I hate tabloid magazines. But this month, when I saw Mariah Carey flashing her new willowy self on the cover of US, I had to take a peek. Great weight loss stories fascinate me, especially when they are celebrities. I always wonder if they did it the honorable way, by eating healthy and exercising, or if they went under the knife and vacuum.
From what I could tell, Mariah seems legit. The three-page spread included an interview, as well as her current exercise and menu plan. It took two years for her to slim down. I think this is because she works out by water aerobics every day. No heavy lifting or high intensity cardio. Swimming is the best workout for your body, because it doesn't hurt it; but it doesn't always help you lose weight. In my opinion, the key to her weight loss was her diet.
The Mariah diet. It's not low carb. Rather, she strategically plans her carbs. And she eats the right carbs. In the morning, she eats fruit and yogurt. For a mid-morning snack, she eats olives. For lunch, she has chicken and veggies. For an afternoon snack, a sweet potato. For dinner, brown rice and veggies. She uses very light oil and lemon and salt and pepper to season her food, no butter. She also drinks three liters of water every day.
At a time when so many celebrities bullshit about their weight loss plans, I truly admire Mariah Carey for pioneering the healthy eating campaign. There's such a good message here. Don't diet. Change your lifestyle.
It works too. After reading the article, I started watching when I ate my carbs. I found that if I mixed some almonds in my oatmeal, I did feel uncomfortably full. This is because the body uses different enzymes to digest proteins and carbs; when you eat both at once, you overwork yourself. I also started to think about alternatives, not eating carbs at every meal. Instead, I substitute rice with tofu or soy cheese. I felt less full, more awake, and more mobile.
Above all, Mariah's diet respects the fact that our bodies want REAL FOOD, not processed crap that comes in boxes.
I hate her music, but I'm loving her mantra.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Friday, April 18, 2008
sweet substitutes
Is it just me, or does everyone go grocery shopping on the weekends? I try to steer clear of my local whole foods. But if I end up going, it's like fighting a war to get through the aisles. Kids run screaming from their shopping carts, nearly knocking me over. Their parents glare at me, like it's my fault. And there's always someone hovering right in front of whatever I need on the shelf. By the time my cart is full, I want a treat for all my hard work. As you know, I can't eat refined sugar. So over the past few years, I've tested out the healthy junk food available at Whole Foods. See below... the healthiest and tastiest of them all. If you end up at the store this weekend, think about picking something up.
Amazake Almond Shakes
They are expensive, usually around 2.99 a bottle, but worth it. They taste like milkshakes, and are made of only almonds and rice. They fill me up; I'll drink one mid-day, instead of having a snack, and I'm good 'til dinner.
Nakd Date Bars
I found these in England. They are the best date bars I've ever eaten in my life. The brownie bars taste like real brownie. But like all date bars, they contain only dates and coca and nuts.
Wallaby Yogurt Bars
Wallaby bars aren't your usual granola bars. These are made from puffed rice, yogurt, apricot, ginger and macadamias. The combination had me skeptical, especially since I've only recently begun introducing fruit into my diet. I was pleasantly surprised. These bars rock! They have a gentle, creamy sweetness to them, and are a wonderful alternative to other chocolate-laden bars. For those of you counting carbs, Dr. Atkins lists puffed rice as a super low carb grain.
Grain Sweetened Chocolate
Last Christmas, I divvied out these chips to my sugar-addicted family, and asked what they thought of the taste. It was unanimous. Everyone thought these tasted exactly like chocolate. Add a little honey and nuke them for thirty seconds and you have a great base for hot chocolate. You can also mix the melted chips with cold brown rice and nuts and make chocolate anthills. I am a fan of sticking them in the freezer and munching on them throughout the day, especially when pre-menstrual!
Carob Bars
Carob may be an acquired taste for some. I love these bars. They are highly caloric, but a nice substitute for chocolate when you want some late at night, but want to get a full night's rest too.
