A Favorite: Pumpkin Seeds

"Superfoods" are all over the place these days, making you feel like you should develop superpowers if you eat these foods. Today's post is dedicated to one food that I recently started eating, and think it's pretty super: pumpkin seeds.

As with most any food it's best to buy raw pumpkin seeds.

Benefits
Pumpkin seeds have many great nutrients in them proven to improve heart health, immune support, heart and liver health, prostate health, and anti-inflammatory benefits. Here are just a few of the nutrients in raw pumpkin seeds:

• Manganese
• Phosphorous
• Copper 
• Magnesium
• Zinc
• Protein
• Iron
• Fiber
• Omega-3s
• Antioxidants

One serving is usually 1/4 cup, and you probably want to stick to one serving a day. Although they have tremendous health benefits and are nutrient dense, they are also high in fat and calories. The brand I have has 15g of fat and 2.5 grams of saturated fat per serving. They do have a lot of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats as well.

Adding them to your diet
You can eat pumpkin seeds plain by the handful or toast them with a little salt or lime juice and chili powder. I love adding them to smoothies, salads, cereal, trail mix and stir fry.

Because of their higher iron content, I love getting my kids to eat pumpkin seeds, but I do have to hide them sometimes. For my daughter, I add them the granola she eats on top of yogurt. For my son, who is 18 months old, I grind the pumpkin seeds to a powder using a coffee grinder and add the powder to applesauce, smoothies or mashed foods such as sweet potatoes. It doesn't give him a ton of pumpkin seeds, but at least he's getting some of the benefit. We eat no red meat, so adding foods like pumpkin seeds are pretty important to our diet.

What's your favorite way to eat pumpkin seeds?

Avoiding No-No Ingredients

This is a tough post to keep fairly short. Our food has a lot of contaminants, and you can find out all you ever wanted to know about them from books and websites. Produce, dairy and meat have enough concerns to be their own post, so I am going to limit this discussion to the middle aisles of the grocery store.

Note: Spend as little time in the middle aisles as possible, and make these items only a small portion of your total groceries.What to avoid

There are many directions you can go with what you want to cut out based on food sensitivities, health conditions, diets and your kids' needs. A lot of this is a balancing act with what's ideal and what's affordable. I'd love to cut out all GMOs, but we aren't exactly certain which brands have banned them, and most non-GMO verified products are pricey.

Here are a few basics you can (and should) cut out now.

1. Artificial sweeteners: aspartame, sucralose, acesulfame potassium, neotame, saccharrin.

2.Artificial colors: most artificial colors are made from coal tar and have been banned in many other countries. You may be surprised at what has artificial colors. This is any red 40, yellow 5, etc.

3. Olestra: a fat substitute found in a lot of light or low-fat chips.

4. BHA and BHT: preservatives to prevent food from becoming rancid and smelling bad that are reasonably considered to be carcinogens. Found in many boxed cereals and snack foods.

5. Fully hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils: common sources of trans fats.

6. Monoglyceride and diglyceride: made in the same way as hydrogenated oils and may contain trans-fatty acids, but they fall outside the FDA labeling requirements for trans fats.

7. TBHQ: found in a lot of snack foods. This is a form of butane, and the side effects of even just 1 to 4 grams are pretty scary. The FDA has set a limit allowing up to 0.02% of the total oils in food to be TBHQ, which it considers "safe." I feel better avoiding this ingredient completely.

The old adage of buying foods that have only ingredients you can pronounce is a good rule when it comes to packaged food. Anything that sounds like a chemical probably is, and it's probably not good for you.

Scan the labels for fat, sugar and salt
Once you've scanned labels for the above offenders, also look at how high in the ingredient list sugar is listed. The earlier it appears, the more of it there is. Scan the sodium percentage to see if you can reasonably fit that food in your daily diet. Finally, take a look at the amount of saturated fat and trans fat.

If you're looking at a snack food, and those numbers are high, put it back and find something else.


So how do I shop like this quickly?

