Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Building Habits & Routines

I have certain things that I like to do every morning, and it’s become very rare that I don’t keep to these habits.

I meditate & journal. I exercise. I have coffee with or after breakfast.

While I’ve become very good at maintaining those habits, and they all feel critical to having good days, sometimes I would scramble in the morning to get going on my routine. After a conversation quite some time ago with another coach, I started to look at how I could prepare differently in the evenings in order to have good mornings.

It’s been rocky. As a morning person, I’m much more with it in the a.m. than I am in the p.m. Evenings are my time to wind down, relax, cross stitch, or read, and so on. So then waking myself up a little to be productive and prepare for the following day sometimes feels counter-productive.

It isn’t. It’s extremely productive. Not only am I accomplishing things that will help me have better mornings, I feel better going to bed because I’m ready for the next day.

I set out the clothes I’ll wear for exercising.

I program the coffee maker.

I am getting better at prepping lunches for the following day as well as setting up my desk to be clear so I can sit down and work right away if that’s on my agenda.

How long does it take to make something a routine or a habit?

Honestly? It’s going to take as long as it takes for you to be comfortable with and happy with your actions. The so-called age-old wisdom that it takes 21 days seems to be up for debate. I saw an article that said it takes 66 days to build a new habit. That’s more than TWO MONTHS. Two months is a lot longer than 3 weeks, and it feels overwhelming and intimidating.

So…I’m not going to think about how long it takes to make a routine or habit.

I’m celebrating that I’m working on those habits and routines and that I feel good about how they work in my life.

For the record? BREAKING a habit also takes a long time. I’ve been working on breaking the habit of eating potato chips. (I’m happy to say that I’m being successful, and I’ll have an update on how I feel about it in a future post!)

Keep on going. Celebrate the successes. Understand the roadblocks, and understand how you feel about both the successes and the roadblocks.

Healthy habits & routines are totally doable!!

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Wine a Bit. You'll Feel Better!

February 18th was (apparently) National Drink Wine Day. For the record, I did indeed celebrate with a nice dry red.

Ok, go ahead. “Isn’t every day National Drink Wine Day?”

I decided I’d check www.nationaldaycalendar.com and www.winefollly.com to see just how many days are dedicated to wine. :) I found 17, and I’m not certain I’ve found them all.

February 18: National Drink Wine Day

March 3: National Mulled Wine Day

April 17: International Malbec Day

April 24 or May 4: Sauvignon Blanc Day

May 9: National Moscato Day

May 21: National Chardonnay Day

June 11 or August 14: National Rosé Wine Day

July 25: National Wine and Cheese Day

August 1: National Albariño Day (Spain)

August 18: National Pinot Noir Day

September 3: International Cabernet Day

September 18: International Grenache Day

October 6: National Orange Wine Day

November 7: International Merlot Day

November 12: International Tempranillo Day

November 19: National Zinfandel Day

May 25: National Wine Day

I thought I’d posted about wine for this blog on more than a few occasions; as it turns out, it’s been only twice. How terribly remiss of me! Here’s the text from my original post, which was also my very first Wine & Wellness Wednesday.

Cheers!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday 12/9/15

It's Wednesday and I have a glass of wine; let's talk about wellness! I'm fond of alliteration, and the wine-wellness-Wednesday combo tickles my funny bone. :) For starters, since I have a glass (and anyone who knows me knows I have a ridiculous number of bottles in the house), let's talk about the benefits of wine!

You may have heard that tannins are good or bad, resveratrol is good, red wine is always better, etc., etc., etc. Let's be honest. The science is always evolving and it can be super confusing. (Also? The benefits in wine can be found in other foods as well.) So at the end of this I'll add one interesting link. 

Wine is a lovely thing to share with friends, and friends are lovely to spend time with. Laughter and good conversation are good for the soul!

Wine can be fun to cook with, and often enhances the flavor of food. (I’m a fan of cooking with what I’ll be drinking, too. Or drinking what I’ll be cooking with!)

To be clear, while it might occasionally be entertaining to over-indulge, I'm not advocating getting drunk. That will tend to negate the health benefits! And wine has a fair number of calories, which is also a good reason not to over-indulge.

Also, if you aren’t a wine drinker, there’s no reason to start. You can find some of the health benefits from wine in Concord grape juice (or just eating red or purple grapes), or possibly in other foods, such as blueberries. (Again, the science can be confusing; give me a call & we’ll chat about it sometime!)

For now, here’s more reading, and…cheers! Here’s to your health!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Edamame Is Fun to Say (and Eat)!

