Recipe: Salmon Deviled Eggs

I have to say that when I am looking for the perfect snack for on-the-go I turn to deviled eggs. You can make a bunch of them ahead of time and they are loaded with healthy fats and proteins.

The only problem with these little guys is that they can be a bit messy to store unless you have a deviled egg holder and they typically do not last very long ... because everyone devours them. They are also a great little snack for little ones, much better than peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for sure!

These deviled eggs are kicked up a notch. How did they do it? They added salmon! If you are wondering who "they" are, I would be referring to one of my favorite nutrition resources: Nutritional Weight & Wellness. They also put out a great podcast called Dishing Up Nutrition if you are interested in educating yourself on the how's and why's of food. They have created this wonderful recipe so it only contains real, whole foods and is still delicious!

Makes 6 snack-sized servings | Gluten free and dairy free

6 organic hard-boiled eggs
3 T. regular safflower mayonnaise
1 tsp. vinegar
½ tsp. salt
dash of pepper
¼ tsp. paprika
1 tsp. mustard
1/3 - ½ c. canned salmon, mashed with fork

Directions:

1. Cut hard-boiled eggs in half lengthwise, remove yolks
2. Mash yolks with remaining ingredients. Refill egg whites with yolk mixture and refrigerate.

**If you aren't a fan of fish, you can leave out the salmon and just eat the eggs without. They will still be delicious! I promise! And I'm sure they will leave you more satisfied and feeling less guilty than a candy bar would. 

Instant Gratification and Cravings

This post is personal for me because I very much suffer from the need of instant gratification. When I have a craving for something, it is very hard to tell myself to wait and eat something else instead or even just to wait and have it the next day. I feel as though I am denying myself something so important and I will never get it back. A bit dramatic considering we are only talking about a chocolate bar or a donut or a glass of chocolate milk ... whatever it may be, I'm sure I'm not the only one out there who has experienced this feeling. It's a "Gotta have it right now!" kind of thing that somehow seems to take over your whole body and all of your thoughts until you give in.

Unfortunately, I also tend to live by the "all or nothing" approach and once I do give in to that temptation, it's so much harder for me to bounce back. I end up smashing the whole tea set just because I chipped one cup. It doesn't make sense does it? But in that moment, I feel like I have failed and there is no going back. Until tomorrow. There is something magical about "tomorrow", isn't there? Tomorrow is where all of our hopes for success lie ... but tomorrow doesn't always come. I seem to get stuck in "today" and can't quite get to the land of "tomorrow" where I can finally say "NO!" to that donut and get back on track to getting healthy.

I'm not saying to give up though. Instead, I'm going to give you some of my tips and tricks. I know I just said I still struggle with this, and I imagine that I always will to some extent, but at the same time, I know I haven't been giving a full effort to help myself out either. So before throwing in the towel, try some of these tips and see if they work for you!

As in the picture above, there are options to:

1. Work out/ Go for a walk - Exercise is known to be an appetite suppressant, so getting up and going for a short walk may do more for you than you realize, and I bet you are not going to want to dig into that donut after you sweat your booty off with a workout either. 

2. Drink a glass of water - A lot of times a person thinks that they are craving something but really they are just dehydrated. So next time you are feeling the cravings, try drinking some water and wait and see if it helps. If you still feel hungry, then you probably are, but try to make a healthy choice, which leads me to #3.

3. Eat a salad - This does not include chemical dressings and the entire fridge poured on top. It doesn't have to be a salad either. But many times, people have cravings because they are lacking a key nutrient. Make sure your salad, snack, or meal contains the important 3's: protein, healthy carbohydrate, and healthy fat. If you do this, you will feel satisfied and I bet your cravings will disappear too!

4. Paint your nails/Write a letter/ Play guitar/ Braid your hair - I'm not much for painting my nails (I can never seem to stay in the lines!), but the idea here is to do something with your hands so you are distracted and can't sit and mindlessly eat. This can be anything you want it to be. The key is to find something you enjoy so you don't just sit there and think about the cookies in the other room!

5. Imagine yourself at your goal weight - This is simple. Think about all of the reasons why you want it. And all of the things you'd like to change. Imagine being there for your daughter's wedding, being able to fit into those skinny jeans, or not having to make excuses when you're out of breath taking a flight of stairs at work. The goals you have are what motivate you. Keep reminders of them wherever you can, so you know what you are working towards.

6. Put on a pair of tight pants - This is pretty straight forward too. You can't binge if you can't breathe! Ever try sitting down to munch on a whole bag of chips and dip when your jeans are digging into your middle, pushing out that lovely, jiggly jello, also known as the "muffin top"? It's not fun and it's not easy. You just literally can't do it. It will also help you stay motivated if you know that those chips are the reason why you can't fit into those jeans anymore.

