This recipe is a potluck go to. The recipe is easy and it makes a large batch so it's great for feeding a crowd. I used peanut butter in this recipe but you can use almond butter or sunflower seed butter for a slightly different taste. The only recommendation I make: please don't substitute the red pepper with green pepper - the red pepper gives the salad a sweetness that is just right! 

A quarter of a cup of uncooked quinoa contains approximately 6 grams of protein - making this whole batch clock in at 24 grams. I recommend my clients aim for 25-30 grams of protein at a meal so you will have to add an additional protein source to this recipe (both chicken and chickpeas work great). 

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When you're looking for a decadent dessert to prepare for your next dinner party I suggest giving this pudding a try! Feel free to spice this pudding up however you'd like - adding nuts, coconut or dark chocolate chips for a simple twist. This pudding is fantastic because it contains NO refined sugar and contains lots of healthy fats from the avocado and nut butter. This treat will keep you satisfied much longer than the traditional sugar-laden chocolate pudding. Enjoy! 

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This is a great meatloaf that you can prepare this weekend to have for lunches all week! This recipe is versatile - add any other vegetables you'd like. I've kept it simple with some carrots but spice things up with some leafy greens or whatever vegetables you have in your fridge! For all of you allergy or food sensitivity sufferers out there, have no fear - this recipe is dairy-free, soy-free, nut-free and gluten-free 🙂

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On Tuesday we talked about the types of hunger and the first 3 tips for eating mindfully. Today we will continue the discussion and finish with the remaining 5 tips. If you remember from Part 1, eating mindfully does not have to be a complex concept and simply by taking the time to focus on our hunger levels and what we're eating we can really begin to understand the whole eat when you're hungry, stop when you're full concept. 

4. Portion Distortion

We’ve all seen those comparison shots of plate sizes from the 1950s versus plate sizes now (but just incase you haven't, see here). We know that portion sizes in both restaurants and at home have gotten much bigger in the past 50 years but did you know that by eating on smaller dishes we can actually feel just as full even if we're eating less? I challenge you to eat your main meals off of lunch-sized plates rather than the oversized dinner plates. The psychological impact of looking at a plate that appears fuller will make us feel more satisfied than eating the same amount of food on an oversized plate.

5. Eat From A Plate/Bowl

Eating from a box or a bag is a definite no-no if we are trying to eat mindfully. When we eat from a box or a bag we have no concept of how much we are truly eating and often will continue to eat until the box or bag is empty. I recommend putting a serving of the food you're eating onto a plate or into a bowl and return the package to the fridge or pantry before you begin eating.  Don't leave the bag or package on the counter either - it is too accessible. There is a lot of thought that has to go into getting up from the table (where you should be eating) and getting the bag back out again. Within this time frame you will have more opportunity to ask yourself if you're truly hungry.

6. Put Down Your Weapon

Next time you’re eating a meal, make a conscious effort to put down your fork or spoon between each bite. By actively putting down your spoon or fork you are forced to slow down. It’s true that it takes approximately 20 minutes for our bodies to recognize that we are feeling satisfied from the food we’re eating so by increasing the amount of time it takes for us to finish our meal we are less likely to go back for a second helping of dinner or indulge in a sweet treat after our meal.

7. Revoke Your Membership From The “Clean Your Plate” Club

This is a trap that so many of us fall into. We fill our plate or are served food and we feel satisfied before the food is gone however we continue to eat until our plate is cleaned. Even if we know we have eaten enough food we will continue to eat until all of the food put in front of us is gone. In order to get away from this bad habit, that most of the time was developed at a young age, we need to become okay with packing food up for a later time. This even applies to the three leftover bites that we know we didn’t need. Give yourself permission to be finished eating even if you have food remaining on your plate. I hear this a lot from my clients regarding leftover holiday treats/birthday cake/Halloween candy/etc. They will have leftover Christmas cookies made by a loved one that are full of processed sugar and they refuse to throw them away because it is "wasteful". We need to think of this - foods that provide us with no real nutritional benefit are garbage if it goes into our mouths and garbage if it goes into the garbage can. You would be doing starving children a disservice by feeding them sugar-filled processed foods - so why should we keep them sitting on our counter tempting us for the next month? 

