As you guys know, I'm enamored of Jamie Oliver's "Food Revolution", both as a TV show and as a mission. I am horrified at what we feed our children in our school lunches and at the dinner table; obesity and its related illnesses are a national epidemic and this is a root cause. We have to do something about this.
Today this article was posted on Edutopia: School Lunches Go Back to the Land and it just makes me giddy. Whole foods being served to kids in schools? Kids working on a farm? Recylcling and composting? Love it!
If they can do in Baltimore, why can't we do it here? Or there, wherever you are? We should be doing better for our kids and this gives me much hope.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Holding On
Today was day 2 of eliminating refined sugar and it went pretty well. I had the same breakfast as yesterday, which was nice and filling. For lunch I had leftover halibut and pasta with veggie. For snacks, I had a cheese stick and an apple. For dinner, I had a little tomato soup and some grilled cheese. I know there was some sugar in the soup, but not too much. I avoided the chocolate bunny and the jelly beans in the staff room, so I feel like I'm doing okay. It hasn't been too hard yet, but I have two showers to attend this weekend and that may be a test!
Can't say that I'm not feeling too different yet, though I have notived that I'm not as tired in the afternoon as I have been in the past. This may be because I just came off Spring Break, but maybe not. I'll keep you posted.
A small victory was had with Lauren today. She had a healthy tomato soup with grilled cheese and strawberries for dinner and practically licked the bowl clean. While I'm proud of that, it's not the best part: she hasn't asked for nuggets in several days! Perhaps the addiction is lessening? Now if I could just get her to eat that veggie loaf!
The other small victory? I can't remember the last time we ate red meat as a family. I know we had burgers Monday of last week, so it must be since then that we've either had chicken or just veggies. Not bad for this meat-eating family! I'm trying to get us down to having red meat no more that twice a week and lessening our reliance on chicken.
Can't say that I'm not feeling too different yet, though I have notived that I'm not as tired in the afternoon as I have been in the past. This may be because I just came off Spring Break, but maybe not. I'll keep you posted.
A small victory was had with Lauren today. She had a healthy tomato soup with grilled cheese and strawberries for dinner and practically licked the bowl clean. While I'm proud of that, it's not the best part: she hasn't asked for nuggets in several days! Perhaps the addiction is lessening? Now if I could just get her to eat that veggie loaf!
The other small victory? I can't remember the last time we ate red meat as a family. I know we had burgers Monday of last week, so it must be since then that we've either had chicken or just veggies. Not bad for this meat-eating family! I'm trying to get us down to having red meat no more that twice a week and lessening our reliance on chicken.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Don't Pour Some Sugar On Me
Not a moment too soon, just post-Easter, is my week of limiting sugar from The Great American Detox Diet. After how crappy and tired I felt last night after consuming my body weight in attractive pastel candies, I couldn't be more thrilled about this.
In reading the chapter to get ready for the big day, I learned quite a bit about sugar that I didn't know. I mean, I always knew that my body felt sluggish after a large amount of sugar, but learning about the whole process of your body making insulin and then not being able to keep the balance was really interesting. It makes me sad that so many people in the U.S. are keeping themselves on this scary cycle of sugar highs and lows that are just wrecking their bodies. No wonder Type 2 diabetes is on the rise, especially in the younger population! That adult disease isn't just for the over-30 crowd anymore!
I also finally learned why High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is bad for you. I mean, I've always heard that it's bad but didn't know why. Turns out it gets stored directly as fat when it goes into your body, unlike regular sugars that are used as energy first. Also, HFCS doesn't trigger the "I'm full" feeling that we all should have, so it's actually tricking us into eating more of those nasty things. Shun!
I was amazed by how many other names for sugar appear on food labels. No wonder we eat it all the time without knowing! I even noticed that florida crystals aren't even on this list, and I'm sure others are missing. Plus, the artificial sweeteners: aspartame, xylitol, saccahrin...we're awash in empty calories!
