Chicken Pasta Salad with Nectarines and Grapes
Serves 4
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 12 oz)
1 cup uncooked pasta shells
½ cup fat free mayonnaise
½ cup plain non fat yogurt
2 TBS fresh lime juice (or bottled)
1 TBS packed light brown sugar
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp ground ginger
3 nectarines, coarsely chopped (if you can’t find nectarines use peaches, frozen peaches will work, don’t use canned)
1 cup green grapes (or red if you prefer)
Lettuce leaves (optional)
1) Spray medium size skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Heat over medium heat until hot. Add chicken; cook 3 minutes on each side or until chicken is no longer pink in center. Remove from skillet, refrigerate 10 minutes. Cut chicken into cubes.
2) Cook pasta according to package directions, omit salt or fat, when done, drain and rinse with cold water and drain again.
3) Combine mayonnaise, yogurt, lime juice, brown sugar, mustard and ginger in small bowl. Add chicken, pasta, nectarines and grapes, toss well until coated with dressing. Serve on lettuce if desired.
Calories: 280
Total Fat: 3 g
Saturated Fat: 1 g
Protein :19 g
Carbohydrate: 48 g
Cholesterol: 35 mg
Dietary Fiber: 2 g
Sodium: 305 mg
From Diabetic Cooking May/June 2010
Information to support your lifestyle changes. Nutritious recipes and sometimes a laugh or two.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Internal Spring Cleaning
Let’s see, it is early May as I write this blog on “spring cleaning”, the calendar says it is spring and there is snow falling, it is cold, I am crabby and guess what, as I go to publish this, on May 24, it is cold, gray and raining and will probably snow at some point today. Since this is Montana we all know summer arrives July 5 and we still have plenty of cold and snow to look forward to, I am giving myself some leeway when I write about “Spring”.
I would consider this time of year up there with New Year’s and making resolutions. I started thinking about spring cleaning when one of the morning TV news shows was talking about it, after I stopped laughing, said, “yeah, right” and changed the channel, I thought about it being an opportunity to do an internal toxic waste cleanup. OK, so maybe it isn’t THAT bad. But, think about it, many people do annual spring cleaning, the weather warms up, you open up the house, essentially muck things out and when you are done, the house is clean, maybe you have thrown things out that you don’t need and doesn’t it feel good to have a clean house? This basically goes back to the April 5 blog about taking better care of your car than your body.
Let’s start at the beginning. You are already engaged in the lifestyle balance program. You have taken steps to eat healthier, be more physically active and make lifestyle changes to improve your quality of life. Feeling good? Do you have a sense of pride for your accomplishments? I don’t like “to should” on people, but you should be proud of what you are doing, it is hard work and the rewards are many.
Use this time as an opportunity to take a personal inventory. You know, while you are cleaning your house, garage, storage shed, basement, you do have time to think about things. Put your mind to good use, a mind is a terrible thing to waste.
What sorts of things in your life need improvement? Oh, the lists we can make.
· What is working in your life?
· What isn’t working?
· What you would like to change?
· How can you work towards those changes?
Start small, don’t overwhelm yourself and keep things reasonable.
Use “I” statements. This makes you take ownership of what you are doing and accept responsibility. It will also help you to find viable solutions. Are you in charge or are “they” in charge of you?
· “I decided to not walk today; it was snowing”,
as opposed to
· “It was too snowy to walk today”.
I made the decision to not walk; the snow didn’t decide for me, I take ownership of my decision.
Create a “vision statement” for yourself. What’s that you ask? A vision statement is an outline of where you want to be, where you see yourself going, about the future, your goals. Your vision statement should inspire you and give you direction.
· Put it in writing where you can see it and be motivated daily.
· It will serve as a reminder to you to keep your eye on the prize.
· Concentrate on using positive words. Focus on what you will achieve, focus not on the number of pounds you will lose but on how you will choose to eat and exercise. Using positive words will help YOU stay positive.
· And, as I will continue to remind you, be kind to yourself.
Clean out your closet, literally. If your clothing size dropped, box up those big clothes and keep them out of sight or get rid of them, a great incentive to maintain your weight loss. You may want to keep one pair of those big jeans out to serve as a reminder of how far you have come.
Are you an emotional eater? Pay attention to what triggers you to eat and learn alternatives to assuaging your feelings. Try to delay giving in to the impulse to eat something that will make you feel worse about yourself. Write down your stress triggers or emotional triggers that cause you to eat things that are not good for you. Keep a journal and pay attention to patterns. You do have the power to fix them. You might even have the proverbial “ah ha” moment.
Two bits of advice I found that I think are simply brilliant:
· “When we crave food while in a state of emotional distress, we are really craving emotional comfort”. from sparkpeople.com
· “Never just quit; always substitute. Bad habits fill needs, so find good alternatives to them. “Excerpted from:
http://www.oprah.com/spirit/How-to-Stop-Your-Negative-Thinking?cnn=yes
Think about this, if you are giving yourself food as a reward, you are really harming yourself, so, to truly give yourself a reward try doing something that will offer you comfort in a non-destructive way:
· Walk
· Call a friend
· Take a soothing bubble bath,
· Go for a bike ride,
· Try a cup of herbal tea
· Drink water with lemon or lime
· Reach for a piece of fruit
Back to internal housecleaning…. Make a list, make it reasonable, and sit down with a friend who wants to do some spring cleaning too. The buddy system is great support. You can check your progress in 6 months when New Year’s rolls around.
