[Recipe] Luscious Rice and lentil pilaf

Luscious Rice and lentil pilaf

With hints of cinnamon, cumin and coriander, this pilaf warms hearts and bones. The ingredients are not only inexpensive but are easy to find and likely already in your pantry. Paired with a side salad, this meal is completely balanced. You could even use the yogurt dressing on the salad! 

Total time: 50 mins
Serves 6

Ingredients

YOGURT DRESSING:
1 cup plain yogurt
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt

RICE AND LENTILS:
1 1/4 cups green or brown lentils, rinsed
Salt and pepper
3 tbsp canola oil
1 1/4 cups Basmati rice
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp sugar
3 tbsp minced fresh cilantro

Directions 

1. To make the dressing: Whisk all ingredients together in bowl and refrigerate.

2. Place lentils, 4 cups of water and 1 tsp salt medium saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook until lentils are tender (~15 min). Drain and set aside. While lentils cook, place rice in medium bowl and cover by 2 inches with hot tap water; let stand for 15 minutes.
3. Gently stir rice grains to release excess starch then pour off water, leaving rice in bowl. Add cold tap water to the rice and then pour off the water. Repeat adding and pouring off cold tap water 4 to 5 times, until water runs almost clear. Drain rice.

4. Heat the oil, garlic, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, allspice, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and cayenne in a Dutch oven over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until edges of rice begin to turn translucent (~3 min). Add 2 1/4 cups water, sugar, and 1 tsp of salt and bring to boil. Stir in lentils, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until all liquid is absorbed (~12 min).

5. Take the pot off the heat & remove lid. Place a dish towel over the pot and replace lid. Let stand for 10 minutes. Fluff rice and lentils with fork and stir in cilantro.

6. Serve with a drizzle of yogurt dressing and 2 cups of salad on the side.

[Recipe] Easy Pot au Feu

Easy Pot au Feu

The traditional recipe of Pot au Feu (translation: pot on the fire) involves making your own broth using ox tail, veal shank, short rib and brisket. Although it does taste heavenly, these are not ingredients I have on hand on a weeknight. If you are the kind of person who has these handy, by all means follow a traditional recipe. If you are like me, I can make due with yummy, albeit non-traditional versions of recipes. This dish is not your average stew- forget thick and heavy gravy like sauce. It has a broth-like consistency that is flavored with all the veggies and meats you decide to cook in it.

Total time: 90-120 mins
Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
2 cans consomme
5 chicken thighs, boneless if desired
3 Italian sausages
2 tsp oil
salt and pepper
8 whole cloves
1 onion, cut into quarters
6 leeks, white part only (if desired)
1 celery stalk, cut in half
4 carrots, cut into 4-inch lengths
2 bay leaves
1 bunch of of fresh parsley (divided)
1 tsp dried thyme (or 1 fresh sprig)
15 small potatoes, cut in half
1 head of cabbage, cored and cut into 6 to 8 wedges
1 rutabaga or turnip, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 cup white wine

Instructions:
1. In a huge pot or dutch oven, heat the oil and brown the chicken (~5min). Once browned, remove from the pot and set aside. 
2. Push 2 cloves into each onion quarter add the onions to the pot, along with the leeks (if you are using them), celery, carrots, potato, rutabaga, cabbage and herbs (using a few sprigs of parsley). 
3. Pour consomme and equal parts water (use the cans to measure) and 1 cup of white wine over the vegetables. Cover the pot and bring it to a boil. 
4. Add the chicken back in and the sausages. Turn down the heat so the pot is on a slow simmer. Cook over medium-low heat for around 2 hours, or until the meat has fully cooked and vegetables are tender. 
5. Mince up about 10 sprigs of parsley so as to have 6 tbsp. Sprinkle each portion with about 1 tbsp of the herb.

3 easy snacks for your next tailgate party

The air has become crisp, the days are shorter and autumn brings a spectacular change of colour to our trees up here in the Boreal forest.
For many people, the Fall also signifies the start to the football season and tailgate parties. Finding the balance between eating healthy and treats can be tough. Having a few healthier snack ideas in your recipe repertoire can help you find that balance and add some interesting flavors to the party food.
Whip up one or all of these quick, easy and nutritious snacks next time you need to feed a hungry crowd. You can find other great snack ideas and learn more about healthy snack ideas by visiting Nuts.com.

Jalapeno Parmesan Popcorn

Add some kick (and adult flavors) to this high fiber snack. The saltiness of the cheese pairs so nicely with the bite of the pepper.

4 cups popped popcorn
1/4 cup shredded parmesan
2 tbsp minced jalapeno peppers

Add the popcorn to a large bowl and, while it is still hot, sprinkle on the cheese and jalapeno. Toss to mix.








High Protein Trail Mix

Create your own trail mix that is high in fiber, protein and contains tons of good fats. Add a little something sweet to balance it out and voila!

