Simple Secrets to Eating Naturally & Joyfully

Real Foods Myths and Obstacles

CNN recently featured a story on a blogger who challenged people to eat real food for a month - An inconvenient challenge: Eat 'real food' for a month (http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/02/23/real.food.challenge/index.html?hpt=Sbin).  The blogger, Jennifer McGruther, asked people to purge their pantry of all processed foods, including refined oils, white flour, sugar, low- and skimmed-milk products, margarine, processed cheeses, refined salt and dried pastas.  Jennifer also stipulated that It didn’t matter if the foods were organic or not. “Toss them anyway," she said. "You may well have paid good money for the food at one time, but remember, real health comes from real food, and real food never comes from a box." Apparently, a number of the participants felt overwhelmed by their perceived lack of choices or the time required to prepare “real foods”.  I personally think these two issues are real foods myths and excuses. Some also felt that the increased grocery costs were an obstacle.  As with anything in life, you have choices.  While it’s true that you have to be more creative with your grocery list and coming up with menu selections, there are boundless opportunities to create tasty meals from basic ingredients.  The time myth?  I counter that with that if you have time to watch TV, you have time to prepare a meal…  It’s just as relaxing. And for cost implications?  I bet you’ll save tons of money not buying the chips, cookies, and sodas.  Plus, how about the long-term health costs?  You’re saving yourself added expenses in your latter years…  J  So, time to sign up for the challenge yourself!

Real Foods Going Hollywood – Or Let’s Say Big Screen

Did you realize that a movie was released on May 26, 2009 to help launch a grassroots movement on fresh foods and people impacting this movement?  Funny, it hasn’t been picked up by any of the major tabloids and hasn’t been featured in the mainstream media.  So, that’s where you come in.  Find a way to host a screening and get the word out.  Here’s a quick synopsis of the film:

 

FRESH celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system. Each has witnessed the rapid transformation of our agriculture into an industrial model, and confronted the consequences: food contamination, environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, and morbid obesity. Forging healthier, sustainable alternatives, they offer a practical vision for a future of our food and our planet.

 

For more info, just go to:  http://www.freshthemovie.com/ and go Big Screen!

Purity of Federal ' Organic ' Label Is Questioned

I came across a great article:  Purity of Federal 'Organic' Label Is Questioned by Kimberly Kindy and Lyndsey Layton, Washington Post Staff Writers at:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/02/AR2009070203365.html This is a must read for anyone who is committed to organic foods!  Key paragraph from the article:  "The Organic Trade Association, which represents corporations such as Kraft, Dole and Dean Foods, lobbied for and received language in a 2006 appropriations bill allowing certain synthetic food substances in the preparation, processing and packaging of organic foods, creating conditions for a flood of processed organic foods." Bottomline - focus on pure foods which come from Mother Earth or animals with plenty of access to Mother Earth.  Leave the processed "stuff" on the shelves...

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.

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!

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?!?!

Food & Nutrition – Have the Government Guidelines Really Worked?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost two-thirds of all U.S. adults are overweight or obese.  The CDC also asserts that all of this excess weight is a serious health problem, placing individuals at increased risk for developing 35 major diseases.  I find this very interesting given that the government has been influencing American dietary guidelines via the infamous Food Pyramid.  The current “healthy diet” guidelines in place until 2010 encompass the following:

 

·         Emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products;

·         Includes lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts; and

·         Is low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugars.

 

The Food Pyramid has been around now for 20+ years and American waistlines have also been increasing for 20+ years.  What is my simple deductive logic for this then?  Government Guidelines do not work.  Also, we are one of the few countries, which actually have a Food Pyramid.  Then you have nutritional experts who tell you that your plate needs to be 1/2 fruits & veggies, 1/3 protein, 1/3 grains and 1/3 fat.

