Tag: health and wellness

Elimination Diet

On By Cultivate WellnessIn Cooking, diet, disease, eating, health, Health and wellness, Kids, Nutrition2 Comments

This past week my 11 year old daughter was put on a modified elimination diet by a nutritionist. She has some GI stuff going on, plus eczema and keratosis pilaris (“chicken skin” on the backs of her arms). As a nutrition student, I understand that there are people who have food sensitivities and that sometimes those sensitivities lead to inflammation in the body, which can present itself in lots of different ways. Skin issues, headaches, GI distress, mood imbalances are just a few ways in which food sensitivities can show themselves. 

So, off to the nutritionist we went. After a thorough intake she suggested a modified elimination diet (she has 30 years of experience and has a master’s degree in nutrition, so I feel quite comfortable in her expertise). Doing an elimination diet with an 11 year old growing girl who is an adventurous eater is a major bummer. But, it’s only for a few weeks so we will give it a try.

The foods she has to avoid completely for 10 days are:
1. Corn. This includes corn starch and high fructose corn syrup. I am realizing corn is in A LOT of packaged foods.

2. Nightshades (peppers, tomatoes, potatoes and eggplant). This is a bummer because she eats peppers and tomatoes in large quantities. And, you know, french fries.

3. Cow’s dairy. Again, in so many different foods. Sheep and goat dairy is ok.

4. Wheat. This doesn’t mean gluten-free. She can have spelt and rye and barley, etc. I realize after looking at oodles of gluten-free packaged goods that most have corn starch or potato starch in place of wheat.

Last night we went out to dinner at the Yard House, a restaurant that has an extensive menu. After much back and forth with the waitress, who was really accommodating, we finally settled on grilled shrimp, jasmine rice, and steamed broccoli.  All of their sauces contain corn starch or soy sauce (wheat). The orange chicken, the chicken rice bowl, the street tacos, the chicken teriyaki — all were off limits. If it were me at age 11 I would have cried and thrown a fit, but my daughter rolled with it.  That’s not to say she’s happy, for last night she announced that “I’m ok but I *hate* it”. I get it, it stinks. But it’s a short period of time and hopefully we will be able to identify any foods that are causing issues, cut them out for a period of time, and then reintroduce them slowly back. The end game is hopefully a healthier kid.

I dabbled with the idea of doing the elimination with her in solidarity but I quickly realized that I needed my energy and focus to help her through these next few weeks. When she’s done it’s quite possible I will give it a try. Don’t expect me to give up coffee or wine, though.

I’ll keep you updated on our progress! This is day 3, and I’m sure there will be lots to share in upcoming days.

Midweek Mashup

On By Cultivate WellnessIn Cooking, diet, disease, health, Health and wellness, Nutrition, Recipes, wellness3 Comments

MIDWEEK MASHUP

Welcome to Wednesday! You’ve made it this far, you should be proud! There’s a lot of health and wellness information coming out this week, and I’m excited to share some of it with you.

Have you ever wondered what might happen if you gave up sugar for an entire year?  Like, really gave it up.  No white sugar, no fruit juice concentrate, no maple syrup, no honey? If I’m being honest, the thought of giving up sweet stuff altogether makes me shudder. I grew up in a house in which my sugar consumption was very strictly monitored. My sister and I would ride our bikes to the corner store to buy candy bars behind our mom’s back. For years afterwards, I was a total candy and soda addict and couldn’t control myself around sugar. I finally figured out how to regulate. Now I raise my daughter differently, to have access to sweets in moderation and to teach her how to self moderate. It’s not easy though, and we sometimes get off track. A reboot sounds like a good idea from time to time. Not a year, but maybe like a week? Read this to find out how one family did it, and how they felt at the end of the year. Thanks to my friend Annie for forwarding this along to me!

I have been subscribing to HelloFresh for a few weeks now, and overall I’m pretty pleased. I love their vegetable boxes because they are more affordable and we are also trying to eat more vegetarian meals. I cringe at the waste of packing materials but we are recycling them so I feel better about that. I love that we get to try new recipes that helps me get out of my meal ruts, especially when time is short and I have less time to give it thought. Tonight I made black bean quesadillas with caramelized onions and they were so good even my 11 year old gobbled them up. Click on the link for the recipe so you can make them at home! Use whole wheat or gluten free tortillas if that’s what appeals to you.

