Frequently eating foods prepared away from home is associated with obesity, higher body fat and a higher BMI. It makes sense, doesn't it? Restaurant owners don’t’ care about your pant size or blood pressure, they just want their food to taste delicious and ensure you come back for more. It’s all about that salt, sugar, and fat. Ahh the brain orgasm, or what Michael Moss calls the “bliss point” in his great book. When you cook at home, it’s your hand that’s shaking that salt shaker, putting oil in the pan before you sauté, or sprinkling in that bit of sugar to cut the tartness of your dish. When you cook at home, you control the calories and the flavor. So why don’t we do it more often? Some studies show that the lack of cooking knowledge, confidence, and skills can limit at-home meal preparation. Others explicate our lack of time. Another theory is the drudgery of cooking as many people cook alone, which is a historical exception. Currently we spend an average of 55 minutes per day preparing meals (prepping, cooking, cleaning), down almost 50% since 1965. All the while, most Americans spend up to 5 hours watching TV each day. As Michael Pollan suggests, cooking has become a spectator sport with many of us spending more time watching the Food Network than standing behind our cutting boards. Pollan's new books Cooked by the way is amazing - what a revelation to think that cooking, not nutrient or calorie intake, can quash the epidemic of preventable chronic disease we face. So how do we get folks back into the kitchen? Or at least spending more time cooking meals from scratch rather than relying heavily on packaged and convenience foods (e.g., boxed flavored rice, pasta sauce jars, frozen pizzas), which are faster to prepare yet higher in fat, calories, salt and sugar? PLAN AHEAD. Simplify mealtime by prepping as much as possible ahead of time:
KEEP IT SIMPLE. Go to your local library and pick up a few simple, user-friendly cookbooks. Some quick go-to meals include:
STOCK YOUR KITCHEN: Healthy cooking starts with filling your cupboards. Keep these basics on hand, and you'll be able to whip up delicious meals in less than the time it takes for pizza to be delivered. Basic healthy cooking tools:
USE THE TACO BELL APPROACH: Learn to recombine a few basic ingredients into multiple tasty dishes. PAPER PLATES? If dirty dishes are tempting you to eat out, use paper plates. While I don’t recommend using them for every meal, less cleanup time is a common barrier these help eliminate. I'll leave you with a cute little video where Michael Pollan explains how cooking can change your life.
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We all know the catchy childhood songs about beans: Beans, beans, the magical fruit The more you eat, the more you toot. The more you toot, the better you feel So let's eat beans with every meal! Or Beans, beans, they're good for your heart The more you eat, the more you fart. The more you fart, the better you feel So let's eat beans with every meal! As odd as it sounds, beans are technically a fruit and a recent research study has once again confirmed their being good for your heart. More than just a meat substitute, beans are rich in antioxidants and high in fiber – with one cup of cooked beans (two-thirds of a can) providing about 12 grams of fiber, nearly half our recommended daily dose*. Beyond their contribution of fiber and disease-fighting antioxidants, a diet emphasizing beans (about 1 serving daily) has been shown to significantly lower LDL (low density lipoprotein or "lousy”) cholesterol levels. If you don’t know much about LDL cholesterol, this is good news as high LDL levels are associated with heart disease. If your next physical involves a blood test, a LDL of less than 100 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) is optimal. If your LDL levels are high, watch your intake of saturated fats and ensure to get enough fiber. Regular aerobic exercise also lowers LDL cholesterol and increases HDL (high density lipoproteins or "good") cholesterol to boot. Alrighty then, whose ready for some hummus and veggies? Easy ways to boost your bean intake:
*Dietary Fiber requirements for healthy adult males is 38gm/day, and 25 gm/day for adult females. To maintain your weight, you have to balance your calories. There is some debate to this calories in, calories out mantra*, but for those new to the land of weight loss and weight maintenance the calorie balance mantra is a great platform to start. So...calories. We've all heard of them, but what are they? Well, a calorie is a just unit of energy. We tend to associate calories with food, but they apply to anything containing energy. A calorie is the amount of energy, or heat, it takes to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water 1 degree Celsius. We humans need energy to survive -- to breathe, move, pump blood, and think -- and we get this energy from food and beverages. We also burn energy, or calories, during physical activity. We all come in different shapes and sizes and each