11 Questions With Eddie Jackson

There’s a lot to know about Eddie Jackson. Not only did this Texas-born chef win season 11 of The Next Food Network Star, but he’s also a personal trainer, food truck owner…and he had an impressive career in the NFL. Eddie’s passions are fitness and good food, and he knows the two don’t have to be mutually exclusive — the healthy recipes in his playbook taste absolutely delicious. In fact in Eddie’s world, there is no need for a “cheat” day, because his good-for-you food is packed with flavor and doesn’t leave you feeling deprived. To learn more about our favorite fit “Jack of all trades,” we quizzed Eddie as part of our friends at the Partnership for a Healthier America’s “11 Questions” series.

1. If you were stranded on a deserted island, and only one vegetable grew on that island, what vegetable would you want it to be?
One? That’s so hard! But I’d have to say collard greens. They’re sturdy, versatile and so good for you. I use them in soups and sautes, and as sandwich wraps.

2. What is your healthiest habit?
I do some form of exercise every morning as soon as I wake up, whether that’s push-ups or hitting the gym. It’s so important to get your body moving within an hour of getting out of bed.

3. What is your go-to nutritious breakfast?
Oatmeal topped with roasted sweet potatoes.

4. What are the three items that are always in your fridge/pantry?
Fruit, water and protein powder.

5. What is your favorite workout?
Interval training. You can work nearly every muscle in your body in less than an hour.

6. Who is your fitness hero?
My dad. He was my first trainer when I started playing sports, and he still works as a personal trainer today.

7. How do you take your water — sparkling, flat, over ice?
I’ve got a two-part answer: flat — no ice — during the day, and then sparkling water with dinner.

8. What is your guilty pleasure?
French fries! No contest.

9. What is your healthy-eating philosophy?
Know what, when and how to eat.

10. What is your go-to nutritious family dinner dish?
Grilled halibut or cod and mixed vegetables.

11. What is the best health advice you’ve ever received?
Always practice moderation. Growing up in the South, we always piled our plates high with food. But as I got older and family members developed health issues, I learned the importance of healthy portions.

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Adjusting Your Workout When Daylight Saving Time Ends

As soon as we “fall back,” we lose an hour of daylight in the evening, which means it’s already dark by the time we head out of the office at the end of the day. But that doesn’t mean you necessarily have to give up on outdoor exercise until we change the clocks again in the spring. There are plenty of ways to make your post-work walk or run safe and enjoyable — even after dark. Lisa Jhung, a veteran runner and author of Trailhead: The Dirt on All Things Trail Running (VeloPress, 2015) has these tips:

Lose the Headphones
You need to be able to hear oncoming traffic and not be distracted by listening to music or a podcast. “If you absolutely can’t run without music, keep the volume very low and keep the earbud on the road side of your head out,” suggests Jhung.

Bring Your Phone
A good idea when it’s light out too — you never know when you might need to call for help.

Stick to Well-Traveled Roads and Paths
Now is not the time to explore out-of-the-way places. And, if possible, keep to sidewalks and car-free footpaths for most of your route.

Wear Reflective Gear
“Do everything you can to make drivers see you,” says Jhung. “The more reflective, highly visible stuff you’re wearing, the better.” Most running apparel these days has reflective accents — which you can’t necessarily see until the light hits it. You can also pile on extra reflective gear like bibs, arm bands, hats, etc. Wearing a headlamp or carrying a flashlight not only makes you more visible to cars, but can also help you find safe footing on dark terrain.

Go Against Traffic
If you must run on the roads, go in the opposite direction of traffic. That makes it easier for cars to see you and for you to see cars coming (and get out of the way if need be).

Sally Wadyka is a Boulder, Colorado-based journalist who writes about nutrition, health and wellness.

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Fitness at Every Age

Many things about the body change with age, and our nutrition and exercise needs are no exception. Certain types of food and exercise can optimize health from decade to decade, so a little know-how may help you avoid illness and injury. Use these tips to help stay fit at any age.

20s
Your 20-something years are all about establishing good habits. As grown-up responsibilities begin to set in, the stress of joining the workforce, paying bills and possibly even getting married can take up a lot of time and attention. Make your health and fitness a priority by eating less takeout, getting enough fruits and veggies, and setting up a consistent exercise regimen.

