Mindful Eats

Flaxseeds: Benefits and How to Eat Them

Every problem has in it the seeds of its own solution. If you don't have any problems, you don't get any seeds. ~Norman Vincent Peale

Two great people have had an interest in flaxseeds, so it's time to write about it. King Charlemagne was such a believer in the health benefits of flaxseeds that he passed laws requiring his subjects to eat it. Then MindfulEater Kaitlyn asked us what we eat flaxseeds in. The answer is nearly everything! (but more on that later.) 

So what are flaxseeds and why are they marvelous? The flax plant is known for its fibers (which make cloth, paper and stuff) and flaxseeds, which can be eaten or pressed into oil. We're focusing on the seeds. People are awed by their health benefits because they are full of essential fatty acid Omega-3 (1.8 gms per tablespoon of ground flaxseed), lignans (antioxidants) and fiber. Omega-3s are associated with a slew of benefits - everything from good brain function, less depression, and good heart health to anti-cancer benefits. Two tablespoons of ground flaxseed a day are even supposed to halve menopausal women's hot flashes. In general, ground flaxseed is preferable to flaxseed oil since it has more lignans.

So now you're probably sold on a good thing and you want in, right? Cool. Eat more flaxseed, but don't go nuts. Like anything else, too much is bad. Eat a lot without enough water, and you might be constipated. An excessive amount may become cancer promoting, due to the plant estrogens. Be moderate!

Flaxseeds add a nutty, fresh taste to food and go in almost everything! Mix it in:

1. Dairy foods like yogurt, cottage cheese and on top of cream cheese spreads
2. Nutty topping on top of vegetables
3. All whole grains - rice, quinoa, barley, etc.
4. Pasta and soups
5. Eggs
6. Smoothies
7. Meatballs, chili, mole sauce
8. All hot and cold cereals
9. Baked goods - replace some flour with ground flaxseed. Apparently you can substitute an egg with 1 tablespoon of flaxseed and 3 tablespoons of water, but I'm not a baker so I've never done it.

What to do: Eat Ground Flaxseeds

1. Buy ground or whole flaxseeds. Color doesn't matter - brown and golden have the same basic nutritional value, if you prefer the color of one against your food, buy that. Ground flaxseeds are more easily digestible - whole flaxseeds can pass through your digestive system. Buy a bag of ground flaxseeds or get them whole and grind them yourself in a coffee bean grinder.
2. Air is the enemy of flaxseeds. They oxidize, so squeeze air out of the bag when you reseal them, and keep them in the refrigerator, freezer or in a cool, dark place. Zip lock bags are best.
3. Add 1-2 tablespoons of ground flaxseeds per day to add Omega 3 and 6 oils to your diet. They're fresh tasting and mix in nearly everything! See suggestions above.
4. Don't go nuts - just because some is good doesn't mean more is better. Stick to 1-2 tablespoons per day.
5. If you're pregnant or breastfeeding, do not supplement with flaxseed - it may have an adverse effect on your young.

Want to learn more?

• Mindful Eats post on Omega-3 6 and 9
• WebMD on flaxseed
• UC Berkeley Wellness Guide to Dietary Supplements: Flaxseeds
• WHFoods on flaxseed

For posts on sustainable, organic, local and ethically grown food, go to Food Renegade.

What I ate: latte, hemp milk, Mindful Mix, dried mangos, 4 squares dark chocolate, quinoa + ground flaxseeds, microwaved asparagus, 1 cup coffee, whole wheat spaghetti + Rao's Siciliana sauce + spinach, parmesan cheese, 3 spears pineapple, 50 oz. water, 1 cup hot chocolate

 

Exercise: 4 miles warm up and cooldown, 4 mile tempo run

How Much Protein Do You Need?

Smoked trout from Gramercy Tavern 

Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Americans are obsessed with protein. We eat more fresh meat per capita than all other countries, except for China (#1) and Brazil (#2) and yet trendy diets encourage people to eat even more meat to lose weight or be cavemen. Though to be honest, there's only one way to lose weight - create a calorie deficit by eating less and/or exercising more, but that's another post. (For a nifty graphic on food consumption by country, check out this New York Times graphic.)

So how much protein do you need? You can't overdose on it (though there's a very slim possibility of getting kidney stones from eating too much). This handy article from Runner's World details protein requirements for a normal person and an endurance athlete. We broke it down in the below chart. Most people get more than enough protein without thinking, but if you are a vegetarian or an athlete, you may have to focus on it more. 

To figure out how much protein you need, figure out how much you weigh, then decide if you have normal or athletic requirements. If you are wondering whether or not you are an endurance athlete, then use the requirements for a normal person. Look up your requirements, and choose the sample menu or add up protein grams in various foods to get to the right amount. We chose to think in grams since food labels provide protein in grams.

