Monthly Archives: August 2012

Drunkorexia

Posted on August 31, 2012 | 1 comment

In follow up to my last blog about the “Freshman 50” I found another article related to students in university and their eating habits.  As I mentioned, there is an exorbitant amount of calories in fast food and in beer.  Here is the scary thing: students-particularly girls-recognize this and are curbing their caloric intake, but not the way you would think…

Kendra Wong from Coquitlam Now wrote an article where she quotes a researcher named Daniella Sieukaran.

Drunkorexia is a term that was coined back in 2010 referring to post secondary students who restrict their diets in order to reserve calories for consuming large quantities of alcohol.  Daniella states that it is a growing phenomenon among young adults where they skimp out of food at dinner in order to save space and reserve calories for alcohol during a night of binge drinking.

Daniella has conducted a study over a four month period where she followed 227 students between the ages of 17 and 21 at Toronto’s York University where she studied their drinking and dieting habits.

The results were not necessarily stunning to me, but to actually have a study that clearly states the behaviours of our female students is something that we should take notice of.  Students who engaged in drunkorexia often had more unprotected sex after drinking and were hospitalized more due to overdoses.  This age group is calorie-conscious and faces various pressures from society, the media and even family and friends to be the perfect shape and size without realizing the long-term consequences it can have on the body.

“If they think that it’s an effective way to stay slim and muscular, they’re going to continue this behaviour.  It can definitely affect people’s health long-term.”  While students may not notice an immediate increase or decrease in body weight, the possibility of exhibiting more serious clinical eating disorders such as anorexia is a possibility later in life.

Although I understand the mindset and pressures of teenage girls in university, it is incredibly scary to identify that this is a conscious decision they are making: cut back on my food intake for the day so drinking the calories later, makes up the rest of my caloric intake. Therefore I stay slim.

My friends and I have always had a love for food-shopping for it, preparing it and of course eating it.  I knew that if I did not eat much for dinner, I would be drunk quicker.  I knew that if I got drunk quicker, I would spend less at the bar.  Yes, I know…not a great mindset myself, but I did not think about drinking and my food from a caloric perspective as a way to stay slim.  I still ate a healthy meal (once I figured out how) because I have always loved food and loved to eat.

To know that the media, society, family and friends can have such an impact on how young women view their relationship with food is not new, but it makes me realize that we need to educate our kids about healthy food choices right from the start.  I am hoping that by educating my kids about “good” food such as fruits and vegetables and “bad” food such as chips and cookies as youngsters is the start of a positive relationship with food.  I am hoping that as they get to their young teens, they will be knowledgeable to make healthy food choices and that this starts a habit that will be empowering and will hopefully last into their post secondary life.

If you are interested in learning more about healthy food choices, please visit my website at www.easybite.ca

Also, I have created an easy to follow package specifically designed for students.  There is information about:

  • Websites for easy recipes
  • Inexpensive cuts of meat to cook with
  • Nutritional information
  • Nutritional information about fast food
  • Recipes for 2 full weeks with additional “easy step” recipes
  • shopping lists for 2 full weeks
  • Easy to follow preparation sheet to save time in the kitchen
  • 2 week meal plan-complete with breakfast, lunch and dinner

If you are interested in this package to help a teenager avoid the “Freshman 50” let me know at carolynne@easybite.ca and order your package today!

 

 

 

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Posted on August 15, 2012 | Leave a comment

For any of you vegetarians, this looks pretty delish! Although my kids don’t like mushrooms, I would definately try this for an adult dinner night!

Julia Jones's avatarmy sister's pantry

I have to admit that from time to time, well okay most of the time, I get a bit carried away in my enthusiasm. I am prone to getting sucked in by some food porn. I occasionally strive to recreate some gastronomic experiences from days gone by while vacationing somewhere exotic (before kids). It’s so easy to get caught up in the desire to make something fabulous and to forget that sometimes the best dishes are those that require amazingly little. I’m sure I’ve mentioned her before, but if you don’t believe me about the stunning dishes that can be made with short lists of ingredients and relatively few high end tools or techniques, check out Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. The book is full of dishes that highlight the spectacular flavors that can be found with delicious ingredients combined with care.

Now, I am in no way comparing…

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The Freshman 30

Posted on August 14, 2012 | Leave a comment
English: A Big Mac combo meal with French frie...

English: A Big Mac combo meal with French fries and Coca-Cola served at a McDonald’s in Louisvile, Kentucky. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A while ago, I was talking to a woman, Arti Sharma, who is a Digital Marketing Consultant-and quite brilliant, really.  In one conversation with her she gave me some great ideas and some very useful suggestions.  One of which was to provide a Bootcamp Workshop for student going away to University or College, because lets face it, not many students know how to cook, let alone choose food from the grocery store.  And reflecting back on my first blog and my time in University, she was bang on.

I took this information and I mulled.  Then I planned a workshop-for Saturday August 25th-then I thought I would create a package that would be easy and useful for students to utilize.  Needing to think out loud, I called my sister who has a son that finished his first year at Queens University.  Luckily, he had all of his meals prepared for him, but in September, he will have to learn to fend for himself in a house full of several other guys and 2 fridges, and 1 freezer.

My sister spoke of my Bootcamp Workshop to my nephew and lo and behold he thought it was brilliant!  Now, to get the validation that a product is in fact a good idea from a teenager definitely meant that I was on the right track.  Further into our conversation, my sister and I piggy backed on ideas: one pot meals, quick, easy and cheap meals, cheap meats, few ingredients and of course, they need to be semi-healthy.  Then she said to share with students how many calories they are drinking each time they have a beer.  Share how many calories they are eating when they have fast food.

