Hungary, don't eat junk food

We do a workshop on healthy eating for seniors and I was thinking about the last one I did and the other day and I noted that some of the participants talked about the fact they turned to junk food for comfort or eat impulsively when they were busy or bored? Self-soothing through food is a pattern that most people can identify with and one that many of us have lived with throughout our lives. In some cases, this is learned through our family systems growing up. For example, ice cream for a bad day or a bag of chips after a break-up. In other cases, cravings for junk food are biochemical. Stress releases the hormone, cortisol, which activates cravings for salty, sweet, and fried foods. These foods often give a quick but short-lived burst of energy and therefore, temporary relief.

This is called emotional eating and it can have significant consequences. It can cause weight gain, guilt and shame, depression, and alienation from social supports. Developing an awareness of the relationship between stress (and other emotions) and eating is the first step to healthier behaviours as individuals. It is also the first step to changing the unhealthy associations with food that gets passed down to our children within the family system. Teaching kids to manage emotions without a hamburger or chocolate bar empowers them to make good self-care decisions as teens and adults. 

Here are some tips for a healthier relationship between food and emotions:

·  Delay eating when you feel a craving and take that time to check in with yourself about what you need. Oftentimes you aren’t hungry!

·   Enjoy a sweet or savoury treat when you are not emotionally triggered and take the time to be mindful about each bite.

·  Try talking to a friend, having a cup of tea, taking a hot bath or going on a walk to process emotions and stay connected with yourself and others instead of reaching for a comfort food right away.

·  Start to recognize the difference between real hunger and food distraction. Real hunger occurs gradually throughout the day and is used as fuel for the body. Food distraction is when cravings to eat relate to a desire to self-soothe emotions, to avoid dealing with emotions and are often associated with junk food or comfort foods.

Choose your food wisely

The human brain is the most marvellous, complicated structure known in the universe. So, treat it with respect and power it with the best possible fuel. Eating processed foods that contain sugar and trans fats can leave you feeling mentally foggy, anxious, and depressed.

But certain foods particularly high in the nutrients needed to create, protect, and repair cells will help keep your brain humming along smoothly. Every bite of food you eat is a choice that either depletes or nourishes your brain.

The wrong foods — like sugar and trans fats — can leave you feeling mentally foggy, anxious, and depressed, while the right foods help make you mentally sharp, positive, and productive.

Certain foods are particularly high in the nutrients needed to create, protect, and repair brain cells.

They also supply the building blocks of neurotransmitters — brain chemicals that control how well you learn and remember, how happy and motivated you are, and how well you can relax and enjoy life.

Foods that are rich in essential brain nutrients will protect against a variety of mental disorders now and degenerative brain diseases in years to come.

Eating these "brain foods" can keep you mentally sharp, positive, and productive.

Other foods supply the building blocks of neurotransmitters -- brain chemicals that control how well you learn and remember, how happy and motivated you are, and how well you can relax and enjoy life.

Here are the top 12 foods that should be on every brain-healthy shopping list:

·       avocados

·       berries of all kinds

·       coconut oil

·       dark chocolate

·       eggs (cage-free)

·       extra virgin olive oil

·       fermented foods (look for "active cultures")

·       green leafy vegetables

·       salmon (wild caught)

·       sea vegetables

·       turmeric (spice or tea)

·       walnuts

Add a few of these foods to your grocery list every time you go shopping.

Soon, your kitchen will be well-stocked with foods that literally help build a better brain

Source https://bebrainfit.com/brain-foods/

Eat a variety of veggies for a healthier you

The new food guidelines recommend that we eat between five and nine servings of fruits and vegetables each and every day.  When you first hear that number, it may seem like a lot, but it is actually much easier than you think to fit that many servings of fruits and vegetables into your daily diet.  For one thing, the shelves of the grocery stores are fairly bursting with fresh fruits and vegetables.  In addition, vegetables and fruits are some of the least expensive, most nutrient-rich, foods in the supermarket.  With all these fruits and vegetables to choose from, it is very easy to make these nutritious, delicious foods part of your daily meals and snacks.

When you consider how much a serving really is, it is actually quite easy to get five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables per day.  For instance, the recommended daily amount actually equates to a quite reasonable two cups of fruit and two and a half cups of vegetables every day.  When you consider how many fruits and vegetables are available, and how low the prices usually are, it is easy to see how easy to reach this daily goal really is.