1 cup roasted chickpeas
1/2 cup roasted pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup chocolate treats
1/4 cup roasted pecans (or your favourite nut)

Mix all the ingredients together and store in an airtight container.

Sweet and Salty Pretzels

One quick (half) dip into your favourite dark chocolate turns everydays pretzels into a real treat.

2 cups of pretzels
60g (2 oz) of your choice of chocolate

1. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place in a double boiler.
3. Heat the water on medium heat until the chocolate starts to melt. Turn off the heat and stir the chocolate until it is melted.
4. Dip each pretzel into the chocolate and tap to remove excess chocolate.
5. Place the dipped pretzel onto the parchment paper. Once all the pretzels are dipped, place the pan in the fridge to cool off the chocolate.

[Recipe] Strawberry Hempseed Smoothie

Yum


Although I love shopping at our local market, I don't always have the time. Stocking up on the basics at my local wholesale store can make home cooking a reality more often at my house. However, it is not always obvious about what to do with large quantities of pantry essentials- that is where Wholesale Wholesome comes in. The recipes developed under this title use easy to find foods at your local wholesale store that can be whipped up quickly and provide a nutritious meal for the whole family.

Strawberry Hempseed Smoothie 

I'm probably the only person on the planet who doesn't like bananas in their smoothies! This explains why there are none in this recipe however a banana could be easily added.
Any combination of fruit and yogurt could be used- I just happened to pair strawberries with strawberries.


Also, I used hemp hearts to boost the protein and omega 3 content. I used to use chia seeds but I recently ran out and got into the habit of using hemp hearts. They have a nuttier taste and blend up well. if you are considering using this as a meal replacement, 

I suggest either adding a serving of grain products on the side or throwing 1/4 cup of dry oats into the blender.

Serves 1-2 

Ingredients: 
1/2 cup sliced strawberries, frozen or fresh
1/2 cup milk (add more if you prefer a less thick smoothie)
1 1/2 tbsp hemp seeds
3/4 cup strawberry yogurt (or any flavor/type you prefer)

Instructions: 
Throw all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

[Wholesale Wholesome] Coconut Strawberry Chia Pudding

Yum



I wanted to share a recipe that was a big hit in my house recently: Chia pudding.
It was cheap, quick and easy to throw together & everyone (from 1 years old to 72 years old) loved it.

I am quite late in jumping on the chia pudding bandwagon since I am hesitant to jump on any food bandwagon. They usually over promise and under deliver. But boy am I glad I gave this recipe a try!

This recipe is part of my Wholesale Wholesome recipes. Although I love shopping at the local food market (lucky for me this is The Atwater Market), I don't always have time. A large wholesale store is literally minutes down the street and that is where we tend to stock up on the basics. It can be hard to know what to do with food in bulk, so Wholesale Wholesome was designed to help you out!

Coconut Strawberry Chia Pudding
Makes 6 servings
Ingredients
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup plain yogurt
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1/4 cup chia seeds
12 strawberries, cleaned and sliced (or any sliced fruit)
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1/4 cup coconut, toasted

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the first 6 ingredients.
2. Let sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes and up to one day.
3. Before serving, stir up to evenly distribute the chia seeds.
4. Divide into bowls and top with the berries, nuts and coconut.

[Wholesale Wholesome] Delicious barley risotto with asparagus and mushrooms

Yum

Looking for a little change in the rice department? Barley is a great way to expand your recipe repertoire because it cooks up to be gelatinous, nutty and delicious. It has a lower glycemic index than rice, contains more fibre and can be just as quick to whip up. In fact, with this recipe you don't have to stand over the risotto stirring it constantly! You can let it cook up with less hassle.

Also, this recipe is made from ingredients found at my local wholesale store (ie. Costco). Although I love shopping at the local fresh produce markets, sometimes I have to rely on the closest grocery store- which for me is Costco.

Barley Risotto with asparagus and mushrooms. 
Makes 4 large servings

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup Barley, dry
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 clove of garlic, minced
1.5 lbs Asparagus, chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 med onion, chopped finely
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup Mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp lemon zest, grated
1/2 chicken bouillon cube
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions
1. Blanch the asparagus for 2-3 min then cool.
2. Cook the onion, salt, pepper in the oil over medium heat for 5-7 min.
3. Add barley, stir and toast for 1 min.
4. Add in the wine and boil for 1 min.
5. Add in 4 cups of water and the 1/2 cube of chicken bouillon. Bring to a boil then cover, turn down the heat and let simmer for 35 minutes.
6. Add in the garlic and mushrooms and let cook for 10 min.
7. Add in the asparagus spears and let cook for another 10 min.
8. Take off the heat, Stir in the lemon zest and cheese then serve.

