A Spin on my Abuela's Recipe of Ropa Vieja

 Written By: Samantha Reyes; SLU Dietetic Intern

My name is Samantha Reyes. I am a Dietetic Intern at Saint Louis University. I am a first generation Cuban American. Growing up I remember always helping my Abuela in the kitchen. One of the dishes that I love is ropa vieja with rice, black beans, and fried plantains. Ropa vieja is a popular dish in Cuba that is similar to stew. It is delicious and loaded with flavor. The most common version of ropa vieja is made with shredded beef, onions, and bell peppers, slowly cooked in a tomato sauce. It also consists of tons of garlic, cumin, oregano, and bay leaves. Ropa vieja is generally easy and affordable to make, however, it is a long process. It takes a while for the meat to be soft and tender and then you have to shred the meat once it is cooled. Lastly, all the ingredients need time to come together to make this dish as flavorful as possible. This dish is a great source of protein and is rich in vitamins and minerals. As delicious as this popular dish is, the name ropa vieja does not hint at ingredients you would expect to get from this dish. The name literally translates to ‘old clothes’. There is an interesting story behind the name. The legend states that a poor man struggled to put food on the table for his family. He had no other way to feed his family, so he took his old clothes, shredded them and placed them in a pot of hot water. He prayed while the clothes were in a pot of boiling water and a miracle transformed it into a meat and vegetable stew so he could feed his family. This recipe was created over 500 years ago by the Sephardic Jews from Spain and made its way to Cuba.

We all have vivid kitchen memories that stay with us because of the emotions we felt in the moment. Every time you smell or taste the food of your youth, you’re immediately brought back to your childhood and memories of your loved ones. This Cuban dish reminds me of my childhood, spending time with my family at parties and holidays, and enjoying the time we had together. My Abuela would always make this dish for the events we had. This dish would bring my family together around the dining room table. I have great memories of my family and I laughing, everyone telling stories, and the association with the feeling of being loved and nurtured by our grandmother as a child.

Foods represent our cultures and they become core parts of our identities. Culture influences the foods you eat, your religious and spiritual practices, and your perspective on wellness, healing, and healthcare. Recipes are passed down through generations. The taste, smells, and sights of meals connect us back to our ancestors. Eating foods that remind you of your heritage are very important even when one might have a dietary restriction. Traditional meals and cultural foods should be integrated into healthy eating. It is important as a student who is studying to become a dietitian to realize that not everyone eats an American diet and many people enjoy foods from their culture. The field of dietetics still has a lot of work to do to ensure cultural competence. A lack of cultural competence creates a barrier to communicate effectively with the patient and tailor to their specific needs.

During my Dietetic Internship I have interacted with a patient from China. This was during my cardiovascular rotation. The patient recently had a heart attack. When I was doing my assessment, I asked her what kind of foods she likes to eat and she brought up foods from her culture. When I went back to give her education on a low sodium diet I tried to talk about those types of foods and how she can modify those dishes while still limiting her sodium intake. I tried to be respectful of her culture and still wanted her to enjoy the foods that she loves.

Instead of taking cultural foods out of your diet, you can modify and add ingredients to make it a well-rounded dish. For example, for this dish, you can use a tomato sauce with no salt added instead of a regular tomato sauce to reduce the amount of sodium in the dish. Reducing the amount of sodium in your diet can help lower your blood pressure. This can reduce your risk for high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. Another way to modify this recipe would be by replacing the beef with a lean meat like chicken or turkey. Chicken and turkey will be less in saturated fats than the red meats. Saturated fats tend to stay solid and can cause cholesterol to build up in the arteries. Eating too much saturated fats can raise “bad” LDL cholesterol in your blood. A high level of LDL cholesterol in your blood can also increase your risk of heart disease and stroke. The dietary guidelines for Americans recommend limiting saturated fats to 10% or less of your daily calories. You can also grate other vegetables such as carrots and zucchini to add more fiber. Fiber helps keep you full longer, is great for your digestion and makes it easier to pass stools. Other great sources of fiber are whole grains, whole fruits, legumes and nuts. For the side dish, you can do baked plantains instead of the fried plantains. This will be lower in fat and calories. The baked plantain chips will also retain more of their nutritional value because when you fry food, some of the vitamins and minerals are lost in the process. Plantain chips are great sources of vitamins A and C, fiber and potassium.

This Cuban dish I have learned to make over the years connects me back to my heritage and my ancestors. I love making it for others to enjoy and give them a little taste of my culture. One day I will be passing this recipe to my kids and teach them the history of this dish. I hope to share the stories that my Abuela would tell us and keep this tradition going.

Picky Eaters - Tips and Tricks to Help Cope With Them

 Written By: Harini Shanmugasundaram; SLU Dietetic Intern

Tip 1 – Help children explore and learn about a variety of food with no expectation to eat it.   

