A Happier Meal

A Happier Meal 

 

Whatever happened to Grimace, Hamburgler, and the Fry Guys?  I remember the days of sitting on the brass statue of Ronald McDonald down on the Plaza as I eagerly awaited my good old Happy Meal.  It wasn't so much the food or the toy, just the experience.  I mean, how could you not like something called a Happy Meal? Brilliant marketing...

At Conveniently Natural, we like to think we are bringing you a Happier Meal.  For those of you who like direction and guidance about how to eat your meals, we offer you the Happier Meal tutorial.  (For those of us that don't follow directions or color within the lines, simply pick up nearest fork and dig in.)

 

Step 1 ~ Choose one main dish and scoop 1/3 to 1/4 onto clean plate.

 

Step 2 ~ Choose two side dishes and scoop 1/3 to 1/4 of each onto happy plate.

 

Step 3 ~ Clean your plate.

 

Yes, we know, those 24 oz containers can be deceiving. The above picture shows you a quarter serving out of three 24 oz size dishes.  Though we don't offer you caloric or nutritional information, we do provide some guidance on the "How To Eat" section on our website.  

The Carnivore's Guide to Cleansing

  The Carnivore's Guide to Cleansing

 

Congratulations to you dedicated cleansers out there who committed to give up (insert food group here...meat, dairy, gluten, caffeine, alcohol, sugar) in order to gain more energy, better focus, and spiritual insights while releasing toxins, food addictions, as well as that bulging muffin top.  I lost count of the number of conversations I have had whereby a sweet, well-intentioned wife contemplated a viable strategy to get her husband to join her in "eating clean".  If none of the aforementioned benefits are effective, I wanted to pass along some good sales strategies.  See below.

1.       Tell him that cleansing the body is just like cleaning his car engine.  When the engine is dirty, it uses more gas per mile.  When your body is clogged with toxins, it is running inefficiently.  A clean digestive system needs less food to maintain the same level of activity.  (Note:  you may actually SAVE MONEY at the grocery store because you'll be eating less food.)

2.       Former Chiefs tight-end, Tony Gonzalez, would NOT have risked a five-year contract and millions on the line in order to optimize his health and performance when he began a plant-based diet four years ago.  (We know your husband probably isn't playing at the NFL level, but he is...in his own mind.  Cleansing can help him relive those glory days in his fast-pitch softball league, the church basketball team, or even his Xbox 360 NCAA Football game.)

3.       He Can Bring Sexy Back!  Check out our news clip and watch for Conveniently Natural Chef "Dancing Bobby"...who used to be an uncoordinated, rhythm-less white guy relegated to the corner during family weddings while everyone else did the Electric Slide with ease.  After cleaning up his diet, he brings the funk to the dance floor and rocks some serious flair in our kitchen.  Yes, of course, the "Sprinkler" and "Running Man" will never go out of style, but just think what a stud he could be at that next high school reunion...


 If you missed our news clip, click here to view online!

How Do You Call Yourself?

How Do You Call Yourself? 

 

So what are you anyway? Are you a omnivore, flexitarian, vegetarian, vegan, healthier eater? Even better are you a Republican or Democrat (since this is an election year)? Do you identify yourself at all with these words or labels? How about Human Being... 

One of the things I have found most interesting on this journey of life is the penchant of people to categorize or label. There are sound psychological reasons for this of course as it enables us to make sense of the very complex reality that each individual human being really is. The interesting part of this labeling is that we all do it, including me. When it comes to food and healthy living, we have created all sorts of labels to describe or "group" people who do one thing or another. What is regrettable about labels is that many times they also come with stereotypes and judgements. What do you immediately think of when I say vegan (or ovo-vegetarian)? 

Since we began Conveniently Natural, very interesting things have happened in our lives. Our intent from the very start was to create a business that was all inclusive. We never wanted anyone to feel threatened or weird regardless of your food label. Our sincere hope is that week in and week out you feel taken care of and loved rather than judged or punished.

Improve Your Digestion

3 Tips to Improving Your Digestion 

 

1. Eat Your Veggies ~ the digestive enzymes and fiber in vegetables stimulate the breakdown of food into nutrients and transport toxins (waste).  Your mom wasn't lying (at least about this).  We only borrow our food for a period of time - don't let yours stay overtime.

