Mindful Eats

Guide to Mindful Holiday Planning

Celebrate we will, because life is short but sweet for certain. ~Dave Matthews Band 

Mindful Readers, the holidays are upon us! I wrote a post on holiday planning for LIving Harvest, and decided we need one too. It might seem too late to plan, but it's never too late. The holiday season is infamous for fun, food, weight gain and exhaustion. They have a funny way of stirring up emotions that cause us to lose control - so whether you are frantic, ecstatic, lonely, or all the above, know that you are not alone. Here's your guide to coasting through the holidays and enjoying them guilt-free (or as close as possible).

Restaurants and retailers have been planning on maximizing our caloric and wallet consumption for months. With a good game plan in place, you can take advantage of the festivities and coast into the New Year feeling fabulous. 

What to do - Plan Your Holidays Mindfully

1. Identify the triggers that make you binge. There's a lot of food and drink around, and people tend to stuff themselves with it. What is it that gets you going? Is it that there is a lot of tasty food and you just want to hoard it and eat it all? Do you not want to disappoint the people that made it? Are you feeling lonely when everyone else is having fun? Are you going through a rough time? Are you feeling a loss? Do you feel broke during this time of seeming abundance? All those things are ok. You are not alone - a lot of people feel that way, even depressed. Just figure out what makes you binge before you start eating. That way you have a fair shot at recognizing it so you can stop yourself when you're surrounded by excess.
2. Keep your calendar up to date. Slot in all the parties, dinners and events you have.
3. Look at all the events you have on your calendar, and figure out what you need. Hostess gifts, bottles of wine, potluck dishes, costumes? List what you need for each event and get it the weekend (or the day) before so you don't run around and stress out right before the party.
4. Plan your non-party meals. Look at your calendar, and when you see an event, make sure you plan healthy meals before and after. Big Thanksgiving dinner coming up? Have oatmeal or yogurt and ground flaxseed for breakfast. Keep all your meals healthy except for the blowouts. Get out your steamer and start steaming vegetables!
5. Plan your eating & drinking strategy. You'll be surrounded by food at the office and at parties. Remember your triggers? Think about them and have a taste of the goodies - no need to stuff your face. Big party coming up? Create your party strategy. Try an hor d'oeuvre every half hour and go back to three of your favorites. You do not need to eat more than one dice size of cheese. Really. The same thing with dinners. Try a bite of everything, then get seconds on your favorites. No thirds!
6. Keep a food log. Recording every bite is THE most effective way to avoid excess calories.
7. Plan your exercise. Look at your calendar and schedule in exercise. Yes, it's cold outside, and yes, you're tired from staying out late partying and wrapping presents. So what? You need to exercise to keep your energy up and to burn off all that food and drink you're consuming. Be nice to your body and just do it.

It may seem like a lot of work and time, but I promise that planning will save you time and stress. And it's not nearly as much work as it seems. It's the nicest thing you can do for yourself during the holiday season, and it will make the holidays even better!

Resources:

• Eating strategies for events
• Eating mindfully while traveling
• How to steam food
• Wait a second - I did this same post last year for Thanksgiving! It might be better.
• Post for Living Harvest on holiday planning

What I ate: 2 coffees with raw milk, 8 oz raw milk, 1 hardboiled eggs, vegetable juice, 1 persimmon, macadamia nuts, 1 guava, dimsum: 3 veggie dumplings, 3 shrimp dumplings, steamed tofu, tofu veggie wrap, sticky rice, fried noodles & lobster, Taiwanese zong zi (sticky rice in bamboo leaves), sauteed spinach, hot chocolate, 40 oz. water

Exercise: Ran 4 miles

 

Purple vs. Regular Potatoes + Roasted Potato Recipe

Radiant purple and gold potato from the greenmarket

My idea of heaven is a great big baked potato and someone to share it with. ~Oprah Winfrey

MindfulEater Allison asked "What's the deal with purple potatoes? Are they more nutritious than regular potatoes?" Since we are in prime potato season, we thought it was a great time to investigate.

Plentiful, cheap, nutritious and super easy to grow, potatoes get a bad rap because they are often fried as fries or chips. Prepared healthfully (there are a myriad of ways - roasted, baked, steamed, boiled...), potatoes are full of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. They were originally domesticated by the Incans, but the many virtues of this vegetable sent it on a worldwide tour. The Irish had a famously potato heavy diet. If you lived on potatoes and milk you would get most of your nutritional needs except for Vitamin E and molybdenum.

Purple potatoes are even more powerful! Research by the USDA Agricultural Research Service found that potatoes with the darkest colors have more than four times the antioxidant potential of those with lighter skin and flesh. The purple pigment comes from the antioxidant powerhouse anthocyanin. Studies show that this flavonoid possesses anti-cancer and heart-protective effects, as well as benefits like boosting the immune system and protecting against age-related memory loss. (The other place to load up on flavonoids is tea). The purple potato (actually all potatoes) are originally from Peru, which means the Incans has given us two nutritional powerhouses - purple potatoes and quinoa. Along similar lines is the purple sweet potato, which Dr. Oz has termed a "superfood." But that's another post for a later time. In the meantime, eat your potatoes - purple and otherwise!

