Classes & Programs for the New Year: Detox Diets,Weight Loss, & Personalized Fitness Programs

Detox Diets. Weight Loss Programs. Personalized Fitness Training

NEW YEAR-NEW YOU!

Make your resolutions come true

Weight loss programs starting in January! Detox in March! Personalize your fitness anytime!

• WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAMS

 

Come to our Saturday classes to easily reach your goal.

At the Center for Health & Wellbeing

• Saturdays January and February from 9:30-11am
• New members please check in at 9am!
• Try samples, see cooking demos,  and get the education and support that will send you into the new year with a new perspective on holistic health and a healthy weight.
• We will be offering the classes in 8-week series with 2 weeks off through the year; please contact me or the Center for more information.

 

• DETOX & LIVER SUPPORT PROGRAM

Learn about how diet and environment can compromise well-being, the effects of systemic inflammation, and how to support natural healing.

Click here to learn more!

• The 21-Day Detox for the Busy Person
• March 6, 13, 10th- Tuesdays from 7-8pm

$100 deposit due before first class. Please call to RSVP and make your deposit!

Total cost of program varies depending on your needs: $200-400.

     619-814-5500

 

Keep up to date with Kathleen’s class offerings through The Center for Health & Wellbeing in Hillcrest, San Diego.

 

• PERSONALIZED WORKOUTS & FITNESS TRAINING

Online & mobile apps

CYBERFIT360- Intelligent Fitness

• Developed by NBA Strength and Conditioning Coach, Michael Wenzel, CyberFit360 is a new and innovative online and mobile fitness training and nutrition system.

Free Trial OR Sign up Today! Follow this link to sign up for your individualized, innovative, fitness program

Costco Shopping List- Ideas for Smart and Healthy Shopping

A gigantic store full of sensory delights and great deals makes for a fun shopping trip. Many a shopper scores good deals and stocks their pantry with staples; likewise, many also spend more than they should and end up with a surplus of tempting, processed foods of subpar quality. That huge bag of chips is going to call your name, those “healthy” berry chocolates will add a significant amount of simple sugar into you daily diet. On the other hand, the artisan lettuce and Chilean avocados are always delicious and the frozen berries and whole organic chickens have the best prices around! There are plenty of high quality, even organic finds.

One downside of warehouse shopping for the typical household is the common misconception  that buying more is always a better deal. I find that some prices are much better, others are about the same, and some are worse. It’s important to know what the local prices are for your staple items are and be able to compare. For example, cheese prices are about the same per pound whether you buy 5lb at Costco or 1/2 lb at Trader Joe’s (for example). For any particular household, it may or may not make sense to buy all that cheese at one time; the reciept can add up quickly when you are purchasing multiple items of roughly $10-20. We try to walk out of Costco with a certain amount of money spent and try not to buy more than a couple items impusively.

I find that when I read ingredients carefully, there are many items that may have made it into our oversized cart that end up sitting back on the shelf. The berry chocolates for example;  of course they’re healthy! What’s not healthy about superfruits and dark chocolate? A quick scan of the label reveals that they are mostly concentrated fruit juices (aka “simple sugar”), added sugars, as well as refined soy and corn products which may be an issue when considering either food allergies or GMOs.I”m not saying that they’re “bad”;  they do taste delicious and the ingredients certainly aren’t horrifying. I just don’t know if its something you want to have a monster bag of around all the time! For desserts and sugary snacks, its best to have small amounts of the good stuff and not necessarily eat it every day, quality over quantity I suppose.

Here is an example of what our Costco reciept looks like. I hope it will give you some good ideas about how to shop smart and healthy!

• Eco-friendly laundry detergent
• Gluten-Free Crackers: I like the “Mary’s Gone” brand because the ingredients are simple, whole foods. I avoid some of the other rice crackers as they have dairy, soy and some other refined ingredients
• Walnuts, Pecans, Almonds. This is my spot for the whole, raw nuts I soak and roast for snacking,  use in smoothies, oatmeal, or to make homemade nutmilk with.
• Pistachios (roasted, salted) for snacking! One of the lower calorie of the nuts, but packed with fiber, protein, and minerals. yum!
• Almond Butter: Not organic (sigh), but the best deal around for a high quality, creamy (salted or unsalted) nut butter. However,  I am quite disappointed that the packaging has gone from glass to plastic!
• Artisan Lettuce
• Fresh Nectarines
• Organic Strawberries (these are one of the “dirty dozen” and should be purchased organic)
• Frozen Berries: Blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries for smoothies, hot cereal, or as a half-frozen sweet treat.

• Avocados. These can be sketchy if you’re too far north of the border; they are often brown, tasteless, or mealy. When we lived in Seattle, the only consistently good ones we found were the Chilean variety at Costco.
• Asparagus. One of the clean 15! You don’t have to purchase these organic as they have less pesticide residue (see the “dirty dozen” link above)
• Organic Stewed Tomatoes. Essential for soups, stews, and roasts
• Steelhead can be wild or farm-rasied. There are few farm-raised fish that make it onto our table, but steelhead and other trout can be eco-friendly choices and are great sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Here is a link to my favorite safe seafood guide!
• Canned Light Tuna. Now while its not necessarily the best choice from an ecological standpoint- canned tuna is an economical, nutritious staple to have around especially when you’re short on time or inspiration. More frequently, we buy the Canned Alaskan Salmon. It is an ecological choice, and while it is not a prime filet- it’s a great nutritious option
• Whole Organic Chickens. This is the best deal around- great for roasting, grilling ( a whole grilled chicken takes some time, but is worth the wait!), and making stock for soups. Read this to learn how to make super nourishing soup stock.
• Mrs May’s Trio bars. These are tasty, made from whole foods ingredients and fit the “Energy Bar Equation” (thanks Metabolic Effect! ). For an energy bar where the protein/fiber: carb ratio is optimal, take the Total Carbs and subtract the Fiber and Protein. The resultant number should be 15 or less. I liked these bars because of the ratio and the ingredients; my husband pointed out, however, that they’re “made in China”, so I’m not sure I’ll get them again…
• Gouda Cheese
• Morbier Cheese. This was the luxury buy of the trip!
• Crystal Gyser sparkling water with juices for my husband’s lunches. These have the lowest sugar content of the bevy of bottled beverages and “juice drinks” as well as the simplest ingredient list- nothing more than a little fruit juice.

