You are what you eat

People often say I write way too much about food- after all, this is supposed to be about creating a better, leaner, stronger, beautiful body right? 

Exactly why I talk about food so much.

Food to me is one of the most pleasurable things in life, I love food and I love to eat. I can power down with the best of them, and could probably be a contentor in one of those eating contest reality shows- if I actually wanted to.


In fact, Saturday I ate a pizza.... all but one piece! Screw the plate, I used the dish it came on. I am enjoying it....

Creating a body that is a work of art does not require just the physical training aspect, it requires the spiritual, emotional and functional health as well. When I say "spiritual" I mean whatever you count on as the higher force to get you through the day. It could be just your own determined mind.

I do not believe that "carbs are bad", in fact, I don't really think that any food group should be eliminated from a diet; and sugar, alcohol and packaged or processed foods are not considered "food groups".

You should eat plenty of vegetables, meats, fish, poultry, fruit, starches and water. At times, when working on changing body composition, of course the amounts of these foods will be changed, and some of the changes may be dramatic- but a figure or bodybuilding competition is not a diet for life, nor is it healthy, it is a diet for an specific event, period. 


I do eat bread- once in a while. I do drink wine, on occasion. I love a good dark chocolate bar, especially one with thick, gooey caramel. But this is not the norm for me nor is it something I even do weekly.


I make a point of buying some of the best food I can get. I am concerned with the source, it's one reason why I don't belong to Costco, and I don't buy a lot at Trader Joe's either. I prefer to get most of my vegetables and meats at Whole Foods and the farmers market.


There is a difference.


Tonight I brought home a crock of grass fed organic butter, made with sea salt for David and Cooper. They loved it on their baguette! Yes, it is more expensive, but we are putting it into our bodies right? Aren't we working hard to transform and/or maintain our bodies into the beautiful work of art that the human form is? If so, then why would anyone consider putting crap into their mouth? 


I work on databases a lot at work and we have a saying: "Garbage in, Garbage out". The same goes for your body, put garbage in it and what you end up with will be just that: garbage.


Below is a very interesting video about the difference between a regular sweet potato, and an organic sweet potato, and the dangers of a pesticide called Chlorprobham, which is used on many foods that we eat everyday. 

ACUTE TOXICITY

Chlorpropham is moderately toxic by ingestion . It may cause irritation of the eyes or skin. Symptoms of poisoning in laboratory animals have included listlessness, incoordination, nose bleeds, protruding eyes, bloody tears, difficulty in breathing, prostration, inability to urinate, high fevers, and death. Autopsies of animals have shown inflammation of the stomach and intestinal lining, congestion of the brain, lungs and other organs, and degenerative changes in the kidneys and liver 

CHRONIC TOXICITY

Chronic exposure of laboratory animals has caused retarded growth, increased liver, kidney and spleen weights, congestion of the spleen and death.

REPRODUCTIVE EFFECTS

Long-term exposure to chlorpropham may cause adverse reproductive effects. Chlorpropham may cross the placenta. 

Do you eat sweet potatoes? Take a look at this video (email subscribers will need to navigate directly to the blog).

Sweet Potato Pudding

I love this for breakfast but it really can be eaten anytime. 

I am not one to snack much, I think it's more from guilt than anything else. (I swear there must have been some heavy duty Catholic suffering in my past life), but this would be tasty at anytime, just watch the calories and overall carb intake as it's more of a complete meal.

I get beautiful sweet potatoes in my CSA delivery, so I microwave them in the skins until they are soft and almost liquid inside. I let them cool then mash them up into a smooth puree and then just keep it in the refrigerator.

Just before heading off to work I will take 3 or 4 ounces of sweet potato puree and put it into a bowl.

I add one cup of egg whiles and whisk it until smooth. 

I then add cinnamon and splenda to taste and microwave it about 3 minutes and it will get puffed and almost cooked through. 

I whisk it again and wave it another minute or so. Then into a container and I eat it when I get to work.

