Viva la Veggies!

Good evening, everyone!

Sorry for not posting lately - I guess I let my "staycation" get me a little lazy! My goal to sweat every day ALMOST happened... but I let a visit from my sister give me "reason" to slack. Ah well. I know I could have gone for my jog while she rested, but it was just such a nice cozy home, and I didn't feel like leaving!

But it's back to the grind! Dave and I have been enjoying playing guinea pig on ourselves. 6 days, nothing but fruits and veggies. (Is this a long-term plan? No. It would not be something to recommend long-term, but for less than a week, we were curious!)

Day 1 started out great! Dave admitted that his system was loving the easy digestion, and that he didn't feel so "bogged down" with trying to process junk. He was a whirl-wind Mr. Mom and spent the whole day checking off tasks left and right, and getting the home all clean!

Then the end of day 1 came.... and we both crashed. Tired, and I had a splitting headache. But we just went to bed early, slept a solid 10 hours (yikes!) and began days 2 and 3.

Those days were rough (I would have posted, but we were so tired from it!) Still felt lethargic, some brain fog, and the headache only slightly diminishing. Fruit-packed smoothies helped give us some natural sugars for energy; and adding some veggies helps sustain the long term health. Saturday evening, I pulled out some veggie wraps for us. Dave's supportive comment: "when I saw those plates of nothing but veggies - no cheese, no dressing... I thought I was going to die!" A little dramatic, but that's my man! And that brave soul managed to eat two entire wraps!

Admittedly, with only lemon for seasoning, they were a little bland, but still amazing nutritional sources! So much goodness wrapped into one little bundle! And easy on the digestion!

Pure Veggie Wraps

Shredded carrots

Raw corn

Mung bean sprouts

Onions

Chives

Broccoli sprouts

Lemon Juice

Large Veggie Leaves (ie: collards, Romaine, cabbage)

Top a large leaf with items of choice, squeeze a little lemon juice if desired, roll and devour!

I enjoyed cabbage leaves just because they are so sturdy. The Romaine tended to break and leak more! But all are good and healthy!

Day 4 is bringing back some energy. Dave was actually up and awake today, and I feel great! Having fun playing with the kids at work (enjoying some old-school Michael Jackson "Thriller" with one little boy!) and finding time to let you all peek in on our craziness! :)

Dave has forbidden me to mention the "holy name of Chipotle" for the next few days. Ha! He has also had dreams of Oreo Cakes, and dwells on thoughts of hot dogs and M&Ms. Hopefully his cravings for junk will soon start to lessen - mine have! I am craving fruit! Craziness!

I hope your week is off to a wonderfully energetic beginning! See you again soon!

xoxox

~Katie

Half-Way Happy New Year!! ...Summer Style Resolutions!

Well, well, well, we are 6 months in to 2010 already (holy cow! Where did the time go!?) and how are YOUR New Years Resolutions coming?

Not like you'd planned? That's okay! Pick back up! Recommit today! We're at another turning point! The sun is shining, the weather is warming, and vacations (or staycations) are calling!

Take today to recommit to that healthy life you were all excited about on January first. Reassess your goals, reformulate a plan, get back on that bandwagon, and enjoy loving life! Quit the smoking! Lessen the drinking! Get out and walk a little! Eat some veggies! Drink some health!

If diet plays any role in your health goal, summer is an ideal time to kick it up! With all the wonderful produce that's in season, your menu can get a total make-over cool style! Cool, fresh smoothies in the morning; a big crisp salad for dinner; snack on a hunk of juicey watermelon after work; go for a long sunny walk and return home to cool off with a pitcher of water flavored with berries or orange slices... I love summer! And all the fruit it brings! In Ohio, July begins the peak produce season :) And I can't wait! Peaches and watermelon that are truly fresh are just around the corner!

Sadly, most jobs these days lock us in temperate offices. So try to get out as much as you can - take a walk at lunch or right after work before heading to your car. Get that warming, Vitamin D inducing sunshine! You will appreciate the natural crave for cool foods if you do! It's hard to want to drink an iced fruit smoothie when you're trapped in a cold office. And at home, leave your air conditioner off or don't set it so low! Let your body return to the natural shifts of the seasons. Maybe there's a reason all these cool fruits are at their best during our warm months... hmmm... ;-)

See you soon!

