Dining can be a very social experience.  Gatherings with friends after work, family on the weekends, and coworkers at lunch are how many people spend mealtime.  We like to eat with others, whether the people are with us at the dinner table or on the television.  Many people do not dine alone, ever.  Many people would never go out to a restaurant alone.

However, eating alone can be a meditative experience that helps to control over-eating.  Martha Rose Shulman references “Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life,” by Lilian Cheung, a nutritionist at Harvard, and Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist teacher, in her New York Times article, that focuses on eating alone.   Eating alone allows you to contemplate and focus on your food.  You can count chews and be mindful of when you feel full.  When you cook for yourself you can practice mindfulness, which is something you need when using a knife!

Many people find that cooking for one can also be a challenge.  Obviously ordering take-out is much easier, but finding creative ways to stretch a meal or work with a recipe that feeds 4 is a great way to save money, skip unwanted calories and put meditative eating into practice.

Shulman will be hosting a series with recipes for one beginning with Pan-Seared Tuna with Asian Coleslaw.

Do you like to eat alone? 

Tags: Food, Healthy Tips, Spirituality, diet // Add Comment »

Obesity is a multi-layered health issue in America.  Many health advocates are calling out sodas, fast food, lifestyle and genetics as culprits on the list of those to blame for the crisis.  Now there is a new name to add to the list of usual suspects in the fight against weight gain: obesogens.

Researchers have targeted obesogens which are chemicals that disrupt the function of hormonal systems.  An article from MSNBC details how they “enter our bodies from a variety of sources — natural hormones found in soy products, hormones administered to animals, plastics in some food and drink packaging, ingredients added to processed foods, and pesticides sprayed on produce.  They act in a variety of ways: by mimicking human hormones such as estrogen, by misprogramming stem cells to become fat cells and, researchers think, by altering the function of genes.”

This research gives us more evidence and reason to advocate for organically grown whole foods.  As the article suggests, you can enjoy the foods you love, just make sure they are from natural sources free of antibiotics and chemicals.

Do you think that burgers and fries should remain off the list of foods for someone trying to lose weight even if they are of the all natural variety?
 

Tags: Food, diet, obesity, weight loss // 3 Comments »

Recently the New York City Department of Education passed Chancellor Regulation A-812 which prohibits the sale of home baked goods at fundraisers, but approves the sale of Doritos and Pop-Tarts.  The complete list of approved items can be found here.  How ironic that these highly processed, nutritionally void foods are somehow deemed safer than goods baked at home with whole ingredients and love.

NYC Green Schools is organizing a Bake-In rally to protest this new regulation on Thursday March 18th from 4-6pm on the steps of City Hall.   Detailed information about the bake-in regarding posters, banners, slogan ideas, etc. will be posted on their blog nycgreenschools.org.

If you are in New York City, please join the Bake-In and let your voices be heard. 
 

Tags: Healthy School Food, Nutrition News, Politics // 4 Comments »

2005 Integrative Nutrition Graduate Christian Fischer, corporate executive chef of Lackmann Culinary Services, has won the Top Chef honor of 2009 named by the Chef2Chef.net Culinary Community.  Other top chefs include Food Network favorites Bobby Flay, Mario Batali, Jamie Oliver, Ming Tsai, and Wolfgang Puck.

By winning the Top Chef award, Chef Fischer proves that great taste is not sacrificed when eating a nutritious well balanced meal.  Lackmann encourages their “guests to make healthy choices from every food group, find a balance between physical activity and food, and get the most nutrition out of their meals. [They] also create meals with every dietary need in mind; …Kosher, Halal, gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, low sugar, organic, fat free and peanut free.”

Lackmann also offers the Eat Right Live Well program that encourages guests to make small changes for lasting results.  They implement healthy eating in all aspects of their operations, for example, their Under3 Program, offers grab and go meals, snacks and desserts under 300 calories for under $3.

Congratulations to Chef Fischer for winning Top Chef Honors and to Lackmann Culinary Services for producing high quality-and nutritious meals for their guests.

How do you incorporate healthy and delicious cooking in your life?  Do you have a favorite recipe you feel is Top Chef worthy?  Share it!

Tags: About Graduates of IIN, About IIN, Celebrity News // Add Comment »

This March, Integrative Nutrition is teaming up with Wellness in the Schools, in honor of National Nutrition Month. For every student who embarks on a new career path at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in March, we’ll donate $100 to Wellness in the Schools.

Wellness in the Schools is a nonprofit, grassroots organization manned by concerned New York City public school parents who believe healthier bodies make healthier minds, and conversely, unhealthy school environments interfere with student health, school attendance and academic achievement. During the 2005-06 school year Wellness in the Schools launched several pilot programs, including “Chef-in-Residence” and “Clean, Green Schools” to promote healthier places of learning for students. Now, Wellness in the Schools offers its program as a model for other classrooms and schools.

Nancy Easton, co-founder of Wellness in the Schools, is an IIN graduate, a Health Coach, a former New York City public school teacher, mentor and principal. She founded Wellness in the Schools with the goal of providing children with the best possible learning environment. Students at Integrative Nutrition are committed to making a difference by improving the health and happiness of their friends, families and communities. We’re so honored and excited to be able to give back in this way.

