King of Greens: Spinach versus Kale

I recently spoke with The Daily Burn about a great topic (or great to me): which is better for you, spinach or kale? I gave them my two cents (and they printed one cent tops) so here is my complete take on this:

Greens, greens why are they so friggin' great?

Leafy greens are also a great source of magnesium (I call it “mag”) and chances are you need more mag. Mag is important for restful sleep, heart health, PMS/hormonal stuff, migraine prevention, and ahem “going”. Plus, vitamin C in leafy greens is as good as any anti-aging cream (great for skin) and the fiber in leafy greens helps lower cholesterol levels.

*The fiber in kale is even more effective when kale is steamed versus raw.

So you’re convinced, let’s talk about how much

The average person, even the average healthy person, should probably eat more greens. Many people know leafy greens are healthy but don’t consume them in quantity- so bulk up! We suggest Foodtrainers’ clients thave at least two cups of veggies, twice a day and at least 2 of those 4 cups should be leafy greens.

Is kale the king of greens?

In the head to head matchup of kale versus spinach, kale has almost three times the vitamin C as spinach and more vitamin K (important for bone health and blood clotting).

However, spinach wins in B6 (double that of kale), fiber, iron, magnesium and protein. And it’s not just by a small margin- spinach has 5x the iron over 6x the magnesium, and more than double the amount of protein found in kale. Popeye may have been onto something. If forced to choose I’d say spinach for the win. Having said that if you OD on one food you're probably missing another so the moral of this story is theres more than one green in the sea (or ground) and in nutrition as in life- don't believe the hype.

 Does my verdict surprise you? Are you team spinach, team kale or bi-vegetable?

Does binge watching prevent bingeing?

email stated "already getting family resistance but trying"

By now you’ve probably heard of our “tweet it don’t eat it” hash tag (#TIDEI).  If you are on twitter, tweet to me (@Foodtrainers) or Carolyn (@onesmartbrownie) or to both of us.  Any time you find yourself eye to eye with a food you’d like to avoid, tweet to us “my coworker brought in Christmas cookies they don't look worth it #TIDEI. We’ll fire back encouragement as soon as we see it. The secret is that just sending that tweet usually helps you bypass the food threat.

Recently, I received an SOS #TIDEI message:

@Foodtrainers using my might to stay out of the kitchen after dinner #TIDEI

My reply:

Keep that kitchen closed! Love the #TIDEI, let me know how it goes

And then:

@Foodtrainers I forced myself into a Netflix binge, I even put dishes on hold to avoid the kitchen.

 Me:

Ooh, does @Netflix save calories?

Generally TV isn’t great for your eating. We tend to eat mindlessly in front of the TV. Have a toddler who will not eat? TV does the trick. For those of us over three, I suggest decoupling TV and food. But what about binge watching? I see it as more than just a distraction. There’s something about binge watching that feels like a “fix” in the same way that after dinner treat train does. Sure, you could say it’s replacing one fix with another…and you’d be right; however, it's a favorable fix and sometimes methadone beats cold turkey. Give it a try, let me know how it goes and if you find yourself vulnerable, you know tweet it don’t eat it or do what a client did and formally close the kitchen.

What do you do when you're tempted after dinner? Do you find binge watching satisfying? Aren't those kitchen doors (above) pretty?

Ready, Set, December (if not "set" we can help)

Food First Aid Kit, must have accessory for the holiday season or always

Yesterday, we sent out our Holiday Helper Newsletter. We covered holiday parties (and strategic pre-gaming), family time/relatives (think omega 3 foods all day long) and holiday travel (see Food First Aid Kit above). After doling out what I thought was good, fun advice,  my first client of the day said "the holidays aren't really a thing for me", hmn noted.

After contemplating and dismissing that our info was cliche',  I concluded that even if the holidays aren't your thing (they're not really my thing) December is generally busy. My calendar has reached that too-full point and it's not parties and "events" that are filling it. It's work and kid stuff (my son thankfully said,  "mom, you don't need to come to the holiday concert at school, I only mouth the words anyway) and tipping the doormen. I'm not looking for sympathy, it's just that cooking and planning and the things I like to use my extra time for are cut down. Can you relate? I bet my client from yesterday cannot. And by the way she has two trips planned this month....

