Taste Life, with Chere Bork

Memorial Day is almost here. Summer! Yes! Summer is synonymous with cabins, boating, and eating, eating, and more eating. What if this summer your good intentions to get fit or have a healthy diet really became reality? A healthy diet isn’t about not eating your favorite foods. It all starts with your beliefs and your choices.

Linda, a 90 day life makeover coaching client, hired me to lose twenty pounds and wanted to start playing tennis again. Her short term goals included developing strategies to eat right that worked for her and her family. Her long term goals were to reorganize her house, lose fifty pounds without being on a diet, develop a coaching business and plan regular vacations.

She discovered that she could eat by choice not chance. We created small weekly goals for fitness, nutrition and stress. For example, eating protein for breakfast, eating 2 veggies a day, and going on a walk a day. With these small changes Linda happily lost weight and felt she was in charge of her life EXCEPT for her neighbor’s cupcakes. “My neighbor brought over 6 cupcakes from a fancy cupcake place. The frosting tasted like a stick of butter and it was not worth my calories.” Yes, our environment is stronger than our will. If I had cupcakes with butter cream frosting sitting on my kitchen counter I would eat them all. My genetics are “wired for butter.” I remember my mom telling me about Uncle Jack who liked to eat sticks of butter dipped in sugar. I adore butter! I used to sneak it on my toast under my peanut butter until three year old Danielle would ask “What are you doing over there mom?”

People are not mind readers. No one knows what you think until you tell them. I taught Linda a technique called non violent communication which helps you ask for what you need from others. You state what you are observing in the situation and how you feel. You express your need and then make a request in a gentle, caring and kind way. Remember, the number one tool that can change your life is a question.

Observation Situation: Neighbor brings over gorgeous, mouth watering, high calorie cupcakes and you just lost twenty pounds.

Feeling: Identify your feeling: I am feeling frustrated as I am trying very hard to lose weight and when cupcakes are in the house I will eat them.

Personal Need: Identify your need: I have a need for respect.

Request: What question do you need to ask?

Example: The conversation with the neighbor could go like this.

(Observation Situation) I appreciate you thinking of us and bringing over these cupcakes. I have lost twenty pounds and know if they are in the house I will eat every single one of them.

(Feeling) I feel so frustrated trying to eat healthy with high calorie foods in the house.

(Need) I have a need for respect.

(Request) Will you please stop sending treats over to our house?”

Non violent communication is a way of relating to ourselves and others through an awareness of our feelings and personal needs instead of blaming or judging others. You identify the situation and how you feel then express these feelings based on what you need. Remember the number one tool that can change your life is a question. There’s an old saying, “Ask and it is given.” Won’t it be fantastic to celebrate connections with people this summer and honor your personal needs for health and well being at the same time? You have a choice and it all starts before the food gets to your fork! Happy Summer!

Please click to download a Non – Violent Communication Template and more Non Violent Communication Real Life Examples.

My 24th Mother’s Day – my favorite day of the year

We always celebrate with a brunch. This year we ate at the St. James Hotel in Stillwater, MN.

Chicken Marsala

Danielle loves mushrooms and Brett can’t stand them. I decided to surprise Danielle and cook this chicken mushroom dish before Brett came home for the summer. My surprise? The day I was going to cook this for dinner Danielle said, “By the way mom I won’t be home for dinner!”

This easy quick dish makes great leftovers for your lunch. It also is elegant enough to serve to company and the mushrooms provide anti aging nutrition. Mushrooms are one of the best foods you can eat to give your immunity a boost.

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into quarters

1/4 cup flour

Salt

Pepper

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 pound sliced mushrooms

3/4 cup Marsala wine

Combine flour, salt and pepper in a pie plate. Coat chicken breasts with flour mixture.

Heat olive oil on medium heat in a large skillet. Cook chicken breasts until brown on both sides. Remove and set aside.

To skillet, add wine and mushrooms. Reduce heat and cook for about 10 minutes until sauce is reduced in half. Return chicken to skillet and cook for 2 to 5 more minutes.

Traditional Chicken Marsala is garnished with parsley. Every time I buy parsley it goes to waste, so I garnish entrees with sliced green onions that I always have on hand for our salads. Serve with two vegetables and warm conversation.

If you are looking for a quick low cal, low sodium, cholesterol free way to boost your immunity look no farther than the mushroom. At a mere 20 calories per handful, mushrooms are a treasure waiting to be added to your favorite dish. They provide similar nutrition more commonly found in meat, beans or grains.

