eatwellmag.com November 2010 www.eatwellmag.com Staying Healthy on the Road A simple eating guide for road-trippers
Mar 07, 2016
eatwellmag.com November 2010
www.eatwellmag.com
Staying Healthy on the RoadA simple eating guide
for road-trippers
Letter from the Editor 5
Eating in Season: A Recipe for Life 10
13 Biggest Nutrition Myths 24
Fresh Findings 32
p. 16
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n a sunny Friday,
Preston Maring,
M.D., the associate
physician-in-chief at Kaiser
Permanente’s Oakland
hospital, leaves his offi ce
to go food shopping. Just
downstairs, on the sidewalk
in front of the hospital, a
farmers’ market is in full
swing. Roberto Rodriguez
is arranging fl ats of organic
strawberries so fragrant
you can smell them from 10
feet away. In the stall next
door, stalks of rhubarb and
artichokes are piled high near
bouquets of garden roses.
On a table, paper bags are
overfl owing with a potpourri
of market produce and
fl owers. “Pick-of-the-market
bags,” Maring explains. “If
you are too busy to shop,
you can just reserve one of
these.” Everywhere, people
are smiling and saying, “Hey,
Preston!”
If it seems as if Dr. Maring,
a tall, graying man, knows
everyone at this farmers’
market it’s because he does:
he started it. In 2003, Maring
helped to get this market
off the ground and then
persuaded Kaiser to start
farmers’ markets at 30 other
hospitals. Says Maring: “If
we can just get people to
eat more fresh fruits and
vegetables, we can really
impact people’s health.”
“If it seems as if Dr. Maring ...
knows everyone at this farmers’
market it’s because he does:
he started it.”
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He also set about revamping
the hospital food system
by getting the health-care
company to buy more fresh
produce from local farms.
In 2006, Kaiser Permanente
purchased only 25 of the 250
tons of produce served in 20
Northern California hospitals
from local farms. In three
years, that amount has risen
to 74 tons. The Kaiser project
now serves as a model for
hospitals around the country
and is part of a worldwide
initiative to make health care
more sustainable, called
Health Care Without Harm.
This and other farmers’
markets not only cut down on
the average 1,500 miles food
travels from farm to fork, they
also help create local jobs.
Strawberry farmer Roberto
Rodriguez has hired fi ve
more people since Kaiser’s
Oakland market started, and
devoted half of his 37 acres
to growing organic berries.
“As my 6-year-old daughter
gets older, I don’t want her
playing in fi elds near so
many pesticides,” he says.
“Now, with the market here,
I have buyers for organic
strawberries so I can plant
almost half my
crops organic.”
But the most important thing
is that the market has done
what Maring hoped it would
do: it has made people
“Take Matt Kinch, the 53-year-old building engineer who has lost 63 pounds since he began shopping at the farmers’ market.”
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healthier. Take Matt Kinch,
the 53-year-old building
engineer who has lost 63
pounds since he began
shopping at the farmers’
market. “Now I have at least
two vegetables per meal
based on whatever is in
season,” he says.
In a time when the words
antioxidants, omega-3s and
probiotics appear on so many
packaged foods, Maring’s
advice to eat more vegetables
may seem a little quaint.
Yet it’s the same message
being sent out by dozens of
national health organizations.
“We know that eating fruits
and vegetables as part of a
healthy diet
reduces the risk of obesity
and chronic disease, such
as diabetes, some cancers
and heart disease,” says
Heidi Blanck, Ph.D., a senior
scientist with the Centers
for Disease Control and
Prevention. In 2000, national
goals were set by federal
health agencies of getting
more than half of Americans
to eat fi ve daily servings
of fruits and vegetables by
2010. Yet, according to the
CDC’s biennial surveys, fruit
and vegetable consumption
remained essentially static
from 1998 to 2007, and latest
fi gures show that fewer than
one in four Americans are
eating the recommended fi ve
a day.
“Think what would happen
if more people shopped
for their food at farmers’
markets—eating the fruits
and vegetables as they
become ripe each season,”
Maring continues. “People
would discover just how
good fresh produce can
be—apricots that are picked
ripe are so much tastier and
more nutritious than those
that have to be picked hard
to endure shipping,” he notes.
“Plus, these markets inspire
people to try new vegetables,
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such as kohlrabi or mustard
greens, and to cook more at
home.”
Which is exactly what Maring
loves to do. Ever since his
son, a trained chef, showed
him a few recipes and
inspired him to cook more,
Maring has become an ardent
home cook. Tonight, for
instance, he’ll take what he’s
found at the market—some
spring leeks, artichokes,
carrots in his basket—and
make an EatingWell recipe:
“Spring vegetable stew,”
he says, smiling. Followed,
perhaps by the Apricot-
Almond Clafouti. His shopping
is done.
We were so inspired by
Dr. Maring’s story that we
collaborated with him to
produce our latest cookbook,
Eating Well in Season: The
Farmers’ Market Cookbook
(The Countryman Press).
In it, you will fi nd our
favorite recipes, organized
into seasonal chapters,
that include the fruits and
vegetables you might pick
up at a farmers’ market or
as part of your community-
supported-agriculture share.
The book also has a handy
guide with shopping, prep,
storage and cooking tips
for more than 60 fruits and
vegetables. Plus we include
recommendations for our
favorite kitchen tools, profi les
of farmers and farmers’
markets and information
on why eating in season is
better for you and for the
environment.
