Nurture Principles

Are you on Twitter? Come join the Me Movement Team, and community for a Twitter Party on June 27th. We will be chatting about an aspect of the Me Movement from 8-9pm EST. Joining is very easy-all you have to do is log on to twitter and search for “#mefirst” Or you can you handy programs like TweetChat or TweetDeck to follow the conversation more easily. Our guest expert this week is Kendra of @VoiceInRecovery

Meet the expert:

Kendra Sebelius is an eating disorder and body image advocate. Kendra also advocates for awareness of co-morbidities in eating disorders, substance abuse and self harm. She is in recovery from numerous eating disorders, substance abuse struggles, as well as self harming. She started Voice in Recovery (ViR)™ because she felt there weren’t enough voices speaking about recovery. ViR’s mission and focus is on PAIR™ (Prevention, Awareness, Intervention, and Recovery). Advocating awareness about eating disorders, body image struggles, mental health issues, substance abuse and self harm. ViR supports healthy living, HAES, media literacy, body diversity, self love and self acceptance.

She will be tweeting from @VoiceinRecovery Elizabeth Jarrard will be moderating from @ElizabethEats

Have a question you’d love to ask? Leave it below in the comments section and we’ll be sure to include it! Check back on Thursday for the best of the chat! We look forward to tweeting with you! You can also RSVP on Facebook

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By: Toby Amidor, MS RD CDN

Some of my clients tell me they won’t touch pasta because it is “bad” or they drink tons of green tea because it is “good.” But is it really that black and white? Do foods fall into one category verses the other? Here’s a walk through some of the most controversial foods.

Pasta
Let’s get something straight—pasta doesn’t make you fat. Pasta has gotten a bad reputation due to super-sized portions slathered with ridiculously high fat sauces. One cup of cooked pasta has around 200 calories but folks eat 4 to 5 times that at one sitting! Not to mention each tablespoon of oil contains 120 calories and most recipes call for a lot more than 1 tablespoon per serving.
Bottom line: Keep portions to 1 to 1 ½ cups of cooked pasta and try adding veggies for color and nutrition.

Egg Yolks
Stop tossing your egg yolks! They’re the healthiest part of the egg. Although the yolk’s gotten poo-poo’d for having cholesterol, studies have shown that it’s really the saturated fat that raises your blood cholesterol. Embrace egg yolks for all its nutritional goodness! It’s considered a perfect protein and contains vitamins A, D, E, selenium and omega-3 fats. The yolk also contains lutein, shown to help with healthy eyes and skin.
Bottom line: Guidelines suggest one egg per day is perfectly healthy.

Salads
Labeled as the perfect “health” food, sometimes salads aren’t as healthy as you think! Top a bed of greens with numerous high calorie ingredients like buttery croutons, fried chicken and gobs of salad dressing and you can rack up over 1,000 calories.
Bottom line: Salads can be a healthy option, but aim for mostly veggies, and if it is an entree, then make sure to add protein and whole grain foods. As for salad dressing, use 2 tablespoons of your favorite vinaigrette — don’t go fat free.

Green Tea
Studies have shown that green tea can help reduce the risk of heart disease. Green tea contains compounds known as alkaloids which are stimulants (like caffeine). This doesn’t mean that more is better. Green tea supplements are known to interact with various medications. Also, green tea and a bad heart don’t go well together. It’s important to consult a physician before consuming large amounts or taking a green tea supplement.
Bottom line: Stick to 1 to 2 cups of green tea per day.

Diet Soda
Having a bottomless can of diet soda every day has its shortcomings. Some researchers believe that too many artificial sweeteners may increase craving to sweet foods—not a positive thing if you’re trying to watch your calories.
Bottom line: Moderation, moderation, moderation! If you’re longing for diet soda, stop at one can per day.

Toby Amidor, MS RD CDN (link: http://tobyamidornutrition) is a nutrition and food safety consultant. She is a Nutrition Expert at FoodNetwork.com and blogs for their healthy eating blog (www.foodnetwork.com/healthyeats). She is also the Nutrition Advisor for FitStudio.com (powered by Sears) and an Adjunct Instructor at Teachers College, Columbia University. Follow her on @tobyamidor or www.facebook.com/tobyamidornutrition.

