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Blogging for good health!

The Countdown Continues – Need Another Reason to Eat Cleaner?

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With the kick-off start date to “The Plan” fast approaching (Monday, July 7th), let’s hope we do not get any major delays due to any ill Food-talk-4-u-hateffects of Hurricane Arthur swinging by our coast. May all be safe, and as the Governor said yesterday, “Don’t wear a stupid hat!” Ocean waves may beckon but the undertow and rip currents are stronger than all of us! When approaching a flooded intersection: “Turn around, don’t drown!”

Food-talk-4-u-pulpDid you catch the story featured on MSN News this week? It appears there is yet another reason to going paperless when paying our bills and in receiving various statements, than just in saving the trees and our environment from the pollution it makes to create paper. Trees need to be saved for something else!Food-talk-4-u-hamburger

There’s tree pulp in a great deal of the fast food we are consuming. Yup! Oh, it’s not called a pine bark burger or a maple tree smoothie, but the tree pulp is there!

How? It sneaks in under various guises: cellulose gum, cellulose powder, powdered cellulose, but it is wood pulp all the same. This non-absorbable fiber provides anti-caking properties (aka: anti-caking agent), acts as an emulsion-stabilizing agent, and improves cling (how creamy stuff stays together).

Food-talk-4-u-disgustingWhat this is to the fast food industry is cheap filler that enables them to increase profits by decreasing the real/costly ingredients such as chicken and cream. Are you saying “yuck” yet?

The article cited studies that suggest adverse effects on cholesterol. Who knows what will follow?

It turns out McDonalds is the biggest offender with 14 menu items Food-talk-4-u-treecontaining this wood pulp, followed by: Burger King at 13, Wendy’s at 10, Taco Bell at 9, and Hardees coming in at 6 menu items.

So those special, re-invented buns we’re seeing, creamy cheeses and sauces, cakes, smooth shakes, fries (that do not stick together), meats….just about anything… have been made, err formulated in a chemistry lab, to what?…Taste better?…Seriously?….Be more healthy?…Come on! To be more PROFITABLE for THEM!

Listen up America! Save a tree! Eat REAL food! Save YOURSELF!
Deidre

Blogging for good health!, Recipes

Counting Down to “The Plan” – With Oodles of Zoodles!

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food-talk-4-u-hand-peeler-r
Hand Grater

Eating well does not require all kinds of gadgetry so don’t let a limited supply of “things” hold you back from enjoying the wonders of non-packaged foods.

I will be frequently referring to “zoodles”—my “go-to” for non-starchy noodles, and they can be created many ways. Please see my previous post here to learn more about using zoodles. With farmer’s markets brimming at the seams with all kinds of summer squash, what better time to make zoodles?

A simple hand grater will not give you luscious long strands of zoodles but most people have one in their kitchen supplies and will give them some semblance of a short noodle.

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Micro Planer

Using a micro-planer will result in zoodles; but using one really scares me even with using the vegetable gripper provided—which is lost somewhere in my kitchen.

 

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Julienne Peeler

A safer approach is the julienne peeler which is easy to use and makes nice zoodles. It is one piece and easy to clean up.

 

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Spiral Peeler

 

 

My favorite tool, however, is my spiral cutter which results in fun-to-make, fabulous zoodles. Get the kids involved and you’ll be sure to have little zoodle eaters who won’t even mind eating veggies!

 

 

So, figure out how to make “zoodles” for there will be many opportunities to do so in The Plan!

Deidre

Blogging for good health!, Recipes

Seven Days to “The Plan”

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Counting down 7 days to the start of The Plan!

As we prepare with tapering down caffeine and sugar (including Food-talk-4-u-waterartificial 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.

Food-talk-4-u-lemon-1Making 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:Food-talk-4-u-cucumber

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

Food-talk-4-u-strawberries8) 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 mintFood-talk-4-u-raspberry

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

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Did you know that the mental approach we take when starting a change can actually predict our level of success? Food-talk-4-u-negativeA 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.

Food-talk-4-u-man-eatingBe 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 Food-talk-4-u-candystill 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?

Food-talk-4-u-lunch-crowdStudies 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 Food-Talk-4-U-fridge-cleaningkitchen! 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, Food-talk-4-u-giveawayand 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! Food-talk-4-u-celebration

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!

Food-talk-4-u-pamperSo 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!

May is National Celiac Disease Awareness Month

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May is National Celiac Disease Awareness month and I will be devoting myself to gluten issues all month!

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Judging by the University of Chicago’s Celiac Disease Center’s four pages listing 300 symptoms that have been connected with Celiac Disease, (cureceliacdisease.org), we’d better pay close attention to what we are eating! Not that this list solely belongs to gluten sensitivity, but gluten sensitivity’s symptoms can be so incredibly subtle that even the most diligent practitioner may miss an accurate diagnosis by treating symptoms and not causes.

Food-talk-4-u-painful-stomachSo, if you are suffering from multiple symptoms without a diagnosis, can’t explain why you do not feel ‘right,’ suffer with any kind of an autoimmune disease, (this includes Diabetes), then take a second look at gluten. Anything from an unhappy belly, iron deficiency, late or no onset of menstruation, inflammation or an inflammatory condition, polycystic ovarian syndrome, infertility, clumsiness, brain fog, migraines, dermatitis, ADD/ADHD, to unexplained muscle or joint pain can be related to gluten sensitivity. Just to name a few.

There are tests that can show if you are reactive, but some have shown to have false negatives AND you have to be eating gluten at the time for a positive result. Why not just cut gluten out?

When I think of the times our undiagnosed  daughter went to the school nurse because of her unhappy belly and feeling ‘not right’ and was given packages of saltine cracker to eat, I just shiver in remorse. Even her pediatrician was baffled at her wide array of seemingly unrelated symptoms and things we didn’t even know were symptoms at the time (not a truck load of teenage hormone issues but a train load).

The saddest thing, however, was when I told our pediatrician years later what the cause actually was, Celiac Disease, he shrugged it off saying that was a “trendy diagnosis!” Our daughter almost died from malabsorption of nutrients! Trendy diagnosis? May the patient beware! Not all physicians are tuned in to gluten sensitivity.Food-talk-4-u-doctor

Question your physician about his/her experience with gluten sensitivities. There are websites, such as Dr. Tom O’Byran’s, thedr.com, that can help you get in contact with someone conversant in gluten issues.

Stay tuned! Next post will explain just how gluten ravages the body and what foods need to be eliminated.

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.