Lisa Gosselin
“Fewer than one in four Americans are eating the recommended fi ve [daily
servings of fruits and vegetables] a day.”
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Seas
onal
Pro
duce
in th
e U.S
.
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Novem
ber
eatwellmag.com November 2010{16}
A Simple Eating Guide for Road-trippers
{17}eatwellmag.comNovember 2010
ypical freeway fare includes fast food, microwave-
ready service station options, bags of chips, and lots
of sodas. These foods are almost always full of bad
fats, lots of calories, and not much valuable nutrition. Plus,
eating junk food for a couple of days can leave you feeling
fatigued and crabby, and give you a stomach ache.
With a little bit of effort and willpower, you can navigate
your way around the junk food and maintain your healthy diet
while on a long road trip. You’ll feel healthier, more alert, and
have more fun.
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At a restaurant:
• Choose an omelet fi lled
with veggies and order a side
of whole-wheat toast instead
of a stack of pancakes and
syrup.
• A bowl of oatmeal with
fresh fruit is very fi lling and
good for you.
• For something sweet,
choose a bran muffi n, which
is a good source of fi ber, or
opt for whole-grain toast
with just a little jelly.
At the hotel continental
breakfast bar:
• Choose a whole grain
cereal with low-fat milk.
• Fresh fruit gives you
vitamins and fi ber.
• Yogurt or hard-boiled eggs
are good sources of protein.
• Avoid sugary muffi ns,
sweet-rolls, and pre-
sweetened cereal.
At the service station:
• Look for single-serving
whole grain breakfast cereals
and low-fat milk.
• Protein bars can make
a good breakfast food
substitute, but watch out for
extra sugar and calories by
reading the labels.
• As a last resort, choose a
hot breakfast sandwich or
small breakfast burrito over
donuts and sweet-rolls.
Fast food restaurants:
• Most breakfast choices
have lots of calories and
saturated fats, but breakfast
burritos may have less than
other selections.
• Fruit and yogurt parfaits
will give you some calcium
and protein without too
much saturated fat.
• Drink low-fat milk or 100
percent juice instead of
sodas and orange-fl avored
soft drinks.
“Bring plenty of water...it won’t stain the upholstery like sodas.”
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• Load up on fresh-cut
vegetables and fruit. Bring
along a small cooler with ice
packs to keep them fresh.
• Bring plenty of water. You
will stay hydrated and if you
spill it, it won’t stain the
upholstery like sodas.
• Individually wrapped
portions of string cheese
or vegetarian cheese
alternatives can be kept
in the cooler with the fruit
and vegetables. They are a
great source of calcium and
protein.
• Bring baked whole grain
crackers along on your trip.
This is good for added fi ber
and nutrients.
• Don’t overindulge in greasy
chips. There are baked
varieties that have a lot less
unhealthy fats.
• You can also pack
sandwiches made with whole
grain bread and peanut
butter or lean meats.
• Nuts like almonds,
cashews, and walnuts
contain polyunsaturated fats
and are easy to take on a
trip.
eatwellmag.comNovember 2010
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Healthy eating in
restaurants:
• Order a soup or a salad
with your main course.
Soups and salads are
generally healthy and fill
you up so that you eat less
of the more calorie-dense
main meal. Or skip the
entrée altogether; soup and
salad alone may be enough
for a simple, healthy meal.
• Split a meal with your
dining partner. Most
restaurants serve huge
portions, so there is usually
enough food to share. This
saves calories and money.
Besides, sharing eliminates
the temptation to take
leftovers back on the
road, where they can’t be
properly stored.
• Select foods that are
prepared with healthier,
low-fat methods. Baked or
grilled chicken is healthy,
but fried chicken has too
much fat.
• Eat the vegetables. Most
entrées come with at least
one vegetable. If not, be
sure to order a vegetable
side dish.
• Skip dessert, or choose
some fruit. A full meal that
ends with a sugary dessert
may make you feel sleepy,
and that’s unwise if you are
the driver.
At fast food
restaurants:
• Find sandwich shops like
Subway or Quiznos that let
you select your sandwich
ingredients. Choose whole
grain breads, lean meats,
and lots of vegetables.
• Many fast food
restaurants offer salads,
but be careful when you
select one. Some of those
salads are very high in fat,
especially taco salads or
those topped with fried
chicken strips.
• Don’t super-size your
meal. It sounds like a great
deal, but you will eat way
too many calories, fat, and
sodium.
Lunch & Dinner On the road, lunch and dinner usually mean going to a restaurant.
Don’t spend too much time at fast food restaurants; instead opt for full-service restaurants that offer more choices.
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At the Hotel If your trip requires
a hotel stay, you might get a bit hungry after a long day of
travel. If going to a restaurant is not an option, you should
still fi nd healthy foods.
• Find a local grocery store
and buy healthy snack
items such as fruit, nuts, or
healthy choices from a salad
bar or deli section. If your
hotel has a microwave, you
can fi nd healthier frozen
dinners or soup.
• If your only choice for a
snack is the hotel vending
machine, skip the candy and
chips and look for nuts or
microwave popcorn.
• Some restaurants will
deliver food to your hotel
room and may have
some healthy menu items
available. If you go for a
pizza delivery, don’t order
extra cheese or meats high
in saturated fat. Choose
lots of vegetable and
mushrooms. Order a side
salad too.
Shereen Jegtvig
“If your only choice for a snack
is the hotel vending machine, skip the
candy and chips and look for nuts
or microwave popcorn.”