Category Archive

Click here for a delicious healthy Roasted Pear with Candied Nuts recipe.

Archeological evidence indicates nuts have been an important global food source throughout human history. Early humans cracked nuts with stone tools into stone vessels similar to a modern mortar and pestle.

Nuts can be categorized as ‘true nuts’ (hazelnuts), ‘culinary nuts’ (almonds, pistachios, cashews), and even ‘legumes’ (peanuts)!

Nutrition: While nuts are high in fat and calories, they are also high in protein, dietary fiber and important nutrients such as zinc and vitamin E. Nuts contain heart healthy unsaturated fats– MUFAs and PUFAs, which support a feeling of satiety or satisfaction after consumption.

One serving of nuts is one ounce and provides approximately 160 calories. Remember to eat “a handful, not a can full”!

One ounce of nuts equates to:

23 almonds, 18 cashews, 12 hazelnuts, 8 Brazil nuts, 12 macadamia nuts, 35 peanuts, 49 pistachios, 15 pecan halves, and 14 walnut halves.

Storage Tips: Like many foods containing unsaturated fats, shelled nuts can quickly oxidize and go rancid. Store nuts in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to six months, or in the freezer for up to a year. Using clear glass jars is a beautiful way to “see” nuts in your fridge.

Fun Facts: Nearly all nuts grow on trees so are considered tree nuts. Peanuts are actually legumes, more closely related to peas, beans, and lentils, and grow underground.

California grows 80% of the world’s almond supply.

FYI: For a healthier nut option, skip the snack aisle and choose nuts from the baking aisle or grocery bulk bins. There are often more options for unsalted and raw vs. oiled and flavored nuts.

Cooking Tips: Cashews and peanuts add protein and a crunch to stir fries and salads. Nut butters can be blended into salad dressings, smoothies, or curries. Roasting or toasting nuts brings out more complex flavors, but be careful not to burn them!

Peanut allergy is the most common food allergy in children (2% of population) with only 20% outgrowing it into adulthood.

Amber Phillips, MS, RD is a registered dietitian at Island Hospital. She has a Master’s degree in nutrition from Bastyr University in Kenmore, WA and a Bachelor’s degree in biology from Metropolitan State University, St. Paul, MN. Phillips has a keen interest in community education. “Nutrition advice can be confusing and sometimes conflicting,” says Phillips. “My role as a dietitian is to follow the latest research and make it easy to understand for my patients and the public.” To schedule an appointment with Phillips, call (360) 299-1300 x2567.

Click here for a delicious healthy Roasted Black Bean Chili Rellenos recipe.

Known scientifically as capsicums, sweet and spicy peppers are members of the nightshade family like tomatoes and eggplant.

Peppers, thought to have originated in South America, likely were spread throughout the Americas by birds over millennia. Peppers easily cross pollinate, leading to thousands of varieties and characteristics.

Peppers were not introduced to Europe or the Far East, including areas such as India, Thailand, and Sichuan China, until trade expeditions in the 1400s; now, these regions are known for their chili-filled cuisines.

Nutrition: Peppers are an excellent source of vitamin C, more than oranges, with one red bell pepper providing 300% of our daily value. Peppers are also a good source of vitamin A and bioactive compounds like anthocyanin and lutein.

Fun Fact: Green bell peppers are immature bell peppers; this is why their flavor is not as sweet and they are less expensive. Some peppers ripen first to yellow, then, orange, and finally red or brown! The riper the pepper, the higher level of vitamin A and C it contains!

FYI: Pain receptors (TRPV1) in mammals are responsible for the sensation of danger when eating spicy capsaicin. This is a trick of the brain, however, because damage is not actually being done. Birds do not have this receptor and do not perceive spiciness; this encourages them to consume and spread pepper seeds.

A hot pepper’s level of heat is rated based on the Scoville Heat Unit (SHU), created by Wilbur Scoville in 1912. One SHU is measured by identifying how many mL of sugar water is needed to neutralize the perceived heat in 1 mL of pepper oil.

Carolina Reapers tip the scale at ~2.2m SHU; Ghost Peppers measure ~1m SHU; Habaneros hit at ~250k SHU; Scotch Bonnets contain ~100k SHU; Thai peppers tally ~50k SHU; and Jalapenos have ~5k SHU.

To tame a pepper’s heat, remove the seeds and membranes where the majority of the capsaicin is stored.

Storage Tips: Store unwashed sweet and spicy peppers in the refrigerator crisper for up to two weeks.