Let’s get one thing out of the way first. Soybean farmers everywhere might want to point out that edamame is just a fancy way of saying soybean. Well…that’s true, although eating edamame is a far different thing from eating soybeans. Edamame is technically the term for immature (green) soybeans.

Also, here’s a weird thing. One of my dogs won’t eat green peas, but she loves edamame. Strange girl!

Meanwhile, back to humans.

We’ve had a lot of snow. As of the local news on 2/12, we’ve had the 4th snowiest January-February on record. If the most recent storm lived up to predictions, we could be in the middle of the all-time snowiest February on record. (Although, when I check the records as reported on our newspaper’s web site, it’s still only the 10th or so snowiest month on record. I feel better. Sort of.) I miss green things. I miss fresh food. Yes, grocery stores exist. Yes, I can get many fresh veggies at the grocery store. Yes, I could even get frozen edamame that had already been shelled.

Come on. Half the fun is popping the edamame in your mouth and spitting the shell out. No? Just me? Table manners? Who needs them!

Edamame is high in protein, vitamins, & minerals. It may lower cholesterol and it doesn’t raise blood sugar levels. It may help protect against certain types of cancer, however, considerably more research is necessary before the cancer-prevention label can be accurately tacked onto edamame. It’s also delicious and simple to prepare and eat. Best of all? It’s a lovely green food that’s available all year long, no matter how many feet of snow have piled up in your neighborhood. Winner, winner, soybean dinner! 

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

p.s. that thumbnail image is of freshly-harvested edamame from a wonderful organic farm near Des Moines, Blue Gate Farm!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Food Rule 27

Food Rule 27: Eat Animals That Have Themselves Eaten Well

Ok, first things first. If you’re a vegetarian or a vegan, then this topic probably doesn’t much apply to you. I don’t advocate for starting to eat meat if you don’t already do so, unless you find yourself unable to thrive on a vegetarian or vegan diet. And if that’s the case, I have suggestions for you on resources & people to talk to you if you feel strongly about staying vegetarian or vegan. I believe we should all eat whatever diet suits us best, as long as the food we eat is responsibly sourced and healthy.

And as long as that diet includes dark chocolate. (Ha!)

But I digress. (Surprise, surprise!)

On the other hand, the overall point that it seems to me that Pollan is making with this rule is that our food should be high in nutritional quality and low in chemicals. If you’re a meat eater, you will get more nutrients from animals that have had healthy diets and good lifestyles. The fats will be healthier, and the meat (as well as milk and eggs) will contain higher levels of the vitamins we need. Pasture-raised meat and free-range poultry can be satisfying both from an ethical perspective, as the animals have better lifestyles, as well as from a nutrition perspective. There is, after all, an advertising slogan that the best milk comes from happy cows. It really isn’t all that ridiculous a statement! Economically, it isn’t always feasible. So-called factory-farmed meat and eggs are frequently considerably cheaper than pasture-raised. 

At the end of the day, the important thing is to eat real food that’s been minimally processed. (And no, by that I don’t mean eat raw chicken. That’s a terrible plan.)

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Obesity & Cancer & Coaching

A recent medical news story about obesity & cancer caught my attention. Obesity is being linked to an increase of certain cancers in the generation known as Millenials. I am obese, based on my BMI, even though I continue to lose weight, my vital statistics are good, and I’m trying to be active. Even though I am in the age range considered Generation X, that age range is included when the authors of the articles reference ages 24-49. I am also a cancer survivor, and thinking about an increased risk of other cancers based on age range and weight is scary. 

Everyone who is struggling with being overweight comes to that struggle differently. Whether it’s a lifetime of bad eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle, or a catastrophic change that leads to different habits, weight gain can be an insidious, slow-moving monster. Suddenly it seems as if your jeans don’t fit, or you can’t catch your breath after going up a flight of stairs. Maybe you know what I mean.

It also isn’t something we enjoy talking about. Between fat shaming, diet shaming, diet rollercoasters, and the immense pressure from advertisers, the media, and each other to be thin, being overweight is more than a personal issue. It’s shameful, degrading, and we are judged. “You’d be so pretty if you lost weight.” “Your health would be better if you lost weight.” “You’d feel better and be able to do more things if you lost weight.” Yes, we know. It’s frustrating enough to be on the weight loss-gain rollercoaster. Those so-called well-meaning comments are not helping. And, clearly, we have a problem. Nearly 70% of adults in the United States are overweight or obese. Let that sink in for a moment. More than 225 million people are overweight or obese.

Cancer is a gigantic and scary word. It conjures up images of needles and IV drips, radiation and lost hair, exhaustion and lost work or lost time with loved ones. I am one of the lucky ones; my kidney cancer was surgically removed and I had no chemo or radiation. I’m now ten years cancer-free, and I am grateful. Too many other patients have much, much worse experiences.

