Should you go nuts over nuts?

When I began seriously learning more about diet and health I was 15 pounds heavier than I am now.  I wasn't huge by any means, but I had always been a lean athlete and wanted my body back.  I suffered a severe ankle break skateboarding the year before and the weight slowly packed on.  

I began eating a whole foods, plant-based diet after watching the jaw-dropping research of Dr. T Colin Campbell, author of The China Study, and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, author of Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease while working as a Nutrition Educator for The Food Trust.  

Now, not only could I maintain a healthy weight without restricting how much I wanted to eat (my favorite part!), but I could highly increase my chances of preventing the chronic diseases that killed my grandparents and help others do the same.  Yes!

But after months eating a plant-based diet, I didn't drop a pound.  I learned later, high-fat plant foods such as nuts, can be a weight-loss killer when not eaten correctly.  Do I still eat nuts now?  Hell yeah I do, but there is a trick to eating them correctly ;)

And it's not just about the weight... high-fat plant foods like nuts, can impede on lowering really stubborn cholesterol, and reversing type II diabetes and heart disease.  

So don't make the same mistakes I did!  Learn how to eat nuts correctly to reverse AND prevent disease in this week's episode of Take Control Tuesdays above.  And then get your booty over to comments section below and take action now towards better health!

FYI - commenting is part of taking action!  As the research shows... the more support people have, the more they adhere to diet aka get results ;)  So.. 

Take Control Now!

How did you use to eat nuts?  Out of the bowl perhaps ;-)?  How will you change how you eat nuts after watching this episode?

Do Low-Fat Vegans Lose More Weight in Intervention Study?

Where do I come off telling you to stop eating dairy products and get rid of all the oils?Where do I get this information from anyway?

My information and actions are powered by the "preponderance of evidence," as Dr. Pam Popper, owner of the Wellness Forum, frequently states.  I review scientific articles published in academic journals like the one below.  

Today I will discuss an intervention study that randomized overweight postmenopausal women into a low-fat vegan or National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) group for 14 weeks.  

Which group lost significantly more weight?  Which group reduced their waist circumference while never restricting their portion sizes?

Sources: study 1, study 2, study 3, study 4

Take Control Now!

Did you know plant-based nutrition was evidence-based?  What do you think about this study?

Write your answer in the comments section below.

Food Guidelines: What to Eat, What to Avoid

What exactly do you eat on a whole foods, plant-based diet (WFPBD) (or should I say, living a WFPB lifestyle?).  Getting the diet is right is essential for getting the results you want.  

As Dr. Pam Popper says, seeing results from the diet is like opening a combination lock.  You can't open it with only two of the three numbers.  And you won't get the best results from following the diet 75% of the time.  Especially if you are sick with heart disease or diabetes.  Adherence is the key to success for arrest and reversal therapy, as Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn commonly advocates.  

This is not meant to deter anyone from slowly transitioning into a WFPBD, but to be honest and give you a heads up.  If you only do the diet 50% of the time and you don't experience any results after three weeks, you can't say the diet didn't work.  

Plus, when you completely go for it, you're cholesterol levels can drop within one week for example.  Experiencing fast results while never having to restrict calories, are HUGE motivating factors to sticking with the diet.  

What are whole, plant foods?

A whole foods, plant-based diet is made up of well, whole, plant foods.  

Whole plant foods are those that can be picked and eaten directly from the garden.  'Whole' plants are eaten in their original form and contain all of their original nutrients.  

What does a WFPBD include?

Yup, it's that simple.  Whole-grains, fruits, vegetables and legumes (beans, peas and lentils).  And there is such a variety within each food group.  Your palate will no-doubtedly expand diving into this culinary world.  

Two - three ounces of organic animal meat (not dairy) is permitted per week.  That's the size of your palm.  

Not only do we have to ensure we are eating a diversity of the four food groups each day, it's crucial we get certain food groups out of the diet as well.  

What not to eat.  Food to avoid.

Yup, that's right.  No animal products of any kind.  No dairy, no meat (including fish) and no refined foods.  

Here is the exception: if you are healthy, have no major diseases, you can eat 2-3 OUNCES (the size of the palm of my hand) of ORGANIC meat (not dairy) once per week AS LONG AS the you are eating whole, plant-based foods the rest of the week.  Don't bend this rule!

But don't worry, eating without the above foods is AWESOME.  And your body will thank you for it... and quickly, again, when you do it right.  Getting the refined foods out of the diet is essential for success.  

What are refined foods?

