http://www.thekitchn.com/feedburnermain
When you think about salsa, it’s easy to jump to the classic tomato-based version. But with warmer weather (and a new selection of fresh produce) on the horizon, why not expand your options with a few brighter, bolder, sweeter flavors? Just don’t forget the chips.
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/
You might be hard-pressed to find many people who never take advantage of the “elixir” effects food can have on us. For instance, I’d venture that the majority of us start our day with a cup of coffee or caffeinated tea. Some of us wind down after a long week with a glass of wine or a taste of our favorite bourbon. Even a small dose of sugar during times of excessive stress can lower cortisol (hence why some of us reach for an extra indulgence when things get rough). As long as we’re talking occasional or modest gratification, we can take advantage of these benefits without worry. But for some people, food becomes an ongoing coping mechanism or an unhealthy dependency to get them through their day. Where’s the line between normal indulgence and chronic “abuse” of food? And what do we do when we find ourselves sliding into risky territory?
The body is designed for us to enjoy eating. Lab animals that don’t produce dopamine die because they literally won’t eat without the internal motivation-reward boost. We’re naturally drawn to the scents and textures of food, along with the associations they offer. I sometimes think about certain meals as actual memories because they opened new territory of culinary delight.
Yet, other than a cup of coffee each day, I’m careful about how I use food. A few years ago I even kicked my nightly wine habit because I thought I might feel better without it. It wasn’t until I found a healthy workaround that I reintroduced it. I wanted to make sure I was getting the benefits, without the downsides.
And there’s the rub. When is an indulgence working against us, not for us?
Even if we glean some benefit from something (e.g., an energy boost from coffee or a drop in cortisol from a piece of chocolate), do we also experience a downside? And does our habit keep us from addressing the real lifestyle or emotional roots that are causing our discomfort? Are we relying on caffeine because we refuse to take responsibility for our poor sleep habits? Are we using sugar or any other kind of food to distract ourselves from circumstances we feel afraid or powerless to deal with?
In other words, are we using food as a stand-in for better lifestyle choices and/or honest psychological inventory?
Let me add one caveat before we dig in. The biology and psychology of full blown food addiction is beyond the scope of what I’m covering here. While some of these strategies may be similar to or part of a food addiction recovery plan, the picture is more complex at that level, and I’d refer anyone who thinks they’re beyond reining in their own behaviors to food addiction professionals.
Today I’m aiming for the “gray” area between normal eating and ongoing misuse/“abuse” of food, where I think many of us can find ourselves at one point or another.
That said, here are some tips.
It’s impossible to talk about using food as a drug without looking at the genuine neurological and hormonal impacts it has on the body. The fact is, certain foods affect us more like drugs than others.
With actual drug use, we’re not operating with innate satiation signaling. But with food, our bodies have a built-in system for telling us when to eat, how much to eat and when to stop.
In our paleolithic ancestors’ time, it worked great. Today, we’ve become our own saboteurs. We’ve known for years that sugary and processed foods (those that strategically combine sugar, salt and certain fats into a triple crown disaster) are intentionally designed to override our inherent satiation signals and hyper-trip our reward systems.
Unfortunately, our own body composition can work against us—leading us deeper into a cul-de-sac of poor eating choices and behaviors. Leptin is one key hormonal player in our satiety signaling. When we’re obese, we lose leptin sensitivity, and we’re drawn to eat despite being functionally full. This is where we get into trouble and the gate is open to food dependence—a phenomenon that looks strikingly similar to chemical drug dependence in neurological scans.
The physiology here could easily be its own post, and I’ve written about these issues in the past. Suffice it here to say that it’s time to kick sugar/high carb (same deal) and processed foods to the curb. You’ll be forever waging an uphill battle with these food products. Food chemists have you by the tail. Get the monkey off your back by going cold turkey or by gradually replacing these choices with healthier ones that won’t hijack your physiology. Regular readers, you know the drill. But for any newbies, take heed.
Coffee at 6:00, 8:00, 10:00, 1:00 and 3:00? Sweetened almond milk ice cream after dinner? Paleo-branded treat on your morning break? A superfluous energy drink after a regular intensity workout? Snacking after dinner?