Wear non-permeable gloves when slicing spicy peppers.

According to the American Chemical Society, whole milk or cottage cheese works the best to cool the sting of spicy peppers. Chili oil is fat-soluble so will disperse more quickly in full-fat dairy. Moreover, the casein protein in dairy surrounds the capsaicin molecules and washes them away. Dish soap and rubbing alcohol have also been shown to be effective.

Amber Phillips, MS, RD is a registered dietitian at Island Hospital. She has a Master’s degree in nutrition from Bastyr University in Kenmore, WA and a Bachelor’s degree in biology from Metropolitan State University, St. Paul, MN. Phillips has a keen interest in community education. “Nutrition advice can be confusing and sometimes conflicting,” says Phillips. “My role as a dietitian is to follow the latest research and make it easy to understand for my patients and the public.” To schedule an appointment with Phillips, call (360) 299-1300 x2567.

A question I often get as a Registered Dietitian is, “What is the healthiest food?” My response changes constantly because the location where someone lives and the time of year in question both influence the nutritional quality of fresh foods.

We live in a global food system, something many of us took for granted until we saw firsthand interruptions in the supply chain during the global pandemic. Walk into any supermarket in America, and you will find bananas, broccoli, mango and bell peppers year-round. However, people who live in agricultural areas often do not have access to the foods produced near them because they were spoken for prior to planting by a complex web of big agricultural processors and sellers. So, depending on the time of year, your zucchini may travel from as far away as Spain, the Netherlands, New Zealand or Mexico with considerable differences in carbon footprint due to transportation methods and distances.

The answer to the question, “What is the healthiest food?” is simple. Eating seasonal ingredients grown in your region is the healthiest. Whether asparagus, snap peas and lettuce in the spring; tomatoes, cucumbers and raspberries in the summer; winter squash, apples and collard greens in the fall; or cabbage and flash-frozen fruits and vegetables in the winter. The best way to identify the healthiest fruits and vegetables is to attend your local farmers market and choose those items which are fresh and on display.

Not only are you supporting your health by ensuring retention of vitamins and phytochemicals in freshly-picked produce, but purchasing directly from farmers also means they retain a larger percentage of the produce purchase price. According to the USDA, farmers see on average 12 cents of each dollar spent on fresh foods in grocery stores compared to 90 cents of each dollar spent at farm stands and farmers markets.

Purchasing from your local farmers market is a small way to make a significant impact. It’s good for you, good for the farmer and good for the community.

Island Hospital’s Farm Stand runs Tuesdays from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. from June 8th through September 7th in the 24th Street Courtyard. The Farm Stand is open to hospital employees and the community. Email farmstand@islandhospital.org to be added to our mailing list.

Amber Phillips, MS, RD is a registered dietitian at Island Hospital. She has a Master’s degree in nutrition from Bastyr University in Kenmore, WA and a Bachelor’s degree in biology from Metropolitan State University, St. Paul, MN. Phillips has a keen interest in community education. “Nutrition advice can be confusing and sometimes conflicting,” says Phillips. “My role as a dietitian is to follow the latest research and make it easy to understand for my patients and the public.” To schedule an appointment with Phillips, call (360) 299-1300 x2567.

Click here for a delicious nectarine caprese salad.

Stone fruit, or drupes, include peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots, cherries, almonds, and their hybrids. Thought to have originated in the far East and brought westward on the silk road and other trade routes, these sweet fruits are now found and enjoyed globally. Cherries were particularly revered by Chinese noblemen and Roman elite.

The US state of Georgia is often assumed to be the top producer of peaches, but according to the USDA, the top four producers are California, South Carolina, Georgia, and New Jersey. Washington state comes in seventh with production concentrated east of the Cascade mountain range.

Nutrition: Stone fruits are high in dietary fiber, potassium, vitamin A, and vitamin C, which support skin health and the immune system.

White peaches and nectarines have a lower acid content than the yellow variety, giving them the perception of being sweeter.
Stone fruits are naturally high in sugar alcohols, so over-consuming these foods can cause urgent loose stools similar to overconsuming diabetic candy or sugar free gum. Individuals with IBS may have a lower tolerance to stone fruits.

FYI: For easier slicing, choose freestone over clingstone varieties. Freestone do not “cling” to the pit.

Dried apricots are often treated with sulfur gas to retain their orange color; left untreated, dried apricots turn brown with oxidization. Prunes are simply dried French freestone plums.

