Health and Nutrition News: September

Every month, I like to make a collection of news stories that revolve around the field of Food Science, Human Nutrition, Vegetarianism, and other Health News. These are studies or reports that are not only super interesting, but also really work to open my mind and remind me that these fields are constantly evolving and finding new information. Click on the links for more info!

As always, there has been more info out to support the idea of doing both cardiovascular/aerobic and resistance training for ideal health. University of Calgary, Faculty of Medicine studied 304 overweight teens in the Ottawa/Gatineau area between the ages of 14 to 18, and found that any type of exercising plus diet was better than just dieting; however, the best results came from those with combined aerobic/resistance plans.

The University of Warwick's Medical School (using data from the Health Survey for England) found that high and low mental wellbeing were consistently associated with an individual's fruit and vegetable consumption. 33.5% of respondents with high mental wellbeing ate five or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day, compared with only 6.8% who ate less than one portion.Surprisingly, alcohol intake and obesity were no correlated with mental health.

Autism may be linked to the amount of iron in the mother's blood during pregnancy: low iron intake was associated with a five-fold greater risk of autism in a study by University of California - Davis Health System. R.J. Schmidt, assistant professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences, says that "Iron deficiency, and its resultant anemia, is the most common nutrient deficiency, especially during pregnancy, affecting 40 to 50 percent of women and their infants,"and furthermore, "Iron is crucial to early brain development, contributing to neurotransmitter production, myelination and immune function. All three of these pathways have been associated with autism." More studies need to be done before the link is confirmed.

In a study on mice, researchers found that adding exercise to chemo-treatment led to a greater reduction of tumors.University of Pennsylvania found that, although it did not benefit their hearts to a great extent, it did lead to tumors shrinking more. How did they test this? Here's a cute image for you: "walking 45 minutes five days a week on mouse-sized treadmills, while the rest of the mice remained sedentary." Mouse-sized treadmills!

University of Missouri and the University of Minnesota have found that youth obesity is negatively correlated to the number of non-motorized recreational outdoor parks. In other words: states with more public lands available for recreation have lower obesity rates. 

These are articles that I find fascinating. If you want to keep up on more news, I suggest going to ScienceDaily, BBC News Health, and EatRight.org. The next news update will be in October.

Upside-down Apple Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

I am in love with the idea of apples right now.

With the weather cooling down, I’ve found myself craving the sweet, warm goodness of one of fall’s best fruits. There are all these recipes going around about baked apples, apple pie, apple ice cream, apple everything. My friend is fantastic at making baked apple chips (I don’t know how she gets them so perfect every time, it’s insane), so I’ve basically been on an apple fest the past few weeks. I was looking on Pinterest (because yes, I am a stereotypical white college girl who browses Pinterest when I should be studying) and I saw this recipe for Pineapple upside-down cake. It reminded me of a recipe I’ve been making for years: Apple Upside-Down Cake.

When I was in high school, I was inspired by a recipe from Relish, which I followed avidly while in Arizona (our local newspaper got Relish snippets on Thursdays, and I would wait with bated breath to see what was inside). Seeing the cake on Pinterest made me want to make these again! These upside-down apple cake squares are so perfect for welcoming fall. Well, here in CO, it’s hard to actually call it “fall”—after all, we just switched from a 32 degree day to a 72 degree weekend. Talk about crazy. I feel like CO skips around between summer and winter as it pleases, and if we are lucky then fall lasts a few weeks. It’s so sad! One of my favorite things about fall is the leaves changing, and it doesn’t last very long here.

Anyways! Back to the food (which is what we are all here for, let’s be honest). The cake itself is light and fluffy and made extra special with a touch of cornmeal. Cinnamon is perfuming my entire house right now, plus the apple-maple combo is practically intoxicating. To top it all off, I added a maple-cream-cheese drizzle over the top to balance some of the sweetness and to make it look even more tempting.

These are best eaten while warm out of the oven, but I remember that I once took them cold into my English class in high school and they got devoured. No one had any clue that they weren’t sugar-loaded or unhealthy. Ok, I’m salivating just thinking about it. I’ll hurry it on up, and get to the recipe!

Upside-down Apple Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting 

Serves 12  Serving Size: 1 square

Ingredients:

• 2T light margarine
• 1/3c. sugar OR splenda
• 1/4c. sugar free maple syrup
• 2 crisp apples (I used gala), peeled, cored and cut into slices
• 1/4c. light margarine
• 2/3c. sugar OR splenda
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 2 room temperature large eggs
• 1c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2c. whole wheat flour
• 1/2c. yellow cornmeal
• 1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2tsp salt
• 1/2tsp cinnamon
• 1/4c. no sugar added applesauce
• 1c. lowfat vanilla yogurt
• 1/2c. low fat cream cheese
• 3T to 1/3c. sugar-free maple syrup (use less for a thicker glaze, more for a thinner glaze)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Melt butter in a large skillet over low heat. Add apples (in a solid, even layer) and sugar and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat. Flip over apples (or move around in pan), add maple syrup, and cook an additional 5 minutes or until tender. Set aside.
3. Meanwhile, beat margarine and sugar using a electric mixer until light and fluffy. Mix in vanilla and eggs. Combine flours, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Combine applesauce and yogurt. Alternate adding in the flour mixture and the yogurt mixture in batches, starting and ending with the flour mixture (ex. flour, yogurt, flour, yogurt). Mix until well blended.
4. In a 9x9 square metal pan sprayed with cooking spray, layer out the apples so there are no gaps on the bottom and so the layer is even. Pour any liquid that is with the apples into the pan as well. Spoon the batter over the apples, making sure to start with the edges and work inward (in order to avoid the maple syrup bubbling up the edges of the pan). Place in over and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown and cooked (springy to the touch).
5. Remove from oven, and let cool at least ten minutes (if you don't, your cake falls apart when you flip the pan over). Invert the pan onto a serving tray. Carefully remove the pan from the cake. 
6. Beat the cream cheese and maple syrup with an electric mixer until desired consistency is reached, and drizzle over cake while still warm. Cut into squares and enjoy!