Macro Treats
These are my absolute favorite vegan cookies ever. Each cookie contains 20% of the fiber you need for one day, as well as a ton of protein. They taste amazing. They have that classic chewy texture. The only problem is the cost; they are a bit expensive. But the difference is that you aren't driven to eat an entire box of these cookies, because they are filling; and you won't be left in digestive pain either.
Fruit-Sweetened Soy Ice Cream
I can't eat this stuff, because it makes me sick, but it's a great alternative to regular ice cream. I've got my brother and sisters eating it, just because they like it better. Soy ice cream is not as heavy and rich as regular ice cream. It's also packed with protein, fiber and vitamins. It doesn't get stuck in your stomach and it doesn't knock you out afterwards.
If you end up at the store this weekend, take some time to look around at what's in stock. You may find your own favorite healthy junk food. Sometimes it's just fun to look, if you have the space and the patience to deal with other shoppers. In that case, I wish you luck in battle.
Amazake Almond Shakes
They are expensive, usually around 2.99 a bottle, but worth it. They taste like milkshakes, and are made of only almonds and rice. They fill me up; I'll drink one mid-day, instead of having a snack, and I'm good 'til dinner.
Nakd Date Bars
I found these in England. They are the best date bars I've ever eaten in my life. The brownie bars taste like real brownie. But like all date bars, they contain only dates and coca and nuts.
Wallaby Yogurt Bars
Wallaby bars aren't your usual granola bars. These are made from puffed rice, yogurt, apricot, ginger and macadamias. The combination had me skeptical, especially since I've only recently begun introducing fruit into my diet. I was pleasantly surprised. These bars rock! They have a gentle, creamy sweetness to them, and are a wonderful alternative to other chocolate-laden bars. For those of you counting carbs, Dr. Atkins lists puffed rice as a super low carb grain.
Grain Sweetened Chocolate
Last Christmas, I divvied out these chips to my sugar-addicted family, and asked what they thought of the taste. It was unanimous. Everyone thought these tasted exactly like chocolate. Add a little honey and nuke them for thirty seconds and you have a great base for hot chocolate. You can also mix the melted chips with cold brown rice and nuts and make chocolate anthills. I am a fan of sticking them in the freezer and munching on them throughout the day, especially when pre-menstrual!
Carob Bars
Carob may be an acquired taste for some. I love these bars. They are highly caloric, but a nice substitute for chocolate when you want some late at night, but want to get a full night's rest too.
Macro Treats
These are my absolute favorite vegan cookies ever. Each cookie contains 20% of the fiber you need for one day, as well as a ton of protein. They taste amazing. They have that classic chewy texture. The only problem is the cost; they are a bit expensive. But the difference is that you aren't driven to eat an entire box of these cookies, because they are filling; and you won't be left in digestive pain either.
Fruit-Sweetened Soy Ice Cream
I can't eat this stuff, because it makes me sick, but it's a great alternative to regular ice cream. I've got my brother and sisters eating it, just because they like it better. Soy ice cream is not as heavy and rich as regular ice cream. It's also packed with protein, fiber and vitamins. It doesn't get stuck in your stomach and it doesn't knock you out afterwards.
If you end up at the store this weekend, take some time to look around at what's in stock. You may find your own favorite healthy junk food. Sometimes it's just fun to look, if you have the space and the patience to deal with other shoppers. In that case, I wish you luck in battle.
Monday, April 14, 2008
The Good Shugs
Right around the time I discovered that I had IBS, I had a huge wake up call.
One afternoon, I came home from school, suffering from the farts. In recent reading, I had learned that gas is often caused by a lack of digestive enzymes in the gut. I realized: I need yogurt! But at that stage of my fart-dom, I had yet to wean myself onto yogurt. So I chose the next best thing. Mint chocolate chip frozen yogurt.
Imagine my surprise that evening, when the ass burps grew into seismic volcanic eruptions.
I called my IBS-BFF.
"Frozen Yogurt is full of high fructose corn syrup!" she cried. "Didn't you read the label?"
"Course not."
That was the last time I didn't read a label.
