My outrageous commitment

Shortly before the turn of the new year, Sona put an excellent post on her blog about making outrageous commitments. You can read the post for the full explanation, but the high points are that an outrageous commitment:

1. Isn’t bound to any time frame.
2. Comes from deep within.
3. Is surprising, even to those who know you best.
4. Is a commitment you only make for yourself.

And while I applauded the idea and Sona’s own outrageous commitment to become a yoga instructor, I didn’t feel like it was something for me.

You can make an outrageous commitment when you least expect it

Those of you who are keeping up with this blog already know that I’ve been working with a fantastic nutritionist since last July. Working with Leanne has been instrumental in helping me change my relationship with food so that I can be passionate about creating delicious, yet healthful, meals.

What I didn’t anticipate was how much a single cookbook would also change my views of food. After receiving a Chapters giftcard for Christmas, I picked up Mark Bittman’s The Food Matters Cookbook. Apart from providing 500 phenomenal, yet simple recipes made with whole food, it also opened my eyes to some of the problems associated with eating a largely meat-based diet (and if you’ve read Sona’s review of Food, Inc., you’ll know this is on the minds of a lot of people these days). I didn’t know that it costs two calories of energy to produce one calorie of plant-based food, versus forty calories of energy to produce one calorie of meat-based food. I also didn’t know that the majority of grain raised in the US goes toward feeding the meat that we consume at our dinner table every day, and that if we took some of that meat off the table we could help eradicate some of the world’s hunger issues just by giving that grain to people.

That said, I know that I need to eat some meat to feel healthy, so my outrageous commitment is this: I am going to consume meat in much smaller quantities, using it as a garnish as Mark Bittman suggests, and trying to only have it once a day. Also, not only am I reducing the amount of meat I’m cooking with, but I also want to ensure that the meat I’m eating is both raised and killed ethically. To that end, I’m going stop buying factory farmed meat and buy it from a local butcher.

I understand that this may not seem outrageous to some people, but for me it’s huge. I’ve always been a big-time meat-eater, and this represents a major shift in the way I will be purchasing, cooking and consuming food going forward. It won’t happen overnight and I don’t think it will be easy, but do I think it will be rewarding, since I know it will help me to improve my health and will be more sustainable for the environment.

And why am I putting it out here? I want to be accountable. So go ahead and ask me how I’m doing from time to time. I hope I surprise both of us.

Get thee to a nutritionist

This post is a departure from what’s usually on this blog, but it’s about a big part of my recent life, so I think it’s important to share.

This summer Neil and I spent a couple of wonderful weeks in the UK. He ate a lot of haggis, I ate a lot of fish and chips, and we both ate a lot of sticky toffee pudding. By the time we got home we were both tired and I wanted to change the way I ate. Even before we went away I got very lazy with my cooking and was making a lot of convenience meals like ichiban, and telling myself that I deserved to regularly have Kit-Kat bars. I knew that while it’s possible to live that way, it’s not possible feel good while doing it.

Lucky for me, one of my coworkers is also a holistic nutritionist, and a fantastic one at that! I approached her about changing the way I ate and she showed me that baby steps are the way to go. Now instead of ichiban I’m having soba noodles and instead of Kit-Kats bars I’m having Coconut Bliss ice cream or raw chocolate nibs with coconut butter and organic granola. And don’t even get me started on how I ditched butter for coconut oil!

Leanne has helped me tackle some of the unhealthy attitudes I’ve had towards eating in addition to helped me see how happy healthful cooking can make me. I’m even looking at new recipes all the time and am seeing ways that I can fine tune them to make them healthier. I’m so happy with how Leanne’s been able to help me that I asked her to write a little something to introduce herself to you guys:

Hi, my name is Leanne. I’m a Holistic Nutritionist, yogi, athlete, and avid recipe creator. I offer one-on-one nutrition support to individuals in Calgary and Airdrie for weight loss, healthy eating, diabetes, children, busy moms, athletes, and much much more.

Having struggled with health issues at a young age, my journey to wellness has been an ever-evolving process. Numerous trips to the hospital and unexplainable symptoms lead me to begin researching ways to improve my health. This eventually led me to alternative approaches to wellness.

After experiencing the benefits of a holistic way of living I embarked on my career as a Holistic Nutritionist so that I could educate others on the importance of balanced living. I am extremely passionate about our connection to food and strive to create awareness within my clients to lead them towards permanently strengthening their immunity and overall well being.

