Rediscovering Intuitive Eating and A Breakfast Scone

Today our eating habits are defined by many rules. Rules that we have learned throughout our lives or have even implemented ourselves. But have these rules made eating any easier, healthier or more enjoyable?

As far back as my childhood I can remember rules around eating. My parents would tell me to finish my plate, or eat my vegetables first. Some foods were even banned in our household such as chips, soda, and candy. Every time I spent the night at a friend’s house I would binge on all the ‘forbidden foods’, Captain Crunch or Fruit Loops for breakfast, soda and pizza for lunch, candy as a snack, and Sloppy Joe’s for dinner. Whatever they offered I would devour.

Then as a young adult, reading beauty magazines, dieting was introduced to me. Messages filled with what to eat to lose weight, what not to eat, and how much to eat, bombarded me from every angle. Even today I see them at the checkout stands. Also, now with nutrition information much more in the forefront than ever before, we are receiving eat healthy or die messages from nonprofit organizations to food companies. No wonder we have built a whirlwind of anxiety around eating. With external forces influencing our eating patterns more than our own hunger cues, it is hard to define balanced and nutritious eating for ourselves.

All that the rules have given us is a lack of trust and confidence in our own ability to govern when and how much we should eat. Luckily we all possess the ability to eat intuitively. However, we have to uncover the many layers of rules, traditions, and emotions that have rooted deep into our eating beliefs.

In the book Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program That Works, Tribiole and Resch define 8 different eating styles including:

1. Careful eater: Fitness and health defines eating pattern

2. Unconscious Eater: Eating while distracted by another task

3. Chaotic Eater: Eating on the run due to over-scheduling

4. Refuse-Not Eater: Open food presence on counter

5. Waste-Not Eater: Free food or large portions should not be wasted

6. Emotional Eater: Stress and emotions trigger eating

7. Professional Dieter: Always dieting due to feeling fat

8. Intuitive Eater: Using biological hunger cues to make food choices

I am sure everyone can identify with at least one. I know I can. Here are some questions to ponder:

• How has your eating style formed you? 
• Do you remember how it first developed? 
• Can you envision your daily triggers? 
• What and perhaps who has influenced these rules? 

With so much information at our fingertips and constant advertisements promoting foods or diets that will make you younger, healthier, fitter, it is hard to make our own judgments. Ultimately, the goal is to eat a nutritionally balanced diet using biological hunger cues, that not only brings joy, but also vital nutrients to support our amazing bodies.

Following I have summarized the 10 principles that Tribole and Resch use to help overcome the patterns and rules we have built surrounding our eating habits. I know that these tips may be easier said then done. However, they may help you move forward with your emotional and physical health surrounding food.

Ditch the Diet Mentality: Holding on to the hope that a new and better diet may help you lose weight quickly and easily will prevent you from rediscovering intuitive eating. Learn to listen to yourself and not the diet books and magazines.

Acknowledge Your Hunger: Triggering a primal drive to overeat can occur when you are depriving yourself of adequate energy and carbohydrates. Learn to pay attention to your biological signs of hunger, feeding yourself with a balanced meal or snack when need be.

End The War With Food: When you tell yourself you cant have a certain food it can backfire causing you to overeat the food your depriving yourself of. By giving yourself permission to eat all foods and discarding the forbidden food label you will save yourself guilt from binging episodes.

Gage Your Fullness: Learn to listen and feel when you are no longer hungry. Instead of grabbing seconds ask yourself are you really still hungry? If yes, then go for it!

Quiet The Food Police: Try to avoid giving foods bad or good labels based on their calorie content, and challenge your psyche with positive phrases in place of negative.

Importance of Satisfaction: When we bombard ourselves with dieting rules we can lose the pleasure and satisfaction associated with an eating experience. If you eat what you really want, not only will you satisfy your hunger, but it tends to “hit the spot” usually causing you to eat less because you have found a much deeper satisfaction than by following your diet rules.

