Archive for 411

American Heart Association Takes on Our Drug of Choice

This picture is a photo of my drug of choice.  I don’t smoke, I don’t drink a lot, I don’t do drugs.  Right now I can say I have the white stuff pretty much under control…but even just the other day as my Daughter celebrated her 4th Birthday I had to fend off the sugar demons.  I don’t know how to have one bite of cake, or one bite of a big pink frosted cup-cake.  I don’t know how to have 1 bite of pasta.  When sugar hits my bloodstream my endorphins kick in.  I feel good.  I get a rush.  I want more.

Now that said I am working hard to learn how to take a bite, or try something “bad for me” without shoveling the whole thing down…but it takes great control, great thought, and I have to live with addiction in a world where my drug of choice is abundant and available at all times.

So yesterday was “Back to School” in this neck of the woods, but My Son is actually not back to school, instead he is home sick:(  The whole deal, fever, trip to the hospital…never fun.  But it has made me think as they “Push fluids” and I watch one Gatorade, Sunny D, ginger ale, popsicle, slurpee after another hit his lips. ( I don’t care, he is sick.)  Yet it leaves you thinking how crazy it is that some kids eat/drink like this all day every day, and we as a Country wonder why we are so unhealthy. 

I was at a friends house just the other day and her Son had 2 cokes, and I have no idea how many glasses of fruit punch before dinner, and then she was bummed he didn’t want to eat:(  I don’t know, it seems so obvious to me, but I understand saying NO, is no fun. 

The AHA, American Heart Association released new guidelines (last year) for how much sugar they NOW feel it is safe for us to consume.  Guess what?  They cut it in half.  That’s right, it seems that the medical field is now directly correlating sugar consumption to our health (we already knew, right?).

I warn you, reading this will make your job as a Mom, and a healthy eater, even harder, but I am pretty sure no one ever said being a Mom is easy, and I am pretty sure if you want to look good and feel good as a human being, that takes some work too.

Educate yourself, feed your soul, and teach those babies how to eat right so they can lead long, healthy, productive lives without being plagued by unnecessary illness. (Again, this does not just mean being fat)  There are plenty of thin, or too thin, kids out there running on empty.

PS…Guess where the most sugar we consume comes from?  Yes, the before mentioned sugar-sweetened drinks!

Remember we are talking about ADDED Sugar, not the sugar in an orange or an apple.

-Women should consume no more than 100 calories, and men no more than 150 calories, of added sugar. These numbers average out to about 6 to 9 teaspoons, or 25 to 37.5 grams, of sugar a day.

(-1 12 ounce can of soda has 130 calories, 8 TEASPOONS of sugar, zero nutrients.  So 1 regular soda and women are over their daily limit and men are done.)

- Children ages 4-8 with a daily caloric intake of 1,600 calories should consume no more than 130 calories, or about 3 teaspoons a day.*********

- Pre-teen and teen years, and caloric range increases to 1,800 to 2,000 a day, the maximum amount of added sugar included in his daily diet should be 5 to 8 teaspoons.  (NOW THEY CAN HAVE A CAN OF SODA every day, but nothing else.)

They also claim that most 4-8 year olds in this country already consume 21 teaspoons of ADDED sugar a day & TIMES WHAT IS RECOMMENDED!!!!!

Foods your kids may eat now…just to give you an idea.

-1 whole Gogurt (2 1/2 servings in one Gogurt by the way) 25g sugar or 5.3 Teaspoons

-Horizon Organic, Chocolate Reduced Fat Milk Box 27g Sugar or 5.7 Teaspoons

-Honey Bunches of Oats (healthy but still kind of fun, right?) 14g sugar or 3 Teaspoons in 2/3rd Cup

-The apple juice box at McDonalds has 22g Sugar or 4.6 Teaspoons

I will post another one tomorrow on how to figure out how much ADDED sugar is in your foods, and how I tackle the sugary drink battle in our home.

Meanwhile, look for those snacks that are yummy, and healthy, all on their own!

Leave a comment »

“Quinoa Mamma!”

Could I be any prouder?

I was actually just typing a post on how to get your kids to try new foods (coming later) when my Daughter 3 1/2, walked into the office holding a container of Quinoa (keen-wa).  She had pulled a chair over the fridge and of all the food in there went for the Quinoa I picked up at the co-op last night.

She said, “Quinoa Mamma!”

I am going to take a break and go eat Quinoa with Ellie!

Comments (2) »

Free Therapy Friends, can’t beat that!!

