Simple Solutions for Unpleasant Food Odors

Favorite traditional meals can certainly taste great, but often times they can leave us smelling of what we ate. Baked beans, cabbage and abdominal gas. Meats, sugary sweets and bad breath. And likely the most infamous, the fishy smell of cooked fish. How does one go about enjoying food and keeping odors at bay? Well sometimes food can serve the purpose of being more than just food. When it comes to unpleasant food odors food can be part of the problem, but it can also be the solution.

Taste is made up of several things (it's not just the flavor from food). Texture, temperature and smell also play a role. Think about what food tastes like when we're feeling unwell, or when you have a plugged nose? I'm willing to bet it's not the same. It's because the sense of smell plays an important role in helping us determine taste for food. So what to do with food that tastes great, but leaves our bodies smelling not so great?

Abdominal gas and bad breath can often be the end result for some of our traditional foods. Next time you are making beans, whether it be dry or canned, replace the soaking or canned water with tap water before cooking.  This helps to reduce some of the gas forming compounds left in the soaked water. If we mash or grind fibrous foods it can help to make them a little easier to digest. Because of this, refried beans and spreads like hummus may be less gas forming. Sources of gas will vary from person to person, however some people to find that eating cooked or semi cooked fruit and vegetables a little easier. With busy lifestyles these days, from time to time we can all be guilty of eating too fast. This usually means swallowing too much air, which ultimately leads to more gas as well.  Take time to chew and enjoy your food.

Bad breath or halitosis can sometimes be prevented with eating well and good dental health. Food, especially when it gets stuck in around our tongue and in our teeth, along with dental hygiene are some of the major factors. Drinking plenty of fluids, preferably those not caffeinated or alcoholic, like water and sugar free beverages can help to keep mouths clean and moist (as dry mouth can also be a culprit). Crunchy foods like apples, carrots, and celery- essentially fiber rich fruits or vegetables are your friend. They help clean teeth and moisten mouths. Eating berries, citrus fruits, melons and other vitamin C rich foods and possibly calcium and vitamin D rich foods like yogurt will make it hard for bad breath bacteria to grow. Chewing sugarless gum can help by banishing bad breath at the spot and increasing saliva.

Sometimes it's hard to control the smells our bodies make. Controlling the smells left on us by food is often much easier, and we can use food to our advantage here too. A homemade stovetop potpourri is an easy natural air freshener.  A small simmering pot of water with sweet spices like citrus peel, clove, allspice, nutmeg, vanilla, and/or cinnamon would do the trick. Leaving a small bowl of vinegar by the stove when frying fish and other foods can be useful at reducing the odor. Some foods naturally absorb odors too. Apples are known to do this, and so a piece or two of sliced apple in the pan with fish might help. Other suggestions would be to make something that's pleasantly aromatic to mask a smell.  After who doesn't enjoy the aroma of fresh coffee brewing, baked bread or cookies from the oven?

 

As seen in the Telegram February 27, 2012

Follow the Leader!

Think your community has what it takes to be a provincial leader in eating healthy and being active? Of course they do! We can all make simple changes to lead healthier lifestyles and set good examples for our families and communities by doing so. All of us know having healthy behaviors early in life is really important for good health. To complement that, community settings are a great place for children, youth and families to be active, eat healthful together, and have fun while doing so. This March municipalities across the province are going to have the opportunity to lead the way in promoting healthy lifestyles. There is an exciting challenge about to happen across Newfoundland and Labrador -Follow the Leader!

Starting March 1^st, Eat Great and Participate, a provincial program focused on healthy food and beverage choices for children and youth in public recreation, events, sport and community facilities, along with Municipalities NL and Recreation NL are featuring a friendly challenge to get people living well and feeling good. For communities interested in participating, municipal leaders will be given a weekly challenge to promote healthy eating and physical activity in effort to set a leading example for children and youth. What's great is this is all about health every size, and not weight loss. If you do lose weight by partaking in the challenge and changing a few habits of your own well that's great too, but it's really about taking steps to lead healthier lives. Currently on board are mayors and councillors from all over the province. Torbay, Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove, Appleton, Cambellton, Clarenville, Corner Brook, Reidville and in Labrador, Rigolet, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Makkovik, Hopedale, and Torngat Mountains Regional District are those who have signed up to set examples as leaders and have community members follow. 

What does Follow the Leader! entail? Each community will be given a kit including pedometers,  cookbook, apron and healthy eating resources. With these resources there will be challenges which will vary from week to week. Week one, strap on a pedometer and record steps for a week. Week two, add green or orange foods to as many meals possible. For the third week, participate in physical activity, say an organized sport like hockey, or perhaps simply walking and then refuel with a healthy snack. The fourth week is again an active event followed by a healthy snack but really encouraging the whole community take part. Online, www.followtheleadernl.ca will be tracking each community's progress. So not only can you see how your community will be doing, but you can also track the progress of others as well. Getting more points for your team will depend on the week. Essentially the more participation through physical activity events and percentage of community people involved will help to put your town in the lead. 

As seen in The Telegram February 20, 2012

Healthy Heart

February is national Heart Month, and seeing how tomorrow is also Valentine's day, it's a great time to look at the health of your own ticker and the one you love.

