Healthy Eats-Along 2012

[HolaKitty]

My goal this week is eat more fiber (specifically at least 30g a day). I always struggle to get my 5 portions of fruit/veg a day anyway so I think if I concentrate more on improving my fiber intake, I'll be making an effort to eat more fresh veggies as well.

[hgddm]

For this week, I'd like to drink a glass of water and eat something small in the morning (fruit/veggies/cheese or yogurt). I don't get nearly enough water and never eat breakfast. I think this would make me feel better throughout the day and get less tired!

[chez artiste]

I need to up my nutrition factor so I'm IN!
It's not about weight with me.  I'm a type 1 insulin dependent diabetic...I now tend to think traditional nutrition is what made me sick in the first place (I was not diagnosed with the diabetes till I was 23).  IN the last few years though, I have been dealing with depression and being "stuck", and I have developed a "food sucks" kind of attitude.  So I would rather eat chocolate then try and think of something healthy to eat...or just skip eating all together.  My Hub does the cooking, so I normally have one full meal a day at least.  But then I tend to graze on crap all night long, so I'm not hungry in the morning again.  SO my large goal is to get back to eating things that nourish me, and eating every 2 to 4 hours during the day, so I don't feel ravenous at night.

I know the feeling about needing to up the nutrition factor in one's life.  I too am a late-blooming type I diabetic.  I received my diagnosis only six years ago when I was 27.  It was a strange moment to realize that I no longer had the liberty to care about food and exercise because I wanted to get rid of those spare 5, 10, or 15 pounds (depending on the year and the season).  Now I had to care because my life, literally depends on it.

I wish I could say that I am a perfect diabetic, who never eats the things I shouldn't and never has a blood sugar reading out of the "good" range. I'm far from perfect, but I was blessed to have a healthy appetite for healthy food, and I've tried to hone that over the past few years.  I try as much as possible to not buy the junk, to read food labels for the items with as little salt, as much fiber, and as few preservatives or unnatural ingredients (i.e. the ones I cannot pronounce or have no idea where they come from) as possible.  In fact, more and more, I find myself shopping the "perimeter" of the supermarket, where all the fresh ingredients are--fruits and vegetables, meats, fresh bread, and dairy; skipping most of the middle, where the prepackaged, highly-processed, less-nuturitious foods like to hang out. I make exceptions for cereal, some canned or frozen vegetables (watch the salt content there, though.  yikes!), dry beans and whole grains, and the occasional treat.

I'm also working on some things on the home-front too.  I started gardening a few years ago.  It's not much to speak of, but it's growing (truly!).  I've also joined with a local community garden, which has more than doubled my yield thanks to others' greener thumbs and the joy of gardening together.  This summer, as I raked in a great harvest of cucumbers and okra, I realized that growing your own food is not only resourceful and healthier, but it forces one to exercise a great deal of creativity.  My garden is not--as yet--like the produce section of the supermarket, where I can find two tomatoes, a head of lettuce, one onion, and something fun like arugula or zucchini just because that's what I want to eat tonight.  Some things grow at the same time.  Others do not.  Some things cooperate with the seasons.  Others (like my tomatoes this year) do not.  So, I have to improvise or things go bad and get wasted.  This year, I experimented with cucumber soup (needs work), sauteed okra (amazing!!!), and stir-fry with lettuce bolts (an interesting way to use the lettuce that has started to sprout and get a little sour...it was pretty good, saved lots of edible lettuce from being wasted, and made me feel like a true innovator!).

Also on the home-front is the idea of cooking more from scratch.  Yes it takes more time, but part of eating so much junk is the ease of it.  If our food takes a little more time to prepare, a little more effort to get together, a little more of our creativity to come up with, a little more of ourselves to put on the table, perhaps we will relish it a little more. Speaking of relishing, I heard once that part of America's problem with food and weight and unhealthy eating has less to do with the content of our meals than with the setting.  We have moved eating to the living room in front of the television, to the office in front of the computer, and to the car in the middle of a traffic jam. Not only are we sitting more for our work and our leisure, but we are not sitting around a table enjoying the meal together with other people.  We are not connected to our food or others.

