6.24
Years ago I was a coff-alholic - I consumed significant quantities of coffee daily, with little regard for how much I was actually drinking. Then at some point, maybe about 15 years ago, I realized that the rush of caffeine was less energizing and more stressful than what I wanted to live with. I bailed out and felt much better over time. One problem is that I really enjoy a good, hot mug of fresh, black coffee.
Since adjusting my coffee consumption, I've ebbed and flowed between decaf (it can really be a poor stand-in for regular coffee) and no coffee at all. Recently, I've found a better middle ground of a cup or two a day, several days a week. Not nearly the highs and lows of caffeine I experienced years ago.
So is coffee good for you or bad for you? The answer is really a bit of both. Much depends on how it is prepared (high-quality water and fresh ground, appropriately roasted beans) and how much we consume. There are great anti-oxidants in fresh brewed coffee, and numerous, everyday health benefits.
Check out this article from Dr. Josh Axe on the top 8 Health Benefits of Coffee. Coffee is great for heart health, liver health, and controlling things like asthma and Type 2 diabetes. Beyond those, coffee increases energy and mental concentration, fights depression and improves athletic performance.
The key to benefiting from coffee consumption, like so many things, is moderation. Thankfully, I've landed at that place of moderation myself, after all these years, and I think I'm at a sustainable place. If you're a coff-aholic, like I was years ago, consider cutting back to a few cups of coffee a day. If you're not a coffee drinker, no need to start, but maybe you'll develop a taste for the aromatic, tasty brew that has revved up societies for centuries.
By the Way
Be aware of numerous coffee look-alikes, that aren't the real thing. A lot of high-volume coffee vending comes from reconstituted coffee concentrate that may contain stabilizers, preservatives and 'natural flavors' to extend shelf life and yield a good-tasting end product. It's not the real thing, even if they've mimicked good tasting coffee.
6.16
Nine years into my wellness habit, I'm fitter and stronger than any other season of my life. I was often sickly as a kid (tonsils removed, appendix removed, life-threatening accidents and surgeries... it was rough.) In college, while my general health stabilized, I started with underlying gut issues that persisted until just a few years ago. That's a long time to weather a daily grind of ill-health.
Now things are different. After all the years of research and challenging my food and physical activity choices, I'm fitter, stronger, pain-free and loving life. My mental focus is consistently on-point. My joints and back are healthy and perform great, even under consistent physical exertion.
What's the secret? There is no secret... It's just a relentless pursuit of a simplified pantry, eating real food that my body appreciates, and regular physical activity that challenges me weekly, monthly and yearly.
What we eat matters... be aware that we are, literally, what we eat. My diet is mostly Paleo-style right now. Meat and veggies, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and sugar. I have found that my body does well if I avoid grass grains (wheat, oats, rice, corn, etc.) and nightshade veggies (tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and such).
Combine this with a commitment to Spartan training and physical rigors of a good sweat 6-7 times a week, and I've found something to sustain me for years to come. My muscles are toned, and my gut is healthy. I have endurance to take on all kinds of challenges (including the mental and emotional ones that come with work and family life - ie, improved wellness improves numerous facets of our lives.)
Your journey is different, yet we all benefit from investing in a clean pantry, vigorous physical exercise and goals big enough to lead us on. So make great goals today. Find a wellness buddy, and better yet, a whole wellness tribe. Challenge yourself to something you thought you could never do, then go do it. Make wellness a habit, and you'll be on track to exceptional physical and mental health.
By the Way
I have my next Spartan race coming up this weekend. I'll be at the Palmerton Super to log my 2nd of 3 races this season (for a 2019 Spartan Trifecta). While this wasn't my original plan for this year, I'm in race-day shape physically, and excited to hit the mountain hard (this race is at the Blue Mountain ski resort, so the course trails are literally up and down the ski slopes).
6.6
We live in a time of great information and data-sharing, and the opportunities to self-educate have never been better. As a proponent of healthful living and aligning our diet and physical activity to make our bodies thrive, this access to beneficial information is huge.
If you have tuned in to Power Pantry (or any other healthful living content) in the past few years, you may have seen how-to guidance on cleaning up our pantry, our choices and our eating in general. One of the best content-providers of that guidance is Dr. Josh Axe; his website is the most sought out in the world today, for food and health trends to naturally heal our bodies.
Dr. Axe is a strong proponent that 'food is medicine'. If we will simply get our food choices right, we will set a course to develop health, and reduce inflammation and ill-health, in our bodies and lives.
