The Chronicles of a Hungry Teen

Food for the Mind

2011-03-05T19:50:00.000-08:00

<-- It seems JSF is not alone...

Since my senior year started, I've found a lot more time to read. Lucky-- since I figure, being that I'm (sort of) an ambassador for vegetarianism in my community, wouldn't it be nice if I knew some good, solid facts about the animal industry out there? Besides, I was pretty curious to see why other people are vegetarian, and what they have found are the impacts of a veg lifestyle. Here are a few books I've read on the subject recently... if you're a reader like me, check them out:
Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer was honestly amazing. Firstly, he's a brilliant writer. If you've ever read any of his other books-- and you should-- you know this. Plus, he covers an amazing array of subjects in Eating Animals: his trials and travails sticking to vegetarianism (it happens to the best of us...), the dilemmas that being vegetarianism instigates, as well as the cold, rough reality of the industries that exploit animals and his reasons for sticking to a cruelty-free lifestyle. Yeah-- he's an adult, but (believe it or not) adults have feelings too- and they're feelings we can relate to. This book really makes you think about the environmental and (if you're into it) philosophical aspects of eating animals-- it really gets you thinking. So If there's one work I'd recommend to you, it's Eating Animals; the book is personal and relatable, but also a great way to get some information on the subject of vegetarianism.
If you're a more studious person, perhaps interested in understanding the effects of government policy, big business marketing, and global economics on what we eat, what our society thinks about food, etc., Mark Bittman's Food Matters is a fantastic read. It's a little less personal than Eating Animals, but is also super informative. The author calls it "a guide to conscious eating" because it includes recipes, meal plans, and lots of nutritional information in addition to the literature on industry... So if you're looking for something that really makes you think, but that also has applicable eating tips, Food Matters is a wonderful book to read. It's well-written, easy to understand (yes-- even for you, self-proclaimed math kid), and full of really useful information that I can promise will make you sound smart in any conversation ;) If it wasn't, then it wouldn't be a New York Times bestseller!
So get reading! I know, I know, we all claim to be lazy and illiterate-- but deep down inside we all know how great it is to just sit down and read. (Oh-- that satisfied, accomplished feeling after you realize how much more you know after finishing the book!) Basically, I'm recommending a few fairly short works you'll hopefully like-- books which I know I got a lot from, and which I'm sure you will, too. Enjoy your reading (and boasting your new knowledge to your friends! :P)

Food For Thought

2010-08-23T10:52:00.001-07:00

Another bout with oral procedure this week. This time: wisdom teeth. Yep- I got my wisdom teeth removed, just in time for my birthday! You can thus imagine that my week has not been the most productive, nor the most exciting. However, sitting there reading magazines and textbooks for four straight days has taught me something (nothing from the text books, I can assure you). I learned how much time we spend eating-- when we can, that is. I had such full days and so much time without meals; just a sip and a slurp here and there sufficed me, and to be honest, I felt fine. I also found out, though, that chewing without your molars is virtually impossible. I also discovered how easy it was to avoid chewing altogether, and be completely satisfied!
Most people who get their wisdom teeth out sustain themselves on pudding, jello, and ice cream (people like my sister.) Those people also get a potbelly in a week. I, on the other hand, actually lost some weight with other, more nutritious staples. Firstly, I prepared before my surgery, and made a curried cauliflower soup that I could eat all week, and another onion and leek soup, both of which I pureed and tasted very good. As my salad? V8. It was a great option, and really broke the monotony of sweet and creamy stuff. Another food item I lived off of? Nonfat yoghurt. I got a good quality one, so that the nonfat actually tasted just as good as the regular yoghurt, without all the icky and unhealthy stuff. It was also really fun to flavor. Of course, I drank a lot of my smoothies, which were a hit with me, as well as anyone who came over during the week, and- yes, I ate the occasional scoop of ice cream as a treat ;) Anyhow, it was fun figuring out what I could eat, from soft banana-stuffed crepes to refried beans. With all that time on my hands anyhow, I could take a few minutes to think up what I wanted, cook it, and enjoy every (teenie tiny) bite.
In other words, if you just got any type of oral surgery, and you can only eat soft foods, don't think of it as a death sentence. It's an opportunity to be creative in the kitchen... and a few days off, too! But be careful when in the kitchen: remember that you're taking some medicines that might fuzz you up or slow you down a bit. Have someone in the kitchen with you-- it makes cooking more fun anyhow!

Taste Changes

2010-08-08T10:49:00.000-07:00

Ever realize how much your taste has changed since you were a little kid? Let me tell you-- there are so many things that I eat now that I literally thought were the most disgusting foods on earth when I was seven. Figs? Yum. But when I was seven, if someone even said the word, I ran in the other direction. You know what I understand now? I associated "fig" with the revolting taste of Fig Newtons (which I still hate, by the way). Then I made the bold decision to try a real fig a few years ago, and boy has it payed off. Figs are so delicious, and, not being Fig Newtons, really quite healthy. That's just one example of something that has changed for me personally. Sometimes, also, your taste just changes. As we get older, we become more receptive to more esoteric or complicated flavors. Think of yourself as a more sophisticated, adventurous individual than you used to be; that's always a good motivation to try a little something new.
Can you think of something that you used to find revolting, but that you adore now? I challenge you to think of something you don't like, and give it one more try. You never know- you might end up loving it!

