Nightshades are not as good as Night Moves

Night Moves is a song that was pretty popular in 1976. In fact, it was just about as popular as potatoes. I know I love a potato and I am assuming most of you do, too. Mashed, fried, scalloped, baked – there are not quite enough good ways for me to consume a potato.

But, there is a chance that those potatoes are doing more harm to your body than some people realize. No, this is not a carbo-phobic thing. This is about Nightshades. Nightshades are a type of food, specifically potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers. The reason you should be aware of this is that all nightshades contain alkaloids that have been found to compromise joint function and/or disrupt muscle function in some people. The alkaloid content does decrease when those items are cooked, but the content only decreases by about half. Some people have reported that they had an improvement in joint discomfort after eliminating nightshades from their diet. Other folks reported improvement just by removing one of the little devils. Still others have found that just cooking them, i.e. not eating fresh raw tomatoes, seemed to provide the relief they were looking for.

I am constantly amazed at how our bodies handle food and how little I had understood this before. Who knew that a staple of the Midwestern diet might actually be a problem for some people? We ask our bodies to do so much for us, but we do not always help them out. I have pretty much removed white potatoes from my Food Plan and I have had a significant improvement in my level joint discomfort. I have not played around with tomatoes enough to find out if they cause any joint discomfort or muscle control issues. I do not eat a lot of eggplant so I did not expect to see any improvements by eliminating that. I have continued to eat cooked peppers and still see the improvement when simply removing most white potatoes from my routine Food Plan. Real mashed potatoes with butter are a Treat for me now.

But that meant I had to find a way to satisfy my potato cravings. Tell me what you think of these options:

Fried Sweet Potatoes are a nice replacement for French Fries.
Scalloped Sweet Potatoes would go great with a serving of pork.
Mashed Cauliflower does a nice job mimicking mashed potatoes. If you are eating dairy, try adding in different cheeses. Parmesan works well, I have heard Laughing Cow Light Swiss is really good, and I bet Manchego would be awesome too. Throw in some chopped chives and or garlic.

Sweet potatoes are pretty versatile! Give one a try, even though it is not Thanksgiving and you probably won’t see any marshmallows in the recipes.

This link and that link will tell you the whole story about Nightshades. Next time I will tell you about why I feel no joy for soy. Other blogs coming up include some information about the Glycemic Index, Food Labels, importance of rest and sleep, and Peanuts. What else would you like to see?

Are You Gonna Eat That Pickle?

Some of you are too young to remember that commercial. Are you gonna eat that pickle?

But, maybe you should eat that pickle. Really. Or, how about the gooey goodness of Nachos Al Carbon from La Jaripeo. Yes, that is what you should eat!

Whoa! Did Jamie just say that? Yes, she did. Loud and proud. And, she actually meant it. Last week I rambled on about being aware of what you eat and how it affects your body’s performance. Being aware of what you eat does not mean you cannot enjoy your Food Plan.

Recently I have gotten comments that make me think you all do not think I ever indulge with a plateful of non-paleo chow. Well, let me tell you, I do eat ice cream in bed, use real butter on my popcorn, drink beer, love manicotti and celebrate anything that contains caramel.. And, it is NOT Cheating.

There is a huge difference between a Cheat and a Treat. For another perspective on the issue, click HERE, Here, and there. (Warning: The posts are brilliant, but not at all family friendly.) Those links will tell you more about how to Treat yourself well. And, yes, I do have a nutritional crush on Melissa Urban and I am comfortable with that.

I have a Plan. I also am human and mostly well adjusted. From time to time I think, “Oh man, that Skor™ bar looks good!” while standing in line at Kroger. Ok then; get it if you want. It is your Food Plan. But, in my book, if you get it and eat it right there while you stand in line, you just Cheated. Instead, buy it and leave it on the kitchen counter. Or hide it in your underwear drawer where you know no one will look, find it, and eat it before you get to. Wait for it! If you still want it, and then eat it, that is ok by me. What is not OK is giving in to a moment of normal fleeting thoughts, hoovering a bunch of junk, and then beating yourself up over. It. Is. Not. Worth. It. Say it out loud. If you do something that makes you feel bad, then listen to what your conscience is saying. Learn from it. Then, move on. Next time, make it a Treat. Plan for it. Enjoy every wonderful bite of that hits your lips without regret. It was a Treat and that is just fine. I do admit, it might not have a place in your Diet, but you already know what I think of Diets.

