Monday Mention... Sugar

       With the start of the New Year and the Holiday's behind I thought it would be a good idea to re-visit the topic of sugar. Here is a post I wrote last year giving you three helpful tips. http://whole-food-living.blogspot.com/2014/02/thursday-3-tips-to-cut-down-on-sugar.html . Let this be a year of bringing awareness not judgement to the food you eat and the food you feed your family. When you start reading labels look at the amount of sugar per serving. For example: if the box or can says 9 grams per serving which is 2 Tb and you know you are going to consume far more then 2 tablespoons when you eat this, then be aware and decide to choose another product with less sugar per serving or use less of the product you want. And it is far better to just eat less of the full sugar product then to consume any "sugar-free."

        But remember - It all adds up - each condiment, each dessert, each yogurt, each glass of juice/soda, breakfast, lunch, dinner choice in one day can amount to a lot of sugar. There are unsweetened options our there, and even picking a few will cut down on your consumption. Be patient, it will takes at least a week or two to allow your taste buds to adjust to less sugar on your palette. One choice at a time...

Listed below are a few articles/video on the subject of sugar:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristin-kirkpatrick-ms-rd-ld/dangers-of-sugar_b_3658061.html

http://www.evolvingwellness.com/essay/health-effects-of-sugar-on-your-body-the-bitter-truth

http://www.prevention.com/prevention-videos/16-sneaky-sugar-sources

http://www.livestrong.com/article/506326-what-effects-does-eating-too-much-sugar-have-on-the-body/ 

Love ourselves back to health...

        Getting ourselves to a healthier place, starts with self-love. We cannot "will" ourselves better, it is with gentle and loving kindness towards ourselves that things will begin to shift. We don't need to go looking for the new diet that claims to have all the answers, we don't need to clear out the cabinets and buy all organic and healthy foods. The change and shift will happen, one moment, one choice at a time. Each day brings with it a new beginning, and if yesterday we were not so kind to ourselves, then the awareness will help us try again. Our health is not a destination, it is a life long process of loving and learning. A chance to offer self love through the food we choose and the food we give to others.
        Here are three steps to guide you along and as always, if they don't speak to you, use what does. Self-Love comes in many forms!
 
        First Step:
~ Bring awareness to the food your eating. Not by judging if it's good or bad for you, but enjoy - the color, the taste, the smell. Be aware, as you chew, without distractions, for one meal or one snack.

        Second Step:
~ Be thankful for the abundance of choices and places you are able to purchase food.

        Third Step
~ Remember when your cooking ( no matter what it is) to cook it with a loving intention.

This is a journey of a lifetime... journey with me as we explore how we can " Love ourselves back to health"

Compost...

As hard as I "try" sometimes, things slip by and I loose and waste a whole batch of greens. So I give myself the space to allow that to happen and know that all is not lost because it will go into my compost pile and begin again.

So the moral of the story is "stuff happens" and it's okay. We just pick up were we left off and keep going. And with the awareness we can be more mindful to maybe freeze or prepare it sooner then later next time.

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Tuesday "Try"... Conscious Eating

Try and pick one meal in your day that is not distracted by, TV, cell phones, phone calls, emails, reading, or even conversations and try to consciously eat that meal. Pause ~ take a moment to really look at the colors, smell the aroma that rises up from your plate, feel the work and care that was put into preparing it ( even if it was yourself). Bring your awareness to each small bite and consciously chew and taste your food. Feel the appreciation for the abundance that this meal is on your table and take a breath before the next bite.

Just give it a "try" ~ One meal ~ one try...

Thursday 3 "Tips" to cut down on sugar...

Sugar and spice and everything nice, that's the feeling "sugar" brings to mind.

Sugar is not our enemy, and in moderation it can be our friend. Take a moment to read the ingredient labels on some of the food sitting on your pantry shelves, cabinets and in your refrigerator. Look beyond the obvious bag of cookies or can of soda, and check out the salad dressing, ketchup, peanut butter, yogurt, crackers, lunch meat, pickles, non dairy milk, creamer, cereal, bread, even gum, just to name a few. There is sugar everywhere (even in your medicines) and under many names besides the spelling, S-U-G-A-R.

