Tag Archive for: eggs

Breakfast: What Wonder Woman Eats

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What’s for breakfast? Cereal? Low-fat yogurt? A single hard-boiled egg? If breakfast is an afterthought or a meal that happens by accident (if it happens at all), I hope I can help you rethink your morning and shift your routine from eating-on-the-run to fueling-up for the long haul.

Whoever first said, “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” knew what she was talking about. Sure, in our fast-paced world where many people wake up feeling like they are already behind, it’s not always easy to prioritize breakfast, but beginning your day with a nutrient-dense breakfast suited to your body is a linchpin far too important to omit. A solid breakfast provides both children and adults with:

• Stable blood sugar
• A happy, revved-up metabolism
• Solid, stable energy for 4-5 hours at a pop
• Mental clarity and focus
• Improved memory
• A greater sense of well-being and emotional stability

Imagine a day when you aren’t dealing with blood sugar crashes (aka, “the hangries), moodiness, mental fogginess, or sluggishness. Dreamy, right? It’s all yours if you set your day in motion with good fuel.

Breakfast sets the tone for your entire day.

Eating a breakfast right for you is going to change your life. But here’s the catch: you may have to experiment a bit to figure out what that is. Every body is different, even if just a little bit. Some people need more protein in the morning, others more fat. (For the record, nobody needs more sugar.) So consider trying on some breakfasts as if you were trying on shoes; see what fits and feels good.

Ideas:

• 1-2 cups vegetables sautéed in olive oil or butter with an organic egg or two. My favorite veggies right now: onions, garlic scapes, broccoli, and kale); add a dollop of aioli if you really want a treat.
• a vegetable/fruit smoothie that’s heavy on the veggies and light on the fruit. Try for 2/3 veggies like zucchini, cucumbers, kale, or spinach and 1/3 fruit. Add a plant-based protein powder like Vega One to keep you full longer.
• 2-3 Tablespoons chia seeds soaked in ½-3/4 cup coconut milk, almond milk, or yogurt. Add fresh berries, nuts and seeds, shredded coconut, and cacao nibs for a superfood, antioxidant-rich start to your day.

Sometimes a rock star breakfast doesn’t look anything like a typical breakfast. Last night’s leftovers of roasted chicken and vegetables would probably make an excellent start to the day. Sweet potato and Brussels sprouts paired with organic sausage might seem weird at first but will probably keep you full and focused for five hours.

Here’s another go-to recipe of mine. I believe it first came from The Splendid Table on NPR. I’ll make it on Sunday so it’s ready to go for the week:

Cauliflower Kuku Yield: 4 generous servings

Kuku is a type of open-faced omelet similar to the Italian frittata and the Arab eggah. Filled with vegetables and herbs, a good kuku should be thick and rather fluffy. A frittata pan, consisting of two interlinking pans that fit one on top of the other, is perfect for making a kuku—a regular pan will also be fine; you will just have to cook the top under the broiler for a couple of minutes. (I use my cast iron pan.)
One of the best things about kukus is that they can be eaten hot or at room temperature, and they keep very well in the fridge for up to 4 days.

1/2 cup olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 small head cauliflower, cut up into florets and coarsely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon rice flour or potato starch
1/2 cup goat-milk cheese, crumbled

Preheat oven to 400 ̊F. Heat 1/4 cup oil in a medium-sized, ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, cauliflower, salt, pepper, cumin, turmeric, cayenne, and parsley, and stir-fry for 4-5 minutes, or until the cauliflower is soft. Meanwhile, break the eggs into a mixing bowl, add the remaining ingredients and whisk lightly. Pour kuku mixture into the skillet and give it a quick stir using a rubber spatula. Reduce heat to low, flatten the surface of the kuku, and pour the remaining oil around the edges. Cook for 4 minutes. Transfer the skillet to the preheated oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned and coming away from the skillet. Remove the skillet from the oven, cut into wedges, and serve with fresh herbs and yogurt.

Just remember, breakfast isn’t going to make itself. It’s going to take planning and a little extra time to succeed. But I promise, if you muster up 15 minutes to feed yourself and the will to try something new, you just might experience what it feels like to be Wonder Woman or Superman: strong and unstoppable.

In love & service,

Claudine

P.S. As always, I’d love for you to leave a comment below. I’m always curious about what you’re thinking, and I’ll always respond.