I would consider this time of year up there with New Year’s and making resolutions. I started thinking about spring cleaning when one of the morning TV news shows was talking about it, after I stopped laughing, said, “yeah, right” and changed the channel, I thought about it being an opportunity to do an internal toxic waste cleanup. OK, so maybe it isn’t THAT bad. But, think about it, many people do annual spring cleaning, the weather warms up, you open up the house, essentially muck things out and when you are done, the house is clean, maybe you have thrown things out that you don’t need and doesn’t it feel good to have a clean house? This basically goes back to the April 5 blog about taking better care of your car than your body.
Let’s start at the beginning. You are already engaged in the lifestyle balance program. You have taken steps to eat healthier, be more physically active and make lifestyle changes to improve your quality of life. Feeling good? Do you have a sense of pride for your accomplishments? I don’t like “to should” on people, but you should be proud of what you are doing, it is hard work and the rewards are many.
Use this time as an opportunity to take a personal inventory. You know, while you are cleaning your house, garage, storage shed, basement, you do have time to think about things. Put your mind to good use, a mind is a terrible thing to waste.
What sorts of things in your life need improvement? Oh, the lists we can make.
· What is working in your life?
· What isn’t working?
· What you would like to change?
· How can you work towards those changes?
Start small, don’t overwhelm yourself and keep things reasonable.
Use “I” statements. This makes you take ownership of what you are doing and accept responsibility. It will also help you to find viable solutions. Are you in charge or are “they” in charge of you?
· “I decided to not walk today; it was snowing”,
as opposed to
· “It was too snowy to walk today”.
I made the decision to not walk; the snow didn’t decide for me, I take ownership of my decision.
Create a “vision statement” for yourself. What’s that you ask? A vision statement is an outline of where you want to be, where you see yourself going, about the future, your goals. Your vision statement should inspire you and give you direction.
· Put it in writing where you can see it and be motivated daily.
· It will serve as a reminder to you to keep your eye on the prize.
· Concentrate on using positive words. Focus on what you will achieve, focus not on the number of pounds you will lose but on how you will choose to eat and exercise. Using positive words will help YOU stay positive.
· And, as I will continue to remind you, be kind to yourself.
Clean out your closet, literally. If your clothing size dropped, box up those big clothes and keep them out of sight or get rid of them, a great incentive to maintain your weight loss. You may want to keep one pair of those big jeans out to serve as a reminder of how far you have come.
Are you an emotional eater? Pay attention to what triggers you to eat and learn alternatives to assuaging your feelings. Try to delay giving in to the impulse to eat something that will make you feel worse about yourself. Write down your stress triggers or emotional triggers that cause you to eat things that are not good for you. Keep a journal and pay attention to patterns. You do have the power to fix them. You might even have the proverbial “ah ha” moment.
Two bits of advice I found that I think are simply brilliant:
· “When we crave food while in a state of emotional distress, we are really craving emotional comfort”. from sparkpeople.com
· “Never just quit; always substitute. Bad habits fill needs, so find good alternatives to them. “Excerpted from:
http://www.oprah.com/spirit/How-to-Stop-Your-Negative-Thinking?cnn=yes
Think about this, if you are giving yourself food as a reward, you are really harming yourself, so, to truly give yourself a reward try doing something that will offer you comfort in a non-destructive way:
· Walk
· Call a friend
· Take a soothing bubble bath,
· Go for a bike ride,
· Try a cup of herbal tea
· Drink water with lemon or lime
· Reach for a piece of fruit
Back to internal housecleaning…. Make a list, make it reasonable, and sit down with a friend who wants to do some spring cleaning too. The buddy system is great support. You can check your progress in 6 months when New Year’s rolls around.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Honey and Spice Pears
Serves 4; 2 pear halves and 1 heaping tablespoon sauce per serving
1 cup cranberry juice or light cranberry juice cocktail (or try pomegranate juice)
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground allspice
4 small firm pears (about 6 oz each), peeled, halved and cored
2 TBS sweetened dried cherries or sweetened dried cranberries
1TBS plus 1 ½ tsp honey
In a large nonstick skillet, stir together the cranberry juice, cinnamon and allspice. Add the pears and cherries. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook, covered for 5 minutes or until the pears are just tender crisp. Transfer the pears with the cut side down to a serving plate. Leave the liquid in the skillet.
Cook the liquid for 2 ½-3 minutes or until reduced to a scant ¼ cup, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Stir in honey. Spoon over the pears. Let cool completely, about 20 minutes. Thurn the pears several times to coat with the sauce, or transfer the pears to plates and top with the sauce.
For an added treat, serve with a dollop of fat free whipped topping.
Nutrients per serving: (whipped topping not included)
Calories: 126
Total fat: 0.5 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 2 mg
Carbohydrates: 32 g
Total sugars: 28 g
Protein: 2 g
Recipe from American Heart Association “Love Your Heart”
1 cup cranberry juice or light cranberry juice cocktail (or try pomegranate juice)
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground allspice
4 small firm pears (about 6 oz each), peeled, halved and cored
2 TBS sweetened dried cherries or sweetened dried cranberries
1TBS plus 1 ½ tsp honey
In a large nonstick skillet, stir together the cranberry juice, cinnamon and allspice. Add the pears and cherries. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook, covered for 5 minutes or until the pears are just tender crisp. Transfer the pears with the cut side down to a serving plate. Leave the liquid in the skillet.
