A Healthy & Happy Thanksgiving!

My journey to nutritional coaching has meant that my family has provided many opportunities for me to "experiment" in the kitchen. And I’ve been a little worried that someday my family may boycott Thanksgiving at my house! But family and friends are often treated to find most of our well-loved family favorites with a few healthier twists that delight all! (I’ve included a new “nutritious but delicious” Thanksgiving recipe below.)

How you approach the holidays is a personal choice. For some of us, this is one of those “treat” days where we eat what we want, without guilt, knowing we’ll be back on our mindful eating path the following day. For others, particularly if you are trying to lose weight or live healthier, you certainly don’t want to start a “season" of overeating.

So here are a few of the tips I like to share this time of year:

• Try Thanksgiving grazing. Load your plate with vegetables first, then add whole grains and just a side of lean turkey. When the rest of the dishes and desserts are passed, choose a half serving of one or two that you really want – not an entire serving. That way you will get a taste of the holiday foods you love most, without overeating or feeling deprived. Filling up on vegetables during your meal helps to promote satisfaction while providing fullness to slow you down, and reduce any tendency to overeat
• Try alternatives, not abstinence. I’ve roasted sweet potatoes with a sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg instead of marshmallows, for a lighter, healthier dish that still shouts “Thanksgiving!” This year I found a wild rice pilaf as an alternative to traditional bread stuffing (see the recipe below). 
• Don’t drink your calories. You don’t have to imbibe spirits to get into the spirit! If you enjoy a glass of red wine with dinner, then switch to sparkling water with lemon. This year, for a dash of holiday whimsy, consider a muddle of fresh raspberries and drop them into my water glass, stir, and sip!
• Pace yourself. Remember, Thanksgiving kicks off a “season of eating” – if you let it. And this year, we’ve got a two-for-one for many as the first day of Hanukkah coincides with Thanksgiving. Don’t give in to the domino-effect that can happen from consuming large amounts of sugar, alcohol and dairy (and potato latkes!). Also, remember that food temptation is only one stress of the holidays; houseguests, family dynamics, kids home from school—all can send you running to the refrigerator. Try to be aware of your relationship with food and how you feel after indulging. check in with any symptoms of overeating: Headache? Bloated? Exhausted? Moody? Why ruin your holiday by not feeling your best? Reducing or eliminating high sugar foods, excessive meat or alcohol and highly processed foods will help you avoid these symptoms, feel better and have more energy.
• Don’t throw it all away. Even if you do over-indulge on Thanksgiving day, remember: it’s just one day. Don’t throw away all of your hard work by turning one day into a long, weekend marathon of eating. Stock up on disposable containers and send guests home with all of the leftovers. Find out if a shelter will let you bring uneaten pies, cakes and casseroles. If you have to, you can always toss out the temptations; after all, which is worse: throwing away food or throwing away your hard-earned health and wellness by "finishing" the leftovers?
• Find other ways to enjoy the holidays. Bundle up and take a walk after the big Thanksgiving meal. Organize a game of touch football. Pull out the board games and close down the kitchen. Build a fire and tell stories, or watch old family videos (remember those?). In our family, we take a few minutes at the table for each one to share what they are most thankful for this year. Everyone slows down for a minute and it reminds us what this holiday is truly all about - Giving Thanks!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Eating from the Rainbow

An article by: Catherine Schroeder, RD

In addition to rainbows in the sky, April showers inspire the growth of a colorful array of spring fruits and vegetables to decorate your dishes, tempt your taste buds and nourish yourself naturally!  

Vibrantly colored produce adds visual appeal to any dish without the use of synthetic dyes or additives.  More importantly, these brightly colored foods pack a powerful nutrition punch.  Fruits and vegetables have a high nutrient density, meaning they provide high amounts of nutrients for a low amount of calories.   Choosing more foods with higher nutrient density is linked with healthy body weight, greater energy levels and lower risk of chronic disease.  The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics at www.eatright.org recommends most adults should “strive for five” servings of fruits and vegetables daily, as a general goal to improve diet and nutrition.  This approximates to about 2 cups daily of fruits and vegetables. For more information on getting enough produce, see www.choosemyplate.gov or www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org.

Experiment with different color combinations to paint a daily menu full of vitamins and minerals: the brighter the better! Visit your local supermarket or farmers’ market to see what’s in season.  Or consider joining a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) which links you to a local farm where you reap the fresh bounty all season: http://www.localharvest.org/csa/ for more information.

Red/Pink: Many red foods contain lycopene, the antioxidant that may help reduce risk of heart disease and some types of cancer.  Examples include tomatoes, ruby red grapefruit, apples, strawberries, apricots, guava, papaya, raspberries, blood oranges, red bell peppers, guava, watermelon, cranberries, pomegranate, radishes, and red onion.