Take a trip to the grocery store, or your kitchen. Count how many times you see high fructose corn syrup listed as an ingredient in your food. You will discover a conspiracy. High fructose corn syrup has taken over the American diet. It's in everything we eat. And it's one of the worst things you can put in your body. Aside from crack, of course.
What is HFCS? A super-refined, super-processed sugar made from corn. Food companies began using it as a cheap sweetener in the seventies. And as it goes, whenever the food industry cuts costs, consumers suffer in more ways than one.
HFCS carries all the same dangers as regular sugar. It burns your guts and stores as fat. It rots your teeth, depletes your body from calcium, and overworks your liver. We digest HFCS so quickly that it often leaves us feeling hungry as quickly as two hours after we eat it. We crash. Some people, like my mother, call this hypoglycemia. It's not. It's the result of a poor diet, laden with HFCS.
HFCS and other refined sugar products cause serious addiction problems. Don't believe me? Maybe you've never felt that urge for something sweet. Consider yourself a freak of nature. Studies show that refined sugars act on our body like narcotics. Not only do they numb dopamine receptors in our brain, they leave us needing more and more. Sugar is like a happy pill, but it never lets us know when we've had enough, and it only works for so long.
Think of that episode of Thirty Rock, where Liz Lemon admits to Floyd that she's eaten five doughnuts. Or the Sex and the City girls jonesing for their cointreau-laced cosmos. Or Rory and Lorelei crying into cartons of Haagen-Daz over men. Pigging out has become a routine practice to relieve heartbreak, to cheer us up.
THE GOOD SHUGS
1. Agave Syrup
2. Stevia
Both are plant based and contain significantly less sucrose than cane or beet sugar. According to nutritionists and chefs, people who suffer from IBS and diabetes can consume stevia.
3. Honey
Some kinds of honey contain more sucrose than others. Red clover is one of the ones with less sucrose. Always eat local honey. Despite the cost, it can relieve your allergies during the spring and summer time.
4. Brown Rice Syrup
5. Barley Malt Syrup
These are my favorites for baking. A necessity for the best vegan junk food.
6. Maple Syrup
7. Molasses
I use these sparingly, and only when recipes call for them. Maple syrup tends to overpower foods. Molasses can be an acquired taste. The latter adds a wonderful heavy richness to wintery breads, particularly Boston Brown Bread.
8. Fruit Juice
9. Date Sugar
Two more great for baking. Recently I've been making smoothies and breads with chopped dates and unsweetened applesauce. Together, they add the perfect amount of taste and sweetness.
10. Carob
11. Grain-Sweetened Chocolate
Some people taste carob, and feel that it's trying too hard to be chocolate. For those people, I suggest grain-sweetened chocolate. Sunspire makes grain-sweetened chocolate chips. Also, many health food stores carry grain-sweetened chocolate almonds, peanuts, and malt balls in their bulk bins. I may be a preachy vegan, but I'll pull my tail between my legs for a grain-sweetened chocolate malt ball any day.
It takes a few days to get used to natural sweeteners, especially when you've been used to refined sugar and chemicals. But it's worth it. Since I went on this diet, I have been so much more healthy. I haven't had a cold in over a year. I have energy. I am happier. Jealous friends grumble at me: "You're so thin," and "Your skin is so clear."
Here's the secret. It's pretty effin' simple. I mean, all you have to do is try.
One afternoon, I came home from school, suffering from the farts. In recent reading, I had learned that gas is often caused by a lack of digestive enzymes in the gut. I realized: I need yogurt! But at that stage of my fart-dom, I had yet to wean myself onto yogurt. So I chose the next best thing. Mint chocolate chip frozen yogurt.
Imagine my surprise that evening, when the ass burps grew into seismic volcanic eruptions.
I called my IBS-BFF.
"Frozen Yogurt is full of high fructose corn syrup!" she cried. "Didn't you read the label?"
"Course not."
That was the last time I didn't read a label.
Take a trip to the grocery store, or your kitchen. Count how many times you see high fructose corn syrup listed as an ingredient in your food. You will discover a conspiracy. High fructose corn syrup has taken over the American diet. It's in everything we eat. And it's one of the worst things you can put in your body. Aside from crack, of course.
