Do you know where your food comes from? On September 2nd Maritimers are asked to only eat Atlantic produced products that day and beyond.  With the rising awareness of ethical eating, consumers are choosing to shop closer to home. Locally grown produce is often more nutritious while producing a smaller carbon footprint.

Co-op Atlantic is organizing local events to help celebrate this special dietary day. Members of the public can enjoy samples of Atlantic produced products at the Charlottetown location on Walker Drive. Follow the Eat Atlantic Challenge on facebook wall to find out more details and to make your dietary pledge.

I signed the pledge, and here’s my PEI produced meal plan for today:

Breakfast:  2 PEI free range eggs + 1 local bakery whole wheat bread, PEI roasted coffee with honey drop

Snack: handpicked PEI apple + slice of Cows creamery cheddar cheese

Lunch: garden veggie stir fry with oishi sauce and uncle’s homegrown chicken

Snack: fresh fruit smoothie with Island berries and Purity dairy skim milk

Supper: PEI lobster, corn on the cob, garden fresh yellow beans, new PEI potatoes

Local eating just makes sense. It’s easy to do and often more affordable. Planning your meals a day in advance can help you stay on track. To find out more about local eating or where to buy food, read the 100 mile diet. 

The Eat Atlantic website hosts a kids club, which includes healthy inspired projects for kids and parents. Learn more about nutrition and how your food is grown on this interactive website. As a parent, it’s your responsibility to be a healthy food role model for your children. Openly discuss nutrition with them and take family outings to local farms.

How do you plan on enjoying Eat Atlantic day? Hopefully with lots of food

Sprouts are one of the most nutritious foods known to man. Praised for containing live nutrition, sprouts are a high source of vitamins, minerals and amino acids.  Sprouts are known to be major antioxidants which help to fight off many illnesses and disease. Studies suggest that 100 grams of sprouts a day may help to prevent cancer.

Add some more sprouts into your diet by placing them on all cooked/raw foods. They taste especially yummy in salads or as a topping for stir fry. You can purchase sprouts at your local farmers market or produce department. Make sure you wash sprouts prior to eating to avoid bacteria. 

I was shockingly surprised how easy it was to make my own sprouts when I made them for the first time last week.  The photo is from “my 1st batch”. The secret to growing succulent sprouts is timing; for rinsing and harvesting. Ideally sprouts should be rinsed 2-3 times per day and grown in a cool climate.

Want to grown your own sprouts? Watch this video to learn how.  

I created this recipe for my first batch using a little this with a pinch of that.

Tangy Sprout Salad

1 ½ cup (homemade) mung bean sprouts
1 cup shredded carrot
4 green onions, chopped
2 small boxes organic raisins
4 TBSP hempseeds
4 TBSP chopped parsley
3 TBSP Japanese salad dressing, Renee’s

Wash and dry bean sprouts. Shred carrot and place in bowl with sprouts. Add remaining ingredients and stir well. Place in fridge 3 hours before serving.  Tasty and nutritious, this recipe tastes great as a side dish for chicken or fish, or used to top salad.

Do you make your own sprouts? Share your secrets (and recipes) with me by posting a comment below or sending an email.

This summer Wendy’s launched a new salad campaign that promised to improve value and flavor.  But the questions remains, what about nutrition? So off to Wendy’s I went to try the most creative and reinvented salad, the Baja. 

This new garden salad sensation is an improvement from the taste of the former Southwest Taco Salad.  I enjoyed the spicy Pico de Gallo but thought the guacamole was a little flat.  The cost was far from an improvement, with an investment of $9.80 including tax (PEI) for this bowl/dish. 

And so for nutrition this was even more disappointing then the inflated price.  This salad, when eaten “as is with no dressing” is a whopping 47 grams of fat.  For the record, that’s more fat then I eat in 1 day.  It boasts 740 calories, with over ½ of them coming from fat.  With slightly under 2000mg sodium, this salad is a HUGE no-no. I would never recommend my clients on See Results eat it.

It’s also important to note the several ingredients found in this salad, which has been copied from the Wendy’s website.

Baja Salad

Iceberg, Romaine and Spring Mix, Pico de Gallo, Wendy’s Chili, Guacamole, Cheddar & Pepper Jack Cheese Blend. 

Spring Mix- Baby Lettuces (red & green Romaine, red & green oak, red & green leaf, lolla Rosa, tango), Spinach, Mizuna Arugula, Tatsoi, Red Chard, Green Chard.

Pico de Gallo- Tomatoes, Onions, Pico de Gallo Base (water, soybean oil, distilled vinegar, jalapeno peppers [including dehydrated], lime puree [lime juice concentrate, water, pulp cells, lime oil, lime peel], salt, concentrated lime juice, xanthan gum, onion [dehydrated], garlic [dehydrated], natural flavors, oleoresin rosemary), Cilantro. 

Wendy’s Chili- Chili Base (water, tomatoes, salt, citric acid, calcium chloride), Ground Beef, Vegetable Mix (onions, celery, green peppers), Chili Beans (beans, water, sugar, corn syrup, salt, natural flavorings, onion powder, calcium chloride), Kidney Beans (kidney beans, water, sugar, corn syrup, salt, natural flavorings, onion powder, calcium chloride, disodium EDTA [preservative]), Chili Seasoning (sugar, salt, modified corn starch, chili pepper, onion powder, spices, dextrose, garlic powder, citric acid, disodium inosinate & guanylate, xanthan gum, autolyzed yeast extract, soybean oil, caramel color, extractives of paprika, malic acid, red 40, natural and artificial flavor, silicon dioxide [anticaking agent]).

