For the last two months I have been eating vegetables like they’re candy; breakfast, lunch, and dinner many days.  My energy levels have been through the roof, I’ve been sleeping better, been in a better mood, and my workout performances have gotten better.  All because of a few extra nutrients and a lower glycemic load.  I’ve written posts about the different vitamins and nutrients found in the rainbow of vegetable selections at your farmer’s market and grocery store, but I didn’t mention that many of those vitamins, such as A, D, K and E are fat soluble, meaning they need to be consumed with fat in order to be fully beneficial.  

“When fat-soluble vitamins are ingested, they move from the mouth to the stomach to the small intestine. Their ability to dissolve in fat allows for their absorption: Fats are able to move across the cell walls of the small intestine and enter the body’s general circulation. Any vitamins dissolved in that fat are absorbed into the body as well. The dietary-fat vehicles carry the vitamins through the intestine, into the bloodstream, and then to the liver, where they’re stored until the body needs them.” (Layton)

When you eat vegetables make sure you get a healthy dose of fats along with them.  According to my husband, there is no better accompaniment to vegetables than organic grass-fed butter, which itself is filled with carotene and Vitamin K.  It’s as simple as a drizzle of olive oil or a dollop of butter or coconut oil, remember to avoid canola or vegetable oil.  I know eating more vegetables can be difficult, but covering them with butter makes them a little easier to swollow…and digest.

Resources:

Layton, Julia. “Discovery Health “How Does Dietary Fat Help Us Absorb Vitamins?”" Discovery Health “Health Guides” How Stuff Works. Web. 19 Oct. 2011. http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/food-nutrition/vitamin-supplements/fat-absorb-vitamins.htm.

Sisson, Mark. “Grass Fed Butter – Choosing a Better Butter.” Mark’s Daily Apple. The Blog Studio, 3 Aug. 2010. Web. 19 Oct. 2011. <http://www.marksdailyapple.com/grass-fed-butter/>.

After nearly a year with the world’s longest URL, I’ve finally cut it down.  From now on simply go to nobsnutritionandfitness.com to find your nutrition and fitness needs.  Notice, there is no www behind it!  Have a great weekend…

GO WORKOUT!

Just like pants, workouts are never one-size-fits-all.  We are all at different places when it comes to fitness but none of us are too unfit to workout.  We are meant to move, that’s why we have legs!  Fortunately all workouts can be scaled to each person’s ability.  Below I have a weeks worth of workouts that can be done with a jump rope and your own two arm and legs.  I have given three different scaling options:

Option 1: For the beginner, maybe you haven’t worked out in a while–or ever.  Work at your own pace and get the job done.

Option 2: You’ve been exercising but maybe not as intensly as you’d like, this will be a step in the right direction. 

Option 3: You’ve been exercising regularly and you’re ready to icrease your intensity.

At the age of 15  my mom told me I was eating too much fruit –and it was at that moment that I thought she had officially lost it.  Sure, sugary cereal and Twinkies are bad, but fruit?  Gimme a break…she was just looking for one more way to make me miserable.

I would imagine that is how my friend felt last night when I told her the same thing.  After 5 weeks of Paleo, she hadn’t had any weight loss.  Because of her commitment to Crossfit she was in better shape but she wanted to see that number on the scale change as well.  As always my first question was “What have you eaten today?”  She was eating lots of healthy foods throughout the day, but too many in the fruit category.

Robb Wolf, author of The Paleo Solution, suggests you stay in the range of 25-75 grams of carbohydrates per day.  Compared to the average American’s diet of 200-300 grams of carbohydrates this may seem like a “low carb diet,” but really it’s a necessary carb diet.  Your body doesn’t need more than that and giving it more than it needs is bad news.  But it’s fruit, it’s HEALTHY….. right???  It is, but it is also a carbohydrate which gets broken down to glucose when digested.    Therefore; too much fruit leads to excess glucose, which leads to fat.

excess glucose = fat

(and that’s that!)

Vegetables are also carbohydrates, but they have less  glucose per serving compared to fruit.  Therefore, filling your day with vegetables (green beans, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, etc) will keep your glucose levels lower and keep your body from storing excess fat.

When you shift from high carb to necessary carb your body will desire that sweetness or that sugar, but FIGHT IT!  That craving will go away and because you are not giving your body as much glucose , it will begin looking to another source for energy…..FAT!  That’s right, when you lower your carbohydrate intake, your body begins digging into those fat stores for that energy, reserving the glucose you eat as energy for your brain, red blood cells, and other tissues.  (Goodbye thunder thighs, jello arms, cottage cheese legs!   HALLELUJAH!)

So Lauren, what exactly does too much fruit look like?  For me, it looks like more than one serving per day (gasp, but what about the Food Pyramid ??)  Your body can get all the vitamins and nutrients it needs from vegetables.  Potassium from bananas can be found in peppers.  Looking for Vitamin C?  Eat your broccoli, baby!  When I hit a plateau, I turn to my vegetable consumption and amp it up.  I eat spinach for breakfast, cabbage for lunch, and I still live to see dinner!  If you’d like to get a more exact number so that you can stay between 25-75 grams of carbs per day (I would suggest starting yourself much closer to 75 and easing your way down), look below for a list of your favorite fruits.

The Carb Breakdown in Fruit

• 1 apple = about 18 grams of carbohydrates
• 1 orange=about 18 grams of carbohydrates
• 1 grapefruit=about 18 grams of carbohydrates
• 1 cup grapes = about 18 grams of carbohydrates
• 1 mango= about 30 grams of carbohydrates (woooow!)
• 1 banana= about 27 grams of carbohydrates (geeeeeez!)
• 1 c. strawberries= about 9 grams carbohydrates
• 1 peach= about 9 grams carbohydrates
• 1 c. blueberries= about 9 grams carbohydrates
• 1 c. black/raspberries= about 9 grams carbohydrates
• 1 c. pineapple= about 21 grams carbohydrates (ouch!)