~Katie

Breakfast?

Good morning!

Today I just wanted to touch on a quick topic: breakfast - essential or not?

Most of us have heard over and over "eat your breakfast!" "Breakfast is a key to losing weight!" and other such promotions of breakfast. And yes, nutrition in the morning is good - helps your mind, body, and energy! ...But only once you're ready for it!

Intuitive eating is becoming the new focus for dietitians in helping counsel their clients. Learning to listen to the body, to wait until you're feeling true hunger to eat and then to listen to your body when it tells you to stop, even if there's still food on the plate! And breakfast is as good a meal as any to listen to your body!

Sunday night went out with a bang - weekends are hard for me to stick to healthy eating! But I ate late at night, and ate a bunch of heavy foods. When I got up this morning, well, I was not hungry! So, I didn't eat right away and instead, sipped on water, and then brought a smoothie with me to work. I did not want to be forced to wait for lunch to get the health and nutrition I need, but I also didn't want to overwhelm my bloated tummy. No, skipping meals is not a great idea. But neither is forcing yourself to eat just because "it's time to" If you are able to, take snacks for when you DO get hungry! Take an apple to work; keep a bag of baby carrots in the fridge; snack on a small bag of nuts, have food available for when you are hungry.

So what do you do about breakfast when you're not hungry? Well, make sure you will be hungry! What did you have for dinner? Lots of dense, heavy foods? What time did you eat dinner? Late? Try eating earlier so you have time to digest your food so that you CAN be hungry in the morning! I know, I know - night time is the hardest time to fight those cravings :) But you can do it! Let your body have the night to rest and recover - not get back logged with processing heavy meals and desserts!

You'll sleep better and feel better!

Sleep well!
~Katie

Simple Crave-Control Technique

Well I am getting ready to kick off a lovely three day weekend with the family :) Hopefully you have some enjoyable things planned.

I hope to just relax!

And along with relaxing – breathing!

(Well, of course you’re going to breath, silly girl – like you have a choice?!)

I mean more than just normal breathing. You may already be familiar with the connection between breathing and stress reduction. If you’re not, here’s the skinny: slow, deep breaths can help reduce stress!

That’s it! Simple!

But I find another benefit to a few deep breaths: regaining control over food cravings.

The conflict of food can be a real source of stress for some people! When something is presented in front of me, my mind beings to wage war – The tongue is screaming to indulge; the body is asking for healthy foods. While it’s subtle, I have noticed that I start to tense up – my mind races between motivational quips to stop me, and simultaneously dumps a whirlwind of excuses and reasonings as to why indulgence is fine. (Don’t get me wrong – occasional indulgence IS fine. I’m taking about an on-going, too-often occurrence!)

When a person is anxious, breathing naturally shallows, along with a host of other automatic processes. But if you intervene, force yourself to calm down and breathe deeply, quiet your mind, I find you can often regain control and lessen the stress!

It’s not fool-proof, but it has helped me many a’time!

(And I have read from a source that I can’t recall right now, a theory that extra oxygen is beneficial to the body – keeps you more alkaline. And hyperbaric chambers pump oxygen into sick and injured individuals under the premise that various diseases cannot thrive in high oxygen environments. So hey! There may be additional bonuses besides kicking the craving!)

Hang in there, enjoy life, smile, and know you’re lovely! :D

~Katie

Greenie Meanie

Alright, my friend. It's time... Embrace the Green! :) A power house drink to help boost your energy and begin cleansing your body inside and out!

Bear with me - as it can take some getting used to. Raw foodists love this type of drink. All the fresh nutrients in it can pack quite the energy punch! I like to drink some version of this most weekdays before work - since I have started it, I haven't needed coffee. The rich greens are full of energy-boosting vitamins, rich in antioxidants, very alkaline, and full of fiber to help with satiety!

Here's my basic recipe (all organics), but feel free to alter and let me know what types of spin you put on it!

-one apple, cored but not peeled
-one pear, cored not peeled-juice of half a lemon

-1/4th a head of Romain lettuce (or start with spinach, which usually tastes less “green”)

-1 Collard green leaf, or 2 Kale leaves

-water to desired consistency

Put everything in a blender, and give it a whirl! For your first time, you may will want to push some more fruits – pears, grapes, and bananas work well – but really whatever you. You may even prefer to start with just a fruit smoothie with a handful of spinach.

