Patricia Chuey

Food and Nutrition Expert | Recipe Developer

3 Healthy Actions You Can Take Right Now

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Over 60% of Canadians make a New Year’s Resolution. 80% say their goal is to “live a healthier lifestyle”. Unfortunately, only half act on their resolution for a few weeks and the majority agree their resolutions never last.

Part of the problem…the goal of “living healthier” is far too big. To make a goal attainable, it needs to be specific and attainable.

With a goal of being healthier, 3 VERY do-able healthy lifestyle adjustments that can make a BIG difference over the course of the year to your health include:

  1. Making half your plate vegetables in most meals.
  • This automatically gives you more fibre, less fat, less salt and less sugar while promoting feeling more satisfied.
  • Buying fresh fruits and vegetables regularly to always have a good supply on hand is required to consistently make this happen. Pick them up at least 2-3 times each week.
  • Cook at home more often and emphasize vegetables. When you do dine out, ask for more vegetables than ‘starch’ on your plate.
  • Eat well-balanced meals that focus on plant-based food more than meat. I like the idea of treating meat like a ‘condiment’.

2. Be consistent in taking good quality vitamin supplements.

  • All adults over age 50 should be taking vitamin D daily. Unfortunately, we just can’t get enough D from the sun and the small group of foods that contain vitamin D like fatty fish, fortified milk and egg yolks, for example)
  • 60% of Canadians aren’t getting all of the nutrients they need from food alone…taking a smart multivitamin is a good option.
  • 40% don’t get enough omega-3 from fish, nuts, seeds and oils…omega-3 supplements are helpful for many people.
  • Before taking ANY vitamins or supplements like super greens, talk to a registered dietitian, pharmacist and/or a trusted health professional who knows you and your unique needs well.

3. Walk!

  • Never underestimate the power of 20-30 minutes. Avoid having an all-or-nothing-approach…ie “I either go to the gym for a good hour or I do nothing”.
  • A 20-minute walk is just 2 chunks of 10 minutes! Walk out your door for 10 minutes, turn around and come back and you’ve done a 20-minute workout. A daily, 20-30 minute vigourous walk done consistently over the course of the year would add up to the caloric expenditure equivalent of 10-12 pounds!
  • Walking is one of the best all around exercises for your heart, circulation, blood pressure, blood sugar and weight. Being active on most days also gives you more wiggle room in your diet.

There are many other spokes in the ‘wheel of health’ that contribute to well-being, for example: healthy sleep, stress management, happiness, job satisfaction, healthy relationships, living smoke-free, taking an 80-20 approach with eating…it all matters. The more CONSISTENT we can be with our healthy decisions and choices, rather than being trendy or on start-and-stop bandwagons, the more positive outcomes.

Wishing you a very happy and healthy new year!

Thanks CTV Morning Live Vancouver for the opportunity to share these tips on the show!

Seaweed-Inspired Meals

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In Japan, people live longer and healthier than everyone else on the planet!!! The average lifespan is six years beyond that in North American. The obesity rate is 6% compared to 40% here. There are many valuable lessons we can learn from the eating style in the land of the rising sun. Traditional meals include plenty of healthy fish, vegetables and soy foods. (#HalfPlateAsVegetables). Even dessert is lighter than our typically rich fare. Japanese desserts often include an assortment of seasonal fruit, peeled, artistically sliced and arranged on an attractive plate. Western desserts like ice cream and cakes are also enjoyed, but in much smaller portions and subtler flavours than many of us are used to. We can also learn a lot from Japan when it comes to a major threat to our health – distorted, over-sized food portions.  The Japanese serve very tasty foods in attractive, small dishes that satisfy visually and in taste. In Japan they eat 25% fewer daily calories than North Americans.

Japanese chefs are absolute masters at creating delicious food that almost looks too much like a work of art to eat. We can be inspired by these masters and bring the health and taste benefits into meals we make at home. An easy, nutritious food to add variety to meals, and one that is right on trend in 2017, is seaweed. These two recipes use nori (the seaweed sheets). They’re attractive and very easy to create. No sushi mats or special equipment required.

Sushi Salad Makes 8 servings, pictured above

All the flavour of sushi quickly assembled into an attractive salad. Makes a great base for a grilled prawn or beef kushiyaki (skewer).

