Blogging recipes - something to consider

Recipes are a bit of a favourite for nutrition professionals to add to blogs or web-sites , but this can open a pretty large can of high protein worms if not doing so sensibly.

The area of recipes is a tricky one when it comes to “who owns a recipe” or when considering copyright. Can anyone ever say they “own” a recipe or have created it completely from a blank canvas? Ultimately all recipes, in my opinion, have likely been adapted from somewhere. It may from methods and ingredients passed down through generations or an advanced version of the basic cooking skills/recipe collections you may have gained as a child. It might just be from cooking a dish for years , with adaptations made to suit your taste.

How many of us have read a recipe and thought “wow, that’s MY recipe for (insert dish here)”!! ? For basic meals/recipes, often ingredient lists and instructions are very similar.

Nonetheless, with the number of recipes being posted on the internet now, the issue of copyright has to be considered.  In the past, we used to go by the theory that you could “just change a few ingredients” and all would be ok. I recall the many diet sheets with recipes, produced in clinical roles, to hand out to patients. Many of the recipes there were “just slightly tinkered with” and probably on dodgy ground.

Copyright laws in each country are slightly different. I would recommend looking on-line for the ones that apply to your own. You may find that it is ok to reproduce some aspects, like ingredient lists and general directions, but a no-go to copy photographs or elaborate instruction.  Have a look.

What I would recommend, having read a conglomeration of these laws, is:

• Don’t copy a published recipe word for word
• Its common courtesy to attribute the recipe if it is someone else’s (ask permission if possible)
• Make sure you mention if the recipe is adapted from someone else’s, attribution is really important
• Try the recipe yourself and write it as you have made the dish
• A list of ingredients itself is often not copyrighted
• Never copy photographs or accompanying illustration/text
• If you have made huge adjustments you can possibly say it’s yours (some say 3 ingredients)
• These need to be reasonable and legitimate changes, not just to “nick a recipe”

 
The main thing is to not copy and to always attribute, that way you should stay out of trouble. It’s quite difficult if you have recipes for basic staples and old fashioned things like sauces, jams, pastry, a sponge etc where ingredients are often standard; but just make sure your try your best to do the right thing when it comes to recipe blogging.

 

Would love to hear anyone’s views/tips or experiences in recipe blogging.

 

Jessica Spiro's : Blood Orange Vinaigrette

Today we have a new post and blog share from Jessica Spiro.

Jessica Spiro is a registered dietitian living in San Diego, California.  She earned her dietetics degree from Point Loma Nazarene University and recently completed her Dietetic Internship through Utah State's Dietetic Internship, Jessica also has a B.A. in Communication Studies, and prior to pursuing a career in nutrition, Jessica worked in media as a TV news producer.  Finding herself leaning toward the nutrition-related stories and segments, she decided to change careers to become a dietitian.  Jessica is excited about combining her love for journalism with her dedication to advocating good nutrition.  Her blog, Jessica Spiro RD  explores nutrition through the lens of good food, fun fitness trends & travel. 

You can also follow her on twitter (@JessicaSpiroRD)!

Here is a piece from Jessica’s blog (with permission) on;

The Blood Orange

Health Benefits of the Blood Orange:

So you may be wondering what gives the blood orange its ruby colored flesh.  As a nutritionist, the reason gives me so much joy.  It actually has to do with the presence of a pigment called anthocyanin.  Anthocyanin pigments are also found in berries, eggplant and red cabbage, among other red, purple and blue plant foods.  Anthocyanins are packed with healthful benefits, including antioxidants, which scavenge the free radicals linked to diseases, like cancer, and ageing.  Of all the citrus fruits, the blood oranges is the only one that houses anthocyanin as well as all of the other citrus vitamins, like Vitamin C.

Tips:

-Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

-In season from winter to spring.

Blood Orange Vinaigrette:

-1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Note: Trader Giotto’s Sicilian Selezione from Trader Joe’s is the most authentic reasonably-priced olive oil I have found, but please let me know if you have other recommendations!)

-3 T of white balsamic vinegar (it’s a slightly blander alternative to regular balsamic)

-1/4 cup blood orange juice

-pinch of salt and pepper

-1 t of blood orange zest (Optional)

-1 T basil, chopped (Optional)

Directions:

1.) Whisk them all together!