Orange/Yellow: Colored from beta-carotene, a precursor or Vitamin A, these foods may improve vision, support immune function, help lower blood pressure and reduce inflammation.  These foods are rich in Vitamin C, thiamine, magnesium, and potassium.  Examples include oranges, tangerines, sweet potato, butternut squash, cantaloupe, carrots, peaches, nectarines, pumpkin, mango, banana, lemons, yellow raspberries, yellow bell peppers, spaghetti squash, corn, and pineapple.

Green: Loaded with antioxidants to reduce free radical damage within the body and decrease disease risk, fiber to support digestion, and micronutrients to support metabolism, green produce offers a powerhouse of nutrition.  Examples include Swiss chard, lettuces, turnips, collard and mustard greens, peppers, avocado, broccoli, kale, kiwi, spinach, peas, celery, apples, grapes, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, zucchini, fresh herbs such as parsley, and cucumbers.

Blue/ Indigo/Violet: With colors attributed to flavonoids, these foods promote cardiovascular health and may stimulate neurologic function: a true brain food! Examples include blueberries, blue corn, grapes, beans, eggplant, plums, blackberries, purple cabbage, and beets. Tea and cocoa are also sources.  For more on antioxidants in foods: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/antioxidants.html 

Color your plate today! More does matter.  There is even a free phone app to help you track your intake: http://munch5aday.com/.  For more tips and ideas, see http://www.foodnetwork.com/spring-produce-guide/package/index.html 

1. Play with your food- Not a raw veggies lover? Experiment with different sauces and dips to change the flavor of your snack! Plunge carrots in hummus, dunk bell peppers in salsa, or top celery with low-fat cream cheese.  Speckle apple slices with a dollop of peanut butter and raisins, top a bowl of berries with Greek yogurt, or drizzle a banana with melted dark chocolate chips and crushed walnuts.  For more recipes: http://www.bonappetit.com/ideas/vegetable-recipes/search 
2. Plan your produce: Don’t leave home without fruit and veggie snacks! The best way to avoid the vending machine is to keep convenient produce snacks on hand and easily accessible when the mid-afternoon munchies hit.  Chop up raw veggies ahead of time and pre-pack into baggies.
3. Make it fun- Adding more produce can be a challenge, but try making a game out of it.  Start by trying to include two different colors in each meal.  When you’ve mastered that, try to include three different colors in every meal (and so on).  Engage the whole family in this initiative and aim to eat the rainbow every day.
4. Remember every bit counts! Simple and small changes can make a dramatic impact on your health.  Place a few leaves of lettuce or arugula on a sandwich, add roasted vegetables to pasta, top pizza with broccoli and cauliflower, or mash avocado instead of mayo on a bun.  Berries are a great addition to a bowl of cereal, atop yogurt, or in a muffin recipe.  Mix together green and red grapes for color or carve watermelons to use as a bowl for fruit salad. 

The more colorful produce you can include in your diet, the more vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and fiber you will receive.  This spring, instead of trying to cut out and limit the “bad” foods, focus on the many nutrients you can add with vibrant fruits and vegetables.

Cancer: 50 Essential Things to Do

A recent addition to my library, this book has been recently updated and is a valuable resource for anyone who is fighting cancer or is supporting someone with this destructive disease. Cancer is not just about the illness or treatment, but surviving means something more than treatment medically; there is a lot to appreciate from holistic intervention that will support you through treatment and the rest of your life! 

Leaky Gut or Chronic Illness?

There is a lot to be said for how hard our digestive system works to protect the health of our body. And there is a lot to be said for how hard the Standard American Diet works to damage this important system for maintaining health, energy, focus, strength and all the important elements of a vital life that is desired for every age and stage of your life.

I highly recommend Elizabeth Lipski's book, Digestive Wellness as a tool for understanding digestion and the important roles in metabolism and nutrient absorption that it supports in keeping your immune system strong, cardiovascular system healthy and all your organs, bone and blood in the best of health for your whole life.

Begin with adding more vegetables daily to your diet. And while you are enjoying all that produce, start reading Digestive Wellness to connect the recommended support tools with an improved diet of nutrient dense foods that are fruit, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, beans, herbs and spices.

Vitamin K Support - Eat Green!

In a society that uses medications and supplements to promote health, the message of whole, fresh foods for vitamin and mineral support often appears limited or inadequate. The truth is that without a diet based on consuming more plant foods, those individual supplements and medications will not be able to work optimally, often requiring additional prescriptive intervention and cascading side effects. 

Your health is dependent on your food choices!

There are two supplements I recommend most often to my clients: a whole food based supplement called Juice Plus and Vitamin D3 (during the darker months of fall through spring) as vitamin D, not really a vitamin but a hormone, is limited in the food supply. Vitamin D is best "consumed" from sunshine. Learn more...

