Inflammation & Commitment

Sometimes chores we'd rather not bother with turn into something of a blessing. For me this happened the other day as I was correcting settings on my calendar. I forgot that for over a year, I logged my workouts and weight. The weight is what got my attention because I began looking at the period directly before I found out about all my food sensitivities and then as far as I continued to track it until I stopped during that summer.

Why is this important? Because I forgot exactly how long it took my body to rid itself of the inflammation. For the same reason that most people tend to compress the time it took something to happen in life, I somehow began to think that the weight just started to 'fall off' after eating a clean diet for about 6 weeks. I was totally wrong! Looking at the calendar, I lost 2 to 3 lbs per month...it was slow and incremental. Had I not been as committed to this new way of life, I too would have said 'the heck with it!' and gone back to eating gluten and other offenders more often than was good for me.

I receive several e-newsletters that push magic diets and drastic detoxes that promise to remove years of inflammation in a matter of days. And I've worked with clients who, after learning of food intolerances, commit for only a short period of time (like 4 or 6 weeks), barely notice any weight change and conclude that there is no point to maintaining an allergen-free diet.

Well, my face should be proof enough for you!

When the "after" photo was taken during a trip to Costa Rice, many of my friends living down there were totally dumbstruck at how different I looked. They hadn't seen me in almost a year. I realize NOW that no one at home who saw me every day commented about how I looked because the change was SO gradual.

If I had given up after 6 weeks, I would have only lost 1 or 2 lbs which I would have chalked up to some sort of margin of error on the part of the scale. Thus, I wouldn't be where I am now- almost 20 lbs of inflammation lighter, healthier and more energized. The lesson here is that in our fast-paced society, we shouldn't just do the bare minimum effort of caring for ourselves, whether that be eating or relaxing, while expecting a grand result.

Why marginalize what could end up being the greatest transformation of your life?

10 Helpful Tips to Food Prep & Storage

It's pretty common to have trouble figuring out the best way to store and prepare foods that they commonly purchase. So here's 10 tips to point you in the right direction!

Nuts & Seeds
Tip #1: As soon as a nut is removed from it's shell, it begins to go rancid. Though buying nuts with their shell is ideal, I doubt that your busy life is conducive to cracking all those shells every time you want to eat a salad or oatmeal. That said, when you get your pre-shelled nuts and seeds home, put them in an airtight jar (as pictured to the left which are reused) and place the jars in the fridge or freezer. The colder the temperature, the longer they'll stay fresh. Same thing goes for nut and seed butters. If you don't have any jars around, just put the bag right in...better to keep them cold then make excuses not to do it.

Tip #2: If you want to add flaxseeds to your diet, make sure to buy them pre-ground or use your coffee grinder to do so. Your body doesn't have the capability to break down the shells, so that Omega-3 goodness is passing right through you without doing a thing when flaxseeds aren't ground up.

Beans
Tip #3: Whether you buy canned pre-cooked or uncooked dried beans, rinse them before use. Who knows what's been lurking around dried beans! Canned beans usually contain syrup-y looking water with some sediment...rinse that all off including any excess sodium that may have been added to the water.

Tip #4: When cooking beans from scratch, wait until the end to add your sea salt. Adding it in the beginning makes the beans tougher to digest.

Grains
Tip #5: Whether buying your grains from the bulk section or from a nicely labeled package, you still don't have any idea what was lurking around them. Do yourself a favor and rinse away any excess soil, dust, pebbles, etc. that may be mixed in.

Tip #6: Soaking your whole grains overnight or for a day can dramatically reduce cooking time, improve digestibility, and remove unwanted acids such as phytic acid in brown rice which leeches zinc from the body. Remember, rinse your grains before soaking and rinse them again before cooking.

Greens
Tip #7: Buy your greens still attached to the base from which they grow. This helps to maintain their freshness longer.

Fruit
Tip #8: Buy what's in season. I know that I say this a lot, but it makes such a difference. Right now, buy your apples and pears in bulk and store in the fridge until you want one. Maybe set the pears out a couple of days ahead to soften. Both store well in the cold.

Vegetables
Tip #9: Never, ever, EVER put tomatoes in the refrigerator. I cannot stress this enough. They are meant to sit on your counter out of the way of harsh sunlight. When they get too cold, tomatoes become 'mealy' in texture.

Tip #10: If you plan on using only half of an avocado on your salad or meal, make sure when you cut it in half to keep the pit in place on the side intended to be saved. The pit keeps the avocado from going bad. In certain parts of Mexico, they actually put the pit in the bottom of homemade guacamole to keep it fresh longer without needing too much citrus juice.

Buy Food like a Pro!

Think you are a Pro when it comes to buying food at the grocery store? Take the quiz below and see how you rank!

