It is GREAT that people are asking these kinds of questions, because health improvement has to start with a curiosity about healthy food.  However, it can actually be quite difficult to give an accurate answer to these basic kinds of questions.  There are many factors that may play into slightly different answers for different people (see previous blog post with my one-size-fits-all rules).

I would like to help ease some of the confusion though for people wondering just how to tackle their interest in getting healthier.  First, check to make sure you’re following my 5 simple rules.  If you can’t start there, you won’t be able to jump into more challenging dietary changes.  Second, pay attention to how you feel after you eat.  For example, to answer the question “What’s the best thing to eat for breakfast?”  I would say, “something that keeps you feeling full and satisfied for at least 2.5 to 4 hours.”  A bowl of slow-cooked oats, mixed with a tablespoon of nut butter, or a handful of nuts and berries, with a boiled egg on the side might work wonders for you.  Two over-easy eggs, on top of some left over beans and rice and a glass of “green drink” (a staple in my house) could also be a big ticket winner.  Even left over dinner of salmon, spinach, and a few bites of boiled potato would be excellent if you can get over the preconceived notions of what breakfast foods have to look like.  If you’re eating a 3 egg-white omelette with tomatoes and a cup of coffee with Splenda and thinking you’re being healthy, but find yourself dying for a chocolate chip cookie an hour later is a big clue you aren’t getting what you need.

The key is experimentation.  Many nutritionists insist that 6 small meals a day is the ideal way to eat for optimum metabolism.  I both agree and disagree.  If you can’t wrap your head around the fact that each of those meals isn’t much bigger than a snack, and you’re eating 6 sandwiches a day with a side dish and a sweetened drink, it’s not going to work for you.  For me, I feel the best when I eat 3 solid meals a day, with a couple of healthy snacks in between.  I know for me, I run the risk of over-eating if I don’t feel a sense of hunger before I eat and a sense of complete satisfaction with the meal afterwards.  So I fill my plate with healthy fats, proteins, and quality carbs so I leave no nutritional need left to chance.  This is what works for me.

So before you ask someone else to tell you what to do…you have to start by asking yourself: “do I feel good in my own skin?”; “does a meal make me feel satisfied, healthy and, yes – happy after I eat it?”  ”Why might I be binging on sweet/salty snacks?”  ”Do I sleep well?”  ”Does my skin/hair/nails look healthy?”  These are all major clues to evaluate.  If you aren’t eating what your body needs, you will continue to crave “bad” food, feel unsatisfied, unhealthy, and unhappy.

When you get to a point where you feel like you’re making the right choices, but you still feel something is amiss…come back to me and we’ll take a deeper look  There’s always another level to graduate to once you conquer the basics.

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She looks fabulous, and I was so proud of her response to the question my mother-in-law asked her yesterday….”Are you still on your diet?”  As I had my bowl of gluten-free granola and almond milk, and everyone else ate a Belgian waffle the size of a dinner plate, she chose to just have half a waffle (a totally appropriate portion size.)  My sister’s response?  Momentary confusion, followed by “no, this is just how I eat now.  You should try it.”  I wanted to high five her in that moment.

My mother-in-law, bless her heart, just doesn’t seem to understand the concept of healthy eating, or even making healthier choices (half vs. whole waffle).  It’s not totally her fault.  Most of it is a cultural conditioning.  However, I’ve noticed that no matter what nationality you are, there is a common culture around over-eating.  Especially in America.  Most people have stories to tell about their grandparents, and the overfeeding that occurs during childhood.  For me, it was an Italian upbringing, with no one getting out of my grand-parents’ house without either rigatoni or a ham sandwich (or both.)  No matter the time of day, or if we’d already eaten lunch before visiting them.  I see this type of treatment in my in-law’s house too.  And it can be really difficult to stick to your guns and not give in to the pressure to eat, when you know your body doesn’t need it.