Simple Cabbage Breakfast

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I’m a big believer in the power of a solidly nutritious breakfast. Even as the trend of intermittent fasting (and thus the concept of possibly waiting to eat breakfast until you’re hungry) seems to be growing exponentially, I stand by my belief that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

When we eat a nutritious breakfast the benefits are numerous, but the two main benefits which I feel impact the entire trajectory of one’s day include balanced blood sugar and a fired-up metabolism. When we have balanced blood sugar and a fired-up metabolism, we think more clearly, have more energy, have more patience, tend to be more productive, we avoid blood sugar and energy crashes, and our body goes into fat-burning mode rather than storage mode, which can lead to weight loss. Additionally, sleep tends to improve and hormones are more likely to be in harmony with one another.

Breakfast is a big deal. But it can be extraordinarily simple.

Below is the simplest of ideas for a nutritious breakfast that will keep you satiated and productive for hours:

Simple Cabbage Breakfast

1 Tablespoon butter or coconut oil
1-2 cups sliced cabbage
1/2 sliced yellow or white onion (or about 1/2 cup)
1-2 eggs, beaten
salt and pepper, to taste

Melt butter or coconut oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add cabbage and onion and saute until wilted. Salt and pepper to taste. Remove wilted veggies to a bowl, then add eggs to the heated pan. Cook until done (I like mine scrambled, but you can cook your eggs however you like). Add to cabbage and onion mixture, and enjoy!

This keeps me full for about 4 hours and gives me steady energy. When lunchtime approaches, I’ll notice my belly start to growl (mine is quite vocal!), but I won’t feel agitated, angry, or hangry about it. I’ll just notice that I’m hungry again. This is a sign that my blood sugar stayed steady all morning, which is what I want.

One more note: to keep my morning routine and breakfast prep simple, I chop a bunch of cabbage and onions at once (usually on Sunday) and keep them ready to go in the fridge so that I can skip the chopping step in the morning.

With love and a big hug,
Claudine

Making Music from the Autumn Blues

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For as long as I can remember, Autumn has been my favorite season. I love everything about it: the cooler temps and brisk air, nature’s fiery kaleidoscope of oranges, yellows, and reds, even the shorter days and long nights that arrive with the changing seasons.

Basically I feel like the introvert in me can fully relax for the first time since spring rushed in with its frenzy of nonstop activity. It’s okay to slip into my p.j.’s at 7pm, curl up with a good read, and sleep nine hours without feeling an ounce of guilt.

Many, many people, however, have the exact opposite experience that I do. When the calendar hits September, some of you begin filling with dread, knowing that the dark, chilly months ahead will likely sour your mood, tank your energy levels and leave you feeling depleted, lonely, listless, worried, nervous, and SAD. I hear it from my clients each year: fall and winter feel endless and suffocating.

This newsletter is for you.

SAD = Seasonal Affective Disorder
While it’s been known for a very long time that some people struggle with their mood and energy during autumn and winter, the term “SAD” has only been around since 1984 when it was first used in a paper written by Norman Rosenthal and his colleagues at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, MD. This paper helped shine the spotlight on and foster a wider discussion about SAD, the disorder an estimated 10-20% of Americans deal with. It spurred decades of concentrated research about what drives SAD, how it might be treated effectively, and it also brought validity to the very real struggles and depression that many people experience like clockwork every year.

The reasons some people experience SAD and others don’t still isn’t understood completely because – like most things we study – everybody is unique and there’s a ton of nuance to consider, but it is theorized that SAD is related to changes in circadian rhythms, as well as shifts in both melatonin and serotonin production. (Melatonin is the hormone that regulates sleep wake cycles; serotonin is our feel-good hormone.)

Since SAD is such a big topic, I’ve decided to devote two newsletters to the conversation. Today we’ll be looking at how we might be able to harness physical activity and nutrition (including supplementation) to our benefit; next time we’ll dive into additional lifestyle practices to consider. Stay tuned.

Making Music from the Autumn Blues

1. Eat an Anti-Inflammatory Diet
Admittedly, this topic could be an entire newsletter in itself, but basically an anti-inflammatory diet consists of:
– lots of brightly colored organic fruits and vegetables: dark, leafy greens like kale and collards, bright berries, glowing orange squashes and pumpkins, purple cabbage, etc. Strive to eat a rainbow of produce each day. What if you filled 2/3 of your plate with produce each day? It would be a phytochemical-fest! (And that would be a good thing.)
– plenty of healthy fats: avocados, omega-3 rich fish like salmon and sardines, olives, olive oil, chia seeds, nuts, etc.
– quality meats: if you eat meat, choose meat from animals that lived a good life outside in the sunshine, eating a diet natural to them (a diet usually consisting of grasses, forbs, legumes, grubs, insects, etc. Yum!)
– other nutritionally-dense, fiber-rich foods: quinoa, black beans, pinto beans, brown rice, etc.

