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?

I Binged

I binged on Friday. My binge lasted the whole day and left me feeling down. I didn’t see it coming but once it started it was like a runaway train, I couldn’t get enough. Before you suggest I book an appointment with myself (or the other Foodtrainers) there’s something you should know. My binge wasn’t on cereal or chips or ice cream. I binged on the royals or more specifically I binged on Kate. In food terms this is the equivalent of binging on a food you’ve never had before as I wasn’t the least bit fixated on the wedding.

My husband came home from the gym early Friday morning. I was, where I am now, at my desk- hands perched on my keyboard, coffee cup lurking. “I can’t believe you aren’t watching,” he said. “Oh right the wedding, I’ll put it on.” I turned on the Today Show. The ceremony was underway. I wasn’t pulled in immediately. I made the boys breakfast, answered their monarchy-related questions and pretty soon it was time to leave. I set the DVR and went to drop the boys at school. I had 11 miles on my running schedule so it was a while before I arrived home.

Once home, the trouble started. I clicked “Today Show” on the kitchen television and sat down. On the “kiss countdown” that was displayed I had 30 minutes. Instead of fast forwarding I decided to watch a little.  I watched Kate and William leaving the ceremony.  Her posture was perfect, her smile natural and her skin zitless. William seemed a little anxious, gingerly stepping to avoid stepping on her dress. And the dress? Very pretty though I didn’t enjoy that corsety thing on the bodice. Let’s be real though, the woman (or the duchess now) is 5’10”, she’s athletic and thin (but not too thin) even the Queen’s banana get-up would look well on Kate.  I didn’t notice it at the time but the more I watched the worse I felt.

I watched the newlyweds’ carriage ride back to the palace; I watched kiss (or peck) 1 and kiss 2.  I went on with my day but the binge had hardly started. Once home again I watched multiple shows “post-game” report.  I turned on 20/20 only to learn Barbara Walters was doing a 2-hour special on the wedding. My husband headed to bed after saying “I just don’t get this, I don’t really see why billions of people care.” The Lauren who was oblivious that same morning was now defending her new habit. “How can you not care, this is history and a fairy tale!” I couldn’t stop. I learned Kate allegedly did her own make-up. I saw the dress she wore to the evening party (gorgeous) and how she carried herself with poise and restraint. I recalled a post I read on a blog called Verging in Serious. Cameo wrote a post  called Magazine Goggles about reading fashion magazines. On a recent trip she gorged on glossies and was left feeling rotten. The same thing happened to me with my royal goggles.

As I was going to sleep (finally), I was feeling as though my life was dull. I wasn’t a princess, would never wear a dress like that. Once I had hopped on the pity party train, I was lamenting the fact that I’m not tall, not in my 20’s and could never to my own make-up as well as the Duchess. Ugh.  I finally fell asleep. The next morning, I was a little “hung-over” from my binge but it was a new day. As I left for yoga I was seeing the other side of the coin. I had no make-up on and looked pretty dreadful. I was taking a new class and couldn’t master most of the moves.  I ran some errands after and realized nobody cares the way I look because nobody is watching. I can go about my day looking blah, less that poised and have a pimple or two. I can even “binge” because nobody is monitoring my every move.  Can you imagine binging at Buckingham Palace? Imagine.

Do you ever find magazines or celebrities or royals make you feel inferior? Did you watch the royal wedding? What do you think Kate eats (or doesn’t eat)? 

Food Preferences: Why I Love Beets and Hate Broccoli Rabe

On our Foodtrainers Questionnaire we ask new clients “what are your favorite foods (healthy or unhealthy)?” and “what foods do you dislike or prefer not to eat?” Blue cheese, beets, Brussels sprouts, spicy food, cilantro and tomatoes are often listed.  The funny thing is that they are listed as both favorite and least favorite foods.  So, did you ever think about what determines whether we adore or despise a particular food? There are a few theories.

Some feel our food preferences are an evolutionary survival skill. “The senses of smell and taste evolved to evoke strong emotions because they were critical to finding food and mates and avoiding poisons and predators.” A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition gave an example that the preference for spicy foods in certain cultures was based on the protective effect of spices against microbes and food borne illness. What’s sad is that our food instincts or preferences do not seem to be keeping us safe anymore. Instead of detecting artificial or extreme tastes we are now conditioned to enjoy them. I mean, do you get more “poisonous” than diet soda?