7. Crave Control Plus - This is actually something you can buy. It is from one of my favorite resources: Nutritional Weight and Wellness. They promote food first, but also recommend supplements to help you along the way, if needed. The thought behind this is that it contains the important nutrients that calm your body so you don't experience the craving attacks so intensely, thus making it easier to control them. It is also designed to help for a while until you get your food balanced out and eventually you won't need it anymore. I have tried it and I did notice a difference in myself while taking it.

8. Psyllium Husk - This is another supplement, but this one is more to help you feel full. If you are having an empty day, where you just can't seem to feel full, this supplement helps you feel satisfied and forget your hunger. It works this way because it is fiber and fiber in your food is what makes you feel full. This you can order online or find in most pharmacies. I believe that it comes in capsules or as a powder, but I have only tried the capsule version. Just follow the directions on the back.

9. Break out the gum or toothbrush - I am normally not an advocate of gum, but sometimes just having something in your mouth helps. And especially if it is minty because not a lot of foods go well with mint. It will most likely take away your cravings because it tricks you into thinking about pizza (or whatever you are craving) with tooth paste/mint ... and I don't know about you, but that just doesn't sound great! 

10. Call a friend - If you are talking to a friend then they can help talk you out of the cravings, it will get your mind off of it, and you will be less likely to shove things into your mouth if you are busy talking with it. So call a friend, call a few friends, until the cravings subside.

There you have it! So pick one, pick two, or use all ten tips and avoid those cravings. It has been proven that having visual aids around will noticeably affect your overall success too. So the more reminders you have, the more likely you are to stay on track. So tape up notes by your desk and on your refrigerator. Put a post-it on your TV to tell you to get on the treadmill instead. And keep your water by you to remind you to drink up!

Some sources say to just have a taste of whatever you are craving, but that doesn't work for me, so I didn't want to share it. If I have a bite, I end up eating the whole thing. So that is not on my list of recommendations. It may work for you, but I only share the things that have worked for me personally. 

If you have more tips you'd like to share, I would love to know what works for you, so please share! And don't forget to pat yourself on the back when you do manage to say "No!" to your cravings and get rid of that nasty instant gratification habit. It's a major accomplishment and should be rewarded ... just not with pizza!

Bonus: Preventative Tips

To avoid getting hit with the cravings in the first place, there are a couple of things you can do:

• Get enough sleep. This is so important. Sufficient sleep is key in your weight loss. Your body simply does not make what it needs to when it doesn't get a chance to rest enough and deep enough. 
• Avoid stress. Stress has also been known to cause cravings because it creates too much cortisol in the body. 
• Avoid fasting. If you go long spurts between eating, your blood sugar dips and when your blood sugar is low, candy bars look tempting and it's almost impossible to say no. Your body sees the candy bar, almost pure sugar, and knows it will raise the blood sugar. You feel great afterwards, but what goes up must go down. A great spike in blood sugar, caused by the candy bar, will only lead to a drop in blood sugar once that sugar is burned off. So stick to eating balanced meals at regular intervals to avoid this unhealthy cycle.

The Rule of Three

One of my favorite resources for learning about the how's and why's of food is a podcast called "Dishing Up Nutrition". The team is made up of nutritionists and food experts. Each week they go through and explain different foods and how they affect the body, but they also explain how to change the food you eat in order to feel better, reduce cravings, and even reduce many different health concerns.

There are two main messages that the podcast has in almost every show and that is 1) Don't eat processed foods and 2) Follow the rule of 3's.

The Rule of 3 means that for each meal and snack you should include 1 protein, 1 good fat, and 1 good carbohydrate. These three things should all be incorporated to have balanced meals. They all work together to help your body and mind. Without one or two of these components, it throws the balance off and you wind up having intense cravings, feel hungry soon after eating, or even are sleepy and grumpy.

What are classified as healthy?

Healthy Fats:

• avocado
• real butter (not margarine)
• fats in grass-fed animal protein
• coconut and olive oil (stay away from canola and vegetable oil)
• coconut milk 
• eggs

 

Healthy Proteins:

• grass-fed animal protein
• eggs
• nuts
• whey protein

*stay away from processed proteins 


 

Healthy Carbohydrates:

• Fresh vegetables (carrots, asparagus, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, etc) 
• Fresh fruits (blueberries, strawberries, apples, tomatoes, watermelon)
• Frozen fruits & vegetables (just make sure they don't have any additives)

* The more color in a vegetable, the more nutrient rich it is.
* Stay away from breads, pasta, and grains

So try to get one of each of these into every snack and meal. An example of a great breakfast would be some eggs cooked in coconut oil, half of a sweet potato with real butter, and some spinach. Delicious too!

