Seize the New Year!
- At January 10, 2018
- By Katherine
- In Articles, News
0
What are your hopes, dreams and desires for 2018? Have you reached and sustained your health and weight goals? The new year is a valuable opportunity to improve the quality of your life and happiness. Come over, tell me about your goals and dreams so I can help you accomplish them in 2018! Here are some ideas to start with…
Now, move mindfully into 2018 filled with ideas, possibilities and plans! Analyze people who will continue to be important, ideas to explore, places to spend time, important events and things to carry over from last year to this year.
CREATE A “SENSE OF URGENCY”
An important aspect of making major changes in the world or in your own life is to feel a sense of urgency about your goal. A sense of urgency, according to The Dalai Lama in “The Art of Happiness” and our “western style” research, can be achieved two ways:
1) Remind yourself of your positive vision for success. For example, visualize yourself at your goal weight, healthy, feeling energetic and confident (see “Dream” in my book, Diet Simple). Is there a special event coming soon? A wedding? Reunion? Summer at the beach? You get the idea. But also…
2) Ponder the negative consequences of not making a particular change (a little fear can be a good thing – but just a little). For instance, in the morning as you’re considering two options: getting out of bed to exercise or sleeping just a little longer. Ask yourself: “Do I want to feel good today? Or do I want to feel crummy today?” Another example, as you’re driving home from work and deciding to grab some carry-out or to go home to eat the healthy meal you’ve already planned. Ask yourself: “Do I want to achieve my weight loss goal (insert positive vision here) or will I accept being the same weight and having the same health problems for another year?” “Do I want to stop taking these darn medications or will I be taking them forever – and even increasing the dosage? What will my doctor say?” “What kind of example am I setting for my children, my spouse? Is this a behavior I can be proud of?” etc. You get the idea…
ACHIEVE INCREASED HAPPINESS
If you want to be happy, outline the consequences of your actions and act on your long term goals when making a decision to do something or not. Ask yourself “Which decision will improve my life?” Also, ask yourself, “Which decision may feel good right now but is counterproductive and will prevent me from achieving my goal?” helps you grow and become a happier person. It increases your general happiness level because you are making decisions which contribute to your long-term well-being.
THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL OF GIVING IN
Usually, when you do something that feels good momentarily, such as giving in and staying in bed for 30 more minutes of sleep in the morning instead of exercising, or grabbing a coffee cake at the coffee shop when you originally planned on just buying coffee, your happiness level may increase (“oooh, this feels yummy!”) – but it’s only a temporary blip of happiness. It goes back to the same level it did before – once the temporary experience wears off – and nothing changes for the better in your life. You may even become more depressed as you give-in to these unfulfilling momentary desires and continue into a downward spiral.
MAKE THE HARDER, BUT MORE SATISFYING CHOICE
If, instead, you say to yourself, “I’m getting out of bed NOW! I’ll feel terrible if I don’t, and I’ll never achieve my goals,” or “Will stopping to get carry-out change my life for the better? I’d be better off going home and eating something healthy as I want to lose weight, lower my cholesterol, wear that special outfit, etc,” or “I really don’t need that coffee cake, and I’ll feel terrible after eating it, and will it make me happier at the end of the day?” “Will this increase my happiness for the short term? Or for the long term?” Another more extreme example might be a drug addict relapsing. It feels great momentarily, but the feeling doesn’t last.
When you make a more thoughtful decision, which contributes to a better life – physical or psychological – you are more likely to achieve your life’s hopes, dreams and goals. You can actually increase your happiness level, feel happier more often and grow as a person.
WHY IT’S NOT ALWAYS EASY
There are so many things distracting you. It is not always easy in our society to make healthy decisions. It’s easier – and the norm, in fact – to be overweight and unhealthy. But, I’m convinced it is possible to be healthy in an unhealthy world with planning, practice, determination, and support (I’m here any time you need me!) – Besides, what’s the alternative?
