Having a jar of homemade stock available is at the top of my list of “essentials” when it comes to healthy cooking. I use stock for everything from sautéing greens and making rice to adding moisture to my veggie burger mix. It’s also a great way to use up bits and pieces of veggies that probably wouldn’t have a life of their own if not mixed together for stock. These are the stragglers that are one step ahead of the compost pile. Rather than using them to make dirt, use them to make stock.
Here’s how.
what you need (this is a launching pad, use whatever you have on hand)
Place random veggie parts and pieces in a large, deep stock pot. Full the pot half-full with chopped veggies. Add some garlic, fresh or dried herbs (parsley, thyme, rosemary, cilantro, bay leaves), salt, 2 to 4 whole peppercorns and some dried mushrooms. The mushrooms are optional, but they do add a nice earthy flavor and substance to the stock. You can also add chopped jalapeno or red pepper flakes if you want stock with a kick. Cover with cold, filtered water, bring to a boil, turn heat down, put a lid on it and simmer for about 1 to 2 hours. Cool and strain. I often pick through the strained veggies and purée a few favorites to add a touch of thickness to the stock.
Veggie stock will keep in the fridge for about 4 or 5 days and in the freezer for 2 to 3 months. I freeze it in small batches, so I can pull out a container and use it for a couple of days to sauté vegetables or heat up already cooked rice or quinoa. I’m a fan of olive oil or coconut oil for sautéing, but using broth is low fat and low calorie. Plus it adds a nice, rich flavor to whatever you’re cooking.
* I keep a glass jar in the fridge for non-compostable (the elite stuff) veggie remnants during CSA season. I go through veggies so quickly that saving the better cast-aside pieces for making stock works well. Slightly past their prime is fine, bordering on old age is not good.
Did you know that in many states, Food Stamp recipients can use their EBT (electronic benefit transfer) cards at participating restaurants? An EBT card works like a debit card, with the state government reimbursing the restaurant for the purchase. The Food Stamp Restaurant Meals Program was started in 1974 for disabled and elderly people who couldn’t prepare food for themselves. It was expanded in 1992 to include homeless people without access to cooking facilities. Although the original plan was to allow only those specific groups into the Restaurant Meals Program, most states now offer this expanded option to anyone on Food Stamps. California has recently approved several fast food outlets (I can’t bring myself to use the word restaurant and Jack-in-the-Box in the same sentence) for the program.
Okay, I’m not going to launch into a political rant about this, but in light of our growing health care crisis and skyrocketing rates of obesity and diabetes, does subsidizing places like Hong Kong Express and Jack-in-the-Box sound like a good idea to you?
Currently, more than 36 million Americans take part in the Food Stamp Program and with the current recession, an additional 20,000 people join the ranks each day. On February 24th, the White House Blog posted a video of First Lady Michelle Obama taking on food deserts as part of her campaign to end childhood obesity (see video below). Food deserts are nutritional wastelands in both urban and rural areas. They’re regions with a predominance of convenience stores and fast food and no easy or affordable access to fresh, healthy food choices. As I watched this video and listened to the First Lady’s appeal to bring nutritious options to these communities, I wondered why, at the same time, we’re setting people up for potential health problems by promoting government supported fast food. There’s also a bit of irony in the fact that the government is subsidizing some of the unhealthy ingredients found in fast food and in processed food found on the convenient store shelves. Does that mean that the government is supporting food deserts and trying to eliminate them at the same time? I don’t follow the logic, but as promised I won’t launch off on my food politics rant. Just know that I’m rolling my eyes big time.
Nonetheless, I applaud Mrs. Obama’s passion and am very thankful we have someone in the White House who is on a mission to promote organic food, nutrition education and healthy food choices. We have to start somewhere. Hopefully she’s on a roll with this and if we support her good intentions, maybe we’ll get somewhere.
Please bear with me. I did a great deal of research on this and conducted my own little experiment. Here’s the breakdown. But first, my disclaimer. Obviously I can’t consider all the frustrations and difficulties people in need must endure to find, buy and prepare healthy meals. My heart goes out to them. I’m fortunate, blessed and grateful beyond measure not to have to figure out how to make a decent meal for my family with such limited resources. Having said that, I’m going to compare an organic, healthy, relatively “fast” meal I come up with to a meal from Jack-in-the-Box and see how they stack up. Can you feed a family healthy, organic food on a limited budget? (Gluten-free, no less.) Rather than spend EBT money on fast food?
