Solutions, Not Resolutions—2016 Health Commitment.

Solutions, Not Resolutions—2016 Health Commitment.

My dad was a master of one-liners. “You’ve Come Along way Baby,” Virginia Slims “Coke Is It,” “Fly the Friendly Skies of United” “Go for the Gusto” and “If You Don’t Have Schlitz You Don’t Have Beer. In a couple of words his iconic ads captured a generation. Quick, Snappy, Memorable, fun were his mantra’s. He was convinced the same principles should apply to dieting--often tipping the scale at 450 pounds.

 “Quick, Fast, Easy.” So he embarked on Tape Worm Diet, The Elvis Diet, The Cabbage Soup Diet, The Rice Diet, Ayds Candy Diet. Whatever diet he was on—my whole family had to be on to support him. By nine years old I had tried them all—even praying beside him while he was convinced he found the answer in, I Prayed Myself Slim,” and supported him by consuming only apples, nothing else while he thought he found the miracle on the Israeli Army Diet—eating only one kind of food a day.

 Each New Year, a new plan, a new resolution.

Many years later my dad is 210 pounds and vegan and I am a nutritionist and cooking teacher. In my new book, My Fat Dad: A Memoir of Food, Love, and Family, with Recipes, I share our crazy journey, along with my beloved grandmother’s recipes cards which saved my life – spoonful by spoonful.

http://www.amazon.com/My-Fat-Dad-Memoir-Recipes/dp/0425272230/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

http://www.dawnlerman.net/

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/author/dawn-lerman/?_r=0

And as a nutritionist I encourage lasting solutions, not unrealistic resolutions.

Make 2016 your best year yet!!!

Meatless Monday—Black Bean Burgers

Making the decision to become a vegetarian can have many wonderful health benefits, but you have to be conscious of what you are eating to reap these benefits. Vegetarians often focus on what they aren’t eating rather than what they should eat. While a big part of vegetarianism is not eating meat, it is equally important for vegetarians to eat vegetables and not just processed carbs and meat substitutes.

Many vegetarians also forget to incorporate natural protein into their diet, such as nuts, nut butters, beans, quinoa, and seeds. Getting adequate nutrition can be more or less difficult depending on the specific type of vegetarianism you follow.

For example, vegans have a fairly restrictive diet, as they avoid animal products completely, including eggs and all dairy products. On the other hand, lacto-ovo-vegetarians allow themselves to eat both eggs and dairy products. Fruitarians only eat parts of the plant that don’t harm the plant itself, like seeds, nuts, and fruit. Some people only eat raw foods because they try to get all the nutrients produce can offer, which is sometimes destroyed in the cooking process. Regardless of the diet you choose, it’s extremely important to make sure you’re getting a diet that is nutritionally balanced.

If you don’t think a vegetarian diet is right for you, try and pick one day a week where you follow a vegetarian diet, as a healthy experiment. I personally am not a vegetarian, but my kids and I have “meatless Mondays.” One day a week we eat vegetarian meals. It gives us a chance to experiment with fun new recipes!

When we do choose meat, we try to know the source and make sure it has no additive hormones or antibiotics. Recently, Dr. Mark Hyman said, “ fast food hamburger[s] contains very little meat…we are living in a food nightmare, a sci-fi horror show.”

Whatever diet you choose, try and select organic food products to protect your family from unwanted chemicals and make sure to have a balance of good protein, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats.

Vegetarian Bean Burger Recipe 

Makes 4 servings 

Ingredients:

1 can of black beans

1 egg white

1/4 white onion

Dash of cumin, salt and pepper

1 oz cheddar cheese or veggie cheese of choice

1/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

Directions:

1. Put half a can of beans into a blender and blend until it a paste forms.
2. Mash the other half of the can with a fork.
3. Mix the mashed beans and the blended beans together with 1 egg white, 1/4 cup chopped white onion, sprinkle on cumin, salt and pepper then mix in the cheese.
4. Make a small ball and pat down into a burger and sprinkle a thin layer of breadcrumbs to both sides of the burger.
5. Place burgers in a pan on medium heat for about three minutes each side. 

6. Serve with guacamole if desired.

Why eat black beans?

Black beans are a brilliant choice for vegetarians and are great to include in your diet. They are packed with nutrients that boost energy and maintain fullness. Black beans are loaded with protein and fiber, which helps to put of hunger and sustain energy. Magnesium, a mineral found in beans, regulates blood glucose levels, which encourages a healthy metabolism. Make black beans a part of your snack or prepare my vegetarian bean burgers for a meal that’s high in protein and magnesium.

Changing the Way We Snack to Fight Obesity

As a mother of two children, an educator and a health counselor, I live by the expression “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Our children’s health is being greatly compromised by lifestyle, environment, diet and exercise. You would be amazed at the number of mothers who come to me for consultations that are unaware of the damage they are doing to their bodies (and their children’s bodies) when they feed them over-processed, pasteurized and chemical-infused snacks.  They wonder why they are always tired and their kids are cranky and sick. They believe they are feeding there kids well because they are buying products marketed as heathy.  Nothing could be further from the truth. These  processed foods in a box are typically loaded with partially hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, antibiotics and unpronounceable food additives.

While the media, and now Mayor Bloomberg, are focused on obesity, this is just one of many side effects of  overfeeding and under nourishing of our children.  Kids today have higher levels of asthma, allergies, behavior problems, type 2 diabetes, obesity and even cancer than in years before. Many believe these health issues are connected to the poor quality food products Americans are putting into their bodies every day. You might say it is the by product of convenience. While measures like Bloomberg’s proposed ban on soda may help bring awareness to the obesity issue, it is not enough to make any real impact. Education is imperative. Wellness, cooking and food 101 should be taught in every class room.

Changing our kids diets, and trying to eliminate processed foods may seem time consuming and inconvenient,  but with some proper planning, the transition to a healthy lifestyle can be fun and delicious!

Stay tuned for quick tips on how to make healthy snacking fit into your busy schedule and check out some of my yummy recipes so you and your family can become smart snackers!

Bloomberg's Sugary Soda Ban

Last Friday, Mayor Bloomberg proposed a ban of large sodas in New York City with hopes of reducing obesity. Bloomberg’s focus on healthy eating habits is a step in the right direction. However, merely limiting New Yorkers does not teach individuals how to make the right choices by themselves.

Rather than simply telling New Yorkers what and how much they can and cannot drink, Bloomberg should put more emphasis on why products like 32 oz. sodas are unhealthy.

A good example of prevention over restriction is the display of calorie counts in chain restaurants; consumers can still purchase foods, but they must face the shock value of the calorie content. For example, a consumer might not choose a seemingly healthy Starbucks blueberry scone if they knew it contained 460 calories.

If Bloomberg instead used a similar policy with the amount of sugar in beverages, people could see the consequences of their unhealthy choices. If people knew a 32 oz. Coke had 85 grams of sugar, they might think twice about their daily indulgence.

The average consumer cannot visualize just how much sugar is in their carbonated beverages. If places of purchase had posters listing the sugar quantities and provided a visual, consumers could draw better conclusions on their own. If measures like this were taken, corporations would be forced to create more health-conscious products.

While Bloomberg’s efforts might be a positive step and obesity is a serious issue in New York City, limiting consumers’ choices will not solve the problem. Educating consumers from a young age so they understand the benefits of a healthy diet would be a more effective approach to take.

What were your reactions to Bloomberg’s proposal? I’d love to hear your opinions!