Monday, November 8, 2010

Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo: Healthy Takeaways!

By: Finance Foodie

This past Sunday, thousands of registered dietitians, nutrition science researchers, policy makers, health-care providers and industry leaders took Boston by storm for the American Dietetic Association's Annual Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo (FNCE). Since I’m still on my “No Joe Starbucks Program” (going on three weeks strong readers – thanks for your support!), I decided to check this expo out too – in search of more healthy and delicious snack options for the upcoming week. Because for me, variety is the spice of life (and the key to keeping me away from the caffeine drip)! After carefully examining and sampling the products on each aisle, I came up with this plan, after the jump…
Day 1 – 245 calories
1/6 cup dried cranberries (75 calories); 1 Corazonas Peanut Butter Oatmeal Square (160 calories)
Why I Chose this Snack: FIBER ALERT! Dried cranberries offer a higher count of dietary fiber per serving than fresh berries (about seven grams of dietary fiber /cup vs. four grams from fresh berries). Corozonas oatmeal square bars contain five grams of fiber and six grams of protein. Looks like its going to be a “regular” day!

Day 2 – 260 calories
Less than ½ oz. dry roasted peanuts (80 calories); 1 bag Mary’s Gone Crackers Sticks & Twigs Pretzel Sticks (180 calories)
Why I Chose this Snack: Peanuts are a very good source of heart healthy monounsaturated fats and are also as rich in antioxidants as many fruits. The Sticks and Twigs are all organic, whole grain, and contains 640mg of omega-3 fatty acids per bag.

Day 3 – 250 calories
1oz Jovial Spaghetti Einkorn Pasta (1OO calories); less than 1/8 cup Progresso Panko Lemon Pepper Bread Crumbs (5O calories); ½ cup Canned Tomatoes and Frozen Broccolli (4O calories); ½ tbsp Vegetable Oil for Sautéing (60 calories)
Why I Chose this Snack: A “mini-meal” as a snack is twice as satisfying because it feels like your are getting an extra meal for the day! Tomatoes are known for its high Lycopene content (Lycopene is a vital anti-oxidant that helps in the fight against cancerous cell formation). I’m in love with Einkorn Pasta. Panko Bread Crumbs give the dish a nice crunch without too many additional calories.

Day 4 – 250 calories
1 package of 6 Classic Late July Crackers (90 calories); 1oz bag of Dry Roasted Blue Diamond Almonds (160 calories)
Why I Chose this Snack: Almonds are high in mono-unsaturated fats, the same type of health-promoting fats that have been associated with reduced risk of heart disease. In fact, almonds contain the most nutrients in comparison to all other nuts. Late July crackers are USDA certified organic and tastes so much “cleaner” than Ritz crackers.

Day 5 – 190 calories
1 28g bag of California Raisins (90 calories); 1 1.1oz bag of Pistachios (100 calories)
Why I Chose this Snack: Raisins are good source of potassium and magnesium both of which are very effective in reducing acidity. Raisins also contain considerable amount of iron which helps treating anemia (decrease in the number of red blood cells). Besides being my favorite nut, pistachios are an excellent source of copper and manganese, and a good source of phosphorus.

Here’s to hoping for a FULL ONE MONTH break from coffee! Wish me luck!

***Giveaway***

Congrats #6 - Simone

Progresso wants one of my lucky readers a prize pack including one package of Progresso Lemon Pepper Panko and an autographed copy of Chef Michael Chiarello’s new cookbook: Michael Chiarello’s Bottega (ARV: $40). An Emmy-award winning TV chef and cookbook author, Chef Chiarello is the tastemaker behind Bottega Napa Valley Restaurant, NapaStyle and Chiarello Family Vineyards, and appears on The Cooking Channel and Top Chef Masters on Bravo.
There are THREE ways to enter:
1. In my comments section, tell me what is your favorite healthy item to snack on
2. Follow Finance Foodie on Twitter (leave separate comment telling me this)
3. Reblog / Retweet this giveaway (leave separate comment telling me this)

Contest ends November 11, 2010 at 5pm EST. Winners will be chosen via random integer generator on random.org announced on the financefoodie.com site shortly afterwards that night!

