Hot Tamales & Halloween

 Did you read my blog title and think you were going to get a list of do's and don'ts for Halloween? I tricked you! What I would like to do is give you a little homework. While you are out at a Halloween party, trick-or-treating, or passing out candy become an observer. I'll share with you a personal experience to explain what I mean.

My absolute favorite candy is Hot Tamales. I love love love them. And I'm almost always in the mood to eat them. In fact, I could eat a jumbo box of Hot Tamales fairly easily. However, there is something that I learned a few years ago that surprised me. Hot Tamale #22 tastes nothing like Hot Tamale #2. Turns out our taste buds become saturated as we eat. That's why the first few bites of anything always taste more amazing than the last few bites! I love Michelle May's advice to eat the very best bites of your meal first, rather than saving it for last. It will actually taste better and feel more satisfying if you do it that way.

So rather than giving yourself ridiculous rules around eating (or not eating) your Halloween treats, pay attention to how they taste to you. While it may be difficult, notice the physical sensations (how does it taste, how is your stomach feeling, etc.) and do your best to refrain from judgement. Turns out judgement impairs our ability to make healthful choices. So just stick with the objective observations and see what you learn.

I'd love to hear about your Halloween celebrations! Come back and report.

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Earn Your Mac N' Cheese Tonight

Earn your mac n’ cheese tonight.

You have probably read something like this and other similar obnoxious advertisements at your local gym. And it annoys me every time. Can you imagine telling a child that they have to run 5 laps around the back yard to earn dinner? NO! Of course not. So why do we do that to ourselves? We often think in terms of:


30 min of biking for 2 pieces of chocolate

You can’t blame yourself for this type of thinking. It’s taught to you in just about every women’s magazine out there. But what would happen if we flipped our thinking?


2 pieces of chocolate for 30 min of biking

While I’m being a bit playful here, I’m serious about the principle. We have to start thinking about fueling our bodies for our busy days and physical activity rather than burning off our food and the associated guilt from eating. From a psychological and emotional perspective it is totally unproductive because it fuels the notion that eating is bad and is a sin that must be “atoned for.”

Why don’t you try turning your food/exercise equation on its head and let me know how it goes!

At the moment I have a book project I’m developing (in my brain for now). It’s geared towards helping people repair their relationship with exercise. If I was to write such a book, what would you want covered?

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Recipe: Pad Thai

The Very-Thai Pad Thai

This post was written by Utchima Sriprachya-anunt, a dietetic intern at the Tufts Medical Center, Boston. You can follow her blog (which unfortunately, is in Thai) at utchimama.wordpress.com.

Every time I tell people I come from Thailand, the next thing that always follows is “Ooh I love Pad Thai. Can you make Pad Thai for me?” As a Thai and a girl who dreams of being a chef, I don't want to make a "normal" Pad Thai, but a very heavenly authentic one. So I called my auntie, who happens to be the Julia Child of the family, and asked her for the secret Pad Thai recipe! I guarantee you that your tastbuds will be dancing with this Pad Thai recipe. It’s also fast and easy to make as well. The sauce is seasoned primarily with shallots, garlic, chilli, and tamarind juice (which you can buy at a local Asian market)--all the good stuff! No need to rely on the canned or jarred version of the sauce at all! You can find all the ingredients at the Asian grocery store. Feel free to substitute tofu (or other kind of meat) for shrimp, or even add any vegetables that you like to make your dietitian proud. :)

The Very-Thai Pad Thai
Source: Utchi’s auntie

Sauce:
Shallot 3-4 bulbs
Garlic 3-4 cloves
Dried chilli 1-3 (go for 3 if you feel adventurous)
Tamarind juice 4 Tbsp
Palm sugar 3 Tbsp (or brown sugar if you can’t find)
Fish sauce (adjusted to taste)--> can replaced with
light soy sauce for vegetarian/vegan

Noodles:
Rice noodles (soak in water for about 20 minutes) 1 package
Bean sprouts 2 cups
Chives 1/2 cup
Either Shrimp, Chicken or Tofu
2 Eggs

Directions
1) Blend garlic, shallot, and dried chilli in the blender.