Nutrition Information:

5 servings (2T each); Calories=135; Total Fat=11g; Sat. Fat=1.5g; Fiber=1g; Vit. C=52%

How to use leftover blood oranges:

-Blood Orange Mimosas!

-Eat the fruit as a snack… just be careful because they are a little messy!

Please take the time to read the whole post on Jessica's blog.

Mark Tozer's blog : Super Food : The Avocado (plus recipe)

Fantastic! We have a new submission from Mark Tozer.

Mark Tozer (@mrmarktozer) is a  nutrition student living and working in Sydney and studying at Charles Sturt University via distance education. He hopes to go on to do his Masters in Dietetics and eventually open his own practice.
Mark has started up a new blog  Life's like an analogy  where he plans  to share many parts of his life but most importantly, his love of health, fitness and nutrition. He is trying his hand at a series of ‘Super Food’ posts that give the benefits of a certain food as well as a quick and simple recipe.

He has been kind enough to share this post with us - on one of our favourites

Super Food: The Avocado

 

Avocado has got to be one of my favourite foods. This fruit is not only delicious but it is packed with health benefits and tastes great in salads and dips or used as a replacement spread on sandwiches or toast. Here are just three reasons why you should have more avocado in your life:

It will lower your cholesterol

Avocados are full of heart healthy monounsaturated fats which are known to lower your Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) or ‘bad’ cholesterol levels.

It will keep you full longer

Foods that are high in fat will keep you full for longer than any other macronutrient. Add to this the presence of dietary fibre, which slows digestion, and you will find yourself lasting much longer before you reach for that afternoon snack.
Protip: keep an eye on portion size as avocado is quite calorie dense

It tastes great

As I said before, avocado is just plain delicious! One of my favourite ways to use avos is to make this simple guacamole and serve it with some vegetable sticks or toasted tortilla chips.

Chunky Guacamole

3 medium avocados
1/2 small Spanish onion, finely diced
6 cherry tomatoes, quartered
Juice of half a lemon
Handful of finely chopped coriander

1. Mash the avocados in a bowl but keep it a bit chunky
2. Add the other ingredients and mix well

This recipe will keep in the fridge for several days

 

Our first submission - TANGY FISH & KALE STACK - from Jenna Obeid

So excited to get out first recipe submission from Jenna Obeid! Looks great too!

Jenna Obeid is a current dietetics student who has completed Bachelor of Food Science and Nutrition at Deakin University in Melbourne. She is now studying her masters at the University of Canberra and is a student representative for the Dietitians Association of Australia ACT branch executive. Jenna is a proactive and self-motivated individual, and has a strong dedication to professional development in the area of nutrition and dietetics. She is passionate about food and living a healthy lifestyle, and enjoys blogging and writing in the area of nutrition.

 

Jenna, (twitter handle @jennaobeid ), has already started blogging with her site Cheering for Nutrition . You can find her on Linkedin too.

 

Here is her recipe

 

TANGY FISH & KALE STACK

There’s nothing like a hit of protein, some good fats and a serve of green leafy veggies to improve your health!

This recipe includes just that…

(preparation time: 5 minutes, cooking time: 10 minutes)

 

Ingredients:

 

(serves 1 - just make more if you're cooking for others too!)

• 1 white fish fillet

• 1 teaspoon Alfa One rice bran oil spread

• 1 cup fresh kale

• Half a lemon

 

Method:

 

1.       Spread rice bran oil spread over each side of the fish fillet.

2.       Place fish fillet in a hot, large non-stick pan. Heat on high.

3.       While the fish is sizzling away, throw the kale in a bowl of boiling water for 10 seconds.

4.       Remove kale and strain.

5.       Once the fish fillet is golden on one side, flip it over (if the fillet is thin, you should only need to cook each side for a few minutes).

6.       Place kale in the pan with the fish. The kale shouldn’t stick from the rice bran oil spread that is already in the pan. Let the kale sauté.

7.       Once cooked, remove the fish and place on a plate for serving.

8.       Squeeze half a lemon’s juice over the kale. The pan should smoke up, so just do this at the last minute before removing the kale.

9.       Serve kale on top of the fish so the fillet can absorb the lemon juice.

10.   Enjoy!

Stuck for ideas? A few things to use in blogs/articles.

Keen to start but stuck for ideas? Let's face it, when your "thing" is nutrition, there is and endless supply of potential ideas right there at your fingertips. Come on, everyone is surrounded by your main topic every day!

