Would you like to take the worry out of eating? That’s just what Ellyn Satter, a Registered Dietitian and Family Therapist, recommends in her Eating Competency Model. Satter developed her model after seeing that though people often feel guilty or worried about food, they often don’t actually follow published nutrition guidelines. Her mission is to help people feel joyful and confident about eating.
Competent eaters demonstrate the following behaviors:

1. * Feeling good about food and about eating…and not worrying about feeling good about it
2. * Liking a variety of foods and enjoying learning to like new foods
3. * Trusting themselves to eat the right amount (and allowing body weight to reflect genetics and lifestyle)
4. * Taking time to eat regular meals and snacks and paying attention while eating

If you are out and about in the greater Boston area, check out one of the  b.good restaurant locations. This chain, whose tag line is "real.food.fast", offers burgers and sandwiches, kale and grain bowls, salads, smoothies, and kids' meals. The ingredients are sourced in New England, and the food tastes homemade.

I tried the Beverly location last month, which was my first
experience with b.good. I had the spicy avocado and lime bowl with the super grain mix, which is pictured here. I wish the picture did this dish justice! Each ingredient tasted so fresh and "real." I went back to try additional items, but just wanted this bowl again!

The walls of the restaurant are decorated with pictures of the farmers who provide the ingredients. It is a pleasure to see the fresh produce on display in the prep area. I hope that you will give this eatery a try!

​Eat healthy carbs. This advice is often given to athletes and couch potatoes alike, but sometimes it is hard to know which carbohydrates to choose. Fall is a great time to enjoy your healthy carbs in the form of roasted vegetables, which are loaded with vitamins, minerals and fiber. Popular and nutritious vegetables for roasting include:

• Beets – good source of folate
• Brussels sprouts – good source of vitamins C and K
• Carrots – good source of vitamins A and C
• Onions – contain bioflavonoid anti-oxidants and allicin (anti-tumor compound)
• Parsnips – good source of Vitamins C and K and fiber
• Potatoes (skin on) – good source of vitamins B, C, folate, and niacin and potassium
• Rutabagas – good source of vitamin C
• Sweet potatoes – good source of vitamins A,B6 and C and potassium
• Turnips – contain vitamin C
• Winter squash – good source of vitamin A

Injuries can interrupt training and competition for even the most experienced athletes. When injuries occur, attention to sports nutrition can help get you back in action sooner. It can be tempting to slack off on your usual attention to eating well, but this is definitely not the time to indulge in junk food!
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Three key nutrients for healing are calories, protein, and water. It can be challenging to adjust your calorie intake when injured. You want to promote healing, but avoid unwanted weight gain. You will need to consider how much your training volume has decreased and how aggressive your rehab regimen is. Calories should not be restricted too much, because you need to protect your existing muscle mass as much as possible. When you don’t eat enough calories, muscle may be broken down. There is also a calorie cost to the body’s healing process, and too few calories may slow things down. Focus on eating nutrient dense foods and avoiding highly processed and high sugar foods. Check your weight frequently and adjust your intake up or down based on trends that you notice.

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​Does it seem like more and more kids are getting concussions? There has been an increase in the number of concussions in student athletes over the past several years. This has led to interest in potential nutritional approaches to prevention and treatment. In 2011 the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released their report “Nutrition and Traumatic Brain Injury,” which was focused on treating military TBIs.  The report identified some nutrients of interest for future research both for these serious injuries and for mild TBI (concussion.) These include omega 3 fatty acids, choline, creatine, zinc, resveratrol, curcumin, and other plant based anti-oxidants.

What do Registered Dietitians eat on vacation? I recently made a trip with 5 friends from my dietetic internship and thought it was interesting to see some trends. This trip started out with a car trip to our central destination, Pipestem State Park in southern West Virginia. From there we did long day trips to Beckley and to the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs. Based on my observations of how this group of RD’s (pictured at right in front of the Greenbrier) combined vacation fun and healthy eating principles, here are 4 tips for eating well on vacation.