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Monthly Archives: April 2017

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Celebrate Spring With These 5 Early Harvest Veggies

Unless you’ve been living under a rock the last decade, you know the trend in food is fresh and local.  As such, farmers markets are booming, agricultural co-ops are all the rage and community and home gardens are flourishing.  What we’ve come to learn is farm-to-table eating is healthy and delicious because eating produce at its peak of freshness also means we’re consuming it before nutrients and flavor begin to diminish.  By economic standards, buying when supply is at its highest means buying when it’s also at its most affordable.

The challenge is taking advantage when harvest season arrives.  If you wait too long, you’ll miss out.  Here are five nutrition-packed spring harvest vegetables you may want to grab right now before it’s too late.

ARTICHOKES

These thorny globes are unique for their prebiotics.  Prebiotics nourish the natural probiotics in our digestive systems which help to reduce inflammation.  They’re also a natural diuretic and digestive aid.

Serving artichokes: We like to steam whole artichokes and consume them, leaf-by-leaf, dipping them in melted butter, garlic-infused olive oil or balsamic vinaigrette, and gently scraping off the tasty meat at the base of each leaf with our teeth.  (Don’t forget to carve out and discard the choke when you get down to the heart.) But the diamond in the rough of artichokes is their hearts, which are more delicate in their texture and flavor.  Cooked artichoke hearts are delicious tossed into pasta primavera.

Tips: To steam whole artichokes, trim a few inches off the tops and trim down the stems to about one inch.  Peel off the tough small leaves near the stem.  Steam over simmering water, face down, for approximately one hour.  Follow this video to forego the leaves and get at only the hearts before cooking:

ASPARAGUS

These healthy spears come in purple and white in addition to the more familiar green.  Consider trying the purple variety if you have picky eaters that turn up noses at green food.  They’re packed with folate which keeps blood healthy and is essential for fetus development, particularly in the first trimester.  Asparagus is also a good source of vitamin C for an immunity boost.

Cooking asparagus: Trim and discard the woody parts of the stem, about one to two inches from the base, and wash thoroughly.  Place them in a single layer on a baking sheet, coat evenly with olive oil spray, sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake at a 400° for ten minutes or until they just begin to brown.  They’re great served as is, either warm or at room temperature, but you can spruce them up with a drizzle of lemon juice or aged balsamic vinegar or a sprinkling of fresh shaved parmesan cheese.

Tip: Asparagus begins to spoil quickly.  Roast them the day you buy them and store in a sealed container in the fridge if you’re not ready to use them right away.  Consume within a week.

MOREL MUSHROOMS

Like most mushrooms, morels have an earthy flavor and firm texture.  But their honeycomb structure make them delicious for the eyes as well.  They’re a great source of copper and iron, which work together for blood health.  They also contain ample amounts of manganese and phosphorous, nutrients that support bone and dental health.

Cooking morels: You can do anything with morels that you can do with other mushrooms, like soups and bisques.  But, given their unique look, it seems a shame to puree them.  Sautee them into pasta dishes or warm salads.

Tip: Morels pair well with asparagus.

RADISHES

Radishes hold a special place in my heart because my father always planted these easy-growing root veggies in our garden.  A member of the cruciferous family, radishes are good sources of fiber and blood pressure regulating potassium.  Even more impressive, they contain isothiocyanates which are phytochemicals believed to combat carcinogens in the body.

Serving radishes: They’re best served raw and sliced thin into salads or other veggie dishes, lending vibrant color, crisp texture and a peppery kick.

Tip: While the more common red radish is gorgeous, experiment with other varieties for a rainbow of colors.  They can be found sporting purple, white, pink and stripes.

Bonus: If you can, get your radishes stems and all.  The greens are edible and offer vitamin C, protein and calcium.  They’re bitter so you don’t want to eat them raw.  Sautee or roast them in olive oil and season as you would any other bitter green, such as kale.  They have a short shelf life so immediately remove from radish, wash thoroughly, drain, wrap in paper towels to absorb moisture and store in sealed plastic bag in fridge.  Eat or cook as soon as possible.

SNOW PEAS

Versatility is the snow peas’ secret weapon because they’re delicious raw as well as cooked.  And their sweet flavor and delicate, crunchy texture make them kid-friendly.  They’re terrific sources of vitamin C, iron and manganese.

Cooking/serving snow peas: If they’re young enough, you need not do anything to them other than clean them.  They’re tender enough to be snacked on raw but sturdy enough to stand up to a gentle heating – such as in a stir-fry or sautéed into pasta, rice or quinoa dishes.

Tip: As snow peas mature and get larger, their spines become woody.  After cleaning, use a small knife to trim the stem end and gently pull back to “unzip” the spine from the pod.

