Recipe: Toaster Cakes

This recipe comes from a student in my Nutrition Counseling course at Plymouth State University's Eating Disorder Institute. I haven't made the recipe yet but it sounds like a fun breakfast option for the morning of 4th of July! It's a perfect time of year to incorporate berries. The anti-oxidant richness of the vibrant berries are an awesome addition at breakfast any time. If you want to learn more about the anti-oxidant benefits of berries, check out this article by Web MD.

This is my favorite, most frequently made recipe. I love it because it's easy, versitile, freezable and portable.It is also endlessly adaptable and full of protein. Enjoy!

Toaster Cakes

1 large carton of liquid egg product (15 egg equivelency)
3 cups old fashioned style oatmeal
cinnamon and sweetener to taste.
Optional: blueberries, cubed bosc pears or canned pumpkin (add 4-6 oz. per serving into the batter before baking).
Optional: 1/2 cup powdered milk.

Combine all ingredients and pour into a greased 9x13in. pan. Bake for 30 minutes at 375.

Cool and cut into six equal servings. When the cakes are cooled, they can be cut through the middle to make them toaster-sized. The fruit free squares hold together best while being toasted.

They are delicious toasted and served with jam, butter or my favorite, Lebany yogurt spread.

**This is an adaptation of Kay Sheppard's recipe for Breakfast loaf (www.kaysheppard.com).

#ENDED Twitter Chat with Dr Deah Recap

Thank you to all the participants for our Twitter Chat last night! We helped to ring in a body positive summer by participating with Dr Deah-Expressive Arts Therapist and Health at Every Size Expert .

Missed the chat? We saved a recap here for you! 

Q1. What does the term expressive therapy mean? What are some examples?

@dr_deah It’s a form of treatment using a multi-modal approach to facilitate healing, insight, behavioral changes.
@jekjess  It's using various approaches - especially creative ones - to achieve therapeutic goals in ways that talk sometimes can't 
@dr_deah Modalities used include art, drama, music, movement, imagery, storytelling,writing. 
@MarciRD Is based on the assumption that people can heal through use of imagination and the various forms of creative expression. 

Q2.1 What are some of the benefits to incorporating expressive therapy into eating disorder treatment?

@jekjess Client can express what they can't put words to/are too ashamed to say, client can discover talents 

@MarciRD My clients are the most creative people I've ever met. ED stifles creativity, so important to bring that creative self out! 

@dr_deah: Many of our associations & patterns w/food & nurturing occur @ a preverbal level 

@MarshaHudnallWe find that expressive therapy helps people access feelings they often can't otherwise 

• 2.2 Why are the Ex. Arts Therapies helpful for this population?

 @jekjess Client can express what they cant put words to/are too ashamed to say, client can discover talents 

@dr_deah body image issues are visually stimulated because messages are delivered via the media. Using art, theater & dance we “fight fire w/ fire” by using the medium that delivers the message 
@MarciRD  Creativity can be a means to externalize and separate from the eating disorder.  
@rosiemolinary  I love that the creative arts allow for a partnership between body, mind, + soul, a partnership that may have been alienated w/ED - 
@bigpictureRD significant to use creative process & energy for positive reasons, motivation 

@ScritchfieldRD: one good belly laugh is as effective as 10 minutes of meditation (which is also good) may be better than meds

3. Often people feel vulnerable creating art, music, dance or other means of self-expression. What might help break through the intimidation?

@dr_deah It’s about material generated not how it looks, which of course is the point of body image therapy in the first place 

@rosiemolinary empower them to realize that they are doing it for themselves, not to worry about perfect but process and revelation 

@dr_deah: A competent E.A. Therapist sets up sessions w/the premise that there’s no right or wrong in how one expresses 

@dr_deah Improv activities are spontaneous not enough time to get self conscious 

• 4. In what ways can a RD use Ex. Arts Therapy Activities to achieve their treatment goals?

@MarciRD  I like them to draw out what hunger/fullness means to them. 
@ScritchfieldRD: I have done vision boards in session. We cut out words from magazines - put together a me board 
@MarciRD I encourage my clients to use color and pictures for expressing emotions for before, during, after a meal
@rosiemolinary Fill basket w/random things (rock, rubber duck, etc) +have client pick something out of basket + tell story w/ relevant connection 
@jekjess  I think I would have LOVED to do an art "food journal" regarding feelings after eating etc, visualize
@dr_deah I have also worked with clients to identify what the real "monster is" in their lives that they are attributing to the food   
@MarciRD A4 I have a client who recently asked me to record a mindful meditation track on her phone to listen to while I'm away.  
@ MyDietitian I use mountain image, help them to identify the "peak" of having a positive eating experience, what that means for them/their body 
@dr_deah I use future fortune telling symbolism sometimes too, eg a crystal ball as an image to play with 
@MarciRD A4 This book has been really inspiring, easily adapted to nutrition work: http://t.co/6K9x0z4W #endED - 
@dr_deah For more art therapy ideas I post at http://t.co/RD4CO2Ka 

5. What is HAES?  

@dr_deah: HAES is a health based paradigm that starts with accepting and respecting the diversity of body shapes and sizes 
dr_deah It also promotes individually appropriate & enjoyable life enhancing physical activity  As opposed to exercise that is focused on a goal of weight loss 
@MarciRD: HAES is positive approach to taking care of ourselves. Does away w/ comparison & shame & truly supports well-being  
@ElizabethEats:  I feel like i say this everyday but: you can tell NOTHING about a person from how they look. why we NEED #HAES 
@dr_deah:  Many people start dieting because their natural body size and shape is not what society deems as beautiful. 

