Nell Stephenson's Blog, page 36

Healthy Paleoista Holiday Tip of The Day: Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate

Have you ever noticed that sometimes when you think you’re hungry, you’re actually just thirsty?

While I’m certainly not suggest you sip on water instead of eating a balanced, Paleo meal, consider the impact of being a bit dehydrated in combination with a hectic, stressful day at work when you may not have eaten properly and then hit the mall during a mad attempt to procure some gifts.

How much more likely are you to be lured in by the wafting aroma coming from the cookie stand or the cinnamon bun shop compared to if you arrived well fueled, hydrated and in a balanced blood sugar induced balanced state of mind?

So…when you’re making your food choices, another angle to take is how hydrated each option will leave you.  Is the food fresh and full of water or dried out, powdered and basically…the opposite of food?

A crisp, fresh apple instead of a piece of apple pie.  A crunchy plate of raw veggies with avocado rather than a wheel of brie baked in pastry, served on gluten-rich baguette slices. Or, a freshly blended concoction of your favorite raw greens in lieu of a Starbucks Venti Mocha Peppermint Latte.

Does each item you’re about to ingest provide, or extract water from your body?

If it’s fresh, real Paleo food, it’ll offer the former, while if it’s a processed, refined food, representative of the typical Standard American Diet, and even more so during the holidays, it’s the latter.

Go crisp, keep hydrated and provide your body with one more way to ward off temptation.

That homemade pecan pie your co worker brings in to the office that she baked in honor of National Pastry Day today will be far less tempting if you’ve eaten properly and have a fully hydrated system!

Healthy Paleoista Holiday Tip of the Day: Select Your Special Occasions and Plan Accordingly

Today is National Brownie Day.

These days, you can find all sorts of brownies, even in the store.  Gluten-free brownies. Vegan brownies and now..  Paleo brownies?

You may have noticed I’ve been blogging about treats more than usual over the past week.

This is due, in part, to the fact that for many, temptations abound during the holidays and my goal is to provide some strategies to maneuver your way through, without feeling deprived or like you’re on a ‘diet’.

I talk about grey areas a lot, and also about the preponderance of skewed info about what Paleo is, and what it isn’t.   Paleo brownies every day, along with a breakfast of Paleo waffles, a lunch of Paleo nut-flour noodles and so on, isn’t the idea.

What I’ve always suggested has been to select your special occasions and choose which are going to be suitable for having that special treat.

Just because today is National Brownie Day, when “brownie lovers across the nation celebrate”,  according to the website, it may not be the best reason to partake.

Wouldn’t it make more sense to stick with your normal regime today, and perhaps allocate the weekend when you’re home with the family around a crackling fire to enjoy a homemade coconut milk, cacao ‘haut chocolate’?

Just a little planning is all it takes to stay balanced and still enjoy all the festivities!

Healthy Paleoista Holiday Tip of the Day: Get Moving and Get Inspired

Something I blog about quite a bit is how important it is to move your body.   And, given that it’s oh so easy to fall off track at this time of year, I felt it fitting to post a little reminder today, after just returning from watching my husband race at CIM (Cal International Marathon).

Since I raced NYC last month and he assumed the role of sherpa duty, today it was my turn and it was another great outcome- not just for him, but something even greater: the beauty and simplicity of people coming together to do something we’re all meant to do:  run, or at least move!

And to the point of the latter, I refer to the photo above.  I snapped this shot as a wheelchair athlete passed by as I was waiting for Chris at the half marathon point.

Who knows his story, or what he went through or what his challenges were, but he was out there.

So remember that, and when it seems like it’s ‘too hard to fit in that run’ or ‘you don’t have time to hit that spin class’, please take one sec to think about how lucky we are to have the ability to choose to move.

And pay that forward as a holiday gift!

Healthy Paleoista Holiday Tip of the Day: Create a New Tradition in the Kitchen

If you’re feeling torn because of the dilemma that many a Paleo parent faces at this time of year is troubling you: how to handle the traditional cookie bake-a-thon or gingerbread house making day, now that you’ve implemented such healthy eating habits into your household.