Notes: in my rush to cook this delicious dish, I ended up putting the asparagus and mushrooms in at the same time- but it turned out just fine. Also, I made a no-cheese version for my sister who has a dairy allergy and it actually tasted great!

The secret ingredient for real corporate wellness

Companies who care about their employees’ health are often seen as being responsible and forward thinking. But could these good intentions be paving the way to harm? 

A few books have come out this year debating this question "do corporate wellness programs help or harm employees?" There have been numerous articles talking about the subject, as well as debates such as the one on the CBC radio show Q. 

One of the books in question is called The Wellness Syndrome and it was written by Dr. Andre Spicer and Carl Cederström. They state that some company's extensive wellness efforts caused employees stress. You can read a print interview of this book here.

Another book along the sames lines is Surviving Workplace Wellness…with Your Dignity, Finances, and (Major) Organs Intact. You can read a summary of it here.

At first glance, it may seem that the obvious answer is that corporate wellness programs do help employee health. However, if you delve deeper into both sides of the debate, the answer is far less clear.

On the one hand, you have the idea that healthy employees work more efficiently, are sick less often and help to add to a culture of healthiness and happiness. Also, most people feel that if your employer cares about your health and gives you time to take care of it, it is an added benefit. However, implementing a corporate wellness program and having this program actually work are two separate things. The assumption is that the wellness programs really do help people be healthier and improve their lifestyles. But this may not always be the case.
 

Labelling people who don't participate in the program as lazy or singling out people to participate can do more harm than good. People who are perceived as being unhealthy by their peers (this is usually based on their physical appearance) may be bullied or coerced into needing to participate. This backfires on the whole point of corporate wellness since stigmatizing people due to their weight or size has been linked to lower levels of healthiness. Although weight and body size is an easy thing to see (and thus judge) it really does not indicate one's health status. The factors that do matter most are the ones you cannot see, like cholesterol levels, blood pressure and stress.

Assuming that the "unhealthy looking" employees need help improving can alienate them from the corporation and their peers and assumes they are either doing nothing to improve their well-being or are too stupid to know what to do. When these initiatives come down from the top, they can persist weight biases and encourage continued ignorance on the subject of global health. In The Wellness Syndrome, the authors succinctly summarize their proposed “syndrome”. They state "that because employees had every opportunity to stay healthy, those who didn't meet extreme health standards sometimes felt like failures".

The people that these programs "would be good for" often end up feeling like they have to prove their worth in society by participating in a never-ending cycle to self-improve (in most cases, this is about losing weight). If weight loss and dieting usually leads to weight regain and weight cycling is linked to low mood and low quality of life, then the ethics of having such weight loss based programs must be reconsidered. If you want to learn more about the ethics of health professionals recommending dieting, you can read a past blog here.

Furthermore, the people who feel they must participate or risk being judged, may be already doing something to improve their health that they have not publically announced (ie. seeing a therapist for stress management or a dietitian for weight management). If these programs are poorly designed, participating can actually set them back.

It is amazing that even today, in 2015, well-meaning people want to focus on the same diet stuff that was being talked about in 1990! No, losing weight is not a guarantee that your employees will be less sick. No, it does not mean that your employees will work more efficiently. And no, it does not mean they are better people. How well do you work with the burden

when you are hungry, exhausted from dieting and feel like your company expects you to lose weight? 

The danger lies in the foundation of the wellness program. One that is designed by an actual health professional that has experience in overall well-being, not just weight loss competitions and fat shaming, is optimal. Ideally, this program would include all aspects of health as well as the proper health professionals such as registered dietitians, kinisiologists and psychologists. Including both spheres of health – the mind and the body- is key.

Another big problem is that these programs are being delivered by professionals (or pseudo-health professionals) who are emphasizing the wrong aspects of health. Focusing on the number of pounds lost or following food rules at the office (i.e. going gluten free) are just a few of the nutrition related mistakes that happen all the time. Focusing on weight lost is simple to quantify to the company who is funding the wellness program, but it is a terrible predictor of overall health.

Most people know what to do to be healthy. The question is why can't they make the changes. Focusing on ways to overcome barriers to healthy living is much more useful than reiterating the reasons why you should change. Learning (again) how to read a food label for fat content or stating the reasons why you have to aim for 10000 steps per day is fine if your participants lack knowledge. However, a more motivating discussion around why choosing high fat foods is easy or why they aren't getting 10000 steps in every day can be a lot more useful. 

The authors suggest alternatives to weight loss competitions and exercise tracking such as keeping working hours under control, letting people disconnect in the evenings and weekends, and understanding what actually causes a sense of well-being. 

For real health changes, we have to get back to the science of wellbeing and stop focusing on old school theories because the dangers in promoting a poorly designed wellness program can do much more harm than good. 