You may have seen these cool lunch boxes, all over the internet are websites like Lunch in a Box, where fed-up Moms are packing their kids lunch in these cool Bento Boxes.  The fed up Mom who packed the lunches above happens to be my sister, the creative genius.  Lots of kids think they’re too cool to pack a lunch for school, but what if you sent them with something like this?  Here she has packed frog sandwiches on cinnamon swirl toast with bacon, fruit, trail mix, and Greek yogurt. I estimate in this lunch there are about 25 grams of protein, 65 grams of carbohydrates, and 15 grams of fat (coming from grass-fed bacon and nuts) at about 350 calories.

Compared to a normal school lunch which would be about 14 grams protein, 100 grams carbohydrates, 15 grams fat (coming from the processed meats and breads) that would be at least 664 calories, because that is the national minimum for elementary school children.  What is written on the school lunch menu may look pretty good, but on your child’s plate, it does not.  I have said it before, but I would guess that if I started eating the school lunch every day it would only take me about a week to gain 7 or 8 pounds and for my cholesterol and blood pressure to go up substantially.  Click here to learn a bit more about how the plan the menus at school.

Grown Up Lunch Box

When I saw my sister’s pictures I immediately wanted my own Bento lunchbox, but after perusing their selections I realized I was going to need something closer to the size of  a tackle box to fit my lunch.  When I take off for work in the morning I usually have my breakfast, lunch, and three snacks with me, which ends up taking up a whole shelf of our mini-refrigerator at school.  Putting together enough food for Evan and I throughout the entire day can resemble packing for a week-end camping trip.  BUT it’s very worth it.  We save money by eating from home and we always know exactly what is in our food.

Here is an example of our lunch from last week; salmon, salad, and butternut squash with vinaigrette.  It took me about 10 minutes to put this lunch together, starting with raw fish.  We buy Wild Alaskan Salmon from Costco and freeze it in individual bags for easy use.  I took a piece of defrosted salmon and put it in hot cast-iron pan with olive oil, skin side down.  When I saw that the salmon was cooked about half way through, I put a lid on the pan so that the top half of the salmon would cook.  I didn’t even have to flip it.  I did leave some space for condensation to escape so the skin of my fish stayed nice and crispy.

We also buy a big box of organic mixed greens from Costco (especially when there aren’t any at the farmer’s market).  It makes it easy to throw some on a plate to complete a meal.  As a vinaigrette, I whisked together apple cider vinegar, honey, and olive oil to my liking.  It’s easy to mix up a bottle of vinaigrette and keep it in the refrigerator for the week, just be sure to give it a good shake before you use it.  The butternut squash had already been roasted, but it would be very easy to top your salad with apples or carrots, something that doesn’t require cooking if you’re in a pinch for time.

There are lots of ways to get healthier food into your day, packing your lunch is an easy option.  I purposefully posted this on Sunday so you would have plenty of time to get prepared for the week.  May THIS week THE week you start getting healthy.

(Big breath).  Day twelve of school and how is Mrs. Bradley feeling?  Like I’ve been running a marathon at a sprint pace.  While they have been fast-paced and exhausting, those twelve days of school have been the most rewarding of my career thus far.  The kids came excited and ready to learn and my teacher-friends know that this is all teachers ever hope for.  Being a better teacher makes me a better person.  When I feel fulfilled at school, I am more fulfilled at the gym and at home as well.

During a social skills class this week we talked about self concept, which is the way you think and feel about yourself.  Our self concept is defined by the way we feel and think about ourselves socially, intellectually, emotionally, and physically.  Socially- how do you feel around others?  Do you interact easily or have to try a bit harder?  Are you always talking or sitting quietly in the corner of the room?  Intellectually-how do you feel about learning?  Are you book smart, street smart?  Do you have common sense?  Emotionally-are you happy?  Sad?  Aggressive, passive?  Lastly, physically-how do you feel in your own skin?  Do you wish you were more active?  Hate your curly hair?

Having this discussion with a bunch of high school students is always interesting.  I am always amazed by their honesty, they are much more honest with themselves than many adults.  I asked them to rate themselves on a scale of 1-5 on each of these aspects of their self concept: intellectual, social, emotional, and physical.  If they felt really good about where they are, they gave themselves a 5, if they felt bad a 1, or a 2,3,4 if they felt somewhere in between.  Today I ask you to do the same and then spend some time reflecting on why you feel the way you do.  Go ahead, rate yourself.  I’ll wait.

Are you all 5′s?  If you are, I’m jealous.  Are you all over the place? Are your ratings low?  I am especially interested in your physical self concept.  Just like my success or failure as a teacher affects my role as a coach and wife, so does your physical self concept affect other areas of your life–whether you realized it or not.  Not only does your health affect they way you feel physically, but your emotional state, your ability to learn and adapt to situations, and for many it gets in the way of the social life they would like to have.

I see many kids and adults come into Crossfit with low self concepts, maybe they’re uncoordinated, overweight, or just intimidated.  After the very first workout I can see the confidence rising and the morale improving.  After a few workouts they’re wanting to try new things because they have already accomplished more than they thought they ever would.  It only takes a few weeks for people to start viewing themselves differently, they feel comfortable, confident, and capable in their own skin.

I see the same things with my students, they experience a little success and want more.  They start off struggling, then surviving, and before long they are being successful in something they thought was bound for failure.

Is your physical self concept getting in the way of your success in other aspects of your life?  Are you afraid you’ll look dumb if you try something new?  Well, as Coach Glassman, CEO of Crossfit, said “You can’t look good and get better at the same time.” Go out and do something. NOW!

You might already be making an excuse for yourself, if this is the case, I’ve come up with some simple, yet witty solutions to your dilemma.

Top 10 Reasons People Don’t Work Out (Caution: a heavy use of sarcasm)

1. “I don’t have time.”-Unplug your television and your computer and magically there are 28 hours in the day.

2. “I don’t have the money.”-When is the last time you had to pay to go outside?

3. “I don’t know how.”- Putting one foot in front of the other is a good place to start.  Get walkin’ sister.  (If walking isn’t working see number 4).

