28 Day Healthy Eating Challenge

This month I am participating in the the Whole Foods 28 Day Healthy Eating Challenge, which is affiliated with their Health Starts Here work.

For five weeks, I will attend a class at my local store, with sessions to include: Whole Foods core values and wellness lecture, a healthy eating demo and a healthy eating on a budget store tour, navigating your way through a healthy lifestyle change, a cooking class with the store chef and a supper club with a panel of experts. Additionally, they will be screening the film "Forks Over Knives", but since I've already seen it, I won't be going to that session (but you should see it if you haven't! Fantastic film!). All this, plus a book and a bag of healthy starter groceries (lentils, quinoa, steel cut oats, Lara Bars, digestive enzymes, etc!), for just a $30 donation to their Whole Planet Foundation. This is the third time the store near me has ran this program, so if you are interested I would suggest that you see if a Whole Foods near you already is holding the class or let them know that you are interested.

At our first session this week, we reviewed what we should be eating during this time period by learning about their four pillars of healthy eating: eat whole, unprocessed foods, lots and lots of plants, healthy fats and foods with a high nutrient density. They are stressing eating a plant strong diet, which could include eating meat or dairy as as more of a garnish to a dish, but stated they aren't there to make everyone into vegetarians. While I know they are trying to not push people away, they are basing their course on the work of Dr. Fuhrman and Rip Esselstyn, so I wish they would at least touch on the benefits of a plant-based diet. They also brought in an expert on wellness who talked about reducing stress levels for a healthier lifestyle. He taught us a breathing exercise to try to combat cravings and explained how chocolate, dairy and sugar all temporarily increase your relaxation response, which is why you want to eat them when you are stressed.

This is supposed to be a challenge and I am sure that it will be. This month includes the Super Bowl, my birthday, Valentine's Day and a trip to New Jersey to visit my family. All of these are potential pitfalls for a healthy diet. However, I am hoping to learn some new things (such as more ways to cook greens!) in this course and apply them for the long term. For the next 28 days, I plan to follow their suggestions as closely as possible. It's time to go from eating vegan junk food to really focusing on eating good, whole, nutritious food. So far, after just one class, I have a lot of new information and resources. I'm looking forward to seeing where these next few weeks of class take me.

(Picture from the Whole Foods website)

Weeknight Meals

I often post my culinary experiments on this blog. However, the truth is that I only post the ones that I think are blog-worthy, meaning that they took a lot of work or are pretty to look at. Since I decided to reignite my mission to get healthy, I thought I would show you a typical weeknight dinner.

Here is last night's meal: a 365 brand fajita-sized tortilla from Whole Foods (I think it was red chile flavor...?), topped with Cava's spicy hummus (can't get enough of this stuff!), cucumber, red bell pepper and baby spinach. I made roasted brussel sprouts as a side. I never liked them until I had them roasted! Here's how you do it: Cut off the hard ugly bottoms, cut the large ones in half so that they are all roughly the same size, cover them in just enough oil so that they don't stick to the pan, sprinkle with your topping of choice (garlic powder and black pepper, though I've also used fresh garlic, lemon, a veggie spice mix and parmesan cheese at different times) and bake on 375 until they're soft. Perfection! This was a great, quick meal that left me more than enough time to get in a trip to the gym!

A Season of Change

For me, September has always been about new beginnings. For 20 years of my life, if we include college and graduate school, it was the start of the school year, complete with a new schedule and new school supplies. It's almost the Jewish New Year, which is a time for reflection on the past year, as well as a time to set intentions for the upcoming year. As the weather changed and the leaves turned colors, it was always the best time of year for me to make changes in my life as well.

In the spirit of new beginnings, I'm back on the wagon in terms of healthy living. Jesse and I had a date at the gym on Sunday (and I am still sore from lifting weights!), we've been taking walks on Shabbat, and I have other workouts marked in my planner. Our fridge is stocked with fresh fruits and vegetables. I'm incorporating a lot more leafy greens into my lunches. I am getting back into a regular yoga practice if it kills me. I'm going back to spinning and Zumba. I'm going to try to get more sleep and journal more often.

