meal prep Archives - Real Food and Drinks

Podcast Episode 29 – What’s the deal with oils?

Well, we really don’t need to add oils to our food/diet. Oils add many calories and do not contribute much to our nutrition intake. We can eat a whole sweet potato (including the skin) for the same 100/125 calories that are in just 1 tablespoon of oil. Because oils lack fiber, it’s easy to over-consume them. And regarding salad dressings, there are many alternatives to using oils such as cashews or even beans. These salad dressings are full of flavor and nutrients and many times an additional dose of fiber. which is just what the “doctor ordered”.

In this episode we discuss these same items and more.

We want to come alongside you, as well, as we all continue moving toward a positive direction to support our healthy lifestyles. If there are any specific ways that we can be of assistance, please contact us through our contact form or send a verbal message through Speakpipe.

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SHOW NOTES:

“The high-fat meals required an average of 42 percent more insulin in order to bring blood sugar under control.” PCRM – Fat Matters

Diabetes (Heath Articles) at PCRM.org

Dressings & Sauces

Dips & Spreads

Transcript

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[00:00:00] Shonda: Okay. So hey, what's the deal with oils and added fats?
[00:00:05] (Podcast introduction with music)
[00:01:05] Patryce: Wow. I'm glad we're talking about oils and fats, because I don't think we realize how important it is to eat the healthy oils and fats versus just consuming, whatever.
[00:01:20]Shonda: So, yeah, we all know that butter contains a high amount of calories and saturated fat, but did you know that most vegetable oils do also?
[00:01:31] Patryce: Wow. No.
[00:01:33] Shonda: Yeah. I mean the only thing that it doesn't contain that butter contains is cholesterol.
[00:01:37] Patryce: Okay. Yeah, that makes sense.
[00:01:39] Shonda: So that's a little step in the right direction, but there's really no reason to add oils to your diet. And we'll talk about that a little bit later. As far as flavor goes, because I have a lot of recipes that I use that are just as flavorful without added oils.
[00:02:00] Some of those are posted on the website, but we'll get to those a little later. I think the biggest thing about oils are well, In addition to adding just extra calories and extra fat to your diet, which, if you're trying to lose weight, you don't want those things.
[00:02:22] And without knowing it, you've added so many calories to your food that you weren't aware of. One tablespoon of oil is a hundred to 125 calories.
[00:02:36] Wow.
[00:02:37] You can eat a whole sweet potato for a hundred calories . Oils do not contain fiber, so they do not fill you up so you can consume them and consume them and consume them without realizing that you've gone overboard.
[00:02:51] Patryce: That's a good point. I'm thinking now about the days of the popcorn at the movie theater, then how it's great to get popcorn, but a lot of times just that pumping of that butter on top of it.
[00:03:06] Shonda: Yeah. Yeah. Just extra calories.
[00:03:10] But another thing, and I know many people don't think about this and it's just not something that, is highly known is that most oils contain excess Omega 6, and that's the fat that causes inflammation.
[00:03:31] Patryce: Wow. I did not make that connection.
[00:03:33]Shonda: And these are the top offenders that are in processed foods. Like, you know, chips and packaged foods, Baked goods, crackers, all these things.
[00:03:43] Patryce: The sweets...yeah. The buns/muffins ...
[00:03:46] Shonda: They're inexpensive and they also act as a preservative. So, but these are like corn oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, peanut oil, cotton seed oil, Sesame oil. These are used in a lot of those packaged foods and they have an excess of a mega six.
[00:04:11] Patryce: Which causes inflammation.
[00:04:14] Shonda: Think about it arthritis. That's just a natural trigger to think about, but you know, they're blocking your arteries. They're causing inflammation in those too.
[00:04:24] Patryce: Well, it's important to understand that, uh, these oils because of the Omega 6 content can equate to more inflammation in our body and you listed some practical things we want to avoid. We don't want to have arthritis. We don't want to have discomfort and pain.
[00:04:43]Shonda: When you buy those packaged foods, turn them over and look at the added ingredients, there's usually nine times out of 10 or even 9.9, there is an oil in that food. So added on top of that, you know, these are saturated fats and what they do in the body is they raise your LDL cholesterol, which is the bad cholesterol.
[00:05:12] Yeah. They immediately raise your blood triglyceride levels after meals. Hmm.
[00:05:20] So when we're cooking these oils there is more oxidation. It's an oxidized oil and that in our body is toxic. Okay. Yeah. So just like, um, if you leave an oil on your countertop too long, and I say it becomes rancid. Yeah. It's become oxidized. Ah, and that's not good for your body. So in the same way, cooking it at high temperatures causes oxidation of the fats that's in that food. So that's why we don't want to, you know, eat the oils that have been raised to these high temperatures.
[00:06:04]But in all reducing or eliminating oils is what I try to do. I mean, every now and then I use a little oil say, in the air fryer but I do not use oil in sautéing or cooking or salad dressings and things like that where they're just totally not necessary because there are options that are great options without it.
[00:06:27] You know, sautéing in water. I still get caramelized onions, sautéing in water. So, you know, you think that the oil is needed, but it's really not .
[00:06:40] Patryce: Great point and great tip about the onions.
[00:06:44] Shonda: Yeah. They always add flavor don't they?
[00:06:47]So we just thought that we'd talk about this a little bit, because there are benefits in reducing and eliminating oils. It results in taking in less calories, less saturated fat, those two things automatically create a lower body mass (lower your weight), right?
[00:07:10] Patryce: Should lend itself to a healthier heart.
[00:07:13] Shonda: Yeah. Yeah. And the lower LDL.
[00:07:17] Patryce: True.
[00:07:18] Shonda: Right. Lower blood pressure
[00:07:21] Patryce: That's important. The blood pressure.
