At Brown Bag, we believe that you are what you eat, so you should be eating healthy (and delicious!) food.  For most of us, it’s not too hard to fuel our bodies with good food; we just try our best to make healthy decisions at snack and meal times.  But what if you’re an elite athlete?  What do they need to fuel their one big chance at the Olympics?  Most of us, including those of us here at Brown Bag, think athletes load up on carbs, right?  That’s the stereotype.  But what we’ve found out is that food as fuel is pretty specific to each sport because each sport (and each body, really) has its own requirements.

For instance, if you’re a cross-country skier, carb loading is a good idea.  You need as much fuel as possible to make that trek in good time (3 to 5 hours prior to race time is optimal), and still, sometimes that’s not good enough; glycogen in muscles becomes depleted and the athlete’s performance takes a nosedive.  In an article on NPR’s website, Nanna Meyer, senior sport dietitian for the U.S. Olympic Committee and a professor of sports nutrition at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, gives an interesting look into feeding Olympic athletes.

According to Meyer, feeding those cross-country skiers is tricky business (as you can imagine), but other sports are complex as well.  In some sports, athletes body sizes and shapes need to conform to certain standards; for instance, wrestlers have to maintain a specific weight to stay in their class, and ski jumpers don’t want to be weighed down (literally, lighter flies farther).  An athlete (and/or their dietician) needs to be aware of the demands of their sport, whether aesthetic or endurance related.

There’s a dark side to body weight/shape that affects not only the average Joe, but Olympic athletes as well.  According to Meyer, more and more elite winter athletes are trying to maintain lean, muscular physiques (and even low body weights), and this can lead to problems like eating disorders.  Training and performing taxes bodies enough, but add to that an eating disorder and you’ve got a recipe for eventual disaster.  So, as a sports dietician, you’ve got your work cut out for you, Meyers asserts that today (versus when she trained as a Swiss alpine skier 35 years ago), there are so many more choices to help athletes get what they need while maintaining healthy body weight and fueling to fit their sports.

Last week, we blogged about the many benefits of beets, and they’re just one of the things that trainers are utilizing as juices to quickly give athletes vitamins and minerals that they need while rehydrating them and switching up their normal meal and snack routines.  There are so many combinations of fruits and veggies to use in juices to change the taste and/or the nutritional qualities needed.  While years ago, athletes and their trainers and dieticians may have only had sports bars and drinks available as quick fuels to power up a performance, today athletes have all sorts of quick, processed foods, such as energy bars (with high carbohydrate or protein contents), gels with concentrated carbohydrates (some with caffeine), Shot Bloks (gummi cubes that replace carbohydrates and electrolytes; some also contain caffeine or extra sodium, AND they’re organic!), protein bars designed for recovery, and powders for during and after performance.  In between events, in those long months of training, maintenance relies on good decision making, planning and creativity (because who wants to eat the same thing every day?).

We may not be fueling Olympic athletes at Brown Bag everyday, but keeping our food fresh and healthy for you is a top priority.  We try to make your breakfast and lunch decisions easy by offering a menu full of nutritious, delicious choices that will keep you at your best all day.  You can order one of our original sandwiches, salads or noodle bowls from the menu or you can tailor your meal to your individual needs and tastes by creating your own—it’s up to you!  Feel free to eat like an Olympian, if you want, we love seeing what combinations our patrons come up with!

All the world’s eyes are on Sochi, Russia, for the next two weeks, and apparently, most of Sochi is dipping its spoon into a bowl of borscht.  Organizers in Sochi expect to serve about 70,000 gallons of this classic Russian soup.  Whether or not you’re a fan of the Olympics, you might want to take a cue from some Russian chefs (and eaters!) and give borscht a try—and here’s why: beets!

From what we’ve read, there are about as many ways to make borscht as there are opinions on it, but one thing they all have in common is beets.  The core of the soup consists of beets, potatoes, tomatoes, and often, pork or beef, but it’s the beets we’re going to focus on.  Beets aren’t the most loved of  root vegetables, but that doesn’t diminish their innate goodness.  Like them or not, you can’t deny the health benefits of these underground gems.