For work, we're knee deep in January and our "Whipping Weeks". I'm trying my best not to race through this month but to enjoy some Christmas music, the pretty city etc. But if you're looking for a January jumpstart, we have recipes and secret weapons are a great food plan in store, email info@foodtrainers.com for whipping info. Cheers.
Are the holidays "a thing" for you? Is December busy as hell? Do you like Christmas music?

Go Foods, Yup- Foods That Help You Go

this wasn't backward (squatty) when we were filming

I'll write about recipes and books another day. Today I have our latest embarrassing Youtube video. I don't even know if it's embarassing because we like tackling touchy topics. And "going" is something we're asked a lot about. Going matters.

I know more about nutrition than taking screenshots .

In this video, we introduce five of our top 10 foods that help "make shit happen" (I can't help myself this is bringing out my inner six year old). For the other five? You have to sign up for our January Whipping Weeks. Spaces still remain. For more information and to start 2016 on track, email info@foodtrainers.net with Whipping Week in the subject line.
What are your go to "go" foods? Any topics you want us to cover?

Thanksgiving reading and movie list

I’m totally fine but had a medical procedure last week and I can’t exercise blah blah. I don’t need an ounce of sympathy because, let’s face it, a few lazy days are a gift worth having surgery for. Since I was reading, Netflixing and resting up the wazoo, I thought I’d share some of my discoveries:

I had heard “you’d love the series Chef’s Table” for some time but I don’t always trust other people telling me what I’ll love. I should because the first two episodes were phenomenal. Even though episode two focused on Dan Barber (Blue Hill chef/ingredient master), I liked episode one even more.

I started reading Shonda Rime’s Year of Yes. I’m probably the only person who hasn’t watched an episode of Gray’s Anatomy or Scandal but I was still interested.

A quote I’d read of Shonda’s, where she contested the notion of balance, stuck with me. She said if she’s doing something important for work then she’s usually missing something with her children. Yup. I’m halfway through and loving her writing. Her year of yes also resulted in inadvertent weight loss. When I finish the book I’ll let you know if I think this is possible.

I finally watched Fed Up. I’d recommend watching this before Thanksgiving. It’s a great reminder why and just how bad sugar and processed foods are. And not to pat myself on the back but cereal and soda are also censured (see the “no” list in Little Book of Thin). Unfortunately you also see the power of the food companies and how even Michelle Obama wasn’t willing (or able) to stand up to them.

Wait, there’s more. The Times magazine had a great article on Dave Asprey (Bulletproof founder), I sort of idolize (and relate to) his “biohacking”

And these two documentaries aren’t food-related per say but I was inspired.

Meru is the story of three climbers; I’d watch this over Everest. It’s a story of friendship and persistence; my whole family loved it. And please check out Brave Heart, the Lizzie Velasquez story. I had seen Lizzie’s Ted talk but the backstory is remarkable.

And how can I forget? I Smile Back is based on a book by my friend Amy Koppelman. It’s a story of motherhood and addiction and nothing is sugar coated. If you’ve had it with Facebook (“we’re so perfect”) lives, watch this. Sarah Silverman is fantastic. 
Happy Thanksgiving and a happy birthday to Carolyn tomorrow (3-0 finally).

Did you watch or read anything this weekend you’d suggest? Have you seen any of these? Let me know what you think.

Are Periods Going Public?

We field a lot of hormone-related questions. After all our hormones affect everything from our appetite to our mood, throw in 198 other potential symptoms and you have a major wellness impediment. Last month, Carolyn and I filmed a video we called “WTF PMS” because a) we didn’t feel the need to choose a classier title and b) let’s face it we have no issue with semi taboo topics. The strange thing is that cycles, hormones and periods have sort of come out of the closet. Yesterday, the New York Times ran a story called “Candidly Spelling Out the “P” word about period tracking apps. One could argue that using “P” instead of period is neither candid nor spelled out. On the same day, I received an email from Greatist “what’s up with digestion during your period”. I feel one-upped by them because they hit two taboos in one title, dang.