[00:07:24] Shonda: Yeah. And I know blood pressure rises when you are in pain. So, I wonder if inflammation, you know, your body knows it's in pain and your blood pressure is higher. That's just a thought.
[00:07:36] Patryce: That's an interesting thought. And I'm glad you mentioned it though, because anything we can do to raise awareness about what might be triggering high blood pressure. I just wanted to sit there for a moment because so many people seem to be affected by high blood pressure. So many.
[00:07:55] Shonda: I know. I know there are many young people. I knew someone as young as in his teens that had high blood pressure.
[00:08:06] Patryce: No, I have not. Twenties, I did. I've heard of that. But see and I'm sure, uh, diet is something we need to look at as well as other healthy habits.
[00:08:17] But yeah. So this is another reason why to be intentional about our use or limiting our use even of, of oils.
[00:08:28] Shonda: Yeah, exactly. And one other thing to consider is, in addition to how it affects your blood pressure, is how oils affect your blood glucose level. Oils is a major contributor, and added fats, to diabetes.
[00:08:47] Wow. I don't know how many people know about that. Yeah, because they think they can't eat a baked potato or a whole grain rice or something like that. And it's not really the baked potato or the whole grain rice, or whole grain, pasta. Those are all things that are good, that will lower your glucose level because of the fiber. But the problem is that most people add butter, sour cream, cheese. Yeah. Yeah, you're adding all that fat on top. And I've heard many doctors explain it this way, that with all the extra fat circulating in the blood system, it prevents the glucose from getting into the cells.
[00:09:34] Patryce: Interesting. Wow. That's another reason to be mindful of what we're putting into our bodies, specifically having to do with the oils. Wow. Great points.
[00:09:46] Shonda: So if you're eating oils and salad dressings and sautes and potato chips and cookies and crackers and things, more calories are being consumed than one realizes. But guess what? You don't have to give up these foods. There are better ways to prepare those foods. For instance, like replacing the oils with apple sauce, you know? Yeah. Bananas and different things like that, that still will give it the moisture, but not the oil and the fat.
[00:10:22] Patryce: And that's a very good point. Yeah. So I think my sister, uh, mixes her pancakes for her children, primarily with bananas and one time she was out of bananas and made pancakes from avocado.
[00:10:38]Shonda: Yeah. So yeah, avocados, let's talk about good, healthy ways of getting fat. And when we look at the whole food plant-based categories, these come with added nutrients, added fiber they're just not empty calories. Nuts seeds, things like that they also have many, many more nutrients in them in addition to being a healthy, fat.
[00:11:07] Patryce: Well, that's all great information. Can we pause here though?
[00:11:11] And, and I'm just thinking about many people who may be listening, like myself. I used to be a salad dressing junkie, basically back in college. Um, I had some dressing with a little salad at times. But for example, just practically speaking, can you just quickly, what is a salad dressing you might whip up?
[00:11:34] Shonda: Okay. So one of my favorites is my cashew cilantro dressing, which contains whole cashews that are soaked, put them in a blender along with any seasonings that you like. But I like to put a lot of cilantro in there. You could use a fresh garlic or garlic powder, powdered onion, you know, your salt, your pepper, lemon juice, or really lime juice in this recipe and either water or a plant-based milk and just blend it up. And it's smooth and creamy and tasty
[00:12:15] Patryce: , Alternative to ranch, which used to be one of my favorite dressings way back when. Well, that sounds like a good one.
[00:12:22] You just shared. And then also you mentioned earlier about the example of the baked potato, because again, I'm thinking about practical information. And so many people eat the baked potato or even the rice and you put a pat of butter on there. Um, other things you can do, for example, for the big potato, top it with maybe hummus.
[00:12:42] Shonda: Yeah. And make sure that hummus is oil free. Just had to add that in there.
[00:12:48] Patryce: Yes. You can make it yourself with those garbanzo beans for sure and tahini.
[00:12:55] Shonda: Yeah a baked potato tastes great with an avocado. I'm telling you add an avocado, or some avocado in place of butter, you know, add that pat of avocado in place of butter.
[00:13:09] Patryce: Great alternative too, yeah. I just wanted to throw out some great practical examples. And I think that those are some good ones.
[00:13:17] Shonda: Oh yeah. Those are good things. And then we top our potatoes with broccoli still, you can do broccoli and a nutritional yeast, and an avocado.
[00:13:29] Or even one of the salad dressings. You can make a cashew cream sauce to go on top of that. There are many options. I know, and I know it takes a little bit of work or a little bit of forethought, you know, a little bit of planning, but it is just so well worth it.
[00:13:47] Patryce: It is worth it. I would not go back to my salad dressing junkie days ever.
[00:13:54] Shonda: Yeah, I know many people do make salads with the intention of making a healthy meal, but just not realizing that that salad dressing makes it a little less healthy with, with all that. And they're just great alternatives.
[00:14:14] So, yeah. We talked about sautéing in water instead of oil, eating oil-free salad dressings, and sauces, eliminating fried foods and chips and crackers and things that are made that way. There are other ways to make those things. I'll put some links in the show notes.
[00:14:31] Patryce: And then it just like so many things we've learned, it's about being more intentional.
[00:14:38] Shonda: Yeah. And just taking one step at a time.
[00:14:43] Patryce: Shonda you're so right , to encourage everyone listening and I'm encouraged that we can do this one step at a time. So just start by doing something differently and just being intentional about what we are doing and to be intentional about reading labels when we're buying things.
[00:15:04] So until next time be encouraged to just take one step at a time towards living a healthier lifestyle. To be aware of what kinds of oils we're consuming and just learning new ways to be intentional about better selection of oils and how to sometimes not even use oils, but still eat a nutritious and delicious meal.