No fry, easy, crispy chicken recipe

It is rare that I post recipes as blogs but when I find a tasty, quick & easy recipe, sometimes you just have to share it!
We have been cooking a lot more chicken in our house lately and although BBQ chicken is delicious, it is nice to expand our horizons once in awhile. We were in the mood for a baked version of fried chicken. Here is a quick recipe (it took a total of 35 minutes to make but only 10 minutes of prep with 25min of cooking) that contains ingredients we already had in our pantry!

1 tbsp grainy mustard
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp coriander powder
2 eggs
1 tsp salt

2 cups panko
1/2 tsp curry powder

10 small chicken thighs, boneless

1. Preheat the oven to 400oF.
2. Put a rack on a baking sheet and spray with cooking oil spray.
3. Mix together the first 5 ingredients in a shallow bowl.
4. In another shallow bowl, mix the panko and 1/2 tsp curry powder.
5. Dredge the chicken through the wet mix then coat in panko mixture.
6. Place the coated chicken onto the sprayed rack. Spray with cooking spray.
7. Place in oven for about 20-25 minutes or until the chicken reaches 77oC or 170oF.
8. Serve with a ketchup curry dip: mix 3/4 cup ketchup with the juice of 1 lime and 1/2 tsp of curry powder.

The curry flavor was not overwhelming and the chicken thighs were juicy and tender. The panko stuck well to the chicken and the poultry did not even need to be cut since the thighs were already in small pieces.

Bon appetit!

Eating disorders: "simple" solution, complex issue

Eating disorders can be hard to understand. What seems like a straight forward “skewed vision of one's body” is rarely this simple.

Providing a fridge full of good food or begging people with an eating disorder to "just eat!" very rarely works. No matter how minor the problem seems to be (and it is common to scoff it off as not serious enough for therapy) professional help is needed to recover. One problem that tends to be underestimated is binge eating disorder. Unfortunately, many people who suffer from BED have the same body image problems as people with anorexia or bulimia.

Why professional help? Because they help the sufferer deal with all the major complexities of an eating disorder. Believing yourself to be “fat” when you are thin (or a normal weight) is only one of the symptoms of an eating disorder. A major component that goes one step deeper is the fact that self-worth is based on weight. The higher the weight, the lower the self-worth. Rather than looking at all aspects of life that make up an evaluation of one’s self, like being a nice person, a good student, a kind daughter/son, punctual, reliable, etc-  weight is the most important aspect.

This is why exploring more than just body weight is needed for recovery. Specialized psychologists and dietitians can help with all behaviors of an eating disorder to help increase other aspects of life that make up self-worth.

When weight loss is the goal, no amount of weight lost is enough. Food becomes feared since it brings the person farther away from their goal of weighing less. This fear can be compared to a fear of dogs. If someone has an intense fear of dogs, they will likely do anything they can to get away from one or avoid being close to one. This intense fear can lead them to do things that puts their life in danger. Imagine running into traffic after being scared by a dog on the street or being confining to the house since there may be a dog outside. Neither of these behaviors are healthy but they are done to avoid the dog. Similarly, if someone is scared of food, they may avoid social situations where food is the main event, live with a dangerously low body weight or even sacrifice their teeth to get rid of any food eaten.

So, would offering food to someone who is scared help to decrease this fear? Well, in the short run, no. It is a process that takes time. Small exposures to the thing that is feared (whether it be dogs or food) and working up to the equivalent to petting a dog works best. Although someone who is underweight would benefit from eating high calorie foods, it takes time to work up to being able to do it. This process is best done with the help of a professional to help guide and provide support. Usually it starts by adding “safe” foods to a routine and progress to more “scary” foods.

One thing that has been proven time and time again, is that returning to a healthy weight by eating the foods your body needs is the most effective treatment for an eating disorder. 

2013 No diet day campaign!

http://equilibre.ca/journee-internationale-sans-diete/

skinny is the OLD "healthy". Welcome to 2013!

Study upon study has proven that it is more important to focus on living/eating healthy rather than just "being skinny" for healthy living. One major issue that perpetuates the misconception that skinny = healthy is the fact that other health professionals (doctors, nurses, etc) often focus on weight to help decrease risk for certain diseases or disease progression. Although it is true that excessive weight (if all other aspects of lifestyle are disregarded) may put certain people at risk, there are far more aspects to look at when evaluating a persons health. Perpetuating the idea that higher weights translate into unhealthy lives is also the result of weight bias in non health professionals.
On a similar note, ff you or someone you know can relate to the questions below, you may want to consider learning more about disordered eating (check out ANEB Quebec for more information):

I think that people who are thinner than me are happier and have a better life?
I am extremely afraid of getting fat?
I have difficulty maintaining an appropriate weight for my age, sex, and height? (a BMI between 20-25).