Happy spring and happy spring veggie eating!

Sources: fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org, acefitness.org, pcrm.org

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Fitness or Vanity? Your Answer Changes Everything

Here’s a passage I came across today from “A Trainer Gets Brutally Honest about Why You Aren’t Seeing Results” by Brandi Kupchella on Popsugar Fitness:

“…you have to be honest with yourself and set reasonable expectations. You can’t do 1,000 burpees in 10 minutes and you will never change the basic biology of your body. If you are bottom heavy, you will likely always trend that way when gaining weight. If all the women in your family get saggy underarms by the time they are 40, guess what? You probably will too. And no amount of treadmill work will change your DNA… There are many ways you can improve the body you have. But no amount of exercise will completely transform you into someone else… You were made to be you, unique and special. You can be the best you possible… Once you accept that, you can stop fighting your body and start working with it to achieve your goals.”

On this concept, I wholeheartedly agree with Brandi.  Some of her other opinions in this article, not so much.  For example, “Instructors know how hard you are working, and that you probably aren’t working hard enough.”  I say this all depends.

If the ultimate goal is something extrinsic like flat abs, removal of a muffin top, fitting into a particular clothing size or any other strictly aesthetic dream, then, yes, I believe that happens a lot.  In those cases, we’re driven by vanity and the vehicle we’re in is to be seen.  We want to be seen attending the class, we want to make it look like we’re working as hard as everyone else and we believe that simply showing up and going through the motions means we’ll eventually attain (or maintain) the fill-in-the-blank feature that we want and everyone else will envy.  But, when it comes to fitness, vanity may get us part-way, perhaps even fully, there.  But it’ll never keep us there.

If, however, our motivation is intrinsic as in health-related terms like blood glucose, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, blood pressure, and normal function of the heart, brain and hormones then merely showing up won’t satisfy us.  If exercise makes us feel stronger physically, mentally and emotionally then we’re intrinsically motivated to workout to our potential on any given day no matter how hard the person next to us in class is working or what she looks like.  In fact, fitness-focused people are less likely to compare themselves to, or even notice, others in class.  When our motivation and goals are primarily intrinsic as opposed to extrinsic, we’re much more likely to know our potential, workout to our potential and feel the results each and every time.  And, as such, we tend to realize our goals and maintain them for a lifetime.

Are you intrinsically or extrinsically motivated?  You may need to do some soul-searching to answer that question.  If you believe you’re motivated for fitness and not vanity but you find yourself less enamored of your workouts or cutting corners lately, then it may be that you’ve reached a plateau or that you’ve gone as far as you can with a particular routine.  It may be time to change things up.  Change can be scary, particularly after you’ve made huge strides in your fitness.  But, it can also be really exciting.  And, if you remember why you’re here in the first place, you can accept that your body is telling you it needs to be challenged in a new way to be stronger and healthier.

If, however, you think you’re extrinsically motivated, then it’s time to find new reasons for working out.  If vanity is the only thing lighting a fire under you, that wick is going to burn out sooner or later.  Take it from someone approaching the 50 year mark, eventually Mother Nature and Father Time conspire to do unpleasant things to your body regardless of excellent diet and exercise habits.  If your main motivation is making the mirror your best friend, you’ll quickly learn there’s little payoff to sweating next to people half your age or trading ice cream for carrot sticks.

I acknowledge this is easier said than done.  Though I’m predominantly intrinsically motivated towards fitness, I struggle with my own vanity demons.  It’s human nature and society norms don’t help.  There’s a high value, figuratively and literally, placed on how we look to the outside world.  It’s an uphill battle for all of us.  But, we can’t be truly healthy and happy unless we’re comfortable in our own skins.  We can and should be motivated to keep what lies beneath the skin – mind, body and soul – as healthy as possible.  When we do, we’ll be confident that what we present to the world is authentic, beautiful, strong and worthy inside and out.

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Fit Tip of the Month: Simple Smart Food Swaps

Last week, I introduced this month’s Small Step – Substitutions.  It’s about making smart choices with foods.  Which seems like it should be easy.  But, as we’re all too aware, the health media is full of contradictions about what foods are and aren’t healthy choices.  What common sense was telling us all along, science is finally confirming in the latest clinical studies.

Back to the Basics

Forget the convoluted rules of the past few decades.  Think about eating like your great-grandparents, when obesity and lifestyle diseases were rare, and you’ll be making the right food choices.  In the case of proteins – consume them whole, with nothing removed and little added.  For complex carbohydrates – consume in the closest to raw as you can with little to no alterations.  Fats – don’t remove them from the healthy carbs and proteins you eat.  And keep them natural, not manufactured.

