Moderation Tips

Losing weight has to be one of the hardest, most confusing processes ever! I can tell you from experience that I felt like there were so many different influences that it was difficult to decide which diet I'd choose. It wasn't until I stopped the dieting that i successfully lost weight and kept it off even years after. What were some of the changes I started making? I developed a plan for myself and within the plan were rewards, it was something I was able to stick to and maintain. Here are some tips  I've assembled that helped me lose weight and keep it off. Enjoy!

1. Make a plan that works for you personally and stick to it.

 Whether it's having a cheat day every week, going to the gym 3 times a week, walking 10 min every day, drinking 3 bottles of water daily. Just don't overdo it! Slow and Steady wins.

2. Cook meals at home with basic ingredients. 

There's nothing you can't re-create at home, google is your friend! Want tacos? or pasta? so many healthy recipes out there to cook at home that taste just as good as your local taqueria or italian restaurant!

3. Always eat fruits and veggies at every meal.

Let me emphasize, ALWAYS eat fruits and veggies. Fresh fruit and veggies are great, they keep you full, they're full of nutrients and will help bulk up any meal! I really enjoy going to the farmers market every week to pick up fresh fruits and vegetables, it makes it  really easy to get creative and add spinach to meatloaf or broccoli to a baked potato with cheese. Stick to things you like, don't force yourself to eat a vegetable you won't like or eat. 

3. 86 Soda and Juice 

The sugar in soft drinks and juice can creep up on you and be an influx of wasted calories. I know soda can be hard to cut so I'd suggest cutting back slowly and incorporating more water as opposed to stopping cold turkey. I had a game where I'd have a water goal for example drinking 3 bottles of water, daily so it was harder to drink soda when I put this game into effect.

4. Bring water with you everywhere. 

 I always carry water with me, it keeps me hydrated, gives me energy and also keeps me away from impulsively drinking a soda or junk food. I use water as a device to think before I eat. Take a couple sips of water before you make any impulsive food decisions (snickers at the gas station, extra donut at work) and then decide if you really want it.

5. Don't fear anything. 

 Your body is a fully functioning machine that doesn't fear anything so why should you? Carbs are your friend, so is fat and so is protein, a fully balanced meal contains all three of these components. (and fruits and veggies ALWAYS) 

Be Aware

You're out with friends mindlessly walking around downtown and your friend decides to grab a cupcake from the bakery at the corner of the street. Make a connection with your thoughts, do you really want a cupcake or are you being impulsive? Have a couple sips of water, are you really hungry or is it an impulse? If your answer is yes you really want a cupcake, have it, enjoy it, be aware and keep with your plan!

6. Make a snack time.

In between meals is that area for snacks, snacks help to not overeat at meals and also keep my metabolism moving in terms of giving me more energy to burn more calories. In a less serious way snack's also help me make friends, offering a hungry coworker some nuts or cheese and crackers is a great way to bond.  Some of my favorite snacks are ; nuts, cheese and whole wheat crackers, dark chocolate and dried fruit, popcorn, hummus and carrots .  Choose a snack that you like and works for you, just try to avoid non-nutritious snacks (chips, candy bars etc) save those for your splurge!

7.  Take a break.

Give yourself a pat on the back, you deserve it. Are you craving a burger with cheese and bacon and a side of fries? Have one, not everyday but have a treat. For me it's having a weekly splurge of a meal that I know isn't so healthy but it's worth it and I deserve it. My splurge also helps me stay with my plan, and it's fun to try to plan what my next splurge will be (I love food) . Being bad isn't always so bad and remember food is supposed to be enjoyable so you shouldn't live in a dietary dungeon, that just ain't right! 

Cheers to Health and Moderation!

Trish

Diets and my refusal of them

Diet, How many of you guys can think of a specific diet off the top of your head?  We’re all pretty familiar with some sort of diet, but is diet necessarily the way to go for weight loss? yes and no. Diet comes from the old latin word “Dieta”  meaning daily allowance, unfortunately many diet’s are far from that, with extreme calorie cutting, avoiding specific nutrients altogether, which can then contribute to health problems (sleep loss, irritability, digestive issues and headaches). We all have different dietary patterns, but overall moderation is the best for optimal health and long term weight loss.