2) Mix together fish sauce (or light soy), tamarind juice, and palm sugar in a small bowl until homogenous.

3) Heat oil in the wok pan over medium heat. Add garlic/shallot mixture and stir fried until fragrant (about 3 minutes). Lower the heat to simmer and add the fish sauce mixture. Stir till well combined.

4) Add shrimp/chicken to the sauce mixture. Cook for 3 minutes or until shrimp/chicken started to change color. Make some room in the middle of the pan and add eggs. Keep stirring and cooking the eggs are until almost done.

5) Add noodle and stir until everything is all coated with the sauce. Add bean sprouts and chives. (If used tofu, add tofu in this step so that the tofu won’t break into small pieces when you cook).

6) Crank up the heat to high then stir fry everything until mixed well.

7) Serve with a squeeze of lime juice and ground peanuts.

Serves 4-6.

And now you can make a very delicious authentic Pad Thai, without having to be Thai:)

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#endED Twitter Chat Re-Cap: Michelle May

Thanks to all that joined our #endED Twitter chat this Wednesday with Michelle May MD (@EatWhatYouLove) as we talked about mindful eating. For those of you that missed it, here were some of the "highlights."

(If you don't know about Twitter, the @ symbol is the way a username is signified on Twitter. The # before a word makes the word searchable in Twitter.)

1a. How do you define mindful eating?
@EatWhatYouLove Mindful eating is present moment awareness. How do I feel? How does this taste? How do I feel as I eat? How do I feel when I’m done?#ended

@EatWhatYouLove #Mindfuleating is eating with intention and attention – eating with purpose and awareness. #ended

1b. Some people think that dieting is “mindful.” What do you think?
@EatWhatYouLove: Mindful eating becomes more natural with practice. Unlike dieting which just gets harder! #endED
@ScritchfieldRD Dieting is deprivation (negative). Mindful eating holds food accountable to bring pleasure (positive self care)
@EatWhatYouLove Mindful eating is about being in charge; dieting is about being in control. #ended
@EatWhatYouLove: Diets cause you to focus on what and how much to eat - not why and how you eat. Those are the missing link! #ended

2 People sometimes resist mindful eating; how do you introduce this concept? What is a simple way to help someone become more mindful about their eating?
@EatWhatYouLove Remember though, you are not asking “Am I hungry?” to decide if you're allowed to eat but to understand why you want to.
@EatWhatYouLove Mindlessness forces us to re-act. Mindfulness allows us to choose our response (response-ability)
EatWhatYouLove Unlike mindless eating, mindful eating brings more pleasure – and I get to feel good during AND after eating. #ended

3 How does mindful eating help with yoyo dieting and disordered eating?
@HWellsRD Mindful eating helps you be more in tune with your body's needs, which helps decrease the urge to indulge in yo-yo patterns.
@EatWhatYouLove Yoyo dieting and disordered eating are habits; we can only change habits we’re aware of. With awareness comes choice
@Allie_RD AI tend to associate emotional eating with inner battles, mindful eating with being present in the moment #endED

4 Can mindful eating help when there are specific medical issues like diabetes?
@Allie_RD: I believe mindful eating skills are necessary regardless of medical diagnosis! #ended
@HWellsRD: Absolutely! My clients who focus more on mindful eating are more successful with disease management.
@EatWhatYouLove Mindful eating helps us notice symptoms, side effects, problems AND reinforces positive feelings when we make supportive choices. #ended
@EatWhatYouLove check out our #Diabetes and Mindful Eating blog:diabetesandmindfuleating.com 

5 How do you get people to buy into the concept of mindful eating?
@jaresashasteen: I never want to focus on a number, but instead how my body feels and looks. #ended
@eatwhatyoulove always says "eat mindfully, live vibrantly!" #endED
@Allie_RD reinforcement of the all the positives associated with being mindful and aware #endED
@EatWhatYouLove Mindful eating is just a path to more mindful, vibrant living. #ended

About #endED
The goal of #endED is to bring anyone and everyone together who cares about ending eating disorders. My hope is to end the silence and myths about eating disorders, create a place for honest and informed discussion, while offering hope and encouragement. The next chat will be in January, but in the meantime I'll still be tweeting frequently with the #endED hashtag so you can follow recovery-positive discussions on eating disorders by searching Twitter.

