Tag: weightloss

Videos

Video: Studies Show that Breaking Your Diet Makes You Binge Later

Miche

If you’ve watched my past videos, then you may know by now that dieting can cause overeating for all sorts of different reasons. In today’s video, I go over a study showing that breaking your diet can also cause you to overeat. And I talk about who is most susceptible to this reactive binging.

Here’s a link to the video page, or you can watch it below:

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Study links & links mentioned in the video:

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Videos

Video: Resistant Starch and Body Composition | Body Fat vs Lean Mass | Scientific study

Miche

You guys really liked my last resistant starch video and I got lots of requests for another, so here is a long-awaited followup! In today’s video, I go over studies looking at how eating resistant starch affects your body composition: that is, what percent of your body is fat versus lean mass like muscle. I also go over how to get more resistant starch in your diet!

Here’s a link to the video page, or you can watch it below:

Subscribe to my Youtube channel to stay updated on future videos 🙂

Study links & links mentioned in the video:

List of foods high in resistant starch:

  • Whole grains
  • Beans
  • Underripe bananas
  • Raw potatoes & potato starch
  • Raw oats (like overnight oats)
  • Cooked & cooled potatoes (can be reheated)
  • Cooked & cooled rice (can be reheated)

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Recipes

Vegan Jamaican-style Beans and Greens with Coconut Rice

Miche

This is one of my proudest recipes: cooked completely off the top of my head on a whim, using what I had on hand. And it’s one of my favorites now too. It’s hearty, it’s comforting, it’s nutritious. Not to mention, it’s really simple, doesn’t require many ingredients, and ingredients can be easily substituted (a quarantine must!): instead of the kale you could try collards, chard or other greens, and you could use black beans instead of red kidney beans.

I never found a Jamaican red beans and rice recipe I really liked, but I knew I could find one someday because I’ve loved it in restaurants before… all it took was randomly combining things myself! And the best part is, this was the perfect way to use up kale from my garden that had gotten really big. This recipe really made the kale shine!

Now my Caribbean beans have some competition for my favorite bean recipe.

 

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup white long-grain rice (or brown rice, but add an extra cup of water)
  • 1 can of coconut milk, with 1/2c of it set aside
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 cans red kidney beans, drained
  • 1 medium-large onion, chopped
  • 5 cloves minced garlic, 2 cloves set aside
  • 1 bunch kale, washed and chopped
  • 2 tsp Jamaican jerk seasoning
  • 1 tsp chick’n bouillon (or veggie bouillon)*
  • Salt and pepper to taste

*You can also sub chickenless seasoning or other umami seasoning, but you probably won’t need a whole teaspoon of it if you do.

Directions:

  1. Make the rice: add the rice, water, and 1/2c of coconut milk to a rice cooker and start it. (Or make it using your preferred method, but substituting 1/2c coconut milk for 1/2c water)
  2. Add the onion to a pot over medium heat and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add 3 cloves minced garlic and saute 3 more minutes. Add water or oil if necessary to prevent sticking.
  3. Add the beans, the rest of the can of coconut milk, Jamaican spice mix, and chick’n bouillon to the pot. Bring it to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.
  4. While the beans are simmering, prepare the kale: add the chopped kale, 2 cloves minced garlic, a splash of water or oil, and 1/4 tsp salt to a pan over medium heat. Saute, stirring occasionally, until the kale is wilted and tender, about 8 minutes. Taste it and add more salt if needed–it should be a bit too salty to want to eat it on its own. (But that’s what makes it extra amazing in the beans!)
  5. After the beans have simmered for 10 minutes, smash some of them in the pot with the back of a wooden spoon. You want about half of them to be whole beans, half broken/smashed.
  6. Continue simmering until the beans are tender and melt in your mouth, about 5-10 more minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste, erring on the side of undersalted. Add broth if they have dried out too much; you want them to be a similar consistency to the pictures here. Then stir in the kale.
  7. Serve with coconut rice, and top with additional sauteed kale if you have extra! (The more, the better, honestly.)

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Videos, Weight loss advice

Video: How to Deal with Cravings | Does Avoiding Problem Foods Work for Weight Loss?

Miche

In today’s video, I go over a study on how to deal with problems foods while you’re trying to lose weight. You know–those foods you crave that you can’t resist eating when they’re around, and/or foods that you tend to overeat once you start eating them.

I also talk about what habits actually lead you to have MORE problem foods, and which strategies work best for losing weight despite them.

Here’s a link to the video page, or you can watch it below:

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Study links & links mentioned in the video:

 

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Recipes

3 Ingredient Baked BBQ Cauliflower Wings Recipe (Vegan!)

Miche

I went a bit overboard on cauliflower in my grocery delivery last week, so I needed a seriously cauli-heavy recipe to use up a few heads before they went bad. (You can only pickle so much cauliflower!)