So I woke up, all strident and ready to go! I'd already kicked most of the sugary stuff out of the cabinets and was feeling all empowered. Until I realized that I really hadn't thought through breakfast. I usually eat instant oats, but those have artifical sweeteners. The Honey Nut Cheerios are sugary as well. I didn't have time to make steel cut oats. So, after I stood there for a couple of minutes, I decided to make an English muffin with some natural peanut butter. I was thinking the combination of the protein and carbs would get me through the day, and while there is some sugar in the English muffin, I do like them and anyway need to finish the package. Down they went. I even made my morning tea latte without the vanilla syrup and could definitely get used to that in the future.
I took my lunch with me (leftover halibut and pasta with veggies) but Carol the lunch lady had my favorite salad today: Strawberry Spinach. Damn the siren call of that salad! I ended up ordering it, but realized that the dressing probably had sugar in it. There really wasn't any good alternative, so I lessened the impact of the sugar by just dipping my fork into the dressing before each forkful. That worked well and I felt cool.
Dinner was easy (see below) and my book group without knowing my sugarfreeness assembled a delcious dinner that had little to no sugar involved. I did have a pint of beer, which does contain sugars, but overall I avoided refined sugars for the most part today. I think the main thing is changing my mindset that stress = sugar or that sugar = treat. That's going to be the harder work.
Incidentally, I learned that 1 teaspoon of sugar is about 4.2 grams. That's quite a lot when you start looking at the labels! By the end of breakfast, for example, I'd already had a teaspoon and a half, and that was eating something that was reasonably healthy. Just imagine what a Pop Tart would have been!
Tonight for dinner I made a delicious Veggie Loaf with mashed sweet potatoes and a green salad on the side. I was very pleasantly surpised with the Veggie Loaf, which comes from Alex Jamieson's book. It was pretty labor-intensive but enjoyable to make and the flavor was great. Even Jeremy the meat-eater said it was great. Lauren the picky toddler of course refused to eat it, but it's a process, right? The mashed sweet potatoes (with just a bit of flaxseed oil, maple syrup, and chili powder) were divine! I think I could get to liking this.
Oh, and I'm still drinking water. I think I need a bigger bottle at work, as the trips to refill are pretty distracting. At least it's a healthy distraction!
In reading the chapter to get ready for the big day, I learned quite a bit about sugar that I didn't know. I mean, I always knew that my body felt sluggish after a large amount of sugar, but learning about the whole process of your body making insulin and then not being able to keep the balance was really interesting. It makes me sad that so many people in the U.S. are keeping themselves on this scary cycle of sugar highs and lows that are just wrecking their bodies. No wonder Type 2 diabetes is on the rise, especially in the younger population! That adult disease isn't just for the over-30 crowd anymore!
I also finally learned why High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is bad for you. I mean, I've always heard that it's bad but didn't know why. Turns out it gets stored directly as fat when it goes into your body, unlike regular sugars that are used as energy first. Also, HFCS doesn't trigger the "I'm full" feeling that we all should have, so it's actually tricking us into eating more of those nasty things. Shun!
I was amazed by how many other names for sugar appear on food labels. No wonder we eat it all the time without knowing! I even noticed that florida crystals aren't even on this list, and I'm sure others are missing. Plus, the artificial sweeteners: aspartame, xylitol, saccahrin...we're awash in empty calories!
So I woke up, all strident and ready to go! I'd already kicked most of the sugary stuff out of the cabinets and was feeling all empowered. Until I realized that I really hadn't thought through breakfast. I usually eat instant oats, but those have artifical sweeteners. The Honey Nut Cheerios are sugary as well. I didn't have time to make steel cut oats. So, after I stood there for a couple of minutes, I decided to make an English muffin with some natural peanut butter. I was thinking the combination of the protein and carbs would get me through the day, and while there is some sugar in the English muffin, I do like them and anyway need to finish the package. Down they went. I even made my morning tea latte without the vanilla syrup and could definitely get used to that in the future.
I took my lunch with me (leftover halibut and pasta with veggies) but Carol the lunch lady had my favorite salad today: Strawberry Spinach. Damn the siren call of that salad! I ended up ordering it, but realized that the dressing probably had sugar in it. There really wasn't any good alternative, so I lessened the impact of the sugar by just dipping my fork into the dressing before each forkful. That worked well and I felt cool.