30s
The sad truth is that your metabolism begins to slow down when you’re in your 30s. Eating consistent meals and choosing healthy, balanced snacks like vegetables and hummus can help keep energy levels high and prevent overeating. It’s also a great time to increase cardiovascular exercise to help promote heart health. Kara Lydon, registered dietitian, yoga teacher and author of the Nourish Your Namaste e-book recommends taking your yoga practice to the next level. She says: “People in their 30s should take advantage of their strength and stamina to learn more challenging poses like inversions, arm balances and back bends … it’s also important to adopt a restorative yoga practice during this decade. Restorative yoga (supported poses held for long periods of time) will help the practitioner to feel more grounded, calm and relaxed amidst a number of life transitions.”

40s
In your 40s think about what you can do to avoid injuries. Ken Kosior, a certified athletic trainer, physical therapist and assistant clinical professor at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Ct., advises people to make the 40s all about “posture, posture, posture.” Practicing good posture and training the muscles that help keep your spine in check can help prevent injuries. Furthermore, getting plenty of calcium and vitamin D during these years is especially important, to help maintain strong muscles and bones.

50s and Beyond
During these years, protein needs increase to help preserve muscle tissue. Choosing protein-rich lean meats, nuts, low-fat dairy and legumes for meals and snacks can help ensure that your protein needs are being met. Kosior points out that the goal during this decade is “joint preservation” and keeping knees and hips working their best. Drop the higher-impact cardio workouts and “move to biking, swimming and walking.”

Dana Angelo White, MS, RD, ATC, is a registered dietitian, certified athletic trainer and owner of Dana White Nutrition, Inc., which specializes in culinary and sports nutrition.

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Asian Pesto Chicken Meatball Lettuce Wraps

Nourishing and delicious, these Asian Pesto Chicken Meatball Lettuce Wraps are packed with protein, fiber and skin-friendly beta carotene to give your complexion a healthy glow into fall and beyond!

In addition to one of fall’s favorite foods, sweet potatoes, these Chicken Meatball Lettuce Wraps contain heart-healthy oats, flax seeds and cashew nuts. Oh, and about that Asian pesto sauce, fair warning: You may want to eat it by the spoonful. It’s that good!

I used a combo of dark-meat and white-meat chicken, along with some egg, ground oats and ground flax seed, to keep the meatballs moist. But feel free to experiment with all-white-meat or all-dark-meat chicken, and to sub almond flour for the oats if you prefer a grain-free version.

The pesto sauce is easily made ahead of time, as are the meatballs, so you can pull the recipe together quickly to enjoy it as a complete meal for lunch or dinner whenever you’re ready to eat.

Asian Pesto Chicken Meatball Lettuce Wraps
Serves 4

Asian Pesto
2 cups loosely packed cilantro, large stems removed
½ cup roasted & lightly salted cashew nuts
1 large clove garlic
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon low sodium (gluten free optional) tamari or soy sauce

Meatballs
1 large egg
½ pound ground white meat chicken
½ pound ground dark meat chicken
¼ cup oats (gluten free optional)
2 tablespoons ground flax seed
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Lettuce Wraps
8 romaine lettuce leaves
2 cups grated sweet potato
1 cup chopped green onion
Asian pesto (recipe above)
Meatballs (recipe above)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with a silicone liner or aluminum foil, and set aside.

Make the Asian pesto: Combine cilantro, cashew nuts, garlic, rice wine vinegar, lime juice, and tamari in a blender. Blend on high speed, stopping blender periodically to scrape sides, until ingredients are smooth. Pour into a small bowl until ready to assemble lettuce wraps. (May be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container, until ready to use.)

Make the meatballs: Crack egg into a large mixing bowl, and stir with a whisk or fork until well beaten. Add ground chicken to bowl. Place oats and ground flax seed in a blender, and blend on high speed until mixture resembles coarse flour. Add oat/flax mixture to chicken and eggs along with ginger, garlic, salt, and pepper. Stir well with a fork until ingredients are well combined. Using clean, well-moistened hands (to prevent meatballs from getting too sticky), shape ground chicken mixture into 24, ~ 1 inch diameter meatballs, and place on lined baking sheet. Bake in oven for 15 minutes, or until cooked through, and no pink color remains.

While meatballs are cooking, grate sweet potato with a box grater or food processor with a grater/shredder blade. Place in microwave safe bowl with plastic wrap on top. Poke holes in plastic wrap with a fork. Heat on high in microwave for 1 minute. Carefully remove plastic wrap and stir sweet potatoes. Place plastic wrap back on top, and cook for an additional 1 minute, or until sweet potato has softened. Allow to cool before assembling lettuce wraps

Assemble the lettuce wraps: Carefully wash and dry lettuce leaves, then place on a serving tray for assembly. Divide sweet potato mixture equally, and place on top of lettuce leaves. Top each lettuce leaf with 3 meatballs, about 1 tablespoon of Asian pesto, and chopped green onions. Serve immediately.

