Nell Stephenson's Blog, page 121

Setting The Mood…for Eating!

One of the most important things I try to impart to clients is that eating a meal shouldn’t be part of a multi-tasking experience.  

Multi-sensory, yes, as in the food should look good, taste good, smell good and feel good in the mouth, but not  multi-tast as in shoving food in one’s face while driving, texting and reprimanding kids in the back seat.

This piece of advice really just comes from my own experience as well as that of other clients over the years, so it was rather affirming to see that a study had actually been done recently, which found that “when people dined in upscale restaurants versus fast food, they spent an average of 4.7 percent more time eating, and ate less of what they ordered — 86 percent of the food on their plates, compared with 95 percent for those in the regular area”.

Ring a bell?

The old ‘put down your utensils between bites’ comes to mind here. 

One of the authors of the study went on to add, “You create a nice atmosphere, people talk more, they concentrate less on the food and they leave the place more satisfied.”

This needn’t be confused with a message telling people that they have to dine at a three star Michelin establishment regularly.  Rather, it’s the state of mind and approach used.

One can create a lovely meal, and mood, with the simplest of ingredients, set their table at home and enjoy a delicious Paleo meal, even despite a tight budget- as long as they have another very important asset- time!     Making the time to shop for real food, prepare it, and then enjoy it is, hands-down, one of the most important pieces of sustaining the Paleo lifestyle indefinitely.

Intermittent Fasting & Paleo: How Important Is It?

Nell,

I love the idea of Paleo and want to give it a try…but I’ve read a little about the intermittent fasting component and to be honest, that’s what’s putting me off.   I have been on and off diets my whole life, and I know myself well enough that when I’ve tried things like ‘cleanses’ or ‘fasts’, they do not end well.  For me, it turns into a several day starvation diet followed by eat whatever you want for a period of time.  I understand the principle, but I just don’t see myself doing that.  How important is this component?

Thanks,

Rachel

It is, by far, not an integral part of being Paleo.  True, ‘cavemen didn’t likely eat several small, balanced meals each day’ and yes, they did likely go long periods of time without eating and then gorge on whatever meat they’d hunted or berries they’d gathered, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only way to go about modern Paleo living.

My approach is such that if one is eating a balanced, Paleo diet, that’s significantly more important than including fasting.   Changing one’s daily menu from highly processed foods, fried foods (actually ‘non foods’!) to fresh vegetables, wild proteins and natural fats is a giant leap in the right direction and practically speaking, I find that most clients prefer to eat the frequent, small meals throughout the day versus fasting.

This is not to say that if intermittent fasting is done properly and for the right reasons (in other words not as part of a binge and purge cycle, as I’ve seen many clients fall into the habit of all to often) that it doesn’t have a place in Paleo, as certainly there are studies describing how it can improve insulin sensitivity and possible increase longevity, amongst other health benefits.

The caveat is this: fasting for the wrong reasons, without knowing what you’re doing and why or how to do so properly and safely can potentially create a situation where one is doing nothing more than starving themselves for a period of time and then throwing it all out the window after they decide they’ve  had enough and, like the reader above, end up eating everything and anything in sight.

I’d strongly encourage the balanced, frequent small Paleo meals approach as a general ‘statement to the masses’ versus preaching that everyone needs to fast.  

Storing a Cut Tomato

If you’ve been partaking of the summer’s lovely Heirloom tomatoes, you may have come across this issue: what to do if one of this giant beauties proves to be too much for one meal?

Tomatoes in the fridge are always an absolute no-go; storing them there yields a mushy, unfavorable fruit, so when they’re whole, they need to be stored on the counter top.

While cutting a fruit or veg and leaving it out of the fridge may sound like an odd thing to do, in this case, it’s the better option.  Try to use up the rest of the tomato later that same day, as you still wouldn’t want to leave it out too long.

Simply halve it, place it cut side down on a small saucer and enjoy it later with your next meal.

Unless you’re following Paleo Autoimmune, in which case you’re avoiding all the nightshades, tomatoes are a delicious part of Paleo!

Shiritaki Noodles- Are They Paleo?

I love when I receive an inquiry about a food I don’t know about as it serves as a learning opportunity for me.

A reader recently sent me an email asking if the Shiritaki Noodles she found would be Paleo friendly.

I asked for a link to the brand she had in mind, as the only kind I’d seen before had soy in them.

The one she was referring to declares it as soy and gluten free, and the ingredient panel is as follows: 

Ingredients: Water, glucomannan (soluble fiber), calcium additive.
No soy, gluten, or wheat!

OK, so next questions- what’s glucomannan and what is the ‘calcium additive’?

