Let us hear your opinion!

In order to determine what changes needed to be made, we asked some Hispanic/Latino adults to tell us a bit about their daily diet. This is what they had to say:

"Flavor is very important. I like to make sure it's spicy. I often use lots of rice in my meals as well."

"Our dinners are made up of lots of family and even more food. Every time our family gets together everyone brings a different dish to the house. There's no such thing as a small portion. Dinner is a great way for the family to bond."

"Pork, rice and beans is all my family eats. We use beans for absolutely everything, our only variety is the different types of beans and rice."

Would you like to help us celebrate with you?

Please help direct us in the right direction by allowing us to measure your progress.

Before you start using our tips in your daily cooking, please send your age, height, and weight to the following email address:
eeedah@yahoo.com
(Please make sure to measure as accurately as possible)
After 8 weeks, measure your height and weight again. Email us those final measurements using the same email address that you used to send your initial set of measurements.
You may also email us with other updates about your cooking and/or health status as you follow our blog and implement our tips.

Feel free to leave us comments/suggestions, or subscribe by e-mail and just send us a letter.

Dietary Guidelines

Recommended Dietary Guidelines

It's recommended that everyday a person should have:

6-11 servings of grain products
3-5 servings of vegetables
2-4 servings of fruit
2-3 servings of dairy
　2-3 Servings of meat or meat alternatives
　fats, oils and sweets should be used sparingly

In order to get the best out of what you eat, try these few tips!

-Decrease your fat intake: Make sure you choose low-fat or non-fat items, especially in dairy products like yogurt, cheese, and milk.

Choose whole wheat: like whole wheat rice instead of white rice.

Practice portion control!

Good Portions, Good Health.

Here's a hand to portion control:

Fist = 1 Cup
(example: 2 servings of pasta or oatmeal)
Palm = 3 oz
(example: 1 cooked serving of meat)
Thumb tip = 1 teaspoon
(example: 1 serving of mayonnaise or margarine)
Handful = 1 or 2 oz snack food
( example: 1 oz of nuts = 1 handful ; 2 oz of pretzels = 2 handfuls)
Thumb = 1 oz
( example : 1 serving of cheese)

What equals 1 Serving

Grains = 1/2 c cooked rice, 1 slice bread, 1 c ready-to-eat cereal
Vegetables = 1/2-1 c cooked, 1 c raw or vegetable juice, 2 c raw leafy greens
Fruit = 1/2 c canned or dried, 1 c fresh fruit or 100% juice, 1 small whole fruit
Dairy = 1 c milk, 1-2 oz cheese
Meat = 1 oz meat, poultry, or fish, 1/2 c dried beans or nuts, 1/4 c cooked dry beans,1 egg

Leaner meats for a leaner you!

Here are a few ways to cut out some fat in your daily diet just by choosing leaner cuts of meat:

Use cuts with the words "loin" or "round" in their name for the leanest meats, such as pork tenderloin, loin chop, top round, tenderloin.

Cuts with minimal visible fat are the leanest.

If the cut of meat has a lot of fat, you can use a knife and run it along where the meat and fat connect and trim away the extra fat.

Healthy Weight for a Healthy Lifestyle

An important part of being healthy is maintaining a healthy weight. A quick and easy way to determine body fat percentage is by calculating your BMI. Body mass index (BMI) is a measure of body fat based on height and weight that applies to both adult men and women.

Here's a link to a website to help you calculate.

http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/

Once you have your BMI you can look at the following numbers to see what it means
BMI of :
Below 18.5 is underweight
18.5-24.9 is normal
25.0-29.9 is overweight
30.0 and above is obese

*The BMI does have some limits:-It may overestimate body fat in athletes and others who have a muscular build.-It may underestimate body fat in older persons and others who have lost muscle mass

Chiles Rellenos

Ingredients

Chile Poblano: 4
Cotija cheese: 1 / 2 kg
Eggs: 2
Flour: 1 tsp
Tomato: 1
Onion: 1
Nonstick Spray
Salt: to taste
Plastic Bag: 1

How to prepare Chiles Rellenos de Queso:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit
Roast the chiles and place them in a plastic bag. After 5 to 10 minutes, clean and remove seeds.
Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil coated with nonstick cooking spray. In small squares from the onion, tomato and cheese. Add salt to taste and mix. Fill peppers with mixture. Separate the egg whites and beat them dot ribbon. I lifted add the flour, a pinch of salt and the yolks. Continue whisking and then cover the chiles with the mixture. Place filled Chiles in the oven until the cheese is melted and golden brown.

Tortilla Soup

Traditional tortilla soup contains an overload of full-fat sour cream and lots of greasy fried tortilla chips. This recipe only contains 220 calories and 11g of fat per serving. It is an excellent source of iron, vitamin A & C. It has the same creamy texture you expect from the traditional soup from a quick blend of the tomato base. Reduced-fat sour cream and baked tortilla chips are subsituted for the original without losing any of the taste you expect and love.

Two 6-inch corn tortillas
2 tbsp canola oil
1/4 tsp salt
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Two 14.5 oz cans of no-salt-added diced tomatoes, with their juices
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and thinly-sliced
3/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
2 tbsp chopped cilantro

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.
Brush both sides of each tortilla with oil, using all but 2 tbsp. Set the 2 tbsp aside. Cut the tortillas in half and then cut each half into 1/4 inch wide strips. Arrange the strips on a baking sheet, sprinkle with salt,and bake until crisp and golden, about 12 minutes.
Heat the remaining 2 tbsp oil in a large heavy skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, then add the garlic and cumin and cook until the onion is soft and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the broth, tomatoes, jalapeno and oregano, bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir in the lime juice.
Remove the pan from the heat and puree in a blender until some chunks of tomato still remain, about 30 seconds. Serve the soup topped with the baked tortilla chips, a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of cilantro.