Diets are one of the biggest money making industries out there, unfortunate for consumers studies have shown that diets work for weight loss but not long term weight loss, meaning the pounds probably won’t stay off. One of the main reasons is commitment, we’re unable to commit to a restrictive diet for the rest of our lives. What happens when you go out to dinner or to a party or on vacation? The foods on your restrictive diet may not be available to you, which can make it difficult not to pile your plate up with junk. This is where moderation steps in and allows you to enjoy a meal that isn’t within guidelines. Moderation also teaches you how to make healthy choices on the occasion that you might not be in your home kitchen and have to compromise. 

When considering moderation it’s important to remember the three main nutrients; Protein, Fat and Carbs. Protein helps your muscles and bones , Fat cushions your organs, provides energy and is also the way your body absorbs fat soluble vitamins, Carbohydrates are important because they supply energy to the cells in your blood, brain and nervous system, they also provide energy that your muscles use during high intensity exercise, ever heard an athlete use the term carbo-load before a sporting event?  These three nutrients work in harmony together to keep you feeling full longer, provide you with energy and an overall good mood. As you see leaving any of these three nutrients out of the equation can be consequential to your health and body function. 

Moderation, a term meaning having limits but not extremes. The idea of moderation is not to go over your daily caloric limit, eat balanced meals with protein, fat and carbs, fruits and veggies and be mindful when you’re eating. Being mindful can mean a couple different things from savoring flavor, texture, smell and taking your time eating.It's important to be mindful when you're eating, food provides fuel and enjoyment and should not be a chore. Mindfulness can also mean being aware when you’re eating something that’s a treat and not just doing it out of stress. Will you really enjoy that snicker's bar because you've had a bad day or would you rather have it on a day you can fully enjoy it at 100%?  Another important key to moderation is keeping meals balanced with fruits and veggies as well as your three main nutrients, this will help keep you full and satisfied. 

Eating in moderation has many benefits which include; better mood,  good health, lots of energy, long term weight loss and also peace of mind. Peace of mind when you’re in the store walking away from a cookie because you know you’d rather have it another day instead of being impulsive right now. Moderation is also being at a party and not saying no to dessert or wine because you know that one meal won’t break you just as one healthy meal won’t make you. So like Goldlocks said “not too little, not too much, just right".

Roastin, Toastin, Delicious Lentils (and i ain't boastin)Recipe

When I was growing up, beans were a pretty regular staple at every meal. Yes my family favored the not so healthy refried pinto beans, but they were delicious and I really think I owe my grandma the credit to loving beans so much! I never realized until I became interested in the nutrition field that beans were such great nutrient dense foods full of protein and fiber that provide you with so much energy along with many other health benefits (Beans:The Undervalued superfood) and also a great alternative to meat for those nights when you want to go vegetarian (try it sometimes).

Yes, Beans have an infamous taboo of being the magical fruit but thats easily avoided by a pre-soak, before cooking! There really are no limits whether it's canned, dry or frozen and with so many types to choose from (lentil, kidney, chickpea, pinto,peanuts,lima, edamame, black) it's easy to get carried away so I've decided to take my favorite and run with it! The Lentil Bean, so smooth, nutty, great in soups, with curry or even in salads. Lentils are one of the easiest to prepare beans, they are legumes (ike peanuts) and and nutritional powerhouses in which one cup packs a whooping 60% of your daily fiber needs and 35% of your daily protein needs and if that's not enough for you they give you tons of energy without making your blood sugar go out of whack!

Behold the best, nutritious, crunchy (better than potato chips) snack!

Curry Roasted, Toasted Lentils

2 cups of cooked lentils (How to cook raw lentils) canned lentils work as well, just presoak before

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon curry powder

salt and pepper to taste 

1. Preheat your oven to 400*F

2. In a small bowl combine olive oil, salt+pepper and curry powder and mix

3. On a foil lined cookie sheet spread out the cooked lentils and coat in olive oil mix

4. Keep the lentils as spread out as you can and bake for 15 minutes

5. Stir and roast for 8-10 more minutes

6.Taste then add more salt+pepper or curry powder

Enjoy and don't mind me while I sit here and polish off this bag of roasted lentils!

