3 Ways to Stop Eating Junk Regularly

We're constantly bombarded with unhealthy foods everyday.  Cupcakes tempt us in the lunch line; cookies are always available with coffee; and co-workers consistantly bring in junk food to share.    

Because we're constantly assaulted with disease promoting foods, it's essential you learn how to set yourself up for success in these situations... how to increase your chances of choosing the healthiest foods in your house, your office etc.  

And trust me, I know this can be difficult.  In my studio apartment, I literally sleep in my kitchen.  My bed is 5ft from the fridge!

If I want any chance of eating a healthy, plant-based diet on a daily basis, I have to set my environment up in a way that promotes eating optimally... I have to sanitize it!

When you sanitize your environment, or clean it up, you no longer have to rely on will-power to try and eat healthy.  Which is awesome because will-power doesn't work!  

It's only a matter of time until the free cookies in the break room start calling your name, or the ice-cream in the fridge.  Our bodies are specifically designed to seek out these foods.  We naturally desire calorie dense foods like cookies, ice-cream and fatty foods.  

When we were gatherers and hunters, our existence was dependent upon eating foods high in calories.  If we didn't, we could die.  The problem now is that we're no longer struggling to find food and get enough calories.  However, that mechanism still exists within us.  

In order to beat will-power, you have to set-up your environment in a way that you don't have to worry about it.  

Warning!  You aren't going to want to do this!   These steps can be difficult -- especially cleaning out your kitchen -- but they are essential if you really want to start to make a change to your diet.  It makes eating well so much easier!     

Here's 3 Essential Steps for Sanitizing Your Environment

1.  Get troublesome foods out of your kitchen, and stocked with delicious, plant foods instead.

Get the foods you shouldn't be eating on a daily basis out of your daily living environments.  This means treats as well as the other foods I suggest you don't eat: refined foods (sugar, oil and white flour products) and dairy.  (Click here to watch the Take Control Tuesday episode 'Food Guidelines: What to Eat, What to Avoid').

At the same time, you need to make sure your kitchen (and office!) is stocked with delicious plant-based meals and foods.  An abundance of fresh fruit, veggies, pre-made salad dressing, hummus, boxed soups, frozen dinners, sweet potatoes and the list goes on!  

This way when you're hungry, the only option you have is to eat something delicious and nutritious!  If you get hungry and healthy options aren't available, you're going to eat something you shouldn't!

2.  Save treats for special occasions, outside the house.  

Eating a healthy plant-based diet doesn't mean you can't ever eat dessert or a treat again.  However, it's essential you decipher between a treat and daily fare.  Cookies, potato chips, cake, chocolate etc. are not foods to be eaten daily or even weekly.  

Treats are foods to be eaten only for special occasions... your birthday or traveling abroad for example, outside the house.  Otherwise, they're no longer treats because you're eating them regularly.

To piggy back on rule #1, if there's left-over treats from a birthday cake for example, don't bring them into your house!  Kindly decline or give it someone else.  If you bring it home, you will eat it!

3.  Buy foods you aren't tempted by, when serving/buying foods for others.

Although you may be striving towards eating a plant-based diet, your spouse, children, parents etc. may not be on the same page.  You'll probably have to prepare food for them that isn't ideal for you.

When this is the case, buy foods you won't be tempted by.  This way, even if something isn't good for you, you're less likely to eat it.  Don't buy them your favorite dessert for example.  You'll drool over it and are more likely to cave in and eat it.  Instead, whip up something that doesn't appeal to you at all.

Although these changes may be difficult for some, they really go a long way.  Forget will power and change your environment instead.  You can do it!  Please let me know how it goes!

Take Control Now

What's one food you can't (and shouldn't) keep in your kitchen because you'll always eat it?  Are you ready to kick that food out of your kitchen for good?  

Answer in the comments section below.  