True Confessions &Cravings

Here’s where the truth comes out! While overall my diet would be considered very healthy, I do myself follow the 80:20 rule. There are a lot of ways to define this (for example, the Japanese say “eat until you’re 80% full”, which is great advice!), how I define it is that at least 80% of the time I’m eating right and making healthy choices and the rest of the time I’m eating socially, for fun, or giving into cravings. Within that 20% I try to maintain an overall focus on what I heard another dietitian call the “Ps &Qs” meaning portion and quality.

Here are some confessions from the past couple of days.

Last night I ate potato chips laying in bed. It was great! How to manage that without undoing all my healthy eating from the day? First, I started my day off right with an hour of yoga and ate well overall. Then, I focus on the quality of my treat; I buy high quality chips, no Doritos or Pringles here, only potatoes (organic ideally) with sea salt and pepper cooked in sunflower oil. Then, I make sure I know what I’m getting into- reading the label mostly looking at portion size, carbs and calories. I allow myself some uninhibited eating (because thats reality) but also know when to put the brakes on. I find that once I set something down that it’s easier out of sight out of mind. I remind myself that if I only had 1 oz of chips to eat- when it’s gone, it’s gone and the craving or desire to eat more would have to stop, naturally. So I practice experiencing that even when there is more within my reach. In light of my afternoon snacking- dinner was grilled chicken with asparagus and a tomato salad, that made up for the carbs and calories of the snack and it was also delicious and satisfying!

An important part of managing snacking is what I call “pre-emptive eating”; it is making sure you are well-nourished and have had plenty of protein, fiber, and balanced meals throughout the day so the cravings for high calorie foods are mitigated. Another thing to consider is what you are going to eat the rest of the day related to the treat you are eating. One sweet or tasty snack does not undo the day, it’s important to think about balancing your meals for the rest of the day. Since my treat was fatty and ”carby”, I ate a low fat, no carb dinner.

Quality is also essential. I don’t sweat it too much when I have chocolate cravings, either I distract myself and let them gracefully pass or I make sure that I have on hand the highest quality dark chocolate with the lowest sugar and carb content, and of course do my best to stick to the defined serving size. It also helps to understand why you’re craving something- is it after a long, stressful day? Are you burnt out and trying to manage your energy with stimulants? Did you skip meals or not eat well earlier? One theory out there is that since chocolate is high in magnesium and most people have suboptimal magnesium intake, that the body is really seeking magnesium!

  I say go for it, enjoy yourself, eat mindfully and fully experience the delicousness,  mind your Ps & Qs, know what you’re getting into, know when to stop, and keep yourself in balance.

What about dinner the other night? This is going to sound bad…:) You know when you’ve had a long day, you’re only cooking for one, and all you really want to do is eat peanut butter from the jar and drink hot cocoa? Well, thats where I found myself. So essentially, what I had for dinner was my favorite, low-carb sweet treat.

I take 2 Tbsp of organic, unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 Tbsp of xylitol sweetener and add just a touch of hot water- enough to dissolve and have the two ingredients mix well. To this delightful mixture I add 2 Tbsp of nut butter and mix well. The other night I had cashew butter and I made myself two servings of this gooey, chocolatey treat! Now, the xylitol is a low calorie, naturally-derived sweetener (my favorite), the cocoa is high in antioxidants and magnesium, and the nut butter is all natural and a good source of protein (keep in mind that cashew butter is higher carb than other nut butters…). So overall, for a treat, it’s not bad! But two servings? For dinner? Yep, and you know what- I didn’t feel guilty at all! Also, importantly, the next day I had a balanced, nutritious breakfast and continued to eat right throughout the day.

Now that I’m thinking about it, I think I’ll have one serving of that when I get home! Yummy. I’ll make it with almond butter and follow it up with a high-intensity interval workout with weights.

I’d love to hear about your challenges, strategies, and try to answer any questions; so feel free to leave comments!

Happy snacking. In Health,

Kathleen

So please, enjoy your treats, make sure they are high quality, and maintain your life balance for health!

Homemade Nutmilks & Granola: Easy, Delicous, Money-saving!

I was LOVING my homemade pecan milk last night and had to share how simple and lovely making your own nutmilks can be. These can be made with most any nut, seed, and sweetener to fit any food sensitivities you have as well as to provide a variety of flavors and nutrient profiles.

Nut milks are great for cereals, smoothies, or hot chocolate!

I’m also including a basic granola recipe. Granolas can be heavy on the carbs and sugars and those of you out there who are gluten free know how very expensive a certified “gluten-free” granola can be!

Its so easy to make your own and save some money! Both of the recipes use basic liquid to solid ratios and you can choose your ingredients.

NUTMILKS

The nutmilk I made yesterday was made from pecans and used apple juice as a sweetener.  The basic 1:3 solid to liquid ratio makes 4 cups of nut milk

• Start with one cup of nuts, soak for 8-12 hours. This can be overnight or during the day when you’re at work; whatever is easiest with your schedule at that time.
• Drain and rinse the nuts
• Blend with either:
•       3 cups of water and a solid  or concentrated sweetener (like sugar, xylitol, honey, or maple syrup to taste, up to 2 Tbsp I find is plenty)
•      OR  2 cups of water and 1 cup of juice or fruit puree (such as apple or pear)
• Add a dash of vanilla if you want!

In our house “juice” is actually whole fruit pureed with water. I find that peach  puree make a nice sweetener for nutmilks or granola.

I prefer not to strain the milk because I like the body of the pureed nuts and want to get as much protein as I can from the solids. Without straining, the solids can separate some, so it needs to be shaken well before serving. The nutmilk will last for up to a week in the refrigerator.

I have added chia seeds in the past to nutmilks, it makes the milk slightly thicker and you probably need to add more water. Right now, I just keep my “chia seed gel” separate and add it to smoothies or on granola.

• Chia seed gel is 1 Tbsp seeds mixed with 4 oz (1/2 cup) water. It forms a thick gel and can be stored in the fridge for about 5 days.

 

GRANOLA

Granolas are a basic 4:1 solid to liquid ratio with an additional 3 Tbsp of oil. Any spices, dried fruits, or nuts added are all optional and based on your personal preferences or sensitivities. Once you have the basic ratio down- you can get creative!