Healthy, quick spaghetti with meat sauce and a side salad
1/2 medium sized onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
3/4 lb organic, 100% grass-fed ground beef
2 jars Muir Glen organic Garden Vegetable Pasta Sauce (25.5 oz each)
1 and 1/2 packages Tinkyada gluten-free, spaghetti style, organic brown rice pasta
1 head organic leafy green lettuce
1 organic orange
1/4 cup raw toasted sunflower seeds
oil (I used olive oil)
Heat 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil in a large stock pot. Add onions and garlic and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes. Add ground beef and cook thoroughly. Pour in pasta sauce and reduce heat, stirring often. Boil pasta according to package directions, drain well. Serve sauce over pasta. Wash and prepare lettuce. Peel and chop orange into bite sized pieces, toss into salad greens. Sprinkle with toasted sunflower seeds. No dressing needed.
* Makes 6 hearty and healthy servings
I got all the ingredients except the meat at my local Vitamin Cottage Natural Grocer (see photo above). All their produce is organic. They have a “day old” bin with select veggies and fruit for $1 per bag. I often opt for whatever is in the sale bin. I have a professional food scale and weighed the produce and calculated the price of each item I used. You’ll have to trust me on this. (Thanks for your help, Ryan – he’s the produce manager at VCNG). The meat is from Arapaho Ranch in Wyoming. The Northern Arapaho Indian Tribe raise the 100% organic and grass-fed Angus beef on the Wind River Indian Reservation in west central Wyoming. No hormones or antibiotics are used and the animals are well cared for and humanely treated. The cattle coexist with natural predators, a diverse mix of wildlife and eat the natural grasses and forbs they’re suppose to eat. The Indians sell their products to markets in the Rocky Mountain region. It’s an interesting story, please check here for details.
* When it’s CSA season, all my organic produce comes from Grant Farms.
Cost break-down for healthy, quick spaghetti with meat sauce and a side salad
organic onion – .21 (on sale for .69 per pound) organic garlic – .19for 4 cloves (6.19 per pound)
100% organic, grass-fed beef – 3.08 (on sale for 3.99 per pound, I used the 85% lean beef)
organic pasta sauce – 7.00 (on sale for 3.99 per jar, with $1 off if you bought 2 jars)
organic Tinkyada pasta, 12 oz package – 5.53 (3.69 per package)
organic, green leafy lettuce, 1 head – .50 (2 heads of lettuce for 1.00 in the bargain bin)
organic Navel orange – .60 (1.09 per pound)
raw sunflower seeds – .22 (2.48 per pound) TOTAL: $17.33 (6 hearty gluten-free servings)
Jack-in-the-Box
I’ve never been to a Jack-in-the-Box and had to visit to get prices and see what the options were. I didn’t buy anything, I just took notes and chose a variety of items, like a family of 6 might do. If you’re interested, click here for nutrition information. It took me a few minutes to realize how misleading this information was. In general, this isn’t very healthy stuff.
Bacon Ultimate Cheeseburger Combo – 5.59
Southwest Chicken Salad with corn sticks (?) and dressing – 4.99 Jack’s Spicy Chicken small combo – 5.39
Deli-trio Grilled Sandwich – 5.69
Fajita Pita small combo – 5.39
Kid’s meal Chicken Strips (comes with a toy) – 3.49
TOTAL: $30.54 (6 servings)
For almost half as much, six people can eat a highly nutritious, all organic, homemade meal. One that is lower in calories (and icky stuff) and much higher in nutrition.
Here’s wishing the First Lady good energy and lots of luck in her endeavor. (Psst! Get your husband and his buddies to support small farmers, organic farming, and EBTs for CSAs and farmer’s markets. Thanks!)
In good health,
Melissa
Why does eating have to be so complicated? Here we are at the top of the food chain and we’re confused about what to eat.
Why is that?
Well, first off – everyone has an opinion (from Alicia Silverstone to the Weston A. Price Foundation), nutrient research is confusing, the food industry is often out to make a profit regardless of the impact on our health, we’re all biochemically unique, government subsidies impact choices (why does a salad cost more than a double cheeseburger), advertising targets our weaknesses (sugar, fat and salt), we think we’re too busy to cook real food, we think real food is too expensive, we don’t know what real food is, we have too many “opt-out” choices (fast food on every corner), and the list goes on and on. We’re one of the richest and most resourceful countries in the world and yet we’re overweight, out of shape and generally unhealthy. Each piece of this food/health puzzle could be a PhD thesis.
Every so often I take one little puzzle piece and spout off about it. This time I decided to tackle agave nectar. Keep in mind that I’m not a doctor or your mom, so whatever I say is simply my opinion (refer above to PhD category #1).
What is agave nectar (also called syrup)?
Agave nectar is a sweetener made from the starch and inulin in the root of the agave plant. Maguey (also called the Century Plant) is the “official” name of the more than 200 species of agave plants commercially grown in Mexico. Contrary to what you might think, the plant is part of the lily family and not a cactus. The nectar is being promoted as a healthy, natural, allergen-free, low-glycemic alternative to refined sugar. Agave has a mild and pleasant taste and blends and dissolves easily when used for cooking or baking. It also seems to add lightness and texture to gluten-free baked goods.