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#endED Twitter Chat with Michelle May

If I said it once, I'll say it again: I am STOKED about tomorrow night's twitter chat. We have the pleasure of chatting with Michelle May, author of "Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat: Break the Eat, Repent, Repeat Cycle" and creator of "Amy I Hungry?". Michelle is a motivational speaker and guru of mindful eating. So we'll be discussing principles of mindful eating as well as how that relates to eating disorder recovery. HOWEVER, you don't have to have an eating disorder to benefit from this fantastic chat.

If you're new to Twitter, here's a primer on how to participate. It's simple, go to www.tweetchat.com and enter the keyword "endED" and it will appear as if you're in a chat room. Watch the tweets stream live and join in on the conversation.

Here are the questions we'll be chatting about tomorrow evening, 8:30 EST.

1a. How do you define mindful eating?
1b. Some people think that dieting is “mindful.” What do you think?
2a. People sometimes resist mindful eating; how do you introduce this concept?
2b. What is a simple way to help someone become more mindful about their eating?
3 How does mindful eating help with yoyo dieting and disordered eating?
4 Can mindful eating help when there are specific medical issues like diabetes?
5 How do you get people to buy into the concept of mindful eating?

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Fat Talk Free Week: Who's With Me?

 

This week is Fat Talk Free Week. Yup, you've read that right folks. The one week out of the year that is dedicated to banning fat talk and body bashing. We women have come a long way over the past couple hundred years. But we are stuck in the dark ages when it comes to body image. My hope is that women everywhere will start to realize that they are worth far more than their physical appearance. You have more to offer the world than slim thighs, a flat tummy, and perfect breasts. You have creativity, passion, enthusiasm, compassion, and brains!

So why don't you start this week by banning fat talk and encouraging your friends and family members to do the same?! This link may help you get started.

Here are some other self-esteem boosters you can try:

1. Develop a list of 3 things that you can talk to your girlfriends about that DON'T have to do with physical appearance.

2. Spend time reading positive body image blogs rather than stalking celebrities. This blog post should give you some good resources.

3. Buy "Beautiful You" one of my favorite positive body image books.

4. List 10 things you offer the world that have nothing to do with physical appearance.

One thing women struggle with is what to do/say if another women is engaging in "fat talk" around you. Here are a few suggestions. 

*Have you ever noticed how guys don't sit around talking about how fat they are? Why do you think that is?

*Ya know, I read this super interesting article on (fill in the blank). What do you think about (fill in the blank)?

*Man, when I start criticizing my body I feel even worse about myself.

What suggestions do you have? How can we cure the "fat talk" epidemic? I'd like to end the culture of body bashing. Who's with me?

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Lentil & Eggplant Chili Mole

I love talking food with my clients. Recently, one of my clients was raving about a fabulous recipe she made. I have yet to try the dish, but it sounds so amazing (and her review so convincing) I thought I would pass it along to all of you. Don’t fear the long ingredient list. It’s simple stuff you probably have in your pantry already. And heck, if you cook like me, it’s a snap without measuring. Enjoy!

Lentil & Eggplant Chili Mole

Serves 6, active time 15 minutes, total time 1 hour

Ingredients
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small onion, cut into medium dice
1 red bell pepper, cut into medium dice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon mild chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup dried green lentils, washed
4 cups vegetable broth
One (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 pounds eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 teaspoons agave nectar or pure maple syrup
Cilantro, for garnish (optional)

Directions
1. Preheat a 4-quart pot over medium-high heat. Sauté the onions and bell pepper in the oil until translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute, using nonstick cooking spray or a splash of water if it’s sticking. Mix in the chili powder, cumin, coriander, oregano, cinnamon, and salt. Add n cup of the vegetable broth and the cocoa powder, and cook for about 1 more minute while stirring to dissolve the cocoa.