Did you know that cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death in Canada and the number one cause of death for Canadian women? Astonishingly 9/10 Canadians over 20 have one or more risk factors for heart disease and stroke. Things such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, stress, physical inactivity, poor nutrition, misuse of alcohol and being overweight or obese all increase risk. A loved one might hold a key to your heart, but a good diet and regular physical activity  will surely be the key to a everlasting healthy heart. By choosing to modify a few lifestyle factors you can greatly reduce your risk of health problems down the road. When it comes to food specifically, there are many approaches one can take. Cut back on sodium, saturated and trans fats. Look to the nutrition facts table to find items which are lower in those above mentioned nutrients. In addition to having less of some, there are other foods where it would be wise to have more. Specifically whole grains, legumes, fish, skim milk, veggies and fruit. Be portion wise about the food you eat. Make homemade meals and foods more often, and actually Valentine's day would be a good time to start!     
 

Tomorrow try indulging your sweetheart with a heart healthy gift or date that's sure to protect and strengthen their ticker. Great ideas for edible heart healthy V-day treats are chocolate, nuts and fruit.  Here's a few reasons why. Cocoa in chocolate has antioxidants called flavonols that help lower blood pressure and relax blood vessels. Go for the darkest chocolate and one with the highest % cocoa in the ingredient list. Treats that contain nuts are also good. Look for almonds, walnuts, pecans, brazil nuts and hazelnuts. They each contain  heart healthy fiber and omega-3 fats. Fruit can also make a sweet treat. For a homemade 'hearts on a stick' idea try using small heart shaped cookie cutters to cut pieces of melon and insert them on a stick. Another fresh dessert idea is to try melting dark chocolate and drizzle over fresh strawberries, pineapple, assorted dried fruit, or perhaps the 'hearts on a stick'. Fruit and a little dark chocolate will add double the heart healthy antioxidants. Another way to say 'I love you' is a healthy romantic meal.  Make it a plan to eat in (a sure fire way to control and modify the calories, fat and sodium). For some inspiration check out www.heartandstroke.com. Ideas like sweet potato chili, riccotta pea pasta, mushroom and roasted squash soup, and chocolate cake with raspberries all sound delicious.  In addition to these are a full month's worth of heart-healthy recipes and ideas for February.  
 

March is just around this corner and it will also be national Nutrition Month.  For the month of March 'On Your Plate' will be answering questions submitted by readers and busting popular nutrition myths. To submit a question, or nutrition myth that you would like to have featured please email me at the address below. 
 

 As seen in The Telegram February 13, 2012

Home Economics 101: A Brown Bagged Lunch

    
With talks of a strike looming for Chartwells employees working in Eastern School District cafeterias
it brings to mind firstly brown bagged lunches and second, the role schools play in promoting health.
Without a doubt serving and promoting safe and healthy food in schools is very important. It can play a significant role in teaching youth and encouraging healthy eating, active living and the acceptance and appreciation of people of all shape and sizes. We know too that nutrition is linked to learning. Children who are well nourished perform better academically, have better concentration, show improved behaviour and have improved attendance at school.

Children and adolescents' eating and activity patterns impact their health and well being. And following suggested guidelines for healthy eating and physical activity can help to improve this. If this is something you've got out of the habit of packing a lunch there are some great local resources online to get you started. Living Healthy- Healthy Students, Healthy Schools, at www.livinghealthyschools.com, is a site which features some great information on healthy initiatives in our schools. For parents and caretakers there's excellent advice on the School Food Guidelines (i.e. Background info on the food suggested to be served in schools), and Ideas to Support Healthy Eating like Healthy Lunches, or Healthy Snacks, and my personal favorite, an Affordable Healthy Eating Resource. If you haven't already check out this site, I highly recommend that you do. There is great information, suggestion and tips to fill a few bellies with homemade lunches.

A strike is certainly a difficult situation for everyone involved, but if we concentrate on what one of the positive outcomes might be, it could be that more kids will be packing and bringing food from home. Bringing a packed lunch can mean a couple extra things. First, you can control what your food options are and from there have more flexibility to choose a healthy choice. You can also save money. But best of all, if a child helps to prepare their lunch, it equips them up with essential healthy eating skills that can form lifelong habits. Think about that last point for a moment. If you bought lunch daily as a child while going to school, would you be more or less likely to make homemade food as an adult? I might be jumping ahead of myself, as I don't think the causality of that point has been proven just yet, but we do know that people who learn or have life skills i.e. food preparation and cooking, are better equipped to make healthier food choices.

Hopefully that's some positive thinking and inspiration for eating well. I do want to leave people with
something to think about, and it relates to the Chinese proverb, 'Tell me and I'll forget; show me and
I may remember; involve me and I'll understand.' We all know healthy eating and physical activity go
hand in hand, and you can't really have one without the other, at least you . Currently either credits
from physical education and/or a healthy living course are required for high school graduation in our
province. What about making home economics and phys ed required too. I'm not a teacher and can't
talk too much about instruction or learning, but I am a dietitian and know that knowledge of food and
cooking skills is necessary for a understanding of what it means to live a healthy life. Not only that, it
can and will empower people to take control over what they eat. After all, knowledge is power. Let's
show kids where food comes from, how to make healthy delicious food and why farm to fork is good.
Without practical, firsthand experience in preparing foods and learning about nutrition, opportunity for choice and control decrease and we end up with a dependence on processed and fast foods.

As seen in The Telegram February 6, 2012