Check out this great article on improvements we can all make to our pantry and diet to improve our health. Our focus needs to be on natural, whole foods, eliminating processed foods and growing our discernment of what food choices help our bodies thrive.
See the Clean Eating Meal Plan article here.
So make some more strides this week. Find some less-than-healthy foods in your pantry and pitch 'em. Take a few more minutes in the grocery store this week to "shop the perimeter" of the store (where the fresh produce, fresh meats and fresh dairy items are found.) It all starts with making great food choices for our pantry.
Better quality choices lead to a better quality of life. Happy shopping
By the Way
You can sign up for all sorts of beneficial content from Dr. Axe's website, from a Shopping Guide and his e-book to boost healing, to regular content in emails. It's a great opportunity for food and health education.
6.5
Stocking a power pantry can be a challenge. There is plenty of great nutritional information available on the internet, but knowing what to trust, and better yet, what to follow, can be difficult. One ongoing debate is understanding the difference between grains and seeds, and how these affect our bodies nutritionally.
Grains are, technically, from some form of grass. So wheat, corn, barley, oats, rye, rice... all these are a form of 'grass' where there is no formal fruit beyond the head of grain itself. That head of grain will often have a starchy mass with it, which will serve as fuel for the growing plant in the future.
Seeds, on the other hand, are found in or with a formal fruit of some kind. The fuel for the seed to grow is in the mass surrounding the seed (think apple, tomato, pumpkin, berries, etc.) The seed does't have a starchy mass with the seed itself. Nuts are also a form of seed, that specifically come from trees.
Why the concern and distinction? Grains can create irritating gut sensitivities for some people because of the constituents in the grain (like gluten, germ, bran, etc.). Yes, there are nutritional benefits from the grain, but the irritation created turns out to be not worth the benefit.
Seeds tend to be less irritating to a majority of people, and are packed with nutritional benefits as well. We get protein, great minerals like potassium, magnesium and calcium, beneficial Omega-3 oils, and more. Tree nuts are very beneficial as well, although some individuals can have allergic reactions to tree nuts, and need to avoid them.
What kinds of seeds can we enjoy and benefit from? Ancient pseudo-grains like quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, and teff (these are actually seeds). Healthful seeds like sunflower, pumpkin and sesame seeds, and tree nuts like almonds, pecans, and walnuts.
So take a look at your pantry today, and think about reducing (or replacing altogether) the grains you have stocked, and instead focus on nutritionally valuable seeds and nuts.
By the Way
Refined grains (ie, wheat flour, white rice, and ALL the processed foods with corn ingredients like corn starch and corn sweeteners) can be detrimental to our health, if we don't control our portions. The best thing is to stock seeds and nuts instead.
6.2
This past week I was honored to present a Power Pantry perspective to a group of business leaders in the Lancaster, PA, area. The task was simply to bring some valuable Power Pantry guidance that might help us all launch into a great 2019.
I prepared fundamentals on food, movement, wise counsel and goal setting. I figure those are life skills that I hope to use through my old age, so why not share them with this group of leaders. My Power Pantry foundation has always been that we need real food in our pantries, so my fist encouragement to the group was to "Get Real" in their food choices.
I also shared some direction from CrossFit and Spartan Race guidance. Interestingly, both of these wellness-related industries put a high value on our food choices.
CrossFit has a training and certification series that gives the groundwork of their 'functional fitness' approach, and the base of that work is Nutrition. CrossFit direction on nutrition looks like this:
Eat meat and vegetables
Nuts and seeds
Some fruit
Little starch
No sugar
That's it. Fundamental, and real. No more faux food. Check out this great article that describes the CrossFit Level 1 training, and how some of these fundamentals fit together:
Off the Carbs, Off the Couch
Nutrition is the base of the CrossFit pyramid, and I agree. Real food is the foundation that allows us to overcome our Western lifestyle diseases, and have something to build on for true health and wellness. Start today by reading further on a whole food diet (past Power Pantry posts are a great resource), and purge some faux foods out of your pantry. You'll set the right tone for 2019 and give yourself a great wellness launch.
By the Way
Notice that CrossFit isn't against carbohydrates. There are plenty of carbohydrates in vegetables and fruits. The problem, metabolically, is refined starches (refined grains like wheat, and all the pastas, breads and snacks made from them.) A great diet includes plenty of lean protein, vegetables and fruits (and the carbohydrates that come with them), and naturally-derived fats. Let's work on getting more of those in our pantry and fridge.