When I read the information on how obesity leads to higher risks for cancer, it’s terrifying. I will also note that obesity itself is not the only risk factor; lifestyle choices, genetics, activity levels, and so on are contributing factors as well. Obesity is a complication, not the only factor, and obviously it’s something we need to deal with. It is also an obstacle to surgeries such as joint replacement, as a high BMI is a risk factor for post-surgical infections. This leads to a frustrating and debilitating vicious circle from which it seems there is no escape. “You need to lose weight before we can replace your knees.” “It hurts to move, and I’m gaining weight not losing.” Etc., etc., etc. Every day is a struggle when you’ve learned certain behaviors, or when you’ve fallen into certain habits. Eating from boredom, or stress, or sadness, or celebration, particularly without care for quality or calories, and without exercise or activity to burn those calories, leads to weight gain. Again it feels like a vicious circle. Breaking those habits is hard. 

Breaking those habits is also a daily struggle. Some things seem like common sense. Do I want to snack more than I want to lose weight? (Most of the time, no.) Do I really need to eat that much pasta? (Absolutely not.) Am I happy I seem to have broken the habit of eating potato chips? (Completely!) And so on, and so forth…I’m retraining myself to disobey certain cues. When I go to X location, I always get X treat. Except now I’m thinking to myself, “I don’t need that, I have X at home I will enjoy more.” Easy? Nope. Worthwhile & rewarding? Absolutely. I measure things now. I’m even getting better at measuring things like pasta and limiting how much I cook! In the past I resented that concept; now I’m enjoying it and appreciating that a serving is more than enough. I look for alternatives when I want certain things such as potato chips. I avoid excessive drinking, both because A) calories but also B) excessive snacking. Somehow, it’s easier to eat (and eat poorly) when drinking alcohol! I drink lots (LOTS) of water. Water is one of my favorite beverages, and it’s one of my favorite discussion topics. (Let me know if you want to chat about why water is so important!)

Where does health coaching come into the equation? Everyone needs help and support. For me, it’s about positive accountability and making sustainable choices. It’s about celebrating accomplishments without beating myself up over mistakes. It’s about understanding the triggers and creating different responses. It’s about having fun with what I’m doing, such as meal planning with better choices. A health coach can help you do all of that, if you’re willing to dig in & do the work. One step at a time leads to progress. Just as it’s important not to binge on potato chips, it’s important not to binge on making changes. I believe everyone has the capability to dig in and make those positive, sustainable changes!

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Food Rule 25

An advertising phrase you may have heard goes along the lines of eat the colorful spectrum. (And yes, I’m totally avoiding the specific wording!)

I can totally work with that concept, as long as it’s more about fruits and vegetables and less about high-fructose corn syrup.

Michael Pollan’s food rule 25 is eat your colors. There’s an old wives’ tale about a healthy plate of food featuring multiple colors. As it turns out there’s good science to it! Colorful fruits and vegetables frequently contain valuable quantities of phytochemicals. Carrots and spinach and peppers, oh my!

Let’s look at a short list of colorful veggies and the nutrients they provide, shall we?

Beets provide vitamin B. Broccoli, peas, peppers, potatoes, and tomatoes provide vitamin C (among other things). Carrots and sweet potatoes supply beta-carotene. Peas, spinach, potatoes, and sweet potatoes provide iron.

Some of these are better cooked, and some are better raw, as shown in the following brief list:

• Beets (either cooked or raw)

  • Vitamin B (group)

• Broccoli (either)

  • Calcium

  • Vitamin C

• Carrots (either)

  • Beta-carotene

  • Vitamin A

• Peas (either)

  • Iron

  • Vitamin C

• Peppers (either)

  • Vitamin A

  • Vitamin C

• Potatoes (cooked)

  • Iron

  • Vitamin C

• Spinach (either)

  • Calcium

  • Iron

• Sweet Potatoes (cooked)

  • Beta-carotene

  • Iron

• Tomatoes (either)

  • Vitamin C

Let’s not leave fruit out of the conversation, either! (Although, arguably, tomatoes are fruit. I still won’t put them in a fruit salad!)

