The R.D. in the Kitchen

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By Suzanne Hall
Photos by Susan McWhinney
Food styling by Charles Worthington

In spite of the busy lifestyle that Liz Weiss and her family lead—or perhaps because of it—this registered dietitian insists on creating meals and snacks that are jam-packed with health benefits and full of flavor.

It’s 7 a.m. and Liz Weiss is starting her day by checking her family’s schedule. Like many working mothers, she has appointments to keep. Her husband, Tim Carruthers, has his job and their two sons’ soccer teams to coach. After school their sons, Josh, 10, and Simon, 7, have Hebrew school, piano lessons, and soccer games. Some days Tim plays soccer on an adult team and both he and the boys play ice hockey. Liz goes to their games to cheer them on, plus she manages to squeeze in time for her walking sessions and regular workouts with weights.

Before all that, there is breakfast to make and school lunches to pack. It sounds typical, doesn’t it? What is not typical is what Liz’s family eats. Trips through the fast food drive-through are rare. Instead, this family’s meals are loaded with whole wheat breads, fruits, vegetables, and wheat germ. Reduced-fat cheeses and milk are the norm. The kids often start the day with no-sugar-added, whole-grain cereals. Lunch boxes are packed with good-for-you eats like macaroni and cheese with salmon and peas.

As a working mother with an active family, Liz knows what it’s like to be in a hurry to get meals on the table. But as a registered dietitian who also studied culinary arts, she refuses to sacrifice nutrition. And she preaches what she practices. Liz and Janice Newell Bissex, also a registered dietitian, wrote The Moms’ Guide to Meal Makeovers and created a Web site to help other harried parents.

Her message to parents is simple: You don’t have to spend hours in the kitchen to feed your family healthful foods; you just have to make the right choices.

Combating family history
Making those choices keeps Liz, her husband, and their children trim, fit, and healthy and hopefully will prevent health problems.

“Both my great-grandfather and grandfather died of heart attacks at age 67,” Liz says. “My mother and father have high cholesterol, and Tim’s family has a history of high cholesterol. When we were growing up, we didn’t think much about nutrition. We ate full-fat dairy products, fatty meats, and chicken cooked in butter.”

Liz’s nutrition studies helped her eat more healthfully. She has encouraged her husband to do the same.

“Liz convinced me to eat fewer steaks and to change to low-fat yogurt and other healthful foods,” Tim says. “She’s the guiding light and the monitor for our diet, and we’re all better off because of it.”

While Liz and her husband learned to eat a more healthful diet, their sons have never known anything else. They eat grilled salmon with couscous, asparagus, and spinach. Simon’s favorite meal any time of day is Cowboy Breakfast Wraps.

“They’ve got eggs, cheese, and spinach in a tortilla and are really good,” Simon says. Liz uses reduced-fat cheese to lower the fat in the wraps, Quick Quesadilla Pockets, and Mama’s Amazing Ziti, one of Josh’s favorite dishes. “It’s not spicy and has a good taste,” he says.

“I buy packaged, prewashed baby spinach for the wraps. It’s a little more expensive, but it tastes better and saves time,” she says. “Like many moms, I use convenience foods to get meals on the table faster. I’m just careful to select the more healthful ones and always try to give them a nutrition boost.”

Macaroni and cheese is a good example. Liz starts with a package mix, but uses brands made with whole wheat macaroni. She replaces the butter with canola oil, and often adds boneless salmon and green peas.

“That makes a salmon-noodle casserole that my kids love. They take it in a thermal container to school for lunch,” Liz says. “The key to using convenience foods is to come up with ways to kick the nutrition up a notch.”

For snacks, the boys munch on sliced fruit dipped in peanut butter. Occasionally they’ll have Liz’s Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars or Zucchini-Banana Squares. “I love sweets, and so do kids,” Liz says. When baking special treats, Liz typically uses a blend of whole wheat and white flour, and adds nuts, fruits, and vegetables give for fiber and vitamins.

“Don’t get uptight if your children resist new foods,” Liz says. “Just keep putting a little on their plates. Eventually, they’ll try it.”

Liz advises parents to avoid changing their family’s eating habits all at once. “Take a look at your family’s diet,” she says. “Take such simple steps as adding grated carrots or other vegetables to ground-beef dishes and switching to heart-healthy fats such as olive oil and canola oil instead of butter or margarine.” And, Liz recommends, be sure to involve your family in the process.