(a little long, but I hope you will find it worth the read)

I have the most fabulous therapist in the world-Barb!  My life this past year has been such a transformation, and in so many amazing ways.  I hadn’t seen Barb in over a month with our trip to Maui, getting back into the groove at work, so forth. 

A good portion of our time was spent talking about health, nutrition, food, our bodies and committing to being the best we can be, inside and out.

For Barb it was one large burrito, a bit too heavy on the cheese.  She spent an evening feeling ill, bloated…fighting off gas and indigestion and said “enough is enough”.  That same night she got online and started implementing her plan for change (Barb is a fifty-something woman with no weight issues at all).  A new start, a “rebirth” if you will on the relationship she was going to have with food.

We talked about how this process came about for me, and how it has coincided with so many other changes that were occurring, or in retrospect, were about to occur.  When I met Barb I was already changing how I ate, but I had not fully committed to the process.  I still had one foot off the raft, ready to swim for safer waters.  Food, for me, has meant comfort, indulgence, rewards, support…a friend.  But now, in reflection, I know the nutrition was really part of the realignment. 

We are what we eat, and it does not matter who you associate with, what your home looks like, what you drive, or who you “project” yourself to be.  If your insides are corroded, your energy zapped, and you fill your tank with junk (or not fill it at all)…you will feel bad.  If you feel bad on the inside, there is very little going on around you-on the outside, that will make you feel better.

So eating better, in the beginning, allowed me to feel better, to have a clear head. 

Having a clear head allowed me to see past the fog of everyday life and see clearly for the first time in so many years. 

Eating better allowed me to be receptive and open to the changes I needed to make in my life.

Making those changes allowed me to see why I filled my tank with junk in the first place.  Why the resources I gravitated too were always the ones that made me feel worse. 

So I put my foot back on the raft, stood tall and forged ahead.  Clarity all around, inside and out.

Barb said for her she has to view change as “one Step at a time”.  I agreed.  Remember for me it was just no more diet coke.  If I had cut out all soda, processed foods, meat and dairy on the day I woke up and said no more diet coke, I would have failed.  Though I think most of us like to fail when it comes to food (or too much of anything we believe makes us feel good) because failure brings us back to a place of comfort and familiarity.

When we succeed, whether in a diet, a career, a relationship…whatever it may be, we are forging new ground, breaking through new territories and braving the unknown.  Yet when we taste “Sweet Success” it feels so good, better than comfort and more rewarding than the “high” our bad habit gave us.

I remind myself most every day that  ”There are no quick fixes, if you really want to be fixed.”  Like yo-yo dieting, I was, well “yo-yo life-ING it” if you will.  Relationship highs. Relationship lows.  Life is good.  Life sucks.  Nothing can go wrong.  Nothing can go right.  The ironic thing is that IS LIFE, ups and downs.  I have just never known how to actually live it, I wanted to dictate it.  I find with women we either try to control everything, or we take a passive role, where we just let life happen to us.

This evolution has brought old friendships back to me.  Helped me forge a new and better relationship with my Husband, my Sister, and my Mom. And I have even realized that I had some pretty toxic relationships that I needed to let go, back into the world, and instead of chalking it up as “failure” I look to see what I can learn. I don’t beat myself up as much, and I have learned that the more I try to control my surroundings, the more out of control I become. 

So you my friends just got some words of wisdom, that I pay DARN GOOD MONEY FOR!

So in SUMMARY:

  • Don’t expect to change it all over night = Pick just one thing and start there
  • Build a foundation that will allow for future success as well = throw out the junk food, organize your pantry, find a new grocery store where you don’t know how to find all the bad stuff
  • Understand progress means evolving.  View your new habits as an “evolution”…baby steps.
  • There are no quick fixes
  • And if you are fixated on controlling your life, your food, your kids, your husband…whatever it may be, you are probably the one being controlled. ..by YOUR FEARS!

Really all of these things can, and should, pertain to most everything we do, each and every day.

Keep expectations of yourself and others real.  Build the foundation you need to support your life.  And to put it as simply as I can – BE FLEXIBLE!

Now I am not Barb’s therapist, she is mine.  But she was honest enough with me to tell me she knows her digestive issues are more than just digestive issues, but how her body has always spoken to her when things may be less than perfect.

Of course, whatever the issue, it will find a way to express itself-to rear its ugly head.  Barb taught me that…so now I spend more time listening.  Listening to me.

Life is short people and we deserve to be happy, and only YOU can make YOU happy!

Comments (2) »

One Good Blog Deserves Another

Check out Julie Ryan Evans, writing for The Stir a cafemomblog!

She checked us out!

http://thestir.cafemom.com/toddler/102612/try_family_style_dining_to

Comments (1) »

Family Style.