Managing Emotions Without Food: This is a hard one, I know, but finding comfort in food when stressed, lonely, angry, bored, etc. can cause you to eat although you may not be hungry. Resolving issues or finding ways around the triggers will help you feel better in the long run. Food will only help for the moment and perhaps even cause discomfort thereafter.

Love Your Body: Learning to accept who you are and creating realistic goals for yourself, will help you feel better about your body. Rejoice in a healthy and functioning body and all the wonderful things you can do with it.

Move Your Body: Learn to enjoy exercise for the sake of moving your body instead of the calorie-burning aspect of it. Focus on how you feel afterwards, are you energized, are you motivated, did you have fun?  When exercise is fun and energizing it is much easier to implement for the long run.

Respect Your Health: Its what you eat consistently that will make you gain weight or cause nutrient deficiencies. Stressing over one snack, meal, or even day will not impact your health in the long run. Making healthy choices a lifestyle instead of a “need to do”, will allow you to experience freedom and enjoyment in indulgences.

It takes time to relearn the innate ability of your body to guide your eating patterns. Hopefully by implementing these principles into your lifestyle you will learn to trust and listen to your body’s intuitive cues. Not only will this help you reduce food associated guilt or emotional distress, but it will also help you find pleasure in eating. Intuitive eating is a lifestyle that can help lead you along a path to feeling physically and mentally healthy. Consequently, your body will find its natural balance for optimal health.

So now that you have a few tools in your pocket, I hope you are able to take the time to thoroughly enjoy this scone with a cup of hot tea in the comfort of your home. Perhaps you share it with a friend, or freeze some for later. Either way, may it be wonderful!

Orange Turmeric Middle Eastern Scones

Makes 8 scones

Ingredients:

For the Dough:

1 ¼ cup gluten-free flour mix (with xantham gum)

½ cup garbanzo flour

¾ cup cooked quinoa

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon turmeric

2 tablespoons sesame seeds, plus more for decoration

½ cup blonde coconut sugar, plus more for topping

½ vanilla bean, scraped

Zest of ½ Valencia orange

¼ cup coconut oil (not melted)

2 tablespoons coconut cream (or an extra tablespoon coconut oil)

½ cup almond milk

1 cup wild blueberries (you can buy them at Trader Joe's)

Optional: beaten egg

For the Glaze:

Juice of 1 Valencia orange

2 tablespoons maple syrup

½ vanilla bean, scraped

Directions:

1. In a large food processor add gluten-free flour, garbanzo flour, quinoa, salt, baking, powder, baking soda, turmeric, sesame seeds, coconut sugar, vanilla bean, and orange zest. Pulse a few times to combine.

2. Slowly add the coconut oil and coconut cream while pulsing the food processor.

3. Splash by splash add the almond milk, pulsing in between each splash. You may not need to add all the almond milk. Stop adding almond milk when the dough thoroughly combines in the food processor.

4. Line a 9-inch spring-form pan with plastic wrap and evenly cover the bottom of the pan with blueberries. Top the blueberries with the dough, pushing down to make sure the blueberries stick. Press the dough smoothly and evenly across pan.

5. Cover the dough with remaining edges of plastic wrap, and place into freezer. Allow to freeze about 30 minutes.

6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Meanwhile, in a small sauce-pan bring the orange juice to a simmer, and add the maple syrup and scraped vanilla bean. Reduce heat to low, allowing mixture to slowly simmer. Continue to reduce, until the mixture forms a syrup consistency (about 20-30 minutes). Remove from heat.  

7. Remove the dough from the freezer and flip onto a large cutting board with blueberries facing up. Sprinkle the top with a few remaining sesame seeds, some coconut sugar, and brush with beaten egg. If you want to keep the recipe vegan, you do not need to brush with egg, it just gives the scones a nice shine. Cut the dough into 8 even pieces.

8. Place pieces onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake scones for about 25 minutes. Make sure to give each slice room to grow a little bit.