4. “I don’t have any equipment.”-Unfortunately, there are only about 1 million activities you can do without any equipment, so I can see how you’re struggling with finding things to do. (Push up, sit up, squat, burpee, jogging, walking, crawling, jumping, dancing…)

5. “I have a toddler.”–FREE EQUIPMENT!  Put that baby on your back and squat, run, or walk….I hope you don’t mind hearing the thrill and laughter of your child in your ear while you workout.

6. “I have a bad back, knee, shoulder, hip, finger, or toe.”  -I am not a doctor, but I would venture to say that many of these muscle, tendon, ligament, or bone related injuries would improve with a little movement in your life.  If it’s really bad start in a pool or begin with yoga, increase your range of motion and then begin with more intense exercise.

7. “It’s cold outside.”- In a couple months this excuse will go to number one on the list, to this I say: workout inside. (Push up, sit up, squat, burpee,walking up and down your stairs 100 times, crawling, jumping, dancing…)  PS-you burn more calories when it’s cold!

8. “I am too fat.”- I don’t even know where to start on this one.  Baby steps.  First make changes to your diet, all of the physical activity in the world won’t help if your eating habits don’t improve.  Next, walk, do step-ups, whatever it takes to get your heart beating fast.

9.“I’m too old.”- At well over the age of 80, both of my grandmothers were still biking or going to the gym. Don’t let my grandma beat you.

10. “I don’t want to.”  This I cannot help with.  “To get what you’ve never had, you must do what you’ve never done.”  Go run, hun.

What happened to the fourth half?  I couldn’t wait long enough to get the camera out, I had to try one!  These took me ten minutes to prepare, so if you’re making excuses for not having a healthy snack TIME is not one of them!

In preparation for the upcoming work week after an entire summer of leisure, I have spent the afternoon cooking (so I don’t spend the next five days starving).  I picked up three dozen eggs at the farm earlier, as I have 30 dozen eggs to get before the end of the season.  Aside from A LOT of scrambling, what else am I going to do with these eggs?  Well, I will bake them, fry them, poach them, but today I hard-boiled them.  This makes for an easy snack that I can take with me all week-long, as well as something to add to your kid’s lunch box.

We are all familiar with deviled eggs… Satan’s gift to appetizers.  When I go to a party that is filled with grainy, sugary appetizers, I can usually count on deviled eggs to hold me over until the main course. Tonight I made deviled eggs using a little wedge of Laughing Cow Cheese and Dijon mustard added to the yolks, if I had a little pickle relish I would have added that too.  There are a thousand different ways to make deviled eggs, but mayonnaise, mustard, relish, and the egg yolk from a hard-boiled egg are the traditional ingredients, with a little dash of nutmeg.  I have many more hard-boiled eggs to experiment with this week to keep my snacks interesting and tasty. One egg has about 7 grams of protein, the perfect amount for a snack!

Since I’ve returned from vacation, I’ve had a really hard time getting out of bed anywhere before 8:30 am.  During the summer this doesn’t strike me as too early, but I failed to mention that I go to bed around 8:30 pm.   Even with 12 hours of sleep I’ve had the hardest time pulling myself out of bed.  First I blamed it on jet lag, but after a week that excuse lost it’s validity.  Then I decided I wasn’t going to blame it on anything, just pure laziness.  Then magically I got out of bed at 6:50 yesterday morning and this morning I was wide awake by 4:50!  I went to bed at the same time, if not later, but still felt more refreshed and eager to get my day started the next morning.  What is the difference?

H-Y-D-R-A-T-I-O-N

This week I have gotten back in the routine of drinking an adequate amount of water each day and it has made a huge difference.  The body looses fluid through various sources every day and must be replenished and without a sufficient amount of water, your body can’t work optimally.

So power up, sleepy head!  Remember to drink enough water today.  For ME, half my body weight in ounces is the golden number.  There are studies that show your body may work more effectively on less water, as it learns how to use it most efficiently that way.  Other studies might show more, this is just what works best for me.  Play around and see what works the best for you, but I would bet drinking a little more may leave you feeling A LOT better.

For the past two weeks I have been playing around with the almond flour cracker recipe, making it into cookies, spicy chips, and a little shell in which I could stuff anything my little heart desires.  Well, today my little heart desires fajitas.  With some leftover steak, a few veggies from the garden and an almond flour shell, I came up with a perfect little first course or appetizer!

Fajita Bowls

Ingredients:

Makes 4 (at least)

Almond flour shells:

• 1 c. almond flour
• 1 egg white
• a pinch of red pepper flakes (or more if you like it hot)
• a pinch of cayenne pepper (or more if you really like it hot)
• a pinch of salt (I’m in the pinching mood)

Fajita filling:

• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced
• 1/2 jalapeno, minced
• 1 onion, sliced
• salt
• pepper
• olive oil
• 1 piece of steak, chicken, or pork, sliced in thin strips

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Combine the almond flour shell ingredients in a bowl with your hands.
3. Put the ball of dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper and roll out with a rolling-pin until it is about 1/8-1/4 inch thick. (or, you could totally skip this part and put little balls of dough in individual ramekins and pat them out to cover the bottom and the sides of the ramekins, you pick.  The rolling-pin method will just look better.)
4. Line individual ramekins with the dough.  You may have to patch it together a bit in places…I forgive you.
5. If you rolled your dough out closer to 1/8 inch thick, put in the oven for 8 minutes.  If you rolled it out closer to 1/4 inch thick, put in the oven for 11 minutes.
6. While you are waiting for your shells to cook, heat olive oil in a skillet, after seasoning your meat with salt, pepper, and a little spice (if you like), throw your meat in the skillet and cook it until meat is close to done, then add veggies:
7. The veggies are done with they are soft and have some brown at the edges.
8. Your shells should be done and out of the oven by now.  Remove them from the ramekins and add your fajita mixture.  Top with some fresh tomatoes and a little guacamole. Buon Appetito!

