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Posted under "Nutrition Bites"

27 Jan You Are How You Eat…

This recent post on the NPR health blog (“Psychoanalyst Calls for Eating with Culinary Mindfulness”) reminded me of one of the most important things I’ve learned: paying attention to what you eat doesn’t stop when you fill your plate.

How you eat what’s on that plate can have a pretty big impact on how you experience the meal and how you digest it. Here are three things I do to encourage myself and others to eat more mindfully.

1. Chew your food.

This one is simple (actually, it’s not that simple). Digestion starts in your mouth (actually, digestion starts with the nose and eyes as smelling food and seeing food stimulates our parasympathetic nervous system, which includes all of the receptors and hormonal reactions around digestion). The more you chew your food and break it down in your mouth, the more efficiently your stomach can do its job, which over simply put is to neutralize pathogens and reduce your meal to liquid so it can easily pass into and through the small intestine where nutrients are whisked away. When we swallow giant chunks of food, our stomach acid has much more to deal with and can’t do its job quite as well. Consequence: pathogens pass through and need to be taken care of by other organs who have enough to do and nutrients are less effectively assimilated.

So, chewing more, chewing our food close to a pulp is not just great for digestion. It also allows you to really taste your food. Taste buds in different parts of the mouth receive different flavors: bitter, sour, salty, sweet and umami (Japanese for savoriness). When we gulp food down in whole bites and don’t thoroughly chew our food, letting all five types of taste buds explore the bite, we don’t allow ourselves to fully taste our food’s complexities. Wine geeks aficionados can probably relate: it’s the difference between chugging a class and looking, swirling, smelling, sipping and letting the mouth explore the wine to find front, middle and back notes, etc. Chewing and really tasting can transform your experience of a meal. Beware: If you typically chomp once and swallow twice (to force the knot of food down your gullet), chewing your food can be a real chore and even make your jaw sore from the exercise.

2. Use chop sticks.

Another version of this is to put down your utensils between bites. I don’t know about you, but I’m a habitual shoveler. Always the first to start and first to finish a meal, usually in record time, my fork is a blur swinging from plate to mouth and back again. If I’m at all stressed or worked up about something, it’s even worse. In fact, plowing through a meal can add to my stress and sense of harriedness (yeah, not totally sure that’s a word, but you get what I mean).

It is soooo hard for me to eat slowly, but I know slowing down makes a huuuuuge difference in how well I digest my food (dribbles vs a deluge for my system to deal with – see “chewing” above), how much I enjoy the meal (I really get to taste and experience it when I don’t Hoover it up) and how much I eat (eating slowly gives my parasympathetic nervous system time to alert my brain that food is here, so calm down, and to recognize and signal when I’m truly satisfied).

When I’m really feeling stressed and speedy, I reach for chop sticks, which immediately slows down (and decreases the volume of) what I shovel into my face. I also have to focus on what I’m doing in order to grab or scoop a bite, so I pay more attention to the food than the computer in front of me or the papers on my desk. Because of the modest effort chop sticks require (for me), I also tend to wait longer before diving back in (if you’re a proficient chop stick wielder, this may not hold the same incentive, but you can make it. Choosing chops sticks could be a symbolic reminder to eat more slowly). All of this adds up to greater mindfulness. I am focused on what I’m doing, my attention less likely to split. I slow down and enjoy my experience more. I make a choice each time I take a bite – am I still hungry, do I want another bite, what exactly do I want next?

Putting my fork or spoon down between bites feels more contrived than the natural slowness chopsticks give me, but this also helps slow the train down. (You can apply the same one-bite-at-a-time spirit to other situations, such as that bag of chips. Try taking one at a time and completely eating it – chew, chew, chew – before reaching for another.)

3. When you eat, eat.

Make having a meal a complete activity and not part of multi-tasking (she writes, having just finished lunch at her desk while editing this post… oy). This is easier when you have someone to eat with; a meal is a great time to check in with friends and loved ones (how was your day?), to share the experience of the meal (how is your food?), to be completely present, to stay in the “rest and digest” parasympathetic mode and out of the “fight or flight” sympathetic nervous system mode.

Eating alone is a little different. It’s a lot harder to turn off your brain, to focus on this one thing instead of pairing the meal with another activity, such as catching up on emails or watching television. It’s hard but so worth it to simplify what our mind is focused on, to give your overactive, multi-tasking self a break.

