Monday, May 5, 2008

Why Do You Eat?

If you want to be successful at the nutrition game, you must decide why you eat. Why do people eat desserts or treats every day when they have very little nutritional value?

Life is an amazing experience where you can be learning something exciting and new every day. Tony Robbins often says, "If you're not growing, then you're rotting." One of the most amazing things about life is that we have choices. We are blessed with the ability to choose. I watched a video recently about a man who was talking about how he was overweight on purpose and he backed it up with saying "well, I have never eaten anything accidentally". So, in fact, he was choosing to be overweight.

Life is too great to devote it to eating. If you want the most out of life, decide right now that the foods you eat are not strictly for pleasure, but for endurance, strength, and stamina....for your health. Life has many pleasures and there is no reason to get all that pleasure from food. I am not saying never have a treat...ever...just think about the choices you are making...are they healthy ones? So I leave you with this - why do you eat?
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Bulgur vs. Brown Rice

Brown Rice






Bulgur


Here is a little more information on bulgur. Bulgur holds its own when compared to fiber-rich brown rice. They're head to head in protein, calcium and sodium. But a cup of bulgur has fewer calories, less fat and more than twice the fiber of brown rice. It also delivers four times as much folate
One cup of brown rice,cooked, has 216 calories, bulgur has 151 calories, brown rice 1.8 grams of fat where the bulgur has 0.44 grams of fat per cup. One cup of bulgur has 8 grams of fiber and the brown rice has 3.5 grams and lastly - brown rice has 7.8 micrograms of folate and the bulgur has 32.8. You can see that bulgur has a nutritional edge over the brown rice. I had never eaten bulgur in my life until recently and now I try to find any way I can to use it as it is a great source of fiber.
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Top 10 Reasons To Eat Your Veggies




1. Keep Trim
2. Prevent Heart Disease
3. Control Diabetes
4. Avoid Diverticulosis
5. Reduce the Risk of Certain Types of Cancer
6. Prevent Stroke and Other Diseases and Illnesses
7. Bring Blood Pressure Down
8. Lower Risk of Adult Blindness
9. Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth
10.Pure Pleasure
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Turkey Meatloaf


1 lb ground turkey
2 Tbsp uncooked bulgur wheat
1Tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 large egg
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
2 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp tomato paste ( I used ketchup)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce (optional, but worth it)
Preparation:

Bring 1/2 cup water to a boil in a small pot and then add the bulgar wheat. Stir and remove from heat. Cover the pot and allow to rest for 30 minutes. Strain excess water.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a loaf pan.
Sautee the onion and garlic in the olive oil over a medium heat for about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and add bulgur wheat and all remaining turkey loaf ingredients. Mix thoroughly and transfer into the loaf pan. Level the loaf in the pan.
Bake for 1 hour.
PS: My family really loved this recipe.The only changes that I made were to use sea salt instead of the kosher salt and I used ketchup instead of the tomato paste. You could use ground beef in this recipe or ground pork or chicken or a combination of some type of ground meat and tvp (textured vegetable protein)
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Healthy Eating

Healthy Eating

How it all began

When I was a child my grandfather always had the most amazing garden. His whole back yard was the garden and it was wonderful. I loved every vegetable that he grew - he even grew his own summer savory which apparently isn't that easy to do. Anyway, Grampy helped me put in my first garden and gave me all the tips. I couldn't believe how much work it was. It takes a lot of dedication and love. Sadly, he is gone now but I remember all the love that went into the garden and how even when I was a bit older and I would visit, he would fill the trunk of my car with veggies and I would have to go around my apartment building and share with others as there was no way I could eat all of it before it went bad.

I think my interest in health was part Grampy and part my father. My dad was a health nut when no one else was (that I knew of anyway) I am talking back in the 1970's. I don't think a lot of people knew about some of the stuff that my dad would talk about. He referred to white sugar as "poison"..ok, a little extreme but you get the point. Dad would eat a teaspoon of honey and a teaspoon of bran every day. I think this is important because my father was given six months to live when he was 19 years old and he managed to live until he was 44 with many health complications. I cannot say for sure but paying attention to what he put into his body as far as his food went, may have bought him some very valuable time.

Then comes my mom who was so devoted to my father and continues to be even though he passed away in 1981. I witnessed her nurse him back to health many times and she was the rock that held everything together. She is an amazing woman and I know he would be very proud of her for how she handled everything when he had to leave. My mom had to experiment with recipes to make them adaptable for dad's diet. He was on dialysis and could not consume any salt. If you have never had regular food without any salt - take it from me, it can be pretty bland. She was very creative and she did it with lots of love....

So for Grampy, Dad and for my mom who helped create that passion in me.............

Me with my mom in the garden 40+ years ago

Getting Started


This blogspot is titled "Fiber Fanatic" because after a lot of reading and research (there is so much out there) I think our lifestyles need to focus more on our fiber intake. Eating foods that are high in fiber are the ones that are better for you anyway. Also, you need to keep in mind that 1 gram of carbohydrates = 4 calories, 1 gram of protein= 4 calories, 1 gram of fat = 9 calories, 1 gram of alcohol = 7 calories and 1 gram of fiber = 0 calories. We don't often hear this...seems like everyone is counting calories and fat grams. Don't get me wrong, you still need to have a reasonable intake of calories divided into carbs, proteins, fat, etc but you can be full for much longer if you eat fiber rich foods. Fiber is the part of food that cannot be digested...that is why it has no calories. It is a type of complex carbohydrate. Fiber can be found in vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts, legumes and grains.It is well known that Canadians eat too little fiber (on average 12 grams per day) and we should be eating 35 grams a day. It is possible to go as high as 60 but I don't ever get close to that...35 is fine but shoot for 35 each and every day. To begin...increase a bit each day and drink lots of water and if you like, herbal teas. If you increase too quickly, you may experience gas and bloating. I would suggest switching from white pasta to whole wheat pasta, white bread to 100% whole grain or 100% whole wheat bread and switch from white rice to brown. Making small changes will make a big difference and it may be easier to change gradually instead of all at once.