What to do - Mindful Protein

1. Figure out how much protein you need from the chart above. If you aren't vegetarian, you don't need to stress - you are probably getting more than enough protein.
2. Choose your protein sources from the foods in the "Sample Menus." Producing meat takes up the most environmental resources, so consider eating more nonmeat proteins. It's also more expensive then plant proteins. Try Meatless Monday to benefit your health, your wallet, and the environment.
3. If you choose animal proteins, think about choosing non-industrial meat. The animals are allowed to move, eat their natural foods, and are not injected with hormones or antibiotics.
4. If you are vegetarian, make a concerted effort to plan eating protein. No Meat Athlete chronicles an endurance athlete's meatless running.

What I ate: vegetable juice, 1 latte, 8 oz. drinkable yogurt, 1 coffee, Cherry Lane steamed asparagus + shiitake mushrooms, tofu, roasted beets, 3 green beans, quinoa, 3 squares dark chocolate, 1 small slice chocolate cake, stir-fried shiitake mushrooms + asparagus + spinach + tempeh, brown rice, dried mango slices, macadamia nuts, 1 mango, Mindful Mix, hot chocolate, 40 oz. water

Exercise: jogged 4 miles

Conventional vs. Organic Food Debate: Why I Voted Conventional

Q: Can a test tell if this mango and apple are organically grown? Answer below 

What strikes me about this debate is that the tone here is as bitterly partisan as anything that's happening in Washington... And I'm curious about why -- we're talking about food.

Did you know that back in the olden days (say Abe Lincoln's time), people considered political speeches and debates entertainment? Families would pack up a picnic and go watch a speech for hours. They loved it - the longer the better. As a kid, I found that amazing- I could hardly imagine anything more tedious. Then my friend Bill sent me some info on an Intelligence Squared debate on organic food. I'd always avoided debates, but I had to check it out. Tickets were $40 - what the heck? Who would pay $$$ for an old-fashioned debate?! Somehow I got in through a press pass (go Mindful Eats!), and you know what? It was awesome - passionate, funny and informative. I'm going to listen to those intelligence² debates from now on (they're on NPR, Podcasts, pretty much all medium), they totally feed your brain.

The way the debate works is that there's a resolution, and a panel of experts for the resolution and against. The audience votes for, against or neutral at the beginning, then they do it again after the debate. The side that gets the most switchers wins. The resolution of this debate was "Organic food is marketing hype." Naturally, I voted for the organic debaters, but Dear Reader, I voted the opposite side by the end. The debate was entertaining, informative and hateful - each side could not stand the other. Even ABC News Moderator John Donvon said he hadn't moderated such a nasty debate. 

I'd always wanted to know what conventional food people argued since it seems obvious that organic is better if you can do it. The panel of experts was fascinating:

For Conventional Farming: Dennis Avery, Director of Hudson Institute's Center for Global Food Issues; Blake Hurst, soybean farmer and writer; John Krebs, former chair of the UK Food Standards Agency (that released the supercontroversial report that organic food is not more nutritious). All these guys were very well spoken, especially Krebs.

For Organic Farming: Jeffrey Steingarten, Vogue food writer and Iron Chef judge; Urvashi Rangan, Consumer Reports Director of Technical Policy; Charles Benbrook, Head Scientist of The Organic Center. Rangan and Benbrook were good - Steingarten seemed drunk.

So what are the benefits of conventional food? In general, the conventional panel was more global in their outlook and the organic panel was more local. Here's what the conventional panel said:

• Conventional farming is more environmental. (Shocking!) Conventional farming increases the yield of land, and as the world population increases and grows more affluent, the only way to feed everyone is to increase the amount of food we grow on farmland - otherwise we will have to cut down all the rainforests and parks for farms (and then some). 
• Conventional food is just as nutritious and less expensive. There have been no definitive studies that show organic food is more nutritious, so growing it that way is a waste of effort.
• The amount of pesticides and chemicals in conventional food is marginal. If you ate conventional food for a year, you would consume less carcinogens than in a cup of coffee.

And the organic side? Organic production is only 3% of America's food, but it's got a big bark.

• Organic farming is more environmental. It's sustainable - the soil is not being bombed with chemicals and worn out.
• Animals aren't abused and are much healthier. They can perform natural activities (like walking) since they aren't penned with thousands of other animals where they are too smushed to move. They also eat natural foods (no poop or ground up animal parts in feed).
• It's better to eat food without any chemicals, even it it's a tiny amount.

One person asked if an apple could be tested to determine whether or not it was organic. 

