There is No Good or Bad Food

Although my body may not need a deep-fried Twinkie more than once a decade, it still is not bad food.  A typical myth I enjoy “busting” is the idea that some foods are good and others are bad—and that’s not exactly true.  This is, however, the kind of thinking that keeps us trapped in fat connections with our bodies.  Most of us in a weight battle are desperate to identify which food we can eat and which we should stoically shun.  Have you ever felt that way?  While there certainly are higher-quality fuel items than a fried Twinkie, the truth is we need all groups to become balanced, including treats.  We become out of balance just as quickly with too much salad and not enough carbs as we do with the reverse.  And yes, Twinkies are carbs.  The proof of this need for treats is evident in the fact that after two weeks on any diet our denial rises to a fever pitch and we become unfit for human companionship.  We find ourselves alone in a parked car outside the grocery store eating doughnuts with abandon, knowing full well we will flog ourselves with guilt when it is over.  This is the thinking of fat people.  This keeps us in a weight battle.

In order to live effortlessly at an ideal weight we need to live without restriction and become balanced.  Balance means fueling our bodies with exact proportions of fuel groups you need that day.  Plant fuel is premium because it just gives us more nutrition, than say, pork rinds.  But we also need to round out the day with varying quantities of dairy, meat, fruit, oils, and treats.  Some days we need more of one and less of another—but in general they all combine to give us balance.   Experience the freedom that comes from recognizing all food is there for our use.  There is no bad food, only choosing to live in balance or out-of-balance.  Too much chicken is going to make us feel saturated and heavy.  Too much broccoli will result in gas and indigestion.  Too much bread will create bloating and constipation.  Too much pie…well, we can all relate to too much pie.  To boost a metabolism that gives us wiggle room for parties, holidays, and travel eating, live in balance each day with the correct amount of each group.  Select with intention your treats, meat, oils, and dairy.  Never feel guilty about having a treat (or ribs, or cheese, or butter...whatever) when you need it.  There is powerful chemistry produced in our minds when we feel satisfied and live without restriction.  This chemistry allows our bodies to prompt us more clearly on what we need and how much of it we require to produce a continual cycle of balance.  Have a cookie.  Go ahead.

Tres Hatch is the author of Miracle Pill 10 Truths to Healthy, Thin, & Sexy

How to Stop Eating When You are Perfectly Fed

Tres speaking in WA with Nancy Marasco

Wouldn't it be great if your body could tell you exactly when to stop eating and even make it so YOU DON'T WANT MORE FOOD?  To permanently eliminate compulsive eating (or binge eating) try this tip: tune in and taste your food.  What I mean is, when you tune in and fully connect mind and body, you experience more pleasure from eating while at the same time you engage your brain instead of "tuning out" or escaping.  This is the daily eating experience for healthy people without food issues.  To get your body talking to you and prompting you to enjoy exactly "enough" at each meal, test drive these three keys:

1) Own your food choice without guilt--you cannot stay present and hear messages from your body if you are ducking guilt about that handful of chips.  There is no bad food.  Even chips are not bad if you have them when your body needs them.
2) Tune in and taste--experience the flavor, texture, freshness, and quality of your food while you ask, "Is it worthy of me?"  You are a Ferrari, not a go-kart.
3) Keep the brain and body talking--while eating consistently inquire if you have had enough food to be perfectly fed.  If you ask this question consistently your body will answer you with a clear message to stop.  You might even experience aversion to eating one more bite.  Aversion is a beautiful thing.

Click Here to watch a short video of this tip.

Tres Hatch is the author of: Miracle Pill 10 Truths to Healthy, Thin, & Sexy

Savory Summer Cole Slaw

This recipe will convert even the most reluctant eaters to enjoy coleslaw.  The colors of this coleslaw are beautiful and appetizing.  Stir well after refrigerating to re-distribute dressing.

