Grocery Shopping Tips

Start by making a list and making sure you’re not hungry before you go.  Shop the perimeter of the store searching for Choose mostly foods (bread, cereal, produce, dairy) vs food products (fruit snacks, diet soda, cheese spread), with a short ingredient list. Keep the 3-3-300 Rule: 3g Saturated fat, 3 g fiber or more, less than 300 mg Sodium (140mg or less is even better). Avoid aisles you don’t need to go down.

When you reach the produce aisle make sure to include something from each color group and remember you need 5-9 servings per day.  Fill in the gaps with canned and frozen produce to keep costs down.  Just remember to look for low sodium vegetables and fruits packed in water or its own juice. In the meat aisle be sure to include fish twice a week- this can be canned. Otherwise choose lean meat:

Beef: flank steak, sirloin tip, eye of round, top round, tenderloin, top loin, rump roast, extra lean ground beef.

Poultry- white meat without skin.

Pork: tenderloin, center loin, Canadian bacon. 

Keep in mind you lose about 25% with cooking so to get a 3 oz portion buy 4 oz.

In the cereal aisle look for the first ingredient to be a whole grain.  Check the nutrition facts for at least 3 g fiber, less than 5% sodium, and 10g or less sugar. Similar rules apply to the bread aisle. Look for whole grain as first ingredient, as much as possible buy breads with 3-5g fiber per slice and 5% or less sodium. Fruits vegetables make the best snacks try them with hummus or nonfat yogurt (by itself or plain yogurt mixed with low sodium seasonings for vegetables). Choose whole grain, low fat snacks. Use caution with protein bars-check sugar. Always check serving sizes.

In the dairy aisle choose nonfat of 1% for family members over 2 years old or unsweetened dairy alternatives if you prefer.  Check the sugar content of your yogurt.  Look for added sugars. Yogurt will have naturally occurring sugars from lactose (milk sugar).

                                    Regular: 15-16g

                                    Greek: 6-9g

                                    Icelandic: 6g

Subtract these numbers from the sugars listed in the nutrition to get the grams of added sugar.

Remember that a good diet is about overall diet quality; make sure as you reach check out that the the majority of your cart is healthy real foods.  Avoid last minute temptations of breads, candy, and sweetened beverages while standing in the checkout line. 

Thriving

I'm taking a coaching class because while I feel like I've got a pretty decent grasp on the nutrition stuff sometimes imparting this knowledge is questionable. This week we had a session on thriving and I'm starting to understand why Kaiser has grabbed onto that as their mantra. How do you know you're thriving? What are the top 5-10 things that make you feel like you're thriving? Can you pay attention to this for the week, month, year and store these moments up? I know for me it is hard to identify. I know that moment I first meet a patient in rehab I light up. I want to hear their stories and see what I can do to help. I know when my mare learns something from me and I think "now we're a team!" But 8 more things? That's tough.

Take a moment and take stock of what is going well in your life. Then think what life would look like if you were thriving. Compare the two maybe think about some goals you can make to get to thriving. For me this is terrifying. I lost my mare this year, and my boyfriend left and work had a strike. The world feels so uncertain to me as I prepare to go to grad school that I just want to say I get it. It's safe here in the I don't want to make plans because they fail. So even if your one little step is to take note of what makes you thrive,do that until you feel able to take the next step. And maybe once you've got that you can say maybe this week I'll try doing a little more of x.  Until you've got yourself a few goals to work on. Baby steps. 

Thrive: to develop well or flourish

Go forth and flourish my dears.

Meal planning

1. Start by taking stock of what is in your pantry, fridge and freezer.  Use this as the basis for this week’s meals. 2. Check your calendar.  Mark days and/or meals when you know that you will need left overs or to eat out. 

 3. Choose recipes with similar ingredients and that you may already have.

          Google and Allrecipes.com can help you search for recipes that include     items you already have on hand.

     4.Be strategic in your planning.  If you     are only going to the store once in the week, plan for root vegetables and heartier fruits later in the week, and berries, leafy greens and quick spoiling items earlier in the week.  

5. Plan for snacks.

6. Make a grocery list based on what you will need.

     7. Try to keep in mind what you eat most often while you are making your list.  It may help to have extra microwaveable brown rice or wild rice, canned low        sodium beans, frozen vegetables and fruits on hand for easy to prepare meals.  

    8. When you get home prep items:

          Cut up vegetables for quick.     snacks.

          Remove tops of carrots and beets so they last longer.

9. Keep recipes with your meal plan to make thing easier during the week.

10. If it helps try keeping track of your favorite recipes.

           Group these by main entrée.       

          Mark items that you can eat for more than one day.

11. Freeze individual portions of left overs.  These can be quick lunch or dinner    options.  Remember to date and label what they are.

12. Some people find it easier to batch cook on the weekends and store things in single serve containers to eat throughout the week.

