Nutrition

May 7, 2013 By Robyn

Top Tips For Healthy Road Trips

I love road trips! When I retire, you’ll find me criss-crossing this beautiful country for weeks and months at a time – perhaps Australia and New Zealand as well. There’s no better way to explore in my opinion. Must be in my DNA – Dad worked in the trucking industry for nearly 40 years.

This past weekend, my husband Brett and I took a quick trip from Denver to Omaha to attend the Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting (Brett is in the finance industry and I love to tag along and hear what Warren Buffet has to say). As I was preparing the cooler, this post started coming together in my head.

Just a few short years ago, road trips provided the perfect “excuse” to binge on all sorts of stuff I’d never eat while at home – burgers, fries, shakes, candy bars, Pop-Tarts – you name it. I’d return home with a bit more “baggage” than I left with.

With some good planning and smart packing, you can enjoy your adventure and continue to eat healthy by following a few simple tips.

1. Invest in a Good Cooler

Get yourself a quality cooler. I love our Coleman Extreme which keeps it’s contents cool for up to 5 days. We line the bottom with frozen Figi water bottles, which we reuse each time we travel.

2. Fill Your Cooler

For our most recent trip, I packed our trusty Coleman with sandwiches (Ezekiel bread, turkey, avocado, hummus & spinach), pre-sliced apples & cheddar cheese, hard boiled eggs, baby carrots & hummus, greek yogurt and some leftover turkey meatloaf. Not once did I have to rely on fast food or gas stations for nourishment.

3. No Cooler?

No worries, if you need to stop at a gas station or fast food restaurant, you can still make decent choices.

Gas Stations:

Skip the Funyuns and Kit Kats and seek out yogurt, bananas, apples, milk or string cheese/cheese squares. If you’re in the middle of nowhere and fresh choices are limited, look for sunflower or pumpkin seeds, nuts, energy bars (Clif, Clif Builder, Balance, Luna, Larabar), jerky, dried fruit or cereals high in fiber.

Fast Food:

You’re likely to find a McDonalds in most off-highway towns. Here are my recommendations for best choices if the golden arches is your only option.

Grilled Chicken Sandwich – lettuce and tomato only

300 calories
27 grams protein
3.5 grams fat
41 grams carbs
730 grams sodium

Premium McWrap Grilled Chicken & Ranch – hold the cheese and ranch sauce

340 calories
27 grams protein
8 grams fat
40 grams carbs
950 grams sodium

Premium McWrap Sweet Chili Chicken (Grilled) – as is

360 calories
27 grams protein
9 grams fat
44 grams carbs
1030 grams sodium (eek)

Angus Mushroom & Swiss Snack Wrap – hold the cheese and mayo

320 calories
17 grams protein
16 grams fat
25 grams carbs
620 grams sodium

Premium Southwest Salad with Grilled Chicken – add Newman’s Own Low Fat Balsamic Vinaigrette, hold the tortilla strips and lime glaze

240 calories
26 grams protein
7 grams fat
19 grams carbs
910 grams sodium

I don’t have to tell you to skip the soda, shakes and fries. Instead, add apple slices to your order for only 15 calories and and a whopping 94 grams (160%) of Vitamin C.

Another option is to zip by Taco Bell and try out their new Fresco Menu featuring 7 items with less than 350 calories and under 10 grams of fat.

4. Water

While I must confess that I drink more coffee than I should on the road, water is a must have. Save money by bringing along reusable water bottles and buying gallon jugs of water for refilling at gas stations.

5. Feed Your Head

All those hours on the road provide a perfect opportunity for learning. Keep your brain busy and download some podcasts (Radiolab is great and Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History is another favorite) or an audiobook – and I promise, the trip will fly by. My husband and I listened to Into Africa – The Epic Adventures of Stanley and Livingstone during our 16 hour roundtrip journey to Omaha. Highly recommend!

There you have it. No excuses – plan ahead, make smart choices and enjoy guilt free road-trips all summer long.

Robyn Spurr is a Certified Health Coach, Weight Loss Coach, Personal Trainer and founder of Chickadee Weight Loss. She helps women reach their healthy, natural weight and stay there without all the diet craziness.

For more information on Weight Loss Coaching, click here.

January 16, 2013 By Robyn

15 Healthy Small Meal & Snack Ideas

One of the most common “complaints” I hear from clients is that they get bored with food after making the switch to clean eating. While saying goodbye to processed food and the drive thru does indeed limit your choices, there are still plenty of tasty options.

Last week, a client asked if I would consider posting my own daily food journals in our private Facebook forum for awhile. My answer was (of course) a resounding yes.

It’s clear by looking at one of my journals that I prefer smaller, more frequent meals over three squares a day. Not that there’s anything wrong with three bigger meals. If that works for you, by all means, go for it.

Since I’m a refuel every 2 to 3 hours kind of chick, my meals tend to be smaller – in the 200-300 calorie range each.

I’ve listed a few of my favorite small meal and snack ideas for those of you searching for ideas to re-ignite those taste buds.