One great way to get the nutrients you need from fruits and vegetables every day is to take full advantage of the variety of these foods available.  Eating the same thing every day quickly becomes boring, so why not pick a variety of fruits and vegetables, in every colour of the rainbow and in every conceivable shape, size and texture, to give yourself a varied diet every day.

When shopping for fruits and vegetables, it is important to choose a variety of different colours.  This is for more than purely artistic reasons.  Different colour fruits and vegetables have different types of nutrients, and choosing a variety of colours will help ensure you get all the vitamins and minerals you need each and every day.

Finding new recipes is another great way to ensure you get those five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day.  Everyone likes to try out new recipes, and these new recipes may just provide the impetus you need to eat all those fruits and veggies.

New recipes can also provide you with the important opportunity to try out some fruits and vegetables you have never tried before.  For instance, everyone has eaten oranges, but have you tried kiwi fruit or mangoes?  How about spinach or kale?  Trying new things is a great way to find new favourites while getting the best nutrition available.

Many people mistakenly think that they do not need to eat five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day if they just take a vitamin supplement.  Actually, nothing could be further from the truth.  That is because fruits and vegetables contain far more than the micronutrients identified by science and synthesized in vitamin pills.  While these micronutrients, such as vitamin C, vitamin A and vitamin E are important to good health, so too are the hundreds of other elements that are contained in healthy foods like fruits and vegetables.  These elements are not available in any pill, they must be ingested through a healthy, balanced diet that contains plenty of fruits and vegetables.

In addition, fruits and vegetables are much less costly than vitamin pills.  Fruits and vegetables are very inexpensive, especially when purchased in season and grown locally.  In the long run, getting the nutrition you need from the food you eat is much less expensive, and much better for you, than popping those vitamin pills every day.

So, don’t forget to get your five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day.   It may seem like a lot, but you can meet this quite reasonable goal simply by including fruits and vegetables as snacks, as garnishes, as side dishes and as meals.

Ten Tips to Get Kids Eating Healthy

The following was posted last summer by Jordan and Kyla Miller, the full article can be read by following the link, Ten Tips to Get Kids Eating Healthy. I have given some of the highlights here. Interesting reading for parents and grandparents.

Do you find it difficult to get your kids to eat healthy?

Are they picky?

Do they only want boxed cereal for dinner?

Children have the highest requirement for nutrients due to their rapid rate of growth and development. It is vitally important that we provide them with healthy options to support optimal health and instil good eating habits for the future. Nutritionally complete meals are a must! It may be difficult at first, but the rewards will last a lifetime. The following are some tips and tricks to help you change your child’s perceptions towards healthy foods. Try them out and see if they work.

1. Educate

Education is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself and your child. Be conscious of what you are feeding your child and what their nutritional needs are.

2. Do Not Bribe

Easier said than done, right? Unfortunately, using food as a bribe can diminish the value of healthy foods, while promoting unhealthy foods as a treat for good behaviour.

3. Ensure an Active Lifestyle

Using up extra energy will have your children demanding their next meal, even if it is healthy.

4. Involve Them

 It can be as simple as asking them to identify the food you are cutting up or asking their opinion on which vegetable should go on the shish kabob next.

5. Follow the 80/20 Rule

The 80/20 rule allows for a solid foundation of healthy eating at home with room for “treats” and experimentation when out

6. Be Consistent

It is vitality important that as a parent you are consistent and persistent in your resolve to feed your children healthy foods.

7. Be Creative

Kids love different shapes and colors. Make food fun and visually interesting. it.

8. Allow for Independence

Kids will often challenge their parents because of a natural desire for independence. Instead of fighting them on this natural desire, why not cater to it..

9. Desserts should be nutritionally complete

Eating healthy doesn’t mean that you have to deprive your child of dessert. Instead, make sure that your dessert complements the meal and is nutritionally complete.

10. Eat with abundance

Children are growing at a rapid rate. This means that their requirement for nutrients is extremely high.

Most importantly, enjoy the experience!

An easy way to cut food intake

One way to cut down on the consumption of food is to use a smaller plate. Many of us in North America should consider switching to the European plate size as it would help us control our eating. Image is from  The Urban Farm and Garden page on Facebook

Foods that may help you maintain or lose weight

Melons
Now, here’s great taste and great nutrition in a low-calorie package! One cup of cantaloupe balls has 62 calories, on cup of casaba balls has 44 calories, one cup of honeydew balls has 62 calories and one cup of watermelon balls has 49 calories. They have some of the highest fiber content of any food and are delicious. Throw in handsome quantities of vitamins A and C plus a whopping 547 mgs of potassium in that cup of cantaloupe, and you have a fat-burning health food beyond compare.

