Cooking in the Lite

Life is a series of steps. We crawl before we walk and walk before we run. Learning to eat properly is no different. How many times have we have been told that something is healthy only to find out later that it isn't. We have juggled food groups and recommended daily intake of specific foods so often that ketchup has been approved as a source of nourishment even though it contains little nutritional value. It doesn't matter if you are trying to lose weight, cure an illness, or maintain optimum health, eating is a required element of life. Now we need to take steps to re-educate our eating habits.

Food Attitude
A New and Informed Attitude
Attitude is Everything

First Step
First, take the concept of diet and remove it from your vocabulary and thoughts. Diet is the dreaded, deprivation, "D" word.

Why? Because the word sets you up for failure. Diet registers as deprivation. It brings about a mental response that says, "You will never eat good tasting food again." The brain's response to the word "diet" is a mental picture of carrot sticks and celery, harsh limitations on anything that tastes good, and suffering in order to achieve a goal. It really isn’t necessary to be masochistic to succeed, in fact it should be fun. When you realize that you are feeding your mind as well as your body it is easy to alter bad eating habits. The trick - and it is a trick on the mind - is to fuel with good tasting, nutritious foods that remove the carrot stick concept of the "D" word.

Second Step
The second step is to realize that we, as a population, are staving ourselves. Did you know that almost 20% of Americans are suffering from clinical malnutrition? As if that weren't bad enough there is an additional 70% suffering from sub-clinical malnutrition. That's 90% of the American public! The remaining 10% are working at maintaining their health by proper eating. How is this possible? We are malnourished because we chose the wrong foods for the wrong reasons. We prefer convenience over nutrition, cost over nutrition, psychological gratification over nutrition. Low nutrient foods that are consumed annually by the average American include 140 pounds of sugar, 22 pounds of candy, 60 pounds of cakes and cookies, seven pounds of potato chips, and at least one can of soda every single day. It seems that we have forgotten that the reason we eat is to fuel the body and the mind and to provide a source of food to maintain healthy cells. In short we are starving ourselves to death.

A form of this starvation is something that most everyone has experienced on those days when you just can't concentrate. The mind says, "You need fuel." The body agrees and reaches for a candy bar. You take a bite. A few minutes later you start to feel some energy. The thought process begins to function. But then... suddenly you are back where you started and maybe even a little worse. You are feeling lethargic and can't concentrate or focus on the tasks at hand. You mind repeats more adamantly, "You need fuel!" Again you grab a quick-fix-pick-me-up and again you cycle through feeling good only to feel worse.

The problem is that you are not grasping the critical word the mind is trying to impart to you...fuel. Fuel in not a candy bar, doughnut, handful of potato chips, or bowl of ice cream. It isn't any nutritionally empty food. The carbs and sugar in a candy bar raises the glycemic index or blood sugar, but it is only a temporary fix. A pear, an apricot or cup of low fat yogurt will also raise your blood sugar and the nutrients that you garner from these foods will help you sustain the "fuel" for longer periods of time. In addition to the roller coaster cycle that ensues with a sugar fix, high blood glucose or sugar levels creates another multifaceted problem called glucotoxicity, which, as the name implies, means you are poisoning your body. The effects of glucotoxicity include premature aging, destruction of tissue, increased oxidation in the body, and lowered immunity.

The simple truth is that we are a world of sugar addicts. The more sugars and carbs we consume the more we raise our glucotoxicity levels and the more our bodies and minds suffer from its effects. The more a food is processed the more the glucose levels increase, which adds to the toxicity. Eliminating sugars and carbohydrates and processed foods, from your fuel intake increases your energy, stamina, and mental alertness. The recipes and suggestions in this cookbook are designed to lessen the body's glucotoxicity while preventing the mental concept of the "D" word.

Third Step
Removing sugar is the third step in re-educating one's eating patterns. Sugar has a devastating effect on those that are dealing with diabetes but there are also numerous studies have shown that sugar feeds cancer and may also feed viruses and bacteria in the body. You can't remove it completely from your food but it can be greatly reduced. Sugar is a simple carbohydrate that is found in things like candy and sodas. Simple carbohydrates in the form of natural sugars found in fruit do less damage than processed or refined sugars. Your body digests them quickly and easily and the nutrients help the body maintain the energy derived from simple carbs found in fruit. Complex carbs or starches take longer to digest. Your body will use some of the glucose derived from complex carbs as an energy source and then store the rest of the glucose in the form of glycogen in the liver and muscles. When the liver and muscles are full the glycogen is stored as fat.

Fourth Step
The fourth step is recognizing that the market is full of products that can replace sugar and some of them are actually natural and healthy. Stevia is one such sweetener although many don't like the after taste. Sucralose is also a zero sugar, zero carbohydrate sweetener that is actually made from sugar cane. Both of these products have been used for years with no side effects.

