Nutrition in Marathon Training

It’s that time of year, when all the runners are out.  Whether you’re training for a 5-K, half-marathon, or marathon, special attention should be placed not only on training for your runs but also on your nutrition.    Maybe you’ve heard that you need to load up on your carbs, drink lots of water, and stay away from the fiber.  But the question is, are you doing the right thing?

The food that you choose to fuel you through your run can make a big impact on your performance.  Runners tend toward extremes:  overdoing food or drink, cutting back on foods that give them fuel, or eating/drinking foods that may cause digestive disaster (aka runner’s trots).  Here are some tips to not only help you avoid those common mistakes but also guide you in what to eat and drink.  Having the proper nutrition before, during, and after the race can help you perform at your best. 

At the end of each tip, I’ll share a few things that I’ve changed up or am consistently doing (trying to do) within my marathon training.  What works for me may not work for you, but that’s why there’s a training period – try it out and see if it works.  No surprises on race day.

The Mistake:  Eating a box of pasta

Runners like to feast on carbs the night before a race.  And why not, right?  You’re going to burn through them the next day.  But overloading your system with more carbs than it can handle may only lead to digestive problems  (I’ve actually seen it happen during a race.  Believe me, it wasn’t pretty).  Running to the porta-potty every mile isn’t performing at your best.

The Fix:

The key is to consume moderate amounts – not huge portions all at once – of carbs several days prior.  And make sure before the actual race that you’re trying this out.  What works for one will not work for all, but the key is to train this way (no one wants any surprises on race day).  You can have oatmeal for breakfast, quinoa for lunch, and whole-wheat pasta for dinner.  Make sure you pay attention to your body’s cues – eat to fullness so that you’re not bothered by indigestion.

I always eat whole grains – it’s just been something I’ve been working on to improve my health overall.  So daily, I’m rotating my grains – whether it be homemade buckwheat pancakes in the morning, a brown rice bowl at lunch, and then whole wheat pasta at dinner – what’s been working for me is the consistency of having my complex carbs daily and in a sufficient amount.  There was a work luncheon the other day in the office – I opted out and ate my own food instead.  May sound odd to some, but it was a Friday before my 10 miler, I wanted to make sure I had the right amount of fuel (and those work lunches never have a balanced meal for me) – I had made the whole week count, I wasn’t going to mess it up less than 12 hours to my run.  Consistency has been the key for me – it’s crazy to think my 5 and 6 mile runs are a breeze, but they are.

The Mistake:  Drinking Gallons of H₂O

If you’re drinking too much water before the race it can leave you feeling bloated and can also dilute your electrolytes (those minerals responsible for muscle contraction).  Other side effects from diluting your electrolytes:  muscle weakness or cramping, and in extreme cases, can lead to hyponatremia (a life-threatening condition triggered by abnormally low sodium levels).

The Fix:

The key is to stay hydrated days leading up to your race.  Make sure you’re taking in enough water (refer to the color of your urine to let you know.  The darker, more concentrated in color means you are dehydrated.  Urine should be almost clear in color).  On the morning of the race, you can have ~16 ounces of water two to three hours before the start, allowing your body time to process this extra fluid; drink another one to two cups right before the start (and of course hydrate throughout the race).

I do drink water and plenty of it (my urine is almost always clear).  Here in Miami it is fall, but it has been quite humid even still.  The humidity always requires extra hydration.  Additionally I talk a lot for my job – that too is dehydrating.  I’m constantly taking in water and aiming to stay hydrated, with an ever watchful eye on my urine.  What I have been trying to work on is the fluid replacement during the run – with a balance of my fast-acting carbs & then the fluid during – this has been what I’ve been working on, simply trying to have enough circulating glucose for energy but yet not too much to cause the ever loving GI distress.

The Mistake:  Loading up on Fiber

Eating healthy means including ~25-35 grams of fiber per day.  Fiber should be gradually included into one’s diet – otherwise uncomfortable gas & runner’s trots may ensue.  So if you’re used to having a high-fiber diet, all that roughage right before a race shouldn’t be a problem.  But if you’ve been living on pizza and burgers, now is not the time (a week before race-day) to try to have 25 grams of fiber in a day.  Mix the high-fiber foods with prerace jitters and well, accidents may occur.

