I have a secret

I have a secret….. I don’t like kale chips.  I know, I know, they are so nutritionally excellent, they are a great alternative to regular potato chips, they are a good way to get kids to eat kale, I know it all.  But I just don’t like them.  And after last night's umteenth time making them, following yet another recipe, I have decided to accept this fact and move on.  Not all healthy foods are for everyone and that is okay.  This doesn’t mean that I am destined to eat trans fat filled potato chips for life, it just means that I won’t be eating the healthy alternative either.

This all seems fairly simple but you would be surprised at how much this concept is not always clear to people when they find out that I am a nutritionist.  There is something about learning this information that makes people do the following :

• tell me everything they ate yesterday

• ask me how many calories are in the beer they are drinking

• tell me what they just don't like (ENTER HEALTHY ALTERNATIVE HERE)

Assume that I do not need/want to know what you ate yesterday if I just met you and you are not a client of mine and that while I may know how many calories are in the beer you are drinking, its not a party trick of mine to blurt it out on command.  However, when people tell me they do not like brown rice or just can’t get into soy milk, I feel the need to discuss further.  I strongly believe that if you force yourself to eat a healthy alternative, you may be able to do this for awhile but this is not sustainable. Cabbage soup diet anyone?  Trying new foods is commendable and I will always recommend this but forcing yourself to eat chia seed pudding twice a day simply because it is healthy is not the route I would advise.  

I have found that my approach is unique and I attribute this to my road to becoming a nutritionist. I can’t say I knew at a young age that this would eventually be my profession.  If someone told me that I would be counseling people on their diets for a living, I would probably question this.  But then I gained 30 lbs of unwanted weight after a lifetime of never being concerned about my weight, diet or exercise plan. I was introduced to a nutritionist and almost immediately knew this was what I was meant to do.  She not only taught me how to eat better but provided the self confidence that I needed in a time when that was lacking.  I learned from her that I wanted to provide for other people that feeling of self empowerment and pride. (Unfortunately, I also learned a bit about obsessing and eating foods I didn’t like but forced myself to like because it was my prescribed diet.)  Hence, I bring with me a different approach. An approach that involves knowledge, empowerment, choices, and confidence. In short, I will most likely always tell you to try the kale chips but will never tell you that your happiness depends on them and depending on my mood, I may admit to you that I also don’t like them:)

Acknowledgements: Apologies to my four year old daughter who tried another batch of kale chips.  We can stick to apples, honey.  And thank you to my husband for eating all the failed kale chips proving the point that kale chips can be a healthy alternative to some folks.

 

So long kale chips!

Traveling light

When you think about going on a trip, certain words may come to your mind: relaxation, adventure, fun, leisure and sleep. When you start thinking about maintaining a healthy diet and active lifestyle while on said vacation, the thoughts may change to anxiety, stress and even dread.

 

I am about to go on a trip to Costa Rica next week. This trip is husband and kid free (Yay- don’t tell them I said that). While I am over the moon about a trip that is sure to be filled with adventure, lots of physical activity, bonding time with a bunch of great women, I can’t help but to be concerned about the food. Vacation doesn’t mean an escape from all realities, just some of them.

 

So lets discuss the traveling to get to your destination. Often, the planes, trains and automobiles to get to your final destination can be stressful, time consuming and boring which can often lead to eating and maybe drinking alcohol in excess. Contrary to what some people would like to believe, calories do count on the airplane. And if anything, you are getting yourself more dehydrated just by being on the plane, so alcohol is not on top of the list of good ideas.  The best answer to navigating an airport or airplane food options is to bring your own. I know this can be challenging, especially with TSA rules, but the effort needs to be made:

• Plan for how long you will be on the road/plane and bring food accordingly. 

• Bring extra food as you know boredom may lead to eating more and you may be delayed somewhere which may lead you to purchase something. 

Foods that you can bring or buy at airport include: fruit, cheese, yogurt, a salad, a healthy sandwich, nuts, carrots and hummus.  And always drink a lot of water! Like, a lot of water!

Once you arrive at your destination, the excitement and anticipation of having this upcoming time for yourself to enjoy will be overwhelming, in a good way. Don’t let this stray you from the path of setting yourself up with some go to foods and drinks:

• If possible, ask ahead for a refrigerator in your hotel room so you can stock it with bottled water, and easy breakfast options like fruit, yogurt.  

• Think about packing food with you that is simple such as oatmeal and/or nuts. 

• Enjoy locally grown fruits and vegetables.  For example, I can't wait for a cup of coffee and a huge tropical fruit salad for breakfast. 

• Sit down for a few minutes before hitting the beach and mentally plan how many days or nights you’ll be eating out and make a decision to try your best to eat healthy.

