Author Archives: Mindful Wellness

I was running errands recently, hadn’t eaten for hours, and was starving.  Okay, not really starving, although you couldn’t have convinced my brain otherwise.  My last stop was TJ Maxx and as I waited in line with my stomach rumbling I spotted a package of organic figs.  The last time I had eaten figs was fifteen years ago when I stayed in a house in Tuscany and ate figs right off the tree in the front yard.  Yum!

Well, now I was in TJ Maxx and as I remembered how good they were I decided to grab them.  Sometimes you pick them off a tree, sometimes you pick them off the shelf.  J  I ate one and it tasted delicious!  It immediately reminded me of Fig Newtons.  Now, I probably haven’t had a Fig Newton in over 30 years and I don’t really remember liking them that much, but now I was craving them!

Well, let me re-state that.  I wanted a Fig Newton made without white flour, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated oil (trans fat), and artificial flavors.  If you take time to read labels, junk food becomes much less appealing…

As soon as I got home I googled “paleo” fig newtons and chose a recipe that looked simple and didn’t call for added sweeteners.  I like paleo recipes because they typically use grain-free almond and/or coconut flour rather than using flour made from grains that quickly turn to sugar.  And almond and coconut flour are gluten free and add protein and good fat to the recipe!

Here’s the link:  Paleo Fig Newtons

I’ve made two batches now and love them!  If you try another fig newton recipe you like, let me know!

When I go out to eat and I taste something I like, I always want to see if I can duplicate, or even improve it.  Recently I went to Mod Market.  Have you tried it?  I like it because they use antibiotic-free meat, they have many gluten-free options, and all of their ingredients are GMO free.  It’s healthy fast food.  I ordered a Thai Chicken Salad.  It’s made with mixed greens, cucumber, sliced chicken breast, and the best part…shredded, cooked yams and finely shredded dried coconut.  Yum!  The dressing was a little sweet for me so I dressed it with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

I like a plethora of textures and flavors in my salad to keep it interesting.  I like my rendition of the Thai salad even better!  I shredded a yam with the skin on for added nutrition. (Just scrub it with a vegetable brush, rinse, and pat dry).  I cooked it in coconut oil and oh, the flavor!  I wanted to eat the yam all by itself but I only took a bite (okay two) and restrained myself.  I added it to the salad while it was warm which added to the variety…cool greens, warm, shredded yam.

Instead of mixed greens I used sprouted sweet pea greens that I found at Whole Foods.  I’ve never tasted them before but they were delicious and added a unique flavor.  I used chicken but you can use any protein you’d like; hard boiled eggs, salmon, roast beef, turkey, etc.  And you can add whatever vegetables you happen to have in the fridge.  There are no rules!  I topped it off with a few peas, celery, radishes, cucumber and walnuts.  I always like to add a few nuts or seeds to my salad for the crunch and flavor, and if you roast them in a pan for a few minutes they’re even better.  Oh yes, and some flaked coconut that I put in the food processor to make it the consistency of parmesan cheese.

I’ve made the salad several times and if I don’t happen to have yams or don’t want to wait to cook them I’ve added sliced McIntosh Apples.  I wait all year for McIntosh and Jonathan apples—my favorite!!  They’re only available for a short time in the fall so I eat them every day while I can.

As the weather’s getting cooler, sometimes it’s more appealing to eat something warm like soup rather than a salad.  But adding a warm vegetable or two can be a good way to transition to a fall salad…and enjoy the goodness of both raw and cooked vegetables!

Enjoy!

Eating healthier doesn’t have to be stressful and you don’t have to make a lot of changes all at once.  Changing too much, too quickly, can feel overwhelming and it can be a darn good excuse not to ever want to start at all! But what if you begin with some small changes that aren’t so painful? Just think about making the best choice you can, wherever you are.

Let’s look at your morning cup of coffee. Let’s say you hit Starbucks on your way to work in the morning. I can hear you now...”Don’t mess with my Starbucks!” Just hear me out. Maybe you’re the one who loves, loves, loves, a daily Carmel Macchiato (contains 33, count em’, grams of sugar). How about a White Chocolate Mocha? (59 grams of sugar). Maybe you’re trying to be good, so you order green tea for the beneficial antioxidants. Tazo Green Tea Frappuccino, (63 grams of sugar). Holy moly!