The "greenness" taste was almost overwhelming for me at first, but I've since gotten used to it. Oddly enough, some days I crave this sucker! Well, my body does - my tongue does not always agree! But I know that I feel better, lighter, and healthier when I have this for breakfast. Over time, as you get used to this little guy, you may start to cut back on the fruit, and push some of the darker greens.

Other additions I have made to this (once I realized I was sticking to the healthy, natural diet that I am now on) I went a bought some watercress, spirulina, hemp protein, and goji berries to add.

Having this for breakfast can fill your body with many needed nutrients, hopefully giving you a healthy kick to the day to kill those nasty cravings for useless, processed dead foods! And, then should you eat something less desirable later, well, at least you got this awesome start to the day!

Rock on, my friends, and give that Greenie Meanie a try! Oscar the grouch would be proud do slurp one of these (and maybe he wouldn't be so crabby then! Though I guess his grouchdom is endearing) ;-)

Here's to your Sunny Days, Sweeping the Clouds Away!

~Katie (and Oscar!)

Quotes

Happy Second-Week-of-the-New-Year!!!

Hopefully you've been sticking with your resolutions for the week. And, now that the weekend is rolling around, I thought a little kick of motivation may be good! (I know I'm going to be facing much junky foods later today for a belated Christmas/early birthday party...)

Today I wanted to post some quote that I find motivating, or just interesting! Some days, my motivation to stick to a natural, healthy diet wanes (I am probably the only person I know who watched Fast Food Nation and craved a McDonald's burger. Yeah, I have my horrible cravings, too!)

So here are some little sayings that I like to keep in mind for those times.

"The first wealth is health..." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Nothing tastes as good as healthy feels" -Anon?*

"Poor health is not caused by something you don'thave; it's caused by disturbing something that you already have. Health is not something you need to get, it's something you have already if you don't disturb it." -Dean Ornish

"Living a healthy lifestyle will only deprive you of poor health, lethargy, and fat." -Jill Johnson

"The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but instead will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease." -Thomas Edison

"No matter who you are, no matter what you do, you absolutely, positively do have the power to change." -Bill Phillips

But even if you "fall off the bandwagon," that's okay! You've put in a good week (hopefully) and can't get back up! Try not to let a mistake "give you permission" to crash the rest of the day, though. Take a few deep breaths to regain control, smile, and at least enjoy the food you eat - whatever it may be!

Have a wonderful health-motivated day!

~Katie

*if you know where this quote originated, please let me know! :)

Understanding Cravings

*Warning! This is a long post! But I think it covers a variety of helpful topics that can help you break away from junk and start moving towards a healthier, more natural you! :)

There are many reasons we eat choices that we know to be less than healthy (c'mon - deep down somewhere, you KNOW that cookie isn't healthy! Growing up, my mom always liked to jokingly proclaim "if you break it in half - all the calories fall out!" Pretty clever, right?)

So we try restraining ourselves from “junk” food, we do “low fat”, we do “diet”, we starve, struggle, and diligently record every crumb and morsel that we put in our mouths. (Honestly – I found keeping a log to be quite helpful at times! I’d be too lazy to want to write something in my log, so TADA! I just wouldn’t eat it!) But seriously - who wants to count calories all day? Who has time to?! I probably could, but there are other things I would rather do. So, calorie count no more! Let's look at the cravings and a small glimpse into one of the many reason WHY we eat what we eat.

There's an interesting phenomenon called pica, seen where people eat non-food items because the body is desperately seeking some lacking nutrient. Most commonly, pregnant women crave ice induced by low iron in their blood - but I've worked with many pregnant women who also chomp on tissue paper, dive spoon first into tubs of corn starch, and even go scrounging around their own yards for dirt! Often getting a prenatal vitamin with iron helped lessen these unhealthy cravings.

Is it really so different for the rest of us? Most people don't get their needed nutrients. In a society of high-fat, high-salt, low-nutrition convenience foods, is it a wonder that we're lacking in magnesium, iron, vitamin D, and any other multitude of necessary nutrients? And in lacking nutrition, we crave anything to make that void feel better. In fact, Dr. Joel Fuhrman states “One key factor that determines whether you will be overweight is your failure to consume sufficient fiber and nutrients.”