Healthy Dinner Plate: deck of cards represents protein

Healthy Swaps 101

All well and good, right?  But healthy eating can be more time consuming and expensive than unhealthy eating.  Below you’ll find examples of breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks starting with the unhealthiest and progressing through healthy, healthier to the healthiest.  At least 80% of the time, choose the healthiest of the healthy options that you can afford in cost and time, remembering to stay true to proper serving sizes.

  • Breakfast: After an overnight fast it’s important to restore your energy supply with plenty of complex carbohydrates.  To keep you satisfied until lunch, it should also contain healthy doses of protein, fiber and fat.
    • Unhealthy: Corn flakes with skim milk.  Corn flakes are stripped down carbs, which basically amounts to a bowl full of sugar.  Adding skim milk gives you a little protein but with no fat, you’ll be starving before you make it to work.  Worse, the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K contained in the cereal and milk will literally get flushed away.
    • Healthy: High protein, high fiber, whole grain, low added sweetener cereal (cold, such as Kashi or hot, such as oatmeal) with whole or 2% milk.  Add fresh or unsweetened dried fruit.  This gives you all the macro and micronutrients you need.  The only down side is even the healthiest cold cereals and quick hot cereal packets may contain some unwanted ingredients such as industrial oils, added sweeteners and simple carbohydrates.  Select brands carefully to find options with the least amounts of these ingredients.
    • Healthier: Whole milk Greek plain yogurt with unsweetened granola and fresh or unsweetened dried fruit added.  Greek yogurt has more protein than traditional yogurt.  In addition to the protein and healthy fats, yogurt contains pro-biotics to keep the gastrointestinal system healthy.  If plain yogurt is too tart for your taste, opt for vanilla flavored Greek yogurt with the least amount of added sugars.
    • Healthiest: Two whole eggs – cooked the way you like – with a slice of whole grain toast, topped with a smear of grass-fed butter or natural nut butter, and whole fruit on the side.  And, we all need hydration in the morning – pick your preference of water, coffee, tea or milk.  Don’t have juice.  And, if you like tea or coffee but can’t tolerate it black, add an ample amount of whole milk, full-fat half & half or cream so you can keep added sweeteners to a minimum.

I think you get the idea, here’s how the rest of the day might look:

  • Lunch: Have water, milk or unsweetened iced tea with lunch instead of a soft drink.
    • Unhealthy: Sandwich made with large slices of white bread, processed meats, and tons of dressing with a side of potato chips.
    • Healthy: Half sandwich made with one slice of whole grain bread, unprocessed meat, fish, cheese or cooked egg, avocado slices, lettuce and tomato.  If you need crunch to satisfy you, opt for a small serving of veggie chips (such as the Terra brand) or whole grain corn chips.
    • Healthier: Tossed salad with at least one animal protein.  Add seeds or nuts instead of croutons for crunch.  Select a vinegar and olive oil-based dressing.
    • Healthiest: Broth based soup and side salad.  Be sure the soup or salad has at least one animal protein.  Add seeds or nuts to salad to satisfy the crunch craving.  Dress the salad with olive oil and vinegar.
  • Dinner: Drink water or milk with dinner
    • Unhealthy: Processed meats or breaded and deep fried foods; processed grains or starches.
    • Healthy: Grilled, roasted, baked or lightly sautéed beef, pork, lamb or poultry; brown rice, whole grain pastas or baked or roasted potatoes; raw, stir-fried or roasted vegetables.  You can do a meatless version of this meal with egg, cheese or unprocessed beans as the base protein.  Tomato, broth and olive oil based sauces are part of a healthy meal.  Cream based sauces, when used sparingly, can also be part of a healthy meal.
    • Healthier/Healthiest: Grilled, roasted, baked or lightly sautéed seafood; quinoa or other hearty whole grain; side salad dressed with olive oil and vinegar and raw, stir-fried or roasted vegetable.
  • Snack: Snacks are often necessary to avoid becoming hungry between meals.  Like meals they should contain protein, complex carbs and fats.
    • Unhealthy: Anything highly-processed and prepackaged.
    • Healthiest Examples: raw fruit or veggie with natural nut/seed butter or unprocessed cheese; glass of whole or 2% regular or chocolate milk; serving of Greek yogurt (see above) with fruit or granola; popcorn popped in extra-virgin coconut oil and dusted with fresh parmesan; whole grain toast with natural nut/seed butter; raw veggies with guacamole; whole grain pita with hummus. Always drink water throughout the day.

And eating like great-grandma and grandpa isn’t enough.  Remember, that generation did lots of manual labor, both at work and home, that most of us no longer do and they didn’t sit nearly as much as we do today.  They were slimmer not only because of what they ate but also because of what they did and didn’t do.  We need to move more and sit less to get the full benefits of subbing in healthier foods.