If the above facts don't change your mind about weight versus health, consider this: other studies have proven that people who focus on health and healthy living while making changes to their lifestyle (i.e. an overall improvement in their eating and activity habits) actually lost more weight than those people who only focused on losing weight. Imagine that! While not focusing on the numbers and the scale, people actually made more meaningful changes! This along with the fact that those people who "love" their bodies, accept their shapes and have higher self esteem tend to live healthier lifestyles (compared to those who have low self esteem and are unhappy with their shape/body) are great example that positive health goals can lead to positive changes.
So let's recap- focusing on healthy living rather than a specific weight (or losing weight) may lead more naturally to weight management and accepting and respecting ones body also leads to healthier living....perhaps the concept that thinking negatively (believing you have no willpower, are not motivated enough, are not good enough, not worth it) may actually lead to "negative" results.

Picture from Equilibre.ca

The KEY to eating less is...

PORTION SIZE.
It may be one of the more difficult things to change about the way you eat (and is certainly one of the less glamorous), but it is one of the most efficient ways to eat fewer calories.
Step one: understand just how big your current portion sizes are which must come before determining what to cutting down on. To do this, you have a few options: start measuring out what you each with measuring cups OR use something that is always handy.... like your own hand!

Portion sizes are the most basic concept on which the “healthy versus less healthy” universe is based. No one food is evil since it’s really the portion of the food that counts. However, this is one of the least understood technical info in the nutrition world. It’s not complicated and certainly anyone can learn basic portion sizes! 

Since your hand is in proportion to you overall body size, it's a great reference tool on which to base your food needs.

Check out these simple ways to use your hand to estimate portion sizes, no matter where you are or what you are eating.
(please note that a fist is generally = to one cup)

Weight loss and the Macguffin

What does the Atkins diet and Skyfall have in common? or to be more broad, what does any action or spy movie have in common with diets? A Macguffin.

These movies have very similar structures: you have a good guy, a bad guy and the reason why they have come face to face. This reason, the thing that differentiates one movie from the next, is called the Macguffin. How can we sit through countless bond films and still be entertained, is the slight difference between each movie. 

The same can be said for diets. They usually promote certain foods (the "good foods") while vilifying others (you guessed it, the "bad foods"). The Macguffin is the "catch" on how this diet is different from the others. All of these fad diets are low calorie- it's the way that they get you to restrict your calories that is different (or the "macguffin"). They may not state outright that the diet is low calorie, they are more likely promote some "miracle" food or supplement that is the "trick" to weight loss.

The reason why diets are not a healthy or smart way to lose weight, is the fact that they are not sustainable. They are designed to work only in the short run and can only really be followed for a few weeks or months. 

Also, they can recommend eliminating healthy foods, such as milk and alternatives, fruit and whole grains. I suppose you could say they all have the same unhappy ending: weighing more than what you weighed when you started dieting. 

Here are some popular diets and their Macguffins:

Atkins diet: good guys = protein and fat; bad guys = carbs (fruit, grain products, other starchy foods).  

Paleo diet: good guys = protein and fat; bad guys = carbs (grains, dairy, other starchy foods).

South beach diet: good guys =low glycemic index foods, good fats; bad guys = high glycemic index foods and bad fats like saturated and trans fats. Certainly less restrictive than other diets but low calorie never the less. 
Montignac: good guys =low glycemic index foods; bad guys = high glycemic index foods. Oh and lots of complicated food combing to limit what you can eat.
Eat right for your blood type: good guys = "depends on your blood type"; bad guys = "depends on your blood type". Basically, each blood type will be limiting certain foods to get calorie intake down.  

Many of these diets have common bad guys and good guys, only proving that creative labeling foods as good and evil is not the best strategy to manage your weight. 
It's funny how, despite having all of these diets, that there still is an "obesity epidemic" in most countries. Perhaps it is because they do not work? or because they are not "the answer"? 

Quebec has an interesting site to visit regarding diets and weight loss plans. Here is an interesting pamphlet if you are considering taking on a diet. 
Equilibre is another great site for more info. 
If you are a health professional, joining the Canadian Obesity Network is free and their website is great!

To dairy or not to dairy

There is an article circulating about the "reasons" why milk is not a healthy beverage. It may be some of the worst bit of journalism I have ever read, but it does make for an exciting blog post!
There were many ridiculous points made in this article and I will try to get through some of the more crazy issues brought up.

One of alleged "reasons" for avoiding milk is because some people have food allergies towards milk. Another "reason" mentioned is because some people suffer from lactose intolerance. I am not too sure how these two facts have been turned into a case against milk, but the fact that some people have allergies or an intolerance to certain foods does not make then "bad" or unhealthy". Of course, they are to be completely avoided by the people who are allergic to them but in most cases of lactose intolerance, intolerant people can buy lactose free milk or take an enzyme that breaks down lactose before it causes a problem.
If all allergenic foods were to be considered unhealthy, we should also be avoiding the other main food allergens which include: peanuts, eggs, tree nuts, wheat, soy, sesame seeds, seafood, sulfites and mustard.
That does not leave many food choices left! When you have no food allergies and no one you are cooking for has severe allergies, avoiding a food that contains a main allergen is pointless. You certainly do not develop food allergies just by eating allergenic foods.

