Nell Stephenson's Blog, page 112

Holiday Tip #8: Improvising & Paleo-izing Holiday Beverages for the Family

The idea of a egg-nog coffee or peppermint mocha may sound a bit nostalgic and festive…until the side effects of all the sugar and dairy set in.   With a belly ache, bloating, acne and congestion, retrospectively, partaking of those holiday beverage at your local cafe may not have been truly worth it.

However, you needn’t completely omit the concept; just make your own small version and enjoy once or twice during the holidays as a special treat!    

Combine natural apple juice with cinnamon sticks and a few cloves; bring to a boil in a heavy bottomed pan and then let simmer for thirty-forty five minutes.  Serve in small mugs and sip while the whole family decorates the tree!
Make a batch of my Paleo coconut egg nog, warm it up then add a double shot of espresso and top with a sprinkle of nutmeg.
Melt raw chocolate in the top of a double boiler and stir in a drop or two of peppermint extract.  Whisk into your cup of Java and top with a dollop of fresh coconut cream for a Paleo ‘peppermint mocha’.

Enjoy the drink along with a meal to balance out the macro nutrient ratio in order to avoid a sugar overload.

Holiday Tip # 7: Stop Making Excuses & Get Moving!

How many times have you heard it, or said it?  ”I’m too busy to exercise right now; with all the holiday parties and shopping, there’s just no time.  I’ll get started in the New Year.”.

Why?

What’s going to suddenly make your schedule so much lighter, come January 1st?  Yes, the buzz of the festive time of year will be gone, but there will be just many reasons one can opt to use as a reason not to get moving then.

The longer you wait, the easier it will be to keep waiting.

Start now.

So what if you’ve only got thirty minutes and you wanted to go for a two hour hike.  A little is better than none, and just as much as being still can become a habit, becoming active can become your norm, too.  I’d suggest the latter!

Holiday Tip # 6: Baking for Decor, not for Eating

One of the things I loved about all the baking I used to do was the pure creativity of it.  Well before I stopped eating gluten or even knew about being intolerant to it, I found baking and cooking to be my favorite creative outlet.

I can’t paint and my singing leaves a lot to be desired, but my art via cooking is absolutely my artistic outlet.

I chuckled a little when I wrote a post comparing the ingredients of play-doh to bread; they’re virtually the same, except that the latter has yeast in it!

If we’re thinking in terms of baking purely for the purpose of art, not eating, then we can go ahead and use non Paleo ingredients since we won’t be ingesting them anyway!

Bring on the gingerbread houses and sugar-cookie tree ornaments!

If you’re worried you’ll be too tempted, you can always finish them off with a eco-friendly lacquer which would render them inedible,  putting an end to any thought you might have of eating them.

Holiday Tip # 5: Christmas Cookies for Kids?

Trying to instill healthier eating Paleo habits upon the whole family, including the kids, doesn’t leave much room for baking cookies, or does it?

Certainly Toll House cookies aren’t all that Paleo, but an afternoon spent baking holiday treats with the kids might be just that perfect occasion to use what I’d consider marginally Paleo foods, like all those nut flours used to make Paleo treats, in order to make Paleo friendly versions of family favorites.

Incidentally, I always feel it’s necessary to mention that the nut flours and paleo concoctions that we might tend to create are not meant to be eaten on a regular basis.  Three snacks a day coming from a blend of dates, coconut oil, almond butter, sweet potato, cacao and honey (one reader’s version of a Paleo brownie) is not the idea of a balanced approach to eating!

However, those special occasions, such as a holiday or birthday are exactly when these ingredients come into play.

A few ways to paleo-ize your traditional baking recipes include:

Swapping out butter for coconut oil
Using nut flours in lieu of traditional white flour
Adding fresh, not canned, coconut milk to substitute dairy milk
Opting for raw cacao rather than processed, alkali treated, soy-lecithin emulsified chocolate

As long as you keep to the general frame work and follow the flavor profile of a recipe and use a little creativity, you’ll find it fun and easy to create healthier, paleo versions of all those customary faves, while at the same time creating an annual holiday tradition to share with your little ones.

Holiday Tip # 4 : Handling Non Paleo Family Holiday Traditions

Yes, it’s easy to stay Paleo in our own homes, as well as at restaurants, but what if we’re attending an intimate holiday dinner party…and there’s nothing but pasta, bread and cheese?

One reader a few years ago wrote in asking for help with an upcoming situation that she was scared to face:  dealing with her mom’s reaction when she went home and told her she was not going to be able to partake in much of the traditional Italian Christmas dishes she’d be preparing for several days.  Earlier than year, she’d found out he had Celiac disease and had subsequently cut gluten, then went completely Paleo.

During several phone calls, she’d shared with her mom that she’d been feeling much better, in particular much of her GI distress had subsided, but when she mentioned not being able to eat wheat and all its derivative products, including pasta, her mom took personal offense.

The same thing happened a few more times, thus her fear of going home and facing the holidays.

If you’re in a similar situation, make a point to discuss well in advance with the host, even if it is your mom, privately, and let them know there is a legitimate reason why you’re not eating these foods. No, it’s not a fad diet, and yes, there are serious health consequences to ingesting them.
Share some of your paleo-ized versions of traditional recipes and offer to make them in advance, or perhaps suggest a group effort, or even ask for their input, making them feel special by giving them an opportunity to contribute.
Highlight other family holiday traditions, like choosing the tree together, or collecting toys for a local charity and stress the importance of the significance of other parts of the holiday season, rather than just the parts involving food.
In situations where the host is simply unwilling to listen, know you’ve done your best to explain yourself and stick to your Paleo guns.  You’re the only one who’s going to feel ill if you opt to eat foods  you don’t even want just to please someone else. In the words of a client, “I am not eating a bagel for anyone, ever again!”

