Sleep

February 6, 2012 By Denise Leave a Comment

Beautiful sleep

My dogs have no guilt about taking a nap whatsoever. Right in the middle of the day. Heck, in the middle of the morning. The warm spot on the couch or chair, in the sun, snoring away with abandon. And while yes, they are lazy, they are also intuitive and smart. Just like they know clothes do not make the man, they know that sleep is essential for us to function.

No significant physical change can happen in our bodies without enough sleep. There. I said it. This crazy “I only need four hours of sleep!” as some sort of bragging right needs to stop. There is no moral superiority for those who manage to get by on less sleep, and research shows time and again that they are no more productive, actually they are less productive, than those who get enough. Whew.

When I look at research about sleep, the cut-off for sufficient sleep is seven hours. That’s right. Less than seven hours a night is officially sleep deprivation. People who get less than seven hours a night get sick almost three times as much as those who get eight hours or more. Yes, that’s three times, an increase of 300%.

Why? Good question. Sleep is when our body heals itself, repairs tissue damage from the day, and detoxes itself. Sleep is when our neurons organize that happened to us during the day and file it into long-term memory. Sleep is when our stress hormones are turned off and our metabolism resets itself.

When it is dark our bodies produce the hormone melatonin, which makes us sleepy. Melatonin is also a powerful antioxidant, fighting chronic inflammation and repairing damage to our cells’ DNA so that when those cells divide they make new healthy cells. Damaged DNA leads to cells becoming cancerous. Chronic inflammation leads to heart disease and diabetes. Melatonin also helps protect nerve tissue in the brain from the protein damage that leads to Alzheimer’s Disease. It can also prevent headaches from forming the next day.

So why don’t we just take melatonin in a pill and get on with staying up half the night? It doesn’t work that way. Researchers are not sure why, but getting the melatonin in a pill helps us for only about three months, then it stops working so well. And while melatonin is a powerful hormone, it is not the only benefit of sleep.

We crave carbohydrates throughout the day when we are tired. We all know what this means to our waistlines, not to mention our blood sugar and cholesterol. The stress that causes our bodies to hold onto fat in case we need to flee or survive a famine is turned off when we are asleep. Most of us desperately need this, especially if our days allow for very little de-stress time. And our failing memories need sleep. We need to remember our stories so we can tell our grandchildren.

Our over-caffeinated, sleep deprived bodies need us all to go to bed. There is no honor in not sleeping, only a lack of creativity and good judgement. Did you know that if you get less than six hours a night you will be impaired when driving your car? It’s like driving under the influence of alcohol. Sorry if I seem a little preachy – I’ve got a bee in my bonnet.

If you think you can’t possibly leave something undone, stop it. Lots of us lead perfectly happy lives with a few dust bunnies under the couch and our clothes a little wrinkled. Look over your day, and there will be things that don’t have to be done, or at least don’t have to be done by you.

If you are trying to change your eating habits for the better, and start an exercise habit, sleep is essential. Changing our habits is hard, and tired brains do not do it well. Neither do tired bodies. And getting sick? It doesn’t help anyone.

So go to bed early tonight, and find a way to sleep as late as you need to at least one morning a week. Try to get at least 7.5 hours a night – that’s five complete 90-minute sleep cycles. A few days of this and you will be amazed at how productive you become.

Filed Under: Eating Unawares, Fighting Cancer, General, Health, Healthy Weight, Train the Brain

Happy, Happy New Year!

December 31, 2011 By Denise Leave a Comment

The book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, by Carol S Dweck, Ph.D., may change the way you see the world, and yourself. It did for me. Recommended to me by my good friend Michele Woodward, this book shows how powerful a learning, or growth, mindset can be. And as I decide whether or not I will be setting a New Years Resolution this year – they never seem to last – I am using this book to make ones that actually have a shot at coming to pass.

See, our usual resolutions, to get fit, lose weight, eat right, etc. don’t leave much room for trial and error. They impose a do it perfectly or don’t bother attitude onto us. This sets most of us up for failure, every time.

So here’s how to set yourself up for success:

Make resolutions you want to keep for you. No one else, not because you think you should. Stuff you really want to do.
Make those resolutions learning ones.