2. Do NOT Work Through Lunch ~ We know you're super busy and can hardly take a bathroom break, let alone a lunch break. But added stress while eating can slow down or even shut down your digestion.  So, take a break - turn on Baroque, call a friend, do the Funky Chicken...

3.  Use chopsticks ~ As a Faux Asian (born in Korea, raised in Kansas City), I much prefer the fork at an Asian restaurant because it slows down the rate at which I can eat, but I feel like a sell-out otherwise.  This is exactly why eating with chopsticks can help your digestion - dinnertime is not a race. Pause, chew, breathe... 

Longevity

A Question of Longevity      I have been an avid researcher of food, nutrition, and health for the last several years.  In fact, my wife would say that I was obsessed with finding out the perfect way to live.  I don't know about you, but I don't want to just survive, I want to thrive!  So I decided to look at what the centurions do to live so long.  Interestingly, there are centurions on every continent and in every country.  They do different things, they eat differently, they exercise differently, etc.  The more I looked into it, the more confused I got.  Then one day I was reading a book that is a collection of interviews with centurions from around the world and there was one word that stuck out to me in these stories: SIMPLE.  Yes, these people led simple lives.  They ate simply and not too much, they took time for relaxation often, mostly they let things be okay in their life no matter what the circumstances were... That's where we come in.  Our goal has always been to simplify your life so there is one less thing for you to do.  Most of the centurions I have read about worked more at being than doing.  Allow us to do the doing  so you can get busy being the great Human Being that you are!

Care for the Caring

I had the absolute pleasure of listening to Dr. Michelle Robin ofYour Wellness Connection speak last week at the eWomen Network Wellness workshop.  As a local business owner in the health industry, I'm always looking for ways to improve my business.  Eager to attend and find some ways to help our customers, I came away with the single best tip to help elevate my business, contribute more to my family, and positively impact this great community.  To paraphrase, 'The more well I get, the more well my family gets...the more well my business gets, the more well my community gets...the more well the world gets.  Therefore, not taking care of myself is selfish.' 

 

  

Speaking for myself and the parents I know, we often put ourselves last in attempt to give and be more for our children, spouse, boss, church, friends, neighbors...But what if what she said were true?  If being the best spouse, parent, community member, citizen, and human being meant fulfilling your own   unique needs, desires, and purpose in life, are you doing everything you can to take impeccable care of yourself?  Can you change the world by doing one thing today for yourself?  The answer:  of course.  What is your next action?  

The Perfect Diet

The Perfect Diet

  

People often ask me how I became a "vegan".  My standard response is that I just really started listening body and woke up one day eating mostly plants.  Is this the perfect diet for everyone?  I don't know, but I know it works great for me and I think it would benefit all people to eat mostly plants if nothing else.  That being said, I have conducted a very unofficial, unscientific study into who the healthiest people on earth are/were and what they eat.  What I have found is very interesting and in many cases surprising.

Succotash Dish

 

Many contemporary researchers and scientists today believe that our ancestors who were hunter-gatherers had the healthiest lifestyle.  In a nutshell, hunter-gatherers were nomadic foragers of food, eating wholesome natural food (because that was all that was available).  What has come to light in recent years is the variety of food eaten by hunter-gatherers.  In fact, the diet varied so widely by geography that most researchers cannot answer the question, "What is the perfect diet for human beings to eat to live long, healthy lives?"  The correct answer it seems is that it depends.  When faced with my own health challenges I sought the "correct" answer from books, CDs, seminars, researchers, doctors, etc for years.  In other words, I looked everywhere OUTSIDE myself.  After becoming intensely frustrated following others' advice explicitly to no avail, I finally started listening to my body.  In very short order, I got my answer.  What is your body telling you?

The Best Health Insurance Money Can Buy

Insurance:  a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss.

Risk…uncertainty…loss.  All words that can make us squirm in our seats and lose sleep at night.  What if, when it came to your own personal health, you understood your risks, felt certain about your future, and held no worry about potential loss?  I’m telling you the possibility of this kind of life exists if you believe it does.

