We spoke to Domino about dry January

I spoke with Domino about doing a dry January aka "dry-uary".  A little insight on how our Squeezers feel sans alcohol and what to do when a Cabernet craving hits.
Any of you bypassing the booze this month? Or, have you in the past? What works when you want a cocktail but are trying to avoid have one?

Don't Let Your Food Turn Into A 'Bomb Cyclone': Silky Zucchini Soup Recipe

Happy new year! And if you’re an east coaster, happy “bomb cyclone” snow day! 

But please don’t let your food turn into a bomb, or a cyclone, and especially not a bomb cyclone.

Every time there is any sort of weather emergency, Lauren and I get lots of email requests on how to healthify cozy food. Since we are starting our NewYear’s Squeeze next week with 50+ of you guys, we thought we’d give you a glimpse into a #tbt recipe with one of our most loved, healthy & easy soups.

Foodtrainers’ Silky Zucc Soup

*Serves 4

What you need:

• 1 ½ pounds zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced 1⁄4 inch thick

• 2/3 cups low sodium vegetable stock or bone broth

• 1 ½ cups water

• 1 small onion, finely chopped

• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 tbsp unsalted butter

• 1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

• Kosher salt, to taste

• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• Optional: julienned raw zucchini, for garnish, or pumpkin seeds.

What to do:

1. In a large saucepan, melt the butter in the olive oil. Add the onion and

garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook over moderately low heat,

stirring frequently, until softened, for 7-8 minutes.

2. Add the zucchini and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, for about 10

minutes.

3. Add the stock to the saucepan and 1 ½ cups of water and bring to a

simmer. Cook until the zucchini is very soft, for about 10 minutes.

4. Working in 2 batches, puree the soup in a blender until it is silky-smooth.

5. Return the soup to the saucepan and season with salt and pepper. Serve it

hot (but delish chilled in the summer), and garnished with julienned zucchini or pumpkin seeds.

If you’re in NYC, my favorite cozy order in is Springbone Chicken Zoodle Soup and Carrot Fries.

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Stay safe & warm!

Don’t believe the “whole grain”, high fiber cereal hype

As an R.D., there are certain words on repeat in my office: carbs, protein, fat, greens, probiotics. Another one on this list is fiber, we field a ton of fiber and grain-related questions, especially with the rise in regimes like paleo and keto. Most of us in the nutrition field can agree fiber is a good thing. Fiber is beneficial for your heart and blood sugar,  it’s also important for satiety and weight management. But lumping all sources of fiber together is akin, using fats as an example, to comparing hydrogenated oils to an avocado. All fiber is not created equal and you can’t look at the “fiber grams” on a label to determine if something is worth eating. Quality counts with any type of food.

“Whole Grain” BS

Let’s start with “whole grain” products.  Just the term “whole grain” gives me flashbacks to the food pyramid and the 1990’s. Most of what’s deemed whole grain on food labels (there’s actually a seal and “standards”) isn’t so whole. 

When I think of whole grains, I think of something like this. 

You know, grains in their natural form.

But to earn that snazzy seal, you don’t necessarily have to have whole, as in intact, grains. You see grains contain three parts- the bran, the endosperm and the germ. Products with the seal just need to contain these three parts. You can process, mangle and take the grain apart, but if you have the bran, germ and endosperm it’s whole? If I take off the tires and remove the engine, is it still a car? Well not one that works…

In a Scientific American article “whole grain foods aren’t always healthful”, I came across the following information:

Harvard researchers compared the nutrient composition of 545 grain products and found that those labeled with the “Whole Grain” stamp, an industry-sponsored label for foods containing at least eight grams of whole grains per serving, contained more calories and sugar than those without the stamp. They're also more expensive. 

Fiber 1? Not for this one.

Most mass-produced cereals are heavily processed and the high fiber options are no exception.

Take a look at the Fiber 1 label (above).

We’ve discussed the grains but Sucralose (Splenda), caramel coloring? You cannot eat this and call yourself a healthy person. What’s the expression you can judge a person by the company they keep? (googled and it’s “man is known by the company he keeps” I had the right idea). It’s 2017, we know better than artificial sweeteners and carcinogenic coloring. This is as natural as a nose job. Go to the produce section and grab a container of (organic) berries instead.

