Tag Archives: nutrition

Hillcrest Farmers Market

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With summer comes an onslaught of Farmer’s Markets. From coast to coast there are streets lined with tents and under those tents is some of the freshest, tastiest, local produce you’ve ever had. Our new neighborhood, Hillcrest, is no exception.

I’ve written about Farmer’s Markets before and while the one is Peoria is pretty awesome, our new local market is spectacular. The area is rife with crazies like us, all looking for raw, vegetarian, organic, blah-blah-blah and these vendors supply some of the best health food I’ve ever had.

One of my favorite things about farmer’s markets is the ambience. They’re usually on the weekend and people usually aren’t in much of a hurry. They’re there to taste, peruse, and barter for the local flavor. Ours are held on Sundays and that is when I’ll be doing ALL my grocery shopping. So check out your local Market this weekend, you might be surprised by how much you enjoy it.

StrawbsShopping is a joy when you can taste and buy strawberries like these.

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Fabulous Friday: Mexican Poached Eggs

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This week has been completely and utterly exhausting. I forgot how draining it is to adjust to a new schedule, especially when that schedule involves 6am workouts … but I’m getting the hang of it and next week I WILL have more energy! Haha.

So last night, my mom invited me to a cooking class! My dad is sick so I took his place. It was us and two other couples and it took place at a gorgeous winery in Rancho Bernardo, CA. We cooked three dishes and drank as much wine as we could stomach in the 3 hours we were there. YUM. My favorite dish by far was the Mexican Poached Eggs. I am trying to go full vegan (at least during the week) but when the dish is as tasty as this, it’s definitely worth eating. Continue reading →

Super Simple Spring-Time Roasted Veggies

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In my pursuit to cut out grains and add lots of veggies, I’ve started subbing one for the other. Roasted veggies are a fabulous base for dishes like Tikka Masala, a fabulous topping for salads to make them warm and savory, and a fabulous side to any protein dish. They fill you up and don’t leave you feeling sluggish. Continue reading →

Mindful Monday: A Week of Groceries Around The World

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There is a photo series circulating right now. It is AWESOME. I originally hear about it from Mike, then a fellow natural living blogger (HumbleLore), and now I bring it to you.

Check out the differences in food, quantities, and if it’s processed … but also check out the families themselves. You can see the cultural differences, relations between male and female, adult and child, family leader and followers. Very, very interesting.

Get the original post here at WallToWatch.

Australia
Australia

Bhutan
Bhutan

Canada
Canada

Chad
Chad

China
China

Ecuador
Ecuador

France
France

Germany
Germany

Britain
GreatBritain

Guatemala
Guatemala

India
India

Italy
Italy

Japan
Japan

Kuwait
Kuwait

Mali
Mali

Mexico
Mexico

Mongolia
Mongolia

Turkey
Turkey

USA
USA

 

Thoughts?

 

Tasty Tuesday: Maple Ginger Salmon

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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I DON’T LIKE FISH. I found one recipe that I loved because it made it taste like chicken (Sweet Teryaki Salmon) but every one I’ve tried since then is so salty … and the texture, yuck.

But, alas, thanks again to the most awesome healthy chef, Sammie Kennedy, I have found and adapted another way to cook it that is SO delicious. Continue reading →

Thriving Thursday: Grocery Shopping Guide

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In talking to people all over my community, I’ve discovered that very few of them know how to grocery shop. We have SO many options. When you’re trying to get healthy, what’s the right brand of healthy to buy? This is a simple beginner’s guide to healthy grocery shopping.

So here is a set of rules to help you navigate more quickly through the maze of choices.

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1. Always start with the whole foods. Start in the produce section and let yourself salivate over the deep orange bell peppers or in-season strawberries. If your store has them, move on to the bulk seeds and nuts. Then peruse the other sections, skipping processed foods whenever possible.  Focus your efforts where you can find the most nutrients: in whole foods!

SalsaNutritionPanel

2. Check the INGREDIENTS not the nutrition panel. Only buy processed food that you can’t find in a whole food form. We have been trained to look at the nutrition panel on all packaged foods. How many calories, how much fat, and sodium, etc. But new research and my personal observation shows that it’s the ingredients that matter, not the nutritional breakdown. The fewer ingredients the better and make sure you can recognize the name of everything in the processed food you’re eating.