  • 4 cups cooked short grain, sushi rice
  • 1 large carrot, grated or peeled into thin strips
  • 1 long English cucumber, cut in julienne strips
  • 1 medium avocado, sliced thinly
  • 1 tin crab meat (120 g)
  • 4 green onions, sliced diagonally
  • 2 Tbsp pickled ginger, chopped
  • 2 sheets nori seaweed
  • 1/3 cup salad dressing of choice or vinaigrette of rice vinegar and sesame oil
  • wasabi and sesame seeds, optional garnish
  1. In a large bowl, combine rice, carrot, cucumber, avocado, crab, green onion and ginger.
  2. Using kitchen scissors, cut seaweed into small strips or squares. Add to salad.
  3. Pour dressing over and toss to combine.
  4. If desired, garnish with wasabi and sesame seeds.

Easy California Sushi Rolls  Makes 8 rolls

Vary these with different fillings: panfried prawns, tuna, salmon, yams, egg and more

  • 1 cup uncooked, short grain, sushi rice (white or brown)
  • 2 Tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
  • 8 nori (seaweed sheets)
  • 2 Tbsp Japanese-style or light mayonnaise
  • 1 avocado, peeled and sliced thinly
  • 1 pkg cooked crab or crab-flavoured pollock, about 1 cup
  • sodium-reduced soy sauce, wasabi and ginger, optional garnishes
  1. Prepare rice according to package directions. Set aside to cool. Stir in rice vinegar. (Rice can be prepared up to a day in advance and kept in the fridge.)
  2. Place nori sheets on counter. Spread the bottom 1/3 of the sheet with a thin layer of rice. Spread with a little bit of the mayonnaise. Top with slices of avocado and crab the width of the nori sheet.
  3. Carefully begin rolling up the nori like a carpet or burrito. Slowly roll tightly as you go. When you are about 1 inch from the end, lightly moisten the remaining nori with water and continue rolling to seal the roll. Set aside and repeat with remaining nori sheets and ingredients. Rolls can be refrigerated whole, up to overnight, until ready to serve.
  4. When ready to serve, slice into pieces as thick or thin as you like – typically about 8 slices per roll.
  5. Serve garnished with soy sauce, wasabi and ginger if desired.

Enjoy!

Deliciously Managing Holiday Decadence

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“It’s the most wonderful (and rich) time of the year!”

All sorts of pleasures contribute to over-indulgence in the richest eating season of the year between October and the start of January. Three biggies:

1) Shorter darker days making us look to food more for comfort.

2) The richness of classic seasonal recipes themselves (think chicken pot pie, saucy stews and warm baked goods).

3) Seasonal decadence – the mere presence of excess around every corner whether chocolate, Christmas baking, gravy, rich sauces, pies, butter tarts, candy dishes on the desk, desserts…

Although it’s commonly said that the average person gains 7-10 pounds in this period of the year, the actual truth (New England Journal of Medicine) is that we gain on average 1 pound. Thing is, it’s typically one pound that isn’t shed. And, with each Christmas season comes one additional permanent pound that adds up over a decade or more leading to higher blood pressure and increased risk of poor health. Rats!

In thinking about consistently remaining a healthy person in all seasons of the year, more important questions than the potential weight gain itself are:  How does the season affect health and energy? Do I feel great or excessively tired and sluggish all the time?

To prevent a holiday food hangover or feeling lousy overall after holiday get-togethers, consider these 8 strategies in having your cake and eating it too:

3 Strategies You May Already Know:

  1. Avoid ‘saving up’ and ‘writing off’. Prevent these dangers by not showing up at parties famished. Although arriving with an appetite is good, arriving over-hungry with low blood sugar is a guaranteed ticket for the “I ate (or drank) too much express” and poor food decisions overall. Avoid writing off the entire night or worse the entire season in the event you do go overboard.
  2. Avoid proximity to the food table. Try not to position yourself right next to the buffet, a table full of rich appetizers or the bar the whole time. Out of sight, out of mind…well, at least a little less on the mind if you’re not positioned right beside the temptations.
  3. Avoid making food the entire focus. It’s a big wonderful part of the festive season indeed, but also try to put some emphasis on calorie-free aspects like charitable giving, engaging conversations, fun party games, winter energy-expending activities like skating, skiing or a snowy walk looking at festive lights.