So here is a brief synopsis of the info I have collected:

Each beer (not light beer) has 430 calories.  That is the equivalent to a dinner meal.  Now I am sure that students are not going to stop with one beer, but being aware of how many calories they are consuming is half the battle.

Looking at McDonald’s, as that is where most of us gravitate to when we want fast food, there is 780 calories in a bacon and cheese burger, there is 540 calories in a Big Mac, there is 300 calories in a cheeseburger and there is 250 calories in a hamburger.  Pair that with a medium order of fries and you tack on another 360 calories or a large order of fries is 560 calories.  And then you need something to drink…a medium coke has 220 calories and a large coke has 320 calories.  Let’s add all this up:  if a student (or anybody for that matter) wants to have a meal at McDonald’s with a Big Mac, large fries and a medium coke, you are looking at 1320 calories.  OMG!  Then you start talking how much that would cost and I would venture around $10, which is not too bad financially for a meal really.

For a brief moment, let’s think about what this could look like if a student were to cook for themselves.  Not only would the caloric intake decrease, so would the fat, the sodium AND they would be able to stay in the same price range, if not pay less for dinner for themselves.

Back when I went away to university, they called it “The Freshman 15” meaning that every student came home from first year with an extra 15 pounds.  After talking to my sister, and my coach Suzanne, it is now being called “The Freshman 30-50”.  Looking at the McDonald’s and the beer, is it really any wonder?  And that is not even including the french fries and gravy from the cafeteria between classes, or the chips and dip for dinner, or the nachos and cheese and the…well, you get my point.

Here is what I am doing…

I am creating a package for students that is easy, comprehensive and provides them with a meal plan for 2 full weeks, recipes for dinners that use cheap cuts of meat, tips on how to save time and money (as most students want to spend their money on “entertainment” rather than food) and  shopping lists that will prepare them to tackle the grocery store with their eyes closed.  Also, they will be able to cook something once, use leftovers for lunch and be able to save a portion for another night to reheat for a night when they are rushed. What kind of recipes you ask?  Here are a few examples of dinners:  Chicken BBQ Sandwich, Sloppy Joe Squares, Pork Tenderloin Stir Fry, Fusilli with Italian Sausage, Slow Cooker BBQ Beef, Baked Pasta with Zucchini and mozzarella, Pan Fried Pork Chops with Balsamic Sauce and Mushrooms, Chicken Parmesan and Thai One Pot.

Curious to know more?  Know someone going to College or University who may need a little help in the kitchen?  It is not enough for us to send them with a fry pan and a garlic press.  This is a package that will provide them with the tools to understand the value of time, money and food.  Drop me an email if you want to know more!!

Happy Frosh Week everybody!!

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Food Habits

Posted on August 10, 2012 | Leave a comment

An attractive dinner setting

One of my clients sent me an email with her “aha moment”.  Here is what it was:

“I’ve come to the realization that I’ve always felt that some foods belong on certain days or special occasions.  I wonder if this has been ingrained in me as I’ve dieted so much.  For example, roast meat belongs to Sunday, steaks are for Friday or Saturday or a celebration, chicken, fish and pasta belong to weekdays.  Does this seem strange to you?  It did to my husband!”

I think the bigger picture of this message is not necessarily that we associate specific foods for specific days of the week, but that our parents instilled “food habits” in us as we grew up.  I know my dad grew up with roast beef every single Sunday night with a pound of fat (otherwise known as “sewit”) on top so all the drippings absorb into the meat, making it tasty and moist.  Although this tasted fantastic, it may not be the healthiest of dinners.  My grandmother was an amazing cook and could whip anything together it seemed from virtually nothing!

When I was growing up, we did not really have a specific meal assigned to any specific day, although I will say that when my dad cooked it was either pancakes or liver for dinner.  My mom had about 6 dinners that she rotated through.  She was not a fantastic cook, but what she did make was good.  As I grew up, I was taught never to leave food on my plate-you take it, you eat it.  And course my parents were big on having table manners.  Looking back, all those habits that they instilled in me, I have instilled in my family as well.

So really, looking at the email from my client, it is not strange that she associates foods with days of the week, as that was the way she grew up.  Now on the other hand, we can grow up with habits that are not necessarily “good” for us.

As an example, my hubby grew up with 2 brothers and all 3 of them played sports in high school.  As a result, his mom tended to make a large one pot meal and left it on the stove for everybody to help themselves when they had the time.  There was very little table time to talk as a family.  This of course is the exact opposite of my food habit and it has taken a few years to get my hubby to stay at the dinner table until everyone is done and to communicate while we eat.  He was taught to look at dinner time as another opportunity to feed yourself, but there was no bonding or family value associated with it.

Habits, particularly around food are not just something we do because that is what we are used to, they are comfortable and soothing as well.  They maintain a sense of calm.  Compound this with the old saying of “Here honey, have some more”, or “finish everything on your plate” adds to the way we think about food and how much to put on our plates-and to ignore when our bodies tell us that we have had enough.  After all, dinner is the last meal of the day and you want to eat as much as possible before sleeping for 8 hours every night.  Truth is, we do not need that much food to sustain ourselves when we sleep and we are continuously burning calories-even when we are sleeping.

So my advice to my client?

Her “aha moment” was bang on!  Being aware is half the battle.  Mindset is a huge piece of the food habit puzzle.  With awareness and information about healthier foods and healthier food habits-such as portion size, listening to her body when it is full and having a balanced lifestyle she will be able to have the ability to make healthier choices.

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