“Are you still on a diet?”  Depending on the person to whom this question is directed, it can have huge ramifications on the success of that person’s health.  There are many levels of meaning in such a simple question.  It can mean judgment: “What is the point of changing your healthy habits? There’s nothing wrong with a few extra pounds.”  It can mean justification for unhealthy choices: “Oh, come on, we’re all eating whole waffles, you can too.”  That one is particularly dangerous, because I feel that most people are seeking just that kind of justification.  There is a safety-net feeling when you know you aren’t the only one indulging in what one doesn’t need.  It can also mean innocent ignorance: “You lost weight and look good.  Why are you still being so careful now?”   This meaning, innocuous and innocent in its intent, might be the most dangerous to our society today.  It means that people understand it’s healthy to lose a few pounds, but they don’t really know why.  It also says they are completely clueless as to what the word “diet” really means.  And this is HUGELY important.

Most of you reading this inherently know that if you think the word “diet” means a temporary change to your eating habits to lose weight, you will also only temporarily lose the weight.  Sadly, it doesn’t seem like the vast majority of this country understands that simple concept.  The word diet actually refers to the general, daily and lifelong food sources of a species.  One might say birds live off of a diet of seeds, worms, and foraged berries.  It doesn’t mean a chunky bird looked in a mirror and said, “Yikes, I’m giving up earth worms for the next three weeks.”  A diet is a way of life, a way you conduct yourself, a positive image you give to those around you.  Particularly those that might be the most influenced by your choices (your kids, for instance.)  It’s not a specified period of time you have to fit into a new dress for a friend’s wedding.

So if you, as a healthy person, are ever faced with the opportunity to educate a person as to what the word diet really means, please…take it.  Explain that it’s not about wanting to look thin.  Being overweight is just as dangerous to your health as speeding without a seat-belt on.  Explain that losing weight (and keeping it off by adopting the habits you learned from your “diet” into your life-long daily routine) is about not getting diseases.  It’s about feeling more confident and better about yourself.  It’s about setting a healthy example for your loved ones.

It’s about your happiness and well-being. Not for the next month. Forever.

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(Yes, what a woman actually found in her kids’ McNuggets)

So I’m sure most of you have heard by now the story of the 17 year old girl in the UK who collapsed and was hospitalized earlier this week after spending her life eating nothing but chicken nuggets (mostly from McDonalds, some from her grocer’s freezer aisle). She was found to be so nutrient-deficient and anemic that she had to be on a mega dose of vitamins through an IV during her hospital stay, and continue a vitamin regimen at home.

Now, how would you make chicken nuggets at home?  Maybe you’d chop up some white breast meat, dust it in flour, dip it in some egg, then some more flour and fry it in vegetable oil, right?  Or if you’re slightly more health conscious, maybe you’d go for bread crumbs and bake instead.  How far from this recipe could fast food and processed food companies be?  Since advertising and marketing and misleading nutrition advice out there would have us believing that there can’t be that much wrong with a chicken nugget (protein and carbs, we need that, right?), let’s take a deeper look.

Cut and pasted directly from Mickey D’s site for anyone who’s curious to find out is this list of their chicken nugget ingredients:

Chicken McNuggets® (6 piece):
White boneless chicken, water, food starch-modified, salt, seasoning [autolyzed yeast extract, salt, wheat starch, natural flavoring (botanical source), safflower oil, dextrose, citric acid], sodium phosphates, natural flavor (botanical source). Battered and breaded with: water, enriched flour (bleached wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), yellow corn flour, bleached wheat flour, food starch-modified, salt, leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate, calcium lactate), spices, wheat starch, dextrose, corn starch.

CONTAINS: WHEAT.
Prepared in vegetable oil (Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to preserve freshness). Dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent.

So what does this really mean?  Well, one thing is that I’ve seen that a chicken nugget only contains anywhere from 44 to 70% actual meat.  The rest is all those food starch and chemical fillers.  And just what ARE those confusing ingredients that you don’t keep in your own baking supplies?