8. Chew, Chew, Chew

How many times do you chew your food before swallowing? Crazy question, right? What if you thought about the number of times you chew before swallowing at each meal? This will force you to slow down and will also help with the digestive process. Remember, digestion starts in the mouth and chewing your food well will allow your body to extract more nutrients from your food and will also make it less likely that you will experience cramps, bloating or indigestion from a meal. Not only will chewing your food more be better for digestion but we also have to remember that our taste buds are located in our mouth, so it is when we are chewing that we get to experience the wonderful flavor that our food provides us with. I recommend shooting for chewing food as close to 30 times as you possibly can.

This rounds up the 8 tips for increasing mindfulness while you're eating. Select one or more of the above tips and give them a try this week. Did you notice a difference? Leave your comments or questions below 🙂

Yours in Health,

Kristin

*Note: If you feel like you would benefit a program targeted at understanding why you crave the foods you do, check out a Craving Change™ facilitator near you.      

What if I told you that the feeling that prompts us to walk into the kitchen and open the fridge or pantry is caused by different types of hunger? So often we think of hunger as being one feeling – that gnawing sensation we experience in the morning after our nightly fast or the feeling we have when we get home from work in the afternoon and are anxiously awaiting dinner.

This week I challenge you to try this: next time you feel “hungry” take 10 seconds to stop and differentiate between which type of hunger you’re experiencing. An added perk to taking the time to think about your hunger is that often times we will realize that we do not actually require food and that instead it is something non-food related that we are craving.

Let’s start by going through the three types of hunger that we experience.

Stomach Hunger

When we think “hunger” this type of hunger is often what comes to mind. This is the hunger that we experience when it has been a long period of time, usually 5-6 hours, since we’ve last consumed food. Quite often when we experience stomach hunger our stomach begins to growl. At this time our bodies require food in order to function optimally.

Mouth Hunger

The concept of mouth hunger is probably new to most. An accurate depiction of mouth hunger would be when we crave a food for it’s particular mouth feel or taste. Have you ever craved chips because you’re wanting the crispy crunch and salt? Or craved ice cream for that smooth, cold sensation you get in your mouth? Anytime we eat because we know a food will taste good we are eating because of mouth hunger.

Heart Hunger

Heart hunger refers to eating because we are experiencing a particular emotion or because of a learned behaviour. This could be indulging in a decadent food after a stressful day at work or needing to have some sort of dessert after a meal.

One of the best ways to determine why we’re eating is to make sure that we are being mindful when we eat. My clients tease me about how often I suggest that they be mindful when eating out, at a party or on vacation. Being mindful is easy to say but what exactly does it mean? What do we do to actually be mindful when we’re eating?

When I say mindful eating it sounds like some spiritual hocus-pocus where you eat in the dark with candles and incense. However, increasing your mindfulness can make a huge difference in how many unnecessary calories you consume in a day.

Below I’ve outlined my top 8 tips for increasing your mindfulness when eating (because this post got a little long, we will break it up to make it a little more manageable). If you begin implementing these strategies into your daily life you may even find that a few of those pesky pounds effortlessly slip away. It is truly amazing how often or what we choose to eat is due to simply being on autopilot during meals or snacks.

1. Type Of Hunger

The first thing I suggest doing when you feel prompted to open the fridge or pantry for something to eat is to consider the three types of hunger we discussed earlier. Are you eating because you’re bored? Are you eating because you know there is tasty food in the house? Or are you eating because your stomach is growling and your energy is low? Determining why you’re deciding to eat is the first step in being more mindful.

2. Sit Down

Are we ever really eating anything nutritious when we are standing alone in the pantry with the lights off? I encourage my clients only to eat when they are seated at a table (the driver’s seat of a car does not count). Sitting at a table while we are eating forces us to focus much more closely on what we are actually eating, allowing us to better connect with how satisfied we feel.