Check out the video for our Food First Aid Kit for PMS, find out why the snack below from Navitas Naturals is a PMS crusher and hear our PMS theme song. We'll also introduce you to the new "zoodle" in town, yup hello swoodles. Subscribe to our you tube channel and let us know if there are topics you’d like us to tackle. Be Well (wink).

Do you think it’s good that woman (and men) can discuss hormones and other touchy topics? What are your worst PMS symptoms? Do you track things in an app?

When healthy eating is no longer healthy

Perhaps you’ve heard of Jordan Younger, she’s a blogger known as “The Balanced Blonde” (formerly known as the Blonde Vegan). Jordan built a massive following when she turned vegan and detailed her vegan creations on her blog. She made national headlines when she made the decision to shift from veganism (zero animal products) to incorporate fish and eggs in her diet. If you are puzzled why that’s national news, it wasn’t because the vegan community berated her for defecting (she claims to have received death threats). Rather, Jordan’s story brought an eating disorder called orthorexia into the spotlight.

Orthorexia, and this is my definition not any official one, is when the focus on healthy eating becomes obsessive. This obsession can have deleterious health consequences.  We’re hearing more about orthorexia, a client sent this Refinery29 story to me. The author writes:

Health was an easy way to hide my eating disorder because it was so culturally on-trend. Weight obsession seemed vain, but my addiction to green juice, superfoods and all things gluten-free made me feel like a member at an exclusive club.

 A question, posed on Foodtrainers' Facebook page, asked where the line is when healthy eating becomes disordered?  I would say it’s when healthy eating dominates your thoughts and begins to affect relationships, work or other responsibilities, and your health. Are you fearful of social gatherings or plans that involve food? Does this make you turn them down? Are you constantly tired? Missing periods?  And as much as orthorexia is defined as a disordered focus on health, let’s be clear there is almost always a weight component.

I purchased Jordan’s book Breaking Vegan. It’s certainly a cautionary tale that explicitly depicts the progression of an eating disorder. It’s brave to tell this story in such detail. However, in the same chapters where Jordan writes of having no color in her face, purging and “starvation methods” she was selling cleanses and advising others how to cleanse. I was horrified as I read this. If we give Jordan the benefit of the doubt, one could say she didn’t know the depths of her disorder at the time. How about her recently released book? I can’t comprehend how someone with such a tenuous relationship with food can highlight “eating plan and recipes” on her book cover.  I’m not sure she should be in the healthy food business in the same way a gambling addict probably shouldn’t work in a casino.

As you read the book (I read ¾ of it), you see that Jordan’s unraveling was complicated. Part of her spiral had to do with the eating disorder and the other part was substituting virtual attention and relationships for real ones. As Jordan’s health slipped she was boosted by online attention and praise. I’m so happy her relationship with food and health has improved. Anyone who turns his or her life around deserves praise. But, as nutrition professional, I do worry where we get our food advice. I also worry that Internet fame and all its trappings might be the next disorder.

Had you heard about this story? Do you think many people have “orthorexic” tendencies? Do you think someone in the depths of an eating disorder should dole out dietary advice? 

What Lianna Sugarman, founder of Lulitonix, does everyday

 I’m going to start hump day with an apology. Yesterday our newsletter featured the daily rituals of top fitness and food experts. Sounds good, right? I think it was except somehow my friend Lianna Sugarman became Leanna Silverman. Even pre-caffeinated Foodtrainers know better than that. Lianna is the founder and  CBO “Chief Blending Officer” at Lulitonix and is always experimenting with cutting edge ingredients and flavors. We asked her a few questions:

What is your #1 daily ritual?

While there are a million rituals for life that I really love, and that I mean to implement every day [At Foodtrainers, we call these “wish-uals”] truly the only one I do EVERY day, and the only non-negotiable, is to make and drink a big, huge, green blend with avocado.

How does this affect the rest of your day?

Whatever else I do, eat, drink, or think, whether I sleep or not, am happy or sad, whether I oil pull, spin, meditate (ha!) or just sit on my butt working in front of my computer, the daily custom blend, the perfect mix of greens, avocado, and lemon and water, creates that incredibly necessary sense of grounding, energy, harmony, clarity and balance.