Routine influences our desires. If we’ve done something again and again, we come to expect it. That little insistent voice inside us feels darn well entitled. It’s like establishing Wednesday night as movie night for the kids for six months, and then telling them this Wednesday is too nice to stick with the routine. Not that it isn’t worth shifting the schedule, but good luck handling the initial rebellion.
Acknowledge the crummy ruts for what they are, and come up with something new (and healthier) to put in their place.
Identify what you’re feeling when you start raiding the cupboards or the candy machine. What’s really lacking when you pop the top off a soda? What are you trying to avoid when you’re reaching for that bag of chips?
Research shows that emotional awareness impacts our food choices. So when you start to fixate on the thought of a food or a lot of food, pay attention to what’s going on in your body, mind and environment. Observe and note for as long as you can. Get the whole 360º on that sensation. Write it down if you have to. Next time do the same thing. Keep doing it until you begin to catch that feeling before the craving hits. Then work on redirecting.
You may find patterns in those psychological triggers. Maybe they’re the ones you’d anticipate, or maybe they surprise you. Who, what, and where tend to be associated with these triggers? This doesn’t mean you can blame your unhealthy behaviors around food on someone or something else. But it begs the question: if you’re using food to self-medicate, what exactly are you trying to medicate?
Sometimes our poor lifestyle choices are a half-conscious response to stressful or otherwise unfavorable life circumstances. The Primal strategies in these cases remain the same, but a bigger set of overarching choices come into play. We should ask the questions that feel too big to ask.
Sure, you can swap a sugar-laden “chocolate” bar for 80% dark chocolate squares, real cocoa nibs or a chocolate protein shake with a little extra pure cocoa powder mixed in. You can create Primal versions of just about every favorite comfort food you can come up with.
But…
For some people, even eating anything close to the original can send them over the edge and balloon cravings rather than satiate them. These are foods where moderation has no meaning.
Be honest about all those good intentions that never stuck with a particular food or group of foods. Lose the guilt or the nagging voice that says you “should” be able to control how much of X food you eat. What’s the point? Admit that it isn’t good for you as an individual and move on. Case closed.
In Grok’s day, food was food. Beyond those involved in communal ritual or those that were simply harder to come by, food didn’t come with layers of marketing hype.
I like (real) chocolate as much as the next person, but let’s be honest. If you’d never seen an ad for chocolate of any kind and never heard a cultural reference about its “powers,” would it have the same appeal? What about chips and soda? And foods from certain mostly fast food restaurants? The list could go on here. What stories do we start to believe about certain foods that only make them seem more enticing?
Stop subjecting yourself to commercials and other advertising that encourage you to think a food offers anything other than calories and nutrients (or not). And when they do come along, call them on their bluff. Contrary to what the ad made it seem like, eating a square of Dove chocolate didn’t send me into an unbridled state of euphoria.
Some people find it helpful to eat the same thing each day for a meal or two. Research shows habituation through exposure to less food variety can encourage people to eat less. Switch it up when you get entirely bored. But over time, your body will anticipate the taste of what it comes to expect. Make the routine healthy to make it work for you.
Eating for a “hit” of some kind means we come at food for an immediate feel-good outcome. Mindfulness reminds us the real action (and enjoyment) is in the process. How we eat can very well influence what we eat.
Consciously choose what you will eat, and bring your attention fully to the food—its preparation, its presentation and your enjoyment of it. For many people, it can feel like a ritual. Mindful eating puts us in a different relationship to what we’re eating and to the act of eating itself.
If you feel drawn to foods you know you’re trying to kick, use mindfulness to get curious about what is pulling you toward making that choice. What emotions are coming into play? Research tells us that our eating plans are dictated by rational thought, but our actual eating behaviors are driven by emotion.
Stay with the instinct and the feelings tied to it, but observe it rather than identify with it. Over time, this will help you detach from your instinct and offer some emotional room to make a better choice.