Let’s take a look.

Well, for one, “food starch- modified” essentially means corn starch.  It is corn starch that has been chemically altered, or modified, to increase bulk, so they can use less meat, more corn (definitely genetically modified.)  It also means that the “meat” you’re eating is roughly half meat, half chemicalized, genetically modified corn powder.

“Autolyzed yeast extract” ??  You’ve heard me talk about this before.  This is just another way of creating MSG, an excito-toxin that fires up your nerves to a creepy and not presumed safe level, and also creates a flavor sensation that is incredibly addictive.

“Dextrose” is sugar.

“Sodium Phosphate” is used as an emulsifier to keep the ingredients well blended and a pleasing texture.  It also happens to be used in most laxative and medical colon procedures.  I think it’s interesting this needs to be added, (in addition for it’s likely salty flavor) since the body probably wouldn’t have a clue how to eliminate this confusing jumble of chemicals and altered food ingredients without it.

Continuing on the list, I shouldn’t have to explain “bleached white flour”.  Flour with bleach.  Yes, THAT bleach.  Tasty!

“Sodium aluminum phosphate”.  I always hate when I run out of this, it’s so hard to find in grocery stores.  Not only is this a chemical used in many pesticides, but the cumulative effects of aluminum and aluminum by-products in our diet, beauty products, and medications has been strongly correlated with Alzheimer’s disease (an active controversy, of course).  Aluminum toxicity can also impair kidney function, calcium metabolism, decreased liver function, anemia, you know, lots of fun things.

I also shouldn’t have to talk about the use of “Hydrogenated Soybean Oil” in these here nuggets.  If there’s a red-flag word to stay away from on food labels, it’s hydrogenated.  You know, trans fats that companies are racing to market their products without, after all the cardiologists finally got their point across?  Oil that’s been whipped up and altered so that it’s no longer an oil, but a nice creamy, never before seen product of this earth, much like a chemical!  And soybeans, like corn, top the list of genetically grown crops in this country.  Which means you’re getting a nice residue of the weed killer Round-Up (the monopolizing Monsanto’s weed killer sold to farmers who own Monsanto’s patented seeds) when you eat corn and soy.

On with the list!  “TBHQ”  This is a good one…err…I mean really bad one.  It’s a petroleum product and also a form of butane (yeah, like a cigarette lighter), so you know it’s great for you.  The nuggets likely get spritzed with this after coming down the production line to keep them looking like nuggets for a year after one falls behind your car seat.  Between 1 and 4 grams of this stuff can make you incredibly ill.  More than 4 grams?  RIP.  Cumulative effects of ingesting small amounts of it over the course of your lifetime from processed foods?  Theories abound, but no big corporate companies are really gonna test that.  There is some evidence that it can exacerbate ADHD symptoms, asthma and dermatitis.  Rat studies have shown increased risk of pre-cancerous stomach cells and DNA damage.  It has also been suggested to affect estrogen levels in women.

What else do we have? “Dimethylpolisiloxane”  That sounds DELICIOUS.  It is a substance they put in the frying oil to keep the cauldron from bubbling over.  It is a silicon based polymer that is heavily used in the cosmetic and medical/medical device industry, and my favorite: silly putty.  Supposedly non-toxic, but would you really be comfortable eating your make-up and feeding the putty to your kid?

If you’ve made it to the end of this blog, congratulations, it was a jam packed one.  Hopefully it inspires you to eat some fruits and veggies.  Hopefully it also inspires you to really read the ingredient labels (or search them out if not listed at your favorite chain restaurant), to fully understand what you are consuming.  McDonald’s is certainly not the only offender here in using some of these crazy chemicals.  Most chain restaurants, not just fast-food ones, do.  So if Chili’s or the Olive Garden is your typical Friday night date….do a little research on what’s in their seasonings and sauces, too.