Cook the liquid for 2 ½-3 minutes or until reduced to a scant ¼ cup, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Stir in honey. Spoon over the pears. Let cool completely, about 20 minutes. Thurn the pears several times to coat with the sauce, or transfer the pears to plates and top with the sauce.
For an added treat, serve with a dollop of fat free whipped topping.
Nutrients per serving: (whipped topping not included)
Calories: 126
Total fat: 0.5 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 2 mg
Carbohydrates: 32 g
Total sugars: 28 g
Protein: 2 g
Recipe from American Heart Association “Love Your Heart”
Making Sense of Scents
Where to begin? Well, let me tell you my inspiration. There is a small restaurant, to use the term loosely, in my building at work. I was coming in this morning, and the smell was pretty good. It reminded me of pancakes with butter, maple syrup and bacon, or perhaps little maple flavored sausages. It smelled wonderful. I generally don’t eat the above mentioned foods very often either, but boy, it did smell good. I got to my desk and made a cup of red tea. It would have to suffice. As I was sipping my tea looking for ideas for a blog article I thought “smells and how they tantalize and tempt us”. So, thus begins this week’s blog.
There is so much information out about smells and eating. I think the best information so far has been from food marketing sites on the web. I found some published medical journal articles as well. I am pretty convinced that the marketing companies figured out what scientists and medical professionals are trying to explain. That is, scents sell. Makes sense, sorry, couldn’t resist. There are so many articles on the smart marketing of Cinnabon. Who can resist the smell on cinnamon wafting through the mall or the airport? Well, I can. I love the smell, and am probably the only person on the planet who doesn’t have to stop and buy one, just in case you are curious, I don’t like the frosting, I prefer them plain and luckily for me, I have never timed it when they have just come out of the oven waiting to be frosted. So now you know.
Some Olfactory Information
· Cinnabon – heavenly cinnamon smell may be synthetic in some places-are they really baking the buns in the mall or airport?
· Kentucky Fried Chicken – may be using existing smells or synthetic smells to enhance what is there.
· Exxon On The Run – fresh brewed coffee scent is piped in to the brewing kiosks.
· A small family run chain on the East Coast keeps oven running so customers smell baked goods. They roast almonds and have a fan blowing the aroma throughout the store.
· Realtors will recommend baking cookies, using cinnamon or coffee before prospective buyers come to look at your home.
· Rolls Royce had the scent of their popular (among those with BIG checking accounts) 1965 Silver Cloud car reproduced and sprays it under the seats to recreate that “Roller” smell. Among those of you reading this, have any of you experienced the Rolls Royce, in any way, shape or form? Just curious.
· Samsung is working on a seductive aroma to enhance technological sales.
· A Dutch company reproduced the scent of fresh cut grass for tennis balls.
As you can see, scent marketing has lots of opportunity to lure us into purchasing products without thinking about it (except for purchasing a Rolls Royce).
Does anyone remember the Seinfeld episode when George worked for the Yankees and Steinbrenner ordered him to pick up a calzone? You can read it all here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Calzone Steinbrenner smells the calzone aroma wafting through the vents and thinks George is holding out on him (that’s the short version, it was pretty funny and being from The Big Apple, I could taste the calzone).
I learned that there are cultural biases that one must be aware of, at least if you are marketing scents for a living. I was suddenly reminded of an encounter in grade school when a classmate had eaten a garlic and onion sandwich for lunch, you know, grade schoolers don’t hold their comments, needless to say, she was standing at the back of the line when we had to line up. Peeyew. For a tribe in Mali (West Africa) fried onions rubbed on the body is used as a perfume. Move over Chanel No. 5!
What one person finds delightful someone else may not. I love the smell of a fresh peeled orange. I was walking with my step-sister one day and peeled an orange and shoved it under her nose to smell it and she screamed, she doesn’t like that smell at all. She will eat an orange though. The smell of cooked shrimp makes me gag.
“In my search for answers, I spoke to Lucy Adler, Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Ungerer & Company, a global fragrance and flavor house, who shed some light on my question. “We feel certain emotions when we smell something, because that particular scent is connected to a memory, for example, our first love or a wonderful vacation”, Adler explains. “This does not happen consciously. Our scent receptors are directly connected to the limbic system, a part of the brain that is considered the home of deep-seated emotions.” This means, you feel an emotional reaction that you’re not even fully aware of, when you pick up a certain scent. Of course we are able to consciously recognize a lot of scents and are able to name them, but this happens way after they have evoked an emotional reaction. What makes a scent experience so fascinating, says Adler is that your emotional reaction to a scent is a combination of the universal, cultural and personal, drawing from both our own vast personal memory bank and a physiologically predictable mechanism.”
From http://67.227.131.98/2009/03/31/scents-and-beauty---a-cultural-perspective
More olfactory information
· Aromatherapy uses plant oils to promote physical and psychological well being.
· Anosmia is the loss of one’s sense of smell.
· Phantosmia is an olfactory hallucination
· Famous movie line - “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.” Kilgore (Robert Duvall-Apocalypse Now).
