Simple Secrets to Eating Naturally & Joyfully

The Definition of Food

A friend and I were talking last night about what food mean to us while enjoying dinner at Whole Foods.  Obviously, the topic of healthy foods and the American diet came up.  So, I decided to look up how Wikipedia defines the meaning of food: 

 

Food is any substance, usually composed of carbohydrates, fats, proteins and water, that can be eaten or drunk by an animal, including humans, for nutrition or pleasure. Items considered food may be sourced from plants, animals or other categories such as fungus or fermented products like alcohol. Although many human cultures sought food items through hunting and gathering, today most cultures use farming, ranching, and fishing, with hunting, foraging and other methods of a local nature included but playing a minor role.

 

This sounds so clinical and confirms my opinion that food often represents a scientific matter to us.  We need it to exist and have become focused on the nutrients of the individual elements instead of the enjoyment of the entire dish.  Eat 1 cup of blueberries daily, drink 6 cups of green tea, have ½ cup of pomegranate juice, feast on 8 oz. of greens, and so on.  The US RDA and tens of thousands of new health studies drive our food choices.

 

So, I’ve decided to redefine the meaning of food for the purposes of this blog.  Food is pure joy.  It’s as simple as that.  Food, in its more pure state, gives you energy, brings your family together, can build communities, and provides you with an appreciation for Mother Nature.  Good food evokes feelings of contentment, joy and happiness.  Please join me in re-defining what food should mean to the American culture, and let’s truly make them Happy Meals (most truly not the ones in McDonald’s boxes with toys)!

 

Apple Cider Vinegar – Easy Way to Get the Health Benefits – A Vinaigrette!

I see a rash of articles again touting apple cider vinegar as the miracle weight loss treatment.  If you do a search on the Internet, you’ll find both supporters and naysayers for this theory.  (I’ve personally come to the conclusion that for every study proving a certain theory, there is one to disprove it as well…)  Here are also some additional medical uses that apple cider vinegar apparently serves:  diabetes, high cholesterol, blood pressure and heart health, cancer, and easing digestion.

 

While I can’t prove or disprove any of these facts, I can talk about how delicious apple cider vinegar is in a vinaigrette!  Fermented apples – isn’t that like apple wine?!  For me, I could drink apple cider vinegar mixed with mineral water all day.  It’s tasty and refreshing.  Now, my theory and proof from personal experience is that if I’m enjoying what I’m eating, I feel great.  This then has a good effect on my health.  So, if you believe that it will help you lose weight, enjoy the following apple cider vinaigrette recipe for “weight loss”. 

 

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

½ tsp sea salt

1/8 tsp sugar

3 tbsp raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar (I highly recommend Bragg’s branded vinegar.)

3 tbsp purified water

3 tbsp olive oil

2 scallions chopped

 

Instructions:  Dissolve salt and sugar in vinegar and water.  Then add olive oil and chopped scallions.  Mix in 3-4 cups of mixed greens, romaine or Bibb lettuce.  Serve immediately since the salad will get soggy otherwise.

 

This homemade apple cider vinaigrette is so easy to make.  It also tastes a lot better than any bottled one you pick up at the grocery store.  (Plus, another point – it doesn’t cause a major weight loss for your wallet!)  Enjoy!