1. plain Greek or Icelandic yogurt (obsessed with Siggi’s brand) + berries + nuts or seeds + a few drops of stevia

2. cottage cheese on ezekiel toast or a whole grain english muffin with a drizzle of honey

3. hot quinoa (or oatmeal or buckwheat) + 1 tbsp nut butter + sliced bananas + splash unsweetened almond milk (such a yummy breakfast)

4. scrambled eggs on ezekiel toast or a whole grain english muffin with sliced avocado

5. hard boiled egg + clementine + avocado slices

6. sweet potato + a little butter + cinnamon

7. turkey burger + hummus (love Trader Joe’s eggplant hummus)

8. tomato soup + ground turkey + a tsp basil paste or pesto

9. turkey slices (Applegate brand is great) + cheese + apple slices

10. apple + 1 tbsp nut butter

11. greens + diced chicken + strawberries + feta or goat cheese + walnuts + tbsp dressing (love Braggberry)

12. baby carrots + hummus

13. 1/2 avocado stuffed with tuna + salsa

photo credit: brittanypowell.com

14. quest bars

15. cooked brown rice + black beans + avocado + diced tomato + splash lime juice + salt

For more information on Weight Loss Coaching, click here.

January 3, 2013 By Robyn

Craving Peppers and Embracing Our Inner Wisdom

I’ve been craving peppers lately. In fact, I plan to whip up a batch of Beef, Eggplant & Quinoa Stuffed Peppers tonight. Check out the recipe here.

My pepper craving has me thinking – why do we get tired of certain foods and suddenly crave different ones?

I wish I had the answer, but I honestly have no clue and my google searching has proved fruitless. There are oodles of articles about junk food cravings, but there doesn’t seem to be any research about why we get “bored” with certain foods. Seasonal? A nutrient deficiency?

Last night I decided to write a list of the foods I’m currently tired of and what I’ve been craving – just for fun.

Tired of:

Apples
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Tomatoes
Cottage Cheese
Yogurt
Eggs

Craving:

Avocados
Red Peppers
Eggplant
Shrimp/Scallops
Walnuts
Oranges
Wild Rice

So what’s the point of this blog post you ask?

The point is to invite you to begin paying attention to your body and what it wants. To become a mindful eater. To be curious about the foods you crave and foods that are unappealing. To consciously tune in and listen to your body – because it’s pretty darn wise. And to stop looking for external sources of “wisdom” and tap into your own brilliance instead.

No one knows your body better than you. Stop empowering so-called “experts” and diet book authors to make choices about what’s best for your body and grab hold of the reins.

December 27, 2012 By Robyn

4 Diet Books Worth Reading

I thought the title of this post might grab your attention.

Don’t worry, I haven’t suddenly embraced the madness of fad diets and I assure you, Eat Right For Your Type and The Dukan Diet did NOT make my list – oh, heck no!

In fact, the brilliant books I chose to feature, have more to do with HOW and WHY you eat than WHAT you eat.

There is a monumental difference between simply wanting to lose weight and creating a healthy relationship with food and your body. I’m much more interested in the latter.

Once we give up trying to hate ourselves thin and start to nurture mindfulness, acceptance, truth and forgiveness – the real healing that leads to permanent weight loss can begin.

***

#1 The Slow Down Diet – Marc David

This is hands down, my favorite “diet” book.

Most people propel themselves through life at a dizzying pace that is contrary to a healthy lifestyle. We eat fast, on the run, and often under stress, not only removing most of the pleasure we might derive from our food and creating digestive upset, but also wreaking havoc on our metabolism. Many of us come to the end of a day feeling undernourished, uninspired, and overweight.

In The Slow Down Diet Marc David presents a new way to understand our relationship to food, focusing on quality and the possibilities of pleasure in eating to transform and improve metabolism. ~Amazon Book Description

#2 Mindful Eating – Dr. Jan Chozen Bays

The art of mindfulness can transform our struggles with food and renew our sense of pleasure, appreciation, and satisfaction with eating. Drawing on recent research and integrating her experiences as a physician and meditation teacher, Dr. Jan Bays offers a wonderfully clear presentation of what mindfulness is and how it can help with food issues.

Mindful eating is an approach that involves bringing one’s full attention to the process of eating—to all the tastes, smells, thoughts, and feelings that arise during a meal. Whether you are overweight, suffer from an eating disorder, or just want to get more out of life, this book offers a simple tool that can make a remarkable difference. ~Amazon Book Description

#3 In Defense of Food – Michael Pollan

The more we worry about nutrition, the less healthy we seem to become. With In Defense of Food, Pollan proposes a new (and very old) answer to the question of what we should eat that comes down to seven simple but liberating words: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Pollan’s bracing and eloquent manifesto shows us how we can start making thoughtful food choices that will enrich our lives, enlarge our sense of what it means to be healthy, and bring pleasure back to eating. ~Amazon Book Description

#4 The Gifts of Our Compulsions – Mary O’Malley

Everyone is compulsive to some degree. People may worry too much, work too hard, or overindulge in food or alcohol or drug use. Once a compulsion is admitted, the usual option is to try to control the behavior. But this effort typically ends with the problem returning, or a new one taking its place.

In this book based on three decades of research and teaching, Mary O’Malley has crafted a new approach, with simple exercises and techniques and an inspiring tone. People are compulsive for a reason, she says, and by observing the things they are compulsive about and engaging those compulsions, readers can begin to understand them and change their actions around them. ~Amazon Book Description

***

Reading these books will not make you thin. If you want to change your life and your weight for good, you have to do more than read – you have to do the work.

There are no quick fixes. No shakes, pills or “programs” that will do the trick. Losing weight permanently is about digging deep and getting to heart of the matter – discovering WHY you eat when you’re not hungry.

The GOOD news – learning to make peace with food and your body is a wild and fascinating adventure of self-discovery and self-evolution.

The GREAT news – it can be one of the most powerful and worthwhile journeys you’ll ever go on.

Nutrition

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