Serves 10

1/2 large head green cabbage

1/2 head small purple cabbage

2 large carrots, peeled

4 large scallions, trimmed

1 green bell pepper

6-8 large red radishes

1/2 sweet purple onion

Dressing

1 1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 clove garlic minced

juice of 1 large lemon

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons celery seed

1/4 cup sugar

salt and pepper to taste

Using processor, shred cabbages, carrots, scallions, bell pepper, radishes and purple onion.  Toss together in a very large bowl.

In a medium bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients.  Season dressing with salt and pepper to taste.  Add more sugar if necessary.  It should taste savory, salty, sweet and lemony.

Pour dressing over coleslaw and stir well.  Refrigerate for several house before serving.  It is excellent served the next day after the flavors have melded together.

What Do I Need Today?

Imagine what would happen to your body over the next year if every day you ate exactly what you needed, exactly when you needed it, and in exactly the correct proportion.  Can you predict the monumental changes that would result?  In addition to potential weight loss you would probably experience greater energy, increased immunity to sickness, a reduction in aches and pains, elevated moods, and overall lifestyle improvement.  In time, you would run at optimum because you got what you needed.  You were designed perfectly to respond to ideal conditions (fuel, exercise, rest) with ideal health.  In other words, when your needs are met with consistency, your body transforms and becomes ideal.

The truth is: we were designed to be in balance with the needs of our bodies and they came equipped to tell us what we need.  That’s right.  Our bodies have the ability to “talk” to us and tell us to get more hydration, less meat (or more meat), veggies, great chocolate, oatmeal…whatever.  But the challenge for many of us is getting connected to those prompts in such a way that we hear them loud and clear on a consistent basis.

The key to establishing this connection is to start with logic and then move to prompts.  For instance, I know that I should basically consume 75% of my daily intake from the plant world: whole grains, vegetables, and fruit.  The remaining 25% should come from dairy, meat, fats, and treats.  75/25%—that ratio is pretty simple.  So, at any given point in the day I simply use my logic and ask myself what group is missing.  Do I need more veg?  Do I need more grain?  Am I short on protein?  Upon identifying the missing groups I simply ask myself what sounds good from that category.  The body talks in color, so pay attention to any colorful food images that spring to mind.  If I need more vegetables, my prompts might be for green broccoli, crunchy lettuce, or asparagus.  I might see green in my mind’s eye and try to fulfill it as soon as possible.  I might get the message for something orange because I need a carrot or a yam.  If I crave red, I would choose strawberries, a sweet red bell pepper, radishes, an apple, etc.  In a store you may become drawn to a particular item.  Whether it is salmon, grapes, crusty whole-grain bread, green beans, or anything else, be aware this is a healthy connection to your body.  We don’t have to have a PhD in Nutrition, or even know the nutritional values of our food in order to manage our bodies well.  The body knows what it needs even when we don’t.  

Did you notice treats were included in the mix of daily fuel?  Yes, great news!  Sugar is not bad.  In fact, to stay in perfect balance we need treats.  We were designed to like cookies and it makes no sense that we must restrict the foods we happen to LOVE.  Accept treats as a healthy part of your perfectly balanced day.  In that vein, elect to have a treat (when you need it) that fully satisfies you.  Don’t eat inferior treats—it is a waste of chewing.  Recognize if one cookie keeps you in balance, and ten cookies do not.  If you have trouble with compulsive eating beyond the quantity you need, please see p.13 of my book: Miracle Pill 10 Truths to Healthy, Thin, &Sexy.

In general, start today by reviewing today’s food choices.  What groups are missing?  What sounds good from the missing group?  Do you see any colors?  You will notice that processed and pre-packaged foods are difficult to categorize into groups because they contain so many unknown ingredients.  As you design your life to include more natural, plant-based food, it becomes easier to recognize fuel values and hear the message to fulfill whatever is missing.

Tres Hatch is the author of Miracle Pill 10 Truths to Healthy, Thin, & Sexy.