Go Ahead & Indulge in Decadent Chocolate Chip Cookies

I recently made chocolate chip cookies for a friend’s baby shower and got tons of compliments. I was being asked what the secret ingredient was and how they got so “puffy”. Naturally, I was going to be funny about it and joke that my cat provided a valuable ingredient, but bit my tongue. I wouldn’t say that there is a secret ingredient. It just was the quality of the ingredients, mostly organic and non-processed. So, go ahead and indulge in these decadent chocolate chip cookies. You are so worth it. Decadent Chocolate Chip Cookies (About 40 cookies) 2-1/2 cups of unbleached flour 1 tsp salt 1 tsp baking soda ½ tsp ground cinnamon 2 sticks of organic butter, softened (highly recommend Trader Joe’s Organic Butter) 2 large eggs 1 tsp vanilla extract ¾ cup – 1 cup of organic sugar (depending on your taste for sweetness) ½ cup of maple sugar 12 oz bag of chocolate chips ½ cup of chopped nuts, such as walnuts or pecans (optional) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix flour, salt, cinnamon and baking soda in a medium size bowl. In a large bowl, mix softened butter, vanilla extract and sugars with a hand mixer. After thoroughly blended, add 1 egg at a time and continue to mix until smooth. Slowly then add flour mix and continue until batter has been fully mixed together. Then by hand, with a large wooden spoon, mix in chocolate chips and nuts (if using). Using two teaspoons, scoop batter and place on cookie sheet (approximately 12 scoops per sheet). Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool on cake racks. This recipe is pure and simple! Remember to enjoy the cookies slowly… Also, quality over quantity. The cookies also freeze nicely.

Elimination Diet – What Are We Trying to Rid Ourselves of?

Elimination diet plans, detox diets and master cleanses welcome us as fresh summer fruits and vegetables become readily available again. I have always questioned the effectiveness of such programs. Why do women do them? I think it ties into how we approach life. We often berate ourselves and feel we need to punish ourselves for being or feeling a certain way. So, you go through a program and you’ve lost some weight (or a lot in certain instances). Do you actually maintain the weight loss? Most likely not. Your resistance to eating healthfully and joyfully never was addressed in the first place. Women eliminate sugar, sweets, carbs, dairy, and so on, but don’t address what caused them to eat them in excess in the first place. I personally do not think that sugar, sweets, carbs and dairy are bad for you (keeping in mind that I’m not a medical expert), if they’re from the unprocessed kind. Also, even these unprocessed foods should be enjoyed in moderation and purposefully. Women set themselves up for failure by trying to eliminate foods. You start to mentally crave it, berate yourself when you cave in and then continue on the cycle you’ve been trying to eliminate. I would also say that this applies to behaviors. A lot of women beat themselves up for being gossipy, negative, indecisive, emotional, judgmental, passive-aggressive, and whiny, a victim, a complainer, and the list goes on. Yet the more, she tries to “eliminate” those behaviors or personality traits, the more she displays them. She might not cave in to the habit for 10 minutes, 1 hour or 1 day, but then it comes back. How about we then talk it a step further? Frustrated, she’ll then tell herself, how incapable, weak, unkind, unloving, stupid, ugly, unspiritual or imperfect she is. So, I would like a new diet program to be introduced. The Addition Diet. What does this diet entail? All you have to do is to totally embrace those “bad” habits of yours and slowly add “good” habits. What do I mean by this? I’ll use myself as an example. I’m totally gossipy (everyday that is!) and quite judgmental at times. I’m just using two self-perceived flaws here. I could easily rattle off others… So, instead of beating myself up because I gossiped about someone or in my mind judged someone about her appearance, I unemotionally make a statement in my mind such as: “You really love to gossip.” Then I emotionally tell myself that I’m funny and how much I love that part of myself. You wouldn’t believe how good this makes you feel. Here comes the Addition part. I challenge myself to pay people compliments. How do you apply this concept to food? Okay, you’ve had that doughnut that you said you wouldn’t. Acknowledge this by saying: “You really love to eat doughnuts, don’t you?” Tell yourself how much you love that you love doughnuts. Then make a commitment to have a piece of fruit. The soul purpose of The Addition Diet is to get you to focus on the pleasure of your being and not the pain. It’s pure and simple! Like the info contained here? Then you’ll love Creating Enduring Allure- The Secret to Being an Empowered Woman! You can easily purchase the e-book at: http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/creating-enduring-allure/5936339.