Per serving (2 wraps): Calories 455; Fat 15 g {Saturated 2 g); Cholesterol 132 mg; Sodium 645 mg; Carbohydrate 48 g; Fiber 7 g; Sugars 7 g; Protein 36 g

EA Stewart, MBA, RD is a registered dietitian nutritionist specializing in wellness and GI nutrition. In addition, EA is the creator of The Spicy RD, which features delicious gluten-free recipes made from healthy, seasonal ingredients.

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A Michelin-Starred Veggie Stock

The truth is that lots of the world’s top Michelin-starred chefs turn up their noses at the idea of cooking for vegetarians. “Some chefs don’t see the fun in working with vegetables. But I really enjoy the challenge of creating a vegetarian dish, especially when it wins over meat lovers,” says Heiko Nieder, the head chef at The Restaurant in Zurich’s Dolder Grand Hotel, and the founder of its annual Epicure Food Festival for fellow Michelin-starred chefs (over the course of his career, he’s been awarded four stars). A fan of getting creative with veggies, he also designed an entire vegetarian tasting menu at The Restaurant, something that is extremely rare for ultra-fine dining.

One of Chef Nieder’s favorite healthy, vegetarian options on the menu is a “high-end-version of your grandmother’s vegetable soup.” To kick up the flavor without adding any fat, he uses herbs — parsley, bay leaves and thyme — and two types of mushrooms, his favorite veggie to cook with. “They make vegetable stock taste special and give it an unbelievable depth,” he says. Here, he topped the ultra-flavorful broth with tomato, basil, celery and parsley. “It’s not necessary, but it makes for a beautiful presentation and adds to your vegetable intake,” says Chef Nieder.

Make it all fall and winter, and prepare to win over vegetarians and meat eaters alike.

Vegetable Stock
Courtesy of Chef Heiko Nieder at The Restaurant

2 1/2 pounds tomatoes
1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms
1/2 pound button mushrooms
2/3 pound celery
2/3 pound onions
2/3 pound celeriac
2 garlic cloves
1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley
2 sprigs thyme
5 bay leaves
12 cups water
1 tablespoon coarse sea salt

Finely chop vegetables and saute in a large stock pot for 15 minutes.

Add water and salt and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and let cool 30 minutes, then pass through a sieve. Top with additional vegetables and herbs, if desired.

Photos courtesy of Fabian Haefeli

Sarah Z. Wexler is a freelance writer living in Portland, Oregon. She has written for Food Network Magazine, Bon Appetit, Saveur, O, The Oprah Magazine, New York Magazine, Esquire, and Glamour, among others. 

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Nutrition News: Next-level healthy eating, diet and gut health, embrace moderation

Next-level healthy eating
You’d think eating foods that are good for you would be enough, but it turns out you can actually do more. Writing in The Washington Post, dietitian Cara Rosenbloom reveals eight ways you can take healthy foods up to the next level. For instance, if you add black pepper (even just a sprinkle) to curry, you boost the anti-cancer benefits of the antioxidant curcumin. If you drink wine with fish, you may elevate the levels of Omega-3 fats in your blood, which may help protect against heart disease. And when you eat an apple, cucumber, potato, peach or kiwi, leave on the peel, where most of the antioxidants, vitamins and fiber are stored. “In the case of apples, a major component of the peel is quercetin, which is an antioxidant associated with a decreased risk of Type 2 diabetes,” Rosenbloom explains. There are five more tips where those came from.

Is your diet messing up your gut?
If you are restricting calories too much or steering clear of a food group, registered dietitian Rebecca Scritchfield warns in U.S. News & World Report, you may be wreaking havoc on your microbiome, which is key in maintaining a strong immune system and regulating hunger and mood. The best thing you can do to boost your gut health is to feed the bacteria a variety of foods, like plants, that “they love to eat,” Scritchfield advises. She notes that, by contrast, dieting is among the worst things you can do for your gut health: When we starve ourselves, we starve the bacteria in our gut. What’s more, Scritchfield counsels, you definitely don’t want to get into a food “rut,” because eventually this will lower the “microbial diversity in the gut.” The best part? Scritchfield says coffee, wine, tea and chocolate are actually good for your gut. She doesn’t have to tell us twice!

