Ode to olive oil

I think we’ve all heard that olive oil is good for us – mainly linked to the high proportions of monosaturated fats found in this oil. It is claimed to have anti-inflamatory benefits , cardiovascular benefits (thanks to the antioxidant protection for our blood vessels), digestive heath benefits , bone health benefits, cognitive benefits and anti-cancer benefits(thanks to it’s polyphenols).

The funny thing is that even after hearing about all the exalted health benefits of olive oil – I was still wary of using over a teaspoon for the longest of time. I think the attitude was so deeply ingrained in me that oil= greasy, fatty, yucky that I was afraid of trying it. I would add it to stir fries, roast with it and add it to salads – but always in such miniscule amounts that the flavour was totally lost.

But I can honestly say since going on this vacation I’ve had a change of heart. One of my friends is Italian and also an amazing cook. She does 99% of all the cooking in this house which is a good thing, because everything she makes is finger licking good. But if you know anything about Italians it is that olive oil is definitely on their top 10 favorite ingredients to work with, and they don’t belive on skimping on it either.

First day  I was here she decided to make hummus. Since she doesn’t like tahini , she subbstituted it for olive oil. As I watched her tip the olive oil bottle I felt a familiar wave of apprehention – how much was she going to put in there?  Let me tell you, it was more then just a glug – she kept pouring. Then she processed a little and added some more. And with each tip of the bottle I felt a little more uneasy.

Source: http://www.blogcdn.com/www.slashfood.com/media/2010/07/garlic-hummus-olive-oil-crackers-590.jpg

Then dinner was served – we all sat down and I aprehensivly took a small serving of hummus. After the first mouthfull I was in heaven. I went back for seconds and have been eating it since then like it’s my job. Calories shmalories – this stuff was good!

Since then I’ve tried lots of olive oil goodies – my favorites of which have been:

Sage and olive oil roasted squash

 

Sun dried tomatoes in olive oil:

 

Squash rissoto cooked in olive oil and wine:

Pesto pasta:

And the classic : Fresh garden tomatoes drizzeled in olive oil with balsamic vinegar, fresh basil and mozzarella cheese:

I’m slowly regaining the mentality that taste >calories and that it’s not worth to skimp on certain ingredients in the name of “lower fat” options. Yes, this is a habit that’s been ingrained in my mind for many years, but trying amazing food like this has made me quiestion this mentality and really encouraged me to start working on it.

You know – sometimes it pays to have someone push you out of your comfort zone, because they might force you to try somethink you never have before. And who knows – you might not just like it, but love it all the way.

What’s your favorite way to use olive oil?

What ingredient or food were you aprhensive about using before, but that is a regular staple in your diet now?

 

WIAW – weight gain tips (and other thoughts)

Wow, so this is probably as far away from the theme of this WIAW as you can get – but I never was one to go with the norm and so this post has come to be.

Since taking a greater interest in my health I’ve been trying to make a very concerted effort to gain weight. Amazingly enough, this is much easier said then done – at least in my case. All the people in my immediate surroundings have been urging me to simply “eat more”. Sadly enough, since I suffer some weird and still as of yet undiagnosed stomach issues, I am usually left in excrutiating pain after meals involving very large amounts of food. So I’ve been forced to experiment and find out what works for me. I wish I could say I’m at the end of this process and have figured out the perfect solution to quick, easy and healthy weight gain – but I haven’t. I have however learned a few “do’s and don’t” along the way and will be more then happy to share them with the rest of you.