What is HFCS? A super-refined, super-processed sugar made from corn. Food companies began using it as a cheap sweetener in the seventies. And as it goes, whenever the food industry cuts costs, consumers suffer in more ways than one.
HFCS carries all the same dangers as regular sugar. It burns your guts and stores as fat. It rots your teeth, depletes your body from calcium, and overworks your liver. We digest HFCS so quickly that it often leaves us feeling hungry as quickly as two hours after we eat it. We crash. Some people, like my mother, call this hypoglycemia. It's not. It's the result of a poor diet, laden with HFCS.
HFCS and other refined sugar products cause serious addiction problems. Don't believe me? Maybe you've never felt that urge for something sweet. Consider yourself a freak of nature. Studies show that refined sugars act on our body like narcotics. Not only do they numb dopamine receptors in our brain, they leave us needing more and more. Sugar is like a happy pill, but it never lets us know when we've had enough, and it only works for so long.
Think of that episode of Thirty Rock, where Liz Lemon admits to Floyd that she's eaten five doughnuts. Or the Sex and the City girls jonesing for their cointreau-laced cosmos. Or Rory and Lorelei crying into cartons of Haagen-Daz over men. Pigging out has become a routine practice to relieve heartbreak, to cheer us up.
I'm guilty. I'm a sugar addict too. But instead of filling my body with sugar and HFCS, I choose more natural sweeteners. Below, I give you the Farty-Girl Approved list of natural sweeteners, or The Good Shugs. Look for them in your local health food stores, and in the food products that you buy.
THE GOOD SHUGS
1. Agave Syrup
2. Stevia
Both are plant based and contain significantly less sucrose than cane or beet sugar. According to nutritionists and chefs, people who suffer from IBS and diabetes can consume stevia.
3. Honey
Some kinds of honey contain more sucrose than others. Red clover is one of the ones with less sucrose. Always eat local honey. Despite the cost, it can relieve your allergies during the spring and summer time.
4. Brown Rice Syrup
5. Barley Malt Syrup
These are my favorites for baking. A necessity for the best vegan junk food.
6. Maple Syrup
7. Molasses
I use these sparingly, and only when recipes call for them. Maple syrup tends to overpower foods. Molasses can be an acquired taste. The latter adds a wonderful heavy richness to wintery breads, particularly Boston Brown Bread.
8. Fruit Juice
9. Date Sugar
Two more great for baking. Recently I've been making smoothies and breads with chopped dates and unsweetened applesauce. Together, they add the perfect amount of taste and sweetness.
10. Carob
11. Grain-Sweetened Chocolate
Some people taste carob, and feel that it's trying too hard to be chocolate. For those people, I suggest grain-sweetened chocolate. Sunspire makes grain-sweetened chocolate chips. Also, many health food stores carry grain-sweetened chocolate almonds, peanuts, and malt balls in their bulk bins. I may be a preachy vegan, but I'll pull my tail between my legs for a grain-sweetened chocolate malt ball any day.
It takes a few days to get used to natural sweeteners, especially when you've been used to refined sugar and chemicals. But it's worth it. Since I went on this diet, I have been so much more healthy. I haven't had a cold in over a year. I have energy. I am happier. Jealous friends grumble at me: "You're so thin," and "Your skin is so clear."
Here's the secret. It's pretty effin' simple. I mean, all you have to do is try.
Monday, April 7, 2008
The Farty Girl Fast
Before I left on my ten-day trip to the UK, friends and family warned me about the food.
"It's all meat and refined carbs," they said. "You are going to starve."
I joked that I was going on a fast. As it turned out, I was right. I had never been so hungry in my life! Although it's not because the Brits are culinary retards. I was too busy to eat, trying to "see it all." I was also busy trying to find supermarkets and health food stores. Each day, I stopped in a new town. Like a cave woman, I hunched through the streets with my bag, seeking out a Tesco or Waitrose. It took a lot of time, but it was my favorite part of the whole trip.