I remember reading Laura Ingalls Wilder's books as a child, my mouth watering as she described the tables full of food.  Now, there weren't many photos of her and her family, but the ones I've seen did not show a bunch of unhealthy people.  They may not have been perfect tens according to our contemporary understanding of the perfect body, but they seemed vigorous and healthy.  I've often wondered why that was, especially when they seemed to eat the way they did.  I'm sure some of it has to do with the additives, preservatives, pesticides, and fertilizers not used then.  I think more of it had to do with their relationship to food and the food within their relationships.  They worked to get the food (burning calories).  They worked to make the food (burning calories).  They ate together (less about food than family/friends).  They cleaned up the food (burning calories). They saved the leftovers (saving money, reducing waste).  They composted and fed to the chickens the scraps (saving money, reducing waste).  They worked to get the food (burning calories).

I don't think we need to all start gardening, raising chickens or becoming farmers, but perhaps there is a lesson to learn or relearn about how we get food, prep food, eat food, and enjoy food.  I think, and this is gradually improving my blood-sugar, my waistline (only struggling with those irksome 5 - 10 pounds right now), my family dinner time, my relationship with food, and my overall life, we need to get some family therapy for us and the family meals (even for those of us who might eat alone).  Just like many experts tell us to turn off the television and take a walk, play a game, or read a book to improve our mental and relational health, I'm realizing that we need to turn away from the drive-through (or frozen pizza box) and plant a seed, cook a meal, or say a blessing to improve our relationship with food.

Sorry to have gotten so long-winded.  I guess I've thought quite a bit about this topic for the past few years and I had a few things to say.  For those of you who stuck it out until the end, thank you.  I'd love to hear your feedback.

Next post, I'll try to share some recipes.

[bananaleg]

I love all of the tips everyone is throwing out.

I just cut up a bunch of vegetables, so they're ready to go. My goal is to eat my vegetables everyday.

One of my favorite things to eat are scrambled eggs with veggies.
Sometimes I put in a little ground turkey, usually broccoli and cauliflower, sometimes asparagus (if I can get it on sale), black beans... season it all and add my beaten eggs.
It is filling and delicious.

If I bake something that uses yolks, I always keep the whites for my scrambles. The whites are my favorite part, though.

[elliot_anne]

I think I want to start monitoring what I eat. I feel like if I write it all down, it'll make me feel more guilty when I feel like eating sweets and things like that. Plus, it'll help me make sure I get enough protein and stuff.

Also, I think I'm going to start taking a multivitamin every day too.

[MareMare]

I know the feeling about needing to up the nutrition factor in one's life.  I too am a late-blooming type I diabetic.  I received my diagnosis only six years ago when I was 27.  It was a strange moment to realize that I no longer had the liberty to care about food and exercise because I wanted to get rid of those spare 5, 10, or 15 pounds (depending on the year and the season).  Now I had to care because my life, literally depends on it.

Welcome chez artiste! It sounds like you have made a good start!

I've put the healthy prompt for this week in the first post every week so it doesn't get buried in the thread. I have several idea for future weeks (sharing a healthy recipe or a motivation, etc. But if you have ideas that would make a great prompt/discussion, please pm me!)


Health Prompt for Week of January 8-14
For this week, let's all share one small, measurable goal we are working on. Next week we can check back in to see if we accomplished that goal.

[hawkeyes_girl]

My goal: hide more veggies in the foods I'm already eating. Spinach in lasagna, more salad ingredients in the salad beyond lettuce, more veggie side dishes than carby ones.

[MareMare]

more importantly aside from healthy recipes do not forget to Chew your food slowly, savoring every bite. We tend to rush though our meals, forgetting to actually taste the flavors and feel the textures of our food. Reconnect with the joy of eating.