As I write this, I am seeing grass getting a little green, (not covered by spring snow). Time to think about planting flowers, the deer will thank you. Go take a walk and enjoy the fresh smells of flowers and fresh spring air and avoid the pitfalls of piped in aromas of foods that tempt and corrupt us.
There is so much information out about smells and eating. I think the best information so far has been from food marketing sites on the web. I found some published medical journal articles as well. I am pretty convinced that the marketing companies figured out what scientists and medical professionals are trying to explain. That is, scents sell. Makes sense, sorry, couldn’t resist. There are so many articles on the smart marketing of Cinnabon. Who can resist the smell on cinnamon wafting through the mall or the airport? Well, I can. I love the smell, and am probably the only person on the planet who doesn’t have to stop and buy one, just in case you are curious, I don’t like the frosting, I prefer them plain and luckily for me, I have never timed it when they have just come out of the oven waiting to be frosted. So now you know.
Some Olfactory Information
· Cinnabon – heavenly cinnamon smell may be synthetic in some places-are they really baking the buns in the mall or airport?
· Kentucky Fried Chicken – may be using existing smells or synthetic smells to enhance what is there.
· Exxon On The Run – fresh brewed coffee scent is piped in to the brewing kiosks.
· A small family run chain on the East Coast keeps oven running so customers smell baked goods. They roast almonds and have a fan blowing the aroma throughout the store.
· Realtors will recommend baking cookies, using cinnamon or coffee before prospective buyers come to look at your home.
· Rolls Royce had the scent of their popular (among those with BIG checking accounts) 1965 Silver Cloud car reproduced and sprays it under the seats to recreate that “Roller” smell. Among those of you reading this, have any of you experienced the Rolls Royce, in any way, shape or form? Just curious.
· Samsung is working on a seductive aroma to enhance technological sales.
· A Dutch company reproduced the scent of fresh cut grass for tennis balls.
As you can see, scent marketing has lots of opportunity to lure us into purchasing products without thinking about it (except for purchasing a Rolls Royce).
Does anyone remember the Seinfeld episode when George worked for the Yankees and Steinbrenner ordered him to pick up a calzone? You can read it all here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Calzone Steinbrenner smells the calzone aroma wafting through the vents and thinks George is holding out on him (that’s the short version, it was pretty funny and being from The Big Apple, I could taste the calzone).
I learned that there are cultural biases that one must be aware of, at least if you are marketing scents for a living. I was suddenly reminded of an encounter in grade school when a classmate had eaten a garlic and onion sandwich for lunch, you know, grade schoolers don’t hold their comments, needless to say, she was standing at the back of the line when we had to line up. Peeyew. For a tribe in Mali (West Africa) fried onions rubbed on the body is used as a perfume. Move over Chanel No. 5!
What one person finds delightful someone else may not. I love the smell of a fresh peeled orange. I was walking with my step-sister one day and peeled an orange and shoved it under her nose to smell it and she screamed, she doesn’t like that smell at all. She will eat an orange though. The smell of cooked shrimp makes me gag.
“In my search for answers, I spoke to Lucy Adler, Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Ungerer & Company, a global fragrance and flavor house, who shed some light on my question. “We feel certain emotions when we smell something, because that particular scent is connected to a memory, for example, our first love or a wonderful vacation”, Adler explains. “This does not happen consciously. Our scent receptors are directly connected to the limbic system, a part of the brain that is considered the home of deep-seated emotions.” This means, you feel an emotional reaction that you’re not even fully aware of, when you pick up a certain scent. Of course we are able to consciously recognize a lot of scents and are able to name them, but this happens way after they have evoked an emotional reaction. What makes a scent experience so fascinating, says Adler is that your emotional reaction to a scent is a combination of the universal, cultural and personal, drawing from both our own vast personal memory bank and a physiologically predictable mechanism.”
From http://67.227.131.98/2009/03/31/scents-and-beauty---a-cultural-perspective
More olfactory information
· Aromatherapy uses plant oils to promote physical and psychological well being.
· Anosmia is the loss of one’s sense of smell.
· Phantosmia is an olfactory hallucination
· Famous movie line - “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.” Kilgore (Robert Duvall-Apocalypse Now).
As I write this, I am seeing grass getting a little green, (not covered by spring snow). Time to think about planting flowers, the deer will thank you. Go take a walk and enjoy the fresh smells of flowers and fresh spring air and avoid the pitfalls of piped in aromas of foods that tempt and corrupt us.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Emotional Eating
I am starting this article straight out by saying, I am not a licensed clinician. I have had some classes in psychology while in school. I was in a program that was preparing students to move into counseling careers. I chose a different path within my chosen field of Human Services. I do a fair amount of research when I am gathering information for each blog I write. I make sure the sites I find on-line are reliable and reputable sources. I avoid quackery and the “out there” ideas. I have a strong interest in psychology and a fairly good understanding of it. I am telling you this because emotional eating is a loaded subject. I am merely at the tip of the iceberg in what I will be writing. I tell you all of this to let you know I don’t have all the answers, I doubt even the best trained medical personnel out there have all the answers. I encourage you to ask for help, reach out for help if you are having emotional eating issues that are getting in the way of a healthy lifestyle.
Please use this as a reference to cue in to your personal emotional eating triggers and find a preferable alternative to eating in the information provided below.