Is agave a raw and natural sweetener?
What does raw or natural mean to the food industry? Not much, although both words sound good on paper (or on a product label). Agave is often advertised as a raw and natural sweetener, which gives the impression that it’s an unrefined, organic sweetener. Healthy, pure and unprocessed. Add in the word “nectar” and it sounds divinely healthy. Like some lovely goddess in a long flowing skirt went out into the desert and hand squeezed the organic juice right out of the plant and into the jar. But, according to food guru Marion Nestle, agave’s inulin content requires either heat or enzymes to convert it into a syrupy nectar. Inulin is an indigestible fiber found in the root of the plant. So, regardless of what the label says, it has to be processed in some way. Some of the research I found suggested that it was highly processed using heat and chemicals, in much the same way as HFCS (high fructose corn syrup). Another company claimed their agave product was not chemically processed and never heated above 118 degrees.
Overall, most of the information I found was misleading and confusing. Some claimed their products were low glycemic and a great sugar alternative for diabetics. Some promoted agave for vegans and those on a gluten-free diet. Other articles suggested agave was no better, and maybe even worse, than HFCS. All claimed that agave is sweeter than sugar so you can use less of it, thereby cutting calories. But on further study, I found that agave is higher in calories than sugar, so it’s often a wash depending on how much you use.
The Glycemic Research Institute in Washington DC made a decision last fall to halt a clinical trial of agave because the diabetic subjects were experiencing dangerous side effects related to the ingestion of a certain agave product. In fairness, although I have no idea what this actually means, the agave test food dosages were classified as “high.”
I published a detailed post in 2008 on sugar (check here) and listed all the different kinds of sweeteners. I included agave nectar and noted that I was reserving judgement on it because I didn’t know enough about it. I still don’t.
Is agave nectar similar to HFCS? What is fructose and is it unhealthy?
This could be another PhD thesis, but I’ll stick to the basics. According to my Understanding Normal and Clinical Nutrition textbook, “Fructose is a monosaccharide sometimes known as fruit sugar or levulose. Fructose is found abundantly in fruits, honey and saps.” Fructose is a simple carbohydrate. There are three monosaccharides that are important in nutrition – glucose, fructose and galactose. Fructose is the sweetest of the sugars. Disaccharides are pairs of monosaccharides linked together. Glucose (sometimes known as blood sugar) is the essential energy source for the body’s activities and occurs in every disaccharide. All sugar (white table sugar, HFCS, agave, honey) is made up of a combination of fructose and glucose. WebMD lists white table sugar with a 50/50 ratio of fructose to glucose. HFCS is listed with a 55 to 45 ratio, meaning it contains more fructose than glucose and therefore sweeter. The various sources I found listed agave nectar at anywhere from 60 to 90% fructose. Remember that agave contains inulin, which is made up of long chains of fructose molecules linked together.
Is that a bad thing?
Not in theory. In fact, inulin can be considered a good thing as it’s a fiber and also a prebiotic. It feeds our friendly bacteria. But here’s the catch. Fructose is okay when you get it from a whole food source and not extracted from the fiber, vitamins, antioxidants, phytonutrients and other goodies that come in the apple, carrot or beet. Studies have shown that commercially extracted fructose, concentrated into a high sugar sweetener (HFCS) can increase metabolic disorders leading to diabetes, heart disease, obesity and other lifestyle-related diseases. HFCS is very sweet, highly refined, and made from white corn starch. The question is whether agave could contribute to those same problems because of its high fructose content.
Bottom line (in my opinion)? I’m going to stick with honey and maple syrup as my sweeteners of choice, but I’ll use them in moderation. I’ll keep you posted on the subject of agave when I run across further information.
By the way, Alicia Silverstone uses agave nectar in her Kind Diet Cookbook and The Weston A. Price Foundation published an article on agave, calling it the “worse than sugar” and “the latest health scam.” I have Alicia’s cookbook and I absolutely love it and I’m also a member of the WAPF.
So there.
Go forth and eat whole foods. You almost (yes, there’s always a catch) can’t go wrong.
Melissa
I’m having a little trouble staying on task lately. I had a “beet the winter blues” post under way, but couldn’t polish it off. Then I decided to tackle “the differences between boys and girls.” After a couple of days wrestling with that one, I had an epiphany. The differences are monumental, endless, glorious and can be represented by a marshmallow. Unfortunately, those random thoughts were too difficult to gather together and put into sentence form. But I’ll work on that, as it’s food-related and worthy of further contemplation.