This time around--because, let's face it, there have been many times around--I'm focusing on being healthy in a way that is sustainable for a lifetime. Previously, I have wanted to be perfect. One slip up and I was convinced I would be a fat failure for life. I used to refuse invites to hang out with friends if they involved food. This time, I'm focusing on living life but in a better way.

One. day. at. a. time.

Healthy Habits

Dear Readers, here is the post where I admit that the healthy habits I worked so hard to cultivate over the past few years have gone wayward.

I developed a bad back problem last summer that continues to plague me (three degenerative discs, one bulging disc, inflamed facet joints and something known as "miserable alignment" due to the pain it causes) and got off track with exercise and yoga. It has been an endless cycle of work out-hurt-get better-workout again-hurt some more. Rather than focus on the bad, I want to use this post as a starting point for moving onward and upward.

Here are the healthy habits I am proud to say I have maintained over the past few years:

1. Drinking lots and lots of water. Lots. I fill my 32 ounce water bottle at least four times a day, often up to six or seven. I also have tea many times throughout the day. Sometimes I feel like a camel that needs to store it up.

2. Getting more sleep. When I lived alone, I used to let myself stay up very late reading, watching TV or doing things for grad school. Now that I've finished my master's degree and moved in with my boyfriend, we almost never hit the hay past 10:30 or 11.

3. Taking vitamins. I take a multi-vitamin everyday. I also switch up additional supplements, like B-12, flax oil, vitamin D, powdered greens, probiotics, spirulina, chlorella and Natural Calm magnesium during the week. I try to get everything I need from food but I think this is good insurance.

4. Not eating meat. I know everyone's body is different, but my mind and body feel better knowing that I'm not eating animal flesh. I can get plenty of protein elsewhere, so nothing needs to die in order for me to eat.

5. Learning my way around the kitchen. Before quitting meat, a typical dinner for me (I kid you not) consisted of chicken nuggets, canned corn and maybe a baked potato. Now I experiment with all kinds of (non-animal) proteins, grains and fresh veggies. I love cookbooks and read them like regular books. I am constantly trying to challenge myself to learn new things in the kitchen. I obsessively purchase cookbooks, read a million food blogs and, most recently, joined Spork Online, which posts one vegan cooking class a month.

Here are some of the healthy habits I'd like to adopt or get back to incorporating on a regular basis:

1. More green smoothies or green drinks. I know all of the benefits. I know I want to have a more alkaline diet with much less sugar, processed food and other acidic things. I've just been lazy. I need to get better about making these everyday.

2. Kicking the diet soda habit. I know, I know....I said that I was going to do this once before. However, the diet coke monster took hold again. But then last week I saw this. I've known that diet coke makes me crave other sugary things but that article is scary stuff. I've had one diet soda in the last week and a half. Pretty good but I can do better.

3. More exercise. Because of my back issues, this will have to be a slow and steady thing that will involve lots of listening to my body. I love to lift weights but I think I'll mostly need to stick to walking and yoga for the time being.

4. Smaller portions. My employer buys my lunch every day, which is a nice perk, but restaurant lunches are usually at least twice what any one person should be eating in one sitting. If I wasn't also trying to save my pennies, I would just bring my own lunch. However, I know I can make smarter choices when it comes to lunch.

5. Write in a journal. Journaling what you eat is good and well but I find old-fashioned journaling about thoughts, feelings, hopes, worries, aspirations, etc. has a positive overall affect on my health.

Basically, I want to live by these rules.

What healthy habits are you proud of yourself for sticking to and which ones would you like to bring into your life in the second half of 2011?

A Fresh Start.

Let's not talk about how I fell so far behind on Reverb 10 that I gave up trying to get my posts written (though the prompts are in my journal!). Or how I failed at the new start I wanted to make here back in October. It's 1-11-11. The perfect day to breathe some life back into this blog and begin anew.

What have I been up to, you might be wondering? The holidays, parties, nearly a month with my family in New Jersey, a horrible cold and a snowstorm later, it is back to the real world. To be honest, as much as I love December, I like real life better. I like getting my fruits and veggies, 8 hours of sleep a night and taking my vitamin. I like having a schedule and sticking to it. Another reason that I am glad to be back? I'm SO excited for all that 2011 will bring!