• Knowledge helps to decrease anxiety.  
• Let kids explore and even play with their food. 
• Ask questions during their interaction with the foods.  

Tip 2 – Use positive language.  

• Avoid saying – “stop, don’t, or no” at meals.  
• Helpful to state rules regarding appropriate behavior in positive terms 
• “The food stays on the table.” 
• “Chairs are for sitting, not standing.” 

 

Tip 3 – Serve “safe food” at every meal.  

• Serving one thing that your child finds acceptable can greatly reduce power struggles. 
• Avoid special order cooking – everybody gets a little of everything on their plate.  

 

Tip 4 – Remember the “10 times rule.” 

• Research shows that it takes about 10 times of trying a food to know if you like it.  
• Don’t try to persuade them they like the food but instead let them have their opinion, smile, and say “We’ll try it again sometime. It takes lots of tries to decide.” 

 

Tip 5 – Gently affirm sampling of new foods.  

• Do not pressure, manipulate, reward, or excessively praise children for eating à this implies that children wouldn’t naturally want to eat the food. 
• Child should realize he is eating something of his own choice, not to please the parent (you).  

 

Tip 6 – Involve kids in food choice and cooking.  

• Kids are involved, they’re more interested in the outcome.  
• Enlist help in the kitchen – younger child can tear lettuce; older child can chop ingredients.   

 

Tip 7 – Eat meals as a family and try to make them fun.  

• Studies show that kids who eat together with their families eat more fruits and vegetables, and have lower rates of adult obesity and alcoholism, better grades, and better emotional wellbeing.  
• Don’t be afraid to mix things up to make mealtime fun. 

 

Tip 8 – Keep it light. 

• Whether you’re telling a joke or watching how entertaining peas are when they roll around your plate, fun at the table reduced the anxiety that drives most food avoidance.  

 

Tip 9 – Say, “you can eat it when you’re ready.” 

• Toddlers and older kids love to tell you their opinions about meal options.  
• Have your child stay at the table for an age-appropriate amount of time, and then let them get down.  

Tip 10 – Model the behavior you want to see. 

• When your child watches you, they learn to eat what you eat. Model all the strategies we discussed here in front of your child. 
• Let your kid see you eat a variety of different foods. It’s okay to let them know that you are learning to like foods as well.  

 

Overall: The most important thing is to continue to offer a good variety of healthy food in a safe, fun environment without taking over your child’s responsibility of choosing what and how much to eat. Help them learn to choose wisely for themselves, they will keep growing those skills on their own for a lifetime of healthy eating. Model how to talk about the foods on your own plate, use neutral language to discuss disserts, and even play with your own food to help them engage with theirs. Whatever your situation, we know picky eating is a struggle, and we’re rooting for you!  

 

 

How to Increase Chest Feeding Rates with Increased Support

 Written By: Elizabeth Payne; SLU Dietetic Intern

As someone who has been studying nutrition and dietetics for about 5 years now, something that has become increasingly apparent are the nutritional benefits of human milk to both the birthing person and the baby. Chestfeeding can prevent necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), type 2 diabetes, obesity, etc in the baby. For the birthing person it can lower the risk for certain cancers, postpartum depression, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes. Despite these benefits many birthing people do not feed their baby human milk. There are many reasons that factor into this; however, a reason that is gaining more attention is the lack of support.

It is proven that oftentimes the birthing people who stop chestfeeding before at least 6 months time are also the people who felt they needed more support. With this being said, how can we increase support towards chestfeeding in birthing people? The answer may be a lot more simple than we would think, targeting the partners of the birthing people. During the birthing process the majority if not all of the education on the importance of human milk is directed towards the birthing person. However, it can be valuable information that the partner should be aware of as well. Studies have shown that when the partner is more educated on the benefits of human milk in both the birthing person and the baby they will be more likely to support their partner.

Through some of the contacts I have made through my capstone project I have been given the opportunity to educate the partners of the birthing people about the importance of chestfeeding. The partners are invited each friday to an informational seminar in the NICU where they learn more about how human milk develops and adapts to fit the needs of the baby, the nutritional benefits of human milk, as well as some ways they can show their partner support. These efforts are made in hopes that the partners will be able to better appreciate and understand the importance of chestfeeding and will become more involved in the process. Some ways that they are told they can get involved is through cleaning pump parts, changing diapers in between feeds, and taking night shifts with the baby.

The importance of support is not exclusive to being there for your chestfeeding partner. This same trend can be seen across the whole dietetics field. It is also important to vocalize that support can be seen by far more people than just a partner. For example, a whole family making changes in their diet when one member has to change their habits due to a multitude of reasons or a friend learning how to help their friend count carbs and plan insulin dosages. As future registered dietitians, the more we can involve friends and family into our education the better the outcomes overall.