We are an overfed, undernourished society.

And to make matters worse, the lack of crop rotation and over use of the soil in conventional farming depletes the soil of its health as we burn through it with mass-production; this will further reduce nutrient content of foods (oh dear, I may be opening a can o’ worms with that one…) There was a review of 41 studies that compared organic and conventionally grown produce. It stated that even for someone following the USDA recommendation of 5 servings of vegetables daily, if these foods were not organically grown, because of that nutrient-depleted growing conditions, the produce would be depleted and the person would not be getting their needed intake of vitamin C, while the organic counterparts would!

And today, 85% of farm soils are found to be depleted; and conventional spinach may contain less than 2% of the iron in used to have in 1948!

So how on earth are we supposed to get all the nutrients we need?! Mass fruits and veggies - preferably organic. "But Katie! I've already tried eating another serving of fruits and vegetables! I don't like them, and I still end up craving junk food!" Right? Here's the cool part - if you can commit to just a few days of a few nutrient power-house foods, like the woman who loses her craving for dirt when her nutritional needs are met, your cravings for processed foods and sugary empty calories can diminish! I'm not saying they'll be gone completely. You may have a life time of crave-inducing empty-calorie habits to purge, and the body is made to fight change and maintain homeostasis - even if the changes are for the good. But you can get a great kick-start! And then watch as those cravings continually lessen over time. It's not a quick-fix diet; it's a life-long lifestyle change. But it does get easier!

I went from daily dependence on coffee with a need for dessert nightly (and any other food I could get my hands on as soon as I got home), to coffee-free and satisfied with a 1 ounce square of organic dark chocolate on occasion. For the first time in three weeks, I had a diet coke last night. While this USED to be my favorite drink, I didn't even finish the thing because it just didn't taste right to me! It was sticky chemicalized fakeness. Bleh!

The way that worked for me? A green smoothie for breakfast, and a huge salad for lunch, some sort of “sensible” dinner that includes generous amounts of vegetables, a moderated intake of nuts and seeds, and as many fruits and vegetables as I wanted for snacking.

One thing to keep in mind: you end up craving what you eat, especially when you’re eating fats or sweets – as shown in a study published in Appetite in 2008. So, with a lifetime of processed, fatty, sugary foods under your belt, you will probably experience those cravings. But on the other hand, a vast quantity of fresh produce begets cravings for more fresh produce! One of my friends was encouraging some of her clients to do a very high intake of fruits and vegetables: 9+ per day. To understand what it would take, she decided to “put her food where her mouth is” and also bump up her intake. The result? She would crave an orange for dessert! Now, I'm not saying I never crave my old foods (fast food, cakes, nachos, etc) but the sensation definitely has decreased over time, to the point I find them manageable most of the time!

Sound too intense? Just try to incorporate 2 fruits a day. Not juice, you sneaky person, you! ;-) Whole fruit – in all it’s fiber, phytochemical, and cancer-fighting antioxidant glory! And then begin working on having one salad a day… and work from there. Any little steps are better than none.
Honestly, I find the all-at-once approach worked best for me. I can will-power my way through a few days of intense healthy food, and by then, my craving for other foods was diminished enough that it’s been easy to keep packing in the vegetables – and, shockingly, no, I’m NOT tired of salad! I wouldn’t have believed it myself if I hadn’t tried it. But you start getting creative with dressings, new vegetables to try, and just feeling more energetic – it’s enough to keep me going.

Another bonus of all the fruits and vegetables – with fewer calories, they still have a lot of volume (turn down those plums, Johnny, the neighbors all complaining again! Hyuck, hyuck… Sorry.)

One of the ways your mind tells you that you’re full is when your stomach stretches! So, a large volume of foods - not a large caloric intake - will cause that ballooning, and your mind will register “oh, we’re full! That’s it! Turn off the hunger cues!” in about 20 minutes (so take your time eating!)

Ok, so, that’s a bit of an overload of information. Where to start?

Step one: go to the store, and buy some fruits and vegetables you know you like to snack on.