Here’s the problem. I’m distracted and can’t seem to stay focused. I think I’m lamenting the passing of the decade. A whole decade of my life just whizzed by and I hardly had time to notice.
Yes, a whole decade. That’s TEN years. And don’t give me that stuff about how the decade really isn’t over until the end of 2010. You could make that argument if you want to go all the way back to 1 AD (or 0 AD), but it doesn’t matter, ten years is a decade and it’s over. To add insult to injury, ten years ago was the turn of a century. So the first decade of this century is over. Doesn’t that sound significant?
What do you have to show for it? Were there any profound lessons learned? When 2000 dawned, did you have lofty goals for the next decade? Did you accomplish the things you set out to do?
So much for losing 5 pounds (my current goal, which sounds rather trivial right now). I want to climb a big mountain. Rainier, Fuji, Orizaba – something like that.
Melissa’s 2010 Bucket List in no particular order
• Climb a big mountain
• Finish the last 250 miles of the Colorado Trail
• Complete advanced yoga teacher training
• Climb Colorado’s 14ers
• Write a book
• Lead transformational workshops (long story)
• Get over my jitters of public speaking
• Build a cabin in the mountains
• Nurture friendships, treasure family time and meet some of my blogging friends
• Volunteer at the American Mountaineering Center
• Ski more
• Get involved with the Colorado Ski & Snowboard Museum and Hall of Fame
• Have dinner with Charles Krauthammer (don’t ask)
What’s on your bucket list? Tell me – you might win a prize.
If you don’t want to think about it, here’s a pesto recipe instead.
spinach pesto
what you need
4 cloves garlic
2 cups packed baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup fresh oregano leaves
1/4 cup fresh dill
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese (or a blend of Parmesan, Fontina and Asiago)
3 tablespoons raw pine nuts
freshly ground black pepper
what you do
1. Chop garlic in food processor, add spinach, herbs and 1/4 cup of olive oil. Pulse to chop finely. Add the rest of the ingredients and process until slightly smooth. Drizzle over cooked potatoes or use as a dressing for potato salad (or whatever else comes to mind).
Go forth with bucket list in hand. Don’t let the next decade pass without accomplishing your goals and realizing your dreams.
Melissa
P.S. Yes, I realize a bucket list has nothing to do with buckets.
The competition was fierce (see prior post), but in the end, the brownie sundae took the crown. It didn’t seem to matter that it’s now winter and half the country is experiencing record lows, people have an unrestrained and almost delirious passion for ice cream.
I’m a nutritionist, but half the time I feel like an investigative reporter or an underpaid research geek. My last post and your amazing response sent me into overdrive. I’m obsessed with books, obsessed with research and my office is a study in organized chaos. And although I’m not proud of this, I’ve had an intimate relationship (a serious love affair) with Amazon.com since 1995. I’m a charter mistress. Talk about insatiable appetites – I have one for books. And damn that Amazon, their one-click ordering with free shipping makes it nearly impossible for me to resist. My UPS guy just shakes his head. I’ll get to why and how this ties in with brownie sundaes in a moment, but for now, let’s just say this whole dang thing with over-indulging is complicated business.
The brownie sundae was the hand’s down favorite, followed by the bacon cheeseburger and the chocolate cake. It’s no surprise that raw broccoli came in last. Other than being the choice of some of my hyper-healthy readers, it had no chance against ice cream and chocolate. I like broccoli, but when I’m craving a blissful treat, raw cruciferous veggies don’t jump to mind.
Why is that? Why do we choose to pig-out on ice cream and not bok choy? Who obsesses over Brussels sprouts?
Not me.
Studies show that we’re more apt to crave fat, sugar, salt and more fat, sugar and salt. A few of you did said you might choose the broccoli if it was covered with cheese sauce. And a few others mentioned that I failed to include nachos. You’re right, chips or cheese fries should have been on my “tempting foods” menu. But no one suggested parsnips or beet greens.
We’re almost three weeks into the new year and many of us started 2010 with intentions of eating better, losing weight and exercising more. I did, and right now I’m doing fairly well with my intention, mainly I believe, because I’m focusing on something that trumps the feel-good sensation I get from eating tempting treats. I have a goal and it has nothing to do with conventional dieting.
Diets are bad and they don’t work. Changing what you eat, how you think about food and replacing the buzz you get from over-indulging with something physical, is good. And don’t count on the food industry to help you out. In fact, be very suspicious of them, very suspicious indeed.
