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?

Avocado Brownies (with Walnut Butter Icing)

There’s a difference between sneaking vegetables into food, so that children will unknowingly consume them and packing recipes with nutrient-rich and unexpected ingredients to “up the ante”. We could debate which approach is better but frankly I’m all for anything that results in an end product that’s healthier assuming it’s just as tasty.  Carolyn’s blog and twitter handle is OneSmartBrownie. Her last name is Brown if you’re trying to connect the dots “one smart cookie” ok hopefully you get it. Anyway, we thought it was time for C. to tackle her namesake food and make it Foodtrainers’ friendly. She played with ingredients and came up with these Mung Bean, Avocado Brownies. Don’t knock them until you try them; I tried them and I’m glad the portion left in my office wasn’t too large.

No pressure, Lauren suggested I come up with an amazing brownie recipe "something people haven't seen before" oh and "gluten free" with attributes beyond deliciousness. I had heard of black bean brownies so I figured sprouted mung beans would work. Mung beans cook quickly, have amazing nutritionals and we use them on our Dine and Detox program. Why not detox while brownie-ing? As for avocado, I was late to fully jump on the avocado bandwagon. It took me a whlie to like texture but it's one of my 2012 obsessions.

I’m not going to lie, I was shocked these were so good. But because people don’t trust nutritionist's taste buds so I brought them to a concert and my friends demolished them. Who knew mung bean brownies were the new bar food?

Avocado, Bean Brownies with Walnut Butter Icing

Ingredients:

1/2 c sprouted mung beans (used TruRoots)

1/2 avocado

1/4 c dark brown sugar (used Muscovado)

3 organic omega 3 eggs

1 tsp. baking powder
1 tbsp. vanilla extract

1/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder (used Equal Exchange Organic)

1/4 c semisweet chocolate chips (used Sunspire)

2 tbsp. organic virgin coconut oil (used 365 organic)

Pinch Himalayan sea salt

Walnuts (DIY walnut butter) or Artisana's Walnut Butter for "icing"

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease muffin tins with oil.
2. Bring 1.5 cups of water to a boil. Boil mung beans for 4 minutes and then remove from heat. Let sit for 5-10 minutes. Drain any remaining water.
3. Place beans, avocado, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, oil, eggs and sea salt and in a food processor and blend until smooth.
4. Add chocolate chips and pulse until broken into tiny small chocolate bits.
5. Pour evenly into mini muffin tins and bake for 10-14 min.
6. Let cool, then "ice" (lightly) with walnut butter.

2 mini muffin brownies with walnut icing 125 calories, 2 grams fiber (sans icing 90 calories- quite a “100 calorie pack”)

Two Smart Brownies 

Do avocado brownies scare you? Any healthy baking tips or swaps? What do you think of "upping the ante" of recipes or sneaking veggies in? 

Lunch Dessert: Sweet Riot

I recently had a new client in my office. She was referred by a friend, another client we’ll call T.  After greeting my new client and guiding her to my office, we sat down and I asked her what brought her in. Common answers to this question are “I have a marathon I am running” or “I really want to lose some weight.” This new client responded differently saying, “I loved T’s lunch dessert.” It turns out she had lunch with T and after lunch T shared one of our Foodtrainers’ favorite snacks. She shared Sweet Riot.

In case you haven’t “rioted” before. Sweet Riot makes dark chocolate covered cacao nibs. I first discovered them at the Natural Products Expo a few years ago and have been hooked ever since. These 1-2 calorie, per piece, nibs are packaged in resealable (and reusable) tins. They come in different flavors or strengths of 50, 65 and 70.  The entire tin has 140 calories and is gluten free.  These nibs, the size of a Rice Krispy are fun to eat but intense. You really can have a few and be satisfied and leave the tin in your desk or purse for the next day.  They do the trick.

Cacao seeds or nibs are what cocoa and chocolate is made from. The fat in cacao and dark chocolate contains stearic acid.  This saturated fat doesn’t raise LDL (or bad) cholesterol and may in fact raise HDL. Cacao and dark chocolate also contain magnesium a mineral that can be decreased or depleted in times of stress. And they have an extremely high ORAC (antioxidant rating) score.  We still see Sweet Riot as a treat but it’s definitely a treat with benefits.This quote from the Sweet Riot Website says it best  "All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt!" 
- Lucy Van Pelt, "Peanuts" 

Plus, though it's not something we promote, as T knows Sweet Riot makes a perfect lunch dessert.

Sweet Riot has generously offered to giveaway their Spring Fling 3-pack of tins. To be eligible comment here on the blog (include blog name or twitter handle) or share this post via twitter and include @Foodtrainers. U.S. residents only.

Have you tried Sweet Riot tins or bars before? Are you a chocolate person? Do you have lunch dessert?

Since When is Dessert Everyday?

Not to sound creepy but I’ve been watching you. It’s late at night; you’re cleaning the kitchen or just arrived home from a dinner out. Perhaps the kids are asleep. It’s quiet. You feel a little tired but there’s something that needs to happen before you go to sleep.  Maybe it’s a piece of dark chocolate or a Skinny Cow. It isn’t much you say, maybe 100 calories. After all, what’s wrong with a little dessert?  I’ll let you draw your own conclusions shortly.

Last summer, back when it was warm, I caught a segment my close friend (and fellow nutritionist) Keri Glassman did on frozen desserts. She presented her top treats and the reasoning behind her selections.  At one point the anchor, Storm Field, looked at her and said “but we shouldn’t have these daily, right? Why all of a sudden are people having dessert everyday?” Not bad for a weatherman, Storm had a good point. Keri concurred during the segment and I nodded as I watched.

 A day doesn’t go by without a client asking me something to the effect of  “I need new ideas for after dinner snacks.”  And I come through full of ideas for healthy baked apples and microwavable chocolate “soufflés”.  Some clients chomp on frozen wild blueberries and others (like myself) love medjool dates. The unbelievably sad truth is that we don’t need any of these things daily, especially if weight loss is a goal.

I wouldn’t be a dietitian if I didn’t do a little calorie counting here and there (though I far prefer talking about juicer issues). Let’s take that 100 calorie after dinner snack (aka dessert). That seemingly tiny treat, nightly, adds up to 36,500 calories in a year. And we all know that the treat isn’t always tiny. Well that 36,500 divided by 3,500 calories in a pound is 10.43. Simply put that Skinny Cow may be keeping you from getting skinny. I learned today that skinny is a bad word (diet Pepsi is catching plenty of slack for their new skinny can versus what’s in the can); many people don’t want to be skinny. If you don’t have 10 pounds you want to lose, I’m not talking to you but for the other 99% of you reading this, at least you know what needs to go.

If you’re suddenly feeling panic stricken, don’t. I’m not making house calls (yet) and swooping in to confiscate the candy. I’m not saying you have to do away with the dark chocolate. I have a couple of options. The first, we’ll call Show Yourself a Skip. If you’re someone who has something every night of the week, commit to a skip night or 2.  For starters I would pre-plan the skip nights, for example you can start the week with skips every Monday and Tuesday.  This will remove the automatic nature of dessert eating and you’ll hopefully be able to ask yourself “do I need something or can I skip it” down the road.  For those of you who need more of an intervention, I suggest Dessert Detox. Try a week where you end your eating day with dinner. Check back with me and let me know how it goes.  And for the record, I’m not actually watching you.

Are you someone who has dessert daily? Do you think dessert has shifted from a sometimes event to an all-the-time thing? Can you see Showing Yourself a Skip or Dessert Detox in your future? I’ve ditched the dates, detox for me.