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3. Avoid sugar like the plague. When you start looking at ingredients in processed food, you’ll notice that sugar is added to EVERYTHING. Check out this post for why sugar is bad. Aside from the obvious “sugar,” Anything ending in “-ose” is sugar including sucrose, fructose, and glucose. Any “gum” is considered sugar including lecithin gum and xanthan gum. And any kind of “syrup” is sugar including brown rice sugar. And finally, ASPARTAME IS EVIL. It’s a neurotoxin. Check the post mentioned above for more info.

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4. NEVER buy “low-fat” or “reduced fat” or “1%” fat or any product from which they’ve removed the fat. This includes milk. Buy whole milk! when manufacturers remove the fat, the concentration of sugar in the substance is even higher. They even add sugar sometimes (!) because the product tastes so bad without its natural fat. Seriously. So it has higher sugar content but a lot of those fats are actually very good for you. They are necessary for your bodies proper function. So just keep the fat in!

There are only a few guiding principles to the beginner’s healthy shopping but man they are whoppers. Budget double the time it normally takes you to shop, at least until you can find the brands you like. Once you’re adjusted you’ll zoom through the grocery store once again!

I hope you’re all having fantabulous days. Love and a big smile 🙂 – Ash

Tasty Tuesday: Banana Nut Bread

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This bread is delicious. Really, really good. It’s moist and naturally sweet; and the texture is like butter in your mouth. Yummy. It can take up to 45 minutes to prepare and an hour to cook so do it on a Sunday and make a big batch. It freezes really well so leftovers are a good thing!

I found the recipe on another blog (Skinny Ms) and then tweaked it a bit. I took out the stevia and oat bran and added gluten-free oats and walnuts.

Because it’s high in protein, sugar-free, and very low in grains, you can eat it any time of day. We had it last night for dessert and this morning for breakfast. Toast it for a few minutes for an even more satisfying experience.

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Banana Nut Bread

Ingredients

  • 2 granny smith apples
  • 3 very ripe bananas
  • 8 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 cup almond milk
  • 1 cup almond meal/ almond flour
  • 1 cup whole, gluten-free oats
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 180°F. Lightly coat loaf pan with 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil.
  2. Peel, core, and dice apples into small pieces. Sauté with 1/2 tsp. cinnamon on medium heat until brown (about 5 minutes).
  3. In a large bowl mix together the almond meal, oats, baking powder, remaining cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
  4. In another bowl mix olive oil, eggs, almond milk, and vanilla.
  5. Slowly add the liquid mixture to the dry mixture (in about 4 batches).
  6. In the now empty liquid mixture bowl, mash all 3 bananas.
  7. Fold bananas and apples into the large bowl mixture.
  8. Spoon into the loaf pan. Cook for about 50 minutes or until a wooden skewer or toothpick comes out clean.
  9. Let cool in pan and then enjoy!

I highly recommend this one. It really is delicious. Let me know how it goes! A big hug and a smile. – Ash

 

Thriving Thursday: Mom’s Shepherds Pie

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Happy Thursday to you all! It’s almost the weekend and I’m excited about it. This last couple months has been absolutely crazy at work. It’s really wonderful to see so many people starting their path to health but I’m a little glad that it’s starting to taper now. I was starting to miss my relaxation (and cooking) time. So here is a great recipe directly from my Momma’s kitchen.

My mom is a fabulous cook. She claims to hate it but how can you hate something you’re so good at?? I think she gets tired of cooking every single night (who wouldn’t) but goodness knows we would have been a MUCH less healthy family without her daily meals.

She is one of those people who can whip up a meal when the fridge and pantry are completely empty. If friends stop by for a chat, she has the most creative and delicious appetizers on the table within 5 minutes. She has mastered the art of feeding AND socializing with people. Those who have tried it know how hard that can be.