For the last month I have been eating and adventuring my way across Italy,  I hope this explains my absence from the blog.  I met so many wonderful people, had so many great experiences, and ate so much great FOOD!  Now I have returned to my kitchen, and I am back to trying out recipes that I can happily munch on without any negative side effects… such as muffin tops or guilt.

A few months back I included “Almond Flour Crackers,” in one of the weekly meal plans, but this week I was reminded of the recipe by Rise, the author of www.stronger2day.com.  She made a batch and brought them to the gym and inspired me to give the recipe another try!  These crackers are so simple, so crunchy, and I dare you to find a difference between these and Triscuits….oh, minus the grain, sugar, terrible amounts of omega-6 fatty acids and zero nutrient content.  This is one of the recipes where store-bought almond flour works better than homemade, the fine power makes the crackers crispy and crunchy.  Take these along with you to snack on at work, at football practice, or while you’re sitting in I-95 traffic, they are proven to keep road rage to a dull roar. Buon Appetito!

Almond Flour Crackers

• 1 cup almond flour
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 T. spices of your choice
• salt to your taste

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
2. Mix all together with your hands!
3. Using 2 pieces of parchment paper, place the dough between them and roll the dough out to about 1/8 of an inch thick.
4. Now, you have two options, either use a round cookie cutter to make cute little spherical crackers, or use a knife to cut the dough into a grid, creating little square crackers.
5. Transfer the dough to a cookie sheet and place in the oven for 8 minutes.
6. After 8 minutes, or after the crackers are golden around the edges, remove from the oven and let cool long enough that your tongue doesn’t burn when you eat them all in one sitting.
7. Serve with humus, recipe conveniently below…

Jalapeno Humus

• 1 large can chick peas (1 lb. 13 oz)
• 2 T. white vinegar
• 1/2 jalapeno, chopped finely
• 2 T. olive oil
• 1 tsp. salt

1. In a food processor (or blender) blend all of the above ingredients together.  TA DA!

You know how your mom only let you have a couple cookies? Fortunately, you don’t have to be so mean.  These cookies are made of protein packed coconut and almond flour and get their sweetness from honey, not sugar…well, except for the occasional chocolate chip.  You can feel good about feeding your kids (and yourself) these cookies.  I didn’t experience an ounce of guilt while eating them.

Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 c. almond flour
• 1/2 c. coconut flour
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 c. shredded coconut
• 1 T. vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 6 T. melted butter**
• 1/4 c. honey
• pinch of salt.

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Mix all of the ingredients together, thoroughly.  (You can mix the dry and then the wet if you want to…I was to excited about eating cookies to do this.)
3. Roll into little flat circles about 1 1/2 inches wide. (Make them bigger if you want, just adjust the cooking time)
4. Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes.  They do not really puff up much, so you will know they are finished when they are firm in the center.

Yield: 18 small cookies

**Remember, butter is not the anti-Christ…I know it is hard information to swallow.

With a couple of months off work, summertime gives me a great opportunity to experiment with recipes and try new things.  This summer has been no exception.  I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in the kitchen creating meals with all of the fresh, local produce available right now.  Veggies can liven up old dishes, adding freshness and new flavor.  They can be added to soups, stir-fries, even WAFFLES.

Last week I posted a recipe for pancakes, but as much as I love pancakes, I love waffles even more.  Mostly because they are easier to make!  No flipping involved!  But, like pancakes made without wheat flour, good grain-free waffles are hard to come by.  This recipe for waffles is quick and easy to make and can be frozen, then popped in the toaster for a quick morning meal before you run out the door.  I used store-bought almond flour for these recipes, but if you grind up your almonds really finely, you might be able to get similar results from homemade almond flour.  I just found almond flour at the commissary for about $4 less than other grocery stores, for those of you who have access!

Almond Flour Waffles

• 1 c. almond flour
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 4 eggs
• 2 T. honey
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• Mix all ingredients together and put in the waffle iron!  Make sure you oil the waffle iron first. Yields 3 waffles.

Gardeners know that with the month of July also comes an over-abundance of squash.  My garden hasn’t begun producing too much of the squash family yet, but I have already acquired a few too many from the farmer’s market!  Fortunately, zucchini and summer squash don’t have a strong flavor and can be thrown into a lot of different dishes, even WAFFLES.  I did not get a picture of the zucchini waffles before we cleaned our plates, but they have beautiful specks of green throughout.  The zucchini also adds great moister,  we actually preferred the zucchini waffles to the regular waffles.

Zucchini Waffles

• 1/2 c. grated zucchini with liquid drained (use a towel to squeeze out liquid)
• 1 cup almond flour
• 3 eggs
• 2 T. honey
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 pinch salt

-Mix all ingredients together, if the batter seems a little thick, add some water to get it to the right consistency.  Put it in the waffle iron and go! Make sure to oil the waffle iron first. Yields 3 waffles.
**If you’re afraid your kids won’t like to see little green specks in their waffles you can run this through a blender and after you cook them I don’t think the green will be at all noticeable.

Whatever you do, don’t ruin these perfectly healthy waffles with sugary syrup. If you are going to use syrup, get real 100% maple syrup, otherwise put some frozen fruit in a pan and cook it down and add a little honey to make a fruity syrup.  Enjoy!

For years Independence Day meant a weekend at the lake with the family, podgy pies, popsicles, tubing, and Mom anxiously watching her boys light fire work, hoping for the best.  But now as a Military spouse fortunate enough to spend the Fourth with her husband, thinking of all those families who do not, my locale doesn’t really matter anymore.  Although here in Virginia, surrounded by our country’s history, I can’t help but reflect upon the struggle our country has been through to become and remain the United States of America.   Here I am, living just miles from George Washington’s boyhood home and beloved Mount Vernon, and a few short hours away from Yorktown, where the British surrendered to him in the last battle of the Revolutionary War.   It is impossible to escape the constant reminder of the struggle of our Founding Fathers to create a country rooted in democracy and lead with dignity.