5 New Strategies:

  1. It’s Not Your Last Meal Ever: Avoid approaching the gathering like it’s the last opportunity you’ll ever have to attend a party in your whole life. You will get to eat again!
  2. Eat Mindfully: Become a student of mindful eating. Choose decadent treats that really do it for you. For example, I can live without egg nog and fruit cake but will instead hone in on specific favourite Christmas cookies. Work on eating slower and really noticing what you’re eating. This will help in enjoying 2 or 3 appies or cookies instead of 7 or 8. Practice declining food if you genuinely aren’t hungry or aren’t wanting an alcoholic beverage. Stay well hydrated too in this season of excess sugar and salt.
  3. Share the Gift of Healthy Food: Fill a basket with a variety of nice teas, nuts, dark chocolate, fruit, novel healthy ‘treats’ like spicy dried chickpeas, pea pods, fibre-rich crackers, a healthy cookbook or grocery store gift card. Hostess and teacher gifts don’t have to be chocolates and wine every time.
  4. Be Aware of Liquid Calories: Club soda is your friend. Use soda water to dilute drinks and add slices of lemon, lime and orange or frozen cranberries and fresh mint for a colourful, healthy boost. Sip slower. Savour longer. Eliminate a lot of calories by going alcohol-free if you’re simply after the fizzy cranberry or peppermint flavour of the beverage.
  5. Give Vegetables a Starring Role. Gravy volcanoes aren’t ideal (that mountain of mashed potatoes on your plate with a waterfall of gravy cascading down it). Focus on vegetables. Choose vibrant, healthy meal and appetizer options that are vegetable-based. Fruit, fibre and lean-protein based options are also great. Fibre and protein-rich choices will satiate more than high sugar, low fibre or low protein treats that will leave you craving more. Some delicious and nourishing examples: savoury dips like hummus, tzatziki, roasted red pepper dip or gourmet salad dressings from real, wholesome ingredients to go with an endless variety of fresh or roasted vegetables.

3 Easy Ways to Make Vegetables the Star

  1. Salad in the Pink: Make a leafy green salad. Add in roasted beets and pomegranate. Drizzle with a dressing made by whirling together in the blender: 1/8 cup white vinegar, 1/8 cup sugar (or alternate sweetener of your choice), 1/3 of a small red onion chopped, ½ tsp dry mustard powder or Dijon mustard, 1 Tbsp water, ¼ tsp salt and ½ cup vegetable oil.
  2. Roasted Vegetables in a Maple Balsamic Dressing: Peel, chop and toss 2-3 vegetables like beets, yams, sweet potatoes, carrots or squash in a little olive oil. Roast. Drizzle with this amazing dressing from Whitewater Cooks by Shelley Adams (2005): 1 Tbsp maple syrup, 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 clove garlic minced, 1 Tbsp sesame oil, 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper and ½ cup olive oil. You could even present these as mini vegetable skewers as an appetizer.
  3. A crudité platter of ‘fancy’ vegetables: Attractively arrange vegetables you may not normally put on veggie platter like lightly steamed green beans, asparagus or beet coins, crinkle cut cucumbers or carrots, jicama sticks and garnish with pomegranate seeds. Serve instead of bread with a lightened-up Spinach Dip: Stir together ½ package (150 g) thawed, chopped, spinach, ½ cup chopped water chestnuts, 1 green onion, ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt and 2 Tbsp light mayo.

And in the true spirit of the 80-20 Rule, when you do go for the decadent sweet treats, make it worthwhile. Apply the Pleasure Maximization Principle and choose your absolute favourite, top notch treats in a portion-smart amount that really satisfy.

Merry Christmas!

PS – To see this story on CTV Morning Live Vancouver, click here

3 Secrets to Healthy Aging Revealed

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Stop looking in a package of all natural specialty seeds from South America or an expensive, teeny-weeny jar of face cream. Instead, chat with active, healthy, happy people in their 80’s and 90’s and the true secrets will quickly be revealed.

I recently spent some time with a group of healthy, happy older adults in the kitchen as part of a food skills class. Over the course of the 6-week program, pretty much everything I’ve ever learned about food, nutrition and well-being was so very beautifully reinforced by these keeners. In each class, we cooked 5 recipes and shared the lunch meal we’d made together. Before we started cooking each week, we spent time discussing healthy living – much of which can be summed up with the letter F: food, fitness, fruit (and vegetables), fibre, good fats, fun, family, faith, friends, fresh air…

As we discussed current topics in nutrition ranging from ‘which is better, butter or margarine?’ to ‘should everything I buy be organic?’ we operated with the guiding principle of ‘reflect on the healthiest people you’ve ever known’ – especially anyone over 80 who everyone thinks is still in their 60’s. What are they doing to look and feel that youthful and healthy? We all agreed that it isn’t about whether or not they buy everything organic or only use coconut oil. Although genetics factor in, the group identified that the healthiest people they know have mastered one thing.