Eating family style has so many benefits.  First, and foremost, your kids want to be like you.  If they see you heaping loads of fresh, yummy veggies onto your plate, they will want to do the same (maybe not at first, but trust me-it will come).  Secondly, I think kids can get immediately turned off by thinking they HAVE to eat something simply because it is on their plate.  On the other hand if I serve fruit and veggies on a platter in the middle of the table it takes the immediate “I’m not eating that” out of the equation, and instead the kids become curious as to what is for dinner.

Even if I make a meal that maybe does not lend to being served “Family Style” I try to find a way to present it that way.

Other benefits:

  • Teaches your children fine motor skills as they pass bowls, use tongs and other serving pieces
  • Teaches manners as they say “please” and “thank you”
  • Teaches sharing and the concept of taking turns
  • Slows down eating for the whole family
  • Lends to the “art of conversation”, as food is passed and people settle in there is time to talk (learning to wait your turn to talk, not interrupting)
  • Teaches children social skills and the etiquette of eating in a group setting (patience, waiting while everyone gets food on their plates)
  • People (adults and kids) learn to take what they feel they are hungry for, and learn to gauge how much food they need on their plates
  • People also tend to take less as they want to be sure there is enough for everyone at the table

If your family is not eating at least one meal per day together reevaluate.  Study after study has shown that kids who eat dinner with their families

  1. Are better adjusted
  2. Perform better academically
  3. Have improved nutrition, and overall healthier eating habits
  4. Communicate more openly

Putting it all together:

Dinner a few nights ago was the Grilled Skirt Steak with Chimichurri Sauce and Grilled Asparagus with Lemon and Garlic

After the asparagus were marinated for a bit I took the marinade and tossed some chopped tomatoes and cucumbers in it.  I then layed those veggies over a bed of lettuce and gently tossed it with my hands.  That acted as a bit of dressing for the greens, adding very few calories, but lots of flavor.  The sliced steak and grilled asparagus were then put on the bed of greens, and a dinner I could have served separately on each plate was served Family Style!  Perfect!

Another evening our main course was taking a bit longer that I had anticipated.  I served the fruit and veggies for that evening as an appetizer, and the kids gobbled it down.  Presentation is so important when trying to teach your kids to like fruit and veggies.

Comments (1) »

The Food Revolution needs your help!

http://www.jamieoliver.com/jfr-beta/petition.php#petForm

If you have kids this MATTERS to you!

If you haven’t heard about this yet, the campaign is to get healthy foods into the school systems around the USA. Jamie Oliver (an English chef) led the campaign in England and was able to change the system!

It was a real eye opener to see the foods that kids are currently getting in schools. Chocolate and strawberry milk with their cereal (more sugar than in a Coke!), pizza for breakfast, french fries every day (this counts as a vegetable serving), just to name a few. Processed foods, served with more processed foods, and you all know how I feel about processed foods…BOOOOOO!!!!

There is one school district in the US that has been used as a case study for the healthier foods. It was great to see the parents and kids getting behind it in last week’s episode.

They hope to roll it out across the country, but they need everyone’s help and MANY more signatures on the petition to take to the President! I hope you will take a few minutes to look into this and sign the petition. Then pass it along to other people you know.

Jamie’s Food Philosophy
My philosophy to food and healthy eating has always been about enjoying everything in a balanced, and sane way. Food is one of life’s greatest joys yet we’ve reached this really sad point where we’re turning food into the enemy, and something to be afraid of. I believe that when you use good ingredients to make pasta dishes, salads, stews, burgers, grilled vegetables, fruit salads, and even outrageous cakes, they all have a place in our diets. We just need to rediscover our common sense: if you want to curl up and eat macaroni and cheese every once in a while – that’s alright! Just have a sensible portion next to a fresh salad, and don’t eat a big old helping of chocolate cake afterwards. 

Knowing how to cook means you’ll be able to turn all sorts of fresh ingredients into meals when they’re in season, at their best, and cheapest! Cooking this way will always be cheaper than buying processed food, not to mention better for you. And because you’ll be cooking a variety of lovely things, you’ll naturally start to find a sensible balance. Some days you’ll feel like making something light, and fresh, other days you’ll want something warming and hearty. If you’ve got to snack between meals, try to go for something healthy rather than loading up on chocolate or potato crisps. Basically, as long as we all recognize that treats should be treats, not a daily occurrence, we’ll be in a good place. So when I talk about having a ‘healthy’ approach to food, and eating better I’m talking about achieving that sense of balance: lots of the good stuff, loads of variety, and the odd indulgence every now and then.