“Emotional eating is eating for reasons other than hunger”, Jane Jakubczak, RD, University of Maryland.
People emotional eat for a variety of reasons:
· Boredom
· To fill a void in your life
· Stress
· Fatigue
· Depression
· Anger
· Loneliness
· Anxiety
· Reward yourself
· Sadness
· And more, you may be able to fill in your own personal reason
Emotional Hunger vs. Physical Hunger
· Emotional hunger comes over you unexpectedly. Physical hunger is gradual.
· Emotional hunger finds you craving a specific food. With a physical hunger you are open to food choices.
· Emotional hunger makes you feel like you have to have it and NOW. While you may be hungry physically, it can wait if need be.
· Emotional hunger keeps you eating beyond feeling full. Physical hunger you usually can stop when full.
· Emotional hunger leaves you feeling guilty. Physical hunger should leave you satiated with no guilt feelings.
According to Brian Wansink, PhD, Director of the Food and Brand Lab at the University of Illinois and author of “Mindless Eating”, “comfort foods are foods a person eats to obtain or maintain a feeling”.
Comfort foods differ according to gender. In a survey of 1,005 consumers:
Female’s top 3 comfort food choices were
· 74% ice cream
· 69% chocolate
· 66% cookies
I don’t know where a chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich would have fallen.
Male’s top 3 comfort food choices were
· 77% ice cream
· 73% soup
· 72% pizza or pasta
Soup was rated as most healthy and the greatest percentage (not given) of people said soup makes them feel good about themselves.
In an article published by Wansink in July 2000 American Demographics, what you choose to eat to satisfy your emotion depends on the mood you are in.
· 32% of happy people chose pizza or steak
· 39% of sad people chose ice cream and cookies
· 36% of bored people chose potato chips
In reading this, my first thought is, ice cream seems like such a “happy” food. But, in stopping to think about my own personal preferences, if I am feeling down in the dumps, I crave a goopy, hot fudge sundae, with the works. I have found, it sounds better in theory, because when I give in to the urge, I feel physically blecky later in the day. I try to focus on feeling badly and not cave.
“When it comes to comfort foods that aren’t always healthy, like fattening desserts, Wansink also offers this piece of information: ‘your memory of a food peaks after about four bites, so if you only have those bites, a week later you’ll recall it as just as good experience than if you polished off the whole thing.’ So have a few bites of cheesecake, then call it quits, and you’ll get equal the pleasure at lower the cost.”
According to Jane Jakubczak, RD, 75% of overeating is a result of emotional distress.
One of the best pieces of advice that seems to help many people is keeping a journal of what you are eating and why you are eating it. This helps you realize the problem and once you realize it, you are empowered to do something about it.
When you are feeling the need to emotionally eat, here are some alternatives that will leave you feeling better about yourself:
· Take a walk
· Call a friend
· Put on music
· Do housework, yard work, laundry
· Wash your car
· Do deep breathing exercises
· Take a bubble bath
· Write a letter (this can be quite therapeutic, you can pour your heart into it and re-read it and when ready, tear it up and throw it away, or, if it’s an angry letter, burn it on the BBQ grill. Hmmm, how did I ever get that idea? Hey, I did feel better when it was burned up!)
Ask for help if you are not coping as you would like. Talk to your health coach, your physician, a dietician. If you have health insurance, see if you have counseling services available to you. Know you are not alone. Maybe you have a good friend or family member or even a passing acquaintance struggling with emotional eating, support each other. Rome wasn’t built in a day and lifelong issues don’t go away overnight, they didn’t arrive overnight. And, like I continue to say, be kind to yourself.
References:
www.webmd.com, Emotional Eating: Feeding Your Feelings
www.medicinenet.com Weight Loss: Emotional Eating
http://helpguide.org Binge Eating Disorder
www.mayoclinic.com Weight-loss help: Gain control of emotional eating
http://findarticles.com The Taste of Comfort: Food for thought on how Americans eat to feel better
Please use this as a reference to cue in to your personal emotional eating triggers and find a preferable alternative to eating in the information provided below.
“Emotional eating is eating for reasons other than hunger”, Jane Jakubczak, RD, University of Maryland.
People emotional eat for a variety of reasons:
· Boredom
· To fill a void in your life
· Stress
· Fatigue
· Depression
· Anger
· Loneliness
· Anxiety
· Reward yourself
· Sadness
· And more, you may be able to fill in your own personal reason
Emotional Hunger vs. Physical Hunger
· Emotional hunger comes over you unexpectedly. Physical hunger is gradual.
· Emotional hunger finds you craving a specific food. With a physical hunger you are open to food choices.
· Emotional hunger makes you feel like you have to have it and NOW. While you may be hungry physically, it can wait if need be.
· Emotional hunger keeps you eating beyond feeling full. Physical hunger you usually can stop when full.
· Emotional hunger leaves you feeling guilty. Physical hunger should leave you satiated with no guilt feelings.
According to Brian Wansink, PhD, Director of the Food and Brand Lab at the University of Illinois and author of “Mindless Eating”, “comfort foods are foods a person eats to obtain or maintain a feeling”.
Comfort foods differ according to gender. In a survey of 1,005 consumers:
Female’s top 3 comfort food choices were
· 74% ice cream
· 69% chocolate
· 66% cookies
I don’t know where a chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich would have fallen.
