JULES CLANCY loves keeping things simple, especially in the kitchen. She has a degree in food science and blogs about healthy meals made easy at www.thestonesoup.com.

3 Reasons to Meal Plan + a Quick Guide to Getting Started

by Jules Clancy

When I was first getting into cooking in my early 20s, I spent loads of time planning my meals each week. I’d pore over cookbooks and magazines, and write lengthy shopping lists. I actually enjoyed it in a funny way, but as life got busier my meal planning habit was one of the casualties.

I found myself falling into the trap of either picking something up on the way home from work or, more often than I’d like to admit, getting takeout or going to a restaurant.

Over time, I realized that having some sort of plan and shopping on a weekly basis was not only better for my waistline, it was also easier on my wallet. But the best discovery was that meal planning didn’t have to be as time consuming as I’d originally thought.

These days I only spend a few minutes a week on meal planning. I’m not kidding.

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Sophie Wright is an actor and wellness advocate currently in the Australian tour of Wicked the musical. She writes about how to incorporate wellness, mindfulness and healthy habits for performers and people in any creative industry. She has a new E-book coming out very soon with guided meditations, mindfulness worksheets and healthy recipes.

Rest for Success: Performance Lessons from Wicked the Musical

by Sophie Wright

I wish you could be a fly on the wall backstage of Wicked the Musical. It is manic.

Among the miraculous array of beautiful costumes, set pieces like Glinda’s bubble and the Wizard’s giant face, are a group of 25 sweaty, loud actors, singers and dancers who look like we’ve just done the world’s most intense bootcamp.

We’ve mastered the 30-second changes where we run off stage, change from ball gown to wiz costume, grab a prop and run back on stage to sing a high F in perfect pitch with a gleaming smile on our faces. No biggie…

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Photo by Yarden Sachs

Len Markidan writes about productivity and work/life balance at Home Office Hero. He’s also the Director of Marketing at Groove. To get his latest posts, sign up for his newsletter or follow him on Twitter.

How To Have Healthier Lunch Meetings (Willpower Not Required)

by Len Markidan

A few years ago, I decided to start making healthier food choices.

I threw out the cookies and processed junk in my house and went on a farmers market shopping spree, where I finally learned to properly pronounce “jicama.”

I felt GREAT. I was a new man.

For the first eighteen hours or so, anyway.

Because eighteen hours later, you see, I had to meet a client for lunch.

And while I walked in confident about my commitment and eager to pick the healthiest salad on the menu, here’s what actually happened:

Len: [Open the menu and catch myself lingering on the cheeseburger description. Quickly flip to the salads.] Mmm, the spinach and chicken salad looks good. The avocado jicama one, too. [Look up to make sure everyone caught me pronouncing jicama like a boss.]

Client: I’ll have the bacon cheeseburger.

Len: [Slam menu closed, hate myself.] Make that two, please!

Willpower has never been my strong suit.

To deal with that, I’ve had to build systems to make myself less dependent on willpower, in all areas of life.
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Photo by RenaudPhoto

Ashley Palmer is a Registered Nurse and holds a Masters degree in Human nutrition. She is the owner and founder of Youtrition®, a diet free, guilt free approach to lasting weight loss. Find her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

5 Steps to Stop Emotional Eating

by Ashley Palmer

Emotional eating can be frustrating if you are trying to improve your health. Even if you’ve worked hard to make good habit changes, emotional eating can cause you to reach for a carton of ice cream after a bad day and undo the progress you’ve made.

Emotional eating is one form of non-hunger eating, meaning it is triggered by something other than physiological hunger. For some people, emotional eating is a rare occurrence, only happening when a loved one falls ill or an incredibly stressful life event happens, while others may have developed a habit of daily emotional eating.

The danger in this is obvious on the surface: if we eat when our body has no true need for calories, it stores those extra calories (mostly in the form of body fat) for later use. But there can be danger beyond this: using food to calm emotions can become an unhealthy coping mechanism when underlying issues desperately need addressing.

Prior to receiving my Master’s degree in Nutrition and opening my own nutrition counseling practice, I worked as a Trauma Nurse in a large regional hospital. It was then that I learned, first hand, just how damaging emotional eating could be.

Although I was actively seeking positive change in my life and attempting to lose weight, I found that the stressful days at work made it all but impossible to stay away from large quantities of comfort food. Despite my desire to use food to make me feel better, it actually made me feel worse––uncomfortable, lethargic, sick, and guilty.

Over time I learned some incredibly useful strategies to help me overcome these tendencies. Years later, as a nutrition counselor, I continue to use many of these strategies successfully with my clients.

I’ve found that while each person finds one or two of these strategies to be the most beneficial, they still get the greatest benefit from using and implementing them in the order provided. So here they are, my top five tips for combatting emotional eating:
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For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

This week I was interviewed by the Bay Area Women’s Journal about my favorite healthy eating tips for the new year. Also be sure to read Dr. Steve Parker’s analysis of a new study that proves conclusively saturated fat is not associated with heart disease.