On that same note, lactose was attacked because writer mentioned that milk is "full of sugar". It is true that lactose is a form of sugar that eventually break down into glucose (the sugar of our blood that feeds our brain and muscles). Lactose occurs naturally and no sugar is added to regular milk. if you are not scared to drink a glass of juice, there is no reason why you would be scared of milk. In fact, cup for cup, milk contains half the amount of sugar as juice.

Another point made against milk is that it is "loaded with calories". Sure, it contains calories but it is not "loaded" with them. If you compare anything to water it will be loaded with calories. For those of you just tuning in, calories = energy. They go on to compare the saturated fat content of fries and milk. Fries in fact are low in saturated fat because the oil used to fry them is low in saturated fat. Milk is not high in saturated fat. 0, 1 and 2% milk have acceptable saturated fat contents so comparing anything with fries cooked in a fat low in saturated fat would yield a "false" high amount. A food item containing less than 10% daily value of bad fat is considered low in bad fat.

My final point is merely 6 words: Mark Bittman is an Opinion columnist.

Getting into the spirits of the season

Too often food has been to blame for the pounds put on over the holidays, when in fact alcohol can contribute quite a bit. It is a little known fact that alcohol itself contains calories- more calories than carbs or protein per gram! Pure alcohol contains 7 calories per gram whereas carbs and protein each contain 4 cal per gram. That means that although those vodka sodas may be lower in calories than gin & tonic, it still contains calories.



Here is a fun down of the calories found in popular drinks:

Regular beer (12oz): ~150cal

Light beer (12oz): ~100cal

Red, white or rose wine (5oz): ~100cal

Vodka, rum, whiskey, gin (1oz): 65cal

Baileys (1oz): 100cal



One or even two simple drinks on occasion does not add up to be many calories in the long run however, pair a few drinks (~400cal) with an average holiday meal of 1000cal and you can easily consume a days worth of calories in one evening.


One easy way to lower the impact of drinks on your health is to drink smaller quantities. This can be done by either using smaller glasses or diluting drinks with low calorie mixers such as club soda.
Pairing each drink with a glass of sparkling water not only allows you to hold on to something while mingling, but also fills you up.
Also, if you are thirsty it is best to quench it first with water before diving into the egg nog. Often we forget about how much water we need when the hot days of summer are long gone.

Canadian recommendations for drinks containing alcohol are 0-1 per day (Max 9 drinks per week) for women and 1-2 per day (max 14 drinks per week) for men. Most other countries have similar recommendations however, their serving sizes do vary. Of course, over the holidays we tend to indulge more than usual, but keep in mind the calories can add up quickly with all the parties this time of year.

Its crunch time

It’s crunch time, no pun intended, and exams are creeping up. You may find yourself with little or no time for anything but studying! Although it may be wise to push aside other ventures during this stressful time, one thing you must not do is neglect proper nutrition. Eating well is important all year round, but for students, it is especially crucial during exam time. Healthy food is what provides your body and mind with energy to study, concentrate, recall information and to think critically during tests.

Unfortunately, we often skip meals or opt for fast food when studying which can lead to low energy levels, decreased motivation to work hard and ultimately grades that do not represent your our potential. How frustrating!
Following the information below can help you make healthy, quick, tasty food choices during exams which will help to boost memory and energy levels so that you can excel on your finals.

1. Get up early enough to eat breakfast. This meal will provide you with sustained energy throughout the day.
2. Try to eat small meals every 3 hours up until your final.
3. Stay hydrated and avoid too much caffeine. While a cup of coffee may seem to wake you up, too much will send you to the washroom every 15 minutes which will only distract you! It may also heighten your level of anxiety. Good hydration starts at breakfast. Drink at least one glass of juice or water every hour before your exam. Dehydration can affect your ability to concentrate and remain calm during an exam.
4. Bring a snack and a drink with you to the exam. This is a time when comfort foods are useful. Bring whatever you like but choosing something that is going to provide you with some energy is always wise. Here are some quick energy food ideas: cookies, chocolate milk, fruit & fruit juice, a muffin, pudding & yogurt.

The P word

Food processing: is a set of methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food or to transform food into other forms for consumption by humans in the home or in the food industry.

One of the newer trends in nutrition and food is the idea that fresh, natural foods are healthier than processed foods. Sometimes the claims state that these foods contain more vitamins or minerals, or that they have lost fewer nutrients for the lack of processing, or even that processing can affect how the body digests the food. Sometimes, very little proof beyond the fact that it is more "natural" is used to hook buyers.


