The Fascinating Practice of Mindful Eating

As a health counselor, I’m provided a window in to how people feed themselves and their families. While my clients are diverse, there are commonalities that unite them. Most are women: daughters with food histories passed down from their families (usually mothers), wives who are often responsible for most of the household cooking (minus those lucky ones whose husbands love to cook), and mothers tasked with providing food and nourishment all day, every day. So I see a lot of patterns and trends, and in general get a pretty good picture of what’s going on with people around their food. Putting the nutritional aspect of food aside for a moment here, one thing that strikes me is how many of us, myself included, have unconscious food habits. Allow me to explain.

Few things can be as challenging as trying to make changes in the way that you eat. Food is always available and it’s so easy to reach for food or to overeat without really knowing why. Most people trying to be more conscious about their food choices have experienced a disconnect between intention and reality. How many of us have started the day with good intentions (eat more veggies, smaller portions, drink more water-you name it) only to discover at the end of the day that we’ve eaten more than we wanted, binged on junk food, or picked away at the birthday cake someone brought into the office? Turning to food when we are stressed or overtired or even bored can be an automatic response that happens before we’re even fully aware that we’re doing it.

The best way to break this cycle is to eat mindfully. It amazes me how many people multitask when they eat. When is the last time that you were fully present with the food you were eating? Fully present means that the TV wasn’t on and you didn’t have a book or a computer in front of you. You weren’t working or making lists of things to do. You weren’t driving somewhere or talking on your cell phone. When is the last time that you were fully aware—with all your senses—of each bite that you put into your mouth? When you truly savored every last morsel? Probably it was a long time ago.
Mindful eating can be the key to breaking old habits with food and creating new ones. Because we eat every day, we’ve plenty of opportunities to refine this practice. And you can get started almost instantly—as soon as you sit down to your next meal.

The Fascinating Practice of Mindful Eating. Take a deep breath or two and allow yourself to notice what sensations are present for you. Really notice. You may have gone hours without paying attention. What’s on your mind? What emotions are you experiencing? How does your body feel? Are you tense or relaxed? How hungry are you? Where do you feel it in your body?
Put your food on a plate and sit down somewhere where you can enjoy your food without being distracted. Take a few more deep breaths. Give thanks and bless your food.

Eat slowly and chew thoughtfully, fully experiencing every morsel of your food. Savor it. Use all your senses. Slow down. Notice your food before you put it into your mouth. Smell it. Really taste it. Stop and consider what you taste. Put your fork down between bites and breathe some more. Take your time. Begin to recognize signs of satiety; that you’ve eaten enough. Give thanks, again, for your nourishment.

Be aware of how it feels to slow down and savor. You might be surprised at emotions that come up. Some people discover that they’ve developed a pattern of eating mindlessly in order to numb their thoughts and feelings. Ouch. You might feel bored, or even impatient and irritated by eating more slowly. What’s truly fascinating is that as you practice mindful eating, you are likely to notice things about your eating and your relationship with food that aren’t really about the food at all.

It’s not necessary (or, I fully realize, realistic) to practice mindful eating every single time you eat, but it can be a very worthwhile to engage in regularly. When we shine light on things we do unconsciously, transformation occurs. Please share your thoughts and experiences with this one. We all have a lot to learn!

Why am I giving a workshop about smoothies?

Many people have jumped on the smoothie bandwagon; just Google “smoothies” and you’ll get a ton of hits. It seems too simple an idea to have to teach; just throw a few things in a blender and there you go. But it’s quite easy to make a nutrient-void smoothie (overloaded with dairy and sugar) and more of an art form to create a blendable meal that meets your nutritional needs on any given day.

A few years ago, I became inspired to add smoothies into my diet after reading Spent, by Dr. Frank Lipman. Spent explains why many of us are exhausted, depleted and suffering from chronic autoimmune illnesses, and offers simple lifestyle and dietary changes for healing. (Dr. Lipman has since changed the name of the book to Revive, which I like, as it reflects a more optimistic outlook.)