@MarciRD: Q5 Stands for Health At Every Size- check out their website http://t.co/hYkFWpnR #endED   
@HAEScoach: What is #HAES? #endED” nutrition + activity + self + fun + curiousity + discovery = healthy mind AND body lifelong #endED -  

5.2 What are common misperceptions about a HAES approach?

@MarciRD  People think it gives the green light to binge eat and not exercise. They forget the key word- HEALTH at every size

@bigpictureRD So many misconceptions! That it's not health focused, & gives permission to be out of control 

@dr_deah We know Weight cycling often results in weight gain and increased eating disordered behaviors  
@ScritchfieldRD misconception about #HAES people are lazy, don't want to take care of themselves, that they "could" be thinner, thinness=health

6. Why is it important to emphasize HAES as a society and as a therapist? 

@MarshaHudnall  If we want a healthy society, we need to stop all the nonsense about thinness and focus on health.#HAES guides to that 

@MarciRD We need to work on changing the paradigm of health = thinness. We have the power to affect our personal circles too!

@ScritchfieldRD We won't really have a movement to embracing#HAES until we can deal with weight bias and stigma. 

@MyDietitian A6 to prevent doing any harm. Help combat negative self-talk. create a reality of feeling good at any size

6.1 How can we stay HAES focused this summer? 

@dr_deah Try 2 avoid engaging in comparing bodies and using negative body talk
@dr_deah Pay attention to your cues of hunger appetite and satiety Move your body for pleasure and health not weight loss

@MarshaHudnallTips for a #HAES focused summer -- get outdoors and have fun! #ended  

@MarciRD Encourage clients, friends, family to embrace life/fun NOW...not in 10 lbs... 
@ dr_deah I have great resources and links on my website http://t.co/blb4ciag   
@MarciRD There are so many fun ways to be active in the summer- volleyball, kayaking, frisbee, walks, hikes. Have fun and get outside!
@dr_deah So Try starting from a place of love& self-acceptance it makes it easier 2 take better care of ourselves#ended 

Thank you for everyone that joined us! You can see more tweets if you search #endED   
 You can learn more about Dr. Deah by visiting her website or her Facebook page. Mark your calenders for our next chat; July 25th where we will be talking with @ednmaryland !

How Do I Know if I'm Hungry?

How do you know you're hungry? I know it sounds like an odd question but I'm always amazed at the answers I get to this seemingly simple question. Think about it a moment. Imagine I just asked you "how do you know you're hungry?" What would you say?  

I talk about hunger a fair amount. Certainly more than the average person since I happen to be a nutrition therapist for a living. :) And perhaps more than other dietitians because I use an intuitive eating approach to my work. That means I work with my clients to help them connect to the process of eating when hungry, stopping when full, and learning to manage their emotions without using food. Perhaps it sounds simple but it can be a surprisingly complex process!

There are many things in life that can derail us from eating in response to a physical cue for hunger: not being able to identify hunger, eating based on the time of day, habits, chaotic schedules, emotions, and even dieting. I'm sure you could add to the list.

In an ideal world, we'd eat in response to a hunger cue the majority of the time. Note: not 100% of the time. Sometimes we eat for fun and social reasons. But hopefully most of our eating is done because our bodies and brains need more fuel. So my purpose in writing this blog post is to help you become more aware of your personal cues of hunger. Believe it or not, your hunger cues are just as individual as you are! And learning your own personal cues for hunger is the first step to eating intuitively.

So, here is your homework assignment. Get out a sheet of paper and write the following:

#ENDED Twitter Chat with Dr. Deah

Help us ring in a body positive summer by participating in our #EndED twitter chat on Wednesday, June 27th 2012. I'm honored that Dr. Deah will be joining us to talk about body image, self/size acceptance and Expressive Arts Therapies.

Dr. Deah Schwartz has more than 30 years of experience using therapeutic expressive arts in psychiatric hospitals, residential and day treatment programs with clients struggling with Eating Disorders and Body Dissatisfaction. Deah was also a professor at San Francisco State University for ten years and coordinated the Therapeutic Recreation Degree program.She is the author of the size acceptance syndicated blog, “Tasty Morsels”, co-author of Leftovers, DVD/Workbook Set, a multimodality resource for therapists and educators, and has a private practice.In all aspects of Dr. Deah’s work, she strives to provide assistance in preventing and treating eating disorders by switching from a weight based to health based paradigm, defining one’s own standard of beauty, challenging the discrimination that exists towards anyone that doesn't fit the media's expectation of perfection, and finding ways to make peace with one’s body. You can learn more about Dr. Deah by visiting her website or her Facebook page

These are the questions we'll be discussing:

1. What does the term expressive therapy mean? What are some examples?

2.1 What are some of the benefits to incorporating expressive therapy into eating disorder treatment?

  2.2 Why are the Ex. Arts Therapies helpful for this population?

3. Often people feel vulnereable creating art, music, dance or other means of self-expression. What might help break through the intimidation?

4. In what ways can a RD use Ex. Arts Therapy Activities to achieve their treatment goals?

5. What is HAES? 

5.2 What are common misperceptions about a HAES approach?

6. Why is it important to emphasize HAES as a society and as a therapist? 

6.1 How can we stay HAES focused this summer? 

 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. Be sure to follow @MarciRD and @Dr_Deah

We hope you can join us on the 27th at 8:30 EST. Feel free to RSVP on Facebook as well!