The Importance of Sleep

It may not be what comes to mind first when you think of weight loss, but sleep is actually a very important piece of the puzzle when it comes to losing weight. Livestrong.com reports, "studies have shown that people who get an adequate amount of sleep each night (6 to 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep) generally weigh less".  Have you ever noticed that when you get a poor night's sleep, or maybe just not enough sleep, you feel tired and groggy the next day? Big surprise, huh? Well, do you also notice that you are more likely to grab the potato chips or candy bar on those days too? I never really put the two together until I heard about it on a podcast, Dishing Up Nutrition. But now that I know, it's pretty obvious.

I have a hard time getting to bed when I should most nights. That means that I don't usually get enough sleep. And on those nights when I don't get enough sleep, I notice that I am not only grumpy the next day, but I suffer from horrible cravings too. Why is that? Livestrong explains that "Grehlin is a hormone in the body that enhances appetite and can lead to weight gain. Leptin is a hormone in the body that represses appetite and can support weight loss. A lack of sleep disturbs the hormonal balance and the body suffers; the result of insufficient sleep leads to an increase in Grehlin and a decrease in Leptin levels, which inevitably leads to weight gain." WebMD goes on to say that, "... if you aresleep-deprived, meaning that you are not getting enough minutes of sleep orgood quality sleep, your metabolism will not function properly".

It is reported that each person should get 7.5 hours of sleep or more of sleep each night. That is not just sleep, but good sleep. Waking up several times in the middle doesn't count because your body won't be fooled.

Tips to get a good night's sleep:

• Avoid caffeine after 2 PM. It's effects can linger long into the evening and disrupt your sleep.
• Exercise regularly to achieve healthy sleep. 
• Avoid heavy meals before bed. Also avoid spicy foods which may provoke heartburn and keep you awake.
• Start and stick to a pattern of going to bed at the same time each night; your body will get used to it and adjust to be ready for it.
• Start and stick to a pattern of eating healthy at certain times each day. If you plan ahead, you are more likely to stick to eating healthy, which will help you sleep better too.
• Hydrate well during the day, but avoid excessive liquids before bedtime, which will keep you from getting up multiple times to make trips to the bathroom. 
• Avoid the computer and television before bed as these tend to stimulate the brain, making it harder to relax. Instead, read a book or write in a journal. These are actives which relax the brain and prepare it for sleep. 

"Adequate sleep is essential for the metabolism and hormones to remain balanced and function properly. Sleep deprivation produces fatigue and stress, and can also lead to other serious health concerns. If you balance your day with sufficient sleep, a healthy diet and moderate exercise, you can retain a healthy weight and feeling of wellness that is beneficial to your overall health." (WebMD)

If you are getting enough sleep each night and still are feeling tired the next day, it is recommended that you speak to your doctor about visiting a sleep specialist.

Plan Ahead

They say that if you want to be successful with your diet/lifestyle/way of eating that you need to be proactive. Plan ahead. If you think about it, when is the time that you feel the cravings the most? When are you most likely to give in? It happens when you haven't planned out your next meal, right? Whether that means you've gone an hour or two past dinner time or whether you head to the kitchen to try to make a meal out of something you will try to throw together. When you're hungry, or when your food options are limited, we're much more likely to make poor choices.

I've never been all that great with planning ahead. My usual style was to wake up, wait until my stomach reminds me that I need to eat, and head to the kitchen to see what sounded good. That means that my blood sugar level is pretty low and I'm much more likely to grab a piece of bread with some peanut butter and honey on it. And then another. And another. And another. And then to wash it down, maybe some chocolate milk? Then, when I was really bad, I'd wait until I got so hungry that the thought of waiting to cook would be so horrible I would run through the drive through of the nearest fast-food restaurant.

That's how I used to do it. Now I don't eat bread, I definitely don't eat fast food, and I know that you should eat soon after waking, not only to kick start your metabolism, but to also fuel you for your day. It's been proven that people of all ages perform better at school and work when properly fueled in the morning, typically within 30 - 60 minutes of rising. This breakfast does not mean a glass of orange juice and toast. Listening to a podcast from Nutritional Weight and Wellness, called Dishing Up Nutrition, I have learned that a glass of orange juice is actually worse for you than a can of pop. Considering that a can of pop offers absolutely nothing of value, how does that make sense? If you think about how many oranges you eat when you want a snack, I'll bet most of you will stop at one, right? Now think about how much juice is in one orange. You would need several oranges to fill a normal sized glass of orange juice. Oranges are natural foods, but they're also very high in sugar. And your body does not need that much.

Toast is very similar; although not considered a sweet food, it is a refined carbohydrate. Next time you pick up a bag of processed carbs, look at the nutritional label. Find how many grams of carbohydrates there are and divide by 4. So if your serving of bread (toast) contains 24 grams of carbohydrates and you divide 24 by 4, you end up with 6. That is how many teaspoons of sugar those 24 grams of carbohydrates converts to. So you start your day loaded up on sugar, which takes your blood sugar high. And what happens to all things that go up? They must come down. And this is usually in the form of a blood sugar crash. And that is when you end up starving an hour later, searching the halls for a vending machine to grab a Snickers or a Twix, which only repeats the cycle.