The coveted ‘secret’ they’ve mastered is: consistency! A lifelong commitment to consistently taking a few measures. Not because they have to but because they choose to. You’ve heard me speak about the boring subject of consistency before. It’s completely unsexy compared to a magnificently packaged, expensive food or skin care product emblazoned with amazing claims. Thing is, consistency truly works!

Consistency doesn’t even require an unobtainable long list of measures to take.

These are the 3 consistency secrets to healthy aging that these class participants so wonderfully demonstrated:

  1. An optimistic outlook. These keenagers, as you’d expect for anyone nearing 75 or older, have endured a lot. They’ve dealt with massive change over the years whether in technological advancements, all that comes physically and emotionally with raising a family, the immeasurable stress of losing loved ones, health scares at times, moving to new places, divorce, job changes or job loss, downsizing a home full of memories and SO MUCH more. Through it all, a lighthearted attitude of optimism kept them believing life is a precious gift they weren’t willing to give up on. Putting out into the world the kind of positive, helpful energy you hope to receive back also seemed to be a driving force for them. Being an active lifelong learner is key as well and is what led them to being in this cooking class. The course brought together 12 people who’d never met before. As the program ended, the group made plans for a potluck lunch at one of the participants’ homes as a fun get-together and what they hope will be the continuation of new friendships made over the 6-week program. It’s never too late to expand your circle of friends. I’ll be right in there with these very special new friends of mine!
  1. A lifetime of home-cooked meals of real food. One 89-year old class participant (who looks more like 70) shared that when she grew up of course there was no such thing as commercial fast food. Still, when her mother would see unexpected guests arriving in the farm-yard, it seemed to take her no time at all to quickly whip up a batch of fresh biscuits to serve with homegrown raspberry jam and a cup of tea. If the guests ended up staying for dinner, she recalled that it didn’t even take that long to prepare a chicken (one that started out roaming around the farm-yard earlier that day!) The food they ate was minimally processed, home-grown or sourced locally as much as possible and wasn’t heavily labeled and packaged in an attempt to convince you to buy it. Not that baking everything from scratch daily or rounding up a live chicken regularly is required to experience high level health and age gracefully. However, emphasizing wholesome, real food is. This trusting generation expressed how tricky and confusing grocery shopping has become. The store is far too big. They grew up believing what the butcher, the baker and their local grocer told them. They find it challenging to now navigate the barrage of ads and labels promoting pro-biotics, GMO-free, natural, etc. They also find it disheartening to learn how misleading many of these claims are and that they aren’t necessarily a guarantee of a healthy choice. They agreed that the closer foods remain to their natural state, the better. These folks have been ‘trendy’ their whole lives and didn’t even know it.
  1. Fresh Air. These people were outside a lot as kids and continue to live that way in their golden years. They weren’t just outside in the farm-yard but in walking to school, walking to friends’ houses, playing, skating, swimming in the lake, tinkering around in the yard, etc. There’s space outside and that allows for running, jumping and moving further and more freely than when inside. Exercise was never a prescriptive, scheduled task, but simply a normal, fun part of daily life. These seniors, although now mostly living in urban settings, still get out daily or at least regularly for walks and other active pursuits. They’re living proof of the value of fresh air!

I’m so grateful to have had the chance to work with this group and be a student of their wisdom and experience!

Finding is Better Than Losing: 10 healthy and fun ways for kids to ENJOY their Halloween candy!

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Did anyone’s kids have fun finding candy last night simply by dressing in a cute costume and knocking on every door in the neighbourhood? Candy is the currency of childhood. An early business lesson in ‘do a little work by walking (or running, leaping and jumping with joy) around knocking on doors and get paid for it!‘ Not a bad learning opportunity! Does it mean your kid is ruined nutritionally for having a blissfully happy evening collecting and noshing on candy once a year? Absolutely not!  Were you allowed to trick or treat as a kid? How did you turn out? Do you still value healthy eating and an 80-20 approach to food choices?

What a huge, awful and memorable downer for the kids if ALL of that hard-earned candy is suddenly taken away. And, man, what a confusing message that would be! That said, I intimately recognize the concerns of parents when that pillow case sack of treats is dumped out for sorting and the collective mass of sugar is piled high for you to see all at once!