3. No Distractions

Distractions can be your phone, television, computer or even the newspaper, a book or a magazine. I’m sure most of us have experienced a time when we’ve been watching a movie or TV show and eating something, whether it’s a bowl of popcorn (which can be a good snack – see here) or a bowl of grapes, and all of a sudden we reach down and the bowl is empty. Typically when this happens we still have that “hungry” feeling (normally it is mouth hunger) because we don’t really remember eating what was in the bowl because we were so focused on something else.

Later this week we will talk about the other 5 tips but for now, I recommend working on implementing these 3 🙂

Yours in Health,

Kristin

*Note: If you feel like you would benefit a program targeted at understanding why you crave the foods you do, check out a Craving Change™ facilitator near you. 

Stable blood sugar levels are important for everyone, not just people with diabetes. When our blood sugar levels are stable, we have stable energy, stable moods and our hunger remains under control. We’ve all had that feeling before, we have a sugary treat and feel a burst of energy but then before we know it we are feeling tired, hungry or irritable (sometimes all three at once – yikes!) What if I told you that you could prevent (or at least mitigate) these feelings just by combining your foods appropriately?

Glycemic Index

This term may be new to many of you – the glycemic index refers to the measure of how foods affect your blood sugar and insulin levels. Foods with a high glycemic index will affect your blood sugar and insulin levels more than foods with a low glycemic index.

When we are looking at the glycemic index of different foods, we see that foods are rated on a scale of 0-100. Pure glucose is given a glycemic index of 100 and all other foods are rated in relation to pure glucose. Since foods made up of only fat and/or protein don’t affect blood sugar levels (because only carbohydrate-containing foods affect our blood sugar) they would automatically receive a rating of 0.

High Glycemic Index Rating: 70+

Moderate Glycemic Index Rating: 56-69

Low Glycemic Index Rating: 55 or less

Glycemic Index Rating of Common Foods

Let’s begin by discussing which foods have the biggest impact on our blood sugar levels. Foods that likely comes to mind are candies, cookies, and chocolates. These foods absolutely have an impact on our blood sugar and insulin levels but other foods that also our impact blood sugar and insulin levels include fruits, vegetables (some more than others), grain products and dairy products. We don’t often think of foods other than indulgent sweet foods as having a significant impact on our blood sugar levels but remember, natural sugar, added sugar and starch breakdown the same way in the body once they are consumed.

Let’s look at some of the numbers:

Grapes - 59

Carrots - 35

Potatoes - 82

Yam - 52 

Green peas - 51

Fruit Roll-Ups - 99

You can see a more comprehensive list here.

Glycemic Load

In order to understand the glycemic load we need to have a good understanding of the glycemic index. So now that we’ve discussed the glycemic index and how different foods affect our blood sugar levels, let’s dive a little deeper and talk about the glycemic load.

The glycemic load is calculated by dividing the glycemic index rating by 100 and multiplying this number by the number of grams of available carbohydrate in the food (the amount of available carbohydrate is found by taking the total number of carbohydrates minus the number of grams of fibre). In simpler terms, glycemic load takes into account how much of a food we will actually consume. Let’s use watermelon for example; the glycemic index of watermelon is 72, which is high. However, the glycemic load of watermelon is only 7, which is low. Why is this? Well, if we eat the whole watermelon (approximately 5 cups), yes our blood sugar and insulin levels are going to be impacted significantly, but if we eat a cup of cut up watermelon (an appropriate serving size) it is not going to have a huge impact on our blood sugar and insulin levels. Make sense?

High Glycemic Load Rating: 20+

Moderate Glycemic Load Rating: 11-19

Low Glycemic Load Rating: 10 or less

Now let’s discuss the components of food that can fight the blood sugar spike caused by simple carbohydrates (sugars) – protein, fat and fibre.

An easy comparison to make would be to compare fruit juice versus a piece of whole fruit. The glycemic index and glycemic load of orange juice versus a whole orange is 50 and 40 respectively. The major difference between fruit juice and a piece of whole fruit is the amount of fibre each contains. One cup of 100% real orange juice contains 0 grams of fibre, whereas a whole orange contains an average of 3 grams.