The Fix: 

The truth is that one should be training with these foods during your practice runs and then you can see how your body reacts.  But if you think that fiber may be an issue cut back on those foods a few days before a major race.  If you’re racing every weekend, reduce your fiber intake only on race day to make sure you don’t cut all of the fiber out of your diet. (And if you’re doing races every weekend you really should be eating better).

Fiber is my middle name.  I’m a vegetarian and therefore eat plant-based meals.  Once when I checked my fiber intake I was taking in anywhere from 40-50g of fiber daily.  That’s my norm.  I’m use to the side effects.  I’d be honest in telling you that I don’t cut back on the fiber as it helps with my regularity – and I want that prior to my runs, otherwise that’s when I have a problem – during the run.  So fiber for me is the norm, not having enough fiber is actually what throws me for a loop.

The Mistake:  Skipping Breakfast

There are many reasons that runners skip breakfast before a race:  too nervous or worried about feeling full, don’t wake up early enough, and as is my case, burping ensues the whole way.  Without it, you’re likely to tank in any race.  Why?  Studies show that a prerace meal keeps your blood sugar steady and provides energy to power you through.  If you skip breakfast there’s no way to get enough fuel midrace. 

The Fix:

If you know you get too nervous to eat before a race, try waking up a few hours before the start.  This will allow you to eat slow, letting each bite settle before taking another.   Remember, most times the race is quite early morning and there will be some transit time to get to the race.  During your training mimic the same schedule – wake up early and wait that time before going for a run - you might lose some sleep, but the key is always to simulate and train to see what works. 

Prior to runs these days I’ve been rotating different energy bars/balls.  My go to one (because it’s so simple to make) are these Peanut butter balls by Paula Deen.  I just don’t roll them in all that extra stuff she does at the end.  I wake up and have 1 or 2 (depends on the length of my long run) and then head to my friend’s house to run.  That 20-30 minutes in between has been working well.  The other thing that I’ve been trialing out is a shot of expresso.  I’m not doing it for the possible energy boost it may give, rather I’m doing it to avoid the caffeine withdrawal headache.  I know I’m going to be running for a LONG time.  I know I’ll get a headache if I don’t have some caffeine.  The other reason why I’m testing this out now is to see if/when the laxative effect kicks in.  You all know your body.  In some people caffeine does exactly that (if caffeine doesn’t do this to you, consider yourself lucky?)  Regardless I’m trialing it out so there won’t be any surprises of sorts mid-way through the run.  Since it’s not much volume, it’s just a black expresso, it’s worked to help avoid the headache and not cause any GI motility issues.    

The Mistake:  Trying Something New

If you’ve never had a spicy tuna roll, don’t order it the night before your race.  You won’t know how a food affects you until you’ve tried.  Last minute experimentation could send you straight to the bathroom and might even leave you dehydrated.

The Fix:

Stick with what you know a week before the race.  You can also check the race website to see which drinks and gels (if any) will be offered along the course.  Test them out in advance.  Don’t be afraid to skip the prerace dinner or hotel breakfast.  Remember if you’re not used to it, stick with something you know. For my race in January it’s here local in Miami.  Regardless when I’ve been traveling for races, I always travel with food, just in case. 

Call me a creature of habit, but I have the same dinner every Friday night.  This training season it’s all about the spaghetti – maybe the obvious choice, but it’s the tried and true.  When I walked my previous marathon back in 2008 I had pasta the same way.  Since my race was in San Diego I figured I could find the same spaghetti sauce out that way (previous issues with GERD, finally found a sauce that didn’t cause said GERD, not traveling with the sauce GERD ensued).  I’m just glad the race is local this time around.  Traveling can sometimes create limitations.  When I was in Puerto Rico it was actually hard to find pasta.  I could have used rice and beans, but let’s be real, beans can be quite gassy.  I hadn’t trained with it, so it was definitely not the time to start (the night before the race). 

Eat better

If you can find time to train hard, you can also find the time to fuel-up right!  Competitive athletes that don’t show up for meals might as well not show up for training.  You’ll lose your edge with hit or miss fueling.  Make sure to fuel-up with good nutrition – you’ll always win!