And finally, if you’ve been thinking “Gee, I really wish there was a funny food blog I could read today” look no further than ProntoPup. His most recent post on his attempt to go vegan, only to realize that he’s really a “vaguean” (not that there’s anything wrong with that) is hilarious, honest, and will make you wish you could have dinner with him. Spoiler alert, I get to have dinner with him, and it will probably consist of tofu steak!

Have a great rest of your week, you guys.  Don’t forget to check back on Friday for a new cocktail recipe!

 

Friday Cocktails! The Hot-As-Heck Margarita

On By Cultivate WellnessIn cocktails, Cooking, Recipes, summer7 Comments

Friday Cocktails

If you live in the U.S. chances are you’ve endured one of the hottest weeks in a very long time.  Here in the north, we’ve had 115 degree heat indexes with dew points that make it nearly unbearable. I grew up in Phoenix, when 115 degrees was par for the course. But when you add oppressive humidity it becomes an entirely different ball of (melted) wax.

On days like today I feel like we all deserve a fun drink recipe to help usher in the weekend.  Today I’m featuring Hot-As-Heck Margarita recipe to accompany our equally hot weather. It is said that spicy foods actually cool you down internally by stimulating the heat receptors in your mouth, which enhance circulation and in turn causes you to sweat. So, you know, drink up.

*Disclaimer: you actually need to drink a lot of non-alcoholic and non-caffeinated drinks to stay hydrated when it’s hot.  Be smart!

Margarita

HOT-AS-HECK MARGARITA

Ingredients

Method:

  1. Pour enough salt onto a small, shallow plate to cover the surface. Use a wedge of lime to wet the rim of two margarita glasses.
  2. Fill glasses with ice.
  3. Pour the tequila, triple sec, lime juice, agave nectar or maple syrup, and jalapeno into a cocktail shaker over ice. Cover, and shake vigorously until the outside of the shaker has frosted. Strain into the prepared glasses, and garnish with lime wedges to serve.

Happy Weekend!

You might also like:

Friday Cocktails: The French Pear

Friday Cocktails: The Great Gatsby

Weekend Cocktails! Brandy Old Fashioned

 

Midweek Mashup

On By Cultivate WellnessIn Cooking, disease, eating, family, Health and wellness, holiday, Nutrition, summer3 Comments

MIDWEEK MASHUP

Happy Thursday!  I hope you are having a fantastic week.  And, if you aren’t, I hope you find a little bit of happiness here at Cultivate Wellness.

I plan on writing a longer, more thorough blog post about my recent experience being interviewed on our local NPR station, but in the meantime I wanted to post the link so you can listen for yourself.  Remember that post I wrote about the horrible swimsuit spread in Discovery Girls magazine?   It created quite a bit of discussion, including with the host of our morning news show on Minnesota Public Radio.   She decided to dedicate an entire show to the topic of body shaming in young girls, and asked to interview me.  You can listen to the entire show here.  I would absolutely love to hear your thoughts on it and keep the discussion going, so please share and comment!

Speaking of people struggling with body image issues, I read this piece, entitled Fat Dad: The Coffee and Cigarette Diet recently in Well section of The New York Times and it touched my heart.  I thought it was lovingly written.  So often we talk about women and body image, but it’s a good reminder that men struggle with this issue too.

Do you love potato salad as much as I do?  I love it in all forms: with celery, with egg, with mayo, with vinegar.  Dill, parsley, scallions, mint.  It’s *all* good in my book.  Here’s a healthy, delicious looking red, white and blue potato salad just in time for Independence Day.

Have a great rest of your week, whatever you have planned!

As always, I’d be so grateful if you shared my blog with people you think would like it, whether it’s on Facebook, Twitter, via email, or word of mouth (or all!).

You might also like:

Last week’s Midweek Mashup

Bikini Body

Potato, Carrot and Leek Soup

 

 

 

 

Easy Posole

On By Cultivate WellnessIn Cooking, diet, eating, health, Health and wellness, Nutrition, Recipes6 Comments

Is it warm and sunny where you are today?  We have finally been gifted with beautiful spring weather and it makes me so happy.  I’ve got the sudden urge to spring clean the house from top to bottom.  It happens every year about this time.  The trouble is finding time in the day because I just recently started a new consulting gig from home on top of my course load for my Nutrition Consultant degree.  And golf.  It’s practically the only thing I think about in the warm months.  What is your obsession/hobby/thing that brings you joy?  I’d love to hear about it!