Food Shopping IQ Quiz

1. When looking for low-fat items, do you:
A) Buy items marked "Low Fat" or "Reduced Fat"
B) Look at the number of grams of fat found on the Nutrition Label
C) Determine the percentage of calories from fat
D) Look at the percentage of fat found on the Nutrition Label

2. You generally do not buy new items at the store that you've never had before.
A) True
B) False

3. When choosing items that are low in sodium, do you:
A) Compare sodium to calories
B) Check out the milligrams of sodium found on the Nutrition Label
C) Look at the percentage of sodium found on the Nutrition Label
D) Buy items marked on the front of the packaging "Low Sodium"

4. Products enriched or fortified with vitamins and minerals are healthy options.
A) True
B) False

5. The percentages of Daily Value on the nutrition label are helpful in knowing whether something is good for me and it gives a lot of useful information.
A) True
B) False

6. When buying produce, you choose:
A) All organic, all the time. Organic is the best and worth the price!
B) Whatever is the cheapest. Organic is overrated!
C) Seasonally appropriate items & look for country of origin on labeling.
D) A mix of produce low in pesticides, not genetically modified & local.

Answer key: 1- C; 2- B; 3- A; 4- B; 5- B, 6- D

If you scored less than 5 correct or don't know the information behind the questions listed here, you may want to consider learning how to shop with easy-to-use information that always trumps the best food marketing.

You can learn to love the supermarket and become an expert at purchasing healthy food. It doesn't take much more than a desire to learn a few new priceless steps that will easily take the headache out of choosing healthy items while giving you the courage to integrate some new delicious and healthy items into your diet!
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Quiz created by Jennifer Fugo at Evolving Well, LLC. If you would like to reprint/publish this elsewhere, please provide the proper credits and website (http://www.evolvingwell.com).

Stay Warm without Raising your Thermostat this Winter!

Tea

How cool is it that you could be drinking liquid warmth? Well, tea is right up your alley...and we're talking the non-caffeinated kind. Look for warming spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves to help ignite those fires within. Teas like chai are a great option. Look for rooibos tea as the base so that you're guaranteed an caffeine-free (not de-caffeinated) option. Yogi teas has a delicious blend called Chai Rooibos which I love!

Or! You can make your own warming cinnamon tea with cinnamon sticks and water. First you must understand something about cinnamon. There are two types of cinnamon. The most common type sold in stores looks like a hard peel of only one layer. This is NOT the right kind. You want to look for the other variety that looks like a flaking roll of layers as shown to the right.

Use a small pot and fill with however much water you desire. Add in a stick of the cinnamon broken in half or pulled a part a bit. Bring to a boil and simmer until the water turns a rich brown color. Remove from heat and let steep for about 5 minutes more. Strain out the cinnamon pieces and serve hot. Adding some raw honey or agave is a great way to bring some sweetness to this as well. I guarantee that it will warm you up!

Roasting

Have fun roasting root vegetables and gourds. Think sweet potatoes, onions, garlic cloves, carrots, beets, squashes. Not only are these food items in season, but they are passing on to you the heat that was applied to them during the roasting process. 425 degrees is a good roasting temperature. Toss them with some EVOO, sea salt, pepper and rosemary for added taste!

Stewing

I don't know anyone who would turn down a warm stew on a cold day. Get out your crock pot and use it to your advantage if you are limited on time. Prep the day before and cook overnight, or set it to cook while you're at work. Keep in mind that you want to make enough for leftovers. Cook smarter, not harder!

Baths
Hands down the UltraBath is the way to go... It's both warming and relaxing. And it's great for tired muscles after a hard workout.

Hot bath water
2 cups Epsom salt
(optional)
1-2 tsp Jojoba Oil (added moisture for dry skin)
8-10 drops Lavender Essential Oil (relaxing fragrance)

While tub is filling, pour in the Epsom salt and swirl around to encourage it to dissolve. If you'd like to add the Jojoba Oil, just drizzle in a small amount over the top of the water and swirl around. It will coat your skin on it's own without making it greasy. If you'd like to add the Lavendar Oil, you must mix the drops in a 'carrier oil' or jojoba oil. So, mix the two in a small cup with a few swirls and then drizzle it in. Enjoy!

Kick the ice and cold smoothies!
Don't give your body license to cool off in the winter when all you probably want to do right now is keep warm. Start your day with a warm breakfast and kick those cold smoothie and cereal options to the curb until warmer weather passes our way. What you put in your body directly affects your core body temperature! So, when you dump in cold items, you make the body do a lot of work (aka. expend extra energy) to warm you back up. Plus, a cold body equates to a lower immune system...now I know you don't want that. I know I certainly don't after getting some of those viruses that are floating around.