January 2008 Archives

Get Your Day Started Right!

You have all heard it before. I'm sure Kellogg's started it. But really, the most important meal of the day? Let's not discriminate; I think ALL meals are important. No one meal is more important than any other. They're just, how should I say it ...  'different'.

Yes, I'm talking about breakfast!

The first meal of your day can be a starting point for getting in cancer 'phyters' (phytochemicals). Breakfast is also important in maintaining a healthy weight, which is imperative for healthy survivorship and in decreasing your risk for cancer. Research shows that people who are successful at maintaining their weight eat breakfast every day.

Breakfast is the meal that tells your body the day has started. When you go to bed at night, your body's metabolism slows down. However, your metabolism won't speed back up again until you have that first meal.

What is a Healthy Breakfast?

If you're one that doesn't like breakfast, you're not alone. It should be a relief to know that you don't have to only eat breakfast food in the morning. Think outside the cereal box. Who said you can't have a sandwich or soup? Or leftovers? Don't tell me you've never had pizza for breakfast!

A healthy breakfast should consist of 3-4 different food groups. Since most people don't like vegetables at breakfast, fruit is a must! I prefer that people eat their fruit rather than drink it, but 3/4 cup of 100% fruit juice can be a good back up plan when you're in a hurry.

Some examples for breakfast might be:

• 1 cup cereal with low-fat milk and 1/2 grapefruit
• Low fat granola with berries and yogurt
• 1 egg, whole wheat English muffin and strawberries
• Fruit smoothie (frozen fruit, milk, yogurt and a splash of juice)

When I'm in a hurry, here are some things I grab to eat on my way:

• Kashi granola bar and banana
• Crackers, 1 oz. low-fat cheese and a 100% juice box
• Apple and peanut butter
• String cheese and a banana

Plus, I'm NEVER without my hot tea in the morning (thanks to my husband)!

The best time to have breakfast is within 1 hour of waking up. It's OK (in fact normal) if you get hungry a few hours after eating breakfast. That just means it's time for a snack!

In the US, we tend to get stuck in a rut for breakfast. All we can think of is cereal, toast, oatmeal, eggs and McDonald's. A lot of the cereal bars on the shelf really ought to be in the candy section! The worst thing to do,though, is to NOT eat breakfast at all.

Good Morning to you!

- Julie

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Using Spices Fight Cancer

In my past blogs I have emphasized the importance of phytochemicals (which come from plant foods) in reducing risk for cancer. Spices are another great source of phytochemicals. All different types are beneficial: cinnamon, oregano, basil, curry, rosemary, ginger, etc.

Spices are plant foods and have concentrated levels of phytochemicals. That's why you get a good benefit without having to use a large volume. For those of you that are not used to cooking with spices, this blog will focus on practical ways to use Curry.

According to the American Institute of Cancer Research, scientists believe that Turmeric (a component of curry) can potentially delay the growth of colon and prostate cancers, among other types of cancer. Turmeric gives curry its yellow tint and is a member of the ginger family, another spice often used in curries.

Of course, you get the most benefit from combining cancer-fighting ingredients. So when you make this dish, be sure to include a cruciferous vegetable (broccoli, cabbage, bok choy, turnip greens, collard greens, brussel sprouts, cauliflower). Combining them with curry will give you an extra advantage!

This recipe for Tuna Curry is actually one that I use frequently. We would eat it often when I was a kid. My mom says that the recipe came from my dad. I'll have to say that I never actually saw him cook it! The version that I am giving you has my notes for altering it. I never make it the same way twice! It can be altered for vegetarian or vegan eaters or for people who don't like fish. It is actually quite accommodating and good for all!

