Tag Archives: healthy eating

Are You Eating Cake for Breakfast?

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“It’s My Birthday and I’m Going to Make a Cake,” was the title of a book I used to read to my children when they were young.  The various storybook characters brought ingredients to make a cake.  My kids loved the sing-song rhythm of “It’s my birthday and I’m going to make a cake” that the main character stated on each page.  In response, chicken said, “I’ll bring the butter”, cat said, “I’ll bring the sugar”, dog said “I’ll bring the flour”, mouse said, “I’ll bring the eggs”.  And there you have it.  The basic ingredient list for a cake: fat, sugar, eggs, flour.

Cake is a treat. Right?  We eat cake to celebrate.  And once in a while just for fun.  But really many of us eat cake every day.

 Ingredients in a pancake: fat, sugar, eggs, flour

Ingredients in a waffle: fat, sugar, eggs, flour

Ingredients in a muffin: fat, sugar, eggs, flour

Ingredients in coffee cake (wait, that name should give it away!): fat, sugar, eggs, flour

Don’t kid yourself.  If you’re eating breakfast pastries, pancakes and muffins, you’re eating cake.  Maybe it’s missing the sugary frosting, but your body is getting enough simple carbs to spike blood sugar.  When you spike blood sugar first thing in the morning, you set yourself up to feel hungry the rest of the morning and cause your body to crave more food. 

So what’s a carb-loving breakfast eater to do?  Add fiber and protein.  These slow the insulin response caused by high carb foods and keep you feeling fuller longer.  Add nuts and flaxseed to your breakfast “cakes”, spread some almond butter on top, and look for whole grain alternatives.  Save the cake for your birthday!

 

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The Rotten Vegetable Dilemma

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It is sitting in the back of the produce drawer in my fridge.  It’s an eggplant, or snowpeas or a fennel bulb.  It’s the vegetable purchased one day because, “Oh yes, that kohlrabi would be interesting,” feeling took over in the vegetable aisle. But now, I have a dilemma, what do I do with it?

 Do you throw out produce because it goes bad before you get creative?

Today’s dilemma is brussel sprouts.  They’ve been in the drawer for a week.  Time is ticking.  I either need to cook them or pitch them.  I hate pitching vegetables.  It feels like blowing off a friend just because she was a little needy.  Okay.  Time to make time for my vegetables.

Go through your fridge today.  Is there any fruit or veggie calling out?  Can you set aside a half hour to roast, stir-fry or bake something?  Here’s what I’m going to do with my brussel sprouts:

 Brussel Sprout Salad

1 package of brussel sprouts (about a pound)

1/3 cup slivered almonds

1/3 cup raisins, dried cranberries, or dried apricots

¼ cup thinly sliced scallions

Dressing:

½ cup olive oil

Juice of ½ lemon

2 TBS. balsamic vinegar

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. Honey

Sea salt and pepper

Thinly slice the brussel sprouts using a food processor.  Steam the sprouts either in the microwave for 1 minute or in a steam basket for 3-4 minutes.  Immediately rinse with cold water.  Put sprouts in a bowl, add remaining ingredients and toss with dressing.  Can also add goat cheese, feta or parmesan.  Serves 4-6. 

 

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Bribe Me and I Won’t Eat Meat

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  My kids love to test the strength of my vegetarian bond.  I haven’t eaten meat in 15 years and this baffles their carnivore-thinking minds.  Always offering me fictitious amounts of cash, they try to coax me out of my convictions.  “Would you eat a cheeseburger for $10,000?” 

Well the tables recently turned at our house.  While my seventeen year old daughter diligently researched an essay she was writing on the global impact of a Western style diet, she became disturbed by some of the facts.

 “Mom did you know that 80% of the antibiotics in the world go to livestock?” 

“Umm yeah I’d heard that one.” 

“And did you know that a cow can produce as much greenhouse gas in a day as a car?”

 Did she think I only read romance novels?  “Yes I’d heard that too.” 

“I wonder if I could be vegetarian?” she thought out loud.

Ahhh, the opening I’d patiently waited and hoped for, “Why don’t you try it?”

After a few minutes discussing more of the benefits and pitfalls of the veggie lifestyle, I caved. “I’ll give you $200 if you do it for a month!”  I yelled out like a crazy bidder at a Sotheby’s auction.

That was many babysitting jobs just thrown out on the table and she bit.  Two vegetarians now reside in our house.  Well at least for three more weeks. 

