Soup is On!

Let’s be honest, the colder the weather gets the more I crave a bowl of soup. Not just any soup, but a soup that will fill me up and keep me warm throughout the day. When I get a craving for soup I typically empty out my fridge into a pot, throw in some pasta or rice and have a few crackers on the side. Those days are gone and let me tell you why.

In previous blogs, from my Kona or Bust series, I wrote a lot about working with my Health Coach, Krystal Say, and the food combining rules she was asking me to follow. If you didn’t get a chance to read about it I’ll give you a quick refresher. Carbs and proteins should not mix. Each are digested differently and when sitting in your stomach together you’re left feeling overly full and bloated. To give you a point of reference, think about how you felt post Thanksgiving dinner and everything thing you consumed. There you have it; food combining at it’s finest. There are exceptions to the rules and not all carbs are created the same but in an attempt to continue treating my body well and encourage continued recovery from Kona I’m sticking with it. Hence, the days of chicken noodle soup, homemade turkey & rice after Thanksgiving, and beef & bean chili for Sunday Football are gone.

If you can believe me I really don’t miss the recipes I grew up with. I see the world of food differently now. I have to resourcefully tweak recipes to eat the way I want to eat. In my search for a hearty and filling chicken soup I pulled out a cookbook I received for Christmas several years ago, New England Soup Factory Cookbook by Marjorie Druker and Clara Silverstein. I sorted through a delicious plethora of recipes and settled on one, Caribbean Chicken Soup with Coconut.

Why? Simple I like chicken and I like coconut. Ginger is an anti-inflammatory and aids in digestion, so why not. The recipe calls for lots of vegetables and room to be creative.

I made a few adjustments along the way and was rewarded for all 30 minutes of my hard work. Seriously, once I started chopping and dropping veg, broth, and chicken into the pot I was surprised at how quickly it came together. You’ll notice I put a few ingredients in bold. These are the items I tweaked. I also took the liberty of adding a few items just to give it an added nutritional kick.

• I used olive oil instead of canola. You could also use coconut oil.
• Instead of celery I got adventurous and tried celery root. I’m glad I did.
• The red bell pepper didn’t make it into my shopping cart, despite being on my list so I left it out.
• I added turnip for extra bulk. Yes, I know.  Food combining. If I’m going to food combine I’d rather it be with starchy vegetables and protein rather than grains.
• The homemade chicken stock was very quickly, and easily, replace with packaged organic chicken stock. I mean really; who has the time to make homemade chicken stock?
• I also subbed out the cilantro for several big handfuls of baby spinach. Greens are good and I always need to get more into my diet. 
• Topping the soup with half an avocado gives it an additional "filling" element.
• The biggest piece of advice I can give about this recipe is that it serves a small army! If you don’t have a small army kicking around the house half the recipe and you’ll still be able to feed the whole family.

I hope you enjoy the soup as much as I did. Please let me know any of your own tweaks. I’d love to hear them.

SK

Caribbean Chicken Soup with Coconut

Serves 10-12

3 Tbps canola oil

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbps peeled and minced fresh ginger

1 large Spanish onion, peeled and diced

2 ribs celery, diced

4 carrots, peeled and diced

1 large red bell pepper

2 cups chopped cooked chicken meat

1 ½ cups whole corn kernels

1 cup shredded coconut

12 cups homemade chicken stock

Juice & zest of 3 limes

1 can (14 ½ oz coconut milk)

2 teaspoons ground coriander

½ tsp allspice

8 dashes hot sauce

1 bunch chopped fresh cilantro

Kosher salt & pepper to taste

In a stockpot over medium-high heat add the oil, garlic, ginger, onion, garlic, celery, carrots, and red pepper. Sauté for 5 minutes. Add the chicken, corn, coconut, and stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the lime juice and zest, coconut milk, coriander, allspice, hot sauce, cilantro, salt, and pepper. Simmer an additional 5 minutes.

