Jeff Novick (And Dr. McDougall) for the Win!

Please, go read this post by Jeff Novick. Here's but a small sample. For the "meat" of the post, go to the link.

Creating Healthy Habits

by JeffN » Wed May 30, 2018 12:15 pm

I have often discussed the importance of simplicity in achieving and maintaining both short-term and long-term success. I am going to add one more issue that often gets missed in this discussion and that is the issue of habits.

What we are trying to do here is learn new behaviors and make them into habits. We are trying to break old unhealthy habits and develop new healthy ones. These include learning to be more active and learning to eat healthier. And, while there are several keys to developing a new habit, two of the most important ones are consistency and repetition. While simplicity is important, so is consistency and repetition.

This issue has come up quite a bit lately in discussions and counseling with clients and I believe it is partly (if not largely) due to the influence of social media. Social media is giving us access to an enormous amount, and constant flow, of information.

In the last few years, there have been many online “summits, documentaries and symposiums,” which seem to attract a lot of attention and viewers. I have been invited to be a speaker to many of them and have always declined. I am not a fan of them for many reasons. 

Ann and Jane Esselstyn - Sauces

In this video, Ann makes her famous Walnut Sauce that was originally in the Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease book. But now Dr. Esselstyn says "No nuts!!" for people with heart disease, so Jane makes the revised version, made with cannelini beans instead of walnuts.

Bye, Dr. McDougall!

I’m sure by now you all got the e-mail from Dr. McDougall announcing his partial retirement. I’m sure I’m not the only one not surprised by this. He hasn’t looked and acted his old self since his fall a few years ago, and the wildfires that claimed his home and life’s work took what little wind was left in his sails.

Thanks, Dr. McDougall, for all you’be given us all over the years, and hope to see you again soon on the forum and webinars.

Another Dr. Goldhamer/Chef AJ Q&A

Notice for European Readers

I woke up this morning to this notice on my Blogger Dashboard page. Being in the USA, I can't see what they actually wrote on my blog. Just be assured any notice they put up about accepting cookies or whatever is legitimate - even the McDougall Program people sent emails out about this last week.

European Union laws require you to give European Union visitors information about cookies used and data collected on your blog. In many cases, these laws also require you to obtain consent. 
As a courtesy, we have added a notice on your blog to explain Google's use of certain Blogger and Google cookies, including use of Google Analytics and AdSense cookies, and other data collected by Google. 
You are responsible for confirming this notice actually works for your blog, and that it displays. If you employ other cookies, for example by adding third party features, this notice may not work for you. If you include functionality from other providers there may be extra information collected from your users. 

Potato Power

Close to Home Comic

Jeff Novick Interviews

Health Sciences, the magazine of the National Health Association, did an interview with Jeff Novick back in 2102 entitled Nobody Does It Better. There’s not much in it many McDougallers don’t already know, but it’s a good read, anyway.

There’s also an interview Jeff links to from his website to where he’s proclaimed a Jewish Food Hero. In this one, he goes more into detail on his nutritional guidelines than his personal history. Again, nothing we don’t already know, just good to see again.

Salad Eating Advice - Nothing New Under the Sun

For those who are now in the habit of eating a pound or more of non-starchy vegetables for breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, and dinner on the advice of a certain somebody, including those "BAS - Big Ass Salads" that "if they aren't big enough that someone comments on their size, they're not big enough," and "salad should be as big as your head" - everything old is new again. 

Jeff Novick, dietitian for The McDougall Program in Santa Rosa (and has many videos of his own out, both lectures and cooking videos), has written about that - and much more - for many years now, but nobody goes around quoting *him* (Aside from some of us on the McDougall message boards, that is).

Here's a blog post he wrote back in 2007 called "Shock and Awe" Salads. Good reading, as are all the other blog posts and articles on Jeff's web site. Lots of good information there, as well as his forum on the free McDougall message boards.

Imagine what life would be like for all those people if they took this advice when it was first given back in 2007 (Myself include)?

Ann and Jane - All Oat Waffles

Another fun romp in the kitchen with Ann and Jane Esselstyn, this time waffles made with oats. I know every WFPB cooking guru has their own version of waffles and pancakes (Here's Heather McDougall's passed down by her mom Mary), but this one is so simple.

How simple is it?

Simple enough that I made some of my own this morning! Like they did, I used water, even though the book says plant milk or water.

OK, so they're really thick! Also, notice I got 7 waffles on the plate. At first I messed up the measurements and had a cup of water to a half cup of oats and wondered why it was so wet. Oops. I'm awake since 3am so have a little sympathy! Wound up making a double batch. Also, 8 minutes may be a bit too long. As you see, some of mine are almost burnt at that time. Next time I'll try them at 5 or 6 minutes. That also made them a bit dry, and, to be honest, not that tasty. My son took one look at them and walked away, saying he'll make his own breakfast later. I really didn't expect him to partake, since he's not a fan of oatmeal in any way, shape, or form. More for me! LOL

I did something totally anti-Esselstyn. First, I broke a few in pieces and dunked them in one of those half cup containers of natural no-sugar added applesauce. When that was gone, I used a teensy bit of pure maple syrup. The applesauce tasted better. Maybe in the future I'll try making the Raspberry Sauce that is recommended in the book, but using blueberries because I despise raspberries. It's only 10 ounces of thawed frozen berries and a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar whirred together in a food processor to make a smooth sauce. I have no frozen fruit at the moment, hence the applesauce.  

They were a nice change of pace, but it's still a pain in the neck to make and clean up after. Who wants to wash out a food processor and waffle iron first thing in the morning?! But it does make a nice crispy waffle (if you eat them within 5-10 minutes. After that they go soggy.), good for a grab-and-go breakfast if you make up a bunch to keep in the freezer. That's where most of these went.

If I ever try to make these again, I might try a savory version, with baby spinach, sun-dried tomato strips, and nutritional yeast.

I was also thinking of using a savory, or just plain, version to make something to eat hamburgers on. There really aren't many gluten-free AND oil-free options out there in bun-land, rice cakes are too crunchy and crumbly, and lettuce or collard leaves used as wraps allow all the toppings to slide right off and onto the plate, table, or my shirts. But these seem to be a bit too thick for that purpose. Maybe I can open the waffle iron way before time so they split in half, then use those 2 halves like a bun. Hmmm. Might work. I hope so, because I really miss eating burgers. I have at least a dozen recipes I want to try, in addition to Jeff's and Mary McDougall's that are already favorites. I'm too lazy to stand over a stove and make fat flats (similar to pancakes) out of this dough.

But for breakfast? I'm back to hot oatmeal tomorrow.

A Brief Q&A with Ann and Jane

And they changed the intro to go with the season, too!