5.21
Ready or not, the holidays are right around the corner. Living a wellness lifestyle, my goal is always to thrive through the holidays, not simply survive. There will be parties and dinners, feasting and football, and likely lots of cookies and cakes. So what's a health-conscious person to do? Here are some tips I've shared in the past, and are certainly worth repeating and living out again this year:
- Feasting at Thanksgiving and Christmas is okay, just be willing to offset these with appropriate 'fasting'. Eat clean and watch portion sizes before and after the big dinners. Remember calories-in-calories-out... if we aren't getting enough (or any) exercise over the holidays, we're going to pay for it in additional weight and all the ills that go along with backsliding from our wellness convictions.
- As you stock your pantry for the cooking and baking ahead, shop the perimeter of the local market. That's where we find the freshest and least-processed foods (think fresh produce, the meat counter, and fresh baked goods). The interior aisles of the market have all things processed, preserved, sealed, boxed, and far from fresh.
- When visiting, offer to bring a healthful dish. Make it flavorful and nutrient-dense, without being tree bark or the latest vegan craze. Think Brussels spouts, butternut squash, asparagus, wilted spinach or kale, green bean casserole made with fresh and organic ingredients, or a wonderful sweet potato bake sans the marshmallows and brown sugar (maybe honey to sweeten the deal, and a grain-free topping made from almond flour). I'm not big on sharing recipes, but a little online searching yields plenty (check out Dr. Josh Axe - https://draxe.com/holiday-recipes/)
- At the big dinner, take your time. Start with small portions, and stick to the more healthful sides that are offered. Plan for seconds by not loading up your plate on the first round. Take about 10-15 minutes to finish that first plate, and you'll start to feel satiated; then you can selectively (and sparingly) go for seconds to enjoy small portions of your favorites on the second round.
- At dinner, take your time, make conversation, and put your fork down between mouthfuls. Savor the experience and the time with family and friends. Don't shovel. This will lengthen the meal (or at least your own pace) and help limit how many calories you consume. The point is to enjoy the experience. Savor it. Linger.
Holiday celebrations should be a rich and relational time to be grateful, to reflect, and enjoy time with family and friends that we don't get all year long. We can do well if we set aside the slick, competitive consumerism that steals our time and attention, and focus on truly celebrating.
Make this holiday season a time to thrive, be thankful, and maybe even share what our wellness lifestyle has meant for us.
By the Way
I'm a proponent of remembering how far we've come. Take time this holiday season to reflect on what was happening in life five years ago. It can even be fun to go around the room with children or grandchildren to have them share what life was like five years ago. Then consider where life may take us in the next five years. Time passes so fast these days, we can easily miss the progress that is happening right in front of us. What better time than holiday vacation to recall the journey we're on and all that has brought us to today.
5.17
Michael Pollan has a great quote that I've shared before in Power Pantry:
"Eat food, not too much, mostly plants."
In the US (and other cultures which are unfortunately following our standard American diet) we are over fed, and under-nourished. Following Pollan's guidance is a tremendous start to correcting that.
Check out this review of Pollan's 7 Rules for Eating, posted on WebMD:
7 Rules for Eating
Note that food refers to 'REAL food' - not the lab-designed food-like substances sold from the shelves of convenience stores and groceries nationwide. Coke products are NOT food... potato chips are not food... even breakfast cereals, frankly, fall far short of being food.
One perspective I appreciate from Pollan is that if your grandmother wouldn't recognize it as food, don't eat it. Wow would that eliminate a lot from our pantries.
How is your pantry looking? Have you done a comprehensive review lately? Feeling a bit run down and achy? Start with what you're putting into your body... follow Pollan's 7 Rules faithfully. Seek out REAL food. Then whatever you find in your pantry which has any flavoring (natural or artificial), coloring, preservatives of any kind, or any kind of sweeteners which are overly processed (dates=good; sorbitol, aspartame and even erythritol=bad) throw out.
The result? You'll have the opportunity to drop weight, sleep better, enjoy your calories, and even knit better as a family. The biggest benefit of all is that our bodies will thank us when we purge the faux foods and commit to buying and eating real food. Happy shopping!
By the Way
Become an expert at reading labels. Look for a minimal number of ingredients (think Lara Bars, not Nutrigrain bars...). Get the family involved and cooking together, then sit and savor today's culinary creations. Truly learn to appreciate and savor the smells and tastes and textures of what you eat, and you'll be on your way to wellness.