Here are my 2011 intentions:

-Get healthy/Practice Self-Care: Jesse and I joined the gym together, which will give me even more motivation to go. I'm 90% sure that I am going to end up getting a Vitamix, making green smoothies a whole lot easier. I'm giving the new PointsPlus program at Weight Watchers a go. I'm commiting to taking my supplements. Cooking healthy meals. Getting back into having yoga be a regular part of my week. Eating mostly vegan. Taking long hot baths. Trying to develop a meditation practice.

-Travel: Through a perk at my job, I won two airline tickets anywhere in the world that have to be used within the next year. Jesse and I have had some fun throwing around ideas, but I welcome any new suggestions! We also both have tickets to use on Southwest by August. We are thinking a trip to California needs to happen. This year we will also be headed to North Carolina to celebrate his friends' wedding and to Maine for some rest and relaxation (as well as Thanksgiving). Jesse also got a car in late October, which makes day trips and spontaneous weekend getaways a lot more feasible.

-Write: Journal regularly, write here on the blog and read lots more about getting a book published

-Work: Figure out my passion. Plan for next steps and where I see myself in 3, 5 and 10 years.

-Cook: Bake bread, macaroons and whoopie pies. Experiment with new grains. Use a whole lot more tofu. Figure out exactly how to use miso and then do it!

What are some of your 2011 intentions? How are you feeling as we slip into this new year?

Back.

Other than a few book reviews and some delicious dishes, I have been mostly absent from this blog for a few months now. The reason is that in August, I somehow managed to injure my back. I have three degenerative discs and one that is bulging. I've been completely out of commission since then, unable to even do so much as go for a long walk. I've been depressed and eating badly as a result.

So, after three months of this, I decided that when so much is out of my control, I need to take back control of what I can. I've started Weight Watchers again, this time with a focus on portion control and eating good, whole foods (rather than the obsessive, crazy points counting I did the first time). I lost 3.8 pounds in the first week! Once I get back from New Jersey this weekend, I am going to try yoga (even if I have to lay in child's pose for an hour) and get back to working out little by little.

There will still be book reviews here and a lot of yummy food, but I am hoping to get back to my original intent for this space: a place to discuss all aspects of a well-lived life, beginning first and foremost with self-care.

Perfectionism.

I have a confession to make.

Lately--and by lately, I mean the last six months or better--I haven't been practicing what I preach. I've fallen pretty far off the wagon in terms of exercise and eating right. In the past few months, I've even stay away from my yoga mat. I could give you a laundry list of excuses: stress, finishing up grad school, moving, traveling, figuring out what was going to happen with my long-distance relationship, etc. However, I think I may have stumbled upon the real reason (with some help from my very smart significant other): perfectionism.

I thought that if I didn't have an hour every day to spend in the gym and if every meal wasn't a salad, then I wouldn't bother doing anything. Yes, me. The one who lost a bunch of weight and went insane for yoga and had a love affair with spinning classes. That girl. I was totally focused on dieting and working out like crazy instead of focusing on being heathly and living an active lifestyle.

The truth is that at my lowest weight, I was obsessing over every 0.2 pounds, which, let's be honest, is the equivalent of about three sips of water. I was avoiding going out to dinner with friends so I could stay at home and eat low calorie frozen meals. I was working out for hours a day. I was eating low fat and no fat "food" that was low in points. I was berating myself any week that I didn't lose weight. So I stopped. I had enough of the head games and I stopped.

The problem is that I stopped completely. And it shows in many ways.

Last night I went to the gym. I stayed for 50 minutes--35 minutes of cardio and 15 minutes of strength training. I've been eating a fairly normal diet and trying to stay away from sugary foods. I want to ease back into an active, healthy lifestyle one step at a time. To be honest, some of those steps may include canceling my gym and Weight Watchers memberships. I am not sure where I stand on those at the moment. This may also include staying away from my scale for the time being.

I need to adopt these habits on my own without putting myself into a really bad place mentally. I feel grateful for being able to recognize both my own obsessive bad habits and also what caused them. It feels good to fess up to them too. Failure is feedback. It wasn't working for me, even if the scale was saying I was weighing less and less. I'll take healthy over skinny any day.


