5 Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes That Will Make You Very Popular This Thanksgiving

Ah, Thanksgiving…a holiday filled with family and friends…and a lot of really unhealthy food.  What more could you want in one day?  Lots of “fun” conversations with a side of guilt.  Sounds lovely!  If eating healthy is important to you, then this day tends to be a day of both fun and trepidation as you try to eat as healthy as possible.  Fried turkey?  Um, okay.  Heavy gravy?  Well, why not.  Sweet potato casserole with extra marshmallows, hold the sweet potato?  Sure!  A slab of grandma’s pumpkin pie?  Um….No, no, and no!!!!  Even if you’re not hosting dinner, you can always bring something along that you can eat and not feel guilty…or sick afterwards.  Here are 5 delicious healthy Thanksgiving recipes that will make you love Thanksgiving and extremely popular with your family.  All of these recipes are gluten-free, dairy-free (though the roasted artichoke dip can be made with Parmesan), and rather low in fat and calories, making them a guilt-free tasty addition to the Thanksgiving staples.

 

Roasted Artichoke Dip – This is not the cheese laden, greasy dip that is served so often at parties.  Serve this healthy alternative with crudites and/or gluten-free crackers and you’ll have a healthy appetizer to get the night started on the right foot.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice
• 2/3 cup of cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (14 oz.) package frozen artichokes, thawed
• 2 teaspoons of dried thyme
• 2 teaspoons of dried basil
• 2 Tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese or cheese alternative

Directions:

1. Place a rack in the middle of the oven.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large, heavy, ovenproof skillet, combine 6 tablespoons of lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of oil, the garlic, salt, and pepper.  Add the artichokes and toss to coat.  Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.
3. Remove from the heat and place the skillet, uncovered, in the oven.
4. Bake until the artichoke are tender and lightly browned (about 30-45 minutes).
5. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes.
6. Place the roasted artichokes in a food processor and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, the remaining oil, and the thyme, basil and Parmesan/cheese alternative.  Process until thoroughly blended.  Taste and add additional salt and pepper, if desired.
7. Serve immediately.

Decadent Paleo-Friendly Butternut Squash – This is a great substitute for Sweet Potato Casserole

Butternut Squash Casserole (Photo credit: FreckledPast)

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds of butternut squash
• 3 Tablespoons of water
• 1 head of garlic
• 1 1/2 Tablespoon of coconut oil
• 2 1/2 Tablespoons of coconut milk
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon of powdered ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon of ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground allspice
• a pinch of ground cloves
• a pinch of ground nutmeg
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup of pecan halves, chopped

Directions: (this may seem like a lot of steps, but it’s actually really easy)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds.
4. Place the squash cut-side down on the baking sheet and sprinkle 3 Tablespoons of water onto the paper around the squash.
5. Peel the skin off the garlic and wrap it in a piece of aluminum foil.
6. Put the baking sheet of squash and the foil packet of garlic in the oven.
7. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until the squash is tender.  Set both aside until they’re cool enough to handle (about 15-20 minutes).
8. Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees.
9. When the squash is cool, use a spoon to scoop out the flesh into the bowl of a food processor.
10. Separate the garlic cloves and squeeze the roasted pulp into the bowl with the squash.
11. Process the mixture to a smooth puree.  Then, add the coconut oil, coconut milk, salt and spices.  Taste and adjust seasonings.
12. Beat the egg in a small bowl.  Scrape the puree mixture into a large mixing bowl and stir in the beaten egg with a wooden spoon until combined.
13. Grease the inside of a 3-cup casserole dish with coconut oil and then add the squash puree.  Top with chopped pecans and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until the edges are a little bubbly and the top is golden brown.

 

Paleo Pan-Roased Brussel Sprouts

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons of coconut oil
• 1 pound of Brussel sprouts (washed, tough outer leaves removed, cut in half)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 Tablespoons raw pistachios
• 2 Tablespoons pomegranate seeds
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Add brussel sprouts and lightly brown, stirring occasionally to prevent burning (about 15 minutes). Season with salt and pepper.  Add garlic and pistachios the last 2 minutes of cooking.
3. Garnish with pomegranate seeds.

Sage Polenta –  Seriously amazing!!!!

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons of cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cups of finely diced white onion
• 2 Tablespoons of minced sage
• 1 1/2 cups of vegetable stock
• 3 cups of unsweetened almond milk
• 2 Tablespoons of nutritional yeast
• 3 Tablespoons of Earth Balance or other vegan butter
• 1 1/4 cups of fine polenta meal
• 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1. In a heavy bottom shallow cast iron pot on medium heat, add the olive oil and onions and saute until caramelized.  Add minced sage and stir well.
2. Add vegetable stock, almond milk, nutritional yeast, and vegan butter.  Turn to low heat and bring to a simmer.
3. Slowly, while constantly whisking, add the dry polenta, pouring in an even stream. Continue to whisk to keep the consistency smooth, while cooking.
4. Once the polenta has reached a fair thickness (porridge consistency) continue to keep on low heat and cook until the corn meal has softened (about 10-12 minutes).  Stir frequently and season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Remove from heat and serve.

Garlicky Chanterelle Mushrooms

Garlicky Chanterelle Mushrooms

Ingredients:

• 1 Tablespoon of Earth Balance, or other vegan butter
• 1 1/2 cups of chanterelle mushrooms, loosely packed
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tablespoons of minced chives
• Sea salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. In a large saute pan over medium heat, melt the butter (be careful not to burn it).
2. Add the mushrooms and garlic and saute until the mushrooms have released their liquid and the pan is almost dry (about 4 minutes).
3. Gently stir in the chives, season with salt and pepper to taste, and remove from the heat.

All of these healthy Thanksgiving recipes are easy to make and will leave you feeling full, but not guilty.

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Why Digestion is So Important to Good Health and Weight Loss

diagram of a human digestive system (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Warning: This post contains graphic content about the stuff that goes on in your body.  If you can’t handle the words poop and fart, please don’t read any further.   🙂

When we think of good health, we don’t often think of our digestive system first.  Good health usually brings to mind glowing skin, 6-pack abs, and an overall toned body.  However, our digestive system is at the true core of good and bad health.  Our digestive system breaks down the food that we eat, converting it to energy and nutrients for our body, and excreting the metabolic waste from our system.  Most people don’t really have a strong sense of what goes on between the time they put something in their mouth to the time they see it come out the other end.  So, here is a brief synopsis.  The human digestive system is about 30 feet long.  In a healthy person, the digestive process can take between 24 to 72 hours.  When we eat, digestion starts in the mouth when we chew our food and the food comes in contact with our saliva which contains the enzyme, amylase, which starts the digestion of starch in our food and the enzyme, lipase, which breaks down fat.  The food then travels down the esophagus into the stomach where gastric juice, which contain hydrochloric acid and pepsin, in the stomach start to break down and digest protein. While the protein digestion is occurring, peristalsis which are essentially waves of muscular contractions that move along the stomach wall mechanically mixes the slimy mess, allowing the food to further mix with the digestive enzymes.  After about an hour to two hours, the thick liquid (called chyme) is moved into the duodenum, which is part of the small intestine where it mixes with more digestive enzymes from the pancreas, liver, and intestines and then passes through the small intestine.  The small intestines are about 22.5 feet in length.  When the chyme is fully digested, it is absorbed into the blood.  95% of the absorption of nutrients happens in the small intestine.  Blood containing the absorbed nutrients is carried away from the small intestine and transported to the liver for filtering, removal of toxins, and nutrient processing.  The remainder of the food then enters into the large intestine where digestion is retained to allow fermentation which further breaks down some of the substances that remain after processing in the small intestine.   The large intestine is about 5 feet in length and is less vigorous in its absorptive activity.    The large intestine absorbs water from the chyme and stores feces until it can be eliminated through uranus (sorry, couldn’t help myself- just wanted to make sure you were still paying attention during my anatomy lesson).  Food products that cannot go through the villi of the intestine, such as dietary fiber, are mixed with other waste products and become hard and concentrated feces.  The feces is stored in the rectum for a certain period and then eliminated.

