Winners & Losers at the Food & Nutrition Conference

I work at the American Dietetic Association (ADA): not the American Diabetic Association (ADiaA). (People always think I say diabetic, when it’s actually dietetic.) Yes, I am a diabetic who works in dietetics. And being diabetic in dietetics often means life and work intersect. I just spent four days at the American Dietetic Association’s annual food and nutrition conference where diabetes was the number one topic of discussion. After all, being overweight makes you more prone to Type 2 diabetes. It’s that simple – eat healthy, watch your weight, lower your chances of developing Type 2 diabetes.

As many of you well know, our nation has a food problem. We talk healthy, but we eat unhealthy. Many of us would rather take a magic pill then take charge of our lives by eating healthy and exercising. Let me tell you, after walking the aisles of the exhibit hall, there is no shortage of healthy and nutritious foods disguised as bad for you options. Take for example the gluten free, low fat, glazed donut that I sampled at one booth. Okay, I can’t tell you the last time I ate a normal glazed donut, but this gluten free one was pretty darn tasty….

If I had to guess, I probably tasted a full day’s worth of calories. I know this because I gave myself way more insulin for simply ‘tasting’ samples than I do when I eat my normal lunch. Since I can’t let all those calories go to waste, I’m going to share some of the highlights:

Winner of the yummiest healthy sample: Bread pudding made with Glucerna.
-Surprisingly moist and sweet, topped with blueberries. I tasted it twice!
Winner of the healthiest healthy sample: mango salad
-A favorite of my husband who came to experience the healthiness. The salad was sweet and crunchy. Mango was sliced super thin. Looked easy to prepare and great for a summer bbq.
Winner of the tastiest dried fruit: cherries
-Dried cherries make anything taste better. I added these to my sample of fiber one yogurt for breakfast.
Most valuable giveaway: It’s a tie: VitaTops AND Wrigley’s Extra sugar-free Fruit Sensations in Watermelon.
-With 100 calories and 6 grams of fiber, VitaTops are my favorite treat and they come in flavors like Blue Bran and Banana Fudge. At $7 a box for only 4 muffins, I tend to leave them off my grocery list. Luckily I took about 20 muffins from the exhibitor so I’m good for a while!
Biggest loser: Lean Pocket's sausage and egg pockets. Blech!
-Nothing worse than fake frozen cheese with frozen sausage. I tasted and immediately spit this out.
Another stinker: Amy’s Organic Chili
-I know people LOVE Amy’s Organic, but her chili wasn’t up to par. In general, I don’t think chili from a can is ever too tasty.

Bottom line: With a little education and a dab of experimentation, eating healthy can be so easy.