Don’t look at the calories...look at the grams of sugar! And remember...four grams of sugar equals one teaspoon of sugar. So, your Tazo Green Tea with 63 grams of sugar contains just under 16 teaspoons of sugar!!! Yikes--a little coffee with your morning sugar?!

But you love and depend on your coffee in the morning...so now what? Try ordering your coffee black or with steamed half and half, milk, coconut milk, or almond milk (the coconut and almond milk at Starbucks contains sugar so use it sparingly). Or order an espresso or latte but make sure it’s unsweetened. You can sweeten it as much as you want with a little stevia (carry it with you) and sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg on the top if you’d like. If you want something cold, try an iced coffee.

For those of you who haven’t tried stevia, it comes from a plant that is native to Paraguay. It doesn’t raise blood sugar or contain harmful chemicals and it's much sweeter tasting than sugar, so start with a very small amount, taste, and then add more if you’d like it sweeter.

“Well, wait a minute, you’re thinking...I thought you said we weren’t going to make this stressful. You’re trying to take away something I love!” Don’t think about never again being able to have a Carmel Macchiato... but instead of drinking five of them a week, try treating yourself to one on the weekends...or one on Monday morning (that’ll help get you out of bed)!  Eventually you’ll become more aware of how the sugar makes you feel. Try to eat, or in this case drink, healthfully the majority of the time...and treat yourself now and then.

If you drink your coffee at the office, do you ever use those cute little non-dairy creamers? Those little creamers typically contain high fructose corn syrup (worse for you than sugar), partially hydrogenated oil (nasty trans fats), and other synthetic ingredients. Not so cute after all, huh? It’s a much better choice to have organic half and half or milk, or unsweetened almond, coconut, or cashew milk.

Give it a try, and let me know what you think!

Spring is here and temperatures are warming up.  Finally!  That means sun, fun, and well…fewer clothes.  It won’t be long before it’ll be time to put away long sleeves and jackets and get out the sleeveless tops and shorts.  That may sound exciting to some of you but not if you’re unhappy with the way your body looks and have been strategically hiding those extra pounds under long pants, big shirts, and loose jackets!

If this describes you, what do you do?  Well, one option may be to move to a colder climate.  🙂

Or, you could start a drastic diet, give up everything you love to eat, and spend long hours sweating at the gym.  In a sense, you would be punishing yourself for the extra pounds you’ve gained and whipping yourself into shape.  You may be trying to psyche yourself up for it right now.  But first you should probably finish the ice cream, because it’s going to be a very long time before you can eat anything even remotely good.

How appealing does that sound?  Not!

It takes a lot of mental energy to get motivated for drastic change like that and it may work for some people, but it sounds like torture to me!  What if you just eased in instead?  It would be like waking up naturally in the morning and stretching lazily, as opposed to getting jolted out of a good dream by an obnoxious, loud alarm.  I know what I’d choose!

The process of losing weight doesn’t have to be painful.  And if it is painful you probably aren’t going to stick with it very long anyway.  If you ease into eating healthfully with some changes that are doable, it will take all of the stress out and you’re much more likely to stay the course.  It needs to be a choice you’re making rather than something you feel forced to do.  And it’s all about changing how you think about the whole process.  It’s your body and you’re the only one who’s in control of it.  You get to decide.

Join me next time and we’ll look at some small changes you can begin to make.

I know it’s silly, but I love Valentine's Day.  A day that celebrates love and is all about chocolate and flowers? It really doesn’t get much better than that, does it? I think my love for Valentine’s Day started when I was a senior in high school and worked half days in the kindergarten class at Baker Elementary. On Valentine’s Day I had so much fun helping those cute little ones decorate their valentine bags and exchange valentines. I even came home with a little bag of valentines they gave to me. It was so sweet. It reminded me of when I was little and would take extra time to carefully choose the perfect valentine for everyone—especially the boys I had a crush on. But I digress…  🙂

Let’s talk about chocolate!