Getting Off the Food Grid …

The international organic food grid that is. While I say this, it also slightly tears at my heart given the fact that the seeds for real foods and local sustainable farming were planted while being raised in Germany and observing how my grandmother approached the gardening of our fruits and vegetables. Everything was organic and local. I can still smell the cow manure that she wheeled down to her garden in her wooden cart. Here I am 20+ years later and getting extremely frustrated with the fact that my weekly organic produce delivery contains pears from Argentina, tomatoes and honeydews from Mexico and kiwis from Spain or Italy. I have always used my European background in how I embrace food and the approach to enjoyment thereof. However, as much as I honor international cultures and foods, I am becoming very resistant to seeing organic foods imported from outside the US. Importing totally defies what traditional and real food is all about. The French and inhabitants of the Mediterranean region are always touted as the best examples of healthy and joyful people. Do you think they would enjoy a tomato from Holland, zucchini from Germany or an apple from Sweden? I don’t think so! So, let’s get off the international food grid and support sustainable farming here – local as the ideal, but national as the foundation!

Organizing Your Life Around A Healthy Nutrition Plan …

Where Are Good Places to Shop for a Healthier Lifestyle? • Chain Supermarket – most stores nowadays have natural and organic food selections • Whole Foods • Trader Joe’s • Health Food Store • Wegman’s (in Northeast) What Are Some of the Brands And Products I Recommend? Baked Goods French Meadow Bakery (yeast-free products) Rudolph’s Bakery (organic selection) Ryvita (crisp bread and crackers) Beauty Products Annemarie Borlind Aubrey Organics Dr. Hauschka Kiss My Face Organic Naturopathica Cleaning Products Eco Clean Method Home Seventh Generation Dairy Natural by Nature Vermont Cheese Company Flours/Grains Bob’s Red Mill Herbs/Spices Simply Organic Whole Foods Brand Trader Joe’s Brand Juices R.W. Knudsen Whole Foods Organic Brand Nut Butters Whole Foods Organic Brand Trader Joe’s Organic Brand Oils Garden of Life Spectrum Trader Joe’s Organic Tree of Life Tropical Traditions Whole Foods 365 Vitamins/Essential Fatty Acids Food of Life Barlean’s Carlson’s How Do I Organize Myself? Why most people fail with a new nutrition plan is that they become overwhelmed with the day-to-day maintenance of such a plan. This is easily avoidable with some basic organization. Here are some simple techniques to get organized: 1. Prepare a weekly or monthly meal planner. (I personally use Excel to plan my weekly meals.) 2. Have a shopping list template organized by the store layout and standard staples purchased to eliminate any guessing of what you need and where to find the items. 3. Prepare meals in batches and prepare snack bags to help reduce time requirements and temptations to stray from your plan. 4. When eating out, don’t hesitate to make special dietary requests. After all, you are the customer! 5. Most importantly, tell yourself that you deserve to be healthy and happy!

