'Slow Food': How it Can Help Your Health

There is a lot of hype (at least in Denver!) in regards to healthy, local, organic food.  The hype seems to be truer and truer as we find that harsh chemicals may cause early puberty; that the fresher the food, the better and more available the nutrients; that gas-guzzling trucks and freezer burn does not win over our friendly farms' dedication to growing heirloom varieties.

There are many facets to the term 'slow food', but I like to think that this idea can benefit your health as well as others and your environment.  If you want more info on the organization, click here.  My thoughts do not follow all of their tenants, although they are awesome!  Here is my list of 'pros' to the concept:

1.  No more fast food!  It seems kind of obvious, but the definition of 'slow food' cannot ever possibly include fast food.  It can't!  Fast food is so detrimental to your health.  I just don't need to go there.  Don't eat it.

2.  Farming is really cool and not just what your grandpa did.  Farming is a lost art that so many people can be a part of (maybe in a slightly smaller scale...).  My 'mini mini' farm has helped put a dent in my grocery bill and made me feel like I had to eat plenty more veggies because it was RIGHT THERE!  Sure, there was some hard labor and dedicated time spent towards farming, but it was SO worth it!  It gave me a hobby to be outdoors and learn more about plant life.  And it wasn't even as much as I needed to know to grow even a few vegetables!  Try it :)  Even extra herbs help!

3.  Slow down your day.  Eating the 'slow' way makes you have to prepare and plan for a day of food.  Hopefully this will involve others, but even if it doesn't, getting in touch with cooking and finding creative recipes to use that local produce is fun.  Fresh foods also tend to make delicious food, in which you should slow down the chewing and enjoying process--which happens to be a healthy habit (that I definitely have to work on!  I'm a wolf!).

Hopefully some point in here will help encourage you to slow down.  It starts with the first point: no fast food!

Debrief on the day:

I had the afternoon free, and it turned out to be gorgeous, so I headed up Mt. Falcon.  I'm obsessed!
Thankfully, I started the day with a mug muffin and ate 'light' and healthy the rest of the morning: two hard-boiled eggs and a nut/fruit bar (waking up at four makes me extra hungry!).  So, I knew this trip up was already better than the last!  Time: 41:30 up, 26:30 down!

 Snowy peaks in the distance...

Made it to the top! How gorgeous is this day? Mid-October and in a tank!

A view of Red Rocks Amphitheater from the trail.

After my run, I was ravenous.  I inhaled some sweet potato fries that I made yesterday with some almond butter.  De-licious!

Dinner was a new recipe from this blog.  I had cod in the freezer and am HORRIBLE at cooking fish.  But this turned out great!

White Fish 'en Papillote'

1 fish fillet
1/4 of an onion, cut in rings)
any combo of sliced fruit (lemon, lime, orange)
spice/herbs (cilantro, garlic, parsley, ginger, rosemary, thyme, dill)
salt and pepper (after baked, to taste)
10-12 inch piece of parchment paper

Preheat the oven to 375.  Place the fish on top of onion, fruit, and herbs and wrap it up so that it steams the fish.  When the oven is ready, place parchment on a pan and put in the oven for 10-15 minutes.  Mine took 15+ a little, but I don't think it was fully thawed.

Such an easy and tasty dish: quick prep and cleanup.  Fish is high in protein and low in fat and has other great nutrients like B vitamins and iodine--good for you!  Enjoy!

New Diet Experiment Update

Hi All!  Happy Tuesday!

Loving my 'new' diet :)  I feel like I've just made small changes (no granola or fruit, sadly), but I actually feel even better...breakfast was two hard boiled eggs and black beans over spinach with some avocado.  Not your typical breakfast fare, but it tasted really good!

I haven't been hungry in the morning, which is odd for me, since breakfast is my favorite and I'm usually starving!  So I had to wait until the very last minute to stuff this in before work!

Also, I fudged the meal plan a touch already because I had a Zone bar for a snack...it was all nut and dried fruit, but fruit is a no so, I need to come up with a better snack idea!  I'm still keeping my protein powder in since it noticeably helps my body recover from multiple classes taught in a day.  **Although, I will say that this "perfectly simple" Zone bar is great and filling-cheap and whole ingredients!

Roasted veggies made up of red onion, sweet potatoes, beets, and purple carrots are for another snack before my next class!  Just tossed veggies with garlic cloves (in chunks) with olive oil, salt, and pepper and put it in a pan in the oven at 400 degrees until they crisp up.  Yum!

A Nutrition Experiment: Learn Through my New Plan!

*My last pear (from our tree)!  

Today, I started an experiment.  And when I say experiment, I really do mean a diet, although I am more interested in its effects on me to help with my clients.  I am perfectly content with my body and the way that it functions and looks and diets are not a part of my life motto, BUT... I want to see what I can do with small and healthy changes that will only support my holistic and healthy habits, not create a monstrous diet fiend.  The end goal should be some fat and weight loss...at least, that is what I am expecting!  My fitness routine will not change much (mainly for experimental purposes ;) ).

My new plan:

A la Tim Ferriss, my recent health and fitness fave, I am giving up a few foods and following Ferriss.  In his book, The Four Hour Body, he has 4 rules to live by:
#1 No white carbs(mainly flour and processed junk)
#2 Eat the same few meals over and over (proteins, legumes, veggies)
#3 Don't drink calories (just water and red wine!)
#4 Take one day off per week (this would take a lot of time to explain, but he thoroughly explains it in his book)

I am going to follow this and add a few rules of my own:
#5 Fermented foods are ok (although, I probably will not be adding cheese, since I'm not much of a fan anyway...)
#6 No Fruit: just to clarify, this is a part of Ferriss's rules, although I think I eat WAY more fruit than veggies, so I am going to adhere to that rule for the most part.  VEGGIE UP!

THANKFULLY, my birthday lands on Saturday this year, which means it is my day off and I get to enjoy whatever I want!

As I go through with this experiment, I plan to document how I feel, what I am eating and how my body is changing.

So far today, as my first day: I ate cottage cheese for breakfast and Chipotle chicken salad with guac for lunch!  No snacks are needed for now.  This diet has kept me full!

Help your Kids Eat Healthy (and you too)!

I have a neighbor who's 1(+a few months) year old has a hard time eating anything but dessert, yogurt, and crackers.  Yikes!  Although she is super healthy and fit, sometimes your kid just latches on to eating sugary.  As they age, it becomes harder and harder to attract the healthy stuff.  This website is a great resource to get your older kids, especially if they can read, to enjoy eating healthy.  It has super kids, each taking on their favorite color of healthy food and making it fun!  There are activities like coloring that are fun ways to make healthy foods cool.  Take a look even for yourself to see the foods that you should be consuming in your diet...

If you enjoy indoor cycling or would like to try your own attempt before joining a class, here is a great workout to raise your intensity:

Hill Repeats

Warm up: 1 song (3-4 min)

Song 1: steady gradual climb from easy-moderate to moderate
Song 2: moderate climb with speed intervals during chorus, with one turn in resistance plus extra speed for last repeat
Song 3: Steep incline that takes you from a 'hard' effort level to anaerobic/breathless (feel free to make this seated or out of saddle)

Repeat 3x and then cool down for a song!  This will get you indoor cycle ready!