13. You can meal plan by week and just buy what you need for the week, or plan for the whole month and take advantage of buying in bulk.

 

                

A review of the numbers

Cholesterol is a waxy substance made in the liver that is found almost everywhere in the body.  It makes up cell membranes, bile to break down fat, hormones and as transporters.  Some cholesterol is needed for good health but too much can mean disaster.  Of primary importance for the heart patient is LDL cholesterol.  This is what is known as bad cholesterol and is by far the most important number to change for heart health. LDL carries the majority of the cholesterol in the blood.  LDL is designed to take cholesterol to cells that have run out.  In the ideal situation this cholesterol is used to repair membranes or make hormones, but if it is not needed LDL builds up in the bloodstream causing plaque buildup.  For every 1% reduction in LDL cholesterol you reduce your risk for developing heart disease by 2%.  For most individuals LDL cholesterol values should e less than 100 mg/dL but for those at the highest risk of heart disease the recommendation is less than 70 mg/dL. To learn more about your risk score visit:  http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/HeartAttack/HeartAttackToolsResources/Heart-Attack-Risk-Assessment_UCM_303944_Article.jsp

Statin drugs such as Lipitor or Crestor, block the creation of cholesterol in the liver itself. However,  statins alone while continuing an unhealthy lifestyle may not be enough to protect you. In fact research has shown that diet itself may be able to induce similar actions to statin drugs without side effects.   While this doesn’t mean you should stop taking your statin it does mean you should consider making some diet changes. Try the following diet strategies to decrease your LDL cholesterol:

Increase your intake of beans, oatmeal, apples, barley and prunes to increase your soluble fiber intake.  These foods can help reduce the absorption of cholesterol into your bloodstream as well as help flush them out of your body.  Shoot for 5-10g or more soluble fiber per day.  1.5 cups of cooked oatmeal provides about 6 g fiber.  For best results try steel cut oats or oat bran.

Try a handful (1.5 oz) of almonds, hazel nuts, peanuts, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts every day.  Be sure the nuts aren’t salted or sweetened and watch the portion size as these guys carry a lot of calories.

Decrease animal products (including butter) and replace with olive oil.  Shoot for 2 tbsp per day.  Instead of spreading butter on your bread, dip into olive oil and vinegar, use olive oil for salad dressings or to prepare fish and vegetables. 

Look for foods fortified with sterols and stanols which will block the absorption of cholesterol.  These can reduce bad cholesterol by 5-15%.  Some foods such as wheat bran, wheat germ, peanuts, olive oil, beans, corn, Brussel Sprouts and almonds naturally have plant sterols and stanols.  Because it is hard to get enough from foods alone, some food companies have started fortifying foods such as orange juice and margarine with them as well.  Some brands to look for include Benecol, Take Control, and Minute Maid. 

Eliminate trans fats from your diet.  These sneaky fats raise your bad cholesterol and lower your good cholesterol.  Because food companies don’t need to list them on food labels if they contain less than half a gram you will need to check the ingredients list under the food label for “partially hydrogenated oils” to completely eliminate these from your diet.

Hand trick

Over the last few weeks I've been using a calorie tracking app to see how much I've been eating. The results have been enlightening to say the least. As we age our metabolism slows and what you've always eaten can suddenly be too much. I noticed the first dip around 25 and here at 32 I'm noticing it again. Calorie tracker apps are a great way to check in with what your current intake is and can make you think twice about that second handful of nuts (or two scoop sundae at Baskin Robbins). But while having a conversation with a friend I found out that tracking portions can be difficult if you're not used to measuring portions. As a general rule of hand:

3 oz of meat or chicken is about the size of the palm of your hand ( and yes that's what you should be eating per serving)

A cup is the size of your fist

An oz is about the size of the meaty part under your thumb

A tablespoon in the size of your thumb

And 1-2 oz of nuts or dried fruit should fit into your cupped hand.

We're all somebody

Nepal

I never expected to go to Nepal. It wasn't on a life list. In fact 8 months ago I probably couldn't have found it on a map and then, 5 months ago I found myself on a plane there to do humanitarian work. There are not enough words to tell you about the experience, but it filled my heart and it changed my life. When I was preparing to go the two predominate things I was told were: you're going to get sick/worms/parasites/die there and the people are the most amazing, generous and kind souls you'll meet. Only one of those things happened. Anyone that has been to Nepal will tell you that the place is magic. But the people there are what makes it truly special. And now those kind souls have been through a terrible tragedy and I feel so heart broken and far away. Most of all I want to know what I can do. More than anything I want to get over there and do something but I know the best thing I can do is donate. Please consider giving what you can https://campaigns.choicehumanitarian.org/events/nepal-earthquake-support/e49165

I went to Nepal with CHOICE, they're an amazing organization doing what they can and have people on the ground. In the meantime, Nepal you're in my heart.

Namaste