The Next Magic Bullet

Green powders, often found with “Super” in the name, are being touted as Miracle powders. As far as the ingredients, the more exotic, the better.  The problem is there isn’t a whole lot of science to back them up.

These powders are a processed form of fresh produce and they have a lower nutrient value.  They have less water and fiber.  By consuming powdered greens, you’re missing out on the satiety factor of fresh fruits and vegetables. They are also missing enzymes needed to absorb nutrients.  For instance, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli contain glucosinolates, a phytochemical known for its anticancer effects.  Powder and supplement forms of cruciferous vegetables do not contain the enzyme myrosinase needed to absorb glucosinolates.

Also note that water soluble vitamins get excreted if taken in excess leaving you with expensive urine.   Fat soluble vitamins do not get excreted and can build up in the body.  It’s difficult to reach these levels with real food, but could be more doable when taking a concentrated powder.

Let’s be real.  Eating whole fruits and vegetables with its complex components (phytochemicals, antioxidants, fiber, vitamins, and minerals) cannot be replicated by a powder.  These components are what gives real food its’ health value.

Powders give us the false sense of security that it doesn’t matter what I eat the rest of the day, as long as I’ve had my Super Power Shake or Smoothie.  Supplements aren’t meant to replace food, but rather to enhance current food and nutrient intake.

It is important to eat basic nutrients first from real food, albeit less exotic and trendy than these magic bullet powders.  Rotate fruits and veggies within and throughout the seasons. Choose a variety of colors and cooking preparations.

PRO tip: Try to include a fruit or vegetable with each meal and some snacks.  Breakfast is a great place to start! Add fruits to cold or hot cereal, pancakes, waffles or just as a side.  Fruit salads are a fun way to add in variety with different tastes and textures. Add mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes to your omelets. Consider trying shredded zucchini in your oatmeal or pancakes.  I do this during the summer to take advantage of the garden surplus! Zucchini has a subtle taste and can be added to many meals.  How many Fruits and vegetables did you eat today?

Note to Self: Exercise Today

I don’t find time to exercise, I make the time to exercise. Let’s say you sleep 8 hours a night (a little optimism never hurts!). That leaves you with 16 waking hours in your day. If you spend one of those hours exercising, that’s 6% of your day. Can you set aside 6% of your day to focus on your health? Can you fit it in?

I get it, daily activities tend to add up – working, nurturing, teaching, coaching, transporting, shopping, the list goes on. Funny how things like watching TV, social networking, or boring household chores tend to fit into our day, but there’s not room for exercise. Most of the time, the barriers to exercise are lack of motivation, lack of enjoyment, fear, or maybe low self-esteem, but rarely is time really the issue.

What you really should consider is what will happen if you don’t make time for exercise? Leading a sedentary lifestyle sets you up for multiple doctors appointments in your future, money spent on medications to treat high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, and a decrease in activities of daily living due to lack of strength. Think about what you could gain by making a plan to start exercising: energy, improved mood, disease prevention, stamina, weight management, stress release.

How to make it happen:

Make it an appointment on your calendar, as you would a dentist appointment, meeting with a coworker, lunch with a friend or watching a sporting event. Schedule it and show up.

Prepare. If it’s in the morning, set your clothes out the night before or pack your gym bag so it’s ready to go.

Delegate. Are there daily or weekly tasks you can ask for help with to get them off your plate?  Can your spouse be in charge of dinner tonight? Have your kids put away their own clean clothes.  Sometimes the dirty clothes can stay in the hamper another day if it means extra time to fit in a workout. Let go of some of your “must dos”, and you may find some free time.

Keep an activity log. Track your progress to keep you motivated.  Sometimes I look back at my excel sheets to previous years to see how I trained for an event. I can remember when I first started running and I had built up to 3 miles! I realized I could actually run a race and was so excited to sign up for my first 5K. Fast forward 20 years with a marathon, 5 half marathons, a few 10 milers, Team Relay races and many 5 and 10Ks under my belt. It’s fun to look back and see how you’ve progressed!

Limit your screen time. This is a good tip for any age.  Rarely do we miss that 30 minute show.

Positive thinking. Start your day with a positive thought to get in the right mindset. Edit out those negative thoughts. Think, “I choose to make myself a priority today”.

If you like the buddy-system, ask a friend to join you. Invite some friends to try out a new class. Some people like to get it done on their own, others like it to be more social.