OK, I definitely want all that you describe (harmony please!), any tips for blending at home?

For me, nutrition is about more than staying physically healthy or fit. What I take in impacts my mind and my emotions; I feel like I get to play at being a wizard every day. I’m very interested in both Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese medicine and often use aspects of those constructs to make myself the perfect blend of the day. I base this on what is going on with my emotional landscape.

Anger and stress- these are stored in the liver. If that’s what you feel add a handful of dandelion leaves and some turmeric, liver boosts.

Sadness or grief – are stored in the lungs and the large intestine, so if that’s on the emotional horizon, opt for foods that nourish those organs, spicy blends with avocado, daikon radish or garlic.

What do you suggest for “blending” when you travel?

Even when I travel, I bring green powder, some adaptogens and a nutribullet. You can generally find avocados most places that I go (ahem, Mexico!), and I blend myself a little substitute blend. I walk around with my mason jar on the beach like a crazy person. People probably laugh, but we've all been laughed at for worse, right?"

Um totally but I now know why we are friends, by the way I’d steal your mason jar versus laugh but you know that. Maybe we’ll organize a healthy retreat if you’ll forgive us for botching your name. Thank you LIANNA

Do you have any questions about blending we can ask Lianna? Have you tried Lulitonix? What’s the craziest gadget or food you’ve traveled with? 

So I started meditating…sort of

Our newsletter today focuses on healthy rituals. We culled top food and fitness experts for their daily rituals and the answers were inspiring (and funny).  Some responses were too in depth for our monthly newsletter and so we’ll feature them here this week. In the meantime, the newsletter also mentioned those rituals you wish you did which we call “wishuals”.

Meditation has been a wishual for me for some time. I think it’s been a New Year’s resolution.  I’ve polled my Facebook friends to find out their favorite meditation teachers,  I even went to an intro session on transcendental meditation (the twice a day requirement and weird cult-like infomercial ruined it for me).  This past summer, I registered for a meditation retreat at The Garrison Institute retreat taught by Jack Kornfield (who I had heard about as I own one of his books). But I didn’t go; I didn’t read the book or attend classes either.  And if New Year’s resolutions were superstitions, I’d be screwed. And maybe I am screwed because meditation changes everyone’s life and here I am unchanged.

So, earlier this month I signed up for a Deepak Chopra/ Oprah (their names sound so great together) 21-day online meditation course. The registration took two minutes and I was technically good to go. I sat down at my computer and clicked through to Day 1. Oprah does a little intro and then Deepak takes over. After a couple of minutes of talking, you’re encouraged to close your eyes and focus on your breath. This is much harder than it sounds. I, after all, am the person who had trouble with the savasana at the end of yoga class. You know, the corpse pose? You lie down and after a couple of minutes of silence you are supposed to be restored. Who can't be a corpse for two minutes? This is probably the most important part of the class and yet I regularly ran out to check Instagram (or email if that sounds more legit). You see where this is going.

Back to day one, I breathed in and out and in and out. When I was about to hyperventilate, I decided to repeat the mantra, as we were instructed, but realized I forgot it. I then opened my eyes to check how much time was left. I had been meditating for three minutes, so sad. By the time Deepak said, “you can now open your eyes” my eyes were long opened.  While I felt a little lame, I also felt somewhat proud that I had tried. I told myself I’d keep my eyes closed the next day. However, the next day I had early clients and my plan to meditate later in the day didn’t pan out.

So today marks 1 week since I started. I’ve “meditated” four times. I could say meditation is not for me but despite being sort of pathetic at it- I enjoy it.  And probably the people who check email during meditation are the ones that need it most. I really hope this wishual becomes a ritual. Namaste.

Do you meditate? Was it difficult when you first started? Or, is meditation a wishual for you? Any other wishuals?