Here's me at the grocery store. My oldest is running up and down the aisles because she's bored. My youngest is doing his glass-shattering scream because he doesn't want to be confined in the cart. If I put him down to stop the screaming, he starts to pull everything off the shelves. I then smile politely as elderly shoppers comment on my stellar parenting skills.

Sound familiar? So how do you read labels and make good choices amid this chaos?


1. Go to a grocery store with samples. I'm kind of joking here, but if the kids have food in their mouths, they can't bug you too much, right?

2. Make a list of what you need and limit your in-store research to only those items. Maybe this time you just want to look at barbecue sauce and chips. Next time, you can look at pasta and cereal.

3. Do some ingredient research and make a list of what you want to avoid. If you have a no-no list running through your head, it's easier to pick up on those things as you scan the ingredient list. I also have a fairly extensive list in my phone of ingredients to avoid that I'll refer to if I'm looking at something new.


4. Look at percentages. Adding up milligrams of sodium or grams of sugar while wrangling kids is far too confusing, but you can quickly determine what 33% of your daily sodium means to you.


This is probably enough for one day. Is there anything you would add to the list?

Fatten up

Recently I signed the family up for an insurance plan under the Affordable Care Act, and I had the chance to earn $50 by taking a wellness assessment. I scored a 93 out of 100. The only areas that I got moved from low risk to moderate risk were BMI (underweight, always have been) and fat intake because I answered that I don't follow a low-fat diet, nor do I pay attention to my fat intake.

This got me thinking more about the overall approach we're told to take when it comes to fat. Answering questions about a low-fat diet aren't that simple. And advocating a general low-fat diet isn't necessarily good for us. I do not actively limit my fat intake; however, I pay close attention to the type of fat I eat. I eat little to no fast food, no beef, limited dairy and avoid hydrogenated oils, the leading source of trans fat, whenever possible. I do regularly eat seeds, nuts, avocado, oils (coconut or olive) and eggs. I eat a little cheese every day and sometimes yogurt. I also love to cook with butter. (I love the smell of onions and garlic sauteing in butter.)

Low-fat diets haven't made us skinnier.
Despite the push toward low-fat diets over the past couple decades, we still have rising rates of obesity. Most current research has disproved the idea that fat makes you fat, with the exception of trans fats. (See this article from the Harvard School of Public Health) Many low-fat diets are high in carbs, and low-fat foods often have added sugars to make up for the loss of taste when you remove the fat. Plus, you're more likely to consume more food when you don't have the fat to fill you up or that "mouth feel" that we all love from fatty foods.

Fat has many, many benefits.
Fat is good for you (in moderation of course): it provides energy, builds your brain, makes your skin healthy, makes hormones and helps build healthy cells. So rather than stock your kitchen with low-fat foods, incorporate fat into a diet full of fruits and vegetables. Limit saturated fats and avoid trans fats (that is, anything with hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, regardless of what the package says), but add in seeds, nuts, oils and avocados to get healthy fats along with protein and other nutrients. And don't waste the egg yolks. They have a lot of health benefits as well.

What is your approach to fats? What about for your kids? 

Musical Motivation

Music is probably the top workout motivator for me. When I do group fitness classes or at-home workouts, I love ones that are choreographed to loud, upbeat music like Zumba, Piloxing, TurboKick/TurboFire or Combat.

I tried running again today. It's been at least 6 weeks since I've been on a treadmill, and I can honestly say I haven't missed it. But I have two mud runs coming up in about 2 months, so I thought I should give running a another try. The only thing that gets me through even 10 minutes on a treadmill (20 minutes is my absolute max before I'm bored to tears) is good music.

For fun today, I am sharing a sampling of my playlist. I have a fairly schizophrenic taste in music, and it shows up in my running playlist. Since my iPod died, I have been limited to what's on my iPhone. Previously, my playlist would've also included songs from Michael Jackson, Vanilla Ice and Trina. But here's some of what I listened to recently.

