travel, travel, travel!

I planned a few too many fun and work trips this summer. Even fun trips can get tiring. Next year, I'm going to stay home all summer, because I really love where I live. My recent trips have been by car so I've been able to bring my electric cooler with me, and can shop whenever and wherever I need to (having a car). Here's the cooler in my hotel room loaded up with greens, veggies, and fruit:

Here's a typical meal I had this week: lettuce & spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, lime juice, ground seeds (I ground up a mixture of flax, sunflower and hemp to bring with me), apple, pear, orange, black beans. This was usually lunch and dinner. Breakfast was snacking on carrots, kohlrabi, and sugar snap peas while preparing lunch and dinner. I packed lunch and dinner and ate with people at various places, all informal enough not to matter that I brought my own.

This week I've been in Minneapolis where they have a great co-op grocery store. Today I ate the best raspberries I've ever eaten (local and fresh!). oh my god. When I ate those, I thought, you couldn't find anything more delicious than this in a restaurant! For one thing, they wouldn't spend the money on fresh, organic, local berries! I have another box waiting for me tomorrow. I'll have that for brekky along with some blackberries and a banana. I had some great local strawberries today too.

(to the burglars: there's someone at my house during all these trips--really).

Last weekend I was at a family wedding. It was quite easy to be my crazy self. I met my parents in a restaurant for lunch after I ate, and just had herbal tea. The wedding reception was buffet style and it was easy to sneak my own salad on my plate while the others at my table were at the buffet. The only thing that made it less than discreet was how tall and overflowing the salad pile was on my plate. My tupperware bowl held quite a lot!

Next weekend I go to NYC. That will be more of a challenge but I'll be with a friend who is trying to eat healthy and says she wants to copy me. Our other friend will just have to put up with us, me anyway. I think we'll go to some fancy vegan restaurants so I suspect they won't let me bring my food with me. I'll just have to drink tea, and eat before or after. I'm willing to compromise if it's me who wants to compromise, but I'm not willing to do it for others. So if I feel like compromising okay, maybe I will. However, I haven't eaten SAD food (refined grains, oil, salt, sugar) since Jan. 20, so I may not want to break the streak. Plus the following week I'll have an appointment with Dr. Fuhrman at his Health Getaway. So I'm kind of inclined to eat healthy right now.

{highlights of the 2010 DG for Americans}

* another giveaway from CSN coming soon! Until then, you can dream of fun household items like a modern inspired vanity…check out the website for more ideas!

Happy belated Father’s Day to my fantastic dad! He is my # 1 leadership role model and share my love of all things musical. This photo was taken a couple of summers ago when my sister moved to Arkansas, and we towed a trailer containing her Ikea collection across the entire country…at 50 miles per hour.

 

I spent Saturday wandering around the Bloomington farmers’ market in the sweltering 90 degree heat, wearing bug-eyed sunglasses and trying to avoid assuming a lobster-like appearance. The market, although not as big as Soulard, was definitely impressive and very local-friendly.

My sister and I also participated in other essential hot weather activities like swimming in the lake and eating ice cream at the Chocolate Moose. This morning, we ran 4 miles and wondered why it was 75 F at 7:30 am?! Welcome to the first day of summer…

:: Highlights of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans ::

I don’t know if anyone else has been waiting anxiously to see what the new guidelines would bring, but as a future dietitian, they directly affect my recommendations as a nutritionist.

Who publishes the DG?

• The 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC), established jointly by the Secretaries of US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

How are the 2010 DG different from previous guidelines?

• written to address an overweight/obese yet malnourished American population.
• includes new sections to help American integrate scientific evidence into a practical, yet personalized eating pattern.

What I like about the new guidelines…

• not meant to be a rigid prescription but to be guidelines that are flexible and customizable to the individual.
• note that both decreasing calories consumed and increasing physical activity are necessary to reduce obesity
• encourage a shift in food intake patterns to a more plant-based diet while consuming only moderate amounts of lean meats, poultry, and eggs.
• recommend significant reduction in intake of added sugars and solid fats, sodium, and refined grains.
• acknowledge that many barriers exist to compliance.
• focus on prevention and halting obesity in childhood.

Again, you are welcome to read and review the 2010 DG for Americans…I’d love to hear your opinions on anything you’ve read or my comments above.

Thanks so much for the well wishes on the job search! Interview on Wednesday!

Hope everyone is staying cool in the heat!