Mushrooms

If you are looking for a quick low cal, low sodium, cholesterol free way to boost your immunity look no farther than the mushroom. At a mere 20 calories per handful, mushrooms are a treasure waiting to be added to your favorite dish.  They provide similar nutrition more commonly found in meat, beans or grains.

Cancer

Mushrooms provide a powerhouse of nutrients that may help protect against some cancers. Scientists at City of Hope were some of the first to find a potential link between mushrooms and a decreased likelihood of tumor growth and development in cells and animals. City of Hope researchers now plan to apply this research to human clinical trials to establish whether mushrooms act as aromatase inhibitors in women. It is far too early to conclusively say whether humans will experience decreased tumor growth as a result of eating mushrooms. However, City of Hope and the Mushroom Council one day hope to be able to share credible science-based information that ties mushroom intake with decreased cancer risk, along with other important health benefits.

Vitamin D

No other vegetable or fruit contains Vitamin D. Similar to the way that humans absorb sunlight and convert it to vitamin D, mushrooms contain a plant sterol—ergosterol—that converts to vitamin D when exposed to sunlight. The top three selling mushroom varieties (button, crimini and portabella) have vitamin D ranging from 1 to 97 percent of the Daily Value (400 IU) per raw 84 gram serving^, which means they contain 4% of the Daily Value for Vitamin D.

Immune Booster

Mushrooms are high in antioxidants, selenium, riboflavin and other healthful substances that protect the immune system. Mushrooms contain compounds known as beta glucan, which keep immune cells in a state of vigilance, guarding against disease. In addition, research reveals that mushrooms contain ergothioneine, an antioxidant that contributes to immune health, as well as to the protection of the eyes, skin, liver, kidneys and bone marrow.

Umami

Umami is the fifth basic taste after sweet, salty, bitter and sour. Derived from the Japanese word umai, meaning “delicious,” umami (pronounced oo-MAH-mee) is described as a savory, brothy, rich or meaty taste sensation. It’s a satisfying sense of deep, complete flavor, balancing savory flavors and full-bodied taste with distinctive qualities of aroma and mouthfeel. The more umami present in food, the more flavorful it will be. All mushrooms are a rich source of umami and the darker the mushroom the more umami it contains. Therefore, mushrooms are a perfect way to add great taste to everyday foods. Umami also counterbalances saltiness and allows up to a 50 percent salt reduction without compromising flavor.

Source: www.mushroominfo.com Check it out for more recipes, research and fun facts. This chart explains more about mushroom varieties.

Are you feeling overwhelmed? Are you working more than ever before and still worried about not doing a “good enough” job? You go home exhausted to a messy home you don’t have time to clean and are too tired to cook? Sound familiar?

Spring is the perfect time for a new beginning. Would it be like if you actually had time for your life?

It all starts with self care. Those two little words sound easy but are so hard to make important. Self care is your personal foundation for a high quality life. A high quality life starts with you.

Self care is one of the first things I look for as a coach. Lack of self care is responsible for those frustrating, and most challenging times in your life…when you have low energy, poor health, a weight higher than your driver’s license, a feeling of overwhelm, an unhealthy relationship, or a job you don’t like anymore.

Making self care your priority is definitely not the norm in our society and can be really frightening. Society does not seem to honor self care. We seem to wear “busy” as a badge of honor. “I’m busy.” “Well I am busier.” Notice your conversations with others. If you notice you are resenting lots of activities you are doing or feel tired all the time and overwhelmed it may be you just need some good old fashioned self care.

Self care really begins with learning to be more selfish. (Rest in peace Grandma Lily) I know I know we were taught to not be selfish. Being selfish conjures up a negative self centered “all about me” person. There is a positive side to being selfish. Selfish = self care.

Relationships oxygenate life and your relationship with yourself if the most important one of your life. Ask yourself: Do I schedule my priorities or prioritize my schedule? When was the last time I did something for me? Am I living a life of joy? If not, why not? What do I need to change?

Lisa, a coaching client hired me to “find happiness, contentment and purpose now and beyond midlife.” She wanted to spend more time on her wants (gardens, beauty in the world, quiet time for recharging, reading and reflection, learning and making a difference). She wanted to “prioritize health, fun and relationships” in her life. She realized that there was a gap in what would tell herself about putting her first and what she would do. She was the “first to fall off the list.”

In only 12 coaching sessions, she identified her needs and values and aligned them with her daily choices. She created a “Lisa’s Room” where she recharges and finds her “calm.” She exercising and sleeping better and spending more time at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. She is feeling less stressed, has more patience and is more positive with others.

