As I prepare for my Passover seder tomorrow, I am thinking about the metaphors for this season.
We are asked to remove the "chametz", or leavened foods from our homes, and only eat unleavened foods for 8 days. There are rituals for removing these foods, and the crumbs and leftovers of them in our cabinets, fridge and storage places.
What would you like to leave behind, with your chametz this season?
Jews were slaves in Egypt, in Hebrew "the narrow place". The theme is freedom from slavery. Where in your life are you still in a "narrow place"? To what are you still enslaved? Money, power, food, control, being right in your relationships? How can you change that, to be more free?
Sunday, April 17, 2011
One more pet peeve
The new "Wendy's" ad, for NATURAL CUT FRENCH FRIES WITH SEA SALT. Yikes! What is natural cut? They are potatoes, after all, however you cut them they are "natural". Just fried in oil, which is fine in moderation, like all other foods.
Believe me, "sea salt" won't improve the nutritional value of these potatoes.
Believe me, "sea salt" won't improve the nutritional value of these potatoes.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
A Pet Peeve...
Advertising for food is a tricky business. When they try to make foods sound "healthy" they often really mess it up.
The latest is "farm grown" vegetables in products. Where else are vegetable grown?? They are trying to make it sound "organic" or "natural", both buzz words that people think they know. BTW, there's no such thing as "natural", not in a regulatory sense. The word when applied to food products is meaningless!
The latest is "farm grown" vegetables in products. Where else are vegetable grown?? They are trying to make it sound "organic" or "natural", both buzz words that people think they know. BTW, there's no such thing as "natural", not in a regulatory sense. The word when applied to food products is meaningless!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
How Do You Know What to Eat?
How Do You Know What To Eat?
In my experience, there are two broad categories of “eaters”. People in the first group know exactly what they really want when they are hungry. If you are one of these people, do you eat what you really want most of the time? If not, what keeps you from eating the foods you really want?
Many people tell me they want to “eat healthy” and the foods they really like aren’t healthy. My professional and personal experience is that many of these people would choose “healthy” foods if they really ate what they prefer most of the time.
So, what is “healthy” food? Many of my clients say, “I had a good day, I ate ‘healthy’ all day”. What does that really mean? For many it means low fat, small portions, lots of fruits and vegetables. As your dietitian, I’d say that’s just fine, but is it what you really wanted? The “best food” is not diet food, it’s what you really want and what food is in your very best interest in terms of health and your satisfaction with what you are eating. I find that cravings for foods we love just get larger when we try to control them!
People in the second category of “eaters” really have no idea what they want to eat most of the time. They may not have thought much about it or have been dieting for so long that they have forgotten what it’s like to eat the foods they really enjoy.
Dieting tells you that what you want is wrong (otherwise you wouldn’t have a weight problem!). So, many chronic dieters become so distant from their physical urges to eat the foods they love that they don’t know what they want. For many chronic dieters, the foods they love have become binge foods, or at least a major treat. In either case, they tend to overeat and lose control when eating the foods they love.
One way to begin to explore the idea of knowing what you really want to eat is to think of these four characteristics of food. The food you choose should be as close to perfect as possible in flavor, texture, color and temperature. H
In my experience, there are two broad categories of “eaters”. People in the first group know exactly what they really want when they are hungry. If you are one of these people, do you eat what you really want most of the time? If not, what keeps you from eating the foods you really want?
Many people tell me they want to “eat healthy” and the foods they really like aren’t healthy. My professional and personal experience is that many of these people would choose “healthy” foods if they really ate what they prefer most of the time.
So, what is “healthy” food? Many of my clients say, “I had a good day, I ate ‘healthy’ all day”. What does that really mean? For many it means low fat, small portions, lots of fruits and vegetables. As your dietitian, I’d say that’s just fine, but is it what you really wanted? The “best food” is not diet food, it’s what you really want and what food is in your very best interest in terms of health and your satisfaction with what you are eating. I find that cravings for foods we love just get larger when we try to control them!
People in the second category of “eaters” really have no idea what they want to eat most of the time. They may not have thought much about it or have been dieting for so long that they have forgotten what it’s like to eat the foods they really enjoy.
Dieting tells you that what you want is wrong (otherwise you wouldn’t have a weight problem!). So, many chronic dieters become so distant from their physical urges to eat the foods they love that they don’t know what they want. For many chronic dieters, the foods they love have become binge foods, or at least a major treat. In either case, they tend to overeat and lose control when eating the foods they love.
One way to begin to explore the idea of knowing what you really want to eat is to think of these four characteristics of food. The food you choose should be as close to perfect as possible in flavor, texture, color and temperature. H
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