I’ve always eaten well – I’m a dietitian, it’s in my blood J But as I’ve been training for the marathon here’s a few things I’ve done differently – added, changed, or taken away.  My work schedule is always depending on what patients show up – that determines what time I’ll get lunch as well as what time I head home for dinner.  So for meals I’ve been taking each day as it comes and plan accordingly – I typically have three main meals and 1-2 snacks – again I play it by ear, but I definitely don’t go too long without eating – where before I’d just keep going and not eat.  It’s best the patients don’t see me hangry! 

Additionally what I’ve been adding into my diet is seafood.  I think of myself as a vegetarian and will have fish when eating out (as many restaurants don’t always offer the best available vegetarian options).  But eating out is rare, so again I default and most times say I’m vegetarian, even though technically I’m a pescatarian.  Training so far has increased my total nutrient needs – carbohydrate, protein, and fat – and while carbs are easy to get, protein from a plant source has been hard for me to get a sufficient amount (I don’t use supplements and already eat nuts in enough creative ways).  So I’d say this is one area that I’ve changed in that I’m making salmon, tuna, and/or another white fish (mahi mahi/grouper/sea bass) a staple 3-4x/week – whereas before it was only utilized sparingly.  I know that this helps me not to worry about whether or not I’m getting enough protein.  I’m already using nuts 2-3x/day – whether in a whole form, nut butter, or a “cheese” of some sort, but that alone wasn’t hitting the mark (in addition to a glass or two of milk, some cheese, and/or eggs).  The addition of seafood I believe has helped me to ensure I’m getting an adequate amount of protein. 

I have omitted all alcohol.  I did have some alcohol a few weeks back (for my birthday weekend celebration), however, since then I haven’t had any.  I’ve never been too heavy a drinker, but I know that when I do drink it takes away from my eating – when I drink I can’t eat and if I eat I can’t drink.  May sound weird, but that’s the way I’ve always been.  So, again, I’d rather eat and not alter the amount of food I’m consuming.  I’ll make sure to celebrate after finishing the marathon! 

I’m getting ready to enter week 7 of 20 of marathon training.  My runs so far haven’t been too difficult – we’ll talk after the 18 and 20 miler!  What I know is this:  when the right foods are eaten, at the right time, recovery time is reduced, energy is sustained, and the muscles work better.  You might have your running training down, but if nutrition is the missing link, definitely take some time to put things in motion.  Make the time to eat wisely and well – your body will thank you.  Happy running!

What I've Learned Along The Way

What I’ve learned along the way

I’m getting ready to hit one of those “milestone” birthdays in a couple of days, which got me thinking and reflecting.  Age has always been just a number to me – I truly do believe that what you think you become and if you think you’re too old to do something then you probably won’t.  I’ve seen many people old (by the number) that appear WAY younger than they really are.  And by no means am I saying to dress inappropriately for your age just because you feel younger than you really are. Ha!  But I do believe that our mind is a powerful thing and if you think you’re old, well, I think it can play a role in the aging process.  So, yes, I’m hitting the big 4-0, a number that some people have a hard time saying.  Someone even asked me the other day if I was going to be “one of those women” who freaks out when it actually happens.  And to that I replied, “no”.  As with any birthday I do sit and reflect on the past, present, and future, sort of the mark of my new year, my new chapter in life.   Here are a few things I’ve learned along the way in no particular order…

Surround yourself with positive people.  There really isn’t enough time for the negativity. 

Handpick your tribe – have people around you that you know you can count on and will be there for you when you need them the most!  It’s not the quantity of friends but the quality.

No running in the rain in flip flops!    Say what?  Where did that come from you ask?  I broke my foot running in the rain in flip flops four years ago.  No I didn’t get to my car any faster and no, I would not have gotten any less wet had I walked vs run.   The truth is breaking my foot taught me a lot of things - A few things I learned from breaking my foot, but if I had to pick just one thing, it was patience.   I move really fast ALL the time and breaking my foot taught me to slow down (literally).   I had lots of time to sit, think, and elevate (my foot) and between the crutches and the boot I wasn’t moving quickly at all.  Little did I know that this breaking my foot and learning patience thing was paving the road to learning how to be patient to wait for the right job.  Ahh, it’s all interconnected.