Find something that works for you, brings you joy, makes you feel better, something you can be consistent with.  It’s the consistency that makes the difference.

Nutrient Dense Foods

Healthy eating is about the choices you make everyday.  Sometimes it just takes some tweaking of what you’re already doing or making slight changes in your eating plan. If you’re trying to focus on the quality of your food, choose nutrient dense foods.  Nutrient dense foods give you the best punch of vitamins, minerals, complex carbohydrates, proteins and healthy fats.

3 Ways to Add in Real Nutrient Dense Food

1. Add mashed avocado to your sandwiches or spread it on toast. You’ll get great taste, healthy fats, fiber and many vitamins and minerals. Avocado toast is a must-try food. You won’t regret it!
2. Instead of bagged chips, crunch on an ounce of nuts. For about the same amount of calories, you get protein, healthy fats and fiber.
3. Try making your own salad dressing to avoid bottled versions made with corn syrup and additives. Whisk up your own vinaigrette with extra virgin olive oil and vinegar, or try plain yogurt with lemon juice, herbs and garlic. I’m also a fan of flavored balsamic vinegar as a dressing (pomegranate and orange are awesome)!

 

My favorite Salad Dressing Recipe atop an Apple Walnut Salad:

• 8 cups chopped red leaf lettuce
• 1 medium apple, cored and thinly sliced
• ¼ cup red onions, sliced thin
• ¾ cup walnut halves, toasted

• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 ½ tablespoons red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
•  Salt
•  freshly ground pepper
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Toss together the lettuce, sliced apple, onions and walnuts.  Shake together the dressing ingredients and add to the salad.

If you’re looking for a salad dressing shaker, this one is high quality, doesn’t leak and has a convenient flip top that works great!

Red Flags

If you are considering one or more popular diets, you owe it to yourself and your health to make sure their claims are valid. Ask yourself: Does the diet plan …

• Have a start and end point?
• Encourage or require you to stop eating certain foods or food groups?
• Claim there is no need to exercise?
• Encourage extreme rigidity or daily rituals?
• Drastically cut back calories?
• Based on taking special pills, powders or herbs?
• Require you to skip meals or replace meals with special drinks or bars?

These are common red flags that go off in my head when I see a new diet pop up.  Successful weight management is a lifestyle, not a one-time activity.  Losing 1-2 pounds a week is a reasonable goal to have.  Anything more than that and you are losing water and metabolically active muscle tissue, not fat.

Be wary if you are given a list of good foods to eat and bad foods to avoid.  Eating from only a few food choices may leave your body deprived of nutrients.  Depriving yourself of your favorite foods can also lead to larger food cravings or the mindset of “I can’t wait to get off this diet so that I can eat X.” Why do that to yourself?  What are you trying to prove?

If you must eat a green vegetable with each meal or only drink tea after 6pm, keep looking. Eating the same menu daily and having specific rules to follow are unrealistic and unnecessary.

Special pills, powders or herbs are not only red flags, but are usually over-priced and not backed by scientific research.  Many of these products contain laxatives or diuretics that cause you to loose water weight, similar to calorie-restricted diets.  Others will claim their products speed up your metabolism, suppress appetite or block nutrient absorption.

Your diet should include flexibility, balance, and likability of food choices as a long term commitment.  It should also include physical activity to promote building muscle mass. Find an expert in your area to help you reach your goals.

Homemade Chocolate Bar

This is a simple recipe from My Whole Food Life that I have made many, many times.  It’s an inexpensive chocolate bar made with ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen. Easy to make and store in the freezer for those times when one or two bites of chocolate is just what you’re looking for.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup coconut oil (melted)

1/4 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened or cacao powder

2 Tbsp maple syrup

Directions: Heat the coconut oil, then measure.  Pour into a bowl and whisk with the other 2 ingredients.  I keep my maple syrup in the fridge and find it’s best to heat this for  10 seconds with the coconut oil (after measuring) so that it mixes well. Pour the chocolate into a chocolate bar mold and place in the freezer for about an hour.

I bought this chocolate bar mold from Amazon.  It works great and the frozen chocolate pops out easily when it’s ready. From here, you can break apart the chocolate bar into smaller pieces. To keep the chocolate crisp, I find it’s best to store the chocolate pieces in a Ziplock bag in the freezer.

Enjoy!