This week I made another Gwyneth recipe from her book It’s All Good. Ever since returning home from Arizona I’ve been craving all the flavors I grew up with.  Jalapeños, chiles, hominy, avocado.  Spicy and fresh.  Gwyneth wrote that her chef made this soup for her on a cool summer day when she wanted something warm but still light.  BTW, if you are wondering what hominy is, read this very informative article entitled “What The Hell Is Hominy, Anyway?”.

So this week I picked up the phone to call my personal chef and then realized, whoops! I don’t have one.  Darn.

I used my own two hands to make this soup and was delighted with the flavors.  It is indeed light and fresh, but still comforting.  It’s full of antioxidants because of all the veggies and herbs. Hominy is high in fiber, low in fat, and is a whole grain. And as made, this soup is vegan.

Some changes I would make: 1)At least double the recipe.  It barely made enough for four regular people. 2)Add at least one additional can of hominy to the soup.  It came out lacking a little bit of heft.  My husband pointed out more hominy would make this soup even better. I should also mention that when I told my husband I was making hominy he thought it was a kind of fish.  Bless his Indiana-bred heart.  3) If you have spice-averse children, omit 1/2 the jalapeños and let people add them at the end. 

Otherwise, I would say this soup is fantastic and just the perfect thing for a day when you feel like eating something that is simultaneously warm and light.  If you want to add some shredded chicken or pork I bet that would taste good too.

INGREDIENTS:

6 tomatillos: peel the papery layers off, rinse, and chop them (throw away the papery outside)

1 large red onion, roughly chopped

2 jalapeños, chopped (remove the seeds for less spice)

olive oil

sea salt

4 cups vegetable stock (I love Better Than Bouillon which I find at the grocery and even Costco)

A few sprigs of cilantro

28 oz can of hominy, drained and rinsed (I personally would double this amount)

GARNISH:

Ripe avocado, diced

Cilantro

Chopped scallions

Sliced radishes

Lime wedges

Anything else that tickles your taste bud fancy

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 450 F. On a large sheet pan, toss the tomatillos, onions and jalapeños with enough oil to coat.  Add a large pinch of salt. Roast for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and a little browned.

Transfer the veggies and about 1 cup of the stock into a blender to puree until completely smooth.  If using an immersion blender like I did, you’ll need more than 1 cup of liquid so it doesn’t splatter.

Add the vegetable mixture along with the hominy, rest of the stock and cilantro to a large pot.  Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to simmer for at least 15 minutes. Season to taste.

Remove the cilantro stems and discard.  Add garnish and enjoy!

posole

 

 

Magnesium: “The Relaxer”

On By Cultivate WellnessIn diet, disease, health, Health and wellness, Nutrition, supplement, wellness5 Comments

Do you suffer from stiff or sore muscles?  Have trouble relaxing enough to fall asleep at night? Suffer from chronic headaches?  (in this day and age, who doesn’t have one or all of these complaints?).  Having a magnesium deficiency can cause all sorts of problems.  About 50% of the population is deficient in magnesium, and teenagers are even more likely thanks to their higher consumption of junk food.

Reasons for a magnesium deficiency include stress, excess alcohol, sugar and caffeine consumption, and the Standard American Diet (SAD). Sound familiar?

But let’s back up so I can explain what magnesium is and what it does.  Magnesium is a crucial mineral that our bodies use to produce energy, metabolize carbohydrates and protein, and acts as a natural calcium channel blocker. Having ideal levels of magnesium helps balance our blood sugar levels, balances calcium, facilitates bringing nutrients into the cells and wastes out, and functions as a natural relaxant for our minds and muscles. 

If we don’t consume enough magnesium or we don’t supplement and our levels are low, a host of problems can occur, such as blood sugar imbalances, constipation, fatigue, muscle cramps, PMS, heart arrhythmias, high blood pressure, irritability and migraine, to name a few.

I personally love the Calm brand of effervescent magnesium that I buy on Amazon. It tastes great and works rapidly to help me relax at night.

Real food sources of magnesium include leafy greens, sea vegetables, algae, whole grains, nuts and seeds (especially pumpkin sees), avocados and blackstrap molasses. 

One more note: if you take magnesium it is recommended that you also supplement with calcium in a 1:1 or 2:1 ratio for best results.

 

***As always, make sure you speak with a doctor or practitioner before taking supplements.  I am not authorized to give medical advice and this blog post is not intended to treat or diagnose any diseases.