Fuel Values

When you see a white dinner roll in your mind’s eye do you see a pile of sugar? You should. White flour is a simple carbohydrate that quickly turns to sugar in the body. If it is not expended as energy it gets stored as…wait for it: FAT. When you look at a plate of pasta, pizza crust, white breads, white rice, tortillas, crackers, cookies, and pastries, you should identify their primary component—white flour—as a sugar. (This is in addition to the sugar that is added to the cookie or pastry as a sweetener.) Why is it important to see food as belonging to a group? Because in order to become free of eating issues we have to identify foods properly into the groups they belong. Only then can we effectively fill in the missing gaps. When all the gaps are filled and we have the full spectrum of nutrition required that day, we become balanced—without restriction. And, balance means you have a metabolism that hums along rapidly burning fat for fuel instead of storing it on the belly.

Here is the good news: Sugar is not bad. Acknowledging its presence merely allows me to balance my body with metabolic-boosting ratios. A diet of primarily plant fuel (think vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and fruits), augmented with a small amount of proteins, dairy, oils, and treats (sugars), will usually ramp up a metabolism and fortify all systems. Yes, treats and fats are part of a healthy day. However, using sugar, or any other food for that matter, in a disproportionate manner will eventually get our bodies out of balance and slow our metabolisms. Just as too many cookies will make me bloated and out of balance, I remember several times when I gained weight eating nothing but salad and tuna fish. On a diet of 1000 calories a day I had too much from the veg group and too much from the lean protein group. As I deprived myself of the full bounty of healthy fuel values I slowed my metabolism to a snail’s pace—and suffered the weight-gaining consequences. In addition, diets of lettuce and tuna fish are not a lot of fun. Just as I need whole grain, vegetables, hydration, and lean protein, I also need treats, oils, dairy, and fruit. It takes diversity to fuel my body which is a Ferrari, not a go-kart.

Identifying all fuel groups (not just sugars) helps me to honestly round out my day with those groups that I am lacking. For instance, if I have lots of granola for breakfast, I may not need nearly as much bread or grain at lunch. If I have lots of leafy salads and greens over the course of a day, the next day I may need less greens and more proteins. If this week I eat lots of hollow Easter chocolate bunnies, some of Aunt May’s Lemon Cake along with those ghastly marshmallow Peeps, I may need to have fewer sugars the next day. There really is no bad food, only an imbalance of fuel that might not give me the wealth of nutrition required to supply my body with energy and health.

By thinking in terms of groups, I can more readily identify what I have had, what I still need, and then pinpoint what sounds good from the absent categories. Our bodies talk in colors. When you need vegetables and your body longs for red, you might reach for juicy strawberries, red bell peppers, radishes, or plums. If green sounds good some spinach or broccoli might fulfill your needs. A craving for crusty whole grain brown bread smeared with butter might be delivered with a very clear need for brown grain. This approach of using logic and then asking the body what sounds good connects us to our bodies in a permanently healthy way and keeps us free from food issues. Try it. Note the foods you eat today and their corresponding groups. Did you discover any imbalances? Were there more grains than vegetables? Did you have more dairy than you needed? Is your food so processed it becomes hard to tell? Did you experience a critical absence of chocolate? It could happen…I’m just sayin’.

Tres Hatch is the author of Miracle Pill 10 Truths to Healthy, Thin, & Sexy

Raspberry-Almond Tart (Bake-Well Tart)

Bake-Well Tarts

Makes 2 9-inch Tarts

This recipe was demonstrated for me by my dear Brittish friend Aimy Kersey, extraordinary mother, wife, actor, cook, and a pretty good salsa dancer. These traditional English tarts are a particular favorite at tea-time and during the Holidays. The buttery almond flavor combined with sweet jam is heady stuff. Feel free to make your own pastry crusts, but store-bought work just fine. Aside from spreading jam on the bottom of the crust and mixing up the filling in the processor, this recipe is so quick and easy it all but bakes itself.