2. Add the lentils, remaining vegetable broth, diced tomatoes, and eggplant. Cover the pot and bring the mixture to a boil, keeping a close eye on it. Once it’s boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and cook for about 40 minutes, until the lentils are tender and the eggplant is soft. Mix in the agave. Taste for salt and seasoning

3. Let the chili sit for 10 minutes or so for maximum flavor. Serve garnished with cilantro, if you like.
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Product No Case: Lundberg Rice Cakes

A few months ago, someone was telling me about Lundberg brown rice cakes and how amazing they are. Now, my level of skepticism climbs pretty darn high when someone says delicious and rice cake in the same sentence. Rice cakes speak of dieting food in my book, but I am always on the lookout for tasty whole grain snacks. So I gave them a try…

 And then I spit it out and threw them away. Ew! These rice cakes are the very reason healthy eating gets a bad rap (tasteless cardboard) and why faithful dieters can’t “stay on the bandwagon.” Ick, ick, ick.

I promise that it is possible to eat nutritiously and deliciously. Check out my last product show case, where I shared with you my favorite whole grain cracker. In the mean time, you can toss your brown rice cakes away.

*In an attempt to help you sort through the advertising hype, each month I write about products that tout themselves as healthy and delicious but I don't think fit the bill. Do you have any products that you think fit this category? Let me know!

Picture Source

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The War on Obesity: A War Worth Fighting?

A few days after the FNCE (the American Dietetic Association’s annual conference) dust has settled, I still find my emotions riled up about the very first session I attended. John Foreyt, renowned obesity research and Linda Bacon, Health At Every Size (HAES) clinical researcher and advocate stood head to head to duke out their views on the “obesity epidemic.” John Foreyt staunchly defended his position that the war on obesity is a war worth fighting and Linda Bacon asserted that this war we are waging is ineffective, misguided, and even harmful.

I cannot escape the fact that I write this post from a very biased point of view. I simply cannot give a neutral, objective review of the debate because my feet stand so strongly in the HAES camp. I use a non-weight focused approach in my nutrition counseling and I am a certified Intuitive Eating (IE) Counselor (which means I teach my clients how to respond to internal cues of hunger/fullness rather than dieting).

So, I questioned whether to write this post at all, knowing I don’t currently have access to a recording of the debate and my memory seems to have only held on to the pieces of Dr. Foreyt’s arguments that I found uniformed, inaccurate, and downright offensive. So despite all of this, I sit here writing my two cents, which are heavily influenced by my flawed memory, passion for a non-weight focused approach to health, and personal experience in my own clinical work (and in my own life).

I cannot adequately re-cap the 90 minute debate. But I will recount my top 5 assertions that Dr. Foreyt made that I whole-heartily disagree with. If you are interested in learning more about HAES and Linda Bacon’s perspective, keep reading. I’ll share some fantastic resources at the end of the post.

Top 5 Unscientific, Unsupported, Inaccurate Assertions made by Dr. Foreyt:
1. There are no negative side effects to yo-yo dieting and weight regain (except “some bad feelings like depression for some people.”)

If Dr. Foreyt had properly done his homework, he would have known that dieting is the #1 PREDICTOR OF FUTURE WEIGHT GAIN! See here and here for two examples. And I think it’s a bit crazy for him to undermine the negative mental health consequences that are a by-product of weight cycling. Anxiety, depression, and chronic self-esteem issues are serious concerns. He treated them like nothing more than a pesky skin irritation, when in fact mental health problems are like a deadly form of cancer; challenging a person’s ability to live with a quality of life everyone deserves. We cannot minimize the effects of re-bound weight gain and mental health challenges.

2. Some of your clients will be failures and some will be successes. That’s no reason to stop trying to diet and lose weight. Just keep trying.
Whoa, hold it right there. I cannot stomach the notion that anyone I work with is a failure. But I suppose if there is only one way to measure success that might be the case. If there was a chemotherapy treatment that created more cancer than it eliminated, would we keep using it? No. So why do we keep using the same methods for weight control when the research shows that a weight-focused approach leads to more weight gain? I have learned something magical in my work. When I take the focus off the scale it allows me and my clients to work on core issues which affect body weight, food choices, and self-esteem.