Dinner was easy (see below) and my book group without knowing my sugarfreeness assembled a delcious dinner that had little to no sugar involved. I did have a pint of beer, which does contain sugars, but overall I avoided refined sugars for the most part today. I think the main thing is changing my mindset that stress = sugar or that sugar = treat. That's going to be the harder work.
Incidentally, I learned that 1 teaspoon of sugar is about 4.2 grams. That's quite a lot when you start looking at the labels! By the end of breakfast, for example, I'd already had a teaspoon and a half, and that was eating something that was reasonably healthy. Just imagine what a Pop Tart would have been!
Tonight for dinner I made a delicious Veggie Loaf with mashed sweet potatoes and a green salad on the side. I was very pleasantly surpised with the Veggie Loaf, which comes from Alex Jamieson's book. It was pretty labor-intensive but enjoyable to make and the flavor was great. Even Jeremy the meat-eater said it was great. Lauren the picky toddler of course refused to eat it, but it's a process, right? The mashed sweet potatoes (with just a bit of flaxseed oil, maple syrup, and chili powder) were divine! I think I could get to liking this.
Oh, and I'm still drinking water. I think I need a bigger bottle at work, as the trips to refill are pretty distracting. At least it's a healthy distraction!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Can't Talk Today...
... feeling too gross and lethargic after way, way, way too many sweets. Going to bed now to read the next chapter in the detox diet: sugar. Fitting, huh? I'll let you know how my first day without goes!
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Adventures in Shopping
I feel kind of guilty posting this while my head is feeling all buzzy from the sugary Easter candy I just ate, but it's that time of year, right? Yum, Blue #5! It's funny how I immediately feel different after eating even just a small amount. I think the detox diet's week of weaning off sugar can't come soon enough!
I did do something right today: we had a great dinner. We ate halibut baked with just a little dill and lemon with asparagus and some whole wheat pasta with vegetables that were left over from a previous meal. It was delicious, especially the asparagus. I need to run to the store and get some more! Between that and the leftover chili I had for lunch, it was a good eating day. Minus the Easter candy, of course.
As I said yesterday, I did my first shopping trip with this new mindset and it was quite the experience. I ended up going to three stores and I had Lauren with me. While she was very patient with the whole process, it was difficult to juggle her and the amount of thinking I was having to do. I'm discovering this isn't easy!
Yesterday morning I sat down and planned my meals for about the next 10 days and made a grocery list. Most of the meals come from The Great American Detox Diet and a couple from Weight Watchers. We're eating ground beef twice and chicken and fish once each. Otherwise, we're going pretty veggie! We'll see how it goes, especially for my husband. (I'm putting all of those meals and my shopping lists on the page with that title. Just look at the top of this page.)
So, with the list in hand and toddler "driving" the plastic car attached to my cart, I started my first PCC adventure. I also had my list of foods that I need to find substitutes for (e.g. ketchup) and the list of additives to stay away from. I was juggling quite a bit!
I started in the fruit and vegetables section and immediately got nervous. Everything there is organic, so I didn't have choice in that way. I know there are things that you don't need to buy organic, so I immediately began to worry that I was buying too much organic. But, I also didn't want to go anywhere else, so there wasn't a choice. Add to that that I couldn't find parsnips and I was a bit stymied. I finally got out of that section, though, with everything I needed (except the parsnips) and just a little sticker shock.
I then began to look at cheeses. The prices there were nuts! I could buy regular Tillamook for quite a chunk of change or go fully organic for even more. I reluctantly grabbed the Tillamook, but ended up putting it back later and deciding to buy it at another store.
I went on the frozen fruit section to see what was there. It was all on sale so I bought mangoes and cherries. I already have strawberries and raspberries in the freezer, and the blueberries were just too expensive.
After that, it kind of became a blur. I put in my cart and then ended up deciding to buy enchilada sauce somewhere else, as well as the canned tomatoes. Those just seemed overly pricey and I want to do a little more research before I buy those things organic or otherwise. I did end up buying quinoa (once I found it), chickpeas, cupcakes for Lauren's class, and numerous other things that I thought were a good price. I even found cage-free eggs for a great price and yogurt for a decent price that I'm putting on my list for next time.