• Apples

  • Vitamin C

  • Potassium

• Bananas

  • Potassium

  • Vitamin B-6

• Blackberries

  • Vitamin C

  • Dietary fiber

• Blueberries

  • Vitamin C

  • Dietary fiber

• Cherries

  • Vitamin A

  • Vitamin C

• Dates

  • Magnesium

  • Dietary fiber

• Grapefruit

  • Vitamin A

  • Vitamin C

• Oranges

  • Vitamin C

• Pears

  • Vitamin C

  • Dietary fiber

• Raspberries

  • Vitamin C

  • Dietary fiber

• Strawberries

  • Vitamin C

  • Potassium

On these cold, cold days, simply thinking about colorful fruits and vegetables, harvested on a sunny, warm day makes me happy! While getting locally grown produce is always best, I’m grateful for grocery stores so that even during the winter I can have an orange, an apple, spinach, and colorful peppers, just to name a few.

What colorful spectrum will adorn your dinner plate tonight?

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Food Rule 23

Michael Pollan’s FOOD RULE # 23 is as follows: Treat meat as a flavoring or special occasion food.

I find it interesting and amusing that I randomly turned to that item in the book today when looking for a topic that sparked my interest. I’d recently realized that we have had meat on our menu a lot in the past few weeks and I also realized that it went with winter and cold weather and an apparent biological need for more insulation. (Not that I don’t have plenty of that already - too much, in fact!)

The American Heart Association recommends limiting meat intake to 5.5 ounces per day. (Psst - by the way - that pork chop in the photo? That’s a 5 ounce chop. It was plenty!!)

A prediction at the beginning of 2018 was that Americans would average - AVERAGE - eating 222.2 pounds of meat per year.

Let’s do the math, shall we?

222.2 pounds is 3,555.2 ounces.

3,555.2 ounces in a year works out to 9.740274 ounces of meat. Per day. ON AVERAGE.

The AHA recommendation comes out to 125.46875 pounds of meat per person. That is over 96 pounds under the expected average consumption.

In 2018, we were predicted to eat almost ONE HUNDRED POUNDS more meat than is recommended for a healthy diet.

I feel the need for a spinach salad. Anyone else? Without bacon. And for me to say “without bacon” is something of a big deal.

Let’s be honest. Anyone who knows me knows that I enjoy a steak. (Or bacon. Or chicken. Or chicken wrapped in bacon. You get the point.)

But whoa. I’m picturing 9.74 ounces of meat a day and that is a lot. That is too much. That is an overwhelming amount of meat. Yikes.

I found it intriguing that Pollan referenced Thomas Jefferson supposedly using meat as a “flavor principle,” so I went looking for more information. As referenced on the web site for Monticello, Jefferson could not be called a vegetarian as we think of vegetarians today, however, meat was not the primary focus of his meals.

Huh. That founding father guy was kinda smart.

Eat more veggies. There are many great and tasty ways to get protein in the diet that don’t include 9+ ounces of meat a day. But maybe, just maybe, sneak a small steak in every once in a while. (Unless, of course, you’re a vegan or vegetarian, in which case, maybe not so much. Why change what’s working?) I’ll definitely be revisiting my menus and trimming out some of the meat we’ve been eating!

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Letting Go

Have you ever noticed that you hang on to <whatever>, even though you know you’d be better off letting go of <whatever>? There are many, many different things each of us hold on to, whether those are things or ideas. I was reminded recently of how important it is to let go of things when I dumped a jar of old, stale spice mix into the trash. It smelled fine in the jar, however, when cooked, it had a very, very odd flavor. I decided that it had gone bad; it probably wasn’t going to make us sick, but it wasn’t enjoyable.

I probably spent less than $3 for that jar of spice mix, and yet dumping it in the trash was a nearly agonizing decision for about a second. But then I thought to myself, “This isn’t serving you well at all.” And I let go.

“BUT THE WASTE!!!” I can hear it now. “You spent money on that! You spent time on that!”

What is the larger waste? Eating something you don’t love, or using something you don’t love, or keeping something that isn’t serving you because you spent money on it? Or taking up your valuable energy and time using something up because you spent money on it? 

Decluttering can be a form of letting go, specifically, letting go of physical items. How about mental or emotional decluttering? Letting go of thoughts or feelings that no longer serve you is every bit as useful as letting go of physical things. It can be difficult. Everyone holds on to things for different reasons. Fear. Security. Memories. Habit. Comfort. Not all of these are bad things, at least until they get in the way of making progress and being healthy.

Give yourself permission to throw something away – to let go – when it doesn’t serve you in positive ways.

I’ve found a feeling of lightness when I let go of things or ideas that are no longer serving my life in positive ways. It feels healthier. (It is healthier.) 

It’s not always easy, but letting go is one of the best things you can do for yourself.

What are you holding on to, whether it’s a thing or an idea, that no longer serves your life in positive ways? What are the obstacles to letting go?

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: It's Resolution Time...Right?