As we were driving back from buying her sunflower picture Lisa and I were talking how everything is different but nothing has changed. She has the same husband, son, job and home but she just loves her life more. She said, “My attitude has changed. What I choose think and what I choose to do have changed. The people around me have not changed. I was feeling tired and worn out and now I feel relaxed. I choose to be calm.”

Self care is more than making sure you exercise or eat breakfast. It is taking the time to recognize where in your life you are feeling stuck. It starts with you giving yourself permission to be number one on your list. A strong personal foundation based on self care may give you more energy to volunteer or learn a new hobby. You may find like Lisa that the old challenge of work versus life don’t stress you out anymore. In fact, you may find they disappear.

Accept this self care challenge and declare yourself first on your to do list. I’d love to hear what you do for self care in the comments below.

Here to add value to your life and help you be number one on your list of life. Just let me know how, Love Chere

P.S. take a nap

Family Fun

You just never know how a 5 minute conversation can create a change in someone’s thinking and perhaps their life. I have wanted to serve my family more beans and a chance meeting with Lori gave me the perfect recipe for hummus.

“Hi Chere! We met at the Eat Smart NY conference and you asked me for this recipe. It is so funny that you approached me at the conference because I was truly debating about whether to stay in my current position (which was not satisfying) or leave. When I told you that I was a massage therapist and how I help people, you asked me, “What are you doing here?” That really made me ask myself that same question!

I decided to resign and it was the best decision I’ve made. I was offered guaranteed paid hours with the owner of the Physical Therapy office I work out of and the opportunity to expand my business with a retail area offering healthful options for those in pain or for those wishing to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Just wanted to say thank you. You helped me even though I don’t think you knew you were helping! Take care!”
—Lori Brennan BS, LMT, www.Balancedlifebodywork.com, Freeville, NY

Lori’s Hummus

2 – 15 1/2 oz cans of garbanzo beans (reserve 3/4 of a can of liquid)
1/4 cup tahini paste
1 tsp salt
1 TB olive oil
2 tsp minced fresh parsley
4 – 6 cloves of garlic
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

Puree all ingredients in food processor.

How smart are you about beans? Bet you’re thinking green beans.

The bean is technically a legume, a class of foods that includes peas and lentils. Most people do not even know how to pronounce legume yet alone eat them. Beans and other legumes are nutritious staple foods for people in countries around the world. They are less expensive than meat and high in protein. A half-cup serving of almost all types of cooked dried beans provides seven to eight grams of protein, which is equal to the amount in an ounce of meat. Soybeans, however, contain twice as much protein. One-half cup of beans also provides three to four grams of fiber.

Beans are high in fiber, high in protein, low in fat, filling, inexpensive, easy to use and versatile in any recipe, have a low glycemic index and are about 200 calories for one cup. Beans are naturally low in sodium (rinse and drain the canned ones).

For most beans: 1 pound dried beans = 2 cups dried = 4 – 5 cups cooked beans

http://www.americanbean.com/wwwold/BeanVarieties/Home.htm

Beans are a cook’s and Registered Dietitian’s dream food. They readily pick up the flavor of seasonings used most recipes and blend right into almost any raw or cooked creation and have many, many health benefits.

Weight Loss

Beans can help you lose weight as they fill you up. They provide more fiber than whole grains foods. According to a recent Real Age article regular bean eaters weigh about 6.6 pounds less than non bean eaters.

Heart Disease

One study, reported that participants who consumed legumes 4 times a week had a 22% lower risk for heart disease than people who consumed legumes only once a week. If you are following the average Western diet with low bean consumption you are probably at a higher risk for heart disease.

Breast Cancer

After an eight year follow up researchers analyzed data in the Nurses Health Study II of 90, 630 women ages 26 to 46 and found that women who consumed beans or lentils at least twice a week were 24 % less likely to develop breast cancer than women who consumed them less than once a month. Beans reduce the risk of breast cancer due to the presence of flavonols.

Beans are a user friendly food

Many of the studies about the cancer-fighting benefits of beans have indicated that incorporating 3 cups of cooked beans a week into the diet can have significant health benefits. (Gary is you are reading this..this is our family goal!) This may sound like a lot of beans, but it is easy to do. You can toss some garbanzo or kidney beans into your salad. Eat a bean soup for lunch or dinner, make a meat-free bean casserole or make a bean dip.

What about gas?

Many people are afraid of the intestinal gas that beans produce. Soak your beans for 12 to 15 hours before they are cooked. Pour off the water used for soaking, rinse and add fresh water for cooking.