An anti-inflammatory diet does not include soda, sugar, excessive alcohol, chemicals, highly-processed or other poor quality food (but you already knew that). Here’s an easy shortcut to remember: if it has a label on it, you may want to think twice about eating it.

2. Consider Carb Cycling
More and more functional medicine physicians are talking about a concept called “carb cycling,” which emphasizes the importance of timing one’s daily carbohydrate intake in a way that adjusts our cortisol rhythms and makes it easier to harmonize our circadian rhythms (remember, it’s theorized that circadian rhythms are often disrupted in those dealing with SAD). There’s often some confusion around what exactly is meant when we say the word carbohydrate; in this context we’re talking about most beans, potatoes and sweet potatoes, winter squashes like acorn, butternut, and kabocha, peas, lentils, parsnips, turnips, corn, beets, brown rice, quinoa, all other grains, and fruit.

If one were cycling his or her carbs, it would look like this:
Breakfast: 1 golf ball-sized amount of carbohydrates
Lunch: 2 golf balls of carbohydrates
Dinner: 3 golf balls of carbohydrates

Studies showed that participants who cycled their carbs according to the amounts above balanced out their cortisol levels, began sleeping more easily and soundly, and even lost weight – usually within a couple of weeks.

3. Supplement with Vitamin D
The benefits of vitamin D are now well-reported and most people have some awareness of just how critical this “vitamin” (which is really a hormone) is to optimal health. Bone health, immune health, mental health, and more all rely on a solid bank of vitamin D, preferably in the 55-80 ng/ml range (vitamin D levels can be ascertained via a blood test). SAD is more common the more north you go. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, SAD is seven times more common in Washington than in Florida, which has led researchers to conclude that optimal vitamin D levels play a critical role in warding off SAD. Find out your vitamin D levels, then talk to your doctor about just how much vitamin D to supplement with. Because I live in Minnesota (a northern latitude) and have a tendency to be deficient anyway, I don’t think twice about taking 5,000-10,000 IU’s daily in the winter, but everybody is unique.

4. Talk to your physician about 5-HTP.
5-HTP is an amino acid used in the production of serotonin. Serotonin, as you well know, is the neurotransmitter responsible for stabilizing one’s mood and essentially helping us feel good. Physicians generally recommend supplementing with 5-HTP rather than serotonin because it can access the brain from the bloodstream, whereas serotonin cannot. 5-HTP can also be converted into the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin, often proving helpful for those suffering from insomnia related to SAD. Overall clinical trials to date show that 5-HTP has been shown to help alleviate depression associate with SAD, as well as persistent depression. While 5-HTP is generally considered safe, please don’t run out and start supplementing without talking to your doctor first. If you take an anti-depressant, it may not be wise to throw 5-HTP into the mix. Likewise, it can cause GI upset for some folks. Note: it is recommended that one take 5-HTP for a maximum of 12 weeks at a time.

5. Boost your B-vitamins with a quality probiotic. Among the trillions of important bacteria that live in our digestive tract are friendly little guys that produce B vitamins, specifically biotin, folate, and B12. B vitamins are important for energy production – converting our food into fuel – which is critical for people suffering from winter lethargy. Additionally, b vitamins are known to help alleviate mood disorders, including depression and anxiety. Keeping your gut microbiome healthy is important for many reasons, one of which definitely includes nurturing the production of B vitamins. Our poor microbiome is constantly under assault from stress, sugar, chemicals, nutritional deficiencies, and alcohol, so incorporating a probiotic like Prescript Assist or Florastor (two of my favorites) can give us some much-needed support.

6. Move your body, preferably in the morning.
I realize it is a tall order to ask someone who is feeling down and lethargic to incorporate exercise into her routine, but moving your body is absolutely critical for keeping SAD at bay. Inactivity will only breed more lethargy. Movement creates energy. I’m a huge fan of getting outside for a brisk walk in the morning (another thing that helps balance our circadian rhythms), but if that doesn’t speak to you find something else that does. Perhaps swimming at a local gym or participating in a heated yoga class will help you forget it’s winter. Maybe dancing is your thing; hip hop or other dance videos are just a click away on YouTube. Even just putting on some favorite tunes and lifting weights for 10 minutes can send a positive ripple through your day. Just don’t sit on your butt all day. That will never serve you.

Seasonal Affective Disorder is real and can be debilitating. I hope you found an idea or two you can explore further. I’ll be back in a couple of weeks with a Part 2 to this newsletter, in which I’ll share additional lifestyle practices we can try to help make some music from the Autumn Blues. Sending you love and light as we journey into the dark.

With love and a big hug,
Claudine