Week 2: Making swaps & Eating those Superfoods

​We are on to week #2! I hope no one is disappointed about their weight loss this week! At my work everyone did a great job!  Some people lose between 1-2 pounds, with one person losing 8.6 pounds! No one gained more than a pound or so, which is great given the big holiday! Maintaining your weight during a holiday is really a big accomplishment. ​
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Bring on the Super swaps!

I swapped C.R.A.P. for superfoods and you can too! Eating better means eating more superfoods – they give you the wholesome nutrition for a slimmer, healthier, more energized body. I’ve also learned that the most successful long-term changes happen when you enjoy what you’re doing. (Stop the diet mentality!)  
 
Last week, we talked about the C.R.A.P. that is in our diet and things to look for. We also talked about the right proportions for blood sugar and craving control (30/30/40 rule). Today I’m going to talk about simple and nutritious swaps you can make to satisfy your cravings and still eat what you what to eat, but in a healthier way. (It’s all about choosing the SANE foods over the INSANE foods per last week’s discussion). Another way of looking at this is choosing nutrient dense foods over calorie dense/nutrient poor foods.
 
Superfoods are foods (mostly plants) that deliver the maximum dose of antioxidants, vitamins, healthy fats, minerals, and other good stuff your body needs to thrive. When you do a “superswap” you add something better and drop something of lower quality. And by quality, I’m not just talking about price or brand names or organic (organic cookies, cakes, and candy is still cookies, cakes, and candy!). I mean things that benefit your body and mind. (It may mean you chose organic, grass-fed meat over conventional meat because it’s higher in omega 3’s, which decrease inflammation, or it may mean substituting wheat pasta for spaghetti squash). The goal is to think healthier and make healthier choices.
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Here are a few health superswaps to get you started:

Note: Just because a food is a superfood doesn’t mean you can eat all you want. For example, nuts are a very healthy food with healthy fats, fiber, and protein, BUT they still have calories. Nuts are calorically dense so should not be eaten mindlessly without portioning. Even though a calorie is not a calorie, calories still matter (or rather net calories matter, which are the calories not used in digesting the food). 100 calories of nuts would look very small compared to 100 calories of kale or fruit. But what makes nuts so good is that even a small amount helps sate hunger. Try to stick to 1-2 small handfuls per day. Peanuts and pistachios with the shell can be self-limiting and helpful for weight loss. With that said, many nutrient dense foods have little to no calories, such as non-starchy vegetables. Feel free to eat as much as you want of these. A good strategy for second helpings would be to limit to only the veggies.
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This outside the box: Are you craving pizza and only “real” pizza will satisfy your craving? Sometimes we have a craving and despite our best efforts to substitute, we can’t shake it. Sometimes these cravings even cause us to “go off diet” or give up on the “diet” all together. Here is a way to have your cake and eat it too – or rather have your craving and stay on plan. Make a green base and put whatever you are craving on top of that green base.
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1. Green base: a bed of lettuce, spinach, arugula, kale, mixed greens (etc…) 3 cups.
2. Your craving on top: Chop or toss what you're craving on top – but not too much.

• BBQ meats or fish: Combine sweet BBQ and bitter greens
• Fried chicken: Chop chicken into bite-sized pieces and toss with the greens
• Chinese takeout: Dump half of your usual entrée onto the greens
• Pizza: Cut pizza into squares and use as croutons
• Pasta dishes: Put hot noodles on greens to wilt them perfectly
• Tacos: Taco salad anyone? 
• Steak and potatoes: Toss greens with any dinner classic

Homework:

• Think about how you might make your food more nutritious. Make at least one healthy swap per day.
• Continue tracking your food and watching your proportions.
• Start watching your cravings and triggers – more on this to come next week when we talk about hidden sugar!

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Recipes:

“Spaghetti” and Meatballs with Tomato Sauce

Serves 4. Prep time: 15 minutes. Cook time: 30 minutes.

• 2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
• 1 pound grass-fed ground beef
• 1 small yellow onion, minced
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• ½ cup fresh parsley leaves, roughly chopped
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tsp fennel seed, coarsely ground in a spice grinder (or blender/nutribullet if in a pinch)
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 ½ tbsp. chia seeds, ground in a spice grinder (or blender/nutribullet if in a pinch)
• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter at room temperature
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 (28 ounce) can fire-roasted whole tomatoes, roughly chopped

 

1. Preheat over to 350F
2. Drizzle 1 tbsp. of olive oil onto a baking sheet. Place the squash halves cut side down on the baking sheet and bake until the squash is tender, about 25 minutes.
3. While the squash bakes, in a bowl, combine the beef, onion, garlic powder, parsley, salt, black pepper, fennel seeds, pepper flakes, and chia seeds. Mix until thoroughly combined. Using your hands, form the mixture into 12 evenly sized meatballs and set aside. 
4. When the squash is done, remove the baking sheet from the oven, carefully flip over the squash halves, and let stand until cool enough to handle.
5. Using a spoon and/or fork, scrape the squash flesh from the skin, separating it into spaghetti-like strands, and transfer it to a saucepan. Add the butter and toss until the squash is well coated. Cover to keep warm on low heat until ready to serve. 
6. In a skillet, warm the remaining 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the sliced garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes with their juice, cover, and cook for 5 minutes. Add the meatballs, re-cover and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the meatballs are firm, about 20 minutes.
7. Divide the spaghetti squash among 4 plates. Top each portion with meatballs and several spoonfuls of sauce and serve.

Dandelion Pumpkin Seed Pesto

Tastes great on Spaghetti squash). Makes about 1 cup​

• 3/4 cup unsalted hulled (green) pumpkin seeds
• 3 garlic gloves, minced
• 1 bunch dandelion greens (about 2 cups, loosely packed)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• Black pepper, to tasted

 

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Pour the pumpkin seeds onto a shallow-rimmed baking sheet and roast until just fragrant, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
2. Pulse the garlic and pumpkin seeds together in the bowl of a food processor until very finely chopped.
3. Add dandelion greens, and lemon juice and process continuously until combined. Stop the processor every now and again to scrape down the sides of the bowl. The pesto will be very thick and difficult to process after awhile — that's ok.
4. With the blade running, slowly pour in the olive oil and process until the pesto is smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.

 
Note: I often sub other greens for the dandelion greens for different types of pesto (i.e. basil and sage) May use half basil and half spinach to stretch the basil if you don’t have enough. I have also substituted any type of roasted squash seeds for the pumpkin seeds. Have fun with it! I’ve never made a bad pesto.  ​​

Cauliflower fried rice

For all you Chinese food fans out there, try this recipe instead of fried rice: http://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/healthy-recipes/cauliflower-fried-rice-bowl-will-make-you-forget-about-takeout

 
Wishing you all a great week! xox
 
Cassandra