The Revolutionaries battled to become the United States of America and less than 100 years later, America was nearly split again by its own Civil War.  As a lover of history, it is surreal to me to spend mornings treading the steps Lee’s Confederate line at Fredericksburg on my favorite jogging path, or imagining the struggle of Grant’s men as they crossed the Rappahannock to take the town, while crossing the bridge on my way to work.  On a drive after dusk, I can see the modern depiction of the flag rising at Mount Suribacci as the “steeple” of the National Museum of the Marine Corps rises over the trees, I get chills every time.

As if those reminder aren’t enough, I keep a portrait in my living room of General Washington, kneeling beside his horse in prayer at the Battle of Valley Forge.  Nearby, a picture of Lincoln, worn by his short term as president in the midst of war.  I’ll be honest though, nothing reminds me of the cost of freedom like that scent that lingers long after a deployment is over.  After many washes, multiple dryers sheets, that smell of the desert just won’t subside.  For those of you who don’t live with someone in the military this probably sounds strange.   Although I call it the “Iraq smell,” I’m sure the wives of men at war in Afghanistan, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, France, Germany….know exactly what I’m talking about.  It’s the scent of the blood, sweat, and tears that went into those long months of sleepless nights and constant awareness, all so that we would remain safe in our homes, miles away from the frontlines.

For the men and women in Afghanistan and Iraq, those protecting our U.S. Embassies and borders, this just another day at work.  So in the midst of our day devoted to boats, beer, and burgers, spend a moment giving thanks to the men and women working right now so that we can relax and enjoy our freedom…miles away from the frontlines.

Would you like to come to dinner at my house?  Well, then you’d better bring your own table, because mine is covered in produce.

Looking at my kitchen table right now I am thinking one of two things; either we eat A LOT of food in this house or I went a little overboard at the farmer’s market.  Actually, both are probably true.  After spending six hours yesterday cleaning, cutting, cooking, and freezing vegetables, I still have a refrigerator filled with produce, as well as five LARGE bowls overflowing with every vegetable that is currently in season, sitting on my kitchen table.  You know how some people have a lot of shoes?  I have a lot of produce.  What can I say?  I see all the different shapes, colors, and textures at the farmer’s market and I want to try them all.  I have a produce problem.

When I saw tomatoes at the FM last Saturday, I bought twelve pounds then I went back on Tuesday and bought some more.  I ate one before I even got to the car.  After getting another ten pounds this week, I made a big pot of tomato sauce to put in the freezer so we can enjoy the same freshness later on when tomatoes aren’t in season.  Along with a few onions, peppers and a big handful of basil and a pinch of salt and pepper, you don’t need any other ingredients to make a rich, fresh tomato sauce.  Tomato sauce isn’t the only thing tomatoes are good for, they also “contain the carotene lycopene, one of the most powerful natural antioxidants.” (Wikipedia).  Lycopene has been shown to protect against harmful UV rays, is it a coincidence that nature produces tomatoes during the summer, when the sun is out the most?

For the past two weeks I’ve eaten at least two tomatoes everyday…  I fry an egg and put it over a slice of tomato and let the yoke act as the sauce in my version of eggs benedict.  As a snack, I put a little sun-dried tomato and basil cheese atop a wedge of tomato with a little basil leaf.  Between two slices of tomato, I stuff a little lettuce and a lot of bacon, drizzled with some almond butter for a BLT.  But more often than not, I just pick one up and eat it like an apple.  The possibilities are endless.  Thank goodness for all of these local farmers who really know how to grow a good tomato, because mine are all still green on the vine… I’ll be lucky if I get to eat them before the rabbits do.

If you haven’t made it to your local farmer’s market yet this summer, shame on you.  Your community members are working hard to bring beautiful, DELICIOUS produce to the market each week, why would you ever choose to buy unripe, bland veggies covered in pesticides from the grocery?  Is it for the great elevator music or fluorescent lights?  Maybe the isles upon isles of processed foods filled with sugar and hydrogenated oils?  Oh wait, is it the beeping noise that you get to make all by yourself at self-checkout?  Go for a change of pace, spend your Saturday morning meandering amongst your neighbors, investing in your community.  And if you still miss the artificial flavors and walls of soda, then go back to your favorite supermarket.

Fresh Tomato-Basil Sauce

• 15 fresh, bright red tomatoes (there are kinds that do better in marinara sauce, I am told, but I never remember so I just go with the tomato that tastes the best.)
• 4 green peppers
• a handful of fresh basil
• 1 large onion
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 T. salt
• 1/2 T. pepper

1. Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of a stock pot.
2. Quarter the tomatoes (some people bother with taking off the skin, this is yet another step I skip), green peppers (remove the seeds and guts) and onions and put them in the pot.
3. Mince the garlic and throw it in the pot as well, along with the basil.
4. Let the vegetables simmer down over medium for a few hours, leave room with the lid so steam can escape.
5. After they have simmered for a long time and some of the liquid has evaporated, use a blender, food processor, or an immersion blender to puree the sauce down to your desired consistency.  I like a few chunks in my sauce.
6. Cover chicken or grilled eggplant with this sauce, don’t ruin it by putting it on refined, non-nutritious pasta.

School is out.  For most people this would mean the beginning of warm weather and pool time, for those of us south of the Mason Dixon line it was hitting 95 degrees in May, so we’re over it already.  Unfortunately Mother Nature isn’t done with it yet, so we must learn to enjoy it.  But it is hard to enjoy summer to it’s full garden harvesting, flower blooming, berry picking glory if you’re dehydrated.

I would venture to say that most Americans (including myself) spend most of their lives dehydrated and don’t even know it.  We have heard for a very long time that we need to drink eight glasses of water a day, that is 64 ounces, a HALF GALLON.  Raise your hand if you think a half gallon of water everyday is a little excessive.  If you raised your hand and you weigh less than 120 pounds, you’re right.  If you weight MORE than 120 pounds, you’re wrong,  The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies says to drink half your weight in ounces each day.  For example: if you weigh 150 pounds, you need to drink 75 ounces of water daily to stay hydrated.  So if you’re drinking 16 ounce bottles of water throughout the day, for a 150 pound person you would need to be sucking down five of those each day.