Comments (1) »

Agave Update

So I met this fabulous gal, Lisa, at Trader Joe’s the other day.  She is attending Bastyr and sent me some fabulous recipes I will share soon!

But I wanted to share this info she gave me on Agave Nectar as well.  I don’t use very much of it, but I will probably use even less now.

Thanks Lisa!

I noticed that you recommend agave nectar on your blog and I thought you might want to read this.  Agave is highly controversial right now because we are learning that it is an extremely processed food that in the end is fractionated to between 70-90% fructose.  This is more than high fructose corn syrup.  If you know the metabolism of free fructose you know that this is not good.  This article explains it very well.  With this research, the nutrition department at Bastyr has decided to eliminate agave from the instructional kitchen. 
 

 http://www.naturalnews.com/024892.html

Comments (2) »

Sticker Shock, 9 is the numer we are looking for!

You know those annoying little stickers you have to peel off your fruit?  Well they are ACTUALLY super-secret code that we were probably never meant to decifer….but guess what?  It is the 21st Century and it is time to stop looking the other way and ask “Why is this sticker on my apple?”

The sticker is there my friends to tell you:

1)  I am clean to eat 

A five digit code starting with “9″ means the product was organically grown (that’s right organically!!!)

so 9-4-2-0-3 = GOOD FOR ME

2) Enjoy me, I am covered in tons of pesticides and other things you can’t pronounce

Produce that is conventionally grown with synthetic pesticides, etc. is a 4 digit number starting with a 4  as in 4265

& 3)  (This is my favorite)  I have been tampered with and I am GMO’s…Gentically Modified My friends!!

A five digit code starting with “8″ means the product is genetically modified (can we all say LAME Mr. Fruit Grower!  I feed this stuff to my babies!!!)

Leave a comment »

Don’t miss Oprah tomorrow!!!

Oprah has Michael Pollan on tomorrow (my Food Hero) and it looks like it will be a very informative AND educational show for those of us that care what we are eating!

http://www.oprah.com/showinfo/Food-101-with-Michael-Pollan

Comments (2) »

Yummy Peanut Butter,Yucky Peanut Butter!

 

 Organic Creamy Peanut Butter

2 Tbsp

(Costco Kirkland Brand)

  Regular Creamy Peanut Butter

2 Tbsp

(Jif Brand)

Calories 200 Calories 200
Protein 9 grams Protein 7 grams
Total Fat 16 grams Total Fat 16 grams
Saturated Fat 3 grams Saturated Fat 3 grams
Trans Fat 0 grams Trans Fat 0 grams (umm, not really see below)
Cholesterol 0 mg Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 45 mg Sodium 150mg
Total Carbs 7 g Total Carbs 7g
Dietary Fiber 2 grams Dietary Fiber 2 grams
Sugars 2 grams Sugars 3 grams
   
   
IngredientsDry roasted organic peanuts and salt. IngredientsMADE FROM ROASTED PEANUTS AND SUGAR. CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: MOLASSES, FULLY HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OILS (RAPESEED AND SOYBEAN), MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, SALT.
   

 

Ounce for Ounce these 2 Peanut Butters look pretty similar?  Yep, that is the kicker.  The only glaring difference is that Jif has 3 times more salt!  But this is America, land of the loopholes.  The 2% or less (per serving, not jar) allows companies to post 0 trans fats as long as there is less than half a gram in a serving.  A serving is two tablespoons. Two percent would be 9 grams of trans fat per 454 gram jar.

Does peanut butter REALLY need to be Organic?  Pesticides and the peanuts: Peanuts are one of the most highly sprayed crops out there.  You decide.  My kids eat so much of the stuff it is a no-brainer for me.

If your peanut butter is SOLID when you put the knife in it has trans fat, that is why an oil that should not be solid is!  Period. 

Tips for dealing with the oil:

The oil in peanuts is monounsaturated, and diets high in this type of fat have been shown to lower levels of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol while preserving levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol. Peanut oil also contains beta-sitosterol, a plant sterol that studies show can inhibit cancer growth.

Sure, you could dump the oil, but I say keep it! So here is how to have less mess

  • Store the PB upside down before opening it!  The oil will rise to the bottom of the jar and then you can sir it back in with less mess.
  • If you just want to dump it, try dumping half
  • Dump all the oil out mix PB by adding it back in a bit at a time

*I would also like to note my girlfriend told me she didn’t buy organic peanut butter because she has no room in her fridge!  I thought “Oh crud, I have never put it in the fridge!”  I promptly came home and checked and Costco’s Organic PB does not need to be refrigerated!

 

Comments (1) »