REAL Green Bean Casserole

Green bean casserole is a Thanksgiving tradition that I love.  In my opinion, it's comfort food at it's best and most comfort-y.  But, it doesn't have to be made with processed soup and loads of MSG to be delicious.  This year, make it with Pacific Foods Organic Condensed Soups or try one of these delicious, real-food recipes:

Eating Well's Green Bean Casserole:  This recipe is made with fresh mushrooms, onions, a touch of sherry and frozen French-cut green beans for convenience.

Alton Brown's Best Ever Green Bean Casserole:  Fresh mushrooms, a touch of nutmeg and panko bread crumbs for a crunchy topping, yum!

Cooking Light's Green Bean Casserole:  Low-fat Swiss cheese and low-fat sour cream make this super creamy and flavorful.

Keep in mind that these recipes are not necessarily low in calories, but for a holiday treat, they are much better than the sodium loaded, canned soup version.  So enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!

Get Your Kids Cooking: Pecan Bites

Today's post is a fun (and easy!) holiday recipe to make with your kiddos courtesy of our student-intern, Nikita.

Hi everyone! My name is Nikita and I am a junior at the University of Texas at Austin. I am currently interested in becoming a RD (like Alisa and Christy), and have asked them to share some advice and knowledge with me recently. Alisa has asked me to periodically write some blogs for you all, and I thought what better way to introduce myself than to share with you a recipe I personally prepared in one of my food labs. Since Thanksgiving is coming up faster than we’d think, here is a great kid-friendly snack that everyone is sure to love, Pecan Bites!

Ingredients:

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

2/3 cup melted butter

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup chopped pecans

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together brown sugar and flour thoroughly
3. Mix the eggs into the melted butter. Add butter and egg mixture to the sugar and flour and mix being careful not to over-mix.
4. Lightly mix pecans into above mixture.
5. Spray 3 mini muffin pans with pan release. Equally portion mixture into muffin pans. 
6. Bake in pre-heated oven for 15 minutes. Remove from muffin pans and allow to cool on cooling racks. BE CAREFUL NOT TO OVER-BAKE!

Enjoy your delicious treat!

What's your favorite kid-friendly holiday recipe?

The Holidays Are Here! Which means food, food, food...

I love (LOVE!) the holiday season.  As I'm writing this I'm drinking warm mint tea out of a snowflake mug and feeling quite festive.  The holidays mean colder weather, family time and lots of delicious food.  While I love everything about this time, as a dietitian, I am also acutely aware of the struggle that the season's treats cause for many people.  It's estimated that most adult Americans gain 1-2 pounds each holiday season.  These are often pounds that are never lost.  And while it doesn't seem like a big deal, that's up to 20 pounds every 10 years that are just sneaking in.

So, in preparation for the coming season, here's a few tips that can help you enjoy the season without the extra poundage:

• Watch out for mindless eating.  If you're gonna indulge in holiday treats, you want to fully enjoy it.  So, watch out for mindlessly eating calories that you don't really savor.  This means keeping the candy dishes off the counter, not parking yourself at the food table at parties and asking yourself if you really want a goodie or if you're just eating it because it's there.
• Eat normal meals!  Don't skip meals so you can stuff yourself later at a party.  Eating regular, healthy meals will keep you from overindulging and ensure that you're getting some nutrients to balance out all those sweets and treats.
• Watch out for drink calories.  Eggnog, peppermint mochas and sugary apple cidar are all vital parts of the holiday season in my book.  However, those beverage calories can really add up.  So, make sure your not making these drinks a daily occurance during the holiday season.
• Come up with some non-food holiday traditions.  Go on a hike, walk around the neighborhood to look at Christmas lights or play a family game of football on Christmas Day.  My family runs the Turkey Trot every Thanksgiving as our non-food tradition and it's so fun!

 What are ways that you stay healthy while still enjoying the holidays?