The answer (from the organic side) was NO. If there isn't any detectible pesticide residue, then you can't tell if food's been grown organically or conventionally. The labels organic and conventional are about production methods, not food. Which is why I switched sides - I'm not convinced that the USFDA is currently able to test and reinforce the organic label. That's why it's best to get to know your local food growers - you can just ask them at the farmer's market.

The conventional side painted organic supporters as elitists that are unconcerned with poverty and feeding the world, and the organic side labeled conventional supporters as big industrial companies that steamroll everything in search of a profit. Moderator Donvon kept mentioning how partisan each side was (and he'd moderated debates on torture and paying for sex). It's pretty clear that we will have both conventional and organic growing methods for as long as you and I are here - why don't they just learn from each other? It's all food, people. Eat it whole (but not too much).

I went to dinner after the debate with a few passionate NY sustainaistas (Frankies 457 - yum). One of them was local farmer Dean Sparks from nymilk, and when I told him about the debate, he nodded wisely at the global issues and said "Look, I can't feed the world. I just want to feed good food to my family and friends and people around me, and help save some farms in upstate." We drank to that.  

Bottom Line - my takeaway from the debate was that the healthiest thing to do is eat whole foods. That is the most important thing, and you are doing great for you and your loved ones by doing that. If you can afford to go organic, do so. If not, it doesn't matter.

What to do - Eat Whole Foods

1. Buy and prepare unprocessed food, whether it's conventional or organic, frozen or fresh. Unprocessed is best. You are doing awesome things for you and your family with this alone.
2. If you can allocate a small amount toward organic food, focus on organic meat and dairy as these have a high concentration of pesticides, hormones and antibiotics.  
3. If your budget allows for more organics and you are concerned about pesticides, focus on purchasing organic versions of the dirty dozen and conventional versions of the clean 15. Organic produce may spoil faster since it isn't pumped full of preservatives so you may want to use it more quickly.
4. If you want to limit the environmental impact of your food, you are awesome. Buy organic or local. Organic and local is best, but it's not always possible, so think about the environmental toll of shipping (scale of volume, distance, etc).  
5. Talk to the growers at your local greenmarket. Just because it's not labeled organic doesn't mean the grower isn't using great farming practices. 
6. Grow some of your own food. Do a little research and find out what's easy in your area. For example, zucchini and tomatoes are easy in the Northeast. Even the Obamas are planting a garden on the White House Lawn! 

For posts on sustainable, organic, local and ethical food, go to Food Renegade.

What I ate: Fage yogurt + ground flax seeds + Sarabeth jam, macadamia nuts, cafe au lait, 5 squares dark chocolate, whole wheat spaghetti + Rao's Siciliana sauce + flax seeds + sauteed swiss chard, 1 apple, 1 avocado, almonds, quinoa, sauteed tofu + shiitake mushrooms + bok choy + yeast , cheddar cheese, hot chocolate, 40 oz. water

Exercise: 75 min yoga + 15 min meditation

Is Soy/Tofu Good or Bad for You?

Sampling of soy products: tofu, tempeh and miso

You can't change the past, but every day is an opportunity to rewrite your future. ~Tony Hsia

You may not know this, but soy foods are controversial. Some people think tofu is abominable because of the way it tastes, but if you look around on the internet, there are sources that think it is evil and "life-endangering". I had to investigate since I love tofu and don't want to endanger my life. After all, I gave up Cheetos and processed foods (which I love much more than tofu) because they're unhealthy. There's no way I'm going to endanger my life over tofu.

Traditionally, foods made from soybeans - tofu, soy milk, miso, tempeh, etc. - have been considered low-fat, protein-rich health foods. However, if you search the web, you will find several articles that say soy is an unhealthy (if not downright evil) food. What's up with that? Let's look at the evidence on both sides. First, the facts:

Soy foods are considered good protein and calcium sources, so a lot of vegetarians and lactose-intolerant people turn to them for those nutrients. For a 3.5 oz serving (same size as a serving of meat), the organic tofu in my fridge provides 5 gm fat (7.5% DV or daily recommended value on a 2000 calorie diet), 10 gm protein (18.75% DV), 2.5 gm total carbohydrates (1.25% DV), 7.5% DV of calcium, 7.5% of DV iron, and 100 calories.

Why people are proponents of soy as a healthy food:

• Non-meat protein and calcium source 
• Lowers LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol), 2007 study from National Institute of Health and Nutrition, Tokyo, Japan
• Isoflavones (compound in soy), reduces the risk of initial and recurring breast cancer, Wall Street Journal

Why people think soy is unhealthy:

• It impairs thyroid function (unlike the others, there is some basis for this one - soy may impact you if you have a thyroid dysfunction - so avoid)
• Unfermented soy prevents protein and nutritional absorption due to phytic acid and trypsin inhibitors
• It causes mental degradation due to aluminum absorbed in soy 
• Phytoestrogens add hormones (plant version of the female hormone estrogen) 

Weston A. Price and Dr. Mercola are main proponents of the soy is evil thinking. The studies above and Dr. Weil make these people seem wacko. 