To help bring awareness to how much sugar may be lurking in your food, here is just some of the other names that sugar can be found on your ingredients labels:

*high fructose corn syrup

*sucrose,

*glucose

*fructose

*lactose

*maltose

*dextrose

*honey

*corn syrup

*invert sugar

*invert sugar syrup

*molasses

*brown sugar

*evaporated cane juice

*dehydrated fruit juice

*corn sweetener

*fruit juice concentrate

*malt syrup

*raw sugar

*turbinado sugar

*sorghum syrup

*refiner's syrup

*beet syrup

*glucose syrup

*barbado's sugar

*muscovado sugar

*beet sugar

*carob syrup

*table sugar

*malt

*buttered sugar

*maple syrup

*rice syrup

*agave nectar or syrup

*powdered sugar

*corn syrup solids

*organic raw sugar

*golden sugar

*date sugar

*castor sugar

*golden sugar

*raisin sugar

*d-mannose

*sorbose

*galactose

*xylitol

*sorbitol

Don't let this list leave you discouraged, it's about bring awareness to the food we eat. So the next time you go to the grocery store try these 3 tips to help you start to cut down on some of the sugar consumed without even knowing it.

One

Read the label on that product your about to put in your cart to feed yourself and your family. Look to see if there is a another product comparable in price, that has less sugar with a similar serving size. 

Example -  if the product label reads 8 gram of sugar for 1/2 cup serving size

look for:

                  4 gram of sugar for 1/2 cup serving size

* or look for a label that may read " no sugar added" 

Two

When making a recipe that calls for sugar put less of the sugar then it requires. I do this all the time and I have rarely ever noticed a difference. And general speaking it doesn't usual effect the texture of consistency of the recipe.

Three

Start doing half and half with your food or drink.

Example - mix 1 pack of instant oatmeal (with 12 gram sugar) with 1 no sugar pack of instant oatmeal.

or

                 mix a bowl of yogurt (with 19 gram sugar) with a bowl of no or low sugar yogurt.

You will find over time that your palette will adjust to the taste of less sugar and you will wonder how you even use to eat so much.

You can follow me on https://www.facebook.com/WholeFoodLiving

and visit http://wholefood-living.com/index.html to see how I can help you on your way to a healthier you!

See No Evil~Hear No Evil~Speak No Evil~ TASTE NO EVIL...

YES... this beautiful juicy red strawberry you see, is more then meets the eye. It is on the list of the Dirty dozen http://www.ewg.org/foodnews  and just because you can't SEE the pesticides, or you haven't HEAR about it, or there hasn't been people SPEAKing out about it in your community, doesn't mean what your TASTing isn't one of the highest pesticide sprayed fruits and vegetables in your grocery store or even at your local farmers market.  

I use this as an illustration to bring awareness to "eating more consciously." Just because there is not a label around what your eating, doesn't mean you assume you know what is in your food. 

We have to become advocates for our own health and those of our children. Ask questions and ask until you get a reliable answer that you feel comfortable with. Research and "google" your concerns. It can be overwhelming, but take small bites ~ like that strawberry you are getting ready to put in your fruit salad: Find out where it came from ( how far it traveled to get to the store), how was it grow (organic, sprayed), is it in season, is it GMO http://www.nongmoproject.org/learn-more/what-is-gmo.

When we are informed we can then make better choices about what we choose to eat. It's not about perfection, it's about progress, awareness and food investment ~ self investment http://whole-food-living.blogspot.com/2013/06/food-investment-self-investment.html.

With awareness comes change ~ one food at a time, one meal at a time. We can do this!

Here are a few resources to help make the research for those strawberries a little easier:

http://www.localharvest.org

http://www.ncstrawberry.com

http://www.pickyourown.org/NCpiedmont.htm

I'm daughters idea for strawberries:
Hollowed them out and put peanut butter inside!

~ Ready to Make a Change : contact me at http://wholefood-living.com/index.html