Category Archives: Food Talk 4 You!

One of the most important elements to good health is how you fuel your body. Let’s talk about how you can make sure the fuel you are using is the best it can be!

Blogging for good health!

Gradual and Consistent

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A man was giving his personal testimony about his dietary and health journey on a favorite blog of mine, Mark’s Daily Apple.  In it, he quoted his grandfather whose philosophy on getting things done was this: gradual and consistent.  Just be gradual and consistent.  This man gradually transformed his health by consistently tweaking what he ate and how he exercised.  He did not try to fix everything at once, but he took small steps everyday that led to his total body overhaul.

Then another writer I like, James Clear,  shares motivational messages and methods to start and stick with projects.  On several posts, James cited many  people who became very successful  by practicing their craft on a daily basis. Good or bad, inspired or mediocre, they gradually and consistently honed their skills on a daily basis.violin_clip_art_12389

It is said that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to have any level of real skill playing an instrument.  Are we to criticize ourselves if we have a bad practice?  Certainly not!  As James Clear quoted, you’re not good enough yet to criticize yourself.  Keep up your daily efforts.

Similarly, we need to be gradual and consistent in our approach to improve what we eat.  Is your goal to cut down on sugar consumption ?  Drinking multiple sodas on a daily basis?  Cut back just a bit by not finishing your drink and follow that with a half glass of water.  Or drink a half glass of water first and then decide if you really need a soda at all!   Start noticing how really un-quenching a soda is to your thirst. They are designed by their formulas to make you want more, not to satisfy you.  Explore why you want to drink it. Could you be just as satisfied with water?  Be gradual and consistent. Food talk 4 you soda

Once you have gained a new habit, such as replacing or cutting down on sodas for example, look for another area where a satisfying substitute could take the place of sugar in other foods.  See the post on sweet spices.

Switch that candy bar out for dark chocolate.  Work up from semi-sweet to higher concentrations of cocoa which also contain less sugar.  After a while, you will actually find sugary milk chocolate too sweet.  Great!  You are making progress!

You will also notice your blood sugar levels more stable as you are not asking your pancreas to crank out more and more insulin!  That 2 pm soda will cause you to want a  4 pm bag of chips because the insulin produced for the very high blood sugar levels from the soda caused your blood sugar level to crash.  Instead of the 2 pm soda, grab a handful of unsweetened nuts full of good fats that satisfy your hunger but do not spike your blood sugar levels.  Watch yourself make it all the way to dinner without a sugar hit!  Congrats!

Now, with my goal of exercising smarter (not more) I am going to do my daily half plank (on bended knee).  Once that becomes a breeze, I will do full planks.

Gradual and consistent!

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.

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

Smoothies – Good Picks!

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.

Food-talk-4-u-peach-smoothie-paleoSmoothies 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 smoothie2strawberries, 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!

Food-talk-4-u-Avacado-smoothie-paleoPick 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.

Blogging for good health!

Sugar Substitute? Sweet Spice!

Without reciting the evils of sugar, high fructose corn syrup, or artificial sweeteners at this time, let me share with you one way around needing to add syrupy sweetness without feeling deprived.

Paleo SpicesTo create an aura of sweetness, I reach for  what I call sweet spices: Cinnamon (which helps regulate blood sugar), nutmeg, cardamon, ginger, allspice, and pumpkin pie spice.   Using these will automatically make the taste buds think “sweet”.  I also use vanilla and almond extracts in many dishes.

In preparing French toast with gluten free bread, for example, I Cinnamonalways put at least cinnamon and vanilla (to taste) into the egg bath mixture.  This way the spice and vanilla extract will make me think of sweet goodness and I will not need to add any syrup when I eat it. Using coconut oil to fry the French toast will also add another layer of satisfaction to the palate.

Smoothies do not need the intense sweet carbohydrate boost of banana when sweet spices and vanilla or almond extract are added to unsweetened berries, cherries, apple, or pear along with your protein powder.

Smoothies will be thoroughly discussed and simplified on Thursday.

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.

 

Blogging for good health!

In The Beginning – There Was Paleo!

and it was good…..

William J. Bennett’s  now very familiar quote stares at me from underneath my computer screen:

Blueberries“Much good that might have been achieved in the world is lost through hesitation, faltering, wavering, vascillating, or just not sticking with it” – from his Book of Virtues,

I have finally given “birth” to my web site!  Baby steps are taken!

I will talk of more things than food, but the name “Designed forPaleo Muffin Health” was taken, so I have reverted to one of my original names from two years ago!  I let settling on a name become a major stumbling block.  No more hesitation, faltering, etc. for me!

My goal is to post some thoughts twice a week, usually Monday and Thursday.  Of course, this is Saturday, but you never know when a baby will decide to be born!

Remember, as Hippocrates said, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”.  Therefore, endeavor to eat nutrient rich foods devoid of added sugars and chemicals whenever possible.  We will talk about what that means in the future. In the mean time,  fish, veggies, and a salad with avocado are looking really good to me!

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.