“You don’t get what you want, you get what you believe”

-Oprah Winfrey 

The healthiest people in the world create an environment of health.  In studying longevity research, Dan Buettner identified the habits of the world’s healthiest people.  They reached the age of 100 at ten times greater rates than most of the United States, while suffering a mere fraction the rate of heart disease and cancer as the rest of the world.  Read more.  Specifically, the nine lifestyle habits they adopt are:  

 1.  Move naturally.

2.  Know your purpose in life.

3.  Downshift (i.e., slow down).

4.  Eat only until you’re 80% full.

5.  Eat a plant-based diet.

6.  Drink red wine.

7.  Belong to a healthy social network.

8.  Have a belief system.

9.  Put your family first.

Adopt the best and most proven health insurance in the world.  Remove your risk.  Stop worrying.  You have permission to be healthy.

The Healing Power of Ginger

The Healing Power of Ginger 

Boost your immunity naturally with GINGER. Experience the many benefits of this super veg:  cleanses colon, relieves indigestion, kills cold viruses, reduces inflammation, cough, and congestion, lowers cholesterol, and more!  See below for ways to incorporate ginger into your diet.  

On Using Ginger 

Suggested Use:  1/3 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp fresh ginger

  

*Add in juices or smoothies

*Use fresh in Asian stir fry recipes

*Add ground ginger to breads, cookies, and cakes

*Try this Sweet Potato Soup with Ginger from the Gluten Free Goddess

GMO Corn and Soy Products (a pain in the side, liver and kidneys...)

 

Recent studies show that the consumption of genetically modified (GM) corn or soybeans led to organ disruption, particularly liver and kidneys, in mice and rats.  Why is it always the lab animals, you ask?  Biotech companies do not conduct human studies.  Hmmm...These GMO's make up 83% of the commercialized ones that BILLIONS of people eat.  Yikes. And nearly 25% of the population suffers from some sort of stomach disorder, including abdominal pain and indigestion.  

Rest assured, at Conveniently Natural, you are getting at least 80% organic ingredients.  Corn and soy are always 100% organic, non-GMO.

Click to see resources from regarding GMO's and digestive problems.  

Gluten Free Baking (Lessons Learned)

If Going Gluten-Free was an Olympic event, I Was Ready to Take Home the Gold

  

~Brownie massacre from approximately 2 years ago.  

Finding out that Brian could not eat gluten only challenged my inner athlete and sparked a fierce competitiveness to defeat this Goliath (hear Eye of the Tiger playing in the background).  It had been 14 years since I'd competed in any athletic arena, and I'd forgotten how important training and preparation were.  I did the equivalent of walking out onto the basketball court in stilettos and a mini skirt.  I walked into the health food store with nothing but a desire to prove I could make chocolate brownies without using gluten, dairy, or soy (an keep the sugar low).  No list.  No research.  No knowledge of baking (which I would later find out is like chemistry).  Totally unarmed.  As one would expect, I tanked.  I practically got booed out of the kitchen, because chocolate brownies (just like sports) are all about the bottom line.

Lessons Learned:

1. All flours are not made the same.  You cannot simply substitute "all-purpose" flour with spelt flour...or oat flour...or rice flour...Whoever named it "all-purpose" wasn't really thinking.

2. Stevia does not substitute 1 for 1 with sugar.  If a recipe calls for a cup of sugar, you only really need about a teaspoon of Stevia.  That's why they can charge $10 for a box of individually wrapped Stevia packets.  Ripping open each and every packet in the box and dumping into a brownie recipe will be a waste of 10 minutes and you might as well dump a package of Fun Dip into your bowl (including the sugar dipping stick).

3. When no one in your family eats said brownies, don't freeze in Ziplocs thinking they'll taste differently in a few days or weeks when the Stevia mellows out.  And give up the guilt and regret for spending $25 on a batch of brownies.  This can be a cheap lesson about life if you choose to get over financial investments made into failed kitchen experiments.

4. Stop creating a goal to 'defeat,' 'battle,' or 'fight' this beast (ours was named Candida).  Hosting a war between your mind and body is like playing tug of war between your right and left legs.  Lots of pain and scars and it will rarely produce a winner.  I mean, really, who would you want to 'win' anyway?  Either way, you're sacrificing one of your legs.  Let go and start walking instead.

For those of you just starting your journey of going gluten-free ~ whether for yourself,  your spouse, your children, or your parents... we applaud your efforts to make a change.  You never know what that failed batch of brownies may lead to...For us, it has led to this great platform of service called Conveniently Natural.  Who would have guessed after those horrible hockey puck brownies?

Wear Sunscreen! (and watch this video)

Watch this Video!

