Well, it's been a pretty sub-par couple of weeks as far as my master plan for healthy living goes. I haven't run in almost two weeks because I've been busy at work and sick (not at the same time, thankfully). As far as eating goes, well, I ate two candy bars today. Nuff said. I'm falling off the wagon and I need to renew my commitment.
Here's what I'm going to do to get back on track.
-Exercise everyday, even if it's just walking for 20 mins or doing yoga or calisthenics.
-Eat 7 servings of fruits and vegetables. The silver lining to all of my recent gluttony and sloth is that I found a great organic market and our produce is 100% organic now. Of course, I buy less because it's crazy expensive (and I've turned into my grandmother when it comes to the prospect of wasting food).
-No processed carbs (i.e. NO BREAD!!!!).
I felt so good when I was doing this lifestyle in earnest. I just need to get back on track.
What did I do today to prevent diabetes and the other big bads?
-I ate an organic tomato.
-I ate two servings of oatmeal with ground flaxseed.
-I ate refried beans, avocado and tomatoes for dinner.
-I drank a lot of tea.
I will just tactfully omit mention of all the totally unhealthy things I ate today. I think I need to just start doing daily reports. I know it makes for boring reading but it may help me keep my eye on the prize.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
You say tomato . . .
My quest for an unprocessed, sugar-free, pesticide-free, only-eating-dairy-and-eggs-from-happy-cows-and-chickens-respectively lifestyle continues. I've slipped up a bit lately. The hurricane was a good excuse. I found a good organic supermarket near my house which has a selection of everything beyond my wildest dreams. I can get pasture raised butter and cheese there so I don't have to support the suffering associated with the dairy industry.
What's been on my mind lately is not the suffering of animals. I sort of knew this was happening because I remember, years ago, seeing people protesting outside Taco Bell with signs saying that Taco Bell got its tomatoes through slave labor. So, recently there was a story in NPR about slavery that is going on right now in the tomato growing industry in Florida, U.S.A. Yep, read the story. Actual slavery. People are held against their will, forced to work for basically nothing, beaten or killed if they try to escape. And, as a matter of course, they are exposed to massive amounts of toxic pesticides.
There is a great organization called the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) who is waging an anti-slavery campaign against the tomato growers and those stores and restaurant/fast food chains that profit by selling tomatoes (so, CIW was almost definitely behind those protests at Taco Bell). Through a lot of grassroots organizing, protesting, boycotting and letter writing, CIW has gotten Taco Bell, MacDonalds, Burger King, Whole Foods, Subway, Bon Appétit Co., Compass Group, Aramark and Sodexo to sign an agreement with CIW to improve wages and working conditions for farmworkers, and work with CIW to make sure that tomato growers are held accountable for human rights abuses against their farm workers. See their website for more detailed information.
In addition, through the CIW, there have been 7 indictments (all involving prison sentences) against different tomato growers in Florida for charges of slavery. That blows my mind. What is so staggering is that this is just one industry. I once saw a documentary examining what sounded to be a similar situation with peach growers in Georgia. How many other areas of agriculture in the United States of America use slave labor?
So, what can we do? We can go to CIW's website and send letters to the Supermarket chains who have not signed agreements with CIW (which include Trader Joe's, Giant, Kroger and others). If you shop at these supermarkets, even if you don't buy tomatoes, you're indicating with your dollars and cents that you are cool with shopping at a store that profits from slavery. I usually do half my shopping at the fancy expensive stores (for the organic schmorganic stuff) and half at Giant (so I don't break the bank for my weekly groceries). I'm not shopping at Giant until they agree to work with the CIW.
What else can we do? Write to the companies that make the tomato sauce, salsa, ketchup and whatever other tomato-based products you use and ask them where they get their tomatoes and where they stand on the CIW's Campaign for Fair Food. I wrote to Green Mountain Gringo (maker of the salsa my husband likes to eat).
What else can we do? Donate money to CIW.
What else? Buy local.
O.K. That's it for me. I'm just so demoralized about this.
