Wellness Wednesdays

Vegetables 

Sunday night on my way home from an audition we stopped at a chain restaurant that is supposed to symbolize home cooking. I ordered the meat loaf, with steamed broccoli, mashed potatoes, and macaroni and cheese. The meatloaf was delightful, the macaroni and cheese and the potatoes were fair, but the broccoli was greatly lacking!! I love broccoli! I can not stress to you how much I love it! But this stuff was not very appetizing. Steamed broccoli still has that crunch so you really need to toss it in something and add a dash of something else to really bring out the flavor. Other wise you are left with stuff that in my opinion just tastes dry and flavorless.

In America, vegetable is a bad word that strikes fear into the hearts of many. Parents fear the chore of trying to feed them to their kids, hoping that by magic they end up with a child who like veggies.  Children and young adults alike know that they are supposed to eat them, whether or not they have an appetizing flavor.

We think of vegetables as a healthy side dish that is our duty to eat. When in reality we should be thinking of them as the main attraction. For example how many burger and fry joints can you think of? We celebrate and search for the perfect fries and a juicy burger. What about pizza? Whole cities argue about their version of a perfect slice!* Now what about vegetables? Is it just me or do very few people care about sautéed squash, glazed carrots, or cooked spinach with green onions, nutmeg, and a touch of heavy cream?

I believe the root of the issue is this: would you serve cooked spaghetti plain? Would you cook ground beef with out adding anything to it, not even some olive oil or onion? I hope not. So why would you serve vegetables without adding more flavor to them? There are countless ways to cook and season them!

Here are a few of my favorite ways to add some pizzaz!

Greek - A few dashes of Greek seasoning, a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of feta cheese.
Citrus - Lime juice, lemon pepper, fresh cilantro, and a drizzle of olive oil
The Basic - olive oil, garlic, chopped onion (get creative: normal onion, red onion, green onions) and salt and pepper.
Italian - The basic plus: oregano, rosemary, and shredded parmesan.
American Chinese - Sauté your veggies with cooking oil, garlic and soy sauce.

Don't forget you can mix and match your veggies, squash and carrots, zucchini and corn, the list is endless!

-Josie

*New York style all the way!!

Wellness Wednesdays

Be a gourmet not a gourmand.

France is know for its love of food. The French consume more fat than Americans and yet are generally very thin. There are always exceptions but even mothers of multiple children return to their original size after pregnancy. How can this be? Don't dietitians tell us to eat less fat and carbs to lose weight? How are they eating all of these things with REAL butter and cream sauces wile still maintaining a slim physique? Easy, they are gourmets. To be a gourmet means that you appreciate high quality food. You look forward to your meals and savor the flavors of each dish served.

If you have never tried something before you do the one bite rule; take one bite to try it and that's it. If you did not enjoy it you do not need to eat the rest of it. If you did enjoy it you may continue eating it. There is truly no reason to suffer though food.  The next time you are served that same dish that you particularly didn't care for, try it again. Maybe this cook used a different blend of spices, or it is cooked in a different manner. Even if it is by the same person, you must always do the polite thing and try it.

Now a gourmand is someone who over indulgences in food. They do not understand the normal proportions a person should eat. A question you should ask yourself is "Why am I going back for a second helping of macaroni and cheese? Did I eat it quickly without giving it much thought? Without savoring it? And enjoying the rich complex of flavors? Are there no rich complex flavors? Why am I going back for more bland macaroni and cheese, when the spinach salad had much more flavor and is better for me?" Now every situation is different. Generally if you MUST go back for seconds pick a high protein option or more vegetables. Unless you ran a marathon or have a medical condition requiring it, going back for thirds is not an option.

How much of each food should you put on your plate? The easy way to remember is that a forth of the plate is your starch, another forth protein, and the remaining half is non-starch-y vegetables and or fruit.

Ultimately the key is proportions. My weakness is chocolate. A small piece after a meal is fine. It's when I have three pieces after lunch, then a few more during the afternoon, and then a couple more after dinner, that it becomes a serious problem! It's small right? Yes, but it's really as if I'm eating a whole bar of chocolate in one day. This comparison appalls me. A WHOLE BAR of chocolate, in one day. As an athlete the importance of putting good things in your body is imperative. Even if you are not an athlete you should still treat it with respect.

So what are your daily food weaknesses? Chips? Soda? Candy? Total up how much you eat of your weakness on an average day or week. Be honest with yourself; if you're trying to hide how much candy you eat you are probably eating too much of it.

 It is time to rethink what kind and how much food we consume.

-Josie

Rock School - Summer Intensive Auditions 2014

I'm very happy to announce that I have been accepted to The Rock School for Dance Education's Summer Intensive! The Audition went very well and I am glad to have it under my belt! Next weekend I have another audition, although it will be another week before I find out those results!

      

The bright and airy Cary Ballet Conservatory 

      

My number and the acceptance letter/information paket that was given to us at the end of the audition.

-Josie

Wellness Wednesdays

New Years.  It's a time for fresh starts and new beginnings. For the past few years my list of resolutions included losing weight, reading more, and taking better care of myself. There is a very, very fine line between being at a healthy weight for your body type, and needing to lose a few pounds to look better in a leotard. Ballerinas are notoriously thin. Sadly there are dancers who decide to skip a few meals (or meals all together) to look "better".  Eating disorders are very serious and are to not be taken lightly.

Today is the first in a series called, Wellness Wednesdays. Check back next Wednesday for more!

Disclaimer. I am not a doctor, nor a nutritionist. And I don't pretend to be. This is what I find to be true, after about 5 years of study on food, world culture, "dieting," and my personal experience. Most of this is a generalization, as I don't want to bore with details. 

You should always consult a trusted health professional about weight loss--not your computer.

Introduction

So how do you lose weight without doing dangerous things that harm your body? Actually, the first step is to not skip meals. It's easy to be wrapped up in a project and forget to eat some dinner, or to not give yourself enough time to eat something for breakfast. Now when you do eat, don't eat standing up and directly out of the container. Put food on a plate and sit down. Try not to multitask, too. You should look at your food while you eat. Is it not pleasing to look at? Why are you eating it then? Also, if you're bored by your food, it's time to shake things up! Americans are notorious for eating bland, greasy, "food."  Food is a wonderful thing, there are so many flavors and textures out there to please the palate. There is nothing wrong with loving it and enjoying eating it! Sitting down like a civilized respectable human being and taking the time to eat and enjoy your meal rather then scarfing down a "quick bite to eat" is a gift to yourself and is much better for you! Eating food at a quick rate should be avoided.

When you forget to eat meals your body isn't given any fuel and it goes into starvation mode, meaning that your metabolism comes to a near halt and tries to run on your stored food (fat). The problem comes when you eat again, your body is unsure of when the next meal will be so it starts to store more and goes into survival mode.

So to sum up:  Sit down for meals, don't eat out of the container, and don't miss meals!

-Josie