Implement A Plan To Integrate The Good …

Most people start right away with focusing on the bad portion of their nutrition plan. If you’ve been diagnosed with food allergies, I definitely recommend you follow this principle. However, if you’re looking to convert to a healthier lifestyle, focus first on integrating healthy options into your daily life. From my experience, I can tell you that it is easier to experiment with good food choices and gain momentum with feeling more energy than to both learn what is good and try to remember what is bad. This is where people fall off track and lose confidence in trying to overhaul their daily nutrition plan. Since I’m such a big fan of planning and organizing, I typically recommend that you put together a written plan to organize your new healthy lifestyle. Let’s look at what I call “The Good” and then at some tools to help you get organized in your approach to overhaul your food plan! Here are some nutrition success factors, which have worked for me: • Focus on living healthily versus dieting. I love to call it feel-good eating! • Moderation and portion control are absolutely essential. • Always eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, along with a mid-morning and afternoon snack for continued energy. • Combine these healthy foods into your daily meal plan for optimal health:  Vegetables  Fruits  Protein (Meat, dairy and fish)  Grains  Legumes  Seeds/nuts  Oils • Eat only whole and unprocessed foods for the majority of your plan. • Opt for natural sugar in snacks, such as fruit. • Combine your fruit snack with a handful of nuts to avoid a big sugar surge. • Limit desserts to special occasions and enjoy something truly delectable. (85% dark chocolate is excluded, which is a daily “health food” for me…) • Choose lean meats and experiment with different varieties, such as buffalo and bison. • Enjoy eggs, if eating whole (yolk & whites). • Finish eating before you feel full. • Experience new foods. (A food rut can often lead to binge eating…) • Consume alcohol in moderation. Enjoy the healthy flavonoids in red wine versus the sugar-sweet and calorie-dense margaritas and daiquiris. (Also, make sure that you’re drinking for the right reasons. Drinking to tune out pain, anger or resentment will not make you feel good.) Remember, it takes 30 days to create a new habit. So, allow yourself the time to have your changes form habits. There are times when you’ll get utterly frustrated and feel deprived. However, your body is essentially detoxing from years of “abuse”. I commend you for your willingness to move beyond this mini hurdle and clear yourself from toxicity. Your renewed mental and physical clarity will be a big reward for all your efforts. You’ll then ask yourself why you didn’t do this earlier!

I ’m Eating Healthy and the Pants are Getting Tighter…

Can you relate to this? I know I can. I’ve always thought that if you eat healthy, meaning you eat lots of fruits and veggies, healthy fats and good proteins; you are set to maintain your clothing size. Little did I know that this isn’t the only factor to being healthy… Also, when I say healthy, I don’t consider organic “processed foods”, such as microwave dinners, cookies, snack and food bars to meet this qualification. I’m talking about eating real foods. So, after struggling to understand why my pants were getting tighter, I realized that there had to be more to this situation and set out to do some research. I came across articles on how stress causes weight gain. I took a look at my own life and realized that I was internalizing a lot of frustration, resentment and anger. Plus, if I wanted to admit it or not, I was shifting from hero to martyr to victim at work a lot. I was also being held hostage by thoughts of my past. So, what was the result? Sneaky little stress hormones had been adding extra padding to the stomach and thighs. On my mission to not be a victim, but to be responsible and apply the act of self-appreciation a lot more, I’ve embraced expert recommendations and am using this as a valuable learning lesson (vs. my normal beating myself up!). Here are some wonderful ways to apply self-appreciation: • Express emotions in a feel good manner, don’t always bottle them up or berate yourself for having the thoughts. According to Dr. Christiane Northrup, “Emotions are our inner guidance system, our aliveness. I’m not suggesting that we wallow in anger, grief, or self-pity, mind you! But emotions make us human. And they provide us with an incredibly accurate blueprint for how to live our lives with maximum access to our joy and creativity!” • Commit to regular exercise. It’s easy to make excuses to not do it. However, you do feel so much better afterward and are full of positive energy. (My excuse was: French women don’t exercise… However, I forget to let my brain in on the fact that they walk, bike or do garden work a lot more than I do…) • Set aside daily time for meditation, inner retrospection or silent gratitude expression. I’m not perfect at this either. But – believe me – even 5 minutes a day is a great start. • Add beauty to your daily living by surrounding yourself with wonderful colors and simplicity. It only takes simple things as putting flowers on your kitchen table (after all paper piles have been removed), wearing a bright scarf (from an organized closet) or enjoying a delicious cup of tea (in some quiet and clean space). • Reaffirm daily that you deserve to be happy and joyous. Watch how you talk to yourself. If berating yourself for something, stop and tell yourself that it’s okay and just breathe. Then loop back with a thought of self-appreciation (beautiful smile, anyone?). Most importantly, don’t forget to be kind to yourself. We’re a nation of instant gratification seekers. Healing from within doesn’t happen overnight. The only thing you can do is to enjoy the here and now. So, make it more pleasurable by finding opportunities to experience joy. Hmmm. Those pants already feeling looser again, don’t they?!?!