Tag Archives: fruit

The Best Ever Salmon Patty Recipe!

March 6, 2015 Deidre 1 Comment

Hungry as a bear for salmon? Try this terrific recipe from Deidre's recipe book! — Hungry as a bear for salmon? Try this terrific recipe from Deidre’s recipe book!

There are just some things we always need to keep around and canned salmon is very high on my list! Ever had one of those days when you just wanted to pull something together really quick with little fuss?

Well, this could be the answer for you!

But what to call them? Maybe they are just humble patties. You know, like a hamburger patty; plop them on a grill or throw them into a pan….few minutes on each side…dinner is served. Last year, I may have briefly described my creation without benefit of a recipe as a “fritter.” Sounded more colorful; a little regional, perhaps. Countrified. Then, this month’s Southern Living magazine had a recipe for “Salmon Croquettes” which really looked like MY patties… or…fritters!

Goggling the moniker dilemma just sort of muddied things up. Both croquettes and fritters, apparently, are deep fried. Nay! Nay! Even Southern Living did not deep fry its croquettes! They are both also dipped in egg and breaded before frying.

Please, so much messy work!

So, I am left with my humble patties. “Croquettes” just sounds like a restaurant raising their price on patties by calling them something elite. “Fritters” just sounds….I don’t know, maybe deep fried in a converted gas station come greasy spoon restaurant.

I did not have the Greek yogurt Southern Living mentioned to fix up as a dipping sauce which I have done in the past; fortunately, these patties remained quite moist and did not demand a sauce. I will give you some ideas for the sauce, though. Cool thing is, this recipe can be adapted to a variety of ingredients at hand and measuring is not a must at all.

Southern Living’s recipe called for 2 – 14.75 oz. cans of salmon; I used just one. They called for 4 eggs which I actually used between 2 to 4, but I compensated by adding ¼ cup of coconut flour!

Unfortunately, I did not take pictures of this actual process and all the evidence is eaten, but I did have a couple file photos of a similar recipe to share. So here it goes from my memory for the Best Ever Salmon Patties!

Best Ever Salmon Patties

Ingredients:

1 (14.75 oz.) can salmon, drained
1 large celery stalk, finely chopped
3-4 green onions, chopped with green stalks
3 mini multi-colored bell peppers, finely chopped
½ small can water chestnuts, finely chopped
2 – 4 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. dill weed
Approx. ¼ cup coconut flour, as needed. to make the patties “stick” together

Method

Beat eggs in a large bowl.

Add the remaining ingredients, except the coconut flour, and mix well to combine. I do this with my hands while wearing latex free gloves.

Add the coconut flour if the mixture is too moist and needs some ‘glue’ to stick together.

Using your gloved hands, form mixture into approximately 1/2 cup patties, pressing firmly to mold.

Pan fry the patties on medium heat using about 2 Tbs. good oil of choice: olive oil, avocado oil, or coconut oil. When the edges start looking a little crispy, flip patties over. Cooking time should be 2-3 minutes on each side.

Ingredient ideas for dipping sauces:

Using a base of plain Greek yogurt add:

Dijon mustard, dill weed, lemon zest, lemon juice, pinch of ground red pepper

Or in a blender or food processor combine the following with the yogurt:

English cucumber, dill, salt, pepper for a Greek flair

The delicious end product - Best Ever Salmon Patties! — The delicious end product – Best Ever Salmon Patties!

Ingredients are easily substituted and swiped out. When there is fresh parsley around, I always add it for added spunk and flakes of greenness. No water chestnuts? Leave them out! I just happened to have a few green onions that needed to be used up; any kind of onion could be used.

Just keep a few cans of salmon around to “save the day.”

Enjoy-

Deidre

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2014 – The Whole Bloggin’ Year in Review

January 13, 2015 Deidre 3 Comments

Since April of last year when this blog was officially “born,” many topics have been touched upon about moving to a more harmonious relationship with our bodies by eating foods that naturally promote health.

With the idea that we were designed for health and not disease, there must be a way to live, eat, move, and think that boosts health. The world-wide trend toward obesity, heart disease, and autoimmune diseases as western fast-food eating styles that are embraced can be reversed through eating what we were originally designed to eat.

These thumbprint summaries of last year’s material are hopefully a good way to see the bigger picture as we approach our health choices this year. Where we’ve been serves as a launch pad for where we are going, so to speak.

1. It starts in the mind. How we relate to our bodies, health, and the world around us all starts in our mind. The first class session of The Designed for Health series I teach in New Bern, North Carolina, always starts with a sort of “rededication” exercise whereby we reconnect with our body in appreciation for how we are so wonderfully made, and how we want to be in greater harmony with our body by actively listening to how it responds to what we feed it and how we treat it. We are accepting the responsibility for its care rather than just mentally going along for the ride.