1. Don’t stuff your face with junk. When first trying to gain weight I tried this method. I “allowed” myself to eat copious amounts of candy bars, chocolate and other sweets. The result – I felt too sick to eat anything else afterwards, my sweet cravings went through the roof, I felt groggy and nauseous the rest of the day. Moral of the story – junk food is NOT the long term solution to weight gain.  
2. Make small changes into your current diet. Making healthy changes – either to eat more, less or simply more balanced often doesn’t require a complete diet revamp. There are small steps you can take today to move in the right direction. For me that meant drinking more liquid calories – i.e fruit juice, soya milk, and adding more fats to my meals. This way I hike up the nutritional content of the meals without having to increase the volume all that much. Plus, a bit of healthy fat always makes food taste 100% better – trust me on this on this one 
    I forgot making adding the usual amount of soya milk and butter to my oat bran when making it last night – and boy what a difference in taste this morning. But reheating it with a teaspoon of butter and some extra soya milk made everything right – hey don’t knock it till you try it
3. Find the balance between going with your cravings and following a meal plan. I’m still struggling on this one to be honest – mainly because I’m not used to doing either. Meal plans feel very restrictive for me, but intuitive eating isn’t always the best solution either. So I’m learning to find the balance between eating what I crave and making sure I get the right balance nutritionally speaking.Ugly meals can be yummy too – following my cravings with “unovernight” oats with banana, PB and blackberry jam
4. Enjoy your food. If every meal is eaten on the go, or is something you don’t particularly enjoy and are eating just because you “have to”, chances are you won’t stick to your commitment to eat more or make healthier food choices very often. Although I’m finding it hard to sit down and really savor my meals – mainly because of my busy schedule at the moment – when I do it definitely makes the whole eating process a lot more enjoyable. So recently I’be been trying to make a push to eat as many meals as I can in a calm and peaceful atmosphere and enjoy the process of eating.Sunday I actually got to cook a family dinner for the first time in almost a month – a twist on Caitlins cornbread quiche (made it a bit more italian style with zucchini and italian spices) and zucchini sauted in olive oil wiht organo and basil topped with chickpeas and peanutsMy plate  x 2
5. Don’t freak out if your meals are repetitive. If you find something that works – don’t be afraid to stick to it. For a long time I felt like I had to switch up every meal – just so I make sure I get the right nutrients. But sometimes thinking up new, balanced and healthy meals is just too time consuming or mentally taxing. Particularly if you suffer from stomach issues – sometimes its ok and even a good idea to stick to the tried and proven. For me it’s eggs, soy spread and whole wheat bread that hardly ever cause me problems, so if there’s a quick a go-to meal I need I often roll with that.
6. Learn that experimenting can be fun. Cooking and experimenting with homemade desserts and meals is definitely an incentive to eat a bit more. It takes a bit of pre-planning and not all experiments are sucsessful – but there’s something to be said for eating a homemade meal or desser that took a little more time a preparation then I pre-packiged energy bar or sandwhiches.I enjoy my meals so much more at work when they;re something other then sandwhiches – sauted chickpeas and zucchini with millet.The most amazing dessert ever -chocolate soft serve (recipie and photo courtesy of Chocolate Covered Katie)
7. Sometimes you need to eat when you’re not hungry.  I think this might be the hardest thing about weight gain. A lot of people have the misconception that weight gain is easy – basically it’s the freedom to eat whatever you want, whenever you want and not worry about it. In reality it isn’t really all that fun – it means a lot of pain, discomfort and often forcing yourself to do thing you don’t want to. It goes against everything you’ve been taught, everything that is currently broadcast on the media and everything everyone else is doing. If you expect to gain weight without a bit of effort you’r in for a surprise. But  if you keep reminding yourself that you’re doing it for your health and that things get easier with time, it helps. I was so not hungry for snack today- but I forced myself to grint my teeth and go for it. Rice cake with PB plus an ensure banana smoothie (that cup times too). My stomach hurt like crazy afterwards, but you gotta do what you gotta do
8. Allow yourself indulgences, even if they’re not on your meal plan. Personally I love ice-cream, chocolate and a glass of sparkling wine once in a while. None of these items are on my meal plan – but they make my life much more enjoyable – so why not go for it.  And if they speed up the process a little bit –why not?

Have you ever had to gain weight or follow a meal plan for health reasons? Did you find it easy, or difficult?

What are some atypical diet phylospohies you apply?

Choosing not to give into the guilt.

I surprised myself today

I’ve been having stomach troubles all day, so going to work was exceptionally inviting today. That’s right, I enjoy doing something when I’m in pain, because it distracts me – at least temporarily. When I’m busy doing something, I don’t have time to obsess and feel sorry about myself and how I shouldn’t have eaten this or that. Yeah, that’s my ED’s most recent trick to get me feeling guilty – I don’t feel guilty about the calories or amount of fat (because I know I need to gain weight) but I feel guilty about the pain I caused myself. I think “if only I hadn’t eaten this or that – I wouldn’t feel sick and I could be doing all these other things”. Unfortunately that logic is what caused me to lose so much weight in the first place – because I always figured eating just wasn’t worth the pain afterwards – but I’m rambling now.

Anyhow, I got to work and I still hadn’t eaten snack – because weirdly enough although I was hungry – I couldn’t think of eating anything without feeling terribly nauseous (no, I’m not pregnant in case this sounds familiar ). So I left the house without any food. I got to work and I got the craziest sweet craving. There were some cookies left out by one of my co-workers, so I did had a little bite to see how that would go down. Then I made myself tea and one of my co-workers offered me a candy bar (my favorite), so I had a bit of that. After that it was like my body finally figured out what it wanted, because my sugar cravings went through the roof. I ate a whole cookie and enjoyed it – despite the fact that it was MUCH sweeter then I’m used to. During this time someone in the building was having a birthday celebration, and they brought me a peice of cake. I’m not much of a cake girl mind you, I usually pick out the “good stuff – either the fruit, filling or whatever else catches my fancy – and I leave the rest. But today I ate the whole thing, and absolutely loved it, I actually felt like I could have eaten more. Since I was still weirdly hungry, I ate a small apple I had in my bag as well. Then I actually felt full, my IBS was still acting up, but I felt better then I had before.

