Quinoa pasta with sauteed veggies and tomato sauce

Before I share with you my latest creation, made with Supergrain Pasta Spaghetti (corn and quinoa flour), I'd like to tell you the reason why I don't label my creations as "gluten free" "Metabolically efficient" "Paleo" "Whole 30" or by any other name than what's in the recipe.

I'm on a mission to help athletes learn how to have a better relationship with food. Far too many athletes have a dysfunctional relationship with food and this can create resistance to eat enough of the right foods, at the right times to meet training demands.

Labeling, worrying or feeling guilty about food makes it quite difficult to eat according to your personal dietary needs. Combine that with issues with your body image and you will constantly struggle to meet your health and energy needs.

Of course, I find great value when a recipe is labeled gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian or vegan, as I work with many athletes who need to follow a restricted diet (ex. personal, ethical, religious, medical, etc.) and this makes ingredient deciphering much easier. And let's be honest, 99.9% of the recipes on this blog are vegetarian because I am a vegetarian, so maybe you come to this blog to see vegetarian recipes (even if I don't label them as vegetarian).

It's unfortunate, but true, that many people need permission to eat something by a diet name.
Don't believe me...... 

 
How considerate. ✓ - Paleo approved foods
Whole Foods gives you permission to eat anything on this salad bar if you follow a Paleo diet. Since I don't follow a Paleo diet, am I allowed to eat from this salad bar? Is this salad bar healthier than the other salad bar? I see carrots but am I allowed to eat paleo carrots?
What makes carrot paleo?  

Outside of the context of eating a restrictive diet, for the reasons I mentioned above, giving yourself permission to eat something simply because it doesn't fit into your "bad food" or "off limit" category is no way to foster a healthy relationship with food.

Take this quinoa pasta as an example. 

If I titled my recipe "Gluten free pasta with sauteed veggies and tomato sauce" would you suddenly assume that I am endorsing this pasta as a more healthy option than the regular alternative?
What's makes it healthier if the calories, carbohydrates and protein content is relatively similar?
Because it's made from quinoa?



What about this pancake mix? Is it healthier because it's gluten free?

If Quinoa is on your good food list and gluten is on your bad food list, and you have no allergies or intolerance's to gluten, you are have created a list of bad foods, which limits your ability to eat a varied diet.

So does this strategy of eating according to a good food vs. bad food list work when it comes to improving your health or performance as an athletes?

In your quest to improving your relationship with food, unfortunately no, it doesn't help.

When you select foods simply based on a diet trend, you are learning to eat per food rules and not according to your own needs. A diet doesn't understand your physical needs and many times, a diet leaves a void in your life as it pertains to eating for pleasure. And with constant restriction comes the risk for overindulging.

With rules comes guilt if you break those rules.
With a diet, you create a style of eating that can not be broken, or else it causes frustration, anxiety, fear and failure.

It's time to stop the diet mentality.
I give your permission to eat without food rules.

-------------------------------------
So why did I select this quinoa pasta over regular pasta?
Well, why not? Isn't it fun to try new foods, made with different ingredients, to excite the taste buds and to make your tummy happy? 

Quinoa pasta with sauteed veggies and tomato sauce

1 box quinoa pasta (or pasta of your choice)
Water, salt, oil for cooking pasta
1 small can tomato paste w/ garlic, oregano and basil (or add your own herbs)
1 medium yellow bell pepper (chopped)
1 small white onion (sliced)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
Olive oil

Cheese

1. Cook pasta according to the package directions. 

2. While pasta is cooking, sautee chopped pepper and sliced onion and chopped garlic in skillet with olive oil on medium heat.
3. When veggies soften after a few minutes (toss frequently to evenly coat), add 1 can tomato pasta + 1 can water. Cover the veggies in the tomato paste.
You can also use tomato/marinara sauce.
.4. When pasta is finished cooking, drain and rinse under cold water. Reheat in microwave if necessary to bring pasta to your preferred temperature.
5. Dress your plate with pasta along with veggie filled sauce and top with shredded cheese.
Enjoy and don't forget to yum!

Permission to eat

Earlier this week, we received a box of homemade Gingerbread cookies from Karel's dad. We are still waiting for another box from Karel's mom.
Every cookie was handmade, individually designed and then sewed into the paper before being shipped from Znojmo, Czech Republic to Greenville, SC.

With every bite, I yum. I can taste the ginger and just a subtle hint of sweetness from the icing.
After one cookie, I feel great. 

With so many diet fads and "lifestyle" ways of eating, we, as a society, have learned to see food as good or bad. Depending on the latest research study, expert or top media post, it's easy to have a one-sided view on "healthy" food and everything else is given a reason to avoid it. 

