Comments on: Having My Cake

By: Matt Shook

Matt Shook — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 10:28:00 +0000

@Darya

I know that avocado and açaí fats are healthy…but I still consider them to be a bit of an indulgence since it’s important to eat them in relative-moderation.

Okay, so after thinking a bout it a moment…I eat avocado, açaí, and chocolate regularly…almost daily…thus, it’s can’t really be an indulgence. You win.

I noticed the labels at the bottom but for some reason I never felt compelled enough to click on them. Probably lameness on my part…

Regarding your Foodfeed/Twitter dilemma…well, I think it may depend on who your “target audience” is. I’m all for sarcastic comments and smart-ass remarks, but some other folks may just want the health scoop. Interestingly, Natural News.com just moved all non-health related content to it’s sister site, CounterThink.com. I think they were getting some backlash for their overly-sarcastic political commentary.

I believe that as I continue to learn more about a variety of subjects, the more I understand how they all are interconnected. This blog isn’t just about eating, it’s about lifestyle, localism, science, and a great many things…

Now that I’ve made a short response long…I think you should post the entire twitter feed.

By: MizFit

MizFit — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 10:42:00 +0000

IMO indulging is a necessary thing.
partially so we dont feel deprived and go wild and partially, FOR ME, so that I eat junk and remember how it makes me feel (not so great ).
I always need both:
the treat and the remiding.

By: Darya Pino

Darya Pino — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 08:01:00 +0000

@Nate

Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed my post. Cake frosting is bad, but not that much worse than any other part of the cake. Pie is wonderful, but probably only slightly healthier.

Enjoy

—–
@Healthyliving

Great question! When I have junk food I don’t want I just give it to my friends. Most of them will eat anything. Sharing those calories over many people makes them less bad for everyone!

—–
@Matt

The fat in the foods you’re talking about is about as far from indulgence as you can get! Unsaturated fats are incredibly important for your health (I hate that The China Study glosses over this point).

Good fat improves HDL cholesterol and supports cognitive function. It also adds to satiation and can actually contribute to eating less, despite the higher calorie density.

The really bad calories come from sugar, white flour and animal products (saturated fat).

That being said, obviously you can’t eat 4500 calories a day and expect to stay thin, no matter where the calories come from

Ha! There is a reason we use the word “spam”!!

I also became better at cooking when I started eating more veggies and shopping locally. Necessity is the mother of invention!

I have been asked repeatedly for easier navigation on my site, and the Quick Links was my quick and dirty way of getting it up here asap. My new site will be a joy to navigate, I promise!!

For future reference, you can use the labels at the bottom of any post to see more posts with that label.

FoodFeed is fantastic! Question for you: I can post a streaming list of my FoodFeed posts on my new site. Or I can just post my entire Twitter stream, which will include the many health/news stories I read each day but also some of my smart ass commentary on the world at large. Any preference?

True that clementine experiment was inspired by you, but no need to feel bad! I love trying new things. It wasn’t gross or anything, just a little awkward to eat. I’ll keep trying and sooner or later I’ll have blueberries again

By: Matt Shook

Matt Shook — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 02:13:00 +0000

The summarizing questions at the bottom really get to the heart of the issue here. Yes, I know that there is room for indulgences in a healthy diet. I do not have a “fast metabolism” or a hard time putting on weight…I actually put on weight quite quickly. I honestly believe adopting a healthy and diversified plant-based diet, when implemented as a long-term lifestyle change and not a temporary modification, can enable someone to feel great and also feel great while also occasionally indulging themselves. I eat a lot of really good high-quality dark chocolate…it’s high is fat, but it’s never affected my waistline. I also eat a lot of açaí and avocado…both are high in fat, but really healthy for you. These three can be considered “indulgences” but really they are regular components in my daily food consumption…and they taste fabulous.

Good point about not wasting time, money, or calories on junk food…it really is trash any way you splice it.

It’s funny, when I was a teen I used to eat a lot of flesh…mostly chicken, cow, and pig. One thing I noticed is that I became a far more proficient and creative cook once I adopted an herbivore diet. I was amazed at how interested I became in various types/styles of food…sometimes working with less can be more.

@Darya

I really like the quick links you’ve added to the main page. It’s very useful to be able to click on recipes and see them all nicely lined up in order. Also, the food feed is pretty sweet…you talk the talk now ever can see you wok the wok.

Sorry the clementines didn’t work on the cereal…I feel partially to blame for that one. =(

By: Healthyliving

Healthyliving — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:05:00 +0000

I think you hit on the key, which is moderation. I guess its just important to truely make splurges like red meat and refined carbs the rare exception to your daily/weekly routine. For me, its important to be in the right mindset while food shopping otherwise I’ll buy a lot of bad stuff, then feel like I have to eat it. If I do buy stuff at the grocery store that is unhealthy, is it better to just throw it away? I go back and forth between eating it and throwing it away, even though I know that throwing it away would probably be the best thing to help me fit into my jeans…..

By: Nate @ Money Young

Nate @ Money Young — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 03:36:00 +0000

Darya, love this post. I am the same way. I try to eat healthy but I don't stress about it. I'll drink soda if it's offered, rather than making a stink about water, juice, or milk.

Same with food. I LOVE cake though I know the frosting isn't very healthy. So I don't eat it unless someone else makes it.

Hmm... It just occured to me Pie would be a great subsitute for Birthday cake... I think that's what I'll ask for this year is an Apple or perhaps cherry pie. Yum!

-Nate

By: Darya Pino

Darya Pino — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 02:59:00 +0000

@Peter

On week nights I try for under 15 min. I'm ridiculously busy and always starving after my workouts, so I have little patience for extravagance.

On weekends I might take a bit longer, for the foodie in me. My soups usually take 30-60 min, but that's lunch all week.

By: Peter Janiszewski, PhD (Cand.), MSc

Peter Janiszewski, PhD (Cand.), MSc — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 01:19:00 +0000

Darya,

I have become a Pavlovian dog - drooling every time I check your blog.

I must admit, albeit embarrassingly, I am a bit lazy when it comes to food preparation. How much time do you usually spend on a typical dinner prep?

By: Darya Pino

Darya Pino — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 21:28:00 +0000

@doug

Great perspective, thanks for the insight!!

By: doug

doug — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 21:21:00 +0000

To me this gets to the entire psychology of the matter, which is probably as important to getting people to eat right as educating them about their options to do so.

When you tell yourself "I shouldn't do [Activity X]," you've just inserted activity X into your mind, and avoiding it becomes its own miserable activity. After a while your mind gets sick of the effort and finds a way to forget about it, leading to you continuing the banned activity.

Obviously, telling yourself you have to do something you don't want is a chore too, but this is why its important to find the healthy options that you GET to enjoy.

If you are able to focus on the positive activity you don't obssess over what you can't do and it is easier. Fruit tastes as good as most candy or soda, and is much healthier. So focus on the fact that you are allowed to eat fruit. Same with bell peppers and other foods Darya writes about. If you are spending your time being happy that you get to enjoy these good foods, you will seek them out, all the while they are taking stomach space away from the unhealthy things.

And then the activities you theoreticaly aren't supposed to do aren't as bad for you. So you don't have to give yourself anxiety over them.

So it is way more productive to focus on the things you like about your positive activities instead of obssessing about the downsides of negative behavior that you enjoy.

When thinking about exercise if I think that I get to listen to music and get my blood pumping, I do it; if I think "I know it'll suck but if you don't do it you'll die young" I stay home.

Self-aware psychological framing is everything.