Curry Recipe

Ingredients:

• 4 T Canola Oil (I use as much as needed in the pan to sautée the vegetables).
• 2/3 cup onion, chopped (I cut an onion, it may be more than 2/3 cup)
• 1 cup carrot, chopped (I use anything from carrots, to broccoli to asparagus, to cabbage, to spinach... whatever is around and maybe more than 1 cup).
• 1 cup celery, chopped (or other chosen vegetable; I probably use more than 1 cup)
• 1 to 1.5 Tablespoons curry powder (depending on how much food is in the pan and how spicy it is).
• 2 T flour
• 1 cup chicken broth (use veggie broth for vegetarian or vegan)
• 1.5 cups milk (use soy milk or water with corn starch mixed in for vegan)
• 2 cans tuna (I sometimes substitute with one or two packages of chopped tofu, or fresh white fish, or you could use canned chicken for the non-fish eaters).

Here's the order of business:

• Sautée oil and vegetables for 5 minutes or so on high (until they are brightly colored)
• Reduce heat to medium high and stir in curry powder; cook 1 minute
• Sprinkle flour over all and stir in.
• Add broth and milk
• Bring to boil
• Add tuna (or tofu, or fish, or chicken)
• Reduce heat and let simmer for 15 minutes or until vegetables are soft.

Serve over Brown Rice or Quinoa (found at your local healthy grocery store).

There you go! Enjoy some curry this weekend and let me know how it goes. Thank you for your continued interest in my blog. Remember, if you have friends that are interested in getting the notifications when there are new posts, just send me their email.

Have a great weekend!
- Julie

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Should I Snack?

I get the question a lot:  Is it better to have 3 meals and no snacks, or 6 small meals a day? As you may guess, there really isn't a simple answer. Here's what we know.

When it comes to weight control, the bottom line is calories-in vs. calories-out. If you eat more calories than you burn, then you will gain weight. You could do that with 3 large meals or with 6 small meals.

For general health and wellness as well as disease prevention, I think a regular eating schedule is the best bet. For me that usually involves eating breakfast within 2 hours of getting up, along with having snacks in the mid-morning before lunch and in the afternoon before dinner. Most of the time, you will need a snack if you are going more than 4 hours between meals.

We have all been in the situation where we've waited too long to eat and haven't had a snack. When it comes to the next meal you are so hungry you think you might eat your arm! Or as I say it, "my stomach is eating itself!" I try to avoid putting myself in this situation because as a result I often overeat the next meal.

Snacks can help by making sure that you don't get so hungry that you make a poor decision at your meal time.

Is There Such a Thing as a Healthy Snack?

When you choose to snack, it's important that you make a healthy choice. Of course there are many healthy snacks. However, they don't usually involve chocolate, potato chips, or ice cream. And they rarely come from a vending machine! Remember that snacking is an opportunity for you to get more healthy phytochemicals in.

From reading my blog, you probably remember that phytochemicals come from plants. So eating snacks from the fruit, vegetable, whole grain, nut or bean group will add in more phytochemicals to your day. Here are some healthy snacks that I make sure to keep at home and at work:

• Whole Grain Fig Newton's
• 100 Calorie Pop-Corn Packs
• Peanuts
• Raisins
• Fresh Fruit
• Low Sodium v8
• Yogurt
• Wasabi and Soy Sauce Almonds
• Carrots with Dip

Or you can print this list out for your fridge or work bulletin board:

Healthy Snacks.doc

Be sure to keep stocked up with your healthy snacks. When you're in a hurry and don't have a meal planned, it just takes 3 or 4 snacks and that can be your meal. Be sure to put these on your grocery list that I recommended in my previous blog and you will be set!

Happy and Healthy Snacking to You!
-Julie

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Behind the Cart

Last time I emphasized the importance of planning. Today's post is about implementing your meal plan at the grocery store.  For the best use of your time, it's best to plan out your meals and THEN make the grocery list.

I'll confess though. Sometimes I just go to the grocery store, buy some things on sale and then plan my meals after I get home. That often requires an extra trip to the grocery store on my way home from work another evening to get the extra things I need for my menu. However, when I'm not in the mood to plan, and I just want to buy some groceries, it works.