2. Something “do-able”: a Keystone Habit. No matter how we want to improve our lives, whether we want to write the great American novel or we want to eat healthier, we have to concentrate on the steps, the repeatable steps, we must take each day to get there. Surely, we are not going to write that novel in one day, but writing for a short, set amount of time each and every day will eventually get us the first chapter. Similarly, we are not going to turn our health status around in one day, but making a single, seemingly ridiculously small and easy-to-repeat tweak to what we eat or drink each and every day will eventually lead to a collection of changes easily incorporated into a new eating and living style that will definitely impact our health. Hence our motto: gradual and consistent.

3. 80/20. Unless there are health dangers such as severe food allergies, becoming totally obsessed about “healthy eating” could ruin the day for you and those around you. Trying to squeeze out that last 20% of perfection each day can actually take some of the fun out of things. So while we gain an understanding what is good or bad for us, striving for perfection can, literally, spoil the party. Aim for the “good stuff” to keep up your promise to yourself, but once in a while a dab of this or that, in the absence of food allergies, can keep the fun in holidays, vacations, and life in general. Once you have converted to better choices, the standard temptations actually will hold less appeal and may not feel “right” when consumed, but- lighten up! 80/20 is good. Having said that, making exceptions back-to-back can be the start of a slippery downward slope!

4. Create an environment for success. Clean up what’s available to eat in the kitchen based on how you want to eat. No more chips and ice cream in the kitchen means you won’t be looking at chips and ice cream praying for the strength to turn away. Enlist the help and support of family and friends. Share what you are learning so you can be a part of a team. Reward your milestone successes frequently with appropriately healthy treats; maybe a walk around the waterfront instead of in the neighborhood.

5. Understand “macro-nutrients.” Understanding how our bodies naturally respond to proteins, fats, and carbohydrates really puts us in the driver’s seat for health! Want to stabilize blood sugar? Dedicate carbohydrate intake to veggies instead of grains and eat good protein and healthy fats which have higher satiety levels than starchy carbs and will not upset blood sugar levels.

6. Enhance your flavor palate. Looking for a sense of sweetness without the added sugar? Try spices and flavorings that remind you of sweetness by using cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and extracts such as vanilla or almond. These “sweet spices” are a great way to enhance the flavor of smoothies without added sugar. Explore various herbs and oils to add endless variety to veggies and salads. Simple asparagus is different each time when lightly sautéed in a choice of olive oil, ghee, grass-fed butter, avocado oil, coconut oil, or toasted sesame oil. Whenever I get a little tired of any cooked veggie, I usually turn to a finishing drizzle of toasted sesame oil to liven things up. Pesto can easily combine with shrimp, gluten free pasta, quinoa, veggies, or scrambled eggs to make a brand new eating experience.7. Keep this plate in mind. Strive for a plate balanced with these proportions. Imagine your plate is half non-starchy veggies. The other half is two-thirds protein and one third good fats and/or fruit. That’s pretty much it!

8. Inflammation is a key and common evil. Food choices can actually ramp up the inflammatory process which is bad because inflammation is at the root of every disease process. Sugar and grains are the biggest culprits; read: wheat, barley, rye for the inflammatory gluten and corn for the phytates.

9. Strive for nutrient dense foods. Nutrient density relates to higher concentrations of vitamins, minerals, and the essential fatty acids and essential amino acids which we have to get from our diet because our bodies can’t make them. Currently on a fat- free diet? Forget it! You’d be missing out on vital fatty acids that your body demands for proper functioning and certain vitamins must have fat in the diet for their absorption. Proper fat ingestion is vital. The good fats contain a better fat profile than we get from the Standard American Diet. Good fats have more omega-3 fatty acids and can be found in avocados, avocado oil, extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, nuts and seeds. Protein ingestion is vital. Strive for clean protein sources that are minimally processed, grass fed if possible, and fresh seafood. There are NO essential carbohydrates; none. So carbohydrate consumption will best serve your body if coming from non-starchy veggies that are packed with nutrients and will not disturb your blood sugar levels.

10. Less exercise can be more! One of my Keystone Habits is doing a bit of exercise during coffee brewing time, and I have learned from many sources that slow-motion exercises can yield a better effect than those done at regular speed, and that fewer repetitions are needed. Works for me! Counter top push-ups and squats are infinitely more effective when done in an 8-8-8 fashion. For a squat: 8 counts down to the squat, 8 counts holding the squat, 8 counts up. You’ll know when to stop, believe me. A few will do! If that becomes easy, just add a small weight which will increase the workload of the muscles; that’s the key: workload, not repetitions.