It takes effort to train your mind to work this way, but this is how we become better people and we advance as a society.
Call me to help you achieve your New Year’s Goal and keep the results!
The New Tax Bill Could Damage Non-Profits & Charities: Give now!
- At December 23, 2017
- By Katherine
- In Articles, News
- 0
The emblem of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund
To get the most out of your philanthropic dollar, donate TODAY to your favorite charity. The new tax bill will have a major impact on charitable and non-profit organizations around the world. It takes effect January 1, 2018 and “would fundamentally weaken the ability of charitable organizations to raise money, provide services, and benefit our communities. Charitable giving could drop as much as $20 billion a year,” according to UNICEF’s website (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund), which is an organization which “works for the survival, protection, and development of children worldwide.” The UNICEF website added, “If you’re no longer going to be itemizing deductions then you might maximize your charitable contributions before year’s end,” quoting H & R Block, a tax preparation and filing service.
A charitable organization I’m most intimately involved with is The Salvation Army. I spend several hours per week there counseling recovering drug and alcohol users on how to live healthy lifestyles once they’re ready to face the world. Many of them have never known love in their lives. Some are raised by alcoholic, drug-addicted or absent parents or families; they are often physically, sexually and emotionally abused, homeless and desperate. They have nowhere else to go except The Salvation Army where they are welcomed with open arms and hearts.
A particular story shocked me, but it is just one out of many. One of my clients, at the age of five, was thrown down the stairs by her mother. After she tumbled to the bottom of the stairs her mother jumped on her head, cracking her skull. She was then taken away from her mother and sent to live with alcoholic relatives who abused her. This is according to her private medical chart; the young woman did not speak of it.
Another man in his forties was unjustly incarcerated for 22 years. He was finally exonerated based on new evidence, but the best of his life was over. Amazingly, as many of my clients there, he had a positive attitude when speaking with me, and said he felt “blessed” (his words), but has been struggling with heroin addiction. Again, he didn’t share his tale of woe, it’s something I had to read about in his personal history, which as a medical professional, is part of my duties: to understand a person’s life, history, health, etc. so I can help them to the best of my ability.
Many of my clients there have experienced injustices of all kinds. For instance, being incarcerated for nine or more years simply for “intent to distribute” drugs. Yes. That is a crime, but I feel the punishment is excessive. Then these poor souls become lost in the system – if they hadn’t already, torn from their families, uneducated, and damaged with nowhere to go except back to their negative environments.
Americans have always been generous people with big hearts. Please give now to The Salvation Army, one of the highest rated charities in the world and, of course, a personal favorite. But it is just one of millions, like UNICEF that make a difference in peoples’ lives. You could contact me (Katherine@PersonalizedNutrition), if you like, about medical supplies needed!
Katherine’s Top 40 Healthy Holiday Tips – Listen to the Podcast!
- At December 19, 2017
- By Katherine
- In Articles, News
- 0
Personalize your favorite strategies for enjoying yourself while staying healthy and fit through the holiday season. Listen to my “Top 40 Mental Tricks, Substitutions, Habits & Inspirations for the Holidays” on “The Boost” Podcast with Elena Lipson – and me!
The holidays are a time for celebrating life and for bringing friends and families together. They also mean many opportunities for socializing, eating and drinking. My belief is that you can do it all, have fun, feel great and still stay in shape and good health during the holidays with just a little planning and support. Besides, what’s the alternative?
Even if you’ve mastered your daily routine of self-care, the holidays present new challenges like travel, crazy schedules, fattening delicious foods everywhere, increased family and work obligations and pressures.
On the “The Boost Podcast,” I remind you, among other things, that you can eat with abandon, even your favorite holiday foods, like peppermint bark or potato pancakes, you can sleep more, reward yourself with sexy lingerie or a massage, go to great parties… In fact, you should!