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Podcast Episode 28 – Healthy Food Habits

Let’s talk about habits. It’s springtime. And this is just a good time to think about new beginnings. Have you thought about how important developing good habits are to facilitating living a healthy lifestyle…more specifically, good, healthy food habits?

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SHOW NOTES:

Energy Drinks (Made with Real Food)

Dressings & Sauces

Dips & Spreads

Water is an Important Nutrient

Transcript

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[00:00:56] Patryce: Can you believe we are coming up on Easter 2021?
[00:01:00] I thought we'd talk about habits. It's springtime. And this is just a good time to think about new beginnings. And with that said about habits and how important developing good habits are to facilitating living a healthy lifestyle. And, we can start with what are habits?
[00:01:25] Shonda: Well, they're things done repeatedly and or regularly. Things that you know are just kind of a part of us. They just become a natural thing for us to do.
[00:01:36] Patryce: Exactly. We get to the point where we don't even remember doing them sometimes. It's just a habit to brush our teeth, hopefully, for example. So, with that said it's important to also have good habits when it comes to what we eat and drink.
[00:01:51] Shonda: Yeah. Some habits and routines I think will be very helpful.
[00:01:58] Very helpful habits, routines, something that becomes routine. And how can we start doing that? Well, we could start with a question. What are some of my biggest challenges or what is my biggest challenge related to eating and drinking healthily right now? So what, what is the biggest challenge in the way of forming good habits and then deciding what some goals are for forming good habits or replacing some bad habits.
[00:02:28] And then just prioritizing, uh, these habits that we want to create or replace by starting with what we consider most important.
[00:02:37] Yeah. I think that's really good. We can make a full list right now, but we can decide to just focus on one thing at a time.
[00:02:44] Patryce: One thing at a time sounds good to me. And I came across this quote by John Dryder, I believe. He said we first make our habits and then our habits make us. In other words, habits can make or break us.
[00:03:00] Shonda: Wow. Yeah. I liked that. I like that.
[00:03:05] Patryce: I thought it was really cool and so true. So maybe we can talk about just, just a few habits that many of us might have ourselves or our audience and talk about what type of habits we could replace these habits with.
[00:03:22] Shonda: Yeah, what's your first idea?
[00:03:25] Patryce: Regularly eating out, maybe we have a habit of doing that. Eating out more than we eat home cooked meals or prepared at home meals. So if we're eating out a lot or eating out regularly, that might be a habit that we want to change and form a better habit of planning meals that we prepare at home, because that way we're able to eat more real foods.
[00:03:55] Shonda: Right. Yeah. The focus is real food for sure. And so, I would say that regularly eating out is something that many do because they have not planned, right? Yeah. So it just becomes a habit because we have not planned.
[00:04:12] Patryce: Exactly on some level, just start, start simple. Decide that I'm not going to eat breakfast out anymore, or I'm not just going to have a cup of coffee at the local coffee shop. Instead, I will plan for maybe oatmeal or smoothie and, and see how that works.
[00:04:30] Shonda: Yeah. Those are really great ideas. Yeah. So what about those who do regularly eat out, but may need to change some habits about what they're eating at home also?
[00:04:43] Patryce: Wow. That's a good point too. Yeah, if you're eating at home and not eating out, that's a good start, but be encouraged that there are so many resources, including our past podcasts for ideas on how to change what it is that you're eating at home to something healthier.
[00:05:05] Shonda: Yeah, because I call it the Standard American diet. So if you're not sure the Standard American diet is mostly heavy on animal foods. Various meats, you know, let's just think about the typical burger. The burger has cheese some people may like bacon on top of the burger and, and usually the bun is a refined bun. It's not a whole wheat type of bread. So we're we're talking refined foods, fatty foods and foods void of vegetables in many cases.
[00:05:40] Patryce: Wow. That's a good point. So the habit of eating at home even, but eating a mainly Standard American diet, it's a good idea to instead look at eating a more plant based diet.
[00:05:54] Shonda: And you know, sometimes the step is, well I'm going to make my own bread. I'm not going to buy that bun filled with preservatives and that's refined. I'm going to make a whole wheat bread to go with that burger if you're still not ready to let go of that. Or I'm gonna make air fries instead of deep-fried fries. Or placing a nicely steamed vegetable on the side with that burger. You know, there's always some place to start.
[00:06:24] Patryce: Yes. I was just thinking, even just going without the bun at all. And a lot of people do that. Yeah.