Last year I wrote about not exactly making a New Year’s resolution. When I read it again, I am still in agreement with myself. :) So here it is for 2019!

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

http://www.makeonechange.today/blog/2018/1/3/wine-wellness-wednesday-happy-new-year

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Potatoes! (Need I Say More?)

I love potatoes, in almost any shape, form, or type of dish. We had potatoes two different ways at Christmas dinner, and both were scrumptious.

But let’s be honest. No one thinks of potatoes as a health food! Potatoes are, so deliciously often, a delivery mechanism for butter, salt, and many other things. Healthy?

Surprise! By themselves, potatoes are fat-free, cholesterol-free, and low in calories. They are also rich in fiber, have some protein, and supply some vitamins, iron, and more potassium than you might expect. Potatoes actually have more potassium per serving than any other fruit or veggie! Some studies suggest that potatoes, while classified as having a high glycemic index (a high impact on blood sugar), are actually a better-for-you starch than pasta.

(By the way, and in the interest of full disclosure, sweet potatoes, while nutritious and one of my favorite veggies, are related to potatoes but in a different taxonomic group. So they get a whole post to themselves at some future date!)

Don’t be afraid to branch out from the basic Idaho potato, too. Red, blue, purple, gold…you have many colors and varieties of potatoes to choose from! Some of the easiest preparations can also be the best for you. Try tossing cut potatoes with a little olive oil and sea salt and roasting them. Simple, delicious, and good for you!

How do you like your potatoes?

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: 'Tis the Season for Peppermint!

Ok, confession time.

I hate pumpkin spice.

Well. Not exactly. That’s sort of mostly moderately true.

I hate the phrase, “pumpkin spice,” and I hate that it’s EVERYWHERE and in EVERYTHING for months on end. And speaking of that, why on earth does a poinsettia need to be pumpkin spice-colored? Really? No. Emphatically, absolutely no. For the record? Pumpkin spice has zero pumpkin in it. None. Zip. Zero. Zilch. Pumpkin pie spice is the more appropriate phrasing; apparently that takes too long to type or say. Ok, fine. I do, however, absolutely loooooooooove the spices that are IN pumpkin pie spice: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, cardamom, clove. Ok, so cardamom might only show up in my homemade version. The phrase, though? Not a fan. 

My seasonal flavor obsession?

Peppermint.

When peppermint stuff starts showing up on shelves, I’m a very, very happy girl. Peppermint candy canes. Peppermint mochas. Peppermint ice cream. Peppermint & dark chocolate. Peppermint schnapps in hot chocolate. (Yes, I’m a health coach. Every so often, treats are good things!) Whatever form it comes in, I love peppermint! On second thought, mint & rum & citrus? Not a fan of mojitos. But otherwise, yes! It’s a cool, crisp, refreshing taste, and I can (almost) never get too much of it. (Almost.) And yes, I know, it’s something I can get all year if I want to. But there’s something about peppermint near the holidays in winter that is extra delightful. Maybe it’s that cool, crisp flavor going along with the cool, crisp weather.

Peppermint is also good for things that aren’t hot chocolate or candy canes.

Soothing an upset stomach. Calming the nerves in a cup of tea. Flavoring in toothpaste. (Side bonus! When I brush my teeth or eat something peppermint flavored, I’m less likely to snack. Not a lot truly goes well with the taste of mint toothpaste!)

The health benefits of peppermint are not entirely clear, and the research and results are not super straightforward. It can be very soothing, particularly when ingested as one ingredient in an herbal tea. Peppermint oil massaged into the stomach can help soothe gastrointestinal grumpiness; massaged into the temples it can help eliminate a headache. Taken in capsule form, peppermint may help calm the stomach muscles and soothe gastrointestinal grumpiness from the inside. (Note that if you have gastroesophageal reflex disease, or GERD, peppermint is not recommended.) It may have beneficial effects if you have a cold, a sinus infection, cramps, headache, muscle pain, or toothache.

In other words, it may (or may not) help with almost anything (or nothing).

At the end of the day, it’s still one of my favorite flavors and I’ve used the oil many times to soothe my tummy if I’m having issues.

Growing peppermint in your garden is problematic, for the record. The mint family is very, very invasive. This includes everything from peppermint to oregano. The plants spread rapidly by way of rhizomes, which means it’s going to go places you might not want it to go. The best way to contain peppermint but still enjoy it fresh from your garden is to grow it in a container; otherwise, plant it in a section of the garden and include deep edging to help guard against the rhizomes spreading.

So! Peppermint! What are your thoughts? Love it, hate it, can’t live without it?

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: The Mediterranean Diet (My Way!)