Who would have ever thought that something as delicious as chocolate would be considered a superfood? Here are just some of the benefits of dark chocolate:

• High in powerful antioxidants
• Contains soluble fiber
• Packed with important minerals including magnesium, copper, iron, potassium, phosphorus, and zinc.
• Is heart protective and can lower blood pressure and cholesterol
• Improves intestinal flora
• Improves exercise endurance

Pretty impressive, huh? Now this isn’t just any chocolate. We’re talking about organic dark chocolate that is 70% or higher in cocoa (also known as cacao, which refers to the plant). I prefer 80% and higher because the higher percent of cocoa, the lower the content of sugar. My personal favorites are Vivani 100% Organic Dark Chocolate 85% Cocoa and Equal Exchange Organic Panama Extra Dark 80% Cacao. They are both very rich and may take a little getting used to if you normally eat sweeter chocolate, but once you get used to the stronger taste you’ll love it! Try eating a small piece, letting it slowly melt in your mouth, and savoring the flavor. And then? Well, have another piece of course! J

Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!

I think many of us view the New Year as a brand new start—a time to put into practice the things we have been intending to do, not having time to do, and feeling guilty about not doing. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to wake up on January 1^st and begin our lives anew…like getting to the gym five times a week for an hour when we haven’t even seen the place in five years. Or dropping fifteen pounds in the month of January after having been on a food-eating frenzy over the holidays, right up to and including December 31st!

It all sounds stressful to me. Not that working out, eating healthier, and dropping some extra pounds isn’t a really good idea—but I like to ease into things a little more gently – like learning to ride a bike with training wheels rather than just jumping on the bike and pedaling until you crash into the bushes up ahead. That’s actually how I learned to ride a bike (and how I’ve learned a few other things in my life). J I survived some repeated head-on crashes and I eventually learned, but I suffered a lot of cuts and bruises I could have avoided!

Sometimes you need a little help—a little support.

If you’ve gotten off track with your health and weight loss goals and you want some help to get you where you want to go, I’ll make it as painless as possible--I promise. If you aren’t ready to give up a certain food or your wine with dinner…don’t worry. We’ll work around it. If you stick with me I’ll get you back on track and moving in the right direction…painlessly. Best of all I’ll help you change your relationship with food along the way so you don’t gain those extra pounds back after you lose them.

I love a good sale, don’t you? So, I’ll even sweeten the deal. Call me to schedule your appointment by the end of January and I’ll take 50% off your first appointment.

In our intensive 90-minute appointment we’ll dig deep and discuss your goals, challenges, health history, lifestyle habits, and health concerns. We’ll create a personalized weight loss and wellness plan and even if you decide not to come back for another appointment you’ll walk out the door with steps you can put into place immediately that will put you on a path to reaching your goals.

C’mon, let’s do this thing!

One of my closest friends (who will forever remain anonymous!) told me he ate two pumpkin pies on Thanksgiving. Really? Now, I don’t want to be the one to ruin anyone’s fun, but isn’t that maybe a little excessive? I’ll admit I’ve over-eaten food that tasted so good I didn’t want to stop either. And if you happen to be eating quickly, you don’t give your brain time to register the whole experience, so you want more because you don’t feel satisfied.

And sometimes when we take that second or third (or even the first) piece of pie or cookie or whatever we’re eating, we feel guilty about it so we gulp it down. So no one sees? Or so it doesn’t count? How silly is that?!  🙂

Just imagine this for a minute…

You cut a healthy-sized piece of pie, place it on a pretty plate, and sit down in a comfortable chair (no, you can’t do this standing in front of the refrigerator in the kitchen). Before you take a bite, take a couple of deep, slow breaths so you’re feeling relaxed and calm. It’s just you and the pie—no TV, e-mail, or Facebook. Before you take a bite, fully take in the aroma. Can you smell the spices? As you take your first bite and chew, notice the texture. Is it creamy or chewy? Is it tart or sweet? You probably can’t take in all of this information if you’re only chewing three times and swallowing, right? Take time to chew it thoroughly and savor every bite. Take your time. There’s no hurry—no guilt.

Now I know when you’re at a holiday dinner or party you’ll be busy socializing, but you can still take a couple of breaths, slow down, and enjoy every bite. You’ll be amazed how much more satisfying your food will be.

Try it out and let me know!

You know there's something you need to do but you just can't seem to make yourself dive in!  You probably feel a little guilty about it because you know what you should be doing, and you don't feel very good about yourself when you think about it.  So it seems best (and the least painful) to tuck it away in the back of your mind and not think about it.  But of course you think about it.  Dang it!