So what does this tell us? Fibre reduces the glycemic index and glycemic load of a food.

Let’s use yogurt as our second example. The glycemic index and glycemic load of regular plain yogurt is 14 and the glycemic index and glycemic load of plain Greek yogurt is 5. The major difference between these two types of yogurt is the amount of protein they contain.

From this example we can see that protein reduces the glycemic index and glycemic load of a food.

For our last example we will use a slightly different comparison – fruit juice versus a chocolate bar. I use this example because I have heard from many diabetic clients over the past few years that often times they will keep a chocolate bar on hand to help bring their blood sugar up if they are having a low. When I suggest against using a chocolate bar I get the same question, “but one chocolate bar contains ___ grams of sugar, shouldn’t this help bring my blood sugar up quickly?” If we are trying to bring our blood sugar up as quickly as possible (which is only really necessary for diabetics experiencing a low blood sugar level and for athletes manipulating their blood sugar prior to or during an event) we want to have as little fat in the food/meal as possible because fat, like fibre and protein, also slows down the release of sugar into our bloodstream.

In summary, protein, fat and fibre all slow down the release of sugar from food into our bloodstream and therefore reduce the insulin response that these foods cause the body to have.

How can we reduce the impact of food on our blood sugar levels?

This is easy and once you start implementing these rules you will notice a huge difference in your energy, mood and hunger levels throughout the day.

At a meal, be sure to have a food that fits into each of these three categories: protein, fat and complex carbohydrate and at a snack have a food that contains fat OR protein WITH a food containing complex carbohydrates.

At a meal this combination of protein, carbohydrate and fat could be:

meat (protein)

vegetables (carbohydrate)

butter/olive oil/coconut oil on the vegetables (fat).

At a snack this could look many different ways:

• a hardboiled egg (protein) with a cup of grapes (carbohydrate)
• 2 ounces of meat (protein) with 1 sliced red pepper (carbohydrate)
• ½ avocado (fat) with 1 piece of fruit (carbohydrate)
• 1 tablespoon of natural nut butter (fat) with 1 apple/banana (carbohydrate)
• 2 tablespoons of guacamole/hummus (fat) with 1 cup of carrots/broccoli/cauliflower (carbohydrate)
• 1 ounce of nuts (fat) with 1 piece of fruit (carbohydrate)
• 1 ounce of cheese (fat) with 1 cup of grapes (carbohydrate)
• ¾ cup of plain Greek yogurt (protein) with 1 cup of berries (carbohydrate)

Challenge this week: look at your meals and snacks to determine whether or not you are optimizing your blood sugar levels with your food choices. Use some of the snack options above and see how you feel at the end of the day. The goal is to make a small tweak with your meal and snack options to maximize your energy, improve your sleep and stabilize your mood.

Do you have some balanced snacks that you love that I didn't list above? Comment below and share!

Yours in Health,

Kristin

This lazy-man's frittata is made for people who leave little to no time in the morning for breakfast. You can add any vegetables and spices you'd like, however to keep it as easy as possible I stuck to nothing you had to chop 🙂 

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This recipe is literally some of the greatest flavours thrown together to make an amazing dish! I recommend serving with roasted yams and brussels sprouts for a gourmet looking meal that is so quick and easy to put together (tip: make extra maple drizzle for the vegetables - you're welcome 🙂 ).

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Stress affects our physical and mental health in many different ways. It impacts our ability to sleep, properly digest our food, reduces immune function and affects our mood. You may think to yourself, “I’m not stressed” – however, we are now exposed to low-grade stressors all of the time – think: working a full-time job, taking care of children and trying our best to be a great friend, wife, girlfriend, daughter, sister, etc. When we are subjected to constant low-grade stressors our body responds the same way it would if we had something traumatic occur.

Research has repeatedly shown that dietary deficiencies in several micronutrients have been associated with increased levels of stress and psychiatric symptoms in otherwise healthy individuals.