3. Intuitive Eating is a cause of today’s obesity epidemic. Intuitive Eating doesn’t work.
#1 I about jumped out of my chair when Dr. Foreyt stated this. How on earth can he say that Intuitive Eating contributes to obesity when virtually no one in the US practices it?!? Not practicing Intuitive Eating is THE REASON most people struggle with food and many carry more weight than they naturally would.
#2 The principles of IE are often misconstrued or improperly applied. Dr. Foreyt, have you read the book or the research on IE? It is not eating with reckless abandon. No, quite the opposite. It is eating what you want in response to physical cues for hunger/fullness, while attending to emotional needs without using food. I cannot fathom how this can lead to increased rates of obesity.
#3Please see the IE website, where there is research showing the effectiveness of IE.

4. Dieting does work.
Unfortunately, every long-term clinical trial aimed at reducing body weight by placing clients on a specific diet that I’m aware of results in the lovely “J-Curve.” The J-Curve illustrates rapid weight loss, followed by creeping weight gain over time. The LOOK AHEAD trial, led by Dr. Foreyt is an interesting example. Like all obesity research, interventions like a healthier/reduced calorie diet and exercise protocols are given. Consequently, weight decreases but a whole slew of other parameters improve (ie blood sugar, fitness levels, cardiovascular health). What's really fascinating is that the decrease in weight is sometimes quite small, like less than 10 pounds. But the researchers always cite the improved parameters secondary to weight loss, rather than a natural consequence of eating healthier and moving more. Why the focus on weight loss?

 
Many people love to cite the National Weight Control Registry as an example of permanent/lasting weight loss. Dr. Bacon informed us that weight loss must only be maintained for 6 months in order to be added to the registry, with no clear way to have your name removed if you have re-gained your weight. Dr. Bacon shared a story of a student whose name is on the registry, but has since gained back more weight than she lost and hasn’t been able to remove her name from the list. The weight loss research we have shows the majority of lost weight gained after two years. So the National Weight Control Registry may not be a reliable measure of successful "losers."

5. It’s better to be skinny than fat.
Again, Dr. Foreyt needs to check the research because it actually shows that the life expectancy for a person who is categorically overweight but exercises regularly is longer than someone of a “normal weight” and doesn’t exercise. Having dedicated my career to working with eating disorders, I can promise that it is better to be healthy inside and out regardless of your body weight. Being thin is absolutely no guarantee than you are healthier or “better” by any standards.

Please let me make myself clear. I am an advocate for HEALTH. This means I am an advocate of:
1. Eating a balanced, nutritious diet that includes all foods
2. Eating when hungry and stopping when full MOST of the time
3. Learning to cope with emotions without using food
4. Learning to eat in a way that leaves you feeling energized and satisfied
5. Eating by your own rules and no one else’s
6. Incorporating exercise in a way that keeps your body strong (this can only be done if you are eating well first)
7. Eating guilt and stress free
8. Enjoying and finding pleasure in what you eat and how you move your body

And I believe that this is possible at any weight. I stand with Linda Bacon when she says that “fat” is not the problem, it’s the war on fat that is making us sicker and more miserable.

Finishing remarks:

My regret is that the session left a divided group more divided. If we are going to figure out how to create a nation of healthier people, those of us in the eating disorder field have got to come together and truly dialog with those in the obesity field. And until then, the war will certainly continue.

This is a controversial topic. What are your thoughts?

Linda Bacon's FNCE Handout

Validity of Claims Made in Weight Management Journals

Weight Science: Evaluating the Evidence for a Paradigm Shift

*Picture Source

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Product Showcase: Ak Mak Crackers

Alright, a few days ago I tore to shreds the poor brown rice cake in my product no case post. But I promised to share with you a whole grain cracker that I simply love.

It is the yummy and inexpensive Ak Mak Cracker! They have been around for ages and are available at just about every store. Yes, they are dry and crunchy (so that may be a turn off to some people). But the sesame seed flavor is super yummy.

I don’t mind snacking on them alone but find them to be a much more satisfying snack when eaten:
1. with peanut butter
2. with hummus
3. with turkey and cheese

I think you get the idea. I prefer them when eaten with some protein and fat to add flavor and balance for a more satisfying/longer lasting snack. You can even crumble on salads or soup too.

Do you love Ak Mak crackers? What’s your favorite way to eat them?

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