Restaurant Redo: Defensive Eating Workshop

Cooking at home more consistently is the best way to improve your health. You’ll simply have more control over your food. But, eating out at your favorite restaurant doesn’t have to spell dietary disaster. You can leave your next restaurant experience both satisfied and healthy.

Eating out is taking a toll on our health. It’s well established that diets high in sodium are responsible for more deaths than any cause other than tobacco or alcohol. According to the Center For Science in the Public Interest, cutting sodium in half would save as many as 100,000 lives annually. Taking a more defensive approach to eating out in restaurants would certainly be a strong first step to hitting this goal.

If you eat out more than 3 times a week, the upcoming Restaurant Redo workshop is designed for you. From high end restaurants to grab & go spots, this interactive discussion will prepare you to gain more control over your food choices and protect your health.

Join me in January for Restaurant Redo if you’re in NYC! For details and tickets, click here.

Don’t Fear the Tempeh! Vegan or Not, Put Plant-Based Proteins on Your Radar

Protein. We need it. It’s builds cells and helps repair muscle tissue. Our bones, blood, organs, muscles and skin all need protein to function properly. It’s the building block of neurotransmitters, the messaging cells in our bodies that allow all of our systems to communicate with each other. It’s pretty important stuff.

A google-image search of ‘protein’ brings up glossy images of steak, seafood, eggs and designer whey protein powders. Only a few images include beans and nuts. It’s pretty clear. In the world of protein, many people think of animal sources or supplements.

I recommend plant-based protein sources to both herbivores and omnivores alike. No matter how you classify yourself on the eating spectrum, it’s becoming clear that eating more plant-based foods is a good idea for all of us. From hardcore vegan to hardcore meat lover, plant-based proteins can be beneficial to include daily as they are naturally cholesterol-free, low in saturated fats and also contain healthful antioxidants and fiber. (more…)

Less Lazy

Let’s start with a definition.

Laziness (also called indolence) is a disinclination to activity or exertion despite having the ability to do so. It is often used as a pejorative; related terms for a person seen to be lazy include couch potato, slacker, and bludger.

Why do I care about laziness? Well, it’s because I hear about it all the time. People know what to do when it comes to nutrition and exercise but laziness gets in the way of taking sustainable action. They would change a behavior if they weren’t so lazy.

Laziness might truly exist but to me it’s just a word, a label and a convenient excuse that’s getting in the way. It’s time to move on. Laziness reminds me of stress. Sure it exists and it may not ever go away, but it’s all in how you handle it. It’s time to get a little less lazy. (more…)

Fed Up: A Few Thoughts

A few weeks ago, I was invited to a special preview screening of Fed Up, the new food documentary at the Harvard School of Public Health. The screening was followed by a short panel Q&A with film producer Laurie David, ChopChop Magazine  founder Sally Sampson and Dr. Eric Rimm, nutrition epidemiologist at HSPH.

The film intends to piss people off about the state of food marketing and the inability of the government to make changes to protect our collective health, especially that of American children. (more…)