Hummus is our favorite way to eat beans

Hummus is one of the oldest foods ever and dates back to ancient times. Thankfully it has survived and is popular today. Traditional hummus is made with chickpeas ground into a paste. Hummus usually includes tahini which is a sesame paste, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt.

You can buy store bought hummus but this homemade version is less sodium and extremely economical compared to the store bought version. It takes 10 minutes to make. Serve it with fresh veggies if you are concerned about your weight instead of pita chips.

Is your life a journey or a destination? I used to think destination. “I can’t wait for Brett to be in first grade so I don’t have to pay for daycare.” “I can’t wait for Danielle to be accepted into a college she likes and can afford.” The BIG family destination was to travel to all fifty states. Oh, the planning and fun family talks that we had to get to all the states before Danielle graduated from high school. One of the last trips we traveled 3,000 miles in one week and visited Oklahoma City, Dallas, San Antonio, New Orleans, Biloxie, Mobile, and Memphis.

Since I started on what the family calls “the coaching thing” I live life as journey. Every day is a new life. My simple goal is to get to bed every night happy and healthy. Healthy I define by eating produce. When I eat fruits and veggies I am not eating white junky carbs. So, I try to eat 4 servings a day, which amazingly EVEN as a Registered Dietitian is hard for me unless I do a little planning. Produce just doesn’t to “come by” like white junk food does it? Happy I define by three things: What did I accomplish? What did I learn? Who did I help smile today?

Steve Jobs in his commencement speech to Stanford University in 2005 stated, “If you live each day as if it will be your last, someday it most certainly will be.” Every day he looks in the mirror and asks himself, “If today were the last day of my life would I want to do what I am about to do today?” If he answers “No” too many days in a row he needs to change something.

I have advocated mirror talk for years. Every morning I look in the mirror. I wink at myself and say, “Lookin’ good Chere (Sometimes this is a little pep talk as I feel I am really feeling tired, old and not ready for the day), who do you want to be today?” Then I pick an adjective for who I want to show up being. Favorite adjective is sassy. Picture a sassy day.

The good news is you and I have a choice of who we want to be and what we want to do. You can decide today that your life is a journey and that every day is a new life. You can feel fully alive before you die if you live each day awake and conscious. But you gotta plan. You have to live life awake.

Gary and I are living our FABD (Fully Alive Before I Die) lists. Gary is busy making plans to raft the Salmon River this June, while I am starting to prepare to do my first and last triathlon this July. I figured I have spent hours watching triathlons why not just do one. Even though I don’t swim, bike or run. Oh well. Give it a try in Wisconsin where no one knows me. I just want to finish.

What is on your FABD (Fully Alive Before You Die) list? Remember we aren’t lucky like food and come with an expiration date. You and I know we are going to die, just not when. So, if you know you are going to die why aren’t you living like it? (Is this a profound question or what!?)

I challenge you to create your FABD list. Don’t wait. Don’t just read this ezine and say “that’s nice for Chere” and forget your own list. Nothing tastes better than feeling like you are in charge of your life and feeling fully alive before you die.

Accept this challenge and declare your FABD list on our blog here and read what is on our FABD lists. Just use the comments section below!

Here to add value to your life and help you accomplish stuff on your FABD list. Just let me know how, Love Chere

FABD LISTS Chere and Gary, FULLY ALIVE BEFORE WE DIE

Chere
Go to a Packer Game at Lambeau Field with Brenda Vatland
Tuscany, Italy
Library time with no clock and a giant high calorie coffee
Rocky Mountain Park – and help the big horn sheep down the hill
Be a campgrounds host camper for one summer in a national park
Community garden club
Voice lessons
Choir
Lectern one time at church
Write a children’s book
Write book – Why did God Make Gooesebumps..how to give them, get them and keep them or 50 Ways to Savor Your Life Today
Sail the Apostle Islands
Camp for one night in the Boundary Waters ok two
Ice Fishing January 2010
Dog Sled Feb 2010
Publish the 5 ingredient cookbook with Laurie
Hike Lake Louise to the tea house again
Lecture on a cruise ship
Go to Midtown Global Market and eat an octopus taco both # 124 at LaSierra Gorda
Back to London and give a talk there
Give a talk in Switzerland
Olympics
Give another talk in Hawaii
Meet Jaci Pierce in person and hug her
Hike Diamond Head on 70th bday Feb 18, 2025
Have a pontoon boat ride with Gary and Linda
Parachute – ropes course done MOA Feb 18, 2010
Triathlon
Trip with college roomies Diva and Debee

Gary
Monument Valley, AZ done August 2007
Snorkel the Barrier Reef in Beliz, done March 2007
Raft the Salmon River, Summer 2010
Drive to Alaska
Ruins of Peru
Drive California coast one end to the other
Ski through Yellowstone, done Jan 2009
Hike the Grand Canyon
Ski Boundary Waters

Jaci is the web designer who has helped me prepare and send Taste Life ezine for many years. She makes this healthy, quick smoothie for lunch. This shake would also be perfect for breakfast. You could easily make this the evening ahead, refrigerate and drink on your ride to work. I guarantee you will feel full until lunch time. Drinking 330 calories rich in omega 3’s and monounsaturated fats will save you hundreds of snacking calories.