Beans, canned tomatoes, cheese, flaxseed oil, whole flaxseeds, the missing parsnips, some delicious peanut butter, ketchup, and organic frozen blueberries ended up coming from either Trader Joe's or Albertson's. I'm hoping to not have to go to three stores next time!
Overall, it turned out well. I bought lots of gorgeous produce and have great meals planned. I ended up spending more than I normally would, but that's to be expected. I'm still learning and will do more research on cheaper ways of buying these things. I'm looking at buying online and having it delivered on a weekly or biweekly basis, so if anyone has ideas, let me know!
Now I'm going to go have even more water to dilute this sugary sludge in my blood.
I did do something right today: we had a great dinner. We ate halibut baked with just a little dill and lemon with asparagus and some whole wheat pasta with vegetables that were left over from a previous meal. It was delicious, especially the asparagus. I need to run to the store and get some more! Between that and the leftover chili I had for lunch, it was a good eating day. Minus the Easter candy, of course.
As I said yesterday, I did my first shopping trip with this new mindset and it was quite the experience. I ended up going to three stores and I had Lauren with me. While she was very patient with the whole process, it was difficult to juggle her and the amount of thinking I was having to do. I'm discovering this isn't easy!
Yesterday morning I sat down and planned my meals for about the next 10 days and made a grocery list. Most of the meals come from The Great American Detox Diet and a couple from Weight Watchers. We're eating ground beef twice and chicken and fish once each. Otherwise, we're going pretty veggie! We'll see how it goes, especially for my husband. (I'm putting all of those meals and my shopping lists on the page with that title. Just look at the top of this page.)
So, with the list in hand and toddler "driving" the plastic car attached to my cart, I started my first PCC adventure. I also had my list of foods that I need to find substitutes for (e.g. ketchup) and the list of additives to stay away from. I was juggling quite a bit!
I started in the fruit and vegetables section and immediately got nervous. Everything there is organic, so I didn't have choice in that way. I know there are things that you don't need to buy organic, so I immediately began to worry that I was buying too much organic. But, I also didn't want to go anywhere else, so there wasn't a choice. Add to that that I couldn't find parsnips and I was a bit stymied. I finally got out of that section, though, with everything I needed (except the parsnips) and just a little sticker shock.
I then began to look at cheeses. The prices there were nuts! I could buy regular Tillamook for quite a chunk of change or go fully organic for even more. I reluctantly grabbed the Tillamook, but ended up putting it back later and deciding to buy it at another store.
I went on the frozen fruit section to see what was there. It was all on sale so I bought mangoes and cherries. I already have strawberries and raspberries in the freezer, and the blueberries were just too expensive.
After that, it kind of became a blur. I put in my cart and then ended up deciding to buy enchilada sauce somewhere else, as well as the canned tomatoes. Those just seemed overly pricey and I want to do a little more research before I buy those things organic or otherwise. I did end up buying quinoa (once I found it), chickpeas, cupcakes for Lauren's class, and numerous other things that I thought were a good price. I even found cage-free eggs for a great price and yogurt for a decent price that I'm putting on my list for next time.
Beans, canned tomatoes, cheese, flaxseed oil, whole flaxseeds, the missing parsnips, some delicious peanut butter, ketchup, and organic frozen blueberries ended up coming from either Trader Joe's or Albertson's. I'm hoping to not have to go to three stores next time!
Overall, it turned out well. I bought lots of gorgeous produce and have great meals planned. I ended up spending more than I normally would, but that's to be expected. I'm still learning and will do more research on cheaper ways of buying these things. I'm looking at buying online and having it delivered on a weekly or biweekly basis, so if anyone has ideas, let me know!
Now I'm going to go have even more water to dilute this sugary sludge in my blood.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Food Rules
I had quite the epic adventure today doing my first shopping trip with my new mindset. i also looked through our cabinets and did some straightening and purging. I'll have to tell you more about that tomorrow.