{Photo credit: D Sharon Pruitt}

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

I know I am a little late to the Jamie Oliver party, but last night I finally got around to watching Jamie Oliver's TED Prize speech. After that I immediately went to Hulu to watch the first pre-season episode of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, his new show on ABC. The season is set to premiere with a two hour episode tomorrow night and I CAN'T WAIT!

To those who haven't seen it, Jamie goes to a town in West Virginia that has been deemed by the government to be the fattest in America in order to change their food culture, primarily focusing on their schools. To be honest, I wasn't sure what I thought of his approach at first. He comes on a little strong and it was more than clear that the school lunch ladies did not like him poking around on their turf. In fact, other than a pastor that is also concerned with the health of the town's residents, many others also seemed angered with Jamie and he even winds up on the front page of the town paper.

However, what struck a chord with me was the family that Jamie begins working with to change their eating habits. All of the children are overweight and the Mom serves them things like freshly fried donuts dipped in chocolate as their breakfast. She cries when Jamie tells her she is killing her children. This hit home because I was raised in much the same way. The food culture where I grew up was similar (so it is no surpise that Philadelphia and the surrounding area also ranks right up there on the fattest in America list). I grew up eating Entemann's donuts and Cocoa Krispies for breakfast. Lunch was either American cheese on white bread or whatever unidentifiable object they served in the cafeteria. Dinner was chicken nuggets with french fries or macaroni and cheese. We rarely had a salad, but if we did you can bet it was iceberg lettuce with blue cheese dressing. To be fair, we often had some green stuff, like cooked frozen spinach, canned string beans or asparagus (cooked in butter!). Sometimes we had salmon (in a dill cream sauce) or tuna (covered in parmesan cheese and fried in olive oil). We had dessert pretty much every night: double-stuffed Oreos, Chips Ahoy cookies, a piece of cake with 6 inches of icing or some other pre-packaged nightmare. You might think I had awful parents or something but they were feeding us exactly what every other family in my area was feeding their kids. It's no wonder I got so fat and have food issues to this day....and that I had my gall bladder removed at 23 years old!

If you can believe it, the following is a list of food that I either did not ever eat or didn't know existed until coming to college or, in some cases, even just a year or two ago: whole wheat bread, lentils, almond milk, brown rice, soy milk, quinoa, sushi, bulgur wheat, tofu, tempeh, seitan, falafel, any cuisine from India, Ethiopia, Japan and Thailand, brussel sprouts, kale, chard, beets, mixed greens, jicama, avocado, bamboo shoots, baby spinach, feta cheese, carrots (unless they were in a canned soup), artichokes, Greek yogurt, mung beans/mung bean sprouts, steel cut oats, polenta, brie cheese, couscous, almond butter, okra, whole wheat pasta, cannelini beans, butternut squash, chickpeas, arugula, whole wheat pizza, pesto, black beans, green tea, guacamole, hummus, dolma, blackberries, Asian pears, black grapes, chai, guava, papaya, collard greens and yuca. I am sure there are more. The good news is that most of those things make up the large majority of my diet at this point, so there's hope for others who grew up on foods similar to me.

Jamie's show is premiering at the same time that First Lady Michelle Obama has started her new Let's Move Campaign. In fact, you can sign his petition for healthier food in our schools, which he plans to take to the White House after the show airs. For all of the kids like me who were served slushies, Doritos, frozen pizza and breadsticks covered in cheese (as a main course!) in their cafeterias, I sincerely hope a change is on the horizon. I can't wait to watch and see what tomorrow night brings!

Are you watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution? What do you think? What types of food did you grow up eating?

Making the time.

"If we don't have time to be sick, then we have to make time to be healthy."~Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

Hearing this really struck me. Until the snow came, I was running around like crazy. I was doing things for work or school and putting myself on the back burner. When it comes to "Should I write this paper that is due tomorrow or should I go to yoga?", well, the papers were winning. I know I can make the time if I manage my time better and organize myself, so I am writing this here so I actually do it! Here are the things I must commit to and make time for so that my health (and mind) doesn't start to fall apart:

-Yoga: I have found that I need at least two yoga classes a week to stay sane. A daily smaller at-home practice helps.

-Exercise: At least three times a week, preferably more, keeps my mind clear.