Cheers to Health and Moderation

Trish

Groceries 101

Keeping your house stocked with groceries is key in maintaing a healthy lifestyle and because fresh real food tends to spoil quickly, as nature intended I'm always looking for ways to keep things longer. It's important to store groceries strategically in order to ensure freshness and prevent food borne illness. Also good hand washing and food preparation techniques are just as important to keep in mind. Here's a couple tips to help you with storage, placement and cleanliness in order to ensure deliciousness and to keep away food borne bacteria.

Cleanliness guidelines

1. Hand washing-before food preparation, before eating, after handling uncooked poultry, eggs, seafood and raw meat and after eating.

 Wet your hands with warm water, lather up, scrub including nails, rinse under the hottest water you can stand and dry with a clean unused towel or air dry.

2.  Wash cutting boards and utensils with hot soapy water after preparing each food item and before you move on to the next. 

3. Designate cutting boards for certain foods- meat, produce, seafood.

Refrigerator guidelines

1. Be sure your refrigerator is set at 40*F or lower in order to prevent growth of harmful bacteria

2. Clean your fridge before your grocery trip , wipe down messes and spills as soon as they happen, toss spoiled food ASAP as it will spread to other foods.

3. Store leftovers in glass containers for up to 4 days so that you see what you have and can eat.

4. Don't mix fruits and vegetables with meat, this is a surefire way for contamination. Meat and produce are not friends

5. Store dairy on the middle shelf, when stored on the door temps tend to fluctuate which can increase spoilage.

6. Store raw meat and seafood on the BOTTOM SHELF on it's own and wrap properly.

7. Sliced and washed produce spoils faster, don't wash or slice until you're ready to use it.

Food guidelines

1. Don't store onions with potatoes, apples are the best to keep potatoes from sprouting, keep in a dark cool place.

2. One rotten apple can spoil the bunch

3. Freeze and preserve fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage, oregano) in olive oil, place in ice tray, pop and use.

4. Wrap the crown of bananas in plastic wrap to keep them from spoiling faster

5. Wrap cheese in cheese paper or wax paper and place in plastic baggie NOT on the door of the fridge but on the middle shelf.

6. Wrap Celery, broccoli and lettuce in foil before storing in fridge, this will ensure freshness.

7. Store unripe tomatoes w/fruit stem down in a paper bag. Store ripe tomatoes on the counter away from sunlight not touching one another. Store overly ripe tomatoes in the fridge and let them come to room temp before consuming them.

8. Keep fresh ginger in the freezer, it's easily grated while frozen peel and all.

9. Put mushrooms in a paper bag in the fridge or a cool dry place

10.  Cut away damaged/ bruised areas from produce, rinse under cold running water, dry with paper towel or clean cloth towel. Pre-Washed produce is ok to use without rinsing

11. DO NOT wash poultry, raw meat, eggs. This is how countertops and sinks are contaminated with bacteria.

I hope this helps while you're in the kitchen cooking up a wonderful meal and if you're not, get to it! =)


Cheers to Health and Moderation!

Trish

Braving the Holidays or How to eat normally

With the holidays quickly approaching I know everyone's getting nervous thinking about all  goodies that are always so tempting during these special times. We all know that staying healthy is something you must take on for the rest of your life versus dieting which can be easier short term but harder long term on your health and on your mind.I recently read an inspiring quote that i'd like to share, this quote reflects what normal eating is and should be.  It's something important to remember before you start worrying about what you'll be eating during the holidays

"Normal eating is going to the table hungry and eating until you are satisfied. It is being able to choose food you like and eat it and truly get enough of it—not just stop eating because you think you should. Normal eating is being able to give some thought to your food selection so you get nutritious food, but not being so wary and restrictive that you miss out on enjoyable food. Normal eating is giving yourself permission to eat sometimes because you are happy, sad or bored, or just because it feels good. Normal eating is mostly three meals a day, or four or five, or it can be choosing to munch along the way. It is leaving some cookies on the plate because you know you can have some again tomorrow, or it is eating more now because they taste so wonderful. Normal eating is overeating at times, feeling stuffed and uncomfortable. And it can be undereating at times and wishing you had more. Normal eating is trusting your body to make up for your mistakes in eating. Normal eating takes up some of your time and attention, but keeps its place as only one important area of your life.