When’s the last time you did something that elicited real euphoria? How long has it been since your last vacation or weekend road trip, your last massage, your last afternoon with your best friend? Do you take substantive breaks in your day to sit in the sun or walk in the moonlight? How often do you listen (or make) live music or dance or have sex or make a fool of yourself just for the fun of it? Would you be good company for Grok, or do you bore yourself these days?
When we routinely keep ourselves on too short a leash—forgoing the thrill of unplanned/planned adventures, taking for granted or never leaving meaningful time for our closest relationships, neglecting to practice hobbies, visit the places or read the books we love—we’ll settle for that cheap substitute of a food craving.
So whether you’re looking to stop abusing clearly unhealthy foods, or even primal-approved indulgences, I hope these tips can help.
That’s it for today, everyone. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject, since I know most of us have some experience with it. How do you manage the healthy use of food?
http://www.thekitchn.com/feedburnermain
As a civilized species, there are certain rituals we’ve come to adopt when it’s time to eat. I’m talking about things like washing our hands, setting out napkins, pouring glasses of water (or wine!), and indulging in some healthy conversation … perhaps by way of song.
http://www.thekitchn.com/feedburnermain
I grew up with a mother that was very ahead of her time. In the early ’80s she had turned half of our back yard into an organic vegetable garden that almost completely sustained us during the warm months of the year. With four children running around, she had lot of help harvesting. I think that my love of gardening (and vegetables) stemmed from that childhood garden. In particular I remember the snap peas, strawberries, and zucchini. The sweet, crunchy peas and juicy strawberries are fairly self explanatory, but the zucchini? Well to me it meant zucchini bread and chocolate zucchini cake, so I was a big fan.
http://www.thekitchn.com/feedburnermain
Q: Can I use loquat fruit to make vinegar? I have read you can use peaches and apricots, but I’m not sure about loquats. I have a huge 70- to 80-year-old tree in my front yard and need a few ideas on how to use this fruit.
Sent by Vicki
http://www.thekitchn.com/feedburnermain
From Apartment Therapy → Proof that Custom Isn’t Always Costly: Kitchen Upgrades That Cost About $100
Originally posted at: http://www.nerdfitness.com/
We talked Monday about why Captain America might be right in the epic battle that has come to light between two sides of the Marvel superhero universe.
Today, I want to talk about why Cap, although noble in his efforts to stick to his guns, might be a bit confused and stuck in the past.
Nothing in this world is permanent, and the only thing that is truly constant is change. The great moments of history are marked by change after change after change. I’m not just talking about our evolution as a species, but as a culture and society.
Today we still struggle with so many things that need to change. (Cough, conventional wisdom, cough.) But we’re stuck in the past, and making changes even when there is overwhelming new evidence can be brutally challenging.
Today, we explore why you need to adapt and change like Tony Stark, AKA Iron Man.
We all have deeply held beliefs that govern our lives.
Oftentimes those beliefs are things that have been passed down to us by previous generations. They are things we’re taught in school, passed onto us by our parents, or things we’ve read in books and just KNOW to be true.
Sometimes, these beliefs can be called into question when new information comes to light. When this happens, you have a few options:
Most people choose the first. From Tony Stark’s perspective, he feels like Captain America is too rigid in his beliefs despite overwhelming evidence that something needs to change. While many people have been saved thanks to superheroes, many have died as well. Can the superheroes protect the earth without massive causalities?
Funnily enough, we see this all the time here on Nerd Fitness too.
We get emails and comments from people all the time lambasting us for declaring something that goes against popular belief, even when our stance is grounded in research, experimentation, and caveats: “try this and see how your body responds.” These people feel like we are personally attacking them and their belief system, and they can’t sleep until they let us know that we’re wrong.
For example, it’s common sense and conventional wisdom that tells us, “heart healthy grains are good for us. Skipping breakfast is unhealthy. Avoiding cholesterol is smart. Oh yeah, and fat is bad.”
But what if those things aren’t true? What if there’s more to the story?