11. Other possible Keystone Habits. Consider slipping in a daily boost to hydration by drinking a glass or two of water before leaving the bathroom first thing each morning. Try converting other hydration fluids from juices, colas, or coffees to green tea. Green tea contains poly-phenols that help prevent a host of diseases and conditions and also work with the body to burn fat! Try a more concentrated green tea brew to ramp-up consumption of those helpful components. Some experts aim for 10 bags of green tea a day which would necessitate concentration, indeed!

12. Non-starchy green vegetables. I have dedicated a lot of “blog time” non-starchy green vegetables and colorful vegetables. Eating non-processed foods necessitates cooking, but I have tried to show that becoming a master chef is not required. Basically doing a light sauté or stir fry in a healthy fat is all that is needed for most vegetables, possibly followed by a light steaming on lower heat with minimal or no added water. Cooking veggies without added water is vital because a good portion of the nutrients leech out into the water, never to be consumed. I still read recipes from those who should know better that call for boiling asparagus, for example. No! No! Just roll those babies around on low to medium heat in some good oil until desired doneness… not mush, but still a little crisp…sort of Al dente! Certainly, sneaking baby spinach or kale into a smoothie is a super easy way to add nutrient-dense goodness in a snap!

Food-talk-4-u-confusion-2 — 2014 is over??

Well, that’s foodtalk4you from 2014 in a condensed form. Next, my editor, Sheree, and I will be working on a free e-booklet of last year’s recipes for easy access. Such a feat will require some diligent work on both our parts…just part of my New Year’s goal to be more useful to you, my dear readers!

Please share this site with a friend or two, so we can reach more people with the message that improved health is within reach without reaching for another pill!

We were Designed for Health!

Claim it and act upon it!

Thanks,
Deidre

Blogging for good health!, Recipes

End of Detox But Not the End of Clean Eating

July 19, 2014 Deidre 3 Comments

Let’s summarize what we are doing and where we are. We are creating and following The Plan of eating, learning how to do The Moves in exercise, and embracing The Life that will bring us renewed health with each meal and with each day’s activities. We are taking ownership of food-talk-4-u-child-cherries everything we put into our body, realizing that what we have been told in the past about nutrition (whole grain, low fat, high carb, count calories, eat less and exercise more) is probably where our troubles started in the first place.

For the first ten days of The Plan in the detox phase, we’ve ditched the sugar, dairy, gluten, grains, alcohol, and caffeine! Congrats if you were able to go all the way with this! I had a slip or two, but it’s okay; this is something I am doing for no one else but myself! I can live with it!

I truly hope you were able to decrease your dependence on sugar, and that living without constant bread and starches has opened up a whole new world of satisfying food-talk-4-u-brain-fog eating.

The point is how do you feel? How are your energy levels? Has the brain fog lifted? Has joint pain gone? Is your belly happy? Are you sleeping better? Have more bounce to your step? I hope so!

Now the detox has ended, clean eating has not! That should be part of your life plan anyway! What is needed now is perhaps a bit of liberality still within making nutrient dense food choices that will “do your body good.” We are always looking for ways to cram in as many nutrients (protein, good fats, and veggies) into all recipes.

Having wiped the slate clean and having go food-talk-4-u-kerrygold-irish-butter tten reacquainted with how your body functions without food pollution, you can try singular items every few days in order to assess how you react. Easy does it, one thing at a time. Make a small step towards dairy; see if you can tolerate ghee (clarified butter) without experiencing any gastric distress.

This ghee was given to me. I will probably have to order it online. Then use some pure, clean butter made solely from grass-fed cows. I use Kerrygold brand which is available from Harris Teeter. Nothing can add more lusciousne food-talk-4-u-grass-fed-cows-R ss to lightly steamed broccoli than some real butter! Oh, my!

If you want to continue into the dairy world, a few days later, try some unsweetened low fat Greek yogurt. The low fat yogurt concept was explained to me this week; usually clean eating never shies away from good fats. Good fats include avocado, extra virgin olive oil, fat from grass-fed meat, dairy fats from grass-fed cows, nuts and seeds, and chocolate. Most low fat products just add sugar to keep that “bliss point” in th food-talk-4-u-yogurt e flavor palate. But non-fat plain Greek yogurt has way more protein in it than full fat yogurt so – Yay! Bring it on! I currently am using regularly available store-bought Greek yogurt; if I had access to yogurt from pasture-fed cows, I’d do it!

Here’s what I did with my yogurt yesterday. Is it a pudding? A cold cereal? Or, if slightly frozen, is it ice cream? I don’t know, but it is certainly helping me as a nighttime snack and could help others who do not feel like traditional breakfast food.