The sheer rage is breathtaking - from medical nutrition therapy to "my favourite food". You can make articles or blogs as complex or as simple as you like.

Here are a few starter ideas:

• "a day in the life of"- this may be you and how you are experiencing life as a nutrition professional,or an interview
• "my favourite food"- pick a food and outline the nutrition facts
• recipes
• a particular condition you may like to cover , and the dietary therapy for this
• comments on local issues - kid's food, elderly care, budgeting, obesity 
• product reviews
• general healthy eating tips - so many to choose from
• a-z of nutrients - so many to choose from, again!
• commentary on something recently read or discovered, feedback from a conference or seminar
• fad diets
• anything you have a "bee in your bonnet" over regarding nutrition and diet
• recent papers or journals you would like to discuss
• a recent case - you will need to follow some guidelines for this (to be discussed in a later blog)

I'm sure you or someone else will have so many more ideas...give it a go or share some :)

The shaky area of product reviews

Product reviews. Where do we stand? Should Dietitians and Nutritionists venture into the area of product reviews?

Some feel very strongly about this and believe that we should remain completely impartial and should never appear to advertise or promote products. The old British guidelines use to have a clause in the code of conduct saying that Dietitians could not recommend particular product names. That clause is now gone. Some national boards still exclude Dietitians from using their professional standing to be used in direct endorsement of commercial products. There are differing guidelines internationally. Product reviews aren't always about "promotion", we also have to take care when negatively reviewing a product

Things to think about when writing a product review

-If you are representing yourself as a Dietitian or nutritionist, you need to maintain the standards of your national organisation and act professionally at all times.

- Be familiar with the code of conduct/policy of your organisation.

- If you are being paid or sponsored by a company, you need to declare – transparency all the way.

- Be honest and state the facts – keep it about nutrition.


- Weigh up both the good and the bad.

- Any claim you make must be backed up with a sound scientific basis.


- Make a mention of other brands, if possible- comparing two products is a great way of doing this.

- Use ratings if possible.


How do you feel about product reviews? What does your natonal organisation say about them? Would love to hear your views and any other tips for product review blogging.

What to think about when writing about Nutrition and Diet

You are thinking of writing but not sure how to go about it? You don't need to worry, you can start simple with a recipe or a product review if you like.

If you are planning to write an article, however, here are a few tips to follow:

1) do your homework

If you are writing about food, it's always a good idea to develop a passion for it. Become a food geek! Learn about food and cooking and not just the science and medical therapy behind it. Get your hands dirty and try new things to write about. People love to read practical tips that they can apply to their everyday cooking.

Back up any nutrition claims you might make with solid knowledge and reading. Get those articles and papers read. Look for your evidence and know your stuff.

2) think about who is reading

Always remember who you are writing for and picture your audience as you write. Are you writing for the general public, for peers or medical professionals? Think about what your audience would like to get out of your blog or article

3) think seasonal

Food lends itself to all of those great seasonal articles we love to read. Summer? Think salads and barbies. Winter? Soups and slow cooked stews. So many celebrations, so much to blog about...always think ahead to what season is coming next and blog around that season's theme. It may be valentine's day, back to school, exam time, easter, footy season, halloween...you name it, there is a nutrition article to be found for every occasion.

4) be edgy

Keep your eye on food and nutrition trends and on  health and beauty topics that are "on trend". It helps to stay edgy and to be daring. Yes, we need to work with the evidence base but that doesn't mean we can't be forward thinking and blog about emerging trends. We just have to make sure we let people know it's a new area still being explored.

5) use a support network

Read as many diet and nutrition blogs and articles as you can to see if you like any of the styles used. You will soon find your own style but it helps to identify with one that you like when you are starting out. Get yourself some good contacts and network your socks off. It's also a good idea to use contacts for quotes and interviews. A sneaky way to write an article is to gather quotes and comments from a variety of other nutrition professionals, on a hot topic and use these as the mainstay of your article.

5) be clear- or keep it simple

In a nutshell.

6) be yourself

The best articles are those with a bit of personality. Don't be afraid to be yourself, you will write so much better that way!

7) try it

The only way you can get comfortable with writing is to just try it.  The more you write, the more comfortable you become. I promise. If it isn't perfect, it doesnt matter. You tried it. And always remember to be confident in your own knowledge. People with very little in the way of nutrition qualifications blog and write abut nutrition and diet all the time. Don't you think its time you gave it a go?

Get writing !