Diet Simple Tip# 132 For Party Goer’s: The 25 Percent Blowout!
- At December 04, 2017
- By Katherine
- In Articles, News
- 0
A recent holiday party
Here’s some rocket science: What happens when you go to four or five parties in a week, and you eat yourself silly at each one? You’ll make a good social impression, but the impression on the scale at the end of the week will be even more impressive.
It’s difficult for serious party goers to keep food intake and calories under control. Every sideboard and dining table is loaded with food, and every bottle is filled with caloric libations.
In Diet Simple’s Chapter, “The Party Goer’s Guide to Perfect Weight,” which is especially appropriate for party animals, anyone who entertains (or is entertained) frequently for pleasure or for business, or those who go home for the holidays, Tip #132, “The 25 Percent Blowout,” shares sage advice:
At the height of the holiday season, you might find yourself invited to four parties in a week. Go to all of them – and indulge at one.
**Excerpted from Diet Simple: 195 Mental Tricks, Substitutions, Habits & Inspirations
Tip# 139: Give Away Leftovers! 5 Ways to Stay Slim Through the Holidays
- At November 24, 2017
- By Katherine
- In Articles, News
- 0
Goody’s Vegetable Soup (made with turkey stock and leftover Thanksgiving turkey) in “Diet Simple: 95 Tricks, Substitutions, Habits & Inspirations” A perfect way to enjoy the holidays and stay slim, too!
In tip#139 of Diet Simple, I share a little reminder that… it’s not the holiday meal that puts the weight on, it’s eating the high calorie leftovers again… and again… and again… on Friday… Saturday… Sunday…and beyond… Get rid of them (I’m pretty sure a homeless shelter would appreciate them)! But keep the tasty and healthy turkey, bones, and veggies to make a yummy soup that’ll soothe your loved ones’ souls – and bodies.
Splurging is great. but I recommend you get back to normal eating as soon as possible. Think of the Thanksgiving feast as one lovely day, and then, indulge yourself with the love of friends and family the rest of the weekend. Besides, isn’t love, friendship and thankfulness the most important parts of the holidays?
Soup is perfect for 5 reasons…
Soups are an especially good use for your leftovers. Why? They are satisfying in many ways: First, they are easy to throw together (as an example, Goody’s Vegetable Soup in “Diet Simple). Second, psychologically, soups warm your body and soul. Third, physically, they are yummy and filling, yet low in calories. Fourth, soups using Thanksgiving leftovers are brimming with nourishment from the most nutrient-dense foods available: veggies! And fifth, soups slow you down, calm you, help you eat more leisurely and mindfully. And mindfulness helps your body and mind in surprising ways.
I’ve written about the “Science of Slimming Soups,” in Diet Simple and on my blog, and you’ll be amazed at the results!
Light and Creamy Mashed Potatoes for the Thanksgiving Table
- At November 23, 2017
- By Katherine
- In News, Recipes
- 0
Marion Burros’ Streamlined Mashed Potatoes
(Excerpted from “Diet Simple: 195 Mental Tricks, Substitutions, Habits & Inspirations”)
Potatoes have more potassium than any raw fruit or vegetable, even a banana. Potatoes contain half your requirement for Vitamin C. They rank 5th out of 42 vegetables tested for antioxidant capacity, coming ahead of broccoli, cabbage, and tomatoes. A 5.3 ounce serving of potatoes have only 110 calories. Potatoes could sustain your body healthfully with just a few dairy products and oil added. Think of all the cultures through hundreds, and thousands of years, which survived on potatoes… Scandinavians, Russians, Irish, Peruvians… You get the picture!
I can’t imagine a better comfort food!
Serves 6
1 pounds unpeeled thin-skinned potatoes (Yukon Gold or other boiling potatoes), scrubbed and sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 Cups Nonfat Buttermilk, or more
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Garnish with chopped parsley (optional)
1. Cook the potato slices in water to cover until tender, about 10 minutes. Do not let them get so soft that they start to disintegrate; that makes them watery. Drain and mash the potatoes – peel and all – in a food mill, through a ricer, or with a potato masher.