Keeping up at Camp

2010-08-01T14:54:00.000-07:00

My parents weren't too eager to send me to camp this summer (with the financial crisis and all), so lately I've been trying to find ways to keep myself occupied. Like my grandmother always says to me, "that's the only way we'll ever keep you out of trouble." After a few weeks of half-conscious summer apathy, I realized that she was beyond right: If there's one thing I should definitely not be doing, it's nothing. So I've tried desperately to find something to do, from getting a job to trying out new hobbies- but there's just something so fun about getting out of town and chilling out with new people that those things just don't satisfy.
Lucky for me, I stumbled upon a week-long stage tech camp in Cedar City, Utah, (not too far from my hometown of Las Vegas), that cost just under the amount of money I'd made at my summer job. Being a proud techie-- and bored out of my mind-- I realized that I had encountered gold. My problem? It started the day I found it. Within two very frantic hours, I OK'd the idea with my mother, was entered into the program, packed my bags, bought a bus ticket to Utah, got on the bus, and was on the road to camp! But being anything but a normal camp (c'mon- this was kids who elected to go to a Shakespearean festival), we were staying in dorms and didn't have a dining hall or any real way of getting good food. It was one of those "eat whatever you bring or buy in town" situations. Of course, just perfect for me... Ha.
Most of the girls were surviving off of Capri Sun, Ritz crackers, and the occasional deli sandwich or make-at-home pizza cut up with scissors (this really happened). And the guys- oh, I can't even go into it. Let's just say that a whole French bread, beef jerky, and an energy drink made a well-rounded meal in their books. One in every three of us got sick. Wonder Why?
But I have to say-- while they were dying for good food, I had never eaten better in my life. Those were some good meals I threw together! When my friends and I stopped at the market for lunch (They purchased day-old oil-slathered chicken wings. That meal, I calculated, killed around twelve or thirteen chickens, by the way.) I got a bag of salad, an apple, peanut butter, and pita bread. I cut up the apple into thin slices, slathered the peanut butter in the pita, and made an apple-peanut butter pocket. Sooo delicious! I ate some salad with it, and had a stick of super satisfying, uberflavorful vegetarian jerky. (I bought it in California, but you can find it online... I strongly reccommend getting some. If you buy a lot at once, it's totally affordable!) Had it with some water, and felt really full at the end. It checked all the boxes in my book. When we got back to the dorm, I had a popsicle along with everyone else. Yeah, I had a popsicle... why not? It's dessert, and I earned it! That's just an example of what I ate all week. Needless to say, I certainly felt and looked better than the others by the end of that week. Seriously, our dorm sounded like a nursing home by the end, constipation complaints at all! (I suppose that's the problem with camp: you hear just about everything, including things you really don't want to hear.)
Anyhow, my tactic to staying healthy was to look for variety in what I was eating. I kept it fresh and new, and my body sure did thank me for it. If you're in a program, whether you eat in a cafeteria or not, the key is to look for a variety of foods. Take a carbohydrate (try for healthier complex carbs, like whole wheat products), a protein, a veggie (you'd better!), perhaps a fruit, and even a fat (You know how much is appropriate, even though you lie to yourself and pretend you don't). Also, don't be abashed about what you're eating! I learned not to apologise for what I ate a long time ago. I'm not embarassed at all. As a matter of fact, some of the other girls, when they realized how horrendously they were eating, told me how embarrassed they were of their own eating habits. I was so happy eating my own food that I didn't have time to think about how the others regarded my choices. All I cared about was how good my food made me feel, and anything besides "Yumm" was quickly discarded from my mind.
So that's really it! Whether you're eating in a camp cafeteria, dining hall, or have free reign of the town around, you can still eat fantastically! Just look for variety, and enjoy the delicious food available to you. Honestly- with some imagination, anything can be made to taste good! Mix it up, make good friends, seek out fun, and enjoy camp!

Keep it Hot, Hot, Hot!

2010-07-18T12:54:00.000-07:00

It's summer, and aren't we glad- We're out of school, it's sunny and hot outside, and some of the best foods of the year are in season! Summer is a time to get out and live our lives in the warm sunshine; but sometimes, that sunshine gets pretty darn hot. To give you a sense: at six thirty this morning, when I headed out with my friends to go hiking, it was already 97 degrees outside.
At eleven o'clock, we drove back from our hike under a sun burning bright and temperatures pushing far past one hundred. For those four hot, hot hours of hiking, my sister packed a few chocolate covered energy bars, blueberries, and crackers to bring with us... Choices, we found out, that were not optimal for the conditions.
The crackers were fine, as you'd expect, but the chocolate bars were completely melted, and the blueberries putrid. With dirt and melted chocolate on our hands, we forced the food down our gullets, but it certainly wasn't delicious, clean, or healthy. Also, I was in the mood for pretty much anything besides rough carbohydrates, which made my tired throat sore.
My first tip: definitely, definitely bring water. I can't tell you how important it is. So often I suppose I won't be thirsty, but in this kind of heat, my whole water bottle was finished just past halfway through the hike. Bring more water than you think you'd ever drink. Believe me-- you'll work your way through it.
Now for food: having hearty foods is definitely best when you want to keep the amount of food you're carrying to a minimum. So rather than bringing chocolate-coated protein bars, which taste like compacted dirt and irritate your throat, bring items that are better suited to hot weather, perhaps something like a Clif Bar. I personally don't like eating a whole Clif Bar (though sweet and delicious, the oversweetness makes me very thirsty, and they're extremely caloric), and instead prefer foods that resemble it... Try trail mix. It has that same filling satisfaction, but you can bring exactly what you like by making your own! For goodness' sake- it's called trail mix, what do you think it's for? Combine all your favorite snacks: dried fruits and nuts. That stuff's really good!
If you're in the mood for fruit, and you don't prefer it hot and half-rotten, consider freezing it. Not all fruit freezes well, but some, like oranges, do just fine. If you stick one in the freezer the night before and let it freeze through, the peel will be soft, but the inside of the orange will be perfectly good. And it's still nice an cool when you want to chow down!
Another fun option is vegetable chips, which are another less starchy option from energy bars. Beware of the veggie chips that are pretty must just colored potato flakes, though. They are full of starch, and aren't particularly satisfying, either. Look for veggie chips that actually look like veggies. Don't worry- they're not hard to find, and are everywhere in health food stores.