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I jumped at the chance to join Recipe Redux when I heard the words “cooking” and “challenge” used in the same sentence. Because that honestly describes my skill set. I have been a proud “assembler” of meals for most of my adult life. While that has done me just fine, I believe The Recipe ReDux has a mission right in line with #mefirst.

The Recipe ReDux is focused on taking delicious dishes, keeping them delicious, but making them better for you. Healthier eating should always taste delicious. As the Latin term “redux” means to revisit or reinvent, we are reinventing the idea of healthy eating with a taste-first approach.

Amen. Taste-first is #MEFIRST As a former “diet food junkie,” I spent years noshing on tasteless, cardboard like cookies and dining on flavorless frozen (but fat free and only a few “points” !!!) meals. Even though those diet-food days are years behind me, I think many people still struggle with feeling guilty when they eat delicious food… and of course there is a huge stigma that delicious food is rarely healthy and in fact, women are powerless over food (how many of you thought of the Yoplait commercial that National Eating Disorder Association lobbied successfully to get pulled from the airwaves)?

You wont see any diet food in my Recipe ReDux blogs. You certainly won’t find calorie counts. I will focus on simple and quick ways of using whole foods to put together balanced meals. I’m going to use the approach of “adding in nutrition” vs. taking away anything else.

July Recipe ReDux Challenge: Grilling!

I tackled: The Plantain

Watch my video summary of the entire process!

Inspired by my recent trip to Grand Cayman, I decided to try grilling plantains. It’s actually very simple, easy, and delicious.

All you do is peel and slice the plantain, like so…

Then, slice them up, brush with light tasting olive oil, dash with cinnamon and nutmeg (freshly grated if you have it).

Finally grill for a few minutes on each size. They will get a little soft and have wonderful grill marks like so…

Since people eat first with their eyes, be sure to put them on a pretty plate and serve to your friends and family! I’d love these as a sweet side dish or even dessert! Perfect for outdoor parties. They taste great cold too! Simple. Delicious. You’ll look like a culinary star. But you don’t have to be! Notice how you feel when you prepare something healthy and delicious for people you care about. That’s #MeFirst  Let me know if you have had plantains, if you love them, and how you love to eat them.

Check out other blog posts from “The Recipe ReDuxers”
Alexandra Caspero
Grilled Summer Fruit Salad
Alysa Bajenaru – Inspired RD
Grilled Romaine Salad
Ann Dunaway Teh – Eat to Nourish, Energize & Flourish!
Grilled Flank Steak with Grilled Corn and Peach Salsa
Cindy Brison - Nutrition Know How
Danielle Omar – Food Confidence
Grilled Sweet Peppers
Diane Welland – EatWellEatClean
Grilled Beet & Onion Salad with Goat Cheese
Dr Barb - The Nutrition Budgeteer
EA Stewart – The Spicy RD
Grilled Polenta Veggie Stacks with Balsamic Cherry Tomatoes
Emma Stirling – The Scoop on Nutrition
Char Siu BBQ Pork
Gretchen – Kumquat
Grilled Tandoori Chicken Skewers
Jackie Mills- Delicious Diabetes Cooking
Grilled Proscuitto Shrimp with Asian Dipping Sauce
Jessica Fishman Levinson – Nutritioulicious
Grilled Salmon Burgers with Cherry Chutney
Kat Lynch – Eating The Week
Portobello mushrooms stuffed with spiced couscous
Katie Caputo- East Meats West
Succulent Sirloin Kabobs
Kristen – Swanky Dietitian
Portabella Mushroom Burgers with Grilled Corn
Lisa – Healthful Sense
Grilled Veggie Bean Burgers
Liz Weiss and Janice Newell Bissex - Meal Makeover Moms’ Kitchen
Nicole Ferring Holovach – Whole Health RD
Grilled Eggs
Rebecca Scritchfield – MeFirst
Grilled Plantains: A Sweet Summer Side Dish
Regan – The Professional Palate
Grilled Eggplant & Two-Tomato Whole-Wheat Piadina
Serena – Teaspoon of Spice
Grilled Watermelon Salad

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By Carrie Skoll

Guilt is such a powerful emotion.  There are books and every other manner of analysis devoted to the topic.  I think we can all agree that it’s a destructive emotion.

Me First means letting go of the guilt associated with taking care of ourselves. It’s okay to take care of you.  It’s okay to slow down and listen to what your body is telling you that you need.  It might be ignoring a phone call when you have 5 minutes of a quiet house.  It might be declining yet another volunteer opportunity that will overstretch your time budget.  It might be any number of things that help you take care of yourself.