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees

• Start with 4 cups of rolled grains- GF oats, quinoa flakes or buckwheat flakes (harder to find) for those who are gluten-free or regular oats, spelt, rye, barley, triticale, or wheat flakes for those who are not.
• 1 tsp of flavoring : cinnamon, vanilla (add this to liquid ingredients), ground ginger, etc
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl

Here is where the 1 cup liquids comes in:

• 1/3 cup sweetener (sugar, date sugar, rice syrup, honey, agave, molasses, fruit puree)
• 1/3 cup liquid (juice, fruit puree, maple syrup, barley malt, molasses)
• 1/3 cup water. If you are using a dry sweetener such as cane or date sugar, you will need to add slightly more water, up to about 1/3 cup.  To keep the sugars to a minimum, I use about 1/3 cup water, 1/2 cup apple  juice or fruit puree and make up the rest (about 2 Tbsp) with additional water and/or a touch of maple syrup or sorghum syrup.
• 3 Tbsp oil (almond, walnut, hazelnut, sunflower, etc…)
• Combine wet  ingredients (sweeteners and oil)
• When using a dry sweetener, you will need to mix the liquids and sweeteners together and bring them to a boil in a small saucepan on the stove. When using fruit purees or all liquid sweeteners and water, you don’t need to heat, just mix well.
• Add liquid ingredients to dry and mix well to coat all the flakes.

To bake:

• Spread mixture evenly on a greased baking sheet.
• Bake for 30 minutes, until lightly browned, stirring every 10 minutes

After baking, add up to 1 cup of dried fruits and up to 1/2 cup nuts and seeds.

ENJOY!

A Simple Whole Food Dinner for 2

Image via Wikipedia

…and enough for lunch!

Here’s an idea for a balanced meal rich in veggies, with adequate protein, and an appropriate amount of complex, whole foods carbs.

Sauteed chicken breast with onions and mushrooms and curried squash with cauliflower

I don’t necessarily get into cooking right away when I get home, but unless I’m going out for some fresh air and exercise, I like to take a more leisurely step-wise approach to getting a healthy dinner on the table.

What I do most consistently when I get home is have a balanced snack  to fuel a workout and/or prevent excessive hunger and poor choices or overeating later.  I usually have some carb+ some protein, protein+ veggies if I’m going to work out, or sometimes just something sweet if I feel like it!Yesterday evening I had a cup of green tea and 3 small Mary’s Gone Crackers Gluten-Free cookies. They’re tiny but delicious!

After tea, I preheated the oven to 400 F, washed and cut a Kabocha squash in 1/2, and spooned out the seeds and stringy center.   I rinsed the seeds well in a mesh strainer and tried to remove most of the strings.

 Follow below for “how to”:

• Place squash, flat side down on an oiled baking sheet. Bake for ~1/2 hour or until outer shell is soft.
• Place the cleaned seeds in a glass pyrex or other smaller baking dish and add a couple splashes of tamari soy sauce and a couple dashes of hot sauce or sprinkles of chili powder (adjust for your taste and the heat of the product you are using; I was using a habanero sauce so it literally was only a couple of dashes!). Bake the seeds for about 35 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until they are dry and slightly browned. These make a yummy snack!

While the squash and seeds were baking, I collected the other ingredients: mushrooms, onion, garlic, cauliflower, fresh cilantro, curry powder, Greek yogurt.

• Wash the mushrooms and the cauliflower
• Remove the stem and leaves from the cauliflower leaving it primarily in it’s whole shape.
• Fill a cooking pot, large enough for the head of cauliflower, with about 1″ of filtered water. Set the cauliflower in the pot, bring to a boil on medium-high heat and then decrease temperature to simmer.

When the squash was done I took it out to cool while continuing to chill out and do some various chores around the house.

• When the time is right, heat about 2Tbsp olive oil in a wok or large skillet and add chopped onion to sautee.
• Chop mushrooms, dice garlic, and add when onions have softened.
• While veggies cook, wash chicken breast and cut into chunks

I have been using the organic chicken breast “value packs” from Whole Foods. Its a pretty good deal when you buy the larger amounts and they are individually wrapped into portions that make 3-4 meals.

• Add chicken and continue to sautee. Add chicken broth, white wine, or water as needed to prevent sticking
• Move the mushrooms and onions to the side of the pan while the chicken cooks thoroughly

While the chicken was cooking, I scooped the soft squash “meat” out of the shell.

• When the cauliflower is done steaming, the head should be soft and break apart easily. Drain excess water and add the squash
• Sautee a couple cloves of chopped, fresh garlic with onion in a separate small sautee pan
• To the combined cauliflower/squash, add 1 Tbsp of organic butter or butter/olive oil mixture and ~2-3 Tbsp of chicken broth to provide moisture. Add onion and garlic mixture.
• Add salt and curry powder to taste
• Add ~1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
• Mix with a potato masher until well-combined
• Add fresh cilantro and/or green onion

Enjoy!

Low Sugar Diet Update

16 grams of sugar per day, from ALL sources & 6 carb servings

Could I do it? Did I want it that bad? It’s hard!

Its a lot easier for me to limit the carbs than the sugars; even one single piece of fruit will put you over the limit. The best I did was  5 servings of carb and 25 grams sugar. I’m fairly pleased with my ability to meet about double of the recommended grams of sugar; even limiting to 30 grams daily is a big challenge. I have to admit, it was fruit and chocolate that put me over the edge each time! The worst numbers I had were 6 1/2 carb servings and 37 grams of sugar.

While I now realize I can’t be perfect I learned a great deal about where sugars are found, how they add up, and how to prioritize them in my diet.  As well, anytime you are keeping track of your intake you will recieve the benefits of awareness and being mindful of what you are putting in your mouth and why. When I record what I eat, everything becomes a choice as opposed to automatic. Now that I am not keeping track, I know that my sugar intake is creeping back up little by little.  I usually recommend that most people with nutrition goals keep a food diary at least 3 days each week. That is 1 of 3 behaviors of people who have lost weight and kept if off successfuly. You may already know that keeping the weight off is the hardest part.  The other 2 being regular physical activity and having a ’red flag’ weight.

So, while I may not have met the criteria exactly and I may not have the perfect bikini shape, I’m overall happy with my self-experimentation and encourage all of you to have a go at it also!