Also, look for dried fruits and vegetables, which are really yummy and easy to pack, and are even more delicious if you buy them as "leathers." If you need a quick burst of sugar, the dried fruit leathers are just the right boost (and, I might add, they satisfy a sweet tooth like no other!)Besides that, simply aim for a good variety of snacks that hold up well, and enjoy your time in the sun!

Oh, the Joys of Social Dining!

2010-07-14T10:01:00.000-07:00

It's always so awkward when you have eat with someone who you normally just talk to. Today, I have to face that awkwardness in full force: I'm going to a business luncheon-- Ickkk.
See, it's not the business part, nor the lunch part (certainly not the lunch part) that I dislike, but rather the whole idea of being in the middle of a conference with your mouth full when someone directs a question at you. Or smelling like a giant garlic loogie. Or getting sauce all over my face, or crumbs all around me. Or looking like a food-obsessed fattie. Or having food stuck in my teeth and looking like a humongous slob... You get the point.
Not that I have a weird phobia or anything...
We can all relate to this. Have you ever gone to a study group that meets over a meal? Maybe even with the person you like sitting right across from you? And all you think about is "Oh my gosh- There has to be something in my teeth, because he/she would never look at me this much otherwise!" Yeah, well haven't we all.
I remember the horrific days of travelling with my parents: we would get on the airplane or stop in the gas station, and she would whip out Pandora's dreaded lunchbox. All the containers would come out wet with condensation, and as they would open, the atmosphere around us would shrivel up with the heavy odors of (pre-veg days) smoked fish and cold cuts, mustard, onions, slick olives, stinky cheese, and super-strong dressing on a cold, wilted salad. We would spread out all the wet containers and start arranging our food into some kind of edible concoction. It would get all over everything. The condiments would drip out the bottom, the food would blast out the top onto your face and your clothing. This was anything but a neat operation. No. Fun. At. All.
Even when I was seven, when I was supposed to be completely socially unaware, I realized there was something wrong with the food choices my parents were making.
So let's readdress all those issues that were so disturbing to me: smell, neatness, convenience, even daintiness. I fretted: How do I create a meal I can take with me that fulfills all these requirements? But y'know, when I was packing up my lunch today (I can't order food. Remember the whole kosher thing?), I realized that there were a ton of ways to avoid uncomfortable situations. I set up a meal perfect for the circumstances.
Here's what I packed, all in separate plastic containers, to be eaten room temperature:
Fake chicken nuggets with a bit of Parmasean sprinkled into the container, tomato sauce, Salad, dressing (I made it myself- a spicy/creamy number), a few leftover roasted potato cubes (for my sister, who can't eat a meal without more starch than neccessary), and some yoghurt layered with homemade plum conserves on the top. Sounds pretty good, eh?
I chose those items, firstly, because they were super easy, taste good at room temperature (so I didn't have to add an ice pack, which creates that godforsaken nasty condensation) and half of them were already in the refrigerator. Also, they aren't smelly or cumbersome, while still being delicious and healthy (save the potatoes). Another huge advantage of those foods, which we always forget, is that they're very easy to eat in bites, so your mouth is never really full, and they're perfect to eat with one hand, either with your fingers or with a fork. No cutting or two-hand foods involved, so you can just take a bite and not seem totally absorbed by your food, or get your hands all messy when you have to suddenly pick up a pen and write a note. As an extra, none of them really crunches loudly or makes crumbs, either.
Another little trick that I slipped in was cutting the salad into just the right size pieces, because if they're really long, they stick out of your mouth and flick dressing all over the place, besides the fact that you have to mutilate your face to get it all in. It's simple, but this little technique works like a charm. Just cut the lettuce leaf vertically down the middle before chopping normally. People actually notice how neat you look eating your salad, and I have to say, they seem to be quite jealous. Plus, it's just more comfortable to eat.
Your meal looks especially nice when everything is in its own container. And when it's all packed into a nice paper shopping bag (my "grown up" lunchbox was a small Saks Fifth Avenue bag!) it's neat and convenient, too. With utensils and a napkin, I was set for a fantastic, not awkward meal that my taste buds, the rest of my body, and my coworkers, could all enjoy.

Satisfied and Under the Budget

2010-07-11T09:20:00.000-07:00

All us teenagers seem to think that if we could afford anything, we'd be as skinny as twigs and healthy as Jack LaLanne. Whether or not that's true, we just don't-- and it frustrates us. We ask: "Wouldn't you think that our parents could just invest in the good food? That it's a priority?" To many of them, it's not, and we just have to live with it.
I can definitely tell you that my parents are not huge fans of overpriced and bug-filled organic fruits and vegetables; all the interesting-looking healthy options we seen in stores like Whole Foods or Trader Joe's that are, to them, "just too expensive." Well, I have had to find a way to get my hands on some good food anyhow, because it's a priority to me. Here are some things I do that compromise my parents' price standards and my standards of good nutrition.
Firstly, try signing up for some kind of a rewards program or buying club at your local supermarket, if it's offered. Let me tell you- it really pays off. With those extra dollars, you'll be able to afford products you normally didn't have the money for.
Also, I know that pretty packaging is ever so enticing, but don't fall for it. There are so many times when you buy something because the wrapper or box looks so "earthy" or "natural foods-y." What matters is what's in the ingredients and what the nutrition facts are. The less romantic looking option might not only be better for you, but cheaper, too. Watch out for that- a lot of the time, you don't even realize that you're buying food only because you think the packaging is pretty.
A great trick is looking for produce that is on sale. It's not what you're thinking-- that they're the old rotten fruits and vegetables that must have fallen on the floor in the back of the store-- usually, the fruits and veggies that are on sale were just over-ordered by the store, and they want to get rid of them before they go bad. That also means that they're often in season (when the fruit is naturally meant to be harvested during the year, just so you know), which is a good thing. Lately, I have been living off of the raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries that have constantly been on sale all over town. If I may say so, they're also the best berries I have tasted in a really long time. So definitely be opportunistic, and aim for food that is on sale. When you get home, it's super fun to then find a way to use what you bought. Check out some recipes on the internet or find something else in the refrigerator that might taste good with it. Experiment with you taste buds and your intuition... more often than not, you'll come up with something that tastes out of this world!
You can eat just as well without all the over-expensive prices and be able to get those fancy shmancy jeans in a smaller size :D