In short, normal eating is flexible. It varies in response to your hunger, your schedule, your proximity to food and your feelings."

Being at a healthy and good weight is composed of so many factors, far too many to be ruined by one or two or even a few holiday meals. Health is all about lifestyle and if you don't want to be feel bad during thanksgiving this year then be sure you get in a good serving of veggies or fruit in your meal(keep your plate colorful) but don't hold back when it comes to everything else, food shouldn't be guilt ridden it should be full of love,flavors, memories and happiness. So please do yourself the favor and indulge in food with your loved ones  this holiday season and if you still have a hard time doing it remember all the time, preparation and love that goes into holiday meals and realize that a healthy lifestyle isn't about eating perfectly all the time. Be mindful, relax and enjoy yourself!

Cheers to Health and Moderation
Trish

Snacks are for Everyone!

Let me make a confession to you , I always have food on me at all times, for a couple reasons; one being that snacking gives me energy for long and stressful days, another reason is snacks have always helped me make friends, and lastly i never like to go too long without eating some sort of energy boosting balanced food to keep my metabolism going steady. I even have food in my car in case some situation comes up that i'm stranded somewhere starving and cranky so that my famished alter ego doesn't come out to scare everyone!

I notice my energy levels starting to drop 2-3 hours after a meal, so that's usually how I gauge when it's time to eat a whole some healthy snack and there's so many great convenient options that you can keep with you if you just plan a little bit ahead.  Keep some plastic baggies or even reusable plastic containers  handy and you're set, I really like the small ziploc baggies to store snacks in they're great to keep everything portioned so you don't over do it! Here I have included a table and your job is to mix and match as creatively as you can.  As i always mention it's important to keep it balanced snacks included! PFC is great to remember; Protein, Fat, Carbs and fresh fruit and veggies are always great to include in any of those 3 categories where you can! I hope this list gives you some great ideas to make snacks for adults and kids alike. Keep on Snacking, I won't judge!

Protein	Fat	Carbs
Yogurt	Cheese	Corn tortillas
Eggs (hard boiled)	Avocado	Whole wheat crackers (triscuit is great!)
Nut butters	Eggs	Whole wheat bread
Beef/turkey jerky	Tuna/tuna salad	Whole wheat flat bread
Dry edamame	Walnuts	Quinoa
Seeds (particularly pumpkin)	Olives	Bananas
Hummus	Guacamole	Whole grain cereal (4g+ of fiber)
Chocolate milk		Fruit
Nuts		Potato's (sweet & baking)
Sliced turkey (whole, not deli variety, less sodium)		Corn
Roasted lentils (super easy to make!)		Brown rice crackers
Bean dip

Cheers to Health and Moderation!

Trish

Veggie Miso Ramen (Recipe)

Eating healthy all the time can be difficult, especially with all the pressure around us of convenient meals. As much as i love convenience it sure doesn't take precedence over health, atleast for me. I'm constantly being inspired by different restaurants to recreate things i've tried but in a more healthier fashion because we all know the key to health is making it at home it all boils down to knowing exactly what you're putting in your body. When it comes down to convenience one of my favorite things to make is a bowl full of miso soup with ramen noodles, some fresh veggies and egg, you have all your bases covered with this one you have Protein- egg, Fat- egg, Carbs- noodles+ veggies. These are all foods that will keep you going with tons of energy and it's not super heavy on your stomach for a nice light lunch or dinner! 