Storage Tips: Do not refrigerate stone fruits, as they will get wrinkly and mealy in texture. Cherries must be picked ripe and have the shortest shelf life of all the drupes.

Choose firm stone fruits and place them in a paper bag stem side down at room temperature until they reach preferred ripeness. When purchasing large quantities of stone fruit, placing some in a paper bag and leaving others in the open air at room temperature ensures they do not all ripen at once.

Fun Fact: Amaretto and noyaux are made from stone fruit kernels, often a mix of almond and apricot.

Amber Phillips, MS, RD is a registered dietitian at Island Hospital. She has a Master’s degree in nutrition from Bastyr University in Kenmore, WA and a Bachelor’s degree in biology from Metropolitan State University, St. Paul, MN. Phillips has a keen interest in community education. “Nutrition advice can be confusing and sometimes conflicting,” says Phillips. “My role as a dietitian is to follow the latest research and make it easy to understand for my patients and the public.” To schedule an appointment with Phillips, call (360) 299-1300 x2567.

Click here for a foolproof salad recipe formula.

Lettuce thrives in June when the soil is warm but the air is not yet hot and prefers cooler climates below 75° F for sweeter flavor and to avoid bolting.

These leafy greens provide a low calorie and hydrating base for salads. Nutritionally, lettuce provides vitamin A, vitamin K, folate and iron. While other leafy greens may be more nutrient dense, lettuce certainly should have a regular home at your dinner table.

Storage Tips: Rinse leaves under cool running water and let drip dry on a towel before wrapping in loose paper towel and store in open zip top bag. If stored too damp, leaves will brown and start to decompose.

To rejuvenate wilted lettuce, slice off a bit at the of base of the leaf and soak entire leaf in ice water for 20 minutes to rehydrate.

Iceberg: Classic cultivar growing in a tightly packed head like green cabbage. Contrary to popular belief, iceberg does contain nutrients and, at only 10 calories per cup, is an easy way to bulk up a low calorie meal. The first lettuce to be shipped long distances, it got its name from the shipping method—piles of lettuce heads covered in chipped ice resembling an iceberg. The crunchy, sturdy leaf makes a great wedge salad or single leaves used as a wrap in place of bread or tortillas.

Romaine: According to the CDC, E.coli outbreaks stemming from romaine lettuce likely come from two sources, contaminated water (nearby livestock or irrigation/washing) or human contamination during processing. They recommend purchasing whole heads and chopping them yourself rather than buying pre-bagged mixes to reduce the amount of hands in contact with the lettuce.

For a twist on traditional Caesar, halve Romaine heads the long way and quickly grill to enjoy a grilled Caesar salad.

Bibb: A delicate, soft-leafed head lettuce used as an edible cup for chopped meats with sauce. Sometimes called Boston lettuce, use this variety quickly, as it is not as hearty in storage.

Arugula: A distinctly peppery leafy green that is technically in the cruciferous family but often eaten raw in salads. The Rocket variety is smaller and stronger flavored. All parts of this plant are edible— the leaf, the flower, and even the seed, which was considered an aphrodisiac in ancient Rome and Egypt. Arugula pairs well as a simple salad with olive oil, lemon juice, and parmesan cheese.

Amber Phillips, MS, RD is a registered dietitian at Island Hospital. She has a Master’s degree in nutrition from Bastyr University in Kenmore, WA and a Bachelor’s degree in biology from Metropolitan State University, St. Paul, MN. Phillips has a keen interest in community education. “Nutrition advice can be confusing and sometimes conflicting,” says Phillips. “My role as a dietitian is to follow the latest research and make it easy to understand for my patients and the public.” To schedule an appointment with Phillips, call (360) 299-1300 x2567.

If you are like many community members and are experiencing a large upheaval in your life due to the global pandemic, you might have noticed your clothes are not fitting as comfortably as they did a year ago. While crash diets can give the illusion of being smart weight management tools, once “off program” the weight often comes back quickly and can unfortunately even land at a level higher than before.

To truly manage your weight, it is important to notice how your behavior patterns influence weight gain and adjust these habits to support healthy weight loss and weight maintenance. The core areas to analyze include food habits, activity habits, stress levels, and sleep quality.

Tracking, including the use of apps, smart watches, or even old fashioned paper and pencil, is the first step to identify areas for improvement. Before making any changes, observe your current habits and track them.