She taught me this recipe before I left for college and it quickly became my signature dish. She uses mashed potatoes from the box (understandable with 4 kids and no time) but I love mashing potatoes. They taste better and I get to let out my pent-up aggression on them. So I turned to my friend Alex for some further input. She is also an amazing chef and trained in the art of food.

So here is my combination from the two lovely ladies. My mom’s was quicker but slightly healthier and Alex’s was a little more time-consuming but richer and more savory.

ShepherdsPie-Published

Mom’s Shepherds Pie

Note: This is a delicious dish but if you’re trying to lose weight, do not eat it for dinner. You don’t want the potatoes sitting in your stomach all night. Unless you use the energy, it will turn into fat.

Ingredients:

  • 5 medium potatoes
  • 1 cup organic butter
  • 1 cup milk (unsweetened almond, coconut, whatever…)
  • 1.5 lbs ground turkey
  • 2 Tbsp high heat oil (like coconut or grape seed)
  • 1 onion
  • 3 carrots
  • 1 zucchini
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 cup gravy (I use Bisto but it contains trace gluten so be careful)
  • salt and pepper

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to its lowest setting.
  2. Chop potatoes into small pieces. Boil them in a large pot of water until soft when stabbed with a fork.
  3. While they’re boiling, chop the onion, carrots, and zucchini.
  4. Drain the potatoes and mix in a large bowl with butter and milk. Mash them all up! Set aside.
  5. In a large pot (yes a large pot) sauté the onions, carrots, and minced garlic on medium heat. Cook until onion is transparent, about 5 minutes.
  6. Add turkey and zucchini to the skillet. Cook for 5 minutes then add gravy. Continue to cook until meat is browned.
  7. Spread out the turkey mixture evenly in the pot then layer the potatoes on top.
  8. Heat in the oven for 5 minutes to let juices mix.
  9. Enjoy!

I hope you’re all having wonderful days. Love and a grin. – Ash

 

Faulty Friday: Fallen Off the Wagon?

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Nows the time. January is over, you’re vacationing for entire weekends. You’re eating whatever the heck you want and not exercising. It doesn’t matter if you had a New Years Resolution or not, you’re starting to pack on the pounds. I’ve heard this from several patients over the last few days so let me ask you a few questions…maybe they will help you jump back on the wagon.

WeightGain

1. Weekly Vacation Days: When do you allow yourself the freedom to entertain all those cravings? Is it whenever you crumble under the pressure (which is getting more and more often)? Or is it a designated day of the week in which you except that you will be bloated and feel crappy?

It should be the second option. Pick a day each week that you feed on your cravings. On that day, eat whatever the heck you want. Personally, I have half a large Dominos pizza and half a box of cinnasticks. I love those foods but man they’re bad for me. So I eat them once a week and pay the price for 24 hours afterward.

The awesome thing is that, if you eat healthy the rest of the week, your body recognizes a problem with the pizza and voids it pretty quick. As in, you’ll be on the toilet a lot the next day. But isn’t that cool? You’re body will learn how to purge a bad thing?

2. Write It Down: When are you binge eating? When are you ditching your workout? Pinpoint your problem areas and write down your plan for them. For instance, I have terrible trouble limiting my evening eating when I’m at home. I just pile snacks into my mouth like the world is ending.

However! When I go through periods when this is especially bad, I write it all down. Before I start eating, I write down (on a list in my phone) all the food and amounts I’m allowed that night. I give myself some leeway and add in small desserts like 2 gluten-free cookies and some dried apricots, or several squares of dark chocolate. I’m just limited enough that I can pace myself throughout the night and still feel satisfied when I go to bed.

So plan through your worst habits and pull yourself out of them.

3. When on Holiday, Be on Holiday: When you’re away from home and eating out for most meals, do you feel guilty? Do you look at the meal in the beginning and giggle with joy, then look at the empty plate you devoured and feel like a beached whale? Stop it! Take your holiday as an extended Vacation Day (see #1) and enjoy your food! If you do this though, you just have to accept the reality that there might be a few extra pounds on your belly. You’ll have to be VERY good when you’re back home.

A good way to make less of an impact on your waistline is to bring with you a standard meal. I bring along a sandwich bag of my Grainless Granola and grab some milk at a convenience store wherever I’m going. Try to make sure you eat healthy for at least one meal a day.