Yoga is more than just the asanas (poses).  I broke my foot shortly after attending yoga teacher training.  I entered training with the thought to not only deepen my practice, but who knew maybe even leave my job and teach yoga –wishful thinking, right?   Little did I know how much I’d learn at the training and shortly thereafter.  I try to get on the mat every day.  It helps me to ground myself, to be present and just breathe.  Some days it’s 5 minutes and some days it’s 50 minutes.  The amount of time isn’t what matters, it’s being present in that moment that matters. 

Balance – breaking your foot can teach you balance, right?  Literally it shows you how much you rely on one side when you’re not able to rely on the other.  But truth be told I’ve been working on work-life balance for a while –aren’t we all?  Balance has to be there.  You can work hard, but you must play harder. 

Local waterfall in Puerto Rico - pretty sure it wasn't mean to slide down.  Yep that's me - "just lean forward, you'll be fine!"

Minimize – I’ve been going room by room and ridding myself of clutter over the last few months.  It’s freeing only keeping what you need.   It’s hard to get rid of a few sentimental items, but the truth is my memories are inside of me, they’re not the things that I buy to help me remember.  Now my memory is bad at times, so I do take pictures.  This helps me remember and helps paint the picture of the memory for me.

Disconnect to Connect – Each day I take time to meditate.  I never used to, but breathing and connecting has been my way to disconnect from all that is around me.  My mind is a busy bee, always thinking and at times has stressed me out – even to the point of sickness.  Thanks to those that knew me in my 20s and tolerated me back then.  I’ve come a long way and still have more to go.  But meditating and breathing has calmed me down and taught me how to just be, present and in the moment. 

Snake Road - 20 miles to the Reservation - On my last week I stopped to take a few pictures.  Absolutely breathtaking when I stopped to enjoy.,

Health is everything.  I work in the area of prevention and unfortunately there’s isn’t much emphasis on prevention, it’s more a reaction to illness and that’s when people are willing to make changes.  Health is wealth – go get your yearly check-ups, “pay now or you’ll pay later”, invest in yourself, your health IS everything.

Food IS Medicine - Healthy Food CAN taste good!

Be passionate about what you love.  I’ve been told once or twice (okay maybe 100 times) I’m too passionate about nutrition.  I don’t even know what that means.  I just know that I went through a time where I switched careers and even when I wasn’t doing dietetics’ work I was always incorporating nutrition somehow.  Apparently I did know what I was passionate about and just needed some time away.   I will always be passionate about improving people’s health, it’s just in my nature and in my being.  And if being called passionate is wrong, I don’t want to be right.

Be humble.  There’s always room for humility – you are not better than someone else because you have money or power or fame.  We are all VIP and should be treated as such.  (I get a lot of VIP clients – some I know, some I don’t know).  Some are humble and some are not.  Truth be told I don’t care if you are VIP or not, everyone is treated just the same.  My belief is that everyone is VIP and everyone deserves to be treated as such!  I’m a patient advocate and the person that needs the most help sometimes doesn’t know how to ask for that help!  I’m there to make sure they’re getting the help they need.

Travel.  It’s the best education you’ll ever get.  “Nothing will teach you more than exploring the world and accumulating experiences.”  I recently booked a trip for my 40^th birthday.  I’ve always wanted to go to Italy.  My grandmother’s maiden name is Lombardo and while I don’t have a memory of her telling me stories about Italy, for some reason I’ve always felt connected and wanted to visit Italy.  So call it an odyssey of sorts, but I can’t wait to explore Italy and for all the adventures that await!

Puerto Rico - ~ 1 1/2 after breaking my foot I ran a 1/2 marathon - Living life and loving life!

I don’t have it all figured out.  By no means am I trying to force my views or opinions on you and telling you how you should live your life.  What works for me, may not work for you.  And the truth is, I’m still trying to figure it all out – because some days it works and some days it doesn’t, even for me!

Here’s wishing that my 40s will be as wonderful as my 20s but with added wisdom.  I am approaching my 40s with an open heart full of wonder and magic.

Daily Self-Care

I wrote about self-care a few months ago.  While it’s not the normal topic for me to write about (I know eating healthy is a form of self-care), I tend to write about things that are current in my life.   And that’s what came to mind as a topic for today.