To help ‘handle’ it all, here are 10 ways for finding continued fun and at least a little nutrition with the candy instead of your child having to feel extreme disappointment while you lose your mind over all of that sugar:

  1. Talk to your kids about the fun you can have later this Fall in baking homemade Christmas treats like gingerbread men or smartie-dotted oatmeal cookies. Ask them to tuck some candy in a freezer bag for that purpose later on. (Smarties and MandM’s are ideal as are crumbled bits of chocolate.) Kids have steel trap memories when it comes to candy. They won’t forget it’s in the freezer! Baking together on a blustery day later in November or December will be something you will all feel good about. (Note: I’m talking about Canadian Smarties, the chocolate kind, not Rockets which are known as Smarties in the USA. I don’t recommend saving those pure sugar, hard Rockets candy.)
  2. Have a fruit fondue for dessert. Ask your child to pick a bunch of the chocolate bars to melt into a dip for a colourful platter of fruit you can make together. It actually takes quite a few of those mini bars to make even a little dip.
  3. Make a veggie and dip snack platter. This looks attractive and appetizing if you have one of those 5 or 6 section platters. Ask the kids to put (use up) some of their chips or salty snacks into ONE section of the platter for sharing with the whole family along with a dominant, colourful selection of fresh vegetables.
  4. Have a Mexican night with wholesome ingredients – tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, avocados, cheese, lean ground meat or veggie ground round, whole grain tortillas… Encourage your kids to contribute some of their little Halloween tortilla chip packets for dipping into fresh cut salsa and/or homemade guacamole.
  5. Find fun opportunities for learning and discussion. Play age-appropriate, fairly challenging math games with your kids using the candy. Subtraction and division for example. For every question they get wrong, Mom or Dad gets the piece of candy. What you do with it, well, that’s up to you!
  6. For older kids, say age 8 on, allow them to find their tolerance level for the candy. I’ve heard from many parents who allow their kids to eat the candy without limits or rules. Those same parents have shared that it didn’t take long for their child to feel sick (tummy ache) from eating too much, thereby learning what happens when you overdo it. An important life lesson that doesn’t cause any permanent ‘damage’.
  7. Find balance. A little candy or chocolate as dessert to a well-balanced lunch or dinner is better than candy in place of the balanced meal. For highly active kids, a sweet treat after the meal isn’t going to ruin them while using up their Halloween stash. Just avoid continuing this beyond about a week or two. The dentists out there will be grateful.
  8. Use candy as the currency it truly is. Older kids can get together with friends to trade certain treats for others. One year, our then 9 year old traded about 20 of his small chocolate bars for one coveted full size bar. Mom was happy about that style of trade! (Tip: If your child is the youngest in the trading group, he/she will inevitably get rid of a lot of candy. 🙂 Candy can also be traded by kids with Mom and Dad to ‘buy’ a day off making their bed or other small task they might be craving a brief break from.
  9. Allow the kids to use up some of the candy in their creative play. For example, perhaps they set up a pretend store that sells healthy food and a little candy, make a mini carnival with a fun concession stand in the basement involving lots of energy expenditure, or design a vending machine from cardboard. The creative, memorable activities are worth it. (That’s our incredibly creative nephew dressed as a vending machine in the picture above. Not only is he a highly imaginative and talented actor, he’s brilliant with a roll of tape and cardboard. He designed this year’s costume so that it could actually accept a dollar coin yet not dispense any candy! Smart guy!) Speaking of currency and tape, parents of craft loving kids will know that duct tape and the many colours and designs it comes in is a highly coveted item. Perhaps there’s an opportunity to swap some candy for a brand new jazzy roll of tape or other craft supplies to have fun with on a rainy day???
  10. For little little ones, say age 7 and under, consider a visit from the Halloween Witch – that cousin of the tooth fairy. You know her. Have your child leave out as much candy as they want in exchange for found money from the witch the next morning. Discard or do what you like with that excess candy the Witch claimed. You can also sneak away a bit of it without them likely noticing. Either discard it or freeze and tuck a little bit of it into their Christmas stocking in a few weeks.

Bonus Tip: The first time you find a Halloween candy wrapper littered around the house, point it out to your child and have them discard it with a warning that the next or any consecutive such littering is discovered by you, it will be a 5 candy penalty. They will take you seriously! 🙂 (Adults, keeping a glass jar on the counter and tucking the wrapper from each candy YOU eat inside is a great mindful eating strategy to bring awareness to whether or not you may have exceeded any daily limits you may have set for yourself.)

It will all be alright after all.

Cheers!

Meet Patricia

Eating well is just one spoke in the wheel of health. An active life...

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