5.03
No matter our health status, we can always positively improve. One of my favorite health advocates has become Dr. Josh Axe - www.draxe.com. Have a look at his website, and his YouTube channel - great stuff all around.
In cruising his website today, I found a post on 8 Foods that Boost Productivity. That sounded like a pantry-improving opportunity, so I read on. Sure enough, I'm already enjoying some of his suggested superfoods, and others have been past nutrient-dense favorites of mine.
The list includes pantry champs like almonds, broccoli, green tea and eggs... all nutritional super-stars and beneficial for our wellness journey (and productivity.)
Check out Dr. Axe's article here:
8 Food that Boost Productivity & Why
By the Way
Always keep an open mind and healthy perspective on boosting your pantry. Remember the guidance of Michael Pollan:
Eat [real] food
Not too much
Mostly plants
4.34
There are notable holiday foods that make memories, are healthy, and are worth sharing with others. One of my favorites is pomegranates. Available mainly between September and January (in North America), pomegranates make a wonderful, healthful addition to holiday meals.
Pomegranates are an ancient fruit which has been cultivated since Biblical times, and originally hails from the Middle East and Mediterranean. There are numerous worthwhile benefits from the sweet and tart juice, along with the edible seeds. You'll find the whole fruit, and juices, available in your grocery store. When shopping for pomegranate juice, be sure to get the 100% juice, as other 'cocktail' juices contain numerous fruit juices (like pear and apple) and often have sugar as well.
The incredible health benefits of pomegranates makes them a welcomed part of a wellness lifestyle. If apples, grapes and bananas have gotten a bit boring, try throwing in a pomegranate. I like this detailed article from Dr. Josh Axe, describing the top 7 benefits of pomegranates and their juice:
Dr. Axe on pomegranates
You'll note benefits like fighting cancer, lowering blood pressure, reducing join pain & arthritis, heart health and increasing testosterone. Quite a lot of benefits from one simple fruit.
The fruit has a unique configuration of seeds within the heavy rind, with each seed surrounded by a juicy aril. The arils and seeds are all edible, and packed with goodness. Pomegranates are known for beneficial values of vitamin K, vitamin C, folate, potassium and more. They pack a lot of nutritional punch.
So give pomegranates a try this holiday season. You may find a new favorite fruit for your power pantry, and your body will thank you for the health and wellness it offers.
By the Way
Cleaning a whole pomegranate isn't the easiest task. The juicy arils and seeds are encapsulated in the meaty rind of the fruit, and it takes a bit of patience and persistence to get it opened and cleaned. But the flavor and benefits are worth the effort. And be careful, because the juice will stain clothes and cutting boards, etc.
4.32
It's the holiday season! One of my favorite times of the year... and a challenging time to eat in a healthful way and make nutrient-dense choices. And because I have a sweet tooth, I'm especially challenged by holiday sweets.
I've shared about a sweet-cheat before in Power Pantry, and I want to reinforce this great substitute for the sugary empty calories we consume at the holidays. Enter the humble date. These fruity, substantial and satisfyingly sweet treats are born of the date palm, and harken back thousands of years to middle-eastern roots.
Dates are still grown in those same middle-eastern countries where they have always been, and they also come from places in the US like California and Florida. These sugary-sweet morsels live up to their history and are worth every bite. The larger, more tender medjool date is especially tasty, with a smoother texture than its common cousin, the Deglet Nour date.
With a creamy texture and great flavor, medjool dates can almost pass for a candy-like caramel. And with a little creativity, dates can be made into tasty pastes and syrups that are a wonderful replacement for honey, maple syrup and agave nectar.
Currently, I'm reconnecting with dates for my mid-run energy boost. I've been honing my running regimen and I don't do energy gels (which are full of corn-everything.) But dates? They are naturally sugary, full of useful glucose and sucrose carbs for mid-run.
Dates also have valuable antioxidants, and nutrients like potassium, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus. That is a much better roster than any energy gel.
So consider stocking some dates in your pantry this holiday season, and keep an eye out for where you can include these wonderful, ancient sweeteners in your holiday cooking. Your body will thank you for caring so much, and you may just find a new favorite recipe.
By the Way
Check out what Dr. Josh Axe says about dates and the value they bring to sweetening our diet:
Dr. Axe on Medjool Dates
4.31
The holiday season is upon us! Thanksgiving is this week, and our kitchens and diets will be bombarded with all the food bounty we can tolerate. And with all that food comes a lot of choices.