What to believe? I looked deep inside myself (not usually a source of answers), but I found some in my genetics. I am Taiwanese, and my people have been eating tofu, soy milk, and miso for centuries.

The anti-soy articles (like this one by Nourished Magazine which is particularly nuts) just don't seem to have a grasp on reality. They often state:

• Asians eat very little soy products (7 grams a day), and if so, it is always fermented. Have any of these people lived in an Asian home? Do they know any Asians? I happen to know a lot of Asians that I'm related to, but I know even more than that of all types. Soy products are pounded on a regular basis. Bowls of hot soy milk are served for breakfast in Taiwan. Koreans have stews that are tofu stews. No one I know has a tiny 7 grams a sitting. This is bogus.
• Phytoestrogens will lower sperm count and feminize boys. And 100 gms of soy protein have the equivalent of one contraceptive pill. Last time I checked, Asia was being accused of overpopulation - China even enacted a one child rule. There doesn't seem to be any low sperm count there. I don't think a feminized male could have kids. And I dare you to use soy protein as a contraceptive (not really, that would just be stupid). If soy was superfeminizing, you would think that the average Asian women would have the figure of Pamela Anderson Lee (post-surgery). Riiiight. There are more real hormones fed to industrial cattle than the tiny amount of plant hormones in soy.
• Soy causes Alzheimers and dementia, and causes you to die earlier. After centuries of eating lots of soy, there is no evidence of any of those things in Asia, and the population with the highest longevity is the Japanese.

So, after filtering the evidence through common sense and empirical evidence, MindfulEats will confidently say soy (femented or not) is good for you as long as you're not allergic to it or have a thyroid disorder.

What to do - Eat Soy in Moderation

1. Some people should avoid soy. If you have a soy allergy, a thyroid disorder, iodine deficiency (very rare) or hate the taste, then avoid it. If your body doesn't react well to it, avoid it. In terms of taste, I love tofu and can't abide the taste of soy milk. My brother likes soy milk but can't stand tofu.
2. Buy only organic and non-genetically modified (GMO) soy products. Actually, a food that is certified organic is not supposed to be GMO so you're getting both. Soy is a large industrial crop that is heavily treated, which is why you want organic.
3. Soy products (except for edamame) are processed foods. So you may want to go light on them. The anti-soy contingent is generally ok with fermented soy foods like tempeh and miso, but they're wacky.
4. Use soy as a protein source, but like everything else, make sure you not eating it to the exclusion of other foods. Eat a WIDE variety of whole foods to get a full range of nutrition.

Pro-soy Contingent: Dr. Weil, clinical research above

Anti-soy Contingent:Weston A. Price, Dr. Mercola, Nourished Magazine

For posts on SOLE food (sustainable, organic, local and ethical), go to Food Renegade.

What I ate: cottage cheese + ground flax seeds, 1 butter croissant, 28 oz. cafe au lait, brown rice + steamed broccoli + tofu, 5 squares dark chocolate, 1 banana, spinach + red cabbage + shiitake mushroom risotto, hot chocolate, water

Exercise: none

Local Winter Seasonal Foods

Paffenroth Farms stand at Union Square Greenmarket, NYC, 1/30/10

Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each. ~Henry David Thoreau

MindfulEats is celebrating our first year anniversary, and we are very grateful to have you with us. We were founded last January during a particularly inspirational time - New Year Resolutions were swirling, Obama had just been inaugurated and the Steelers were on the way to the Super Bowl. 

It was also the middle of winter, and food choices were more limited than during the summer. Root vegetables dominated over fruit. If you haven't noticed a difference, you probably live in a warm and sunny area. Those of us in cold, wintry climates are fortunate that we can take advantage of delicious seasonal specialties. The interest in local foods seem to be increasing (yay!) and we've recently fielded several questions on what's in season - so Bill, Jon and Kaitlyn, this post is for you.  

It's possible to deny winter with food that's been shipped from warmer areas, but that stuff isn't great. It was picked days before it had a chance to ripen naturally, and it's been sitting around for a while. It also cost a lot of carbon to ship. Use it as a supplement to the bonanza of hearty winter foods easily available: cabbage, potatoes, turnips, parsnips, brussel sprouts, dried beans, eggs, meat. There may not be as wide a selection as the summer, but this is definitely a season to take advantage of. (And do it while you can - the winter season is short!) Eating seasonally provides you with:

• Food that makes sense. It's cold out there, and filling your tummy with roasted sweet potatoes and a heart-warming stew or cassoulet makes more sense than eating a tomato and mozzarella sandwich with strawberries. You'll be in sync with nature!
• Cheaper and tastier food. Produce that's in season and local tastes better. Parsnips and turnips in the NYC greenmarket are $1 a pound. That's a lot less than the small bundles of spinach from California.