Why You Should Never Believe the Front of a Food Package

Have you ever gone to the grocery store and been completely confused about the claims made on food products?  The covers of products are filled with captivating images and health claims... organic, pesticide free, zero trans fat, 100% of your recommended amount of vitamin C and the list goes on.   

But does that mean a product is truly healthy?  You may think you're making a wise choice, but in reality, you may be wasting your money on food that doesn't support a healthy body or a healthy weight. 

Here is my number one rule to follow when deciphering between fact and advertising on food package covers...

Never believe ANYTHING on the front of a food product.

Ever.  Why?  Because the claims can be very deceptive and misleading.  In today's episode, I give you three examples why.  

For someone without nutritional knowledge, it can be even more difficult to sort through.  So, it's best to look directly at the nutrition facts on the side of the package and completely disregard the front!  The nutrition facts panel is the only place where you'll figure out exactly what is in your food.  

 

Take Control Now

Does the deceptiveness of food products shock or bother you?  Do you have a useful tip to share when looking at food packages?

Put this knowledge into action and share your thoughts in the comments section below.

How to Make 5 Minute Cous Cous

Sometimes we just need to make something quick -- feed hungry kids, husbands or ourselves for that matter.  But quick doesn't have to mean unhealthy.

That's one reason why cous cous is awesome to make.  It only takes 5 minutes!  Here's how...

How to make cous cous

Ingredients:

1 C dry cous cous

1.25 C water or veggie broth

Bring water to a boil.  Add cous cous, stir it around once and put the lid on-top.  Remove from heat immediately.  Let sit for 5 minutes and your done!

What to do with cous cous

Cous cous has a light taste and a fluffy texture which can be fun to play with.  You can add any kinds of veggies, beans and spices to cous cous to make it yummy meal.  Keep some plain cous cous left-over in your fridge to throw into other dishes.

Here are two 'Trisha approved' recipes for cous cous:

1.  Mary McDougall's Tex-Mex Cous Cous Salad

2. Alicia Silverstone's Moroccan Cous Cous Salad

If you make any of these recipes, please post your thoughts on them in the comments section below.  Myself and others would love to hear your thoughts!

Take Control Now

Have you made cous cous before?  

What's your favorite way to eat it?

How to Saute without Oil

Sautéing without oil is easier than you'd imagine.  You can create wonderful flavors while skipping 100s of unnecessary calories and fat.  Here's how.

Instructions:

1. Put any pan (non-stick, stainless steel, cast iron etc.) on medium-high heat.  
2. Add chopped onion and stir with a spatula.  Stir frequently.  
3. Once the bottom of the pan begins to brown, add 1-2 tablespoons of water or veggie broth.  Continue to stir the onion around.  The liquid will remove 'the brown' from the pan and give your food added flavor.
4. Repeat as many times as necessary until the onion is translucent.  Then, you're done!

Helpful tips and tricks

• Don't saute chopped garlic on its own.  It will burn!  Add chopped garlic to the onion and other veggies once they've been cooking to avoid burning.
• Celery, carrots and mushrooms also sauté well as the 'base' veggie.
• More water/liquid will equal a softer, 'steamed' flavor.
• Less liquid will create a crunchier, sweeter flavor.  You have to keep a closer eye on the pan and constantly stir.  Otherwise, it will burn with less liquid.
• Sometimes you won't need any liquid, especially if using a non-stick pan.
• Use fresh and dried herbs and spices to add flavor to your dish instead of oils.  

Why Shouldn't You Use Oil?  

Here's a recap from last week's episode '5 Reasons Why Oil is NOT a Health Food.'

1. Oil is low in nutritional value (1).
2. Oil damages your endothelial cells.
3. Cholesterol levels can be lowered quicker by eliminating oil and saturated fats together.
4. Oil is the most calorie dense food on the plant -- it's difficult to maintain a healthy weight when oil is a regular part of the diet.
5. Heart disease has been reversed with a plant-based, oil-free diet (2).

