Food Fair Fun - Texas Veggie Fair

I've wanted to attend the Texas Veggie Fair since one of my preceptors told me about it almost 2 years ago.  The stars finally aligned for me and we made it out there this past Saturday.

I was so excited I couldn't stand it! And imagine my surprise when my carnivorous husband gave me a list of things he was looking forward to trying.  After being cooped up inside for that past 2 years while I worked on my Master's degree, I've been absolutely dying to have a social life again. Erik and I have hit up a lot of food fairs in the area, including the Greek Food Festival, Lebanese Food Festival, and the Texas State Fair (yes that counts, the food is why people go!). However this time, we decided to document the experience.


So starting out, The Texas Veggie Fair strongly recommended on Facebook and on their website to take public transportation. They warned us that parking was terrible. However.... the train station was over a mile from the Fair, and we were worried that our son wouldn't be able to make the walk, attend the fair, and walk back. So we drove to Dallas.  And they were right, the parking was terrible, and we still parked over a mile away. Luckily, we were in the Oak Lawn neighborhood, which is very pedestrian friendly. Even luckier, we came across the rideshare electric scooters before we even made it to the main road. Seriously, this was one of the highlights of the event for Erik and Roman. After downloading an app, discovering that my scooter was a dud, downloading another app, we were on our way.  Erik zipped along with a massive grin on his face (those things were FAST) and Roman kept saying "This is soooo cool!"  Before we even made it to the fair, the boy's days were made.

So after over a mile of busy streets with a 5-year-old hanging on we finally made it onto the fairgrounds, Reverechon Park in Dallas.  And it was crowded.  Even in the liberal hotspot that is the city of Dallas, I was not expecting the massive turnout to a vegan food fair that was in front of us when we entered. 

The crowds were both impressive to see and a pain. We arrived hungry but couldn't get quick access to the food. We weren't able to spend a lot of time asking vendors about their products because there was a long line behind us. On the bright side, the crowds were friendly, and a lot of people had their dogs there in costume to pet and talk too. And being around people that don't think not eating meat is weird was nice as well.
As far as the food we did get to try, the Indian food from Bombay Street food was phenomenal.

 Roman really wanted a hot dog, and parmesan truffle fries sounded good to me, so we the next food truck was perfect. Samson's Gourmet Hot Dogs was a bit of an unorganized mess. After 20 minutes waiting in line to order, we were informed that there were no more hot dogs. The suddenly they had 50. We ordered a vegan hot dog and truffle fries and waited over 45 minutes to get them. Both items looked good but were disappointing. Between the three of us, we didn't finish the meal.

After our hot dog, we tried to visit some of the merchants, looked at the pit bulls available for adoption (love this!), and listened to a panel of speakers.  We finally made it back to the booth Erik really wanted to check out, It's Jerky Y'all. This is a jerky product made from soy that comes in three different flavors, Prickly Pear Teriyaki, Prickly Pear Chipotle, and Black Pepper & Sea Salt.

 These have gone over really well with most people that have tried them.  They are slightly softer than typical beef jerky but have a lot of flavor that most people have been really receptive too. They can be challenging to find, but you can order them directly from their website, or you can look up local vendors there as well.

 We also sampled some vegan chocolate chip cookies on the way out and bought them as well. They were pretty good, better than a common, popular packaged cookie brand, but still a packaged cookie.

Overall, I'm glad we went to The Texas Veggie Fair. I wish the event was spread out over 2 days to decrease the crowd density. We would have been able to sample more items and talk to more vendors. We'll definitely return!  

Visit https://www.texasveggiefair.com/vendors-exhibitors to learn more about the vegan food and products that were featured at the Texas Veggie Fair.

Cooking Demonstration - Hot & Sour Peanut-y Noodles with Bok Choy

How Much Protein is in That?

8/6/17

I’ve written about protein a couple of times now. But how do you know how much protein you are getting? You can read nutrition labels, use the USDA’s SuperTracker, or utilize numerous apps on your smartphone. But what if we eat dinner at a friend’s house or your favorite hole-in-the-wall ethnic restaurant? Knowing serving sizes and being able to estimate the amount of protein in the meal can keep you on track throughout the day.