 Oats

A cup of oatmeal or oat bran has only 110 calories. And oats help you lose weight. Subjects in Dr. James Anderson’s landmark 12-year study at the University of Kentucky lost three pounds in two months simply by adding 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of oat bran to their daily food intake and nothing else. Just don’t expect oats alone to perform miracles – you have to eat a balanced diet for total health.

 Onions

Flavorful, aromatic, inexpensive and low in calories, onions deserve a regular place in your diet. One cup of chopped raw onions has only 60 calories, and one raw medium onion (2.15” diameter) has just 42.

They control cholesterol, thin the blood, protect against cholesterol and may have some value in counteracting allergic reactions. Most of all, onions taste good and they’re good for you.

Partially boil, peel and bake, basting with olive oil and lemon juice. Or sauté them in white wine and basil, then spread over pizza. Or roast them in sherry and serve over paste.

Foods that help you continued

Cottage Cheese
As long as we’re talking about losing weight and fat-fighting foods, we had to mention cottage cheese.

Low-fat (2%) cottage cheese has 205 calories per cup and is admirably low in fat, while providing respectable amounts of calcium and the B vitamin riboflavin. Season with spices such a dill, or garden fresh vegetable such a scallions and chives for extra zip.

To make it sweeter, add raisins or one of the fruit spreads with no sugar added. You can also use cottage cheese in cooking, baking, fillings and dips where you would otherwise use sour cream or cream cheese.

Figs

Fiber-rich figs are low in calories at 37 per medium (2.25” diameter) raw fig and 48 per dried fig. A recent study by the USDA demonstrated that they contribute to a feeling of fullness and prevent overeating. Subjects actually complained of being asked to eat too much food when fed a diet containing more figs than a similar diet with an identical number of calories.

Serve them with other fruits and cheeses. Or poach them in fruit juice and serve them warm or cold. You can stuff them with mild white cheese or puree them to use as a filling for cookies and low-calorie pastries.

Fish

The health benefits of fish are greater than experts imagined – and they’ve always considered it a health food.

The calorie count in the average four-ounce serving of a deep-sea fish runs from a low of 90 calories in abalone to a high of 236 in herring. Water-packed tuna, for example, has 154 calories. It’s hard to gain weight eating seafood.

As far back as 1985, articles in the New England Journal of Medicine showed a clear link between eating fish regularly and lower rates of heart disease. The reason is that oils in fish thin the blood, reduce blood pressure and lower cholesterol.

Dr. Joel Kremer, at Albany Medical College in New York, discovered that daily supplements of fish oil brought dramatic relief to the inflammation and stiff joints of rheumatoid arthritis.

Greens
We’re talking collard, chicory, beet, kale, mustard, Swiss chard and turnip greens. They all belong to the same family as spinach, and that’s one of the super-stars. No matter how hard you try, you can’t load a cup of plain cooked greens with any more than 50 calories.

They’re full of fiber, loaded with vitamins A and C, and free of fat. You can use them in salads, soups, casseroles or any dish where you would normally use spinach.

Kiwi

This New Zealand native is a sweet treat at only 46 calories per fruit. Chinese public health officials praise the tasty fruit for its high vitamin C content and potassium. It stores easily in the refrigerator for up to a month. Most people like it peeled, but the fuzzy skin is also edible.

Leeks
These members of the onion family look like giant scallions, and are every bit as healthful and flavorful as their better-known cousins. They come as close to calorie-free as it gets at a mere 32 calories per cooked cup.

You can poach or broil halved leeks and then marinate them in vinaigrette or season with Romano cheese, fine mustard or herbs. They also make a good soup.

Lettuce
People think lettuce is nutritionally worthless, but nothing could be farther from the truth. You can’t leave it out of your weight-loss plans, not at 10 calories per cup of raw romaine. It provides a lot of filling bulk for so few calories. And it’s full of vitamin C, too. Go beyond iceberg lettuce with Boston, bibb and cos varieties or try watercress, arugula, radicchio, dandelion greens, purslane and even parsley to liven up your salads