Contrary to popular belief, UK markets and restaurants do carry lots of vegan food. They have lots of stuff that American does not have. BUT they don't carry lots of IBS-lactose intolerant-vegan food. So I had to get creative.
Take my vegan meal on the plane. The lovely people of British Airways brought me a cheesy red pepper omelet, vegan grain-sweetened cookies, a roll dewy with high fructose corn syrup, and asparagus in a hot dog roll. I ate the cookies and the asparagus. Fortunately, I had bought a bag of Stacey's pita chips before boarding, and ate those too. Always be prepared!
B&B's served the traditional English breakfast: meat, eggs, white toast, and sugary baked beans. One offered a vegetarian version, veggie sausage that smelled like hot dogs and looked like penis. Fortunately many places also offered Weetabix cereal, one of my childhood favorites. I started carrying soy milk (soya milk, as they call it) everywhere with me. In a Waitrose supermarket, I discovered German breadbaskets: whole grain breads individually wrapped in plastic and sold in a carton. What could be more perfect for my farty ass? The "brots" lasted me nearly the entire trip.
No matter where I went, I struggled to find good vegetables. They just don't have them over there. I didn't have a fresh piece of broccoli the entire time. Even the carrots tasted old. I did find good baby corns and incredible cauliflower (both from Spain, ironically). But then there was the whole mess of figuring out how to eat the veggies. There was no variety of salad dressings. I settled for French dressing, a mix of garlic and mustard, not the radioactive orange-y sludge that we have in America. But even the dressing couldn't cover up the taste of dirt and age in those vegetables.
I did discover a few UK amenities that I was sad to leave behind. Here's a quick run through of my four favorite UK foods:
1. Yogurt. Europeans make better yogurt. I'm not talking about Greek-style. This is just regular yogurt. It tasted like the French Canadian yogurt I eat at home, Liberte. It doesn't need any honey, cinnamon, fruit, nothing. It's good on its own. Kimberton's Seven Stars Yogurt is the only American yogurt I've eaten that tastes the same. On top of that, the Brits market a variety of yogurt smoothies, called "thickies." They have thickies made from yogurt, ground oats, honey, vanilla, some dates or figs, apple juice... stuff that I can eat! They even have thickies that are chocolate and sweetened with honey.
2. Vegan junk food. The Brits have mastered it. I ate chocolate date bars that tasted like real brownies, flapjacks that tasted like cake, wallaby rice bars that tasted like candy bars, and syrup waffles that tasted like real syrup waffles. All of these were made without refined sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and animal products.
3. Middle Eastern fare. In an M/S market in York, I discovered these little boxed grain and bean salads that made my trip. There was a wheatberry and couscous salad mixed with sweet potato and olive oil that was as comforting as a big bowl of macaroni and cheese. There were also hummus wraps and spinach and lentil filled pasties. Sometimes hummus and falafel can make me sick with all the spices and garlic. In the UK, they know that middle eastern food isn't all "hot" spicy; it has taste.
4. Salad Cream. I laughed my ass off when I saw this on the table of a pub where I stopped one night. I read the ingredients. It had less than 2% egg in it. What the hell. I drizzled a bit on my salad. Holy crap. It's like mayonnaise, but lighter, less tangy, without that lardy texture to it. Soon I was dunking my baby corns and carrots and cauliflower into it. The good news? Some American grocery stores carry it in the International Foods section. If you are a mayonnaise person like me, definitely give it a try.
At the end of my trip, I realized why local eating is so important. Boxed and nuked meals and shipped veggies taste like shit compared to real fresh food. Also, our bodies want to be part of our natural surroundings. I think that's why I never felt truly satisfied while I was in the UK.
Regardless, I feel lucky for my IBS. It forced me to take off my tourist goggles and enter the markets, to see what life is really like in other countries. Once we do that, it's not so hard to adapt.
"It's all meat and refined carbs," they said. "You are going to starve."
