Sugar Rare

Why are you eating?

While we may not be aware of it, a number of things can trigger us to seek out food!

ARE YOU EATING BECAUSE YOU ARE THIRSTY?

We often mistake thirst for hunger!! Before grabbing food, maybe drink a glass of water and see if thAt helps your cravings.

ARE YOU EATING BECAUSE YOU ARE BORED?

Often, when we are bored we find ourselves munchie and peckish! Find something to keep you busy, leave the house, go for a walk or a jog, call up a friend, start a hobby, etc. I find if it’s late and I’m cleaning the kitchen, just being in the kitchen teases me to eat! Learn about your body and your food triggers and find ways to get around them!

ARE YOU EATING BECAUSE OF YOUR ENVIRONMENT?

I find personally, when I'm around my kitchen or working from home at the kitchen table, I just want to eat all the time! Is your kitchen calling you? (kind of similar to when we are bored!).

Did you just see a commercial that reminded you about delicious and teasing foods or drinks?

Did you walk down the street and smell all the bakeries and coffee shops teasing your senses?

Remember how you can eat a really great meal at home, and head over to the movie theatre, where you then (somehow!) eat a whole large container of popcorn and/or candy and/or large cup of pop during the movie.... but you don't remember doing it?

Being aware of our surroundings/environment can help us understand why we have cravings and then deal with them in an appropriate manner.

ARE YOU EATING BECAUSE YOU ARE STRESSED?!

Are you looking for a drug-like endorphin release from Sugar foods?! Many of my patients come in with emotional eating, and feel like they are the only one!! No, you are not alone! But what we need to do is identify that you are stressed, figure out why you are stressed, then come up with ways to de-stress!

The best approaches include: physical activity, meditation, sleep, and finding a hobby/activity to zone into (eg listening to music while drawing, reading a book, taking a bath, etc). Find things that make you happy and incorporate them into your day as often as possible! They really make a huge difference on your health.

ARE YOU EATING BECAUSE YOU ARE TIRED?!

When we are tired, we tend to crave sweets far more often - because carbs are fast energy and the body knows it! The best way around his is to give yourself a good dose of healthy fats, and try to get some shut eye! Examples of healthy fat options include: cheese, guac/hummus/babaghanoush/tzatziki/ and veggies, cream/coconut oil in your coffee/tea, extra butter/coconut oil/avocado oil in your stirfry, avocado, olives, olive oil).

OR, ARE YOU HUNGRY?

Has it been a while since you have eaten, your tummy is rumbling, and you are genuinely hungry? Then, yes, please eat. :)

As always, if you have any questions, please email me at [email protected].

Best of health, Eliana

Did you know that focusing on what makes us happy can reduce stress? What do you enjoy doing? What are your hobbies?

Something to thing about!

One trick to meal planning during the week that I often use is to make one big vegetable soup or stew and then add different protein each day as a variety. For example, One day you could do beans or tofu or fish or meat or chicken (if you eat that). You could also serve the soup as a side and have an egg or chickpea omelet. Sky is the limit. :)

This ensures that you get both your veggies and your protein.

Alternatively, if you find that you would get bored of the same veggies several days in a row, then you can freeze half of it for another day. (Remember I like to batch cook and make plenty of extras when I cook) :)

Pictures: vegetable soup (onion garlic carrots celery green beans zucchini sweet potato, chicken broth, salt pepper oregano parsley turmeric and a hint of grated ginger.

Roasted pastured chicken (I follow a pegan diet [paleo+Vegan] where if I don't know where the animal protein is coming from and how the animals were treated, I follow a vegan diet) - before cooking I put avocado oil and salt. :)

Enjoy!

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Have you ever considered healing your gut?

Sounds a bit fluffy, I admit. but the truth is that your gut health has far-reaching implications: from mental health, to diabetes, to obesity, and onwards...

And science is just scratching the surface in terms of what our gut microbiome (i.e. the bacteria in our gut - good or bad) are responsible for...

In terms of how you can become healthier by just ADDING to what you are already doing for your diet, consider fermented foods and pro-biotics.