Supplementation with micronutrients to overcome these dietary deficiencies has been observed to improve perceived stress, mild psychiatric symptoms, and some aspects of everyday mood in a recent meta-analysis of studies examining short-term multivitamin supplementation. (Lewis et al, 2013)

So which came first – the stress or the nutrient deficiency?

That we don’t really entirely know. However research has shown that supplementation with a multivitamin once a person is already stressed decreases markers of anxiety and stress including blood pressure and cortisol (stress hormone) levels.

Schlebusch and colleagues used a well-designed protocol, and screened for a highly stressed sample. After 30 days of supplementation, significant treatment effects were evident, with the multivitamin reducing the level of anxiety and stress and improving psychological well-being. (Lewis et al, 2013)

Now, before we all rush out to pick up any multivitamin on the drug store shelves, let’s look a little closer at the nutrients that appear to have the biggest impact on markers of mood, anxiety and stress – B vitamins and vitamin C.

Let’s start with vitamin C

Studies show that when people are asked to perform psychological challenges, individuals who have high levels of vitamin C do not show the physical and mental signs of stress that are displayed by people with low levels of vitamin C. Additionally, people with higher levels of vitamin C in their blood bounce back from stress more quickly than people with low levels of vitamin C.

In one particular study, researchers subjected 120 people to a stressful task that included public speaking while solving math problems. Half of the study participants were given 1,000 mg of vitamin C. The signs of stress that were measured included levels of the stress hormone cortisol, blood pressure and self-reported stress. These markers were significantly higher in the study participants who were not given the vitamin supplement.

Additional studies have shown that treatment of 1,000 mg of vitamin C three times per day for 14 days decreased cortisol levels, blood pressure and perceived levels of psychological stress

This consistent link between vitamin C levels and stress has led to researchers suggesting that vitamin C be used as an integral component of stress management.

Because I like the “food first” approach, let’s look at where we can get vitamin C from our food.

It’s important to note that some research suggests that the above number of milligrams suggested daily is simply enough to prevent the development of scurvy (a disease caused by vitamin C deficiency, characterized by swollen bleeding gums and the opening of previously healed wounds) rather than an amount to aim for.

Some of the most nutrient dense food sources of vitamin C (in descending order) include:

1. Guava (206 mg/ 1 fruit)
2. Peppers (raw) (101-144 mg/ ½ cup)
3. Papaya (94 mg/ ½ fruit)
4. Kiwi (84 mg/ 1 large fruit)
5. Orange (42 mg/ ½ fruit)
6. Broccoli/Cabbage (54 mg/½ cup)
7. Strawberries (52 mg/ ½ cup)
8. Brussels Sprouts (38-52 mg/ 4 sprouts)

*Keep in mind – vitamin C is destroyed by heat. So it is best to consume vitamin C-rich foods raw if possible

If you’re choosing a supplemental form of vitamin C, it’s best to go with a time-released supplement since vitamin C is rapid and short acting. Alternatively, you can break up the dose throughout the day (for example, 500 mg in the morning and 500 mg in the afternoon or evening) to provide a similar effect.

In summary – most fruits and vegetables contain some vitamin C. Shoot for 4 cups of vegetables per day (keeping in mind that some of the vitamin C content may be altered by heat) and 2 servings of fruit per day. If you’re feeling overly stressed, it would not hurt to try a supplement.

Next up is B vitamins

The superstar B vitamins we will talk about here are: vitamin B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12 and folate.

The importance of vitamin B6, B12 and folate is linked to their ability to lower blood levels of homocystine. Homocysteine is an amino acid and is released into the blood when protein is broken down. When homocystiene is present in high concentrations (normal range is 5 to 15µmol/L) it has been linked to an increased risk of heart attacks and stroke. High levels of homocysteine are also linked to Alzheimer’s, dementia, declining memory, poor concentration and lowered mood.

