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Fitness Blog
Wheat Belly
I mentioned in my last post that I read the book Wheat Belly over the holidays to help motivate me to give up wheat and go completely gluten free in 2012. In the book, author Dr. William Davis explains how wheat has evolved over the past 50 years, how it's been genetically altered and how these changes have made wheat highly addictive and incredibly destructive to our digestive system and overall health."And it’s not just about celiac disease, the destructive intestinal disease from wheat gluten that affects 1% of the population. It’s about all the other destructive health effects of wheat consumption, from arthritis to acid reflux to schizophrenia, caused or made worse by this food we are advised to eat more of. It’s about being set free from the peculiar appetite-stimulating effects of the opiate-like compounds unique to wheat. It’s also about losing weight–10, 20, or 30 pounds is often just the start–all from this thing I call wheat belly."I can definitely relate to the addictiveness of wheat because I've often found myself walking past the bakery section in the grocery store and getting sucked in by the smell of fresh baked goodies! I absolutely love sandwiches and there is nothing better than having one made on a fresh baked bun or a loaf of bread right out of the oven!After the reading the first few chapters of the book though, I also realized that I had been suffering from the digestive and gastro-intensinal problems associated with wheat. I chose to ignore these warning signs for years though because I love gluten rich foods (i.e. pizza, breads and pastas) and instead blamed my stomach pains on over eating or a sensitive digestive system.The book really opened my eyes to the negative effects wheat has on the body and on athletic performance. It convinced me to totally jump ship and give up wheat and all of my favourite comfort foods. It has been just over a month now and I feel great! It's funny, the only times that I've felt crappy (no pun intended) in the past few weeks was when I cheated and ate wheat. The first time was when I had a couple pieces of pizza at a friends place and the other time was last weekend when Marlaena and I BBQ'd some burgers and had them on fresh onion buns. Don't get me wrong.. the pizza was really tasty and the burgers were awesome but I felt so bloated after and spent most of the night in the bathroom both times!So I am going to try to make this a life long change and say good-bye to wheat forever. It's going to be hard at times and I'm only human so I know I will most likely consume gluten again. I'm just going to make sure those times are rare and well worth it.. and know to expect some discomfort afterwards!General Fitness article by Ben on Sunday, February 05, 2012 1:48:50 PM EST
Gluten Free
So my New Year's resolutions for 2012 were no alcohol and no gluten for 10 weeks. Now I don't drink too often (maybe 2-3 times a month) so cutting out the booze from my diet really wasn't that big of a deal. I was raised on breads and pasta though.. and I absolutely love a good sandwich so giving up gluten was a bit tougher to wrap my head around.I read the book Wheat Belly over the holidays to help get me motivated (I will write more about this another time). It has been almost 3 weeks now and I can honestly say that I am about 98% gluten free! It was a little challenging at first, having to find alternatives for my fried egg sandwich in the morning, my turkey or tuna sandwiches for lunch, my favourite fettuccine alfredo, and of course my weekly Sunday cheat.. a greasy, deep dish pizza! But now that I'm a few weeks in, it has gotten a lot easier!!Finding different things to eat for breakfast wasn't actually too bad, I just have to make sure I'm prepared and have all the ingredients I need. I'll now either have a protein smoothie in the morning (milk, greek yogurt, hemp seed oil, protein powder, egg whites and some frozen berries) or I'll make scrambled eggs with an assortment of veggies (yams, peppers, mushrooms, onions) and some cooked ham/turkey sausage/side bacon & cheese.For lunch, I'm trying to eat a lot more vegetables. I now have my turkey and tuna over a bed of salad or will make myself some chicken, rice & broccoli or mix some leftover meat and veggies up with some eggs and have another scramble. I realized that I was eating so many sandwiches because they were super easy and convenient. I've found that if my fridge is stocked full of fresh produce and if I have plenty of healthy options like lean meats, eggs and cheese on hand, it's super easy to put something together in a few minutes. I've also started carrying around some nuts, yogurt and fruit in my gym bag so I always have a snack with me if I need.Dinner really hasn't been a problem because I almost always eat something off the