What's been on my mind lately is not the suffering of animals. I sort of knew this was happening because I remember, years ago, seeing people protesting outside Taco Bell with signs saying that Taco Bell got its tomatoes through slave labor. So, recently there was a story in NPR about slavery that is going on right now in the tomato growing industry in Florida, U.S.A. Yep, read the story. Actual slavery. People are held against their will, forced to work for basically nothing, beaten or killed if they try to escape. And, as a matter of course, they are exposed to massive amounts of toxic pesticides.
There is a great organization called the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) who is waging an anti-slavery campaign against the tomato growers and those stores and restaurant/fast food chains that profit by selling tomatoes (so, CIW was almost definitely behind those protests at Taco Bell). Through a lot of grassroots organizing, protesting, boycotting and letter writing, CIW has gotten Taco Bell, MacDonalds, Burger King, Whole Foods, Subway, Bon Appétit Co., Compass Group, Aramark and Sodexo to sign an agreement with CIW to improve wages and working conditions for farmworkers, and work with CIW to make sure that tomato growers are held accountable for human rights abuses against their farm workers. See their website for more detailed information.
In addition, through the CIW, there have been 7 indictments (all involving prison sentences) against different tomato growers in Florida for charges of slavery. That blows my mind. What is so staggering is that this is just one industry. I once saw a documentary examining what sounded to be a similar situation with peach growers in Georgia. How many other areas of agriculture in the United States of America use slave labor?
So, what can we do? We can go to CIW's website and send letters to the Supermarket chains who have not signed agreements with CIW (which include Trader Joe's, Giant, Kroger and others). If you shop at these supermarkets, even if you don't buy tomatoes, you're indicating with your dollars and cents that you are cool with shopping at a store that profits from slavery. I usually do half my shopping at the fancy expensive stores (for the organic schmorganic stuff) and half at Giant (so I don't break the bank for my weekly groceries). I'm not shopping at Giant until they agree to work with the CIW.
What else can we do? Write to the companies that make the tomato sauce, salsa, ketchup and whatever other tomato-based products you use and ask them where they get their tomatoes and where they stand on the CIW's Campaign for Fair Food. I wrote to Green Mountain Gringo (maker of the salsa my husband likes to eat).
What else can we do? Donate money to CIW.
What else? Buy local.
O.K. That's it for me. I'm just so demoralized about this.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
The Dairy Question
Before I get started, here's a quick update. Well, I've stepped off the straight and narrow a couple times. There was a Saturday night ice-cream pig-out. There were two lunches out this week during which white flour was unavoidable (I'm only human - sometimes I just gotta eat what's in front of me!). And I had a piece of homemade Boston Cream Pie at work (it was worth it!). These deviations don't worry me so much. What does worry me is not getting enough fruits and vegetables. As usual, it's easy to just rely on protein (eggs, legumes, peanut butter) and grains (i.e. unprocessed carbs, but carbs nonetheless). So, that is something that I need to work on.
As the title indicates, I'll be ruminating about milk today. I, myself, almost never drink milk. I probably eat about 1-2 servings of cheese per week. Maybe one serving of yogurt. This is not due to any noble principle, I've just never been big on dairy. I have, however, changed my intake amounts a little. I'm avoiding cheese a little more because it's processed. Not indulging in too much yogurt because it's high in sugar. I'm writing about dairy today because my three year old son has developed a real taste for yogurt. He eats it everyday for breakfast. That being the case, I have to supply him with a dairy product that I feel comfortable about him eating. My big question is, do the bovine growth hormones really pose a threat to human health?
I have been buying the Chobani greek yogurt because it contains milk from cows not treated with rBST and it has the lowest amount of sugar of all non-BST yogurts (including organics). It is totally delicious. It's also kinda pricey and I wonder if I'm being crazy and wasting my hard earned dough for a few special words label.
So, here's a quick run-down rBST. Enter Monsanto. (shudder) 'Nuff said. The following are some highlights:
-It's been banned in Japan, Europe, New Zealand and Australia.
-It makes cows much more likely to get sick (mastitis, fertility problems, lameness and more). Very bad for the cows.
-It can have lower nutritional content.
-According to wikipedia's sources, it has not been linked to cancer or disease in humans.