Yesterday after finishing my long run with my running buddy Marcela, I left to go and get my car serviced.  On the drive over to the car dealership I almost got in an accident.  I’ll be honest I’m not sure how I avoided the crash – an oncoming car was making a left-hand turn and stopped in the road as another car in my lane suddenly stopped – I either had to hit the car head on or swerve to the left (and there was a truck next to me).   In that split second I swerved to the left to avoid the head on crash and luckily the truck next to me switched lanes to let me come over.   Crash avoided.  This is actually the 2^nd crash in the last two months that I’ve almost had (the other was on the freeway and again, am unsure how I avoided it).  I was rattled after the almost accident.  I did a few deep breaths and continued on to my destination.  But it got me thinking – was I lucky?  Am I a good driver?  Or am I present and ever aware of the road?  Let’s be honest – it’s a little of all mixed together.  I definitely feel that I was lucky yesterday.  The truck next to me luckily moved so that I’d have space to come over.  Thank goodness he too was aware.  I pride myself on thinking that I am a good driver.  Truth be told, Miami is one of THE worst places to drive.  So I’d like to think of myself as a step above most drivers in this city – so I guess that makes me a good driver?!   You have to be a defensive driver here, otherwise you will have an accident!  And lastly, I am present when I am driving.  One thing that I’ve committed to doing is not having my phone out while driving.  There are too many distractions on the road and while people might think that they can talk and drive, I’ve seen way too many that cannot.  I decided a few months ago to put my phone away.  There are times when I forget – it’s simple to do – and the minute I start getting messages I’ll throw it to the back seat so that I can concentrate on the road.   I used to have a long commute and it was easy to pass the time talking on the phone.  Now that my commute is short I know I can spend 15-20 minutes without the phone.   Back to self-care and how yesterday’s almost accident played a role.  I’ve really been trying to commit to making time daily for a routine of self-care.  Did that help me yesterday?  I’ll never really know the exact answer to that.  But what I do know is that self-care is important and often forgotten.  Committing part of my day to rest, rejuvenate, and relax has helped me in general feel less stressed and more present daily.  It’s an ever evolving process but one that I’m committed to work on for myself.  I wouldn’t say every day is perfect, but that’s just a lesson to myself to make sure I carve out some time to do something for myself.  Here are a few things I’ve recently been doing for myself:

Meditation – Every day, 10 minutes.  I wish I could say that I did more, but the truth is that meditation is HARD!  Taking 10 minutes just to breathe and think of nothing when thoughts try to flood your mind (because they WILL), yeah meditation is HARD!  But that’s why I’m committed to meditating.  Dan Harris has this quote where he says that meditation is like “exercise for your mind -  bicep curls for your brain.”  Each time is different than the last, but I know that committing to staying consistent with my meditation practice helps me and makes me stronger.  The moments when I know my mind is racing are even more important times to commit to meditating.  I’ve been guilty of this in the past when I get real busy with work and think that I don’t have time to meditate.  WRONG!  That’s when I need it the most and NEED to make time to meditate.  If you’ve never tried meditation, it’s simply breathing – no need to make it out to be some “out there” thing that people do.  Our minds are racing all day long and our minds are filled with thoughts all day, so taking time to just breathe and reset helps as moments of stress arise.  Just return to your breath.  And if you can’t do 10 minutes at the start?  Start with just a minute or two and build on that.  Another thing I’ve recently been doing is taking just a minute or two here and there during the day to reconnect and just breathe.  I’ve found this helpful when my day may not be going as planned and just need a moment.  I did this yesterday after the almost accident.  I took a moment to breathe and write down a few things I was grateful for.  Meditation is helping me to be more present and helps me to remember to breathe.