Also, when you are eating out, eat the veggies instead of the fries. Try to incorporate veggies into every plate of food. It will fill you up with the good stuff and will provide some much-needed support for your digestion and  immune system.

Confession: I will admit that I’ve fallen off the wagon a bit in the last 2 or 3 weeks. But this happens to healthy people! We can’t have rockin’ bods every day of the year. So I will be living by these rules and trimming back that waistline until I’m happy looking in the mirror again.

I hope you’re all having wonderful Fridays. The weekend is here! And today I will be traveling up to Chicago to meet my best friend for a weekend of shenanigans. 😀

 

Thriving Thursday: Chia Seeds?

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There has been a buzz about chia seeds lately. It started in the nutrition/health world and is now spreading mainstream. It became more than a buzz, for me, when a patient recently asked, “so, chia seeds, are they worth the time?” I had to reply that although I’d cooked with them a couple of times, I honestly had no concrete idea of the benefits. So began my research…

ChiaMrT

Background: Chia seeds were a staple in Aztec diets. To quote the bottle I have in my cabinet “Aztec Warriors subsisted on chia seeds during their battles and hunting expeditions, eating as little as a small handful in 24 hours.” What?? They also promote saliva production and were fed to thirsty nomads. Then they came to the US and were used to grow plants that looked like hair on terra-cotta forms like the one seen above. What a downgrade (except for the Mr. T one, that’s just awesome).

It turns out that, because it’s so new to the nutrition world (it’s been around for decades in the form of chia pets) there have been very few studies to test it’s benefits. There was one study done on women which I will share with you later.

ChiaNutrition

Without lots of research done on human absorption, all we can really do is look at the nutrition profile of chia seeds. According to this label and some of my other reading, chia seeds are:

  • Source of healthy fats which very few people get from the Standard Westernized Diet.
  • Perfect 3:1 ratio of Omega 3 and 6 which helps protect the liver and heart.
  • High in fiber which promotes healthy digestion.
  • Relatively high in protein which is necessary for properly functioning and rebuilding muscles.
  • Zero sugar so it doesn’t spike your insulin levels.
  • Absorbs water like a sponge so, when mixed with liquid and consumed, it slows the absorption of sugar into the blood stream and further hinders sugar spikes.
  • Because they absorb liquid, when eaten dry, they expand in your stomach and give you the feeling of being full.
  • High in IRON, CALCIUM, MAGNESIUM, and ZINC – essential nutrients for a healthy body.

There was a study done on a small selection postmenopausal women to see if it would increase the production of the essential fatty acids, ALA (omega 3) and EPA. It did, but because scientists know very little about absorption of the fatty acids after they are produced, it is unknown if they increase heart, liver, and neuro protection.

Although the results of the few studies done are pretty much inconclusive, I’m going to call chia seeds a win. I’m a proponent of getting all the nutrients you can from your food and only taking supplements when absolutely necessary (like in the case of Vitamin D and a few other vitamins and minerals). If I can get extra healthy fat, omegas, fiber, protein, iron, magnesium, calcium, and zinc just from a sprinkling of the tasteless chia seeds, count me in!

The fad: Obviously everything that becomes universally popular is a huge fad somewhere. Apparently, Wall Streeters have started to tout chia seeds as the natural energy booster. A Bloomberg article compared it to coffee, cocaine, and 5-hour Energy Drink. “Natural” food producers have started making chia bars and juices, among other things.

How to eat it: Be careful. As with any health fad, not all chia seeds or products are made equal. Be sure to avoid anything with added sugar. Also, stick to organic or NSRI approved. Now that they’ve gotten big, farmers will start doing anything to produce them in huge quantities. You can eat them milled or whole. Sprinkled on top of granola, in your smoothie, on a salad, or just with water. They’re pretty much tasteless so they go with anything.

Well, on that note, I’m going to go make myself a Green Machine smoothie with chia seeds and protein!

Any questions? Just comment and ask. I’ll be happy to answer. I hope you’re having a happy Thursday 🙂

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