The hardest thing about adding seasonal foods is knowing what's in season, so:

What to do - Eat Seasonally (and Locally)

1. Bundle up and go to the farmer's market. The selection is more sparse than during the summer, but you'll quickly see what's in season and you'll be able to buy the freshest. Besides, this is when your local farmers need the most support. They get a lot less traffic and they're cold too.
2. Use this great site from Natural Resources Defense Council and check out what's in season.
3. Learn how to cook root vegetables and meat. Most any winter food can be roasted or turned into stew. Your slow cooker is perfect for this season, and we roast veggies at least once a week.
4. If you're in the NYC or SF area, buy this clever and beautifully illustrated Local Foods Wheel from Chelsea Green to always see what's in season. It makes a great gift too! It was our favorite item in a gift bag.

What I ate: City Bakery hot chocolate shot, 1 cup plain yogurt + 1T Sarabeth's peach-strawberry jam + flaxseeds, 1 cup McCann's steel-cut oatmeal + dried cranberries + ground flax seeds, cheddar cheese, macadamia nuts, 1 grapefruit, 1 large latte, 1 cup tea, Trader Joe's dried mangos, Tazo white apricot tea, whole wheat fusilli, roasted eggplant + portobello mushrooms + parsnips + turnips, hot chocolate, New Chapter multivitamin, water

Exercise: 30 min run, 60 min yoga

Hassle-Free Healthy Meal: Slow Cooker/Crockpot

Collard green and turnip soup

My parents gave me a slow cooker for Christmas last year. I thought it was an odd gift, but I sweetly thanked them and took it home. Then I took the slow cooker out of the box and fell in love. 

The thing is magic! You load it up, add water, turn it on, and when you come home 9+ hours later on a frigid night so hungry you could eat your dog, the warm smell of love hits you as you walk through the door. It's the only way a working stiff like me can come home to a delicious smelling dinner. And the only effort required is chopping and flipping a switch. Magic. Parents (often) do know best.

The magic isn't limited to meals - the slow cooker is great way to prepare slow foods like dried beans and lentils, or carrots on their way to being pureed. 

Slow cookers are especially perfect during the winter. They're great for soups, chili and stews. I also understand they are great for braised meat (next on my list of things to try), but the most frequent meal in my slow-cooker is a turnip collard green soup.

In addition to slow cookers, there are a few other ways to cook healthy and fast.

Turnip and Collard Green Soup

Serves 2

5-6 small turnips
5 collard greens
1 stalk of celery
1 carrot
1/4 clove of garlic
 1/2 barley, quinoa, brown rice or any other grain
 water
 any other vegetable you like - onions, potatoes, etc.

1. Chop the turnips, celery and carrots into bite sized soup pieces. Turnips should be small (2 inches or less) and heavy.
2. Strip the collard green stems off the leaves and slice leaves into strips. (collard stems can be saved for vegetable juice)
3. Put all the vegetables into the slow cooker.
4. Add enough water to cover the vegetables plus another 2-3 inches. Unless the water is 3/4 inches from the top of the cooker. If so, only fill it until it's 3/4 inch from the top.
5. Turn cooker on low. Let cook for 5+ hours. I've let it cook for over 9 hours.
6. When you're ready to eat, add the grains. Leave them in for the regular cooking time. If you have pre-cooked grains, add them in at the end. Do NOT cook grains for hours - they get overcooked, clumpy and gross.

You're done! One of the easiest meals ever. Feel free to experiment - slow cooking is flexible and nearly impossible to screw up.

What I ate: vegetable juice, 1 grapefruit, 1 c. steel-cut oatmeal + flaxseeds + dried cranberries + milk, 2 scrambled eggs, macadamia nuts, 1 latte, baby carrots, hummus, 1 green tea, lobster ravioli, salami, prosciutto, 2 slices bread, cheese, hot chocolate, water

Exercise: None

What is Conventionally-Grown, Industrial Food?

Grocery shopping in Aleppo, Syria. 

Our lives are a sum total of the choices we have made. ~William Dyer

Have you ever noticed that hippies, yuppies and environmental folk love farmer's markets and sustainably grown, organic food? What's up with that? Is it better for you? And why are people making such a fuss over conventional, industrially grown food? Read on for most of the answers...

