Cleats & Eats: Snacks from the Sidelines

Regan Jones from the Professional Palate takes over Robinsbite today as Football Week begins....

When my friend and (much admired) colleague Robin invited me to be a guest blogger here on her blog, I jumped at the opportunity. I admire Robin’s style, spirit for all things food and overall approach to communicating nutrition news. We are cut from the same cloth when it comes to our approach to making nutrition a “taste-first” topic.  

The fact that she does not share my ardent devotion to college football is something that I have chosen not to hold against her. It is, however, the reason that I am thrilled to step in as her guest blogger today to give the RobinsBite audience the seasonal food nod toward one of this country’s favorite pastimes - football.

College, NFL, fantasy, you name it... when it comes to football, my household is probably paying attention to it. (Ironically, I met Robin while living in Texas- the only place on Earth where people actual tailgate for high school football. It’s insane the love of football those wonderful Texans share with folks like me, born and raised in the Deep South where football truly divides families and decides elections. And frankly, I love Texas all the more for it!! But back to the topic at hand....)

I have come to realize over the years, though, that the problem with a season full of tailgating (or better yet “tablegating” for the poor lot of us who have either been displaced from our alma mater in distance OR have a couple of future football fans toddling around the house keeping us home) is that often the nutrition numbers don’t really add up in your favor.

Don’t get me wrong... I’m a big believer in that classic dietitian mantra of “all foods can fit.” But the question is... if you fit in too many fun foods this season, will you really fit into your jeans come Super Bowl?

I get plenty of requests every year to “lighten” a traditional tailgate dish... and I’m happy to oblige. In fact, I’ve just launched a season long #footballfriday bloghop on my blog celebrating popular tailgating dishes from bloggers across the web. But if you really want to score big not only on taste, but nutrition as well, you can look to those naturally nutrient-rich choices that are already fan favorites:  

• In shell pistachios - In general, nuts are always a good choice because of their vitamin, mineral, protein and fiber content. Where people get into trouble is overdoing their portions (which can mean big calories!) The thing I love about in shell pistachios, though, is that the act of breaking open each pistachio is a natural way to slow down that “grazing” that can otherwise lead to excess calories.

• Black Bean and Corn Salsa - This is one of my all-time favorites. It’s based on a recipe I tested while working in the Test Kitchen for one of Southern Living’s cookbooks. It’s always a hit, even alongside some of it’s heavier, dip competitors. Fresh salsas, whether made from tomatoes, corn, beans, mangos, peaches... you name it... are an ideal way to sneak in something fresh, veggie &/or fruit filled without making people feel like you brought the “diet dip.”

• Fruit & Cheese tray - On this point, I differ with some cheeseheads in that I’m actually “pro” cubed cheese for this type of spread. I’ll confess that once you cube cheese, it does begin to lose its moisture faster, so beware of prepping too far in advance. Likewise, I recommend doing it yourself rather than buying pre-cubed cheese (I think the flavor and texture difference is totally worth the minimal extra effort.) Plus, by cubing yourself, you’re able to opt for reduced fat varieties, many of which now come in flavors and taste nothing like they did years ago (Yay! Score one for cheese lovers!) Because fruit is such a natural alongside cheese, here again you’ve offered your pals another nutrient-rich combo in the form of a fan favorite.

• Roasted Veggie and Olive Antipasto - While traditional antipasto platters contain cured meats, I prefer an all veggie approach. Olives are a classic fixture, as are artichoke hearts. I add to that various roasted veggies (either roasted at home in a 450 degree oven until caramelized or picked up from the local deli). Drizzle with a touch of balsamic vinegar for low fat, high flavor... and can you say antioxidant powerhouse?

• Grilled Chicken Skewers with Buffalo Sauce - As I said, I really hate to hit people over the head with the “this is lighter” notion. But nowhere is it more welcome in my books than ditching chicken wings (which frankly just don’t appeal to me as they’re mostly just poultry skin... *no thanks*), and instead opting for grilled chicken breast skewers and buffalo sauce. I mean really... what’s the appeal about wings anyway? It’s the heat in the sauce, right? This approach gives you that same appeal for far fewer calories.

I can’t really say whether the appeal of football season is the chance for my team to lace up their cleats and take a run at the championship, the opportunity to spend time with friends and family or simply a good excuse to break out the chip and dip bowl for some delicious eats... probably, it’s a combination of all of the above. I can say, however, that whatever the season holds on the field, lining up these choice clearly means winning “off” the field.       


Regan Jones, RD authors the blog The Professional Palate from her home in Georgia where she is actively grooming two young sons for a lifelong football devotion to her alma mater, Auburn University. (Just don’t tell her husband who is equally devoted to doing the same for their in-state rival.)