For quite a while now I’ve toyed with the idea of trying recipes that go with various dietary theories for a month at a time, in order to see what I like and what works well for us. Menu planning can be a chore, or it can be a lot of fun. Right now I’m in the fun phase, picking out recipes and ideas and plugging them in using the 80-20 rule. (80% of our menu is following the Mediterranean diet; 20% is not. It’s an idea I picked up from a friend who menu plans using the clean eating philosophy.)

Did I mention I’ve been having fun?

What is the Mediterranean diet? Short version: it focuses on healthy eating using common ingredients found and used in countries that border the Mediterranean Sea. This includes Spain, France, Monaco, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, and Morocco. I haven’t listed all of the Mediterranean countries, to be honest. I focused on those whose cuisines I either already know that I like, or that I want to try! For example, I have two cookbooks by Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi: OTTOLENGHI and JERUSALEM. I’ve been getting back into one of my favorite cookbooks, ITALIAN LIGHT COOKING by Marie Simmons, and I have several labeled, generically, “Mediterranean.” I am super excited to dive in and pick out recipes!

What are common ingredients in the Mediterranean diet? They include olive oil, poultry, fish, goat cheese, vegetables, nuts, fruits, whole grains, coffee, and red wine. (Those last two? Moderation, definitely!) Low amounts of sodium, and many, many wonderful seasonings, such as oregano, garlic, lemon, turmeric, curry, and pepper, to name a few. And many of the recipes I’ve played with already have been very simple, easy to prepare, with not many ingredients. They taste fresh & light & yet are very filling & satisfying. (The photo with this post is one of my recent recipe experiments. Sweet potato, carrot, tomato, onion, garlic, chicken, curry, & turmeric. It was very tasty!)

Why is the Mediterranean diet a good option? There’s an emphasis on plant-based meals and healthy fats, which is good for your heart & brain and, among other things, may lower your risk for dementia by 30%. These are all really, really good things. (Clearly!)

I decided to start with the Mediterranean diet simply by random chance, and I’ve really been enjoying it. I know that I’m accustomed to fattier, saltier meals because I’ve been craving things like salted nuts or string cheese, but the more time I spend eating along the guidelines for this diet the less I succumb to the cravings. I also love to cook so I’m having fun with the recipes. Even one of my favorite Modern Table lentil pasta kits almost fits into the diet because it’s lentil pasta with a pesto mix and very few ingredients. I’ll take that as an option because it’s a quick meal on a busy night!

What diets or eating philosophies have you followed & enjoyed?

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Food Rule #30

I’m still struggling a bit with vacation brain, and when I’m struggling to come up with a topic I enjoy going back to Michael Pollan’s book, FOOD RULES, for inspiration. Today’s random number, 30, sent me back to August of 2017. I was certain I’d done a #winewellnesswednesday post about the difference between organic, natural, and chemical-free, and I was right!

Food rule #30 is as follows: Eat well-grown food from healthy soil.

He even says it would have been shorter & easier to say, “eat organic.”

As I wrote in 2017, what we put onto and into the soil matters, and that’s the point Pollan wants to drive home here. The quality of the soil in which the food is grown matters. Using quality (hopefully chemical-free) fertilizer, rotating crops, and paying attention to the land? That’s a really good start for really good food.

And because vacation brain is still ruling my life…here’s a link to the post from 2017. :) 

http://www.makeonechange.today/new-blog/2017/8/30/wine-wellness-wednesday-organic-natural-chemical-free

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Eggs Aren't Evil!

In the past, I’d say I loved eggs.

I loved them in spaghetti carbonara, cakes, cookies, on spinach salad, and as deviled eggs. I can think of only one egg dish that I liked when I could actually taste the eggs. Otherwise, eggs were, well, too eggy.

Then when my husband and I were on our honeymoon, I ate scrambled eggs and cheese, and he wondered who I was and what I’d done with his wife!

Nowadays, 8 days a week I am more likely to have eggs for breakfast than anything else. (Is this the point at which I say, “Sorry-not-sorry for the Beatles earworm!”?)

Eggs are evil! 

Eggs are magic! 

Eggs are the answer to all of the world’s ills!

Eggs are…

Take your pick, there’s probably been a version of one of those statements that’s been widely shared as the ultimate answer.  (Fads? In nutrition? Yep. No surprise there.)

What’s the current thinking and what does it mean for you? Eggs on a regular basis are not evil!

Eggs are full of protein and nutrients: vitamins A, B, and D; and lutein, to name a few. Eggs themselves contain very little saturated fat. The issue comes in when you cook them in butter or serve them with foods higher in fat. Veggies cooked in olive oil are a really good delivery vehicle for eggs. (Recently we’ve really enjoyed tossing in some crumbled feta as well!) 