I like to learn the hard way, I did not pay much attention to my water intake until a day last fall when I came home from the gym at 5:00 pm and collapsed on the couch.  I felt TERRIBLE.  I did not want to move, my entire body felt so weak that eating dinner wasn’t even appealing.  That’s when I knew something was wrong.  And as if he had known it was going to happen eventually, my husband said “You’re dehydrated,”  very matter-of-factly, not “I told you to drink more water, woman,” but he also didn’t seem very surprised by my condition.  Being the loving man he is, he went to the store and came back with what seemed like a years worth supply of Pedialite. You know, that gross stuff you give your kids when they’ve got the squirts (more on electrolyte replacement later).

I spent the next two days drinking Pedialite and more water than I thought  possible, but when I was finally hydrated I felt MUCH better.  Based upon how good I felt, I started making hydration a priority.  Two 32 ounce water bottles daily works well for me.  If I don’t get enough I can immediately tell the next morning, I wake up with dry eyes, a dry mouth and I am not very lively.  If this sounds like they way you feel every morning, you should get up right now and get some water.  I will wait.

Now that you have your water, let’s dive into WHY it is so very important.  You have heard that you can only live like 3 days without water, but exactly what does it do?

“The largest single constituent of the human body, water, is essential for cellular homeostasis and life. It provides the solvent for biochemical reactions, is the medium for material transport, and has unique physical properties (high specific heat) to absorb metabolic heat. Water is essential to maintain vascular volume, to support the supply of nutrients to tissues, and to remove waste via the cardiovascular system and renal and hepatic clearance. Body water deficits challenge the ability of the body to maintain homeostasis during perturbations (e.g., sickness, physical exercise, or climatic stress) and can impact function and health.”

(Panel on Dietary Reference Intakes for   Electrolytes and Water)

That all sounded very geeky, let’s break it down.  Your body is made up of about 60% water, and it is ESSENTIAL for keeping a healthy equilibrium in your body.  Things are constantly changing in your environment and your body must adjust to that, water is necessary for this process.  Biochemical reactions are the processes through which molecules interact to create a product, water provides the solvent for this to happen. A biochemical reaction can also involve the breakdown of  a single molecule and the production of more than one product (SDSU).  Basically, you need water in order for the important interactions going on in your body to happen.

Just like we use rivers and oceans to transport goods, our body uses the water we drink to do the same thing.  Water is used to metabolize and transport our food through our bloodstream, to transport waste out of our bodies, as well as transporting nutrients to cells.  And that is just three of the MANY jobs water is doing in your body at this very moment.   As I am sure you knew, water also cools you down, which is pretty important considering an internal temperature that gets too high can mean kidney and liver damage, even death.

Your blood is made up of about 83% water and is imperative in the process of oxygenation, when oxygen enters the tissue of the body.  Without the correct amount of water, your blood volume decreases.  If your blood volume gets too low, so will your blood pressure.  Most people don’t seem to have much trouble with having blood pressure that is too low, but blood pressure that is too low can lead to a lack of blood and nutrients being pumped to organs and tissues. Last but not least, water is necessary for removal of waste, not only from the digestive system, but from the cardiovascular system as well.

Are you thirsty now?  Drinking enough water may be a little uncomfortable at first, but your bladder will adapt and after a few days you will feel better than you have in a long time.  If you are an extremely active athlete and lose a lot of electrolytes that need to be replaced quickly, I would suggest you stay away from the Pedialite and Gatorade/Powerade drinks because they are full of sugar.  Instead, I would suggest buying some Nuun, a fizzy electrolyte replacing supplement that  is sweetened with apple juice concentrate, as opposed to sugar, and has a very short ingredient list.

DRINK UP!

Sources

“Pattern Matching Organic Molecules.” http://www.biologylessons.sdsu.edu/classes/lab6/glossary.html. San Diego State University, 20 March 2009. Web. 23 June 2010.

Panel on Dietary Reference Intakes for Electrolytes and Water, Standing Committee on the Scientific Evaluation of Dietary Reference Intakes. “Dietary Reference Intakes for Water, Potassium, Sodium, Chloride, and Sulfate.” Washington D.C.; The National Academies Press. 2005.

It’s testing time at school, we started reviewing for the SOL tests (it stands for Standards of Learning….how ironic) as well as exams.  Mostly I’m just trying to keep their attention long enough to get a thing or two into their brains everyday.  Although a pain, these tests do give us some valuable information–whether or not our last 10 months of teaching efforts have been in vain.  As teachers we wonder this often…is what I’m doing working?

When it comes to exercising, we often ask the same questions.  “Is this working?”  Sometimes changes in our workout performances can be so minor that they don’t seem like anything at all.  Sometimes we just don’t pay attention to how far we’ve come (or haven’t come) and lose motivation to continue on.  I’ve talked about keeping a food journal before, but the same benefits can come form a workout journal.  It’s simple enough, just write down what you did, how much time it took, or how much weight you lifted.  Another useful piece of information may be how you felt during and after the workout.  By doing this, you can measure your performance by looking back over your records. 

In Crossfit we do benchmark workouts, meaning these workouts come up every- so-often so we can measure how we did this time against how we did the last time we completed the same workout.  I just completed one of these benchmarks this week and was happy to have improved my work capacity by 25%.  Without that journal I wouldn’t have been able to measure this improvement and wouldn’t have walked away with such a sense of accomplishment.  Journals can also hold you accountable, maybe it took 28 minutes to run a 5K 6 months ago, this time you can try to shave some time off the clock and improve upon your time. 

In conjunction with a food journal, you can check for correlations between the food you eat and how you feel/perform during a workout.  When I am feeling less energetic or weak, I start keeping a food journal to see how my energy correlates with the amount and quality of food I am eating.  Just 2 weeks ago I used my workout journal and food journal collaboratively to decided exactly how much protein, fat, and carbohydrates I needed to be eating each day to feel my best.  As a result, I have felt strong and energetic for the last two weeks straight, I don’t have to leave my bad and good days to luck, I can control the way I feel physically with science.  Keeping this kind of data is just one big science experiment, and who better to have as the subject than yourself? 

