Nourishing Flourishing

*** Check out below for the (in)famous Ghetto Fridge! ***

I don’t know about you, but I am dreaming of a tropical vacation right about…now. And surprisingly, we actually get one this summer!  (We don’t often justify trips like that, but this is a unique situation.) As I’m reflecting on our recent trip to San Diego, I know I need to begin mentally preparing myself for our special adventure in July. Yes. Already. Because I really, really, really don’t want to deal with another epic fail like last time! (<– My bad, body. My bad.) In line with the other Traveling Healthy post, here are some of the techniques that I usually employ, and always work for me when I actually make use of them… Ah, life. Always learning from you.

Prepare and bring what you can.

The first things I pack when we head out on a trip are: nuts, dried fruit, whole grain crackers, and hummus, along with crudités (<– classy way of saying, “finger-food vegetables”) for dipping and munching, like carrot sticks, celery sticks, sliced bell peppers (organic please), and grape or cherry tomatoes (aka nature’s candy). We also bring airport-friendly options like prepackaged, small servings of nut butters, whole apples, pears, bananas, Larabars, sandwiches, simple and healthy trail mix, and sunflower seeds.

One of the hardest things about travel for me is not getting the amount of greens I need/want/am used to. If you are worried you might not be able to access vegetables as easily, bring a dry packet like Amazing Grass. Same goes for protein – if you think you might not be able to get enough, bring a baggie of powder. These keep well and can be adapted easily to whatever you have access to, even if it’s just adding straight-up H20.

I hope you see potential here.

Take advantage of “opportunities”…

I’m just going to be honest with you guys: I am a terrible, terrible, notorious mooch. If I stay at a hotel and they have fruit in the lobby – guess what? At least a serving of it is going to be gone in about 5 minutes (or as long as it takes me to stuff some in my purse/hands). I am shameless. Sorry. I blame my grandmother. She would go to buffets and fill her purse with muffins, napkins…even salt and pepper shakers. When we tried to encourage some deceny, she would wave us off and in her thick Spanish accent pronounce, “Ey, we paid for it!” True that, Grandma. True that.

Random related story:
When my dad helped me move during college, we stayed at a nearby hotel until the dorms opened. I should note, my dad and I have wayyy too much fun together. We love coffee. We love treats. We love laughing. We love laughing, drinking coffee, and eating treats together. And when they had such a nice lobby, and endless free coffee…and then set out a plate of fresh-out-of-the-oven cookies… Well, what did they expect us to do?! We were there for about 3 hours. Literally. Coffee. Refill. Laughing. Cookie. Refill. Laughing. Laughing. Cookie refill. Laughing. Scowl from front desk employee. (His name was Luke. We remember these things.)

My dad went back and stayed a few times when he came to visit me.

They don’t put cookies out anymore…

Find a grocery store or market nearby

Does the city you are staying in have a farmer’s market? An easy google search should tell you. You might be surprised at what foods you can find, and what a treat this local experience can be. Bonus: you get exercise at farmers’ markets! This is a fantastic option if you can’t find a grocery store nearby.

As you already know, this was (supposed to be) the highlight of our trip to San Diego: TRADER JOE’S! Once you find one, go and stock up on healthy snacks, and less perishable items. Or, even perishable ones — I have never had a problem with keeping vegetables and fruits cool in a hotel room. Which leads me to…

Be creative

Let me tell you about my system. I can’t make any promises about its safety… but I can promise that it is ghetto and works. And by works I mean…”saves me a ton of money.”

You know that ice bucket that’s so fun to fill? (Just me? Always my favorite part of traveling as a child.) Go fill the plastic bags inside of it. Tie the ends. Place leftover food from dining out on top. Bam. Instant refrigerator! Or, if you go out, and buy almost more food than you can carry (despite being super strong, obviously), and need to live off it without a fridge for several days… Think big. And improvise:

The Shamelessly Cheap Hobo Hotel Fridge:

1) Use plastic bags (you can recycle them later) to carry some of your groceries.
2) Sneakily creep out of your room, and nonchalantly fill bags using the ice maker.
3) Act like nothing weird is happening.
4) Keep filling bags…
5) Say, “Oh, yes, thank you!” to the kind woman doing the hotel’s housekeeping, when she offers you a GIANT plastic trash bag.
6) Transfer all ice to said bag.
7) Strategically cover food with ice in bag.
8 ) Loosely tie ends and place in bathtub (which, lets be honest, you hardly use anyway…).
9) Relish your genius. And (now refrigerated) hummus.
10) Replace ice as needed.
11) WIN.

Just take it out when you need to shower, and make sure things stay cold. We changed the ice during the morning and evening. And you know what? We ate like kings queens royalty of some variety.