If what you're procrastinating and trying not to think about happens to be losing weight, changing your eating habits, and/or exercising, it can seem like such a long road to get on track--in fact almost insurmountable!

Besides, the holidays are here and this is no time to start anyway, right?  There are too many gatherings, celebrations, and traditions...and all of that yummy food and drink!  So, you probably better eat all you can now because right after Christmas--well maybe right after the New Year--you're in.  Cut off.  Life as you know it is over.  Payback time.  No more sugar, alcohol, bread...nothing that is even remotely appetizing or satisfying.

Because you won't be able to have anything good when you start your diet you might as well get crazy now, huh?  Maybe a little "reckless abandon" is in order.  Of course sometimes at the end of that free-for-all is an additional ten pounds--ten pounds more than the fifteen you originally wanted to lose.  Oops.

I think of this kind of reasoning as "all or none."  It's extreme thinking in both directions.  What if you walk somewhere in the middle?  You know holiday festivities are near, so what if you do a little damage control?  I'm not talking about over-exercising or starving yourself the day of the party.  But what if you took a step or two towards taking care of yourself?  Maybe begin by eating a high protein breakfast and having coffee with cream and a little stevia instead of a daily mocha?

You can actually get through the holidays without gaining a pound.  What?!

Stick with me--I'll show you how.  🙂  Until next time...

One of the things I do that helps keep me on track with eating healthfully and never feeling deprived is a little “creative substitution.”

Last week I was craving a meal my mom used to fix when I was young. It was one of those easy dinners she’d throw together when my dad was out of town because it wasn’t something he would be excited about eating. Actually, I don’t think many people would be excited about eating this (except me and maybe my siblings!) but here it is:

Hot dogs, sauerkraut, and mashed potatoes with some buttered breadcrumbs sprinkled on top.

I know, it sounds a little crazy, but for some reason I thought about it and it was exactly what I wanted. Now, those of you who know me know there’s no way I’m going to eat a hotdog—not even at a Rockies game! Hotdogs contain questionable meat with antibiotics, hormones, nitrates, nitrites, and corn syrup. No thanks. And although mashed potatoes taste good, potatoes are high on the glycemic index and quickly turn to sugar in the body.

So I created a healthier version.

I found 100% grass-fed hot dogs made without hormones, antibiotics, nitrates or sugar. (I used Teton Waters brand). They tasted great! Instead of mashed potatoes I made mashed cauliflower (cauliflower chopped and cooked in one cup of chicken broth with garlic, sea salt, and pepper—then mixed in a food processor and topped with organic butter or ghee). Delicious! Sauerkraut is made with cabbage, a cruciferous, cancer-fighting vegetable, and it’s fermented-- which makes it a natural probiotic that’s great for the gut and the immune system. I heated the sauerkraut in a little olive oil, sautéed some finely chopped pecans in ghee to sprinkle on the top, and voila’! I had the meal I was craving—just as tasty as I remembered, but much healthier!

You can get creative and find healthier substitutions for almost anything you’re craving! Sometimes you just want the real thing. But if you want to eat a little healthier and not feel deprived…creative substitution works every time!

I mean just the thought of having to give up something I love makes me want to run the other direction--holding onto my chocolate with all my might as I quickly stuff it in my mouth.

When I think of a diet, I think of pain--and having to give up everything I love to eat. It’s like having all of my favorite foods on the table right in front of me, but I can’t eat any of it. No thank you, I’ll just have a side salad with a little vinegar on it. Really? If that isn’t torture, I don’t know what is.

Many of us torture ourselves like that again and again. No wonder we put off starting a diet! I’ll start right after the party Saturday night...well wait, I forgot about the wedding in two weeks--better wait until that’s over...oh, there’s no way I can start this thing with that dinner coming up!

I’ll bet you can relate, huh? It feels like all or none. Either you’re on the diet, or you’re off. And who in the heck would want to jump back on the deprivation train? Pleasure or pain...let me think...

What if you actually manage to stay on your diet long enough to drop some weight? By the end of it you’re more than sick of the food you’ve been forcing yourself to eat every day and you’re dying to eat all of the foods you’ve been craving. There’s a reason 98% of everyone who goes on a diet gains it back (and then some) within a year!

But what if you could do it another way? What if you could actually learn to eat in a way that was nourishing for your body and pleasurable at the same time? Bet you can’t wait to hear more!