-Cooking for myself with fresh ingredients. I notice a huge difference in my mood and energy levels when I eat at restaurants or eat a lot of packaged food.

-Vitamins/supplements: Again, I notice a big difference when I take them.

-Tea. It soothes and calms me. Also keeps me from eating too much junk!

-Journaling: Helps me notice patterns, wants, etc. Stream of consciousness type writing is best for me, I find, but I also need to make time for more structured writing.

-Sleep! I have to have 7-8 hours or none of the above (plus work and class) would ever happen!

{Photo credit: Pink Sherbert Photography}

Delicious dishes.

Minestrone Soup

This is my slight variation on Mark Bittman's recipe. It was absolutely delicious, filling and healthy. It made about 6 good size bowl-fuls. It's a great way to clear out the fridge!

Ingredients

1/4 c extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

2 c hard vegetables (such as potatoes, winter squash, parsnips or turnips, cut into a 1/2 inch dice)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

6-8 c vegetable stock

1 15.5 oz can of whole peeled tomatoes (and juice)

2 c soft vegetables (such as green beans, zucchini, beans, squash, kale, collards)

1/2 c chopped parsley leaves

Small pasta (I used about 1/4 of a box of small whole wheat shells)

Freshly grated parmesan (optional--for serving)

Directions

Put 3 tablespoons of the oil into a large pot. When the oil is hot, add onions, celery and carrot. Cook until the onion is soft.

Add the hard vegetables and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for a minute or two. Add the stock, tomato and juice from the tomato can. Bring to a boil. Add pasta. Adjust the heat so that it bubbles gently. Cook for about 15 minutes (until the hard vegetables are on the soft side).

Add the soft vegetables and parsley. Cook until all the vegetables are very tender, about 15 more minutes. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as necessary. Add the remaining olive oil. Serve topped with cheese.

*For the hard vegetables, I used potatoes. For the soft vegetables, I used zucchini, yellow squash and green beans. I also used slightly more celery and carrots than the recipe calls for (they add color and nutrients!)

Revelry Review: Food Rules

I have a confession: I am a little bit obsessed with Michael Pollan. I find his books to contain the kind of information that is power. Knowing about where your food comes from and what exactly it is that you are putting into your body is crucial for getting and staying healthy. When I saw his new book, Food Rules: An Eater's Manual, I had to read it.

Food Rules is essentially a compact and condensed version of Pollan's other works. Some will be familiar to anyone who has read his books, such as "Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food." Others were simply great reminders, such as "It's not food if it is called the same thing in every language (think Big Mac, Cheetos or Pringles)", "Don't eat cereal that changes the color of your milk" and "Drink your spinach water" (he advocates using the water we cook our veggies in, which is in itself full of rich vitamins and antioxidants, by adding it to things like soups and stocks).

Overall, Food Rules contains nothing new to conscientious eaters but it does provide some great reminders in a compact book that will help you live a healthier life and make better food choices.

You can read a Q&A with Michael Pollan about this book from the New York Times here.

Sweat and Save 2010: Eating Better

I've been really good about what I have been eating since the New Year, so I wanted to post about it. I feel more energized and nourished. Another plus side is that my sugar cravings are getting less intense. It's a big change from how I spent the majority of December when I was basically living off of baked goods.

A sample menu from the last two days:

Sunday

Breakfast: Oatmeal with ground flax seeds, green tea

Lunch: Salmon and avocado brown rice sushi roll, large baby spinach salad with beets, carrots, red peppers, cucumbers, radishes, a tiny bit of feta cheese, balsamic vinegar and olive oil

Dinner: Curried pumpkin soup

Snack: Banana

Monday

Breakfast: Two pieces of whole wheat toast with sunflower seed butter, green tea

Lunch: brown rice, spicy tofu, kale, cabbage and peppers

Dinner: Red pepper tortilla with hummus, spinach and red peppers, cup of vegetable soup

Snack: Fuji apple

I've also made sure to take my vitamins and supplements each day, as well as drink at least 8 glasses of water a day and get at least 8 hours of sleep. I'm definitely noticing the difference!

Have you made any changes so far in 2010 that are already reaping results?