Flavor Flav

2010-07-09T12:22:00.000-07:00

Bold taste is what makes food really satisfying. I mean, who would chew gum if it didn't come in all those sweet minty, fruity, and spicy flavors? Exactly-- what makes food so enjoyable is its flavor. So if what you're eating has flavor, then it satisfies your craving, and you don't have to eat as much of it! Simple.
Let's find a few ways this could actually make a difference in the foods we eat daily.
Ever had a chocolate craving? Try dark chocolate instead of whatever oversweet milk chocolate you'd normally eat. You'd be surprised how just one piece satisfys you. It is almost so strong that, after one piece, you don't even want any more.
Tofu, especially, is a great vehicle for any flavor you may want. Even plain, without being cooked at all, just putting some soy sauce and wasabi on it makes tofu a delicious appetite quencher. Fry it up really quickly with a few of your favorite spices, maybe put on some peri-peri sauce, and you've got yourself a small meal.
Making fresh cooked food really does not have to be a hardship. Just fry an egg and season it however you want! All you have to do is crack an egg into a pan, and within five minutes, there's a delectable and hot egg to satisfy your exact craving . You can flavor it with curry, if thats what you're in the mood for, with veggies inside for a whole meal, or with ketchup for some good ol' American taste. Eat it with salsa for a Mexican feel that is also super-nutritious.
Honestly, utilize condiments and spices. They're right there-- so use them! Whatever taste you're craving, it's reliably somewhere in the spice cabinet or the refrigerator. Explore what flavors you have in your kitchen, then use as much of it as you like to disguise another (possibly more healthful) food and treat yourself to something that actually tastes good... and is better for your body, too!

It's About what you Don't Do

2010-07-09T10:23:00.000-07:00

We all know that eating good food makes us feel better; but we often neglect sleep as a huge part of maintaining our overall health. A good night's rest makes us feel all the better for it, and helps our bodies to repair.
The issue of sleep, though, is not that we don't want to sleep (for heaven's sake-- we're teenagers!). Have you ever wanted to fall asleep, but you couldn't? Right-- well, you're not alone. I have certainly suffered from insomnia, and here are some tips that have helped me overcome it:
I don't have to convince you to go to bed "on time" or not to start your day early. On the contrary, go to bed only when you are tired, and get up half an hour earlier than you usually get up. There are sceptics who claim that we all need exactly seven to nine hours of sleep a night. That's optimal for a lot of people- yes- but it's not entirely possible in our busy schedules, besides the fact that a lot of us are in bed for nine hours, but never really get decent restorative sleep. The goal here is to get to sleep fast, and to make the sleep we get really quality.
Let's all admit the best way to feel tired at night-- exercise. It doesn't have to be a ton of exercise, just a little exercise sometime 3 hours before you go to bed (your body needs the time to calm down all the hormones released when you exercise.) Not only are you more tired; you feel like you accomplished something during the day. That helps a ton.
Of course, eating well also works wonders for good sleep. What you eat affects the hormones in your body, a lot of which directly control how we sleep. We've been talking about nutrition on this blog for a while now, so you already know exactly what to do. In particular, bananas and mangoes have a chemical called tryptophan, which aides in relaxation and quality sleep... so chug down those tropical smoothies!
I would also suggest keeping your room dark and fairly cool, as it tends to help in regulating body temperature, which plays a definite part in comfort and relaxation. Use blankets, so that if you get chilly, you can tuck into a nice, warm bed.
Noise also affects the way you sleep. Our bodies learn to ignore regular noise, but any variable noise is definitely a no-no, because your brain is activated and focused on something new in your environment.
If you're like pretty much any teen, homework makes you tired, and bores the heck out of you. Seriously, guys, if you're one of those people, try to save some homework for before you prepare for bed, and after five or six minutes, you'll want to run to bed! That's right- school has been my number one sleeping tool lately; see if it works for you.
Try to keep what you do in your bed to a minimum; the less you do there, the more your mind associates that place with sleep. And most importantly, if you are tired at night, go to bed. I try all the time to stay up and just do "one more thing." By the time I'm done with it, my body has tapped into its, what I call, "reserve energy" and I'm no longer sleepy. So just go to bed if you're tired- your body is obviously trying to tell you something!
Simply try to empty your mind, calm down, and climb into bed... Sleep tight!

