Saturday, May 29, 2010

Planned Bingeing

So you eat healthy, bring your lunches to work, and don't eat junk food. We all know it's good for us, and so we do it, even though sometimes we'd rather sink our teeth into a jelly donut, or a buttery croissant from Starbucks... but does that mean you can't ever eat out again? Or it greasy Mexican food? Of course not.

I like to plan my binge eating. It somehow makes me feel like I deserve it that way, and then I never feel bad about it. I try to eat as healthy as possible otherwise, but after a few weeks of really staying on target in the food and exercise department, there's nothing better than planning on night out with friends with unhealthy food on the agenda.

Last night I went out with some friends from my swim team to Senor Fred's in Sherman Oaks. I had some Mahi Mahi tacos, with rice and beans, a couple Mexican beers, lots of greasy chips and salsa, and half of someone elses burrito (because she's pregnant and can't quite keep the food down like she used to - at least for now, we'll see how that changes in her second trimester).

At one time, I would have felt pretty guilty for eating like that. But not last night because it was a planned event, and I know that I would have never set foot in there otherwise. The food doesn't sound unhealthy, when I write Mahi Mahi tacos, you might be thinking, that doesn't sound unhealthy... on the surface it doesn't, but I'm sure I consumed around 1800-2000 calories and probably a similar amount of sodium. You just can't get away from it, restaurants are really the axis of evil when it comes to eating healthy, and especially Mexican food [sadly].

The bill came to $31.00 per person. Ever since I started this blog I've been keeping better track of my food expenses and I realized last night as we were paying, that I used to spend close to this amount every day on food when I was eating out all of the time. I could easily spend $15-20 on a lunch, and then I would go to the grocery store (which is physically attached to the building I work in) once or twice a day for another snack.

Anyway, it made me realize that this is the way it is supposed to be. Bring your lunches, eat healthy, and enjoy a nice greasy Mexican meal and beer with your friends on occasion, and everything will be alright. Fighting the guilt cycle is one of the root issues surrounding obesity. Food should never make us feel bad, whether it is healthy or not... there are too many people that have none for that nonsense.

Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend everyone! Eat well, and I'll be back next week posting more about what to do with your staples from the post earlier in the week.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Staples (the kind you eat)

Staples are more than little metal half squares that attach pages to one another. They are the supply of food in your pantry and the key to your health. What happened to me tonight is a perfect example of how having good staples can save you (in case you're lost, I'm talking about food staples now, and not office depot staples).


I got home from work tonight totally exhausted. Actually the exhaustion began last night after completing an awesome brick work out. 1 hour of a hard swimming, immediately followed by a 45 minute run. After getting home and eating I started to feel overtired before even going to bed, knowing I'd have to be up by 6am.

There's nothing worse than this feeling, and everyone has been there. Of course I carried this exhaustion through the day as is bound to happen when you're overtired. 

So I get home tonight, totally wiped out - open up the fridge and find staring at me a huge serving of left over Lentils and Brown Rice! Score! (I posted about this recipe earlier in the week if you're interested in learning how to cook it.)  I know myself, and if there wasn't a healthy meal in the fridge, Thai food would have been on tonight! 

Anyway, I was on the verge of eating an unhealthy meal at the worst possible time. In times of stress your body craves bad carbs, salty, sweet and delicious ones. I am told this is a fear/flight response that happens in our body that is pre-programmed from evolution. But during those times of stress is when you're body most needs healthy food, to fight off all of the bad things that are going on in there (cortisol, the cause of belly fat, free radicals bouncing around destroying cells, etc). 

We are no longer cave men although our bodies are still programmed that way. While your body craves crap - what it needs is veggies, lean protein, healthy fat, and healthy carbs to sustain itself. Because unlike the stone ages, you no longer hunt for your food - and need to rely on thousands and thousands of calories to sustain you until your next meal - but that is exactly the chemical reaction going on inside of your body.

If you have the right supplies in your house, you can fill yourself up with healthy snacks instead of going for junk. And you can really throw together meals pretty easily with minimal cooking. It's how I was able to spend $1.50 on lentils this week, $.50 on garlic, and use brown rice I had in the pantry to make a kick ass Lentils and Rice dish that has fed me for many meals... and when you tire of eating the same thing, it still makes a great side dish to a sandwich or salad. You can always doctor things up later to change the taste a bit too.