{Photo credit: EverJean}

My Word for 2010: Cultivate

My word for this year, after much thought, is cultivate. According to Merriam Webster, the definition is "to foster the growth of" or "to improve by labor, care or study". This is precisely what I am seeking to do with the good things in my life this year.

Cultivate healthy habits: I want to spend this year getting healthier. I want to eat better and work out more. I want to attend yoga classes on a more regular basis. I want to meditate, get more sleep and journal more. I want to take my vitamins every day. I want to learn to cook nutritious meals. I want to accomplish what I have laid out for myself with my Sweat and Save 2010 plan.

Cultivate my relationships: This is the year that I will finish graduate school, thus giving me more free time. I would like to spend a lot of that cultivating my relationships with friends and family alike. For the past two and a half years, I haven't be able to do that in way that I would like. 2010 will be the year that I tend to them with the care and time that they deserve.

Cultivate my passions: There are a lot of resources out there for helping early twenty-somethings find their way in life. There are less for those of us that are pushing 30 and still aren't sure where we want to end up. This year I would like to get quiet and get inside my head. I want to better understand which of my interests are hobbies, which are passions and which should be a job. I want to get a clearer picture of where I want to be in 1, 5 and 10 years from now. I want to use my newly discovered free time to figure out just who I want to be.

{Photo credit: Foxtongue}

Sweat and Save 2010

I've been remiss in blogging since mid-December. I immersed myself in an extended vacation, time with the family and enjoying the holidays. As 2010 neared, I also got sick. Nearly two weeks later, I am still battling the end of it but I am finally determined to start my 2010 intentions now (not resolutions--those are made to be broken!). This year I am calling my intention plan "Sweat and Save 2010".

The Sweating Part of the Plan

This is my way of saying that I need to get back into an all-around healthier way of life. My healthy eating habits and workout plan have really gone out the window over the holidays---the holidays being roughly October to now. Oops. I have to get back on track. I am determined to get in all my veggies, water, whole grains, protein and vitamins. I would like to lose some weight. I need the exercise so I can get those endorphins going. I am committing to working out at least 4 times a week. I used to work out 6-7 times a week and there was simply no way to keep that up while working full-time and going to graduate school part-time. I want to try new ways of working out: zumba, running, maybe a new kind of yoga. I feel so much better and happier when I work out on a regular basis so I need a schedule that I can actually do and not feel frustrated. I need meditation, journal writing, yoga and 8 hours of sleep a night in my life in order to stay sane.

The Saving Part of the Plan

I am the worst when it comes to saving money. I like lululemon yoga clothes, shop at Whole Foods and order books from Amazon.com like it is going out of style. Bad. This year I want to pay off my credit cards. I want to open an IRA. I want to make a list of what I spend my money on so I can more clearly see where I can cut back (ahem, lululemon....I'm looking at you!) I want to get ahead because starting in November, I will need to start paying back my (ridiculously enormous amounts of) student loans. I also know that sooner rather than later, I will want things like a car and a house, so I need to start saving NOW.

I can do it. I WILL do it.

Here's to Sweat and Save 2010!

{Photo credit: D Sharon Pruitt}

Words to Grow By.

"Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to the whole cosmos--the trees, the clouds, everything."

~Thich Nhat Hanh

{Photo credit: lululemon}

Chasing the wagon.

I've fallen off the wagon.  In fact, the wagon has taken off and left me standing alone on the corner. 

I need to get back into a routine of healthy eating and a regular workout routine.  Class and work, a killer final and some travel really put a dent in some of the progress I was making.  A few weeks of not being totally vigilant makes me feel like I am slipping back into my pre-weight loss habits forever.  It is the sense of a loss of self-control that is most scary, even though I know I have come so far and I know that I can do this.

In order to get back on track, I have done the following:

-Grocery shopped and stocked my kitchen with fresh fruits, veggies and whole grains.

-Tested out a few new healthy recipes.

-Set up a workout schedule.

- Made a commitment to pack up my gym stuff the night before.  None of the lame excuse of "but I don't have time to pack up my stuff in the morning!"

-Purchased a few new workout DVDs for the days when I don't want to go to the gym.

-Wrote a few journal entries on my eating habits as of late,  how I plan to get back to basics and listed a few realistic goals so I can measure my success.

-Planned to get to bed early.

{Photo credit: epidemic photography}