In Advance –

Usually I do this each night after cleaning up dinner’s dishes or right before bed – presoak the chia seeds and flax seeds in water. Presoaking these seeds at least a few hours allows them to swell up as they absorb the water. These seeds are a great source of fiber, but to benefit by them, you want the water absorption to happen before they get into you, lest the ‘helpers’ actually cause constipation by absorbing water in your intestines! These seeds also are wonderful sources of good omega-3 fatty acids and ramp up the protein count whenever you use them. I prepare chia and flax seeds daily not knowing exactly where they will end up- usually a smoothie, as a thickener to sauces, but sometimes like this in a Berry Blend!

Also a few minutes in advance while you are getting the ingredients together- gradually stir the gelatin into about a half cup of cold water for one minute. If you rush this, trust me, you will end up with weird shapes of hard ‘stuff’ in your final food product! Gross!

Creamy Berry and Seed Blend

Place the following ingredients in a food processor or blender:

2 – 5+ ounce containers of non-fat Greek yogurt

1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Vanilla extract to taste

1 coffee scoop EACH of chia seeds and flax seeds, whole or ground, soaked in 1 cup water

2 Tablespoons of gelatin stirred into ½ cup water for one minute
Blend, blend, blend.

Transfer to a container and pop into the refrigerator for a few hours.

That’s it! Today’s breakfast consisted of some reheated leftover okra, a bit of leftover zoodles and shrimp cooked in food-talk-4-u-bbq-sauce pesto, and for dessert, a bowl of this Berry Blend. Yum!

Next post will be about other high-nutrition options along with a great barbeque sauce recipe that has no sugar in it and is bursting with flavor!

Please subscribe to this blog so you can join our growing community of people who are learning how to get better health one meal at a time. By subscribing, you will receive an email notice alerting you to each new post. Your address is never shared with others. Your comments and questions are always appreciated. For more lengthy or personal comments, you may reach me at foodtalk4you@gmail.com.

Deidre

Blogging for good health!, Recipes

Day 1 of The Plan

July 7, 2014 Deidre Leave a comment

With a cup of hot mint tea, I greet you!

My breakfast was two scrambled eggs with a splash of unsweetened coconut milk, salt, pepper, and Bavarian Seasoning for special flavor. As a side dish, I also sautéed some fresh okra in some ghee. Ghee is clarified butter with the solids removed. The solids are usually what cause the upset for those using dairy. Make sure your ghee is made from grass fed cow’s butter for maximum benefit. I used to think that all okra needed to be breaded, Southern style, and deep fried, but no! They are wonderful just sliced and browned in a minimum of oil or fat and are a wonderful side dish to scrambled eggs.

Lunch looks like it will be a green smoothie made with ½ banana, ½ avocado, big handful of baby kale medley, whey protein, sweet spices, and vanilla, along with enough unsweetened coconut milk, to make things blend right. Leftover smoothie will be my after-dinner snack — I just can’t seem to shake wanting to have something to eat nearer bedtime. I know…people say not to eat for several hours before bed but there you are.

Dinner will generate lots of left-overs so tomorrow’s cooking will be easier—just a re-heat. Tonight, I will sauté some shrimp in pesto, add some cut up rotisserie chicken meat, olives, artichoke hearts, lightly sautéed asparagus, and serve over zoodles cooked in pesto! Might throw in some farmer’s market fresh tomato chunks just for added color and taste! If that isn’t enough, there’s a green salad with my name on it! I won’t leave hungry! The combination of protein and veggies works equally well thrown into a salad rather than on zoodles, too, if you would rather do it that way.

Today, I would like to share with you how to crisp nuts. Raw nuts need to be sort of… I hate to say … processed … in order to be more agreeable to our digestive tracts. See, animals protect themselves from prey by running. What do fruits, vegetables, and nuts do to protect themselves from being eaten? They have outer coverings that are disagreeable to those eating them. The coverings of nuts and grains are made of phytic acid (phytates). These phytates are the storage form of phosphorus and they actually bind to the minerals we ingest making them un-absorbable by our digestive tract; meaning, we will not absorb zinc, calcium, magnesium or the like.

Nuts and seeds apparently have enzyme inhibitors that prevent pre-mature sprouting. These enzyme inhibitors are also difficult for us to digest. This can be the reason we often have unhappy bellies or even bowels after eating unprocessed or not neutralized nuts. (1)

Neutralizing the phytates is the goal because we humans lack the enzyme necessary to do it on our own. How to do that? Soak in a brine, sprout, and/or ferment nuts and seeds and then dehydrate them.