person's body burns energy (calories) at different rates, so there isn't one perfect number of calories we should eat. However, the recommended range for most adults is between 1,600 to 2,800 calories per day, depending on your age, sex, and activity level. If you are maintaining your current body weight, you are in caloric balance. If you need to gain weight or to lose weight, you'll need to tip the balance scale in one direction or another to achieve your goal. If you need to tip the balance scale in the direction of losing weight, keep in mind that 1 pound of body fat is approximately 3,500 calories – so you’ll have to eat that much less or burn that many more through exercise (ideally a combination of both!) to lose 1 pound. To lose about 1 to 2 pounds per week, you'll need to reduce your caloric intake by 500—1000 calories per day. To learn how many calories you are currently eating, begin by reading your nutrition labels and write down the foods and beverages you consume each day as well as the type and duration of your physical activities (cleaning the house counts!). By writing down what you eat and drink, you are incorporating awareness into your day. As I wrote in a prior post, journaling counts! A recent study revealed that people keeping a food diary six days a week lost about twice as much weight as those who kept food records one day a week or less. In addition, experiment tracking when and where you eat and what emotions you experience to beat emotional eating. *Is a calorie a calorie regardless of its source ( carbohydrates, fats, sugars, or proteins, etc.)? I will get into this in a future post. Spoiler alert: some researchers believe that not all calories are created equal. Attention Restoration Theory (ART) asserts that people can concentrate better after spending time in nature, or even looking at scenes of nature. Time in nature seems to help restore our prefrontal cortex, the thick outer layer of our brain that is in charge of planning, decision making, and moderating social behavior, which can become depleted with overuse. Studies have found that ART can enhance cognitive function. One study in particular found that found that after four days of immersion in nature, and the consequent disconnection from technology, subjects experienced increased performance on creativity and problem-solving tasks. Of course, not all of us have the time to immerse ourselves in nature for four entire days. Luckily, just twenty minutes in a park setting is sufficient to elevate attention performance relative to the same amount of time in other settings. The variety of research on ART indicate that our environments can enhance attention and that “doses of nature” might even serve as a safe, inexpensive, and accessible tool for those managing ADHD symptoms. Many researchers believe that humans are dependent on nature not only for material needs (food, water, shelter, etc.) but perhaps more importantly for psychological, emotional, and spiritual needs. Natural places such as parks offer an opportunity to become revitalized and refreshed while urban areas often mean dealing with environmental demands such as crowds, noise, and pollution. It has been demonstrated that these factors can cause mental fatigue and exhaustion. I had the good fortune to get a little dose of ART on my birthday weekend, hiking 12 miles in the Philip Burton Wilderness on the Point Reyes Peninsula with my girlfriend Sara. We in the Bay Area are beyond fortunate to have such lush coastal trails and wildflower-filled meadows within a few hours drive. We enjoyed snacking on sweet wild strawberries, smelling the soapy Ceanothus and evading the poison oak and stinging nettle. With regard to ART, there is something to be said about multi-day treks in the wilderness, where your to-do's and distracting electronic devices are left at home. A two night, three day backpacking trip to the Trinity Alps is brewing here. 'Till then, let's keep incorporating daily doses of scenic beauty. Not only will be receive cognitive advantages, but we'll also get a dose of Vitamin D, exercise, fresh air and happiness. I spent last weekend in Boonville for their annual campathon and beer fest so figured I would write a post on the health benefits of beer. Before my short stint at the Bistro in Hayward, I was unaware of the delicious variety of beer and its warm community. In October of 2008 I worked at their annual wet hop festival and it forever elevated my palate to the IPA-loving woman I am today. Moylan’s Wet Hopsickle was the drink that sealed the deal for me. I love beer for its delicate balance of sweet malt and bitter, fragrant hops, but knowing its health benefits* sure help justify my imbibing: Beer and your bones Beer is rich in silicon, a trace element that plays an important role in bone formation, bone density and connective tissue health. During the mashing process, silicon is made readily bioavailable. Other dietary sources of silicon include whole grains, fruits and vegetables such as green beans and bananas, and