There is also interesting research focusing on the diets of pregnant women. The theory is that we are conditioned to like what our mothers ate while pregnant or breastfeeding (brandy anyone?). One study found that the infants of mothers drinking carrot juice during their pregnancies were more accepting of rice cereal with carrot juice in it than those in a control group. We know nutrients pass through the placenta so it makes sense that tastes would too. Yet how do we explain twins or siblings with very different food likes and dislikes?

A Washington Post piece entitled “Our Taste Buds are Just One Reason We Love Some Foods and Hate Others” explained the nature versus nurture side of taste. “Culture often overrides our genes and takes over the mouth’s role as the body’s gatekeeper. Few people immediately like bitter beverages or extreme spices, but many learn to love them through repeated exposure. We often learn to like what people around us like.”  You see this often with children. They initially may reject a food only to eat it the eighth or tenth time around.  And you see tastes changing with time. I grew up disliking salty foods or certainly not seeking them out. Now? I can’t get enough. Does it have something to do with being married to a saltaholic? It might although he doesn’t like mushrooms just because I do, hmn.  

So much of nutrition has to do with what foods are good for us or praiseworthy for their vitamin content. Taste can get lost in the shuffle. At a seminar entitled “Field to Plate” on Tuesday, I learned about an interesting way to think about taste and flavor. Our host, Amanda Archibald presented vegetables in flavor profiles and flights, much like wine. Romaine, green beans, asparagus and celery were in the “Grassy” group. Mustard greens, arugula and watercress were all in the “Spicy” family.  You may be able to guess some of the "Sweet" vegetables that include snap peas, parsnips and my beloved beets. Do you tend to like one of these groups more than the others? Or perhaps you eat some of these vegetables and can branch out to another member of that group. If that’s not up your alley you can return to the prenatal argument and blame your mother for the foods you dislike.

How do you think our tastes are formed? What vegetable family do you like best? And where do you stand on blue cheese, beets and Brussels sprouts?

Skinny Jeans and Size Lies

Many new clients come to my office with weight goals. Some want to lose 10 pounds, others more. There are women who want to reach their “wedding weight” and men who want to be under 200 pounds. The brackets on the scale are meaningful. I have a doctor’s floor scale and the each bracket represents 50 pounds. Other people declare that they do not care about “the number” on the scale that they just want to be a certain size or for their clothes to fit.  These clothing-based goals appear sensible but have some inherent problems.

Last week, the NYT ran a story about the confusing state of clothing sizes. “One Size Fits Nobody: Seeking a Steady 4 or a 10.” The article discussed what many women already know and that’s that your “size” depends less on how much you weigh or what size you are and more on the whim of the retailer. Depending on the store your size can vary by a few sizes.

Many retailers, responding to their, ahem, growing consumer base have resorted to a practice called vanity sizing. Vanity sizing involves labeling clothes with smaller sizes so that a size 10 customer feels as though she’s a size 6 because that’s what fits her. I don’t think most people are gullible enough to think they’ve dropped a couple of sizes unbeknownst to them; rather it just makes shopping confusing.  A company known as My Best Fit developed a potential solution. My best developed kiosks at malls across America. Basically, your measurements are taken and you are given a report indicating the size you should select at various different retailers. To me, vanity sizing is like the mirrors at a carnival distorting what you look like and the kiosks some sort of fortuneteller. Knowing your size shouldn’t be that hard.

Aware that sizes are unreliable many people rely on a certain article of clothing as their litmus test. I don’t know why but this piece of clothing is a pair of jeans more times than not. We’ve all heard about “skinny” jeans, I have a client who calls her test jeans “reference jeans”. Others know they’re in good shape when they can buy jeans- period. I caution using clothes as your arbiter of size or fitness. For starters, your body can change. I have female clients who, like Aidan who we discussed last week, get back into tip top shape after babies. Yet, your body may change. Sometimes your hips are permanently a little wider after childbirth or things simply redistribute.  Changing your workouts can also alter the way apparel fits. You may have a certain look when you were running and your “inches” may be different if you start kickboxing. Slip your skinny jeans on in these instances and you may feel discouraged but the truth is clothes that fit at one time may just never fit well again even if you look great.  I also have to add that laundering and dry cleaning can shrink clothes or at least we think it can…

So what to do? We try to be more evolved and not let a number on the scale determine our success with food and exercise but other assessment methods have their flaws. It may come down to what Crunch gym said so well in one of their ad campaigns, we just need to see when we “feel better naked” although I like the jeans concept better.