Years ago, pastor Andy Stanley wrote a book called, "Choosing to Cheat," with the premise that every day brings us choices that will add value to those around us, or take value away. The point in choosing to cheat, is to cheat work in favor of our spouse and family. Cheat a good opportunity for the best choice. Cheat the thing we want to do for the thing we know we need to do - the choice which will have lasting value in our lives.
The same goes for our wellness lifestyle. This week, and in the weeks ahead, there will be innumerable temptations of delicious sweets and savory dinners. There will be processed favorites (mushroom soup on the green bean casserole, and eggnog (did you ever check the nutritional label on eggnog?)) and homemade standards (the twice-baked sweet potatoes with honey and marshmallows). And the choices will abound.
Is it a problem to enjoy the holiday delicacies? No, not at all, but we need to cheat wisely. Don't throw all caution to the wind, and end up in a carbohydrate coma or artificial-preservative-shock. If your body is accustomed to whole foods, and nutrient dense eating, lean toward those choices whenever possible.
If you're traveling for the holiday, offer to take along a dish which reflects your wellness values. Go simple, like our grandparents used to cook. It doesn't need to be full of tofu and seaweed (my grandparents wouldn't have even known those were edible), just something simple, healthful and delicious.
So enjoy all that this holiday season brings. Savory the down time, the visits with family and friends, the wonderful meals, and the reminders of how blessed we are to live in a nation with all of this abundance.
By the Way
As the years add up in a wellness lifestyle, you'll find recipes which reflect your healthful values, and are just great food. Things like homemade cranberry sauce to go with the turkey. Simple, easy to make biscuits, with only 3 ingredients. I have a shortbread recipe that I'm looking forward to making again. ...And the list grows year by year.
4.30
In 2018 I'll turn 50. I'm going to make kind of a big deal about it, because of how thankful I am to hit the half-century mark. My dad passed away at 48 years old, after a 6 month battle with lung cancer, so he never got to see 50...
It's not that my father was all that unhealthy, but knowing I have the same genes, I'm very aware of the risks, and very thankful for the journey that's gotten me to today. Is that some of my motivation behind Power Pantry, and a wellness lifestyle and doing Spartan Races? You bet it is...
About 7 years ago, I learned that there is a fundamental choice we all make, between healthy lifestyle choices, and unhealthy lifestyle choices. And over the ensuing years, I've leaned hard into a wellness lifestyle.
I don't know how many years I have, but I plan to live them to the fullest and absolutely make the most of my days. We all have the same opportunities for healthful choices, and it starts with recognizing the fundamental role that food plays in our well being. Food truly is medicine - and poor food choices are certainly a detriment to our health.
So if you are new to a Power Pantry, start today to read labels and choose real food. Cut out the processed food-like products, and refined, empty calories. Moderate your portions. Lose some weight. Create an exercise program you can truly live with, and get moving. You'll be glad you did and you'll likely add years to your life.
By the Way
There is research from the last 6 to 8 years that is looking into 'healthspan' instead of just lifespan. The point being, if we live into our late 70's with chronic disease and failing health, is that a worthwhile wellness goal? What if we can extend our health into those later years, and nearing our end, spend a minimal amount of time in decline and poor health. That seems like a much better goal.
4.21
I am training for a local half-marathon, and it's now 3 weeks away. My running hasn't kept up with what my schedule is telling me, but I'm close. I have been working out regularly, and keeping after good stretching and short to medium runs.
So when I planned for a 6+ mile run yesterday, I thought everything was fine, and was looking forward to getting out early and enjoying a late summer run. I was doing great on the local roads and hills that I know so well, and then it happened.
I hit the wall.
I don't remember having a run like the one I had yesterday. And instead of beating myself up or just giving up and going home, I decided to let it play out. I walked. I 'never' walk... but yesterday, at about 3 1/2 to 4 miles in, I decided to walk some and see what would happen.
As it turned out, I did about 8 miles, with about 6 of it running and probably 2 of it walking. I was drained when I got back, but I felt like it was important to see it through, and I know I learned something.
I realized that Spartan training has moved some of my muscle mass from my legs to my upper body, so I have leg-work to do to prepare for this half-marathon. And I learned that my body continues to change with the years, and our pantry still has a great influence on my physical health.
Even though we focus on whole foods, and healthy, nutrient-dense choices, there are some foods in our pantry which are not the healthiest, and in some regards, I'm just missing nutrients. I did some great research yesterday and today, and am coming to terms with how my age is likely affecting my testosterone levels. Low T is very real for men over 40, and if you aren't keeping after vital nutrients and good food choices, you'll suffer unnecessarily.