Okay, so now that I’ve bored you with my explanation of digestion, why is it so important to our health?  Well, the full process of digestion takes up about 50 to 80 percent of our total energy, which is more energy than any other specific internal bodily function.  If you feed your body foods that are more difficult to digest, such as pesticide, fungicide, herbicide, antibiotic-laden dairy products or meat, you are essentially slowing down the entire process.  Highly processed foods, preservatives, toxic additives, pollution, medication and a host of other things begin to build up as waste and sludge in our intestines.  As the sludge builds up, it slows down the digestion process so that nutrients have a tougher time being absorbed into the bloodstream and the digestion process takes up even more crucial energy than needed.  As I mentioned above, our intestines are almost 40 feet in length.  So, that can be a lot of impacted waste over the years that is just rotting and putrefying in our systems causing us to feel sick and have compromised immune systems.  The more waste, the more compromised our immune systems can be allowing our bodies to be more susceptible to illness and disease.  The more efficient and clean our digestive systems are, the more energy our bodies have to clean out toxic material and perform other functions.  When we don’t digest our food properly, that toxic sludge can amass at a much faster pace.

You’d be surprised to know how much impacted waste is in our bodies at any given time.  It’s pretty disgusting to see some of the pictures that are online of waste that has been extricated from bodies in different ways.  Feel free to have a look.  It will make you want to eat some raw vegetables or high fiber foods immediately.  Now, just to preface, I love meat and this is not a post on being vegan or vegetarian.  I am an omnivore and am not recommending anyone give up meat.  However, many studies have shown that meat is much harder to digest than plant food and continues to putrefy in the digestive system, taking about 4 to 4.5 hours to be absorbed in the intestines versus 2 to 2.5 hours for grains and vegetables.   The digestion of meat produces toxins which can accumulate in the liver, kidneys, and large intestines, destroying beneficial bacterial cultures, and degeneration of the villi in the small intestines where food is absorbed into the blood.   Furthermore, the saturated fatty acids from meat and other animal products accumulate in and around vital organs and blood vessels which can lead to cysts, tumors, and hardening of the arteries.   Casein, which is the protein in milk, cheese, and dairy products cannot be assimilated easily by the digestive system either and begins to accumulate in an undigested state in the upper intestine, putrefying, producing toxins and excess mucus, and leading to weakening of the gastric, intestinal, and pancreatic systems.  Cutting out or decreasing the amount of meat and dairy products can be hugely beneficial in starting to clean up the problem.

Colon cancer and digestive issues are on the rise due to our standard American diet that is so laden with meat, dairy, and heavily processed foods.  The processing of foods usually strips foods of many of their essential nutrients, but also strips them of crucial digestive enzymes such as lipase, amylase, and protease that naturally help the body break down fat, carbohydrates and protein.  As we age, our bodies begin to produce less and less digestive enzymes.  Combine the lower amount of digestive enzymes and eating food that has been stripped of enzymes and you have a lot of people who have compromised digestive systems which leads to constipation, bloating, cramping, gas, diarrhea, nausea, acne, iron deficiency, parasites, candida, eczema, psoriasis, and worse, colon cancer.  So, how do we know if our digestive systems are not running at 100%?  If you have any of the symptoms above, that is a sign.  Also, bad breath, heartburn, acid reflux, hard stool, light color stool, excessive weight, inability to lose weight, fatigue, chronic headaches can also be signs of poor digestive health.  Another way to tell?  How often do you have a bowel movement?  If you have one to three per day, then your digestive health is likely pretty good.  Less than once a day and combined with the symptoms listed above and you may want to think about doing something different in your daily diet.  Many people often just reach for a pill to help them cure their symptoms, as seems to be the typical American way.  We live in a society where there are a plethora of antacids and laxatives to treat whatever ailment you might have.  However, to fully clean up your system, you have to clean up your eating.   More on this in my post tomorrow.

Do you want a test of your own digestion?  If you’ve had a baby or a pet, you’ve likely noticed that they have a bowel movement shortly after each meal.  That’s called healthy “transit time” which is the time it takes for food to be consumed, digested, and then eliminated.  Transit time depends on what you eat.  But, on average, normal human transit time should be less than 24 hours, but due to poor diets with low fiber content and years of eating poorly, many people have transit times of 2-3 days or more.  If you want to conduct your own experiment at home, eat a large portion of corn on the cob or beets.  Then pay attention to your bowel movements for the next 24-48 hours.  If it takes you longer than 24 hours to see this evidence, you may want to make some changes in your diet.

Do you have some of the symptoms above?  Are you frustrated with not being able to lose weight?  Do you want to make it easier to lose that excess weight and feel better?  Do you want to know more about how to clean up your digestive system?  Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post.  I’ll give you a number of ways to clean up your digestive system…and none of them require laxatives or other medication.

Related articles

• Intestinal / Intestine Cancer: Integrative Cancer Treatment Program (cancercenter.com)
• Digestive Enzymes – simplistically, tried and tested (highvoltagehealth.com)
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• The Institute For Vibrant Living Introduces Chew-Zyme – A New Digestive Health Supplement. (prweb.com)
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How Healthy Are You? How Do You Measure Health? How Can You Use Food as Medicine?

English: A close up of a fresh raw food dish (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Happy Monday Everyone!  I hope you had a fabulous weekend!  I read an interesting book this weekend called The Beauty Detox Solution by Kimberly Snyder which talks about how we can eat our way to better health and beauty.  The main premise of the book is how by eating more raw plant food (fruits and vegetables), we can heal ourselves and achieve greater health and beauty.  A large part of her book is spent on discussing digestion and how eating certain foods in a certain order or in combination with other foods can be bad for digestion, which in turn can be bad for our health (I’ll go into more depth later this week).  The book talks a lot about acidity and alkalinity in the body and how eating certain foods like dairy and meat can contribute to more acidity in the body, which can cause cancer and other diseases.  She also talks about how eating a more plant-based, raw diet can increase alkalinity in the body, allowing your body to get the nutrients it needs and have more time to regenerate and build healthy hair, skin, and nails.  She talks about steering clear of dairy because of all the negative effects milk, cheese, and other dairy products have on the body.  She talks a lot about digestive enzymes and how our standard American diet has killed off our ability to use the amazing natural enzymes in foods because we cook most of our food or it has been processed for us.  I agree with so much of what she said in the book, though there are certain things that might be more difficult to apply.  But, the book really got me thinking about my own diet.