1 banana
1 avocado
1 c. frozen organic strawberries
1 c. rice milk
1/4 c. plain whey protein powder
2 tsp. ground flax seeds
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Dash of allspice
Sweeten to taste with stevia *

Blend until smooth. It will be really thick like a milkshake. This recipe can serve one or two. You could prepare this in the morning and consume half for breakfast and the other half for lunch. Supplement with a high fiber bagel and a few turkey slices for lunch and you are good to go.

Gary and I split this recipe for an evening snack. I used fresh strawberries, skim milk, one tablespoon of ground flax seeds and two packages of Truvia to sweeten it. I skipped the cinnamon and allspice.

Be creative. Use fruits you enjoy. Next time I prepare this I will use the frozen cherries we always keep in the freezer instead of the banana.

Nutrition Composition:
Yield: 2 servings
One serving: Calories: 337, Carb 32 gm, Protein 18.4 gm, Fat 17.5 gm

*Can use agave nectar, or honey.

The Good News About Avocados and Fat

Studies have shown that the key to maintaining your weight or to lose weight
is to eat fat and protein at each meal. Don’t be afraid of the 17 grams of fat.
I guarantee these 17 grams of fat will fill you up and keep you away from junk food.
One trip to the vending machine costs 240 calories and 15 grams of fat for a candy bar or bag of chips without any nutrition.

Don’t afraid to eat 15 grams of fat for a meal, read more on my blog

Avocados contribute to the good fats in your diet by providing 3 grams of monounsaturated fat and 0.5 polyunsaturated grams fat per 1 oz serving.
The avocado is the only fruit that has monounsaturated fat.

Avocados also have a favorable unsaturated to saturated fat ratio of 3.5 grams to 0.5 grams, making them a great substitute for foods rich in saturated fats.

Avocados can be substituted as a spread for many of your favorite foods.

Reference: USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 18 (2005) and FDA Food Labeling Guidelines for Voluntary Nutrition Labeling of Raw Fruits, Vegetable and Fish (Vol. 71, No. 159); Appendix C to Part 101 – Nutrition Facts for Raw Fruits and Vegetables (2006). Nutritional values are for the item listed only; not as consumed with other foods or ingredients.

Many people tell me they don’t buy avocados because they don’t know how to pick ripe ones. The following are guidelines to help you quickly purchase your avocados.

HOW TO CHOOSE THE PERFECT AVOCADO FROM MEXICO

Recognize your Hass
Avocados from Mexico are available year round. You can spot a ripe Hass Avocado from Mexico by its green-black pebbly textured skin.

Look for the “Avocados from Mexico” sticker
It appears on only the finest Avocados imported from Mexico.

Hass has heft
When you hold the Avocado, it should feel heavy for its size and have no mushy spots.

Get it ripe
Avocados mature on the tree, but they soften and develop their fullest flavor after picking. You can count on a firm green Avocado to ripen within three to four days. If the skin is a mottled color – green with black patches – it will be ready for use in a shorter time, two to three days.

Need your Avocado now?
If you need Avocados to use right away, look for fruit whose skin has turned dark green or black. The Avocado should yield to gentle pressure from a thumb.

RIPENING AND STORAGE

How to tell if your Avocado is ripe
To determine if your Avocado from Mexico is ripe, gently press on the bottom with your finger; ripe Avocados will feel slightly soft. And when shopping for and storing Avocados, use this guide:

Storing ripe Avocados
Avocados at stages 2 – 4 can be stored at room temperature in an area with good circulation to continue their ripening. For speedier ripening, keep Avocados in a closed paper bag. To slow down ripening, refrigerate them until a few days before use.

Avocados at stages 4 – 5 can be stored in your refrigerator (36º to 40º F) for up to one week. When saving part of an Avocado for later use, cover the exposed flesh with plastic wrap to slow oxidation.

Visit www.theamazingavocado.com for more recipes.