Here’s a brief list of protein and serving sizes of popular sources¹:

Serving sizes

Meat, tempeh – 3 oz

Dairy

Milk, yogurt – 1 cup

Cheese – 2 oz

Tofu – 4 oz

Beans, quinoa – ½ cup

Seeds, nuts – 1 oz

Baked chicken breast - 25 g protein – 134 calories

Grilled sirloin steak – 17 g protein – 155 calories

Baked salmon – 21 g protein – 124 calories

Broiled pork chops – 24 g protein – 164 calories

Hardboiled egg – 6 g protein – 71 calories

Milk 2% – 8 g protein - 122 calories

Greek yogurt, plain, low fat – 24 g protein – 179 calories

Cheddar cheese – 14 g protein – 229 calories

Tofu, before cooking – 9 g protein – 78 calories

Edamame – 8 g protein – 95 calories

Black beans – 7 g protein – 111 calories

Lentils – 9 g protein – 110 calories

Tempeh – 15 g protein – 167 calories

Quinoa – 4 g protein – 111 calories

Chia seeds – 5 g protein – 138 calories

Sunflower seeds, with hulls – 3 g protein – 87 calories

Almonds – 6 g protein – 172 calories

To decide how much of a protein source is on your plate, compare to these common household items:

3oz of meat – deck of cards (! – how much do you usually eat?)

3oz of fish – checkbook

1oz of cheese – 4 die (x2!)

1oz of nuts/seeds – a small handful

1. Food Tracker. https://supertracker.usda.gov/foodtracker.aspx. Accessed August 6, 2017.

What Should I Eat and Drink Before, During, and After Exercise?

8/4/17

By now, we’ve all heard of carbo-loading and eating an enormous amount of protein to build muscle. But do these methods actually work? Should I eat a snack with protein or force down a disgusting protein shake from the health food store? Is it better to exercise on an empty stomach or right after eating? Luckily, there have been many studies done to guide us.

Mainstream recommendations are to eat a light snack that includes carbs and protein about 1 hour before a workout to fuel you through your exercise. The post-exercise window is treated with much more urgency. We are instructed to consume a large amount of protein to begin protein synthesis (jump start muscle recovery) and carbohydrates to replete the glycogen stores in our muscles and liver and maintain a healthy blood glucose level and we have to be certain to eat this meal within 20 minutes of the conclusion of our workout.

A literature review performed in 2015 agrees that we should have a snack consisting of protein and carbohydrates before exercise, particularly if we exercise before breakfast. They quoted a study that showed that a pre-workout snack immediately prior to exercise can do double duty as a post-workout meal, as you are still digesting the protein after your workout. They showed a 130% increase in blood serum amino acids that continued to stay elevated for 2 hours after a workout. Another study showed that 20 grams of whey protein taken immediately prior to resistance training elevated muscle uptake of protein by more than 4 times normal amounts and the effect lasted for 4 hours after the workout ended. Given these results, it seems like the post-workout meal may not be quite as important as we once thought, though we should take care to consume enough protein throughout the day.¹

However, if it has been more than 3-4 hours since your last meal, the typical recommendation of 25 g of protein immediately after exercise seems warranted, particularly if muscle growth is our goal.¹

There has been a small body of evidence that shows that the elderly need even more protein than younger trainers as their muscles do not uptake and utilize amino acids from proteins as well, though this field of study is relatively young and unexplored.¹  What we can gather from this is that we should consume high-quality protein anywhere from immediately prior to exercising to 2 hours after a workout.

My recommendation, based on this research, is to do what makes your stomach the most settled. I can’t eat right after a workout, so have utilized chocolate milk and various protein shakes for my post-workout recovery meal. On the occasion that it’s been too long since I’ve eaten, and not wanting a full stomach during a workout, I’ve had a protein shake immediately prior to working out, and have always felt best going this route. Find what works for you and try to stick with it.