 

My question to you:  Do you really need the government or so-called experts to tell you what to eat?   I would venture to guess that deep down and intuitively you already know what is good for you and makes you feel good.   I like how Louise Hay states that a strict diet is just another form of self-sabotage.   Rigidity in your eating habits is just as bad as mindless overeating of prepared and processed foods.  Think of food as high energy and feel-good transmitters.  Don’t worry about quantities and exact measurements.  Just enjoy them in their purest form and see your spirit soaring.

 

Moving Away from Viewing Food as a Science to an Art

Continuing my thoughts on last week’s blog posting…  We hear a lot of the benefits of the Mediterranean Diet, French Diet (aka The French Paradox) or the Okinawa Diet.  Scientists having been trying to figure out for decades exactly what foods within these “nutritional programs” cause the great health benefits.  They’re apt to single out one specific health contributor, such as olive oil or red wine or soy products.  However, what we’ve also found out is that for each study to prove the benefits of this specific food item there is a study to disprove it.  No wonder the majority of the American population is confused about what to eat.  We’re relying on these nutritional experts to guide us.  We become obsessed with the latest health findings and nutritional programs.  Then we try to eat according to the latest food pyramid released by the US Government.  However, the fact remains that the waistline of the average American is ever expanding; and, yet, he or she gladly follows the guidelines established by the so-called experts and purported to have the key to a long and healthy life.

 

Here’s my thinking – how about we stop viewing food as a science, focused specifically on what nutrient is contained in every thing we consume and instead focus on the deliciousness of the food we enjoy?   My personal opinion (keep in mind that I’m not a doctor, scientist or nutritionist) is that there isn’t any one specific nutrient within the diets outlined above that provides the key to health and well-being.  It’s really a combination of several factors:

 

·          Attitude toward food

·          Culture and tradition

·          Purity of foods

·          Focus on quality vs. quantity

 

If you look at a typical plate within these “ideal diets”, you’ll see a variety of colors and flavors, just like a piece of art.  A lot of love and thought went into preparing it.    There is a natural balance of what is good instead of obsessive-ness over getting the exact nutrient balance according to a pyramid. The food is savored joyfully and slowly.  There isn’t a need to overindulge because the quality of the foods satiates.  There isn’t one ounce of guilt, but celebration of goodness.  On that note, I challenge you to become a Picasso, Rembrandt or van Gogh in your kitchen…

 

(P.S.  For those excuse makers of you:  Yes, we’re all busy…  But if you have time to watch TV at night, you have time to create a simple piece of art in your kitchen.  Pure and simple meals can be created in less than 30 minutes.  By that I don’t mean, taking your Lean Cuisines out of the freezer…)

Moving Away from to Nutritional Dictums to Feel Good Eating

All we hear about in the health news are:

 

·         Eat 1 cup of blueberries every day to achieve a better vision.

·         Have 11 olives a day for the greatest protection from a heart attack and stroke.

·         Eat 4-6 ounces of salmon 3 times a week and you’ll keep skin supple.

·         Consume 10 almonds a day and reduce cholesterol.

·         Pack 1 apple per day for a big dose of your daily fiber intake.

·         Savor dark chocolate or red wine daily to get your dose of reservatrol.

 

Every expert is pushing his/her notion of “super” foods.  Supposedly, if we follow any of these nutritional recommendations, we’ll live longer, look younger, prevent free radical damage, battle certain types of cancer, build better bones, and the list goes on and one…  Then other experts claim to have found the weight loss miracle food of the century!  Acai, goji, pomegranate, do these sound familiar to anyone?  How can one not become confused, schizophrenic or obsessive given all these messages?

 

So, here’s my response:  What happened to just plain old eating foods for the wonderful tastes and pure enjoyment of them?  I would venture to say that the less you focus on the formula, combination of foods, and exact quantity, having to eat the food every day or week, the more you actually achieve of what these experts predict with following their programs.    Instead of thinking of the nutritional value the fruit, vegetable, grain, dairy or meats bring you; think about the joy you can achieve through the simple act of savoring the item.  Let’s shift from obsessing over nutritional dictums to feel good eating. 

 

I’ll let that sink in for now.  More to come!  And Happy Earth Day!