I’m going out to dinner tonight. The restaurant will be jumping, wine will flow, there may even be some flirting. Paying attention to my food by savoring and extravagantly chewing each bite, sharing my experience of each course, putting down the chopsticks between bites and taking my time to eat the meal will all help me stay mindful during dinner and keep my parasympathetic nervous system engaged.

Bon Appetit.

17 Dec 18 Reasons to Love Healthy Holiday Treats…

And, the food is back!

Last weekend I had a great opportunity to work with fabulous personal chef Zoe Phillips and beloved neighborhood champion for all things food and art (especially the art of food), 18 Reasons.

18 Reasons is a San Francisco non-profit in the Mission district that programs innovative, though-provoking and fun food and art focused events that deepen our relationship to food and each other, and inspire collaborative action toward creating a just and sustainable food system. From picking workshops to cookbook book clubs, sumptious dinners and food art exhibits, 18 Reasons is building community and connection. I heart them very much and was thrilled to have an opportunity to be on the other side of the table this time, teaching a class with a talented friend.

After weeks of recipe development and testing, Zoe and I, with the assistance of Rosie, program director for 18 Reasons, taught a healthy holiday treats cooking class for families. (By the way, we had the best attendees, including two teenage girls who blew us away with their knowledge of and commitment to healthy eating. Totally. Inspiring.)

The two-hour class was hands-on, focused on three easy recipes and introduced several alternative ingredients for the families to experiment with, including brown rice syrup (my current sweetener of choice), almond flour, coconut flour, tapioca flour, chia seeds and arrowroot powder. We played with sweet and spicy spice blends; cookies, cakes and candied corn; candied fruits and good ol’ dark chocolate … all in a teeny tiny kitchen.

One of the recipes we shared with our crew of cooksters was a chocolate, cherry, almond biscotti. Inspired by and adapted from Elana‘s Double Chocolate Mocha Biscotti, a recipe I booked marked long, long ago but never had time to play with until now. These biscotti are vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free and, yet, still thoroughly delightful. They’re also a wonderful introduction to two of my favorite baking ingredients: almond meal/flour and brown rice syrup (see below for more info). The mix of spices gives these biscotti a subtle holiday feel, and the dried cherries combined with the dark chocolate deliver little bursts of sweet and tart. A light, satisfying treat, perfect for nibbling with a cup of tea on a cold night or to finish off a hearty meal.

Chocolate Cherry Almond Biscotti

1 1/4 C almond meal or almond flour, scooped and leveled (not packed)
1 T arrowroot powder
1/4 t salt
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1/8 t ginger
1/4 C brown rice syrup
¼ C almonds (chopped medium-fine)
¼ C dark chocolate (chopped fine)
¼ C dried cherries (roughly chopped)

optional dipping toppings:

melted dark or milk chocolate, for dipping
diced candied dried fruit
unsweetened coconut flakes
chopped pistachios or pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine almond flour, arrowroot powder, salt, baking soda and spices in a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Add brown rice syrup and process until ingredients come together in a ball. Meanwhile, place chocolate, almonds and cherries in a large bowl. When “dough” is ready, remove from processor and add to large bowl. With hands, knead add-ins into dough. When thoroughly combined, shape into a long log. The dough will expand somewhat, but not greatly, so make the log wider or thinner depending on how long you want the biscotti (you’ll be cutting it on the bias, so a fat log will yield long cookies, whereas a long thin log will give you two- to three-bite sized cookies).

Bake for 15 minutes, remove from oven and cool completely (~ 1 hour).

Preheat oven again to 300 degrees. When the log is cool, use a serrated bread knife to slice each log on the bias into ½-inch pieces (less than ½ inch will make for a very, very crisp cookies). It’s important to use a sharp serrated knife to get the cleanest cut (on the flip side, a dull knife will give you lots of broken bits that you’ll have to eat right there, so do what you think is best). Turn pieces on their side (so they lay flat) and spread them out evenly on same parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for ~12 minutes (if cut greater than 1/2 inch, they’ll need for the second bake, but only a minute or two). When finished, remove from oven and let cool again (I like mine just a little bit soft when cooled, so I remove them promptly at 12 minutes). The biscotti will still be soft hot from the oven, but will crisp as they cool.

Once completely cooled, either store in an airtight container, or dip in melted chocolate and roll in nuts, coconut or other toppings to take them over the top (place on parchment paper lined tray or plate to dry – putting in the refrigerator speeds this up). Don’t tell, but I’m jazzing some up to give as gifts this year – it’s a treat I can feel good about giving friends and family. Shhh!