I was scrolling through recipes for inspiration when I decided that buffalo cauliflower wings would be the perfect way to use them up! But… I was all out of buffalo sauce. And I didn’t want to use up a bunch of other ingredients. (Quarantine problems.)

So after looking through a few recipes for general strategies, I decided to try my own thing: 3 ingredient baked BBQ cauliflower! They’re fat free and super easy. They’re not quite crispy like buffalo wings: they’re sticky and chewy and oh so good.

And, because I know all of us are running out of ingredients right now–I bet these would work great with teriyaki sauce or other marinades too.

And I bet they would be crispier in an air fryer… I’l let you know once mine finally gets delivered next week (after a month of waiting!). 😉

Ingredients:

  • 1 head cauliflower
  • 2/3 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp water
  • ~1/4 cup barbecue sauce* (I used Carolina Gold)

*The amount of sauce you need depends on how thin/strong it is–you want the cauliflower to have a nice even coating without dry spots, but you don’t want it to be overwhelming either.

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 450. Rinse cauliflower and chop it into florets.
  2. Combine the flour and water, and add a dash of your barbecue sauce. Add more water or flour as necessary to create a thick glue-like consistency–you want it to be a bit thicker than pancake batter. It should easily coat your cauliflower without running off much.
  3. Coat the florets in the batter, spread them out on a baking sheet, and bake for about 15 minutes or until they start to get golden brown.
  4. Now toss the cauliflower in your barbecue sauce until they’re evenly coated. (I suggest trying one at this stage to make sure they have the amount of barbecue flavor you want!)
  5. Place cauliflower back on the baking sheet and bake for 10-15 more minutes, or until they start getting browned again. The goal is to get them somewhat crispy/firm at this point!
  6. Remove from oven and eat as soon as they’re not too hot! Serve with more sauce, or vegan ranch!

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Videos, Weight loss advice

Video: Does intermittent fasting work for weight loss? (scientific studies)

Miche

Today’s video answers another question I get a lot: does intermittent fasting really make you lose weight? Specifically I’m talking about intermittent fasting throughout the day (aka time-restricted feeding), where you eat for part of the day and fast for the rest of it.

In the video I go over 5 studies on intermittent fasting, with a variety of fasting windows: 8 hours (aka 16:8), 6 hours (18:6), and 4 hours (20:4) and including studies on both morning and nighttime eating windows.

Here’s a link to the video page, or you can watch it below:

Subscribe to my Youtube channel to stay updated on future videos 🙂

Study links & links mentioned in the video:

 

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Videos, Weight loss advice

Studies: Do Nuts Make You Gain Weight?

Miche

Today I have a video for you answering a question that a lot of you have asked: do nuts cause weight gain?

They don’t quite fit into a high carb low fat diet (which is known to be a great way to lose weight), but they’re also an unprocessed, very nutritious food. So are they good for weight loss too?

Here’s a link to the video page, or you can watch it below:

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Study links:

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Recipes

Vegan Cornbread Muffin Recipe [Oil free]

Miche


I’ve been quarantining for two weeks now, and I have been eating a *lot* of beans. (Like this chili recipe from a little while back.) For both lunch and dinner. Don’t get me wrong—I’m grateful to have had a supply of beans since the stores have been out, but it’s nice to add some variety sometimes.

Luckily Goode Foods sent me some of their canned corn awhile back, and I already had corn flour on hand, so I made this cornbread to bring some excitement to my daily beans 😛 When I was a kid my favorite cornbread had whole corn in it—it adds such a delicious crunch to it. So to this day I always make it with whole corn kernels! 

The best part about these is they’re super versatile. Not only do I have them alongside chili, but I have them for breakfast with vegan butter + maple syrup, or jam!

Featuring my protein-packed chili recipe

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups corn flour
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 flax egg (1 tbsp flax seed & 1 1/2 tbsp water)
  • 1 1/2 cups nondairy milk (I used soymilk)
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup
  • 1 can whole kernel sweet corn, drained

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Add the flax to the water to make the flax egg, and let it sit.
  2. Mix the milk and the vinegar in a separate, medium-sized bowl and let it sit–it will curdle and turn into a buttermilk substitute!
  3. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, corn flour, baking powder, nutritional yeast, and salt.
  4. Add the flax egg to the buttermilk bowl, along with the maple syrup.
  5. Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients bowl along with the can of corn, and stir just until combined.
  6. Spoon mixture evenly into a greased 12-cup muffin tin, and bake for 12-13 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  7. Allow to cool for 15+ mins before trying to remove them from the tin.
  8. Eat plain, serve with chili, or top them with vegan butter, maple syrup, and/or jam!

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Recipes

My Go-to Red Lentil Chili Recipe (with Instant Pot option)

Miche

Red lentil chili

When I need to bulk cook but am feeling lazy, I break out my Instant pot. And 90% of the time, it’s to make this recipe–it’s my favorite of all my stew/chili recipes!