I grew up in Colorado and back in the 50s and 60s, hardly anyone was overweight. I look at old photos from my parents’ generation and from when I was a little girl and everyone appears to be a “normal” weight. Our serious weight gain has happened in the last couple of decades and along with it, a rapid rise in lifestyle-related diseases. Two new studies suggest that 2/3rds of adults are now overweight or obese. Check out these guys in the photo above. These are many of the men who lived in a small Colorado mountain community where my dad grew up. The photo was taken sometime in the 1940s. My dad is 4th from the left in the bottom row. Healthy looking guys, right? Fit, handsome characters. If you took the same sampling now, many would be overweight and out of shape. We don’t exercise as much and we eat totally different foods from what these guys ate.
There’s a variety of reasons we’re becoming a nation of overeaters, one of them being what is available to us now. Ridiculous “foods” that weren’t around back then. Quick-fix breakfast cereals that turn milk weird shades of pink and purple. Ding Dongs that never spoil. Irresistible brownie ice cream sundaes that are absolutely loaded with sugar, fat and salt and designed to make you want more. That kind of food gives us a sweet rush of dopamine, the “reward” neurotransmitter. We like that feeling and seek out the foods that give us that high. In fact, so much so that we often can’t think of anything other than the plate of chocolate chip cookies on the table or the brownie sundae on the menu. Add in the perceived depravation of having celiac disease (no gluten means less treat options) and all the sudden that gluten-free brownie sundae at the chain restaurant (I won’t name names) takes on monumental importance. If you feel deprived, you think you need and deserve the “reward” even more. The food industry knows this and has figured out the right mixtures to make us obsess over the brownie sundae or double whopper with fries. Fat, sugar and salt. It’s “almost” not our fault. We can “almost” blame the food industry, much like we blamed the tobacco industry. They are a sneaky bunch and they want you to want more of what they’re selling. Here’s the catch though, if you believe it’s not your fault, you have no control.
Power to the people, as Flo says on the Progressive ads! We get to choose.
Now, what do we do instead of overeating and then dieting and depriving ourselves? This one’s tough because we have imbedded in our neural pathways the delicious dopamine spike we get when we eat the tempting foods. It’s hard to replace that with a handful of raw broccoli. That doesn’t work for most people. We need something that trumps the buzz we get from the fat, sugar and salt. Unfortunately, there’s no quick fix. No pill, no diet, no magic formula. We have to take control, retrain our neural patterns, adjust our lifestyle habits and change our perceptions. We have to find something physical that makes us want to eat better. That’s especially hard when there’s a donut shop, a burger joint or a chain restaurant on every corner. It’s way too easy to get the fix, just like it’s way too easy for me to hit “one click ordering.” (Ooh, but I get so excited when I do that.)
Does this make sense?
Yoga helps me overcome the food part because it connects me on a deeper level with my body. I have a greater respect and appreciation for what’s going on inside, even on a cellular level. I feel stronger, healthier and have more energy. I like that, it feels better than eating the brownie sundae.
I feel better, I look better, so I continue to eat better. And on it goes.
I’m taking a 4 week arm balancing class right now from one of my favorite yoga instructors. A 4 week inversion class will follow. It’s hard to do these poses if I weigh just 5 pounds more than my normal weight, it hurts my wrists and I find I’m not strong enough to hold that much weight upside down (or sideways). Five extra pounds is too much. That’s my “tipping point.” I need to weigh less and that is my motivation, that is my reward. Yoga trumps my desire to eat high-calorie, low-nutrition food. Most of the time, anyway.
Maybe this will add fuel to your motivational fire. Here’s the breakdown of what’s in that irresistible brownie sundae that is served at a major US restaurant chain.
Calories: 1911
Carbohydrates: 135 g
Dietary fiber: 13 g
Total fat: 153.8 g
Saturated fat: 88 g
Protein: 26.9 g
Cholesterol: 426.3 mg
Sodium: 401.4 mg
So, skip the brownie sundae and take a yoga class. Or ride your bike to the farmer’s market and buy some broccoli. You’ll feel much better if you do.
It’s the new year and more than just a few of us have made resolutions to eat better, lose weight and exercise more. I’m definitely on a mission to lose a few pounds and reset my metabolism after the holidays. I even blogged about it on New Year’s Day. Staying on track with healthy eating can be a bit of a roller coaster ride. For me, sugar is the fuel that causes the thrills and spills.
As a nutritionist, I’m always curious as what makes people overeat. Or, what motivates me to eat that last little sliver of cheesecake when I’m cleaning up after a party – even though I’m absolutely stuffed. Why do we even let ourselves get to the point that we’re absolutely stuffed? If we’re full, why do we pack down one more cookie or the last few bites of the cheeseburger? Or, in my case, two more pancakes floating in maple syrup.
Why do we do that to ourselves?
It’s complicated.
In 1960, women ages 20 to 29 averaged about 128 pounds. By 2000, the average weight of women in that age group had reached 157. For women aged 40 to 49, the average weight had gone from 140 pounds in 1960 to 169 pounds in 2000. *
I wonder what those numbers are a decade later, in 2010?