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April’s Small Step: Substitutions

This month’s assignment is more of a tweak than an all-out change.  These substitution suggestions work in tandem with the new habits you’ve adopted over the last few months.

Food Substitutions

While January’s Portion Control trained us to eat the correct quantity of foods to avoid over-consumption of calories, this Small Step trains the brain to make better quality food choices.  Better quality foods tend to be packed with micronutrients while being relatively lower in total calories per serving than their inferior counterparts.

One way is to substitute fruits or vegetables for some of your grain or protein portion in a meal.  Examples:

  • For 1 cup of cereal with milk, substitute: 3/4 cup high-fiber cereal with milk & add fresh berries
  • For a full deli meat sandwich, substitute: 1/2 sandwich with extra vegetables like lettuce, tomato, cucumber, avocado, shredded cabbage
  • For a soup and 1/2 sandwich lunch special, substitute: soup and side salad.  Be sure the soup or salad (or both) has meat, poultry, fish, eggs or cheese for sufficient protein intake.  And don’t skip the dressing, we need the fat in the dressing to feel satiated and to absorb fat-soluble vitamins.
  • The rules for dressings: stick to the correct serving size (about 2 Tblsp) and choose dressings with an olive oil base over industrially processed oils like sunflower, safflower and soybean oils.

Another option is to substitute all your protein or grain with a higher quality version.  General guidelines:

  • For breaded/fried or processed meats, substitute: grilled or baked unprocessed meat, poultry or fish.
  • In the grain department, choose them in as close to straight-from-the-farm as possible: quinoa, barley, wheat berries, farro, bulgur, whole oats, potatoes baked in the skins and brown rice are some examples.
  • When choosing grains in processed foods (as in cereals, breads, pasta) look for 100% whole grains as the first ingredient.

Some specific examples:

  • For a snack of 1 oz cheese & crackers, substitute: 1 oz cheese & 1 apple
  • For a salad with 3 oz of breaded chicken, substitute: a salad with 3 oz of tuna or diced hardboiled egg
  • For a 1/2 cup white rice, substitute: 1/2 cup brown rice
  • For a cup of cream-based soup, substitute: a cup of broth-based stew loaded with meat/fish & veggies
  • For a granola bar, substitute: a banana with a tablespoon of natural peanut butter

Don’t eliminate proteins, whole grains and fats.  All contain macro and micronutrients your body needs to thrive and help keep you satiated until the next meal.  This is about making smart choices, not elimination.  But, remember, portion size is key.  Don’t sabotage your substitutions by portioning out more than a serving.

Movement Substitutions

There’s a common refrain among my clients – 150 minutes of exercise every week (the minimum recommended for all adults by the US Dept of Health and Human Services) just to maintain one’s current weight is an unrealistic and unattainable goal for most adults.  But most people interpret this number the wrong way.  They believe the recommendation refers to structured exercise, otherwise known as workouts, and the workouts need to be strenuous to count.

Neither assumption is true.  The 150 minutes refers specifically to moderate exercise and it can be in the form of duties within a paid job or household chores.  Housecleaning, yard work, dog-walking and professions that require manual labor or extensive amounts of time standing or walking all rack up minutes toward the recommended 150 weekly total.  In other words, you don’t have to log 150 minutes sweating in a gym to meet the standard.  So, this month try to substitute more movement for what otherwise would be a sedentary or passive activity.

At every chance you get throughout each day choose standing over sitting, walking over standing, and walking further distances or faster paces.  Examples:

  • Stand while on the phone or folding laundry
  • Take the stairs over escalators and elevators
  • Park in a space furthest from the door
  • Incorporate walking or bike riding in your commute or errand running
  • Use half your lunch hour to take a walk
  • Use the restroom on a different floor or furthest from you.

Before you know it, these choices to move more will be incorporated into your life without you ever thinking about it.  And, added to non-sedentary activities you normally perform along with structured workouts, make logging 150 minutes (or more) of exercise each week realistic and attainable.  Consider acquiring a pedometer or wearable fitness tracker to help you monitor your progress and keep you motivated.

Incorporate these substitutions whether you workout or don’t.  The latest research shows that those who are sedentary for long periods of time during most days are at higher risk of cardiovascular disease even if they workout regularly.

If you’re new to the Small Steps series, you can read about the philosophy and strategies of the series here.  Know the Small Steps strategies don’t need to be done in any particular order and are independent of one another.  So, you can begin the series with this post, continue throughout the rest of the year and pick up what you missed next year.

Previous Small Steps posts: January’s Portion Control, February’s Plan Ahead, March’s Accentuate the Positives, Eliminate the Negatives.

 

 

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