Refined foods are not whole foods.  They don't contain all of their original nutrients.  They've been stripped of their original nutrients and are empty calories.  Refined foods contribute to weight gain, diabetes and a slew of health problems.  

Refined grain products don't contain all of their original nutrients.  The fiber and many vitamins have been removed in this process.  Most breads, crackers and flour used in U.S. food products are refined.  Avoid them.  

Oils are also refined foods.  When we eat olive oil for example, we aren't eating the 'whole' olive.  We aren't eating the fiber and accompanying vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.  We're just adding nothing but liquid fat and extra calories (that Americans don't need).  Eat the 'whole' food instead--the corn vs. the corn oil.  Use water or veggie broth to sauté instead of oil.  

Sugar is also void of any vitamins and minerals.  It's empty calories, containing nothing but carbohydrate (which isn't any worse than oil.  Carbohydrates at least give our bodies fuel--they're our preferred energy sources).  

So, that's a WFPBD on the most basic level.

Avoid all animal and all refined foods products.

Eat unlimited amounts of whole-grains, fruits, vegetables and legumes.

Feel full and satisfied at every meal.

This is hands down my favorite part of eating a WFPBD.  I LOVE to eat.  I come from a long line of big eaters (and big bellies) but when you eat whole, plant-based foods (especially starchy ones) you feel full and satisfied so you stop eating for hours afterwards.

The fiber, water and bulk found in whole, plant foods all contribute to that feeling of satisfaction.  But your greatest ally is starch.  Whole foods high in starch are essential when eating a WFPBD.  

For one, WHOLE starchy foods such as 100% whole-grain pasta, winter squash, potatoes, corn, rice and beans are incredibly filling (and highly nutritious).  Secondly, whole, starchy foods are much lower in calories compared to animal foods.  So, you get to eat up, but eat less calories!  Make whole starchy foods the staples in all of your meals.  

Top your starchy whole foods with a variety of fruits and vegetables to get the additional benefits of these nutrient powerhouses.  

If you stick to these guidelines, eating a WFPBD 90-95% of the time you can expect amazing results.

What the hell am I going to eat?

Making meals out of the four food groups is easier and more delicious than you'd assume.  Most of your typical meals can be substituted with whole plant-foods.  

For breakfast you could have oatmeal or 100% whole-grain cereal with fresh fruit, or scrambled tofu instead of eggs.  Whole-grain pancakes can easily be made with a nut milk and without oil.

Lunch is as simple as baked sweet potatoes with salsa and salad or corn on the cob (use a lime wedge and chipotle powder instead of butter) with black bean soup.  

Dinner is pasta, pizza or burgers.  Wait what!?  Sure.  Veggies instead of meat on our pasta, skip the cheese on the pizza and instead, over load it with veggies (even corn, beans and salsa are awesome on pizza).  Our burger is a veggie burger with no-oil sweet potato fries.

For a Free Resource Guide that has a list of my favorite recipe websites, make sure you're signed up to website and it will be sent right to your inbox (sign-up at the box at the bottom of this page).

Take Control Now!

Commit to eating one whole food, plant-based meal by next Tuesday.  Will you prepare something or buy it?  Turn an old favorite into a new plant-based dish or try a new recipe.  

What will you do?  Comment with your thoughts below.  

How and Why to Make Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet potatoes are my FAVORITE food.  They are DELICIOUS, simple to prepare, incredibly nutritious and inexpensive.  Sweet potatoes are my sustenance.  I eat them multiple times a week in multiple different ways.  

But my favorite way to eat sweet potatoes --  the food that sustained the longest lived population on earth, the Okinawanas of Japan -- as fries.  

But before you can cook them, I need to clear up some confusion.  Sweet potatoes are commonly called 'yams' in U.S. grocery stores.  When in reality, both the 'yams' and the sweet potatoes, are actually sweet potatoes.  'Yams' in the store are simply a variety of sweet potato.  Here is what true yams and sweet potatoes look like.  

Why are these sweet tubers so good for you?  

Like most whole plant foods, sweet potatoes are naturally low in calories and fat.  There isn't even 0.5 g of fat in one large sweet potato!  They contain zero cholesterol, but are a powerhouse of nutrition for preventing and reversing chronic disease, when eaten as a part of a plant-based diet.  And, they're incredibly filling, so you fill up on less calories and an abundance of nutrients.  

