Book Recommendation: Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink, Ph.D.

     Mindless Eating is a really great book for someone looking to make small changes that are sustainable over time. It's also a book that you can read again every so often to remind yourself to pay more attention to your eating habits. The book is interesting because it isn't directly written as a guide to weight loss, but its strategies are definitely something that if applied can lead there. It is written more as a summary of Wansink's research which is absolutely eye opening and you will surely see some of yourself in the pages here!

 
     One example of what you will learn from Mindless Eating includes reducing the size of your plates and silverware in your home. Wansink points out that the size of our plates has grown significantly over the years and we therefore end up eating more! We grew up with our mothers telling us to clear our plates, and bigger plates leads to bigger portions! Larger silverware leads us to take bigger bites of food and often leads us to stuff ourselves before our brain can catch up with our stomach to signal that we are full!
     Another example from the book is how we are often unaware of how much we are eating and to make ourselves feel better we round down. In an experiment with two groups of subjects at a chicken wing dinner waitstaff cleared the bones from the tables of one group and not the other group. The subjects in the group where the bones were not cleared ate significantly less, likely because they had an obvious reminder of how much that had actually eaten!
     For more interesting tips and tricks to "out smart" your mind pick up a copy of Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink, Ph.D.

Cheers,
Brittney

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

This week's haul from my CSA!

   
     Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a great way to increase your vegetable consumption and to learn about a variety of local produce in your area!

     How it works: In the spring you sign up with a local farmer that runs a CSA and pay an upfront fee. This fee helps the local farmer to buy supplies and get the farm planted for the season. Then, once the produce becomes available, you get your share each week throughout the harvest season. You pick up your share from a location designated by the farmer, usually the farm or a farmers market in the area. Many CSA farmers offer a full or a half share. I purchased a half share. A full share would be good for a family, but for just one or two people a half share works well. I wanted to make sure I didn't get more than I could eat so I wouldn't have to waste any of the great produce! Each week's share is different based on what is available at the time. This week I got a lot of stuff: bell peppers, hot peppers, carrots, beets, lettuce, wax beans, chard, basil, and cucumbers! Participating in a CSA really gets you thinking locally. You are getting exactly what is ready to be harvested at that exact time so the produce is a its peak freshness. Having the wide variety of produce available at home each day helps increase your vegetable consumption, and you get to try a lot of new foods that you otherwise would probably not!

    If you are interested in getting involved for next year check your local newspaper or public message boards in government buildings such as the library. Also visit Local Harvest's CSA webpage at: http://www.localharvest.org/csa/.

Cheers,
Brittney

Grilled Cheese with Fig Spread and Steamed Veggies!

     Try this great recipe for dinner tonight! The idea for this grilled cheese was inspired by an autumn special at Cosi. I absolutely loved it and have been making it at home ever since!

Grilled Cheese:

2 slices onion sourdough bread
2 thick slices smoked cheddar or smoked provolone cheese
Fig spread
Spreadable butter (I use Land O Lakes butter with canola oil)

Preheat a large skillet on the stove, using low heat. Butter one side of each slice of bread. Use a knife or cheese slicer to make thick slices of the cheese. Spread fig spread on the non-buttered side of one slice of the bread. Add the cheese on top of the spread. Put the other piece of bread on top, butter side out. Brown the outside of the sandwich in the skillet over low heat. Using low heat ensures that the thickly sliced cheese melts and the outsides doesn't burn.

     Fig spread can be found in the jelly and jam section of your grocery store. If you cannot find onion sourdough bread in the bakery section of your grocery store, you can 1) make your own! 2) use another variety of sourdough or whole wheat bread. Use low fat cheese to make this recipe more heart healthy!

Steamed Vegetables:

Slice up any of the following into similar sized pieces:
broccoli
cauliflower
bell peppers
carrots
red, white, or yellow onion
parsnips
asparagus

Using a stove top or electric steamer, steam the vegetables until tender, about 10 minutes. Using less water when cooking vegetables reducing the amount of nutrients that leak out and are washed away with the water! That means more nutrients for you!

     This makes a great dinner or lunch! Yum!

For more information on Cosi, check their website: http://www.getcosi.com/. It is a great sandwich and salad restaurant and coffee shop. Very quick and fresh with lots of healthy options!