Here is a tool for planning your grocery trip. It's called The Shopping Planner. Once you've picked your meals to cook for the week, write down everything you need to get at the grocery store. The handy thing about this list is that it breaks the food up into the areas of the grocery store, so you're less likely to forget something. That makes the trip go faster too! I found it very handy last time I went grocery shopping.

Download Shopping Planner.pdf

My only problem is that the Fruits and Vegetable part wasn't long enough! So I just let them run over into the dairy section. How many dairy foods are there anyway? Milk, cheese, yogurt... I'm not sure why you need so many lines for that section!

Here are 5 grocery store tips for your next trip:

1. 90% of the products in the grocery store are NOT healthy. OK, maybe just 85%. When you pick up a product to buy, you are best to assume it's not healthy until proven otherwise. Don't be deceived by the claims on the box, those are just to get your money!
2. Mainly shop on the exterior of the grocery store, where all the "real foods" are kept. (Except for the pre-made cookie dough that for some reason sits near the eggs. What the heck are they doing there??).
3. Of course, don't shop hungry.
4. Don't buy too much. I made this mistake last week. Now I have some foods already going bad. I'd rather make an extra trip than have food go bad. To avoid this scenario... always make your plan!
5. Smile and thank the grocery check-out person!

That's all for today. Remember that on your grocery list, you should have mostly protectors and not many promoters. Looking at people's grocery carts can give you a good indicator of their health status! Start working on what meals you're going to make next week and try out the shopping planner for your grocery store trip.

Happy Shopping!
-Julie

Hopefully you have taken the challenge to cook more meals at home. Maybe you've even decided to experiment with some new foods or cooking techniques. Cooking works great when you have the time and energy to put into it. Most of us know that an abundance of time and energy is not reality. For the most part, lack of planning (not lack of time or energy!) is the biggest barrier to people eating healthy.

There are many days when I get home from work and the last thing I want to do is cook, much less think about what to cook! What helps me the most is to have the meal already planned out so that when I get home I just need to put it together. Or even better is to prepare something ahead of time, in a crock-pot or the weekend before. That way you just have to heat it up.

Here is a tool that I find handy in order to eliminate the hassle of trying to think about what to make for dinner. It's called the "meal planner". I got it from the NC government's public health department and their website called 'My Eat Smart Move More NC' (myeatsmartmovemore.com).

Download meal_planner.pdf

This sheet encourages you to keep a list of all your tried and true main dishes and sides. Often when I'm planning a week of meals, I forget what meals I like and can cook. By using this list, it makes my planning of meals for the week much quicker.

The "meal planner" is also useful when grocery shopping to make sure that you have the ingredients needed. That way if you get home one night without a meal planned, you can pick one off the list to make.

As mentioned before, lack of planning is the biggest barrier to people eating healthy. Use this meal planner as a place to start. Think of it as your index to fighting cancer!

-Julie

PS. To see my list of main dishes and sides, click here.

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So you're ready to eat healthier, right? You know what to do. You want to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, low fat proteins. Eating food prepared at home sounds like a good idea.

The problem is... you don't know how or what to cook! Hopefully this post will give you a few ideas on getting started with healthy cooking at home.

You might be surprised by my cooking history. I had to learn to cook after I got to college. Ask my mom. I had no intentions to learn to cook when I was growing up. I avoided it like the plague. My brother was the one baking cookies and selling them. He liked to cook popcorn. Me? No way!!

Then I got to college and everything was cooked for me or I ate out. About my third year at NCSU, I decided to stop eating meat. At that point I focused on getting the nutrients I needed including protein, zinc, iron, etc. I had to start cooking.

Thus started my cooking adventures and here I am 8 years later. I actually like it!! I have learned to enjoy eating many things that I hated before and also developed a taste for foods that I never knew existed.

Did you know it takes trying a new food 10-15 times before you will like it?  I guess the 10th time I tried beans in a new way, I finally started to enjoy them. Just because you haven't liked something in the past doesn't mean that you won't like it prepared a new way. I have to give credit to my Mother-in-law who taught me many new foods to try and lots of ways to prepare them.