It’s a lot of money, but I really wanted her to stick with it.  She has made it a week so far, ate veggie burgers at school, and asked for no bacon on her salad when she went out with friends.  And she ate my black bean butternut squash stew.  I think it’s a win-win.  But she’s already talking about what she’s going to eat on February 1st.  And it doesn’t include kale. What do you think?  Should I have offered her the money? 

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I Was an Addict

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I was 27 and I was an addict.  Before 7:00 am, I took my first hit.  It was ice-cold and the second it hit my lips, I felt alive.  I repeated this several times a day.  I was a Diet Pepsi addict. 

My addiction started in my teens.  I’d hit the soda machine at school about 11:00 for a morning pick me up.  Diet Pepsi got me through my finals in college and by my mid-twenties I knew this was a bad habit.  It was the morning hit that made me realize I was in trouble.  By this point in my life I also experimenting more with a “crunchy” lifestyle.  This is the term I use for those of us who typically shun artificial foods and embrace a more granola-infused regime.  I was putting great food in my body, and then washing it down with a can of chemicals. 

I understand why people smoke, do drugs, drink, and eat pints of ice cream in one sitting.  Habits that lead to addictions are tough to break. I began acknowledging my habit.  Just like any good addict, I took the first step one morning when I grabbed a cold can at 6:30 am and said, “I’ve got to stop this”.  I made the feeble attempts that most addicts do: stopped buying it, cut back, tricked myself with soda water…but I still craved it.

My savior was the stomach flu.  During a fever-induced, nasty three days running back and forth to the bathroom, it struck me that I hadn’t touched a Diet Pepsi.  I was three days into a cold turkey cessation.  I was on my way. For good this time.

That’s how I broke my addiction.  Truly, I wasn’t strong enough to do it on my own.  The outside forces of the flu propelled me to make the decision.  Not a pretty way to quit, but addiction is rarely pretty. 

Poor food choices, that lead to bad habits and eventually food addictions are not to be taken lightly.  As a country we’re predominately addicted to sugar and simple carbs.  Mine was caffeine in a carbonated chemical solution. Some people are just addicted to food.  Eating is one of our favorite drugs of choice.  When I coach people on making changes I ask, “Why did you eat it?”  Often I hear, “I just love to eat.”  This is eating for comfort.  Even if you think, “I like the taste” or “food is so good” the response you’re getting is pleasure.  These feelings about food can lead to habits which can turn to addiction.

If you’re not feeling as well as you think you should or the number on the scale isn’t making you happy, start asking yourself “why”.  Admit the problem.  It’s the first step.  And if you can’t do it alone then call me. (412-427-1137)  I coach individuals one-on-one and we work through your issues together.  Accountability is a huge factor when trying to change habits.  I’ve been there and I get it.  And working with a coach is a whole lot more satisfying than the stomach flu.  Be well.

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Joyful Eating

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When my son Graham was ten I made chocolate soufflés for a family celebration.  He’d never had a soufflé.  When he took the first scoop with his spoon, breaking into the delicate puff, his face lit up.  This food was different.  He then put the spoonful of warm, chocolate love in his mouth.  He closed his eyes.  Then he opened them.  A slow grin spread across his face. His eyes rolled back in his head and he closed them again. This was joyful eating.

We forget to find joy in food.  We rush. We grab junk. We nourish ourselves without joy.  Why? Food is one of our greatest pleasures.  We’re blessed to live in a country that is food wealthy.  We have an abundance of choice.  But we choose poorly.  We don’t savor the experience.  Unlike other cultures, we don’t sit and enjoy our food with lengthy discussion and savoring of flavor.  Eating becomes rote and dispassionate.

It’s time to bring joy back to eating.  This doesn’t mean slamming down double cheeseburgers or binging on chocolate chip cookies to fulfill an emotional void.  The joy I seek in eating is the response to whole food ingredients, prepared with passion and shared with friends and family.  We don’t eat together anymore. We need to elevate food to its rightful place of honor.  Real food is what nourishes and sustains our bodies, eating with others nourishes and sustains our souls.

Go. Plan a meal. Buy fresh ingredients. Make something simple and real.  Don’t use a box. Don’t worry if it’s perfect. Share it with someone you love.  Share it with someone who challenges your opinions.  Invite a neighbor you don’t see often enough.  Think about the food and the people you’re sharing it with as you sit down. Eat joyfully.

This blog is also posted at Fight Back Fridays and Real Food Wednesdays

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