(5 minutes well spent...)

Eat, Move and Laugh

Conveniently Local 

Ways to Get Healthier 

 

We're always on the lookout for ways to make your life easier and get healthier at the same time.  Here are a few of our top local picks:

1.  Be Free Bakers: a gluten-free vegan bakery ~ cookies, cupcakes, flour mixes.  Persistence is the name of the game. Founder Jennifer Ward just kept at it in her search for great-tasting, equal-opportunity treats that didn't exclude anyone or their allergies.  These truly are the bomb!  (Really...that's the name of one of her cookies - try it!)  Find out where to buy here.

2.  Scott Fitness:  a gym with fewer meatheads and hardly any...well, you can read more about it here.  No screaming, no grunting, no beating of chests! Finally...a 24-hour gym where you can check your fear, insecurities, and mipples at the groovy, hand-scanning door.    

3.  Roving Imp Theater: in the spirit of laughter really being the best medicine, my long-lost, short-lived days as a comedic improviser taught some of the best lessons in life ~ all while laughing my arse right off.  Once trained by Roving Imp's Nifer Honeycutt who went on to study at the Second City Conservatory in Chicago, I feel like I'm 6 degrees from Jason Sudekis (wait...he's a KC native).  Anyway, let go and laugh now and then.  

Quick and Healthy Breakfast Ideas

3 Quick  & Healthy Breakfast Ideas

 

We love that you are enjoying our meals for your lunches and dinners.  You asked!  Here are some quick, healthy breakfast ideas to give you an energizing start to your day:

1.  Hash Brown Scramble:  1 cup (Woodstock Farms) organic hash browns, 1 cup veggies (we like onions, peppers, tomatoes, zucchini), 2 slices (Lightlife) organic Smokey Tempeh ~ less than 200 calories; saute for 10-15 minutes.

2.  Chocolate Chip Oatmeal:  1/4 cup (Bob's Red Mill) Gluten-Free Steel Cut Oats, 1 tsp agave, 1 tbsp (Enjoy Life Foods) vegan chocolate chips, sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg (optional shredded coconut) ~ approx 250 calories; approx 15 minutes.

3.  Yogurt Parfait:  6 oz (So Delicious) Plain Coconut Yogurt, 1/4 cup Enjoy Life Foods "Not Nuts-Mountain Mambo" mix (sunflowers, pumpkin seeds, raisins, apples, chocolate chips, cranberries) ~ approx 300 calories, 2 minutes

Healing Path

Kim and I are taking a few days to relax, evaluate, and plan. Reflecting back on where our journey started, I sit back, close my eyes, and vividly recall the absolute hell brought into our newlywed apartment some 8 years ago.  What started as intense chest pains led me to the Fort Carson ER where I was immediately taken back only to discover strong acid reflux - a symptom that would plague me for years and force me to sleep in a recliner for most of my first year of marriage.  People can describe intense chest pain and acid reflux, headaches, irritable bowels, insomnia, gut inflammation, and mood swings but it just doesn't do justice to the lived experience. 

A year later, taking 6 pills a day and feeling like a lab rat undergoing experiment after experiment, no relief was in sight.  My lap nisson fundoplication surgery (basically wrapping my stomach around my esophagus) gave me hope, despite the required all-liquid diet for the month to follow.  (Thanksgiving dinner just wasn't the same out of a blender...)  Fast forward 6 years after having tried all of the diets out there from Paleo (cave man diet), the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), Food Rotation Diet (keeping a journal of everything you eat and not eating it again for 72 hours - that was tough), Low fat, Low Sugar, Low Carb, Blood Type Diet - all of them.  Only to discover my eventual path to healing almost by accident - one in which could have prevented all those pills and perhaps even surgery.  A simple whole foods plant-based diet.  If you had told me even just a year ago that I would become a vegan and be running a plant-based meal delivery business, well I'm not sure what I would have said, but probably can't repeat it here...Here is where we are and I am proud to say I am a healthy man today because I changed the way I eat and the way I think.  No more pills.  No more sleepless nights.  No more pain. 

You deserve to feel great all the time too.  Our bodies were made perfectly and to exist in harmony and health.  Your pain is simply telling you to make a change.  The start of fall marks a chance for a new beginning.  YOUR new beginning.  Your new life.  Start yours today. 