Male’s top 3 comfort food choices were
· 77% ice cream
· 73% soup
· 72% pizza or pasta
Soup was rated as most healthy and the greatest percentage (not given) of people said soup makes them feel good about themselves.
In an article published by Wansink in July 2000 American Demographics, what you choose to eat to satisfy your emotion depends on the mood you are in.
· 32% of happy people chose pizza or steak
· 39% of sad people chose ice cream and cookies
· 36% of bored people chose potato chips
In reading this, my first thought is, ice cream seems like such a “happy” food. But, in stopping to think about my own personal preferences, if I am feeling down in the dumps, I crave a goopy, hot fudge sundae, with the works. I have found, it sounds better in theory, because when I give in to the urge, I feel physically blecky later in the day. I try to focus on feeling badly and not cave.
“When it comes to comfort foods that aren’t always healthy, like fattening desserts, Wansink also offers this piece of information: ‘your memory of a food peaks after about four bites, so if you only have those bites, a week later you’ll recall it as just as good experience than if you polished off the whole thing.’ So have a few bites of cheesecake, then call it quits, and you’ll get equal the pleasure at lower the cost.”
According to Jane Jakubczak, RD, 75% of overeating is a result of emotional distress.
One of the best pieces of advice that seems to help many people is keeping a journal of what you are eating and why you are eating it. This helps you realize the problem and once you realize it, you are empowered to do something about it.
When you are feeling the need to emotionally eat, here are some alternatives that will leave you feeling better about yourself:
· Take a walk
· Call a friend
· Put on music
· Do housework, yard work, laundry
· Wash your car
· Do deep breathing exercises
· Take a bubble bath
· Write a letter (this can be quite therapeutic, you can pour your heart into it and re-read it and when ready, tear it up and throw it away, or, if it’s an angry letter, burn it on the BBQ grill. Hmmm, how did I ever get that idea? Hey, I did feel better when it was burned up!)
Ask for help if you are not coping as you would like. Talk to your health coach, your physician, a dietician. If you have health insurance, see if you have counseling services available to you. Know you are not alone. Maybe you have a good friend or family member or even a passing acquaintance struggling with emotional eating, support each other. Rome wasn’t built in a day and lifelong issues don’t go away overnight, they didn’t arrive overnight. And, like I continue to say, be kind to yourself.
References:
www.webmd.com, Emotional Eating: Feeding Your Feelings
www.medicinenet.com Weight Loss: Emotional Eating
http://helpguide.org Binge Eating Disorder
www.mayoclinic.com Weight-loss help: Gain control of emotional eating
http://findarticles.com The Taste of Comfort: Food for thought on how Americans eat to feel better
Apple Cinnamon Couscous
This recipe was originally published in Diabetes Forecast Magazine
Servings 8; Serving size: 1/2 cupPrep time: 5 minutesCook time: 18 minutes
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
1 Tbsp agave nectar *
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup couscous
1 small apple with peel, grated
1/4 cup roughly chopped dried cherries
1/4 cup unsweetened apple juice
2 Tbsp toasted chopped walnuts
*Agave is similar to honey, if you can’t find it you can use honey.
Preparation
In a saucepan, bring the milk, agave nectar, and cinnamon to a boil.
Add the couscous, cover, and turn off the heat.
Let the couscous rest and absorb the milk.
When the couscous has absorbed the milk,fluff it up with a fork or it will clump, add the grated apple, dried cherries, apple juice and walnuts.
Nutrition information
Calories: 145 ** Calories From Fat: 15 Total Fat: 1 1/2 g Saturated Fat: 0 g Trans Fat: 0 gCholesterol: 0 mgSodium: 30 mgTotal Carbohydrate: 28 g *** Dietary Fiber: 2 g Sugars: 10 gProtein: 5 g
Information above is using agave nectar. If using honey- calories for 1 TBS honey 63.8, 17.3 g carbohydrates. Agave is 60 calories and 16 g carbohydrates
Servings 8; Serving size: 1/2 cupPrep time: 5 minutesCook time: 18 minutes
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
1 Tbsp agave nectar *
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup couscous
1 small apple with peel, grated
1/4 cup roughly chopped dried cherries
1/4 cup unsweetened apple juice
2 Tbsp toasted chopped walnuts
*Agave is similar to honey, if you can’t find it you can use honey.
Preparation
In a saucepan, bring the milk, agave nectar, and cinnamon to a boil.
Add the couscous, cover, and turn off the heat.
Let the couscous rest and absorb the milk.
When the couscous has absorbed the milk,fluff it up with a fork or it will clump, add the grated apple, dried cherries, apple juice and walnuts.
Nutrition information
Calories: 145 ** Calories From Fat: 15 Total Fat: 1 1/2 g Saturated Fat: 0 g Trans Fat: 0 gCholesterol: 0 mgSodium: 30 mgTotal Carbohydrate: 28 g *** Dietary Fiber: 2 g Sugars: 10 gProtein: 5 g
Information above is using agave nectar. If using honey- calories for 1 TBS honey 63.8, 17.3 g carbohydrates. Agave is 60 calories and 16 g carbohydrates
Monday, May 3, 2010
Chili Lime Crisped Chicken Fingers
Serves 4
1 TBS (or to taste) Asian garlic chili sauce or other spicy Asian chili sauce
(like Sriracha, the red stuff that blows your head off), Tabasco will work**
1 TBS lime juice
1 TBS clover honey
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper (or try lemon pepper)
10 oz uncooked chicken breast tenders or boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced into 8 wide, long strips
½ cup plain whole wheat panko bread crumbs ***
**Watch your label, if using the Asian chili sauce and it is labeled HOT you may want to adjust the measurement to less if you can’t tolerate the heat.