[00:06:30] Shonda: On some lettuce. Exactly. And I even enjoy a plant-based burger on lettuce. So we've moved from eating out to moving it home. And so now we can incorporate more plant-based foods. More whole foods, more real foods. And it does take some time and some planning, but it will become a habit.
[00:06:53] Patryce: It will, it will. Yeah, that's encouraging. And we do have podcasts in the past to help you out. For example, the G-bomb series is another one to go back to. . Yeah.
[00:07:04] Shonda: Yeah. Yeah. Those are great habits to form around the GBOMBS, right. Get great nutrition in there.
[00:07:13] Patryce: True. And then what about the habit? Many of us have of drinking sugary or caffeinated drinks. I know there are some of these energy drinks are very popular and of course coffee, and I think people still drink soda water, soda drinks. And all of these are loaded with additives or artificial colors, just things that are not so good for you. So instead, make sure you start your day off with water and drinking more water throughout the day instead of these other drinks.
[00:07:54] Shonda: Yeah. And if water is not your favorite, you can always add some lemon to your water. And if that still isn't your favorite, you can add lemon and maybe some Stevia drops and that won't affect your blood sugar. But, yeah, we want to get that sugar out. We don't want to become dependent upon caffeine and all these things to give us energy.
[00:08:18] You know, we want natural energy from our food. We want water to hydrate us. That will give us energy. Like I was just telling you today, I felt tired I just went and drank about eight ounces of water and I felt much better. So, water is such a good thing.
[00:08:35] Patryce: Yeah. Great, great tip.
[00:08:37] Shonda: Yeah. And then we're talking about more things that we could drink in place of these, we could drink. Um, what is it? Sparkling water. Carbonated water. I know my husband loves that and he has a machine to do that. But, um, if you just like that fizziness in whatever you're drinking, you can just fizzy your own water or buy it fizzy.
[00:09:01] So after I've had my morning water and lemon, later on, I love a good smoothie or juice, and those are my favorites and they're hydrating too. But you know, I call them energy drinks. On the website they're called energy drinks because they definitely give me energy. So I invite you all to go and look at that energy drink category that's out there on the website. I'll put a link below the show notes for sure.
[00:09:29] Patryce: Great stuff. Wow.
[00:09:31] Shonda: So, another habit that we were talking about that may be something that you want to consider changing up a bit is cooking with heavy oils, meaning a lot of oils and maybe eating too many unhealthy sauces. Because sauces can be full of fat. They could be full of sugar, they can be full of salt . So you can just have all around not good things. But as far as sauces go, again there's a link below that you can take a look at some of the sauces and dressings that you may want to try out.
[00:10:10] But, I like to cook with the least amount of oils as possible. So, if I'm sautéing something, it is so easy to saute with water instead of oil. And oil, really, in that case, you're doing it so your food won't burn, but you can get caramelized onions just as easily with water alone.
[00:10:36] So, by using water instead of oils, you're avoiding added calories. And we're definitely going to talk about oils possibly next week. So, we'll go more in depth with oils, but just a little hint here that, you know, you may want to limit some of the oils that you're using your foods and unhealthy sauces.
[00:10:56] Patryce: I love that you shared that because I just recently had begun doing that more intentionally. And just with the mushrooms, I used to make my mushroom soup and so forth. I've been doing that where I'm just doing it with water and I'm surprised at how wonderful it is.
[00:11:12] And then you can. Be intentional about adding the spices and even if you choose to add oil it's different because you're adding just what you need or want.
[00:11:24] Shonda: Yeah. That's a good idea. And then also many oils you don't want to cook with because it changes the structure of the oils, which make it something that's not good for your body anyway.
[00:11:34] So yeah, like maybe add a little at the end or so. And then you can see exactly how much you're adding to that food. Definitely let's try to no longer deep fry. Air fry that's the way to go.
[00:11:48] Super, super good tip. Yeah. All great stuff, Shonda. And it seems like all these habits that we may already have, and we're looking to replace or change it really boils down to just being more intentional.
[00:12:05] Exactly. So, I invite you all to let us know what habits you will be making soon. If any of these or anything additional, please let us know.
[00:12:17] Patryce: Finally, with the celebration of Easter coming up this Sunday, what a great time to just begin considering what beneficial habits you want to develop. And it's like embracing a new start and embracing hope. Like the resurrection of our savior Jesus Christ which gives us eternal hope. So I hope everyone's encouraged during this Easter season to build better habits for a healthier and happier fulfilled life.
[00:12:50] Sounds great. Happy Easter!