Maybe you don’t have a group of workout buddies, a coach, and a gym to hold you accountable, use this tool as a great substitute.  Start competing with yourself and improve your performance and your HEALTH.  If you’ve got any questions about exercising or exactly what you should do, just shoot me an e-mail, I’d be more than happy to help:  lssbradley@gmail.com

With blue eyes, pale skin, and freckles, I have always been  prime candidate for a good sunburn.  My whole life I have avoided a sun burn by slathering on sunscreen and spending hours in the sun, not realizing that I my sunblock was blocking UVB rays, which totally prevent the formation of Vitamin D.  The worst part is that most of the time I still got a sunburn.  We see Vitamin D enriched milk, cereals, supplements, etc, but what does it actually do and what is the best way to get it?

“The major biologic function of vitamin D is to maintain normal blood levels of calcium and phosphorus. Vitamin D aids in the absorption of calcium, helping to form and maintain strong bones. Recently, research also suggests vitamin D may provide protection from osteoporosis, hypertension (high blood pressure), cancer, and several autoimmune diseases. ” – Mayo Clinic

Cancer?  Isn’t that what we’re trying to AVOID with sunscreen?  The cause of Melanoma, the cancer of the skin is NOT CLEAR-that is what Mayo Clinic says on the issue.  Overexposure to sunlight or tanning beds can increase your risk for Melanoma, but there is not research that says sun exposure causes Melanoma.  As I said, it does increase your risk of cancer, so OVEREXPOSURE should be avoided.  Not ALL exposure. 

We are told by dermatologist, doctors, the American Cancer Society, and many others to make sure we wear sunscreen when out in the sun in order to avoid overexposure.  But think about it, if you are out in the sun with sunscreen, aren’t you more apt to spend MORE time in the sun?  I know during my vacations to the beach in the past, I have covered myself in SPF 50 and layed out in the sun for 8-9 hours a day, after spending the past 8 months hiding under heavy sweaters in wintery Indiana.  I was most DEFINITELY not protecting myself from overexposure to the sun.  Sunblock protects you from exposure to UVB rays, which cause the sunburn, but you’re still getting exposed to UVA rays. “UVA is the wavelength that doesn’t really burn but does stimulate the melanocytes (the pigment producing cells), which can cause melanoma.” – Dr. Michael Eades.  There are sunblocks that block both types of rays now, but while blocking UVA rays, you are also blocking the absorption of Vitamin D, which, as stated earlier can lead to many other problems.

A sunburn is your skins way of telling you “I’VE HAD ENOUGH SUN!  PLEASE COVER ME UP!”  And that aweful pain that comes along with it is your skins way of telling you “I HATE YOU!  I’M GOING TO KEEP YOU AWAKE AND MAKE A HUG FROM YOUR CHILD MORE PAINFUL THAT CHILDBIRTH!  DON’T DO THIS TO ME AGAIN!”  Trust me, I’ve heard these cries before.  It has only been recently, in the past 2 years, that I have avoided using a lot of sunscreen and increased my time in the sun.  In these two years, I have moved to the South, where I am closer to the equator and the sun is out more often, been on 5 vacations to the beach, and begun spending more time outside than I have since I was a little girl.  And what has happened?  I have had only a couple subtle sunburns that go away within a day, as opposed to the numerous, red-lobster burns I’ve experienced in the past, while using sunscreen.  What’s the difference?  I let my skin do the work for me.

During the early months of summer, I begin exposing myself to the sun for 10-15 minutes each day.  I do my stretching outside, or read a book for a few minutes, I re-introduce my skin to the sun.  My freckles start popping out, I feel refreshed and more energetic, I can literally FEEL my body soaking up those rays, and saying “Thank you!  We needed some Vitamin D after you covered us up with all those damn sweaters!”  When my skin gets warm, I cover up or head back inside.  When I am gardening, I check to see if my cheeks are pink and put on a hat when I need to.  It may sound old-fashioned, but it is makes sense. Our bodies are amazing, they have a built-in system to protect us from a harmful sunburn: a tan.  Even me, miss pale skin, freckles and blue eyes can slowly, and cautiously develop a tan. ”Those who are out in the sun a lot develop a tan.  The tan blocks UVA, so there is less of the simulation for melanoma.  Those who go into the sun occasionally – office workers who vacation at the beach for a week – use sunscreen and stay out too long, receiving way too much UVA. UVA that increases the risk for melanoma.”- Dr. Michael Eades

Even when on a short trip to the beach, you can protect yourself from a sunburn and overexposure, all the while getting the tan you came for.  During our honeymoon, my husband asked me to trust him and to go without sunscreen, as long as I promised to listen to him when he said I needed to cover up because I was getting pink..  Alright, I can do that, I said.  So, the first day I was out in the sun for maybe 20 minutes when he told me to put on a t-shirt over my bathing suit, as my shoulders were getting pink.  We went on with the rest of the day playing beach volleyball, swimming, and doing everything I would have with sunscreen, I just wore a comfy t-shirt and a baseball cap instead.  Later on in the day I threw on a pair of shorts when I saw the tops of my legs start to get pink.  It didn’t ruin my time or give me terrible tan lines, it actually made the day a lot more fun because I was constantly worried about reapplying sunscreen or getting burned. 

The next day, I was in the sun for a little longer, and the next day a little longer, and I steadily built up the best, and least painful, tan I’ve ever had.  I didn’t lose any sleep from a sunburn or spend the next 2 weeks peeling.  Instead, I enjoyed our vacation and spent the rest of the summer at home, continueing to build my tan–aka, my sun shield! There were days during vacation where I put a little sunscreen on the top of my ears and the base of my neck because I wasn’t wearing a turtle neck and ear muffs, but overall, I was able to stay protected by paying attention to my skin and throwing on a sun cover.  I am not saying that sunscreen in is the devil, but I am ALSO not saying that it is going to save you from all ailments, such as skin cancer.  Your best bet at avoiding overexposure to the sun, which is painful and can be dangerous, is to pay attention to your body’s signals; warmth and redish/pink skin. 

