Tag Archives: paleo

Chew on this

17 Feb


Don’t eat so fast! Do you have a train to catch? Chew your food! How many times did you hear something like this as a kid (and now a an adult) sitting at the dinner table painfully getting through a family meal as fast as possible so you could get outside and play or plop down in front of the TV to catch the last quarter of the game.

Done reflecting??? Let’s move on to the punch line…

Well folks, I’m afraid to break it to you BUT your parents were giving you valuable disease fighting advice for free!!! (aka they were RIGHT)

I know what you’re thinking…  “I was starving and trying to quench my hunger” or “I was in a rush and didn’t want to skip a meal all together”

Regardless of the reason it doesn’t change the fact that it’s important to chew your food thoroughly.

Here’s why:

  1. Digestion is aided with the first chew.  Chewing tells your gut to get the juices flowing because food is on its way.
  2. Optimal Digestion. Proper chewing breaks down the food in the mouth so the gut can easily absorb nutrients without having to work overtime.
  3. Prevents Gas.  Swallowing food chunks that are too big can cause bacterial overgrowth and gas. If you have suffered from this or been around someone who has then you know it’s not pleasant.
  4. Prevents Overeating (aka weight gain).  Chewing more means eating slower and giving the body ample time to release and receive the proper signals related to hunger.
  5. Tastes better. Taking the time to chew gives you time to taste what you are eating.
  6. Stronger jawline. If all of the above reasons are not compelling enough then maybe a more defined jawline will nudge you to chew more. Chewing works out the masseter muscles.

Chew on it. Chew your food at least 20- 30 times until your food is emulsified and you can no longer identify the texture of what you are eating.

As always don’t take my word for it. Try it out and post your findings to comments….

n!

Ritu Riyat

Paleo Lobster Night!

10 Jan

I have to say I love lobster but it’s the type of meal that’ll break my piggy bank in no time! So you can imagine my joy when a good friend opted to cook me a Paleo bday LOBSTER dinner. What better way to ring in a bday than with a 2lb lobster sitting in front of me in my own kitchen- YUMMY!  The actual cooking part was not so yummy for me though. I realized I would have made a sucky Paleo Chick and would have either a. lived off of grass b. scavenged dead animals or c. found an awesome paleo dude to catch me some lobster (the more likely answer).  Once the lobsters made it to the pot it was smooth sailing. In 20 minutes I had a steaming hot lobster ready to be enjoyed. The great thing about fresh lobster is that it tastes delicious on its own, without any extra seasoning or sauces. The not so great thing is that it puts your CF skills to use with all the shell cracking and meat pulling involved. Nonetheless it was an amazing meal prepared in less than 30 minutes and it WON’T break the piggy bank! Recipe below.

Fresh lobster served with asparagus and shitake mushrooms

Lobster Preparation:

  1. Boil a pot full of water(enough to cover the lobster); add about 2 tbsp of sea salt
  2. Add lobster to boiling water and leave for 10 minutes for the first pound and 3 additional minutes for each additional points
  3. Drain the water and serve hot

Optional: Heat butter over flame and use as dipping sauce

Asparagus and Shitake mushroom Sautee Preparation:

  1. Add olive oil (or oil of your choice) to pan on medium heat
  2. Add 5 cloves of chopped garlic  and sauté 4-5 minutes until garlic is crisp
  3. Add asparagus and shitake mushrooms, sauté for 5 minutes
  4. Remove and serve as a side

n!

Ritu

Fall is in the air

30 Oct

Even though the bay area has been experiencing some spring/summer like weather, the earth is expressing its fallness. Nutritionize strives to provide education that will optimize the way you look, feel and perform and its number one teacher is none other than nature. There is no science, equation, or research study that can beat the nature’s way, plus nature provides thousands of years of data! So what does nature say? eat with the seasons. It’s an age old tradition intrinsically followed by many cultures especially those that live off the land. If your goal is to be a modern hunter and gatherer then you got to know your surroundings. Eating with the seasons provides our bodies with the nourishment it needs to survive and thrive through the surrounding conditions whether it is hot, cold, wet, or dry.