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Podcast Episode 27- How to Create A Healthy Relationship with Food

There are many possibilities of ways that we can have a toxic relationship with food and for many reasons. So what is having a healthy relationship with food and drinks about?

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Chocolate Shake (or Frappuccino)

Food Substitutions (PCRM.org Resource)

Dressings & Sauces

Dips & Spreads

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[00:00:00] Shonda: We're talking about having a healthy relationship with food and drinks.
[00:00:04] (Intro with Music)
[00:01:05] Patryce: Great topic, because it's such an important one. And honestly, I feel like starting with myself many of us have had a toxic relationship with food and drink.
[00:01:20]Shonda: So yeah. There are lots of toxic relationships with food and that could be for many reasons. So what is having a healthy relationship with food and drinks about?
[00:01:34]Patryce: Having a healthy relationship with food and drink means being intentional to put real foods into your body, meaning healthy and nutritious food into your body and focusing on all the things you can eat instead of the things you shouldn't.
[00:01:54] Shonda: Yeah. So making a mind shift, right?
[00:01:57] Patryce: Yes. Yes. It's it really does start in the mind. Like so many things we have to acknowledge that it starts in our thinking. And, and one, I guess for many people, sometimes people look at food as maybe a reward, or maybe it's an addiction and not even thinking about it, just doing it.
[00:02:18] So it is important to be intentional about what we think and what we do.
[00:02:24] Shonda: Yeah. Like to analyze it right. Analyze. So we want to analyze our relationship with food.
[00:02:31] I love that word. Yeah. That's a good,
[00:02:33] Well I analyze everything. Right? So maybe that works for some, some of you out there who are wired that way, then that's a good way to think about it.
[00:02:45] Okay. So, so what's the differences between healthy and toxic. What are some of your ideas?
[00:02:54] Patryce: Great question. I, I think healthy, like we've just said being intentional and, and then actually knowing what you're putting in your body. And then also just going back to the mind that we eat to live, not live to eat, and the more toxic view of that would be to live, to eat. Versus eat to live. Yeah. Do you want to elaborate on what eat to live? Not live to eat means, more or less?
[00:03:31]Shonda: Yeah. And so I don't want to go too far into the other topics that we're gonna talk about, but, eating to live. So when I think about that... when I eat food, I do want to eat something that has nutrition in it.
[00:03:49] Something that's nutritious for me, something that's going to give me vitamins and minerals. . My focus is on these main food groups. And these are just my guidelines: whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, fruits, and vegetables. And I want to have those , as real food, you know, the less processed, the better.
[00:04:18] Patryce: Sounds very good.
[00:04:19] The less processed, the better. And all of those that you mentioned, most of those are also part of the G bombs that we've talked about before. But yeah, I love how you began with you eat for nourishment and not just as a main source of pleasure.
[00:04:38] So we're not saying that we don't get pleasure out out of what we eat or when we eat. But it shouldn't be your main source of pleasure or your reward, but taking it back to the basic necessity of we need fuel and why not have the most nutritious fuel put into our body?
[00:04:58]Shonda: Yeah. Cause there are lots of chemicals let's say in foods especially when we start talking about packaged snacks, you know, lots of just flavor enhancers and things.
[00:05:09] And so I remember someone saying, yeah, you know, I'm not addicted to food, I'm addicted to chemicals. So that was something to consider. Are you addicted to food or are you addicted to the chemicals in the food.
[00:05:24] Patryce: That's a deep comment.
[00:05:25]Shonda: So let's say I like shakes. I can mimic that same shake and it's just as satisfying to me. Let's say a chocolate shake. So a chocolate shake would be a plant-based milk, some Pure cocoa, not the squeeze stuff that you put over your ice cream, not the syrup or anything like that, but you know, fresh cocoa powder. And say bananas, and , even some vanilla extract, you know, vanilla, well, they make it in powder now, so you can skip the extract and a sweetener, like, Maple syrup, a, date or something like that. And, and you have a delicious chocolate shake.
[00:06:19] Patryce: It sounds delicious. And I, yeah, that's a great point that it's not that we are saying don't have the shakes that you used to really crave and love, but realize that you were craving it, maybe because of not maybe because of the chemicals. And now if you're making it at home with a real ingredients, you have that same satisfying shake, but it's nutritious for you and delicious.
[00:06:50]Shonda: Yeah, exactly.
[00:06:53] Patryce: Wow. That's a great point. We can make changes by analyzing or just even just reflecting for those of you who may not be as analytical, but just thinking about what is it that is really making me want this food, or even be addicted to it because now that you mentioned it, there, there have been stories about main fast food providers where they put ,now that you mentioned it, chemicals and things like extra salt and things, and it's proven that it brings customers back. And back again. So if we know this, we can consciously go against that by making it at home. And for myself now that you brought this up, I used to really like a good shake, but when I went dairy free, I don't even create the shake anymore at all, but instead I'm thinking the whole time a great smoothie.