Eat to Nourish – I talk about this one all the time as a dietitian.  Some may call me extreme, but I simply call myself passionate.  I truly do enjoy making healthy food (that tastes good!)  Food can provide the nutrients our bodies need and help sustain us by providing us with the nourishment that we need.  I practice what I teach my patients and really do eat healthy day in and day out – it truly is all about variety, balance, and moderation (yes, I do eat sweets).  I know cooking is not everyone’s thing, I get it.  I’ve found myself recently in the kitchen more and more.  So while it started out for me just being a way to cook healthy food for me to have, it’s also been a help for me to have something to do (and not really have to think too much – although when there are recipe fails I have caught myself getting frustrated!)  But for the most part it’s been a way for me to wind down the day and again while some might not find it relaxing, it is definitely rewarding.   This past week I made a few bite size snacks to try before my long run as I train for the marathon –

Chocolate Chunk Cashew Bites

– these are definitely tasty and a “keeper” recipe, but I knew the minute after I made them that the search was on for me to find another one to try – that’s when I knew that this cooking/being in the kitchen thing had more to it.  It’s really a win-win situation – making healthy food for myself and at the same time helping me to disconnect from the day. 

Disconnect To Connect– In this day and age, we are TOO connected – from our cell phones that receive emails from work to our smart watches that receive text messages (thanks Fitbit Surge, but no thanks).  Last November I made the decision to deactivate my Facebook account.  I haven’t posted since last November.  I chose to utilize Instagram and Twitter (because I’m the first to admit I still use social media).  Facebook started to become too time consuming – it literally would take at least 30 minutes to scroll through my feed and sometimes more than that!  I started to go for an evening walk scrolling through the feed, just to say in my mind that I’d looked through the feed for the day and also instead of sitting and scrolling I’d at least get some movement in.  Let’s not get started at how unhealthy that was – I wasn’t enjoying nature right before me and probably almost got hit by a car walking a couple of times.  So I made the decision to deactivate my account.  I do still use Instagram and Twitter as I mentioned, but I have some guidelines with that as well – I post normally in the morning or evening (sometimes at lunch, just depends on my day)) but then I give myself a certain amount of time to scroll through the feed.  And then that’s it.   I’m a little more selective with what I’m looking at and now with the new parameters on Instagram it doesn’t even scroll in order – so if I’m looking through my food bloggers, I’ll just go directly to their pages to see if they’ve posted.  All in all, this has helped me to focus on what really matters and still be able to use social media with purpose instead of feeling like it is taking up WAY too much of my time.  

Exercise – Running and Yoga – I am currently entering week 2 of training for the Miami Marathon – run or walk my running partner is determined to finish.  Training means adding in an extra day of running from my usual, so I run on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday (5 am is my start time – you can always MAKE time for exercise – this is a MUST on the list of self-care for me, exercise).  On your other days you’re supposed to do strength training which will in turn help your running game.  I chose to focus on yoga.  And what I decided to do is to include a few minutes every day of yoga – on my run days I’m doing a little restorative yoga and on my non-run days I’ll incorporate a yoga sequence that I throw together or utilize a yoga sesh from Yoga with Adriene (stumbled across her website back in January):

Yoga with Adriene

A lot of people think that running messes up whatever good that yoga does.  I’m not sure what it is about yoga and running, but these are my go to forms of exercise.  This is me giving back to myself and taking care of myself – mind and body – and so far it’s worked.  I have 19 more weeks till the marathon, so I’ll keep you posted on my progress!

These are a just a few of the ways that I’m committing to daily self-care.  It is the truth that the more you give back to yourself, the more you’re able to give to others.  Take time daily for yourself.

How To Navigate the Supermarket

Patients always tell me that they’re lost when it comes to shopping in the supermarket.  They want a list of what to buy.  I started a pantry in my office of products to have a discussion with patients about what to buy and what to look for when shopping (I have yet to make a handout).  It can seem overwhelming at first, but I tell my patients, “start with replacing one item at a time” – this way the changes can happen slowly.   The truth is, good nutrition starts with smart choices in the supermarket, just remember, NEVER go to the store hungry – that should just be obvious.  Here are a few general rules to get you going:

The process starts even before you head to the grocery store.  Have a PLAN! Plan your meals for the week – which meals will you make at home, what’s for lunch – and plan your list to shop from.  This may seem obvious, but the truth is planning helps to avoid the pitfalls of stopping on the way home from work for take-out (because there’s nothing at the house to cook.) It’s easy to fall into this trap, believe me.  So first a few rules of navigating the supermarket and then some products that are my go to staple items to have in the house. 

