By Guest Blogger on December 21, 2011
It’s the holiday season again, bringing festive good cheer, celebrations with friends and family and usually more delicious sweet treats than you can handle!
So before we launch into the negative effects of too much sugar (and, of course, give you some healthy alternatives!), we want to give some background of the sugar addictions we have in this culture.
Since the beginning of civilization, sugar has been directly linked to feelings of love, comfort, joy and celebration. The very first thing a baby tastes is their mother’s sweet milk, so we all have a very basic and immediate trigger with sugar and love as well as basic survival. Hunter gatherers didn’t come across many sweet foods; when they did, they knew it meant fat, calories and energy (i.e., survival as well).
So we’re sort of hardwired to crave sweets. We also crave sweets when we’re deficient in certain nutrients, especially chromium, carbon, phosphorus, sulfur and tryptophan. Don’t beat yourself up about sugary indulgences; the guilt and worry is way more toxic to your body (and your mind!) than anything you’re eating. We promise. Let go, savor and enjoy every delicious mouthful, and then make sure you get your greens in to balance it out. Some other tips to follow are:
- When a sugar craving hits, try eating whole fresh fruits, nuts, non-gluten grains, sweet potatoes and dark green leafy vegetables like kale and spinach to balance the body and lessen the cravings.
- Boost overall intake of protein and fats since our bodies are biologically programmed to use those as fuel first. So lots of beans, dark leafy greens, nuts, seeds, coconut, olives and spirulina are all great choices to keep you nourished, satiated and energized. Your body will be able to run longer and more efficiently with these as the primary sources of fuel rather than any kind of sugar that spikes insulin and then quickly brings about a crash and interferes with fat burning.
- Sugar also affects overall immunity by wiping out beneficial bacteria in the gut. So along with taking a strong probiotic during the holiday season (we recommend at least 40 billion organisms daily), it’s good to limit sugar intake as much as possible.
- If you do choose to indulge in sweet things, try choosing ones that minimally spike blood sugar, like whole fresh fruit, coconut nectar and brown rice syrup, or even better, stevia, which is a natural herb that has zero effect on glycemic levels.
- ‘Tis the season for giving, sharing, celebrating and being joyful. Offer tons of gratitude that you’re able to make choices for your most vibrant health and direct your energy toward your friends and family rather than stressing about a few sweet treats.
Life is inherently sweet on its own and you’re one of the sweetest things in it!
Happy Holidays!
Jenny Nelson is a Clean Wellness Coach and Alejandro Junger, M.D. is author of “Clean:The Revolutionary Program to Restore the Body’s Natural Ability to Heal Itself.”
Photo credit: Sharyn Morrow
Read More By Leslie Carr Psy.D. on November 24, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving! If you’re reading this post today, and you’re currently in the U.S., you’re probably engaged in any number of annual rituals – from cooking to watching football, to silently (or not so silently) cursing family members who drive you crazy. Many of you might also be thinking about what you’re grateful for right now. If you are, I’m right there with you.
As my sister, Kris, can confirm, I’ve always been a huge dork about having gratitude on Thanksgiving. For other people this holiday might be about turkey or pilgrims, but for me it’s always been about taking one day to really focus on the things I have in my life that are positive. While I incorporate gratitude exercises into my regular journaling throughout the year, each Thanksgiving I make a bigger effort to list everything that I can think of to be grateful for, including the “little” things. I also try to take the day to just generally reflect and give thanks.
The good news is that in recent years, study after study has shown us that there are real, hardcore benefits to experiencing and celebrating gratitude. Research has demonstrated that people who keep daily gratitude journals (giving thanks for about five things/day) can experience as much as a 25-percent increase in day-to-day happiness in as little as a few months, and that this is even true for people who suffer from painful, life-threatening illnesses. Some studies also show that exercising gratitude can improve your health (namely by moderating stress and improving sleep quality).
The reason why this works is because the neural networks in our brains operate on the basis of habit, and you can think of this in terms of practicing a behavior. Any action that we take, or thought that we think, gets recorded in our brains by becoming imprinted in our neurons. As we repeat those actions or thoughts, grooves (effectively) get created in our brains that make us more likely to engage in that kind of thought or action again in the future. From this standpoint, by looking at things on the bright side — by having gratitude for the things that might otherwise go unnoticed — we are literally training our brains to do more of that in general.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that your problems aren’t real ones, or that there’s never a time or a place for acknowledging and accepting the things in life that are painful. On the contrary, I think that sadness, grief, and anger are all normal emotions that are part of the human experience, and we have to make room for all of it. It’s just that this post isn’t about that — it’s about taking the time to notice the things in life that we can otherwise take for granted. Think of it as an exercise – an exercise that can benefit you no matter what your personal circumstances are.