In general, it is true that the more a food is processed the more salt, sugar and other additives it may contain. However, as usual with food and nutrition there is often another side to the argument. One of which is that certain vitamins can be affected by shipping fresh foods and by freezing them before shipping can actually deliver to the consumer a more "fresh" product that is frozen. This is true mainly for fruits and vegetables.

Another fact remains that some foods cannot be eaten without certain processing taking place. For example, legumes or pulses such as chickpeas, kidney beans and lentils cannot be eaten dry. They must be "processed" (cooked) before our body can digest the fiber and protein they contain. Another example is meat (chicken, red meat pork)- it is unsafe for our body to consume these foods without cooking therefore we could never consume them without "processing".

Bread has been under fire over the last 20 years, one of the reasons (among many) being that it is a processed food. Without processing, we cannot consume wheat, oat, quinoa, or many other grains. If we continue with the example of bread, it cannot be made without processing. First the grains must be crushed to form flour (processing), then they must be combined with other ingredients (yeast, salt, sugar, water, etc) and cooked (processed).

Sea salt has been another rising star in the world of natural foods. You may have heard of such claims as that is contains less sodium (not true), it affects blood pressure less than regular table sat (untrue) and that it does not contain iodine which table salt often does (true but why is iodine bad exactly... they don't explain, likely because there is no reason or at least they have not thought up one yet).

As with most things in nutrition, there is no black and white, or good and bad foods. We must instead use our judgement before labeling foods as everyday foods or occasional foods. And don't forget to check your references! Obviously if a natural food company is trying to sell you their latest all natural, unprocessed sea salt they are going to market it as the prefect product.

Often rather healthy foods such as bread will be labeled bad due to a misunderstood rumor of processing, while other foods will rise to fame for undue claims (for example: spelt or Splenda). Learn how to read labels in order to determine if a processed food has been rendered less nutritious than its fresh counterpart.

Thanks to processing we can enjoy foods such as cheese, wine and dark chocolate. Who would argue with that!?

Hungry for the truth?

Eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full. These guidelines may be easy to understand but are definitely harder to follow. The idea of "eating mindfully" is a new trend in the weight management world. The concept draws on our innate ability to listen to our body's signals of hunger and fullness. However, many of us have stopped listening to these signals a long time ago and have a hard time unscrambling the messages.

One step towards clearly hearing and understanding these signals is to first recognize what they are in their physical form. What exactly do I physically feel when I am truly hungry? Some examples are feeling irritable, an emptiness in your stomach, a gnawing feeling, grumbling in your stomach, headache, shakiness and inability to concentrate.

When we are stimulated into feeling hungry by an outside stimulus, such as the smell of dinner cooking, or seeing donuts in the break room or watching someone else eat, we can have the illusion we are hungry. It may be more a stimulation of our appetite than a true hunger. Removing yourself from the situation for a moment to evaluate your physical symptoms of hunger can help you to determine if the motivation to eat is based on our eyes or your stomach. Some useful tips are to determine your level of true hunger before encountering the stimulus:
-sitting in the car before walking into the house for supper
-take a moment to walk out of the kitchen to determine how hungry you are (ex. in the bathroom) and thus honestly determining how big you portions should be for the meal.
-being honest with yourself regarding the last time you ate (was it only an hour ago?)

If you are still not sure if you are truly hungry, wait 20 minutes before eating. If the symptoms do not go away and get worse, you body is likely asking to be fed.

Knowing the signs of fullness is also important. How do you know when you are full? Again, observing yourself and recording your personal physical signs can be quite eye opening. Feeling full and satisfied after a meal is not the same as feeling bloated or stuffed and ideally, by listening to fullness signals, those signs of overeating will be avoided.
If you are not sure if you are full with the quantities you have eaten, give yourself time to digest. It is likely that in 20 minutes you will feel satisfied. REMEMBER, if you are hungry later, you have the right to eat.
Take the time to measure your level of fullness halfway through the meal.

Only by practicing listening to your body do the messages of hunger and fullness become decoded. It takes practice but in the end, your body is the best determinant of how much food you need!

CHEK it out

Nothing rubs me the wrong way more than reading nutrition advice from a so-called "expert" who, not only gets a few scientific facts wrong, but tries to tell you they know better than the rest of the nutrition (or even scientific) community.

Unfortunately, today that person is Paul Chek. Now, I have tried to find what his background is regarding formal education, or anything other than his self-prophesied Holistic Health Practitioner title, but I have yet to find anything. This bothers me because without a basic knowledge of chemistry, biochemistry and biology it hard to "discover" new theories regarding the body. This worry of mine also applies to Paul's good friend Mr. William Wolcott who invented the theory of "Metabolic Typing" and the subsequent diets that are tailored to your Metabolic Type. Again, there are only vague references to Mr. Wolcott's past experiences of "doing research" in the 80's that led him to discovering this "revolutionary" new way of eating right for your metabolic type.