Guacamole- Hass Avocado, Tomato, Onion, Jalapeno, Salt, Cilantro, Sugar, Erythorbic Acid and/or Ascorbic Acid (to maintain color), Jalapeno Chili Powder, Garlic (dehydrated), Onion (dehydrated) , Citric Acid, Lime Juice Powder.

Cheddar & Pepper Jack Cheese Blend- Cheddar Cheese (cultured pasteurized milk, salt, enzymes, artificial color, potato starch and powdered cellulose [to prevent caking], natamycin [a natural mold inhibitor]), Monterey Jack Cheese with Jalapeno Peppers (cultured pasteurized milk, jalapeno peppers, salt, enzyme, potato starch and powdered cellulose [to prevent caking], natamycin [a natural mold inhibitor]). CONTAINS: MILK

Seasoned Tortilla Strips- Whole Corn, Vegetable Oil (contains one or more of the following: corn, soybean, sunflower or cottonseed oil), Sea Salt, Corn Maltodextrin, Buttermilk Powder, Spice, Tomato Powder, Sweet Cream, Onion Powder, Cheddar Cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), Sugar, Gum Arabic, Vinegar Solids, Nonfat Milk Solids, Rice Concentrate, Garlic Powder, Natural Flavor, Citric Acid, Extractives of Paprika, Disodium Phosphate, Soy Lecithin. CONTAINS: MILK, SOY.

So the proof is in the poor nutrition and inflated, and the price. This new salad sensation is a HUGE flop, in taste, price and nutrition. If you must choose a Wendy’s salad try the apple pecan chicken salad for a flavorful and lower fat meal. 

Overall this salad gets 2 out of 5 stars, 

Have you tried the new Wendy’s salads? I would love to know your thoughts. Please post your comments below.

What do you get when you combine creamy peanut butter with chicken, broccoli and linguini? This nutritious family favorite dish! What a great way to get your children to eat healthy.  Thai cuisine all about flavor combinations, and this recipe is a notch above perfection.  Slightly hot yet creamy, this complete meal aims to satisfy any pallet. Try it for supper tonight. This recipe is compliments of Rachelle Wood Nutrition and the online weight loss program See Results.

Thai Chicken Broccoli Salad        makes 4 servings

4 ounces uncooked whole wheat linguine

1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil

1 pound skinless, boneless, chicken breasts, cut into cubes

2 cups broccoli florets

2 TBSP cold water

2/3 cup chopped red bell pepper

6 green onions, sliced into 1 inch pieces

¼ cup creamy “Just Peanuts” peanut butter 

2 TBSP hot water

2 TBSP soy sauce (Braggs, low sodium soy sauce, etc.)

2 tsp dark sesame oil

½ tsp red pepper flakes

1/8 tsp garlic powder

¼ cup unsalted peanuts, chopped  OPTIONAL (omit to lower fat intake)

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain, and set aside. Coat large non-stick skillet with oil; heat over medium high heat. Add chicken and stir fry for 5 minutes or until chicken is no long pink. Remove chicken from skillet. Add broccoli and cold water to skillet. Cook, covered for 2 minutes. Uncover and cook for another 2 minutes or until broccoli is crisp-tender. Remove broccoli from skillet. Combine pasta, chicken, broccoli, bell pepper and onions in a large bowl. Blend peanut butter, hot water, soy sauce, oil, red pepper flakes, and garlic powder in small bowl. Drizzle over pasta mixture; toss to coat. Top with peanuts before serving.

Do you have a healthy family favorite recipe to share with other blog readers? If so email it to us for taste testing.  I’d like to thank a client from Summerside who suggested I share this popular client recipe with blog readers.

Hello loyal blog readers, clients, family and friends.  I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who gave condolences last week following my grandmother’s funeral and wake. It meant so much to my family and I.

My nanny, Lillian Wood, would have been 91 this October. She gave birth to 9 children and spent most of her life on the family farm. She was a nurse during World War II and was always considered a strong woman. Nanny had a lot of faith and was very active within her community and church.

My fondest memories of nanny were in the kitchen. God could that woman cook; biscuits, cakes, roast chicken dinners with all the fixings. Perhaps my nanny’s good cooking fostered an early interest in nutrition!  Nanny was also an avid quilter, knitter and crocheter.

I can remember spending lots of time with nanny on the farm growing up. We’d milk the cows, play with the barn cats and pull weeds from the garden.  Nanny taught me how to give and how to work, which to this day are the cornerstones of my nurturing career.

When you stop to think about it, living till 90 should be a celebration of life (not death).  The average life span of a Canadian female is 82, which means nanny outlived most of her friends. My grandfather, Raymond Wood, passed away when I was 7 years old. Nannys health remained good until her 89th year when she developed Type II diabetes and moved from the family farm to a nursing home. 

So thank you nanny for all that you’ve done. When I see a single feather lying on the ground I’ll know you’re still around. For they say angels speak through feathers and wings.  I’ll keep my eyes peeled and think of you during my sleep. 

Rest in Peace Lillian Wood October 1919- August 2010