Nature vs. Nurture

Do You Have Good Genes or Bad Genes...Or Does It Matter?

That old "Nature vs Nurture," "Genes vs Environment" question.  At Conveniently Natural, we are not doctors, but we support the epigenetic theory that while genes do control biochemistry and physiology, they have no autonomy regarding whether or not they get read or expressed.  What controls the expression of genes is determined by environment - specifically what we eat, how we move, and how we think.  See research links below and research for yourself!

The purpose of this email is not to discuss the validity of the epigenetic theory, but rather to encourage thought about how YOU live your lifestyle.  Whether or not it is true that you can impact your health by how you choose to live...

Isn't it more powerful to believe that what you do makes a difference in the outcome of your life?

Brain Balance and Epigenetics - discusses kids with ADD/ADHD and Autism Spectrum and role of environment 

"Why Are Humans So Sick?" - audio discussion between Dr. James Chestnut and Dr. Bruce Lipton

Why DNA Isn't Your Destiny - Time Magazine article

Manly Plants

Is Your Food Manly?

  

It seems silly to classify your food in some sort of gender-specific terms (though if it once walked, moo'd, or had a mom and dad, it actually did have a gender).  But why do we think of some foods as "manly" and others as "lady food?"  You know, that image of a large man holding a drumstick tearing into it with his teeth...or that Stepford wife daintily holding her cucumber sandwich while sipping tea.  

So, the college football season is upon us starting this Thursday. Growing up, college football (specifically the Fighting Irish football team) was like a religion.  Though I grew to become equally passionate about the game along with my 3 older brothers and ND grad Dad, my favorite part about Saturdays was the food!  

Gameday food (usually an all-day affair) included BBQ, Nana's baked beans, Mom's potatoes, and endless bowls of chips and dip.  There's just something about this menu that brings back memories of family feasts and yelling at the TV. If I'm confessing my sins (as the Irish Catholic would). I don't want to give up my gameday fare.  

Hats off to our chefs who created a great "Gameday Menu." Now we don't have to choose!  Take these meals tailgating - whether outside the stadium or in the comfort of your own HDTV'd home.  And as to whether or not an organic whole foods, plant-based diet is manly or not, I'll let Tony answer that (see below).

  

In 2007, former Chiefs tight-end, Tony Gonzalez switched to a plant-based diet after finding out about The China Study.  Though not 100% vegan, he considers his change in diet a major contributor to feeling better, recovering faster, gaining endurance and having more energy and focus.  Why not try it...What could you lose?

Healthy Heart

What Would You Do if You Knew a Fool Proof Way to Prevent a Heart Attack?

Make Yourself Heart Attack Proof

We're not doctors or dietitians, but we know what it's like to try to make a change.  Does knowledge change behavior?  Most of the time - no.  The single factor found to determine successful long-term change is MOTIVATION. If someone offered you $1 million to eat a whole foods, plant-based diet, would you? Or what if someone kidnapped your kids and told you they wouldn't be returned until you stopped those bad habits and engaged in a wholly healthy lifestyle? How long would it take you to get started?  

Believe me, we get it.  This stuff is not easy.  Our hope is that we can help you on whatever part of your journey you'reon.  

School Lunch

Back to School...lunches

  

You ask us a lot about recommendations to put in your kid's school lunch...a healthy, quick, and easy alternative to the hot (mess) lunch at the cafeteria.  Of course, we think our meals make GREAT lunches ~ for school or work!  Pair our enchiladas with Blue Corn Tortilla chips or scoop some of our Mexican Seitan into a tortilla or pita pocket.  Lunch boxes today have slots, compartments, and their own dipping containers...not like the standard metal lunch boxes we had or these brown paper bags. 

My favorite part of opening my lunch was the note my mom left in it to 'Have a great day!'  That lady made PB&J taste awesome with the love that went into my 3 brothers and my school lunches.  What goes into your food?  Love and nourishment or obligation and resentment?  At Conveniently Natural, we take pride in the care, dedication and positive energy that goes into our food.  We know that we are playing a small role in your healing, wellness, and contribution to our community.  

Fat Pants

You know what I'm talking about...

  

...those pants you take on a vacation to wear home or the ones tucked in the way back of the drawer for those times that you "overcelebrated."  I recently joined a local running group and during my first run, someone asked what I was training for.  Many in the group are training to compete in marathons, triathlons, and other races.  Though I wanted to blurt out, "To zip up my pants," the question got me thinking...