This is just anecdotal to my own experience, but I will say that it seems like the more I practice gratitude the more I have to feel grateful for. I think I’m just better able to look on the bright side than I used to be. I also notice that my frustration tolerance has improved, as I’m more able to focus on the positive in moments that would otherwise be difficult, challenging, or even just plain annoying.
Here’s what I do, and I suggest that you try something similar: My list always starts with what seems most basic or fundamental, and I work my way out. I’m grateful today, for example, for the parts of my body that work. I am blessed with the gift of sight and — despite some occasional joint pain — two hands that are capable of typing out these sentences right now. From there I can be grateful for my home and my bed, my family or my friends, my sweet little dog and his four, fuzzy paws.
If you lack one of the things I just listed, or feel emotionally triggered by a loss of some kind as you read this, can you think of something else you can feel grateful for right now? Something that might otherwise go unnoticed? The goal is to stop and give thanks for the little things that might be overlooked on a different day.
If you’re reading this and you’re still having a hard time thinking of what you have to feel grateful for, challenge yourself today by trying a little harder. To paraphrase Danielle LaPorte’s post on similar subject matter, if you’re reading this right now, you have internet access, which means that you also have electricity. That alone is something to be grateful for.
So yes, I’m giving thanks for many things this holiday season. I will also be, per my usual custom, inspiring and annoying my family members by making them talk about what they’re grateful for all day long. Please join us: What are you grateful for today?
For more information about this author, please visit, visit www.lesliecarr.com.
Photo credit: mtsofan
Read More By Guest Blogger on October 3, 2011
Fall is here, and winter is creeping around the corner. We love this time of year because the sun starts to set earlier, and the weather cools down. What does that mean to us? It’s time to get back in the kitchen and get cooking! Using your oven to cook will not only warm up your home, saving you from turning up the heater; it’ll also make your house smell amazing, and you’ll get to eat the “fruits” of your labor.
In fall, Thanksgiving and the upcoming year-end holidays are always in peoples’ minds. We appreciate this special time of year because it’s based around people sitting at a table and enjoying a thoughtfully prepared meal together. Unfortunately, these aren’t always the most vegan-friendly times for people who don’t eat the bird. We’ve heard from a lot of friends that “coming out” to their families as vegetarians or vegans is always a challenge around the holidays, because it seems to require a change in some family food traditions.
Often our family members think most deeply and critically about the food choices of we vegetarians and vegans. We’ve taken a responsibility to show every person at the dinner table that veg. cuisine has all the flavors, textures, and colors that non-veg recipes have. The heat is on, vegans and vegetarians – and you can take it; we know you can! Plus, we’re here to help!
In our experience as vegan cooking instructors, our vegan students often tell us that if they’re invited to a dinner, they’ll feel like they have to bring along a vegan dish to share so they can actually eat, participate, and enjoy themselves. We say: Instead of just bringing a lone vegan item to someone else’s bird-fest, take control, and throw the whole dinner party yourself, providing everyone with lots of incredible vegan food!
Food is the best introduction to a cruelty-free, thoughtful way of life, and there’s no better way to open people’s eyes than by cooking for them. Nine times out of 10, if you invite someone over for dinner, they’ll accept! A home-cooked meal? Yes, please!
Some tips for making an easy-peasy dinner for friends are to do a little planning in advance. If you can prepare a dish, or prep some veggies the day before, then your work will be lighter on the day of your party. Also, don’t be afraid to improvise if an idea or recipe isn’t exactly how you expected it to be. One of the main concepts that we teach is “kitchen confidence,” which allows you to master cooking for any number of people, from two to twelve, or more.
The other tiny tip that may seem obvious is to read a recipe fully before diving in. Some recipes may sneak in a “refrigerate overnight” or “dehydrate for 12 hours,” so reading it all the way through before you get started will be a huge help!
If you’re not comfortable throwing dinner parties, make it easier on yourself by creating dishes that you know well and are familiar with. Don’t try something new and complex for your first dinner party, or this could lead to majorly overwhelmed feelings, and burning.