For more information on Land O Lakes butter with canola oil check out: http://www.landolakes.com/product/15127/spreadable-butter-with-canola-oil. I really like it because it is real butter, without a lot of artificial additives, and it is spreadable, unlike regular butter. I don't use spreads often so this is a good option for me, but if you use butter often and/or are concerned about your saturated fat or cholesterol intake a better option might be Smart Balance (http://www.smartbalance.com/products/buttery-spread/smart-balance-buttery-spread-original-0) which contains sterols, a plant based oil which may help lower cholesterol levels. For more information about sterols check out this article from the Cleveland Clinic: http://my.clevelandclinic.org/healthy_living/cholesterol/hic_plant_sterols_and_stanols.aspx.

Cheers,
Brittney

Helping Kids Learn to be Good Eaters

     We all know that kids can be picky eaters. Your child may refuse to eat anything but a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch for weeks straight. He or she may refuse to touch their vegetables. He or she may refuse to eat at meal time and beg for a snack 10 minutes after you've cleared the table. On the other hand your child may love to eat and request snacks all day long. One of the best thing about kids is their candid nature. They have their own wants, needs, and ideas and don't mind what you or society expects of them. But there are ways you can help you child become a better eater without creating a rift between you and them.

     One of the leading experts on child feeding is Ellyn Satter. I am currently reading her book "Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense". Ms. Satter is an excellent resource on feeding children. She is a Registered Dietitian and a child psychologist. I use a lot of Ms. Satters work in counseling my clients.

     One of the main things I teach my clients is the Divisions of Responsibilities in feeding. Ms. Satter identifies the roles of the child and the roles of the parent during feeding. The roles are to only be filled by the appropriate party and not shared or exchanged.

      The roles of the parent are:

• Deciding what food is offered
• Deciding when food is offered
• Deciding where food is offered

     The roles of the child are:

• Deciding if he/she is going to eat the food offered
• Deciding what out of the food offered that he/she is going to eat
• Deciding how much of the food offered he/she is doing to eat

     More information on the parents roles: It is a good idea to provide set meal and snack times and not allow children to eat whenever they want throughout the day. This establishes a good meal pattern and makes sure children are getting enough to eat at regular intervals throughout the day. It also ensures that children are not filling up on snack food and subsequently are not hungry during meal times, which for many families is when the most nutritious food is served. Three meals and three snacks per day is a good idea for children. They have small stomachs and need small amounts of food more frequently than adults. Remember that portion sizes for children are smaller than for adults, so your child will likely not eat as much as you, or even your older children (but if they do, don't worry, every child is different!) You should provide a small snack between each meal and before bed even if the child does not ask for it. Snacks should usually be fruits or vegetables. Cheese and crackers, yogurt, pretzels, homemade oatmeal raisin cookies, cereal with low fat milk, or sugar free jello also make good snacks. During each meal and snack time you should provide your child with one food you know he/she likes and for the other foods, offer whatever you are making for the family as a whole. You should not be a short-order cook for your child! Children should always sit at the table when eating a meal or snack. Walking around or eating in front of the TV can distract children and they may over or under eat without noticing.

      More information on the kids roles: Allowing your child to decide how much or how little to eat at meal and snack time is the best way to help your child learn his or her hunger and satiety cues. If you are always making your child finish his or her plate, or if you are denying your child second helpings YOU are deciding what "hungry" and "full" is for your child instead of letting him/her listen to the signs from his/her body. Children have a built in ability to regulate how much food they need. As adults, this ability has been destroyed by many years of stuffing ourselves or restricting ourselves; or a combination of both! Some children are big eaters and some are small eaters. You do not have to worry about this, it is your child's job to  decide how much to eat. Because you are taking your child to the pediatrician regularly his/her growth is being monitored, and growth is the best indicator of nutritional status in children. Since you have provided your child with at least one food you know he/she likes at meals and snacks there should be at least one thing on the plate he/she will eat. If our child wants seconds of this or any other items that is fine. If he/she doesn't even want to touch some of the items, that's fine too. It takes between 10 and 20 times before a person starts liking a new food. Maybe the first five times your child is offered a new food, say broccoli, he/she will just look at it. Maybe the tenth time he/she will play with it on the plate. Maybe the 15th time he/she will take one bite. Maybe the 20th time he/she will take five bites. That is how it works with kids. As long as they are being offered a food let them decide whether or not to eat it, and how much. Do not pressure the child to eat it, and especially not to finish it! This creates a lot of stress for your child during mealtime. Often times children will come to resent mealtime if they are pressured to eat food they don't want to eat, and this usually leads to them eating even less than before! Suggesting your child try a new food is okay, but don't pressure them if they don't want to. Furthermore, make sure you child knows that if he/she doesn't eat at a meal or snack time that he/she has to wait until the next meal or snack time to eat again. It is not acceptable for the child to refuse a meal and then beg for a snack 10 minutes later.

