As 2012 comes to a close, we all take a look at what we have, or have not accomplished.  I have been very blessed in both my personal and professional life.  I travelled to the other side of the world on an amazing family holiday and I became an entrepreneur doing what I love most, talking about food!

I can't express enough how much I appreciate each and everyone of you, family, friends and clients.  If it wasn't for you, giving me love, support, encouragement and faith, I wouldn't be where I am today.  I have to admit, I thought I would be a little farther ahead than I am, but I'm not discouraged by it, rather encouraged by what I plan to accomplish in 2013.

To start off the New Year, I have given my website a new look!!  I hope you like it.  I have added a recipe page that will include some of my favourite recipes (check it out, there's one there now!), as well as continue to provide you with up to date information on health and wellness.

Another exciting path I have taken is adding "Fitness Trainer" to my resume and will let you know as soon as I am fully certified (will be very soon so stay tuned...).  I believe whole heartedly that one can't be healthy by healthy eating alone, fitness is an integral part of the process. 

So in the meantime, have a Happy New Year, be safe, happy and healthy!

In good health,
Cheryl

So the holiday season is now officially upon us, and we even have the snow to make it look like winter (at least here in Vancouver). There is ONE hideous word that I associate the holidays with even though there are many others that start with F. 

FUN. FESTIVE. FAMILY. FINANCIALLY DRAINING. FATIGUE. FLAMBOYANT. FOOD.

FAT

It’s the last word that really stands out in my mind. I’m sure it’s the same for you.

The F word.

The dirty little word that is synonymous with the holidays. This time of year marks the fantastically festive fun family food-a-thon followed by FAT gain. Phew…that’s a sentence for you.

But, it’s ok. After all the food comes the Resolutions and the promises you make to yourself to shed the ugly fat that you just gained.

Well, there is a way around that. Instead of tinkering with the F word why don’t you resolve to stay the same weight over the holiday and not gain 1 pound of fat?

Here’s a challenge for you…step on the scale right now and mark down your weight. Weigh yourself again on January 1st.

Is your weight the same?

So the challenge is to keep your weight the exact same as it is right now until January 1st. If it does stay the same then you should jump with both feet into your New Years Resolutions because you will probably achieve them.

If not, and the number on the scale went up (sad face) it’s time seek out some nutrition coaching. Research shows that those who gain weight over the holidays never lose it and each year it accumulates.

To help you win your personal challenge follow my 4 tips for fighting fat loss below. They might seem unconventional but they work. 

1.     Add 1 heaping tbsp of ground chia seeds to your breakfast daily. Chia seeds are a fantastic mixture of good quality fats and fiber. Adding ground chia will help to keep your blood sugar levels stable throughout the day (look at all the F words in that sentence J)

2.     Eat breakfast within 1 hour of waking up EVEN if you aren’t hungry. It’s important to spark your metabolism first thing in the morning. Eating a low glycemic breakfast with some protein helps to rev up your metabolism rather than promote fat storage.

3.     Drink 2 Liters of water per day. Dehydration masks itself as hunger and food cravings. Enough said.

4.     Avoid high sugar/processed carbs all together but especially after 3pm. Your body needs complex high carbs to function optimally during the day but as the day comes to an end if you don’t burn the energy from the carbs it’s likely to get stored as fat. If fat loss and/or weight maintenance is your goal then avoid most medium to high glycemic carbs after 3pm.  Look at the list below of which carbs to avoid:

Granola Bars                          Milk Chocolate
Pasta                                     Cookies
Bread                                     Cereal
Rice                                       Frozen Yoghurt
White Potatoes                       Ice Cream
Bananas                                 Calorie Filled Beverages      
Oranges                                  Pop
Grapes                                    Juice
Crackers                                 Candy
Chips                                     
Cake

This isn’t a complete list but I’m sure you get the idea. Take my challenge seriously. Go and weigh yourself. If you find you are using the F word way too much over the next couple of weeks give me a call at 778-836-3831 or email me at northshorenutrition@shaw.ca.

In good health,
Cheryl Wahl, RHN

PS You don’t need to wait until January 1 to fight the F word. Stay tuned for my BIG boxing day sale announcement.

This is the time of year when insulin levels can sky rocket throwing your blood sugar levels all out of whack causing you to store the food you eat as fat. Your focus should be on eating balanced meals while consuming low glycemic foods if you want to avoid to typical 5-7 pound weight gain that accompanies all of the yuletide cheer.

There is something to celebrate other then the upcoming holidays…there are a number of food tips that will help you to lower the glycemic index of your meals or snacks to help stabilize blood sugar levels as well as simple food swaps that will help you keep your weight in check this holiday season.