We just wrote our first cookbook, “Spork-Fed”, which is full of easy recipes that are sure to excite long-time vegans, part-time vegans, or anyone cooking for steadfast meat-eating friends. Use these recipes to win over any guest at your next party!
We want to share this recipe for our Crispy Brown Rice Cakes with Adzuki Beans and Scallions, from “Spork-Fed” because it’s really satisfying and super simple!
If you make this recipe for your friends or family, you’ll feel balanced and energized, and even though it’s pretty simple, it counts in the “comforting foods” category that people crave in the fall months. Another great part is that these cakes won’t add to your “winter coat,” so you can have seconds.
Crispy Brown Rice Cakes with Adzuki Beans and Scallions
Yields about 10-12 (2-inch) cakes
-2 cups water
-1 cup short grain brown rice
-3 tablespoons tamari
-2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar
-2 tablespoons brown rice syrup
-1 teaspoon hot pepper sesame oil
-1/3 cup panko bread crumbs, plus 1 cup for coating patties
-4-5 scallions finely chopped (about 1/3 cup)
-1 (16-ounce) can adzuki beans, (about 1 ¼ cups)
-2 tablespoons neutral tasting high-heat oil
Bring water to a boil in a large (6-quart) pot, and add rice. Cover, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook about 35-40 minutes, or according to package.
Let rice cool slightly, and place in a large bowl. Add tamari, brown rice vinegar, brown rice syrup, and sesame oil. Stir to incorporate all ingredients. Add 1/3 cup bread crumbs, 1/4 cup scallions and adzuki beans. Stir mixture together well, mashing some adzuki beans into mixture with a wooden spoon, until mixture holds together.
Place remaining bread crumbs in a shallow dish and set aside.
Form rice mixture into 2-inch patties.
Heat a large sauté pan, and add high-heat oil. Roll patties in bread crumbs and pat gently to remove excess crumbs.
Cook patties over medium heat for about 3-5 minutes, or until golden. Flip, and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.
Serve warm, and garnish with remaining scallions.
Note: Panko are Japanese-style bread crumbs, and they are a bit more coarse than standard bread crumbs.
For your smarts
Thinking about soaking your own beans? If you’ve been intimidated, just stick with this plan: Cover them with about 3 inches of water in a bowl, soak them for 8-12 hours (or overnight), rinse them, and then cook in a fresh batch of water over low-medium heat for 1-2 hours. Cooking time varies from bean to bean!
For your parts
Brown rice fights colon cancer in more ways than one! It is a concentrated form of fiber AND has a trace mineral in it called selenium, which is known to substantially reduce the risk of colon cancer.
For more delish dishes, visit SporkFoods.com
Read More By Guest Blogger on December 23, 2010
Here is the story of why and how I removed dairy products from my now 7-year-old son’s diet, and one great suggestion on how to make healthy substitutions work in your life and in the lives of your favorite peeps.
My son’s name is Riley, but this story starts with me … no shock there!
In 2007, I removed all dairy products from my personal food intake. Prior to this action, I drank a little milk here and there, and I loved cheese. Abstaining from dairy food was part of my clean eating journey following my cancer diagnosis – not that someone told me to remove it, but as I gravitated towards vegetarianism and then veganism, it naturally went by the wayside.
To my surprise, my chronic sinus and allergy issues also went by the wayside. At first, I wasn’t sure why this phenomenon occurred. Before this, I was on over-the-counter medications and prescription medications daily, and suffered excruciating headaches several days a week. Every week. And it was worse in allergy season. I had also noticed over his short life, that my then 4-year-old son had seasonal allergy issues that mirrored mine. Great.
So, no dairy for me. Time moves on and I start realizing: Hey, no more headaches (I was a bit preoccupied with life and other health issues, so it was not an immediate ah-ha moment). No more sinus issues. Wow. In 2009, I started thinking, hmmm, Riley continues to have seasonal issues with allergies and sinuses, and what he still calls, “head-ecks.” So after much thought on the issue, I declared no more milk for Riley.
Big step.
Like a good mommy, I knew there needed to be a substitute for Riley, so I started making almond milk. In Riley’s mind, not a good thing. In fact, he cried, he whined, he hated it. He would eventually drink it due to the threats of no cartoons. Honestly, he didn’t mind it so much, but he would cry to me with the most scrunched up and whining face saying, “but this isn’t milk, Mommy.”