Now you could add some marshmallows or syrup and it would ruin the health benefits. You could add a bit of PB2 or a spoon of real natural peanut butter and that would be acceptable.

This is a super healthy breakfast, quick and easy and low calories. Sweet potatoes are a dieters dream, they are a complex carb that is low in calories and will sustain you for a long time. Mixed with egg whites, the best source of protein you can consume, and the sweetness make the meal a treat!

Be creative with your meals so you don't get bored and end up eating a horrible meal from a to-go restaurant, or snacking on your kids sugar cereal!

Some best breakfast meals are what people consider only a dinner meal!

Tortellini in Broth

Tortellini in broth, who doesn't love that?!

I am on a diet, so I am not eating this, but my husband and son are not on a diet, and they like this. First I made my dinner:

2 ounces sweet potato, pureed
4 ounces ground turkey, sauteed with chorizo spices
6 spears asparagus, steamed
1 cup mixed sauteed bell peppers

Then the boys wanted something and we hadn't really given it much thought so it's off to the freezer to see what we have.

I almost always have homemade chicken stock, it is easy to make and there is no comparison to the canned or boxed garbage.

I heated that up and then put in a bag of Barilla 3 Cheese Tortellini.

Take a look at the front of this package. It says in very BOLD letters:

Dinner for 2 in 10 Minutes

Well, this is quite alluring isn't it? I can toss this in the stock and the boys will have dinner in 10 minutes.

Let's just take a look at the nutritional facts on the side.

It says that each serving has the following:

230 Calories

8 Grams fat

500 mg Sodium

32 Grams Carbohydrates

8 Grams protein

About what I would expect, you know pasta is high in calories and carbs. Not really too bad for a meal...(if you aren't on a diet).

But wait a minute, there is something wrong here. Look at the very top of the label. It says the serving size is 2/3 cup and there are 4 servings in the container!

This means that based on what it says on the front, you and one other person have just finished eating this because it was Dinner for 2 in 10 Minutes, and this is what you really consumed:

460 Calories

16 Grams fat

1000 mg Sodium

64 Grams Carbohydrates

16 Grams protein

Not only did they fool you into thinking it was a lower  calorie dinner, but had you been serving more than 2 people, you probably would have bought more of this pasta based on the front label, say three bags for 6 people. They screw you twice! You consume too many calories based on their label and spend too much money too.

Sneaky marketing that's what it is. No wonder why most of America is obese and dying of heart related disease.

Damn! Should have gone out for a burger!

Oh, plus they had this:

Good thing they aren't on a diet, they would not be very happy with the results.

If you eat packaged foods, please be very careful and thoroughly read the labels.

Thanksgiving

This was my lunch, a cold can of tuna.....!

I like tuna, it is good stuff. I also wanted to enjoy a great meal with my family, so I decided to eat light, skip the carbs and try to offset it all a bit.

I made everything except the appetizer and dessert, so I know what's in it all. I do not make my family "eat clean" on Thanksgiving, after all, this healthy eating stuff is my deal, not theirs.

We had a great meal, family and friends, lots of food and drink.

My brother, who is in India for a few months skyped and we "passed" him around the table on the laptop and had a good chat.

As usual, I packaged up everything for the guests to take except a little turkey and the carcass, I will make stock. My son very quietly asked me if I had saved anything, and I had not. Seems he wanted it all over again and I had given it all away! 

Guess I will reproduce the same menu next year. What did we have? Here is the menu:

Wilce Family Winery
Thanksgiving 2010

Appetizer

Brined “Good Shepherd” Heritage Turkey with Pan Gravy

Artichoke Parmesan Sourdough Stuffing

Roasted Cranberry Sauce with Herbed Candied Walnuts

Sweet Potato Pudding with Pecan and Gingersnap Topping

Buttermilk Chive Mashed Potatoes

Brussels Sprouts Hash with Caramelized Shallots

Harvard Beets

Rolls with Butter

Pumpkin Pie
Whipped Cream


Champagne
Wine
Sparkling Water
Coffee