legumes. Fiber Beer and fiber? Made from barley, beer contains beta-glucans — a type of soluble fiber credited with improving heart health by lowering cholesterol levels. A 12 ounce bottle of lager sports 0.75 grams of fiber while the same amount of dark beer boasts 1.3 grams. It’s vitamin B-licious Beer is an excellent source of B vitamins such as folate, niacin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, B6 and B12. One 12-ounce beer supplies 3% of the B12 and 12.5% of the B6 you need in a day. These nutrients support your body’s metabolism and help it produce essential substances, such as neurotransmitters and red blood cells. Heart healthy Those who drink one to two alcoholic drinks of any kind are less likely to suffer from heart disease. Experts believe alcohol improves heart health by making blood less “sticky” so it's less likely to clot by increasing levels of good HDL cholesterol while lowering unhealthy LDL cholesterol. Hops fight cancer Hops are an acquired taste for some, but reconsider their bitterness and in return get a dose of cancer-fighting antioxidants! Hops contain the flavonoid compound called xanthohumol that has interesting cancer chemopreventive properties (i.e it inhibits, reverses or retards tumor growth). I will leave you with the Oatmeal’s 20 things worth knowing about beer. Gotta love this comic. *Most of these health benefits pertain to moderate drinking, 1-2 drinks per day. Beer's calories and carbohydrates also pose a dilemma for those striving to manage their weight. The average light beer has about 110 calories per bottle while a pint of flavorful craft beer can have up to 250. But how much flavor are you willing to sacrifice to save a few calories? In my opinion, life is too short for crappy beer. Drink mindfully, keep active, get enough sleep and don’t stress about it. More on managing calories in another post. I am off for my lunch hour walk. Some days I drag my feet, but knowing how I’ll feel once I return to the office gets me out (more on exercise and mood soon). In addition I have to keep accountable to my lunchtime walking partners (thank you Leslie and Teresa)! If you haven’t heard yet, “sitting is the new smoking”. Sitting and smoking you ask? Well, research is beginning to equate sitting to smoking in terms of harm to overall health. A 2012 study analyzing the results of 18 studies with a total of nearly 800,000 participants found that higher levels of sedentary behavior were associated with a 112% increase in the risk of diabetes, 147% increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease, 90% increase in the risk of cardiovascular mortality and 49% increase in the risk of all cause mortality. Prolonged sitting is not what nature intended for us, yet it’s become the norm. Sitting in the car or in public transportation, sitting in front of a computer at work, sitting in meetings, sitting in front of the TV….the average American spends an average of 7.7 hours sitting each day. So how can we fight this sitting disease? Here are some thoughts: · Get off the bus or train a stop early · Take the stairs · Set up walking meetings at work and hiking dates with family and friends · Set up reminders to walk at lunch or during breaks · Walk or stand while on the phone · Get a pedometer and count your steps (research shows that those who wear pedometers walk up to 2,000 more steps each day than non-wearers!) · Start incorporating post-meal walks (which are effective at lowering the glycemic impact for those managing their blood sugar) · Choose a parking spot that's far from the store entrance -- or just walk to the store · Get a dog (dog owners take approximately 25% more steps per day than non-owners) However you choose to fight the sitting the disease, whether it's during the work day, before or after, it should match your personal tastes and limitations. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that healthy adults walk or exercise aerobically at a moderate pace* at least 150 minutes or at a vigorous pace at least 90 minutes a week. They also recommend adding resistance and flexibility training 2 to 3 times a week. This might be too much to start. An initial goal of walking 15 minutes 3 times a week will benefit you in the beginning and leave plenty of room for you to increase the duration as your mood and energy improve. Alrighty then, I'm outta here. As the father of modern medicine, Hippocrates, said, “walking is man’s best medicine.” Let’s all start taking his advice today. * You'll know its moderate by taking the “talk test” — you should be able to talk while working out, but not sing. There is compelling evidence that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can lower the risk of heart disease, stroke and cancer (with those eating seven or more servings daily showing lowest risk). Fruits and vegetables are also a great tool in weight control as they are naturally low in fat and calories and are filling. But how much is enough? The latest dietary guidelines call for six to twelve servings of fruits