He was right. It wasn’t milk.
In his short life, he had known breast milk and he had known cow’s milk. Almond milk was by no comparison milk. Now, I make beautifully aromatic and sweet almond milk. But it was in no way milk in his world. How could I be so shortsighted?
Time for a strategy change. Quick mommy, think fast on your feet! And you know what, I did just that.
So I sat down and got eye level with my son, and said, “You know what, Riley, you are absolutely right. This isn’t milk, and I am so sorry for calling it that. Milk comes from mammals, and this sweet drink is made from almonds, so how in the world could it be milk?” He looked at me with big eyes almost doubting my blunt honesty.
I continued, “What would you like to call this drink? It is so white, kind of like snow, don’t you think? And it is not like milk at all, it is more like water, isn’t it?”
He nodded.
“What do you think we should call it then? Snow milk, snow water? How about snowflake water?” I asked with enthusiasm. His eyes lit up, and he smiled. “Yes, I like that, Mommy. It is kinda like water.”
And so it was.
It was amazing that just renaming the drink and not trying to pass it off as an exact substitute totally changed my son’s acceptance of the new drink. It was no longer a negative thing. He was also very pleased to be part of the renaming. It was as if it gave him some ownership.
Consider giving this exercise a try with yourself and with your loved ones who are rejecting some of your lifestyle changes. Don’t try to pass everything off as a one-for-one substitute. Make up new, fun names for foods, drinks or even routines so it is not viewed as a negative in anyone’s mind. Be honest, but simply change the focus!
Christmas Eve came shortly after our renaming powwow and Riley proudly put out some sweet snowflake water for Santa along with some other vegan (raw) goodies. The snowflake water was all gone the next morning – yum! Santa and his reindeer will be happy to know that they will be getting more of that tasty goodness this year too.
Ho-ho-ho!
Tina Pruitt is a healthy living expert and speaker, an International Raw and Living Foods Coach, and a two-time breast cancer survivor. She is living and sharing her passion through her soon-to-launch online healthy living coaching business.
Photo Credit: idovermani
Read More By Terri Cole on December 17, 2010
This time of year can kick up tons of feelings for people based on past experiences. The idealized holiday scenes we are incessantly bombarded with can leave any person exhausted and feeling lack. The commercialization of the holidays with the subtext, “If you don’t give stuff, you don’t really love,” is enough to give me the bah humbugs!
So how to de-stress the holiday mess, as I like to call it? Every year at this time I write a post about how to create more joy and less stress during the holidays. As I evolve, so do my ideas about how to create the experience you seek with ease. So let’s hit the practical, tactical stuff first.
1. Prep for the Mess. If you exchange gifts, make a budget and stick to it. If you need to contribute a dish for parties, choose something that can be prepared the week before and freeze until needed. No shopping on Christmas Eve ever!
2. Choose Gratitude as Your Attitude. All is right in your life right now. Rock that feeling throughout the holidays and beyond! Be un-offendable and mean it.
3. “No” is Not a Four-Letter Word. Do not overcommit this season. Decline parties and time with people who are toxic and rob you of joy. You decide what you have to do. If you were abducted by aliens this second, their party would go on just the same … really.
4. Change Tradition. Your past does not need to dictate your future. Create new traditions, with friends and family, that are meaningful to you and bring you joy!
5. Pay It Forward. Since love is all there is, try to honor that in your actions. Teach children how to love with acts of kindness and generosity instead of things. Expand your idea of gifts to include forgiving a long-held grievance, volunteering your time for those in need and practicing profound personal self-care.
If trying to feel jolly just makes you feel bummed during the holidays, you are in good company. The statistics for holiday depression are extremely high. Even with the desire and ideas to have a happier season, the holidays can carry an emotional punch for those with negative past associations or loss. It somehow seems socially unacceptable to be sad or depressed during the holidays.
If you feel blue this holiday, make a conscious effort to drink mindfully as alcohol is a depressant. Also honor your feelings by setting aside time to write about your experience in a journal and consider attending a Blue Christmas service – all cities have them; just Google. Sometimes the best way to de-stress is to accept where you are temporarily, and give yourself permission and time without judgment to move through it. Naming, honoring and feeling feelings inspire release, making space for something better.
I am wishing you calm and a sense of well-being this holiday season and all yearlong!
Photo Credit: Myki Roventine
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