If MindfulEats were to draw a bright line in the world of food, the first and most important cut would be between processed and non-processed foods. Eating non-processed food is the best thing you can do for you and those you love. But you already knew that.

The second cut would be within the non-processed food world, between 1) conventional, industrially grown food and 2) locally, sustainably grown food. 

Conventional, industrially grown food is quickly becoming the villain in movies and popular press. But like processed food, the reason it came into being wasn't to be evil - the idea was to make farming more efficient to provide more and cheaper food for everyone. Not a bad idea. It's the actual production and execution that is the problem.

To understand the issue, let's take a look at the way food has traditionally been grown. Food (plant and animal) is grown on land. Like you, land gets tired and less productive when it is worked hard and without rest (which is what farming does). Different plants take different nutrients from the soil, and leave different types of waste. The traditional farmer had to be smart about raising multiple types of crops so he didn't strip the soil of all nutrients, and leave himself with dead fields in a few years. He also had to rest plots of land so the soil could enrich itself. 

Likewise, he had to grow different animals to be efficient. Cows would graze on grass and poop in the fields. Chickens would peck through the poop for food, scattering the manure for more efficient fertilizer as they pecked. Pigs ate leftovers and rooted through fields, helping to aerate the soil and creating more poop for chickens to peck through. Farms were an ecosystem of their own, growing food for the farmer and a few others, and being carefully managed so the farm would exist for generations.

Industrialization came along and decided traditional farms were inefficient. Like factories, industrialists thought they could increase production. Instead of planting different kinds of crops, they thought they'd just plant one type (corn, for example) on a large tract and be super efficient about it. They added chemical fertilizers to make the crops grow faster, and herbicides/insecticides to reduce pests. The problem is, the chemicals and just the one crop stripped the soil of its nutrients, so even more chemicals had to be added to make the same land grow as much. This creates a huge environmental problem with all the chemicals, and lots of people don't want to eat those chemicals. It's gross. Enter the growing demand for organic, unchemically grown food.

Meat production went through the same process. Industrial farmers figured they could produce more meat if they raised mass amounts of one type of animal. So each farm focuses on one type - beef, pork, chicken, etc. To grow more meat, they jam as many animals as possible on a plot of land. This means the animals don't have room to exercise, stand around in lots of poop, and are prone to getting sick (that's what happens with poor quality food and lack of exercise). Since they are so close to each other, disease sweeps through quickly. Hello antibiotics. To counteract potential disease, 70% of the antibiotics produced in the U.S. is fed to animals, as stated by Congresswoman Louise Slaughter in her statement to the Agriculture Subcommittee. So when you eat industrial meat, you are eating sickly animals that are filled with artificial hormones and antibiotics so they will grow more quickly and not get diseased. All those drugs and waste leach into the environment and water supply, which causes a big environmental issue that will have to get cleaned up some day.

Sure, cooking helps kill the additives, but that animal you're eating is pretty sickly and unhappy. Yuck. It's bad karma. Pigs are smarter than dogs, and those industrially grown pigs get so depressed they put antidepressants in their feed along with antibiotics. If you took two kids, and raised one so that he played outdoors and ate healthy food, he'd have a good shot at being happy and hale. If you forced the other kid to spend all his time in a closet eating nothing but cereal, you'd have a kid with lots of issues. That's industrial farming.

So the theory behind industrial farming isn't a bad one, but the practice of it is terrible in terms of:

1. the environment - a massive amount of chemicals and waste is being offloaded into the environment, without any kind of replenishing
2. your health - you and your family get lots more chemicals into your food, and you eat sickly depressed animals. It hasn't been proven to be harmful yet, but do you really want to wait for that proof?

That's why people like farmer's markets - it provides a direct connection to food grown the traditional, sustainable way, as do responsible retailers and grocery stores.

What to do - Eat Sustainably

1. Eat less processed food.
2. Buy organic and locally produced food if you have the means. You're getting a bigger bang for your buck than you are when you spend your moolah on designer clothes.
3. Ask your restaurants about their food, and patronize the ones that buy responsibly.
4. Share your philosophy with others.

Want to learn more?

• Watch the movie Food, Inc.
• Read Michael Pollan's book, The Omnivore's Dilemma
• Read Congresswoman Louise Slaughter's Statement On Agriculture Subcommittee Hearing on Animal Health, Antibiotics

For articles on SOLE (sustainable, organic, local, ethical) food, go to Food Renegade.