One double blind, randomized placebo-controlled study (the gold standard for all scientific studies) showed improvements in anxiety, depression and overall mental health in subjects after 60 day treatment with a vitamin B complex supplement containing whole-food nutrients.

Now that we know how useful these B vitamins can be, let’s take a look at where we can get them in our diet.

Vitamin B1 (Thiamin)

Some of the most nutrient dense food sources of vitamin B1 (in descending order) include:

1. Pork, various cuts, cooked (0.36-1.05 mg/2 ½ oz)
2. Tuna, yellowfin/albacore, cooked (0.38 mg/2 ½ oz)
3. Trout, (0.11-0.32 mg/ 2 ½ oz)
4. Lentils, cooked (0.25-0.28 mg/ ¾ cup)
5. Salmon, cooked (0.21-0.26 mg/ 2 ½ oz)
6. Green peas, cooked (0.22-0.24 mg/ ½ cup)

Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)

Some of the most nutrient dense food sources of vitamin B2 (in descending order) include:

1. Liver (chicken, turkey, pork, beef), cooked (1.6-2.7 mg/2 ½ oz)
2. Mushrooms (white, portabello, crimini), raw or cooked (0.2-0.6 mg/ ½ cup)
3. Egg, cooked (0.4-0.5/ 2 large)
4. Milk (0.4-0.5 mg/1 cup)
5. Cottage cheese (0.4-0.5 mg/1 cup)
6. Salmon, cooked (0.4 mg/ 2 ½ oz)
7. Mackerel, cooked (0.3-0.4 mg/2 ½ oz)

Vitamin B3 (Niacin)

Some of the most nutrient dense food sources of vitamin B3 (in descending order) include:

1. Salmon, cooked or canned (11-17 NE/2 ½ oz)
2. Liver (beef, pork, chicken, turkey), cooked (10-17 NE/2 ½ oz)
3. Tuna, cooked or canned (12-18 NE/2 ½ oz)
4. Chicken (various cuts), cooked (8-15 NE/2 ½ oz)
5. Mackerel, cooked (7-12 NE/2 ½ oz)
6. Pork, beef, lamb, various cuts (6-14 NE/2 ½ oz)
7. Turkey, various cuts, cooked (6-9 NE/2 ½ oz)
8. Mushroom, portabello (6 NE/ ½ cup)
9. Cottage cheese (5-6 NE/1 cup)

Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic acid)

As a dietary supplement, 5-10 mg pantothenic acid has been used.

Limited data is available on the pantothenic acid content of foods, but chicken, beef, potatoes, tomato products, liver, kidney, egg yolk, and broccoli are reported to be among the major nutrient dense sources.

Various processing methods, including freezing and canning of vegetables, fish, meat and dairy products, as well as refining of grains, have been reported to reduce the pantothenic acid content of foods.

Vitamin B6

Some of the most nutrient dense food sources of vitamin B6 (in descending order) include:

1. Chickpeas, cooked (0.84 mg/ ¾ cup)
2. Organ meats (liver, kidney, giblets) (12-64 mg/ 2 ½ oz)
3. Salmon, wild, cooked (0.61-0.71 mg/2 ½ oz)
4. Potato, cooked with skin (0.37-0.60 mg/ 1 medium)
5. Pork, cooked (0.24-0.5 mg/2 ½ oz)
6. Chicken, cooked (0.25-0.48 mg/ 2 ½ oz)
7. Sweet potato, cooked with skin (0.33 mg/ 1 medium)

 Vitamin B12

Some of the most nutrient dense food sources of vitamin B12 (in descending order) include:

1. Organ meats (liver, kidney, giblets) (12.6-64.3 mcg/2 ½ oz)
2. Mackerel (13.5-14.3 mcg/2 ½ oz)
3. Tuna, Bluefin (8.2-9.3 mcg/2 ½ oz)
4. Salmon, sockeye (4.4 mcg/2 ½ oz)
5. Ground beef, cooked (2.4-2.7 mcg/2 ½ oz)
6. Egg (1.5-1.6 mcg/2 large)
7. Milk (1.2-1.4 mcg/1 cup)
8. Pork, various cuts (0.8-1.1 mcg/2 ½ oz)