Now that you know my cooking history, it's time to work on your own! Here is an excellent and PRACTICAL cookbook written about healthy cooking for busy people, called Lickety-Split Meals.

It's written by Zonya Foco (www.zonya.com), a dietitian that I have seen speak and is enlightening. I use this cookbook for myself and when I do classes.  Just this week I used the recipe for Mexican 5 Bean Soup. It is tasty and uses a slow-cooker so it's easy too!

You can also get many recipes online. However, it’s hard to tell if they are healthy or not. Here’s another place to start where you can be guaranteed healthy recipes: AICR’s recipe corner.

Next time I will post on meal planning and tools you can use to make it easy. So try some new recipes this weekend. Make cooking a hobby and an adventure!
- Julie

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Diet and nutrition are always hot topics when it comes to colon cancer. It's probably because the GI tract is the organ responsible for digesting and absorbing nutrients from food. It makes sense that the foods you eat would influence your risk for colon cancer and other diseases of the colon.

It's sometimes amusing what people think can make for a healthy colon. From enemas to special concoctions that you drink, there's a lot of crazy ideas out there. However, when it comes to what you should eat it's not crazy, it's just sensible.

There has been a lot of talk about fiber, red meat and folate as well as how you prepare the food. Not to worry, because I'm here to help!

Here are the basics on a diet for a healthy colon:

• Eat 8 to 10 colorful fruit and vegetable servings daily (4-5 cups)
  • Two to three pieces of fruit
  • One cup or more of vegetables with lunch AND dinner
  • 6 oz. low sodium vegetable juice
• Consume legumes (dried beans) at least 5 times per week
• Limit meats (Eat red meat no more than 1-2 x/week)
• Choose whole grains and avoid processed and refined grains/sugars
• Limit intake of whole milk products
• Include healthy fats like cold-water fish, flaxseed, walnuts, soybeans, olive oil, avocadoes
• Limit Alcohol consumption
• Don't eat charred meats
• Drink plenty of fluids, water or unsweetened beverages
• Consume 25-35g fiber daily
  • You will likely meet your fiber goal if you eat 4-5 cups of fruits and vegetables plus one serving of beans/legumes or at least two servings of whole grains each day
• Engage in daily physical activity to help achieve and maintain a healthy weight

Want to track your progress? Check out my blog on Tracking Progress and/or use the Nutrition Tracker. Feel free to post any questions in the comment section. I'll be glad to answer them.

Keep things moving!
- Julie

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Now that you've set some goals for your healthy lifestyle, it's time to pick out some ways to reward yourself. Rewards should not always be food. Actually, it's probably a good idea NOT to use food.

Many people have been rewarded with food for a majority of their life. Just think about your school classroom, good behavior is often rewarded with candy. How do you celebrate holidays or birthdays? Cake. It's all fun and games until you begin to associate the feeling of joy/happiness/job well done with the food itself.

The food becomes an emotional attachment and you begin to think that the food can give you that feeling of happiness. Often times, that is the reason that we want to eat junk food (or promoters) when we're stressed or depressed. We see the food as providing us with that feeling of happiness and love. This is termed "emotional eating". 

To redirect this habit, find a way to reward yourself that is healthy. Think of the things that you like that aren't food related. If your goal is a long term goal, then you might want to make the reward a bigger one. Don't forget to set those short term (weekly) goals. Reward the small steps with smaller rewards as you work towards the bigger goals.

Here are some examples of appropriate rewards:

• Massage or other "spa" related item.
• Health related magazine (Nutrition Action, Health, Vegetarian Times, Body & Soul).
• Clothing
• Sports Gear
• Necklace or other jewelry
• Movie tickets
• Fitness video
• Cookbook
• iTunes giftcard

Long term rewards:

• Vacation
• iPod or MP3 player

Rewarding yourself is an important way to help you reach your goals. Use an incentive to keep yourself motivated in making a healthy change and reducing your cancer risk.

Until next time, stay healthy!
Julie

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