So I have some simple work to do in the coming weeks. I'm almost 50, and though I could have focused on my testosterone levels years ago, I'm glad I'm starting now. I have a new outlook on 'how' to regain some vibrant energy and stamina. And I have about 3 weeks to get my legs back in race mode.
By the Way
There are great resources on testosterone health from Dr. Joseph Mercola and Dr. Josh Axe, two acclaimed doctors of natural medicine. Check out some of their resources here:
Dr. Axe's resources for T-hormone health
Dr. Mercola's resources for T-hormone health
And here are some foods to naturally boost T-hormone health, from Dr. Mercola
4.19
Have you taken a good look at your pantry and fridge lately? Are they stocked with all that's good for your body or have less-than-healthful choices made their way in? One way to get into a power pantry groove is to shop local for farm-fresh foods.
We live in Lancaster County, PA. This area overflows with local, farm-fresh produce during the growing season. The eastern part of Lancaster County is even know as the 'Garden Spot'... one of the most fertile and productive non-irrigated farming locations in the country (and some would say the world.)
When stocking a power pantry, the goal is simple, nutrient dense, and unprocessed. Shopping at a local roadside stand would likely achieve all three. Look for fresh fruits (peaches and watermelon are at their peak for us in PA...) fresh veggies of every kind, and now you are likely to find great local meat offerings (free range chickens, grass-fed beef and more.)
If you're not sure where to find local farm-fresh offerings, just ask around. There's a good chance you'll find friends, co-workers and family who have favorite roadside resources for great local shopping. Another simple opportunity is to take a drive - try some back roads you've never been on. Slow down and connect locally, and you're sure to be rewarded with some farm markets and roadside stands.
Make it a point to rev up your pantry with fresh, ultra-local produce today. You'll enjoy the changing of selections as the seasons change, and connect better with your community, all at the same time.
By the Way
There are over 37 great roadside stand in Lancaster County, PA, alone... check out this link for a great local web site listing.
You can also try this local farm market site with listing all around the country and around the world.
4.6
This past week I saw a news post about doctors prescribing food for ailments, instead of pharmaceuticals. I was a bit stunned and obviously curious, so I followed the link and sure enough, there are docs on the west coast who are taking seriously the admonition that food is medicine (and medicine can be our food.)
There was even an article posted Thursday in USAToday which had the same theme. The discouraging news is that so few doctors are educated in the value of nutrient-dense whole foods, and the interaction of food with metabolism and illness.
But there is hope: check out this annual symposium held in Oregon which focuses on the innate value of food in achieving and maintaining optimal health. This valuable conference is an outreach of the Food As Medicine Institute. The institute began in 2010 from a Portland area initiative to end childhood obesity. It was heavily supported by Bob and Charlee Moore of Bob's Red Mill, and the Institute went on to grow from those roots.
So that tells me there is hope for healthful power pantry choices to become more and more common, and for whole segments of our overfed, undernourished society to understand the inherent value of what they put in their mouths. Maybe we are turning a corner as a nation.
By the Way
If you have been a Power Pantry subscriber for a while and you are discerning about what is in your pantry and on your plate, then you are far ahead of the wellness and nutrition curve. The folks at the Food as Medicine Institute have a tremendous vision, worthy of power pantry thinking: to see "...communities that are free of chronic disease and nourished through healthy whole foods."
4.5
We're surprisingly in the second month of 2017... time flies. How's your power pantry, and what's the quality and condition of the food making it to your table?
I've made some really interesting edits to our pantry in the last several months, and have been really blessed because of it. I'm always learning more about how foods affect our metabolism and digestive health, and how the whole package of wellness rises and falls on what we put in our mouths.
What I've been learning is that numerous fruits and veggies can be irritants to my gut, and I'm actually much healthier without them. And once those 'primary' irritants are out of the picture, things like gluten and simple dairy don't bother me (at all). I would not have suspected this 3-4 years ago when I found gluten and dairy to be a real pantry problem.
Even with these edits, the fundamentals still stand. If you dig around our fridge and pantry you'll find whole foods, simple ingredients and healthful selections. My goal is still to get 90% of my calories from simple, whole foods (even if these include more dairy and gluten) and 10% can be from less healthful choices.
No artificial colors or preservatives or sweeteners. No highly processed anything. And lots more orgainic selections in our pantry as the market offers affordable healthier choices. We even enjoy ice cream (Turkey Hill makes great all-natural ice creams...)