How do you like your eggs?

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Gratitude

I’ve talked about this before, and it continues to be an important part of my life. I try to start every day with meditation and journaling, and my journaling starts with three questions:

• What am I grateful for today?

• What am I positive about today?

• What are my creative intentions for today?

Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and November is the season of gratitude, but it’s a topic that can last all year long if we are mindful of it.

With that in mind, I’m returning to a post from 2017 in which a friend of mine talks about his daily practice of “What’s your positive?” As he said to me recently, it’s become more of a weekly community practice. Spreading the positive? That’s something I’m very grateful for.

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

http://www.makeonechange.today/new-blog/2017/11/29/gratitudepositivityguestpost

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Is Procrastination Bad for Your Health?

I’ve been thinking about this topic for a while, related to #winewellnesswednesday, but I’ve been putting it off.

(See what I did there?) 

There are obvious ways procrastination is bad for your health. You get a cough and you delay going to the doctor, or you put off an annual exam. You find a lump but you think it’s nothing, put it off, and then it’s not nothing after all and if you’d dealt with it sooner it wouldn’t have been as critical. (Ok, that last one is a pretty extreme example. Sadly, we all have heard stories about people to whom it applies.)

There are less obvious ways procrastination is bad for your health, and those are the ones I want to talk about. Procrastination can lead to stress, which can have a negative impact on both your mental and physical health. Specifically, it can impact (or cause) hypertension and exacerbate cardiovascular disease. (That’s not good, for those of you playing along at home.)  

Procrastination can have multiple causes (as well as multiple effects). Are you depressed? Avoiding something out of fear? Finding it hard to just get going? Everyone copes with procrastination differently, or not at all. Sometimes the hardest thing in the world to do is to pick up the phone. Or a pen. Or the keyboard. Or…or…or…whatever the case may be. Only you can figure out what’s getting in your way and causing you to procrastinate about whatever it is and why it is you’re procrastinating.

Keep in mind that there’s more than time involved. It’s important to your mental and physical health as well.

There is also a school of thought that says some procrastination can be good for you, related to making decisions, certain critical actions, or putting off tedious tasks in favor of quality time with loved ones. I’m honestly not certain what I think of that, but it may have merit!

Sometimes, but not always, I’ll set myself a timer and sit myself down and try to do something, anything, related to the task at hand. If it works, I will occasionally work past the timer going off. If it doesn’t, when the timer goes off I’ll go do something else and then come back and try again.

What do you do when you find yourself procrastinating and how do you get past it?

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Food Rule #7

Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce.

As with a couple of weeks ago, I’m getting back to Michael Pollan’s FOOD RULES. And this one is something I go back to time and time again: keep the ingredients simple.

I am reminded of a time when my husband and I were each enjoying mini ice cream containers from different companies. I happened to take a look at the ingredients on mine and there were five or six, and all of them were things I could pronounce and I could buy separately. The one he was eating? I lost count at about 28 ingredients, a majority of them didn’t look like food, and I couldn’t pronounce some of them, never mind handing the list to a third-grader.

Processed, store-bought food can have multiple and unpronounceable ingredients. It doesn’t have to.

Check the labels.

Can you read everything? More to the point, can you pronounce everything? Can you buy them all separately and make your own whatever-it-is? 

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Food Rule #42

Regard nontraditional foods with skepticism.

For this #winewellnesswednesday, I’m getting back to Michael Pollan’s FOOD RULES.

(I blame my husband for today’s number. Never ask a sci-fi fan for a number. It’s a really good chance they’ll choose 42.)

Pollan’s point in this rule is to look at so-called innovative updates to traditional foods with a healthy dose of skepticism. And I think he has a point. Soy sauce (gluten-free)? Absolutely. Soy isoflavones? Huh? What are those supposed to be and why are they food?

For me, this goes back to eating whole foods that I can pronounce as much as possible. It’s hard, sometimes, to do, particularly when in a hurry or when traveling. And I’m getting much better at planning ahead and taking my own foods when I’m traveling, as well as having more whole-food-based-stuff available at home that I can eat in a hurry. (I know, I know, that’s not a great word. Let’s agree to get over it.) I like being able to pronounce the ingredients. I like eating things with limited numbers of ingredients. And, honestly, there aren’t many ways to improve on a spinach salad when the spinach in question comes from one of our favorite farms. Spinach isoflavones? Huh? Nah. I really hope that isn’t a thing. (Also? Gesundheit!)

Whole foods, made in more traditional ways, and minimally processed. These are good things.