Dr. Lipman suggests starting each day with a morning smoothie. We’ve all heard the old adage that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day”. I‘m not going to go into all the reasons why that’s true now, but I will say that most people would feel a whole lot better if they improved their morning meal. Many adults, and, unbelievably, children too, skip breakfast all together, or eat a nutrient-poor breakfast that can actually do them more harm than good. Think about it: processed, sugary boxed cereals, loaded with preservatives and food coloring, + cold milk = guaranteed low blood sugar and fatigued in about an hour!

Smoothies are ideal in the morning because they are easy to digest; because the contents are blended, the body does not have to work so hard to break down the food and nutrients. It’s also easy to load up your smoothie with nutrients, both in the form of food and supplements.

An ideal smoothie contains high quality protein, some good fat, plus some fruits and/or veggies. Fruits and veggies can vary with the season; protein can come from either the “base liquid”, such as almond milk, from food, such as peanut or almond butter, or from a powdered supplement, in various forms, such as whey or hemp.

Once you get the hang of making smoothies, you’ll know how to customize them to meet your body’s needs on any given day. So, join me on Sunday, January 23rd to learn how to prepare your own non-dairy milks and use them as a base for sensational smoothies.

Again, here are the details:

DATE: Sunday, January 23rd
TIME: 8:30pm
LOCATION: Slav 12B, Yad Binyamin
INVESTMENT: 55 nis for this workshop, 150 nis for the series (see previous post for details about the series)
TO REGISTER: email Arlyn kislev17@gmail.com

Winter 2011 Wellness Workshops

BS”D

First, a huge thanks to all who attended the Fall series of workshops and helped make them such a success! We continue in 2011, moving to a more experiential format and getting our hands dirty in the kitchen!

We’ll offer three hands-on, interactive workshops to build your repertoire in the kitchen and expand your healthy eating tool kit to go beyond basic cooking and learn to prepare healing, super-nutritious foods.

January 23rd: Non dairy milks and smoothies.
Whether or not you are dairy-free, you and your family will benefit immensely from adding non-dairy “milks” to your diet. We’ll make a few non-dairy “milks” and use them as a base for super-food green smoothies. Smoothies are a great way to start your day; you get powerful nutrition that’s easy to digest and assimilate. You can easily adapt these recipes at home to your family’s individual tastes and nutritional needs.


February 13th: Fermented Foods: with fermented foods expert Erika Mizrachi
Learn the benefits and traditional techniques of lactic acid fermentation. Supplementing our diet with fermented foods can help to reduce high cholesterol levels in our blood, and strengthen and support our digestive and immune systems. We’ll learn how to make kefir and sauerkraut; two easy treats that will make your digestive tract very happy!

Erika is a certified nurse who helps people identify food allergies and intolerances, and heal their GI tracts by adding fermented foods into their diet. She is also the former head medical editor of www.grannymed.com.


March 13: Sprouts and raw living foods
You already know that there are tremendous health benefits from eating raw, fresh vegetables and organic foods on a regular basis. Sprouts are a ‘live food’ that offer some essential nutrients and minerals that you won’t get from processed foods and even some fresh vegetables. Sprouts contain several compounds that improve digestion and are rich in antioxidants. While you can certainly buy sprouts, you can sprout at home to create a fresher, more nutritionally potent food. We’ll learn the simple process for sprouting various legumes and seeds and sample some yummy ways to eat sprouts.


Location: Boltax residence, Slav 12B, Yad Binyamin
Time: All workshops start at 8:30pm
Investment: 55 nis per class, pre registered
150 nis for the whole series (all 3 workshops)
Questions or to
register: Contact Arlyn 054 204 4773 or kislev17@gmail.com

Fantastic Fifteen Minute Lunch!!

A quick post for all those who claim that healthy cooking takes too much time, or that kids won’t eat healthy foods


After a full morning of doing work that I LOVE, Baruch HaShem, followed immediately by scurrying to fetch two kids from school, I came home at lunch time with no lunch at the ready.

Deep breath. Idea percolating. Chilly inside the house. Craving something warming, and slightly salty. Something quazi-nouveau-macrobiotic, if you will. Set hungry kids up with markers and Play-doh, and set the timer.

