Category: How-To

Body Care, Breakfast, Dinner, How-To, Paleo

Are you Eating Complete Meals?

What are the makings of a complete meal? Before I began this health journey I thought anything could be considered a meal as long as it had enough calories. Chocolate chip cookies for breakfast? Why not? Salad with lemon juice only dressing for lunch? Entire bag of popcorn for dinner? That used to be my life and I was unsatisfied all the time, snacking constantly throughout the day. A meal must be complete in order to achieve satiety and eliminate that desperate urge for snacks four times per day. 

A Complete Meal is Important for:
►Controlling your appetite
►Reducing stress and inflammation in the body
►Turning calories into energy
►Weight management
►Regulating hormones

A complete meal includes protein, healthy fat and good carbohydrates. The body requires a combination of fuel for maintenance and if it’s not receiving what it needs then your health suffers. All three work to build a balanced breakfast, lunch and dinner. I’m a proponent of three full meals per day. This gives your body time between meals for rest from digestion. At each meal look down at your plate and ask yourself if you’ve included enough protein, fat and carbs. This way you’ll be less likely to snack.

3 components of a Complete Meal:
►Protein
►Fat
►Healthy Carbohydrate

Percentages of these three components will vary greatly among people. Just as caloric needs differ, percentage of daily protein, fat and carbohydrate follow that same principle. Much of it is trial and error. Listen closely to your body. Experiment. Are you stuffed after lunch? Try cutting down the portion size tomorrow. A food journal can be extremely helpful for monitoring your food and feelings. I kept one for a year before I found the right balance for my body. And that’s still changing. On days with more intense work-outs I up my carb intake. Check in with yourself every month or so and ask if your food or caloric needs require shifting.

Again, the percentage of each component will vary in each person. I personally aim for:
75 grams of protein; 1 can of tuna is 25 grams
50 grams of fat; about 1 tbsp at each meal
100 grams of healthy carbs; 2 cups of sweet potato is 60 grams


Protein, Fat and Healthy Carbohydrates
Quality is everything. That’s the first thing to remember. Focus on whole foods. Eating frozen chicken fingers and potatoes fried in soybean oil is not nourishing your body. All that’s doing is causing inflammation and storing fat. Below I’ve outlined proteins, fats and healthy carbs for creating complete meals.

Protein
Wild-caught fish, eggs from pasture-raised chickens, fish, seafood, any type of red or white meat such as beef and turkey, some nuts and seeds.

Fat
Any type of animal fat from pasture-raised animals, fatty fish like salmon, butter, ghee, olive oil, nut oils, coconut oil and palm oil. Keep in mind the proportion of fat naturally occurring in meat and fish.
Look to my Fats and Oil article for more guidance here.

Healthy Carbohydrates
All vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, rice, other grains and legumes. Focus first on vegetables and fill in with others.


Here are some examples of Complete Meals:

Breakfast:
►Omelette with 1-2 cups vegetables cooked in ½ tbsp olive oil
►Sausage and a smoothie with mango, kale, avocado and full-fat coconut milk
►Scrambled eggs and roasted sweet potatoes in ½ tbsp coconut oil

Lunch:
►Big salad topped with salmon and homemade lemon olive oil dressing
►Bun-less grass-fed beef burger topped with a variety vegetables cooked in ½ tbsp lard
►Chicken thighs and roasted root vegetables cooked in coconut oil

Dinner
►Beef chili and turnip greens cooked in lard
►Zucchini noodles with spaghetti sauce and meatballs cooked with beef fat
►Salmon fish cakes with salad greens, raw carrots and olive oil dressing


Resources:

1 Meal vs. 3 Meals, http://www.marksdailyapple.com/3-meals-a-day/#axzz3QnsBlrcD

Effects of dietary fatty acid composition from a high fat meal on satiety, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23688821

How Much Protein Should You Be Eating?, http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-much-protein-should-you-be-eating/#axzz3Qnwz6tfx

What’s the ratio fat/protein/carbs Primal Sweet Spot of weight loss?, http://www.marksdailyapple.com/forum/thread39504.html

Carb/Fat/Protein ratios for women: weight-loss (new to Paleo/Primal), https://www.paleohacks.com/newbie/carb-fat-protein-ratios-for-women-weight-loss-new-to-paleo-primal-22182

Appetizer, Dairy-free, Dinner, Egg Free, Gluten-free, Grain-free, Holiday Favorites, How-To, No sugar, Nut-Free, Paleo, Side Dish

Baked Sweet Potato Chip Nachos

Last weekend, I made a huge batch of my sweet potato dark chocolate mousse to feed a hungry crowd. All the skins had to be removed to achieve the right consistency and since I’m someone who can’t stand the thought of throwing away nutritious food, I saved all of them. The potato skins filled my already too-full refrigerator. I had to think of a creative recipe quick. And then it occurred to me. I could turn all those lovely peelings into chips!