There are also great stories about the dangers of salt and snacking, and a hilarious flow chart describing exactly how to handle it if you drop your food on the floor.

I read many more wonderful articles than I post here each week. If you’d like to see more or just don’t want to wait until Friday, be sure to follow me on Twitter (@summertomato) or the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page. For complete reading lists join me on the social bookmarking sites StumbleUpon and Delicious. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you there. (Note: If you want a follow back on Twitter introduce yourself with an @ message).

Links of the Week

• Keep Your Diet and Exercise on Track! <<I shared some tips on healthy eating for the new year over at the Bay Area Women’s Journal.
• Watershed Science: Saturated Fat Does Not Cause Heart Disease <<No kidding, saturated fat is not associated with heart disease. This is not one study, it is a meta-analysis of all the best studies done on the role of diet in heart health. Keep in  mind though, saturated fat has also been linked to other diseases (like cancer), so this is not a free pass. But it sure is an encouraging finding if you happen to love bacon! (Nutrition Data Blog)
• Flowchart: ‘You Dropped Food on the Floor. Do You Eat It?’ <<This is just awesome. And hilarious. And awesome. (Serious Eats)
• Snack Time Never Ends <<Interesting look at children and snacking habits. Definitely worth reading. (New York Times)
• Big Benefits Are Seen From Eating Less Salt <<By far the biggest source of salt is processed foods–food companies have to fill them with salt and sugar to cover up the nasty taste. Cut down on junk and you don’t have to worry about salting your veggies. (New York Times)
• Tableware for the Slow Food Movement: Plate Tells You When You Are Eating Too Fast <<BS of the week. I’m all about the Slow Food movement (love it, in fact). But isn’t the whole point to slow down and enjoy what you eat? I fail to see how eating off this ugly electronic plate meter helps anyone embrace Slow Food. (Tree Hugger)
• DIY Refrigerator Care Saves Money, Keeps Refrigerator Alive Longer <<Who doesn’t love a good kitchen hack? Make your fridge live longer with these tricks. (Lifehacker)
• Chanterelle Omelette with Saucisson Vaudois <<This fancy omelet looks divine. This recipe is a perfect use for the beautiful chanterelle mushrooms that are in season now. (Jenn Cuisine)

What inspired you this week?

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

I had to make some tough cuts this week because there was so much good reading. I even doubled up once (shhhh, don’t tell). Featured, of course, are the two appearances Summer Tomato made on other blogs this week, including the coveted #1 spot on Chef2video’s Top 10 Thoughtful Food Blogs. Anyone interested in Twitter should definitely check out the crash course I wrote for Food Bloggers Unite! Seriously though, every single one of these stories are worth reading.

If you would like to see more of my favorite articles each week or just don’t want to wait until Friday, be sure to follow me on Twitter (@summertomato) or the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page. For complete reading lists join me on the social bookmarking sites StumbleUpon and Delicious. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you there.

Submissions of your own best food and health articles are also welcome, just drop me an email using the contact form. I am currently accepting guest posts at Summer Tomato for any healthy eating, living and exercise tips.

For The Love of Food

• Top 10 “Thoughtful Food Blogs” <<I was ranked #1 thoughtful food blog “babe” at Chef2video!!!
• Twitter Crash Course For Food Bloggers <<This guest post I did at Food Bloggers Unite! is perfect for anyone looking to use Twitter effectively, even if you aren’t a food blogger.
• The calorie delusion: Why food labels are wrong <<This fantastic article at New Scientist may challenge everything you think you know about calories (Thanks to @j_d_hastings at D’Arte Board)
• Living a longer life: whose advice helps? <<Ever suspect those longevity gurus like Dr. Oz were full of it? Well, turns out most of them are. (Los Angeles Times)
• 5 Guaranteed Ways To Curb The Mid-Afternoon Munchies <<Couldn’t agree more with these tips from Dumb Little Man. If you snack in the afternoon, these are your solutions.
• Tips To Get Fruits & Veggies In Your Diet <<B.S. of the week 10 asinine “tips” to get more (drinkable?) fruits and vegetables in your diet. Not sure what people have against chewing, but I have something against quickly digestible foods. (HealthKicker)
• Is The Cheesecake Factory Gross? Grist says yes, the Cheesecake Factory really is gross <<Speaking of restaurants, these two articles explain beautifully why some of you love the Cheesecake Factory and why the rest of us would be happy to avoid it the rest of our lives. Definitely check the first article to get an idea of the number of calories in a single meal at this popular restaurant. (Internet Food Association; Grist)
• How Fructose Impairs the Memory <<Summer Tomato always notices when nutrition and neuroscience collide. (Scientific American)
• The World’s Diet Secrets <<I was surprised how much I enjoyed this article on international health and dietary patterns by Yahoo! Health (thanks Dad!)
• Spanish-inspired Chickpeas, Chorizo and Spinach, inspired by the written word <<This divine looking recipe is making me really miss my pressure cooker. (Blue Kitchen)

What did you find this week?