Miso Ramen and Veggie Soup

Serves 4

3 heads of baby bok choy

3 carrots

2- 3oz package of ramen noodles ( feel free to sub udon, soba or whole wheat spaghetti according to your preferences)

4 hard boiled eggs

8 cups of chicken broth

4 tbsp of miso paste ( i used white miso it's slightly less salty than other varieties)

1. Chop up the bok choy and carrots and set aside

2. Prepare hard boiled eggs hard boiled egg recipe once they're done slice them in half, set aside

3. Prepare ramen/noodles according to package

4. Start boiling chicken broth in large soup pot, add miso paste. (optional; tsp sesame oil, hot sauce)

5. Once broth is boiling add noodles, veggies and let simmer on medium heat for 5-6 minutes

6. Serve soup and 2 egg halves into each bowl

Feel free to sub out ingredients as you like! You can always add more fresh veggies or some chopped chicken breast. Remember to try to keep it balanced Protein, Fat, Carbs. These are all very important factors for a balanced diet. Remember not all protein comes from meat, not all fat comes from fried foods and not all carbs come from grains only, there are good fats, good carbs and good proteins, no nutrient is an enemy they all work together in harmony with our cells to produce energy, healthy bones and immunity!

Cheers to Health and Moderation!

Trish

Real Health Tips

Just thinking of a couple health tips I agree with and decided to share!

Going Barefoot

Since I was a little girl I remember I loved being barefoot, at that time my parents were living in a house with wood floors so you could find me running around barefoot as much as i pleased even outside to my mom's dismay ( i was barefoot and uncontrollable). As i got older i always choose sandals or shoes i could slip on and off easily so that i could take my feet out of confinement ASAP. I never realized as a  child that going barefoot was so beneficial to the body and has some detoxifying benefits.  The reasoning behind this is our bodies are made up of 60% water which conducts electricity and the negative charge the earth gives us can detoxify, calm, and  balance your internal systems, power up circulation and great for overall balance. Next time you're in a grassy or sandy park or a beach or even your wood floors at home try going barefoot and let your feet breathe!

Drinking Lots of water

10 years ago and i can promise you i would not be writing this post on water, I was soda's best friend. I thought water was boring and unappealing. As time would tell that view changed and i always say my favorite accessory is a bottle of water. You all know that our bodies are made up of 60% water and it has many beneficial functions including maintaining body temperature, creation of saliva, digestion and aiding in skin hydration.  If you're like me and need to wean yourself off sugar drinks start slow limiting your intake and eventually cut it out completely, sugar is addictive and can be hard to cut out of your diet but after it's gone you won't even think about it. Also jazz up your water with fresh add-inst (lemon, berries, lime, mint, cucumber)

Eating the whole Egg

It seems everywhere i look everyone is misinformed when it comes to one of the most common and heart healthy breakfast staples. So in hopes of unbrainwashing let me explain why eating the whole egg is good for you. As i mentioned fat is something that's in many  foods ( real foods even) and it's not necessarily the enemy, eggs contain essential Omega-3 fatty acids along with many B vitamins that are helpful in protein production. Curious as to whether eggs will affect your cholesterol levels? Eggs contain HDL cholesterol ( good cholesterol) that aids in lowering your LDL (bad cholesterol). Basically if you're eating a couple egg's (2-3) daily you're ok. Also for all you egg yolk haters, when you only eat the white you're missing out on half of the nutrients and because of the low amount of (good) fat it will cause your hunger levels to spike which could then lead to bad decisions in the break room. So reconsider kindly next time you want to toss out the yolk

Non restrictive eating

Cutting carbs? Cutting fat? Cutting sugar? Cutting proteins?  Don't! All of these are part of a healthy balanced diet in moderation. The key thing to remember is to keep it balanced, eat mindfully & take into consideration what you're eating. When I'm eating I try to remember this PFC; Proteins( fish, lean meats, beans, eggs,) Fats ( olive oil, nuts, grass fed organic butter, avocado, real cheese, dairy) Carbs (whole grains & veggies). Keep the sugary and processed foods at a low.

Reading the ingredient list and nutrition information

Many packaged foods make really ridiculous health claims, from low fat to hi fiber. Don't believe any of the bells and whistles of their marketing team and turn to the back to check out the nutrition facts and ingredient list. When I look at the back of packages the first thing I look for is enemies for example, trans fat and saturated fat whether it's there or not and how much ( these are the fats to avoid).  Next I look for how much sodium and how much sugar is in the packaged product, use table to gage your daily intake and to decide whether it has too much sugar or salt. Last but certainly not least I look for the friends, good stuff like protein and fiber, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Also it's important to look at ingredient lists, typically they're hard to understand but if the first item on a package of pizza rolls is soy you probably want to reconsider buying them. Just keep in mind the shorter the ingredient list the better off you probably are and most good food doesn't need to have extensive ingredient lists or even make dietary boasts. Do the apples you ate this morning boast hi fiber and low fat? probably not, why because they don't have to! Below is a nutrition label for you to use as reference it's from a popular food item ( goldfish crackers). You'll see that it has very little protein and fiber per serving, tons of sodium and trans fat ( thumbs down!) Check out this crazy ingredient list! Not sure how many smiles this will induce but i can assure you if you put together a batch of baked cheese crackers you probably wouldn't have so many ingredients on it or trans fat or saturated fat! Keep it real folks!