How's your pantry? And how about the majority of calories you consume? Are your choices healthful and nutrient-dense? Are you feeding your body with intentionality? It all begins with our pantries and fridges - when we get that right, everything else falls into place. Commit to at least an 80/20 split for healthful pantry selections.
By the Way
I'm still marveling at how well my running and workouts are going even though I've added foods back to my diet which I had previously banned. It reminds me to always be open-minded. My running endurance is great, my joints and muscles are pain free and recovery time is on par. And I'm feeling better in general with these recent improvements... These are the benefits of a wellness lifestyle and staying curious.
3.33
The holiday season is officially upon us, and it is a great time to review our pantry and see what has found its way there in recent months. The food-abundance of the holidays brings great opportunities for feasting and celebration, and it doesn't need to derail our wellness choices.
Have you stood at your pantry or fridge recently to see if there are artificial flavors and colors and preservatives lurking there? We can often stray from healthful choices to something that is simpler, quicker or promoted with better marketing, and those choices can bring all kinds of unhealthy distractions. A power pantry is marked by simple, nutrient-dense, healthful foods. Ingredient lists on healthy foods have few ingredients, and they are ones you can pronounce.
Finding any strange breakfast cereals or canned soups? How about dressings or gravies or desserts? And snacks can be some of the worst offenders. Any MSG or BHT or food coloring? While no one of those will kill us if we eat it, our bodies thank us when we pass them by for healthier real-food picks.
Right now Thanksgiving leftovers are still in full swing around our home. Great dishes and sides, and even some additional recipes of gravy and stuffing to complement the remaining turkey. But it's a great reminder of the blessings we have and gratitude we should feel for the abundance all around us, and we were able to keep our choices simple, healthful and real.
Soon enough it will be Christmas baking time. But fear-not; even Christmas baking can be done quite healthfully with simple, tasty ingredients to celebrate the season. Before we get there though, have a second look at your pantry and fridge and see if there are some healthful substitutions you can make.
By the Way
I think it 's interesting that the longer we live with wellness choices, the more our recipes reflect things our grandparents and even ancestors likely cooked and enjoyed. Simple, whole foods, seasonally available, and fresh. Sounds like great ingredients for stocking a power pantry!
3.25
Sugar is everywhere in our culture. On average, we've gone from consuming several pounds a year per person 200+ years ago, to over 100 pounds a year each, today. Huge consumer product groups like snacks and sodas and breakfast cereals are chocked full of sugar. Why? The refined sucrose and fructose in sugar is truly addicting, with similar effects on our brains as cocaine and other addictive drugs. Getting more raises the threshold of response and we need more to get the same 'benefit.'
And what do we get for this addiction? Not only obesity, heart disease and type 2 diabetes, but sugar also speeds aging, stresses our liver the same way alcohol does, and interrupts our natural immune responses. And sugar literally feeds the growth and replication of cancer cells. Uhg. Beyond that, sugar in our diet increases inflammation response in our metabolism, and new studies are showing a strong relationship between elevated fructose in our diet and the development of Alzheimer's disease.
Natural sugars are better than refined sugars, but both are still concentrated sucrose:
- Today's refined white sugar often comes from beet sugar
- Cane sugar comes from sugar cane and has been a growing staple of western culture for centuries
- High fructose corn syrup is highly-refined corn syrup, it is significantly cheaper than other sugar sweeteners, and it has even worse health impacts
- Natural sugars come from raw, unrefined or lightly-refined sources, like honey, maple syrup, and agave nectar.
- Natural sugars also come from fruit, and even those add to our overall sugar load
So what is the solution to the sugar addiction and the health trauma that results? Moderation. Do we need to eliminate sugar? No, not all of it - just reduce refined sugar intake and keep it under control. The American Heart Assn says no more than 100 calories from refined sugars per day for women, and no more than 150 calories per day for men.
Keeping sweeteners to natural forms like honey is best, or minimally-refined ones like maple syrup or agave nectar. The point with any sweeteners, though, is moderation. Without moderation in our sweeteners, we can develop a sugar addiction (remember, it eventually takes more and more sugar to get the same amount of satisfaction.) With moderation, we find simple enjoyment from the sweetness of fruit and the occasional sweet treat, and they're easy to walk away from.
Take a hard look at your sugar habits and sweet expectations. If you are overcome with an uncontrollable desire for sweets, start today to detox from sugar and give moderation a try.
