Us human beings often think that if we lose weight or attain some other goal, we will be happier. Not true. Our happiness has only a minor connection to our external world and the goals we reach. Rather our happiness is based on how our brain perceives the external world. Watch this 12 minute TED video to hear psychologist Shawn Achor, a funny guy, talk about how we can create happiness. Here he is talking about work but it applies to all aspects of our life (including weight loss). He gives the nutshell solution for retraining the brain in the last 2 minutes so enjoy it to the end.
Shawn Achor on Happiness

A friend asked me if I had any suggestions for what to do with cacao nibs that she has in her cupboard. I immediately thought of this recipe which was passed on to me by Lynne at The Big Carrot (but I am not sure who I can give credit to for the creation of the recipe). I have adapted it slightly, using less agave nectar and using 100% organic cocoa powder as a substitute for cacao powder that I didn’t have at the time (they can be used interchangeably). Keep in mind that the quality of the cocoa powder matters in terms of its antioxidants so choose 100% organic from a reputable company. You can also use a variety of non-gluten flours if you wish. I’ve made these cookies with a combo of sorghum, coconut and tapioca flours.

These are delicious but the benefits go beyond taste. Cacao nibs (partially ground cacao beans) and the cocoa powder have an abundant source of antioxidants, magnesium and iron. They are considered high on the list as brain food possibly due to the cognitive and mood enhancing Theobromine. Cacao nibs and cocoa powder, along with dark chocolate are also considered heart healthy due to the flavanols and magnesium.

12 tb. or 3/4 c coconut oil
150 ml. agave nectar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tb. water plus 1 tsp. ground flax seed
2 c spelt flour
1/2 c amaranth flour (you can grind whole amaranth if you can’t find the flour)
1 c whole bean cacao powder or organic cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c cacao nibs

Mix the flax and water together and let it sit while you thoroughly mix the oil, agave and vanilla. Now add the flax/water mixture to the oil mixture.
In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add to the wet mixture, mixed thoroughly, using your hands to form a dough that can be shaped into balls.
Depending on what type of flour you use, you may have to add more.
Drop balls of dough onto an oiled cookie sheet about an inch apart.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. The cookies will be moist and brownie-like.
Let them cool and they will harden a bit.

For more recipes using cacao nibs and powder – check out this site http://www.navitasnaturals.com/recipes/cacao-recipes.html

You may think from my recipe posting that all I eat are protein shakes. Nah – it’s only one of my breakfast and snack options. But I do highly recommend them for the value that you get from the whey in particular, and from other concentrated proteins that vegans prefer. Besides, I get asked for shake recipes so often that it’s easier to post them than to continually have to email them. So here is the third in my repertoire.

Makes 1 Serving

Blend:

¾ cup frozen strawberries (or others such as blueberries or a combo)

¼ – ½ banana (optional)

1 cup natural coconut water (preferable, but optionally, you can use water or your favourite type of milk)

1 tb. almond butter (optionally, can use organic peanut butter)

 When the ingredients above are completely blended, add:

1 scoop natural or vanilla flavoured whey protein powder 

1 – 2 tb. ground flaxseed

1 tsp. Bioflavia (this is optional but highly recommended – it’s a super antioxidant from organic grapeskins http://www.bioflavia.ca/)

 Blend for the minimum time needed to mix the powder in. Blending too much will destroy the integrity of the protein. Pour into a glass and enjoy.

Whey protein suggestions:

Ergogenics New Zealand Whey Isolate http://www.ergogenicsnutrition.com/

Brad King’s Ultimate High-Alpha Whey Protein  http://fatwars.com/products/protein.html

Genuine Health Proteins + http://www.genuinehealth.com/by-name/proteins.html

Looking for another breakfast option?

A version of this recipe was passed onto me by one of my clients, Peter M. Thanks Peter.

I adjusted some of the ingredients to include a wider range of nutrients. It is a great option for a high protein breakfast or snack that also has enough complex carbs to sustain you for hours or for a workout an hour or two later. It takes 10 minutes total prep time once you get the hang of it. You can cut down on the morning prep by doing the dry mixture the night before and then just adding eggs, milk and fruit.

Ingredients

1/2 cup large flaked rolled oats, ground to flour in a blender or coffee grinder (optionally, you could use oat flour)

2 tb unsweetened or vanilla whey protein (I use Ergogenics New Zealand Whey)

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tb ground sprouted flax and/or chia seed (you can use regular flax or chia but the sprouted is more stable with heat)

pinch of salt

2 eggs, beaten well in a measuring cup

unsweetened almond milk to make 3/4 cup when combined with the egg (optionally, you could use another type of milk)

1 apple, peeled and grated

2 tsp coconut oil

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix the egg and almond milk in the measuring cup and add to the dry ingredients, mixing well. Add in the grated apple.