I honestly do not remember the last time I had nachos. They’re always covered in cheese, which I can’t eat and let’s face it, the cheese is the best part. Recently I found a dairy-free cheese dip recipe begging to be made and I thought no better way to enjoy chips than as nachos. The dairy-free cheddar cheese dip was created by Jane of Jane’s Healthy Kitchen and it’s the best dairy-free, nut-free cheese I’ve ever made. Non-dairy cheese is all about the consistency and she nailed.

Once the chips are baked, you can layer any of your favorite toppings on these. Get creative and have fun with it!

Sweet Potato Chip Nachos

Sweet Potato Chip Nachos

Sweet Potato Chip Nachos

Baked Sweet Potato Chip Nachos
Serves 4
Baked sweet potato skins as a chip alternative for nachos.
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Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
45 min
Total Time
1 hr
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
45 min
Total Time
1 hr
Ingredients
  1. Beef & Seasoning
  2. 1 lb ground beef
  3. 1 tbsp chili powder
  4. ¼ tsp garlic powder
  5. ¼ tsp onion powder
  6. ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
  7. ¼ tsp dried oregano
  8. ½ tsp paprika
  9. 1 ½ tsp ground cumin
  10. 1 tsp sea salt
  11. 1 tsp black pepper
  12. ♢
  13. Baked Sweet Potato Chips
  14. 5 large sweet potatoes
  15. 1 tbsp coconut oil
  16. 1 tsp salt
  17. Dairy-free Cheddar Cheese
  18. Salsa of choice
  19. Guacamole - homemade or pre-made organic
  20. Cilantro
Instructions
  1. For the Sweet Potato Chips, preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Carefully peel potato skins lengthwise from top to bottom so that you create long strips.
  3. Coat two large roasting pans with coconut oil.
  4. Lightly salt the potato skins before placing in the oven.
  5. Roast for 20-30 minutes, watching carefully to make sure they do not burn. You may need to flip them or rotate the pan a few times dependent upon the hot spots in your oven.
  6. Cool for 5 minutes on roasting pan.
  7. For the ground beef, mix in seasoning mixture and then crumble into a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook 3-5 minutes until evenly browned.
  8. Transfer sweet potato chips to a large plate and layer on the ground beef, cheese, guacamole, salsa and cilantro.
Sparkle Kitchen https://sparklekitchen.com/

Sweet Potato Chip Nachos Sweet Potato Chip Nachos

 

Body Care, How-To

Still Trying to Get into Those Skinny Jeans

That pair of jeans you keep in the back of your closet. The ones you wore confidently as a thinner version of yourself. Jeans that have been stuffed into a storage box for ten years. You hold onto them waiting for the skinny you to come back. You know you still have them. I did until today. Today marked the end of “someday they’ll fit again.”

I choose not to live that way. I love my body today, not what it was ten years ago. Ten years ago I was at the height of my eating disorder. Anorexia had it’s hold on me. I subsisted on slim fast shakes, power bars, coffee, vodka sodas and light beer. I’d skip dinner to save my calories for the alcohol. That’s how I fit into those size 4 jeans. By not eating.

Today I eat to nourish my body. No more depriving to fit into a skewed vision of myself. My body is not a size 4. And I’m embracing that. Everyday I repeat the mantra “My body is healthy. I love my body right now.” The simplicity of this statement helps me. By making it a daily mantra I’m reminded of the person I am right now, keeping me in the present.

What is it that we’re truly holding onto by saving those jeans for someday? I say it’s false information about ourselves. Not remembering what we sacrificed to fit into a smaller pant size. I know what healthy feels like now and I’m able to distinguish between my twenty year old self and today. There is an episode of Sex and the City where Miranda fits back into her skinny jeans. She was cheered for and championed for the great accomplishment. But in reality the show explains the only reason she lost the weight was due to not having enough time to eat proper meals.


How to Let Go of the Skinny Jeans

1. Live in the present. Keeping clothes from years before holds us back from living now and moving our lives forward.

2. Psychology studies show that focusing on our appearance consumes valuable cognitive resources, impairing our ability to perform complex mental tasks. Thinking about someday fitting into our too-small clothes steals brain power away from other tasks.

3. Love your NOW body. Say it. “I love my body right now!”

4. Release the bad energy. Keeping my skinny jeans was a constant reminder of my eating disorder and the destructive behavior. They were tainted with the memory of my disease. You may have similar negative feelings associated with your old clothes. Letting go of the clothes aids in releasing the negativity.

5. Are you feeling unattractive? Take a photo and send it to your friends. Better yet, post it up on Instagram. All the gorgeous compliments will come rolling in and you’ll feel fabulous!

Let’s love ourselves right now. Not after we loose 5 pounds.
Now go donate those clothes!


Resources:

Mirror Mirror Off the Wall: How I Learned to Love My Body by Not Looking at It for a Year by Kjerstin Gruys