If you’ve been thinking about changing the way you eat or want to eat more healthfully and consciously, contact Leanne today. You won’t be sorry.

P.S. While you’re over at Leanne’s site, check out the chocolate hemp pudding recipe I made.

Great Businesses: Planet Organic (Calgary North)

On the way home from visiting friends this afternoon, I decided to stop by Planet Organic’s northern Calgary location in Varsity. We needed a few things and Neil hates shopping with me, so I thought I would spare him the pain this time.

One of my favourite things about that store is that it’s usually not too busy so there isn’t a huge line-up. The first thing I noticed today when I walked in was that there were two big lines at the tills. I was surprised, but figured it was because it’s a Sunday and most people aren’t working. I carried on with my shopping without thinking about it again.

While standing in line to pay for my items, I was totally surprised and delighted when an employee came up and offered me a free tote bag and a coupon for $3 off my purchase, explaining that a couple of their tills were down. I looked at the coupon and was also surprised to see it included an apology, acknowledging that customers have come to expect certain standards of service at Planet Organic, and offered the discount to thank us for our patience.

I’m impressed. They didn’t have to do that, but they did. Not only are they selling amazing (if expensive) organic groceries, but they’re committed to providing a positive shopping experience. That kind of commitment is why I’ll keep shopping there.

Gut check: Bacon Cheese Turtleburger

The intrepid folks at Foodbeast have crafted something possibly even more daring than the bacon-wrapped turducken: the bacon cheese turtleburger.

That’s a bacon-weave wrapped massive cheeseburger with hot dogs for the head, legs and tail. So awesome, so gross.

Bacon Cheese Turtleburger (via Core77)

Maybe don’t take that daily aspirin

The Washington Post reported yesterday that US medical experts are recommending that some people taking a daily aspirin should stop.

Public-health officials are scaling back official recommendations for the painkiller to target a narrower group of patients who are at risk of a heart attack or stroke. The concern is that aspirin’s side effects, which can include bleeding ulcers, might outweigh the potential benefits when taken by many healthy or older people.

The guidelines, announced last year, suggest aspirin for certain men 45 to 79 years old with elevated heart-disease risk because of factors like cholesterol levels and smoking. For women, the guidelines don’t focus on heart risk. Instead, the task force recommends certain women should take aspirin regularly if they are 55 to 79 and are in danger of having an ischemic stroke, for reasons that could include high blood pressure and diabetes.

It doesn’t sound like there’s consensus across all experts though. Talk to your doctor and take it with caution.

The Danger of Daily Aspirin

You really can die from a broken heart

According to the Wall Street Journal, it’s possible to die from a broken heart, citing the case of a Mrs. Dorothy Lee who died soon after hearing her husband died of a heart attack:

Doctors eventually determined that Mrs. Lee had suffered from broken-heart syndrome, a name given by doctors who observed that it seemed to especially affect patients who had recently lost a spouse or other family member. The mysterious malady mimics heart attacks, but appears to have little connection with coronary artery disease. Instead, it is typically triggered by acute emotion or physical trauma that releases a surge of adrenaline that overwhelms the heart. The effect is to freeze much of the left ventricle, the heart’s main pumping chamber, disrupting its ability to contract and effectively pump blood.

For reasons that aren’t fully understood, the problem, formally known as stress-induced cardiomyopathy, afflicts mostly women after menopause. The syndrome is relatively uncommon, accounting for an estimated 1% to 2% of people—and about 6% of women—who are diagnosed with a heart attack. In addition to such common emotions as grief and anger, doctors say broken-heart syndrome has been triggered by a person’s anxiety over making a speech, a migraine headache or the emotional response to a surprise party. It can be fatal on occasion, but for the most part patients recover quickly, with no lasting damage to their hearts.

Hearts Actually Can Break (via Slashdot)

Today for lunch

Current and former co-workers (respectively) Brendan and Rhett have started a new blog called Today for Lunch where they write letters to each other about what they’ve had for lunch.

It’s a simple premise but has a wonderfully quirky sensibility to it. I highly recommend you bookmark it or grab the RSS feed.

Food: Make your own Twinkies

This recipe from CHOW makes it look pretty easy to make Twinkies that are not only delicious, but also not filled with preservatives that will make them last beyond a nuclear armageddon.