Taken from New England Soup Factory Cookbook by Marjorie Druker & Clara Silverstein

IIFYM ... what?

What’s this new flexible dieting or “IIFYM” trend?

There are so many “diets” out there like Atkins, Paleo, and Gluten free, that I could go on forever. One of the newest diets taking social media by storm is “flexible dieting” or “IIFYM”, which stands for “if it fits your macros”. “Macros” is short for macronutrients, which consist of carbohydrates, fats, and protein. In short, this diet states that you have a set amount of calories based on your level of activity each day. You must try to eat X amount of carbs, fats, and proteins that total up to your daily calories, giving you the flexibility to treat yourself. Instead of regularly eating clean and then binging one or two days a week, this diet is encouraging people to eat clean and enjoy a small treat on a regular basis if they feel the need. However, this is quickly becoming one of the most misunderstood diets today. 

People automatically think that on this diet, you can eat junk food such as donuts, Pop-Tarts, etc. because “it fits your macros”. You may see people posting pictures of themselves eating donuts, ice cream, and other unhealthy treats, yet they are ripped. What you don’t see is that they’re eating a strict diet on a daily basis while leaving room to treat themselves. Do you really think that someone could just eat these treats on a regular basis and still look the way they do? No! It’s impossible to eat junk food throughout the day and have a healthy balance of fats, proteins, and carbs. 

My thoughts on this diet? 
I think the concept of eating a balanced diet of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates is great. We need to have all three to have a well balanced diet. Do I think that eating poptarts and other processed crap is good? Absolutely not! It’s good to treat ourselves once in awhile, but do it the right way. Don’t go for those processed snacks because all of the artificial stuff is doing more harm than good. Eat a well balanced diet and do what works for you; don’t let all of the social media images get in your head because a certain diet worked for someone else. What works for them may not work for you!

- SW 

Cookies? Yes, cookies.

Yes! We sell cookies. Get over it!

We made the decision to bring in the full line of Liz Lovely cookies to CPC. Bringing this product line into CPC has raised a few eyebrows, and questions, so I'm going to try to address some of the concerns and inform everyone about our decision.

The cookies have been well received (particularly by yours truly), but there have been a couple of skeptics. We've heard things like, "OMG! that's a lot of calories!" or "Whoa, do you know how much sugar is in this?". The short answer: YEAH, I do. IT'S. A. COOKIE! Cookies are supposed to have sugar, otherwise it wouldn't be a sweet and delicious TREAT!  The fact is that these cookies are meant to be just that - a treat. All cookies, brownies, cakes, cupcakes, ice cream, etc. are meant to be consumed occasionally.   

For the record, the whole staff at CPC eats cookies. True story. And we all love the Liz Lovely cookies. We all love them but we don't have them everyday. We recognize that they are not a 'health' food and shouldn't be eaten regularly or in excess. Too much of anything can be bad for you. Avocados are delicious - and great for you! - but eat them 24/7 and let me know how you feel.  So have a cookie once-in-a-while.

Speaking of 'health'.  These cookies are not a health food by definition, but they are gluten free, dairy free, egg free, kosher, non-gmo, and vegan. All great stuff! To make a couple of comparisons: the sugar and calorie contents of the Liz Lovely cookies are right on par with some "100 calorie cookie/snack packs" that are out there and if we're being honest ... most people don't have just one pack.  The big difference between those packs and the Liz Lovely cookies? The ingredient list on the Liz Lovely cookies is half the size and we can pronounce the whole ingredient list.  Whether it's a cookie, or a salad, we want to choose something that is wholesome, minimally processed, high quality, and doesn't contain things you can't read. I don't know about you, but my health, and the health of my family, is more important than getting caught up in the sensationalized propaganda of calorie counting. Be concerned with where the calories come from rather than how many there are. 