Try to reduce your cravings with real food, craving goldfish crackers? have a piece of cheese. want some gummy bears? have some frozen grapes or sliced strawberries. Craving a cold soda? quench your thirst with some lemon soda water or berry infused water. Craving a piece of double chocolate cake? Eat it! I know we all get our cravings and junk food is ok in moderation but they're not  foods you should keep around the house and preferably make your favorite junk food from scratch ( you should know what you're eating).  Cheers to Health and Moderation!

Trish

Saturated Fat; Friend or Foe?

I know you all read my butter blog, and if you haven't read it go ahead and do me a favor and give it a whirl (Butter Blog) .

We lived past 1999 and there was no explosive computer apocalypse as was expected and now you're about to read that new research has surfaced that saturated fat isn't as bad as previously thought to be. So before you start going crazy buying chocolate and eating cheeseburgers, let me explain why and how the SAD ( standard american diet) is lacking in said fat and needs to rearrange itself for us to be healthy and balanced individuals. Here goes nothing; A common known but dated fact is that saturated fat is evil and leads to heart disease by raising LDL ( bad cholesterol) levels, but what we didn't know is that it also contains good cholesterol (HDL) and triglycerides which are both linked to lowering heart disease and in comparison to refined carbs which raise cholesterol (LDL) and lower triglycerides two really bad things that up your risk for heart disease, saturated fat from meat and dairy isn't so bad within reason.

Now i know what you're thinking, get her to the loony bin she's telling us that we should indulge in cheese and full fat dairy and meats? Yes and No. Unfortunately due to all the diet promises that come in those brightly colored packages, were eating more processed foods, more trans fats and less real foods (basically if it doesn't go bad toss it!). Due to all the misinformation were swapping out real meat, real cheese, real dairy for real fake low fat, trans fat filled processed packaged foods.

What's a trans fat?
 well to make it easy for you it's a really bad vegetable fat that is uber processed to add shelf life and give the food the "perfect" consistency, it sounds so great but really it has no health benefits tons of sodium and sugar to make up for lost flavor of real fat that's why you usually find it in packaged processed foods. Avoid Trans fats! avoid at all costs!  If you're already avoiding trans fats good job! and if you've just started trying to avoid trans fats it can be pretty tricky they're in a lot of foods. The worst part is big food companies are allowed to boast a 0% trans fat  promise on their packages/containers if there's less than 0.5 of a gram per serving. Terrible!

My best advice is ditch  the convenient packages and if you really want those cookies make them yourself! So to debunk the myth the answer is yes you can eat saturated fat if it means you're going to kick the french toast for eggs and bacon yes it's ok on occasion, i really like center cut it's lower in saturated fat and still delicious! Am i suggesting you coat your scrambled eggs in butter and eat bowls of cheese all day then No, as much as that sounds like tons of fun! ( i myself love tons of cheese)

As I've said over and over balance is key to a good diet and that balance includes eating different types of good fats from; organic butter, olive oil, raw nuts, unheated nut oils, avocados, eggs, palm oil and even *gasp* grass fed meat so don't be so hard on yourself when it comes to saturated fat.

To balance and moderation!
Trish


For further reading
The Truth about Saturated Fats

I can't believe it's not....Margarine

Away with the margarine I say!
Hey everyone! I'm so excited to introduce you all to my old best friend, I haven't hung with him in awhile since he was sorta shunned but now everything's smooth sailing and he's part of the cool kids club, so without further ado let me introduce to you BUTTER!