See, the resolution to eat right, or stick to a diet, is difficult and not especially fun. The resolution This Year I Will Learn How to Cook Vegetables Deliciously sounds much more fun and doable, right? It allows for trial and error, doesn’t assume you will be perfect from the start. You can take a few cooking classes, check out a few cookbooks from the library, and experiment. By the end of the year, you will have learned a new skill, and gotten healthier in the process. Probably even lost some weight and made it much easier to stick with a diet, if you are even still interested in that.

Instead of This Year I Will Exercise Five Days a Week, make it This Year I Will Learn Which Exercise My Body Likes. You should try many different activities until one or two really suit you. If you don’t love Zumba, it is not your fault, it just isn’t the one your body likes. Try something else and see how it feels. Because really, the best exercise is the one you want to do. Then, resolve to Learn How to Fit My Fun Fitness into My Schedule. Way more fun.

Or This Year I Will Learn How to Cook for Myself. This Year I Will Learn How to Plan Menus for Cooking at Home. This Year I Will Learn How to Make My Health a Priority. That’s actually a big one, and we can break it down into smaller pieces.

Or how’s this: This Year I Will Learn How Making Small Changes Each Day Affects My Health. Could be a really fun experiment.

Many Happy Resolutions to You. I can’t wait to see where we all are this time next year, and what we have all learned.

A coach is the fastest way to learn, so if learning how to eat more healthfully is on your resolutions list, click the Consultations tab above and lets get you started.

Filed Under: General

Monday Swap #6: Baked Apples

November 14, 2011 By Denise Leave a Comment

photo by MKucova at istockphoto

Baked Apples for Apple Pie

Fall is here in all its glory, and one of the best things about it is the fabulous selection of apples at the market. They are fresh, smell fantastic, taste terrific, and are so good for us. Full of nutrients, especially quercitin, which helps keep our bronchial passages healthy.

While that may seem like justification to indulge in apple pie, the fat and refined flour in the crust and sugar and butter in the filling take a healthy apple and drag it down. Now, I’m all for a special dessert now and then, and if someone you love made you their famous apple pie please enjoy a piece. But for everyday type desserts, try baked apples instead. They are easy, delicious, and pretty much guilt free. Also gluten free!

Here’s how to make them:

Heat oven to 350 F

Core apples, and peel a strip or two off the stem end, slice a little off the bottom if they won’t stand up.

Place in a pie pan, or baking pan that will hold the apples upright.

Sprinkle apples inside core and over the top with cinnamon and sugar – I like a 2:1 ratio of sugar to cinnamon

Stuff core with raisins and chopped nuts – dried cranberries are also good

Pour about a cup, depending on how many you are making, of apple cider in the pan and bake for about 45-50 minutes, until a knife can be inserted easily into apples. Do not overbake, or they will fall apart. It is good to baste them every so often, too, so the tops stay nice and moist.

*You can put them in the oven when you take dinner out, they will be ready when you are done eating, and they can keep warm for a while, too.

Your house will smell heavenly!

Enjoy!

Some people have had success making these in the microwave. They seem to take about 5 minutes, your timing may vary. Let me know if this works for you.

Filed Under: Fun in the Kitchen, General, Gluten Free, Health, Healthy Weight, Monday Swap, Recipes Tagged With: apple pie, baked apples, diet, gluten free, health, healthy, healthy dessert

Eating Vitamin C Prevents Colds

November 10, 2011 By Denise Leave a Comment

Yes, you read that right. A new study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, August 2011, found that women who ate Vitamin C rich foods on average 60 times per month – that is twice a day – had a 45% lower risk of developing an Upper Respiratory Tract Infection (cold, flu, bronchitis, etc.) Yes, their risk was cut almost in half!

There was no significant reduction in risk with supplements of Vitamin C in women. In men it was the opposite, and the researchers’ theory is that the intake of Vitamin C from food in the men studied was so low that only large amounts from supplements helped. It seemed too few ate enough Vitamin C rich foods to make a difference.

Why was food better than supplements for women? If you’ve been hanging out here for a while, or if you have taken my Cancer Class, you know why. Smarties! Vitamins, especially the antioxidant ones like A, C and E, play better with others. Meaning, the foods rich in these vitamins are also rich in complementary nutrients that make the vitamins work better, and you just don’t get all those complementary nutrients in a supplement.

So which foods are rich in Vitamin C? Veggies can be eaten cooked or raw, fruit can be fresh or frozen. They are all good.