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: World Mental Health Day

“They can also be times of stress and apprehension however. In some cases, if not recognized and managed, these feelings can lead to mental illness. The expanding use of online technologies, while undoubtedly bringing many benefits, can also bring additional pressures, as connectivity to virtual networks at any time of the day and night grows.”

On the information page about World Mental Health Day 2018, the specific theme is Young People and Mental Health in a Changing World.

The lines I quoted, though, can apply to anyone and everyone, young and not-so-young.

Mental health care is a critical piece of living a full and healthy life. Sometimes, our mental health can be fragile; sometimes it can be robust and seem indestructible. Building mental resilience, as the WHO describes it, is a critical tool not only for adolescents, but for everyone.

There are many, many tools available today to help us cope, function, survive, and even thrive. And, yes, I include myself. I took an anti-depressant for years; it was prescribed for an off-label function as an appetite suppressant and it also served to stabilize my moods and keep my depression from running my life. When I eliminated gluten from my diet, one of the end results was an overall leveling off of my moods and depression, enough so that in conversation with my physician I ended up eliminating the medication from my life. For the most part, depression has not been as impactful on my life since that time. There are, on rare occasion, days when I feel as if I’m sitting under a large, deep blue-black weight and I can’t see past it to the light I know is there. I’m fortunate in that those days are few and far between. They happen, and I’m working on the coping mechanisms. Sometimes it’s taking valerian root. Sometimes it’s crying uncontrollably for what seems like no good reason. Sometimes it’s exercise. Many times – in fact almost daily – meditation serves as a valuable tool. I’m deeply hopeful that with the dietary changes I’ve made and the activity changes I’ve made, I won’t need pharmaceutical help again. Please take careful note of what I say next: needing pharmaceutical help is not a weakness or a bad sign or a negative thing. It is absolutely critical that everyone finds the right tool for your own mental health. Once you have those right tools, the clarity and peace that come with them? That’s priceless. Nutrition, exercise of some kind, social activity of some kind, and maybe medications can be in the toolbox. Everyone is different. Everyone has different needs. Everyone has different solutions. Everyone needs support. Everyone needs to know they are not alone.

It isn’t morning, but this is a good item with which to end this week’s #winewellnesswednesday.

Waking up this morning, I smile.
Twenty-four brand-new hours are before me.
I vow to live fully each moment and to look at all beings with eyes of compassion.
~Thich Nhat Hanh~ PEACE IS EVERY BREATH

“…look at all beings with eyes of compassion.” Start with yourself.

 On this World Mental Health Day, please know that your health matters. Mental health isn’t always a visible health issue. Look at yourself and those around you with love, patience, and kindness.

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Going Gluten-Free (Again!)

This topic has been on my mind again recently, as I’ve seen things come across my path that make me want to shout from the rooftops, “GIVE UP GLUTEN, YOU’LL FEEL BETTER!” I also went looking for additional information, because learning something new is always good.

I was not terribly surprised to find some web sites warning people against going gluten-free, and for valid reasons. Many gluten-free foods are highly-processed and (honestly) terrible for you. Many gluten-free foods cannot even be remotely qualified as healthy. Cheetos, for example, are a gluten-free food. I’m not kidding. I wish I were.

I was also not surprised to find information about potential substances other than gluten that can cause similar digestive and other physical reactions. Specifically and most prominently I’m talking about a substance called fructan, a collection of fructose molecules. (Fructose is fruit sugar.) It is possible to have a fructan intolerance that may manifest as intestinal issues after consuming foods such as garlic, onions, chickpeas, raisins, or watermelon, to name a few. Fructan intolerance can be confused with gluten intolerance, as many meals might include ingredients that have both substances.

Here’s the thing.

Everyone is different. (I might mention that a lot original post, FYI.) Everyone has different reactions to foods. Some reactions are outright allergies. Some are intolerances. Everyone is different. (I really cannot stress that enough.)

It is very, very difficult to diagnose food allergy issues. One method is by going through something called an elimination diet and removing all of the major culprits: soy, egg, dairy, corn, and wheat (gluten). Once all of your symptoms have dispersed, gradually add one food back at a time. If the symptoms come back, that’s likely to be your issue. Elimination diets are not easy, although if you enjoy a challenge they can be interesting and almost fun. I do say almost, because when I tried an elimination diet and had to cut out dairy it was brutal! Although I did discover that I like coconut or almond milk in my coffee.

Did I mention that everyone is different?

Have you tried a gluten-free diet? (Or, for that matter, have you tried a fructan-free diet?) What has been your experience?

Cheers! Here’s to your health!