Great reminder! There's a food reconnecting exercise about eating one single raisin and really chewing and tasting it.

It's hard to do for me, but if you actually eat your meal at a table with no distractions, you enjoy it more and feel more full, because you are paying more attention to eating and are able to remember it better. How often do we sit at our computers or TVs with a snack, and then think "Hey, where did all those chips go?" Would we really eat a whole bag if we were just sitting at the table? It takes a lot of discipline, but it helps me enjoy my food and cooking more!

Definitely something I would like to work on too!

several tricks I've used on myself over the years with amazing results:
to trick the eye since we first eat with our eyes: I use salad plates instead of the large ones that came with the place setting I have.  I've found that by using the salad plates I ate less and didn't do second helpings since my plate was filled. with a normal size plate there was always room left to add 'just a bit of this or that'.  
cut out sodas - dd and I did a raw diet in 2010 she lost 12 lbs in 30 days, I lost 23- she's not had a soda since then. (funny about her: we were sick over the holidays 2011 and I gave her a alka seltzer cold 'drink'- she took one sip and looked at me horrified- 'mama you gave me sprite'- took some time to convince her I'd not tricked her)
try sprouting your own veggies (my fav is radish sprouts)
juicing- easy way to get your greens and so much energy you'll have.

Could you share some info on sprouting veggies? I wouldn't know where to start!

When i eat apples, i sprinkle cinnamon on them. Then again, cinnamon is my favorite spice (of all time), and i add it to anything i can.
"You'll find as many antioxidants in 1 teaspoon of cinnamon as a full cup of pomegranate juice or ½ cup of blueberries."
Check out how good cinnamon is for you: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=68

Mmm, cinnamon! Do you put it on raw apples? I've never tried that, but when I get sick of raw apples I will nuke an apple in the microwave and add cinnamon.

Great tips here. I've also learned to down size my plate. I've also tried to cut down on carbs. I tend to use the wok a lot now. I cut up chicken breast in small pieces (goes for "larger" portion sizes) marinate in wine and soy sauce. A dash of olive oil in the wok and cook til done. Remove from wok then add my veggies--lots of veggies. I quick "fry" them in the leftover juices til crispy done then return my chicken to the wok and heat through and serve. Sometimes I make rice but mostly that is a lovely meal and DH is finally eating vegetables.  

Sounds delicious! I need a new wok, for some reason we got rid of ours a few years ago

I also do the pre made lunch thing for me and my kids. Prepacking fruits, veggie sticks, dressing and home made granola is a life safer as I pack lunches every morning for all of us. It also helps me keep so much processed foods out of our meals too.

Nice! Reminds me of a link from Pea Mama, one of my fave healthy food bloggers, that I want to share...will come back and add it in.

Here it is~
http://peasandthankyou.com/2012/01/01/healthy-eating-tactics-for-the-new-year/

i am so in this one..

one thing I do is buy lots of seeds from the health food store, I use poppy, sesame, pumpkin, sunflower and put them all in a large jar. They go into a lot of things in my kitchen, all baked goods and sprinkled on salads. They massively boost the nutritional content, plus they make you feel fuller and make salads etc a lot more interesting.

i also make two large bowls of salad, both of these keep for about 3-4 days in the fridge, so in the mornings for lunch, i fill a bento box, with some cold meat (if i have some) or smoked fish, plus a large serve of each of the two salads, they are very tasty and very healthy

Yummy seeds! Rachael Ray (I think) has a recipe for "breading" your chicken with seeds that is pretty tasty (although too salty as written if I remember correctly). And thank you for sharing the recipes!

That salad in a jar is Brilliant! Why didn't I think of that? And it's got quinoa, my favourite grain. I want that for lunch today, lol.