Are you a scale person or do you go by your clothes? How do you know when you’re making progress with food or exercise? If there’s a piece of clothing you use as a reference, what is it?

It Is Possible To Overfruit

Not long ago, I wrote a post for Blisstree (love Blisstree) entitled “Eight Things to Never Put in Your Smoothies.” I talked about sorbet (does this need to be in your breakfast?), soy protein and “too much fruit”.  Regarding fruit I said, “sure, smoothies seem healthy, but the problem is that calories add up, even from fresh fruit. So avoid smoothies that are bigger than 16 ounces or are made with more than two cups of fruit.” Let’s just say people didn’t like me saying anything negative about their beloved fruit. I was told, “too much fruit, really? With all the things wrong with the American diet, too much fruit isn’t what I would hone in on.”

If we’re talking about eating habits of Americans, I’d agree. Processed food, pesticides, food dyes, hormones in our food and heavily sweetened and salted foods are all bigger problems than fruit. Most Americans, after all, eat too little fruit versus too much (unless we count juice, fruity pebbles and “fruit” snacks). However, if we’re talking about the ideal diet or what to eat in order to lose weight, I’m sorry folks it is possible to overfruit.

Don’t get me wrong, I love fruit and think fruit is a part of any balanced diet providing fiber, phytochemicals and antioxidants. Weight Watchers’ new points system allows unlimited fruit. While this may work for someone switching from the standard American diet (fast food, processed food, lots of food) to a healthier one or for someone with a significant amount of weight to lose, I think it’s a mistake for those with less to shed.

My reasoning is based on a few criteria. First, what would be a weight-related post without mentioning calories? Between breakfast, smoothies and snacks I see many new clients consuming over 400 calories from fruit. Second, this amount of fruit would contain over 70 grams of sugar or over 16 teaspoons. In case you’re shouting “but it’s fruit sugar silly” that’s part of the problem. A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggested that fructose consumption reduces circulating levels of leptin (the hormone that inhibits appetite).  “the combined effects of lowered circulating leptin and insulin in individuals who consume diets that are high in dietary fructose could therefore increase the likelihood of weight gain and its associated metabolic sequelae.” Marion Nestle, author of Food Politics had this to say, “the metabolic problems that result from sugar intake are mostly due to the fructose content.  Less is better for health.  Fructose is sweeter than either glucose or sucrose.” Dr Nestle’s comments happened to be about soda and not fruit but fructose is fruit sugar. Speaking of sugar, the most alarming, must-read sugar article I’ve read recently was by Gary Taube’s in the NYT magazine.

If you’re just starting to make weight loss efforts or you’re losing weight and results have slowed try reducing your fruit intake. I would suggest two cups of fruit a day which is still four servings according to the USDA. If this is your current intake reduce further to 1 cup (or 2 small pieces) of fruit a day. The intention is not to eliminate fruit but just not to overdo it. And to be more of a buzz kill specific, stick to fresh or frozen fruit and skip dried fruit or fruit juice.

Do you think fruit plays a role in weight loss? How much fruit do you eat a day? Is it possible to overdo anything we eat? What is your favorite fruit?

Does Slimming Down Make You Shallow?

I love reading other blogs and the corresponding comments. One of my favorite blogs is Ivy League Insecurities. Aidan, who writes ILI, recently had a baby, her third. Although she had the baby just six weeks ago, she’s eager to get her body back and posted about this. In my line of work, this is totally normal. At the 6 week mark, most women are cleared for exercise by their doctors and starting to emerge from the new baby fog. Yet, Aidan was somewhat reluctant to share her desire to downsize. In her words “I feel a bit embarrassed and ashamed that I am writing about something that is admittedly so much more superficial than other things I could write about.”

I chimed in and told Aidan she’s shouldn’t apologize for her interest in “losing it.” How we feel about our bodies influences how we feel in general. Taking control of your body, after carrying a baby, or after gaining weight for other reasons often has a carryover effect. Taking the reigns, as I see it, is a good thing and about more than simply fitting in your “reference jeans”. If Aidan had been writing about confidence or carving out time for herself she might feel it was less superficial. Weight loss is as much about that as it is getting physically smaller.