Guava and Cheese Pastelito

A traditional Pastelito averages 420 calories, 160 calories from fat, 18g of total fat, and 55mg of cholesterol. Pastelitos are similar to empanadas but they are usually baked not fried. Our version substitutes wonton wrappers for the traditional coating and low-fat cream cheese for full fat cream cheese. The "lighter" pastelito averages 150 calories, 15 calories from fat, 1.8g of total fat and 8mg of cholesterol.

4 (3") wonton wrappers
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 oz guava paste, cut into 4 small pieces
1 oz low-fat cream cheese, cut into 4 small pieces

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Coat a non-stick baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Arrange a few wonton wrappers on a work surface. Lightly brush the edge of each wonton wrapper with egg white which will make a tight seal. Place one piece of Guava and one piece of cream cheese in the centrer and fold the wrapper in half to make a triangular pastry (if using round wrappers, half-moon shaped pastries will be made). Crimp the edges with a fork. Coat the tops of the pastelitos with nonstick cooking spray. Bake for 6 minutes, turning occasionally or until crisp and golden brown.

Cafe con Leche

A traditional Cafe con Leche will have roughly 170 calories, 5 grams of fat and 29 grams of sugar. Our "smarter" Cafe con Leche substitutes a combination of 1% and evaporated milk for whole milk and Splenda for the sugar. These simple changes cut half the calories and most of the fat and suagr content. Our version also adds a Cinnamon and Nutmeg spice mixture. Cinnamon can reduce blood sugar and decrease Triglcycerides, LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol levels in Type 2 Diabetics. In those without diabetes, it prevents urinary tract infections, reduce joint pain, relieve nasal congestion and stimulate brain activity. Nutmeg can reduce joint pain, nausea, insomnia and lower blood pressure.

3 oz 1% Milk
3 oz Espresso Coffee (brewed)
2 oz Evaporated Milk (Lite)
1 tbsp Splenda (or 2 packets)
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Nutmeg

Fill Saucepan with 3 oz of 1% milk. Place on high heat and scald milk. In a coffee mug, add Splenda and evaporated milk. Add 1 tbsp espresso to the mixture in the coffee mug and briskly mix. Add the heated milk to the coffee club and then the rest of the brewed espresso coffee. Slowly stir in 1/4 tsp of cinnamon and 1/4 tsp of nutmeg. Enjoy!

Latin American Empanadas

INGREDIENTS

DOUGH

3 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups cornmeal

3 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup canola oil

1-1 1/4 cups water

FILLING

1/2 cup hulled pumpkin seeds,

1/2 pound lean ground beef

1 small onion, chopped

1/4 cup diced red bell pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 small tomato, seeded and chopped

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar, (see Ingredient notes) or red-wine vinegar

2 cups potatoes, diced, cooked (about 8 small red potatoes) or frozen hash-brown potatoes

3/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

2 scallions (white part only), chopped

1 hard-boiled egg, chopped

1 egg, mixed with 1/4 cup water for glaze

PREPARATION

1. To prepare dough: Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. 2. Add oil and work with your fingertips until the mixture becomes crumbly. Add water and knead until dough just comes together (do not overwork). Press the dough into two disks. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.

3. To prepare filling: Heat a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add pumpkin seeds and cook, stirring, until lightly browned and fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a blender or spice mill and grind to a fine powder.

4. Cook ground beef in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, crumbling with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 4 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Add onion to the pan and cook, stirring often, until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add bell pepper and garlic; cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in tomato, cumin, broth, vinegar, potatoes, salt, ground pumpkin seeds and the beef. Reduce the heat to medium-low; cover and cook for 10 to 15 minutes to intensify flavors and reduce liquid. Fold in scallions and hard-boiled egg. Let cool completely in the refrigerator.

5. Meanwhile, prepare Aji Sauce. Set aside.

6. To assemble empanadas: Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray. On a well-floured surface, roll out one disk at a time to about 1/8 inch thick. Cut circles of dough using a 4 1/2-inch round cookie cutter. Make 24 circles altogether.

7. Brush egg glaze around the edges of the dough circles. Place about 2 tablespoons filling in the center of each circle. Fold filled circles in half, press edges together and crimp with a fork. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Brush egg glaze over the empanadas.

8. Bake the empanadas until golden and crisp, switching the position of the pans midway, 55 to 65 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes

Servings in Each

1 1/2 carbohydrate serving.

Exchanges : 1 1/3 starch, 1/2 vegetable, 1/3 lean protein, 1 1/2 fat

Caramel Cream Cheese Custard

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons water

8 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, (Neufchâtel), softened

8 large eggs

1 14-ounce can nonfat or low-fat sweetened condensed milk

1 12-ounce can nonfat or low-fat evaporated milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

PREPARATION

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Cook sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, gently swirling the pan (do not stir), until the mixture turns golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Immediately, pour the caramel carefully into a 9-inch round metal cake pan. If it stiffens before it completely covers the bottom of the pan, warm the pan in the oven, then swirl to cover the bottom.

3. Beat cream cheese in a large bowl with a mixer at medium-high speed until soft. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until thoroughly combined, scraping down the sides. Add condensed milk, evaporated milk and vanilla; mix until combined. Carefully pour into the prepared pan. (You may hear some cracking; the pan will be very full.)

4. Place the cake pan in a larger pan and pour enough hot water around it to come 1 inch up the sides. Bake until golden and set at the edges but still wobbly at the center, about 1 hour. A knife inserted in the center should come out clean.

5. Transfer the cake pan to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Then cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.