Changes in growing conditions from spring to summer or fall to winter are considered essential for balancing the earth’s resources and its life forms. But today it’s so easy for us to forget about seasons when we eat! Modern food processing and worldwide distribution of food make foods available year-round, and grocery stores shelves look much the same in December as they do in July, with the only variable being price. Eating seasonal foods supports local farmers, provides nourishment, and is more affordable.

Here’s a general rule of thumb:

  • In spring, focus on tender, leafy vegetables that represent the fresh new growth of this season. The greening that occurs in springtime should be represented by greens on your plate, including Swiss chard, spinach, Romaine lettuce, fresh parsley, and basil.
  • In summer, stick with light, cooling foods in the tradition of traditional Chinese medicine. These foods include fruits like strawberries, apple, pear, and plum; vegetables like summer, broccoli, cauliflower, and corn; and spices and seasonings like peppermint and cilantro.
  • In fall, turn toward the more warming, autumn harvest foods, including carrot, sweet potato, onions, and garlic. Also emphasize the more warming spices and seasonings including ginger, peppercorns, and mustard seeds.
  • In winter, turn even more exclusively toward warming foods. Remember the principle that foods taking longer to grow are generally more warming than foods that grow quickly. All of the animal foods fall into the warming category including fish, chicken, beef, lamb, and venison. So do most of the root vegetables, including carrot, potato, onions and garlic. Eggs also fit in here, as do corn and nuts.

The easiest way to eat seasonal is avoid your local grocery store and hit the farmers market instead; they have the most in season varieties and are all locally grown. Plus you can chat it up with the farmer to find some new recipes.

For more information on what is in season in your area visit: http://www.eatwellguide.org/i.php?id=Seasonalfoodguides and click on your state.

I don’t know about you but I’m excited about Fall, its full of butternut squash and fresh pumpkin pie, the warmth of the food brings a level comfort that no tub of ice cream can compare to.

What’s your favorite fall food? Post to comments…

Nutritionize!

Ritu Riyat

Your Body Is Talking…

2 Feb

 

 Iloveme

 

Bio-Individuality. I have been thinking a lot about this word and how it relates to what we eat. Before I delve into details, let me ask you a simple question: How would you feel if you are clothes shopping and the only size available is "one size fits all" and the only colors are "black or white"; there might be a very small percentage of you that are getting excited about the idea, but for the most part it would suck. Why? Because every body is different and varies in shape, size, complexion, and more. What looks great on one person can be hideous on another. Humans strive to express their individuality through the way they dress, talk, walk, look, and do in order to feel their best. So why not express yourself through the food you eat?

 

The concept of Biochemical (bio) Individuality is based on the philosophy that every person is unique and the "diet" that will work best for each person is also unique and very individualized. In another words, one person's food could be another person's poison. Some people swear by the Zone diet and others can't stick to it even if their life depended on it. Some people thrive on being vegetarians and others whither away without meat. This is because we are all different. Three key components that influence the dietary needs are ancestry, blood type, and metabolism, each of which have been individually popularized by various diets. Along with these biological factors, there are also psychological and environmental influences. The psychological influence is probably the most overlooked and least tangible of them all because it consists of "Listening to your body". Now before you start thinking this is some hippy talk, hear me out. We are always looking to nutritionists and doctors, self help books and videos for an answer that we already know if we would just slow down and listen. I don't mean stand on your head or sit like the bhudda for hours on end, but instead understand that every action has a reaction. Every bite you put in your mouth causes a response in your body and mind. Some responses may be immediate (energy or sleepiness) and others long term (diabetes, heart disease). The more in tune you are with your body the better you are able to gauge if the food you are eating is nourishing or harming you. The primary goal of food is to nourish the body and mind, the secondary goal (more like desire) is taste. Unfortunately over the years of industrializing food these goals have gotten reversed. As a society we are now scrambling to undo this damage. Better late than never, I guess.