1. Add a high fiber choice to breakfast. Choose steel cut or slow cooking oats instead of quick cooking or instant oats. They are higher in fiber and lower on the glycemic index. Research shows that adding a high fiber choice to breakfast helps to cut hunger and cravings over the rest of the day. Make a batch on the weekend and warm it up in the morning for quick breakfast choice. A portion size is ½ cup cooked.
2. Avoid having a fruit by itself. Pair your serving of fruit with 1 tablespoon of raw nut butter or an ounce of cheese. When you add a protein or a fat to with your fruit it helps to keep the glycemic index of the fruit down.
3. If you drink alcohol then skip the starches. Pass on the rice, potatoes, bread and desserts. The alcohol counts as your carb for that meal since it digests as a carbohydrate.
4. Choose a sprouted grain bread. My recommendation is Ezekiel from Food For Life. It’s best to avoid white and whole wheat 80% of the time. If you can’t find Ezekiel then Silverhills is also a good choice. You want to look for breads that have less then 15-18 grams of carbohydrates per slice.
5. Steer clear of fruit flavored yogurts. The yogurt aisle is an overwhelming space. Stick to the basics. Low fat, plain yogurt or low fat Greek yogurt which is much higher in protein. If you need it flavored, add your own berries and vanilla extract.
6. Be picky with cold cereals. If you must consume a cold cereal for breakfast choose Kashi Go Lean which is higher in protein or Fiber One which has 14 grams of fiber per serving. The secret to avoiding the insulin spike that comes along with most breakfast cereals is to add a hardboiled egg or some nuts to slow down the carbohydrate metabolism.
7. Choose raw or lightly steamed vegetables over fully cooked. This tip depends on whether you can tolerate and digest raw vegetables. Raw or lightly steamed maintains the fiber and water content.
8. Choose blackberries for dessert. Skip the banana or orange. Blackberries have 8 grams of fiber per cup and berries in general are lower on the glycemic index.
9. Cook pasta and rice al dente. When you overcook your pasta, rice and potatoes it raises the glycemic index. Keep the starches firm to avoid the blood sugar spike.
10. Add protein to your cake. This tip might sound odd but adding a small amount of protein slow downs the carbohydrate metabolism and helps to avoid the blood sugar spike that generally comes along with eating cake.
11. Keep your daily calories in check. Although these tips help to control blood sugar and insulin spikes they do not negate tracking your food choices to ensure that you take in the appropriate amount of calories to avoid packing on the pounds.

If you are unsure whether you are making quality food choices that keep your blood sugar levels in check use the link below to download a 5-day food tracker. Fill it out for 4 days during the week and 1 day on the weekend. Call me at 778-836-3831 to schedule your complimentary nutrition analysis so I can help you achieve your health and weight loss goals this holiday season.

In good health,
Cheryl Wahl, RHN

Home cooking is starting to make a comeback but it’s not like the home cooked meal your grandmother used to make. If the words free-range, grass fed, antibiotic free, hormone free, organic, local and/or non-GMO are not somehow included in the dinner menu you are probably feeling a bit nutritiously inferior. Forget the all the hype and go old school, to the freezer section. It’s the ordinary frozen foods found right in your local grocery store that may end up being the healthiest and won’t break the bank account at the check out line.  

What you may not know is that some frozen foods are actually better for you than the supposedly fresh ones. The flash freeze method was invented in the 1920’s. Before this vegetables were frozen at slow temperatures causing large ice crystals to form in food, damaging its fibrous and cellular structure and robbing it of taste and texture.  A man by the name of Clarence Birdseye created the flash freezing technique that freezes veggies superfast and keeps them super cold. This ensures that only small crystals form and preserve much of the vitamins and freshness.

Since the 1920’s technology has advanced and a couple of new tricks have been invented to improve quality. Blanching fruits and vegetables before freezing deactivates the oxidation process that causes browning, degrades colours and nutrient content. The best part is that blanching actually increases the fibrous content of the foods making it even better and lower glycemic.

The downside to blanching is that the water-soluble vitamins C and various B’s decrease in nutrient quality somewhat. Steaming is preferable to blanching before freezing but it’s more expensive which is why most manufactures don’t do it.  This is where label reading comes in. The packaging should tell you the process that went into freezing. So keep an eye on brands that steam rather than blanch. It seems that all other vitamins and nutrients are not affected by flash freezing so you don’t have to fee like you are lacking in the nutrition department or guilty that you are feeding your family second grade food.

5 Tips For The Perfect Freezer Feast:

1. Avoid the frozen fruits and vegetables with sauces, added spices, seasoning and sugars
2. Stay away from bags with large icy chunks which means they’ve been thawed and refrozen
3. No name brands are just as good as the brand name brands. Most of the time they are from the same farm but packaged as lower end and upscale brands.
4. To thaw vegetables leave them on the counter while you are cooking dinner. You can also lightly steam them instead of microwaving
5. Add some variety to your frozen feast by choosing from the large variety of frozen choices

Top 10 Freezer Fruits and Vegetables

1. Artichoke Hearts – At six grams of fiber per cup this sweet vegetable is a freezer front-runner.
2. Berries – High in antioxidants and fiber, berries are always a nutritious choice but frozen berries (raspberries, blueberries, strawberries or blackberries) should be a freezer staple.
3. Brussels Sprouts – The cruciferous vegetable is jammed packed with nutrients including Vitamin C, folate, fiber and potassium.
4. Mango – The tropical fruit cannot be found all year round. High in Vitamin C and B6 this frozen treat is a great addition to smoothies and salads.
5. Spinach – The most popular frozen vegetable contains iron, folate, Vitamin A and K. Nutrients in spinach start to break down as soon as they are picked so freezing it locks those nutrients in.
6. Butternut Squash –Squash is filled with beta-carotene which is converted in the body to Vitamin A. Squash is also a great lower glycemic carbohydrate choice.
7. Broccoli – There are only 41 calories in a cup of broccoli and 5 grams of fiber. Frozen broccoli doesn’t wilt and go brown making it last longer.
8. Peas – A high fiber starchy vegetable that has 5 grams of fiber per cup and 50% of your daily recommended Vitamin C. Peas are an excellent source of leutin which is an antioxidant known to help diseases of the eye.
9. Cherries – Usually only available in season these sweet treats are great for baking and putting into smoothies. Cherries are high in antioxidants and help to reduce gout and arthritis.
10. Edamame (soy beans) – This one is best to get NON-GMO. Soy beans are a great portable afternoon snack high in protein and low glycemic carbohydrates.

So, in the hectic schedules of Christmas concerts, office parties and open houses, save some time (and sanity) and serve up some veggies