9. When the scones are done, drizzle each with the reduced orange maple syrup glaze and allow to cool.

10. Serve fresh, store in airtight container in refrigerator, or freeze. Frozen or refrigerated scones are great warmed up in toaster. 

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Golden Cornmeal Weekend Pancakes

It’s a sunny Sunday and I am craving pancakes. Usually the craving dissipates and I lazily return to my regular soft-boiled egg and a slice or two of power bread, or even just granola with yogurt and fresh blueberries. But today was different. The sunrays gently warmed the kitchen, and the percolator was noisily bubbling away, wafting the delicious coffee aroma my way.  Even if I am alone, I still should treat myself to pancakes, right? I can always freeze the leftovers….

So off I went creating, developing, and soon the kitchen counters were covered with my various flours, seeds, sweeteners, and kitchen utensils. I was in my element and I was happy. I wanted bright and gold pancakes, with a crispy edge but still soft on the inside. Something a little nutty, but not overwhelming so I could toast the leftovers in place of bread for another breakfast another day.

Using masa harina in this recipe gives the pancakes that soft sunny glow and comforting taste of cornbread. Mixed with both brown rice and tapioca flours, this base is great for those on a gluten-free diet. However, since tapioca flour contains no fiber, I decided to add ground psyllium husk to help increase the soluble fiber content of the pancakes. I know I like to talk and hound about fiber often, but its importance is not to be disregarded. Remember fiber helps balance blood sugar, aides in digestion, feeds healthy gut bacteria, captures excess cholesterol, and can even clean away cancerous cells. You can read more about fiber here and here. I also added whole flax seeds which not only pack 8g of fiber per ounce but also are a great source of alpha-linolenic fatty acids, which can help reduce inflammation in the body! Finally utilizing soymilk in place of dairy and applesauce and honey in place of sugar, this pancake remains very allergen friendly. A little ginger and a little lemon zest brighten the flavors to match the golden color of the cornmeal.

Now that we have such wonderful pancakes, what can we put on them?

Here are a few of my favorite ways to eat pancakes:

1. Top with a dollop of plain yogurt (dairy or non-dairy), roasted walnuts, and fresh berries.

2. Spread with almond butter, top with banana slices and a drizzle of maple syrup.

3. Top with sautéed greens and an extra virgin olive oil fried egg , salt and pepper and hot sauce.

4. Toast a frozen pancake and:

• Cut into slices and dip into a soft-boiled egg
• Open-faced sandwich: top with crème fraiche/avocado, tomato slices, oregano, salt and pepper

Golden Cornmeal Pancakes

Makes 12 pancakes

Wet Ingredients:

1 cup water

1 cup unsweetened soy milk

½ cup unsweetened applesauce

2 tablespoons ground psyllium husk

1 tablespoon raw honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
Juice of ½ small lemon

Dry Ingredients: 

1 cup brown rice flour

½ cup masa harina (fine corn flour)

½ cup tapioca flour/starch
1/8 teaspoon xantham gum

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons whole flax seeds

Extra virgin coconut oil for frying

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl add water, soy milk, applesauce, ground psyllium husk, honey, vanilla, lemon juice, and ginger and mix together. Let stand about 5 minutes to allow psyllium husk to swell.

2. In a separate large bowl, mix together brown rice flour, masa harina, tapioca flour, xantham gum, sea salt, baking powder, baking soda, and flax seeds.

3. When the psyllium mixture is ready, gently fold into the flour.

4. Heat a small frying pan to medium-low and add a bit of coconut oil. Use a ¼ cup-measuring spoon to drop batter into pan. You may need to spread the batter out a bit with a spatula to get desired shape. Fry on both sides and keep warm in oven (175 degrees).

Note: Freezing is a great option for leftover pancakes. Allow remaining pancakes to cool completely and put into freezer safe Ziploc bags. You can easily reheat them by toasting individual pancakes in toaster on high. It’s a quick and easy way to enjoy pancakes without the clean up!