Here’s how:

Dissolve 2-3 tablespoons of sea salt in a bowl with enough water to keep nuts covered.

Soak raw almonds, pecans, walnuts, or hazelnuts for 8-12 hours.

Soak raw cashews 3-6 hours.

Drain and rinse nuts. I spread my soaked nuts out on a bath towel dedicated for this purpose. Nuts may stain the towel; which, by the way, is also my zoodle-drying towel. Roll them up for a bit, and put them on their drying trays in a single layer.

For a dehydrator, set the temperature at 105 degrees and dehydrate for 12-14 hours.

Using an oven, set oven at lowest temperature possible, (varies by make/model), and dehydrate for several hours, stirring and testing for doneness every hour.

The results will amaze you! Crispy and light! So much easier on the digestive system! A nut that will work with your body and not against it!

Congratulations and best wishes on giving your body a break from gluten, dairy, sugar, and caffeine!

Tomorrow, I will start sharing what I’ve learned about how to get more out of less exercise! How cool is that? Exercise is my personal weakness in terms of consistency, so the benefit of “The Move” portion of this self-improvement will definitely start right here with me, too!

Let’s do this together! Leave a comment on how you are doing and join our community by subscribing.

Stay cool –

Deidre

(1) Realfoodforager.com

Blogging for good health!, Recipes

Seven Days to “The Plan”

June 30, 2014 Deidre Leave a comment

Counting down 7 days to the start of The Plan!

As we prepare with tapering down caffeine and sugar (including artificial sweeteners) for the initial detox phase, we are left with what to drink…. So many people are adverse to drinking plain water. Maybe it’s because chlorinated city water is just not tasty; maybe because your well water has a bad taste. For me, plain cold water has never been a problem because we have great well water, but during the summer months especially, I do enjoy something a little more interesting. The lure of sweet tea may beckon, but we are not going there! No sir-ee!

With mint happily growing in my back porch garden, there is no better choice for me! Not only is it so fragrant, but it just gives such a flavor lift. Various other herbs can also be used in combination with fruit or citrus to create a delightful, affordable, and rewarding-to-make beverage.

Making flavored water at home is like making a smoothie—you are limited only by your imagination. For the kitchen-challenged, this is a cinch; don’t worry. No boiling of water needed!

All you need is a:

glass container: a pitcher or large mason jar will be perfect
long-handled spoon – wooden or stainless steel
slicing knife for some recipes
water
ice

The method consists of:

1) preparing the fruit, herbs, and/or cucumber, adding to pitcher

2) muddling

3) adding water and ice

4) serving

Voila!

Make sure the fruits and herbs are very clean of bugs and/or toxins.

Organic fruit and herbs may be the safer choice to avoid any residue of pesticides.

Muddle. Muddle. Muddle.

Muddling is the term for using the back of the spoon to smush/rub the leaves (especially leaves) and fruit to the side of the container in order to release the flavor-containing juices or oils. You do not want to muddle the fruit into a pulp; just enough to release the juice a bit.

Here is a list of possible flavor combinations and special notes for each:

1) Cucumber, mint, lime – slice a small cucumber into the glass container, add 1-2 sprigs of mint (I leave the mint leaves on the stem), and add 1 sliced lime.

2) Strawberry, lemon, basil – slice several strawberries into container, add ½ sliced lemon, add ¼ cup basil leaves.

3) Lemon – juice ½ of the lemon and slice the rest

4) Strawberry – slice several strawberries into container

5) Strawberry and basil – several strawberries, sliced with several basil leaves

6) Mint – 2 stems of mint (about 8 inches long)

7) Cucumber – slice cucumber into container, refrigerate overnight to release flavor into the cold water

8) Ginger – slice about a 1 inch piece of ginger onto cutting board and smash slices like garlic cloves before putting into container

9) Raspberry, lime – quarter 2 limes, squeeze juice into container and add the rest of the limes as well. Add desired amount of fruit; usually a handful is good

10) Pineapple, mint – add about ½ cup fresh cubed pineapple to the 2 sprigs of mint

11) Blackberry, sage – a handful of blackberries added to desired amount of fresh sage is good

12) Orange, mint – slice a whole or half of an orange and use desired amount of mint

These flavored waters should keep up to 3 days in the refrigerator, so make a couple different kinds if you want to make ahead.
There may be a desire to sweeten them, but concentrate on the wonderful taste of the fruits and herbs instead! Truly, a more mindful approach to eating and drinking can enhance the experience of any meal. Discern the flavors, what they taste and smell like, how they make you feel, or where they may ‘take’ you in your mind.
I have already been doing this but have also added some strong green tea to the brew. This will stop as I get ready to being totally decaf.

