4 patties to skillet, being mindful not to overcrowd the pan.
4. Cook one side for 1 to 2 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy. Flip and cook for an additional 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a towel-lined plate.
5. Cook remaining patties and serve immediately.

NUTRITION PER SERVING: 119 calories, 5g total fat, 1g saturated fat, 3mg cholesterol, 363mg sodium, 14g carbohydrate, 3g fiber, 2g sugar, 6g protein, 81mg potassium, 91mg phosphorus

Synopsis

Price and Platform: Free with a premium upgrade option. iOS only.

RDN Score: 5/5

Pros

• Perfectly polished design includes home screen widgets making it easy to track calories, macros, water and fasting hours on one screen.
• Scan nutrition labels to quickly gather data.
• Record nutrition details noting where you are entering accurate or approximate calories and macros data.
• Track daily averages and gain daily, weekly or monthly insights about your personal nutrition.
• Log and track water and other drinks.
• Create recipes and plan meals using a variety of ingredients and save meals and custom foods.
• Save frequently logged meals for quick and easy recall.
• Data is stored in your personal cloud account with no requirement to provide an email address so you can protect your name and privacy.
• Integrates directly with the Apple Health app, Siri and Shortcuts.
• Users can select motivations from losing, gaining or maintaining weight to improving heart health and practicing intermittent fasting.
• Option to add goals around water, caffeine, alcohol and individual nutrients such as calcium, magnesium and iron.
• Can access the community food database or opt out to keep your food logs a bit more accurate.
• Create food by manual entry or scanning a nutrition label, and easily enter recipes and meals logs.
• Switch from calories to kilojoules and change regional settings such as enabling carbohydrates by difference or showing 100g/ml options.

Cons

• Not appropriate for anyone sensitive to or negatively triggered by tracking their food and meals.
• Diet choices are very limited with options only for low-carb, high-protein and keto diets.

Bottom Line: Though not appropriate for anyone negatively triggered by calorie counting and logging, FoodNoms is made for dieters and anyone who wants to track what they eat.

About FL OJ Nutrition

*Source: Floridacitrus.org

Florida Orange Juice isn’t just a delicious, hydrating beverage with no added sugars. It also packs a nutritious punch that delivers vitamin C, potassium, folate and thiamin — and fortified Florida Orange Juice amps up the nutrition profile with calcium and vitamin D.

On the radar of many nutrition and dietetics professionals is nutrient synergy — when the combination of two or more nutrients creates a possible health benefit. Many known nutrient synergies involve vitamins and minerals found in Florida Orange Juice, such as:

Vitamin C aids in the absorption of iron, particularly non-heme iron from plant foods, which promotes cellular health by helping blood deliver oxygen.

Vitamin D is better absorbed when paired with a fat source, and in turn can help the body absorb calcium for bone health.

When consumed together, potassium, magnesium and calcium may help lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of stroke.

Folate combined with vitamins B6 and B12 may help reduce homocysteine levels and may reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke.

When combined with calcium and vitamin D, vitamin K completes a synergistic trio that supports bone health.

Scientific research around nutrient synergy largely has been in the context of overall eating patterns — and how exactly certain metabolic pathways work is not yet well understood. But evidence of better outcomes from the synergistic effects of food (more so than supplements) supports a “food first” philosophy — and this has many researchers excited about further exploring the complementary relationships of nutrients.

Visit FoodandNutrition.org/FL-OJ for a collection of delicious recipes featuring synergistic ingredients and tons of flavor!

Film Review:

Studio: Black Valley Films with Boomdozer, Inc.

Director: Scott Hamilton Kennedy

2016

Reviewed by Anne Elizabeth Cundiff, RD, LD, FAND

Description: Food Evolution is a documentary portraying and discussing both sides of GMO controversy between science and human fear. It represents individuals with personal experiences and passions against the safety of GMOs in our food systems and experts in science and medicine who share their own passion for the safety of GMOs in our food systems.