I eat pretty well…okay, extremely well compared to the average American diet.  I eat almost entirely organic foods; I juice every day; I barely eat refined or processed foods; I eat gluten-free and go with gluten-free whole grains whenever I can; I steer clear of dairy; and I drink a ton of water.  However, I tend to eat a lot of cooked foods and a lot of meat and fish…and I LOVE my wine.  I’ve always been told that we need a lot of protein, especially if you lift weights, so I’ve always eaten quite a bit of protein, specifically animal protein.  Kimberly goes into depth about how the digestion of animal protein causes the body to be extremely acidic and is one of the major contributing causes to many of the inflammatory diseases our society is stricken with these days.  Well, I agree with her on much of this, but I also feel that I need some meat in my diet…both because of how active I am, but also because I like the taste.  I don’t think being a raw foodist or vegan is entirely for me, but I certainly believe I can make more changes/additions to my lifestyle to be healthier.  One of the things that I took from this book is that my diet is rather devoid of raw food, aside from what goes into my juices.  So, in taking a closer look, I’m missing quite a bit of fiber.  Her book recommends eating a salad for lunch and dinner, either as the meal or before the meal.  She talks about food pairing which I had never thought much of in the past.  The major premise is how different food groups such as vegetables and proteins require different digestive enzymes to break them down during digestion.  Eating certain things together can slow down digestion causing a traffic jam in your digestive system which can lead to putrified food sitting and rotting in your colon for days/months/years.  She goes into depth about how eating protein along with starch is a bad combination, how combining different proteins like beef and shrimp is a bad combination, and how mixing fat with proteins is not a good combination.  She says that fruits should be eaten on an empty stomach and never after a meal.  There’s a ton of very interesting information in the book that I will try to break down more in my posts this week.  Also interesting is that I am studying the raw food diet in my classes at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition this week, so I am learning more as I go.

Her book really got me thinking about health and how we measure good health versus bad health.  I’ve mentioned in previous posts that good health is not merely the absence of disease.  If you asked most people in the country if they are healthy, many of them would say yes since everyone’s definition of healthy may be a bit different.  Many of us are indeed healthy.  However, many people have just gotten used to living with allergies, constipation and other digestive issues like irritable bowel syndrome, depression, poor sleep, low energy, driving us to drink coffee or energy drinks or take over-the-counter or prescription drugs to get through the day.  What does being sick really mean to people?  Colds, flus, cancer, diabetes?  When people go to the doctor and get checked out, many of them have “normal” blood pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and no temperature.  But, is this good health?  Is this really how we should be measuring health?  Does having normal levels mean that you are free from disease or just free for now?

I was pre-med through college and had the desire to become a doctor, but became rather jaded by the medical and healthcare system during my volunteer work.  In getting to know a number of doctors, I learned of their own frustrations with the big messed up system.  My biggest frustration with our medical system is that doctors are taught to treat issues and not prevent them.  This is not their fault, but a fault of the system.  Most medical schools only require a few hours of study on nutrition to graduate, leaving most doctors unable to really recommend anything regarding nutrition to their patients.  They often only see patients if they are sick or have certain symptoms they are worried about, so they write a prescription and send them on their way.  They take our blood pressure, temperature, and sometimes our blood.  But, when was the last time you went to the doctor and had a discussion about what you eat and what you should be eating?  How often do doctors look at our skin closely to assess its vibrance, or pinch our skin to see how hydrated we are, or look at our hair to see how limp or full it is, or our nails to see if there are ridges or deposits in them?  I would hazard to say that it’s rare.  Unfortunately, we now live in a society where most people are “sick” to some extent, whether they acknowledge it or not.  Many people have something ailing them whether it be something minor like constipation or something more major like heart disease.  When we look at the obesity statistics, more than 60 percent of our country is overweight.  That in itself is not the definition of health as many of those individuals are likely at risk for developing many diseases or already have certain diseases that they have to take medication to treat.  In addition, there are many who are not overweight, who eat poorly, and have not yet exhibited any negative symptoms or/and have just gotten used to living with certain issues.  How many of these symptoms/issues could be cleared up by what they eat?

I am amazed by and thankful for what I’ve learned about food over the years.  I love that I am still continuing to learn by reading and researching and experimenting.  The arena of nutrition is fascinating to me because we have so many “experts” who claim totally different things about food, diet, and nutrition.  Many of them develop a cult-like following of people who either have or have not read their books and follow their diets to either success or failure over time.  Either way, over the years, we have been conditioned to think of food as calories, carbs, fat, and protein rather than their healing properties.   This is because most of the foods that are so common in our diets have been cooked or processed and stripped of any nutrients or enzymes that our bodies need or can use.  We so often fall into the trap of eating what is convenient rather than eating what is good for us.  Many people think of food as just a way to take away their hunger rather than feeding their bodies the nutrients they need.  What I find truly amazing is that the right food can heal us from whatever is ailing us or prevent us from ever having any ailments.  The many different types of cells in our bodies regenerate at a different pace daily, weekly, monthly and yearly.  The cells you were born with are not necessarily the same cells you have today.  What we put in our bodies can drastically change how we feel; for the better or worse.  Smokers can reverse the damage they’ve done by quitting and eating a mostly plant-based diet.  People with high blood pressure and cholesterol can improve their diagnosis purely by eating differently.  The great thing about healthy eating is that whatever you have done wrong in the past, you can change and improve in a matter of time.  When we think of food as medicine to help regenerate our cells we realize that we don’t have to live with disease and that we can eat our way to better health.  I’ve read numerous blogs and articles about people healing themselves of cancer by eating/drinking a mostly plant-based diet.  It’s really astounding to me.  In contrast, I look at our society and most people don’t eat this way and want a pill to help take away their symptoms.

So, after my ranting and raving, I challenge you to think about your health and how it relates to the food you eat.  Do you wake up every day filled with energy and vitality or do you wake up with bags or circles under your eyes?  Do you need that cup or 3-5+ cups of coffee to get you through the day or are the nutrients that you get from your food giving you energy?  Do you feel happy and content about your life regularly or do you feel down and depressed?  Does your hair and skin glow or is it dull, limp, and fine?  How often do you poop or fart?  (yes, it doesn’t matter how old I am, I still smile when I say or write both of these words)?  All of these are markers for good health or bad health and can be changed rather quickly.  What you eat and don’t eat can drastically effect the way you look and feel and can be the difference between you getting sick from colds and flus to getting more serious diseases over time.  What changes can you make to your diet to improve your health and vitality?  Stay tuned this week for some great ways you can add certain foods to your diet that will have you feeling and looking better almost immediately.  Also, stay tuned this week as  I will be launching my new website which will have an all new look and feel.