Asparagus
Bell peppers – all colors, especially orange and red
Berries – again, all kinds
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Citrus fruits and juices
Kale
Papaya

I’ve made a handy checklist for you to put on your fridge, or wherever you like. Download it here.

You may notice that these foods are also high in other nutrients. Funny how that works, isn’t it?

Work two of these foods into your diet each day, and you will see more healthy days this Winter. There is also some evidence that you will recover faster if you do catch a cold if you eat plenty of Vitamin C rich foods.

Another bonus: these foods will make your skin look fantastic since they are also high in other antioxidant vitamins, not to mention very figure-friendly.

Filed Under: Fighting Cancer, General, Health, Healthy Weight, Research News Tagged With: colds, healthy eating, preventing colds, preventing flu, vitamin c

Holidaying #1

November 7, 2011 By Denise Leave a Comment

I’m here to answer your holiday health questions, so ask away!

Q:

I am invited to a lot of dinner parties where dinner will be served at eight. I usually eat dinner at six, so by the time I arrive at the party I am starving. I eat and drink too much, too fast, and end up not enjoying the party as much as I would like. After a few of these shindigs, my party clothes get a little too tight, too. What is the solution?

-Popular on the Potomac

A:

Hello Popular, I can absolutely help you! This is common, since it is so fashionable to eat later, and weekday hostesses need some time after work to get everything ready.

If you are coming from your home, eat a good salad at your usual dinner time. You’ll get a good serving or two of veggies, which are usually in short supply at holiday parties, and will be ready to eat but not starving when you get to your party. Skip the cheese or creamy dressings, though, they can make your breath less than fresh.

If you are going straight from work to the party, a few nuts and an apple are a perfect pre-party snack. They take the edge off, without making you feel bloated or giving you dragon breath. Dried fruit in trail mix can stick in your teeth, and see above for cheese. Crackers or cookies just make your blood sugar spike then plummet, right around party time.

When you get to the party, have a non-alcoholic drink first. Quenching thirst with alcohol leads to too much drinking, and drinking on an empty stomach leads to embarrassing, intoxicated episodes. We’ve all seen it happen, and its not pretty.

Eat the veggies that are served, along with your regular portion sizes of anything else. Pay attention to how full you are – eating too much or too fast can lead to heartburn. Most of all, enjoy the party! Eating well most of the time during the holidays means you can indulge in your hosts’ special dishes without guilt.

Hope this helps! What do you all do when parties through you off schedule?

Filed Under: Eating Unawares, General, Happiness, Health, Healthy Weight Tagged With: diet, holidays, party, weight loss

Monday Swap #5: Veggie Ground “Beef”

November 7, 2011 By Denise Leave a Comment

If you’ve never tried substituting veggie crumbles for ground beef, or haven’t had success, read on. When you make a few adjustments to the recipe, you really can’t tell the difference. And you can save yourself from a ton of saturated fat and cholesterol while enjoying some foods you thought may have been off limits. And veggie crumbles don’t have to be defrosted before using, which is great if you decide at the last minute to make chili.

Here’s the deal with veggie ground crumbles, you need to use them in something where the ground meat is in a sauce – like chili or spaghetti sauce. You will be unhappy using them for meatloaf. I’ve tried the Morningstar Farms and Yves brands, and they both were good.

To make a successful sway, you will want to add more liquid to the recipe – start with adding 1/2 the liquid again, and go from there. You will also need to add a little oil, like plain olive oil or canola oil, for the texture. And lastly, you will want to bump up the earthy spices in the recipe, like oregano and cumin.

This is our favorite chili – it is guilt-free and absolutely delicious. I took The Pioneer Woman’s chili recipe and made it veggie. If you don’t tell, I won’t tell, and no one will even suspect you swapped out the ground beef. Once they taste it, you won’t have to hide the wrapper.