Any tips you have to share? Are you awkward and moochy too?

Before I post the next part of the Traveling Healthy series, I wanted to give a little preview or backstory to a couple of the forthcoming tips…

When you are hungry, sick, tired, food-limited (due to allergies or otherwise), and haven’t had a real meal in about 24 hours, this is what to do:

1. Don’t despair and drive yourself crazy.

2. Choose to be positive and make a game plan. (Consult a concierge. They’re nice, but be ready to be eyebrow-raised at, you with your messy hair, legging-attire, and desperation for cheap healthy food. Psh. Weirdo.)

3. Lace up. Head out, map and trolley info in hand.

4. Don’t forget that everything is an adventure! See challenges as opportunities.

6. Ask questions. Lots of questions. Be the Annoying Question Person. (Looking helpless is a bonus here.)

7. Grocery shop painfully slowly, but with careful attention to your hotel room’s capabilities.

8. Make friends in the check-out aisle. Talk philosophy with them. Maybe get an idea of the area you’re in now, since, you know…you have no clue.

9. Walk another few miles to another store. Remember that this is supposed to be Narnia.

10. Stock up further. Be sure you can carry what you buy.

11. Carry what you bought another few miles. (We’re up to 50 lbs now.)

12. Ask more (obvious) questions. Jump onto a few different modes of transportation.

13. Don’t flip out when a huge bag of your goods spills out all over the bus when the driver thinks it will be funny to make the out-of-towner idiot look like…an out-of-towner idiot. Instead, laugh and scramble for the coconut milk cans. And thank the kind people assisting you.

14. Awkwardly sneak back into the super classy hotel looking hot, sweaty, and like a bag lady.

15. Collapse on hotel room floor.

16. Rejoice in your awesomeness, epic success, and sweet bounty.

You #win.

Let me know your triumph over a tricky situation. The rest of this story is on its way…

So, after the last few posts on Healthy Eating 101, specifically those related to groceries, I got to thinking… After having multiple friends and family members ask me about how they can try to start shopping more healthfully, I think a shorter, more summarized post might be helpful. Though the other posts covered this in-depth, I thought (especially after yesterdays long-winded and photo-filled post), that perhaps I would offer just my overarching guides in a concise format. There are obviously a lot of details that I could share about these, but I wanted to just touch on them, which is why I have a few bullet points under each.

The Big 5 For Shopping:

1. Whole, real foods – mostly plants that are as fresh as possible

- If you have trouble finding fresh produce, just got to the frozen section. It’s a marginal difference in nutrition and money, so please be good to yourself and yours by eating foods that will nourish your flourishing < 3

- If for some reason either of those options won’t work, canned is a possibility. (However, there has been growing concern about the BPAs that are leeched from the linings in these cans.)

2. Focus on produce, bulk bin dried beans, lentils, legumes, whole grains, seeds, nuts, and lean proteins.

- Remember, beans are as low as $.50/lb. Quinoa is a complete vegetarian protein (contains all necessary amino acids), and legumes, lentils, and peas are excellent sources for “beefing up” a dish (without the beef….get it?).

- We truly cut our spending in half when we started buying from bulk sections. And, we ended up shopping the bulk sales and introducing fun, nutritious new foods into our diet. Win-win.

3. Don’t buy white flour (if it doesn’t say “whole wheat” or “whole grain” it is almost always white), refined sugar, additives, “processed” or hydrogenated anything.

- The real heart of the matter here is simply that you can’t trust labels. Sorry! Example: If the it says, “Zero Grams Trans Fat” or “Trans Fat-Free,” it can still contain up to .5 grams. Bleh.

- Did you know white flour is literally bleached? As in, treated with chlorine or peroxide or…worse? Again, bleh. Would not drink chemicals like these…why eat them?

- Labels are not infallible, and frankly, they are usually designed to deceive us into consuming their product. Try to make as much of your food as you can.

- If there’s anything remotely suspicious (“wheat flour,” “maltose syrup,” “natural flavoring” [not a  dealbreaker, just be careful -- often MSG, etc.],”corn sugar,” etc.), put it back on the shelf!

4. With packaged foods especially, if there are any added ingredients, try to limit them to 5-10. (Maybe start higher and work your way down; the key is to get into a rhythm of eating less processed food.)

5. With any foods, those ingredients should be natural, you should know what they are, why they are there, the possible effects they could bring, and be able to pronounce them. (Even if you disregard 4, hold strong to this guy. He speaks truth.)

- I can’t explain these further — I think the last two speak for themselves! : ) Know your food!