"I'm Robin and I'm Lactose Intolerant" Great news for People Like Me!

I'm feel like I just was released from a huge bear hug.

Never have I felt so supported by virtual strangers before in my plight with lactose intolerance. You see, I've just returned from the recent Lactose Intolerance Forum-hosted by the National Dairy Council and Lactaid. Yes, that's right-an entire forum dedicated to research and new information regarding LI.

Managing my LI now for nearly 20 years, I've often avoided the products that I know will cause the, ahem, unpleasant gastrointestinal side effects that simply are LI.

When I was 23, I remember having dinner at a friends house who was well know for her Southern cooking. In this instance, Southern cooking mean copious amounts of cream, butter, milk and cheese in nearly everything she cooked. Within 1 hour, I was doubled over in pain, had severe cramps and spent a bit of time in the bathroom. Long story short, I had to cancel the rest of the plans for the evening and head home. And so began my plight with dairy.

I could tolerate small amounts of hard, aged cheeses (Cheddar, Swiss, Mozzarella) as well as frozen yogurt and regular yogurt but absolutely no ice cream or milk. I began drinking soy milk and eliminated ice cream from my diet. I definitely reduced my dairy intake over the years and as I got older, began to worry about vitamins and minerals that I knew I must have been lacking without the proper amount of dairy in my diet. Obviously osteoporosis was at top of mind, but also the other diseases that were plaguing Americans-obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure/heart disease, etc. The studies I was reading all had correlations with dairy. I began drinking soy milk and calcium fortified orange juice-and also ate many of the non-dairy products that contained calcium.

At the LI Forum, we talked LI all day long. Literally. I've been introduced as many things before, but I'm not sure I've ever been introduced as "This is Robin Plotkin. She has Lactose Intolerance, too!". There were expert speakers and excellent research presented. The recent recommendations by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are that people with lactose should be able to tolerate up to 12 grams of lactose per day.

The NIH Panel concluded that:

"Many people with real or perceived lactose intolerance avoid diary and ingest inadequate amounts of calcium and vitamin D, which may predisposed them to decreased bone accrual, osteoporosis and other adverse health outcomes. In most cases, people don't need to eliminate dairy consumption completely."

Dr. Gilman Grave, Chief, Endocrinology, Nutrition and Growth Branch, National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health

You see, since so many of us self diagnose (which we shouldn't-our MD can order at Hydrogen Breath test to confirm a diagnosis of LI), we also overestimate our symptoms. And because we do that, we often completely eliminate dairy from our diet so we don't have to experience those symptoms. The problem is that when we completely eliminate dairy from the diet, we often times are eliminating excellent sources of calcium, Vitamin D, potassium and magnesium. Over time, when we don't feed our bodies with these vitamins and minerals, we become even more at risk for those diseases mentioned above and, in some cases, even malnutrition.

So, here's the good news! That 12 grams of lactose per day will help us get those nutrients we need AND reintroduce dairy back into our diets! Sure, I was skeptical at first too, but I've been working on it for a few months and...it's working!

Below are some tips and some strategies to manage LI and to incorporate dairy back into your life!

Sip it-introduce dairy slowly into the diet. You'll have to build up to the 12 grams, so start small. Maybe 1/4 of a glass of milk on days 1-5 and gradually increase from there. ( An 8 ounce glass of milk has about 12 grams of lactose)

Stir it-mix milk in with food. Try adding milk to mashed potatoes, mac n cheese, smoothies or cereal.

Slice it-Try a slice of cheese on a sandwich or with whole grain crackers. Start with about 1 ounce. Cabot Creamery has naturally lactose free Cheddar Cheese as well as 50% reduced fat Cheddar Cheese. Yep-thanks to the aging process, it's naturally lactose free! I've done work for these good people and they can explain the entire process to you if you'd like.

Shred it-Shred cheeses over soups or in tacos and enchiladas. Sprinkle some in your salad.

Spoon it-Try yogurt mixed with cereal or with fruit. Always choose yogurts with active live cultures. The cultures are also helpful in breaking down the natural sugar in dairy that causes lactose intolerance symptoms to occur.

Try it-Try lactose free milk and milk products. I've recently become a big fan of Lactaid. In the past, I'd only tried their cottage cheese...but their regular milk, chocolate milk and ice cream ROCK. I'm a believer now! (note: Lactaid is REAL COW's MILK-just with an enzyme added to it to make it tolerable for people with LI).

I encourage you to try incorporating dairy back into your diet. It's worth it to try these foods again and get the nutrients you may be lacking. I never thought I'd be able tolerate as much dairy again, but I do! Just remember to go slow and enjoy.

Need to know how much calcium you need? Check here.
How much lactose is in certain products? Check here.
If you'd like more information about improving your diet, see at Registered Dietitian!