    Make sure that the family is working as a team with these guidelines. Often times I hear from families where one family member is doing there part and following the guidelines but another one feels like they have to intervene and give the child potato chips after a meal because they think the child didn't eat enough. Also, introducing new foods works best if the child sees other family members eating the foods. It is not okay to expect your child to eat his/her vegetables if you will not eat yours. Healthy eating is a whole family endeavor!

     I hope you found this information interesting and helpful. These techniques have been studied have been proven to be effective! Please visit Ms. Satter's website at: http://www.ellynsatter.com/. Also, visit your local library or bookstore to find some of her many books!

Cheers,
Brittney

Cut Down on Artificial Additives in Your Diet: Make Your Own Bread!

Cinnamon Raisin

   
     Investing in a bread maker is a SIMPLE way to cut down on your consumption of artificial additives and preservatives. Making bread with a bread maker is a two step process. You simply add the ingredients to the pan and turn the thing on! You can even set a timer so the bread is done right before you want to eat it! Most bread maker recipes call for bread flour, dry milk, butter, salt, and yeast. Other things such as raisins, cinnamon, and other spices can be added depending on what type of bread you want to make. They come with a guide book on how to use the machine and special bread maker recipes. You can also use the bread maker to make dough for rolls, pizza, or cinnamon rolls!

      My usual breakfast consists of either toast or half a bagel and some fruit. I recently got a bread maker from a friend of my parents.This has allowed me to make my own and now I know my breakfast is all natural. Store bought bread or bagels often contain additives such as preservatives, flavorings, oils, or added colors. I keep my fresh bread in the refrigerator so it lasts longer, since it doesn't have preservatives this helps prevent it from becoming moldy. Bread maker bread is also great for sandwiches and french toast!

Cheers,
Brittney

First Harvest from My Garden!

Tomatoes! 

When Others Sabotage Your Healthy Eating Plans

     Based on an article from the Spring 2011 of the ADA Times, I would like to share with you some information about the reasons behind, and what you can do, when someone in your life is working against your weight loss or health goals.

     It's something you may never have thought about, or it may be something that you experience every time you try to get on the right track with your health. When the people in your life deter your from following through with your weight loss or health goals. It is most commonly seen from significant others, friends, or coworkers; those people you spend the most time around.
     Lets say you have become inspired to improve you eating habits with health and/or weight loss goals in mind. You research the best ways to achieve your goals, speak with a dietitian or your family doctor, and develop a plan. You are beginning making healthy changes in your life, but you notice something else happening too. Someone in your life is sabotaging your efforts! It may be through snide comments, it may be by pressuring you to deviate from your plan, it may be by bringing you unhealthy snacks or tempting you by eating something you are trying to cut down on in front of you. These things are all potentially deleterious to your plans! But why would someone you care about being trying to sabotage your efforts to achieve better health?
     There can be many reasons someone you feel close to would try and thwart your health efforts. It may be intentional or not, but regardless of intent it is dangerous to your plan! Sometimes just the shift in balance in a relationship brought on by a change such as working to improve ones health can lead to conflict. The other person may also feel inferior when you are seeing results and they have not made any effort towards achieving greater health. They may feel guilty about themselves for not lacking the self discipline to make the healthy changes that you have made. They may be jealous of your results. They may want you to participate in a bad habit with them to make it seem less self-destructive. It may be none of these; the person may be using food to show their love for you. Such as a friend who is used to dropping by with a coffee cake or a lasagna!
     So what can you do to to prevent these things from getting to you? You can keep your health or weight loss goals to your self in the beginning. Although it may feel good to share you plans, keeping them to yourself, at least in the early stages, can really help. It will be harder for someone to break you from your efforts if you have already established a pattern and have begun meeting your goals. Confronting the person is one of the best things you can do. Of course, using taste to avoid creating tension for the future. Ask the person to join you! If they are feeling jealous or insecure, getting involved with someone who is a friend and is already seeing results can be really motivational! Make sure the issues that are surfacing are directly related to the situation at hand. Address any issues that may be stemming from another problem. Be firm with someone who showers you with food. Make sure they know that you appreciate their effort but that there are better ways to show affection.
     Overall, the problem of a being sabotaged by someone in your life in regards to your health goals can be detrimental. But you can overcome this obstacle! Recognizing the issue and addressing it can be your best bet. Having a well established plan can really help too. Writing down your plan, especially your goals, in a place you look often such as your planner can remind you on a regular basis of what you are working towards! Just remember that it is YOUR life and YOUR plan, and you can stick with it despite what is going on around you!

For more information on The American Dietetic Association (ADA) please visit: http://www.eatright.org/

Cheers,
Brittney