While I certainly realize that taking all 5 of these on at once after eating a very different way for years or a lifetime would be overwhelming, they are “reaching points” to work toward over time. Perhaps you already do all this. Perhaps you do it most of the time. Perhaps you want to start with one of them. Either way — more power to you! Figure out what you’re able to do in the present, and keep stretching to include more whole foods in your diet. Over time, you will naturally turn this habit into a lifestyle : )

Any other tips that don’t fall under these guides?

What has your experience been with transitioning into healthier shopping?

(TGIF!!!)

Happy Tuesday! You can find the recap of Eating Healthy 101 here. It offers 5 simple guidelines to kickstart a healthy eating lifestyle. This is the next step towards realization: acquiring the skills, habits, and items for nourishing your flourishing. Maybe you already have this down — then please leave us a comment and share your techniques! :  ) I love learning more about how to get the most health out of my dolla’.

Here are some steps for shopping for health:

Main thing: BE PREPARED + DO YOUR RESEARCH

1) Avoid creepers. Know your stores.

2) Know your deals.

• I know when Double Ad day is (the former and present week’s deals overlap) at Store 1, which saves us serious cash. Thus, I prep my list the night before by checking out the main stores’ advertisements online, and plan where to get what. It takes me 15 minutes, and it saves me so much time, money, and hassle having a strategy.

• Always keep track of the Unit Price – that handy little white box on the price tag that tells you how much per oz., per lb., etc. Keep in mind, though, that sometimes you get what you pay for – make sure the ingredients are the same from item to item when comparing Unit Price (e.g., if one has added water/sugar/etc., it will probably be less per oz., but with less of the actual food inside). I am willing to pay a tiny bit more to avoid preservatives and fillers! Gross.

3) Have a strategy. Make a plan for what items are needed and where to get them. Even list from section/aisle. Keep all items in the perimeter of the store – skip the middle aisles/“dry foods” – aka junk foods – aisles. Bulk bins, produce, refrigerated, check out. Done. (If you have kids, this is the best way to avoid tantrums, as a bonus!)

4) Have a budget. Even if you are a multi-millionare, you still need a budget. A budget keeps us from impulse buys and unnecessary junk filling up counters and landfills. Keep it simple. We budget for 2 weeks instead of a month, because for some reason that feels less overwhelming. What can I say? I get kind of competitive with myself when I try to save money… I know. I’m insane. It’s cool.

Budgeting is also helpful to evaluate our lives at times, as usually our money reflects our values (not just in groceries, but in general). Most of our grocery money goes toward organic products that support (nourish) flourishing ecosystems and (often) small farms. We prioritize this in our overall budget so that we are in position to do this (e.g., we choose not to dine out except for family events, which gives us room to buy [at times marginally more expensive] fair-trade and organic groceries). Of course, not everyone is able to do this, and each person has to make his or her own call. Work within your limitations to do the best you can – stay frugal, simple, and strive to put your money where your own values are – whatever that looks like.

However, as my next Eating Healthy post will show, you do not have to spend a lot of money to buy healthy foods, or organic! ;  )

What are your shopping tips and tricks? Do you spend a lot on groceries? Do you do farmers’ markets, CSAs, supermarkets?

For the next part in that Healthy Eating 101 series, I plan to offer some ideas for shopping healthfully on a budget. Today is my grocery day, so I think this is a good timeto share something related…. I have a confession. Grocery shopping is something I love to do. I love talking with to people, hunting for a deal, and the the experience of feeling, sniffing, examining, and appreciating beautiful produce that is on sale. I sound like a nutcase. I know.

I also enjoy helping people who timidly approach me, assuming that I actually know about things… For some reason – especially in the bulk aisles – strangers come up to me and ask, “Do you know what this is? Is this healthy?” Maybe that’s just Colorado friendliness/trust, or maybe the weirdo fondling kale and smelling the whole coffee section as if she were in a provocative Folgers commercial seems like a harmlessly eccentric person to approach.

Smelling coffee like a weirdo

At the least, it’s always entertaining to ask The Crazy about quinoa. And I enthusiastically oblige with nutrition stats.

I also get a kick out of the random guys that creep grocery stores (especially, I’ve noticed, the markets near college campuses, aka Pretty Young Things. Just saying.) Yes, creepers.

Nice folks, just a little…misguided.They come up, make a witty comment about the 10 lbs of apples I am juggling with my 4 jars of nutbutters, and then try to strike up a conversation…

Creeper 1: “Oh man, so you like apples too?!”