Now, we scratch the surface and find that, apparently, consumption of milk from cows treated with rBST is associated with higher cancer risk (theearthcenter.com, notmilk.com, the Cancer Prevention Coalition, and purefood.org reporting on the EU Scientific Community's take).
O.K. Now I've satisfied my curiosity and I will continue to only by Chobani, Cabot, Stony Field Farms, and any other yogurt maker that uses milk from rBST free cows!
The other important question is should we really be eating dairy at all. I've never liked milk and I've always been critical of the notion that cow's milk is essential for human health. There are lots of folks who say that milk is not only unnecessary, it's harmful. The Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine has a nice write-up detailing how getting calcium from milk is actually bad for your bones.
That's all good and well for me because I don't consume much dairy anyway. But, now I have to think about giving it to my son . . . I'm going to have to look into the impact of milk on other aspects of health. A subsequent blog.
What did I do today to avoid diabetes and the other big bads?
-I ate a serving of organic spinach!
-I blogged instead of stuffing my face.
That's it so far but the day is young.
As the title indicates, I'll be ruminating about milk today. I, myself, almost never drink milk. I probably eat about 1-2 servings of cheese per week. Maybe one serving of yogurt. This is not due to any noble principle, I've just never been big on dairy. I have, however, changed my intake amounts a little. I'm avoiding cheese a little more because it's processed. Not indulging in too much yogurt because it's high in sugar. I'm writing about dairy today because my three year old son has developed a real taste for yogurt. He eats it everyday for breakfast. That being the case, I have to supply him with a dairy product that I feel comfortable about him eating. My big question is, do the bovine growth hormones really pose a threat to human health?
I have been buying the Chobani greek yogurt because it contains milk from cows not treated with rBST and it has the lowest amount of sugar of all non-BST yogurts (including organics). It is totally delicious. It's also kinda pricey and I wonder if I'm being crazy and wasting my hard earned dough for a few special words label.
So, here's a quick run-down rBST. Enter Monsanto. (shudder) 'Nuff said. The following are some highlights:
-It's been banned in Japan, Europe, New Zealand and Australia.
-It makes cows much more likely to get sick (mastitis, fertility problems, lameness and more). Very bad for the cows.
-It can have lower nutritional content.
-According to wikipedia's sources, it has not been linked to cancer or disease in humans.
Now, we scratch the surface and find that, apparently, consumption of milk from cows treated with rBST is associated with higher cancer risk (theearthcenter.com, notmilk.com, the Cancer Prevention Coalition, and purefood.org reporting on the EU Scientific Community's take).
O.K. Now I've satisfied my curiosity and I will continue to only by Chobani, Cabot, Stony Field Farms, and any other yogurt maker that uses milk from rBST free cows!
The other important question is should we really be eating dairy at all. I've never liked milk and I've always been critical of the notion that cow's milk is essential for human health. There are lots of folks who say that milk is not only unnecessary, it's harmful. The Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine has a nice write-up detailing how getting calcium from milk is actually bad for your bones.
That's all good and well for me because I don't consume much dairy anyway. But, now I have to think about giving it to my son . . . I'm going to have to look into the impact of milk on other aspects of health. A subsequent blog.
What did I do today to avoid diabetes and the other big bads?
-I ate a serving of organic spinach!
-I blogged instead of stuffing my face.
That's it so far but the day is young.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Low sugar = low appetite
So, I've been at this for a few weeks now and I've very successfully avoided flour of all kinds and refined sugar. Naturally, there have been some lapses (especially over my vacation), but this is basically me off sugar. I'm starting to notice a real difference in my appetite. I notice that I'm hungry but I don't actually have much appetite. There's nothing that I especially want to eat. Not even when I consider the off-limits foods (cupcakes, cookies, candy, etc.). So, I'm eating less and I think I've lost a little weight. I am not actively restricting calories in any way. So, this (preliminary) evidence supports the standard account of the connection between sugar and appetite. Overall, I'm feeling very good on this low sugar/whole foods approach to eating. My energy levels are equal to or higher than before.
One slight problem I'm having is maintaining the high intake of fruits and vegetables. It's just so easy to rely on the protein and carbs (whole grains, rice, etc.). So, I have to make an effort in that direction.