Tags: About Graduates of IIN, About IIN, Charitable Organizations, Healthy School Food // Add Comment »

We live in a fast paced world.  People are on the go, multi-tasking, planning and thinking ahead.  In a busy world, people also eat on the go; in the car, at their desks, standing up, walking down the street, barely taking the time to enjoy their meal.  When we eat quickly, we tend to eat more, therefore consuming more calories.

Digestion begins in the mouth.  Slowing down to completely chew your food, allows the release of digestive enzymes that break down food and greater assimilation of nutrients. Whole foods, especially whole grains, must be mixed with saliva and chewed until they become liquid to release their full nutritional value.  Because digestion becomes so efficient when you chew your food thoroughly, your body will begin to feel wonderfully light.  To get into the habit of chewing correctly, try counting the chews in each bite, aiming for 30 to 50 times. It helps if you put your fork down between bites.

The New York Times reported on a few scientific studies to support the claim that eating slowly is a method for consuming fewer calories.  Who could imagine that losing weight is as simple as taking a few more minutes to slow down and eat what is already on your plate? For more information check out the Power Eating Program: You Are How You Eat by Lino Stanchich.

Tags: Healthy Tips, Nutrition News // 2 Comments »

If you are only given the options of fast food or grocery stores full of packaged and processed foods, you may not know much about healthy foods that are locally and organically grown.  You may have only seen hamburgers wrapped in paper, or chicken nuggets in a box.  The idea of grass fed beef or free range chicken might be foreign to you.

Students at Automotive High School in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, are being introduced to food in a different way.  They are taking a class called “Food, Land, and You.” Their teacher Jenny Kessler, introduced this class three years ago, as an elective English course.  The class is a primer about food broadly defined — its social, political and economic aspects.

Students discuss factory farming and corn subsidies, they read articles by Michael Pollan and watch documentaries like Food, Inc.  They also tend a 2,500-square-foot organic vegetable garden, and take trips to the local butcher shop and Queens County Farm Museum, where they collect eggs and work with compost.

The New York Times reports that most of Ms. Kessler’s students live in “food deserts”—neighborhoods with lots of fast food but little fresh produce or other healthy fare.  “The purpose of going there is just for them to know it’s out there,” Ms. Kessler said. “It’s really hard to cement in their heads that there are other options to industrial food.”

Does your local high school offer a class like “Food, Land, and You?”  Perhaps is should be a required course rather than an elective? 
 

Tags: Food, Healthy School Food // Add Comment »

Dear Students and Graduates,

One of our graduates has some great news. Seema Dasani has been working with Whole Foods to help launch a project to help shoppers and Whole Foods Staff improve their health and happiness.

Seema is the founder of Eat Right America, which is one of two organizations helping carry out this initiative!  www.eatrightamerica.com/wfm

This presents a wonderful opportunity for our graduates!!  Many Whole Foods locations will be hiring Healthy Eating Specialists. To find out more, visit www.wholefoodsmarket.com/healthstartshere

To be hired, visit your local Whole Foods Market as soon as possible and ask to be interviewed as a Healthy Eating Specialist and inquire about all positions they may have.

Thank you for your passion and commitment.
Step by step we continue our ripple effect.

Joshua

Tags: About Graduates of IIN, About IIN // 3 Comments »

Will taxing and putting warning labels on soda discourage people from buying it?  Has this method discouraged people from using tobacco?  Should tax revenue from sodas and sugary beverages be used in anti-soda campaigns or put in a fund for healthier school food?  The rise in childhood obesity rates have the attention of lawmakers, but will raising prices on unhealthy foods keep kids from consuming them?

The Obama administration has a commitment to remove junk food, including sodas from schools.  This is a great first step in the fight against childhood obesity.  But, as Mark Bittman of the New York Times writes:  “a growing number of public health advocates are pushing for even more aggressive actions, urging that soda be treated like tobacco: with taxes, warning labels and a massive public health marketing campaign, all to discourage consumption.”

Taxing soda has the potential to raise over a billion dollars annually in New York State alone.  The question remains, where is the best place to apply this money?

Where do you think lawmakers should apply these funds?

Tags: Nutrition News, Politics, obesity // 2 Comments »

The Food and Drug Administration is considering increasing serving size on nutrition labels to match what people are actually consuming as a serving.  This in turn will increase the calorie amount and determine all the other nutritional values.  The hope is that people will think twice before going back for seconds when it may actually be fourths!

Barbara O. Schneeman, director of the F.D.A. office that oversees nutrition labels, said in a New York Times report, “We are actively looking at serving size and evaluating what steps we need to take.  Ultimately, the purpose of nutrition labeling is to help consumers make healthier choices, make improvements in their diet, and we want to make sure we achieve that goal.”

One concern is that by increasing serving size, consumers will think the government is saying it’s ok to eat even more.  Consumers need to be educated.  When shopping for food, read the labels closely.  Consider that packaged processed foods tend to be high in fat and calories.  The best foods are ones without nutrition labels.  Fresh fruits and vegetables are much more nutritionally dense than most processed foods, yet they have no fancy packaging to proclaim their immense health benefits.  When shopping, it is important to shop the perimeter of the grocery store where you’ll find more whole and nutritious foods.

Do you think the FDA’s plan to increase serving size will work to curb the obesity problem among Americans?  

Tags: Nutrition News, Politics // 2 Comments »