Fermented foods include: yogurt (plain, full fat), kefir, saurkraut, pickles (in salt water), kimchi, miso, natto, kombucha, etc. I get my saurkraut and pickles from the farmers market, but have also found a brand called “bubbles” in health foods stores. These foods contain the good bacteria that will heal the gut and help keep your body healthy. [Note… avoid the high sugar yogurt options. the amount of sugar will wreak havoc in your body by increasing inflammation and increasing your blood sugars.]

my goal (and hold me to this!) is to make some of this fermented food myself this year!

You can also consider taking a probiotic supplement. if you are going to do this, look for the manufacturer’s guarantee for live bacteria. If you don’t consume live bacteria, then there is no point to pay for this more expensive option.

And young children can eat this food too! My little one’s fav form of greens is sauerkraut! (now, this is because we would have it at the table at every meal, and eat it at least 1x daily since she was ~ 1 year old… and daddy and myself eat it regularly too).

Enjoy adding these foods to your meals! a delicious way to make your body healthy!

Best of health,
Eliana

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Happy New Year everyone!

Did you know that every meal, you can make yourself healthier? just adding adjusting one thing to a meal can make a huge difference!!! In the next few posts, I want to focus on ways to ADD to what you are already doing to improve your health, one meal at a time!

Let's start with BALANCE.

No matter what you are planning on eating, try to make sure it's balanced... not with food groups, but with macronutrients: Fat, Protein and Carbohydrates.

Each is very important! (for more details check out my blogs on my website)

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Good fats include: olives and olive oil, avocado and avocado oil, coconut oil, tallow and lard from pastured animals, cream , butter, plain high fat yogurt, and other dairy from grass-fed (pastured animals have higher amounts of omega 3’s - if dairy is tolerated, of course), nuts and seeds/ nut and seed butters. etc.

Good Protein includes: beans, legumes, nuts/nut butters (all natural), seed and seed butters (all natural), eggs from pastured chickens, plain high fat yogurt from pastured animals, pastured chicken (or else avoid the fat/skin), pastured meat/pork. etc.

carbohydrates:
Hierarchy of carbs:
Best type of carb is from non-starchy vegetables (full of excellent fibre which helps keep the gut healthy, as well as nutrients. choose lots of different colours!) - leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower), egg plant, green beans, peppers, carrots, cucumber, etc.

Then from starchy vegetables: sweet potatoes, potatoes, squashes, pumpkin, etc. I’ll add rice and quinoa here too.

Then from fruit (they have sugar, so you may still need to limit these to 3 servings per day)

THEN from processed carbohydrates… this includes breads, pasta, crackers, etc.

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so… focus on making sure you have at least one of each at a meal! If you are having chicken (protein) and potatoes (carb), for example, make sure you have healthy fat. [and ideally a vegetable if possible - but, you might not be there yet, and that’s ok!].

If you are eating fruit, add a nut butter or high fat plain yogurt, which will add protein and fat!

Balancing meals allows you to feel full when you have eaten enough (because of the fat/protein/fibre).

If you choose to eat something unhealthy (e.g cake/cookies) make sure you eat it with a meal and not alone. This will limit how much you eat, and also help you balance out your hormones better so that your blood sugars don’t sky-rocket.

Have an amazing day and an amazing start to 2017.

Best of health, Eliana

Eating over the holidays...

The Holidays are here, and along with this wonderful season come parties, family gatherings, delicious food and irresistible goodies.

A healthy lifestyle includes a balanced diet, physical activity and good mental health. During the holidays, there are ways that you can plan ahead to help prepare yourself for those holiday mealtimes.

Plan your meals. If you know you are going to a dinner party, make sure you eat breakfast and lunch. Sometimes people think that by skipping meals they will be able to eat more at the party, but what they are forgetting is that by skipping meals and only eating at dinner, people put themselves in a position where their bodies will want to eat whatever is in their path. At times likes these, it is very difficult to be mindful of what and how much a person is eating, and difficult to make good food choices.