barbecue, whether it's a steak, grilled chicken or pork tenderloin. We also try to have fish at least once a week and have a bunch of wild salmon filets in our freezer from last Summer that we're still trying to get through. I always have a mixed salad or some steamed veggies (no starches) to accompany my meat.It's only been a few weeks so it's tough to tell how much of a difference removing gluten from my diet has made. I definitely feel better, I have more energy throughout the day and have been having far less gastrointestinal/digestive issues. I haven't felt bloated at all except for the time that I cheated and had some 2 for 1 pizza at a friends place the other weekend. My guts ached so bad the next day and I felt puffy, bloated and gross!I'm going to give it the full 10 weeks and then reassess things from there. I'm only human and realistically know that I'll probably eat gluten containing foods again. I'm going to try to treat the gluten containing foods like cheat meals though and limit them to no more than once or twice a week.General Fitness article by Ben on Saturday, January 21, 2012 6:08:43 PM EST
Grilled Salmon and Wild Rice
Marlaena and I were fortunate enough to go fishing last summer off the coast of Vancouver Island to a place called Sunshine Bay Resort. It was a quaint little lodge in the middle of nowhere and the first time that I've ever been on a fishing trip. We managed to catch over a dozen salmon over the 2 days we were there and they all weighed 10lbs. or more! We had the salmon packed in ice until we got home and then had it all vacuum sealed. We ended up with a bunch of filets in our freezer so we've been trying out different salmon recipes every week or so.This is a recipe we've actually tried a couple of times. Mar really enjoys it and I have to say it's probably one of my favourites as well. It's simple, easy to prepare and so tasty!Grilled Salmon and Wild RiceI used 1 large filet, it made approx. 4 portions.Marinade:2 tablespoons of Dijon Mustard3 tablespoons of Tamari Organic Soy Sauce (gluten free)6 table spoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil1/2 tablespoon of Minced GarlicGrill the salmon for about 4-5 minutes on each side.After the salmon is cooked, brush on the marinade and let sit for 10 minutes.Wild Rice:Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil to a pan and sauté 1 stock of celery, 1/2 an onion and a few diced mushrooms. Once soft, pour the veggies into a casserole dish that has a lid.Then in the same pan, sauté 1 cup of wild rice in a tablespoon of olive oil. I used Ambrosia wild rice blend. It's red and black, sweet and wild!Pour the rice into the casserole dish with the veggies and add 2 cups of low sodium chicken stock.Lay a couple of sprigs of thyme on top, cover with a lid and bake at 375 for 1 hour.Check it after an hour, turn the heat down to 350 and cook for maybe another 10 minutes or so.Take it out, remove the thyme and fluff it with a fork.It's served in the picture with some baked butternut squash and steamed green beans.Diet & Nutrition article by Ben on Wednesday, January 04, 2012 12:56:31 PM EST
Season's Greetings
One of my ALL TIME favorite treats during the holiday season are homemade butter tarts! I absolutely love them and have since I was a little kid. My grandma used to make them when I was younger and I remember I used to get so excited about going over to her house on Christmas Eve because I always knew there would be turkey, baked ham and plenty of butter tarts!This is definitely not a low-cal recipe and to be honest I wouldn't even want to know how many calories each one of these little pieces of heaven have packed in them! It's the holiday season though and new years is right around the corner so indulge a little bit and enjoy this favorite holiday treat of mine!Grandma's Homemade Butter Tarts
1 cup of raisons1/2 cup of butter1 cup of brown sugar1 cup of corn syrup1/2 teaspoon of salt1 teaspoon of vanilla2 eggs, lightly beaten18 unbaked tart shellsPreheat oven to 450 degrees F.In a heavy saucepan, combine the raisons, butter, sugar, syrup and salt. Heat it up on a warm stove on low heat until the butter is melted and the mixture is warm. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the vanilla and beaten eggs.Spoon fill the tart shells so they are 2/3 full. Do not fill them up too full or they will spill over while baking.Bake the tarts for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F. and bake for another 5 minutes or until the pastry is golden. Do not let the pastry filling bubble and let the tarts cool before attempting to remove them from the tart tins.Makes approx. 18 butter tarts!Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays Everyone!!!Diet & Nutrition article by Ben on Saturday, December 24, 2011 11:15:20 PM EST
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