Spend most of your time in the produce section.  This many times can be one of the first areas that you encounter when you enter the supermarket.  Choose a rainbow of colorful fruits and vegetables.  The color reflects the different vitamin, mineral, and phytonutrient content of each fruit or vegetable.  Fresh is best!  Aim to have 5 to 9 servings of fruits and/or vegetables a day.

Breads, Cereals, and Pasta – choose the least processed foods that are made from whole grains.  Regular oatmeal is preferable to instant oatmeal (not to mention preferable to all the flavored instant oatmeals out there as well.)  Any patient in my office knows that I think cereal is one of THE worst foods out there.  It’s a high load of carbohydrate with virtually little protein.  I truly don’t have one boxed, cold cereal to recommend – and patients try to get me to tell them one.   Oatmeal is a cereal and that would be the only one I would recommend (but even then you need to add protein to it via nuts or nut butters to help keep you fuller longer). 

Bread, pasta, rice, and grains offer more opportunities to work whole grains into your diet.  Choose a whole-wheat bread or pasta, brown rice, farro, quinoa, barley, freekeh – there are so many grains to choose from.  The goal is to make at least half your grains whole.  Experiment and see which ones your family likes and remember that there are many ways in which to prepare them.  This is my favorite way to eat quinoa, Sweet Potato Quinoa Cakes.

Meat, Fish, and Poultry.  The American Heart Association recommends two servings of fish a week.  Salmon is one that many people like (if you’ve found the way to cook it just right – Honey-Glazed Salmon) and it’s a good source of omega-3 fatty acids.  Be sure to choose lean cuts of meat (like round, top sirloin, and tenderloin), opt for skinless poultry, and watch your portion sizes!

Dairy/Non-Dairy Milk Substitutes – Make sure to choose plain yogurts as much as possible.  This is an area that in the next year when nutrition labels are updated, we’ll be able to see how much added sugar is really in the yogurt.  My recommendation, buy plain as much as possible and add your own fruit in, along with cinnamon, and vanilla.  In regards to the milk substitutes, i.e. almond milk, etc, make sure to choose unsweetened.  These too will have a lot of added sugar and the goal is to keep our added sugars to a minimum.

Frozen Foods.  Frozen fruits and vegetables (without any added sauces) are a convenient way to help fill in the produce gap, especially in the winter.  Whole-grain waffles, frozen vegetables (picked right after harvesting), frozen fruits, and even pre-cut vegetables (think onions, green peppers) that can help out with minimizing steps for cooking!

Canned and Dried Foods – Keep a variety of canned vegetables, fruits, and beans on hand to toss into soups, salads, pasta, or other grain dishes.  When possible, choose vegetables without added salt, and fruit that’s been packed in its own natural fruit juice.  Here in Florida we’re in the midst of hurricane season, so it’s always a good thing to have a few of these canned food items on reserve, just in case.  A few other items to have on hand as they are just staples to have in your pantry, canned tuna, nut butters (the natural kind – think one ingredient, peanuts!), olive and coconut oil, and assorted vinegars.

Remember, it’s been said many times before, but the truth is, shop the perimeter of the store.   This is where the fresh fruit, vegetables, dairy, meat, and fish are usually located.  Avoid the center aisles as that’s where most of the processed/junk food lurks. 

Choose “real” foods, 100% whole-grain items, with as little processing and as few additives as possible.  This can be a goal that you are working towards.  Yes, they do make “whole-grain goldfish” crackers, but remember we’re trying to limit as much as possible some of the additives and preservatives.  So while they might be trying to make these crackers a little healthier the truth is they still shouldn’t be a staple item to have around.

Stay clear of foods that have cartoons on the labels that are targeted to children (think of that cereal aisle – cartoon characters everywhere, not to mention all the sugary type cereals are right at the kids’ vantage point from the grocery cart!)  If the junk food is available kids will eat it, so if you don’t want your kids eating junk food, don’t have it in the house.  Sounds simple, but it is one of the biggest complaints I hear from parents to which I respond, “who buys the food for the house?”  This is definitely a discussion to have with the whole family.

Avoid foods that contain more than five ingredients.  This is getting hard to do at times, but it’s a good rule to try and follow.  This year as I’ve been trying to make everything homemade there are a few items that I do still buy (bread, crackers) and I try to use this rule – So if it does have more than 5 ingredients I at least try to buy something that I can pronounce all the ingredients!  Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has a good list to double check if it’s an item that is safe – Chemical Cuisine.