• Plan ways to remain active every single day.  Try something new- mine is surf lessons next week, yikes! 

 

I don’t want you to live in regret that you spent your vacation eating rice cakes and apples, but do not let the regret be due to overindulging either.

 

Take home message here is to plan what you can and trust in your knowledge, motivation and drive to make this a healthy and fun vacation.  Bon voyage, readers!

Squash, squash and more squash

Butternut. Acorn. Pumpkin. Spaghetti. Are you overwhelmed yet? Well, then you are not alone. Fall can be synonymous with apple picking, pumpkin spice lattes and lots and lots of squash.  When fall arrives, there are some that are immediately excited to make all these variety of squashes but also those who are intimidated, unsure of their cooking abilities or just too busy to try to figure out how to cook them.

Once you can get past some of the road blocks, squash can be a great addition to your diet.  The nutritional value varies very slightly but all are jam packed. Specifically, squash is an excellent source of immune supporting vitamin A and free-radical scavenging vitamin C.  Squash is also an excellent source of heart-healthy folate, omega-3 fatty acids, Vitamins B6 and B2, magnesium, potassium and vitamin K.  Squash is full of fiber which helps lower cholesterol, regulate blood sugar, keep your bowels happy and most importantly, keeps you full for a long time with low amount of calories. Simply put, they are a nutrition jackpot.

Preparing squash can sometimes be intimidating as you see these big gourds at the farmers market but don’t know what to do next.  A good tip is to ask the farmer as they are usually very helpful and excited to share some helpful tips on how to cut and prepare it.  The truth is that there isn’t really a wrong way to cook squash. They are great grilled, pureed, steamed, broiled, baked and mashed. Here is another tip that can help take away from of the fear of squash - it is up to you if you want to keep skin on or off. Some squashes may have a tougher skin like butter nut squash so you may want to take it off but even that is not a necessity.  A simple roasting recipe: peel and cut squash into cubes of any size, brush or lightly drizzle olive oil (use less than you think you should), place on a cookie sheet or roasting pan and put into oven at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  As far as herbs or spices goes, its also up to you and can change up the dish completely.  For a savory dish, try rosemary. For a sweet dish, try cinnamon and/or nutmeg.

To the moms out there, squash is a great food to try to introduce to your kids. As a young child without teeth, squash is obviously great for mashing/pureeing and I find that baking squash and cutting it like french fries does the trick to get my four year old to eat them. Squash can be presented in many different ways which is a plus to a mom trying to get their child to try something new.

So what do you say? Get out there and make yourself some delicata. Yup, that IS a squash. And its delicious! Check out the recipe on The Sprouted Kitchen blog that I made last week and loved:

http://www.sproutedkitchen.com/home/2013/2/6/maple-spice-delicata-fennel-kale-bowl.html

 

School lunch woes....

Moms everywhere are doing the jig because their kids are going back to school.   I on the other hand have been consumed by what to pack for my daughter's school lunch.  This is the first year she'll be eating at school and I have a million unanswered questions - What will she eat willingly and without me pushing on her, what will she need too much assistance with, what will she refuse to eat, what can be heated up, what container should i send this food in? And I know what you are thinking, you are a nutritionist, you have worked with children and you are not solving the crisis in Syria.  I decided to take a step back and go through a few key points.

 1. Make a list of foods that she eats for lunch and cross reference with what is allowed at school (most nuts are not allowed).  Do not try to introduce new foods during this lunch time at school. This is not the time to send your child to school with Japanese food if she/he has never had it.

2. Buy a few containers that you can send the food in. You should have a few that can keep food hot/cold, some easy to open containers or Ziploc bags, a cup that wont spill and some sort of lunch box.

3. Don’t get bogged down by the idea that the food you send needs to be a “perfect complete meal”. If your child loves yogurt but does not eat any sandwiches (my child), then you send a yogurt and be glad she/he is getting some dairy and protein.  Next try to round out the meal with a fruit or vegetable and perhaps crackers and/or pretzels.

4. Provide a few options but not too many options. Do not give your child seven different little things to choose from hoping he/she would pick one. It just becomes confusing and overwhelming to your child and most likely will waste a lot of food.  

So what’s the take away from all this? You can do this. You have given your child lunch how many times in her/his life? This does not need to be more overwhelming or intimidating, especially if you take a step back and focus and get organized.  And do not judge yourself as a parent by what goes in that fancy lunch box that you may have ordered on Diapers.com at 10 pm the night before.  I decided on a yogurt, sugar snap peas that she decided she “just loved” two days ago, a slice of cheese, apple slices and some goldfish for my daughter.  I'm happy to report that the only thing left in the lunch box at pick up today were the sugar snap peas.  One down ... 179 days to go.

 

Too many options

Unwanted snap peas