By the Way
Fruit sugars are much healthier than any prepared sugars or refined sweeteners, but these are sugars just the same. The only redeeming quality of getting sugar from whole fruit is the fiber and carbohydrates from the fruit, which help our bodies metabolize and use the sucrose with less ill-effects.
3.24
I have a co-worker who is super-healthy and vegan. He understands the value of nutrient-dense foods and a plant-based diet, and we have frequent conversations about what's new (to us) in healthy choices and recipes.
The other day he sent me several articles about protein and how much misinformation is out there about needing lots of protein in our diet. The research was gathered and supported by Gatorade and focused a lot on how even committed athletes don't need nearly the amount of protein that conventional wisdom indicates.
This misinformation is systemic in our western culture, and it doesn't look like it will get better anytime soon. The truth is, a plant-based diet rich in veggies, fruits, healthy grains, nuts and seeds will far outpace a protein-rich diet focused on dairy and animal proteins.
I often say that if we lived on the plains of Kansas in the 1800's we'd be incredibly grateful for a cow and her milk, some chickens and their eggs, and maybe a couple of pigs if we were really blessed. At least with a small barn yard, we would have some calorie-dense meats that would nourish our family consistently. And some fresh grains and produce thrown in, and we might even prosper.
But we don't live in the 1800's, and we have so many options for healthy food buying and eating, we have no excuse to get this wrong. The bigger issue is changing the message. We still have an archaic centralized government message telling us that dairy is essential to our health (especially brainwashing our kids in public school) and supporting big meat industry messages and sales volumes to a willing public.
I get that there is nothing more savory than the smell and taste of grilled meat. Throw in some salt and garlic, and hey, how can something that tastes this good be bad for you?! In small, occasional amounts and meals? No problem. But at the exorbitant rate that western culture eats meat protein, we write our own prescription for disease and untimely demise.
If you aren't convinced, do your own research. Check out Dr. Joel Fuhrman and Dr. Dean Ornish, and web resources like MindBodyGreen. We live with food-abundance like never before, and with extensive information available, we have no excuse for living with food-related poor health. What we will hear and learn from government and conventional media is full of half-truths and lobbyist-fed industry pandering. The truth on healthful foods is not what we think.
By the Way
If you really want to update your perspective on plant-based eating and healthful choices, check out these valuable documentaries (available on Netflix, or at their websites):
Fork Over Knives
Food Matters
Hungry for Change
These are all exceptionally eye-opening. Here's to upgrading what we know about our food choices and making healthful choices.
3.23
Summer is almost over! Quick, what are all those fun things we wanted to do before Labor Day and school restarting?! We checked off one: our family just returned from an epic two-week+ vacation out West... it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to suspend the 'rules' and engage life in a completely different way for a while.
But a healthful lifestyle isn't conditional. After all, it's a lifestyle. I'm usually a "90/10" eater. 90% of my calories typically come from nutrient-dense, plant-based foods, and about 10% are some rare dairy or lean meats or something processed. On vacation though, it was probably more like 70/30. We enjoyed ribs in Wyoming and excellent smoky BBQ in Colorado, and also had trout, tremendous salmon dip, and several wonderful salads. Mmmm...
That's what vacation is all about. It's okay to change the rules for a while, as long as we know where our baseline is. Changing the rules is different than breaking the rules. And I've been a clean eater for so many years that I know I'll pay for straying from healthful choices. My body and metabolism react to poor food choices. But hey, I'm okay with that for a brief spell of summer.
Now that we're back in the swing of things I look forward to cleansing for a bit and then this fall, I'm planning on bringing more variety to my own healthful diet, and the overall food choices our family enjoys.
How about your summer? Hopefully it's been fun and relaxing and memorable. And if you feel like you fell off the wagon where your health and eating are concerned, it's simple enough to take a deep breath, contemplate your choices a bit, and get back to your wellness baseline.
By the Way
Part of my changing the rules was having ice cream twice on vacation (one was a fudge sundae) and it was fleetingly awesome. Because I wasn't running or working out, I didn't notice the dragging lethargy that usually hits me when I eat dairy. For healthy choices though, I also had a delicious dairy free treat at a frozen yogurt shop, and the organic plum sorbet at Moo's in Jackson Hole, WY. Tremendous!
Years ago I was a coff-alholic - I consumed significant quantities of coffee daily, with little regard for how much I was actually drinking. Then at some point, maybe about 15 years ago, I realized that the rush of caffeine was less energizing and more stressful than what I wanted to live with. I bailed out and felt much better over time. One problem is that I really enjoy a good, hot mug of fresh, black coffee.