One last thing: I know many endurance athletes who have a problem with eating before exercise and getting an upset stomach.  I encourage you to try a cookie, or half a cookie, as a pre-workout meal.  Just like the Garuka Bars, the Liz Lovely cookies have those sugars that can help fuel you but also keep you from having stomach issues.  Give them a shot.  

CPC is here to try to give you as much good information and products as possible to help you make good choices. We gave you the information. Now it's up to you to do what you will with it.  

- Mike 

Budget Nutrition

I hear people giving excuses as to why they can’t eat healthy constantly; “It’s too expensive.” and “I don’t have time” are probably the most common excuses. Whatever the excuse, it’s invalid. I follow a relatively strict diet and eat around 4,000 calories daily (which is much more than the average person consumes). I’m 22 years old, work between two jobs and am on a tight budget. I typically spend under $100 a week on food. If I can eat the way I should, why can’t you?

Instead of buying that pre-made, or even pre-seasoned, chicken; buy it fresh, season and cook it yourself. You can get fresh chicken breast for around $1.99/lb. versus spending upwards of $5.99/lb. or more on the pre-cooked or seasoned chicken breast.You can save quite a bit of money. Stop being lazy and take a little time to cook your own food! Visit local Farmer’s Markets, shop for items that won’t spoil if you don’t eat them, and try a little variety. Personally I love sweet potato, and these are one of the easiest foods to prepare. I poke a few holes in the potato and put it in the microwave for a couple minutes and it’s ready to eat. While your chicken, ground turkey, steak or whatever is cooking, you can be preparing your vegetables.

I’m on a tight schedule so I do most of my cooking on the weekend or a day off. I spend about 3 hours total preparing all my food for the entire week. Use that day off where you’re laying on the couch watching TV to cook your food. Prepare your food in advance and this will keep you eating healthier and save you stress once you get home from a long day of work worrying about what to eat. By having your food prepared, you’ll be less likely to stop and get fast food or raid your cabinets for snacks. Hope this gives you a different perspective that you can eat healthy while still on a budget.  

It may take a few extra minutes to do, but your wallet will happier and so will your body!

Steve

The Economics of "Diet"

The Economics of "Diet"

Mike put together a great recap on a “diet” last week and so I am going to “piggy-back” on that regarding the economics of a good diet.

As Mike pointed out there are many diets that come and go in the media and many scientists and dietitians refer to the "Mediterranean diet” as the pinnacle relationship with food. Many people draw attention to the rich concentration of omega 3’s and Omega 6’s that come from fresh fish or the use of extra virgin olive oil. With all of this information at our fingertips Americans did what Americans do best… We tried to create shortcuts. We developed supplements that contained high concentrations of omega 3’s and Omega 6’s to try to circumvent the positive behaviors of this culture rather than the detail of their food. So by copying this diet in our “American way” why are we still so fat and unhealthy? What are we missing? I believe It is the economic side of things.

The average American consumer spends 7% of their gross income on food. The average Mediterranean inhabitant contributes greater than 20% of their gross income on food…  We are blind to the fact that individuals that live in this region eat FRESH FOOD. They are not concerned with spending their money on a ridiculous cable bill so that they don't miss the season premiere of Homeland rather they use this money to invest in their health and wellness. Typically living in more confined spaces with little to no cabinet space because they do not purchase foods they can sit on the shelves and are full of preservatives. Every food item in which they place in their mouth was purchased within just a couple days. As we continue to question why as a nation we are so sick and unhealthy? We need to recognize that as a nation we are spending so much of our gross income on medicine and hospitalization to treat rather than spending to prevent…

Let's look at the Mediterranean “diet” (or way of life). Take your annual gross income and multiply it by 20%… THAT number. Yes that HUGE Number is what you should allocate to your food bill. It seems absolutely astronomical to spend that much money on food but really as we continuously bitch over the cost of whole food ingredients and organic vegetables and fruits… Is it really that expensive to continuously invest in yourself? I don’t believe so.