Here’s how it went down:

1) Put water on to boil for rice noodles.
2) Filled a pot with a few centimeters of water and water-sautéed an onion, a carrot, and a zucchini for a few minutes. Then added more water as a base for what would become our miso soup.
3) Combined a few scallions, generous handful of parsley, some olive oil and toasted sesame oil, dash of tamari and umeboshi plum vinegar and a generous spoonful of almond butter. Whizzed in the Magimix. Voila! Supper yummy sauce for the noodles. SUPER yummy. As in licking-the-blades-of-the-food- processor yummy!
4) Cut up some cucumbers and carrots for dipping into extra sauce.
5) Cooked and drained rice noodles.
6) Added miso to individual bowls of soup.
7) Dished out rice noodles topped with yummy sauce.
8) Served raw cut up veggies on the side.

Timer rings! Fifteen minutes and we’re all sitting down to thank the good Lord for the blessed lunch.

Healthy Meals in NO TIME AT ALL!

A few days ago, I posted the following question as my Facebook status:

What roadblocks keep you from eating (or feeding your family) healthy?

I received a slew of responses (thanks for that!), all essentially saying the same thing: a lack of time, menu ideas, cooking skills, and motivation prevent us from eating healthfully.

Oh my. First, let me say, I have struggled with these, especially, the lack of time and menu planning. And, as my family loves to remind me, my first attempts at cooking were less than stellar. It took me a while to learn to cook well, a practice I am forever refining.

But I assure you, these are not insurmountable obstacles, and with a little planning, some guidance, and an open mind, you can eat healthfully and feel great WITHOUT SPENDING HOURS IN THE KITCHEN! Honestly, I just don't buy the time excuse; it can take longer to order and pick up a pizza, or heat up some ultra-processed "chicken" schnitzel than to cook a simple, whole foods meal.

Today, after a crazy start to the week (working two jobs for three days in a row, multiple appointments for the kids, repairmen in and out of the house, etc.) I made a healthy and delicious lunch in UNDER 8 MINUTES. What's more, this mean was totally not pre-planned; I thought of this idea on my bike ride home from work!

The result? Coconut Rice With Chicken that everyone scarfed down!


Here's how it went down:
1. Turn on oven and reheat leftover chicken.
2. Heat coconut oil in skillet. Chop onions. Sautee onions and spices (cinnamon, ginger, salt and pepper)
3. Wash, soak and check 1/2 head of cauliflower
4. Pour can of coconut milk into the skillet. Heat for 30-60 seconds.
5. Add precooked brown rice (leftovers from last night). Stir to mix and heat for a few minutes.
6. Add cauliflower. Cover and shut off heat.
7. Let rest for a minute while the cauliflower steams a bit.
8. Spoon rice mixture into bowls with some shredded chicken on top; then eat and enjoy

See? Quick, easy and healthy! And yummy! In under 8 minutes. Clearly, the speed was the result of having 2 components already cooked (the rice and the chicken) and the other ingredients on hand (the coconut milk and the veggies). I'll talk more about how to make that happen in future posts. But for right now: What do you have in your pantry or fridge that you can transform into a quick and healthy meal today?

Embracing the Season

Finally. Fall has arrived here in Israel, and with it, cooler temperatures… and some wind. While most of us welcome this respite from the heat, seasonal transitions can be very taxing physically and energetically. Whether we acknowledge it or not, we are deeply affected by the changes in our environment, including the seasonal ones.

As fall settles upon us for real now, have you noticed you’ve got:
skin problems: acne, eczema, rashes, dry, dull or oily skin?
congestion: sinusitis, asthma, allergies, runny/ stuffy nose, or a cold?
an overbooked to-do list or calendar? (I consider this just another form of congestion, really.)

If you answered 'yes' to any of the questions above, then it’s crucial to adjust your diet and lifestyle to align with the season. Doing so will help you create health and balance and build strength for the upcoming winter. Better to act now than wait till later. A cold that lingers from fall to winter could easily morph into a sinus infection or pneumonia as the weather turns cold.