Progress can only happen throughout history if we deviate from the norm. Otherwise, we’d still all be actual cavemen. These articles and the discussion that follows can make people FURIOUS for some reason: see our articles on Personal Responsibility, Cholesterol, the Paleo Diet, Intermittent Fasting: the comments would lead you to believe we’re telling people “gravity doesn’t exist” or “you don’t need air to breathe.”
Instead of blindly accepting what conventional wisdom says and avoiding anything that says contrary, we dug in, hoping to learn more. Even if it made us uncomfortable, we’ve changed our opinion after research and experimentation (seriously, some of the articles I wrote seven years ago make me cringe).
Even now, there’s turmoil in the behavioral psychology industry because
“motivation” MIGHT NOT BE so clear cut! Many are burying their heads in the sand, because they have staked their careers on that belief.
We’re doing the opposite: trying to instill a love for new information and changing our thoughts based on new evidence. A love for learning we’re wrong. It’s an opportunity to learn, to grow, and to shake up our foundation.
Like Tony Stark, we want to think like scientists: nobody has all the answers. We need to be open to change if we’re going to improve, and some of those discussions or changes can make us uncomfortable.
We need to become comfortable with being uncomfortable if we are going to grow.
Within this Civil War movie, Tony Stark doesn’t think the Superhero Registration Act is perfect.
In fact, he knows there are plenty of problems with all members of the superhero community being forced to become registered government agents.
However, he’s come to the conclusion that by working WITH the government, he can enact more change than if he decides to fight it tooth and nail from the outside where he’d be an outlaw like Captain America.
So he does his best to improve things by working WITH the powers that be.
Are there instances where it’s better for you to “join them” rather than “beat them”? Sure, taking a stand often feels like the most empowering thing, being a watchdog and agent of change within the system can do the most good.
Sometimes we urge you to drop the negative people in your life. But oftentimes, the solution is to BE the role model and make changes in the culture of your own family and friends.
By choosing to opt out of the game, you lose your power to help people. If you swear off friends and family and simply yell at them that they’re wrong, you not only lose the power to help them, but also a potentially awesome support team that could’ve been unlocked.
You will never know everything. You might be wrong about a lot of things. In fact, at this moment we all believe a good percentage of stuff that’s just wrong. In fact, some things you have believed your WHOLE life might be called into question by next year.
How will you respond?
Will you bury your head in the sand and make sure you don’t have to hear the new truth? Will that new truth make you question your foundation and cause a panic attack?
Or are you a scientist like Tony Stark – truth first?
Are you actively looking for ways to disprove things you know to be true? Conventional wisdom isn’t right all the time, and just because has been done the same way forever doesn’t mean it needs to be done that way forever. Change happens. New events bring new details to light.
I’d love to hear from you. What’s one deeply held belief that you have changed your mind on in the past?
I’ll start:
I used to believe that breakfast was the most important meal of the day. That it was necessary to eat when I woke up to “stoke the metabolic fires.” And then I did the research. I haven’t eaten breakfast in two years! I’m healthier, happier, stronger, and more productive than ever. Breakfast doesn’t work for me. It might work for others, but it’s not the savior I thought it was. In fact, I regularly skip meals or go 24 hours without eating, as fasting has been really helpful for my healthy journey.
Your turn:
What’s something you have changed your mind on since starting your journey to a healthier life?
How did others in your life respond when you made these changes?
And keep an eye out for a Civil War Workout on Monday!
-Steve
###
http://www.thekitchn.com/feedburnermain
• $28
We’re betting that actress Reese Witherspoon knows a thing or two about summer entertaining, thanks to being raised with a big dose of Southern hospitality in New Orleans. That’s why it comes as no surprise that this adorable lemon-printed tray comes from Witherspoon’s company, Draper James.
Originally Posted At: https://breakingmuscle.com/feed/rss
This month, the coaches of Breaking Muscle UK were asked to consider strength as the focus of our articles. This is pretty easy for me to cover as a recipe contributor, as my advice for building strength is simple: fuel your workouts properly to get the best results in the gym.
For now classes are 6pm and 640pm at 2840 Wildwood st in the Boise Cloggers studio.
Book your class NOW!
click this ==>