Yikes.

I tried to take the test that would answer the greatest question of all: whats MY metabolic type!? The test, from what I can gather, was invented by Chek and asks questions such as:
1. I often: add salt to my food OR find that foods are too salty for my liking.
2. When eating dairy products, I feel best after eating: richer, full fat yogurts, cheeses or desserts OR lighter, low fat yogurts and cheeses or desserts.
WELL.... I don't know about you, but my answers are not so straight forward as A or B. It kind of depends on the food, the day, my mood...

These questions are "analyzed" and from it you will be categorized as either a person who is a "Carb type", a "Protein Type" or a "Mixed type"
The concept behind this "non-diet" diet is this: eat the proportions of fats/protein/carbs that feel right for you...OH and don't forget to eat the right foods for your type.
There are pages and pages of specific advice for each type- for example an orange, which is normally considered a healthy food, may push a "protein type" out of balance (what does that mean!?).

I don't think so.

Despite all the "groundbreaking research" Mr. Wolcott and Chek have done in their lifetimes, I think the thousands of actual research experiments that have been carried out over the last 400 years may have something to say about that.
If this was the answer to obesity, I think we would have heard about it by now.

Moving on.

I was randomly flipping through his "nutrition" chapter and came across information regarding eating raw. Firstly, he mentions that by cooking fruits and vegetables we are killing vital enzymes that we need to help digestion. This myth has long since been dispelled. If Chek understood basic biology he would understand that an enzyme is a protein and once exposed to stomach acids, they become denatured. This means they are no longer active enzymes by the time they reach our intestines where digestion happens. Not to mention the fact that as humans, we have our OWN set of enzymes that help us digest- we cannot use pineapple or papaya enzymes because we are not fruit.

Chek goes on to talk about how the human body was not designed to eat lots of grains and how meat from herbivores contains condensed nutrition. 1lbs of this meat apparently is nutritionally equivalent to many pounds of vegetables.

OH PLEASE.
We all know that there are different nutrients found in protein rich and carbohydrate rich foods and that we need BOTH to be healthy. Just because you can convert stored fat into carbohydrates does not mean that our body is meant to do this over a long period of time. Our body is meant to use carbs as a main source of carbs and can resort to using our fat stores in times of starvation. Breaking down fat to get carbs (or glucose) over extended periods of time has it downfalls- its called ketoacidosis.

I think the fact that Paul Check states clearly that be "believes meat is essential for optimal health" says it all. This has been proven wrong time and time again- not through the scientists "experimenting on themselves" but in real population studies and lab studies.

I could go on and on about the mis-information you can find in Paul's book but it would take days. My advice to you: when reading about new diets or so called discoveries, refer back to common sense and basic biology 101.

Losing weight without "losing weight"

As strange as it sounds, its true- you can actually lose weight without seeing a change on the scale. It is possibly one of the most frustrating things to experience both as a client and as a dietitian.

For one, it is hard to convince people that an inanimate object, such as a scale, should not be the only source for motivation when trying to lose weight. It is hard to convince die-hard scale fans to cut down on their weigh-ins and just focus on attaining (and setting) their non-weight based goals.

The reason behind this mysterious loss of fat but apparent non-loss of total body weight is easily explained. When you decide to change your eating and activity habits to help yourself lose weight, you are essentially trying to change what your body is composed of- you are burning fat and gaining lean muscle mass (or non-fat weight).
Eating a little bit less calories than you need and exercising more, on a daily basis, encourages your body to burn its excess stores of fat. At the same time, by exercising more you start to tone and strengthen your muscles- and thus encouraging them to grow. You are replacing the weight lost by fat with muscle weight- and the scale may not move much.

So how do we judge if our efforts are being rewarded? Well, one easy way is to take a look at your waist. Use a run-of-the-mill measuring tape used in sewing and measure your circumference at the height of your bellybutton: Is it getting smaller? Are your pants fitting you better? Losing inches off your waist not only can give you a better idea of just how much fat you have lost, but its a better indicator of how much you have decreased your risk for developing diabetes and heart disease than a scale.

Another way to judge if we are successful is to set goals that are not based on numbers on a scale. Setting short term goals that are realistic and focus on specific tasks can be a more positive way to look at changing your lifestyle. If you attained your goal, you will have been successful, regardless of what the scale tells you.

This advice is ESPECIALLY true when it comes to children and teens losing weight. Since they are still growing, the scale is very unreliable in showing if they have burnt fat. Not only are they replacing fat with muscle, but their bone mass is also growing. Other ways to tell if they are changing their body composition is to take a look at how fast they move in their favourite sport or hobby, as well as if they attained the goals they set personally and as a family. If the goal has been reached, they are deemed successful and should continue to set new goals every month or so. Having a healthy perspective on weight loss is more important than obsessing about their weight.