While some people may need to overhaul their patterns, for most, small adjustments will yield excellent results.

NUTRITION

• To improve food habits, ensure you are fueling your body throughout the day. Often we eat too little early in the day, which sets us up for overeating in the evening when we are the least active.
• Make eating a mindful activity. Multitasking by eating while in front of a screen or behind the wheel is a bad habit, which can lead to weight gain and poor digestion.
• Avoid drinking your calories. Our bodies do not recognize fluids as food so we will eat the same volume of solids on top of liquid calories.
• Stay hydrated! Keep water near you at all times to sip throughout the day, whether in your car cup holder or near your armchair. People sometimes think they are hungry when their body is just asking for hydration!

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

• To improve activity habits, aim to reduce sedentary time. Notice when you are sitting for long stretches of time and take breaks to stand up and move your body.
• Track your steps for a week and set goals for stepwise increase.
• Initiate or rededicate yourself to a daily physical activity routine. It is important to build and maintain lean muscle to support your metabolism.

STRESS AND SLEEP

Stress and sleep quality influence weight management because they act as barriers to healthy eating and regular, planned activity. When stressed and sleep deprived, we often choose movie marathons with candy and chips over a hike in the forest lands. Prioritize sufficient, quality sleep and learn to develop positive coping mechanisms for stress.

For successful, long-term weight management, focus less on strict meal plans and focus more on those patterns that initially led to the accumulation of excess weight. By recognizing and adjusting our patterns of behavior as necessary, we can integrate healthy weight management into our daily lives.

Amber Phillips, MS, RD is a registered dietitian at Island Hospital. She has a Master’s degree in nutrition from Bastyr University in Kenmore, WA and a Bachelor’s degree in biology from Metropolitan State University, St. Paul, MN. Phillips has a keen interest in community education. “Nutrition advice can be confusing and sometimes conflicting,” says Phillips. “My role as a dietitian is to follow the latest research and make it easy to understand for my patients and the public.” To schedule an appointment with Phillips, call (360) 299-1300 x2567.

Click here for a quick and easy, no-cook Overnight Oats recipe.

Whole grains are the seeds of cultivated grasses used as food. Considered a storage crop, whole grains are currently a controversial food type in the media world.

Nutrition: Whole grains retain the nutrition of the entire kernel. The germ provides healthy plant oils, the bran provides fiber, protein, and B vitamins, and the endosperm contains starches which quickly break down into sugar.

Refined grains are stripped of their germ and bran, often “enriched,” with some but not all nutrients added back during processing. While refined grains are associated with increased risk for obesity and Type 2 Diabetes, whole grains have the opposite effect.

Bloating followed by eating grains may be a sign of eating too fast without imparting enough saliva to those chewed bites. In order to properly digest carbohydrates, we depend on digestive enzymes found in saliva. If our saliva doesn’t effectively coat these carbohydrates, we may experience digestive distress.

FYI: The seven ancient grains are amaranth, millet, kamut, sorghum, teff, faro, and freekeh.

The protein content of wheat flour determines how it is used in baking. Bread flour has 12-13%, all purpose flour has 9-12%, and cake flour has the least protein at 5-8% lending a light, airy finished product.

Balance the high carb content of whole grains by mixing them into salads or soups. Always pair bread and crackers with protein such as peanut butter, cheese, or a lean meat. For even more balance, add vegetables.

Storage Tips: Whole grains are prone to oxidation, which can create off flavors. For best results, store in tightly sealed containers. Freezing can also help limit exposure to oxygen.

Celiac disease is an autoimmune reaction to the protein gluten found in grains such as wheat, barley, and rye. Approximately one percent of the US population has this condition.

Skagit County is famous for its grain research and agriculture. Whether heritage varieties bred at the Breadlab and WSU, grains malted for the brewing and distilling industries by Skagit Valley Malting, or grain locally milled into flour by Cairns Springs, Skagit cereals provide a unique opportunity to enjoy high quality, locally grown grain products.

Amber Phillips, MS, RD is a registered dietitian at Island Hospital. She has a Master’s degree in nutrition from Bastyr University in Kenmore, WA and a Bachelor’s degree in biology from Metropolitan State University, St. Paul, MN. Phillips has a keen interest in community education. “Nutrition advice can be confusing and sometimes conflicting,” says Phillips. “My role as a dietitian is to follow the latest research and make it easy to understand for my patients and the public.” To schedule an appointment with Phillips, call (360) 299-1300 x2567.