A quick search online showed that the former is:

a water-soluble polysaccharide that is considered a dietary fiber. 
a food additive used as an emulsifier and thickener.
sold as nutritional supplements for constipation, obesity, high cholesterol, acne vulgaris and type 2 diabetes
is also the main ingredient in shirataki noodles and konnyaku which are traditional Japanese foods. These products are made from the ground corm of the konjac plant. 

That’s ‘corm’ with an ‘M”, not corn.

What’s Corm? “A short, vertical, swollen underground plant stem that serves as a storage organ used by some plants to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat.”

So, then, is it Paleo?

Honestly, I still don’t feel I know enough about either the glucomannan nor the corm to feel comfortable eating, personally.  My rule of thumb is that if I can’t identify it as a food, then I don’t want it in my body.

I would suspect that since it’s used as an emulsifier (like soy lecithin) and thickener (like guar gum (from beans), xanthan gum (from corn) or carageenan gum (from seaweed…but highly processed), that it is likely to have a high level of anti nutrient properties.

Any food scientists out there care to chime in?

Take home message:  I wouldn’t include it in my own diet. If I want ‘noodles’, I’ll stick with kelp… or spaghetti squash.

 

How Paleo is Too Paleo?

It all depends on you.

From my perspective, if someone is eating Paleo food and moving in some capacity, those are the two most important pieces, hands down.

When I ask  about being ‘too Paleo’, what I’m referring to is how much one chooses to implement other aspects of what some consider equally as important to the lifestyle; the very same aspects that others feel don’t suit them, personally.

For example, some prefer to ‘live like a caveman’- not wearing shoes, eating only what they hunt or gather themselves and making outdoor, ‘natural’ activity their means of exercise.

Others opt to be a bit more current day in their approach to exercise (or footwear) as well as being comfortable relying upon others, like local famers, to grow the produce and raise the meat that will end up on their plates.

Some want to be uber natural and eschew makeup, hair and skin care products or other modern day creations under the premise that paleo people didn’t use them, while others want to partake of their beautifying regimes.

Who’s right?

All of them!

Again, if you’re eating real food and moving, that’s all I or anyone who shares the desire to educate and get people healthier could ask for.   My own approach is certainly more of the modern one, which I have found many friends and clients alike can identify with.  In fact, this is the very platform that I’ve been working on building with my brand as well as my latest book, Paleoista.

The idea is that Paleo doesn’t have to be cavie, and that it’s actually suitable for anyone who is…human!

If you’re on the fence about it and your reason for not giving it a try is because you’re worried about having to give up your modern day to day living, fear not and give it a go.

Paleo living can, in fact, be a beautiful hybrid of an ‘old’ way of eating with a fresh, new approach.

Orthorexia: Obsession with Healthy Eating…Really?

Lo and behold, there is a new classification of eating disorders, “Orthorexia” which is defined as an obsession with healthy or righteous eating.

According to an eating disorder site,  ”it often begins with someone’s simple and genuine desire to live a healthy lifestyle. The person may choose to stop eating red meat, but eventually cuts out all meat; then all processed foods, and will eventually eat only specific foods that are prepared in very specific ways.“

Before I go any further, I feel obliged to explain that I’ve had the opportunity to work with several clients who, through a combination of learning to follow the healthy, balance of Paleo diet along with therapy of one sort or another, were able to address their anorexia and its causes in each of their lives.   The reason I bring this up is to illustrate that I’ve seen what these women have gone through, and the strength they demonstrated in dealing with it, and to add an ‘obsession with healthy eating’ to the same category (an eating disorder) seems offensive, ignorant and belittling to me.

As if one’s desire to live a healthy life and eschew foods that have been scientifically and anecdotally shown to be bad for one’s body is a problematic issue!

Granted, if someone becomes ultra restrictive with calories, or opts to eat none of the carbohydrates via veg and fruit, or the healthy fats both of which are an integral part of Paleo, then there may be an issue at hand, but they wouldn’t be following Paleo (a), and they wouldn’t be making food choices for the right reasons.

The same site goes along to explain that “there’s still some confusion as to whether or not it should be classed as an eating disorder” and  ”some medical experts believe it’s actually another form of obsessive-compulsive disorder“.  It later states that “less intense forms of orthorexic behavior aren’t dangerous and is based on an obsessive fixation on food, just as with anorexia or bulimia…a person with orthorexia will think about the overall health benefits as well as how the food was processed, prepared, etc. Because of this, opinions have begun shifting in the last few years and orthorexia is now believed to be its own condition, separate from obsessive-compulsive or other eating disorders.”

Ok, so being interested in what we put in our bodies, where it came from and how it was prepared is a mental health concern?