Carbohydrate loading is a concept used by endurance athletes.  When we perform an activity for long, sustained periods of time, we can deplete the carbohydrate stores in our liver and muscles. Eating a carbohydrate-heavy meal before a workout can help fend off a blood sugar drop and allow us to work for longer. Studies have shown that carbohydrate loading does fend off a drop in glycogen stores, but have not shown any improvement in performance as a result. One study compared high fat vs high carbohydrate meals prior to endurance exercise and showed no difference in performance between the two exercisers. Additionally, a small study showed some improvement in performance when beetroot juice and caffeine are ingested before exercise.²

Water should be consumed before, during, and after exercise to maintain fluid balance. When exercising at a high intensity, for over an hour, the use of an electrolyte and glucose balancing sports drink are important to prevent dehydration and dangerously low blood sodium level. Fats have not really been mentioned much, as they don’t play a huge role in muscle recovery or blood glucose levels. We should include fat in our diet to maintain our weight, carry fat-soluble vitamins, and provide essential fatty acids, but their timing is not important.³

It is important to note that meals eaten prior to exercise should be low in fiber to avoid stomach upset during exercise. Some options to try before a workout are: an apple and yogurt, low fiber cereal with milk, hard boiled eggs with toast, and sliced turkey on half a bagel. Before a workout, avoid high fat, high protein foods such as hamburgers and sausage, high fiber energy bars, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and onions as they may cause stomach upset during exercise.

1.            Nutrient timing revisited: is there a post-exercise anabolic window? | Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition | Full Text. https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1550-2783-10-5. Accessed August 4, 2017.

2.            Pre-exercise nutrition: the role of macronutrients, modified starches and supplements on metabolism and endurance performance. - PubMed - NCBI. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24787031. Accessed August 4, 2017.

3.            American College of Sports Medicine position stand. Nutrition and athletic performance. - PubMed - NCBI. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19225360. Accessed August 4, 2017.

How should I exercise?

7/31/17

How much do we need to exercise to improve our cardiovascular fitness? To gain muscle? To increase flexibility?

Strength Training

Resistance exercise, or strength training, has been shown to have numerous benefits including lowering the risk of heart disease and risk of death for any cause, decreases cholesterol, fatigue, and depression as well as increasing bone density and the body’s response to insulin. The frequency and intensity of resistance exercise depends on your goals. Someone trying to build muscle will need more intense training than someone looking to improve athletic performance or someone else trying to maintain muscle mass as they age.¹

In regards to controlling blood sugar in diabetic patients, both strength training and aerobic training have shown benefits, showing that any increase in physical activity is important², and allowing the patient to choose what type of physical activity may lead to greater participation rates.

A review on literature pertaining to strength training was done in 2015 to determine the best recommendations for a variety of adults.  Several studies found that strength training performed 3 days a week has far better results than very intense training 1 day per week and mixed or mildly better results than training 2 days per week in regards to increasing the maximum weight a test subject was able to lift for 1 repetition of an exercise. This is consistent with most recommendations and previous studies showing that most people need to allow for 48 hours of rest between strength training for each muscle group.¹ Leave the heavy lifting until you are more comfortable with strength training. In fact, in regards to increasing power, lighter loads have been shown to have a greater benefit than lifting your absolute max weight.¹

Overall, recommendations for resistance training are as follows:

Beginners – Full body training at moderate intensity 2-3 times per week

Advanced (greater than 6 months of strength training) – split training at high intensity. Each muscle group is worked 2-3 times per week. i.e. Monday arms and chest, Tuesday legs and abs, Wednesday rest, Thursday arms and chest, Friday legs and abs, Friday and Saturday rest.

To improve athletic performance and power (higher jumps, faster sprints) – body weight or low weight exercises such as jump squats, base jumps, and traveling push-ups).¹

Another study shows greater compliance among patients that exercise at a lower intensity, furthering the recommendation for low intensity exercise for new strength trainers. In addition, new exercisers tend to choose the correct intensity during aerobic exercise, they almost always choose too low an intensity for resistance training.¹ Keep this in mind if you choose to start a training program without the aid of a personal trainer.

Aerobic Exercise

Cardiovascular training, or aerobic exercise, has its own list of benefits. Benefits range from improving cognitive performance³, decreasing symptoms of depression and PTSD⁴, reducing inflammation⁵, reducing migraine frequency and severity⁶, regulating weight, and cardiovascular benefits⁷.

Numerous studies show cardiovascular benefits with moderate activity for 30-60 minutes on most days of the week. This can be brisk walking (not a leisurely stroll) or jogging, not sprinting at your max speed.⁸ Within reason, adding intensity, frequency, and longevity to cardiovascular training will improve the cardiovascular results.⁹       

Your best bet is to try different types of cardiovascular exercise to determine what you like that most. Some examples are swimming, running/jogging/walking, cycling, and rowing. Pick one to focus on and a second one for cross training to help avoid injury.  Once you have determine what type of cardiovascular training you want to do, your best bet is to find a rapid pace that you can keep up for 20 minutes. Warm up at a moderate pace for 5 minutes, work for 20 minutes, then cool down at a moderate pace for another 5 minutes.  