How to Make Tasty Quinoa

I get this question a lot; how does one make quinoa that actually tastes good?

Heres the way I make it and a flexible recipe I adapted from one found in Clean Eating Magazine.

Start with one cup of dried quinoa, its very important to rinse it first to remove some of the bitter starch component.

Each cup of quinoa takes 2 cups of liquid to cook; I use my homemade chicken broth and plenty of a high quality, mineral rich, colorful salt (such as Celtic salt or Real Salt). You can also sub 1-1/2 cup of the liquid with canned, diced tomatoes.

Bring to a boil and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed, about 25 minutes.

Now what to do with it!?

Take 2  seeded and halved red, yellow, and/or orange peppers and broil in the oven for about 10 minutes until soft.

Make a stuffing with the quinoa- be creative! The other night, I sauteed some garlic with pinenuts and mixed it in with the quinoa adding some parmesan cheese.

You can add almost any herb or spice and nut or seed and stuff the red peppers. Delish!

Trying to Follow a Low Sugar Diet

 

 

What exactly is sugar? Where does it come from? How much should I eat each day? What are the benefits of limiting sugars?

Some of you may have seen or tried to follow one of today’s popular “belly-fat busting” low sugar diets. One of the more popular ones has been making its way into my  inbox and awareness lately. Now, I’m not one to promote healthy eating for the sake of vanity, but since I put on a couple 3 pounds during the holiday and I’m going on an extended vaction soon, I want to have my bathing suit body ready. I was wondering how I could drop an inch off the waistline without too much trouble or deprivation and though I’d give it a go. I usually like to experiment with different eating patterns before I recommend them to clients; I’m my own guinea pig!

First, lets talk about what sugar is. For all practical purposes, sugar is a sweet, simple carbohydrate. The common “monosaccharides” are single molecule sugars such as fructose, glucose, and galactose. The primary “disaccharides” are double molecules of those . For example, sucrose (table sugar) is glucose + fructose and lactose (milk sugar) is glucose + galactose

Sugar may be added to food as cane sugar, brown sugar, beet sugar, glucose (dextrose), agave, maple syrup, or other  sweeteners derived from natural sources. Sugar also occurs naturally in food such as lactose in milk products or fructose in fruit.

Sugars are considered a class of carbohydrates.Other carbs, such as starches and fiber, are made up of longer, more complex chains of the monosaccharides. Most of these longer chains (excluding the non-digestible fibers) ultimately become glucose in the bloodstream, just like their simple sugar cousins. Usually, starches break down more slowly and cause less extreme elevations and resultant dips in blood sugar, especially if they are “complex, whole foods” starches such as whole grains or starchy vegetables and if they are part of a balanced meal or snack.

1 teaspoon of sugar is 4 grams.  Current recommendations are for no more than 6-8 teaspoons of  added sugars each day, that is 16-32 grams per day of sweeteners. Naturally, I think it would be  easier if they put that recommendation in grams since sugars are listed in grams on the nutrition facts panel of packaged foods. However, The sugar on a food label is listed in grams and does not differentiate between natural sugars and added sugars and currently there are no guidelines around sugars that occur naturally in foods.  Also, there is no way to determine, on a carton of chocolate milk for example, how many of those grams are added and how many are naturally occuring sugars.  

One practical concern with excess sugar consumption is that it is rapidly absorbed, quickly elevates blood sugar and leads to further sugar and carbohydrate cravings. Sugar is a viscous cycle, the more you eat the more you want. Elevated blood sugar stimulates the release of insulin; insulin loves to store sugar; guess how it is stored? Thats right- as fat! As well, insulin prefers to store that fat in the waist area, nestled right in there with our vital organs. This is called “visceral fat” and is the most metabolically active and dangerous type of fat as it interferes with our metabolism, hormone balance, and organ function (fatty liver, anyone?)

Sugar is not necessary for life; we can get plenty of carbohydrate from a vegetable-heavy diet, eating some complex starches, and fruits. Biochemically, we can make energy from proteins or fat, we don’t necessarily even need carbohydrates to survive! So what is the point of all this sugar? Well, its delicious for one and it gives us pleasure, both reasons why we crave sweet foods. From an evolutionary perspective, if something gives us pleasure, we seek it out. We were designed to seek out food to maintain and propogate life; its a fairly simple equation. However, we exist now in a carb-obsessed, sugar-saturated culture where we want and expect everything to be super sweet. The average adult eats 22 teaspoons (88 grams) of added sugar daily with teenagers reaching an astounding and disturbing average of 34 teaspoons a day (136 grams!). Picture what 34 teaspoons of sugar looks like, thats almost one full cup! 22 teaspoons is about 1/2 cup. One regular soda has 8 tsp of added sugar. That is a whole day’s recommended limit, and for what?

The popular belly fat busting plan I am following limits all sugars regardless of if they are naturally occuring or added. The goal of this plan is to not exceed 16 grams of sugar (from all sources, added and naturally-occuring) nor 6 carbohyrate choices. I’m about a week into this plan as I type, and wow(!!!) it is hard!  I pretty much follow the carb thing already and I rarely exceed 6-8 carb choices each day; the sugar thing, however, is more complicated. An apple or a small yogurt meets and exceeds the sugar limit for the day! So far I have not been able to keep my total sugars at 16 grams or less and therefore, have not seen great results, even with drastically limiting sugars compared to what I was eating before. I would often eat 2-3 servings of fruit daily, indulged in dark chocolate regularly and ocassionally had treats at home like cookies or hot chocolate. I’ll keep trying and keep you posted! Only 3 weeks until we fly out, so I’d better get it in line and see how it shakes out. I won’t post every single day, as that would be tiresome, but when I do hit the magic numbers, I’ll be sure to post the day so you can get an idea what it looks like. Wish me luck!

In this post, “CHO” means carbohydrate and it represents a unit of “exchanges” or “choices”. Each exchange/choice equals 15 grams of carb; that is about 1 slice of bread, 1/2 cup pasta potatoes or squash,  1/3 cup beans or rice, etc etc. You can easily find more information online regarding carbohydrate exchanges.

What I’m using to determine sugar content is the USDA nutrient database. Any program that counts calories, grams of this, or milligrams of that uses data that originates here.