Do you just kick it to the curb and tell the kids you’re sorry, but now they’ve simply got to snack on broccoli instead?

I may not be a parent, but I’ve worked with enough of them to know that the ridiculous strategy above won’t exactly fly.

There are a few options.

One, depending on the reasons you and your family are Paleo, you may actually still end up doing the traditional baking day, if no one in the family has a diagnosed illness which would prohibit them from eating the foods typically found during such an occasion.  You may decide that this special occasion is fitting of bending the rules and that making more Paleo-ish versions of the standards is the way to go.

On the other hand, if your child or family member has celiac disease, is autistic, or has galactosemia,  for example, it’s of utmost importance to not deviate, and to avoid gluten and dairy, respectively at all costs, so here’s where your creativity really must shine.  For instance, rather than focus on baking cookies, you might opt to spend the afternoon making batches of  holiday spiced nuts to package in mason jars and give as gifts to family and friends.  Check out this post from Christmas past (oh, bad pun) on that very topic!

If the kids are really  little, it’s even easier as you can simply begin a new tradition of whatever healthy food prep you wish and they’ll never know the difference since spending time with you is what counts more than anything else!

 

Healthy Paleoista Holiday Tip of the Day: Go Faux

No- not faux Paleo…faux fur!

One of the key reasons I was able to transition myself away from the vegan diet I followed for two years was that I learned the importance and distinction between just eating any meat or animal products versus eating ethically raised or wild animals.

In actuality, I realized that if I were to boycott all of it, and lump the Monsantos into the same category as the local, small ranchers and farmers who are trying to do the right thing, I’d actually not be helping the cause by supporting those who are trying to do the right thing.

Eating meat and supporting animal welfare are not two opposing things to do.

So today, in honor of Faux Fur Friday, I’m reminded of  another example of this juxtaposition: fur.

Eat meat, wear leather?  Eat meat, wear fur?

What’s the balance?

This certainly goes beyond the realm of what we eat in a True Paleo Regime.

Sure, jokes abound that those of us who are women that follow Paleo are Wilma Flintstone by nature and that our male counterparts walk around in a loin cloth.

Part of the core foundation of the Paleoista brand is to show that we actually don’t have to be ‘cavie’.

And wearing furs, for me, goes beyond the fine balance.

So, if you’re doing your holiday shopping and are mulling over that silky mink stole (maybe even as a gift for yourself), just have a quick think about it, where the fur came from and position it just like how you’d source your grass fed beef or pastured pork, or skip it all together.

 

Healthy Paleoista Holiday Tip of the Day: Create Your Own ‘Cookies’ for National Cookie Day

So!  Apparently it’s National Cookie Day today.

You don’t need me to guide you to a Paleo-ish version of probably any cookie recipe variety you can think of online.

No doubt there are plenty of sites & blogs with modified Tollhouse cookies to be made with nut flour (kinda maybe Paleo in moderation) and ghee (definitely no so much) and the like.

But what if you can’t eat nuts?   Or if you simply don’t like the concept of tackling a traditional recipe and replacing some of the line items with slightly less inflammatory ingredients ?

Here’s where being creative really comes in handy.

What defines a cookie?

It is “a small sweet cake, typically round, flat, and crisp”.

So what foods might fit that description?

How about mashing  banana with raw egg, shaping it into a patty and cooking it in coconut oil?  Or cutting a baked yam into circular shapes, dusting it with shredded coconut and cinnamon and then adding  a bit of melted coconut oil to the top before setting it under the broiler?

Certainly not traditional cookies in any sense of the word, but if the point of making cookies with the kids is more in favor of time spent together doing something creative in the kitchen versus what you actually create, it’s a non issue to opt for something healthier than nut flours and added sugars.

At least when the kids are with you, if they’re eating the best options as possible, it can offset what they might have at their school holiday party or events at other kids’ houses.

Enjoy!

Healthy Paleoista Holiday Tip of the Day: Add Some Cacao

Yesterday, a client shared with me that while she was out doing some early holiday shopping, the smell of all the chocolate candy in the toy stores proved to be really tempting.