Heat a frying pan over medium heat with the coconut oil. When hot enough to make a drop of batter bubble lightly, add the mixture to the pan, either as one large pancake or a couple of smaller ones. Turn heat down to low and let cook until the top of the pancake is dry (approximately 4 minutes). Flip over and let sit for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and eat.

There are lots of options for this recipe. I have also done it by adding a little less oatmeal and some rice protein. Peter uses egg whites instead of almond milk to up the protein content. It would also be good with other fruit such as blueberries. If you want more decadence, you can add some toppings to it, such as jam, apple butter or a fruit compote.

Nutritional Profile:

Calories: 478 kcal, Protein: 32 g, Carbs: 49 g, Fat: 18 g, Fibre: 10 g.

Onions, garlic and ginger are a powerful team against viruses (and apparently, according to my resident ghoul expert, vampires). When you feel the symptoms of a cold setting in, take 15 minutes to make enough of this saucy mix to last you a few days. Serve it over short grain brown rice if you need more sustenance and comfort.

Makes 3 -4 servings

2 large onions, chopped (any white onions will do, although the stronger it is, the more anti-viral potential it has)

1 tb. ginger, peeled and chopped coarsely

2 tb. garlic, chopped coarsely

1 tb. tamari (naturally aged soy sauce)

6 cups water or stock

1.5 tb. arrowroot flour (it acts as a natural thickening agent like corn starch, but healthier)

Combine all ingredients except for arrowroot in a pot and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and let simmer for 20 minutes or until the onions are soft. Spoon the arrowroot into a small bowl and stir in just enough cold water to liquify it. With the onion mixture simmering, stir in the arrowroot liquid. Let it simmer for a few more minutes. Do not let it boil because the thickening quality of the arrowroot will diminish with too much heat. Add more arrowroot if you would like to thicken it more. Simmer for a few more minutes. Serve hot as is, or over brown rice or quinoa.

This is my go to recipe for my morning protein shake. If you like chocolate and peanut butter you are gonna love this one.

1 Serving

Blend:

 ¼ – ½ frozen banana (if not frozen add 2 or 3 cubes of ice)

1 ¼  cup natural coconut water (preferable, but optionally, you can use water or your favourite type of milk)

2 tb. 100% organic peanut butter (choose organic because of the high pesticide content of regular peanuts)

When the ingredients above are completely blended, add:

1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder

1 – 2 tb. ground flaxseed

1 tsp. glutamine (optional)

 Blend for the minimum time needed to mix the powder in. Blending too much will destroy the integrity of the protein.

Pour into a glass and enjoy.

Whey protein suggestions:

Ergogenics New Zealand Whey Isolate http://www.ergogenicsnutrition.com/

Brad King’s Ultimate High-Alpha Whey Protein  http://fatwars.com/products/protein.html

Genuine Health Proteins + http://www.genuinehealth.com/by-name/proteins.html

Losing weight isn’t that hard. Millions of people have done it, millions of times.
Keeping it off seems to be the conundrum. Do you suffer from one or more of the Dieter’s Syndromes below? If so, try doing an about-face to shift your perspective.

1. Quick Fix – this syndrome hijacks your wishful thinking to have you believe that you can lose 40 pounds in 40 days, or some other promise. Not sustainable!

Perspective shift: Commit to one healthy new habit that is doable and do it until it is entrenched. Then take on the next one. If you do that consistently, by the end of one year you will have made changes that will naturally promote your ideal weight.

2. All or Nothing – This is the one where you are gung-ho on a diet for a period of time and then when life happens and you find yourself indulging, you figured you just blew it and so you drop your diet altogether.

Perspective shift: Plan for indulgences. We all need them occasionally. Eat well 90% of the time and your body can handle 10% of your favourite pleasures.

3. Tunnel Vision – This is the counter’s syndrome of obsessing over one number, be it calories, grams of fat or points. It can work for a while as an education tool but you need to get past the obsession.

Perspective shift: Pay attention to how your body feels when you eat. Which foods give you energy? Make you tired later? Cause digestive symptoms? How much do you need to be satisfied as opposed to full? Your body will give you clear messages if you listen.

4. Everyone But Me – Also known as the Martyr Syndrome, this one is common particularly amongst women who have time for everyone else’s needs but their own.

Perspective shift: Your need to be needed will be replaced by the self-respect that comes with committing to yourself. This will promote a more integral quality of service to others.

5. Not Now, Later – You always have the goal of losing weight hanging over you but the time just never seems to be right. Watch out for this one – for every year you don’t lose weight, you are likely to put on more.

Perspective shift: Commit to your health rather than losing weight specifically. Take on one new healthy habit as above in the ‘Quick Fix’ perspective shift.

6. I Should be Able to Do This – No one is good at everything. Keeping your body at your ideal weight is not your area of expertise but you think you should be able to do it without help.

Perspective shift: If this weight thing were simple you would have done it long ago. Consider that there are lots of factors involved and use an expert to help you as you would for other areas of your life.

Need help recovering from BBQ barbecue season?