Synopsis: This film discusses global GMO crops and foods in our food systems. Each component of the film provides both sides of the conversation for the viewer to be equally educated to develop their own decision on GMOs. This includes the following: the science behind a crop possibly going extinct because of disease and how a GMO crop can preserve it, maintain the livelihood of the farmers and the economy of a county; the safety of a GMO food if consumed by humans based on science and from personal human choice; the explanation of certain studies of GMO foods and their accuracy; companies behind GMO science; and media representation of GMO foods/farming practices of popular authors, activists and marketers.

Pros and Cons:

I felt this entire film was a pro. Most films take one side of the story, but this film did an excellent job of providing all angles of the controversy. As a nutrition expert, this was a documentary I did not want to stop watching after 10 minutes into the film – and I have turned all the others off because of the extreme fear-mongering. I appreciate the director giving the film a scientific angle and a personal angle because no matter the science, food is very personal. Viewers are given both sides of the GMO story and how many different factors influence scientific studies, human interest and marketing of relatable, realistic situations. I also very much appreciated highlighting how some “experts” are considered to be doctors and scientists when they might not be an expert of anything or they are siding with certain industries because of their own personal or monetary interests.

I get tears in my eyes when people are fighting against a safer food system, a sustainable food system, disease prevention and keeping agriculture, farmers and certain populations flourishing. I always think about what Dayle Hayes, MS, RD, once said when I heard her speak: “It’s not nutrition if you don’t eat it.”

Bottom line: I would recommend this entire movie to all types of viewers. I think it is a particularly great film for the average person to watch to debunk so much of the fear-mongering they experience in everyday life from television, social media, friends and co-workers. It is not too science-y and is very relatable. Two thumbs up!

Read more Food Evolution film reviews.

Film Review:

Studio: Black Valley Films with Boomdozer, Inc.

Director: Scott Hamilton Kennedy

2016

Reviewed by Carrie Dennett, MPH, RDN, CD

Description: Food Evolution offers a science-based conversation about food, exploring the polarizing debate about genetically modified organisms (GMOs), interviewing experts on both sides of the issue and delving into the grey areas where beliefs, fear and science collide.

Synopsis: While Food Evolution focuses on the debate over genetic engineering, and organic food to a lesser extent, the filmmakers broaden their focus to more complex issues surrounding nutrition and other areas of science. One of these is beliefs versus facts. Another is how fear of the unknown and anger about corporate greed can cloud objectivity. Another is erosion in trust of authority figures, whether that be scientists, medical professionals or the government.

Unlike some recent food-related “documentaries” that have a clear agenda from conception and interview only experts who support that agenda, Food Evolution’s filmmakers investigated both sides of the debate over GMOs, interviewing both scientists and activists. The film’s backstory details the filmmakers’ quest to let the science speak for itself.

Pros and Cons: While the film came out in favor of GMOs, in line with scientific consensus, the film provides balance in its presentation, minimizing the “us versus them” feel that is present in so many recent food films. In this way, it is hard to call the film “pro-GMO,” per se. The film does not portray genetic engineering as a panacea for all the world’s food issues, instead offering the view that GMOs should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. With that in mind, the filmmakers present compelling case studies that clearly show the benefit for both economic and nutritional health of specific populations, including papaya farmers in Hawaii and banana farmers in Africa.

Through its interviews, the film demonstrates compassion for both the individuals who oppose GMOs out of genuine concern for themselves, their families or the environment, as well as the farmers whose livelihoods — which, in some cases, literally means being able to grow the food that goes directly in their children’s mouths — depend on solutions offered by GE technology.

The film also highlights the authoritative-sounding claims made by high-profile GMO opponents — who, in most cases, are not scientists or health care providers — that are not supported by science. For example, claims that eating GE papaya increases risk of infection with colds, hepatitis and HIV, or that a correlation between increases in glyphosate use and autism rates proves causation (interestingly, there is a nearly identical correlation between increase in organic food sales and increase in autism rates). The filmmakers also take a nuanced look at the issue of whether adoption of GE technology in the fields has increased pesticide use.

Bottom line: I have long been agnostic about GMOs, knowing from digging into research literature that no evidence-based case could be made for their lack of safety, yet wondering if their introduction into the food supply without full vetting by the FDA meant that we were all guinea pigs. While this film may not shift the thinking of someone who is vehemently against GMOs, its insights will be useful for fence-sitters like myself, as well as for viewers who have been “casually” anti-GMO but haven’t fully explored the foundation of their opinion. The film’s broader theme of beliefs versus science also is of great value, providing robust food for thought for both nutrition professionals and consumers of nutrition information.