 

I am not saying that any given "diet" or "lifestyle" is bad but I am saying that it is not perfect. Call it Zone, Paleo, South Beach, Atkins, etc, underneath the name it's really just one person's philosophy on what worked for him or her and most likely it was marketed very well and caught on as the next big fad. Over the years I have tried them all and more. I tried the Atkins, I did the Zone, and I have enjoyed Paleo, but in the end none of them are 100% sustainable. Why? Because being strict anything enforces restrictions. We all have a kid inside of us, the minute someone says don't do XYZ, that is exactly what we crave and want to do, ultimately stressing out our body and causing a food relapse. In recent years more and more people are buying into the concept that perhaps our bodily organism is truly an intelligent creature which, when left undisturbed, is capable of maintaining a healthy weight, fighting off disease, regulating blood sugar, and being productive. So why are we not there? Well for one, in order for the body to heal itself it must be provided with proper nourishment, rest, and time. All of which we don't seem to have enough of. Instead, pill fix and crash diets are the solution. Rather than finding and adopting the next big fad "diet" if we spent some time understanding how our body and mind react and respond to various foods we eat then we will have found the "perfect diet" that is tailor made for each of us.

 

Now, I do agree that in order to get to this level of sensitivity one does have to go through the various cookie cutter approaches. For example the Paleo diet does a great job of cutting sugar cravings, eliminating processed foods, and sweeping the internal kitchen cupboards of all the crap (no pun intended) that is in us. Once this is complete you are now able to accurately asses what works and what does not. The knowledge embedded in any of the mainstream diets should be used to make more informed decisions so that you are mindfully eating rather than mindlessly. Every now and then it's nice to revisit the strict diets for a refresher and each time you do you become clearer on the bio individual diet that is best for you. Strict anything is a diet and bio individuality is a lifestyle. I don't know about all of you, but I'd rather do something sustainable than temporary.

Next time you eat something, take a moment after that bite to notice how your body feels in response to and then an hour or so later notice how you feel. Energized and content? Then you had a good meal. Sluggish and moody? Perhaps you need a little tweaking your meals.

 

Your body is talking, what's it telling you?

Swimmer’s Nutrition Seminar – Key Takeaways

10 Mar

There's the group of star swimmers "throwin' up the U's" after our nutrition seminar last week. You can see a few of them holding our info packet which you can download here. They were a great group of athletes, who took the time to understand the foundation of max physical performance – nutrition! We altered our agenda slightly to address some key challenges with both being in High School and training for endurance sports like swimming. Overall it breaks down to taking the knowledge and working into a lifestyle that works for YOU. Here's a recap of the most basic things you can do to be healthy if you're super busy, doing endurance sports, or want to live healthy period:

  • Going full Paleo may not be practical for everyone, however BALANCING your meals 1/3 protein, 2/3 carbs and a sliver of fat can be done almost anywhere with anything. In the worst case, you can ensure there's protein in every meal you eat, including snacks. This alone will help improve cellular optimization, reduce inflammation, and minimize insulin spikes.
  • When doing long duration training or competitions, hydration is key. If you are thirsty, you are dehydrated, and your performance can reduce by up to 15%. Check out our earlier blog post on hydration for more details.
  • When at a swim meet, keeping your glucose levels up is key. Eat a big, balanced breakfast the morning of the meet, pack a balanced lunch, bring some trail mix with jerky with you in between heats. Paleo Kits are also great if you're on the go for a long time.
  • Take your Omega-3's.  It's easy, and it's the only supplement PROVEN to increase physical performance.

Way to go swimmers! Congrats on making the commitment to living a healthy lifestyle.

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** Reminder: Body Fat Testing on 3/26 **

We're bringing Fitness Wave in to provide hydrostatic body fat tests for anyone that's interested.  It's the most accurate way to measure your bf% as well as your lean muscle mass. 

There won't be a sign up sheet in the cell.  Sign up online here. (Note, if you're having trouble booking online, email pegdietz@yahoo.com and she'll schedule you.

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