I am totally comfortable being a self-preservationist and investing in my well-being. I’m also completely okay about having no idea what happened in this past season of Dexter. Comcast can bite me I have food to buy…

Please be aware that I am in no way trying to solve the socio-economic constraints of poverty stricken areas. This is simple in reference to statistical averages and does not apply to everyone!

What Diet is Best?

What diet do you follow?  What do you think of this diet?  Is this diet healthy?  These are all common questions that we get at CPC, all of which are good legitimate questions.  Contained in what follows, I hope, are the answers to these questions, in my humbled opinion.  Since I've been somewhat labeled the "Food Guy" (just to put it out there, in writing, I'm not a chef) around here I figured I would speak on the topic after I got asked one of these very questions just the other day.  No, I'm not telling you who asked me the question so don't ask.

To start lets look at the definition(s) of Diet.

1.  the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats.

2.  a special course of food to which one restricts oneself, either to lose weight or for medical reasons.

The definition that I like the most is #1.  A diet by all intents and purposes is boiled down to simply, the food that we eat.  There is no name attached to said diet, it's food, that you cook/prepare, and then consume, that's it.  In the "true" diet world there is no Paleo, Atkins, South Beach, Mediterranean, etc. With that being said, what I think your diet should consist of is a diverse group of wholesome, natural, unprocessed, and unrefined foods.  Know where your food comes from!  Buy locally if you can. Stick with organic and non-GMO when possible.  Cook at home, eat out less.  Stay away from gluten if you want or need to.  This is what your diet should reflect and consist of.  If you want to eat something then eat it! If you have a craving don't ignore it -odds are you actually need what you are craving.  More often than not our bodies are smarter than we are, or than we think it is.  Listen To It!  All your diet should be is you paying attention to, being conscious of, and being consistent with what you are eating.  

Diets in the socially accepted sense and definition are really only meant to be short term quick fixes for vain aesthetic hang-ups that we have about our bodies.  "I want to lose 15lbs" sure the South Beach Diet may work.  "I want to get rid of my muffin top" - yes, Atkins may be able to help that.  "I want six-pack abs" Paleo might be able to help you get them, but did cave men have six-packs?  I don't know, I would think not, even if they did you couldn't see it under all that hair.  Anyway, all these diets do is make you change your eating habits for a short time until you see the results that you want.  Once this happens odds are you forget about the "diet" and go back to your normal eating habits, and guess what you put weight back on, you sprout the muffin top again, you trade in the six-pack for a keg again, and in most cases it's even worse then when you went on the "diet" to begin with.  We were not meant to eat this way (yo-yo effect), and it's not healthy to eat this way either.  

Diets also restrict calories or whole food groups a lot of the time. "Carbs are the enemy". Well yes, refined sugars and crap like that is, but our body needs them (from good sources), they're a fuel source.  Ever try driving your car without gas?  It doesn't work very well. If you don't trust me then try it, just don't call me when you need a ride.  "Fats are so bad for you, they'll clog your arteries" true to some extent.  If we eat a diet high in fats and cholesterol we do increase our risks for heart disease, but we also need fat.  Our brains use fat for normal mental function. It's true look it up.  I can go on and on but you get the picture that I'm trying to paint, you need to eat everything. Our bodies need this stuff to work and function properly!

Another tip: We are all different, and what works for one person might not work for the next.  One way of eating isn't going to affect each person in the same way.  What you need to do is try things and see what works for you. Pay attention to what you are eating and how it makes you feel.  Half of the battle is just establishing a healthy relationship with your food, by that I mean, what you are eating, when, what combinations, how much, where, why you're eating (hungry, bored, craving) etc.  Trial and error it up, see what works. It's not going to happen over night so don't get discouraged - it's a process.  

That's pretty much my take on dieting. I could go on but I'm not a nutrition expert so don't hold me accountable for any dieting disasters. I'm just giving you some tips that I think are helpful and useful. Moral of the story eat GOOD food, stay away from the crap. If you have a big butt, so what, don't look to a diet to try to fix it. Embrace the butt (figuratively....or literally - your call) and be happy with who you are. Unless the butt is causing serious health issues then yes, get rid of it.  Stay away from the stereotypical diet trends and just work on your overall relationship with food.  