I can tell you that these gingerbread cookies would not taste as good in May, or February, as they do in December. Because these cookies are tied to the holidays and for Karel, they bring back a lot of memories. Furthermore, eating one cookie feels great in my belly.
Eating 10 cookies would not feel so good.
Knowing that I have permission to eat cookies any time of the year, cookies do not get a lot of attention in my diet. I don't crave cookies because they have never been off limit in my diet. I just choose not to eat them regularly because they don't have a place in my "typical" diet. I don't save my calories for cookies or make sure I eat less carbs to offset a cookie binge late at night. They are just cookies and I don't crave them. Same with most sweets.

Sure, they taste great and can be mouth-wateringly, addicting but with so much other food to eat to nourish and fuel my diet, there really isn't much of a place for cookies in my diet.
So I treat myself to a cookie or two during the holidays.
And same with any indulgence - on occasion.
With no guilt, anxiety or fear involved.

Cookies around the holidays just taste different because they have a different meaning. Yes, even homemade cookies can be unhealthy as they are packed with sugar but I assure you that nothing bad is going to happen to me if I eat one gingerbread cookie here or there over the holidays. The cookie is savored and enjoyed and it doesn't threaten me in any way.
My tomorrow diet and exercise regime is not affected because of one cookie. 

And yes, I can stop at one cookie because I have not deprived myself of cookies, sugar or sweets for the past week, let alone the last year. After many former years of understanding my biological hunger and learning how to fuel properly as an endurance triathlete, as well as working on my relationship with food and my body, I just see food differently than ever before (and probably different than much of the population - I have to thank my European for a lot of this).
And to the surprise and disbelief of many low-carb proponents, I eat plenty of carbohydrates to fuel my workouts and still don't have sugary cravings. 

If Karel buys pastries, ice cream (aka frozen recovery bars according to Karel), chips or some type of dessert (he has the sweet tooth but because he never deprives himself, he doesn't eat too much in one sitting), it doesn't bother me.
I can be in the house with all of these "sugary" items, eat my normal diet of carbohydrates, fat and protein and be fine with all of those items without the hint of wanting to indulge.
 Added sugar, sweets and treats don't really make up a big part of my diet. After so much real food, there really isn't a lot of room left for added sugar.
When the body is satisfied, it doesn't ask for more.

This relationship with food and style of eating was not created overnight. I assure you of that.
When I work with athletes on nutrition, I always address their relationship with food and the body as this can not be overlooked in athletes.
For me, in an effort to not feel obligated to follow a diet fad, to have an off limit food list or to intentionally try to control blood sugar and cravings through a low carb diet, I felt inclined to understand my body (as an athlete) and create a style of eating that worked for me so that food didn't control my life, but instead enhanced my life.

This took time but seeing how I have lived my life over the past few years, it was so worth it.
(I really do love carbs and I'm so glad I never had to give them up).

Food habituation demonstrates than when a person is allowed to eat a food, the less desirable it becomes. But certainly this can get people in trouble as a formally forbidden food, that is now allowed, can be too good to resist.

If you have an off-limit food list or you have been trying to be "good" by avoiding certain foods and you want to see if you can be good with eating only one cookie, there is a good chance that you will likely overindulge.....if you don't have a good relationship with food. And the added worry that you will overindulge, alongside ineffective eating habits (like restricting calories or carbs, skipping meals/snacks or not controlling blood sugar with protein and fat with meals and snacks), may cause anxiety when you are introduced to a food at home or at a party/event, that you have been previously once avoiding. 

This is no way to live your life.
Food is suppose to enhance your life, not control your life. 

You have to trust yourself around food.
Food should not give you anxiety, fear or stress.

If this speaks loudly to you, the first thing you need to work is having a great relationship with food and your body.  

Especially with the holidays, your day should not revolve around how good you can be with your diet  and exercise routine so that you are "allowed" to eat dessert at your holiday meal.
Or, spending the evening with the thought of how much you need to exercise tomorrow because of the bad food that you ate the night before. 

Whereas many people will claim that they feel no cravings on a restricted diet when carbohydrates are reduced, minimized or avoided all together, you don't have to live your entire life with an off-limit food list.
 I know how many people in our society eat and a typical diet is far from healthy.
You know that too. 

Avoiding carbohydrates is not the answer.
Address the real problem - what kind of carbohydrates were people eating in the first place in a "typical" breakfast, lunch and dinner + snacks diet AND was there enough protein and fat to keep the body satisfied and to control blood sugar? 

The next time you are presented with a dessert, take one bite. Savor the bite, enjoy the bite and be done with it. If you need two more bites, so be it.
Afterward, move on.

Happy Holidays. 

I give you permission to eat carbohydrates.
Just do so in a way that you feel absolutely amazingly great AFTER you finish your meal.