I have been studying health and nutrition for most of my life so you'd think I'd have a pretty great diet and lifestyle knowing all that I do. With 2 kids and a busy schedule though I've been eating junk and not exercising at all for a few months now and it shows. I have a naturally high metabolism so I'm thin but it's not toned thin, I'm getting lumpy, ugh. And I have no energy. It's sucking.
Today is my 40th birthday (please don't bother wishing me a happy one, I'm ignoring it this year. I'll turn 40 again next year, lol) and I feel like I've aged physically and energetically about 10 years in the past 2. This year I've made a slew of resolutions to get me back on track and I'm determined to get back in shape. The kids start school on Monday and I start working out and improving our diet. So I'll be back to check out your ideas and share my own .

It's so hard putting what we know into practice sometimes! Hopefully this will help us all...and we can pick your brain a bit

Cool, I'm a member of myfitnesspal also, though I have to admit I haven't used it for a couple of months, shame on me!!    I think perhaps my goal will be to start using it again to keep a better track of things!

My tip is egg whites.  I love egg for my brekkie, the protein keeps me full until lunchtime like cereal or toast never did, but my GP told me I wasn't allowed to have so many eggs because of all the fat they contain.  But the fat is all in the yolk, soooo now I keep a carton of egg whites in the fridge and have scrambled egg whites (with herbs and seasoning) for brekkie every day instead :-)  Also if I'm cooking anything that requires egg I almost always use egg whites instead of eggs now and it keeps the fat content down!

Downfall is that it's really hard to find egg whites in UK supermarkets, so far I've only found them in Sainsburys, and I think Waitrose had them too (in the chilled section, made by "Two Chicks")

Feel free to add me on MFP (anyone) if you like--maremare312. That's too bad you can't get egg whites in a carton easily like you can in the US! The fat is in the yolk, but also so are most of the vitamins. I've read a lot of articles lately that recommend eating one yolk a day and then additional egg whites, but it all depends on your nutrition goals (and I just read your second post about very low fat diet). I do egg white scrambles when I want to add chicken sausage and other yummy stuff that ups the calories so I get more food for my calorie count!

We used to have a smoothie for breakfast and I miss it. Baby spinach with fruit, hemp seeds, green power and probiotic powder. Totally delicious, really filling and a great energy boost for the whole morning. I've got a vitamix, I'm going to make good use of it starting next week.

I need to go back to green smoothies too! And I'm jealous of your Vitamix! I want one someday!

[MareMare]

One of my issues is that once I start to eat, I don't want to stop even though I know I will be full soon.  For instance, once I finish lunch, I want to eat a little chocolate, then a little turns into a lot.  I've heard that brushing your teeth after meals is not only good for your teeth, but also curbs your appetite by giving your tummy time to feel full AND you just don't feel like putting food in your mouth once it's all minty fresh.  I'm going to try brushing my teeth after lunch and dinner to see if it helps.

Also, I stopped drinking alchohol (used to drink the equivalent of 1-2 bottles of wine a week) and dropped 6 pounds in a month without changing anything else.

Very Smart! It's so hard to stop when I'm full, argh!

This is a great idea! Love it!
As a culinary school graduate, nutrition really opened my eyes. We often thing about eating 'healthier' but usually are not successful because we don't embrace it as a lifestyle. Sure, vegetables for a snack is great but it doesn't mean anything if you're downing a whole glass of pop with it.

My goal for the week is to wake up earlier before work and eat breakfast. I work at 8am every morning with a half hour commute. I usually wake up with no breakfast and go off to work. I don't end up eating until after lunch unless you count coffee. As someone who suffers from hypoglycemia and should be eating five meals a day - getting up early will help! Maybe I'll even get in some time for a sun salutation =)

Good idea! Can you prep it some the night before?

I need to up my nutrition factor so I'm IN!