Because there is still residual caffeine even in decaf teas and coffees, the best scenario for the detox will be to be absolutely caffeine free! It’s only for the initial 10 detox phase, so I will be tapering down right away by cleaning up my flavored water.

Muddling is fun and the pitchers of flavored water are so pretty you could use them as centerpieces!

Deidre

Blogging for good health!

Starting Food Changes

June 21, 2014 Deidre Leave a comment

Did you know that the mental approach we take when starting a change can actually predict our level of success? A wise proverb that is proven time after time: “If you think you can you can; if you think you can’t you can’t.” Shut out the negative voices by understanding that YOU ARE in control of what you eat. YOU have total control of what food you put into your mouth! The past is the past. You are learning about an eating lifestyle that will leave you satisfied day in and day out. Stoke yourself with positive testimonials of others (Check out Marksdailyapple.com for the testimonials of those who have totally changed their lives through changing food choices). Learn more about the advantages of certain foods over others, and how some foods could be derailing your health by reading posts in this blog and the others that I share with you.

Be kind to yourself! Dumping negative self-talk into your head is not what is needed. Rome was not built in a day, and the re-creative process happens one mouthful of delicious, healthy food at a time! Did you guzzle a glass of sweet iced tea? Don’t beat yourself up about it! Make sure you are prepared with other choices next time and, by all means, share your successes with others. Be joyful for yourself; you are doing a good job!

Now, how hard would it be to stop eating say, ice cream, when you still had a freezer full of your favorite Homemade Turtle Sundae, and everyone in your family was in the habit of having a nighttime bowl full AND you were the one dishing it up? Or how hard would it be to change from junk food snacks to eating healthier snacks such as avocado, nuts, veggies, or a handful of blueberries when every cupboard in your kitchen was bursting with chips, dips, pretzels, candy, pop tarts, sweetened popcorn, pizza bites, and the like?

Studies have proven that changing behavior is easier and more successful if our environment reinforces our goals. The idea of controlling environment for success is not new. Parents always tell their children to associate with “good” kids; when those children get into trouble with their friends, parents insist they hang out with a “better” crowd. Similarly, do you want to be more positive about your job? If everyone in the lunch room spends most of their time bashing the boss or complaining about the customers, find somewhere else to eat lunch; seek those who are positive and who try to solve problems rather than just complain! So, to re-create your health, you will need to first re-create your food preparation environment.

If you are serious about ridding your body of gluten, clean out your kitchen! Clue your family and friends into your reasons and goals for changing what you eat. Maybe they will join you! At least they should support your efforts if they truly care about you. Connect with others doing the same. Follow this and other blogs that support and edify your choice for change.

When I switched over to being gluten free, I gathered up a lot of pasta (whole wheat, mind you, because I was good—not!), flour, and various mixes for a donation to the local food bank. There were definitely mixed feelings about doing that—giving others what I considered poison—so you may struggle with that as well. The more I learn about gluten, I can definitely see how disadvantaged individuals are especially vulnerable as they fill their hungry bellies with cheap starchy products and end up smack in the middle of the “Diabesity” explosion. Thoughts for a different post….

Then to further control your food environment, plan for being away from home: bring your own snacks, order only the part of a restaurant meal that aligns with the changes you have made, eat before leaving home, or plan to eat when you get back.

So, you have cleaned out the kitchen from the offending products and have stocked your shelves with real food that is as close to its original form as possible (not highly processed). You have the support of family and friends who accept your choices and do not try to dissuade you from your goal. Best case scenario, you family joins you! Things have gone great for a whole week. You feel better, have a brighter outlook, and have even lost a couple of pounds.

Congratulations! Time to celebrate!

Time for “an indulgence?” Time to go off your “diet?” First of all, what I have been describing in these posts is not a temporary “diet,” it’s a way of life. Does a former addict celebrate being clean with just a little “hit?” Certainly not! With food, this is especially true with gluten. I learned just yesterday so much more about gluten that I am wanting to share with you in a future post, but one thing I can share now is that if you are sensitive to gluten, the smallest exposure (a few crumbs) can set you back with reactions not just 10-14 days as I thought, but a full 3-6 months! This is very serious stuff!

So plan ahead for your well-deserved celebrations! Plan for a trip to the beach, picnic in the park, a massage, a mani-pedi, a movie, a bubble bath, a good book, or a new item of clothing that better fits your new, smaller self! But “rewarding” your sugar-free self with an ice cream sundae every “cheat day” is just re-creating the environment that made your body so unhappy in the first place! Keep to an environment that will support your continued success and reward your efforts without undermining your progress.