A year ago, a friend and I challenged ourselves to make the Triple Chocolate Fat Pants cake from the Babycakes NYC Bakery cookbook.  Who could resist a recipe like that?  Finally...an (appropriate) occasion to wear my fat pants. 

How To Make $100 Cake

1. Purchase $24 cookbook with Triple Chocolate Fat Pants Cake recipe (two-layer chocolate cake topped with vanilla frosting and layered with chocolate chip cookie crumbles.

 

2.  Make grocery list of all 32 ingredients that comprise this 3 part recipe (frosting, cake, and cookies) and split shopping with baking partner.

 

3.  Turn on Finding Nemo for 3 children and put baby to sleep in bassinet.

 

4.  Start recipe with frosting mix since it requires 6 hours of chilling before use.  Replace first two ingredients with substitution (due to food allergies that prevent use of soy) and document.  Use mixer on unmelted coconut oil and document that oil should be melted next time.  Refrigerate.

 

5.  Review cookie recipe and divide recipe between partners - one assigned wet ingredients, one assigned dry.  When wet ingredient baker discovers that $11 jar of coconut oil that was purchased is not in kitchen or left in grocery bag, make dairy and soy free butter substitution.  When said baker discovers the end of vanilla extract bottle, decide to substitute with combination of butter and peppermint extract.  When dry ingredient baker admits that evaporated cane juice was nowhere to be found at the store, decide to substitute an eyeballed amount of brown rice syrup and agave nectar.

 

6.  Discontinue substitution documentation. 

 

7.  Finish remaining steps per instructions and bake.  Upon tasting, promptly throw away cookies and agree to purchase packaged gluten-free cookies for substitution.

 

8.  Begin cake recipe, substituting coconut oil and evaporated cane juice with aforementioned products.

 

9.  Feed children and baby.  Then find additional distractions for them to occupy themselves that involve being anywhere but the kitchen.

 

10.  Go look in trunk of car and discover lost grocery bag that has $11 jar of coconut oil.  Throw out cake batch in progress and decide to start over using melted coconut oil.

 

11.  Decide that children acting like monkeys are a  distraction and reconvene the next day after purchasing appropriate 

ingredients on grocery list.

 

12.  Make cake recipe as instructed.  Make cookie recipe with coconut oil.

 

13.  Layer cake with frosting and cookies.  Taste test and serve to children.

 

14.  Nearly go into diabetic coma after 3 bites.

 

15.  Add up grocery totals and decide that this is the best tasting cake ever made - half because of the name itself and half because you spent your entire week's grocery budget on one cake (made 2 1/2 times).

Power Plate

Does Your Plate Look Like This?

 

In 1991, the PCRM (Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine) developed the New Four Food Groups.  This zero cholesterol, low-fat plan supplies all of an average adult's daily nutritional requirements, including substantial amounts of fiber.  See below for recommended daily serving sizes. 

The Four New Food Groups

Fruit 3 or more servings a day Serving size: 1 medium piece of fresh fruit, 1/2 cup cooked fruit, 4 oz juice Vegetables 4 or more servings a day Serving size:  1 cup raw vegetables, 1/2 cup cooked vegetables Whole Grains 5 or more servings a day Serving size:  1/2 cup rice or other grain, 1 oz dry cereal, 1 slice bread Legumes 2 or more servings a day Serving size:  1/2 cup cooked beans, 4 oz tofu/tempeh, 8 oz soymilk

The Iron Nun

After a priest encouraged her to start running at age 48 to harmonize her body, mind, and soul, Sister Madonna Buder began running in races.  With her first marathon in her 50's, she became the oldest woman to compete in the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon at age 75.  All told, she has competed in over 340 triathlons and more than 40 Ironmans.

In her own words, "If we want to do it, we can. The only failure is not to try, because putting forth the effort is success in itself."

Tour de Veg

American Cyclist David Zabriskie Competing in the Tour de France on a Vegan Diet  

 

"I think a lot of people see food in terms of whether it's going to make them fat or make them skinny," he says. "I'm seeing food in terms of how it's going to make me think and will it give me clarity."  (Full story) 

Confessions of a Junk Foodie

So, I have a confession to make.  Though I own a health food company, I LOVE junk food like pizza and burgers.  But let’s face it…after seeing how they treat those poor cows and seeing pink slime all over Facebook, I can’t bring myself to eat what's out there in the way of junk food.  (I mean, it’s called JUNK food for a reason…as far as I’m concerned, we can drop the ‘food’ part of it and just call it junk.) 