Notes: Almond flour/meal is made from finely ground almonds (sometimes the almonds are blanched first). It is easy to find at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. Brown rice syrup is an alternative to baking with refined sugar. This excerpt from an article on Examiner.com (Philadelphia edition) this past May succinctly explains thewhere, what, who and how of brown rice syrup:

Brown rice syrup is produced from brown rice that has been ground and cooked… [it] is about half as sweet as sugar and tastes like not-too-sweet butterscotch or caramel. Sweeteners like brown rice syrup made from malted grains retain at least some of the nutrients found in the whole grain as well as complex sugars which take longer to digest, smoothing out blood sugar levels. Two tablespoons of brown rice syrup has 150 calories and 22 grams of sugar but also provides 3% of your daily requirement of sodium and potassium. The glycemic index of brown rice syrup has been reported to be a low 25 compared to 64 for white sugar and 96 for pure glucose.

You can find brown rice syrup at Whole Foods.

22 Sep How to Absolutely Guarantee Nutritional … Failure!

If you want to improve how you eat, there is no dearth of advice on television, in bookstores, online or in your mother’s kitchen. There are numerous lists of “super-foods” and formulas for how many grams of protein, carbs and fats you need in every meal. But, let’s be honest, it can be overwhelming to keep track of everything everyone thinks you should do on a daily basis for basic healthy eating success. So, I thought maybe a little change of perspective would help.

Here are seven things you can do during an average day to guarantee healthy eating failure (hey, that’s one for every day of the week!). That’s right. If you want to eat nutritionally bankrupt food, if you want to over-eat, if you want to deplete your immune system and exhaust your nervous system, just follow these simple steps:

1. Don’t plan ahead. Don’t think about what you’re going to eat for the day or the next couple of meals – especially if you’ll be at work and your office is surrounded by high-calorie, high-fat fast food options, or you’ll be running errands all day and far from your fridge, or if you’ve got plans for back to back to back meals out. Whatever you do, don’t think ahead about bringing or choosing healthier options!

2. Let yourself get good and starving. There’s really no better way to ensure overeating and reaching for the fattiest, most calorie-dense, processed foods than waiting too long to eat; so long that you’re too hungry to think straight to make healthy choices OR to slow down enough that your hormones and brain can catch up and register what you’re shoveling into your mouth.

3. Don’t keep healthy snacks near by. If your schedule is inconsistent and you can’t easily plan ahead for where and what you’re going to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, or if there’s a chance you could get stuck at the office or in your car for long periods of time, whatever you do, don’t stock healthy, satisfying snacks in your desk, glove box or purse. This way, when you need fuel between real meals, you can reach for your boss’ candy jar or grab another soda or cup of coffee, string yourself out on sugar and caffeine and come crashing down a few hours later. SO. MUCH. FUN!

4. Be the supplier. Keep a stock of cookies and candy on your kitchen counter or in an overflowing candy dish at your desk, readily available for anyone – you, your office mates, your family – who’s hungry, stressed out, procrastinating, bored or distracted to dip into again and again and again. That way, with minimal effort, you and the people around you can ride a choppy sugar-induced energy rollercoaster all day long, which is sure to deplete your immune system, disrupt your sleep, spoil your appetite and load on extra calories.

5. Don’t take time to breathe. If you never stop to breathe – between meetings and errands, over meals, before or after difficult situations, etc. – you can be sure that stress will wind you up and spin you out straight to the candy jar, the happy hour fried cheese sticks, the extra glass or two (or three) of booze, insomnia, mood swings… do I really need to keep listing the consequences of not managing stress?

6. Do not, under any circumstances, drink enough water. Let yourself get dehydrated. Really dehydrated. This will disrupt your digestion, give you a false sense of hunger (which is pretty insatiable until you finally eat or drink something hydrating), make you cranky and generally unpleasant to be around.

7. Do not even think about moving your body. Don’t take breaks in your workday to stretch out the kinks of computer gazing and typing. Don’t get outside for fresh air everyday. Don’t take the stairs, don’t walk an extra block, don’t ride your bike. Don’t go for a run or to a yoga class. We all know that consistent exercise can lead to other healthy habits – it doesn’t just move lymph to help your immune system function more effectively, it also makes our bodies crave healthy food (and vice versa) – so …sit there, watch more television and grab another beer or cookie while you’re at it.

There you have it. If you really want to reinforce habits of eating unhealthy – i.e. highly processed, low-nutrient and high-calorie foods, eating too much, eating when not truly hungry – well, this guide should certainly help.