It's not about weight with me.  I'm a type 1 insulin dependent diabetic.  I also have allergy issues.  I have read so much on alternative nutrition, that I now tend to think traditional nutrition is what made me sick in the first place (I was not diagnosed with the diabetes till I was 23).  IN the last few years though, I have been dealing with depression and being "stuck", and I have developed a "food sucks" kind of attitude.  So I would rather eat chocolate then try and think of something healthy to eat...or just skip eating all together.  My Hub does the cooking, so I normally have one full meal a day at least.  But then I tend to graze on crap all night long, so I'm not hungry in the morning again.  SO my large goal is to get back to eating things that nourish me, and eating every 2 to 4 hours during the day, so I don't feel ravenous at night.

So my goal for this week is to eat something balanced and nutritious (even if it is something small, like fruit and nuts) every morning with in 2 hours of getting up, preferably with my coffee.  I was, till the holidays, making a veg, fruit, chia seed, almond ...I was calling it a "smoothy", but it was so thick it was really more a pudding....every morning and working on it through out the morning.

Hi Sue, I'm so glad you're going to be working on your health along with us!

My goal this week is eat more fiber (specifically at least 30g a day). I always struggle to get my 5 portions of fruit/veg a day anyway so I think if I concentrate more on improving my fiber intake, I'll be making an effort to eat more fresh veggies as well.

That's a great, measurable goal!

I know the feeling about needing to up the nutrition factor in one's life.  I too am a late-blooming type I diabetic.  I received my diagnosis only six years ago when I was 27.  It was a strange moment to realize that I no longer had the liberty to care about food and exercise because I wanted to get rid of those spare 5, 10, or 15 pounds (depending on the year and the season).  Now I had to care because my life, literally depends on it.

I just re-read the Laura Ingalls books a few weeks ago, so interesting all the food they ate, especially in Farmer Boy. Most of aren't doing that manual labor all day though! (too bad??)

I just cut up a bunch of vegetables, so they're ready to go. My goal is to eat my vegetables everyday.

One of my favorite things to eat are scrambled eggs with veggies.
Sometimes I put in a little ground turkey, usually broccoli and cauliflower, sometimes asparagus (if I can get it on sale), black beans... season it all and add my beaten eggs.
It is filling and delicious.

If I bake something that uses yolks, I always keep the whites for my scrambles. The whites are my favorite part, though.

Great job on getting your veggies cut up! Do you have a goal number for veggie servings, or you are just trying to eat some every day?

I love eggs like that too! My mom won't eat them because they're more veggies than eggs Broccoli and mushrooms are my fave, sometimes onion and peppers if I have leftover fajita veggies.

I think I want to start monitoring what I eat. I feel like if I write it all down, it'll make me feel more guilty when I feel like eating sweets and things like that. Plus, it'll help me make sure I get enough protein and stuff.

Also, I think I'm going to start taking a multivitamin every day too.

It's such a helpful tool, whether you're using an online program or physically writing it down. Plus you can see where you go off track and how to correct that. At my old job I realized I was having a bit of a crash in the afternoon (on 10 hour shifts) and I would eat cookies or something. I switched to a piece of string cheese and veggies and I cut my calories down and felt so much better (because after the cookies I felt blech).

My goal: hide more veggies in the foods I'm already eating. Spinach in lasagna, more salad ingredients in the salad beyond lettuce, more veggie side dishes than carby ones.

I love it! Throw veggies in everything! Spinach and kale can go in soups and stews. When I make fried rice (much like my egg scrambles) it's more vegetables than rice.  You can even do (gasp) 2 veggie side dishes with the main dish! You may laugh, but that seemed like a crazy idea to me at one time

[MareMare]

Speaking of small plates...I had a nibbles type dinner tonight and grabbed one of my nephews' divided kiddie plates. You can't see but there are adorable fish, turtle, and a seahorse under the food. Random eats--hummus, reduced fat ranch dip (ate half and had to go back for more carrots), carrots (I don't buy a lot of organic stuff because I'm poor, but these are so much better tasting than regular ones...the ones pictured were regular, my refill was organic...tasty!), pita crackers, and turkey sausage.