2. Stir in the buttermilk until the potatoes become creamy. Season with salt and pepper. Add chopped parsley to taste (optional)
NOTE: The potatoes can be refrigerated, if well covered, but they are best when fresh. To serve, place in a glass dish, cover wtih plastic wrap, and reheat in the microwave for about 8 minutes on high. Stir once or twice while reheating. If the potatoes become too dry, stir in additional buttermilk. Use waxy potatoes for boiling like Red Bliss or fingerlings. Yukon Golds are all-purpose.
Streamlined Mashed Potatoes is excerpted from Cooking for Comfort (Simon & Schuster 2003) by Marion Burros. Burros is a columnist and writer for The New York Times since 1981, she lives in New York City and outside Washington, D.C.
A Fall Menu for Guests with Dietary Food Restrictions
Butternut Squash Soup with Curry and Ginger – from “Diet Simple Farm to Table Recipes: 50 New Reasons to Cook in Season!” (squash, onions and ginger from Farmers Market)
Cooking for special guests with food restrictions can seem an ominous task. It often means that none of your favorite special occasion recipes work, risking disappointing your guests with a less than delcious meal.
I was recently faced with entertaining a friend who couldn’t eat grains, starch, sugar, dairy, eggs, legumes, peanuts, almonds, garlic, or alcohol … You get the picture! But my friends said I did it well, so I thought I would share my menu with you.
First, since my food choices were limited, the recipes were likely going to be fairly simple. so choosing the best ingredients was paramount. Obviously, that meant I bought just about everything from the local Farmers Market.
As Hors d’oevres, I served Guacamole Stuffed Cherry Tomato Halves. On most diets, vegetables are unlimited, so you can’t go wrong with them. My quacamole was simply mashed avocado with salt and pepper. You can stuff the cherry tomato halves with anything – tuna or smoked salmon salad, tabouleh, etc. I also served pistachio nuts in a side dish (always with a spoon to prevent spreading germs).
Avocado-Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes (produce from the grocery store)
As the first course, I served Butternut Squash Soup with Curry and Ginger, always a hit. I created this recipe years ago, because I couldn’t find a butternut squash soup recipe with no cream. Of course, this made it perfect for this special menu. All I had to do was to excluded the garlic.
As the main course, I served a crab cake, topped with a tiger shrimp and 2 scallops as decoration. All bought that day from Stachowski’s in Georgetown. The guests were overwhelmed with the freshness, sweetness and delicacy of the seafood. And I confirmed that nothing in the crabcake was verboten. With most of these diets, protein is not limited, but I chose seafood to be on the healthier side. My side dishes were Haricot Vert sauteed in olive oil with sweet onions and red peppers.
Haricot Vert, Onions and Red Pepper from Farmers Market
And for color, golden and red beets simply boiled with salt and sliced, were served alongside.
Red and Golden Beets (from Farmers Market)
Of course, I really wanted dessert to be special. But I was limited to fruit. Hmmm… I’ve eaten roasted fruit, like apricots and peaches, and sauteed fruit in butter and brown sugar. The butter and brown sugar were out, so I decided to roast fruit, which I had never done before. I looked up a few recipes, found fresh pineapple and fresh figs at the grocery store and thought long and hard about what I could roast them in. Could they be roasted alone? I couldn’t find any recipe this simple and I was afraid to try it. It seemed that the fruit would need some kind of fat and sweetener to make it special. But I couldn’t use butter or sugar. Instead, I chose coconut milk, hazelnut oil, and a little honey. I tossed the fresh pineapple pieces and fig halves, in a bowl with the mixture, added pecans, and placed them on a cookie sheet with parchment paper (nothing sticks to it). Roasted til the pineapple was golden brown.