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2 Healthy Fall Vegetable Recipes – Roasted Butternut Squash Bites and Garlic Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Victoria, Battersea, London (Photo credit: Ewan-M)

Happy Friday Everyone!  A quick aside…to all of the Hurricane Sandy victims out there, our hearts go out to you and your loved ones.  You have been in my thoughts and prayers.  What a tragedy this has been.  To everyone else, there is a telethon on NBC tonight where you can call and make a donation which will go to the Red Cross relief efforts.  Also, you can make donations to relief efforts by going to the Red Cross website.  Every little bit counts.  🙂

It’s Friday and most people will have a bit of time to relax this weekend.  So, I always like to include some recipes so that anyone who feels inclined to cook healthy for themselves has a little cooking inspiration.  Both of these recipes require minimal prep time.

Here are 2 really great fall vegetable recipes that are extremely easy to make.

Roasted Butternut Squash Bites 

Ingredients:

• 3 Tablespoons of coconut oil or ghee (clarified butter)
• 1 Tablespoon of cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
• 6 cups of peeled, cubed butternut squash (if you’ve never cut butternut squash, there are some good directions of how to cut butternut squash on YouTube.  It’s a bit of a pain, so I would recommend buying it pre-cut, if you can.  Trader Joes sells pre-cut butternut squash which makes this recipe a cinch)

Directions:

1) Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2) Melt the coconut oil or ghee in a small bowl.  Add the cinnamon and sea salt and whisk together.

3) Pour the seasoned oil over the cubed squash and toss until all the pieces are coated with the oil mixture.

4) Spread the squash into a large glass baking dish and bake for 45 minutes to an hour.

5)  If you want to add just a bit of sweetness to this recipe, drizzle a tiny bit of agave nectar on the squash before you serve.  Enjoy!!!

Garlic Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Mashed sweet potato (Photo credit: fritish)

 

Ingredients:

• 4-5 yellow sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 Tablespoon of butter or ghee
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 3 Tablespoons of green onions or scallions, diced
• 1/4 cup chicken stock

Directions:

1) Fill a large soup pot half to three-quarters of the way full with water and bring to a boil.

2) Peel and chop the sweet potatoes and add them to the boiling water.  Boil for 10-12 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are tender when poked with a fork.

3) Drain the water from the sweet potatoes and place them in a large serving bowl.

4) In a small saucepan, saute the garlic and onions in the butter/ghee over medium heat for 2-3 minutes.

5) Pour the butter mixture over the sweet potatoes in the bowl.

6) Using a potato masher or hand mixer, beat the sweet potatoes and butter until smooth.

7) Add the chicken stock to the mixture slowly until you’ve reached the desired consistency.

8) Serve and enjoy!!!

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Ways to Beat the Holiday Eating Season – How Not to Gain Weight During the Holidays

English: Fall foliage in Southern California (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Happy Day After Halloween Everyone!  No doubt, you did it.  Despite every effort to not eat loads of candy, you likely had a few in the office, during or after trick-or-treating, and/or this morning.  If not, good for you.  If you’re reading this with Halloween candy in your hand, put the candy down!!!!  Drop it!  Many of you are likely nursing your candy (or alcohol-related) hangovers and feeling a bit down on yourselves for your little infractions of late.  Stop it!  Hopefully you enjoyed yourself, but guilt will not undo the damage.  Having a plan to clean up your eating will.

As we enter the holiday season, we enter the eating season.  This is where the leaves are changing, the weather is getting colder and colder, people pile on the layers, and they want to eat more and work out less.  Add the holidays into the mix, and you have a full-blown excuse to pile on the pounds.  (Fortunately or unfortunately for me, I live in Southern California, where it never gets that cold and we get some warm weather in the middle of winter.  So, I don’t really have an excuse to put on any weight.  But for some reason, the colder weather always does something to me. :))  But, nevertheless, the holiday season usually means that we have excuses to eat more because of all the holiday parties and celebrations and we have to plan ahead to make sure that we don’t usher the new year in with extra pounds on our bodies.

So, what can we do now?  Come up with an eating and fitness plan that you can follow now so you can look great in your holiday dresses and suits, enjoy the food at these parties, and not worry about putting on extra weight.  So, what do you do?

1) The first thing is not to use the word “diet”.  Strike it from your vocabulary because it’s a surefire way to sabotage yourself.  Dieting during the holidays is especially challenging because of the extra treats that come along with each holiday from cookies to cakes to pies and all of the other fun stuff.  Add in the different celebrations and events that require planning and shopping and you have a whole lot of extra stress to deal with. This usually leads to people “cheating” more and feeling guilty about their cheats that they tend to lose the enjoyment and still end up gaining weight.  So, ditch that word.  It won’t do you any good.  Just focus on eating clean and healthy as much as you can.

2) My biggest tip is to choose some delicious and healthy recipes that you’re going to enjoy eating for the next few months and cook/prepare your own food as much as you can.  Treat yourself to a new cookbook or two to make cooking more fun and exciting (I’m loving Paleo Slow Cooking by Chrissy Gower, Well Fed: Paleo Recipes for People Who Love to Eat by Melissa Joulwan, and Everyday Paleo Family Cookbook by Sarah Fragoso) and schedule in some time to prepare your food.  I cook 2-3 times a week and I only dine out at restaurants 1-2 times each week.  (And when I eat out, I truly savor it and don’t hold back.  Wine?  Yes please!  Dessert?  Absolutely!!!)  How do I do this?  I make big batches of each recipe so that I can eat for days off of what I’ve made.  If you find recipes you love, you’ll eat yourself thin without missing a thing.  Then, you don’t feel guilty eating out because you’ve done so many good things throughout the week.

3) Eat what’s in season. The fall and winter seasons offer so many seasonal vegetables to incorporate into your meal plan.  Butternut squash, spaghetti squash, pumpkin, sweet potato, artichokes, cauliflower, kale, brussel sprouts, and cabbage.  There are so many easy and quick ways to prepare these that you’ll enjoy eating your veggies AND your weight loss.  I’ll be posting a ton of great recipes in the next few days.

4) Eat those veggies first.  If you fill up on veggies before everything else, the fiber in those veggies will prevent you from eating a lot of other things.  You’ll end up eating less and still being full.

5) Try to lessen the amount of dairy you eat.  If must have cheese, then do it, but eat sparingly.  The same goes for everything else.  But, if you can cut out cheese, ice cream, and milk from your daily lifestyle, you’ll save yourself a lot of calories and inflammation.  Save your splurges for where it really counts.

6) Cut down on your sugar intake where you can.  The one thing about sugar is that it is addicting.  The more you have, the more you want.  Throw away that Halloween candy, if you can, or donate it.  If you cut down on your sugar intake right now, you’ll be able to enjoy a little of it at each of the events you have coming up.

7) Eat regularly.  If you eat every 3-4 hours and have protein at each meal, you’re much less likely to want to snack on the bad stuff.  If you’re going to a party, eat something an hour or two before you get there.  Heading to a party with a growling tummy is a surefire way of making some bad decisions.  You’re more likely to overeat and eat things that you’ll regret.  By eating a snack like an apple with almond butter prior to a party, you’ll be able to enjoy the party and not scarf down the first things you see.  Also, don’t “save up” your calories during the day by not eating.  You’ll end up screwing up your metabolism by doing this, first of all, and second, this will backfire because you’ll end up eating more in the end.

