Monday, August 17, 2009

HIGH PROTEIN, HIGH FAT, HIGH FRUIT, HIGH... WHO KNOWS WHERE TO START. Read on:

If you are wondering if your should eat a high carb, high protein or somewhere in the middle, this questionairre will help. When eating right for YOUR metabolism you eliminate cravings, have mood control, high cognition and an over all vitality.

METABOLIC TEST - STANDARD

For the following general test, simply answer the questions as honestly as you can, choosing the number that best represents your answer on the scale provided for each question. Remember, there are no right or wrong answers, and it’s of course not “better” to be one type or another. If you don’t know the answer to a question because you haven’t tried a specific food yet, or don’t remember how it affects you, then consume that food first and notice its effects on you, and then answer the question. Remember, it is how food makes you feel—not if you think it is good for you or not.

  1. Does a high-carbohydrate meal or snack, one that is loaded with plenty of vegetables, bread, toast, cereals, rice, fruits grains or potatoes, as the main food source satisfy your appetite, or stimulate it further?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Satisfies Stimulates

2. Do higher-fat meats life beef, lamb, duck or dark chicken meat cause you to lose or gain body fat? Do you look slimmer in the mirror or is it easier for your clothes fit.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Gain Weight Lose Weight

3. Do you constantly think about food and frequently look forward with eager anticipation to your next meal or what you want to eat?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

No Yes

  1. What is your appetite like at breakfast, lunch and dinner?

Breakfast -

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Weaker Stronger

Lunch -

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Weaker Stronger

Dinner -

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Weaker Stronger

5. Does eating something higher in fat and/or protein such as dark meats, avocados, cream, butter or coconuts within an hour or two of bedtime help you sleep better?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

No Yes

6. If you ate a large salad with some low-fat meat like chicken breast for lunch (versus higher fat meat like a hamburger patty), how would it affect you productivity throughout the rest of the afternoon?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Ample energy Tired and hungry

7. How often do you typically feel the need to eat on an average day? The extremes here would be feeling good with one meal scored as a 1, while needing 5 or 6 meals a day would place you at a 10. If you felt good on three meals of day that would be a 5.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1 –2 X including snacks 5-6 X including snacks

8. How much do you enjoy sour foods like pickles, sauerkraut, or vinegar?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Love Can’t stand

9. At Thanksgiving or a meal where you eat turkey, and assuming all the turkey is moist if you prefer white meat give yourself a 1, if you prefer the dark meat give yourself a 10, and if it doesn’t matter give yourself a 5.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

White meat Either one Dark meat

10. Consuming Sweets

There’s hardly anyone who doesn’t like sweets from time to time. But this question is not concerned with whether or not you like sweets. Rather, how do you react when you eat something sweet all by itself (e.g., cake, cookies, candy, etc.)?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Generally satisfy Often Creates

appetite w/out bad don’t desire for

reaction satisfy more

11. Meat for Breakfast

In this question, meat refers to flesh proteins like ham, sausage, bacon, steak, hamburger, and salmon. How do you feel after consuming meat for breakfast - as opposed to going without it? Remember, this question does not include eggs, milk or cheese as a substitute for the other animal proteins listed above.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Tends to make Take it Feel energetic

me more tired or leave it & satisfied

12. Sociability

Many people believe that social tendencies are learned behavior. But one need only look at siblings in a family to see that people have innate tendencies with regard to sociability, even though these tendencies are influenced to a degree by life experiences. How would you describe your natural, innate tendency toward sociability, apart from the way your family or friends may have influenced you in this regard?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Little In the Very

Antisocial middle Social

13. Physical and Mental Stamina

Stamina refers to physical endurance, or the ability to preserve or work long hours without exhaustion. This capacity is greatly dependent on what we eat. Some foods optimize physical and mental stamina, while other foods noticeably reduce it. What types of foods best support your stamina?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Light – like Any Heavy – rich

chicken or wholesome fatty food

fruit food

14. Ear Color

This query is concerned with blood flow to the ears. In some Caucasians, the ears are bright red, while in others, they’re noticeably pale. Darker or lighter ears can also be seen in people of color. Please select the response that best describes your ear color.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Pale – Same as Pink, red

lighter than skin tone or darker than

skin tone skin tone

Now add up each of the fourteen numbers you circled to get your total score, and your basic metabolic type:

· A score under 60 indicates a Carb Type. The lower your score under 60, the more likely you are truly a Carb Type.