So the lesson for today is not only to eat a healthy, balanced breakfast including 1 healthy protein, 1 healthy fat, and 1 healthy unprocessed carbohydrate soon after rising, but also to plan ahead. Think about when you are able to eat and what you will have available. The best leaders always form a plan before going into action. You shouldn't be any less considerate to your body. If you know for a fact you're going to have salmon and asparagus for lunch at 12:05, then you'll be much less likely to either munch on chips at your desk at 11:15 or to wait until 1:30 before realizing your stomach is growling and go off in search of that candy bar.

One of my good friends is a meal planning goddess!! (Link to her blog here) She knows what she's doing. I've picked up some tips from her over the last year or so and hope to come up with a good Paleo-style meal plan for 30 days, including a grocery list, to help me get on track... and I'm sure my husband would appreciate a few new recipes to add variety to his meals too. I'll work on that and post it when I'm finished so you can see what it looks like and maybe come up with a meal plan for yourself!

That's all for now. Until next time!

The Way I Eat

I'm not a fan of the term "diet" because I feel that "diet" has become a negative word to describe the self inflicted torture that we put ourselves through, eating only two different foods, in an attempt to get rid of those unwanted pounds. I feel that what we eat is a lifestyle rather than a short term fix, but since lifestyle way of eating is much longer, I'm going to use "diet" to describe how I eat.

I would say the way I eat is most like the Paleo way of eating, but I don't follow it exactly. What is the Paleo diet? Wikipedia defines it as:

"The paleolithic diet (abbreviated paleo diet or paleodiet), also popularly referred to as the caveman diet, Stone Age diet and hunter-gatherer diet, is a modern nutritional plan based on the presumed ancient diet of wild plants and animals that various hominid species habitually consumed during the Paleolithic era—a period of about 2.5 million years which ended around 10,000 years ago with the development of agriculture and grain-based diets. In common usage, such terms as the "Paleolithic diet" also refer to the actual ancestral human diet. Centered on commonly available modern foods, the "contemporary" Paleolithic diet consists mainly of fish, grass-fed pasture raised meats, eggs, vegetables, fruit, fungi, roots, and nuts, and excludes wheat, grains, legumes, dairy products, potatoes, refined salt, refined sugar, and processed oils." Click for full article.

On Diet and Health, a podcast by Beverly Meyer, is a great resource for learning about the Paleo way of eating. As I said, I follow the Paleo way of eating to an extent, but what do I do differently? I already don't eat many legumes, so I don't cut them out completely. I don't think having them from time to time is a problem. I love chili, and you can't have chili without beans. Not the kind I make anyhow! I particularly love the Skinny Taste recipe, Turkey Taco Chili, however, I usually make my own taco seasoning mix to make sure I'm not getting any extra "goodies" in those processed packages. I follow recipes like this one from AllRecipes.com and it's great because you can play with a little bit to fit the recipe to your preferred taste exactly.

Another exception to the rule is that I do still drink cow's milk from time to time. The reason you aren't supposed to drink the Wal-Mart or other big company cow's milk is because of the hormones and other lovely chemicals that the cows are exposed to before the milking process, which does then end up in your milk. I don't use it often though and have gotten into alternatives such as coconut milk, but I do use cow's milk from time to time as needed.

Basically, I have given up wheat and anything that comes processed, with the exception of frozen veggies (no sauces or other additives), as those are considered processed as well. I stick to foods that are located in the perimeter of the grocery store and foods that do not have those lovely "added ingredients". I like to tune in to another podcast done by the Nutritional Weight and Wellness team called Dishing Up Nutrition for more wonderful tips on how to eat healthy. This podcast gives you examples of what to eat, but also explains the science behind it so you can understand and know how to move forward on your own. The biggest part of it is to get away from the "fat-free" and "light" versions of food and stick to the whole, real foods. They also say to get in one healthy protein, one healthy fat, and one healthy carbohydrate in each meal and snack. I'll talk about healthy vs. not so healthy foods in a future post.

Eating this way, just clean, wholesome foods, leaves me full of energy, I don't feel like I'm starving myself throughout the day because I stay full, and best of all, I still lose weight. The more I get into posting, I'll break down the lifestyle I've chosen to follow and you all can decide if you'd like to try it or not. I don't think that there is any one particular right way to eat; each body is different and reacts differently to the different foods. So you have to find something that works for you. This is what works for me and I hope you'll enjoy learning about it, as I continue to do, in future posts!

For some great recipe ideas, check out:
The Primal Blueprint Cookbook by Sisson, Mark/ Meier, Jennifer [Hardco (Google Affiliate Ad)