8) Chew your food thoroughly.  I tend to eat more meat during the fall and winter.  The cold makes me want to eat stews, soups, and warmer foods, which often involve meat.  So, it’s even more important to be mindful of your eating and chew each bite thoroughly.  This will help you eat less and improve your digestion.  Also, being mindful of chewing your food is important at parties since we often shove appetizers and the rest of our meals in our mouths and barely chew them so we can continue talking.

9) Move it!!!  During the fall and winter seasons, it’s darker and colder out causing many people to not want to work out as much.  This is the time where it gets easy to “fall” out of your routine.  So, to get yourself on track before it’s too late, come up with a fitness plan.  Whether it’s finding classes you enjoy at your gym, buying a new exercise DVD to get you motivated, or going for a jog in the brisk air, just coming up with an excuse-proof plan is crucial to staying healthy through the next few months.  Find a way to sweat and move each day so that you can help yourself stay on track.  Do you have any exercise DVDs you love?  If so, please comment and make suggestions.  I’m always looking for fun new things to try.

10) Try to get as much sleep as you can.  The holidays can be fun, but they can also be stressful.  You can’t store or bank sleep, but the more you get on a regular basis, the better you’ll be able to cope with the stress and the less you’ll want to eat badly.

Happy Fall Everyone!

Related articles

• Keeping Holiday Weight in Check (everydayhealth.com)
• 5 Must-Eat Cleansing Foods for Fall (mindbodygreen.com)
• Have Your Cake and Eat it too this Holiday Season (prweb.com)
• How the “perfect” diet destroyed more than it helped. (internalfieldtrip.wordpress.com)
• Tricks to avoid pigging out on holiday treats (staradvertiser.com)

Cardio vs. Weight training – Which one is better for weight loss?

A public demonstration of aerobic exercises (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Are you trying to lose weight?  Wanna get in shape to fit into those skinny jeans or holiday dresses?  Are you going on vacation and wanting to look amazing in your bikini or swim trunks/board shorts?  Well, we all know that we need to clean up our eating and get active.  But, in the battle of cardio versus weight / strength / resistance training, which one should you be doing to maximize your weight loss?  Well, actually, both!  Sorry, trick question. 

Whenever I walk into a gym, I always notice that there are more women on the treadmills and elliptical machines and more men in the weight area.  Why is it that you will always find more women in an aerobics class than men?  (I couldn’t help myself with the picture to the right.  It makes me giggle.)  A large part of this still stems from women thinking that they’ll burn more calories doing cardio than weights.  Or, they are worried they’ll bulk up if they lift weights (Ladies – you simply cannot bulk up unless you take steroids.  So, pick up some weights, gosh darn it!).  Men tend to primarily lift heavy weights and spend less time on cardio.  So, is cardio better for women and weights better for men?   No, but it does seem somewhat intuitive that if you want to lose fat, you do cardio and if you want to build muscle, you lift weights.  Cardio burns off calories and weight training makes you gain weight.  Right?  Well, yes and no!  I’m here to debunk some of the more common myths so you can spend your time more wisely at the gym.

Wanna lose weight?

Any type of physical activity will burn calories.  But, to lose weight, you need to burn 3,500 calories more than you consume in order to lose 1 lb. of fat.  Cardio tends to burn more calories (depending on the intensity) so by doing a minimum of 30 minutes of cardio 3-5 days per week will help you get a decent start.  But, how many people run and run and run and never seem to burn off that unwanted flab or weight?  Cardio is just simply not the fastest way or only way to lose weight.  How many people run on a treadmill to see the number of calories they’ve torched?  Tons!  It’s rewarding to see that you’ve burned 500+ calories in a run.  Believe me!  I love seeing those numbers.  However, running, cycling, and other forms of aerobic exercise simply will not help you build lean muscle mass or sculpt muscles so that you are burning calories more efficiently throughout the day.  When you are done with your cardio, you may burn some calories immediately after your workout, but there is no longer lasting effect.  Strength training, on the other hand, builds lean muscle mass which simply burns more calories at rest.  Strength training, which is not as easily quantifiable from a calorie perspective as cardiovascular exercise, is a critical component to any long-term fat loss program.  The more muscle you have, the more fuel (calories) you are constantly burning.

Wanna burn fat?

If you’re just counting the calories you burn during exercise, cardiovascular exercise has a slight advantage calorie for calorie.  You burn about 10-12 calories a minute running or cycling while you burn 8-10 calories per minute lifting weights.  However, you get a nice extra metabolic spike for an hour after lifting weights because your body is working hard to help your muscles recover.  So, you actually burn an additional 25% of the calories you just scorched during your strength training session.    So, if you burned 300 calories during a workout, you actually burn about 375 calories all in.  Also, for every 3 pounds of muscle you build, you’ll burn an extra 120 calories per day by just sitting around because muscle takes more energy to sustain.  Over the course of a year, that’s about 10 pounds of fat you could be burning without even changing your diet.  Plus, if you want to look better naked and in your clothes, weight training will help you sculpt and define your muscles so you don’t look like a flabby skinny person.

I don’t want to bulk up!

weight training (Photo credit: midwestnerd)

weight training (Photo credit: midwestnerd)

Shut it down!!!  Women still are under the impression that if they lift weights, they will bulk up.  So, once and for all, here is some clarification.  Bulk isn’t muscle.  Bulk is muscle covered by fat.  So, if you have a decent amount of fat and you’re just starting to weight train, they you will likely increase in size temporarily as you gain muscle but haven’t yet burned off fat.  But, as you continue to build muscle and burn fat, you will get leaner and leaner.

Worried that you will look like one of those ridiculously tanned and “beefy” fitness models?  Don’t!  Unless you dedicate a large percentage of your life to weight training, eat the right type of nutrition and take certain supplements, you will never look like them.  I promise!  Lifting weights or doing resistance training 3 times a week will result in leaner muscle mass and a more defined and sculpted physique.

Beyond weight loss though, cardio and weight training have many other health benefits.  Here are some additional benefits:

Cardiovascular exercise:

• Cardiovascular fitness: Regular aerobic exercise causes your lungs to process more oxygen with less effort, your heart to pump more blood with fewer beats, and the blood supply direct to your muscles to increase.  As a result, you increase your body’s overall endurance and efficiency.
• Improved mental health: Regular aerobic exercise releases endorphins, which reduce stress, depression, and anxiety.
• Improved immune system: People who exercise regularly tend to be less susceptible to minor viral illnesses such as cold and flu because aerobic exercise helps activate your immune system to help it fight off infection.
• Disease reduction: Aerobic exercise contributes to weight loss which can decrease your risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, and some forms of cancer.
• Increased life span: Aerobic exercise has been linked to increased life spans.
• Improved muscle health: Cardio exercise stimulates the growth of tiny blood vessels in your muscles which help your body deliver oxygen more efficiently to your muscles.  They also remove irritating metabolic waste products from them such as lactic acid.

