Love Your Heart: Simple Changes Can Make a Big Difference

Don’t let your sweetheart be the only one you show some love to this month. February is American Heart Month which aims to raise awareness for heart disease, the leading cause of death in both men and women. Heart disease claims more lives than all forms of cancer combined. While age, gender and family history cannot be controlled, weight and lifestyle factors can.

First, it’s important to know that how you prepare recipes is almost as important as what you put in them. Baking or broiling items requires little to no added fat -- so love your oven!

Make smart swaps. In one of our recent “Cooking Matters” client cooking classes, we focused on reducing fat, which is important for heart health. Using simple swaps, we created delicious Tex-Mex flavored dishes and by adding a little spice and using smart cooking techniques, we improved the nutritional value of traditional dishes. By skipping the crust on the bottom and going for heart-healthy oats, we cut the saturated fat in a Banana Crumble without sacrificing flavor or the chewy goodness of this great dessert . 

Trim it or skip it. The leaner meats you use, the better! Using lean ground turkey in our Tex-Mex Skillet reduced the saturated fat by more than 80%. We also used beans, which is a great source of lean protein, as well as fiber. With the right flavors and texture, people won’t even miss the meat in these veggie-packed quesadillas!

Spice it up. Fat provides flavor, but so do herbs and spices…actually even more so! We created a homemade taco seasoning, which was much lower in salt and sugar than the packets found in your grocery store. Spices like cumin add a smoky flavor, while vinegar provides a nice kick in our Southwestern Black-Eyed Pea and Corn Salad. Want to brighten up the flavors of a dish? Add fresh herbs like cilantro, thyme, or rosemary.

Who says healthy can’t be delicious? Try these South of the Border favorites and remember to give your heart a little TLC!

 Brandy Love, RD, LDN, Community Dietitian

Proud to Serve: Message from Our New Board President

Food & Friends' mission is close to my heart.

Mike Bento is the new President of Food & Friends'
Board of Directors. He has been on the Board since 2009.

For the past two decades, I've had the opportunity to volunteer in Food & Friends' kitchen and on the road delivering meals. I joined the Board of Directors in 2009 and in December of last year, they elected me to serve as your new President. Through these invaluable experiences, I have come to appreciate the critical role that you, our volunteers and donors, play in ensuring that each of our more than 3,000 clients have the meals and nutrition counseling needed to fight their illness. I look forward to leading this organization as we all continue to make a tremendous impact on those who are sick or are caring for loved ones.

More than 25 years ago, as AIDS ravaged our community, a small group of committed volunteers came together to be sure that no one suffering from AIDS would be hungry or alone. First with meals donated by local restaurants, then from a cramped kitchen in a church basement, and today from a bustling facility in Northeast Washington, Food & Friends has served more than 17 million meals to over 25,000 of our family, friends and neighbors in the Washington metro area. This year we plan to serve more meals and clients than in 2013, and this cannot be done without you.

Since day one, despite snow storms, wind storms, economic uncertainties and government shut downs, no client of Food & Friends has EVER missed a meal. That's because of donors and volunteers like you. I hope you read the thank you notes we frequently share with you -- our clients are thanking you, the friend they've never met but rely on every day.

I truly believe that Food & Friends is a beacon of excellence. Thanks to your incredible support, and our great staff led by Executive Director Craig Shniderman, we're always looking for how we can do more to improve our service, achieve greater operational efficiencies, engage volunteers and serve more clients. This year, through an innovative partnership with George Washington University, we're pilot testing an approach to provide meals and nutrition counseling to adults with severe diabetes. We will be telling you more about that in the coming months, and about other plans to grow our services in the community.

On behalf of the entire Board of Directors, thank you for your continued support of this vital mission we serve together. If you have any questions or want to reach me, please do not hesitate to email me at mbento@foodandfriends.org. I also encourage you to connect with us through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to see the impact of your support.

I look forward to serving with you the next couple years.

Sincerely,
Mike Bento

President, Board of Directors

No Snow Days at Food & Friends

Thumbs up to our superheroes! Today wasn't a snow day for Food & Friends' volunteers and staff - thanks for getting the meals ready for tomorrow's deliveries!

You Make the Words "Dinner is Ready" a Reality for Our Clients

It was like clockwork. Every day after Mikaelle and Sir finished their homework, they would anxiously wait for their mom, Crystal, to fill their plates with a delicious meal. On days that they had mom’s pizza or spaghetti, the words “dinner is ready” never sounded so good.

Food & Friends home delivers meals to breast cancer client, Crystal,
and her two children, Mikaelle and Sir.

This dinner routine changed drastically in April 2013 after Crystal was diagnosed with breast cancer. Crystal, who loves to cook and considers herself “a foodie”, was now undergoing harsh radiation. Her daily routine included traveling to receive treatment in the morning which often made her too fatigued to make dinner. Crystal feared that while she underwent treatment, she would not be able to feed her children – or herself. It’s a horrific thought and any parent’s worst nightmare.