In the spirit of summer and for all you fellow junk foodies out there, I've included two healthy, delicious recipes ~ Socca Pizza and Chickpea Burgers.  Both are under 500 calories and naturally gluten-free.  

Socca Pizza

Crust Ingredients:

1 cup garbanzo bean flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 cup water

4 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tsp minced fresh basil (or 1/2 tsp dried basil)

1 tsp fresh rosemary (or 1/4 tsp dried rosemary)

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. 

2. Combine flour, salt, and pepper into bowl and gradually whisk in water to create a smooth batter. Then, stir in 2 tbsp olive oil and herbs.

3. In a 10-12 inch cast iron skillet, swirl 2 tbsp olive oil.  Then, pour batter and place in oven.

4. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until center is firm.

While crust is baking, prepare pizza toppings.

Pizza Ingredients:

1/2 - 15 oz can Muir Glen pizza sauce 

8 oz (1 pkg) Daiya Mozzarella Shredded Cheese

2 cups kale

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1/2 diced medium onion

After crust has baked and center is firm, pour half can of of pizza sauce over crust and brush evenly.  Next, add vegetables (or substitute for your favorites).  Finally, top with Daiya Mozarella cheese.  Bake for another 5-7 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Chickpea Burgers

Ingredients:

1 cup garbanzo bean flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp parsley flakes

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp garlic granules

1/4 tsp onion powder

2 tsp lemon juice

1/2 cup hot water

2 tbsp olive oil

1. Combine all dry ingredients and blend thoroughly..  Add in lemon juice and hot water, then stir until combined.  

2. In frying pan, heat olive oil over medium. Then add batter (approximately 1/3 - 1/4 cup each) to make 4 patties. 

3. Fry on both sides until golden brown.

Serve with organic BBQ sauce on a bun or in a pita pocket.

The Introvert's Guide to Accountability

So, summer is officially here.  Is your (spiked) lemonade glass half empty or half full?  Are you thinking, "Hurray, summer fun, relaxation, longer days, and travel!" OR "Oh crap, it's swim suit season!"  Whether it's personal or professional, I can tell you that the key to health/weight/feel good success is accountability.  The gurus out there have great tips for creating accountability, but what about those of us that are a little more private?  If you at all read these weekly emails, you know that I'm not a classically defined introvert, but I also don't need all 297 of my Facebook friends to know how much I weigh or what I ate for breakfast just for the sake of accountability.  Nor do I feel comfortable or make time for meetings, support groups, or online community forums.  

So, here it is ~ quick and easy, down and dirty:  The Introvert's Guide to Accountability

 Take 5 minutes every night to track these 5 Daily Metrics:

1. How did I feel today?  (Rate 1-10):  This means physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, everything.  Take an average of the entire day, with 1 feeling crappy, pathetic, and depressed and 10 being Zip-A-Dee-Do-Dah ~ Ain't life Grand!  You may have other health goals here, like weight loss goals or medical goals but I'm telling you, the more 10 days you have, the closer you'll be to looking good and healing fast.  As you progress in your tracking, make it a priority to find out how to get 10's (or at least close to it) for yourself more days than not.  

2. How much sleep did I get in the last 24 hours?  (# in hours)  

3. How much did I move today?   (# in minutes)  Note:  This can be exercise or even chores.  Light cleaning like vacuuming, changing sheets, and taking out the trash burns 86 calories per hour.  (One hour of Zone Defense for two toddlers burns 106 calories...how ironic...the exact number present in a glass of Pinot Noir.)  

4.  How many greens did I get today?  (# in servings)  Tracking all of your food can be overwhelming, so just count your servings of greens.  (One serving is the size of the palm of your hand.)  Aim to get over 7 each day.

5.  How much water did I drink today?  (# of ounces)  Optimal amount = your weight divided in half equals the number of ounces.  

So, here it is, my privacy preferring people.  It may not seem like much, but I promise you in 30 days, you will see results.  As we say, Conveniently Natural was born out of the idea that life, especially a healthy life, just doesn't have to be that hard.