I can’t stress enough how much of our health depends on the quality of what we eat.  Just because a nutrition label that says how much protein you’re getting and how little sugar makes you think, “oh, that’s good right?”  Think again, and skip down to the ingredient label instead.  There’s a whole different story going on there.

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Tweaking a recipe I found online, I created a spongey, sweet, and delicious banana bread that even you gluten eaters would probably appreciate!

Here’s what I used:

3 very ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 – 1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose Gluten-Free Flour (you could use a blended cup of your own GF flours, though – brown rice, sorghum, fava, etc.)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of salt
appx 1/6 cup of melted coconut oil (I was cutting a recipe in half that called for 1/3 cup, which I eye-balled)

Here’s what you do:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Slowly and gently melt the coconut oil (it melts at 76 degrees) in a sauce pan on very low heat.

Add the mashed banana, sugar and vanilla to the beaten eggs and blend.

Blend in flour, baking soda, salt until all incorporated.

Stir in coconut oil just until blended.

Pour in greased loaf pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes depending on your oven. Keep an eye on it for when the top gets lightly brown, it feels spongey, or a tooth pick comes out clean.

Wait a few minutes, then remove from pan and enjoy!

*Note. The original recipe did call for a 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce, which would mean I needed 1/4 cup for this recipe. I did not have it, and hoped 3 bananas would be enough moisture. (Original recipe called for “4 or 5″ bananas) I think the next time though I would like to try adding a few tablespoons of applesauce to see how it changes things, so you might want to add some for yourself!

Try not to eat the whole thing in one sitting!

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Now, that being said, in my humble opinion, there do happen to be just a few blanket suggestions that I do feel would improve everyone’s health across the board.  Claims that can’t really be disputed, (unless you have some extremely rare genetic disorder, like an allergy to water…)

So, Caitlin’s simple rules for healthier living would be…

1. Drink more water!!  (We all know this, we just don’t do it.  Seriously, though…this is hugely important)

2. Eat more vegetables (Especially green leafy ones, fresh and organic when possible, frozen organic second best)

3. Be more active

4. Avoid processed, refined foods

5. Greatly reduce or avoid sugars (especially refined)

That’s it.  5 rules to live by.  I have absolutely no science to back up what I’m about to say, but I’d be willing to bet that if everyone in America seriously incorporated these 5 rules into their daily lives (not just sporadically for a few days every six months), that we could begin to see a decline in chronic disease in America.  Maybe that’s too simplistic of a thing to say at this point, given how far gone we are into the world of the chronically ill and obese, but I strongly feel that we are so sick and so fat because we pretty much do the opposite of these 5 things.

These rules may be over-simplified, too, since we are so conditioned to eating processed foods. Many people wouldn’t know where to start if they had to boil water to make rice and roast their own chicken, but if you can educate yourself through simple classes or online recipes, and steer your cart away from the frozen pizzas and ready-to-cook dinners in your grocery’s freezer aisle, you can make huge strides in your health.

My advice?  The next time you go grocery shopping, take the time to read the ingredients of the things you typically stock your kitchen with.  Cans of soup, jarred sauces, frozen veggies in “sauce”, and instant flavored rice mixes.  See what crazy kind of re-formulated salts, fats, preservatives, colorings and dextrins are really in those items.  When was the last time you sprinkled “autolyzed yeast extract” at your home dinner table or into a recipe?

So take these 5 rules and try to start applying them, if not daily, then at least a few days per week into your routine.  Don’t go throwing away every pantry item you own, but phase them out with healthier brands once you familiarize yourself with ingredient labels of varying companies.  Schedule several times a day where you’ll go and drink a large glass of water you wouldn’t normally have consumed, and walk up 4 flights of stairs in your office building a few times each week, until it feels easier (then walk up 5).  There are simple ways to incorporate these rules without feeling like they’re a huge transition in your life.