Not only is it ridiculously comforting and delicious, but it’s a great way to pack in tons of veggies. It’s worked well with whatever veggies I’ve had on hand, so it’s a flexible recipe for using things up too!

Also, if you don’t have an instant pot, it works just fine on the stove too. (You just can’t be quite as lazy 😛 )

Ingredients

Base chili:

  • 3 cups dry red lentils
  • 4 cups veggie broth
  • 2 cups water
  • 15oz can diced tomatoes
  • 6oz can tomato paste
  • Large onion, diced (white or red works)
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • Heaping tsp cumin
  • 3-4 heaping tsp chili powder
  • 2-3 tsp smoked paprika
  • Heaping tsp cayenne
  • 2-3 tsp normal paprika
  • 1/4c brown sugar
  • 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Veggies I added (optional):

  • 6oz mushrooms
  • 8oz frozen peppers
  • 8oz bag chopped kale (or use 4oz frozen)
  • 5oz broccoli
  • 15oz can corn

Directions

  1. Add everything but the corn into an instant pot, put on high pressure for 17 mins, and allow to release naturally. (Or, if making on the stove: add all the ingredients except corn to a large pot over low heat. Cover and let simmer until the lentils are soft and the veggies are tender, stirring occasionally to make sure the bottom doesn’t burn)
  2. Stir in corn, and salt to taste. If you add as many veggies as I do, you may want to add garlic powder and more chili powder. The spices are ranges because they should be adjusted according to how many veggies you add, and how spicy you like things! I’d suggest adding the maximum amount if you add all the veggies.
  3. Top with avocado, chili garlic salt, or if you’re feeling fancy, vegan sour cream.

 

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Recipes

Vegan Cheesy Beef and Potato Calzone Recipe

Miche
Mashed Potato, Beef and Cheese Boxty

Sometimes you just want comfort food. And one of the great things about intuitive eating is that you can have it whenever you want, without guilt!

Before I was vegan, I loved the Irish boxtys they’d serve at a pub in San Diego–essentially a potato-filled calzone with cheese and meat. (I’ve since learned that’s not what a boxty technically is, but that’s not the point!)

So on a dark and stormy night, I decided to come up with my own vegan version… which ended up surprisingly healthy for the comfort food goal. And then at my fiancé’s request, I made it again the next night, and the next week. We’re addicted. It’s definitely found its way into our comfort food rotation that used to primarily consist of homemade burgers and pizza.

It’s hearty and very savory thanks to the beef, and the potatoes are super satiating. Plus, the cheese sauce is secretly based on whole foods!

Makes 1 large calzone, serves 2

Calzone

Ingredients:

  • 3 medium peeled gold potatoes, about 450g total
  • 3 tablespoons unsweetened nondairy milk (I used soy)
  • Dash of garlic powder
  • Half a package Beyond Beef ground (or sub another vegan beef)
  • 1/2 cup chopped white onion
  • 1 large uncooked pizza crust (I use whole wheat)
  • 2/3 the cheese sauce recipe below, save the rest for dipping!

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 440 degrees F. Put potatoes in a pot, fill with enough water to cover them by a few inches, and put it over high heat. If you want them to boil faster, chop the potatoes before putting them in the pot. Boil potatoes until they are fork-tender and able to be mashed.
  2. Meanwhile, sauté the beef and onions together according to the directions on your vegan beef package. For the Beyond ground, break it up into chunks as you sauté it so it turns into crumbles (or whatever sized chunks you’d like in your calzone). Remove from heat once the beef is cooked and onions are translucent. Be careful not to overcook, since they’ll get cooked more in the oven.
  3. Drain the potatoes and transfer them to a bowl. Mash the potatoes, adding the dash of garlic and milk as you do until they are a creamy texture. Add more milk as necessary, or you could add vegan butter if you want them to be richer.
  4. Roll out the pizza crust into a circle, as you would for a normal pizza. I use parchment paper on top of a baking sheet, but you can use whatever pizza baking method you prefer. First layer on the mashed potatoes, then layer the beef and onions on top, then add the cheese sauce. Be sure to leave at least an inch around the edges free of any toppings. Then, fold the crust in half so that the edges line up, and pinch it together. (If any filling comes out the sides at this step, don’t worry about it–I just eat it 😉 )
  5. Bake for 12-14 minutes at 440 degrees, or until the crust begins to get firm when tapped and is golden brown.
  6. Remove from oven, cut it in half, and serve! You can hold it in your hand like a pizza pocket if you’re in an especially comfort-food-y mode (that’s what we do!). We also sometimes dip it in the extra cheese sauce, or drizzle it on top.

Cheese sauce

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup roughly chopped gold potatoes
  • 1/4 cup chopped carrots
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup raw cashews
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened nondairy milk (I use soy)
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

Directions:

  1. Boil the potatoes, carrots, and onion until tender. (You can do this along with the potatoes for the calzone–just be sure you separate them to get the right amounts in each!)
  2. Combine all the ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth. Add more salt and lemon to taste.

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