Me: “Um….yep. Keeps the doctor away and all… Heh. Welp, I better — ”

Creeper 1: “– Keep talking to me? I know. I get that a lot. Must be because I won the mountain-biking-gorilla-taming Awesomest Dude in the Universe Championship last year. Kind of a big deal. So you don’t eat gluten, huh? I saw you in the Special Foods aisle for like, 20 minutes.”

Me: “Yeah… — wait, you were watchi—?“

Creeper 1: “–That’s funny, me too!!! I bet we have, like, 10 billion other things in common!!! Let’s talk about them all in excruciating detail!” (Plants feet firmly to one spot. Blocks my path. Doesn’t read body language that screams “SET ME FREE!”)

True story. I know that this is something that happens frequently. Other young ladies have told me similar stories, and I’ve watched them in action as well. Plus, there is no way my life is that strange – because it seriously happens every week. I’m starting to wonder if it’s the same dude, just disguising himself differently each week.

Moral of the Story: Always keep an escape in mind. Use your cart as a barricade. Keep all creepers a safe cart distance away, and move your cart as he attempts to maneuver around you. Also, a pretend phone call is usually the fastest way out. Happy Shopping!

While most things I post are recipes, I frequently have people ask me for advice on how to start eating healthier. I wanted to do this little guide for those individuals. If you are already have an amazing balanced diet, this may seem like old hat (apparently, I’m an 80 year old woman, or I just stole her vocabulary). Or maybe it will just be a refresher…Be sure to leave your tips in the comments, especially if you think I made an egregious omission :  )

Cleaning Up Your Diet

Transitioning into the “eating” portion of a healthy lifestyle is simple in essence: Eat whole foods. Count calories if you are struggling to get to a healthy weight. Make sure you use all the energy (calories) you consume. Eventually get a general feel for how to maintain a balance between eating and moving, and transition into maintenance mode when at your feel good weight. But in practice, this can be very difficult!

Difficult: When you are hiking and your legs plunge into the 6ft wall of snow.

Here are 5 basics that helped guide me as I started to develop healthier eating habits – these are some first steps to help get you out the door (note that I am certainly not trying to oversimplify things, or overwhelm — maybe choose one or two of these steps and gradually work your way into the others):

• Learn how many calories you need. This is easy. This is useful regardless of your weight (for most people, not those with an ED of course), and can help you to gauge if you are meeting your needs (or in some cases exceeding them).

• If you need to lose weight for your health, reduce that number by 15-20%. That is how many calories to allot for each day.
  • I think it can be helpful to break it up into increments: three more calorie-dense meals, and two snacks, etc.
  • Get acquainted with how many calories are in the foods you will be eating. A great place to check out, until you get a general sense of things, is Calorie King.

• Don’t rely on packaged foods – firstly, they are generally inaccurately labeled, but more importantly, they are almost always over-processed. If you choose to include processed foods, follow the 5 guides (post coming soon!). Which leads me to…

• Leave Behind: (try letting go of just one at a time and ease your way in, perhaps)
  • bleached flour (if it only says “Enriched flour,” or “Wheat flour,” guess what? It’s bleached. Literally. Bleached. Gross.)
  • white sugar/high-fructose corn syrup (did you know we consume 71 lbs of h.f.c.s. each year PER PERSON?!)
  • hydrogenated and semi-hydrogenated anything – check ingredients to be sure
  • fake cheese
    • Use real cheese. Please. For the love of everything holy, please just use the real cheese. It can be reduced fat. But make it real. Not plastic “pasteurized processed cheese product.” I promise it tastes better and it is about 1000x better for you!
  • additives and un-natural preservatives. When you are beginning, just look for weird chemicals. Here is a common offender list to keep your eyes out for:
    • Anything that is a color, and/or a number (e.g., Red 27, Blue Lake #4, etc.)
    • Anything like “Potassium Sorbate,” or chemicals you can’t pronounce easily ( = Yellow 5, benzoate, nitrates, butylated hydroxyanisole, etc. These are related to cancer and other ill-effects)

• Eat more plants.
  • Add one more serving a day than you presently eat, and move it up to another after you’ve hit your groove. Eventually shoot for 3-4 vegetable servings and 1-2 fruit servings a day.

I think the biggest hurdle for feeling better/being healthier is eliminating the overly-processed carbs, which are hugely instrumental in the onset of diabetes: white flour, refined sugar, etc. Those are the things that are also really addictive to our bodies, and make us ride a roller coaster of sugar highs and lows (yes, refined carbs = crack high to comatose in about 1 hour flat). So, give those suckers a rest (and your pancreas while you’re at it), and move a little more. Walk. Dance to Neil Diamond. Run with dogs/kids/imaginary friends. You know — go play!

If you are working on any of these (or will be soon) let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear you thoughts :  )