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Power Bread

Would you like some bread with your seeds?

After being inspired by two of my favorite blogs My New Roots and Green Kitchen Stories, I decided to try to make my own gluten-free and vegan bread. This bread is unlike any other bread, utilizing mostly nuts, seeds, and rolled oats, and is flour free! One slice alone supplies almost 2g of fiber, 2.5g of plant protein, 5g of healthy fats, and 7.6g of carbohydrates. As the saying goes “ good things, come in small packages” and that is definitely true with this bread. Two small slices is all you need to start your day off right, or bring sustenance to a cold lunch.

The one thing I really love about this bread is its versatility. Savory or sweet, fresh or frozen, after it is toasted and topped with fresh vegetables or honey, it is divine.  When I go the savory route I like to dip it into a soft-boiled egg, or top it with cucumber, avocado and a sprinkle of pink sea salt. If I go the sweet route, one slice toasted with a drizzle of local honey hits the spot just fine. And not to mention, it is so EASY to make. You do not need to be an experienced baker, and you will not have a kitchen covered from head to toe in flour. All you need is a food processor, a bowl, your baking tins, and just 15 minutes of your time. Of course you need to bake it too, but that doesn’t require any hands on work. So, are you ready to get started on the Power Bread band wagon? If yes, then come on and join the healthy and easy fun!

Here are a few tips to keep in mind. 1) Make two mini loafs instead of 1 large loaf. This way your bread slices are taller. 2) Let the mixture sit in the tin about an hour before baking. It allows the soluble fiber from the pysllium, flax and oats to bind throughout the seed mixture. 3) Let the bread cool completely on the counter, and again in the refrigerator before slicing. I know this will be hard, but do it. 4) Once cooled its much easier to pre-slice the bread, and freeze half of the slices for later. Use a sharp serrated bread knife to slice thin even slices. When freezing, wrap pre-sliced loaf in saran wrap and put into freezer safe bag. For refrigerator storage put slices into airtight container. 5) And last but not least, my favorite, toasting each slice increases the nutty crunchiness of the bread. I definitely recommend this step.

Power Bread

Makes about 30 slices

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups water

2 tablespoons ground psyllium husk

½ cup raw almonds

½ cup raw sunflower seeds

1/3 cup flax seeds

1/3 cup hulled sesame seeds

1/3 cup raw pumpkin seeds

1 ½ cups rolled oats (gluten-free)

½ cup dried currants

¾ teaspoons fine sea salt

3 tablespoons organic extra virgin coconut oil, melted

Directions:

1. Put 1 ½ cups filtered water into a large bowl and add the ground psyllium husk and let it sit for about 10 minutes. I can usually find this in the BULK section of any whole foods/natural grocery store.

2. Meanwhile, toss the raw almonds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, and pumpkin seeds into a food processor. Pulse a few times to chop the seeds and nuts and add to psyllium mixture after 10 minutes have passed.

3. Then add the rolled oats, the currants, the fine sea salt, and coconut oil to the pysllium/seed mixture. With a spatula mix thoroughly.

4. Lightly oil the two mini baking tins, and fill with the seed mixture. Pack it down so it molds nicely into an even loaf shape. (You can also do 1 large loaf, but you will have to bake it longer~ 60-70min)

5. Let the bread sit on the counter for about an hour and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

6. Bake the bread for about 45-50 minutes. You will be able to smell the toasted nuts and it will have a golden brown color. When done the bread should easily slide out of the baking tins and make a hollow sound when tapped. Allow to cool on a rack and continue to cool in refrigerator before slicing. Each mini loaf should make about 15 individual slices. 