***Panko- variety of flaky bread crumb used in Japanese cuisine as a crunchy coating for fried foods such as tonkatsu. Panko is made from bread without crusts, and it has a crisper, airier texture than most types of breading. (from Wikipedia)
If you can’t find Panko try corn flakes and crush them in the blender or just use plain bread crumbs. The substitutions will change the nutrition content, so pay attention to your choices. There will be enough spice in the ingredients. And now, back to the recipe….
1. Preheat oven to 375◦ F. In a medium bowl, stir together the chili sauce, lime juice, honey, salt and pepper. Add the chicken and toss until well coated.
2. Place the bread crumbs in a shallow bowl. One at a time, dip all sides of the chicken strips into the bread crumbs and place on a large nonstick baking pan.
3. Bake 22 minutes or until done. Let chicken cool on pan for 5 minutes before serving.
Nutrition facts, per serving:
Serving size-2 chicken fingers
Calories 130
Total Fat 2 g
Cholesterol 40 mg
Carbohydrates 11 g
Sodium 190 mg
Protein 16 g
1 TBS (or to taste) Asian garlic chili sauce or other spicy Asian chili sauce
(like Sriracha, the red stuff that blows your head off), Tabasco will work**
1 TBS lime juice
1 TBS clover honey
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper (or try lemon pepper)
10 oz uncooked chicken breast tenders or boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced into 8 wide, long strips
½ cup plain whole wheat panko bread crumbs ***
**Watch your label, if using the Asian chili sauce and it is labeled HOT you may want to adjust the measurement to less if you can’t tolerate the heat.
***Panko- variety of flaky bread crumb used in Japanese cuisine as a crunchy coating for fried foods such as tonkatsu. Panko is made from bread without crusts, and it has a crisper, airier texture than most types of breading. (from Wikipedia)
If you can’t find Panko try corn flakes and crush them in the blender or just use plain bread crumbs. The substitutions will change the nutrition content, so pay attention to your choices. There will be enough spice in the ingredients. And now, back to the recipe….
1. Preheat oven to 375◦ F. In a medium bowl, stir together the chili sauce, lime juice, honey, salt and pepper. Add the chicken and toss until well coated.
2. Place the bread crumbs in a shallow bowl. One at a time, dip all sides of the chicken strips into the bread crumbs and place on a large nonstick baking pan.
3. Bake 22 minutes or until done. Let chicken cool on pan for 5 minutes before serving.
Nutrition facts, per serving:
Serving size-2 chicken fingers
Calories 130
Total Fat 2 g
Cholesterol 40 mg
Carbohydrates 11 g
Sodium 190 mg
Protein 16 g
Checks and Balances
I just had a birthday. I received an e-letter birthday greeting that has made me stop and think, scary, huh? Coupled with a conference I attended recently, I am thinking there is a message for me and I will share it with you.
The presentation was about women and heart health, which, truly, is women and health, period. There was a picture of an inverted triangle with the tip of it on the bottom, you know, the tiny portion. Women tend to value –from top (the widest part down) children, home and I forget the rest of the exact order but then came family pet, job, spouse and at the bottom, in that teeny part, was - self. This applies to men as well. The birthday e-letter I received had a similar message. What matters most? It goes on to list things that we tend to put first:
· Production over passion
· Working over wellness
· Being busy over balance
The accompanying article lists all the things we do in a day: parent, employee, volunteer, chauffeur, cook-you get the idea. I don’t have kids and it still sounded like a normal day for me. I hit the ground running, daily and not literally, figuratively. The run that leaves you drained at day’s end, not energized.
“Your life should be like a checking account, balancing out on a regular basis so that you always have assets to draw upon. By making even small deposits-taking care of yourself with a 10-minute walk or a nutritious meal-you’ll be amazed at the interest you’ll reap”.
From www.sparkpeople.com
It was nice for me to read this, it validated some thoughts I have had over the years. If we don’t take care of ourselves, we won’t be any good to anyone else. Plain and simple. The analogy in one article is this: flight attendants tell you to put your own oxygen mask on first before helping someone else. You must be able to take care of your own needs before you attend to others. It is not always easy to do either. Life events the last few months had me running on empty. I went to get my haircut and my hair stylist (wish they would go back to using beautician, so much easier than saying the person who cuts my hair), anyhow, she told me the stress is showing through in the poor condition of my already dry and color treated hair, how much worse could it get? She sold me some expensive cloyingly sweet smelling goop. I digress.
I had people telling me “make sure you take care of yourself”, swell, yeah, sure, how the heck do I do that? So, I made a list of the help I could use. And, something I have never done before, being Miss Independent, I can do it myself, I asked for what I needed. I asked for help cleaning the house. I gave a friend a house key to walk the dogs. I asked for meals, I was coming home too tired to fix anything beyond cold cereal. I said I would take leftovers they wanted to get rid of. I asserted myself. When I was asked to drive across town and back for something that was not urgent I said NO, I will do that tomorrow, when it is convenient for me.