Sorry-- but Bird Food Just Isn't My Thing

2010-07-05T14:10:00.000-07:00

<-- Best for me

Best for Birds -->

A lot of people claim that vegetarians crave meat because their bodies are lacking some vital nutrient. That's true, if someone doesn't eat healthy foods, but if you stick to a healthy diet, why do you crave meat? I have the answer:
Sometimes, we just want meat-- the taste of meat, the texture of meat, that something we don't have anymore... We miss that hedonistic pleasure, not the vitamins and minerals, which we could just as easily obtain from foods like dark leafy greens or soy. And, readers, it's not impossible to satisfy your craving! You're allowed to want all those yummy flavors, and that filling texture. But remember that you have become a vegetarian, and you're proud of yourself, so don't give up just for a fleeting second of gratification. There are tons of meat substitutes out there: everything from meat crumbles to chicken patties and buffalo wings, in addition to chicken pieces and cutlets, barbeque ribs and chicken nuggets. Most of the products that I have tried have been delicious and hit the spot, without my compromising my morals. I admit that I cannot reccomend personally a lot of the options because my family is kosher, and will not buy products that are not certified (many of them aren't). Many of my friends, though, have reccommended Quorn, Gardein, and Lightlife products. I call tell you that Morningstar farms offers some of the best meat substitutes out there; all of their products are good, so pick any up. In particular, I would suggest buying the buffalo wings (spicy!) and the chicken patties. Also, their fake burgers taste great, and they have a whole range of flavors-- some, like the grillers quarter-pounders really taste like meat! Tofurky products are also fantastic, and their meaty texture really makes them a solid substitute. Another great meat substitute is Soyrizo, a meatless chorizo with a fantastic taste, perfect texture, and super fast to cook. You can use it in all kinds of recipes- try it on top of cornbread (sooo good!) or with salad, and you have a full, satisfying meal.
Just as a warning, I would stay away from any Yves products. As a general group, they're pretty nasty. If you eat them first, you might never want to try fake meat again.
But really, taste is taste, and you have to figure out for yourself what is the best product to satisfy your cravings. What matters is that faux meats are almost always made from some kind of soy protein, which is a whole protein. They are a great way to ensure that you get a whole protein into your diet, and whichever you choose is up to what you like, but they are a fantastic resource that vegetarians only recently have come to appreciate.
So dig into some ribs-- how about it?

Munch some Metal

2010-07-04T16:02:00.000-07:00

Another Famous Vegetarian, Leonardo Da Vinci, understood that bracefaces could still be happy...

Braces. Oh my gosh-- I got braces.
Ewwww. I'm sucking on food like a two year old. My teeth hurt just keeping my mouth closed, making eating most of my healthy foods is impossible: those satisfyingly crunchy granola cereals tear up my roots, lettuce and broccoli get stuck in every crevice of my mouth, and stay there until I go in and pry it out with all kinds of torturous-looking devices. The things that are comfortable to consume, I have found, are chocolate, ice cream, and sorbet... not the most slimming options out there.
Being that so many teenagers have braces, and that we get said braces tightened about once every few weeks, and that our teeth are sensitive for about a week afterward, having feasible options for what could turn out to be the equivalent of around two sore months of our lives is central. So what can we eat that isn't pure guilt?
No need to break your teeth over it-- There are still plenty of good options. In these three long days since the alien spaceship Destroyer landed in my mouth, I have found tons of ways to rename the shining menace. What did I tell you were my favorite things to eat with braces? Oh, right, chocolate and ice cream. Yummy. Also, fatty; So I rethought how to get that delicious cocoa cold and creamy taste. I figured: "Hey! That's exactly what a frappucino is! If I get it light, then the guilt is gone!" Yeah- good thinking on my part, except for the fact that my drink tasted a little like wet cardboard, even with the 50 cents extra for coffee and caramel flavor. But the idea still had promise. When I got home, I hit the freezer. My body was screaming for more of what I just had, but with more punch, more satisfaction. My solution: iced coffee. I didn't need a blender; just some instant decaf coffee, a few ice cubes, a little chocolate flavor, and rice milk, which itself adds just the right touch of sweetness. I shook it all up and... Wow! It was really satisfying. I got everything I wanted, and my teeth were completely fine. It also, I have to add, kept me hydrated. It is true, yes, that coffee does dehydrate you a bit (it's a natural diuretic), but when most of it is just water, that really isn't a problem. If you don't believe me, read what Lawrence Armstrong, a professor of exercise physiology at the University of Connecticut, has to say about it in his review "Caffeine, Body Fluid-Electrolyte Imbalance, and Exercise Performance."
Of course, smoothies are also an option, as are vegetable- based drinks like V8. But (brace)face it: most of the time, you're not in the mood for that grossly bold tomato base, and you want to actually chomp, really eat food. What I have found hurts least when I want to munch on something solid is soft fruit. I'm not saying rotten fruit-- ripe fruit. Tender strawberries pack a lot of flavor in a little bite; so do apricots and pears (if you cut them into bite-size pieces). These foods also tend to stay out of your braces, or at least come out easily enough with a swish of water. Not only do they fill you up with lots of water, they also have a lot of fiber. Give those a try and see how much pain you avoid by sticking to foods you can actually chew comfortably! More suggestions to come, as I spend more time chowing down with two sets of teeth :)

Sleep Eating???

2010-07-02T09:11:00.000-07:00

At one o'clock last night, I woke up-- to my complete surprise-- at the kitchen table. I found an open Reeses wrapper, a humus container, multigrain chips, and chocolate chip cookies sitting there before me... I languidly burped up a disgusting combination of garlic and chocolate preservatives, and realized what had happened: I had gotten up from bed, gone downstairs, completely unconscious, and raided the pantry. I was a machine. So that explains why diets never seem to work for me!
I learned something important from that: It is so important that we are conscious of what we are eating. So often I find myself sleep eating during the day, just mindlessly munching on chocolate or potato chips. The best way to avoid that is to realize when you are actually hungry and when you just want something to do. If you decide you're not actually hungry, then drink some water and find something else to do. This isn't replacing anything with something else, it is simply an alternate way of thinking, a more focus awareness. Being conscious of yourself might be hard at first, but sooner or later determining whether you're actually hungry will become very easy, and you will feel so much better for it.