Everything in moderation
No such thing as too much of a good thing? Actually, dietitian and Healthy Eats blogger Toby Amidor observes in U.S. News & World Report, when you consume large amounts of some healthy-in-moderation foods, you may impede your ability to absorb their nutrients, restrict diet variety by crowding out other foods or overdo it on the calories. She shares eight foods it’s best to measure out in order to maintain control over your portion size. They are: almonds (suggested portion: 23 per snack), salad dressing (two tablespoons), avocado (1/4 per serving), peanut butter (two tablespoons per meal, one per snack), granola (two to four tablespoons as a topper), oil (two teaspoons to saute a few vegetables; one or two tablespoons for a pound or so of meat), pasta (one or two cups cooked), and juice (six fluid ounces). Keep your measuring cups and spoons at the ready.

Amy Reiter is a writer and editor based in New York. A regular contributor to The Los Angeles Times, she has also written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Glamour, Marie Claire, The Daily Beast and Wine Spectator, among others, as well as for Salon, where she was a longtime editor and senior writer. In addition to contributing to Healthy Eats, she blogs for Food Network’s FN Dish.

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6 Lightened-Up Sweets for a Healthier Halloween

Halloween is not the night to restrict your diet, but that doesn’t mean your evening of revelry should be quashed by a sugar coma. If you’re hosting a party this year, skip store-bought sweets and opt for homemade goodies instead. Don’t hesitate to whip up everyone’s favorites — cookies, candies, even a cocktail or two. But a few mindful alterations (and moderation) can save you from a sugar hangover the next morning. Here are five festive recipes that are sure to hit the spot without going overboard.

Spider Bites
Sandra Lee’s homemade chocolate-peanut butter clusters are incredibly quick and convenient — and at a glance, they’ll raise the hair on the back of your neck. The recipe calls for creamy peanut butter; for an extra fiber boost, use all-natural PB.

Spiced Pumpkin-Raisin Cookies
Normally, a Halloween dessert spread consists of a heaping bowl of store-bought candy, but these homemade pumpkin-raisin cookies are geared toward a more mature crowd. Simply add pumpkin puree and allspice to classic oatmeal-raisin cookie batter for a comforting fall spin.

Sweet and Spicy Pepitas Popcorn Balls
If your guests are partial to kettle corn, give them a lighter version to nibble on. Food Network Magazine created an updated spin on the crunchy fall treat simply by mixing freshly popped popcorn with a little bit of caramel and toasted pumpkin seeds.

Orange Sherbet Cups with Blackberries
Try finding a Halloween treat that’s more refreshing — or more festive — than this one. Play up the orange-and-black motif by hollowing out some orange halves. Then, fill each half with a generous spoonful of your favorite orange sherbet. Complete the sinister look by topping each “cup” with fresh blackberries.

Mexican Pumpkin Punch
It isn’t a party without a cocktail, and as alcoholic beverages go, this one isn’t too bad. Plus, it comes with the bonus of seasonal pumpkin flavor. Simply combine pumpkin puree with brown sugar, cinnamon sticks and water, then garnish with pineapple chunks, pecans and a splash of rum, if desired. You’ll save calories and fat by taking cream and sugary juices out of the equation.

Pumpkin Caramels
Sure, you don’t want to eat these chewy caramels every day if you’re trying to be a more health-conscious eater. But Halloween comes only once a year, and what would it be without a classic confection to sink your teeth into? One piece contains 92 calories but just 2 grams of fat, so use moderation and you won’t wake up with a stomachache the next morning.

For more spooky treats, check out these recipes from our friends:

A Mind “Full” Mom: Mini Pumpkin Pie Cookies
Creative Culinary: Halloween Mummy Cupcakes with Espresso Chocolate Cake and Vanilla Buttercream
In Jennie’s Kitchen: Twix Bar Brownies
Devour: 5 Horror and Sci-Fi TV Show-Themed Halloween Bites
The Mom 100: Mummy Cupcakes
Foodtastic Mom: Bourbon Bacon Pumpkin Seeds
Elephants and the Coconut Trees: Mini White Pumpkin Milk Fudge with Dry fruit Filling
Taste with the Eyes: Three Truly Gruesome But Tasty Halloween Recipes
Mom Loves Baking: Pumpkin Cupcakes
Swing Eats: Spooky Halloween Buckeyes
Pinch My Salt: Double Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes
FN Dish: When Food Gets in Costume: Edible Takes on Creepy Halloween Things

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