Rewards That Don't Involve Food

As I've thought about my own struggle with weight it's become clear that I have an unhealthy relationship with food. One could reasonably say an addiction to junk food. This shouldn't be too surprising, it's well known now that food companies use flavors to hit the pleasure center of our brain, filling us with empty calories and leaving us a craving more. Our broken food system is only part of the problem for me and many others though.

For me, and I'm sure some of you and others you know as well, our unhealthy relationship with food also started in childhood when junk food was used as rewards or for special occasions. Our parents, rightly, didn't let us have these foods often, but when they did it was always a treat. We got to go out for dinner on the last day of school. We got candy for holidays. We'd get a gumball at the grocery store if we behaved well. We got cake or cupcakes for our birthdays. We got soda at big family events, like the Fourth of July picnic, or on those rare special occasions when we went out to eat. The circumstances of our treats added extra ties to the pleasure centers in our brains, above and beyond what was being created by the junk food alone. For me at least, later on in life, as I was able to make more and more of my own food choices, when I was (am) stressed out I crave those "good feeling" foods like cupcakes, cookies, brownies, chips, fast food and soda, all the more because I've treated them my whole life as a reward. So if I've had a really rough day I've "earned" that cupcake, or two.

In addition to serving "real food" to ourselves and our children, avoiding processed grains, sugars and industrial fats, I propose that we also need to re-think the mentality of junk food as a "special" treat. It is okay to have such things as a once in a rare while food - but I have come to believe that tying it to the idea of a "treat" may be as unhealthy for us as the food itself.

Foodie Fridays - Paleo Pollo Asado

Marinade Ingredients

Juice of 2 limes

Juice of 2 lemons

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup oil (I recommend olive or avocado)

1/2 cup of chopped cilantro

2 tsp. chili powder

2 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. paprika

2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 tsp. salt

Retain the limes and lemon after squeezing out the juice and cover the chicken with them if using a dish to marinate, or throw them in the bag with the chicken if using a bag. (I prefer to use a casserole dish because the acid in the citrus juice can cause chemicals to leech from plastic bags that I'd just prefer to avoid - plus a glass dish is reusable). This marinade will cover about half a chicken or 5-6 pieces of dark meat chicken. (I recommend using just dark meat, personally. Definitely use bone in and skin on cuts regardless though). Marinate for at least 30 minutes, but preferably over night.

Pollo asdo technically means grilled chicken, so if you have a grill or grill pan - cook them that way, if not then baking or cooking in a skillet will work just as well. Remove them from the marinade, but do not pat dry or otherwise try to remove any marinade that sticks to the chicken. Cook until cooked through and the citrus juices left on the skin form a crispy caramelized crust.

Foodie Fridays - Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets and Honey Mustard

I've made a commitment, in an effort to both save money and eat more healthfully (no cheats), to cook all my meals at home unless I'm out of town and unable to do so. Which means taking time to make things I'd get at fast food or out of a freezer bag from scratch. It is worth the effort, in my book, because I know all real food is going into my food and the flavor can't be beat.

One of the things I've often been tempted to just buy is chicken nuggets. Unfortunately, most conventional nuggets out of the freezer section or at the fast food place are full of gluten, fillers, hydrogenated fats and tried in unstable polyunsaturated seed oils. No thank you. So this is my real food spin on a classic.

Foodie Fridays - Stuffed Calamari

I originally posted this recipe on my old blog, hence the text in the picture, but I think it holds up. Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 large egg
1 tbsp. coconut or almond flour (gluten free or all-purpose flour will work as well)
2 oz. crab claw meat
6-7 shrimp, cooked, peeled and chopped
10-12 calamari bodies (tentacles removed)
2 green onions, chopped
1 tbsp. coconut manna (aka coconut butter)
Curry powder, sea salt to taste

Directions
Thaw and rinse your calamari bodies and set them on a plate. Beat 1 egg in a small mixing bowl, then stir in flour, chopped shrimp and crab claw meat. Then add coconut manna and green onions. Add a pinch of sea salt. Add curry powder last a little bit at a time to taste (you can always add more, you can't take it out once it's in though). The mixture should have the consistency of a thick paste or cookie dough.

Preheat oven to 350. You can try to stuff the calamari with a small spoon - but I found it easiest to just get messy and use my hands to stuff about 1 tbsp. of the mixture into each calamari. Then put them on a foil lined baking sheet, lightly salt them and then bake until firm (about 15 min). Serve them up plain, in lettuce wraps or over a salad. Make great appetizers or a nice seafood meal. Yields about 1 dozen.

What is Real Food?

The first item listed on my Crunchy To Do List was to "Just Eat Real Food", and I put it first for a reason. I know if I go crunchy in no other area of my life, just eating real food will make a tremendous difference in my well-being.

A couple years ago I had some attacks of abdominal pain that put me in the emergency room. Subsequent testing never gave me a firm answer on the source of the pain, but I was ultimately diagnosed with IBS-D. Since then I have researched several differing, but often overlapping, views on what foods would improve my health and well-being. All of the diets listed below are what I would consider to be "real food" - that is, based on whole ingredients (not processed and packaged junk) and traditional foods.

The one that ended up working best for me has been paleo, which is why paleo is included in the website address for this blog. Though I've not always been on the paleo wagon (and that's one of the reasons this blog exists - is to help keep me accountable by giving myself an audience) - the stricter I have been the better I have felt overall.

Depending on your situation one of these "real food" diets might work better for you than another  - but the common ground is clear - make pastured meat, wild caught fish, natural fats, and whole fruits and vegetables the cornerstones of your diet for better digestion, reduced inflammation, clearer skin, good energy levels, reduced disease risk and better holistic health for life. I like how Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, Liz Wolfe of Real Food Liz puts it as well.

Here is more information on all of these diets so that you can find the best option for you and your family.

Foodie Fridays - Summer Zucchini and Carrot Bread

I love squash breads! I made this recipe for the first time a couple years ago and took half the loaf to work where it got rave reviews from the other library staff. It's super moist and just about as healthy as you can get for a sweet treat (short of a piece of fresh fruit). I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

1 medium zucchini squash, grated
1 medium carrot, grated
3 eggs
1 cup gluten-free all-purpose baking mix
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 cup butter (or coconut oil) melted
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tbsp. maple syrup
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
Spices to taste (I recommend cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and ginger - I use lots of cinnamon!)

Preheat oven to 325. Grease two 4x8 loaf pans (or you can use a greased or lined muffin tin and a 9x5 loaf pan like I did). Combine sugar and eggs well. To this add melted oil (butter or coconut or both), vanilla and maple syrup. Once well blended add the dry ingredients and veggies to the mixture. The texture should be a thick, but not stiff, batter. Fill your loaf pans (or muffin tins) to about 3/4 full and then bake for 40-60 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.