I joked that I was going on a fast. As it turned out, I was right. I had never been so hungry in my life! Although it's not because the Brits are culinary retards. I was too busy to eat, trying to "see it all." I was also busy trying to find supermarkets and health food stores. Each day, I stopped in a new town. Like a cave woman, I hunched through the streets with my bag, seeking out a Tesco or Waitrose. It took a lot of time, but it was my favorite part of the whole trip.
Contrary to popular belief, UK markets and restaurants do carry lots of vegan food. They have lots of stuff that American does not have. BUT they don't carry lots of IBS-lactose intolerant-vegan food. So I had to get creative.
Take my vegan meal on the plane. The lovely people of British Airways brought me a cheesy red pepper omelet, vegan grain-sweetened cookies, a roll dewy with high fructose corn syrup, and asparagus in a hot dog roll. I ate the cookies and the asparagus. Fortunately, I had bought a bag of Stacey's pita chips before boarding, and ate those too. Always be prepared!
B&B's served the traditional English breakfast: meat, eggs, white toast, and sugary baked beans. One offered a vegetarian version, veggie sausage that smelled like hot dogs and looked like penis. Fortunately many places also offered Weetabix cereal, one of my childhood favorites. I started carrying soy milk (soya milk, as they call it) everywhere with me. In a Waitrose supermarket, I discovered German breadbaskets: whole grain breads individually wrapped in plastic and sold in a carton. What could be more perfect for my farty ass? The "brots" lasted me nearly the entire trip.
No matter where I went, I struggled to find good vegetables. They just don't have them over there. I didn't have a fresh piece of broccoli the entire time. Even the carrots tasted old. I did find good baby corns and incredible cauliflower (both from Spain, ironically). But then there was the whole mess of figuring out how to eat the veggies. There was no variety of salad dressings. I settled for French dressing, a mix of garlic and mustard, not the radioactive orange-y sludge that we have in America. But even the dressing couldn't cover up the taste of dirt and age in those vegetables.
I did discover a few UK amenities that I was sad to leave behind. Here's a quick run through of my four favorite UK foods:
1. Yogurt. Europeans make better yogurt. I'm not talking about Greek-style. This is just regular yogurt. It tasted like the French Canadian yogurt I eat at home, Liberte. It doesn't need any honey, cinnamon, fruit, nothing. It's good on its own. Kimberton's Seven Stars Yogurt is the only American yogurt I've eaten that tastes the same. On top of that, the Brits market a variety of yogurt smoothies, called "thickies." They have thickies made from yogurt, ground oats, honey, vanilla, some dates or figs, apple juice... stuff that I can eat! They even have thickies that are chocolate and sweetened with honey.
2. Vegan junk food. The Brits have mastered it. I ate chocolate date bars that tasted like real brownies, flapjacks that tasted like cake, wallaby rice bars that tasted like candy bars, and syrup waffles that tasted like real syrup waffles. All of these were made without refined sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and animal products.
3. Middle Eastern fare. In an M/S market in York, I discovered these little boxed grain and bean salads that made my trip. There was a wheatberry and couscous salad mixed with sweet potato and olive oil that was as comforting as a big bowl of macaroni and cheese. There were also hummus wraps and spinach and lentil filled pasties. Sometimes hummus and falafel can make me sick with all the spices and garlic. In the UK, they know that middle eastern food isn't all "hot" spicy; it has taste.
4. Salad Cream. I laughed my ass off when I saw this on the table of a pub where I stopped one night. I read the ingredients. It had less than 2% egg in it. What the hell. I drizzled a bit on my salad. Holy crap. It's like mayonnaise, but lighter, less tangy, without that lardy texture to it. Soon I was dunking my baby corns and carrots and cauliflower into it. The good news? Some American grocery stores carry it in the International Foods section. If you are a mayonnaise person like me, definitely give it a try.
At the end of my trip, I realized why local eating is so important. Boxed and nuked meals and shipped veggies taste like shit compared to real fresh food. Also, our bodies want to be part of our natural surroundings. I think that's why I never felt truly satisfied while I was in the UK.
Regardless, I feel lucky for my IBS. It forced me to take off my tourist goggles and enter the markets, to see what life is really like in other countries. Once we do that, it's not so hard to adapt.
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