Two out of three American adults are overweight or obese. We’ve all heard the health risks that accompany being overweight. So, why do we keep shoveling the food in?
This is a test. I had a recipe ready to post today, but the focus at the beginning of the year is always the same and it got me thinking. Why do we do this over and over each year?
According to the research, there are certain food combinations that trigger overeating and understanding why isn’t easy. I can’t really tell you why I ate the last of the cheesecake while cleaning up the kitchen (and fought my daughter for it). I was full, I certainly didn’t need it. There’s no good reason, except that I like cheesecake and in some odd way, I find it satisfying. At least while I’m eating it, but then immediately afterwards, I feel like poo and kick myself in the bum for overeating.
Bazillions of dollars are spent on dieting each year; people lose a few pounds, regain it, and then start the process all over again the next January 1st. Why? Back when I was growing up (the fifties and sixties), most people weren’t overweight. Weight was fairly stable. What’s different now?
I’ll expand on this in a later post, but for now, I’d appreciate it if you’d take a survey. Please choose which food you crave most from the choices below and leave your answer in the comment section. I’ll post the results in a few days. Be honest, there’s no right or wrong. Which one looks the most tempting?
1. Bacon cheeseburger with all the trimmings
2. Brownie ice cream sundae with whipped cream
3. Raw, fresh broccoli
4. Kraft macaroni and cheese
5. Pancakes with butter and pure maple syrup
6. Chocolate cake with chocolate icing
Okay, guys – let me know which one of these choices sets your heart on fire? Are you drooling yet? Which lever would you keep pounding?
I’ve already scarfed up the pancakes, if you’re wondering.
Melissa
* Weight data from The End of Overeating, Dr. David Kessler (Nutrition Action Healthletter)
Can you see down that long (hopefully) and winding road that makes up your life journey?
No, none of us can. But I’m going with the intention of living a long and healthy life so I want to make sure I’m positioning myself to do so. And in style.
January 1, 2010.
No better day to start than today.
I have trouble considering myself as anything other than early-middle-aged (oooh, that seems strange), so to have that play out chronologically, I need to make my way to the other side of 100. And as I said before, do it with style. I want to be one of those old ladies doing handstands on the beach (or the only one), telemark skiing and climbing mountains with Colorado’s “over the hill gang.” Perhaps sporting an antique blond (also known as grey) ponytail and wearing chic and groovy clothes. Even golden girls can feel good, look good and be full of life. I want to eventually be that golden girl.
Thriving in style.
No time to waste. I need to be preparing for that now. I got sidetracked with the holidays and have been baking (and eating) muffins, cookies and cakes. Drinking red wine and eating dark chocolate. Not exercising enough. My metabolism is off-kilter and I’ve gained 6 pounds. Okay, I know I should know better and I’m not going to mention any names, but it’s not entirely my fault.
Now that the holiday roller coaster ride is over, I’m ready to get back on track with a healthy eating and exercise program. If you’re remotely interested, read on. Here’s what I’m going to do to lose that 6 pounds, reset my metabolism and get back in shape before this uptick in weight becomes the norm. That’s how it happens, my friends. Before you know it, this slow, inauspicious cookie-creep becomes an accepted part of your backside (or spare tire for the guys).
I don’t want to go there. I want to be able to do cartwheels when I’m 80 and each extra pound makes stuff like that sooo much harder to do. Pretty soon playing upside down is longer an option. And that’s not in my plan.
Your plan may be different, but the bottom line is the same. We want to stay healthy for a variety of reasons, whatever they may be.
This isn’t a cleansing protocol, that will come in the spring. This is my basic weight loss protocol. Nothing complicated, but after the sugar rush of the holidays, certainly not easy.
Onward, with resolution resolve!
1. I’ll eat a good, healthy and relaxed breakfast each morning. Something like a bowl of GF oatmeal, a smoothie, a sliced apple with almond butter and a cup of goat kefir, or poached eggs with greens on teff toast. The best thing right now is something fairly substantial, but not high in calories – and with a mix of protein, carbs and fat.
2. No snacking in between meals. I’ll stick with herbal tea or water.
3. Exercise every day. I will either go to yoga, go for a long walk, ride my bike (or indoor trainer), go skiing – anything that gets me moving, stretching, breathing and thriving.
4. Eat my main meal at lunch – something like a healthy bowl of soup or stew, a side salad and a few flax crackers.
5. Eat a light dinner before 6 PM. No snacking after dinner. I’ll drink some nice mellow herbal tea with honey before bed.
6. Drink lots of water throughout the day. Have an occasional glass of red wine on the weekend, but not during the week. No sugar, no processed foods, smaller portions, no snacking in between meals.