She abstained and didn’t partake, but her comment got me thinking!

So what’s the key?  Keep eating the chocolates and just wait until the New Year rolls around to start implementing healthier habits?

Well, that is one way to approach it…but you could also get a little creative and go right to the real deal, raw cacao, and enjoy a superfood in the truest sense of the word, savor the taste and reap the health benefits, rather than chomping down the junky candy from the shops.

Cacao, high in flavonoid antioxidants, which can help decrease inflammation, is one key ingredient to keep in your kitchen to have as part of your healthy, Paleoista approved arsenal.

Use it to make Paleo Mole sauce for chicken, add some into a Chocolate Autumn Pumpkin smoothie or make some Paleoista Haut Chocolate (recipe in the book, Paleoista! )

By incorporating this delicious ingredient into part of your regime, you’re one step closer to feeling confident that you’re not missing out on all the tastes of the holidays!

Check it out!

Paleoista Healthy Holiday Tip of the Day: Deconstruct to Reconstruct

Wondering how on Earth you’re going to be able to serve your family’s traditional English Christmas Pudding during the holidays as part of your Paleo table?  Or how to integrate Aunt Martha’s Holiday Pear Crumble?

Well…you’re not, exactly.

But hold on- that doesn’t mean you’ve got to let all traditions go by the wayside.

All you need to do is deconstruct to reconstruct!

Pick apart the key ingredients and flavor profiles in any recipes that hold personal significance to you during the holidays and you may be surprised how close you come, and without the awful side effects that are part and parcel of eating gluten or dairy or white sugar!

For instance, take the pear crumble example.  What speaks to you from this dish?   In season pears?  Cinnamon?  A hint of Chardonnay that turned out to be the secret ingredient in that dessert that your Auntie used to prepare?

Guess what?  All of the above are totally Paleo acceptable and can be used to create a fitting dessert to the holiday meal.

Here’s just such an example:   my Poached Christmas Pear recipe.

Just remember: deconstruct to reconstruct!

Healthy Holiday Tip of the Day: Shop Online for Paleoista Approved Food!

It is Cyber Monday, after all!

A sweater for grandma, the hot new toys for the little ones, sure…but what about for you?  And for friends, family and colleagues that may be just as inclined to keep to a healthy, True Paleo regime in their kitchen, on the go and even for a special occasion?

The past few months have been busy as I’ve been working on my third book, due out in January, opening the studio and making some very exciting partnerships!

It’s quite fitting that today is the roll out for the first three Paleoista Baskets offered in conjunction with Barefoot Provisions, a site which is very much worth your while to check out.

Together, we’ve conjured up three special baskets for you, just in time for the holidays!

Check out the Pantry Basics Kit, Portable Proteins and, just in time for this festive time of year, the Special Occasions Basket!

Healthy Holiday Tip of the Day: Shop Early, Shop Fueled and Shop with a List

How do you feel when you try to squeeze in a trip to the grocery store on the way home from work?   You’re pressed for time, it’s far later than you thought it would be by the time you roll into the parking lot and your kids, who are hungry after swim practice are whining in the back seat.

Not exactly the best circumstance to do an efficiently timed and planned grocery shop.

Compare that to a Saturday morning when the kids are at soccer, you’ve gotten in your morning spin at the gym and have fueled properly afterwards.

The same applies to holiday shopping.

If you try to squeeze in a frantic trip at the last minute, not knowing what you’re getting or where you’re getting it and you’re in a unpleasant, stressed out mood, it’s not going to be pretty.

What’s the solution:

Shop early! Early in the season, and early in the day, if you can.  Less crowds and more time on your hands to make it feel less like a ‘now or never’ endeavor.
Shop fueled!  Do not go in hungry.  Eating a balanced, Paleo meal before you go to elicit a positive mental attitude is definitely in your best interest.  Focus!
Shop with a list!  Know what you’re getting, for whom and from where.  Sure, it’s a lot of fun to peruse the shoe sale or linger at the book store, but you’re on a mission! Save the former two for later.

Now get out there, armed and dangerous, and get that shopping done!