Recent research, however, is finding that vitamin D3 needs the support of nutrients like calcium, magnesium and vitamin K2 for best absorption into bones. A recent article by Dr. Mercola, What You Need to Know About Vitamin K2, D and Calcium explains these findings in an interview with Kate Rheaume-Bleue, ND author of Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox. 

The highlights from this article and interview include:

• Vitamin K2 is an important fat-soluble vitamin that plays critical roles in protecting your heart and brain, and building strong bones. It also plays an important role in cancer protection.

• The biological role of vitamin K2 is to help move calcium into the proper areas in your body, such as your bones and teeth. It also helps remove calcium from areas where it shouldn’t be, such as in your arteries and soft tissues.

• The optimal amounts of vitamin K2 are still under investigation, but it seems likely that 180 to 200 micrograms of vitamin K2 might be enough to activate your body’s K2-dependent proteins to shuttle calcium to the proper areas.

• If you take oral vitamin D, you also need to take supplemental vitamin K2. Vitamin K2 deficiency is actually what produces the symptoms of vitamin D toxicity, which includes inappropriate calcification that can lead to hardening of your arteries.

• If you take a calcium supplement, it’s important to maintain the proper balance between calcium, vitamin K2, vitamin D, and magnesium. Lack of balance between these nutrients is why calcium supplements have become associated with increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

Whole, fresh food remains the best source for obtaining the required vitamins, minerals, fiber and micronutrients needed by your body for good health. Specifically leafy greens, sea vegetables and spirulina are good sources for consuming vitamin K, calcium and magnesium. 

For the health of your bones, brain and cardiovascular system, eat green every day! 

MyOmBody App!

MyOmBody releases health and happiness app for iPhone

Cambridge, MA 

MyOmBody, a health startup, has introduced an app that allows you to track your health and happiness on your iPhone. MyOmBody is based on three beliefs:

• There is more to food than calories
• There is more to wellbeing than being skinny
• Optimal health is about feeling awesome, not doing everything “right”

“Your relationship with your family, your social life and your sense of fulfillment in your career are more important determinants of your well-being than eating broccoli or running marathons,” says MyOmBody founder Lindsey Witmer. “We wanted to create a platform where you could track everything and get insight into how it all connects.”

MyOmBody quizzes users once a day with questions such as:

• How much have people enjoyed being around you today?
• Can you let go of the things outside of your control today?
• How many fist-sized servings of vegetables did you eat today?

Over time, the app gives users insight into how these various aspects of their life might be connecting. For example, you might find out that:

• You have less energy when you eat wheat
• Generosity reduces your stress levels
• The pain in your joints is affected by your sugar consumption

“Algorithms are really fun,” says Witmer. “But I don’t believe that algorithms or apps, even this one, will ever be able to replace human caregivers.” MyOmBody gives every user of the app a free initial consultation with an integrative health coach. “I chose these coaches out of hundreds of applicants; they have thriving practices all over the US and the world. I am thrilled to be able to offer their services to MyOmBody users.”

Download MyOmBody now at: http://bit.ly/VBfncP

Grateful for the People in my Life

The recent hurricane that affected millions of people on the east coast has made many reflect with gratitude on the many privileges we enjoy daily, and often take for granted. The simple pleasures of a warm and protective home, a loving family at your side, and food in your belly are enough to fill your heart with joy. But how do you share that positive perspective with the people around you? During this Thanksgiving holiday perhaps you will find new ways to enjoy and thank the significant people in your life who support, love and encourage you.

Beyond appreciating those in your immediate circle, there are many ways you can weave a theme of gratitude into your home, work and social life. This practice of finding joy and gratitude not only improves emotional health and relationships, but ultimately benefits your physical health by reducing internal stress.

1. Thank those around you. Many small favors are exchanged daily between people we interact with often, in fact we take those favors for granted more than we actually notice the helpful reminder, door held open, email or text with a cheerful thought or just checking in on you. build gratitude into your daily interaction by noticing those people doing small favors for you or others; and the simplest acknowledgement is to say, “Thank you!”
2. Send special gifts. People just love fun surprises like cards, healthy snacks, gift cards, flowers or invitations to meet over lunch, coffee, or dinner. Incorporating occasional gifts for family, friends or co-workers can make them feel special and magnify the impact of your relationship.
3. Pay it forward. Giving back to your community can have advantages too. Volunteering for causes you care about, donating food to feed the hungry, giving financially to your church or a charity are ways to give back to a larger world. Giving to help the struggles of others strengthens an important quality for living a life of gratitude, and that quality is compassion.

 How will you express gratitude to the special people in your life... not only for this Thanksgiving holiday, but as a health habit? 

Thank you for taking time to connect with me through this blog...