1. Beets are high in carbs, so they’re a great source of instant energy.  We actually found an article listing beetroot juice as a favorite of some Olympic athletes to fuel their performance.  A single serving increased the length of time professional divers could hold their breath by 11%, and cyclists who drank a 500 ml serving were able to ride 20% longer.
2. Beets contain magnesium, calcium, iron, phosphorus, niacin and vitamins A and C.  They’re also considered a fiber food!
3. Beets are a great source of folic acid.
4. Studies show that beets help guard against certain cancers, especially colon cancer.
5. Studies also show that beets help prevent heart disease.
6. You can buy beets year-round!
7. Beets are inexpensive.
8. Beets are versatile—juice them, boil them, sauté them, steam them or eat them raw.  The possibilities are kind of endless.
9. You can even eat the leaves of raw beets.
10. Beets cleanse the body.  They are a powerful tonic for the liver and help to purify the blood.
11. Beets contain betaine and tryptophan.  Betaine is used in some treatments for depression, and tryptophan is relaxing (think Thanksgiving turkey).  Ease your mind and eat some beets!
12. According to some, beets are nature’s Viagra.  Ancient Romans used beets as aphrodisiacs.  In fact, beets contain high amounts of boron, which is related to the production of sex hormones.
13. Beets can help you manage your weight and appetite.  One cup of beets contains lots of fiber and only about 60 calories, so you’ll end up feeling full on fewer calories.
14. Beets have natural anti-inflammatory properties.
15. Beets help the body to balance oxygen use and increase stamina, thus helping the body respond better to exercise.

Now that you know how good beets are for you, you can go about the business of making a better bowl of borscht!  Ukrainians claim borscht as their national dish.  They prefer their borscht hot with pork and a dollop of sour cream, while Americans may recognize a Jewish version that is cold and sweet.  Depending on who you talk to, both versions are correct—as are countless other versions.

We’re not sure which kinds are being served in Sochi during the Olympics but we found a deluxe little version with beef, mushrooms, apples and beans that you can find here.

If you give this recipe a try, let us know what you think on our Facebook page!  We may not be serving borscht, but you can get a nice, hot bowl of soup at any Brown Bag location, Monday through Friday, to keep you warm this winter.  See you soon!

We all know that traditional fast food is not good for us.  It’s loaded with fat, sodium, preservatives and all sorts of processed carbs.  It’s also adding to the growing issue of obesity in this country.  But just how much?  That’s what researchers in the US and Ireland have been asking, and they’ve gotten some answers.  They’ve found that for every fast food transaction in a country, the average BMI goes up by 0.03.  In case you’re wondering if you read that correctly, we did, in fact, say EVERY fast food transaction.  That’s just scary.

Now, for those of you not in the know about BMIs, here’s the scoop.  BMI, or Body Mass Index, is a globally accepted measurement of obesity; it’s a calculated ratio of height to weight.  (If you’d like to know your BMI, give this BMI calculator from the CDC a try)

Dr. Roberto De Vogli at the University of California, Davis, headed up the study, and here’s how his team got their results: They collected data on the number of fast food transactions per capita from 25 high-income countries from 1999-2008 and compared them with the average BMI in the same countries over the same time period.  The study took into account some other factors as well, such as how much exercise people got, urbanization, age, etc.  According to Dr. Vogli, as countries become richer, people eat out more and fast food becomes part of that mix.  People also drive more and walk less; Dr. Vogli says that his study takes all of this into account.

The study found that the sharpest increases in fast food consumption and BMI occurred in Canada, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand.  The lowest increases were in Italy, Belgium, Greece, and the Netherlands.  Why, you ask?  According to Dr. Vogli, “The more aggressive market-liberalized countries have a higher consumption of fast food.”  The countries with the lowest increases have more stringent market regulation.  In case you were wondering: There wasn’t much change in the numbers for the US because we were already saturated with fast food when the study started.  Sadly, more than 2/3 of Americans are overweight or obese.