I am convinced Treats do have a place in your Food Plan. I am not sold on the idea that your menu should leave you feeling as though your pantry is a straight-jacket and its contents have you booked in an Economy Seat on a NonStop flight to CrazyTown. No folks. Food Plans, when well designed, actually liberate you. When you do weigh yourself you do not grumble about the 5 pieces of bread you ate at the Italian place last night; instead you feel good about the choices you made. When you show up at the gym on Saturday morning and do not feel like someone ran over you with a large bottle of tequila, you feel good about your choices. When you have a Food Plan that includes Treats, you think about your intake differently.

My Food Plan is pretty simple. I eat, on a regular basis:
Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts, Seeds, Healthy Fats, Meat, **Treats**, Starbucks Grande Decaf Caramel Latte ™

I do not eat, on a regular basis:
Dairy, Preservatives, Caffeine, Legumes, Grains, Alcohol, Soy, Sugar or Sugar Substitutes

And, to be honest, yes of course I have cheated on my Food Plan. I said I was human. And, I regretted it. Treats are much more fun. So, what is your very favorite Cheat? Did you just fall for that? No cheating! Instead, Treat yourselves well. I am curious though – what is a Treat to you? And, how do you spell Potatoe? I am going to tell you about their dirty little secret later.

You ARE what you eat

Really, its true. And, I am willing to say that no matter how you try, you cannot work out a bad diet. I will back that up more in a moment. But, first, what is it that you do eat? Many of us do not even have a Food Plan. What is worse, most of us just are not aware of what we are eating on a regular basis. Either because we are eating pre-packaged foods which are full of stealthy ingredients or maybe we are just in denial, I venture to bet that most of us either get too much or too little of something that our bodies need.

There are some good ways to be truly aware of what you’re eating short of getting out a pen and paper and logging the intake. Pen and paper does work well. That is exactly how April helped me a year ago. Thanks April! If you want to go techno, there are oodles of options.

Fitday is a good site to track food intake and activity. It has some spiffy graphing and reporting functions. If you are taking your nutrition so seriously that you have considered a nutritional consultation, your consultant would probably appreciate all of the bells and whistles. MyFoodDiary is good too, but a little less flashy. Some of you have already heard of LogsItAll. The designer is a believer in CrossFit and does what he can to make the site user friendly. He even responds to emails and accepts suggestions with grace. The food logging on this site is not flashy at all, but it is convenient if you are putting all your CrossFit accomplishments there already.

But, none of those will do you any good unless you actually log it, accurately. If ya drank it or ate it counts. It is not a confessional, and no one will make you penance for the honesty to yourself. You might be surprised what you learn about you and your relationship with food. And, by the way, do you have a food plan? Notice, I did not ask if you ‘diet’. I just don’t like the idea of a diet. It seems to imply a short-term fix for a long-term situation; flawed at best.

Whether you currently subscribe to the Taco Bell Drive Thru Diet, Zone, Intermittent Fasting, South Beach, Paleo or the USDA Food Pyramid, or something else your Food Plan (whatever it is) has to meet Your Needs (whatever they are). So, what are they? What is it you are asking your body to do? Pick up heavy stuff? Lean out? Drop lbs? Move faster? Once you recognize what you are eating, would it help your body accomplish those things if you changed the Plan around a little? Only you and your log really know. This goes back to what I poked you with earlier. You cannot work out a bad diet. Think of it this way. Maybe you are picking up some seriously heavy weight. Maybe you do create a slight breeze because you are just so fast. But, could it be even better?

All of us put out a lot of time, effort and some cash on our workouts. Whether you log your intake or not, I wonder if we sabotage some of our potential accomplishments by the food choices we make.

So, what is your Food Plan? By the way, my Food Plan does include Treats. It does not include Cheats. More on that another day…