Read more Food Evolution film reviews.

Film Review:

Studio: Black Valley Films with Boomdozer, Inc.

Director: Scott Hamilton Kennedy

2016

Reviewed by Adrienne Raimo, RDN

Description: The film Food Evolution asserts that genetically modified organisms (GMOs), despite a controversial reputation, are a safe and intelligent solution to feeding an over-populated world.

Synopsis: Through his film, Food Evolution, the director aims to furnish some answers to the questions of how the science behind GMOs might be used to feed the earth’s growing population. While portraying those concerned about the health and environmental impacts of GMOs as misinformed and fear-mongering, he champions the developments of certain GMO foods as a way to improve crop resistance to disease and drought. The film tries to assume an objective, evidence-based analysis of the science behind GMOs as a safe and reasonable solution for looming issues of food security and sustainability as well as environmental health.

Pros and Cons:

Pros: The cinematography is fantastic – very interesting to the eye and keeps the viewer’s attention.

Cons: The data provided in the film focuses on safety issues relating to human health (mainly asserting that there’s no proof of damage to the human body). Besides the topic of human health, there are other impacts of GMOs that were not discussed. Marion Nestle, who earned both a PhD in molecular biology and an MPH in public health nutrition from the University of California, Berkeley, calls the movie “propaganda” and asked the director to remove her interview from the movie on the grounds of her comment being taken out of context. As she mentions in her blog, genetic engineering also needs to include discussion of “monoculture; the effects of industrial agriculture on the environment and climate change; the possible carcinogenicity of glyphosate (Roundup); this herbicide’s well documented induction of weed resistance; and the how aggressively this industry protects its self-interest and attacks critics, as this film demonstrates.”

The film aims for us to equate transgenic biological manipulation to selective breeding, but this is a false equivalence. Injecting genetic material from another species is not the same as our recent ancestors selecting the heartiest strains of wheat or the sturdiest cows on the farm for further breeding.

Safety is the main talking point. In the view of the GMO industry and this film, if GMOs are safe (or haven’t yet been proven unsafe), they should be fully accepted and no other argument or concern is relevant. There is little discussion about how GMOs would address food security or impact biodiversity, workers’ health, water quality, monoculture and monocropping, resistant weeds and traditional seed sharing. The film also fails to mention how the industry spends a fortune on lobbying and in working against labeling transparency.

Bottom line: Science and politics are often entwined, which makes it very hard to get to the truth and, hence, why we have an abundance of confusion around these issues. Critical thinking goes way beyond watching this film, or any film, and taking the assumptions laid out as your own. Do your own research. Look at who funds studies. Always ask the question “Who stands to benefit?” The maxim “you are what you eat” encourages us to consider the impact that organic and GMO foods can have on our long-term health. Choose carefully: Not only does what you put in your mouth ultimately become your cells, tissues and organs, but the choices we make have impacts far beyond our own bodies.

If nothing else, this movie should encourage people on both sides of the fence to look beyond “feelings” and do more research to support, or modify, their current positions on the issue of GMOs and human, soil and environmental health.

Read more Food Evolution film reviews.

Dinner in less than 30 minutes with minimal prep and clean up? Yes, please! Speedy, family-friendly, delicious and nutritious! This sausage and veggie sheet pan dinner will be a crowd pleaser.  And sheet pan dinners will change your life. Seriously …

Sausage and Vegetable Sheet Pan Dinner

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 pound poultry sausage
• 2 bell peppers, cut lengthwise into 6 pieces
• 1 red onion, cut into 8 wedges
• 1 fennel, cut lengthwise into 8 wedges
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¹⁄₈ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 5 ounces baby greens (baby kale, baby spinach, etc.)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425° F. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
2. Arrange sausage, peppers, onion and fennel on baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Roast for ~30 minutes until sausage is cooked and vegetables are golden brown, stirring once midway through roasting.
4. Add baby greens to baking sheet and toss all together.