This was really yummy though!

And then my old mindsets started screaming at me. In came the old familiar voices – telling me I binged, that I had eaten too much, and that what I had eaten was so “unhealthy” and on and on. And at that point I made a choice, the choice I am still making – not to give into those voices, because they are so illogical and only serve to make me feel misserable.

People eat that amount of food at any given party, and because I ate it one afternoon does not make me a chronic over eater, or binger. I ate slowly, over the course of an hour, I stopped to enjoy and savor the flavors of the foods I was eating. I ate in the company of my co-workers , who also ate the same amount.

And as far as “healthy ” goes –  there are no “good and bad” foods ,and since right now weight gain is a top priority for me the extra fuel definitely won’t hurt me. The last time I had cake was over a month ago, so it’s not like this is a daily routine or habit. And I actually enjoyed eating these foods – and believe it or not- that counts for something!

This experience made me realize that guilt is a feeling we can choose to give into or choose not to give into. Yes, those voices might always be somewhere in the background, but it’s up to us how much they influence our thought patterns and actions. It is possible to argue with these voices, to ignore them, to not let them control us. In the end, it’s each of us that needs to decide.

I still have dinner to eat today and I will eat whatever I am hungry for. I will not attempt a “lower calorie” dinner to make up for my indulgences. Granted, I’m not very hungry, but I will eat what I want, and not what some silly voice is telling me to. Because recovery is a sum total of small, day by day decisions - and I’m determined to make the right ones.

Losing food rules

Hi everyone.

It’s been a busy week – in between studying/working I hardly have room to catch my breath. I come home 9-10 PM every evening and all I can do is shower/sleep or motivate myself to read a few blogs, watch something short and it’s off to sleep for me.  But I’d rather that then sitting around, doing nothing all day

To be honest, operation weight gain is going a whole lot harder then I thoughts. The doctor gave me some meds to start taking, but they’re not really helping at all. As a matter of fact, the pain seems worse then ever now.  And it’s not just the dairy either. It seems that all the healthy foods that didn’t bother me in times past are bothering me now.  I get full after tiny amounts of food, and it’s really hard to keep pushing forward and doing what’s right for my body. But I’m really trying, although it’s already cost me a lot of pain and discomfort.

One of my favorite meals (that messed up my stomach big time ) Chili, baked poatoe and beets 2x

 This meal thankfully went down well – chickpea burger on a HUGE whole wheat bun (can’t tell from the pic) with a side of green beans

And the usual fast dinner staple – brown rice, eggs, green beans

 One of the things this process is teaching me though, is that sometimes you’ve just gotta listen to your body and eat what you feel like, even if it goes against what you would normally consider “healthy”. There really are no “good” and “bad” foods. Sure, some foods are more nutritious then others, but in the end they all do the same thing – provide your body with the energy it needs to function. So sometimes it’s actually healthier to eat something not so nutritious, rather then restricting because you don’t have anything “healthy ” around.

During the past few days I’ve eaten more chocolate, ice-cream, and other such treats then I have in  a long time. I try to balance it with nutritious foods of course, but when for some reason my body has really been craving these types of foods. And I know that right now it’s important for me to focus on just fueling and getting food in, rather then trying to maintain the perfect balance.

 Brownies – I actually snuck a veggie into these babies, so eating them as part on dinner wasn’t THAT bad

Rhumbarb and apple crisp – today’s sucsesfull experiment

Loads of dark chocolate too of course

 

This process is teaching me that it’s ok to eat ice-cream as a snack, or “snack plates” for dinner, or chocolate for dessert most nights – because sometimes it’s what my body needs. When I give into these cravings as opposed to stifling them , I’m satisfied with just a little and perfectly content to go on eating normally. Whereas when I try to choose “mind over matter” and reason myself out of these little pleasures, I feel deprived, cranky and end up in a much worse state mentally then if I were to just allow myself to enjoy life.

One night after only managing to eat 1/2 my dinner because of extreme nausea I ended up filling up on an ice-cream sandwhich (I haven’t eaten that in years). It was the only thing I could think of eating without feeling horribly nauseaos – so I went for it. I won’t lie it felt “wrong” having ice-cream as part of dinner – but I felt better afterwards and the craving totally dissapeared. Still not sure what my body needed, but I sure enjoyed it – and that’s also an important thing,

 

Moral of the story – sometimes it pays to lose the foods rules – life is just too much fun. So go ahead, enjoy your ice-cream, dark chocolate, milkshake – or whatever ingulgence you choose. Lose the food rules and live life?

Do you have any food rules? How ofen do you allow yourself treats?