Dr. Vogli recommends government intervention and regulation to help solve the problems associated with fast food and obesity, including protecting small farmers and encouraging people to eat local produce (yet another good reason to visit your local farmers market!!).  What do you think the solutions are?

We believe in getting our customers’ food to them fast—we’re all busy and the world moves quickly—but not at the expense of their health.  Brown Bag serves fresh, healthy meals that you can feel good about eating, and we do all of this with an eye on the planet.  We encourage you to try our brand of cuisine on-the-fly, visit your local farmers market, eat local and support local farmers (and local organic farmers!).  There are people in your area raising produce and livestock sustainably, and they’re not too hard to find.  Come see us for healthy breakfasts and lunches, then visit a local farm or market and take some healthy food home!  Give Meatless Monday a try and we think you might find that there are more delicious vegetarian and vegan recipes out there than you can shake a stick at.  We bet that, after a bit, you won’t even miss your meat on Mondays.

Maybe government intervention and regulations are the answer, who knows; but for now, the solution lies with you.  Make good food choices.  Brown Bag can help.:)

If you’ve been listening to any talk recently about eating healthy, more than likely, you’ve heard the words “coconut oil” thrown around.  In fact, you’ve probably heard all sorts of positives said about all things coconut.  As with lots of food trends or fads, things light up and then they fizzle out, so we wondered: Is coconut oil (and coconut products, in general) headed for the door or is it worth keeping around?

Turns out, there are plenty of reasons to keep the coconut oil coming.  Studies show that coconut has antimicrobial and anti-bacterial properties, and it may improve HDL levels (the “good” cholesterol).  Coconuts contain saturated fats but they are plant-based fats, rather than saturated fats from animal products and the body uses them differently.  Coconuts contain lauric acid, a medium-chain fatty acid, as opposed to the long-chain fatty acids found in animal products.  Medium-chain fatty acids are easier for our bodies to digest, absorb and use for energy, so as an oil substitute, coconut may be a new and healthy way to go (but don’t abandon your EVOO altogether!).

If you’re looking to substitute coconut oil for other oils (or butter) in your kitchen, it’s pretty easy.  Coconut has a high smoke point (the point at which an oil smokes is the point at which the oil begins to degrade and produce free radicals), so cooking with it can be very convenient.  Using coconut oil to replace butter is also relatively easy, as it becomes solid at room temperature.  Most people recommend using a 3:4 ratio when using coconut oil as a baking substitute, so get ready for a little math in your next cookie recipe.

In addition to coconut oil, people are turning to coconut water, coconut milk and coconut sugar as alternatives to their traditional counterparts, and there are some well-founded reasons to do so.  Coconut water (the liquid found in young coconuts) is full of antioxidants and potassium, making it a good way to replace electrolytes and rehydrate—but don’t skip your water.  Your body still needs water to function at its best–just use that coconut water as a boost.  Coconut milk comes from the coconut meat, and as an alternative to cow’s milk, it has its merits.  Coconut milk does not contain lactose or dairy protein, so it’s great for people with intolerances and allergies.  It also has a similar texture and flavor to cow’s milk.  Lots of coconut milks are also fortified with calcium, so you’re not missing out on that benefit from cow’s milk.  Coconut sugar has some perks too.  While coconut and cane sugar have a very similar calorie count, coconut sugar is generally less refined, and so it retains more nutrients than cane sugar.  Coconut sugar also apparently has a lower glycemic index, which is important to consider for people with diabetes, for example.  More and more, people are looking at natural alternatives to refined sugar, and coconut sugar is a viable option.

We can’t say if the craze will last, if coconut products are really the wonder foods that many claim them to be.  We say find a balance in all things.  Try adding some coconut oil to your diet in some ways, but don’t cut out your extra virgin olive oil altogether.  See what you think of coconut milk on your next bowl of cereal, or try out coconut sugar the next time you bake.  Let us know what you think! Just remember to keep your diet varied and balanced while you work some coconut into the mix.