The meat listed in this diary is all grass-fed beef and pork from our local farmer, sustainably sourced seafood, or organic chicken.

I’ve been using xylitol-sweetened products as it is not a traditional sugar, but a sugar alcohol that supplies less energy (calories) than sugar and for the most part is not absorbed in the same way and does not increase our fat-storing hormones. Xylitol is the main sugar in Designs for Health Paleobars which you will see I eat a couple of times a week.

Day 1

I don’t usually eat packaged cereals as they tend to be very high sugar, but I didn’t prepare my whole grain cereal the night before (soaked for improved digestibility and quicker cooking) so I grabbed one serving of a hempseed granola that was in the cupboard.

Breakfast

• 3/4cup Nature’s Path granola: 10g sugar, 1.5 CHO
• 1/2 cup blueberries: 9g sugar–> over my limit already!! 0.5 CHO
• 3/4 cup homemade pecan milk: 2g sugar

I add a tiny bit of apple juice to my homemade pecan milk and figure one serving as about 2g sugar.

Here, I knew I was already over my limit, but went for it anyway. I asked the barista if I could read the package of the soymilk; it listed 1 cup as having 6 grams of sugar.

• Soy cappuccino: 6g sugar, 0.5 CHO

 Mid-morning Snack

• PaleoBar, berry flavor: 2g sugar

Total so far= 29 grams and I haven’t even hit lunch!

Lunch

• 1 cup quinoa: 2 CHO
• ~4 oz chicken
• cilantro, green onion, olive oil, and lemon dressing
• 1 raw carrot

 

• 1 oz dark chocolate: 3g
• coconut chia seed pudding: ?!  When you are buying food from a deli or eating in a restaurant, it is very hard to estimate the sugars. At the deli counter they told me that they add about 1 cup of maple syrup for about 18 servings of pudding. 1 cup is 16 Tablespoons, so that is roughly 0.88 tablespoons per serving. The USDA database lists 0.88 Tbsp of maple syrup as having 11g sugar.

Since I exceeded my sugar goal, I didn’t eat any more sugar-foods (fruit included) and therefore didn’t record dinner. Dinner was probably pretty low carb, something like vegetables and meat or fish.

wow- this is hard!

Total: 43 grams sugar, 5-6 servings of CHO

Day 2

Breakfast

• Coffee with unsweetened coconut creamer
• 2 slices red rice, gluten free bread: 4g sugar, 2 CHO
• 1/2 banana: 8g sugar, 1 CHO
• 2 Tbsp almond butter
• 1 Tbsp raw, organic honey: 17g sugar (!!!), 1 CHO

Oops, breakfast put me 2 times over the limit; I could have done without either the honey or the banana. 

Total so far: 29g sugar!

Mid-morning Snack

• Handul of raw nuts (my own soaked and lightly roasted)
• green tea
• 1 cup pomegranate seeds: 24g sugar- wow! I had no idea; I just learned this by looking it up on the USDA database I mentioned earlier; 1.5g CHO
• 1.5  cup split pea soup with potato, ham hock, collard greens: 2-3 CHO
• MSM powder, raspberry flavor, sweetened with xylitol

Afternoon Tea

• green tea
• 3 Tim Tams- I didn’t even bother to read the label for sugar on these, I knew it was pointless! I went off any dietary limits I have set for myself; they’re full of gluten and full of sugar! yummy. We had these wonderful dark chocolate cookies sent all the way from Australia by some dear family members. I enjoyed them thoroughly without guilt or self-recrimination, and now I know how many grams of sugar: 8 grams each, for a grand total of 24grams sugar and 2 CHO

 

• Nutrition cocktail: Paleofiber, greens powder, with CoQ10
• 4 chicken wings dipped in: 
•        Bleu cheese crumbles mixed with omega-3 mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, water
• 1 celery stalk
• 2 cups salad greens with herb vinegar and olive oil
• 1 cup pistachios (measured in shells)

There is some sugar in yogurt and cheese, I just compared it to a regular, commercial blue cheese dressing. A 1/4 cup has 2 grams sugar.

Total: 55 grams sugar and 9.5 CHO choices! The worst yet.

 

Day 3

Breakfast

• green tea
• 1 cup buckwheat cereal with egg, 2 CHO

I decided to have egg instead of fruit in my hot cereal to work on decreasing my sugar after falling of the wagon yesterday (thanks Australia!). It made for a substantial and savory breakfast.

• 8oz coffee with xylitol hazelnut flavor and 1 Tbsp cream (organic)

 Mid-morning Snacking

• Paleobar: 2g sugar
• Greek yogurt with chia and milk thistle seeds: 19g sugar, 1 CHO

I decide to bring a yogurt as my treat, knowing that that would be it for sugars for the day. Lets see how the rest of the day went…

• green tea

Lunch

• Baked halibut, red chard with mushroom, onion, and blue cheese: no sugar no carb

 Dinner

• 1 cup kale salad, BBQ chips, Mary’s Gone gluten-free crackers: 2 CHO, 3g sugar

It is really hard to try to  pick out something on the go when you’re trying to live the low sugar lifestyle. I grabbed some potato chips as they usually have NO grams of sugar, of course the BBQ flavor added a couple of grams. Overall today was better then yesterday!

Total: 21g sugar, 5 CHO

Day 3

Breakfast

• Biogenesis Ultra Lean chocolate shake: no sugar, no carbs
• Chia, flax, milk thistle seeds
• Pecan milk: 2g sugar

Mid-morning Snack

• Handful of raw nuts
• 1 apple: 18g, 1 CHO

Lunch

• 1.5-2 cups soup: sprouted garbanzo bean, spaghetti squash, and chicken: 2 CHO
• Salad greens with olive oil and vinegar

In the afternoon, I chewed on

• Xylitol mints
• Handful of raw nuts

Afternoon Tea

• Green tea
• 2 rice cakes: 2CHO
• 1/2 avocado
• 2 slices turkey (contains sugar, but <1g)
• 1/2 oz goat cheese

Dinner

• 1/4 tuna cake; this is egg with onion and tuna cooked like a pancake or Spanish “tortilla”: no carb, no sugar
• greens with feta, raspberry vinegar and olive oil

Total: 20g sugar, 5 CHO. Closest day yet!