Step two: While there, also plan to make a Veggie Weapon salad for the week, so get a few good “salad items” that you like, such as carrot, radish, cucumber, avocado, tomato… Then grab head or two of a leafy green of your choice (Romaine lettuce is good, or Bibb lettuce. Skip Iceberg. As my sister so eloquently puts it – “it’s crunchy water.” Yup, good water content, but little else.) Later, I'll post about green smoothies (and not-so-green-but-still-helpful ones, as well!)

Step three: get it all home, wash it, snack on whatever fancies you, and put the rest away until you're ready for it!

The produce section is your friend. Get to know it! The rest of the store, with a few exceptions, is a waste of space. It’s jam packed with highly processed, low nutrient, crave-inducing marketing ploys. Perhaps I’ll blog later about the psychology of markets – the amount of money that goes into researching HOW to make consumers buy more of what they don’t really need is astounding! But for today, I think I’ve covered enough, and then some!

So get out to the store, and happy shopping!

~Katie

Happy New Year! Happy New You!!

Welcome to your next decade!

Like so many others, I have made the resolution to recommit myself to health and wellness. Not always an easy task!

But, after drifting through my days with a so-so standard American diet, I felt that, especially as a dietitian, it was time to step things up a notch and really strive for more!

There were two main motivators for me. Things that have inspired the changes that are starting to reshape my life:

1. In Dr. Joel Fuhrman's book "Eat to Live," he had a graph that depicted the correlation between fruit and vegetable consumption, and risk of disease. Now, I know we’ve all been told to eat more fruits and vegetables (5 a Day, baby!) but I guess I’m visual, and this graph just grabbed me! The almost perfect correlation was just so glaringly obvious in his graph that it really struck home for me.

(Sadly, I don't have a copy of the graph available yet. Perhaps someday I can pester Dr. Fuhrman for permission to post that!)

2. After hearing much debate and doubt over food preparation, I did find a gem buried deep down on the USDA website. It is a huge 200+ page report listing various types of foods, showing the detrimental effect different processing methods have on several nutrients.
   The gold standard for nutrient maximums? Raw.

(Fruits begin on page 23; general vegetables on 83. Just to explain an example: if you are on page 83, looking at "VEG, GREENS, BAKED" and see "Calcium 100" - that indicates, that 100% of the calcium is retained, or kept intact when baked. Well good! But then look down; you can see that other nutrients, such as Vitamin C, are decreased to about 70% of the original, raw value.)

So, even according to the USDA, other nutrients can be depleted to as little as 20% of the original amount when processed! Cooking, boiling, steaming, drying, canning, etc. All of these things can cause nutrients to be lost. How important is that? Pretty darn, I'd say! Why not get the best possible dose of natural health I can, as often as I can?

To me, these things told me it was time to boost my intake of raw fruits and veggies as much as possible! I always aimed for a vegetable at dinner time, and maybe trying to get a salad here and there for lunch, or snack on some carrots, or celery and peanut butter… sound familiar? Yeah, that’s probably a standard goal for most people. Well, it’s just not cutting it, is it? Do you feel healthier? I sure didn’t! Is your weight where you want it? Mine sure wasn’t!

So what does all that have to do with YOU and a resolution for health and/or weight loss?

Many things!
If you push your intake of raw foods, you will:

*fill your stomach with a large volume of low-calorie foods, thus helping you feel full while staying low in calories.

*boost your vitamin and mineral intake in a NATURAL way (rather that supplements and pills) which will help boost your immune system, natural body processes, and energy! (and couldn't we all use a little more of that?)

*get extra fiber that can help with keeping you regular, which helps fight that awful bloated feeling you may get, and helps your body with its natural elimination of stored up toxins in your system.

*get extra water that remains in the raw form of the produce, which means extra hydration for you! (and your skin - helping to keep it from looking tired and dry)

*and have less cravings for other processed foods, over time! I know, I wouldn't have believed it myself, until I started to feel it.

Have a wonderful, fresh-filled day! I'm going to go eat a fruit salad :)

xoxox
~Katie

About a month before my wedding, I began doing so many raw fruits and veggies that my dear sister took me out to a juice bar for one stop of my bachelorette party! Here I am enjoying a giant cup of cucumber-carrot-orange juice. After only a week, I was able to cut my dependency on coffee (3+ cups a day) and started noticing that my urge for snacking on junk foods at night was decreasing. A cool bonus? My clothes are fitting better!