First, I wanted to share some of the things I learned from Michael Pollan's Food Rules in my voracious reading of it yesterday. Food Rules is a short book and quite an easy read: it's his abbreviated version of all that he's learned and compiled over the years. His books The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food contain all the science behind these rules.
I want people to read it, I'm not going to give much away, but some things that stuck out to me:
-Rule #22:Eat mostly plants, especially leaves - "In countries where people eat a pound or more of vegetables and fruits a day, the rate of cancer is half what it is in the United States."
-Rule #21: It's not food if it's called by the same name in every language (e.g. Big Mac)
-Rule #2: Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.
It's all about what to eat and how to eat, all in simple language. I felt a lot of clarity reading this and will use its principles going forward in my meal planning and consumption. I feel the breakthrough happening!
Still drinking plenty of water! Are you?
First, I wanted to share some of the things I learned from Michael Pollan's Food Rules in my voracious reading of it yesterday. Food Rules is a short book and quite an easy read: it's his abbreviated version of all that he's learned and compiled over the years. His books The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food contain all the science behind these rules.
I want people to read it, I'm not going to give much away, but some things that stuck out to me:
-Rule #22:Eat mostly plants, especially leaves - "In countries where people eat a pound or more of vegetables and fruits a day, the rate of cancer is half what it is in the United States."
-Rule #21: It's not food if it's called by the same name in every language (e.g. Big Mac)
-Rule #2: Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.
It's all about what to eat and how to eat, all in simple language. I felt a lot of clarity reading this and will use its principles going forward in my meal planning and consumption. I feel the breakthrough happening!
Still drinking plenty of water! Are you?
Thursday, April 1, 2010
The Breakdown and the Breakthrough
Before I get all ranty and rave-y, I need to share what I made for dinner tonight. It's the Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili from The Great American Detox Diet and it was delicious! The sweet potato adds just the right counterbalance to the cumin and the lime adds just that little bit of freshness it needed. I served it over brown rice, so it was really filling and I ate less. Between needing a smaller portion size, it also makes a ton so I have food for tomorrow. My meat-loving husband said this vegetarian recipe was a keeper and I found it pretty easy to make. The most time-consuming thing was cooking the rice, but all told it was done in about 50 minutes, even with my toddler "helping." Yay for trying new things!
Now to the ranty and rave-y:
Today was an interesting day. I'm still on Spring Break, so I have the luxury of a little extra time to do some learning about all of this and then some planning and shopping. I decided that today was going to be a learning day, and it really brought me to some interesting places emotionally.
High: I bought a bunch of Easter candy. I love candy, and Easter candy in particular. The pastels get me.
Low: Blue #5? Artificial flavors? What the heck? I thought I was going to do better than this.
High: This is a learning process and I can't change overnight. However, I can take half the candy back tomorrow and enjoy the other half. Everything in moderation, even Blue #5.
High: I found Food Rules by Michael Pollan and Food Matters by Mark Bittman at the bookstore today, so no waiting on the library holds list.
Low: Crap. I have more to read.
High: I felt virtuous sitting in the Barnes and Noble coffee shop, learning about healthful things.
Low: Crap. I have a lot to learn. Phytochemicals, antioxidants, and MSG, oh my! I'm making light of it now, but I got a little wound up about this. I'm someone that likes to lay everything on the table, learn as much as I can, and then synthesize it down into something I can read and understand. There's just a lot to learn.
High: Food Rules is really clearly written and totally pragmatic, which I appreciate. He's taken all the science and whittled it down into these "rules." If you want to read the science (which I do), you can read In Defense of Food or The Omnivore's Dilemma, both by him. I learned a ton and read about half the book in just 30 minutes. That's even with writing in the margins.
Low: Crap! What have I been doing all these years? Why have I been putting this junk in my body and feeding it to my kid, whom I love more than life itself? I'm a bad person!!! (This is where I got a little teary at the bistro table. Breakdown time, as much as I could in public.)
High: What's done is done, right? I can't go back, but I can go forward. I'm learning a ton and will put it into practice.