Roasted potatoes allow you to mix several different types into one dish. You can get different types of purple and regular potatoes - heirloom, lumper, new! We love the flexibility and ease of this dish - it works for breakfast or dinner. We can get potatoes for less than $2 a pound in NYC, so the price is easy on the wallet.

Roasted Potatoes

Serves 4

1 pound of potatoes - mix up several types for variety
1/4 cup olive oil
generous shake of rosemary (3/4 tablespoon)
crushed red pepper flakes according to taste (use more if you like spice)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Chop potatoes into bite size pieces. Place in a roasting pan or cookie sheet. 
3. Cover with oil. 
4. Shake rosemary and crushed red pepper over the potatoes.
5. Use a wooden spoon and stir the potatoes to make sure the oil and spices are evenly distributed.
6. Place pan into the oven and bake for 45 minutes until the outside is nicely crisp.
7. Enjoy as a side dish or brunch star.

 

Want to learn more?

• Dr. Oz's Superfoods: the super purple sweet potato
• Purple potatoes: nutrition and info
• Colored potatos and their nutrition levels
• One guy lives on potatoes and milk and reports about it

What I ate: 16 oz. green juice, 2 NYmilk lattes, 1.5 oz blue cheese, 2 tiny cubes cheese, quinoa, pan fried sole + broccoli, 4 slice dried mangos,  1.5 lobsters, quinoa salad, 2 raw clams + 1 oyster + 2 shrimp cocktails, asparagus, chocolate mousse + whipped cream, 2 bites creme brulee, cappuccino, hot chocolate

Exercise: jogged 4 miles, 15 min weights (lower body)

How is Your Food Raised? Cornucopia Institute and Research

Dairy cows on pasture at Dwight Martin's farm in Moravia, New York 

Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day. ~Sally Koch

You are a star for being mindful and eating more whole foods to get healthier! If you've decided to buy organic and/or local foods, you've made the decision to support clean, sustainably produced food in the most vocal way possible - with your wallet. 

How do you know that your food is being produced the way you want? I mean, if I'm spending more money to buy organic eggs, I want to know that the chickens are running around outside and not just stuffed in a cage being fed organic grain. My extra dollars are going towards both more nutritious eggs AND chickens that are able to do chickeny things (like scratch in the grass)! Our dollars are valuable votes - we should be getting what we think we're paying for.

The best way to get what you want is to get to know your farmer, then you can always ask. Visit his farm and ask around at the farmer's market. However, that's not always possible. For eggs and dairy, the Cornucopia Institute is a consumer watchdog organization. The Institute publishes informative reports and producer scorecards on ethics. If the food you are buying is branded, check out their website for more info and e-mail them with your questions. Any company should answer (if they don't, that says something).

Milk used to have a lot of loopholes for an organic label (cows could be jam packed with no room to move but fed organic grain), but as of June 2010 the regulations have been tightened enough that organic milk actually means the cows are treated well. You may want to check on the pasteurization - anything ultrapasteurized means very high temp pasteurization that diminishes vitamins and taste. Organic eggs are a whole different story. Chickens still be jammed in cages and fed organic food and labeled organic. Cage free is also tricky - the chickens can be jammed in a house and have a little door to limited outdoor space and called cage free. Check Cornucopia to see where your eggs rank.

What to do - Buy With Confidence

1. Decide what you are spending your dollars on. We know it's whole foods. Anything else? Organic? Local? Ethically raised? All three?
2. Talk to your farmer (if possible) and make sure he is producing the food the way you want. Stop by and visit the farm!
3. Review the farmer's website for more information. If it isn't what you're looking for, check the other alternatives (see #4).
4. Buying dairy or eggs? Go to the Cornucopia Institute and check their scorecard to see where your brand ranks.
5. Can't talk to the farmer and the product isn't listed at Cornucopia? Send the producer or the retailer an email with all your questions. If you don't hear back, move on and find another company!  

Not to be biased, but New Yorkers have nyfoods which guarantees small family farms producing food locally and sustainably, the way it should be. All animals roam free on pasture.

Resources:

• Why Your Shopping Counts
• Milk 101 - learn the basics
• Cornucopia Institute for reports and scorecards on dairy and egg producers
• Pasteurization - learn the different levels and how it affects milk

 

What I ate: latte, hardboiled nyegg, whole wheat fusilli + roasted vegetables, roasted brussel sprouts, macadamia nuts, fish and chips, Mariebelle hot chocolate, 1 Almond Roca, 50 oz. water

Exercise: Ran 4 miles + 15 minutes lower body weights