What did I do today to avoid diabetes (and the other big bads)?
-I bought lots of great food at the market.
-I ate blueberries and blackberries (my son and I went berry picking).
-I will go running this will afternoon.
One slight problem I'm having is maintaining the high intake of fruits and vegetables. It's just so easy to rely on the protein and carbs (whole grains, rice, etc.). So, I have to make an effort in that direction.
What did I do today to avoid diabetes (and the other big bads)?
-I bought lots of great food at the market.
-I ate blueberries and blackberries (my son and I went berry picking).
-I will go running this will afternoon.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Travel Report
I've just returned from an 8 day vacation at my mom's house in the Midwest. A small town in the Midwest where "organic" doesn't exist, not at the supermarket anyway. Overall, I did pretty well. I basically avoided processed foods and, specifically, processed carbs. I did deviate from the straight and narrow a couple times (pizza and ice-cream on the 4th of July, followed by a late night snack (i.e. binge) of many slices of bread). I found it hard to be enthusiastic about the mission when I was out of my normal routine. Still, I ate a lot of fruits and vegetables, and I went running three times. Spending time in the country and interacting with several talented gardeners (like my mom) and outright farmers has inspired me to try to grow some vegetables. I'll keep you apprised of my progress!
Now I'm back at home and back on track.
What did I do today to avoid diabetes (and the other big bads)?
-I ingested no wheat flour.
-I at organic canned black beans because they have lower sodium than non-organic.
-I ate a lot of blueberries.
-I worked in the garden for about an hour (clearing the plot and turning the soil - a tad strenuous).
Now I'm back at home and back on track.
What did I do today to avoid diabetes (and the other big bads)?
-I ingested no wheat flour.
-I at organic canned black beans because they have lower sodium than non-organic.
-I ate a lot of blueberries.
-I worked in the garden for about an hour (clearing the plot and turning the soil - a tad strenuous).
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Swiss Chard
Remember how I said I was done with Swiss chard for the summer? Well, I made a very rushed visit to the farmer's market and those big bunches of (organic) chard were just sitting there looking so wholesome and reasonably priced that I decided to grab them and worry about whether or not I actually wanted to eat them later. I said to myself, I hope this stuff is very nutritious.
In order to find out, I checked in with a few websites (vegonline.org, drweil.com, nutrition-and-you.com, whfoods.com) and found that Swiss chard is probably the healthiest thing a human could possibly eat. Among it's many virtues are:
Great source of Vitamin C, A and K
-716% of RDA of vitamin K making it a great for bone health (Weber 2001)
Great source of Calcium (5% of RDA), Iron, Potassium and Folates.
Great source of all kinds of antioxidants (in addition to vitamins A and C)
Like most vegetables, it may help to prevent cancers.
It's got flavonoids that help regulate blood sugar levels.
So, O.K. The Swiss chard is a great thing to include in my diet. When eaten raw it has a slightly bitter, earthy taste. I decided to try to combat that by adding walnuts and raisins. For dressing I used olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Well, it turns out that that is a great way to eat Swiss chard. I had a giant mixing bowl full of it last night and again tonight (I finished it all!). So, Swish chard is an all around win.
What did I do to avoid diabetes today?
-I ran 3.2 miles (in my neighborhood, uphill both ways)
-I ate a ludicrous amount of Swiss chard.
-I ate an apple, a banana and blue berries.
-I ate 2-3 servings of walnuts (next time I'll find out of walnuts fight for the cause).
References
Weber, P. (2001). Vitamin K and bone health. Nutrition, 7(10),880-887.
In order to find out, I checked in with a few websites (vegonline.org, drweil.com, nutrition-and-you.com, whfoods.com) and found that Swiss chard is probably the healthiest thing a human could possibly eat. Among it's many virtues are:
Great source of Vitamin C, A and K
-716% of RDA of vitamin K making it a great for bone health (Weber 2001)
Great source of Calcium (5% of RDA), Iron, Potassium and Folates.
Great source of all kinds of antioxidants (in addition to vitamins A and C)
Like most vegetables, it may help to prevent cancers.