Another popular method for cardiovascular training is the HIIT method, or high intensity interval training.  Using this method, after a warm up, participants will sprint at their fastest speed for a short period of time, then recover at a slower pace. For instance, a runner will do a brisk walk or slow jog for 5 minutes, then sprint as fast as they for 30 seconds and jog until they are in control of their breath. This person would repeat the sprint/jog sequence several times, then jog or walk briskly for another 5 minutes to cool down.  Despite popular claims, a study in 2015 showed a greater increase in cardiac and lung capacity in overweight and obese males when they performed continuous, moderate activity rather than HIIT Training.¹⁰ However, any addition in physical activity will be beneficial.

Flexibility

Improving flexibility lessens the amount of force placed on your joints when moving around. A stretching routine can reduce your risk of injury when exercise, but when done improperly, can actually increase your risk of injury. Stretching before cardio or resistance training can decrease your performance, particularly when stretches are held for longer than 60 seconds. Dynamic stretching, on the other hand, can lead to increased power and strength during athletic performances.¹¹ These are the stretches you see professional football players doing on the field prior to a game. I would not advise dynamic stretching be done without first getting instruction from a personal trainer. 

Static stretching should take place after a work-out, held just past the point of discomfort, for only 10-30 seconds. Two to three days per week is sufficient to improve flexibility and reduce your risk of injury.

There’s a lot of information here and it can be overwhelming. This is why getting help from a personal trainer can be so beneficial.  A personal trainer can design a plan for you as well as make sure that you are performing the recommended exercises safely and effectively. If you decide to start an exercise program on your own, I would start slowly and begin focusing on either strength or cardiovascular training.  Start with a gentle warm up, perform your strength or aerobic exercises, then cool down and stretch. As you gain confidence and fitness, you can add some running to your strength training or body weight exercises to your swimming routine. You can increase intensity and frequency as you go as well. No matter what your starting point, you can begin a healthy physical activity routine, gain fitness, and improve your health and quality of life.

1. Resistance Exercise: How Much Is Enough? : Current Sports Medicine Reports. 

http://journals.lww.com/acsm-csmr/fulltext/2015/05000/Resistance_Exercise___How_Much_Is_Enough_.19.aspx. Accessed July 28, 2017.

2. Resistance exercise versus aerobic exercise for type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. - PubMed - NCBI. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24297743. Accessed July 28, 2017.

3. Dose-Response of Aerobic Exercise on Cognition: A Community-Based, Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial. - PubMed - NCBI. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26158265. Accessed July 31, 2017.

4. Exercise for the treatment of depression and anxiety. - PubMed - NCBI. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21495519. Accessed July 31, 2017.

5. A standardized randomized 6-month aerobic exercise-training down-regulated pro-inflammatory genes, but up-regulated anti-inflammatory, neuron survi... - PubMed - NCBI. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25981742. Accessed July 31, 2017.

6. Aerobic Exercise for Reducing Migraine Burden: Mechanisms, Markers, and Models of Change Processes. - PubMed - NCBI. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26643584. Accessed July 31, 2017.

7. Edward F. Adolph Distinguished Lecture: The remarkable anti-aging effects of aerobic exercise on systemic arteries. - PubMed - NCBI. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24855137. Accessed July 31, 2017.

8. Haennel R, Lemire F. Physical activity to prevent cardiovascular disease. How much is enough? | The College of Family Physicians of Canada. http://www.cfp.ca/content/48/1/65. Accessed July 31, 2017.

9. Carnethon M. Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Disease: How Much is Enough? Am J Lifestyle Medicat. 2009;3(1). Accessed July 31, 2017

10. High Intensity Interval- vs Moderate Intensity- Training for Improving Cardiometabolic Health in Overweight or Obese Males: A Randomized Controlled... - PubMed - NCBI. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26489022. Accessed July 31, 2017.

11. Basic Principles Regarding Strength, Flexibility, and Stability Exercises - ScienceDirect. http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.emich.edu/science/article/pii/S1934148212010507?via%3Dihub. Accessed July 31, 2017.