Along with #1, if you know you are probably going to make less healthy choices at dinner, plan to eat better food choices at breakfast and lunch, ensuring your meals consists of vegetables, fruit, protein, and healthy fats like avocado, olive oil, butter and coconut oil. If you choose to eat grains, choose whole grains (they have more fibre) – and limit your portions.

Eat mindfully. Mindfulness means being aware of what food you put on your plate, and what you put into your mouth. It’s so easy to eat food without realizing we are even eating it. Eat slowly; savour the flavour and texture of the food. Enjoy it! If you are still hungry after the first plate, wait 20 minutes to give your body time to decide if you are satisfied or not. If not, then go back for seconds. During dessert, choose the one or two options that you want the most and Enjoy Every Bite! It is better to eat the dessert you really want, instead of trying to make up for it by eating 3 or 4 or 5 other desserts in an effort to satisfy your desires.

Note: The human eye can be easily deceived! The size of the plates used affect how much food is eaten without us even realizing it. When we use large dinner plates, we tend to fill them. This can lead us to eat 20% more food than we need, or than we intended. When possible use smaller dishes for dinners, potlucks, and h’orderves. This also allows us to control the portion sizes of our foods.

To best enjoy the holiday seasons, we should also consider our physical and mental health. Plan physical activity into your holiday; a few examples include: a snow ball fight with the kids, ice skating, going for a walk, yoga, etc. Take time for yourself - schedule time to relax, reflect, and/or meditate. An easy way to do this might be to take 10 slow, deep breaths or maybe take a bubble bath. Personal time and physical activity will help balance the craziness with relaxation/down-time.
During the holiday season we are going to be surrounded by lots of goodies. Don’t be afraid to eat; eat mindfully – be aware of what you are eating, when you are eating, and where; and ENJOY every bite. Have a fun, enjoyable, relaxing holiday.

Happy Holidays!

Sometimes it seems hard feeding little ones… right? They are picky, they won’t eat what you feed them… they won’t touch vegetables…

Did you know that it can take over 20 times of EXPOSURE to a food before a child might feel safe putting a food in his/her mouth?

Remember how as an infant they would touch the food, and mash the food, and play with the food, and put it in their hair…. and very little of it made it into their mouths? This need to explore food with the senses doesn’t stop once a little one turns into a toddler! They still need to see, smell, touch, and then taste new foods…

In my case, this was what my little one decided to do with cheese and cucumber…. a pillow and blanket for her dear little pony.

:) have fun letting your kids explore food!!

Best of health, Eliana

One of the things I explain to parents is that children will eat what they see the adults in their lives (parents/guardians) and other kids around them eating.

I have been living a personal example of this recently….

So I am intolerant to dairy protein. Can’t have it… but miss it incredibly. There is just something so comforting about real, plain, high fat yogurt; or high fat cream in my tea; grass-fed butter on my sweet potatoes; or melted cheese in/on [sub in your fav food!]… yes, I miss them greatly. So much so that I crave the texture of these foods!!!

So I have searched for ‘substitutes’…. and recently i have come across vegan cheeses and cultured coconut yogurt.

Do they taste AMAZING? No. not even close (to me at least). But they are good enough, and foods I’m so thankful to have found.

So, with this in mind, back to my story…. My 3.5 year old (she reminds me daily about how old she is), likes to eat what her mama eats. Doesn’t matter that she can eat ANY REAL cheese in the world, or that her amazing plain yogurt is in the fridge. She wants her mama’s cheese and her mama’s yogurt and finishes them for me, DAILY! (yup, the ones that are more expensive and taste worse)…. WHY!??! OH WHY!?!

This is because she wants to eat what I eat. she wants to share in the experience with me at the table. Meal times are all about sharing food, eating together, and building stronger relationships - a positive and happy time of the day!

Also, she just want to be like me and do what I do… :)

For more information on meal times without chaos and feeding kids, check out my blogs.

To receive my thoughts every few days via email, sign up on my website! www.eatdifferentrd.com. You will also get a copy of my fav recipes - both my recipes and my fav recipes from my online colleagues.

Best of health, Eliana

Feeding The Family – My Take, Part 1 There are some crazy emotions that come with being a parent. I have experienced many of them first hand...