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Love and Lemon Macaroons

My fiancé is a fisherman in Alaska. That means every summer I go four to five months without seeing him. It’s tough, lonely, interesting, and uniquely binding. I like it, but also dislike it. It means I have four to five months were I am Selva Wohlgemuth, nothing else. I do and am exactly what I want to do and be…if that makes sense. An independent woman, scheduling my life full of friends, family, and activities, in ways that I choose. I am busy, and not distracted. I get a lot done, and feel accomplished at the end of the day. However, deep down I am lonely and I miss my best friend. He is the yin to my yang. He pushes me to challenge myself when I need the extra shove. He will go on adventures with me when no one else will. He loves me for who I am, never judging, just supporting. Gosh darn it, I love him!

So, with a few hours of down time, I decided to send him a care package filled with homemade goodies, photos, and a letter, all perfectly placed into a shoebox. Old school, romantic, and simple.  It’s the communication of the past, which can gift much more meaning than a phone call or email. It’s a package of reflection, a package of home, and simply a package of love. A way to send a little of me to him, over the many thousands of miles we are apart.

Within that package I was able to stuff my favorite lemon macaroons. I love lemon, the smell, the taste, and the way it uplifts your soul. Lemons offer a sense of brightness not only in color but also in flavor. These small delicious macaroons are simply my take on a classic. They are gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free. Made with coconut sap and honey, shredded coconut, egg whites, a good bit of lemon zest, all dunked into the finishing bittersweet chocolate. Yummm.

The coconut has become the newest and exciting food item today. It is versatile, tastes delicious, and comes in many forms oil, sweetener, flakes, cream, milk, water, etc. I am sure I forgot something, oh yea, flour. It is one of the most popular items for those that are gluten or dairy free, offering many vital nutrients including fats, carbohydrates, fiber, protein, potassium, magnesium, iron, as well as B-vitamins. No wonder cultures have used it for centuries.

Now imagine a fisherman enjoying a bite-sized macaroon out on the stormy Alaskan seas…its quite a silly image, right? Either way, I am sure he will love them, as will you and your partner in crime.

Cheers to those in our lives that make every second worth it!

Lemon Macaroons

Makes 26 individuals cookies

Ingredients

¼ cup coconut nectar

¼ cup honey

2 ½ cups shredded coconut, unsweetened

2 egg whites

Zest of 1 ½ small lemons

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 pinches fine sea salt

½ cup dark chocolate, coarsely chopped (can use chips too)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees fahrenheit. Using a medium saucepan heat the coconut nectar and honey over medium heat until runny and fluid.

2. Add the coconut, egg whites, and zest. Mix well and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook for a minute or two.

3. Remove from heat and add the sea salt and the vanilla. Mix well. Allow the mixture to cool. This allows the mixture to firm up a bit more.

4. Roll up your sleeves and with bare hands form small balls by squeezing the mixture tightly in your hand and pinching it into the correct shape. Place onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Parchment paper is very important along the whole process. Do not go on without it!

5. After you have formed about 26 small macaroons, place them into the oven and bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown. Check on them at 15 minutes and then keep a steady eye on them. Some may brown quicker than others depending on your oven.

6. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool on cookie sheet. I usually let them cool for 5 minutes on the counter and then put them in the refrigerator (on the cookie sheet).

7. Meanwhile, prepare a double boiler, by bringing a little bit of water to boil in a small saucepan. Once water is boiling place a bowl into the saucepan, making sure that the water will not splash in. Reduce the heat to medium-low.

8. Add ¾ of the chopped chocolate into the bowl and stir frequently until all is melted. Chop the remaining chocolate even smaller.

9. Remove the saucepan from heat and slowly add the remaining chocolate to the melted chocolate. This tempers the chocolate. Stir until all is smooth and uniform. Keep the bowl in the warm water.

10. Now your chocolate is ready for dipping! Take the macaroons out of the refrigerator and dip each macaroon into the melted chocolate and place back onto the parchment lined cookie sheet. You may need to stir the chocolate a couple times during this process to keep it melted and smooth.

11. Once all macaroons are dipped put the whole cookie sheet in the freezer for about 30 minutes to harden the chocolate. Now they are ready to serve! Store in an airtight container in a cool space.

Note: Share with roommates and friends, they will love you for it!

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