[00:07:46]Shonda: Yeah, that's that's it. Smoothies are yummy. And especially when you learn how to put greens in there, like a spinach, you can't even taste spinach. Yeah. It may turn it green, but you know, it may look green, but you cannot taste it at all.
[00:08:01] Patryce: Exactly. So I love the shake idea. And then from that, you can even, after a period of time, I know for me by doing the smoothies on a more regular basis I truly believe my taste buds have been reprogrammed.
[00:08:15]Shonda: That definitely does happen. Yeah. So what I'm thinking is, you know, I'll come up with maybe some chart or something like if you eat this, why don't you try this or something? And we'll try and put those in the show notes.
[00:08:27] Patryce: Great idea. Great idea. And so practical. I love it.
[00:08:32] Shonda: So, also though, eating should not be your favorite activity either. Yeah, yeah.
[00:08:42] Patryce: For so many reasons, not only to facilitate being healthy as we can be. Let's be honest. If it becomes, say a new past-time or, or something that becomes your main source of pleasure and you're doing a lot more of it. Most of us will be taking in more calories and therefore we'll see an increase of weight. And we always want to maintain a healthy weight. Not saying everyone's healthy weight is the same, but we all have to be honest, there there's a healthier weight and an unhealthy weight.
[00:09:17] So if we realize that food is becoming a main source of pleasure or the main thing we go to, if we're stressed or, or just an unhealthy relationship or more toxic relationship we begin to form with food. It could lead to some other issues such as unhealthy weight gain .
[00:09:38] Shonda: And so I want to put a plug here for the food guidelines that you could find under, PCRM.org. I'll definitely put that in the show notes, but you can eat as much as you want because the fiber in the food will fill you up and tell you when you're done.
[00:09:58] Patryce: Excellent. I'm so excited that you're going to be linking that to the show notes.
[00:10:05] Shonda: All right. So let's move on to planning more planning and being intentional because we talked a little bit about being intentional. Now let's plan a little more. Some people, you know, don't like that word planning.
[00:10:19] Patryce: And yeah, they don't, but again, it's like a mind shift, changing how we think about things. Because planning lends itself to, to being more intentional.
[00:10:31] So maybe before we say we don't like that word, we might want to just give it a try. yeah.
[00:10:39] Shonda: Cause we'll realize, I think that planning helps with life and preparing foods versus feeling like you're all over the place.
[00:10:50] Exactly. And I have definitely felt like I am all over the place at times.
[00:10:55] And because I have felt that way and then have tried the planning. I can honestly say the planning, minimizes stress. Yeah. What are some planning tips that you have?
[00:11:09] One thing, because I like to eat salads, I like to have a bag of greens available. And I do buy these mostly already washed and the heavy power greens ,I call them. They usually come in a bag and I get them already washed and I still have to wash a romaine lettuce. So I mixed those two to make my salad. And vegetables such as cucumbers and carrots and bell peppers and onions and things.
[00:11:36] And sometimes I just put those in a little light marinade of, vinegar and you know, like maybe , a vinegarette mostly and store that in the fridge. And that would be my toppings that I quickly go to, to add to my salad. And, the vinegarette preserves them longer. They're just not sitting in the fridge, getting all dried out.
[00:11:58] So I like to do that. And, then I always usually like to add Quinoa or rice to my salad. So I'll make that ahead of time. You know, you could make a bunch of that store in the fridge for a couple of days and the beans and the legumes and things I have that stored. So usually the way I eat is it's usually a salad or a bowl. And the only difference there is when I'm saying I'm eating a bowl. The, greens and things may be cooked. You know, the greens are cooked. The vegetables are roasted, even though I use roasted vegetables in a bowl and a salad also, but that's the only difference. I'm always eating the same foods, but sometimes it may be all warm. Sometimes it may be a little half warm and a little cold mixed together, you know? So that's one way that I prepare to make sure that I have things. Oh and I freeze a lot of bananas cause I like smoothies.
[00:12:57] Patryce: Okay, great. Great tips on and a few things I heard there sound really good in that, for example, you just said you freeze your bananas so that when you're ready to make that smoothie, you already have a frozen banana on hand. And then also what I'll call batch cooking of some things such as the Quinoa or for people who are eating the riced cauliflower, you can make more than a one serving portion so that you have that available all throughout the week to make up your bowls or make up your plates of food and having things already chopped is awesome. And I'm like you, I do buy a lot of my greens, power greens already rinsed and, and ready to go. So that that's one less thing you have to do when you're really hungry.
[00:13:48] Shonda: So it's very similar. I just think implementing a way or including more plant-based foods in your diet really... you can really prepare ahead of time and have such a variety because you know, you may have a roasted vegetable here and here and maybe today you don't want that roasted vegetable in the plate, then just leave it off and eat it another day or, you know, and you could just mix it up. And of course you need a good sauce. So I make some sauces ahead of time or some dressings ahead of time. And I'll definitely link those in the show notes too.
[00:14:22] Patryce: Wow. That's a great point about having the sauces already on hand. And one thing that has helped me with planning better is not just be nilly-willy when it comes to my shopping trip.