Stevia has been used by the indigenous people of South America for centuries. It comes from a plant that is a member of the chrysanthemum family and is closely related to chamomile and tarragon. Its distant relatives are lettuce, artichokes, safflower oil and sunflower oil and seeds. It is almost calorie free and is 300 times sweeter than processed white sugar. It's ideal for anyone that is watching their weight but it has another benefit for those of us that suffer from rapid blood sugar changes. Stevia, unlike other sweeteners, will not trigger a sudden rise in blood sugar while it curbs the taste bud's need for something sweet.

Those suffering from diabetes will delight in the fact that they can put something in the body that is healthy and has no side effects yet satisfies the desire of the infamous sweet tooth. For those of us that have addicted ourselves to sugar 'highs', we can use stevia to break that pattern and cease the cycle of momentary energy from sugar followed by a sugar 'crash' and a need for another 'fix' in a short period of time. Stevia, like sugar, does increase energy and can aid digestion because it stimulates the pancreas. Best of all stevia, unlike sugar, does not feed yeast, cancer or other microorganisms.

Naturopathic doctors recommend stevia for diabetics, cancer patients and those that have blood glucose intolerance. In Japan, where chemical alternatives to sugar have been banned, stevia is a mainstay. Stevia comes in many forms, but the most common and accessible is in a packet of concentrated powder. A word of caution though....A tiny bit goes a long, long way. Follow this conversion chart and then alter it according to your personal tastes.

A toothpick dipped in stevia powder equals one teaspoon of sugar. 1/4 teaspoon equals one cup of sugar.

Sucralose, however, measures teaspoon for teaspoon, cup for cup like granulated sugar. Splenda, which is the brand name for sucralose, is achieved through a multi step process that begins with sugar cane. Even though it is made from sugar cane the body does not recognize sucralose as a sugar or as a carbohydrate, which means that sucralose does not convert to glucose. Like stevia it is calorie free because the body does not metabolize it. Both of them sweeten foods in a healthy way which helps to remove the "D" word deprivation consciousness.

Fifth Step
The fifth step is removing nonfunctional complex carbohydrates. That means most breads, pastas, pastries, noodles, and rice. Don't let the brain panic and go back to the "D" word. The re-education of which complex carbs are beneficial and which are not is one key, the other key is learning to replace the nonfunctional carbohydrates with functional carbohydrates. If you have a choice between wild rice and white rice, choose the wild rice; between a baked potato and a baked sweet potato, take the sweet potato; between whole wheat tortillas or corn chips, choose the whole wheat tortillas. Carbohydrates are important, but learning which are best will help you achieve the goal of weight loss and optimum health.

Sixth Step
Eating several small meals several times a day is the sixth step. When you eat more frequently your body uses the fuel to its most efficient levels. Many nutritionists agree that six or seven smaller meals containing limited carbohydrates and sugars will remove weight faster and make you feel healthier than three large meals a day. Your body does not stress itself by using every last ounce of energy before it is refueled. And because the body is evenly nourished throughout the day it does not need to store fuel in the form of fat. The glucose or blood sugar levels will maintain and more even pattern and you will remove the need to snack on nonfunctional sugars and carbs because you never feel 'starved'.

Seventh Step
The seventh step is adjusting the way in which we view diets. Attitude is everything. Food is an important step in our nurturing of both the body and the mind and we need to recognize that it plays an enormously important part in our communal and individual lives. Sometimes there is nothing better than being all alone and lingering over a steaming bowl of soup. You are quiet and still within as you nourish your body and your mind. And other times there is nothing better than a gathering of friends or family over a huge meal. When you have guests over, where do they always congregate? In the kitchen of course. At least one meal a day is normally a collective gathering. It is a time to share ideas and enjoy the comradery of friendship with food as the centerpiece.

But if you are on a dreaded deprivation diet the fun is gone and the guilt seeps in if you even consider a morsel that is not on the plan. The thought, "I can't have that" alters the entire experience. It limits your ability to enjoy what is before you. You can, however, change the concept by changing the words and your recognition of them. Instead of "I can't have that", you say "I don't eat that". That one word shifts the attitude. You will stop focusing on what you "can't" have and focus on what you can have.

It is also important to recognize food triggers. These are the psychological buttons that, when pressed, make us react by reaching for comfort food. Understanding what emotions and feelings act as triggers will allow you to stop the reaction or at least reach for something more nutritious.

A healthy attitude toward food and toward yourself will enhance your life in countless ways. Whether you are going to loose weight, are a diabetic, fighting cancer or another life-threatening illness, boosting your immune system, or just trying to obtain the most effective benefits from your food these recipes and suggestions are designed to enhance the eating experience and relieve the dreaded deprivation "D" word.