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

I’m pleased to announce that I did another guest post, this time over at TwiTip about Twitter and the value of food tweets. I also found some divine homemade pizza recipes, great advice for choosing (and not choosing) smart seafood and an urban legend debunking session. Oh, and I call B.S. on Men’s Health for pretending slightly-less-fattening fast food is “healthy.”

If you would like to see more of my favorite articles each week or just don’t want to wait until Friday, be sure to follow me on Twitter (@summertomato) or the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page.

Submissions of your own best food and health articles are also welcome, just drop me an email using the contact form.

For The Love of Food

• How To Make Any Tweet Worth Following << My latest guest post (at TwiTip by @problogger) where I discuss the value of tweeting what you eat (on Twitter). Alternate title idea –  In Defense of Food: A Tweeter’s Manifesto. Please retweet!
• How to Make Money on Food Items in the Shape of Religious Icons <<Worth checking out for the picture alone. Hilarious, irreverent entrepreneurship. Does it get any better? (from Serious Eats)
• Eat Healthy at the Airport <<B.S. of the week. Leave it to Men’s Health to redefine “healthy” to include complete garbage. Real airport health food? Nuts, fruit, vegetables, eggs, water. Better yet, bring your own.
• Chew better, stay full longer? <<Great advice on getting more satisfaction from your meals by chewing longer. Courtesy of the Nutrition Diva herself, Monica Reinagle over at Nutrition Data.
• Red Bull’s New Cola: A Kick from Cocaine? <<Apparently Red Bull has traces of cocaine in it, according to Time. Better than fiction.
• Sardines for the eco-conscious <<Wonderful guide to choosing the healthiest, most sustainable fish from Limes and Lycopene (by @kathrynelliott)
• Tastier, Healthier Pizzas <<I altered the title a bit because I do not think the New York Times gave their pizza recipe enough credit. Sure it’s healthier, but what most people don’t understand is that these kinds of pizzas taste orders of magnitude better than typical take out. Seriously.
• All you can eat <<More than you ever wanted to know about where Red Lobster gets their bottomless shrimp. This article is long, but I was enthralled from start to finish (via @sandrasay)
• Chewing gum, spiders and jellyfish stings — all with a dose of skepticism <<The always skeptical Tami Dennis of the Los Angeles Times debunks some urban legends about food and other oddities.
• Daily Delish – Cheer for cherries 😉 <<Shout out to the lovely Shannon at The Daily Balance (@thedailybalance). I’ve always known Shannon was awesome, but she topped herself this week by mentioning basketball and cherries in the same post. FTW!!

What links did I miss? Share your faves of the week in the comments.

For The Love of Food

Welcome back to For The Love of Food. We’ve got some great stuff for you here this week, including my guest post at the renowned MizFitOnline and the first ever “B.S. of the week.”

If you would like to see more of my favorite articles each week or just don’t want to wait until Friday, be sure to follow me on Twitter (@summertomato) or the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page.

Submissions of your own best food and health articles are also welcome, just drop me an email using the contact form.

For The Love of Food

• When Is A Calorie Not A Calorie <<MizFit wanted to know why some calories have smaller impact than others. I give all the gory science details in this post.
• New Farmers Market Finds Home at the Metreon <<New 7 day farmers market at the Metreon theater in San Francisco (via @alohalizzie).
• 33 Healthiest Foods On Earth <<B.S. of the week. Healthy food advice coming from the food industry? I’m sure my health is their #1 concern. Very disappointing, Lifehacker.
• Politics of the Plate: The Price is Wrong <<An insightful look into how and why we do not pay enough money for our food, from Gourmet (via Chef2Video).
• Stormtrooper Breakfast Cereal <<You might as well come to accept the fact that I’m a huge Star Wars nerd (from Serious Eats).
• Updated Recommendations for Calcium and vitamin D <<People are finally starting to acknowledge that calcium is virtually useless as a supplement and vitamin D is where it’s at for bone health. Thanks Nutrition Data!
• How To Maintain A Healthy Lifestyle When You’re Too Busy To Care <<Personally I think you should never be too busy to care about your health, but in case you struggle with it here is a simple starter kit from Dumb Little Man.
• Sweet pea gazpacho <<Springtime version of a summer classic, recipe from Joanne Weir.
• Whole-grain cereal and other ‘healthy’ foods that fool <<So rarely does the main stream media (MSNBC) get it right, I thought I’d share. Just ignore what they say about calcium and osteoporosis–calcium intake is not related to this disease.
• Watch out for web diet scams!! <<Great tips on how to avoid bogus diet scams online (from Eleanor @ Make Friends with Food)

What great articles did you read this week?