The sun is the absolute best way to get Vitamin D, but if you’re still worried about the risk of developing Melanoma, let me share one statistic with you.  In 2009; 8,700 people died from Melanoma, while 40,230 died from breast cancer, 32,050 died from prostate cancer, and 51,370 people died form colon cancer.  What is the connection?  Breast cancer, prostate cancer, and colon cancer are all thought to be related to a lack of sun exposure, a lack of Vitamin D.  In addition, there are 250,000-350,000 new diagnosis of multiple sclerosis each year, a disease much more common with little sun exposure.

My view is that my body wouldn’t use the sun to create Vitamin D and the 5-10 other photoproducts we synthesize from sun exposure, if it wasn’t necessary for my health.  Our body will tell us when we’ve had enough sun, the skin starts to get pink and warm and that is our cue to cover up or head inside, but avoiding it altogether will lead to a lack of Vitamin D.  Even with the use of a Vitamin D supplement, after all they are called SUPPLEMENTS, meaning they supplement the Vitamin D you are getting from the sun, they don’t replace it.  There’s nothing like the real thing!  Unfortunately, we see more commercials for sunscreen and Vitamin D-enriched products  than we do for a little kiss from the sun, that’s because no one is making money off of you getting a tan.  So go out and get a little sun, listen to your body, be smart, and you’ll feel the energetic effects of an increased about of Vitamin D in your system!

If you’d like to learn more, you can visit the sites where I gathered a lot of my information by visiting these links:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/melanoma/DS00439

http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/supplements/sunshine-superman/

http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/supplements/vitamin-d-bate-d-bunked/

Due to a power outage at school, I am working from home today.  By “working from home,” I mean catching up on laundry (long gone are the days when I could do laundry every three weeks) and trying out all of the new Indian ingredients I picked up on my last shopping trip, while watching Julia Child.  Last summer I went on a French cooking kick, I’d spend 2-3 hours making dinner and I was known to wear heals and pearls while cooking and listening to 50′s French music.

My French kick went strong for over a month, and then fizzled with the fireworks around the 4th of July, I then decided that I wanted to tackle India cuisine.  I really hadn’t ever had Indian food, but I was impressed/obsessed with the New Food Network Star Aarti Sequera’s blog and YouTube channel.  I could watch her make yummy Indian food right there in her own kitchen, without any producers or fake stuff, just her cooking the food she grew up around.  I was intrigued by the flavors of India and wanted to try them.

Well, here we are many months later and I am just beginning to experiment with Indian food.  Today I attempted a very simple chicken curry with green peppers, overall I would call it a success, after all, it didn’t suck, but it still didn’t have that wonderful dept of flavor and my chicken was dry.  Thankfully my husband will tell me it is excellent and eat the entire bowl.  The dish I am currently in the midst of preparing is Baba ganoush, which is technically an Arabic dish, but it was on Aarti Paarti, so I am making it anyways.  It consist of roasted eggplant, tahini sauce, lemon juice, and salt.

Just before I sat down to type I heard a huge boom come from my oven (huge is relative, not as big as the bombs at Quantico, but much larger than any explosion that you want coming from your oven).  I roasted the eggplant whole at 350 degrees for 51 minutes, but apparently I should have poked some holes in the side so that the steam could escape.  After it cools, I will remove the skin and put all of it in the food processor to get it all mushy and add about 1/6 c. of tahini sauce (ground sesame seeds), lemon juice, and salt to taste.  I have never had this before, but I am really looking forward to some new flavors.

When I get tired of cooking and find myself cooking boring things for dinner, I try to find a new ingredient, technique, or Food Network star to inspire me.  Face it, if we don’t like being in the kitchen, we won’t spend enough time in the kitchen preparing our families healthy, quality meals.  And if we aren’t preparing them healthy, quality meals, they will end up eating whatever they can get their hands on.  It is worth the effort.

Although I definitely haven’t perfected this recipe, it is a starting point and maybe it inspire you to try some new things.

Chicken Curry

• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 package chicken breasts, cut into tenders
• 1 T. red curry paste
• 1 T. fish sauce
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 2 green peppers, sliced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil or coconut oil

1. In a saute pan on medium heat, heat olive oil or coconut oil and cook chicken until it is just cooked through–not too cooked through because it will have more time on heat later.
2. Remove the chicken and add more oil to the pan, add onions and green peppers to the saute pan.
3. Cook until they have softened SLIGHTLY and add garlic. Let cook for 1 minute.
4. Add about 1/2 of the can of coconut milk to the pan, add 1 T. curry paste and 1 T. fish sauce.
5. Return chicken to the pan and let cook for a couple minutes.
6. Add salt and pepper and more curry paste to taste!

I think this recipe would be even better with quartered chicken, as it has more flavor than chicken breasts, you can also use beef or pork and add whatever vegetables you want!

Jamie Oliver cares enough about the health of America’s adults and children to move his entire family to the U.S. in order to bring his Food Revolution to LA.  He has made some HUGE changes in order to make our country healthier.   What have we done?  I encourage you to think about that as you watch this episode of Food Revolution.  We may not be world-renowned chefs with cute British accents, but there’s got to be SOMETHING we can do.  Post your ideas to comments.

Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution in LA

It has been a couple weeks since I’ve posted a meal plan, we have been super busy at the Bradley household–mostly with visitors, sinuses, and upper respiratory infections!  I haven’t been able to taste food in over a week, so cooking it really wasn’t high on my priority list!  The week before last, we did have a great visit from my sister, her husband, and their 4 beautiful children.  We went to DC, played at the park, watched movies and ate good food.  It was a great trip, I hope the kids enjoyed it as much as we did!

This week’s menu is simple, not a lot of prep work, not a huge shopping list, and you shouldn’t spend much time cooking.  It consist of 5 week night meals to get you through the week.  Hopefully the weather will be beautiful and you can spend all of your extra time outside, not in the kitchen!

April 18-23 Meal Plan