So, how do you make that happen, when you've already got so much to do? The key lies in embracing the season. Here in Israel, we’re blessed that it’s fairly easy to eat seasonally. The produce available to us is what’s in season, and, as they say “zeh-ho”. If it’s not in season, then you won’t find it in stores. You’ll notice when produce is not quite at its prime because of the price (more expensive) and well, the taste (not so great). When the season is over, you simply can’t get it anymore. This is in sharp contrast to many Western countries, where, if you fancy watermelon in the dead of winter, you can get it. Pineapple in January? No problem. Food is shipped from where ever it is seasonal to wherever you want it. The problem is, while your taste buds may want that food, your body really doesn’t. Your body wants to align with nature; that’s what it was designed to do. Eating and living “out of season” can lead to physical and emotional illness and intense food cravings.
You see, there’s a reason certain foods grow in certain seasons. With each new season comes a fresh batch of foods designed to support your body during the new season. Therefore, it's important to change the foods you eat every time you transition from one season to another. Changing the foods you eat will help reduce food cravings and balance your body and moods.

Enough theory... let's get practical! What does seasonal eating look like in the Fall? According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, fall foods are designed to cleanse and rebuild your lungs and large intestine, as well as all the health problems that arise when these two organs are overburdened.

Fall foods are often white in color and sour or pungent in taste. You’ll also want to add more warming and moist, cooked foods to balance the effects of the weather. Some fall food suggestions:
Put sliced apple or pear over your breakfast cereal or oatmeal; ginger tea flavored with a slice of lemon, lots of garlic and onion in general, soups and stews, especially with root veggies like carrot, turnip, beets, celery, etc.; baked sweet potatoes or pumpkin with cinnamon sprinkled on top, whole grains like barley and brown rice, and good quality oils like olive, sesame, and coconut.
Daily Lifestyle Routines

Just as important and what you eat is WHEN you eat. Now’s the time to establish a regular eating schedule; it’s exactly what we need to calm our over stimulated nervous systems and regulate our digestion. Try consistently eating a light breakfast about an hour after you wake up, a heavier lunch, and a light dinner, ideally before 6pm. Honor your body’s need for more rest in this season by going to bed before 10pm and getting up rising before 6am. I totally acknowledge how challenging this is; do the best you can to at least establish a regular routine, no matter what it is. Getting up early one day and sleeping in the next or eating at 6pm one day and at 10pm the next, all promote imbalance and poor digestion (and elimination!).

...........
Sounds simple? It is! And yet, simple changes can produce big results! Dr. Elson Hass says it so well in his book, Staying Healthy with the Seasons:

“Eating and living habits are crucial to your well-being and important for your growth. It is time to assume total responsibility for how you feel on a day-to-day basis. Health begins with becoming aware of your energy and its balance-what you take in and what you put out. What’s important is learning to listen to yourself from the inside so you do not have to become ill to change your life. Keeping your body and mind open and clear makes the way for positive thoughts and visions, and the love from your heart will fill every part.”

Amen. So it should be by all of us...

Nutrition and Wellness Workshops in Yad Binyamin with ARLYN BOLTAX, Certified Nutrition Counselor

Are you ready to take charge of your health, simplify your eating routine, and create and achieve sustainable health goals for yourself and your family?

Do you already know a lot about nutrition and healthy eating, but have trouble implementing your knowledge into action?

Have you always wanted to experience the benefits of working with a health coach, but couldn’t swing the cost of private sessions?

Please join me for informative, dynamic, and fun health workshops. Come for one or all three, to be held once a month on Sunday evenings now through the end of the year.


October: Sunday, October 24, 2010
Sugar Blues: Learn the truth about sugar and how to stabilize your weight, wood, and metabolism. I’ll share tips for kicking the habit and information about natural and alternative sweeteners.


November: Sunday, November 21, 2010
Nutritional Myths Debunked: I’ll clear up the confusion about fats and oils, explain why eating low-fat foods and drinking diet soda doesn’t lead to weight loss, and demystify the carbohydrate dilemma.

December: Sunday, December 19, 2010
Building your Immunity for Winter and beyond:
Discover how integrating a diet and lifestyle that is appropriate for the season can boost your health. Practical advice for transitioning to a healthy, whole foods diet that will keep you and your family healthy this winter.


INVESTMENT: Advance registration: 40 nis each class OR
110 nis for the series
At the door: 50 nis per class

TO REGISTER OR FOR MORE INFO: 054 204 4773 or Kislev17@gmail.com


All workshops will begin at 8:30pm @ my house, Rechov Slav 12B.
Each class will include handouts and recipes.
Hope to see you there, and please help spread the word!!