Veggie Chili

1 onion, chopped

1 Tbs. olive oil (not extra virgin) or canola-type oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped or pressed

1 Tbs. ground cumin – generous

2 tsp. dried oregano

2 Tbs. chili powder

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper – or to taste, depending on how spicy your chili powder is and how you like your chili

2 packages of veggie crumbles, about 12 oz each

1 14-15oz can tomato sauce, no salt added if you can find it

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1/4 cup masa or corn flour, you can use fine ground corn meal if that’s all you can find

2 15oz cans of beans – I like kidney, pinto or black beans – drained and rinsed

1 15 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilis, like RoTel

1. Heat oil in a dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat, and saute onion until translucent

2. Add garlic, spices and veggie crumbles, and saute until blended and veggie crumbles are hot

3. Add tomato sauce, swish out can with some water to get the rest, pour it in and bring to a low boil

4. Cover the pot and simmer about 20 minutes to meld the flavors

5. Mix the masa with 1/2 cup of water, and add to chili; let simmer uncovered a few minutes

6. Add beans and tomatoes, heat through

7. Enjoy chili with your favorite toppings, like grated cheese or red onion or avocado!

Experiment with these crumbles, and you may never go back to ground beef again – think about it, those days of draining all that yucky fat from the pan into an old coffee can can be behind you! Along with a healthy heart, a smaller backside, and a happy family.

Filed Under: Fun in the Kitchen, General, Healthy Weight, Monday Swap, Recipes

Monday Swap #4: Lollipops for chocolate

October 31, 2011 By Denise Leave a Comment

In the Halloween spirit, we’ll do a candy swap this week. If you want to minimize the damage done by all the Halloween candy, swap lollipops for chocolate. While they are both sugar bombs, the lollipop takes longer to eat and has fewer calories.

Yes, I know, dark chocolate is full of antioxidants. And that is true. It is good in moderation.

Since when is Halloween about good-quality chocolate in moderation?

So, since Halloween is all about quantity over quality, stick with the lollipops. One can last for a good 15 minutes and satisfy your sweet tooth. Neither of those can be said about a fun-size Snickers bar.

And kids actually like lollipops, so you aren’t the bad house on the block for handing them out – the kids don’t know they are better for them than M&Ms. If you need some chocolate, get the ones with the Tootsie Roll in the middle. Still less dangerous that a bag of fun-size Hershey bars.

Happy Halloween!

Filed Under: General, Monday Swap

Monday Swap it Up #3

October 24, 2011 By Denise 1 Comment

Okay, let me just say don’t say no until you read the whole post.

Swap #3: steel cut oats for cold cereal or instant oatmeal

I know, you are thinking you don’t have all morning to stir oatmeal on the stove. Neither do I. Here’s a way to get all the whole-grain goodness of steel cut oats without turning yourself into June Cleaver. Not that she didn’t rock those pearls.

Anyway, while wandering through Target (all “I’m finally getting my life in order” resolutions begin with a trip to Target) I found the most handy little gadget, a 2 qt. little crock pot. I couldn’t download a picture, but you can see it here (not an affiliate link, I just like this). For about $10. My regular meal size crockpot is way too big for morning oatmeal.

Crockpots are not my favorite cooking method, mostly since I work from home in the afternoons and just stick stuff in the oven. But this is my favorite kind of kitchen gadget, one that solves a problem easily and cheaply. So I bought it, and am very glad I did.

Now we have delicious steel cut oats ready for us in the morning. It’s like the timer on the coffee maker – one of the best inventions ever. Here’s how we do it:

Slow Cooker Oatmeal

This makes enough for two adults.

Before going to bed put 3/4 cup steel cut oats and 3 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk in the crockpot (almond milk will be a future swap, you can use water, skim or 1% regular milk, soy milk, whatever you like)

Add a pinch of salt and 2 Tbs ground flax seeds

Stir, cover and turn the crockpot on low and sleep like a baby knowing breakfast is already made.

WARNING: When you wake up and look at your oatmeal the first time, you will curse me. It will look all wrong. But it is really fine. Just give is a good stir, getting all the thick stuff off the bottom, turn off the crockpot and put the lid back on. In a few minutes it will look normal, I promise.

Add whatever fruit you like in your oatmeal, some chopped nuts (unsalted), and a little sugar if you need it. Yum! My husband has 2/3 of the oatmeal and I have 1/3.

If you are adding frozen fruit, let it cook with the oatmeal overnight. The color will change, so don’t be alarmed. Your kids might really like purple oatmeal!

You can try as many flavor variations as you can imagine: pumpkin with pie spices, apple and cinnamon (add chopped apple with the oats in the evening), mango and ginger – there are so many possibilities.