What I ate: macadamia nuts, large latte, 3 clementines, 1 banana, dried mangos, cheese, baby carrots, babaganoush, whole wheat spaghetti, roasted eggplant + portobello mushrooms + zucchini + yellow squash + grape tomatoes, 2 cups hot chocolate, water

Exercise: 90 min. vinyassa yoga, 30 min. lifting

Food Portions and Serving Sizes

 Peppers at a Green Bay Farmer's Market ©Michelle Correa Photography

Your body is the baggage you must carry through life. The more excess the baggage, the shorter the trip. ~Arnold H. Glasgow

I have a colleague that's frustrated with her diet. She started eating healthier, but she still wants to lose 10 pounds. Sometimes that happens. Getting rid of processed foods is a fabulous start for losing weight, but you still need to be mindful of how much food you're eating. Learning serving sizes will also help you keep a better food log, which is key to weight loss.

American portions keep getting supersized. You can blow a whole day's worth of calories on a restaurant meal. If you want to lose weight, you need to know what a proper serving looks like, so check out the MindfulEats Food Portion Chart below (based on this SparkPeople article). It's shocking how much smaller a portion should be than what we're used to.

Just so you know - a serving is the amount that food experts recommend you eat, and a portion is what you actually eat. For example, experts recommend that you eat 6-11 servings of grains per day. So if you don't snack on grains, you may want to eat two servings per meal.

MindfulEats Food Portion Chart

 
 

American PLATES are also getting bigger, which sneaks in more calories. Use a smaller luncheon size plate (9"-10") for your dinner, and fill it with 1/2 veggies, 1/4 whole grains and 1/4 protein. If you need a visual reminder, you can buy a portion-control plate here, or one of the more stylish plates featured on the Today Show.

What to do - Lose Weight through Proper Portions

1. Memorize serving sizes. Or print out the above chart, cut it out, and put it in your wallet for easy referral.
2. Pack away your dinner plates and only use luncheon plates (9"-10"). Make sure your plate is filled with 50% veggie/fruit, 25% whole grains, and 25% protein.
3. Stick to recommended serving sizes. It's great you're eating healthier, but that doesn't mean you can eat massive amounts!
4. Throw away extra food, or wrap it up for later. We're giving you permission not to clean your plates. You didn't ask for that huge portion, did you? Eat a healthy portion and leave the rest, or have it wrapped. You're also probably getting a lot of cookies, chocolates and sweets for the holidays. We give you permission to eat one and throw the rest away (don't worry, they'll never know).
5. Look at what 300-450 calorie meals look like.
6. Check out the Cool Resources page for more ideas.

Want to learn more?

• SparkPeople article on Portion Sizes and Serving Sizes
• Web MD's Portion Tool and Simple Secrets to Portion Control and Healthy Eating
• How to Lose Weight

What I ate: (horrible day of holiday parties) 1/2 c. couscous, 1 small potato pancake, lox, smoked trout, food, mixed nuts, 1 slice ham, shrimp cocktail, lots of cheese and crackers, 1 small crab cake, carrots + hummus, whole wheat spaghetti + egg + spinach, 1 hot chocolate, water

Exercise: 15 min stationary bike, weights

What is Processed Food?

 I made this bread from scratch - is it a processed food? 

Truth never damages a cause that is just. ~Mohandas K. Gandhi

So what is processed food anyway? Processed food is any food that has been altered from its natural state. As soon as it is altered (processed) in any way (no longer fresh and raw), it starts to lose nutrients. The more processed, the less nutrients it has. This doesn't mean that you should eat only raw food (that takes a lot of effort and dedication), but it does mean you should focus on eating raw or simply cooked whole foods. 

The chart below describes the spectrum of foods. It goes from the least processed from the top box most processed (and worst) in the red box. You want most of your food to be from the green boxes.

 
The best food is still in its natural, recognizable form. Raw or steamed spinach is good (raw is better since cooking destroys some nutrients). Creamed spinach - not so good. Though cooking does destroy nutrients, it doesn't mean all cooking is bad. Certain things, like tomatoes, actually increase in lycopene (important nutrient for your eyes) when cooked. So don't obsess over cooking.

Wheat does not grow naturally in bread or pasta form. That is always processed, even if it is whole wheat! My cousin questioned whether homemade bread was processed. The answer is yes. Flour is milled, ground up wheat.

What about frozen or canned vegetables? Not bad - just make sure it doesn't have sweeteners, additives or chemicals, it is a fine way to get your vegetables. Back in the day, it was the only way to get any fruit and vegetables during the winter.

Of course, you can't avoid all processed foods. Just try to consistently eat the majority of your food from the green bars and try to avoid the red. Does it seem overwhelming? It's not! You can do it. Start with 50%, then when you are comfortable there, bring it up to 60%. Keep going - you might hit 90-95%.