But that wasn’t enough. I needed something creamy with it… ice cream or whipped cream were out of the question. But I heard that coconut milk was popular with the alternative dieting crowd (even though it riases bad cholesterol more than anything else!), so I looked up how to make something creamy out of it. Turns out, it gets nice and fluffy when whipped with a beater. I served it alongside the fruit. And it was a hit!
Roasted Pineapple, Figs and Pecans with Coconut Cream (from grocery store)
With a willingness to experiment, try new recipes, and to please your friends who want to eat great food but may be on special diets, it’s worth it to take your cooking into a new direction. My dinner was probably hit and miss. But my friends appreciated my effort and I’m sure enjoyed at least most of it!
Baked Apples with Roasted Nuts and Dried Fruit
- At November 12, 2017
- By Katherine
- In News, Recipes
- 0
Honey Crisp Apples from Spring Valley Orchard and Farm
The most popular fruit in the United States, apples are a great source of fiber and vitamin C. Apples also contain quercetin, a compound that may help prevent cancer and heart disease, also xeaxanthin, important for eye health. Be sure to eat the peel. The majority of nutrients are in the skin. At the market, choose firm apples with no soft spots or bruises. Be sure to wash apples under clean, running water before eating. (excerpted from the “Fruit and Veggie Glossary” in Diet Simple Farm to Table Recipes: 50 New Reasons to Cook in Season!)
Apples and their pear cousins are the only locally grown fruit from now until… May or June! But don’t despair. Apples are a versatile fruit, come in many shapes, sizes, colors, flavors and textures. They can be eaten “as is” or incorporated into sweet or savory recipes. Think waldorf salad, apple crisp, apple cakes, caramel apples, hard or soft apple cider, Thanksgiving stuffing, German potato salad, applesauce, poached apples in wine sauce. Grate apples into your pancakes, coleslaw, muffins, and loafs. Chop apples and toss them in your tuna or chicken salad. Use apples any time you want an alternative color, texture or flavor in a recipe or menu. You get the idea! My Baked Apples can be eaten as a dessert, a snack, an appetizer, a first course or a satisfying end-of-day refreshment with tea.
Katherine’s Baked Apples with Roasted Nuts & Dried Fruit
excerpted from “Diet Simple: 195 Mental Tricks, Substitutions, Habits & Inspirations”
A traditional yet simple and healthy dessert.
4 servings
4 large apples
1 C water, sweet white wine or apple juice
8 tsp sugar, brown sugar or maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon mixed into the sugar (optional)
1/2 C chopped nuts or dried fruit (optional)
Peel the top half of the apples and, using a apple corer or melon baller, core the apples. Put about 1” of the water in a baking pan. Place the apples in the pan, blossom end down. Sprinkle about 1 tsp of the sugar in the cavity of the apple and 1 tsp around the top. If desired, stuff chopped nuts and/or dried fruit into the cavity.
Bake uncovered for about an hour, or until apples are very tender. Cool and serve warm or at room temperature, or refrigerate. Serve with sweet or sour cream or nonfat Greek yogurt.
Only about 90 calories each!
10 Tips for Enjoying Halloween Candy Without Guilt or Consequences
- At November 01, 2017
- By Katherine
- In News, Recipes
- 0
Now that you have all that Halloween candy, what is a healthy way to handle it, especially for your children? You don’t need to think of candy as “bad.” Studies over the years have found there is no association between candy eating and poor health or weight gain. But eating candy in moderation helps.
