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Fad diets: Stick with them or stray from them?

Ketogenic. Whole 30. South Beach. Paleo. You’ve heard the names before. They’re fad diets – popular for their promise of rapid weight loss. You may shed pounds on any one of them, but they will become difficult to follow long-term because they’re too restrictive, said Erika Thomas, a registered dietician at Gundersen Tri-County. Will I lose weight if I follow a fad diet? Probably, but it’s likely because you are eating fewer calories. For m ...

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What is a plant-based diet?

A whole-food plant-based diet combines unprocessed foods and those that come from plants. You would eat mostly vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes, while limiting meat, poultry, eggs, dairy products, seafood, oils, refined sweeteners, and highly processed foods. You can meet your nutritional needs on a whole-food plant-based diet using foods grown in the ground. What a ...

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Intuitive eating: How to tune in to bodily cues for hunger

By Laura Birkel, RD, Gundersen Nutrition TherapyFind Healthy RecipesTake a moment to reflect on the last time you ate something. How did you feel about eating it? Were you hungry before eating? How full were you afterward? Was the food satisfying? These questions may seem difficult to answer, and that may be because you, like many folks out there, have learned to rely on plans, protocols, and diets to guide your eating decisions rather than on in ...

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You don't have to eat salads

By Halley Molstad, CD, RD, Gundersen Nutrition TherapyFind Healthy RecipesWhen someone talks about good nutrition chances are visions of lettuce salads with grilled chicken will start dancing in your head. But what happens when you're sick of salads or what if you never even liked salads in the first place?Just because you can't see yourself eating and enjoying what you consider to be the "perfect" or the "best" meal doesn't mean you can't eat nu ...

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Seasonal produce: When to buy these popular fruits and veggies

Some fruits and vegetables only grow at certain times of the year. When produce is at its peak, it’s known as seasonal food and is often at its most flavorful. Where you live impacts what’s in season. Here are some of the best times to buy or harvest popular fruits and veggies in the Midwest. Strawberries: May through JuneWhen it comes to picking strawberries, larger berries are ...

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How to recognize your hunger signals

By Joan Kortbein, CD, CDE, RD, Gundersen Nutrition TherapyFind Healthy RecipesIn this fast-paced and multi-tasking world, it's easy to ignore or even be unaware of your body's hunger and fullness cues.It can become easy to grab something to eat out of habit rather than following your body's signals, and unintentionally eat more or less than what your body needs throughout your day.Here are some things you can do to try and help listen to your bod ...

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Feeding your feelings: Behaviors & emotions around eating

Have you ever experienced a stressful situation and headed right for some chocolate or a bag of chips? This is referred to as emotional eating. Emotional eating is when people use food to deal with their feelings instead of satisfying hunger. Doing so can lead to unhealthy patterns and be problematic when done often, affecting your weight, health and overall well-being. One myth about emotional eating is that it's triggered only by negative em ...

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How inflammation wreaks havoc on your health

By Chris J. Swan, CD, RDN, Gundersen Nutrition TherapyFind Healthy RecipesWhat do inflammation and Godzilla have in common? Gundersen registered dietitian Chris Swan explains.One simple analogy to better understand the damaging effects inflammation can have on the body is to compare it with the classic cinematic thriller "Godzilla." In the same fashion that the beast Godzilla wreaks havoc on unsuspecting cities, chronic inflammation rages in the ...

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Is dried fruit healthy?

By Nancy Ernst, CD, CDE, RD, Gundersen Nutrition TherapyFind Healthy RecipesFruit is nature's dessert! That includes dried fruit. It is an important part of a balanced diet and is portable, for snacks on the go. It has a great shelf-life, so you can always have dried fruit on hand. Dried fruit has more fiber and disease-preventing phenols than fresh fruit per ounce. Fiber and diets rich in plant phenols can fight heart disease, obesity, diabetes ...

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Creating and maintaining a healthy lifestyle

By Rebecca Cripe, CD, RD, Gundersen Nutrition TherapyFind Healthy RecipesCreating healthy lifestyle habits consists of two parts: knowledge and application of the knowledge. For many people, the latter part is the hardest. As the saying goes, "Motivation is what gets you started, habit is what keeps you going." Here are key tips/tools to help you get habits started and maintained.Be intentional about how to get to your goal.Want to increase more ...

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Fruity granola recipe

Makes 15 servings. Ingredients ⅔ cups old-fashioned rolled oats½ cup pistachios¼ cup pecans¼ cup slivered almonds¾ cup unsweetened shredded coconut⅓ cup olive oil⅓ cup brown sugar⅓ cup pure maple syrup ½ cup dried cherries½ cup chopped apricots Preparation Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line a 9x13 baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, toss together the rol ...

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5 reasons to love beans

By Rachel Johnson, CD, MS, RD, Gundersen Nutrition TherapyFind Healthy RecipesBeans, beans, the magical food! An excellent source of lean protein and fiber, beans make a filling addition to any meal or snack. Here are five reasons why beans are the best.Vegetarian protein source. Beans have 8-10 grams of protein in ½ cup. Replace all or some of the meat in your favorite recipes with beans for a tasty vegetarian option. For example, if you normall ...

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Why is fiber good for you?

Fiber is a heart-healthy nutrient that's easy to incorporate into your diet. Read about the different types of fiber and their health benefits here. ...

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Should I add prebiotics to my diet?

By Halley Molstad, CD, RD, Gundersen Nutrition TherapyFind Healthy RecipesHigh-end supplements, yogurt and even protein powders are now advertising that they contain prebiotics. What are they and should you include them in your diet?What are prebiotics?The average human colon can contain up to 1,000 different types of bacteria. Some of these bacterial are helpful to our health and others are not. The helpful bacteria are widely known as probiotic ...

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Mouth-watering slow cooker chicken recipe

Makes 6 servings. Ingredients 4 to 5 pounds of whole chicken, insides removed1 tablespoon paprika1 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon black pepper½ teaspoon garlic powder½ teaspoon onion powder Preparation Place chicken in a slow cooker. In a small bowl, mix seasonings. Rub seasoning all over chicken. Make sure the chicken is breast-side down in the crockpot. Cover and cook for 6 to 8 h ...

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DOT Drug & Alcohol Supervisor Training

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