So here is a list of staples to start with:
  1. Brown Rice
  2. Whole Wheat bread (the more grains, oats, barley the better).
  3. Brown Rice Bread (even better than whole wheat bread if you can take the taste).
  4. Brown Rice Pasta 
  5. Almond Butter
  6. Peanut Butter (no salt added for either of course, no hydrogenated oils, no JIF or Skippy basically)
  7. Rice Milk (or skim/1-2%) - try to find a brand with a low sugar/sodium content with the least amount of preservatives.
  8. Non fat or low fat yogurt.
  9. Non fat or low fat cottage cheese.
  10. Eggs.
  11. Legumes (beans, lentils, split peas, garbanzo beans)
  12. Kashi 7 grain whole puffs (the only kashi cereal with no sugar)
  13. Bananas
  14. Apples
  15. Carrots
  16. Chicken breasts (organic if possible, the one thing you rrreeeallly should get organic)
  17. Turkey Burgers (careful here, many come loaded with sodium)
  18. Kashi Frozen dinners (they're a little more pricey than the others, but the only brand that is remotely "healthy" and perfect for nights where you have no energy and nothing ready in your fridge).
  19. Salmon! (if you can find a good deal on frozen wild caught Alaskan salmon - often sold at trader joe's, stock up!)
  20. Grated parmesan (large flakes)
  21. Avocados of course! how could I almost forget:)
  22. Trail mix (raw, unsweetened, it's harder to find than you would think - try TJ's)
  23. Cliff Bars (these are life savers when you're trying to cook and too hungry to think)
  24. Olive Oil
  25. Toasted Sesame Oil (Trader Joe's)
  26. Brown Rice Cakes (low sodium)
Ok so this is a great list to start with, but we'll have to add to it later. I have left out some obvious things like vegetables, fruit, tomatoes, lettuce, etc. But a lot of those items really depend on what you're cooking. There is nothing worst than having the best intentions of cooking and finding rotten food in your fridge a week or two later. It happens to everyone... insane amounts of food are thrown out daily (bad for our wallets, and all of the hungry people in the world).

Alright, well this post is already way too long, so for tonight I'm signing off. Tomorrow I'll be back with ideas on what to do with all of your staples that you now are going to buy and put in your pantry, and how to grocery shop for meals so you don't waste food, but still have staples to fall back on when the fridge is empty.

Chris

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Extreme eating awards... the unhealthiest restaurant meals



So I heard this story on the evening news last night and had to share it. This is absolutely insane! PF Chang's has a noodle dish that has 7,690 milligrams of sodium! what!!!! That is three days worth of sodium in one meal. The link below is to the Center for Science in the Public Interest. This is their annual Extreme Eating awards... the top 9 worst restaurant meals in the country. The amount of calories, fat, and sodium in these dishes is just stunning.

http://www.cspinet.org/nah/articles/xtremeeating2010.html

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Brown Rice & Lentils















[the photo is totally poached off of the internet... it's not what I cooked... sorry I just didn't have time to take a shot, but it looks about the same, minus the greens]

Last night I had one of the least expensive meals of my life. I went to Ralph’s and bought a bag of lentils ($1.50) and fresh garlic (50 cents). I already had some brown jasmine rice from Trader Joe’s and the olive oil… so that didn’t really factor into the financial equation.


Anyway, brown rice and lentils are just perfect together. It’s just the right balance of protein and high fiber carbs. Lentils do not need soaking contrary to popular belief… just rinse them, boil them on the stovetop until they’re soft (30-40 minutes). Cook your brown rice (it takes about the same amount of time for each). And combine the two together… it’s really that simple. Add some olive oil and salt to the rice while cooking.

I called my Dad and sister for advice as I often do, they recommended chopping garlic and sautéing it in olive oil and adding that to the lentils as they were cooking. I also had some extra zucchini in the fridge, so I cooked up some fresh zucchini as a side dish and we were all set.

I cooked half of the package of lentils and two cups of brown rice, and it served two hungry men and now I have leftovers for lunch today (and probably dinner again).
 If I were to do this again I might add in some low sodium chicken stock at the end to add some moisture… other than that it was delish!

Monday, May 24, 2010

Welcome to Brown Rice and Avocados!





















Welcome!

Why: Because we’re convinced that healthy food is expensive. This blog sets out to turn that notion upside down. It isn’t expensive to eat healthy, you just need to know the right staples to buy – and some ideas for meals.

  1. Healthy
  2. Affordable
  3. Fast
Recipes are a pain! I confess I hate them and hardly ever use them unless it’s Thanksgiving (when I’m not eating healthy). So instead of recipes, I’m going to blog about buying the right staples to stock up on, so when you reach for food it is a healthy snack.


No calories will be discussed here ever. Why? Because healthy fit people don’t count calories, and neither should you. When you are eating healthy food, you can eat more of it – and you can eat until you’re satisfied.


This is a carb friendly zone – the right ones that is. Because without carbs you will have no energy to exercise (or brain function to think) and we should be exercising and thinking.


Ok, so welcome! My name is Chris Corrao and I’m excited to take you all on an eating adventure. Eat healthy, affordable and quick meals with me and let’s prove everyone wrong.


Chris