There are a few simple strategies designed by behavioral scientists and nutritionists to help your children (or you) enjoy candy without guilt or even weight gain. Remember:
1. Moderation is more realistic than complete elimination,
2. Eat about 10% of your daily calorie needs as candy and you can still maintain a healthy body and weight (most women consume about 1800 calories/day, so their candy allottment might be 180 calories daily. For men, perhaps about 220 calories),
3. When candy is in the house, it’s fair game for everyone. Denying access to candy your child knows is in the house (and they always know!) is counterproductive and can eventually lead to bingeing when it becomes available,
4. Remove the emphasis on restriction. If you don’t want someone in your house eating candy, don’t have it in the house. This changes the emphasis from what you “can’t” have, to what you “can” have,
5. Structure your family’s eating. Eat regularly scheduled meals at predictable times through the day,
6. Provide reasonable guildelines for eating the candy that is in the house, and practice what you preach,
7. If you’d like your child to eat candy moderately, limit how often it is brought into the home and serve small portions, or use pre-packaged candy in small amounts,
8. Serve all food positively. Fruits, vegetables and other wholesome foods should be presented just as positively as candy,
9. Don’t use candy as a reward of any kind,
10. Above all else, provide a consistently positive atmosphere in which all food is eaten. There is no “good” or “bad” food. All food fits, but you may need to define the balance, amounts, and timing that candy or any food is eaten in the household.
Nora Pouillon’s Classic Ratatouille
- At October 22, 2017
- By Katherine
- In News, Recipes
- 0
Vegetables for Nora’s Ratatouille were all Found at Twin Springs Fruit Farm Stand from Ortanna, PA (90 Miles from DC)
Nora Pouillon’s Ratatouille
Adapted from
“Cooking with Nora”
And Excerpted from “Diet Simple”
Ratatouille is an authentic aromatic Provençal ragout of onions, eggplants, peppers, zucchini, and tomatoes, stewed slowly in olive oil and flavored with garlic and fresh herbs. At the Dupont Circle Fresh Farm Market, I recently found every vegetable and herb needed for this amazingly tasty and versatile dish – all from Twin Springs Fruit Farm in Ortanna, Pennsylvania. The farmers travel 90 miles to provide us city folks with the freshest, juiciest, most delicate fruits and vegetables to be had – not to mention the extraordinary nutrition they provide!
Cutting up the vegetables is time consuming and that is why I like to make double or more than the amount I need and use the leftovers …
• at room temperature the next day with grilled chicken or fish.
• mixed with eggs and cheese for a Quiche Provencal.
• heated up and stirred with beaten eggs, spiced with chilis and served with sliced ham, Prosciutto, or cooked lean sausage as Piperade or Basque dish.
• reheated and used as sauce for freshly cooked pasta, garnished with feta or goat cheese, with the addition of pitted black olives if desired.
• As Minestrone, heated with vegetable or chicken stock, adding a can of drained cannellini beans and maybe a spoon of pesto on top.
The trick of a good ratatouille is not to overcook the vegetables. They have to be added one after the other, depending on the amount of time they need to cook to be just tender. Of course, Nora recommends all the vegetables be organic.
6 – 8 servings
1/2 cup olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 Tablespoons garlic, minced
1-2 eggplants (2 lbs) cut into 1-inch cubes
2 peppers, red, green or yellow, cut into 1-inch squares
2 zucchini (1.5 lbs) cut into 1-inch cubes
1.5 lbs tomatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon thyme, minced
1/2 Tablespoon rosemary, minced
2 Tablespoon parsley or basil, minced
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet until hot.
Add the onions and stew for 10 minutes until soft. Add the garlic, then the eggplants and peppers, cover and cook slowly for 20 minutes.
Add the zucchini, cook for 5 minutes, then lastly add the tomatoes and cook for an additional 5 minutes or less.
Season with salt and pepper and the minced herbs.
Calories 220 Percent of Daily Value
Calories from Fat 150
Total Fat 16g 25%
Saturated Fat 2g 11%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 15mg 1%
Total Carbohydrate 18g 6%
Dietary Fiber 6g 22%
Soluble Fiber 1.13 g
Omega 3 Fatty Acids 0.14 g
Sugars 10g
Protein 3g
Vitamin A 60%
Vitamin C 160%
Calcium 4%
Iron 8%