Day 4 & 5

The weekend got away from me a little, I wasn’t counting grams of sugar or carbs. I did continue to read labels to limit sugar intake and be aware of carbs. Basically, I was enjoying my usual diet and snacking on some dark chocolate almonds and fresh fruit without getting too worked up about the sugar.

 Wanting to satisfy some sweet cravings, I made a xylitol hot chocolate drink I have heard about from the people at “Metabolic Effect”. It is about 1:2 xylitol crystals to pure, organic, unsweetened cocoa powder and unsweetened almond milk. First, you mix the xylitol and cocoa (about 1 Tbsp : 2Tbsp per cup), add a little hot water and mix into a paste. To make the hot  chocolate and hot almond milk. You can also just eat it like a paste (imagine its chocolate frosting!) with a tiny spoon. This is supposed to really nip any sugar cravings in the bud and give you some powerful antioxidants as well!

Ready to start counting again on Monday!

Day 6

Breakfast

• green tea
• 1 cup 3 grain hot cereal: 2CHO
• 1/2 cup pecan milk: 2g
• 1/2 cup blueberries: 9g, 1CHO
• 1/2 banana: 8g sugar, 1 CHO

1oAM Snack

• Handful of raw nuts
• orange: 12g sugar, 1 CHO
• another handful of nuts

Lunch

• 1 cup roasted acorn squash with apples, onions, and thyme: ~ 5g sugar, 2 CHO
• 2 oz beef
• green salad with vinegar and olive oil

Tea

• green tea
• 1 rice cake: 1CHO
• 1/4 avocado
• 1 slice ham
• 1 slice goat cheese

Dinner

• 3 oz salmon baked with lemon and garlic
• 1 cup potato/cauliflower mash: 1 CHO

I usually make my mashed potatoes with an equal amount of cauliflower to decrease carbs and increase veggie potential. I use chicken stock and either a little butter and/or Greek yogurt. If I have recently roasted a chicken, I use that super nutritious gel-like substance that is left in the bottom of the pan. It contains some fat but also important nutrients; traditionally, this is something like an aspic or “meat jelly”. I know, sounds gross, but its actually delicious and very handy for replacing traditional fats in cooking.

• salad greens with lemon and olive oil 
• 1/4 avocado
• ~1/2 pear and 1/2 banana with 2 Tbsp plain Greek yogurt, drizzled with “miel de palma”. probably about 15-20gram sugar, 1.5CHO

Couldn’t help eating more fruit today. Miel de Palma is a syrup from a palm plant or tree, it is definitely not considered low sugar!

Totals: 51g sugar, 9-10 CHO. Ouch!

So far, I have not been able to meet the sugar goal; not doing so bad with trying to eat 6 or less CHO choices.  The upside is that I’m  learning a lot about the sugar content of foods and that hopefully this will be useful for you as well.

I will be sure to blog when I have reached my goal, even if its just for one day!

Healthy Holiday Eating: Keeping your Cool in a Season of Excess.

Holiday tips for now and the year to come!

RESOLUTIONS, GOALS, & HABITS

SATISFACTION & CELEBRATION

You may be thinking that it seems a bit late for such advice since we are already well into the holiday season with many days of straying from our best intentions and nights surrounded by irresistible treats and huge portions. I believe that its never too late for healthy eating! Keep your mind set on your goal and let tomorrow be better than today. Remember, most of these holidays are only one day, you can continue your nutrition and exercise plan most days of the week. Below we will discuss common seasonal issues and how you can stay on the track you really want to be on.

What are your New Years resolutions?

It’s me to start pondering, planning, and practicing. Resolutions are often health goals and healthy habits; they will idealy be long-term changes. If your goal is to incorporater healthier behaviors into your everyday life, don’t wait! Start working now on your ultimate goals for the year to come. Make a graceful transition into the year to come with healthy habits and a steadfast commitment to health.

We can get into quite a bit of trouble if we put off our goals and healthy habits using the holiday excuse. Average weight gain around the holiday times is 5 pounds in between Thanksgiving and New Years. I weighed myself today and realized that I’m up 2 pounds; only 2 more weeks to go to put on 3 more- I better get working!!  Actually, those 2 pounds are my ‘red flag’; I had already determined that I didn’t want to add any more than that during the holidays and now I know its time to scale back a little bit. I am pondering where I’m going to set limits for myself and how those will fit in with any new year’s resolutions.

What are your biggest challenges?

• Office or workplace treats
• Making holiday goodies for gifts
• Holiday parties
• Poor weather + shorter days = less exercise
• High calorie traditional foods and large meals
• Stress

The first place to start in learning how to manage ourselves  in challenging situations is to change the way we think.

As with any day of the year, we need to alway be aware of how we percieve things and of our “self talk”, the way that we see the world and understand circumstances is referred to as “cognition”.

• The first thing to do is believe in yourself! Tell yourself that you are healthy and strong and draw on that strength to get you through the challenges
• Understand your hunger and satiety: cravings vs. physical hunger vs.boredom vs. conditioning. How does your body tell you that it needs nourishment? What do you feel like when you are satisfied? If I find myself getting peckish within an hour of my lunchtime, I reassure my monkey brain that food will be on the way soon, there is no emergency.
• Keep a food diary. Those most successful at losing weight and keeping it off have 3 main strategies, they stay active, determine a ‘red flag weight’, and maintain awareness of what they are putting in their mouths
• The 80/20 rule can work great for people that do well with a little flexibility and are able to indulge and also control their intake. If you are more of ‘slippery slope’ eater or a carb binger, you may need to maintain some 100% rules for yourself
• Write out a cost-benefit analysis and keep it somewhere visible. What am I giving up and what am I gaining by indulging? Make sure you are fully aware of what you are getting yoruself into.
• Focus on satisfaction vs deprivation, this is basically the “glass half full” principle. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy, and don’t believe that you are suffering. Focus on  plenty.
• Break the cycle! Know your cues, stimuli, triggers and self-talk. A stimulus can be an emotion or passing by the bakery on your way to work, this cue leads to an urge, which leads us to seek a reward.