One Large Sweet Potato, 180g

Calories: 162                      Fat: 0.27 g                              Cholesterol:  0 mg

Fiber: 6 g                            Calcium: 68 mg                      Magnesium: 49 mg

Folate: 11 mcg                 Vit. A (RAE): 1730 mcg           Beta carotene: 20,716 mcg

                                                                                  Source: USDA Nutrient Database

One of the longest lived populations in the world, the Centenarians of Okinawa, Japan, eat sweet potatoes daily as their staple food, along side of cereals, beans, fruits and vegetables (1) (2).  They eat a whole foods, plant-based diet!

How to prepare sweet potatoes:

As fries - served with salsa or mustard as a snack, side-dish or appetizer. Rinse, then cut into equal sized strips, toss with dried herbs and spices, and then broil in the oven on low for 15 minutes or until soft and about to brown (the herbs stick to the potatoes w/o oil).  Watch the above video for more detailed instructions ;)

Baked - sweet potatoes are sweet and creamy when baked.  Scrub with water, then poke with a fork around the whole potato.  Bake in the oven for one hour at 400 degrees F.  

Enjoy with black bean soup on-top (no butter!), as a side-dish, a snack, in soups or use to mash.  

Mashed - Bake, remove skins once cooled, and hand mash.  You can add small amounts of almond milk and maple syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg, for a smoother and sweeter dish.

Other options - Sweet potatoes are awesome in quesadillas, soups and in veggie burgers.  Bake a bunch at a time and keep them stocked in the fridge so you always have some sweet potato lovin' to add to your meals.  

Storage - always store sweet potatoes in a paper bag, NEVER plastic.  They can't breathe (really) in sealed plastic bags and will poison themselves with their own gases.  

Store in a warmer location, never in the fridge.  Sweet potatoes like it hot!

Let me hear it!

How will you prepare a healthy sweet potato?  What is your favorite way to eat them?

Type your answer in the comments section below and start to take control of your health today!

References:

1. Chen, C. A survey of the dietary nutritional composition of the centenarians. Chinese Med J (Engl). 2001. Oct. 114;(10)1095-7.

2. Sho, H. History and characteristics of Okinawan longevity food. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2001;10(2):159-64

5 New Varieties of Winter Squash -- How and Why to Eat Them

It’s that time of year again!  With fall comes endless squashes, pumpkins and seasonal garden treats.  And right now, the winter squashes are bountiful.  But there are so many varieties to choose from!

Have you seen a bunch of funky varieties of squash and aren’t quite sure what to do with them?  Well it’s time to deviate from your normal butternut squash and get to know these 5 new ones.  

This squash is my FAVORITE!  Buttercup -- it’s the richest, sweetest squash I’ve ever had and I’m excited to share it with you.

Not only are these squash delicious, but they are excellent for your health.  They are very filling, but naturally low in calories, low in fat, contain zero cholesterol and are abundant with disease fighting properties.  

Ways to eat them:

- Stuffed with different whole-grain mixes such as wild rice or farro.  Include dried fruits like cranberries (or fresh cranberries), currants or rasins.  Nuts would also compliment a whole-grain mix (yeah for using nuts and dried fruit as condiments!)

- Baked with diced apples, pear.

- Cinnamon, clove, coriander, all spice compliment them nicely 

- Just plain! As chunks.  Delicious side dish!  Or dip in mustard.

- As mashed potatoes.

- Boiled, baked or even microwaved.

Store: in a cool, dry, dark place for 2-3 months, but not in the fridge.

Differences in taste:

Sweet dumpling: mildly sweet, good for stuffing and baking and served individually.

Kabocha: is the Japanese word for squash. Rich and sweet. Dry and flaky when cooked. Cross between a sweet potato and a pumpkin. Bake for 30 minutes at 400 F.

Buttercup squash:  part of turban squash family (hard shell, turban shaped).  Sweet, rich and creamy—sweeter than most other squashes.  

Golden nugget: can be cooked whole if poked before baking.  Difficult to cut so bake before cutting.

Acorn:  mildly flavored, can stuff as a personal center piece or slice in rings and bake.

Recipes (Trisha approved ;)

Acorn Squash and Apple Soup from Lindsay Nixon and the Happy Herbivore

Sweet Dumpling Squash Stuffed with Lemon Herbed Rice from Fat Free Vegan

Kabocha Bean Dip from Cathy Fisher at Straight Up Food.com

Cost/pound:  $1.29/lb at my local grocery store.  Less expensive, more beautiful and much healthier than a steak or chicken for your main dish ;)

Take Control Now

What squash will you try?  Which have your tried in the past and LOVED?  Post your answers in the comments section below and start to take control of your diet, weight and your health!