and vegetables a day (3 -6 cups), depending on one’s caloric intake. However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2013 State Indicator Report on Fruits & Vegetables, adults in the US only consume fruit about 1.1 times per day and vegetables about 1.6 times per day. An easy way to remember all this is to echo the MyPlate mantra: make 1/2 your plate fruits and vegetables. Colors count too. It may sound corny, but as I told all the kiddos during my years in the field as a Child Health & Nutrition Specialist, we’ve got to “eat a rainbow a day”! Many of those disease-busting antioxidants are phytochemicals, which provide the varied pigmentation of fruit and vegetables. Incorporate the whites, deep oranges, purples, yellows, reds and greens. Green leafy vegetables are in fact most strongly associated with a reduction in risk of cardiovascular disease. Not quite at that 7+ a day mark? Here are some great ways to incorporate more fruits and veggies into the meals you’re already making: Boost your breakfast: - Add peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms or onions to your eggs for a delicious omelet, or pile the whole scramble on your favorite bread, tortilla, or bagel for a hearty breakfast sandwich. - Stir berries (fresh or frozen), dried fruit, or banana slices into yogurt, cereal, or oatmeal. - Make a smoothie. Combine some low fat milk or yogurt, 1/2 cup frozen berries and a banana for a super easy blended breakfast (add some spinach or kale for a super boost! Nut butters are also a divine addition) . Half the meat, double the veggies: In soups, salads, pastas, sandwiches, pizzas, and casseroles half the amount of meat and double the amount of veggies. You’ll be saving money and filling up with heart-healthy antioxidants and fiber. Do the dip! Go sweet or savory with apple wedges, pears, bananas, mango, or pineapple spears in fruit-flavored yogurt or go with raw veggies and hummus, creamy ranch, avocado, or zesty salsa. Salad time! Make your salad a meal by combining an array of colorful greens (let’s move past romaine y’all), crunchy veggies like carrots, radishes and cabbage with protein (nuts, beans cheese, egg, chicken, tuna,etc.). Beware of dressing overload by keeping it on the side. Keep produce where you can see it….that way you’ll be more likely to eat it. Keep your fruit bowl loaded on the counter, ensure pre-cut veggies are ready to go in the fridge and keep trail mix on hand in the car for an on-the-go snack. Don’t forget the freezer: Pre-cut fruits and vegetables are abundant and affordable options. Plop those frozen fruits into your blender or in your homemade baked goods and add those veggies to your boiling water when making pasta, rice, quinoa etc. Busy weekend and I'm happy to finally be home relaxing and cooking up some goodness. First thing I made when I walked in the door was Giada De Laurentiis' easy beet, arugula and goat cheese salad...pure bliss. Of course, its only easy when you have all the ingredients on hand. More on a well-stocked kitchen in another post. What I want to write about though is the second dish I made this afternoon: kale chips. Easy, undeniably nutritious and delicious! Albert's green thumb has yielded a very generous plant this year. It's a warm day so soup, in which kale is a great addition, really isn't an option. Hence, kale chips. But what is all the buzz around kale? Kale is considered a “superfood” because it's so nutritionally dense and full of antioxidants (vitamins A, C, K and flavonoids), anti-inflammatory nutrients (vitamin K and omega-3 fatty acids), and anti-cancer nutrients (vitamin K and glucosinolates - compounds responsible for the bitterness in greens). In addition, one cup of chopped kale contains 33 calories and 20% of the RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) of dietary fiber, 9% of the daily value of calcium, 71% of vitamin C, 98% of vitamin A, and a whopping 1180% of vitamin K*. It is also a good source of minerals copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus. Pretty exceptional! (All those stats came from the website Worlds Healthiest Foods - cheesy title, great resource) You can buy a $5 a package of kale chips from a health food store, but a $2 bushel will easily yield three times as many chips. Of course growing the kale is most economical. If you have an hour on your hands, homemade kale chips are king. The simplest recipes call for just olive oil, salt and pepper. I prefer mine rich with roasty tahini. Any nut butter works, actually. Here you go, my Tangy Tahini kale chips, adapted from Savory Simple's Spicy Tahini Kale Chips. Enjoy! Tangy Tahini Kale Chips 1 large bunch of kale, inner ribs removed (lacinato kale aka "dinorsaur" kale is my favorie) Juice from 1/2 lemon 4 cloves garlic chopped (more or less, to your preference) 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (I used homemade chili oil, its easy to make your own!) 2 heaping Tbsps tahini 1/2 tsp honey Generous sprinklings of crushed red pepper flakes, salt and pepper Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F (or plug in your dehydrator). Line 2 baking sheets with foil or parchment. Wash and thoroughly dry the kale, then remove the leaves from the tough inner stem. Slice or rip into large pieces. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. Toss in Kale and mix with your hands. Spread the chips in a single layer on the baking sheets or in the dehydrator. The dehydrator should take approximately 8 hours. The oven will take less than an hour (start checking on them after 30 minutes). They're ready when the seasonings are completely dry and the kale is crispy. *Eating a diet rich in the powerful antioxidant vitamin K can reduce the overall risk of developing or dying from cancer, according to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Vitamin K is abundant in kale but also found in parsley, spinach, collard greens, and broccoli. TED is a non-profit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less). Beginning as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, today TED covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues — in more than 100 languages. If you haven’t experienced TED.com yet, I invite you to get lost in their website when you have a spare hour…or two. I recently watched the TED Talk Want to be happy? Be grateful. Here, Brother David Steindl-Rast introduces the idea that it’s not happiness that makes us grateful, it’s gratefulness that makes us happy. He re-inspired the awareness within me that every moment is a given moment, every moment is a gift. This moment, with all the opportunity it contains, is a “gift moment” as he describes it. It’s easy to forget that, getting lost in our daily routines and to-do’s. I am commonly subject to the mental spasms of my mind and all of its desires, reservations, and commotion. This video is a great reminder to bring our awareness to the now, to the moment, and to not take ourselves too seriously. Rather than working to achieve happiness, let’s find ways to relish in all we have to be grateful for and happiness will modestly and naturally emerge. My inspiring partner introduced me to Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) a few years back. I have since been exposed to its tenets through motivational speakers and authors I follow like Eban Pagan, Wyatt Woodsmall and Anthony Robins. NLP describes the fundamental dynamics between mind (neuro) and language (linguistic) and how their interplay affects our body and behavior (programming). The myriad of NLP techniques are based on four operational principals: 1. Know your outcome (write it down; be specific; state it in the positive) 2. Have the sensory acuity to see whether you’re getting your outcome (how is going to look/smell/sound /feel when you achieve your outcome?) 3. Harness the behavioral flexibility to achieve your outcome (you can’t change and stay the same!) 4. Take action now Rather than focusing on what we want, it’s all too common to focus on what we don’t want. But it’s hard to not do something. Nothing is wrong with not doing something, but it doesn’t’ give us direction. NLP advises us to reach for the carrot, rather than avoid the stick. As Stephen Covey explains, begin with the end in mind. Beginning with the end in mind reminds us to live a life with purpose, to live purposefully. The clearer we can be about what we want, the more specific we are about our goal, the more achievable it becomes. Otherwise, we’ll be setting sail for a trip that Anthony Robins calls the Niagara Syndrome: "Life is like a river for many people, they just jump in the river of life without ever deciding where they want to end up. They set off on a journey without even a little spadework. In a short period of time, they find themselves caught up in the current: current events, current fears, current challenges...When they come to forks in the river, they don’t consciously decide where they want to go or which is the right direction for them. They merely ‘go with the flow’. They become a part of the mass of the people who are directed by the environment instead of by their own values and goals. As a result, they feel out of control. They remain in this unconscious state until one day the sounds of raging water awakens them and they discover that they are five feet from Niagara Falls in a boat with no oars. At this point, they say, “Oh Shit”. But by then, it is too late. " Before setting sail towards a new goal, get specific: What specifically do you want? How will you know when you have it? What resources do you have now, and what resources will you need to get your outcome? |
AuthorHello and welcome! My name is Andrea Notch Mayzeles. I am a Certified Health Education Specialist, Mom, and Master of Public Health dedicated to the path of well-being. As a wellness professional I am committed to continued learning and am here to share research, recipes and musings on health, psychology, personal development, and parenting. I hope you enjoy! Categories
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