That’s a start. I had a bowl of oatmeal (see recipe below) for breakfast early this morning and now I’m going to go ride my bike trainer and listen to 80s music on my iPod.
Hearty and healthy GF oatmeal to usher in 2010 *
what you need
2 cups water
3/4 cup certified GF oatmeal
2 tablespoons teff grain
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup chopped nuts (or a mix of nuts and seeds)
handful of raisins
what you do
1. Bring water to a boil, slowly add oats and teff, stir well and turn heat to low (the lowest setting).
2. Add the rest of the ingredients, blend well, cover and cook for 12 to 15 minutes. Check and stir occasionally. Add a touch more water if you need to.
Serve with brown rice milk and raw honey. Makes 2 hearty servings.
* Some people with celiac disease or a gluten sensitivity don’t do well with oats even if they are pure and uncontaminated, so check with your health care provider before adding oats to your diet.
Music to ride by – 80s iPod play list
1. Start Me Up (The Rolling Stones, 1981)
2. Total Eclipse of the Heart (Bonnie Tyler, 1983)
3. I Love Rock & Roll (Joan Jett, 1982)
4. Billie Jean (Michael Jackson, 1983)
5. Love Shack (The B-52s, 1989)
6. Straight Up (Paula Abdul, 1980) Sorry about this one, but who can resist singing along?
7. Thing Called Love (Bonnie Raitt, 1989) Go, Bonnie, go!
8. I Guess That’s Why They Call it the Blues (Elton John, 1983)
9. Super Freak (Rick James, 1981)
I had several ideas for this week’s post, but I decided to put them off in favor of sharing a big tub of butter-flavored popcorn with you. There’s no way we can sit through a WHOLE movie without downing 2,000 or 3,000 calories in the process. We might starve. Add in the coming attractions and those annoying commercials and that comes to 2 or 3 hours. We can’t make it that long without adequate food and drink. Can we?
Popcorn. We’ll have some popcorn because that’s a healthy treat, right?
Wait, let me back up and set the stage. First some statistics and credits.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the past 20 years has seen a dramatic rise in obesity rates in the United States. In 2008, only Colorado (not that 18.5% is all that great) had a less than 20% obesity prevalence. Thirty-two states had a prevalence equal to or greater than 25%, six of which were equal to or greater than 30%. Check the map at the end of this post to see where your state fits into the mix.
Now the credits. The movie food nutrition data used in this post came directly from the December issue of the Nutrition Action Health Letter, which is the voice of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
Okay, back to the movie and the food that will sustain us while we sit on our bums for a couple of hours. Let’s watch Julie & Julia, at least Julia used real butter, rather than butter-like flavoring.
I’ll use the data on Regal Entertainment Group provided by CSPI. Regal is the largest theater chain in the US. If you’ve gone to any movies lately you know the kid behind the counter always encourages you to buy the large serving. That way if the 20-cup tub of popcorn doesn’t last through the coming attractions, you can go back for more (shudder). Here are the heart-stopping (literally) details.
Regal Theaters Popcorn
1 large tub with 2 tablespoons of “buttery” topping
1,460 calories
64 grams of saturated fat
980 mg of sodium
This is if the person adding the “buttery” topping stops at 2 tablespoons, which I doubt happens. You can also “up” the sodium content if you re-salt it yourself on the way to your seat (I don’t eat movie popcorn, but I will admit to having a heavy hand with the salt shaker).
Regal Theaters Soda Pop (hey, we need something to wash down all that salty, buttery popcorn)
1 large drink
54 fluid ounces
500 calories
33 teaspoons of sugar
Reese’s Pieces, 8 ounces (we must have candy – this is treat night)
1,160 calories
35 grams of saturated fat
31 teaspoons sugar
Okay, lets figure out what we’ve had while sitting on our bums in a dark theater for 2 hours.
Total calories: 3,120 (WHOA, it’s not like we’re riding in the Tour de France)
Total grams of saturated fat: 99 (5 day’s worth)
Total mg of sodium: 980 (those of us who re-salted can add another 400 mg)
Total teaspoons of sugar: 64 (now, what are empty calories again)
Let’s say the average person needs 2,000 calories a day. The daily values appropriate for that caloric intake are:
20 grams of saturated fat
2400 mg of sodium
refined sugar – yikes, we don’t need refined sugar (imagine what a bowl of 64 teaspoons of sugar looks like)
This is a small example of why obesity rates and the associated health problems are on the rise in this country. Skip the movie food and bring a bottle of water and some healthy snacks into the theater. Yeah, I know, the movie police might get you. Better than having a heart attack while watching Men Who Stare at Goats.
I had a plan for today’s blog post – Anne’s butternut squash, leek and ginger soup. But by 5:30 AM this morning, I was already off-task, side-tracked and on to something different.