Weight or Strength Training:

• Higher self-confidence: Resistance training (or weight training) can play a huge role in increased self-confidence and body satisfaction as it increases strength, tones muscles, and increases muscular endurance.  Strength training also releases endorphins which make you feel great.  It has also be shown to be a great antidepressant, to help you sleep better, and to improve your overall quality of life.
• Build more Lean body mass – Strength training makes you stronger and can get you into better overall shape.
• Develop better body mechanics – Strength training helps you improve your balance and coordination.  Strength training can reduce your risk of falling as much as 40 percent, which is a crucial benefit when you get older.
• Decreases the risk of osteoporosis – After puberty, both men and woman begin to lose about 1 percent of their bone and muscle strength every year.  One of the best ways to stop, prevent, and even reverse bone and muscle loss is to add strength training to your workouts.
• Disease prevention – Strength training can help improve glucose control for those with Type 2 diabetes.  It can also be as effective as medication in decreasing arthritis pain.
• Prevents injuries resulting from weak muscles

So, what should you be doing to lose weight?  Both.  There are many different ways to incorporate both cardio and weight training into your weekly workout schedule.  You can alternate between cardio and weights on different days, do both separately in one day or session (though you really only need to lift weights 3 times a week to see results), or lift weights and inject bursts or intervals of cardio such as jumping rope or sprinting in between sets.  There is a huge trend now with many fitness classes where they incorporate both cardio and some form of resistance training into each 50-minute or 1-hour class.  CrossFit, cardio-infused pilates (Lagree Fitness), Barry’s Boot Camp, SoulCycle, the Tracy Anderson Method are just a few of the types of classes that are becoming popular because they allow you to get both cardio and resistance training out of one workout.  The overall effect is massive calorie burn, muscle sculpting and definition, and overall weight/fat loss.  Bottom line, if you’re still just getting through a 30-minute elliptical machine workout and not touching weights or just pumping iron and not getting in cardio, you’re missing out on the combined benefits of each type of exercise.

Related articles

• What’s the Best Workout for Weight Loss? (news.health.com)
• Top Trainer Reveals Five Common Fitness Myths Women Should Ignore in New Book (prweb.com)
• Cardio or Weights: Which Comes First? (einmotion.wordpress.com)
• Training And Weight Loss (strengthandfitnesssite.wordpress.com)
• Pump it Up! (melindahinsonneely.com)
• 10 Body Shaping Tips to a Leaner, Lighter You (herfitnesshut.com)
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• How To Lose Fat and Find Muscle (e-prescribe.biz)

10 Tips for a Healthier Halloween – How to Enjoy Halloween and Stay Healthy

Candy corn and candy pumpkins—one of my favorite parts of Halloween. They’re cute and yummy. I hope that others enjoy these shots as much as I do. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Tomorrow marks the beginning of the best 2 months of the year, in my opinion.  Happy early Halloween everyone!  Halloween used to be one of my favorite holidays as a kid.  Figuring out what costume I was going to wear, where my friends and I were going to go trick-or-treating to yield the best and most amounts of candy, and how much candy we were going to scarf down in one sitting were some of my favorite memories of my childhood.  I am 6 years older than my sister and 8 years older than my brother and I remember putting myself in charge of checking out their candy after trick-or-treating.  We would trade candies based on preferences and somehow, I figured out how to divvy up the candy so that I would end up with the lion’s share and they would have much less.  Ah, I love the holidays!  🙂

As an adult though, the holidays can be a bit tricky when it comes to staying healthy and not allowing yourself to get derailed by the candy, treats, and fabulous holiday food.  I worked in an office setting for 13 years and remember having to play tricks on myself to avoid eating too much of the office Halloween candy.  Now that I’m a mom, I have to think about not eating the candy that I just purchased for tomorrow’s trick-or-treaters and the candy that my daughter will be bringing home.  So, I thought it would be good to put some tips together to help you get through the next few days (let’s just be honest, Halloween candy does not have to stay around for more than a few days…no, I’m not advising that you eat it all).  Halloween can be even more dangerous because most of the candy comes in those cute, bite-size, benign-looking miniatures.  One here, one there, and before you know it, you’ve scarfed down hundreds of calories worth of high fructose corn syrup. 🙂  So here are some tips and tricks to not allow Halloween to make you go “Boo Hoo”:

1) Give out apples or dental floss to trick-or-treaters.  Yeah right!!!  Unless you want your house to be egged, toilet papered (sp?), or pegged as “that house”, do NOT give out fruit or dental care products.  You don’t have to completely give up on the spirit of Halloween.  Just buy candy that you don’t like as much…you’re much less likely to eat it.

2) Buy candy that is lower in calories.  Here are a few good ones:

• Tootsie Rolls (the little ones are only 26 calories)
• 3 Musketeer Minis (24 calories, less than 1g fat)
• Fun-size Lemonheads (10 Lemonheads contain 50 calories, 0g fat)
• York Peppermint Patty (1 Full-size bar or 3 miniature patties contain 140 calories, 3  fat)
• Tootsie Caramel Apple Pop (60 calories, 0.5 g fat)
• Dum Dums (20 calories, 0g fat)
• Hershey’s Kisses (3 kisses contain 67 calories, 4 g fat)
• Tootsie Rolls (1 original roll contains 26 calories, 0.5 g fat)
• Peanut M&Ms (1 Fun Size pouch contains 90 calories, 5 g fat)
• Skittles (1 Fun Size pouch contains 60 calories)
• Charms Blow Pops (60 calories, 0g fat)

Worst  candies:

• Butterfinger Minis (45 calories, 2g fat, 4.5g sugar) – have a few of these and you’ve just downed a whole bar.  Oops!
• Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups Minis (44 calories, 2.6g fat) – Ditto
• Snickers Minis (43 calories, 2 g fat) Yum… I mean, yikes!
• Baby Ruth Fun Size Bar (83 calories, 4 g fat, 10 g sugar)
• Mounds Fun Size Bar (92 calories, 5g fat, 8.8g sugar)
• Twix Fun Size Bars (80 calories, 4g fat, 8g sugar)
• Starburst Fruit Chews (8 pieces contain 160 calories, 3.5 grams fat, 23 g sugar) – Each piece contains 20 calories and it’s tough for most to just have one
• Twizzlers (4 pieces/ropes contain 150 calories, 1g fat, 21 g sugar)

3) If you are going to go for the candy bowl, opt for the hard candy.  It takes you longer to eat and you will likely not have as much.  3 Jolly Ranchers contain 70 calories, 0g fat, and 11 g sugar.  They are a lower calorie treat that will do less harm than many of the chocolates.

4) Buy healthier versions of candy.  Whole Foods has some great organic candy made by Yummy Earth.  They have lollipops, hard candies, jelly beans, sour worms, and gummy bears that are certified organic, gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free, contain no high fructose corn syrup or artificial colors or flavors, and are made with real fruit extras.  These are a great alternative if you want to avoid eating the bad stuff but want something sweet.  I keep these in my pantry for treats for my daughter and plan on replacing most of her candy with many of these. 🙂

5) If you’re going to indulge a bit, go to the gym twice or put in a really intense workout with some extra cardio.  Burn some extra calories to make up for the candy you will likely ingest.