I am much more peaceful with myself when I let go of the guilt about my actions.  Whether it’s a food choice, an exercise choice or something related to my family and my children, I know that I’m making decisions based on what is right for my life.

I don’t always make the right decision.  Sometimes I eat based on emotions, or I snack mindlessly, or I do something hurtful to my loved ones.  However, I’m learning to not beat myself up over those decisions.

I work for balance.  I choose to feed my body the fuel that it needs to get me through my day.  There are days where I don’t fuel properly and I promise myself that the next day is a new opportunity.  I don’t dwell on the mistakes, I learn and move on. 

Along with a million other things that I try to teach my children, I work on this ‘learn your lesson and move on’ technique.  I’ve noticed that it’s really hard for my 10 year old daughter.  Whether it’s a nature v. nurture thing is hard to tell, but it kind of scares me.  She tends to beat herself up over small mistakes in the day.  I’m quite thankful that she likes to talk to me about them, especially since I use the time to reinforce the learning opportunity and the letting go skill.  I only hope that the lessons sink in before the guilt habit becomes lasting.

But it makes me wonder if some of us are more inclined to the guilt thing?  Are those the same of us who struggle with making healthy choices? 

What productive result comes from our guilty feelings?  None.  That’s right.  None. All we do is feel bad about ourselves.  How’s this for a healthier way of dealing with a poor decision?  Look at what happened, find the lesson to be learned, move on.

Carrie is a full time stay-at-home mom and a part-time dietetics student in Southern California.  After being unhealthy and overweight most of her adult life, she made a change a few years ago to adopt a healthy lifestyle.  She is now training for her first half-marathon and blogs at http://familyfitnessfood.com.  You can also find her on Twitter @CarrieSinCA.

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By: Jessica Ratts, Elite Nutrition Intern

The other day I was reading a magazine in the waiting room of the dentist office and wouldn’t you know it was about food! The article talked about how we don’t have to have a love/hate relationship with our food. The article highlighted patterns of eating that I’m sure most of us can relate to in one way or another. Check out a few of the patterns below. Is this you? I gave some “me first” tips for each pattern. Did you change any of these habits and if so, what did you do? Please share!

Pattern 1: Speed eating

With our fast paced lifestyle many people often find themselves eating in a hurry. The article reminded readers that eating is not just physically chewing the food, it is the sight and smell as well. Next time you go to eat slow down and enjoy your food. Eat the amount you need to feel hunger go away and a “comfortable” full.

This is one small “me first” activity anyone can start to add in to their day. Just take a break and eat your meal without any distractions. Try turning off the computer at work and heading to the lunchroom at the office.

Pattern 2: Famish to full

Fast paced lifestyles can leave little time for some of the most important basic necessities, such as eating! Many people work long hours with very short breaks and find themselves working through hunger and waiting until you are finally starving before you eat. When your body is so hungry that your stomach is growling it is more likely that you will make less healthy and balanced choices because all you can think is “I need food!” When you wait too long to eat, your brain sends a signal to increase cravings for foods high in fat, sugar, and salt, usually. You might just grab whatever is quick or close by and eat it fast – as in five minutes. Instead, eat often throughout the day. If you are not hungry for a meal, but feel a little hungry then you need a snack. Pull out your healthy snacks such as some nuts, yogurt, or celery with peanut butter. It’s all about thinking ahead and planning accordingly.

Another great “me first” tip: Don’t forget your work and family needs will always be there, you need fuel to keep  your energy levels up. Don’t wait too long between eating. You’ll feel much better.

Pattern 3: Stress eating

This one is more self explanatory and I’m sure many can relate. We have all been stressed at one point in our life right? Stress causes your cortisol hormones to surge causing you to have an increase in appetite.  Sometimes it can just “feel good” to eat something comforting. If you aren’t hungry but you are stressed, find a better way of dealing with the stress like venting to a friend or finding someone who can make you laugh. Doesn’t that sound like a “me first” thing to do?

Now that you’ve read about some common eating patterns, what do you think? Are you a stress-eater? Famish to full? Or what about a speed eater? Are you working on slowing down and taking time for meals? Let me know what works for you!