“I would sacrifice and do whatever it takes to provide for my kids,” says Crystal.

Food & Friends made sure this wasn’t the case. Despite her health challenges, Crystal has managed to put food on the table, just with a little help. Although her treatment leaves her tired and weak, she is able to heat up a quick meal delivered by Food & Friends that gives her family a hearty dinner keeping them full and healthy.

“The dinners are great and nutritious,” says Crystal. “It’s convenient and easy for me, especially dinner. I just microwave the meals if I want my kids to have a cooked meal.”

In the few months that Crystal has been on service, she has been impressed with the service and extremely grateful for the volunteers that prepare and deliver the food. With this little bit of help, you allow Crystal to focus on her fight against breast cancer.

Although she doesn’t make spaghetti and pizza as often, Crystal is confident that her family is taken care of. Thanks to you, the phrase “dinner is ready” is still just as exciting for Mikaelle and Sir as it used to be.

There's An App for That: Pros and Cons of Four Popular Weight Loss Apps

Trying to lose a few pounds? Looking to live a healthier life? Most of us have been there before, hearing those inner voices motivating us to “eat healthier, tone up and exercise” at the start of every New Year. How can you make sure that new found motivation isn’t dashed by office donuts and weekend fries? There might be an app for that. So which ones actually work? Here are four apps used for weight loss along with the pros and cons for each.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

1. LOSE IT!
Pros: Lose It! allows users to set weight goals, track weight and keep on top of calorie budgets. This easy-to-navigate application tracks exercise, scans food barcodes for nutrition information and saves recipes. And for those of you who hate dieting alone, you can add friends or join teams to keep you motivated.

Cons: The food database is missing a number of foods or certain foods can be difficult to find. Additionally, some nutrition facts are missing from certain foods so the total for all nutrients may not be accurate at the end of the day.

2. MYFITNESSPAL
Pros: MyFitnessPal has a calorie counter for food and exercise, keeps track of macro (what we need in large quantities) and micro (what we need in smaller quantities) nutrients, includes a barcode scanner for food labels and offers 350 exercises to help you burn calories. You can also join a support network by adding MyFitnessPal friends.

Cons: Counting calories is not necessarily the best way to lose weight or maintain a healthy life. It’s important to focus on other parts of food, and not just the calories that come with it. Unfortunately, MyFitnessPal falls short of providing a breakdown of your diet – no details about fiber, vitamins, etc. Additionally, the program does not allow members to edit certain amounts of consumed food. For example, if you want to record that you drank less than 8 oz. of milk, the program will not let you.

3. WEIGHT WATCHERS MOBILE
Pros: This platform gives you the ability to manage your diet plan including a database of more than 30,000 foods to track and calculate nutrition intake. It also includes a weight log and interactive chart to help you see how your weight changes over time. Lastly, the app provides recipes with shopping lists and cheatsheets to help you pick the healthier choice for meals.

Cons: The Weight Watchers Mobile app is great for subscribers but not so much for everyone else. The Weight Watchers diet centers around the concept of tracking points – every food is assigned a point value and the goal is to stay within your quota for the day. Unfortunately, to get the most out of the app, you need to subscribe to Weight Watchers Online, which charges a fee.

4. MY DIET COACH
Pros: My Diet Coach focuses more on the mental game of dieting. It is designed to keep dieters motivated with reminders that pop up at the moment the user is experiencing potential diet derailers. Its three main components include: My Diet Reminders, My Perseverance Tips and My Diet Assistants.

Cons: The app does not create a diet plan or track nutrients. Also, in order for the user to be successful, he or she has to first identify the challenges he or she faces and the best times to deliver reminders.

If you are really self-motivated, these apps might be a good way to organize your weight loss plan. If not, then working with an actual registered dietitian is probably a better investment. A registered dietitian will not only create a personalized diet plan, but can work with you to find ways to change your habits and develop problem solving skills when it comes to food. The bottom line: weight loss apps can be useful for organization and ideas, but they do not provide accountability or assist with behavior change which research shows is the best way to lose weight and keep it off. Have a question for one of our dietitians? Tweet us your question at @foodandfriends.

One last bit of advice: these tools do not create individualized weight loss regimens that take into account personal health history. Before beginning any weight loss plan, talk with your doctor or dietitian to lose weight in a healthy way tailored to your needs.

Written by Brandy Love, Food & Friends Registered Dietitian and Sally Hammer, Virginia Tech Dietetic Intern with Food & Friends


Resources:
Pagoto, Sherry, Kristin Schneider, Mirjana Jojic, Michele Debiasse, and Devin Mann. "Evidence-Based Strategies in Weight-Loss Mobile Apps." American Journal of Preventive Medicine 45.5 (2013): 576-82. Print.
"Weight Management App Reviews." Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Web. 28 Jan. 2014. http://www.eatright.org/Media/content.aspx?id=6442467041#.UuWGlLso4y7.