6) Don’t “bank” your calories.  Make sure you start your day off right with a good breakfast with plenty of protein.  If you eat protein at every meal and go for the whole grains, you’re a lot less likely to overeat when the treats are in front of you.

7) Eat dinner before you go trick-or-treating.  You’ll eat less of the candy while you’re walking or when you get back.

8) Keep your candy out of sight.  Wait to open those bags of candy until the trick-or-treaters arrive.  It’s much harder to resist if it’s in front of you.

9) Drink lots of water. If you are well hydrated, you’re much less likely to want to grab a treat.

10) Donate your extra candy to a shelter or dentist’s cash-back program, send to military troops, or bring the rest to your workplace.  There’s no need to keep it around you.

Happy Halloween Everyone!!!

Related articles

• Halloween – Is Candy Really a Treat? (foodfromthegarden.wordpress.com)
• Trick or Treat: Alternatives to Halloween’s Candy Craze (proehlific.wordpress.com)
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• Candy Calories [infographic] (degreesearch.org)
• What Candy You Give Out For Halloween, Says A Lot About You (1019litefm.cbslocal.com)
• National Candy Corn Day – October 30 (foodfromthegarden.wordpress.com)
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My Before and After Pictures

I used to watch The Biggest Loser and be inspired by people’s epic weight loss.  However, after a number of seasons of watching the show purely air these crazy challenges and the contestants working out like crazy without using the opportunity and platform to truly teach people how to really eat healthy, I started to tune out (not sure how much has changed since I last watched). One of my favorite parts of the show though was the last episode where people would do their big reveal.  It was always so great to see the dramatic changes they had made in their bodies and lives.  So, for my post today, I dug through years of photos and wanted to show my own before and after pics.  In digging through my old photo albums, I was struck by the lack of full-body pictures I had in my albums.  Most of the pictures pre-weight loss had my face and that was pretty much about it.  When looking for more current pictures, I had a plethora of full body shots to choose from.  While I’ve always recognized that my confidence and self-image has increased significantly as a result of my weight loss, this was the first time I realized how my self confidence or lack thereof, in the past, was depicted in pictures.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people look at me now (and let’s be honest, I’m no fitness model; I’m just your average working mom trying to get the most out of life) and say they wish they had good genes; like it’s because of genetics that I’m thin and healthy.  If they only knew what I looked like before and the journey I’ve gone through to get to where I am today.  I put time and effort into being healthy and staying thin daily.  I am extremely conscientious about what I eat, planning my meals ahead of time, but also making plans to eat whatever I want (my cheat meals).  I get up early in the morning (yes, 5:30 am) to work out 5 days a week and spend time researching ways to help myself and my family be the healthiest we can be.  While I recognize that people have certain genetic predispositions to look a certain way, I am a true believer that most people can achieve what they set out to achieve.  It is merely the intention to look and feel good, the determination to eat well and exercise daily, the  right planning to work in exercise into your schedule as well as planning out your meals, and executing on those plans that yield results.  Don’t believe me?  Look at these pictures.  Oh, I recently did a little photo shoot by the beach to get some shots in for the blog, so some of those pictures are included below (may I add again that I am not a fitness model).

Here, you’ll see some illustrative before and after pics:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

While I would never have been categorized as obese, I certainly was a bit overweight and chubby back then.  My journey over the past 10 years has taught me not only how to lose weight and eat healthy, but also how to excel in other areas.  My income from the time those before pictures were taken to the most recent ones increased tenfold, a product of time, confidence, dreaming big, hard work and planning.  I wrote a post a few weeks back about my personal success formula:

Intention + Determination + The Right Plan + Execution = Results

This has truly been the formula I’ve applied in most of the areas of my life.  People often go through life without much of a plan or intention with respect to who they are and what they want to be.  I’m a living, breathing testament to the fact that if you dream it, and work hard to achieve it, you can get it…whatever “it” might be.

Related articles

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The Best Times to Eat to Lose Weight

English: an animated clock (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

More often, we talk about what to eat to lose weight, but when we eat has a huge impact on our health and weight loss efforts as well.  Eating at the appropriate times throughout the day will help to maximize fat burning and keep hunger at bay.

Here are some good rules to follow:

Eat every 3-4 hours: Many people eat three meals and one or 2 snacks per day, while others prefer four to five smaller meals.  Finding the schedule and portion sizes that work best for you and your schedule is key to losing weight.  By timing your meals in this way, you can improve your fat loss by preventing excess insulin and allowing leptin, a hormone that plays a key role in regulating appetite/hunger and metabolism, to do its job.  Aim to eat around the same time every day.

Eat within 1 hour of waking: We’ve all heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  Well, it’s true.  The sooner you eat, the sooner you get your metabolism going.  When you skip breakfast, you lose the stimulating benefits that first meal has on your metabolic rate.  You also become more likely to eat unhealthy meals, more calories, and larger amounts of saturated fat throughout the day.  There has been a large amount of research out there that has revealed that those who skip breakfast regularly tend to be heavier and more overweight.  Also, missing your healthy morning meal increases stress hormones which can also lead to weight gain.

Start your day with protein: Not all breakfasts are created equal.  For better appetite control throughout the day, stick to eggs or whey protein smoothies for breakfast.  A morning meal that is rich in protein can help you lose weight by keeping you full, satisfied, and less likely to overeat.  A high-protein breakfast may aid in weight loss because protein-rich foods take longer to leave the stomach, so they keep you full longer than other foods.  Protein also keeps blood sugar steady which keeps you from having cravings or sudden hunger and burns more calories during digestion since it requires more energy to digest than carbs or fat.

Don’t eat within 3 hours of bedtime:  9pm dinner reservations?  Not a great idea…unless you’re planning to stay out late and go to sleep at 1 or 2am.  Eating too close to bedtime raises your body temperature, increases blood sugar and insulin, prevents the release of melatonin, and cuts down on growth hormone release.  What does this mean?  The quality of your sleep is effected and your body is busy digesting the food you just ate rather than burning fat.   Plus, sleep deprivation or sleep inefficiency can lead to more cravings and a greater likelihood of overeating the next day.

If you are hungry or need to eat before bed, opt for a light meal or snack that’s high in protein and low in carbs and fat.    Good options would be a salad with grilled chicken, a protein shake with berries and water, or some fish and veggies.