So now we’ve come to the part where I’ll recommend a few items for you all to have as staple products to have in your pantry.  I by no means am endorsed by these companies, I’m just helping to guide you as you make your way through the supermarket. 

The first item is beans.  I am a vegetarian and these are my go to for protein (and complex carbohydrates).  Whole Foods sells these both in the can and in the box (I didn’t have any in the box – need to pick up!) and they have just one ingredient: garbanzo beans.  No additives or preservatives and no added salt!  Not to mention that in the can they run $.99 and in the box they’re $1.69 – cheaper than I’ve seen anywhere else (when you take into consideration the health benefits of no salt and no additives – not to mention I didn’t have to cook them!)  I have these on hand ALL the time. 

Next item – some of the breads I have on hand:  I’ve been buying the Ezekiel bread (or the Trader Joe’s version of Ezekiel bread) otherwise known as sprouted bread.  Sprouted bread contains the whole grain (or kernel, or berry) of various seeds after they have been sprouted.  I’ll then rotate back and forth between the English muffins from Trader Joe’s or the Eureka brand bread – they have a few versions of flavors varying the nuts/seeds.  My goal is to make my own bread but until this point I haven’t had much success – I might just have to break down and buy a bread maker.  Until then, these are a few breads I rotate through.

Canned items – Salt (sodium) lurks in most canned/boxed items.  I always opt for the unsalted version.  My palate has adjusted and I season with other spices/herbs that I have on hand.  People often tell me that I must like bland food.  I often challenge myself to make a dish have flavor with all the spices – believe me when I tell you, you won’t even know it’s missing once you start cutting back.  The recommendation for sodium is just 2,300 mg (roughly 1 teaspoon) and Americans are far exceeding that recommendation.  Here are a few items that I use, canned/boxed, that are unsalted if I can’t make it homemade or find fresh.  This brand of vegetable/chicken/beef stock comes unsalted.  Normal brands carry 2,400 mg of sodium in a box.  This brand only has 600 mg for the whole box!  It’s still loaded with flavor.  This spaghetti sauce is my go to sauce (don’t tell my mom I don’t make it homemade!)  Brands can range for a ½ cup to have anywhere from 250 mg – 850 mg of sodium.  Gia Russa’s brand has just 15 mg of sodium per ½ cup.  It may lack sodium but it does not lack flavor!  Last I always have some canned or boxed tomatoes around – while it’s summer now and the tomatoes are in season, it’s always good have to some extra tomatoes on stand by (to throw in a soup or dish with real tomatoes). 

Grains – I’ll admit it.  I’m a snob when it comes to brown rice.  Regular brands in the grocery store just don’t cut it for me.  I’ve had the real deal and that comes from the Chinese supermarket.  Once you’ve had the real stuff you won’t go back – not to mention when people tell me they don’t “like brown rice” I explain that they probably haven’t had a good experience with it and that makes sense.  I rotate through my grains when I make grain bowls and I always have a few around – whole wheat couscous, farro, barley, and quinoa.  And with my pasta I have all whole wheat versions – be it the orzo in the picture, rice noodles, or just regular pasta.

In the summer I’ve been having a homemade muesli that I throw together.  It allows me to have the rolled oats but not cooked – it’s too hot for oatmeal in the summer in Miami.  So for breakfast I rotate and have the muesli or my whole grain bread (with nuts butters) – what can I say, I’m a creature of habit.  I save the eggs for the weekend!  Akmak is my go to cracker.  Super flavorful and perfect for cheese and crackers, hummus and crackers, or whatever you fancy.  I’ve even had it with a little ricotta cheese, tomato, basil, and a drizzle of vinaigrette – delish!

So there you have it.  A round up of sorts of how to navigate the supermarket.  I know it can seem overwhelming.  Part of the reason is that there are so many new products being introduced yearly.  I definitely can’t keep up with all the new items.  Manufacturers are producing what they think you the consumer want.  See the above rules to help you solve that problem – stay away from the center aisles, otherwise known as packaged and processed junk food.   Problem solved.