Emotion or cue–> Urge or thought–>Action or reward–>Guilt and recrimination–>Hopelessness–>–>–>

• Imagine this in a circular pattern, hopelessness once again becomes an emotion that stimulates an urge or a thought. “I totally blew it today, I’ll never be able to stick to this plan right now, I’m going to go ahead an eat all of those cookies”

There are about 4 or 5 places to break the cycle; it will be different for eveyone. No matter where you catch yourself in the cycle, you have a chance to break it. Problem-solve to find an alternative action to deal with the troublesome emotion or seemingly irresistible stimulus. Substitute new learning for old habit-driven responses and regain control. You may practice simply letting go; letting the thought drift by like a cloud in the bright blue sky.

Remember: You don’t have to believe everything you think!

Along with positive self-talk, stress management is paramount this time of year. Common emotional triggers are lonliness, frustration, fatigue, and anxiety. Make sure that stress relief is a part of your holiday program; try aromatherapy, visualization, meditation, exercise, and be sure to make room for good, quality “me-time”. Prioritize what need to be done right now(!!) and what can wait; and always, prioritize your self-care and well-being.

Set Limits

Making up your mind and sticking to it decreases mental struggles.Find ways to set reasonable  limits for yourself. Below are some ideas: 

• “I will only eat a treat if I make it myself ”
• “I will not go back for seconds”
• Go gluten-free or dairy free, especially if either of those is a trigger for you
• Avoid white foods
•  Not eating at the workplace
• Save any desserts for only the few social occasions
• Limiting your alcoholic beverages

Create Structure

Plan ahead

• Plan ahead
• Listen to your body
• Understand “enough” and “plenty”
• Eat meals of appropriate portions
• Eat plenty of fiber and protein
• Visualize success, problem solve, cultivate competence and confidence

Be Mindful

• Be aware of stimulus and automatic behavior
• Avoid cues for overeating
• Keep your mind on the cycle
• Know your stressors, emotions, and responses
• Avoid “slippery slope” foods
• Have an alternate plan

This year, strive to cultivate healthy eating behaviors and learn how to eat in a planned and controlled way. Develop new skills to free yourself from automative behavior.

Ideas for Specific Challenges

In the workplace

• Set limits and avoid stimuli. Stay out of the breakroom, don’t walk by the desk with the candy jar. Decrease your exposure to temptation
• Stay well-nourished and hydrated. Eat a decent breakfast before work and keep water and tea at your desk

Holiday Baking

• Make healthy treats such as spiced nuts, dried soup mixes, jams, or granola
• No “tasting”, sampling for strict quality control only!
• Make alternatives to food treats like bath salts or candles, or any number of crafts

Holiday Parties

• Eat before you go and make sure you are hydrated.
• Know your options and your limits, scope out the spread and pick the healthiest choices
• Understand any emotions that might cause you to overeat or lose mindfulness. Do you have social anxiety? Do you feel more comfortable with something in your hands? If so, take a deep breathes, sip on soda water, and simply enjoy yourself.

Excercise

• Here in the Northwest, sometimes we just have to suck it up and put on our rainjacket, get outside, lose the excuses.
• On days when big dinners or social occasions are planned, make sure you are active it the morning
• Have fun! Go ice skating or sledding, go outside and play.
• Do something involving movement in between any dinner and dessert courses, play with the kids or take the dog for a walk.
• Taking a walk after a meal helps you burn off some of that energy before it is yours forever.
• If you have a day or two off, make sure you get back on track to maintain your momentum.

Traditional Foods

• Look for healthy alternatives
• Focus on veggies, freshness, and flavor

Stress

• Practice regular stress relief activities
• Set boundaries for yourself and with other; don’t take on too much
• Know your triggers

Social Occasions

• Savor the season
• Enjoy the company
• Practice “slow food”, taste and enjoy

Cocktail parties

•  Hydrate and don’t arrive hungry
• Avoid mingling over the food table, get a small plate and walk away
• Focus on the healthy options: vegetables, fruit, nuts, hard cheeses, cold cuts
• Drink seltzer with citrus or bitters; if drinking alcohol, limit to 2 drinks and alternate with water or seltzers.

If you are potlucking or bringing dishes  to share, provide healthy options. The other night I went to a holiday party and brought:

• Stuffed grape leaves (not too many)
• Clementine oranges
• Mineral water

While at the party, I enjoyed raw almonds and walnuts, cheese on pears and apples, a green salad lightly dressed, and prosciutto ham. I avoided the bread products and had 3 bites of the chocolate cake. I wanted to drink wine and enjoy, so I limited my self to three small glasses and drank plenty of mineral water and a little bit of sparkling fruit juice. I made a point of focusing my attention toward the company instead of the food.

Pre-emptive eating for party or family dinner days

• Eat a decent breakfast and hydrate.  Be sure to get some exercise, and if needed, have a fresh snack in the afternoon
• Balance: avoid too many overly heavy food, balance your pH with fresh fruits and veggies

Healthy holiday foods

• Use warm, nourishing, and  fresh ingredients
• Soups, roasted veggies, squash breads, fruit bars/cookies, date-nut balls
• Appetizers: Nuts, fruit and veg, olives, goat cheese and hard cheeses, bean dips, shrimp or fish, cold cuts
• Avoid most dips, dressings, butters
• Starters: Broth soups and crunchy, fresh salads with a touch of dressing
• Take your time with the first courses
• Incorporate “Super Foods” into your menu: Berries, blood orange-pomegranate mimosas, dark leafy greens

Digestion

• Eat smaller portions, chew well
• Use digestifs- bitters, tea, grappa, limoncello, vinegars, pineapple, papaya
• Do some walking or light activity at some point to encourage movement

Eating for Health

• Consider “What grows here now?”. In the Northwest (and from California) we have pear, apple citrus, pomegranate, persimmon, grapes, cabbage, greens, onion, mushroom, spinach, winter squash, root vegetables, potato, and sunchokes

Healthy Recipe Revisions—

• For mashed potatoes, use chicken stock, cauliflower, celery root, and green apple
• Use winter squash, roasted vegetables
• Utilize fresh herbs: sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom

Veggies

• Green beans almondine, Brussels sprouts with pancetta and balsamic vinegar
• Greens: Spinach with sunchokes, citrus, and apples

Fruit desserts

• Crisps, berries, yam coffeecake
•  Top with Greek yogurt with lemon zest, vanilla, and a little sweetener

Along with eating well, staying active, and getting enough rest, you can do some other basic things to stay balanced.