Yes, I’m a touch ADD-ish, I will admit. Maybe a touch more than a touch if I really think about it. Thank goodness for my omegas or that constant stream of ideas and visual images ricocheting around in my head would resemble a cognitive tilt-a-whirl ride. I’m not complaining though, as I’m rarely ever bored.
I promise, this evening I’ll make the soup and work on my intended post because as luck would have it, after Anne so graciously left the recipe in the comment section of my Dia de los Muertos post, I received almost all the ingredients in last night’s CSA pickup box. And it sounds so good. But for now, I’d like to offer you a pre-dawn cocktail.
Imagine this – it’s 5 AM and I’ve been up for over an hour. I’m wearing plaid flannel jammie bottoms with little skiers on them, a Marmot black fleece turtleneck and Ugg boots. Hair uncombed and pulled back in a ponytail. Brown geeky reading glasses with lime-green trim.
Lovely.
Okay, so what should I have for breakfast? Something light as I’m going to yoga soon, but something substantial enough to get me through yoga and a meeting shortly afterwards. A nutritious, yet mellow smoothie.
Napa cabbage and beet drippings smoothie (hey, don’t pre-judge)
1 ripe banana
1 small apple, cored and chopped into blender chunks
4 big Napa cabbage leaves, washed and chopped
1/2 cup vanilla goat yogurt
1 celery stalk, washed and chopped
10 ounces or so of beet drippings *
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
4-5 walnuts
Place all ingredients in the blender and blitz well. Serve in beautiful wine glasses and enjoy your morning. Serves two, three – or maybe just one.
* I like to roast beets (which I did last night) in the oven in a shallow baking dish with some water. Once the beets are roasted, I let the water cool, pour it in a jar (using a funnel) and store it in the refrigerator to add to smoothies. It works great as some of the beet juice filters into the water and you end up with this delightful and nutritious power liquid. For detailed information about roasting beets (and a wonderful salad recipe), please check here.
Go forth and have a power cocktail for breakfast. Seriously, this was SO good and no one would ever guess it was made with beet juice and cabbage leaves.
Melissa
Last spring I did a post on how to boost your immune system to fight the swine flu. That was before U.S. public health officials stepped in to market the flu under less pork-slandering terminology. Worried that the name swine flu would harm pork sales, trade industry officials and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack switched to the more clinical and euphemistically appropriate term – H1N1.
H1N1 sounds so ambiguous, so detached. I suppose that was the whole idea – the branding plan behind the name switch. Swine flu just plain sounds icky. Hmmm, but on the other hand, the name avian flu doesn’t make you want to quit eating chicken, does it? I wonder if the administration and the pork guys considered calling this strain the artiodactyl flu. I kind of like that. Pigs are in the artiodactyl family, in case you didn’t know.
And no, you can’t get the swine flu from eating pork.
A science friend of mine sent me this video, knowing full well how much I love geeky stuff like virus instruction coding. Please watch this short video. It’s informative, amazing, humorous and easy to understand. Then read my tips for boosting your immune system so you keep the funky swine/H1N1/artiodactyl cells in check (along with all the other cooties we encounter on a daily basis).
Eewww, it’s a dirty world out there. Help your body protect you from it.
Immune boosters
• High-quality, uninterrupted sleep (I know, I know – this is a tough one)
• Exercise, including yoga
• Eat lots of antioxidant-rich foods (vitamin C: citrus fruits, peppers, broccoli, green leafy veggies, berries, tomatoes; vitamin A: sweet potatoes, squash, broccoli, carrots, kale, collard greens, apricots, cantalope, peaches; vitamin E: nuts, seeds, GF whole grains, extra virgin olive oil, green leafy veggies; selenium: pastured eggs, chicken, garlic, 100% grass fed beef or bison, GF whole grains, fish)
• Fresh, whole foods – any brightly colored veggies and fruits as they are full of immune boosting phytochemicals (good plant chemicals)
• Green tea, ginger root tea
• Mushrooms, garlic, pineapple, coconut (other good stuff)
Immune zappers
• Poor quality sleep (restful sleep is SO important for a strong immune system)
• Couch potato lifestyle
• Consuming junk food, fast food, processed food, sugar, caffeine, trans-fats
• Soda pop and sugary drinks (no, no, no)
• Too much alcohol
I’m going to skip the vaccine, wash my hands frequently, eat healthy foods, practice yoga, sleep 8 hours a night, think good thoughts (most of the time, anyway) and knock on wood.
Go forth, boost your immune system and avoid the artiodactyl flu.
Melissa
Disclaimer: All material on this website is provided for informational and educational use only and
should not be used for diagnostic purposes. Consult with your physician regarding any health or medical concerns you may have.