Exercise as Part of a Healthy Lifestyle

2010-06-30T12:08:00.000-07:00

Nutrition is extremely important to leading a healthy life, but with all the food options in the world, exercise is still vital to good health. A lot of people nowadays seem to have trouble keeping themselves active. I admit, I might be one of them. What we must remember is that we spend most of our days sitting down at a desk for eight hours. If you're at work, perhaps you can get up for a few minutes and walk around. High school students, though, are in class all through the day. There is no time, it seems, for any exercise in between classes or after school, what with homework, extracurriculars, mealtimes, etc. What can we do to exercise?
Firstly, exercise during leisure time. You know, exercise doesn't have to stink. If you're watching TV, sit on an exercise ball, and do situps, or simply jump up and down. Do something, anything. Just keep yourself moving. Also, make time to exercise. I know, I know-- you have a busy schedule. But would you rather be miserable and fat for and extra half-hour three days a week? Definitely worth it. And do what you like. Why torture yourself (granted, you feel great after challenging yourself), but if what you like to do is swimming, for instance, then swim. But actually do it! In addition, a great suggestion is exercising with friends. Last night at dinner with my friends, we got on the subject of exercise. One of us mentioned she had gotten the Zumba series to do at home. After dinner, we headed over to her house and had the most amount of fun, simply mocking the moves on the tape. I don't think we did a single move right, but we were moving all right! We were worn out by the end of the tape, sweating, with aching abs just from the laughing. Seriously, get yourself a friend and a lame exercise tape, and just roll with it. Joke around and show off your dance moves, and have some fun! You won't even notice that you're exercising!

What Teenagers Really Like

2010-06-28T13:08:00.000-07:00

Mom, Dad, this entry is for you.
You claim not to understand a thing about what your teenager likes to eat. But think about it: do you really not know? You were once a teenager-- what did you like eating? Probably, the same things your teen likes. A lot of things change throughout the generations, but the love of good food never seems to give up.
This doesn't mean, though, that all teenagers like to eat the same thing; we are individuals, and each person has his or her own taste. That is something you have to remember. Perhaps talk to your teen about his or her preferences- We usually know.
I can suggest a few things, coming from a teenager's point of view. We all appreciate variety. Keep different things available. Also, fresh fruits and vegetables are huge. Even you know that we don't always crave junk food. Sometimes we just want a little something fresh to chomp on. That has been my personal problem: all I want is a fresh fruit or vegetable and there are none in sight, I'm stuck at home and have no better option than last night's leftover pizza or oversweet cereal. Keep something fresh in the house, please. It's being left with no healthy option that frustrates teenagers most.
Also, savory foods are a great thing to keep in the house because we don't always want to eat like raw macro hippies. One thing I love to eat during the day is seasoned tofu, even leftover stir fry. The less guilt, the better the eating. So perhaps keep a package of tofu in the fridge, and your kid can season it to whatever his liking at that moment. It's easy for you, and customized for him. Savory foods are great to have around the house.
Don't worry-- if your child wants a sweet snack, he'll find it. The important thing is to keep sweets in the house down to a reasonable minimum, and in the healthiest forms possible, like yoghurt or organic dark chocolate. I've found them best if they have strong tastes to satisfy the craving and can be broken apart, and are not portion controlled, like energy bars (admit it-- we all have the urge to finish it once it's started...)
Once again, I can only emphasize the importance of having decent food available. We teenagers don't always eat it, true, but you can always make us eat it for dinner, right?
So that's what I have to tell you, parents, the Golden Rule, modified: What you like, chances are your child would like, too. So just try to keep nutritious food available for your teenager, and then it's up to us to him or her to make the right decision and choose to eat it.
Goodbye to settling for throat-irritatingly sweet days, guilt, and resentment!

Snacking: A Healthy Diet's Downfall

2010-06-25T18:32:00.000-07:00

So often, we find ourselves doing wonderfully on our diets, only to realize that we're not seeing results because of the snacks we have in between those perfectly balanced meals. I know that I personally am challenged in choosing the right snacks. If you're anything like me, you have strong cravings for a specific taste, sometimes healthy, and other times not. This is where we need to think about what we are eating. Don't think of snacks as an unimportant, intermediate satisfaction. You know what they say about people today being too used to instant gratification? Well, I love instantaneous gratification, but I suggest taking a moment to recognize the satisfaction the snack you are eating is providing to you. Not only will you enjoy your snacks more, but likely you'll also eat fewer of them. Now, I'm not one of those to tell you that you should chew particularly slowly, or over-salivate and roll the food around in your mouth (that's kind of repulsive), but rather just to recognize the happiness you are getting from satisfying that hunger. In terms of how to satisfy your specific craving, go for what you want, in a general sense. If you want something salty, then have an olive. Something sweet, have a spoonful of ice cream. But here's the thing: that killer we call portion control. Honestly, just have enough to sate you. Sometimes you want something so badly that you take too much of it, and then you feel the need to finish it. CONTROL YOURSELF FROM THE BEGINNING, and the rest will be easy. Also, do not think that foods that taste healthful necessarily are. Nuts, for example, are a weakness of mine. I love nuts, and they are, as things go, fairly nutritious. If you're trying to lose weight, though, they are not the option for you. They are very fatty, though satisfying. So have a few; they're not empty chomping. I have to tell you, the best foods I have found to snack on are usually separate, and I focus on not eating them by the handful, but rather individually, or a few at a time. It isn't that hard, I learn to enjoy it more, and they go farther for longer. My deal is that I like to constantly have new food in my mouth. If you're the same way, this is a great middle road between gluttony and reality. We all know how difficult it is to keep track of ourselves 24/7, but lets just try to look out for ourselves and always be conscious when we're eating. Strangely, it seems that gratitude is the first step to satisfaction. Enjoy what you're eating when you're eating it; live in the moment.
If you have any suggestions about what helps you to snack healthier, please comment. Happy snacking!