Folate

Some of the most nutrient dense food sources of folate (in descending order) include:

1. Organ meats, liver, cooked (122-518 mcg/ 2 ½ oz)
2. Lentils, cooked (265 mcg/ ¾ cup)
3. Peas (chickpeas, black-eyed) cooked (138-263 mcg/ ¾ cup)
4. Beans (pink, pinto, navy, black, white, kidney, great northern), cooked (157-218 mcg/ ¾ cup)
5. Spinach, cooked (121-139 mcg/ ½ cup)
6. Artichoke, cooked (79-106 mcg/ ½ cup)
7. Broccoli, cooked (89 mcg/ ½ cup)

In summary - organ meat is a nutritional powerhouse. However, organ meat may not be the most popular food choice in your home. So, a close runner up is salmon! To get those B vitamins in and an extra punch of omega 3 fats (we will talk more about these later) try eating wild Pacific sockeye salmon at least 3-4 times per week.

So how exactly can we apply what we’ve learned to our daily lives? The next time we are feeling stressed or anticipate a stressful week or month, instead of reaching for that cliché pint of Ben & Jerry’s or a Xanax, whip up a delicious anti-stress meal full of these powerful vitamins.

Food as Medicine Quick Anti-Stress Lunch

Ingredients

5 ounces cooked wild Pacific Sockeye Salmon, chopped into small pieces

1 cup of sliced peppers, diced

¼ cup of shelled sunflower seeds

3 cups of fresh spinach

Dressing

½ cup of balsamic vinegar

¼ cup of maple syrup

2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard

1 cup of extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Blend all ingredients for dressing in a blender or with a whisk.

Combine peppers and spinach in a large bowl and top with salmon and sunflower seeds.

Add 2 tablespoons of prepared dressing and toss the salad.

Eat and be merry 

Yours in health,

Kristin

Sources

Food Sources of Folate. (2015) Available at: http://www.dietitians.ca/Your-Health/Nutrition-A-Z/Vitamins/Food-Sources-of-Folate.aspx

Food Sources of Niacin. Available at: http://www.dietitians.ca/Your-Health/Nutrition-A-Z/Vitamins/Food-Sources-of-Niacin.aspx

Food Sources of Thiamin. Available at: http://www.dietitians.ca/Your-Health/Nutrition-A-Z/Vitamins/Food-Sources-of-Thiamin-(Vitamin-B1).aspx

Food Sources of Vitamin B6. Available at: http://www.dietitians.ca/Your-Health/Nutrition-A-Z/Vitamins/Food-Sources-of-Vitamin-B6-(Pyridoxine).aspx

Food Sources of Vitamin B12. (2015) Available at: http://www.dietitians.ca/Your-Health/Nutrition-A-Z/Vitamins/Food-Sources-of-Vitamin-B12.aspx

Lewis et al. (2013). The Effect of Methylated Vitamin B Complex on Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms and Quality of Life in Adults with Depression. ISRN Psychiatry.

Oliveira et al. (2015). Effects of oral vitamin C supplementation on anxiety in students: a double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial. Pakistan Journal of Biological Sciences. 18(1) 11-18.

Pantothenic acid and biotic. Available at: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002410.htm

Weil, Andrew (2015). Elevated Homocysteine. Available at: http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART03423/Elevated-Homocysteine.html

Tacos were my absolute favourite food growing up. However, it wasn't until I had finished 5 years of nutrition schooling/interning that I had taken the time to read the back of that little package. After seeing such a huge list of unnecessary ingredients, such as "corn maltodextrin", "sugar", "caramel colour", "hydrolyzed soya and corn protein" (in taco seasoning, really?) the quest for finding a delicious taco seasoning recipe was on.

I recommend making this seasoning in a larger batch and storing it in a spice shaker for easy use. Remember - eating is not about perfection but if we can make these simple substitutions (which taste just as delicious!) then we are definitely on the road to a healthier life. 

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