Take Control Now

What and when will you sauté without oil this week?  What are your thoughts about sautéing without oil?

Click 'comments' and type your answers below this article.  

Sources:

1.  USDA Nutrient Database. Olive Oil. Agricultural Research Services.   2.  Esselstyn, CB.  Resolving the Coronary Artery Epidemic Through Plant-Based Nutrition. Preventive Cardiology 2001; 4: 171-177.

5 Reasons Why Oil is NOT a Health Food

Oil is commonly marketed and advocated as a health food.  However, oil -- even olive oil, can really impede on your health goals.  I always avoid it as do leading health experts.  Here's five reasons why...

1. Oil is very low in nutritional value.

It has no minerals, no fiber, no protein, no carbohydrate and minimal vitamins.  However, it does have a heck of of a lot of calories and fat.

One tablespoon of olive oil is a hefty 120 calories.  Not only is it incredibly calorie dense, it also has 14g of fat in one tablespoon!  And 2g of that fat is saturated which we should avoid.  Olive oil does have trace amounts of vitamin E, vitamin K and phytosterols.  But so what!?  So do other whole foods, like the olives themselves!

For 120 calories of oil, I could eat 1.25 baked sweet potatoes.  I'd also get 0.2g of fat, 5g of fiber, actually feel like I ate something, get calcium, magnesium, Iron, phosphorous, potassium, vitamin C, B vitamins, folate, carotenoids, lycopene, vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin K, all of the amino acids or protein and much more!

Looking at oil's nutritional profile, it really is nothing but pure liquid fat.

2.  Oil makes you fat.

It’s difficult for most people to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight when oil is a regular part of the diet.  Again, one tablespoon of oil is 120 calories.  I could eat 1.25 medium sweet potatoes for that may calories. 

But which of these foods is going to fill me up more?  The sweet potato of course. 

It has more bulk -- I’ll actually feel it sitting in my stomach; it has more fiber, which also helps us to feel full; and it’s full of nutrition that tells our nutrient receptors in our stomachs that we’ve gotten enough nutrition and it's time to stop eating.

Oil doesn’t do that.  It doesn’t make us feel full.  It just adds 100s of extra calories to your diet.  You’ll eat the same amount or quantity of food in a day whether there’s oil on it or not.  Or, you'll actually eat more because the fat makes it taste better.   

Oil is the most calorie dense food in the planet.  

3.  Oil damages your endothelial cells.

Our endothelial cells are a single layer of cells that line our blood vessels.  Our endothelial cells produce nitric oxide which helps our blood flow throughout our bodies. Oil damages those endothelial cells.  Thankfully, according to Dr. Esselstyn, the endothelial cells begin to heal themselves once you take the damaging foods out of the diet and start to eat a low-fat plant-based diet (1, 2).  Especially with lots of greens!

So start to get the meats, dairy, oils and refined foods out of your body!  Work on getting whole-grains, fruits, vegetables and legumes in your belly to start healing your artery walls ASAP!

4.  Heart disease has been reversed without oil. 

Dr. Esselstyn has successfully reversed severe heart disease with a low-fat, oil-free, plant-based diet.  Dr. Esselstyn eliminated all oils, meat, dairy, high-fat plant foods and refined foods in his patients.  In their place, he prescribed a diet of fruits, vegetables, whole-grains and legumes (3).

5.  Oils don't lower cholesterol.

This is only true if you replace saturated fats like butter and lard with unsaturated fats -- most vegetable oils.

However, if someone like me who doesn’t eat any oils, starts to do so, my cholesterol levels will increase.  

Likewise, if you were to stop eating saturated fats and vegetable oils, your cholesterol would decrease even quicker!  (especially if you're eating a whole foods, plant-based diet).

Take Control Now

How many times each day do you consume oil?  What is one way you can begin to cut oil out of your diet?

Sources: 1, 2, 3.