Quick Tip: Smoothies

2010-06-21T14:49:00.000-07:00

Smoothies are a great drink-- they're sweet and tangy and fresh, rounded and filling. Typically, they're also made with a bunch of sugar and ice, with bananas or yoghurt usually playing the thickener. If you want them to be more healthy, satisfying, and less of a "drink" and more of a "food", here are some great ways to improve smoothies:
Let's start with the ice. Ice ruins most smoothies, making them harsh and watery. So nix it, and use frozen fruit instead. Frozen fruit is sold by the bag in every grocery store, and if you want to use an esoteric flavor that might not come prepared, just get the fruit ready for blending before putting it in the freezer, and then use as much of it as you like!
Now for the sugar. I don't mind using synthetic sweeteners like Splenda or Equal, but if you do, there are many wonderful options. Consider agave nectar, which has a low glycemic index and sweetens gently while blending seamlessly into drinks. Use sweet fruit juices in leiu of adding plain sugar. These also add a wonderful facet of flavor to the smoothie, and the liquid helps it to blend.
Now on to the thickener. Bananas often take away from the flavor of the fruits you are trying to display in the smoothie. They're not such a great option for thickening in my opinion, unless you're working on some kind of a tropical taste. Discounted. If you are vegan or lactose intolerant, yoghurt isn't an option. Plus, it sometimes turns smoothies into a kind of soft serve rather than a low-fat fruit beverage. My suggestion: tofu. I know you're thinking, "Tofu? In a smoothie?" But really, when you think about it, silken tofu is the perfect thickener. It has virtually no taste, and adds protein with very little fat, while thickening your smoothie into creamy perfection. Just try it. Silken tofu is the best option for smoothies, as it is exactly the right texture. You can find it in cakes or in tubes, either is good. Add it in a reasonable amount (depending on how creamy you want your smoothie), and notice the distinguishably fruity and balanced taste of the results.

Here's a general recipe that can be made with any fruit or flavors you like. Simply adjust the amounts for a more fruity or creamy smoothie :
Ingredients
1-1/2 or 2 cups frozen fruit
1/2 to 3/4 cup silken tofu
approx. 4 tspn. agave nectar
a splash of milk or a medium-size scoop of frozen yoghurt (for non-dairy option, try almond or rice milk)
1/4 cup sour fruit juice (lemon or orange juice is good for this)

optional additions:
1/4 tspn vanilla extract
wheatgerm
coconut
a few crushed ice cubes
vitamin and mineral drops/powder
herbal drops
spirulina/Barleygrass/Wheatgrass powder
flax/ sunflower seeds
tahini
blackstrap molasses
lecithin powder
brewer's yeast

Procedure
Put everything in a blender and press ON... It's that simple!

Enjoy!

The Nutritional Circus outside of the House

2010-06-21T12:28:00.000-07:00

Sticking with a healthy diet is fairly easy at home. Outside the house, however, it's kind of a circus... literally.
Yesterday, Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus (supposedly the "Greatest Show in the World!!!") came to Las Vegas. I went, and was shocked by more than just the animal abuse; there was not a single thing that Andrea and I could both eat! If you don't want to die by your own hand-- mouth, really-- don't buy anything but water at the circus. Everywhere I turned, fat of all varieties, cholesterol, sodium, sugar, was leering at me. It was a dietary disaster: we looked everywhere for something to eat, but all we encountered was cotton candy, churros, pretzels, snowcones, popcorn, and sugary lemonade. Half the food looked like gout-in-a-bite, the rest, our good friend diabetes. Not a thing in sight that we could eat without going instantaneously into cardiac arrest. This made me think about going out altogether. What should we do when we go to the movies? When we do anything?
Firstly, readers, learn from my mistake. Always bring your own food out if you're not sure whether there will be an option for you. I'm not saying to take broccoli florets in a bag. Bring something that resembles the food around you- I've found that actually helps with satisfaction. If everyone else is eating churros, bring along caramel-flavored rice cakes. If you like fruit, bring along a pear or an orange for that juicy sweetness you crave in a snowcone. If you want something salty, like potato chips or popcorn, go for some delicious whole grain chips. They have a great flavor, and their crunch adds a huge deal in the gratification department. You'll forget that you're eating something a heck of a lot more healthy, and just go with the flow. And if you're at the circus, the performance should absorb most of your attention anyhow. None of the other stuff is really that satisfying, anyhow. So don't feel bad. Just be content and enjoy the show-- that's what you went for in the first place.
Let me digress and talk a bit about the circus itself. I was nervous about going; I had heard horror stories of what they do to the animals. In the end, Andrea's father convinced me that I had to see for myself that which I had such strong feelings about. I can't tell you how correct I was. Don't bother with the circus, guys. It's not the fantastical, antiquated, or charming entertainment the media leads you to expect; it's not the marvel in a gigantic field tent you like to think of when you hear a designer talk about the circus as his inspiration. It's an artless bunch of acrobats who are, in today's age, the castoffs who weren't quite good enough for Cirque du Soleil, obnoxious music, an arena reeking of pastrami, hot dogs, and unwashed masses with babies, and most outstandingly, it is a virtual Colleseum, an orgy of glorified torture. If they're willing to unabashedly whip the animals on stage, just imagine what they do backstage. And what really got to me was how little the animals added to the show. Making tigers walk on their hind legs, elephants jump over each other, llamas run in frantic circles, it wasn't at all exciting. I just cried. There was no appeal to me, and the problem is that so many people don't realize that something that unnatural just isn't meant to happen, so it continues. I won't rail on, but just know that the circus is not something worth supporting on a thousand levels. What are your opinions on the subject?
Anyhow, good luck going out! Bring a little something similar to what you'll find where you're going and it'll be just fine :) Live life, and forget about what you're eating while you do it!

Find a Way

2010-06-17T17:06:00.000-07:00

We all have concerns, doubts, constraints-- issues that hold us back from achieving our ultimate goal. I know what mine are. I don't have a license, endless money, or patience to make anything particularly involved. Essentially, my problems are the same as those of most other people my age. We teenagers, unless we have the time, don't want to spend hours in the kitchen preparing food. Most of us don't even like cooking at all. So it's usually PowerBar for breakfast and a microwaved Mac and Cheese dinner for the majority of us, with lunch as nothing but a very large snack amongst many. That kind of diet doesn't cut it for me, the avid foodie I am. There are some tricks, however, that I have found help me eat better all day long.