1. The Seed 2.0 - The Roots
2. Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair - Arctic Monkeys
3. Flesh and Bone - The Killers
4. Soobax - K'naan
5. Hollywood - The Cranberries
6. Hypnotize - System of a Down
7. Kiss with a Fist - Florence and the Machine
8. Open Up - The Dead Weather
9. This Is What Makes Us Girls - Lana Del Ray
10. Waiting for the End - Linkin Park

What's on your playlist? What songs or bands really fuel your workouts?

Facebook makes me feel like a horrible mom

Do you ever look through your news feed on Facebook and see all these happy posts with moms and their kids all smiley, doing fun things together? And then you feel like you’re a terrible mother because your kids are crying in their rooms after you told them to go there for their own good?

I look like this more often than I'd like to admit.

My youngest isn't even two yet, but it feels like it already. He has a pretty good amount of words for his age, but his favorite way to communicate is through high-pitched screams that make your brain rattle around in your skull. It's quite painful. Needless to say, that makes everyone in the house tense. My 5-year-old is actually in a pretty good stage lately, but with tensions high, I sometimes lose patience with her incessant talking. She likes to jump in with gibberish when her brother is in the middle of screaming either because a toy isn't working the way he wants it to, because I am not doing something he wants me to, or because there is food present and it's not in his mouth.

On those days, I start comparing myself to what I see on social media and feeding that sense of failure. But then I have to come back to reality and realize that we all have bad days. Our kids go through difficult phases. Sometimes we handle them well, sometimes we don’t. Some days it’s enough just to realize that my kids are overall happy, healthy and well adjusted.

Consistency is key

I'm starting to realize that the biggest hindrance to achieving any goal I want is consistency. I recently read The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy. I have a hard time reading these types of books, because from an editor's perspective, they usually leave much to be desired. I think I could take the book down to 20 pages without losing any essential information. With my red pen safely locked away, I can see that he makes some good points. His basic premise is that if we make small changes and stick with them, over time we will see big results in being a better version of ourselves.

I read the book in January and started putting the principles in action. My business increased, I was busy, I was feeling successful. Then things slowed down, and I stopped working as hard. I go through these cycles all the time, with food, exercise, disciplining my kids, building my business. Half the time I blame it on hormones, but it really just comes down to me being inconsistent. I start by saying, "I've earned a couple days off." Then, that couple days turns into a week, which turns into two weeks, and the next thing I know, I'm feeling down in the dumps because I'm not achieving the things I said I was going to.

I have a million excuses for not being motivated. I could blame my husband, because it's so much harder to get things done with one more person in the house. But, to be honest, I'm glad he's home. We're happier than we've been in a year. My shortcomings are really just me not being consistent.

I've printed out a to-do list for the coming week, and I am starting today. I made a resolution at the beginning of the year to do some form of professional/personal development every day, whether related to my fitness coaching business or my writing business. I am recommitting to that resolution right now.

I'd love to hear any tips and tools that you use to remain consistent. Do you recommend any books that were especially helpful to you?

Eating Right on a Budget

Marcus left his job a month ago, and the job search is taking longer than we expected. Luckily, we got a good tax return, and we don't live extravagantly, so we have some wiggle room.

That being said, after living expenses, our biggest bill every month is groceries. We try to eat healthy, which can get really expensive really fast. And it's amazing how much a little 20-pound person can add to your food bill.

Eating everything organic, free range, pastured, grass-fed, etc. is a noble goal, but will drain your bank account fast. You have to decide what's most important to you, what you eat the most of and what you can settle for less-than-ideal on.

For me, I gave up red meat a little over a year ago. Not eating beef saves us money. I would love to eat local, organic free roaming chicken, but that costs about $12 a pound. I've compromised by buying mostly free-range chicken from a local butcher. It is fresh, never frozen, no water or preservatives added. I can talk to the butcher about where the chicken comes from, what they're fed and how they live. That makes me feel better, and it costs about $1.69 per pound.