Too many char-grilled steaks, tofu dogs, beer and summertime indulgences can lead to a loss of energy, weight gain, lagging libido, and general feeling of not being well.

Not that you need summer to strike up the BBQ or to overindulge, but the end of summer is as good a time as any to consider what you can do to counter the effects of both.

I wrote a previous blog on 10 Ways to Make Your BBQ’ing Healthier http://foodcoach.ca/10-ways-to-make-your-barbqing-healthier/ that covers what you can do before you lay the slab of meat or that soy dog onto the hot grill.

What about after the crime has been committed?

Here’s a rundown on 6 ways to recover from the BBQ blues:

1/ Drink lemon water in the morning – Juice squeezed fresh from ½ lemon in 12 oz. of water (room temperature or warm is best) will stimulate detoxification pathways in the liver and increase production of bile, which binds and transports fat-soluble toxins out of your colon. Keep drinking water throughout the day to continue to support detoxification.

2/ Get a daily dose of kale, collards, or any of the other brassicas. Brassicas are the family of vegetables that are high in sulphoraphane, a phytochemical that has potent anti-cancer properties. Given the high carcinogen qualities of PAH’s and HCA’s that are produced by barbequing, we need all the anti-cancer protection we can get.

3/ Develop a love for curry. The main spices used in curries – turmeric, ginger, cloves, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, fenugreek – are phenomenal antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, and in the case of fenugreek, can potentially recharge that downtrodden libido. (You don’t however have to limit your use of these spices to curry alone).

4/ Get more serious by doing a 3 week (or longer) cleanse. Abstain from alcohol, BBQing, sugar, all processed and fried foods and up your organic veggies, fruit, whole grains, legumes, fresh squeezed juices, as well as the suggestions above.

5/ Give your liver some love. When it comes to detoxing from the effects of BBQ’s and alcohol, the liver is your ‘main man’. Consider supplements that support liver regeneration and function. A formula with the herbs, milk thistle, turmeric, dandelion, and the nutrients alpha lipoic acid, N-A-C and B complex are ones that I use and recommend frequently.

6/ Pump up your sweating. Exercise and saunas will aid in releasing the BBQ toxins that are stored in your fat cells – but make sure that you are supporting your liver to ensure that those toxins get eliminated, rather than being recirculated back into the bloodstream.

I was listening to a CBC documentary on The Current called Urban by Nature. It is about the beneficial effects of nature on the brain. In a search for scientific explanations for my outside-the-box methods of coaching weight loss, this one struck a cord.

Jonah Leher, neuroscientist and author, describes the prefrontal cortex as the executive center of the brain that controls focused attention, decision-making, analytical thinking and goal setting. It is also the seat of self-control and inhibition. This self-control piece is one to note if you have a tendency to overeat or overindulge in alcohol or any other substance.

In addition to its executive function and self-control elements, the prefrontal cortex is the place in the brain where all of the senses come together to be interpreted into action.

It seems that the sensory overload that comes from being in the city takes up so much processing power in the prefrontal cortex that we have little left over for self-control. We might set the goal to lose weight and get healthy but we need more prefrontal cortex power for the self-control piece that allows us to follow through on those goals. If our senses are constantly bombarded by the normal activity of city life, added onto the stresses of work, family, and everything else, there just isn’t enough to tackle self-control too.

It is in our biological nature to seek out pleasure and in the brain this translates into stimulation of the pleasure centers and an increase in the endorphins, the feel good neurochemicals. In a time of stress, when the prefrontal cortex is overloaded and self-control is at its lowest, we turn to the quick fix that will give us a rush of those endorphins. Comfort foods and alcohol do just that. However, the spike in feel-good is short lasting and the consequences are longer lasting. So we need other outlets to replace the food and drink. It will come as no surprise to those of us who are nature lovers, that trees and greenery can do just that.

It seems that in a region of the brain, the parahippocampal cortex, our evolutionary connection with nature is remembered when we view the beauty of a natural landscape. This part of the brain, rich in endorphins receptors, is closely linked to one of our pleasure centers. It is triggered by the presence of nature and it helps us handle stress, anger, and anxiety.

So add ‘time spent in nature’ to your arsenal of weight loss tools. According to research at the Institute of Landscape and Human Health at the University of Illinois even staring out the window at greenery can make a difference. Having said that, the more time spent with a wider variety of natural elements, the more prefrontal restoration and the more self-control you are likely to have.

http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2011/05/04/urban-by-nature-documentary/

My partner Barry and I love communal eating at long tables. Add a beautiful outdoor setting, farm fresh food and local organic wines and you have a dinner made in heaven (well – ok, its made by chefs and and lots of ardent assistants with ingredients grown in the earth but still, the potential is there for an ambrosial experience).

An opportunity for just such an experience is coming up on Sunday August 28th, and I want anyone who may share in such foodie desires to know about it. It’s called Harvest Table and you can find all the details here: www.harvesttable.ca

Looking forward to it.