I am starting to write/post food thoughts every few days... for now, they will be short, probably with links (right now while I'm with baby), but soon I hope to transition to more evidence based information with research studies linked...

I'll be posting on Facebook + emailing for a while as I get started, but will transition to email-only in the near future.

If you are interested in getting these emails, please sign up on my website: www.eatdifferentrd.com.

Best of health, Eliana

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I know many people are experiencing feelings of fear anxiety and stress after yesterday's results.

Instead of turning to emotional comforts like chips, cookies and ice cream, consider what your body actually needs - an outlet.
First of all, BREATHE. In and out. Deeply.
Go for a walk in this beautiful weather. Enjoy the colors of the trees. Go to the gym and punch a punching bag (or a pillow at home), get on your bike and hammer it, or play chase with your kids as long as they can handle it.

Also, add satiating foods to your menu. Protein (like fish that are high in omega 3s) and fat (olives/olives oil, avocado and its oil/ ghee, butter, Lazard, tallow, high fat dairy, nuts and nut butters.
Eat vegetables (variety of colors) for all the Nutrients to keep your body healthy.

These will all help our bodies and brains to function as best as possible and as positively as possible while digesting the results.

Wishing you all the best of health, Eliana

Interested in a yummy cupcake recipe??? Well guess what?! My
Zucchini Carrot Banana Cupcakes were featured in this week's Me Me Me Magazine!

http://www.mememe.online/zingy-zucchini-carrot-banana-cupcakes/

oh-so-sweet (but secretly healthy) Courgette, Carrot & Banana Cupcakes Looking for a healthier cupcake recipe? These secretly healthy Courgette, Carrot & Banana cupcakes are very lightly sweet and filled with goodness.

The Healthiest Way to Bribe your Kids with Dessert....

(New Post on my website!)

If you are reading this post, you are probably curious to see how best you can get your picky toddler, preschooler or older child to eat all those 'yucky' vegetables and 'healthy' foods that they just wont touch. Or maybe, you are tired of the fights and simply desperate to see your children eat healthy foods? Perhaps you are a frustrated parent who is struggling with a caregiver or family member that continuously uses bribes to get your children to eat.

Well, this post is all about BRIBERY.... So let's get to it!

Bribery, according to Wikipedia, is defined as: the giving of SOMETHING (food, money, etc) to someone in exchange for a change in behaviour (one that benefits the person doing the bribing). Hmm... so clearly the reason for bribing children with dessert would be to get them to do something they are currently not doing? [for the purpose of this blog post, I'll assume that would be not eating a specific food] :)

Ok, so it sounds like parents who want to bribe their children to eat a specific food (let's assume vegetables), are having a hard time asserting their authority over their kids, and getting them to do something that the parents feel is best. That statement was not intended to be hurtful. Just an observation.

I think, before we move on, we need to understand reasons for which children might not eat something:

1. Autonomy. Food is one of the only areas in a young child's life where THEY HAVE POWER... where they get to decide what goes into their mouths.

2. They are already full from either grazing on other foods, drinking too much liquid (other than water - such as milk and juice) between meals.

3. There is something about that food that they are not comfortable with. It could be the smell, the taste, the texture, the look. We need to remember that the mouth is a sacred area for a little one. Things that come to the mouth are things that they want to explore. So when we think of toys - usually all toys are explored by mouth. :) Usually in a happy play time - positive experience. When a little one has a parent hovering over them, trying to force food into their mouths, that is a VERY NEGATIVE experience. And can cause food aversions, stress and anxiety over food and meal times. It is important to remember that children (and everyone, really!) need EXPOSURE to a new food - it can take 20 or more exposures to a food before they feel comfortable putting it in their mouths! So the keys here, are to (1) constantly offer it at the dinner table as part of a meal, (2) in a positve environment, and (3) without forcing them to eat it.

4. They don't see parents/caregivers eating the same foods. As the saying goes, 'Monkey see, Monkey do!'. And this holds very true for young ones. If they see you eating something, they will be more likely to want or to try that food then if they are told to eat it while the adult eats something else. Can I also add here, that if one parent eats it and the other parent makes a comment about not liking it, your child will likely start to not like it. So even if YOU don't like a food, watch how you talk about the food and react to it.