Low: Ain't nothing wrong with that feeling. This was my breakthrough.
It was time to pick Lauren up from daycare, so I went on my merry way. She and I stopped by the grocery store and there were a few highs and lows there too.
High: Lauren loves to shop and she's a good little helper.
Low: It takes forever to do anything with a toddler and add to that that I was having to figure out the organic vs. non-organic thing and how to get the best prices. If I'm going to do this, some streamlining is in order.
High: Lauren knows what a tomato is on sight and said, "Yay, broccoli!" when I was getting her out of the car to go in the store. I didn't even tell her to say that.
Low: None. That just feels good.
High: I felt virtuous when I watched all the nasty nasties roll down the conveyor belt of the patron in front of me. Not that I was judging what she was eating, but it made me feel good in comparison.
Low: I might just be a bad person for that. I'm not sure. I didn't say anything out loud, though.
Tomorrow I'm going shopping. On the blog side, I'm going to share some of the things I'm learning out of Food Rules. In the meantime, I'm also going to update my Goals and Checklists page (see under the banner) because I'm rethinking my approach to this.
Are you still drinking your water? Boy howdy, am I ever! It feels... floaty, but good.
Now to the ranty and rave-y:
Today was an interesting day. I'm still on Spring Break, so I have the luxury of a little extra time to do some learning about all of this and then some planning and shopping. I decided that today was going to be a learning day, and it really brought me to some interesting places emotionally.
High: I bought a bunch of Easter candy. I love candy, and Easter candy in particular. The pastels get me.
Low: Blue #5? Artificial flavors? What the heck? I thought I was going to do better than this.
High: This is a learning process and I can't change overnight. However, I can take half the candy back tomorrow and enjoy the other half. Everything in moderation, even Blue #5.
High: I found Food Rules by Michael Pollan and Food Matters by Mark Bittman at the bookstore today, so no waiting on the library holds list.
Low: Crap. I have more to read.
High: I felt virtuous sitting in the Barnes and Noble coffee shop, learning about healthful things.
Low: Crap. I have a lot to learn. Phytochemicals, antioxidants, and MSG, oh my! I'm making light of it now, but I got a little wound up about this. I'm someone that likes to lay everything on the table, learn as much as I can, and then synthesize it down into something I can read and understand. There's just a lot to learn.
High: Food Rules is really clearly written and totally pragmatic, which I appreciate. He's taken all the science and whittled it down into these "rules." If you want to read the science (which I do), you can read In Defense of Food or The Omnivore's Dilemma, both by him. I learned a ton and read about half the book in just 30 minutes. That's even with writing in the margins.
Low: Crap! What have I been doing all these years? Why have I been putting this junk in my body and feeding it to my kid, whom I love more than life itself? I'm a bad person!!! (This is where I got a little teary at the bistro table. Breakdown time, as much as I could in public.)
High: What's done is done, right? I can't go back, but I can go forward. I'm learning a ton and will put it into practice.
Low: Ain't nothing wrong with that feeling. This was my breakthrough.
It was time to pick Lauren up from daycare, so I went on my merry way. She and I stopped by the grocery store and there were a few highs and lows there too.
High: Lauren loves to shop and she's a good little helper.
Low: It takes forever to do anything with a toddler and add to that that I was having to figure out the organic vs. non-organic thing and how to get the best prices. If I'm going to do this, some streamlining is in order.
High: Lauren knows what a tomato is on sight and said, "Yay, broccoli!" when I was getting her out of the car to go in the store. I didn't even tell her to say that.
Low: None. That just feels good.
High: I felt virtuous when I watched all the nasty nasties roll down the conveyor belt of the patron in front of me. Not that I was judging what she was eating, but it made me feel good in comparison.
Low: I might just be a bad person for that. I'm not sure. I didn't say anything out loud, though.
Tomorrow I'm going shopping. On the blog side, I'm going to share some of the things I'm learning out of Food Rules. In the meantime, I'm also going to update my Goals and Checklists page (see under the banner) because I'm rethinking my approach to this.
Are you still drinking your water? Boy howdy, am I ever! It feels... floaty, but good.
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