Well and Good Said This is the Next Kombucha

It's always funny to me when I first learn of something and then seem to see it everywhere. I'll explain. About a year (or more) ago, I ordered a jar of the beverage pictured above. It's called switchel and I believe it's from Vermont. Then I saw other switchels at the farmer's market and Well and Good asked how I felt switchel stacked up.
I told Well and Good that I loved the idea of switchel. After all, it contains apple cider vinegar and ginger, two of my go-to ingredients. But it's sweet, 16 grams or 4 teaspoons per serving sweet in the brand above. So despite the Vermont angle (we spend a lot of time there) and the intriguing ingredients, the kombucha crowd that's present in my fridge at ALL times (the lengths poor Fresh Direct must take to deliver this bubbly drink) is safe from switchel. If you're sad about switchel, I did green light switchel as a drink mixer for cocktails, although I must say Be-Mixed is my number one for that. We also did a Foodtrainers' riff on switchel and the recipe is on Well and Good.
Have you heard of switchel? Tried it? Are you crazy for kombucha (I know, not everyone is)? 

Halloween Hierarchy the best and the worst candy picks

Last Sunday, after we had dinner, I left my football-watching family and headed out. My destination? Duane Reade. Once there I made myself comfortable in the candy aisle and went to work.  I had a candy segment the next morning and even amongst the junk I was trying to sort out the Halloween hierarchy.

I texted Carolyn, if you can't reach me here's where I am

First, I looked at sugar:

Note: serving sizes vary so before I could compare candy, I need to do some advanced math and look at comparable serving sizes (1 bar for all chocolate or the equivalent for gummy stuff), you know “apples to apples” or in this case Airheads to Airheads.

The sugar “stars” or best of the bunch were Twizzlers, Dark Chocolate Kisses, Mounds and Nestle crunch.

All of these had less than 8 grams (or 2 teaspoons) of sugar

The scariest sugar?

Candy corn by far, followed by Reeses, Skittles and 100 Grand.

I also glanced at calories where Twizzlers led the the way again with York Peppermint Patty, Airheads and Sour Patch Kids also low in calories.

This is just another instance where calories don’t tell the full story. I’d suggest Reeses and 100 Grand (highest in calories) over the low calories picks simply because I think the food dyes are the worst of the worst. The three most widely used dyes in the US require a warning label by the EU. Those are red 40, yellow 5 and yellow 6.  As if being derived from petroleum wasn’t bad enough, the dyes are responsible for behavior issues in children and headaches for all of us. Ingredients matter, even with candy.

The good news is that Halloween is one day and most of the candy is mini (cannot endorse the term “fun size”).  At the end of the day, enjoy your favorites if you so choose and most importantly be sure the candy isn’t hanging around in November. Kids will forget about it, adults…not so much.
What's your favorite Halloween candy? Will you have it this year? 

Happy National Beer Day & Better Brews

Happy National Beer Day! Until recently,  I couldn’t care less about beer. I’m allergic to wheat and have always been more of a spirits girl. My husband, on the other hand, is a beer (and Bourbon) guy. Without TMI (he prefers NI or “no information” about him on social media) he is gluten free because of Lyme disease. His Lyme was serious and thankfully he’s much better a year later. I did want to hug his amazing doctor when he suggested a gluten free and sugar free diet.

Back to beer, earlier this month the New York Post ran “Howto Chug Beer Without Getting Chubby”. This article discussed lower calorie beers and my pal Tricia Williams of Food Matters NYC shouted out Greens Gluten free beer.

In the first and last post Marc will likely contribute to this blog, here is  his cheat sheet for gluten free beer and cider. 

This was cut and pasted from his email, I elaborated a little because he likes beer AND brevity:

Our fridge door

• Best GF beers are Estrella Dam Durra and Omission

*note Estrella (available on Fresh Direct) is controversial and not necessarily safe for celiacs, it contains a tiny amount of gluten. 

• Greens is very good too,  I had it last night at MSG (Madison Square Garden). Lots of gluten free beers are really bad

Oktoberbest in Vermont

• Cider: Angry Orchard is the most popular, it’s at many bars but has a ton of sugar. The sugar content was surprising to me when I started drinking cider. Also, it’s not the easiest thing for a guy to order cider when out but I’m over that.Woodchuck from VT, also lots of sugar
• Citizen Cider is good and some of their ciders are lower in sugar.

Have you tried any gluten free beers? Any favorites? Have you seen more cider?