Children, no matter how young, are people. And they should be allowed to make decisions for themselves. Yes, of course there are limits. But we can't expect children to go from never being allowed to make their own decisions to suddenly making the right decisions all the time. They need the opportunities to make their own decisions, and "make mistakes" in a safe manner.

My approach to parenting (yes, I have little ones too!) and raising my children starts with treating them like little adults. I talk to my children with full explanations about things, I offer choices (age appropriate, of course), and I also expect them to do what they say they will do. The goal... What do I want my children to learn? First and foremost: To listen to their bodies. Second, to feel confident making decisions for themselves, to know how to approach situations safely, and to feel comfortable protecting their bodies (from anything they find unpleasant, not just food). And, although some of you might be disappointed by this, bribery does not fit into this method of parenting.

Ok, so WHY should we not bribe our children? BECAUSE IT DOESN'T WORK. Children are VERY very smart. They know when they are being taken advantage of, and they know how to take advantage of others (especially parents)! Ever been here?: "What? mom said no? ok, I'll ask dad, or grandma, or [fill in the blank]!" My little one started doing this at the age of 3! [True story, sigh...].

So, although bribery might work for a little while, it does not teach them to explore food, but rather teaches them that there are 'yucky foods' that they HAVE to eat in order to get to the 'yummy foods' that they want to eat. It teaches them to use bribery to get what they want from other people. It teaches them that if they put up enough of a fight, they will get a reward for doing what they are being asked to do. Hmm.. not quite the learning experience that we wanted, is it? It also gives them a sweet tooth for sugar which is being linked to so many chronic diseases and inflammation.

So, if your goal as a parent/caregiver is to help your child grow in the way his/her body intended, then why not start from the beginning by using an approach to mealtimes that WORKS? Where children get a chance to make decisions for themselves (within limits), where mealtimes are positive and happy times, and where over time, your child will grow just fine? WITHOUT BRIBERY.

This is called the Division of Responsibility of Feeding, created by the Internationally Renowned Registered Dietitian, Ellyn Satter. (for full details on the Division or Responsibility, please click on my blog posts: Feeding the Family: Part 1 (introduction to the Division of Responsibility) and Part 2 (questions answered).

A quick summary of this approach:

Parents are RESPONSIBLE for:
1. Where children are fed - always at the table. TV/screens off, homework away. So that kids can eat mindfully.

2. When children are fed - every 2-3 hours. So that they don't go too hungry and can listen to their bodies. Nothing in between meals/snacks (including milk and juice). Just water.

3. What children are offered to eat. Yes, mom and dad, YOU choose this. Not the little ones. This is where you want to make sure you are offering at least ONE food you know your little one will eat, and also expose the little one to foods they might not be ready to eat yet.

Children are RESPONSIBLE FOR:
1. If they eat. Sometimes they don't, and that is ok. They will not starve, because you will offer them food in another 2-3 hours.

2. How much they will eat. It might be a lot, it might be a little.
Adults are no different, right? Some meals we eat a ton! and other times, we don't really feel like eating all that much. And that is ok.

So... after all that, the healthiest way to Bribe your child to eat, is to NOT BRIBE your child at all, but rather to implement an approach to mealtimes where both you and your child have responsibilities, to respect each other's responsibilities, and to keep meal times positive.

Hope that helps.

As always, if you have any questions, please email me at [email protected].

If you need help with your health but aren't sure if we are a good fit, why not find out RISK FREE? Click on the "Book a Free Session" Button on my website and book a 2 Hour Free Nutrition Session with me.

Wishing you the best of health, Eliana

The Healthiest Way to Bribe your Kids with Dessert.... Hey there, If you are reading this post, you are probably curious to see how best you can get your picky toddler, preschooler or older child to eat all those 'yucky' vegetables and 'healthy' foods that they just wont touch. Or maybe, you are tired of the fights and simply desperate to see your chi...