What to do - Eat Less Processed Food

1. Understand what processed food is. Read the chart above.
2. Eat more whole foods. Stick to the green and yellow boxes.
3. Always read your food labels so you know how processed that food is. 
4. Cook more of your own food. It's healthier, easy, and cheaper.

For more articles on real unprocessed food, go to Food Renegade's Fightback Friday.

What I ate: plain kefir, Barbara's Bakery Shredded Oats + skim milk, 2 squares dark chocolate, walnuts, spinach + mesclun salad + roasted beets + green beans + baked tofu + felafel + Asian noodles + red rice + barley + cucumbers, 1 potato chip, 12 oz. cafe au lait, 12 oz. coffee, 1 madeleine, 3 dried apricots, 1 medium apple, carrots + hummus, whole wheat spaghetti + spinach + Rao's Siciliana sauce + parmesan cheese, 1/4 roasted sweet potato, hot chocolate, white tea, 1 T. Udo's Oil, 1 multivitamin, 60 oz. water

Exercise: 15 min stationary bike, weights

Healthy Bones and Osteoporosis

We are delighted to welcome back Brandi Simpson, who wrote the popular post on her week-long raw food diet experience. This time she is sharing her vast knowledge on osteoporosis. I met Brandi when we were consulting for a pharmaceutical firm. She worked on their osteoporosis drug, and has since worked extensively in the area. I learned a lot of things from this post - I had no idea that my food goes into my bones!

It’s easy to get caught up in thinking about how what we eat today makes us feel and look now. And I know you mindful eaters are concerned about eating your fruits and vegetables to stave off cancer, diabetes, heart disease and other conditions associated with aging. But have you given much thought to your bones lately?

Just like every other system in your body, your bones cells are constantly turning over. Surprisingly, the cells that make up your skeleton today will be no where to be found five or six years from now. This is because about 20% of the cells of your skeleton turn over each year. A little sobering when you consider the four years in college (before you became a mindful eater) when maybe you lived on coffee, beer, and cheese puffs. Those four years contributed to most of the skeleton you had at 23! It’s a wonder you didn’t break a hip!

This isn’t to say that if your diet remains unchanged your bones remodel every 5 or so years to the same state they were in 5 years earlier. In fact, about 80-90% of your adult bone mass was acquired by age 20. After age 20, the real battle becomes trying to maintain the bone mass that you have. This is actually challenging as we tend to lose bone mass as we age and our habits (as well as our genetics) make a big difference.

It probably didn’t strike you until a few years after you started growing. But every time you gave grandma/grandpa/great aunt Edna a hug you noticed that they seemed to be shrinking. They probably were! Long before osteoporosis causes broken hips (which, by the way can even lead to death) it causes vertebral fractures. In fact, many physicians believe that vertebral fracture should be suspected in any woman over 45 experiencing back pain. Over 25% of post menopausal women have at least one vertebral fracture. Over time, osteoporosis causes the vertebra to fracture and compress, resulting in loss of height, loss of spinal mobility, and significant pain.

But can’t they cure osteoporosis these days? No! Some drugs can slow the re-absorption process, but they do so at the cost of long term bone remodeling. In fact, the seller of the world’s most successful osteoporosis drug, Merck, is currently facing several court cases because it is believed that its therapy can cause osteonecrosis (that is, bone death), most commonly in the jaw. There are other therapies that have been shown to improve bone mass and reduce fracture risk - but these drugs also have a lot of risks.  If someone has severe osteoporosis, they really have no choice but to either accept the risk of fracture or the side effects that come with the therapies. But you are far from that decision. Act now to save your skeleton!

What can you do?

• Eat a diet high in calcium and vitamin D.  These nutrients aren’t found exclusively in dairy products.  Dark leafy greens are excellent sources of calcium.  Fatty fish and eggs are good sources of vitamin D. 
• Avoid smoking and excessive alcohol (yup - these affect your bone mass along with everything else).
• Do weight bearing exercise!  Running and jumping are actually great for your bones!  Do it before your knees can’t take it!  Weight lifting positively affects your bone mass too.  So if lifting your suitcase to get it into the overhead bin isn’t enough - now you can do it for your bones!
• Know your risks:  non-Hispanic Caucasian and Asian women have higher risks as do smokers (stop that!), those with small frames, and individuals who have taken corticosteroids for long periods of time (like those with asthma.) 

What I ate: Kashi Go Lean cereal, Fage 2% Greek yogurt, nectarine; salad with mixed greens, hard-boiled egg,  beets, olives, red peppers, and balsamic dressing; 1.5 oz of pretzels (I know, I know); 2 clementines; homemade chicken noodle soup with organic chicken and homemade noodles; 1 fruit juice sweetened Cascade farms yogurt.

Exercise: 40 minutes on elliptical, 10 minutes hard running at 5% incline