I choose not to eat dairy, grains and legumes because I know the harm they’d pose to my body, and they make me feel ill.  Instead, I eat a bountiful diet of a balance of fresh veg, wild proteins and natural fats and no processed junk.  According to this idea of orthorexia, that would mean I have an eating disorder because of the foods I want to eat and those pretend foods I don’t.  Or that I have OCD and the ‘behavior’ of wanting to eat properly is akin to needing to wash one’s hands repeatedly throughout the day. Really?

This concept does nothing but further my disgust with the absolute state of disarray of our country’s approach to healthcare and what we view as acceptable or not.  This is beyond ridiculous.

Airline Chicken? What on Earth?

Let’s face it; the word “airline” before a food does not exactly conjure up the best connotation of a place where one procures a delicious for the most part.

Don’t worry, though, if you see this as an option the next time you’re out to dinner and wonder whether or not it’s a good Paleo option as it very well may be;  airline chicken simply refers to a boneless chicken breast with the drumette attached with skin on breast with 1st wing joint and tenderloin attached, otherwise boneless.

The first time I came across this offering I was sure I’d misread the chalkboard at the little cafe I’d happened upon.   It sounded awful, but also intriguing and retrospectively I’m quite glad I took the time to investigate further as it’s just one more ‘cut’ of poultry amongst many that we have at our fingertips in the Paleosphere.

Stick with free range & foraging, then use try it out in your favorite chicken recipes.

Click here for one of mine!

Baby Carrots: What Are They, Really?

Spring and summer produce are abundant with ‘baby’ versions of many delicious options- lettuces, squash, crucifers… they tend to be smaller (obv), more delicate and sometimes even a bit sweeter than their ‘grown’ counterpart.

And baby carrots, too.

But wait… what are baby carrots, really?

Well, there are two types.  True baby carrots which are literally young carrots and manufactured baby carrots.  According to the UK’s Carrot Museum (yes, I wrote Carrot Museum), “Baby carrots first appeared in US supermarkets in 1989.  Cut and peel  are what you see most often in the shops; they are carrot shaped slices of peeled carrots invented in the late 1980′s by Mike Yurosek, a California farmer, as a way of making use of carrots which are too twisted or knobbly for sale as full-size carrots.”

So are they just as good for you as ‘regular’ carrots?

Perhaps; but there are a few things to keep in mind:

Despite being quite ‘handy’, one should also consider that some manufactured baby carrots are washed with chlorinated water.  Others are held in cold storage so long that they begin to turn whitish.  Finally they may be pricier than their traditional counterpart.

Best bet:  stick with the carrots with their tops still on and thready roots hanging from the bottom, fresh from your local farmers.  Wash them yourself and enjoy what I find to be the most carrot-y flavor of all.   As with most things, the more natural and less processed you go, the tastier and likely healthier it will be.

Is Tomato Paste OK?

So many of the ingredients we need to be diligent about avoiding or changing when we’re Paleo… is tomato paste one of them?

I don’t have a problem using it myself now and again; I buy a brand that is organic and contains tomato and salt- that’s it and it certainly does provide some ‘oomph’ to a recipe.

What about the salt?  Isn’t there ‘no salt’ in Paleo?

Yes…but here’s my take on it:

The typical American diet is very high in sodium and very low in potassium; the opposite of the Paleo diet.  So, while I wouldn’t recommend that everyone as a whole go out and salt their food to death, a little bit here and there, and in particular for athletes, is not an issue and not an ingredient I have a problem using.

The issues arise when someone consumes a very sodium heavy diet via processed foods, or has hypertension, or has no other ‘spices’ in their regime other than table salt.

Other ingredients… not so much.  I am not a fan of ‘just a little soy sauce for some umami’ nor ‘just a little bit of cream for thickness’.  Not into using artificial bits either; synthetic sugars to ‘save on calories’ or ‘milk substitutes’ are not options.

Keep it natural, fresh and don’t fret over using a teaspoon of salt in your cooking now and then.

Dietitians in the Grocery Store

How pleasing to see an article in the Times over the weekend that focused on having dietitians actually working for franchise grocery stores with the intention of helping shoppers learn to make better food choices.

Some even offer programs where the participants pay a fee and get a shopping list with prep tips; these can be fine tuned according to one’s individual health concerns.

A few of the mentions of ‘good food choice’ in the piece made me cringe a little, like suggesting a customer buys ‘tofutti’ over ice cream or ‘eating more canola oil’, yet given the state of the current unhealthiness of our country, it’s definitely a step in the right direction, if for no other reason that it’s getting people to think a little more about what they’re putting in their bodies and the consequences.

No, most traditionally trained dietitians are not likely to be recommending Paleo, and we still have to rely upon ourselves to educate and learn as an ongoing process, test things and find out what works for you, but having someone to consult with to learn the very basics and get some veggie prep ideas can’t hurt!