Any questions, comments, problems? Let me know. You know where to find me.  

Did you know? The truth about GMO...

Truth be told: avoid the GMO.

Recently, I've become aware that not everyone understands what a Genetically Modified Organism is or why it is receiving so much attention. The media does a very good job at making us believe that genetically modified foods are the solution to preventing famine for our future generations. They want us to think that these food-like substances are just as good as, if not better than, what nature produces. Genetically modifying a food is NOT the same as cross pollinating two tomato plants, making sure that we get the largest, most deep red color and delicious flavor. A GMO is a food produced in the laboratory - where gloves and facemasks are a necessity.

Right outside of our own front door, we've noticed a rather large weed growing up through the pavement, squeezing itself up through a crack in the parking lot. This weed has set itself up to become the perfect experiment to show everyone just what "GMO" means. For our experiment we decided to apply one "treatment" with RoundUp, the average weed-killer. Throughout the frames below you can easily see how quickly this plant completely dies off and turns to dust.

 

So what does this have to do with GMO's?

The manufactures of RoundUp also manufacture a GMO that they call a soybean - which happens to be resistant to RoundUp. This means that farmers can spray their entire soy field with RoundUP to kill the weeds but the soybeans continue to stand tall, unaffected.

Better yet, our RoundUp Resistant GMO soybeans have "friends" such as corn, canola, cotton, sugar beets and alfalfa. These RR crops are almost impossible to regulate because after an extended period of time, the weeds and insects become so genetically altered themselves that they are no longer affected by this particular RoundUp concoction. Instead, we are left with the creation of superweeds and super-insects, and the GMO seed must be changed.

So, the question exists - if people in laboratories are wearing gloves and masks to create RR crops that don't die off when this potent chemical is applied, then why in the world do we think that our bodies can ingest and digest these food like substances without consequence?

The CPC rule of thumb is: if it's made from a plant -eat it. If it's made in a plant - you can't!

One thing's for sure, CPC does not want to be part of this experiment. Knowledge is Power, ensure you are buying NON-GMO foods in order to keep yourself safe.

Sully

Meat?

I have to tell you all about a very traumatic experience in my life. I'll spare you some of the who's, what's, where's, when's, but you'll be asking yourself the same question I till this day keep asking myself…WHY? 

What I witnessed in all its horrifying glory was a man eat a can of tiny, processed beyond all comprehension, tightly packed, Vienna Sausages…with a pencil! Yes! As if voluntarily ingesting these little slimy tubed meat things packed in some sort of "juice" wasn't bad enough, he slowly and methodically, with the precision of a skilled surgeon inserted his pencil (freshly pealed from behind his ear mind you) into the heart of the middle "meat" tube. Then, with a steady hand and a hungry heart he gave a little wriggle a little twist and a pull on the pencil and successfully dislodged the first tasty morsel and quickly and eagerly consumed it. The rest stood no match and were quickly gobbled up after being shot by some creepy makeshift cupid arrow. 

Now, two things…one, if you have any respect for yourself or your body I beg you to please never eat such a product. Who knows what is in it, what's its made of, where it came from etc. I have some ideas though, nothing good for you, all the parts of the pig that didn't "make the grade" (genitals included), some factory/processing plant in who knows where that probably hasn't passed a health inspection since CW's worn shorts. Two, if you find yourself using a nice Ticonderoga No. 2 as your lunch utensil of choice, I hope they find you and you get off the island soon or you have some serious sanitary issues that need to be addressed pronto. 

Seriously, don't eat that crap, look at the picture, they look like a fresh round pulled from Dirty Harry's .57 magnum. Little processed bullets you'll take right to the heart. Don't be like this guy, make some better food choices, and maybe more importantly better life choices. I'm done.