I always write about the physical activity that I do so here’s one more blog about it. Yesterday I did a half marathon in Rhode Island. I’m training for the Hartford Marathon, so I figured this would be a good training run and it would be fun. Well, I had a great time (yes, believe it or not, you can have a good time running) and finished with a 15 minute improvement from my best 1/2 marathon time.

I did the race with my cousin’s husband. He always makes me laugh because he always has to get a ’souvenir t shirt’ anywhere we go. We spend so much time with my cousin and her husband that I’ve gotten into the habit of buying souvenir t shirts. Yesterday I found one that I HAD to have. It says on the front “Strong is the new Skinny”. That pretty much sums it up!!! I love it!!

OK, so I have to admit, I’ve been to fairs but never really noticed ALL of the food that’s there.

This weekend, my family and I went to the Big E. I have been to small fairs when I was a child, but never anything this large. I was absolutely amazed at the food that they sell there. Maybe it’s because I’m a dietitian, but I just can’t imagine eating some of those foods. I always say (and tell my clients) that it’s ok to have a treat every now and then. And I love to have a treat now and then, but the food sold at this fair was not something I would consider a treat.

Fried EVERYTHING! There were fried jelly beans, fried pickles, fried dough, funnel cakes, and the list goes on and on.

Not only is there fried foods everywhere, but I couldn’t believe my sister’s boyfriend who decided that it was a good idea to buy a chocolate covered jalapeno pepper. I found that more amusing that he would spend 4 dollars to burn his mouth off and then have to spend another 3 dollars to get a drink to wash it down.

Well, I guess I’ll never be a lover of fair food. My favorite part of the Big E was the apple that I got from Pine Hill Orchards in the Massachusetts building. YUM! (ok, so I am a dietitian)

I am a member of the SVSU Foodservice Advisory Board. We meet with the foodservice company to come up with ways to continually improve the food that is being served in the school cafeterias. Since I started working with this group, I have seen some great things happening in Bennington schools. One of the things that the Abbey Group has done is to offer free breakfast for a week or two. It was so successful the first time, that they have been doing it at different times during the year.

There were many reasons to offer free breakfast. We know that children who eat breakfast do better in school and have better concentration. In addition, children who eat breakfast have a tendency to be less overweight than those who skip breakfast.

I just read that Chick-fil-et is offering free breakfast this week. We don’t have any of these restaurants around here, but it’s quite interesting that they are offering this. This company is known for the slogan “eat more chick’n” and markets themselves as being healthier than other fast food.

Chicken may be healthier if it’s not fried or breaded, however, the chicken that they sell would hardly be called health food. Interesting to see what you can get for free. Those calories certainly do add up and I would think that the health risks of some of these choices are not worth the money savings!

If there is one question that drives me nuts it’s when someone asks me to tell them what NOT to eat. I always answer that in the same way. I can’t tell you what not to eat. You can have a little of everything in moderation.

I’ve said before that I always notice when people restrict too much, they end up overdoing it (and sometimes on the foods that they are trying not to eat). If it’s your birthday and you want a piece of cake, have it. But balance your meals around it. If you overdo it on calories one day, watch your calories for the next few days.

I am not one of those people who says “do as I say, not as I do”. I eat a very healthy diet, but believe me, I love a treat now and then. And- I exercise and stay active.

Bill Clinton is a vegan. This news is everywhere in the media. He is basically following Dean Ornish’s recommendations for reversing heart disease.

While this may have a research behind it as having the ability to reverse heart disease (if you read any of Ornish’s work, you will see his results), it is a very difficult diet to follow. If there’s anything that I have learned in my professional experience, it’s that humans need moderation in their diet. I always find that too much restriction leads to overeating. It’s tough to follow a vegan diet, but if you are motivated, you can do it and have a healthy diet. This does take work though.

I would like to see how he’s doing 5 years from now and whether or not he’s still a vegan, or if his heart disease improves.

Did you know that the Food and Nutrition Department has an herb garden? Many of the foods that you eat here at the hospital have fresh herbs that come right out of that garden. F&N volunteers have planned, planted and maintained this garden which is right outside of the old employee cafeteria.

Next time you go outside, take a look at it. It’s terrific!! Good Job- Shannon, Cailin, Laura, Tiffany, and Eddie !!!

They are also composting many of the scraps that are left from the kitchen. It’s so exciting to see the interest and all of the work that everyone has been putting into growing a garden.

I can’t wait to see what happens next year.

There has recently been a huge recall of 36 million pounds of ground turkey because of a resistant strain of Salmonella has been found in it. So many turkey farmers are feeding antibiotics to their turkeys with their food. This is proving to be a huge problem because these antibiotic resistant strains are growing.

Generally you may find salmonella in any poultry. The most important thing is to cook it until 165 degrees.

I just read that McDonalds is going to roll out a new happy meal.  These new meals are going to have 20% less calories than the current ones and will also have some fruit added to them. 

I have really thought about the changes that many of the fast food restaurants have been undergoing.  I honestly think that they are speaking to the public.  Yes, people go to fast food for a quick meal.  Healthy food is not generally on someone’s mind when they do go to fast food restaurants.  However, I really believe this is changing.  People do want healthy choices that are also not more expensive.  This is the biggest complaint that I hear.  It’s often more expensive to get a salad than something on the dollar menu.  However, if you are buying multiple things on the dollar menu, it really does add up.

I recently signed an open letter to McDonalds to ask them to stop marketing junk food to children.  There are plenty of ways to market unhealthy food, but do we really need to be starting with children?  Even when you go into the cereal aisle, the unhealthy cereal is right at childrens’ eye level. 

I truly think that McDonalds and other fast food restaurants are trying.  It’s still not ‘homecooked’ local food, but you can definitely get a healthy meal there.

When I have a day off, I always make the best of it.  Anytime that I have a chance to do something new, I jump on the opportunity.  My cousin calls these “Racheladventures”.  My family never knows what is going to be next.  The do know one thing…I will try anything….once! 

We often go to Martha’s Vineyard in the summer.  It’s such a great place, and I never get sick of going.  I just realized something today though- I have been to the beach ONCE since we started going there 12 years ago!  When you think of Martha’s Vineyard, the first thing that comes to mind is “the beach”.  People always ask me what I do if I don’t go to the beach.  Well, there is so much to do wherever you go, you just have to seek it out. 

I always go for a bike ride all over the island.  I have seen every part of the island by bike, and have never actually driven to most parts of MV.  We have hiked in the trails which, believe it or not, MV has a ton of.  We have sailed, kayaked, and I always go for a great run on Chappaquiddick island every time we go.  (I have become pretty inventive to find a 10 mile run on a tiny island).

So next time you have a day off, make some adventure plans.  You never know what you’ll find off the beaten path.

Have you ever had the smoothies that they make in those mall smoothie stands?  They are so good.  The reason they are so good is because there’s often a ton of sugar added to them.  A large smoothie from one of those stores could run up to 600 calories (or even more). 

I have found the other secret to these smoothies.  These places have these amazing powerful blenders that make them so smooth.  A few weeks ago, I got a new blender and decided to start making some and see if they taste just as good. 

All I can say is that I’m hooked, and so is my husband.  We can make a smoothie with 150 calories using some frozen (unsweetened) fruit and soymilk.  If I have some fresh fruit, I’ll throw that in with some ice cubes.  This makes such a great snack and honestly, you almost think you are drinking a milkshake.