Eating smarter should in no way leave you feeling hungry or deprived. We have all experienced going on a temporary diet, we keep an eye on the end for a return to “normal.” In the meantime, we are always anxious for the next “allowable” food. Normal should always be good for you. Normal should always be bolstering your health: body and mind. This is a grand adventure in getting more out of life by eliminating foods that were never designed for our health!

To summarize:

Stay positive!
Be kind to yourself
Learn more about your food changes
Create the environment that will support your change. Clean out the kitchen and garner support from family and friends
Plan for when you are away from home
Plan rewards that reflect and support your change
Surround your mind with success stories and share your successes with others!
I love your comments! Please share your thoughts and suggestions; this will always be a work in progress to better serve you!

Please join our community by subscribing to this blog.

Until next time-
Deidre

Blogging for good health!

Vacation Time Food and Thought

June 7, 2014 Deidre Leave a comment

Well, it’s time for enjoying the great out-of-doors with folks looking for any excuse to party outside, grill, picnic, go to the beach for an afternoon or for a week, or just sit on the porch for some impromptu dining alfresco. For me, whatever I am doing, it’s always better being done outside in the fresh air! That novel is just so much more pleasurable to read with a gentle breeze and the bountiful sounds of nature all around. That afternoon nap is infinitely better when on a porch swing or hammock while being lulled to sleep by the buzz of the cicadas and the songs of the birds. Quiet conversation is more personal somehow when shared in the open air. Pauses in the chatter are totally acceptable as we tune our minds and hearts into the pulse of the nature around us! Unplug from all of the devices we surround ourselves with and plug into the hum of all that is natural for the best vacation possible regardless of location.

Wherever we find ourselves enjoying nature, family, and friends, it is still possible to have a good time and yet not throw away all we have gained in cleaner eating. Every mouthful is a choice. “Is this food or drink going to do ill or good to me?” There does not have to be any sense of sacrifice or deprivation if we surround ourselves with good options depending on our individual goals.

Most everybody in the Paleo community is very content with the 80/20 rule. As I explained in the last post, in addition to being gluten free (which is the first step in improved health for many), people eating according to the over-all definition of Paleo also exclude the rest of the grain world, legumes, possibly dairy, and sugar in favor of (preferably) free range and grass fed meats, eggs, fish and seafood, with plenty of vegetables, some fruit, and good fats found in olive oil, coconut oil, avocado, nuts, and seeds.

Well, so what does that look like when you are in the 80 zone vs. the 20 zone? It is such an individual thing! For me, even the 20% is always gluten free with some give and take on the other grains or a bit of sugar. Now and then there will be a small scoop of rice or quinoa, maybe a quarter or a third of a baked potato, hummus, or a sprinkle of sugar on some strawberries. Don’t forget birthdays; we usually share a gluten-free brownie with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce at our local Outback!

I am so used to not eating or drinking sweet things that sodas do not even entice me, and southern sweet tea is impossible. Truly, getting off sugar is not that hard after just a few days, certainly after a week or two. It’s a no brainer. Certainly, if your goal is weight loss, sugar has to go… for the most part. But again, let’s not create Paleo “Nazis” or sugar “Nazis.” Life is to be enjoyed and it is no fun to be around someone who is a royal pain in the fanny at a restaurant by not letting their kids have more than a spot of ketchup on a piece of hamburger because of the sugar!

Last weekend, we attended a fabulous covered dish and BBQ at a friend’s beach house. No real dietary sacrifices were made when eating fabulous Eastern North Carolina pork BBQ! Mmmmmm! There were a few corn chips used to scoop up shrimp dip and taco dip; that was 20 zone corn, but that is okay. Veggies and fruit were on the buffet; no problem. The corn off the cob was great; into the 20 zone but all okay. And the dessert table was groaning of course, but I did bring gluten-free cake, oh-so-slightly sweetened sliced strawberries, and whipped coconut cream for topping; all gluten-free but certainly high on the starchy carb scale. I was happy. Left with a happy belly, too.

So here I sit having helped myself to several servings of gluten-free strawberry short cake during the week, but guess what? My favorite white crop pants do not fit!

Carb consumption is clearly something I must control- along with needing to tone-up more. Remember my article, “Gradual and Consistent?” Well, my personal goal is to work exercise into my daily routine. Starting off with a goal so small, it is a cinch to do and succeed, I have mastered a half plank each morning lasting for up to two minutes! Having learned the art of French brewed coffee, I do my daily plank during the last of the 4 minute brew time. Not much, but a daily success. I have learned that for goal setting, being as specific as possible with when-where-how directly correlates with success, so that brew time each morning is when I do my planks.