[00:14:35] So actually planning my shopping trips to the grocery store more because I am one of those people who likes to go to the grocery store. But if I plan which stores even what stores I'm going to, and then what I'm getting at those stores to have some staples on hand it at home is great instead of having to run in here and there in the middle of the week, so that I have the power greens always at home or have a healthy grain or, or whatever it is I'm going to be putting in my bowls or eating for my plant- based meal.
[00:15:12] So just thinking about how you're doing your grocery shopping, how often, what stores, just having like a shopping strategy, not to say there's a specific one, but whatever. Just have one, just have a shopping strategy helps with the whole planning.
[00:15:28] Shonda: Yeah. I think that's a good idea. And thanks to you for introducing me to Costco, because if possible for you all if it's possible, I highly recommend Costco.
[00:15:39] This is my first year, just two months in or three months in to having a Costco card. And I buy a lot in bulk now it's easy for me to do so instead of having to ask someone to bring me something from Costco. I buy the rice and the Quinoa and the nuts in bulk, and even the avocados, the large bag avocados, they last even longer. Yeah. I can just bring those right home and if they're all ripe, Stick them in the fridge. They'll be there a whole week and just perfect when I open them. So great. Yeah. Yeah. That's been really good. And you know, a big bag of potatoes. Well, I buy them 10 pounds at a time because I eat a lot of potatoes and sweet potatoes. Buying those things in bulk, really, I think it's lowered my grocery bill for sure. Yeah. Especially, yeah, especially for the nuts and the grains in bulk. So that's a good tip.
[00:16:38] Patryce: Well, I think that's pretty much wraps up the planning and we would just encourage everyone to just start looking at how you can do that if you're not doing it right now. How you can be more intentional about planning your shopping trips and, and what you're going to get. And. And how you're going to prep your food so it's easier to put your meals together.
[00:17:01] Shonda: Yeah, for sure. Okay. So boundaries, is that hard? Is that a difficult subject?
[00:17:13] Patryce: Well, you know I think for some people more so than others. I can speak only from my own experience. It's not as challenging now, but there was a time in my life where I was definitely not a plant based eater and definitely in college where I ate out a lot more and fast food.
[00:17:30] And just on the go, go, go and not thinking about, okay, I'm on the go what can I do to still eat healthy? Where boundaries were harder for me, it was more about convenience over boundaries. And when I mean by boundaries is realizing if you're not planning, then you will give in to going almost anywhere to eat when you're hungry.
[00:17:53] Shonda: Yeah. I think this is where we share a little bit of our lives because, you know, I think, I don't know if I've shared with the group before. For many reasons I'm frugal, that that was back then it wasn't even a health focus, but it was like, I am not spending all this money to eat out with other people. They knew that I was bringing my lunch. I was just the person who brought by lunch regardless. And many times it would just be bringing my lunch. I eat at my desk while I'm working, then I would go outside for a nap, but that's a whole different story, but yeah, so.
[00:18:28] I've always had boundaries about around food now, not to say that I made the best choices back then. You know, usually when I brought, yeah usually when I brought it with something reasonably healthy. But now it is definitely. I will not eat. I will starve before I eat something that I know my body's not going to like. I realize I'm in the extreme, but you know, sometimes it takes getting to that extreme, but sometimes maybe not, you know, it just depends on the person. That's the extreme that I live in. And I have reasons that I have to do that, but boundaries are good.
[00:19:06] Patryce: Yeah. Boundaries are good. And the only thing that I would add to that, because our experiences are somewhat different regarding this, but I think this too can be brought back to our thought life. Okay. So how are we thinking about food and just, what are we making a priority? Because it sounds to me from an earlier age, you were making it a priority not only that you wanted to save money. But you wanted to stay well because you felt sick when you ate certain things. So in that way, it was probably easier to have boundaries, not to succumb to the fast food or different places, just because you're in a hurry or you're hungry because you knew you weren't going to feel a certain way.
[00:19:54] So you were intentional about, well, you know, what am I going to do to not have to go to this fast food? So you brought your lunch. So, yeah, if we just think about our thought life and like you said, bringing your lunch is a great thing to do. And I know people want to socialize and I get that I've been at work where I've gone out for many a meals, but now when I look back, I should have, I could have at least brought my lunch sometimes.
[00:20:23] Or just because everyone's eating a certain way or I could have still asked more questions or thought about what I'm eating, even when I'm with other people. And it may have been just a whole different way of looking at it where I thought, well, I want to eat with other people, but I don't need to eat every other day with them.
[00:20:39] Maybe every Friday. That's the day I look forward to at working with other people. But the other days I want to bring my own food. Does that make sense?
[00:20:50] Shonda: Yeah, I get it. So yeah, that's good. Okay. So, talking about to set a meal time and even for me, that doesn't work. So we need to discuss that.