If you have regular Old Fashioned Oats, this works fine too. Use the ratios on the package for the number of servings you want, and reduce the liquid just a little since there will be no evaporation during cooking.

Enjoy this yummy breakfast all winter long. Your cholesterol, blood sugar and waistline will thank you.

Filed Under: Fun in the Kitchen, General, Health, Healthy Weight, Monday Swap, Recipes

Race for the Cure

October 20, 2011 By Denise Leave a Comment

A few weeks ago, my daughter and I had the opportunity to be volunteers at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Newport Beach. As always, it was an inspiring event, and I was so happy to be able to introduce my girl to the power that comes from people joining together in a positive way to accomplish something. Our job was to make sure racers stayed on the correct course, but really our job was to cheer the racers on, encouraging them and making the experience fun and memorable.

The racers we saw made us cheer, cry, and gave us so much hope for the future. In this tough economy, and negative political climate we were reminded that there are a lot of good people in the world; all of us want our mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, and friends to be healthy.

We cheered children pushing their mothers in wheelchairs

We cheered survivors, supporters, memories on signs and shirts

We cheered husbands, fathers, brothers and friends

We cheered every race, color and creed

We cheered women in headscarves

We cheered some very fancy dogs (this is Southern California)

We cheered funny slogans (Save Second Base!) and deeply moving memorials

We cheered every person who gave up their Sunday morning (and many who also gave up Saturday night) to raise money, awareness and compassion for the women fighting this horrible disease.

The next time the Race for the Cure comes to your town, take part. Walk, run, volunteer, or just go and cheer everyone on. You will be moved and leave full of hope.

Filed Under: Fighting Cancer, General, Happiness

Monday Swap it Up #2

October 17, 2011 By Denise Leave a Comment

Well, here it is, we’ve got ourselves a weekly thing. Here’s Swap Number Two:

Add beans to your salad instead of chicken.

I don’t know about you, but if I see one more skinless, boneless chicken breast I just might lose it. Both chicken and beans provides protein, B vitamins and iron, but beans add fiber, antioxidants, calcium (!), and other minerals too. For fewer calories and less money.

Canned beans are fine, just rinse them off before using them. They will keep in a ziploc or bowl in the fridge for several days at least. One can usually makes about three salads for me. Here’s how I do it:

Quick salad:

Greens – romaine, baby spinach, arugula, mixed greens, whatever you’ve got

Cherry tomatoes – no chopping required – or dice up a regular tomato

Goat cheese or feta – just crumble a spoon or two

Nuts – unsalted taste best in salad, use whatever you have, almonds, pecans, walnuts, etc.

Veggies – whatever you’ve got, like broccoli slaw or grated carrots

Cannellini beans

Oil and vinegar dressing, I like balsamic (2 Tbs.) and olive oil (3 Tbs.) with salt and pepper – makes enough for 3 salads

Easy, filling and really good.

Taco Salad:

Greens, crunchy ones like romaine work best here

Cherry tomatoes, onions, peppers – you can use pico de gallo from the deli section if you like

Diced avocado – 1/4 per person

Kidney, black or pinto beans (refried works too – sounds crazy but the creamy texture is good)

Pepitas – raw pumpkin seeds – about 1-2 Tbs. per person

Salsa or oil and vinegar dressing – lime juice (2Tbs.) and canola or olive oil (3 Tbs) with salt and pepper – enough for 3 salads

Roasted Vegetable Salad:

Leftover roast vegetables (onions, peppers, zucchini, eggplant, squash, tomatoes, etc.) or ratatoulli

Cannellini or Garbanzo beans

Feta cheese or goat cheese, about 1 Tbs. crumbled on top

Add some of the balsamic dressing above if the salad is dry

I roast extra veggies just to have this for lunch the next day

You will be full, satisfied and healthy with these salads. And have some extra money in your pocket.

If you want to cook dried beans, they are even cheaper and will taste exactly the way you like. Soak them in water and some salt the night before, then drain the water and give them a quick rinse. Put into the pot, cover with water, add a bay leaf and and simmer until tender. Add salt and any seasonings you like about halfway through. The beans will keep, either in the broth or drained and in a ziploc baggie, about a week in the fridge. To find heirloom beans and great recipes, check out Rancho Gordo. They rock.

Filed Under: Fighting Cancer, Fun in the Kitchen, General, Health, Healthy Weight, Monday Swap, Recipes