Now, I am going to return to my slow squats, kettle bell swing, and step up/down routine by setting another specific time to guarantee success. Slow exercises are actually more effective than rapid movements, I have learned, and they do not have to be repeated as often during the week. If you’d like, I will do a post or two on exercises; let me know.

So, is the beach calling? Instead of chips fried in “Franken oils” and a Coke, at least grab some gluten-free pretzels, cheese, and green tea steeped with fresh mint! Grilled burgers are wonderful, but just don’t serve them with a bun; all of the goodies can go on top and forks work just fine! Egg salad on gluten-free crackers is a personal favorite; or tuna salad or chicken salad! Don’t forget some yummy avocado slices with lemon pepper on top! Pre-sliced carrots, peppers, and squash are tasty by themselves or great dipped in hummus (there’s that 20 zone). It is all good!

Have fun and don’t forget the sun screen!

Deidre

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Anti-Inflammatory Foods, Blogging for good health!, Recipes

Smoothies – Good Picks!

April 15, 2014 Deidre

Particularly with the warmer weather approaching, I find it easier to turn to smoothies. However, I have discovered that not using ice to make them super cold will make them a good choice even when the temps are not so warm. Try using just cold tap water or cold coconut milk on days you are not seeking the “brain freeze” effect.

Smoothies are really limited only by your imagination. I tend to follow sort of a pattern that I will share here. A smoothie can be a magnificent way to get extra greens into the diet. Many folks swear by 3 cups of leafy greens a day, but I can only eat so much kale at dinner! How in the world to get this intense nourishment in me? Behold the smoothie which will totally mask the taste of green leafy veggies (kale or spinach, for me) which can be a blessing to those who stand at arm’s length from anything remotely looking like a vegetable.

Using a sturdy/powerful blender (my KitchenAid works fine) make the following selections and add to blender:

Pick a citrus: 1/2 lime or lemon, peeled and white fibrous center removed.

Pick a berry: One handful of unsweetened fresh or frozen strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, or raspberries.

Maybe pick another fruit: Pear or apple if weight loss is not the goal

Add about 2 inches of peeled cucumber chunked up and seeded if there are a lot of seeds. Cucumber adds a lightness to the drink.

Add about 1 inch of peeled and sliced fresh ginger which is said to have all kinds of antioxidant properties (ginger and fresh lemon tea is not only refreshing but therapeutic in the winter months or when experiencing voice strain- but I digress).

It’s probably a good idea to start pulsing and blending here and periodically thereafter to avoid blender overload!

Pick a good fat: I like up to 1/2 avocado and/or finely grated unsweetened coconut (we’ll talk about good fats later).

Add some more omega 3s and fiber all at once: 1 tsp. pre-soaked chia seeds, and/or 1-3 tsp of pre-soaked ground flax seed meal. These should be pre-soaked because they start out hard/gritty but swell up in fluids. If you do not intend to drink your smoothie right away, pre-soaking is not necessary, but your drink will become very thick later on and extra fluid may be needed. Fiber is a two edged sword; it will keep the digestive system regular, but can cause constipation if not enough fluid is taken in!

Add at least a cup or more of fluid: water, unsweetened coconut milk(So Delicious brand unsweetened coconut milk in the dairy section), ice, or chilled brewed green tea.

Add protein: your choice of powdered protein. I prefer whey protein because it is not a grain, but if soy is your thing, go ahead

Pick a green leafy veggie: a couple handfuls of spinach, baby kale medley (I get that from Sam’s store), or 4 good sized fresh kale leaves with stems removed.

Pick some sweet spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamon- whatever goes with the fruit/berries you have selected

Add 1 tsp of vanilla or if using cherries instead of berries, use almond extract. (It is amazing!)

Add a pinch of salt.

Blend, blend, blend.

This should make a blender full, so pour into multiple glasses. If not sharing, put some plastic wrap on the extra glasses and use as needed. I will often have 1/2 glass as a bedtime snack (still have not broken that habit yet).

Enjoy!

Deidre

Disclaimer:

The information being discussed in these blogs is NOT intended to replace a relationship with a qualified health care professional. Foodtalk4you blogs endeavor to empower people through the exploration of publicly available resources of information about human anatomy and physiology, and how different foods affect the human body. Readers should seek the advice of their qualified health care providers with any questions about their medical conditions or health status before attempting any dietary, exercise, or lifestyle changes.

Food Talk 4 You

Tag Archives: fruit

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2014 – The Whole Bloggin’ Year in Review

End of Detox But Not the End of Clean Eating

Day 1 of The Plan

Seven Days to “The Plan”

Starting Food Changes

Vacation Time Food and Thought

Smoothies – Good Picks!

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