Another commenter had a very different opinion of the post. Someone named Mary said “when I saw the title my heart dropped a bit and I was saddened… sad because with a newborn and 2 littles you were already dissatisfied with yourself.” Now I (vaguely) recall those early days after each of my boys were born. I remember staring at them amazed that they had been inside me for nine months. Yet, this infant adoration didn’t blind me to my post baby pooch. I don't know if I was "dissatisfied" with myself, it was more like I wasn't my, physical, self.

Aidan closed her post indicating she should honor her body more. She asked readers “when it comes to your body and your own appearance, are you forgiving or exacting?” I don’t think these qualities are mutually exclusive. There isn’t a day I go for a run that I’m not grateful that my body works. Having lived with a parent who was an amputee later in life, I do not take health for granted. I would say I absolutely honor my body AND like my jeans to fit.

Do you think it’s sad to want to lose weight? Should we be thinking and writing about more “important” topics? What would be your answer to Aidan’s question, are you “forgiving” or “exacting” when it comes to your body?

How much water do you need?

On Monday I taped a segment with Dr Max Gomez, from CBS, on water. Two Foodtrainers’ clients participated. One is a triathlete who talked about nutrition for performance. The other a lawyer and frequent traveler talked about changes she’s seen from improved hydration. Dr Max’s first, semi-leading question for me was “isn’t it simple, don’t we just drink when we’re thirsty”? It would’ve been a very short interview if I said “yes” but I didn’t. It’s not that simple and when we’re thirsty we’re already mildly dehydrated.  Whether you’re prone to crankiness or looking to lose a few pounds (or both) here are some hydration questions and answers I often hear.

Do we really need 8 glasses of water a day?

We do not; we actually need more than that. The National Academy of Sciences determined women are generally adequately hydrated after consuming 2.7 liters and men 3.7 liters of total water a day. Total water includes water from food and beverages. If you remove water from food it’s still a little over 2 liters (8 cups) for women and over 3 liters (12 cups) for men…if you are sedentary (workout water not included).

The silver lining? The Nat. Academy report concluded that caffeinated beverages can count. The diuretic effect of caffeine is transient. Score one for coffee.

*Drink 70-100 ounces of water, seltzer, herbal water, herbal tea or hint water. 8-16 ounces of your water can be caffeinated.

Can hydration help me lose weight?

A few studies, in the journal Nature and others, have found that drinking water (2 cups) before a meal reduced the number of calories consumed at that meal (75 fewer calories).  Another study found increased metabolic rate after participants consumed an additional 6 cups of water a day.  This study, in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, reported that the increase in metabolism was based on additional energy needed to warm the water to the body’s temperature. Finally, we often mistake hunger for thirst and can eat when a glass of water would suffice. Rethinking our water intake and timing can in fact help your weight (and certainly can’t hurt).

How do you know if you are dehydrated?

For the warning signs for dehydration there are three D’s and two C’s:

Dark Urine- monitoring your urine is the best way to assess your hydration. Urine should be pale, like pale lemonade, and plentiful.  It should not look like concentrated chicken broth; if it’s dark yellow drink a couple cups of water.

Dizziness- if you’re at your desk and stand and feel a little woozy you may be dehydrated. Perhaps you had a few too many the night before or simply had been working and not hydrating, either way see it as a sign.

Dry Skin- dry environments such as offices or airplanes can take a toll of your skin. Dry lips, dry mouth and circles under your eyes can tell you about your hydration.

Constipation- when liquid is decreased stool frequency and volume decreases along with it. You body needs water from your intestines to pass stool. With insufficient water stool is hard, dry and difficult to pass.

Crankiness- the second “C” is for cranky. It may not be your job that’s making you stressed; it may be your water or realistically a combination of the 2.  If you are chronically dehydrated you may not realize the effect insufficient water has on your mood.

Despite the fact that I talk about hydration every day, there were a few tidbits I hadn’t heard and hopefully some that were new to you as well.
Are you a good hydrator or do you have any of the warning signs of dehydration? How much water would you say you drink in a day? Any tips for increasing your intake?