 

Holiday Tip # 3- Holiday Parties and Your Exercise Regime

At this festive time of year, when you have as many as two or three parties or dinners in a single week on top of your normal busy regime, how can you stay on course with your exercise regime?

Please don’t say you’ll cut down on sleep in order to get more done; not an option as lack of sleep is one of the first things you can do to ensure a weakened immune system, less likelihood of losing weight if that’s your goal and an overall poorer state of health.

Moving along then…

Yes, it is a busy month, however, you needn’t be black and white about it.  Just because you’ve got to attend a work function at the same time as your usual 90-minute spin class after work on a Tuesday night, that’s not a good reason to skip exercise completely.

First, lay out a schedule at the beginning of the week.  What is mandatory?  What can be postponed to a less busy week?  Making an appointment to exercise and a promise to yourself is step number one.  Even if your five weekly sessions drops to four, temporarily, four is still better than zero!
Ask your boss for a little bit of flexibility.  Perhaps you can work through lunch in order to leave early in order to squeeze in a 4pm workout before that night’s dinner engagement, or get in a slightly longer lunch to get to that master’s swim class around the corner instead of going at night.
Multi-task.  While I usually recommend being as present as you can, if push comes to shove and you can fit in one hour on the stationary bike while responding to all your work email, rather than saving it for the end of the day when you’ve got a function to attend, you’ll kill those proverbial two birds with one stone.
Remember that good habits create momentum just as much as bad ones, which makes it all the more important to stay on task with the healthy exercise routine you have in place.  Getting in a run, followed by a healthy recovery meal before you head to the office party will make you far less likely to grab a Christmas Cosmo and ten cookies compared to arriving in a starved state!    Anyway, do you really want to be anything but level headed around all your work colleagues?  (Just one more reason not to go hungry to the holiday affair and start pounding the booze!)

Knowing you can stay on track with your fitness through the holidays since you’ve got a plan will build confidence that you’ll be able to do so all year long, as there aren’t too many other times when everyone is so hectic, even if it is in a good way!

 

Holiday Tip # 2: Treats As Gifts

Thinking about homemade goodies for presents?  

One reader wrote in with a great suggestion for a blog topic.  Being an avid baker and cook, she used to spend hours on end preparing goodies filled with love, but also with sugar, gluten and dairy, for friends and family. Now that she’s been Paleo for nearly a year (and, by the way is slim and svelte after shedding those extra pounds!), she’s wondering about paleo giveaways.

What are some other options?

Go nuts!   Make your own spiced nut blends using organic raw nuts and mixing them with your favorite sweet or savory spices, then giving them a light toast to bring out their flavor.  Try cinnamon with coconut oil on macadamias, chili powder with lime on cashews or ginger and a drop of honey on almonds.  
Speaking of spices, why not make your own blends?   You can easily procure small glass vessels at many cookery shops and with a little art-and-craftiness, make your own labels.  Then, all that’s left to do is blend up some of your favorite combinations and send them along to the happy recipients!
Finally, rather than giving the proverbial fish, you can teach someone ‘how to fish’ by sharing a collection of your own fave Paleo recipes.  Depending on who the audience is, you can opt to use, or not to use the word Paleo (as it can be daunting to some); simply label it as your own private collection and share the sage advice!

 

 

Who’s HU?

A very Paleo-friendly eatery in NYC, that’s who!

I was so excited to learn about this restaurant from a client who was traveling in the Big Apple on business, then to connect with their founders shortly thereafter.

Yes, it’s easy to eat Paleo in many restaurants around the world, but it’s not too often at all that one can wander into an establishment and know that most of the offerings have no gluten, dairy, legumes or added sugar, making it far easier for those who are new to Paleo and still getting comfortable with making modifications to their order off the menu.

Cheers to you, HU!

Check them out here!

Holiday Tip # 1 – Being the ‘Helper’

Thanks to those of you who already emailed me with comments, questions and your own tips of staying Paleo during the holidays!  Why not start right away instead of waiting another week until the first of December?

The first tip came from a reader who shared that she opts to be a co-host at work parties in order to distract potential harassment, for lack of a better work, from those co-workers who might be inclined to give her a hard time for not partaking in the holiday treats that everyone else brings in.

“I had a chuckle when I saw your comment on how to avoid the cookie tray being handed around- my recent solution was to be the helper. Yes it was more work and I was essentially co hosting the event but ideas so busy handing the trays around to people and asking if they’d like some more so they couldn’t get on my case for not having any crap.”

Of course, it would be ideal if those co-workers didn’t bring the crap to the office in the first place, but since that’s not too likely to come to pass, you could opt to contribute a healthy option or two, and offer that along with all the cakes, candies and sugary treats that everyone else might be bringing in.

Why not come to be known as the gal or guy with the one healthy option amongst all the other undesirable stuff?

Holiday Paleoista Tip of the Day is Back

A few years ago, I decided to devote all my blog posts in December to a ‘holiday paleo tip of the day’.  

From handling the food and drinks at the office Christmas party or politely declining your mother in law’s cookie platter, I’ll be giving advice on how to stay true to your Paleo self all month long.

Imagine a New Year when you’re already on track to better eating and exercise habits and as a result, that much closer to your goal weight or optimal health!

 What a nice scenario instead of the old, ‘the heck with everything now; I’ll deal with my poor state of health after the holidays are over’ attitude, which can easily equal an additional ten pounds or more of extra fat.

I’ll need your help on this one, though, so email me with your questions and comments on anything Paleo and or exercise and we’ll get the interactive blogging going along full speed ahead!