A lot of people say that eating at specific times every day, without fail, trains your body to accept food at that time, and only want food at that time-- Bull. Crap. I wake up in the morning, and I'm not always hungry right when I get up. I'm sometimes not hungry until around lunchtime.

I have found that I eat best when my mother keeps a few very simple ingredients always in the house, and I can use those to create whatever I'm in the mood for. All you really need is a fruit, a vegetable, some kind of protein (e.g. beans or tofu), and a carbohydrate, that way you can choose from those options whichever you're wanting. You satisfy your craving, while still eating good food.

Find a way to get good food into your house, and eat it when you're hungry... you'll end up really enjoying it a lot more!

Welcome to my Hungry, Hungry World

2010-06-16T17:59:00.000-07:00

This blog is almost a complete joke. Almost. So just keep on reading and maybe you'll get to the part where I'm serious-- and I am serious, about nutrition.
See, I have this big issue, a huge issue, as a vegetarian.
I AM A TEENAGER.
Does that give you a sense? Just saying "teenager" connotes images of pubescent fury, frustration, the Thermopoli of high school, and gigantic, seemingly uncontrollable cravings for stuff. That stuff is usually food, good food. And by "good food" I mean to say "bad food." The things I loved to eat as a tubby preteen, with a stomach that protruded far past my chest, stuffed my arteries like a badly made Build-a- Bear, turned my skin into an uneven debacle, made me smell like the Cookie Monster (which I was), and, most of all, made me fat, just in time for middle school.
In that very first hellish week, when we realized that class no longer came to us, I had an epiphany, and, contrary to what you might think, it had nothing to do with me suddenly feeling bad about my weight (resentment had already been my steadfast partner years). The Spanish teacher didn't come.
The Spanish teacher didn't come? "What does that have to do with nutrition?" you ask me. Well, in her absence we watched an enlightening video about Spanish culture. Very enlightening. We watched a bullfight-- the romanticised, grandiose, frenetic, fantastic Run of the Bulls, and regarded with awe as some courageous bullfighters in blazing red took a stab at a few of those unfeeling beasts, the enemy named Torro. Some of the children were exhilarated, blown away by the sensation of it all. I, with my pastrami sandwich churning in my cloudy little stomach, was more than sick-- I was angry. It was the same feeling I get today when I watch Holocaust films, that same desire to get up and scream, cry, repent for the disgusting world in which it seems, at that moment, we exist in. I couldn't believe that people would yell and cheer as a living creature, an animal with a nervous system, with eyes to see, with ears to listen, with a mouth to moan in pain, was being tortured for sport. The bull came out, distressed into oblivion, into bucking insanity, with swords bouncing around, tips in his back. I could feel his flesh being torn roughly, his crazed desire to get those knives out of its back, to sit quietly in a field and let the pain mitigate. This isn't just you stubbing your toe on your bedpost, this is twenty knives cutting into your spine. This is not only pain, but frustration, helplessness, and I couldn't stand to watch it. That day, I, the meat eater of the modern centuries, more carnivorous than the most ravenous Viking, married to my cravings for steak, kebabs, ribs, hamburgers, fried chicken, tuna sandwiches, orange duck... decided that I was going to be a vegetarian.
At first, it was hard to keep the drool inside my mouth, as I watched my family dig into the ribs I formerly worshipped. Luckily, I still had most of my junk food to comfort me. I lived with my carbs always there to make me forget that I was deprived of what had before been the majority of my sustenance. I was fierce in my devotion to carbs, to fat, and to cholosterol. They were my life. So all that talk about how just dropping meat makes the fat disappear? All lies. Before I became a vegetarian I was perpetually sick; after becoming a vegetarian, I was still sick. I was still hypoglycemic, still had sky-high tryglycerides, my cholesterol was out of wack (that was the only aspect of my blood that improved even slightly), and I still felt and looked horrific.
It was not until now that I finally decided I had to do something about it. My body is in a state of gross dilapidation. I can't finish a conversation with my parents without their complaining about my weight; I can't go shopping and find something that is flattering on my fairly slim frame, with my stomach sticking out like a foreign invasion; my friends have names for my belly; most of all, my overall health is a disaster. But what am I to do about my manifest problem? I'm certainly not going back to meat after six years of feeling so proud knowing that I am doing the right thing... but I still want to cater to my inner hedonist. And as a teenager, we all know that my self control is not the best. Two weeks ago, I was lost; I didn't know how I was going to fix myself.
What I needed was a goal, a project, and motivation. A few weeks ago, one of my best friends came to me and mentioned that she had blood work done, and the results were terrifying. She was pre-diabetic and her numbers were at striking heights. One of the things her doctor said she had to do was eliminate meat almost completely. Andrea loves meat, let me make that clear, and her palate is what I would call, stereotypically limited. In addition, she is desperately afraid of diets and self-control. I realized then that I had someone to work through this with. Both of us needed to lose weight, feel better about ourselves, and improve what we were putting in our bodies. We-- Me, You, and Andrea-- are going on what we have come to call a "lifestyle change." My goal for us is to find ways to stop dreaming about Carl's Jr. Chicken Teriyaki sandwiches and Capriotti's thanksgiving subs, and just be satisfied with what we're eating. I hope we can all come to understand that we're not missing anything in our lives, save a lot of gore on slaughterhouse floors, and be content with how we feel, how we look, and what we're eating.
I welcome you in classic teenager fashion to my world: Grunt.

Veggisaur:

2010-06-16T17:44:00.000-07:00

Veggiesaur (n.)- 1. an herbivore; 2. a creature that does not eat corpses, benefit from corpses (in any way, people. no necromancy here); 3. an animal that leads a healthy lifestyle without even noticing; 4. a friendly vegetarian dinosaur