About Jessica

I am a new member to the blogging world and to the “Me” Movement blog. I am senior majoring in dietetics at Indiana University Bloomington. I love food and I love to exercise. I have been a dancer since I was three. It’s just in my blood! Part of what drew me to nutrition was seeing several dancers struggle with nutrition and develop eating disorders. I have also been inspired to become a diabetes specialist because of a close friend with type 1 diabetes.

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Last night #mefirst joined Marci Anderson RD & Marsha Hudnall RD to talk about Binge Eating Disorder on the #endED Twitter chat.

There was a lot of great discussion that revolved around these questions:

• How is BED diagnosed?
• How is BED different than overeating?
• How does someone know if their binges need to be addressed?
• What are common myths about BED?
• What triggers binge eating?
• What are the obstacles to treating BED effectively?
• What can we do to support an ED dx for BED?
• What are some practical things someone with BED can do?
• What resources are available for treating BED?

Here are some of the key things I took away from the talk:

• @MarshaHudnall A major trigger for BED is deprivation/restriction. Or in other words, dieting
• @LeslieGoldman Binge eating is actually more common than anorexia and bulimia COMBINED
• @MarshaHudnall When folks with BED focus on losing wt, it can pull them back to restrictive eating & cause more bingeing
• @MarshaHudnall: Binge isn’t always large amt of food. Subjective binge is when someone eats a “forbidden” food …
• @MarciRD Support both professionals and loved ones. Eating disorders thrive in secrecy. Support is an essential part of recovery.
• @MarshaHudnall: It’s Important to work w RD skilled in treating disordered eating to not trigger deprivation
• @ElizabethEats you can be any shape and have an eating disorder. Outside appearances are misleading
• @MarshaHudnall: Most fat people do not have BED – estimated to be only about 4%

Want more information? Check out The Binge Eating Disorder Association. The goal of #endED is to bring anyone and everyone together who care about ending eating disorders. My hope is to end the silence and myths about eating disorders, create a place for honest and informed discussion, while offering hope and encouragement. Their next chat will be on June 29th with Nourish the Soul. The next #Mefirst Chat will be with Voice In Recovery on June 8th. Hope to see you soon!

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Two heads are always better than one right? That’s why this week we give you a two-in-one twitterchat! We will be joining Marci Anderson RD, ‘s #EndED twitterchat with Marsha Hudnall RD of Green Mtn Fox Run

Marci E. Anderson is a dietitian and owner of Marci RD Nutrition in Cambridge, MA. She specializes in treating eating disorders and body image concerns. She is an intuitive eating coach and anti-diet zealot. She is the creator of #EndED and hopes to bring anyone and everyone together who cares about ending eating disorders. Marci’s hope is to end the silence and myths about eating disorders, create a place for honest and informed discussion, while offering hope and encouragement.

Marsha Hudnall serves as the program director at Green Mountain at Fox Run where her mission has been to help participants learn to enjoy food and eating while successfully managing their weight and health. An accomplished writer, Marsha has produced a body

of work that reflects her desire to help people move away from restrictive notions of food and health, and thereby more easily achieve a healthful intake. She currently sits on the board of directors for the Binge Eating Disorder Association.

Wednesday 5/25/11 8:30-9:30 EST we will all discuss myths, facts, and treatment strategies for Binge Eating Disorder (BED).

To see some of the questions we’ll be responding to check out Marci’s blog post and RSVP on Facebook

New to Twitter Chats?  Read this great article and use tweetchat.com to make everything more streamlined! Be sure to follow @ScritchfieldRD @MarciRD @MarshaHudnall and use the hashtags #endED & #mefirst for every tweet!
Hope to see you there!

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My heart is full at this very moment. It’s not often that positive messages about healthy living get out there. It’s RARE that the word “DIET” is out there in a negative or neutral context. But that’s exactly what happens in this video with Sam Kass, White House Chef when he said “we don’t diet – it’s a lifestyle”. THANK YOU! It is so important for the public to hear dieting in a negative context.

People equate healthy living to dieting. That is not the case. Changing your behaviors to eat more nutritious may feel like “dieting” because it is so new, but when you eat healthy, nourishing foods your body will naturally lose weight if you need to. People also equate “not dieting” to eating without any boundaries, inhibitions, or structure. Also not the case. Intuitive eating guides you to balance out what your body needs (nourishment) and wants (cravings and appetite) It is my honest opinion that wherever a person is on their #mefirst self-care journey that they will eventually come to see that dieting is deprivation and a complete waste of time. However, we have a long way to go… check out some of the post comments. People ripped apart the use of dried fruit. Hello, FOOD POLICE. Thankfully others in the comments sorted it out, but if you read it, it is so clear that most of us are still very diet-minded. It’s another reason we have to ditch diets!!!

