Nibble on This: Cinnamon Peanut Butter Swirl Oatmeal

Plan Ahead for Dieting Success! by Valerie Costanza, RD One of my favorite quotes comes from Benjamin Franklin: “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” This statement holds true in many areas of life, including your diet. Most people on a “diet” have a specific goal in mind; weight loss, less fatigue, decrease in digestive upset, etc. No matter the goal, in order to be successful you have to plan your meals. The first step in planning is knowing what you can eat. Whether you have met with me or you are following another diet, the next step will be to make a meal plan. My best advice to sticking to a diet or a change in lifestyle is to write out your meal plan. If it is written down and easily accessible, you are more likely to stick to it. If it is planned out ahead of time, it is not likely that you’ll make a last minute decision to go through the fast food drive-thru because you couldn’t think of anything to eat. I would suggest planning for a week at a time, but I have seen clients have great success by making a 6-to-8 week meal plan as well. To inspire you to plan ahead, the recipe this month can be prepared the night before. Enjoy it for breakfast the next morning. Make-Ahead Cinnamon Peanut Butter Swirl Steel Cut Oatmeal Yield: 4 servings or 3 1/2 – 4 cups Ingredients 2 cups water 2 cups unsweetened almond milk (or other non-dairy milk) 1 cup uncooked steel-cut oats 2 large bananas, mashed (1 cup mashed) 2 tsp ground cinnamon Pinch of salt 2 – 3 tsp vanilla extract 1 Tbsp roasted peanuts Cinnamon Peanut Butter Swirl sauce (whisk together: 1 Tbsp peanut butter, 2 Tbsp applesauce and ¼ tsp cinnamon) Directions In a medium-sized pot, bring the water and almond milk to a boil. Add in steel-cut oats and a pinch of salt and reduce heat to low. Stir in the mashed banana (mashing it helps disperse the sweetness throughout). Simmer on low, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so. When the oats are creamy and tender, remove from heat and stir in cinnamon to taste, pure vanilla extract, roasted peanuts and cinnamon peanut butter swirl sauce. Serve immediately or allow to cool before transferring into air tight containers in the fridge. In the morning, add a splash of milk and reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop. This Nutrition Update is brought to you by Seasons. For more nutrition tidbits, visit our website at seasonswc.com For a personalized nutrition consultation with Valerie Costanza, call Seasons at 255-3223 and schedule an appointment. NIBBLE ON THIS ARCHIVES » Maximize Your Nutrition With These Winter Fruits and Veggies » Cold & Flu Fighting Tips! » Best Food Phone Apps! » Pumpkins: More Than Just Fall Decorations » Gluten-Free Can Be Healthy and Tasty!

 

 

 

Confession #7: The Pursuit of Happiness and The Words of Benjamin Franklin

I’ve had a paradigm shift. Ever had one? I looked at life, health and happiness the way I’ve been raised to look at it. And then, after a life-changing situation rocked my world, I saw everything differently.

Actually, I’ve had several life-changing, rock-my-world situations over the years. I don’t think I’m unique in that regard, but I want to share with you the silver lining that illuminated my most recent cloud.

Most of my life, I believed the prescription for good health was this: get sick, go to the doctor, take all prescribed medications, get well, and go on with life. I guess you could call it a “treatment-focused” way of thinking.

Now that I’m a little older and have two children for whom I am responsible, I find myself wondering, “What can I do to PREVENT my children from being sick?” And with the looming threat of the worst flu season in decades, that curiousity about prevention is echoing loudly inside of my head.

I lived in Phoenix for nearly 15 years. One thing unique about living out west was the embrace of naturopathic and a holistic approach to medicine. If these terms are new for you, let me give you some simple definitions. Naturopathic: try a natural remedy first. Holistic: consider the whole body when prescribing treatment. For example, some research shows that honey is a very effective cough suppressant. A physician in Arizona advised me to try that with my child first before trying an over-the-counter medication. It worked. This would be a naturopathic (honey is a naturally derived substance) and holistic (a natural solution is less dangerous with no side effects, in this case) solution for a cough.

I’m certainly not in favor of abandoning all prescription medication, but I am guilty of rushing to the pediatrician in hopes of getting my child well as quickly as possible because of some upcoming committment instead of letting a cold run it’s course. Aren’t we clamoring for any pill that can end the misery in 24 hours or less? It’s a symptom of the world we live in. We’re all in a hurry to be somewhere. I am guilty of this more times than I ever want to admit.

An Ounce of Prevention Is Worth A Pound of Cure.

Benjamin Franklin said it best when he coined the phrase that’s been repeated for generations, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Former Surgeon General, Dr. Richard Carmona echoed Franklin’s advice in an opinion published by the Arizona Daily Star.

“Sadly,” says Dr. Carmona, “in the United States spending to treat preventable chronic diseases accounts for more than 75 percent of the approximately $2 trillion we spend each year on health care. Americans spend more money on health care than any other nation, yet rank 42nd in life expectancy worldwide, down from 11th two decades ago. While our federal and state governments spend hundreds of billions of dollars a year on treating diseases, they spend less than $10 per person per year to prevent diseases. We are a treatment-focused society, when the real benefits to health and happiness come from preventing diseases before they ever occur.”

Startling, isn’t it. Reading Dr. Carmona’s words reminded me that my pursuit of wellness is worth sharing. We need to jump off the bandwagon of a treatment-focused society and jump in to the pursuit of wellness.

So here we go–five suggestions for the pursuit of wellness. Are you ready to jump in?

Evaluate Your Diet.

Do you make good food choices? Are you overweight? The latest statistics indicate that 58 million Americans are overweight, 40 million are obese, and 4 million are morbidly obese. The vast majority of illness is caused or complicated by being overweight.

Evaluate Your Activity.

Do you exercise? I confess. I don’t exercise as much as I’d like. It’s really hard during this season of my life to have time for myself. But I’m learning to incorporate physical fitness into my life in different ways. I park further from the grocery store entry and WALK. I take the stairs, much to the chagrin of my kids who LOVE the elevator. I stop working at the computer for 5 minutes and do 50 situps. All these little bits of activity add up and encourage me to pursue bigger bits of activity like an hour of tennis or a bike ride with the kids.

Have A Wellness Checkup.

When is the last time you saw your physician for an annual physical? It’s easy to procrastinate. Who likes to get stuck by a needle? Annual bloodwork and screenings are an important part of pursuing wellness. Ladies, get a mammogram and do monthly breast self-exams. And men, turn your head and cough. A healthy prostate will save you a lot of heartache (and groin-ache) in the future.

Make Sure You Are Getting Enough Vitamin D.

More and more studies are indicating the importance of Vitamin D in disease prevention. Our generation doesn’t get as much sun, the best source of Vitamin D, as generations before us. The level of cold and flu increases in the winter largely due to the decrease of Vitamin D in our system. If your physician doesn’t evaluate your Vitamin D level, go to one who will. A supplement might not be enough to boost your Vitamin D to an adequate level, so seek the advice of a doctor. Medical research even suggests that Vitamin D is the BEST prevention for flu–even better than the vaccine. To learn more about Vitamin D, check out other posts on our website.

Decrease Your Stress.

Stress is the enemy. Don’t spread yourself too thin. Take time to smell the flowers. My best de-stresser is weekly Bible Study. Yours might be different, but I promise my method works! I also love to read. I don’t have a lot of time for reading, but I carry a book around with me just in case.

Good luck with your pursuit. And with any luck, you and I will pursue wellness and find happiness.