I also regularly shop at Aldi to get great prices on produce and imported cheese. Aldi has added a lot more natural and organic foods recently as well. Reading labels is always key, especially when you're at more of a discount store.

Most of you know to buy staples in bulk or stock up when your favorites are on special. Here are a few more tips for saving money while not sacrificing health.

1. Eat less meat and more beans and lentils. They make hearty, filling meals for significantly less money. We usually go meatless at least two or three nights a week.

2. Buy fruits and vegetables that are in season. Or grow your own if you can. Shop local for these too. I joined a CSA through a local organic farm and will shop the farmers market this summer.


3. Spend on the organics that are worth it (i.e., the dirty dozen) and buy conventional for others. In general, produce with a thick skin does not need to be organic.

4. Plant your own herb garden to enhance meals and avoid the cost of buying larger amounts of fresh herbs that usually go to waste. (If you're good at this, come plant one for me. I kill all plants.)

5. Buy inexpensive cuts of meat for slow cooker meals or soups/stews. Buy whole or split chickens, and use the leftovers to make broth for soups.

6. Soups are easy to make, and you can usually throw in most vegetables you have on hand (fresh or frozen). Plus, make extra that you can eat for a couple days or freeze. This is great when you have a bunch of stuff about to go bad.

7. Double your recipe and freeze half for an easy meal later.

8. Limit the packaged snacks. They may seem cheaper, but often aren't as satisfying or give you as much bang for your buck as fresh food.

9. Search the websites of your favorite brands for coupons and combine with weekly specials.

10. Limit dining out to spend more on groceries. Try recreating your favorite restaurant meals at home for less.

11. Skip the sodas and other high-calorie drinks. Get a filter and drink tap water.

12. Try frozen vegetables. You can get store brand to save money, and many have similar nutritional value to fresh. Get frozen veggies with no sauces or added salt.

What ways do you save money on healthy foods?

Getting kids to eat healthy

My daughter is 5 now, and over the years, I've been asked how I get her to eat healthy. At one time, I thought I had this nailed, but then I had my son, and my daughter has been heavily influenced by preschool snacks and birthday parties. It's not so easy anymore.

The 5-year-old
When it comes to getting your kids to eat healthy, giving them good food from the beginning is always the easiest way to avoid fights. My daughter ate almost everything except for white potatoes and green beans as a baby. Even now, she will eat most fruits and vegetables, but she's getting pickier (or maybe just being difficult for fun, who knows). She wants most vegetables raw, food separated and no heavy spices or sauces. Sounds pretty normal, so I accommodate.

The problem we run into now is snacks. She wants the junk food she gets in school for snacks and will pick that over the healthy stuff. I explain why we have to eat the good stuff, but I don't feel like I'm getting through to her as much as I used to. Now that she's getting more independent and going places without me, I am more nervous about the choices she will make. I am hoping that having grown up with real food, the "edible food-like substances" (check out Michael Pollan for more on that term) she gets at school and parties won't have as much appeal.   

The toddler
My son is about a year and a half, and he's been much more challenging when it comes to food. He wants meat, fruit and carbs mostly. I might be the strange one, but I just couldn't understand last night why he didn't want to eat the pureed eggplant creole I made.

He'll eat most any fruit, but vegetables are tough. I think he may be like the rest of my family and only eat raw veggies, but he doesn't have enough teeth to chew them yet. For now, I have to cover green vegetables in cheese to get him to eat them -- compromise accepted. He likes sweet potatoes, butternut squash and zucchini. That seems to be about it. I hide other vegetables in sauces and smoothies, or make combinations he can tolerate such as mashed potato and cauliflower.

Tips I've learned
I'm still learning a lot about how to feed the kids. Here's a few lessons I've learned, and I'd love to have more to add to this list from other parents.

"Do as I say, not as I do" won't fly
Make sure you're modeling the choices you want your kids to make, and keep the junk out of the house (or hidden). You can't expect your kid to eat carrot sticks while you're noshing on cookies. So keep the cookies hidden on the top shelf and stuff your face after they go to bed.