[00:21:05] Patryce: Wow. Yes and it's interesting. , it boils down to our lives. And so not everyone has a set meal time with other people, but I think as individuals, we can at least set boundaries on maybe the last time we're going to eat for the day.
[00:21:27] Shonda: Okay. Well that one's reasonable.
[00:21:30] Patryce: Yes. Not eating so, so late in the day,
[00:21:35] Shonda: Okay, I get that because I'm more of a, you know, when we go back to eat to live, not live, to eat. I'm more of an eating when I'm hungry. So I don't have a set meal time every day, certain set meal times and not eating when I'm too busy. Food doesn't digest well, I think for most people, if you're busy. So we're talking about don't eat on a hurried... not eating on a go.
[00:22:00]I think a meal is a time to sit still and focus on the process of eating or enjoying your food, because if you're hungry and you have food to eat, it's going to be enjoyable. Right? Nutritious and wholesome and Oh, thank you. And yes, yummy. You know, so that's just something that I thought, because this is the way I focus. I don't have set meal times. I eat when I'm hungry and not eating when busy, those are my boundaries.
[00:22:31] Patryce: Well, those are good ones. Not eating when we are busy is an important one, because if you're busy, It's not good for your digestion.
[00:22:41] And most likely, if you are eating and are busy, you're eating very fast and it sounds silly, but we need to actually chew our food properly. I heard this from even a coach from when my kids were younger, a track coach. But anyway, his point was kids stop rushing while you're eating. And I guess that's where the whole idea of mealtime, maybe not having a set time, like I have to eat at eight o'clock and then at 12 o'clock and then at 6:00 PM, but just that you designate, okay, this is when I'm going to eat. And I'm not just going to gulp my food down.
[00:23:16]Instead, you're being intentional about, this is my time to eat, thanking the Lord for the food I'm about to receive and then enjoying it and chewing properly. So it will digest better.
[00:23:29] Shonda: Okay. Yeah. Those are very good boundaries, I think. Yeah. All right.
[00:23:37] Patryce: Let's move on to... I think accountability. It's something to talk about.
[00:23:43] Shonda: Yeah, if you need help. I think so. If you feel like you can't do it on your own, I think accountability is important. I'm going to say at the beginning, I wish I had someone to do those changes with, but I did not, but I can see the benefits of having someone coming alongside me and doing it with me is what would have been important for my support system.
[00:24:10] Patryce: I like how you mentioned support system, whether that's someone coming alongside of you, whether it's the accountability partner, whatever it is, have a support system.
[00:24:19] And maybe that's why things such as Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig's, although I've never been a part of them, perhaps that's part of their success story. That they do build in accountability and support system. So I do think it would be helpful because most of the time, if we have certain goals, to meet, let's be honest either our health has been impacted or maybe part of our journey of maybe having a healthy weight again are all impacted by needing to make changes. And if we're not seeing different results, that means we need to make changes. And we probably need help because if we could do it on our own, we wouldn't be in this spot.
[00:25:05] Shonda: Hmmmhh okay, Yeah. That's a good point.
[00:25:09] Patryce: So seeking support and then accept the help. I don't know about you, but I didn't find out until I was much older that even though I thought I was good about accepting help, I really wasn't. Mm. Especially as women, I think that sometimes is challenging for us. We are used to doing it all or thinking we need to do it all. And there are times when it's okay to, to ask and then accept help. And the only other thing, well, one other thing to say about accountability is that it may not work for everyone, but it's one of those things where if you've never tried it, you don't know if it works or not. So if you hit a wall and you're not meeting some goals, I say, try something new because just doing the same thing and expecting different results it's like insanity.
[00:26:17] Shonda: Yeah, definitely. We definitely have to make changes if we want to see changes.
[00:26:22] Patryce: Exactly. So, going back to accountability. It's just been my experience from my own life and seeing other people that people need people.
[00:26:33] Shonda: Yeah, definitely.
[00:26:36]Patryce: Even working out. If I work out by myself, I work out, but when I'm in our group, there's something about that accountability. It's like, you're not going to be in a group, a workout group and just stand there or half-heartedly do something at least I won't. So if I'm trying to make a lifestyle change, when it comes to my food and how I take care of myself, if I never tell anyone, versus I tell a couple of girlfriends or family members, oftentimes you're going to find yourself working a little harder at making, meeting your goal.
[00:27:15] Shonda: Yeah, exactly. So we're trying to build a community here. Right? I am willing if there are people out there that really want accountability or support, let's just say they want to see more of a support system. We can meet online, you know, and create a group.
[00:27:37] So that we can meet together and encourage one another. So if you want to do that, click the link in the show notes and let us know that you want to do that, that you're interested in that.
[00:27:49] That's so exciting. I'm looking forward to being a part of a support system and we're all in this together.
[00:27:56] Let's all be real about making changes that are healthy for our life.

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SHOW NOTES:

GET STARTED WITH THE REAL FOOD AND DRINKS LIFESTYLE

SHOW NOTES:

GET STARTED WITH THE REAL FOOD AND DRINKS LIFESTYLE

SHOW NOTES:

GET STARTED WITH THE REAL FOOD AND DRINKS LIFESTYLE