It's got flavonoids that help regulate blood sugar levels.
So, O.K. The Swiss chard is a great thing to include in my diet. When eaten raw it has a slightly bitter, earthy taste. I decided to try to combat that by adding walnuts and raisins. For dressing I used olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Well, it turns out that that is a great way to eat Swiss chard. I had a giant mixing bowl full of it last night and again tonight (I finished it all!). So, Swish chard is an all around win.
What did I do to avoid diabetes today?
-I ran 3.2 miles (in my neighborhood, uphill both ways)
-I ate a ludicrous amount of Swiss chard.
-I ate an apple, a banana and blue berries.
-I ate 2-3 servings of walnuts (next time I'll find out of walnuts fight for the cause).
References
Weber, P. (2001). Vitamin K and bone health. Nutrition, 7(10),880-887.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Weekend Report
Well, on Friday night I did NOT eat the chocolate covered pretzels. Yay me.
Over the weekend, I maintained my low glycemic index approach for the most part. I did have ice-cream on Saturday night (but, hey, you gotta live a little!). Besides, I had the ice-cream right after running six miles so I felt that it all balanced out (don't ask me for the logic!).
This week, I coughed up about $4.50 to get Ezekiel bread. It is made of sprouted grain and has no flour. It's a complete protein and low on the glycemic index. I actually like it too. That is kind of a problem. Since it's a legitimate food in my new way of eating, I could live on bread and peanutbutter alone and sort of forget fruits and vegetables. I'm, therefore, trying to limit my bread intake - just to let all the other foods else have a chance.
My family and I went blueberry picking today so we are swimming in blueberries and their associated health benefits (see Dr. Weil). Usually when I buy berries, I don't eat any myself but give them all to my son (because the packages are so little and expensive) but now I can have as many as I want. You may recall in my last entry I was debating about the nutritional value of the fruit cups. I've decided that I'm going to try to always send him to school with fresh fruit. This week he'll definitely be getting blueberries!
I made Dr. Weil's vegetarian chile for dinner tonight. Instead of using canned beans, I cooked a pound of kidney beans (yesterday) to put in the chile. And so I created a low sodium chile. It came out great (even my carnivorous husband liked it).
It's only been a couple days but I'm feeling pretty good. I haven't been worrying about how much I eat (except for bread) but, rather, about what I eat. It's easier on my sensibilities.
What did I do today to avoid diabetes?
-I ate the following fruits: watermelon, orange, banana, apple and tons of blueberries.
-I ate 2-3 servings of kidney beans (in the chile).
Over the weekend, I maintained my low glycemic index approach for the most part. I did have ice-cream on Saturday night (but, hey, you gotta live a little!). Besides, I had the ice-cream right after running six miles so I felt that it all balanced out (don't ask me for the logic!).
This week, I coughed up about $4.50 to get Ezekiel bread. It is made of sprouted grain and has no flour. It's a complete protein and low on the glycemic index. I actually like it too. That is kind of a problem. Since it's a legitimate food in my new way of eating, I could live on bread and peanutbutter alone and sort of forget fruits and vegetables. I'm, therefore, trying to limit my bread intake - just to let all the other foods else have a chance.
My family and I went blueberry picking today so we are swimming in blueberries and their associated health benefits (see Dr. Weil). Usually when I buy berries, I don't eat any myself but give them all to my son (because the packages are so little and expensive) but now I can have as many as I want. You may recall in my last entry I was debating about the nutritional value of the fruit cups. I've decided that I'm going to try to always send him to school with fresh fruit. This week he'll definitely be getting blueberries!
I made Dr. Weil's vegetarian chile for dinner tonight. Instead of using canned beans, I cooked a pound of kidney beans (yesterday) to put in the chile. And so I created a low sodium chile. It came out great (even my carnivorous husband liked it).
It's only been a couple days but I'm feeling pretty good. I haven't been worrying about how much I eat (except for bread) but, rather, about what I eat. It's easier on my sensibilities.
What did I do today to avoid diabetes?
-I ate the following fruits: watermelon, orange, banana, apple and tons of blueberries.
-I ate 2-3 servings of kidney beans (in the chile).
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