Yahoo video: A favorite Michelle Obama snack: Exclusive access into White House kitchen

Fruit, Nut and Oatmeal Bars

originally posted at Yahoo.

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons grapeseed oil, or other neutral oil, plus extra for brushing pan
2 cups rolled oats
½ cup mixed seeds, such as pumpkin, sunflower and sesame
½ cup honey
½ cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup maple syrup
Pinch of salt
1 ½ cups mixed dried fruit, such as raisins, cherries, apricots, papaya, pineapple and cranberries (at least 3 kinds, cut into small pieces if large)
1 teaspoon ground cardamom or cinnamon
2 tablespoons of butter

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-inch-square baking pan with parchment paper or foil, letting a few inches hangs over side of pan. Brush with oil
2. Spread oats and seeds on another baking pan and toast in oven just until golden and fragrant, 6 to 8 minutes, shaking pan once.
3. In a saucepan, combine oil, butter, honey, brown sugar, maple syrup and salt. Stir over medium heat until smooth and hot. In a mixing bowl, toss together toasted oats and seeds, dried fruit and cardamom. Pour hot sugar mixture over and stir until well combined.
4. While mixture is warm, transfer to prepared pan, pressing into pan evenly with an offset spatula.
5. Bake until brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer pan to a rack and let cool completely. Using the overhanging foil or paper, lift out of pan and place on a work surface Cut into bars, about 1 ½ inches by 3 inches.

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I have had such a fun time at Fitbloggin’. Lots of amazing people attending to learn more about health and wellness blogging.

At the Cherries booth (@ChooseCherries) we’ve been whipping up #RedRecovery “Recharge” smoothies made with tart cherry juice, honey, and yogurt. (Check out all their cherry recipes on their website.)

I had a great time with Robby Lamb making a snack with tart cherries, walnuts, and dark chocolate chips.

I love this snack because it provides some great nutrients for lasting energy. The tart cherries are chewy and give a boost of natural sugar (plus those anti-inflammatory anthocyanins.) Nuts have fat for sustained energy. And chocolate… do you need a reason? (HA!) We used dark chocolate, which also has antioxidants. These flavors together are the perfect sweet, crunchy snack.

After talking with lots of Fitbloggin attendees, one thing I learned is those who are trying to lose weight hesitate to fuel their workouts. I tell my clients “if you can’t fuel it, you can’t do it.” I don’t care how much weight you have to lose, your body NEEDS fuel before and after a workout. Food is not the enemy. As you go through your #mefirst journey you will see that more and more each day. So do yourself this favor. Repeat after me.

I am an ATHLETE!

If you are lifting weights, running, boxing, swimming, doing yoga, cycling, or walking… anything but couch surfing! See yourself as an athlete! You want hydration and carbohydrates about 60 minutes before a workout – a 10 ounce glass of tart cherry juice will do the trick. Learn more about the Red Recovery Routine and download your copy at their website.

What is your favorite way to fuel YOUR workouts? Would love for you to share recipes/blog posts. And if you are struggling with fueling your workouts, leave a comment. Let me help ya!

Disclosure: Cherry Marketing Institute provided registration and financial compensation for me to attend Fitbloggin‘

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By Alysa, Originally Posted on Inspired RD

Tired of serving plain old rice with your meals? Why not try quinoa? Quinoa (pronounced “KEEN-wah”) is an ancient seed that packs a nutritional punch of protein, fiber and potassium. It cooks up in only 15 minutes, making it a perfect side dish for busy families.

Quinoa is perfect in soups, or as a base for a cold salad too. I actually have a quinoa salad recipe that you will want to take to all of your summer potlucks. Recipe coming soon.

In the meantime, this is how I cooked my red quinoa a few nights ago to go with our apple-butter lamb filets. Adding some coconut milk was a wonderful flavor compliment to the cinnamon in the apple butter.

Simply take one cup of water,

and one cup of coconut milk.

Pour liquid in a small pot along with 1 cup of quinoa. Bring to a boil, stir, then place the lid on top and lower heat to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork and serve.

How do you like your quinoa?

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