· A score between 40 and 70 indicates a potential Mixed Type. If you scored in this range you can begin fine-tuning your diet as explained below, bit it is recommended that you take the more sophisticated test in William Wolcott’s book, The Metabolic Typing Diet, or see Tamara for the more extensive test, to provide yourself a more reliable starting point.

· A score over 60 indicates a Protein Type. The higher your score above 60, the more likely you are truly a Protein Type.

Listening to Your Body and Fine-Tuning Your Diet:

You now have a general idea of your metabolic type. To understand the importance of listening to your body in order to fine-tune your ideal macronutrient level, imagine a line segmented into three parts: the first third of the line on the left is Carb Type; the second third to he line in the middle is the Mixed Type; and the third part of the right is Protein Type. You now know the basic area you reside in. However, you now want to figure out particularly where, today, you reside within your third of that line. For instance, are you a Protein Type who needs even more protein in your diet than the “average” Protein Type? Are you a Carb Type who needs somewhat less carbohydrates in your diet than the “average” Carb Type? This is where the simple but highly effective process of listening to your body and fine-tuning come in.

First of all, there are specific proportions of carbs/fats/proteins recommended for each metabolic type. They are:

· Carb Type: 25% Protein / 15% Fat / 60% Carbohydrate

· Mixed Type: 30% Protein / 20% Fat / 50 % Carbohydrate

· Protein Type: 40% Protein / 30% Fat / 30% Carbohydrate

Use the percentages above as rough guidelines. Listening to your body means paying attention to how you feel, and for the purposes of fine-tuning your diet to determine your ideal macronutrient levels this means paying attention to how you feel up to two hours after you eat a meal. For instance do you feel sleepy 30-60 minutes after you eat, feel physically full but you’re still hungry, having cravings for sweets, can’t focus, depressed or short-tempered or worst symptoms, this is a giant clue that you ate the wrong types of foods or proportions of food.

Be Well

"pure action" workshops are coming soon - please email me for locations, dates and all details.
They will include: a back to school healthy eating action plan
Forms to create a plan
Ideas for breakfast, lunches, dinners and even snacks - all that are family friendly
Tips of discussing treats, mom's needs and trying new foods
& getting a possible summer fat body -- FIT!

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Living Carrot Cake with Lemon Cashew Frosting

Carrot Cake
1 cup Soaked raw almonds
1 1/2 cup soaked raisins (save water)
1 cup pitted dates soaked and drained
6 cups carrot pulp (fiber remaining after juicing the carrot)
1-2 teaspoon cinnamon
zest of one lemon and one orange

Lemon cashew frosting
2 cups soaked cashews
1 cup soaked raisins
1 cup soaked dates
juice of one lemon

In a blender place almonds, raisins, dates and raisin water. Blend. Add to bowl and add pulp, zest and spices.
For Frosting,blend the cashews and their water with the dates and their water and lemon juice until smooth.
Line a 10-inch pie pan with plastic wrap and press the cake mixture into it.Turn out onto plate and remove plastic wrap. Spread frosting over. Do the second layer the same and spread the frosting over.
Delicious!
You find a healthier carrot cake recipe any better than this one. Try it if you don't believe me.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Successful Nutrition Workshop!











I recently finished a nutritional counseling workshop held at pure barre - La Jolla. I think the testimonial below best describes the success of the workshop.

"I am on the final week of your 5 week course and I have never felt better. My motivation to do the course was not to lose weight but rather to learn more about what foods are best for my body type and to learn how to feed my body the foods it needs. After 4 1/2 weeks of eating right for my body I have become a morning person ( I wake up before my alarm which is a amazing thing), I feel my moods are more consistent and upbeat so my relationships have prospered, my skin looks and feels better and I lost inches. I learned many things from your course but what I see to be one of the most valuable lessons is to learn to treat your body well and give your body th essential foods it needs. The physical results will inevitably follow but the importance of feeding your body what it needs is HUGE. Thank you Tamara." - Danielle Maloney




Monday, June 8, 2009

Cold Roasted Moroccan Spiced Salmon

New Recipe From My Client Annslie -
The recipe is from allrecipes.com (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cold-Roasted-Moroccan-
Spiced-Salmon/Detail.aspx). As some of the reviews state, you don't need to put the fish in the refrigerator, it's good to eat after the 15 minute resting. We also didn't have any limes so I used a lemon, alot more than 1 TBSP and it didn't have an over-lemony taste. My
plate was served with a side of broccoli sprinkled with Celtic Salt:

Cold Roasted Moroccan Spiced Salmon

* 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
* 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
* 2 teaspoons white sugar
* 2 pounds (1-inch thick) boneless, skin-on center-cut salmon
fillets
* 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1. In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon, cumin, salt, ginger,
mustard, nutmeg, cayenne, allspice, and sugar; set aside.
2. Line a baking sheet with foil, then spray with nonstick cooking
spray. Rinse the salmon with cold water and pat dry. Lightly sprinkle
the skin with the spice mix, then place the salmon skin-side down on
the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle the remaining spice mix evenly
over the salmon. Allow the salmon to come to room temperature, 30 to
40 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
4. Sprinkle the salmon with lime juice and roast in the oven for 12
minutes. Remove from oven and allow to stand at room temperature for
15 minutes. The salmon will still be rare when removed from the oven,
but will continue to cook as it rests. After 15 minutes, wrap the fish
tightly with foil and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Grilled Portobello Mushroom Burgers


Choose flat, thick mushroom caps and buy a few extra to practice the slicing technique. If you are pressed for time you can use ¼ cup of prepared pesto instead of making it.

Preparation: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Makes: 4 burgers

Pesto:
1 clove garlic
1 cup packed baby arugula leaves
¼ tsp kosher salt
¼ cup olive oil

Burgers:
8 large Portobello mushrooms
4 tbsp olive oil, kosher salt, and fresh pepper
4 ounces fresh or smoked mozzarella, cut into 4
4 large pieces roasted red pepper, wiped dry
1 cup packed baby arugula leaves

Method:
Make the pesto:
  1. Fit a food processor with a metal blade.
  2. With motor running, drop garlic through feed tube, process until finely minced. Remove lid; add baby arugula and ¼ tsp salt.
  3. With processor running, stream in oil. Set aside

For the burger:
You need 2 mushroom caps for each burger.Remove and discard mushroom stems. For burger bottoms, slice off and discard about ½ inch of the rounded tops of 4 mushrooms to make them flat. Brush all mushrooms on both sides with oil, salt, and pepper.

    For the burgers.
  1. Grill mushrooms, covered, 4 minutes; turn quickly and grill 3 minutes more, just tender.
    Turn 4 mushrooms with cut tops, gill side up on the grill.
  2. Top each with cheese and roasted pepper; place an uncut mushroom gill-side down on top. Cover grill and cook 1 minute more, until cheese begins to melt.
  3. Place burgers on plates and stuff with arugula, lifting off mushroom tops and placing greens on top of cheese and peppers. Return tops.
  4. Drizzle with pesto.
    enjoy.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Organics- How to buy the best


There is so much in the market about eating organics, but in these times is it really worthwhile to eat organics? Does eating organics really mean that we are eating healthy? Our organics really worth the premium price tags?
Well after a bit of poking around, and reading a few articles, I managed to compile a few intresting facts.

Understanding labels

100% organic
Such foods are organics down to their last crumbs, so they carry the USDA green and white "certified organics" seal. Most often these are whole foods-apples,oranges, grains or those with only one or two ingredients, like pasta.

Organic
At least 95 percent of the ingredients are organics. The rest comes from a list of allowable ingredients. These foods also caryy the USDA seal and are generally composed of mostly of whole-ingredients-canned soups or frozen foods.

"Made with organics ingredients"
At least 70 percent of the ingredients are organics. However,these foods, which may be any type of processed or packaged food,cannot carry the USDA seal.

Best produce to buy organics

The fruits and vegetables below are among those most likely to contain trace levels of pesticides, so consider buying organics when possible





Apples
Potatoes

Cherries
Bell peppers
Celery
Lettuce
Strawberries

Spinach
Peaches
Carrots
Nectarines


Skip organic and save money

These are the top five fruits and top five vegetables least likely to contain trace levels of pesticides, so fell free to buy conventional.






Pineapple
Eggplant
Asparagus
Onions
Broccoli
Mangoes
Bananas
Kiwifruit
Avocados
Cabbage

Ways to Save

Ramp up: If you want to work organics into your budget gradually, start with one or two key foods you eat frequently- like milk or eggs.

Shop the source: Go directly to a farm or a local farmer's market for the best deals on organic produce,milk, eggs, meats. Price there for organic goods are often cheaper than in supermarkets

Buy Private label: Supermarkets and specialty stores all offer their own private-label organic food lines. Because there is no middleman, you can save as much as 20 percent.


I found this site really helpfull with some more tips
cookinglight.com/features

So you see, figuring out the "O" in the organics is not that tricky after all.

Eat and be healthy.