And remember, practice doesn’t make perfect, but it makes a lot better.

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I am gradually getting healthier and healthier now that we’re getting more settled, and I’m able to get groceries regularly.  My cravings for the starchy and sweet have been getting much better, and I credit this to the increased inclusion of one particularly healthy root vegetable into my weekly routine: the sweet potato.

Most health-conscious people probably have a myriad of misinformation on potatoes, thinking that because starches and carbs have been demonized, along with them goes the starchy potato.  If you’re deep frying them in a toxic vegetable oil, well then, yes, but even white potatoes are not as villainous as people have been told to believe when healthily prepared.

Sweet potatoes specifically, are filled with vitamins A and C, fiber, potassium, manganese, and a myriad of great anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and blood-sugar regulating nutrients.

If you crave sugary foods, or a cookie during your 3pm slump, try eating a few baked or steamed sweet potatoes throughout the week, with a little drizzling of a high quality oil, or even a little organic butter and some cinnamon and sea salt.. (A little fat helps to better absorb the nutrients in the potato, and keeps you feeling a little more satisfied, while cinnamon further aids in blood sugar regulation).  Personally, I’ve been eating a half a sweet potato with some eggs and leafy greens about three times a week for lunch, and I have to say, it really keeps me going!  I love drizzling the plate with tahini and hot sauce, as sesame seeds are another amazing source of nutrients.

Many people are familiar with that little craving for a morsel of something sweet after a meal, but eating sweet potatoes (as well as other sweet root vegetables) really helps curb that feeling.  They help me feel like I’ve satisfied that desire for something carbalicious and sweet, without the guilt usually involved in indulging that!

So for all you sugar addicts out there, try this tip for you and your family this week, and see how it affects your snack and craving habits!

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I’m sorry, but this is exactly what is wrong with the obesity/chronic disease epidemic in this country. People have no problem justifying to themselves or others that it’s OK to eat rich comfort foods because it’s more important to “live a little” than to be healthy and “deprived.” Oh the paradox! She still touts the line, “everything in moderation”, but you don’t wind up as overweight as she is with Type 2 Diabetes by eating in moderation. Period. Funny, how living a healthy life style, I feel anything BUT deprived. I like my body, I rarely get sick, I have relatively good energy and sleep well… I feel great! And I still eat baked goods, chocolate and gluten-free pizza every now and then (and drink wine when I’m not pregnant!). I would say THAT is called moderation. I had a consultation last night with a woman who eats pizza, pasta, cookies, chips, and standard American processed foods with known and confirmed via blood work food intolerances to gluten, dairy and other foods. She can’t get out of bed on Saturdays or get through the work day due to depression and anxiety attacks. She’s anything but enjoying living the life she’s living because of what she eats. Doesn’t sound like a fulfilling life to me!

Paula Deen, millions of people watch you. You have a responsibility and an opportunity to educate. Type 2 diabetes can cause blindness, kidney failure, nervous system destruction, lead to limb amputations and dental disease. A study done a few years ago found that the total cost of the disease in 2008 exceeded $251 BILLION dollars, and that didn’t include all secondary disease expenses! That was four years ago, and the numbers are climbing for how many people are getting this disease, including children. So now we’ve got kids with a disease that used to be pre-fixed as “Adult Onset” who will be coming up through the healthcare system battling this for years to come, and sadly…most likely living shorter and shorter, less happy lives.

So go ahead Paula. Keep justifying to all your fans that life just isn’t complete without that bacon topped casserole, coconut cream pie and a side of butter-milk biscuits. It’s OK to get diabetes, because there’s a drug for that and people should just eat what makes them happy. Life is too short. Well, thanks to you, you’re making it more miserable and even shorter.