Nutrition Information (Sugar):
Sodium: 210mg
Total Fat:6g
       Saturated: 2g
       Trans: 1g
Sugar: 14g
Protein: 5g
Calories: 198


Nutrition Information (Splenda):
Sodium: 210mg
Total Fat:6g
       Saturated:2g
       Trans:1g
Sugar:6g
Protein: 5g
Calories: 164

Spicy Sweet Potato, Corn, and Black Bean Salad

School is in session! Ring the bells (and maybe light the torches? Nah, just kidding-- I love my school!), bury your face in the textbooks, study study study! It's been a crazy time the past few weeks, but I'm finally enjoying some down time.


I had taken a break from running because of my anemia, but yesterday I ran 3.5 miles for the first time in months! It's such a wonderful feeling to be back in my running shoes (even if it is at 5:50 AM, because I overheat so easily that I have to run when it's forty degrees), and even though it's only a little progress, it is still progress. I'm really happy to not be so tired anymore-- particularly because it means I'm not sleeping for twelve hours each night. I know it sounds wonderful, but it's not fun to only be awake for so little of a time. Nothing gets done.

Speaking of nothing getting done: I've been slacking on cooking! A few posts ago I mentioned that I was living off of steel cut oats-- Yup, still doing that. Noosa yogurt, salad, and bananas as well. Plus plenty of nutella (because that should be it's own food group... in moderation, of course. I am a nutrition student, after all). But tonight I made something that is quick, easy, and delicious. Sounds like a commerial tagline, I know; but it really is.

This is a warm salad that combines sweet potatoes, corn, and black beans, then adds in cilantro for some zing and chili paste for a pleasant burn. If you don't like spicy, you can leave it out-- but it does add a whole other dimension for us who love spicy food! This is great as a side, because it is very hearty and filling. I also think that it would go really well tossed into wild rice, a salad, or even scrambled into tofu.

Spicy Sweet Potato, Corn, and Black Bean Salad 
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 large sweet potato, cubed into bite-sized pieces
• 2t olive oil
• 1 cup black beans
• 1 cup corn
• 3 sprigs cilantro
• 1/4t salt
• 1/4t pepper
• 1t sambal oelek (chili paste)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Coat sweet potato in olive oil. Lay cubes in an even layer on a baking tray. Cook for 20-25 minutes, until tender.
3. Toss together sweet potato, black beans, corn, cilantro, spices, and chili paste. Serve warm.

Nutrition Information:
Sodium: 106mg
Total Fat: 3g
     Saturated Fat: 0g
     Trans Fat: 0g
Sugar: 3g
Protein: 5g
Calories: 138

Pesto Pasta Salad

I think you all can guess by now that I love pasta with pesto.

There is just something about pesto that is making me obsessed right now. I don't know if it has to do with the color, the taste (duh), or maybe even it being the last weeks of summer (eek! I don't want the nice weather to go away-- let's hope CO actually has a fall this year instead of skipping right into winter). But I'm loving it. In June I made the Pesto Pasta with Haricot Vers and Tomatoes, and I haven't had it in anything but sandwiches and spaghetti squash since then. That means months without pesto pasta! I had to remedy that ail somehow.

A house without pesto is no house at all.

Ok, maybe that was a bit dramatic. But c'mon. Pesto is delicious. I like making homemade using broccoli and basil (subtract some sodium in your daily count, add some iron into the mix, plus create a twist with a beautiful texture that isn't watery like some store-bought versions), but if you are in a rush then you can grab some from the store (high quality, mind you. Not every pesto is created equal!). Then throw a ton of stuff together with some ravioli and make pasta salad!

Ok?

Ok.

Seriously, though. I have a really simple equation for this dish. Pesto+Pasta+Whatever Leftover Veggies/Cheese/Anything You Have = Pure Delish. (Yes, I did just say "Delish." Because apparently it's hip now. I'm behind the trend.) My roommate and I looked in our fridge, looked at each other, shrugged, and threw this recipe together. It is so customizable, and you can make it into your favorite dish ever by combining all your favorite veggies and add-ons.

Example: pesto+pasta+arugula+zucchini+olives+mozzarella+tomato+cilantro= bright and fresh
                Pesto+pasta+kale+Parmesan= simple, spiced and salty
                Pesto+pasta+ mushrooms+corn+chiptole= wild and savory, with a burn!
Etc, etc.

The dish below combines cucumber, tomatoes, mozzarella, spring mix, and tofu. I personally prefer it chilled, but hot can also be done.

Pesto Pasta Salad
Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 9 oz fresh cheese tortellini
• 1/3c. pesto (homemade or store-bought)
• 1 cucumber, diced
• 10 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
• 3 oz mozzarella cheese, cubed
• 2c. packed spring mix, roughly chopped
• 1/2c. diced tofu
• 1t thyme
• 1/2t pepper
• 1/4t salt (if using homemade)

Instructions:

1. Cook pasta according to manufacturer's instructions. Drain; let cool. Mix with pesto.
2. Add in rest of the ingredients and mix well to combine. Serve chilled.

Nutrition Information:
Sodium: 703mg (less if you use homemade version)
Total Fat: 18g
     Saturated: 7g
     Mono: 3g
     Trans: 0g
Sugar: 4g
Protein: 23g
Calories: 498