• Drink green tea to keep your metabolism going
• Take omega-3 fish oils, Vitamin D, and B vitamins
• Replenish electrolytes after physical exertion (or for a hangover!): Try fresh fruit and vegetable juices and smoothies, green drinks, or coconut water

Here are some links to give you ideas:

• http://www.marksdailyapple.com/thanksgiving-dinner-diet/
• http://ewg.org/healthyhometips/JanesHolidayKitchen?utm_source=yea10hhtng&utm_medium=email&utm_content=first=link&utm_campaign=fund
• http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/collections/holiday_collection_1
• http://www.cleaneatingonline.com/

Happy healthy holidays and wishing you well into the next year of your life!

Broth to the Rescue: Nourishing and soothing; healing to the gut and rich in minerals and electrolytes

Have we talked about broth in detail yet? Perhaps if I’ve seen you in my office or if we have shared a meal together I have extolled the virtues of rich and fragrant broths.  Not only are broths super nutritious, but they are incredibly useful in the kitchen and  flexible with flavors.

Bone and vegetable broths are mineral-rich and alkalizing. Using an acid when making bone broths draws out the calcium, other minerals and a host of other beneficial compounds. The minerals and electrolytes help to alkalize, energize, and hydrate. Many of the compounds found in the marrow and connective tissue are very healing to the digestive tract and can be especially beneficial for people suffering form digestive upset or disease. Broth is essential for anyone going through chemotherapy or with any form of colitis. Broths are also nourishing to the joints and can help keep them cushioned and supple. Their mineral content and alkalizing properties keep calcium in balance and support strong bones.

I make broth from:

Chcken- the carcass leftover after roasting a whole, organic chicken with the stems of the herbs used to marinate the bird

Beef- the bones from roasts or the ”soup bones” from our grass-fed beef package

Fish- buying a whole fish (salmon especially here in the Northwest!) is often a better price per pound! You can have the fishmonger filet if for you and give you the bones and head. Two good size filets of salmon will make dinner and lunch for two and leave plenty of meat to cut into chunks and use in soup with your rich, nourishing, salmon broth

I generally use the broth right away for a soup and /or freeze it in quart containers for use in soups, stews, or sauces. My favorite use is to freeze it in ice cube trays and have it on hand when needed.

Ingredients

1. Bones from poultry, fish, shellfish, beef, lamb*

• Raw bones, with or without skin and meat**
• Cooked remnants from a previous meal, with or without skin and meat
• Whole fish carcasses, shellfish shells, small dried shrimp
• Roasting a whole chicken is a great way to have healthy protein on hand and bones for a stock. You can make a couple of dinners and lunches out of the chicken (roasted with vegetables), use the bones for stock, and combine the leftover meat with beans and vegetables for a delicious soup.

 *Pork bones are generally not recommended for prepared ahead broth, but are cooked into stew and soup recipes (ex, ham hock in split  pea soup)

 **Raw bones and meat may first be browned in the oven or in the bottom of the stockpot to enhance flavor and color

2. Water- start with cold, filtered water

• Enough to cover the bones by about an inch (more if you are using additional vegetables)

 3. Add an acid, such as lemon juice or vinegar- apple cider, red or white wine, rice, balsamic

• A splash
• Or 1 teaspoon per 2 cups water  

4. Vegetables (optional) – peelings and scraps like ends, tops, and skins; or entire vegetable (like making vegetable stock)

• Celery, carrots, onion, garlic, and parsley are the most traditional. You may try other vegetables and especially other herbs such as the stalks from ones you have used in cooking: rosemary, thyme, oregano; use cilantro if you are making a soup using that flavor

Recipe

Combine bones, water, and vinegar in a pot; bring to a low boil and immediately reduce heat to a simmer. Remove any scum that has risen to the top.

• Simmer for a minimum of 4-6 hours and up to 48 hrs for chicken or 72 hrs for beef
• To reduce cooking time, smash or cut bones into smaller pieces
• Add vegetables in the last few hours of cooking
• Strain through a colander or sieve; line with cheesecloth for a clearer broth; discard bones; reserve any cooked meat for soups or salads

 

You may cook in a crockpot on low setting. Its ok to not scrap off the impurities, it will add more flavor. If you wish to remove the fat for use in gravy, use a gravy separator while the broth is warm or skim the fat off the top once refrigerated.

Cold broth will gel when sufficient gelatin is present. Broth may be frozen for months or kept in the refrigerator for about 5 days

Uses

1. Soups

• Use chicken broth for any soup. Go Latin American style with pinto beans (sprouted of course!), chicken, squash and cilantro or try Italian with white beans and/or pork, tomatoes, and kale.
• Beef broth is great for meatball soup such as “Albondigas”, and using in slow simmering dishes such as roasts, Bolognese sauce, and goulash. (I especially love this albondigas recipe because it provides a powerful antioxidant punch with an incredible assortment of herbs that can all be grown in your garden or countertop!)
• Fish broth works well as a base for a potato, tomato, celery, and lemon juice fish stew
• Any broth makes a delicious miso soup. Add shitake mushrooms, wakame seaweed, ginger, and lemon for an immune system boost
• A rice congee is especially nice when you are sick or low energy. Cook 1 cup of white rice in 6-8 cups of broth (more liquid or less rice for brown rice) until it forms a porridge, add vegetables, a protein source, and any desired herbs

 

Image via Wikipedia

 

2. Cooking liquid

• Use to cook rice, beans, or other grains. Try garbanzos cooked in chicken broth for a roasted garlic hummus.
• Have frozen cubes on hand to add moisture to any dish that needs it; especially useful when stir-frying or braising and as a liquid for mashed potatoes (a great way to avoid milk and butter is to use broth)

3. Gravy

• Simmer vegetable or meat in broth until cooked, remove to a plate, thicken broth with cornstarch or arrowroot, and pour over like a gravy
• Put fat (removed from broth, or use butter)in a skillet; add any type of flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, stir constantly until browned, whisk in broth and cook until thickened; add salt and pepper to taste. Put on vegetables, meat, or biscuits

4. Beverage

• Add salt and sip broth like tea. This is especially nice in the winter or if you are sick and is tastiest with a broth heavy in vegetables or made only of vegetables.
• Store in a thermos and sip throughout the day
• The most traditional use for seasoned broth is as a first course to enhance digestion.

Related Articles

• The Perfect Pot of Primal Soup (marksdailyapple.com)