Is eating wheat bad?

I’ll share a personal story here. After giving birth to my first son, I started having allergic reactions (eyes swelling shut, skin rashes etc.). I did an elimination diet and determined wheat was the cause. I have been wheat free ever since. This past summer, my integrative doctor suggested “you do know the glyphosate the wheat is sprayed with is probably partially to blame.” I was on PubMed before leaving her office. Glyphosate (herbicide AKA as roundup) use was limited in the 70s when it was introduced. In the last two decades, its use has skyrocketed. It’s interesting that I don’t have symptoms from gluten when I travel abroad… Now, I am a sample size of one, not everyone will react in this way. But, since we have no biological requirement for grains. I’ll leave you with this.

 “Common wheat harvest protocol in the United States is to drench the wheat fields with Roundup several days before the combine harvesters work through the fields.”

Via healthy home economist.

For all you All Bran, wheat bran, believers, the bran is on the outside of the grain (getting drenched) yum. Additionally, and this is probably too large a topic for today, grains contains "anti-nutrients" (phytates and lectins). These, over time,  adversely affect both your gut health and appetite regulation. Specifically, leptin the "you've had enough" hormone. Our modern wheat and the type of gluten is also vastly different from ancient grains. The more I've learned about wheat and gluten, the stronger my stance and recommendations have become. 

So how should I get my fiber?

If you're freaking out, wondering how to get your fiber without whole grain bread and fiber cereal? I did some math with my breakfast smoothie. At Foodtrainers, we’re not big on nutrition calculations. If you’re eating whole foods, you don’t need to weigh, measure and count (phew). Anyway, between berries, chia seeds and pea protein I was at 20 grams, with a salad lunch and family dinner I’d have more than enough fiber, as expected. I know this is a shift if you've been on the bran bandwagon. Not to worry, now you know there are better choices. Get your fiber from fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds. And if you’re worried about “going”  fiber from whole, unpackaged food, adequate hydration and good fats and you’ll be fine. If you’re still fat phobic, eating nonfat, skim everything? I’ll cover that another day.

Do you eat any “fiber” products? Or, what to do rely on to help you go?

I’m so happy I was pregnant and had young children before Instagram

A close friend of mine is a psychiatrist (I’ll refer to her as M.D.) but she’s too professional to ever discuss her sessions. I do wonder if she’s encountering anything like:

M.D: Take me back to where this all started

Patient: Well, l I was in the womb.

M.D. And you have memories from this time?

Patient: I don't need memories, it's all on my mother's Instagram. 

M.D. Tell me more…

Patient: My mother documented her pregnancy, with me on social media. The legs over head to conceive, the WHOLE pregnancy, my bris (close up). It's all there for everyone to see.

M.D. So, she posted those “15 weeks, 16 weeks updates?

Patient: No, it is even more embarrassing than that. She counted hourly- it was “360^th hour, 361^st and so on.

M.D. And what is your first actual first memory?

Patient: It was my birthday, I was turning 3.

M.D. And you had a party or received a present?

Patient: Yes, there was a party and a beautiful, birthday cake. Guests sang happy birthday, I blew out the candles and there was clapping but my mom wasn’t happy, I didn’t know it, at the time but she didn’t like the photo. So, we did it again, not the whole party but the candle, the singing, the clapping. All I wanted was to taste my cake but we had to get the right photo.”

It’s cringe worthy for me, and it could just be me or that I’m at another stage, but the details and minutia of a pregnancy, then baby stages and then perfectly posed toddlers, I can’t. And I actually can’t. a) I don’t like to post too many photos of my kids as I don’t think people really want to see them and b) my kids would object, they’re of age now to do so. Are they kids or are they photo props? Correct me, if I'm wrong, but do any of you enjoy endless photos of pregnant friends or their children? Granted, most of my photos are of food. And I am guilty of postponing meals to document a photogenic salad or smoothie. And I have friends who roll their eyes at the meal pics. To each their own…. I guess.