HEALTHY NEW YEAR

On By Cultivate WellnessIn Cooking, Health and wellness, holiday, wellness4 Comments

Another year has come and gone.  Now that I’m a grown-up, the years seem to go by so much faster than when I was a kid.  One day my kiddo is a newborn and the next she’s 11 and listening to Adele’s new album 21 on repeat. If there’s one thing for certain, it’s that time continues to tick on even if we aren’t ready for it.

The New Year is a perfect time to remember to take stock of what’s important (staying mindful, feeling gratitude, eating healthy, spending time with family) and toss out those things that aren’t (saying yes to anything you don’t want to do, living your life in “shoulds”, SlimFast shakes, you get the idea).

This coming week I’ll have a new Gwyneth recipe to share.  But in the meantime, enjoy your New Year’s Eve however you wish to spend it.  I’ll be hanging with my family at home eating sushi because the thought of going to some crowded event downtown gives me hives.  See how I said “no” to something I didn’t want to do?  It gets easier the more you do it. Practice it a lot this year. Trust me, it’ll change your life.

Happy New Year 2016

 

THANKSGIVING

On By Cultivate WellnessIn baking, Cooking, diet, eating, health, Health and wellness, holiday, Nutrition, thanksgiving, wellness1 Comment

thanksgiving table

It’s Monday, and for Americans it’s also the week of Thanksgiving.  This is usually the week where we think and talk about food nonstop.  What will we make?  What will we eat?  What will we have for leftovers?  Pie. Casserole.  Marshmallows on top of sweet potatoes.  Stuffing (my FAVORITE).  It’s a bit overwhelming.

Many fitness and diet experts will give you all kinds of rules and tips to navigate the holidays.  And many of those tips and tricks sap all the fun out of everything.  Don’t eat carbs.  Don’t have gravy.  Skip the dinner roll.  Only have one glass of wine.  Calories in/calories out.

I say, forget that.  Remember that quote I posted last week about how it’s what you eat on a regular basis that counts?  

It's fine to socializeoccasionally with special food and drink.-2

It’s true.  Do you nourish your body with the good stuff more often than not?  Do you give yourself ample opportunities to eat fruits and veggies and drink lots of water?  Even if you answered no, are you really going to start doing this on THANKSGIVING?

Stressing yourself out and feeling anxious and guilty about what you eat messes with your stress hormones, which release into your body, flooding it with chemicals that will inhibit your digestion.  The stress hormone Cortisol is to blame for excess belly fat in many people.  So do me a favor (heck, do yourself the favor) and relax.  If you’re going to eat something decadent, do it with joy and happiness.  Don’t sneak it.  Don’t chew it up quickly and swallow the evidence before anyone has a chance to “catch” you.  Savor it. Enjoy every bite.  AND MOST OF ALL, LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. When it’s had enough, respect that and put the fork down. And for goodness sake, never, ever comment on how much someone else is eating, what their body looks like, or how it’s now time to “work off all those calories”. 

And the next day, enjoy a green smoothie as part of my Green Smoothie Challenge, a bit of exercise, some fresh air, and the company of the people around you.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

GREEN SMOOTHIE CHALLENGE!

On By Cultivate WellnessIn health, Health and wellness, Nutrition, Recipes, wellness5 Comments

GREEN SMOOTHIE copy

This week I’m launching a Green Smoothie Challenge on my Cultivate Wellness Facebook page.  At the end of October I challenged myself to drink a green smoothie each day (either for breakfast or as my afternoon snack) as a way to ensure that I’m getting lots of servings of fruits and veggies and other good things in my diet each day.  It’s been 12 days and I am feeling so great! My thought was: Why wait until after the holidays to focus on my health and well-being? Sure, it’s the season for cookies, chocolate and cocktails, but there’s one small thing we can do each day to keep our healthy eating momentum: DRINK GREEN SMOOTHIES! Drinking a green smoothie each day helps our bodies get all the vitamins, minerals, fiber and phytonutrients it needs to stay on the right track during the holidays. Even if we do nothing else differently with our diets, this is one healthy measure we can take each and every day that will reinforce good habits all year long. Skin becomes clearer, our digestive systems will be happy, and our cells will love the nourishment. I’ll post encouragement, recipes and photos along the way.

JOIN ME, WON’T YOU? INVITE YOUR FRIENDS!

https://www.facebook.com/events/1032326443467026/