Always eat within 15 minutes to an hour of finishing your workout:  If you work out regularly (which you should if you want to lose weight), the post-workout meal or snack is extremely important as your body needs to recover the losses it undertook during exercise.  Eating a combination of protein and carbs is recommended as protein provides the amino acids necessary to rebuild muscle tissue that is damaged during an intense, prolonged exercise.  Protein also increases the absorption of water from the intestines and improves muscle hydration.  Carbs are used by the body to restore muscle glycogen that was depleted while you worked out.  If your post-workout meal doesn’t contain carbs, your body may actually break down muscle tissue for this same purpose (which would essentially defeat the purpose of working out).  Carbs also create an insulin spike which helps to move nutrients into your muscle tissue quicker.  There are many different theories on the right protein to carb ratio and solid versus liquid foods, but I’ll cover this in another post.  The one thing to avoid in the post-workout snack is fat as it slows down the digestion process, which means that it takes more time for your body to get the protein and carbs it needs so badly.  If you’re working out only 2-3 times a week or doing less intense workouts, this may not be as big of a deal.  But, if you are working out 4+ days per week at a rather high intensity, this is very important.  Also, never weight train on an empty stomach.  You will need energy from food to perform optimally.  But, if you’re doing cardio for less than 30 minutes, you should be okay.

Eat protein first: Eating the protein on your plate first will help speed the signal to your brain that you are full, thus helping you eat less.

Drink alcohol last: I don’t like this one as much, but drinking alcohol or wine after your meal enhances the hormones involved in appetite control and digestion.

Keep your caloric intake spread evenly throughout the day: Change up the types of foods, namely carb-based foods, that you’re eating as the day goes on and your activity level changes.  Your body’s ability to process carbs decreases as the day goes on (scientists call this insulin sensitivity).  This means that you’re body metabolizes carbohydrates more efficiently in the morning compared to later at night.  The more efficiently your body can use the food you give it, the easier it is to lose weight.

Exercise is the one x-factor that greatly increases your insulin sensitivity.  Your body is more able to use the carbohydrates you eat for fuel and not store it as fat cells.  So, if you work out in the evenings, make sure that you still incorporate carbs and protein into your post-workout meal/snack.  But, for the most part, you should try to eat the majority of starchy (if you’re going to have them at all) and grain-based carbohydrates after your workout or earlier in the day (breakfast and lunch).  Dinner should consist of mostly protein and vegetables.

Avoid eating the bulk of your food at one meal because going too long without eating may lead to overeating. Plus, you overload your digestive system and cause spikes in your blood sugar level.

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Ways to Eat Healthy While Traveling – What to Eat at Airports – Top 10 Healthiest Airports

English: Dubai Magyar: Dubaj (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’m getting ready to leave tomorrow for a week-long vacation to Dubai.  So, I got to thinking about how to eat well while traveling.  Most people have a bit of anxiety about gaining weight while traveling.  Airports make it a bit more difficult to stay on track as many of them don’t have as many healthy options.  First, I want to clarify my stance on eating when you’re on vacation.  EAT!!!  You’re on vacation!  You’ve earned it…just don’t go too crazy so you have to deal with the aftermath.  Give yourself a little weight budget that you can live with (x pounds you can feel comfortable losing easily when you get back).  Personally, I love food and enjoy eating at fabulous restaurants.  So, to not let my penchant for good food derail my weight loss/maintenance efforts, I combine eating healthy as much as I can at the meals that mean less to me (like breakfast and lunch – I’m happy to eat egg whites scrambled with veggies for breakfast everyday and a salad for lunch if it means that I can splurge at dinner).

Whether you’re traveling for business or pleasure, eating well at airports can be tricky…that is unless you have a plan of attack prior to departure.  Most airports are filled with fast food chains and very few healthy options which can make it difficult, but not impossible, to eat healthy when you’re en route to your destination.   A bit of planning can prevent you from making bad choices.  Here are a few tips:

1) Eat before you leave for the airport.  You will have 100% control of your food if you prepare it yourself or choose from healthier options before you get to the airport.

2) BYOF: Bring your own food to the airport.  TSA regulations allow you to carry on a wrapped sandwich you made from home (or bought on your way to the airport).  Just hold the mayo, mustard or other gel-like condiments.  Also, no peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  You can also bring nuts, dried fruit, packable fruits and vegetables like apples, oranges, carrots, cucumbers, and celery.

3) Do a little research on the airports you will be flying through before you leave.  Most airports have websites that list restaurant information by terminal.  Knowing which restaurants you can choose from ahead of time can help you plan what to eat or whether you want to eat prior to getting to the airport.  Many of these restaurants have websites, especially the chain restaurants (which also have to post their nutritional information if they have more than 15 locations) so you can pick your meal prior to getting to there.  Often, when you select what you’re going to eat ahead of time, you’re less likely to make poor choices when you’re in a rush or don’t have a plan.  Airport food is usually not great, so it’s often not worth splurging on your caloric intake there.

4) Bring healthy snacks. I love Kind Bars (specifically their Almond & Apricot and Fruit & Nut Delight bars) and usually bring one or two in my purse, just in case.  They’re great because they are a solid food and therefore you’ll have no problem size restrictions with airport security.  You can also bring your favorite brown rice cakes or popcorn…or my favorite, Sea Sprinkles.

5) If you can’t get a direct flight and need to connect somewhere, pick your airport based on how healthy they are.  Here is a list of the top 10 healthiest airports in the US (based on the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine 2011 Airport Food Review):

1. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport – Detroit tops the list for the 3rd year in a row.
2. San Francisco International Airport – A very close second to Detroit.
3. Washington Dulles International Airport
4. Minneapolis – St. Paul International Airport
5. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
6. Las Vegas McCarran International Airport
7. Denver International Airport
8. Miami International Airport
9. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
10. Charlotte Douglas International Airport

6) If you’re in a rush and absolutely must go the fast-food route, here are a few healthy options:

Breakfast:

Starbucks – Perfect Oatmeal (140 calories, 3 g fat): Mix your oats with pre-portioned packets of dried fruit (100 calories), nuts (100 calories), or brown sugar (100 calories)

Dunkin’ Donuts – Egg White and Turkey Sausage Flatbread (280 calories, 6 g fat, 19 g of protein)

Lunch/Dinner:

Arby’s – Turkey Roasters Classic (290 calories, 5 g fat) or Chopped Farmhouse Salad with Roast Turkey (240 calories, 13 g fat) with Light Italian Dressing (20 calories, 1 g fat)

McDonald’s – Hamburger (250 calories, 9 g fat) and a side salad instead of fries (20 calories, 0 fat) with Newman’s Own Low Fat Family Recipe Italian Dressing ( 90 calories, 2.5 g fat) or the Premium Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken Salad (190 calories, 5 g fat) with Newman’s Own Low Fat Balsamic Vinaigrette (35 calories, 2.6 g fat)

Baja Fresh – Ensalada with Charbroiled Chicken (310 calories, 7 g fat); Add their fresh salsa verde which is only another 15 calories

Taco Bell – 2 Fresco Chicken Soft Tacos (300 calories, 7 g fat) or 2 Fresco Crunchy Tacos (280 calories, 16 g fat)

Subway – Oven Roasted Chicken Salad (140 calories, 2.5 g fat)

7) If you have the time to dine at a restaurant, pick chicken or fish items that can be grilled or steamed.  Add veggies or a side salad and you’re pretty safe.

Safe and happy travels to anyone traveling!  Stay tuned this next week for some fun pictures of Dubai, as well as pics of great food and their fitness scene. 🙂

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