Dip it

Little kids especially love dipping, so try nut butters, mustard, yogurt, hummus, pasta sauce, or salad dressing along with fruits and vegetables to get them to try new things or eat more.

Make it fun

Pizza, tacos and quesadillas are great ways to get veggies in kids. Make pizza night or taco night an event at home. Pitas, flatbread, English muffins and bagels are fun choices for individual pizzas. Have a range of veggies (broccoli, spinach, artichokes, mushrooms, bell peppers) and meat, and let your child pick her own toppings.

Same for taco night. Some ideas are cucumbers, tomatoes, avocado, mushrooms, black beans, and corn. Remember to pile the veggies on your own pizza and tacos as well.

Keep trying

Don't give up. The experts say it takes something like 10 or 11 tries before a kid will accept a new food. Space out the introduction of new foods, and mix it up in fun ways. If your child is older, take him to the grocery store and let him pick out a new fruit or vegetable to try.

Hide the vegetables

Puree vegetables in things your child likes such as pasta sauce. Offer pureed vegetable soups with bread for dipping. Make fruit smoothies with veggies mixed in. Easy vegetables for smoothies are softened carrots or sweet potatoes, greens, beets and cucumbers.

Get the kids involved

Let your kids help with the grocery shopping and cooking. Ask them what they want to eat and try to accommodate in a healthy way.

Watch your tone and set the expectation

Trying new foods and recipes is fun! Share that enthusiasm with the kids.

Offer healthy choices with an even tone. Try not to sound like you're expecting them to say "no." Give them choices between two things you find acceptable.

Bribe them

If all else fails, bribery usually works. Put the broccoli on the plate first, and only when that's gone do you get the mac and cheese. I keep dessert treats at home that I approve of, and if the plate is clean, they get dessert. But only if the plate is clean!


What works for you? What do you do to combat the influences of school, parties and commercials?

On Body Image

Now that it's Spring and finally getting warm, it seems like there's a big obsession with body image. We start pulling out the shorts and tanks and shopping for swimsuits, which makes everybody start nitpicking their bodies.

It seems appropriate to do a post about body image, given that my Facebook feed keeps filling up with links to news articles about loving your body or photos of people with "real" bodies, which kind of implies that most people don't like the way they look. So many of these have to do with feeling good about yourself if you're not skinny. Seems the assumption is that if you're skinny, it's great, and you have no body image issues. Not true.

We all have things we don't like about our bodies, which is sad, but there's always something we should be striving toward according to the media. If you're skinny, you should really be working toward an athletic body or you need to get a booty. I am a skinny person, always have been. And, while I'm not complaining, I've never been content with my body either.

When I got married at age 22, I weighed 98 pounds (I'm 5'5"). I couldn't really do much about it. It's how I've always been. But being skinny doesn't make everything better or make people any nicer to you. I was picked on in school and called anorexic. (It didn't help that I was also nerdy with big glasses and extremely pale skin.) I've been called "sickly thin" many, many times and told to just "eat a cheeseburger." I saw a gastroenterologist at one point in college who told my mother that I had "warning signs" of an eating disorder because I chewed sugar-free gum and drank skim milk. The gum was at the recommendation of my dentist, and when I finally did start drinking whole milk, my cholesterol shot up, and I was told to go on a low-fat diet.

Sometimes it just feels like you can't win no matter what. Since having kids, I'm more comfortable in my skin and am focused on being healthy for my family. I've earned every imperfection I have, so why be ashamed? I research healthy foods and what I think we should be eating. I exercise to be fit and be more than "skin and bones." I am just as self conscious as anybody else, so I search for clothes that best suit me. That's why you will rarely see me in shorts other than bermudas in the summer, and I will usually have a cover-up on over my swimsuit.

As long as body image is ruled by marketing photos or simplified charts like BMI, we'll always feel inadequate. We all have beautiful parts and parts that we want to work on, but you should love more of yourself than you loathe. And, go shopping. Buy something that makes you look fabulous!