General Mills provided me with the prize package and the panko bread crumbs via myblogspark

55 comments:

  1. I love to snack on Craisins!

    cookiert at yahoo

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  2. Patty/pboutin8@gmail.comNovember 9, 2010 at 7:39 AM

    Thank you so much for having this contest. I really appreciate it.
    My favorite snack is a piece of fresh fruit.

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  3. i like snacking on carrots with hummus or peanut butter!

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  4. I also am about to re-tweet this and post it on Facebook!

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  5. I like to snack on plain yogurt with fresh fruit and nuts. trinitygsd at yahoo dot com

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  6. I love to snack on fresh fruit.

    hebert024 at aol dot com

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  7. I love baby carrots with ranch.

    Tarah
    tarah716[at]ymail.com

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  8. Oen of my favorite snacks are carrots sticks dipped in fat free french dressing.

    rugerpuppies at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  9. I follow on Twitter (@snowluvnferret2)

    rugerpuppies at hotmail dot ocm

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  10. My favorite healthy snack food is Banana Chips! It's helping keep the doctors away!! Thank you for the giveaway!

    abstractrose at yahoo dot com

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  11. I love having an apple for a snack. It takes a while to eat so I'm less tempted to eat more. :)
    kirbycolby at gmail dot com

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  12. I tweeted. thank you!
    http://twitter.com/Aerated/status/2118866977161216
    kirbycolby at gmail dot com

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  13. Love cucumber slices with a little lite dressing on them. Yummy!

    Jemr2@aol dot com

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  14. I follow you on Twitter!

    @jemr2

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  15. I like to snack on cooked cold sting beans with a little vinegar.

    janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com

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  16. My favorite healthy food to snack on is a small amount of low fat granola mix with fat free yogurt.
    It satisfies my sweet tooth and also provides the fiber that I need

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  17. I love to snack on nuts. suelee1998 @ gmail.com

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  18. I like strawberries with yogurt.
    shawnac68@hotmail.com

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  19. I love snacking on dried fruit, especially dried mangoes.

    mryward(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  20. Baby carrots and walnuts!

    theyyyguy@yahoo.com

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  21. Love this post on snack combos from FNCE! I was there too - so many samples to choose from! I love trail mix with nuts, dried fruit, and whole grain cereal :)

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  22. I love to snack on grapes ~ green ones or the wonderfully sweet black grapes! Always refreshing! Thanks for the nice giveaway! :)

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  23. I love snacking on a piece of cheese.

    stormraven at gmail dot com

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  24. I follow on Twitter (@psychotichouse)

    stormraven at gmail dot com

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  25. I love to snack on frozen bananas that I toss in the blender. Instant, healthy soft-serve.

    jennylovesjeff (at) hotmail (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  26. Ooo such a tough decision! I love guacamole and crisps!
    Cassie
    cjm92995@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  27. I'm following Finance Foodie on twitter @cjm92995!
    Cassie
    cjm92995@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  28. I love fresh seasonal fruit.
    momznite_at_yahoo_daught_com

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  29. I like to snack on baby carrots, cucumber slices and hummus!

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  30. i love to snack on grapes and cottage cheese
    susansmoaks at gmail dot com

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  31. I love to snack on grapes. garrettsambo@aol.com

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  32. nuts and dried fruit -- are my love
    galyettina(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  33. baby carrots and dates
    devotus(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  34. I like to snack on almonds or green olives.

    kerrie@mayansfamily.com

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  35. For me it's nuts of any kind, cant get enough of them

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  36. I'm Following you on Twitter, id Emma__Peel

    ReplyDelete
  37. I love to snack on fruit!

    ecarian at yahoo dot com

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  38. my fav healthy food to snack on is uncooked broccoli

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  39. http://twitter.com/klp1965/status/2786346963828736

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  40. I love carrots....easy, healthy, cheap

    trippyjanet at hotmail dot com

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  41. I like to snack on raw almonds.

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  42. walnuts

    alterna7 at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  43. tweeted

    http://twitter.com/07violet/status/2824701244088320

    alterna7 at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  44. I love to snack on a quick salad made from carrots, apples, and raisins.

    urchiken at gmail dot com

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  45. I love to snack on fresh fruit, grapes and bananas thanks for the chacne to win eaglesforjack@gmail.com,

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  46. I follow on twitter @mrstinareynolds eaglesforjack@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  47. I follow financefoodie1 on Twitter - Janetfaye

    janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com

    ReplyDelete