I am not telling you my tale of woe. I am telling you why it is important to put “money” into your account so you have funds, not a deficit. You aren’t any help if your balance is 0.
· Learn to say NO. Save a YES answer for what is most important to YOU.
· Start with small changes. Rome wasn’t built in a day.
· Your emotional health is every bit as important as your physical well being. I tell myself this daily.
· Have fun. If you must schedule 10 or 15 minutes to have fun, do it.
· Beware of timesuckers. Things you do but really aren’t important. In my life, it is the computer and e-mail. What a time waster. E-mail is a great way to stay in touch but when the contact is sending jokes that take forever to download, I hit delete. I let days go by without checking e-mail and then go thru and weed out the unwanted stuff. I also limit the number of FreeCell games I play. Beware of people who get their tentacles in you and waste your time. If you are trying to get off the phone, tell them the timer went off, that you have something in the oven. And, here’s a little secret, I know my mother won’t be reading this, I have been known to ring my doorbell and get the dogs barking so I can get off the phone. Works like a dream everytime.
· Combine family time with your fun time or exercise time. Go for a walk. Play a game. Sit down and talk.
· Try to see your problems in a new way, to find new solutions. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.
Take yourself down to Bank of YOU, make a deposit, an investment in yourself. I guarantee the interest on the account is priceless.
This little quiz is from Sparkpeople.Com
How much "me" time do you get?
· Not enough. I can't even escape in the bathroom!
· A little bit each day, when I plan for it.
· Plenty. I understand its importance.
· Maybe too much. I could do more for others.
· None. I put everyone else first.
The presentation was about women and heart health, which, truly, is women and health, period. There was a picture of an inverted triangle with the tip of it on the bottom, you know, the tiny portion. Women tend to value –from top (the widest part down) children, home and I forget the rest of the exact order but then came family pet, job, spouse and at the bottom, in that teeny part, was - self. This applies to men as well. The birthday e-letter I received had a similar message. What matters most? It goes on to list things that we tend to put first:
· Production over passion
· Working over wellness
· Being busy over balance
The accompanying article lists all the things we do in a day: parent, employee, volunteer, chauffeur, cook-you get the idea. I don’t have kids and it still sounded like a normal day for me. I hit the ground running, daily and not literally, figuratively. The run that leaves you drained at day’s end, not energized.
“Your life should be like a checking account, balancing out on a regular basis so that you always have assets to draw upon. By making even small deposits-taking care of yourself with a 10-minute walk or a nutritious meal-you’ll be amazed at the interest you’ll reap”.
From www.sparkpeople.com
It was nice for me to read this, it validated some thoughts I have had over the years. If we don’t take care of ourselves, we won’t be any good to anyone else. Plain and simple. The analogy in one article is this: flight attendants tell you to put your own oxygen mask on first before helping someone else. You must be able to take care of your own needs before you attend to others. It is not always easy to do either. Life events the last few months had me running on empty. I went to get my haircut and my hair stylist (wish they would go back to using beautician, so much easier than saying the person who cuts my hair), anyhow, she told me the stress is showing through in the poor condition of my already dry and color treated hair, how much worse could it get? She sold me some expensive cloyingly sweet smelling goop. I digress.
I had people telling me “make sure you take care of yourself”, swell, yeah, sure, how the heck do I do that? So, I made a list of the help I could use. And, something I have never done before, being Miss Independent, I can do it myself, I asked for what I needed. I asked for help cleaning the house. I gave a friend a house key to walk the dogs. I asked for meals, I was coming home too tired to fix anything beyond cold cereal. I said I would take leftovers they wanted to get rid of. I asserted myself. When I was asked to drive across town and back for something that was not urgent I said NO, I will do that tomorrow, when it is convenient for me.
I am not telling you my tale of woe. I am telling you why it is important to put “money” into your account so you have funds, not a deficit. You aren’t any help if your balance is 0.
· Learn to say NO. Save a YES answer for what is most important to YOU.
· Start with small changes. Rome wasn’t built in a day.
· Your emotional health is every bit as important as your physical well being. I tell myself this daily.
· Have fun. If you must schedule 10 or 15 minutes to have fun, do it.
· Beware of timesuckers. Things you do but really aren’t important. In my life, it is the computer and e-mail. What a time waster. E-mail is a great way to stay in touch but when the contact is sending jokes that take forever to download, I hit delete. I let days go by without checking e-mail and then go thru and weed out the unwanted stuff. I also limit the number of FreeCell games I play. Beware of people who get their tentacles in you and waste your time. If you are trying to get off the phone, tell them the timer went off, that you have something in the oven. And, here’s a little secret, I know my mother won’t be reading this, I have been known to ring my doorbell and get the dogs barking so I can get off the phone. Works like a dream everytime.
· Combine family time with your fun time or exercise time. Go for a walk. Play a game. Sit down and talk.
· Try to see your problems in a new way, to find new solutions. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.
Take yourself down to Bank of YOU, make a deposit, an investment in yourself. I guarantee the interest on the account is priceless.
This little quiz is from Sparkpeople.Com
How much "me" time do you get?
· Not enough. I can't even escape in the bathroom!
· A little bit each day, when I plan for it.
· Plenty. I understand its importance.
· Maybe too much. I could do more for others.
· None. I put everyone else first.
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