Ingredients

2 frozen pie- crusts in 9-inch shells

Filling

3 tablespoons jam (raspberry, blackberry, marionberry, or a combination)

2-ounces raw almonds (about 1/3 cup)

4-ounces sugar (about ½ cup)

2-ounces flour (about ½ cup)

4-ounces unsalted butter (1 stick)

2 eggs

1-teaspoon pure almond extract

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Using back of spoon, spread jam uniformly over bottom of each frozen pie- crust. In a food processor, grind almonds with sugar and flour until finely ground. Add butter, eggs and almond extract and continue to process until mixture is whipped and fluffy. Spoon almond mixture over jam, extending all the way to the crust, encasing jam completely.

Bake in preheated oven for about 30-minutes, or until knife comes out clean. If desired, glaze tart by painting it with warmed jam and decorate with sliced almonds. Cool refrigerate until ready to serve. Can be frozen in pie tin in sealed storage bags for up to 1 month.

Tres Hatch is the author of Miracle Pill 10 Truths to Healthy, Thin, & Sexy

Quinoa Pilaf

For a yummy main course made from steamed quinoa and savory vegetables, you cannot beat this pilaf. It was featured on KUTV2 News at Noon, Thursday, January 5. To watch the clips, visit www.miraclepilltruths.com. Click In the News for this and other cooking segments.

Quinoa-Walnut Pilaf With Butternut

Squash & Caramelized Onions

Serves 4-6

*Quinoa is an ancient grain with a spiral shape and tiny kernels. It has a pleasant nutty flavor and cooks up similar to rice. Quinoa can be enjoyed hot as a side dish or in cold salads.

*Toast walnut halves by placing on a baking sheet in a preheated 375 degree oven for approximately 10 minutes, until fragrant and beginning to brown.

*Use a standard potato peeler to remove the peel from butternut squash.

2 cups dry quinoa*

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon oil, divided

3 tablespoons butter, divided into 2 tablespoons and 1 tablespoon

1 large onion, cut into 1 inch dice

1 teaspoon honey

1 cup uncooked butternut squash, *peeled, cut into 1-inch dice

1 cup toasted walnut halves*, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons fresh sage leaves, chopped

2 large garlic cloves, finely minced

2 jalapeno chilies, stemmed, seeds and ribs removed, finely diced

1 tablespoon dry ground ginger

1 cup tomato juice or V-8, vegetable stock or water

1 cup corn kernels, canned or frozen

1 (9-10 ounce) package prepared fresh spinach leaves

1 avocado, sliced

2 cups drained plain yogurt (preferably whole milk)* see method below

Cook quinoa in 4 cups salted water in a covered pot on the stovetop, or use a rice cooker. Quinoa should absorb all the water and still be firm.

In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon butter with 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add diced onion and honey, and stir to coat with oil. Cook until onions begin to brown and take on a sweet caramel flavor (about 5 minutes). Add diced butternut squash, walnuts, and sage. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally until squash begins to brown but is still firm (another 5 minutes). Add garlic, jalapenos, and ginger and cook for one more minute. Add more oil if pan seems dry. Add liquid and corn, and stir to incorporate any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. This is called de-glazing the pan.

Stir cooked quinoa into vegetables. Season pilaf generously with salt and pepper. Stir in remaining one tablespoon of butter. Keep warm on low heat.

In a large pan, wilt spinach in the remaining teaspoon of oil over medium heat. Place a bed of spinach on each plate. Top with quinoa pilaf, avocado slices, and a dollop of thickened yogurt (or purchased sour cream). Serve. See Thickened Yogurt recipe below.

Thickened Yogurt

Why cook with yogurt instead of sour cream? Because it is lower in saturated fat and has a distinctly tangy-rich flavor. Yogurt is also creamier with a smoother mouth-feel than sour cream. If you are short on time, don’t bother draining it and just plop a spoonful over anything you would garnish with sour cream.

Method

To thicken yogurt, set a fine mesh strainer over a bowl to catch drips and drain whole or low fat yogurt in the refrigerator at least an hour and up to one day. Store in an airtight container for up to one week. Use in place of sour cream.