I like my life. I like comfort foods. I like healthy foods too. I eat LOTS of healthy foods not because I feel like it’s a sacrifice I have to make to maintain my healthy body, but because I’ve trained myself to actually enjoy and appreciate the taste of real food! I had pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. I had a small bowl of ice cream last weekend. And I had left-over roasted kale this morning that was still sitting on the stove from last night. I had two eggs and a half a sweet potato over arugula drizzled with tahini and hot sauce for lunch yesterday. And it was very yummy. And I felt good about myself eating it.

THAT is the lesson we need to be teaching our youth and reinforcing to the adult population struggling with excess weight and chronic disease. If you have a platform to do that, and you go the complete opposite direction…well, personally…I think you should be considered a criminal, go to jail, and be sued for the amount of money that your fans have spent on co-pays and medical bills.

And that’s all I have to say about that.

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How did your weekend go? Did you over-indulge? Drink too much, snack too much? I did alright this weekend, even with football festivities going on in our house yesterday. I made an organic turkey chili, fresh guacamole and served carrots and celery with hummus. Ameesh made homemade ice cream for the rest of the guests, while I indulged in a couple chocolate covered marshmallows instead… I’ve also started grinding whole flax seeds in a small coffee grinder and adding it to my morning hot cereal or, as in this morning’s case, to a scoop of peanut butter to be spread on a brown rice tortilla. Grinding fresh flax seeds is infinitely better than purchasing pre-ground flax, as the potent nutrients that are unlocked in the grinding process are quickly “killed” through oxidation minutes after grinding is complete, so a fresh grind is really the way to go.

As for my goals for this week, I’m still gonna stick with reducing my sugar intake, and upping my veggies. We did made a tasty batch of kale chips last week, and I had some of the most delicious brussel sprouts I’ve ever tasted over the weekend (“bacon jelly” had nothing to do with that), so I’m thinking a trip to Whole Foods is in order for some good produce this week.

If there’s a market near you with good local produce, I highly recommend checking it out to see what is in season right now in your neck of the woods. Foods eaten when they’re in season not only taste better, but are more nutritious than foods that have traveled far and wide from some other climate, picked before maturity to arrive in time for ripening in your kitchen. The closer you can time the picking of ripe produce to eating it, the more benefits you’ll reap in terms of nutrition and taste…

So even if you can’t make it to a local farmers’ market, see what your grocery store might be selling in the “local” section or do a little online research to see if there might actually be a food co-op, CSA or a market you didn’t even know existed in your vicinity. I’m doing that myself as I get acquainted with my new neighborhood and can’t believe how many great healthy things are going on behind the scenes!

It’s exciting, and I think 2012 is going to be a very good year!

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I’ve put in a few rounds of push-ups over the last few days, took a streaming “CardioSalsa” class on Netflix yesterday, and did some weight exercises and a couple of ballet combos using my upstairs banister as a barre this morning. Not to mention, made myself go up and down the stairs multiple times! In addition, I have been stretching the last few nights before going to bed, which feels oh so good! I already feel happier and motivated to keep building on the progress.

Nutritionally, I’m doing better than the average person I imagine, but I do think I’m consuming too much sugar. I’ve been indulging in jam on my toast daily, and we made a batch of coconut-lime sorbet in our ice cream maker the other day, which was a little too delicious. And for a while before we had a full fridge of groceries I was unfortunately relying on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch most days. Last night, we picked up dinner from one of my favorite Pittsburgh restaurants, Ali Baba, which had me feeling pretty good. Spinach lentil soup, and some of the best falafel you’ll ever find left me more than satisfied with no guilt!

The past two mornings have also gotten off to a great start with smoothies made up of banana, almond milk, coconut milk keffir, fresh ground flax seeds, cocoa-veggie super green mix, and some hemp protein powder…  There’s a nutritional punch for ya!

I’m glad I’m feeling more myself now that I’m out of that first phase of pregnancy and look forward to continuing down the healthy path, for me and this little one we have brewing!

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So sing along, and start doing your own research and be inspired to swap out your kitchen for GMO free foods!

Question What’s Inside

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