Yes! and with the food porn butter pic I bring good news! The good news is that butter is actually part of a heart healthy balanced diet. Yeah, no need to check your eyes, butter is not the enemy and heres some reasons why!

1. Butter has tons of fat soluble vitamins A, E and  most importantly K2 which is pretty rare in standard diets and it aids in bone healthy and regulating calcium in our body

2. Butter has friendly saturated fat, the kind that raise HDL or (good cholesterol) 

3. Butter can lower the risk of heart disease due to vitamin K2 intake

4. Butter contains an essential fatty acid (Butyrate) that protects the digestive system 

5. It's delicious! so go ahead and use butter, within moderation always but no need to fear it any longer!

My favorite Food Rules!

It's 2013 and were all making our own resolutions for change, I myself love to eat and have a huge problem when it comes to sweets. A couple of years ago when I started making big changes in my eating habits I found a book called "Food Rules" by Michael Pollan a journalism professor at Berkeley. In his book which is super short and easy to read he lists some food rules along with accompanying explanations of each rule. Let me just say that after I read this book I became obsessed with it and I think everyone should read it,A great guide to eating simply and nutritiously. Below are the rules Mr.Pollan writes about, if you want to read the explanations I'll include a link at the end of the blog to a PDF of his book. Cheers towards A Happy and Healthy 2013!!


Food Rules

1. Eat food

2. Don’t eat anything your great‐grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food

3. Avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry

4. Avoid food products that contain high‐fructose corn syrup

5. Avoid food products that have some form of sugar (or sweetener listed among) the top three ingredients

6. Avoid food products that have more than 5 ingredients

7. Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third‐grader cannot pronounce

8. Avoid food products that make health claims

9. Avoid food products with the wordoid “lite” or the terms “low fat” or “nonfat” in their names

10. Avoid foods that are pretending to be something they are not

11. Avoid foods you see advertised on television

12. Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle

13. Eat only foods that will eventually rot

14. Eat foods made from ingredients that you can picture in their raw state or growing in nature

15. Get out of the supermarket whenever you can

16. Buy your snacks at the farmers market

17. Eat only foods that have been cooked by humans

18. Don’t ingest foods made in places where everyone is required to wear a surgical cap

19. If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t.

20. It’s not food if it arrived through the window of your car

21. It’s not food if it’s called by the same name in every language (Think Big Mac, Cheetos or Pringles)

22. Eat mostly plants, especially leaves

23. Treat meat as a flavoring or special occasion food

24. Eating what stands on one leg [mushrooms and plant foods] is better than eating what stands on two legs [fowl], which is better than eating what stands on four legs [cows, pigs and other mammals].

25. Eat your colors

26. Drink the spinach water

27. Eat animals that have themselves eaten well

28. If you have space, buy a freezer

29. Eat like an omnivore

30. Eat well‐grown food from healthy soil

31. Eat wild foods when you can

32. Don’t overlook the oily little fishes

33. Eat some foods that have been predigested by bacterial or fungi

34. Sweeten and salt your food yourself

35. Eat sweet foods as you find them in nature

36. Don’t eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk

37. The whiter the bread, the sooner you’ll be dead

38. Favor the kinds of oils and grains that have traditionally been stone‐ground

39. Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself

40. Be the kind of person who takes supplements – then skip the supplements

41. Eat more like the French. Or the Japanese. Or the Italians. Or the Greeks.

42. Regard nontraditional foods with skepticism

43. Have a glass of wine with dinner

44. Pay more, eat less

45. Eat less

46. Stop eating before you’re full

47. Eat when you are hungry, not when you are bored

48. Consult your gut

49. Eat slowly

50. The banquet is in the first bite

51. Spend as much time enjoying the meal as it took to prepare it

52. Buy smaller plates and glasses

53. Serve a proper portion and don’t go back for seconds

54. Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like pauper

55. Eat meals

56. Limit your snacks to unprocessed plant foods

57. Don’t get your fuel from the same place your car does

58. Do all your eating at a table

59. Try not to eat alone

60. Treat treats as treats

61. Leave something on your plate

62. Plant a vegetable garden if you have space, a window box if you don’t

63. Cook

64. Break the rules once in a while

To read the accompanying explanations click here Food Rules by Michael Pollan