Healthy Peanut Satay Dipping Sauce

I love Asian cuisine. Japanese sushi, Indian daal, Chinese dumplings… the list goes on. Although I’ve often ordered home the healthier options, I can never quite get those amazing flavours to really sing in my own kitchen. Or at least until yesterday I couldn’t. That was when this Healthy Peanut Satay Sauce came to life. Lord, am I glad to have succeeded with this one! It still has that yummy taste of peanuts, mixed with the sweetness from the dates (!) and the hot bite from the Thai red curry paste.

Conventional Peanut Satay sauce isn’t too “unhealthy” except for the sugar but my very unconventional version is both sugar-free and (in my opinion) easier to make than the original.

Healthy Peanut Satay Dipping Sauce

Serves: 1

1 tbsp unsweetened almond milk*

1 tbsp peanut flour*

1 tsp tamari (Japanese soy sauce, not as salty as Chinese)

1 peeled and pitted fresh date, soaked for a few hours if it’s really hard to peel

1 tsp Thai red curry paste (a scant tsp if you want it to be less spicy)

How to:

1. In a small bowl or glass, mash the date with a fork and 1 tsp of the almond milk until it’s a smooth “paste” that’s easy to mix with the other ingredients. 
2. Pour in the rest of the ingredients and stir until they’re all evenly mixed in. Have a taste. And another. And another. And another  ;-)

I served it with steamed broccoli, brown rice and soy meat skewers and a few crushed peanuts on top for a little crunch!

*Note: If you want to use coconut milk and/or peanut butter instead, go ahead! I think it’s easier to make this way but we all have different preferences.

Upcoming Talks

I have two talks planned over the next two months.  Hope to see you there!

Ancestral Health Symposium 2014: UC Berkeley, August 7-9

If you want to understand the most rigorous science available on leptin resistance-- a key mechanism of obesity and a major barrier to fat loss-- this talk is for you.  This is my primary area of professional expertise; I have years of firsthand research experience on the subject and I've published a number of related papers in peer-reviewed journals.  The talk will be accessible to nearly all levels of expertise.  AHS14 tickets are available here.  I've pasted the talk's abstract below.

What Causes Leptin Resistance?

Leptin is the primary hormonal regulator of body fatness.  Obese people exhibit a resistance to leptin’s effects in the brain, causing the brain to oppose fat loss by multiple mechanisms.  Research in animal models suggests that leptin resistance may be required for obesity to develop.  How does leptin resistance occur, and what causes it?  Research has not yet provided us with definitive answers, but several plausible possibilities have emerged.  This talk will review what is known about leptin resistance and its causes.

McDougall Advanced Study Weekend: Santa Rosa, CA, September 5-7

Dr. John McDougall invited me to speak at his yearly symposium after viewing my TEDx talk "The American Diet: a Historical Perspective".  I look forward to sharing my thoughts and interacting with a different audience than I'm used to.  The talk will be an expanded version of the one I presented at AHS13.  Tickets are available here.  I've pasted a modified version of my AHS13 abstract below.

Insulin and Obesity: Reconciling Conflicting Evidence

The pancreatic hormone insulin regulates the trafficking and metabolism of carbohydrate and fat, and its secretion is particularly stimulated by carbohydrate and protein.  Since circulating insulin is elevated in common obesity, and insulin influences fatty acid flux into and out of fat tissue, this has raised the possibility that elevated insulin causes common obesity, and that dietary carbohydrate is particularly fattening.  A large amount of evidence appears to support the hypothesis that insulin causes obesity, and a large amount of evidence appears to falsify it.  This presentation will outline a framework capable of reconciling this seemingly conflicting evidence.

Creamy Avocado Pasta Sauce

Avocados. Up until a few weeks ago, I had never in my life eaten a whole avocado. Sure, a few bits and pieces here and there when I couldn’t help it, but never voluntarily. Don’t ask what happened between then and now because today, I honestly can’t imagine a life without avocados. Pair it with some good carbs (yes, carbs are fantabulous), veggies and you have a fool-proof, healthy and most of all d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s meal.

Creamy Avocado Pasta Sauce

Serves: 1

 ½ ripe avocado

 1 small handful each of fresh basil and baby spinach

 ¼ - ½ clove garlic

 1 – 2 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tbsp olive oil

 Salt and pepper to taste

How to:

1. Blend all ingredients with a hand blender until smooth and taste to see if it needs more of anything. If so, season until you're happy, blend again and voilà, you’re done!
Best eaten cold with pasta and vegetables of your choice!

Avoc love, Tilda

NPC Bikini Competition Recap

After five months of dieting and training (15 of those weeks with my trainer), I finally competed in my first NPC  (National Physique Committee) Bikini Competition.  THANK YOU, THANK YOU for following along on this journey.  Reading your comments helped me feel like I had a lot of friends rooting for me along the way.  On the drive to the contest (4 hours to Dallas), I kept thinking, "I can't believe I'm doing this!" I had dreamed of prepping and competing in a bikini contest in my 20s, and finally accomplished it at age 39, as a wife and mother to a 4 year-old.  Better late than never, right?  Just goes to show that you can transform your body at any stage of life!  In February, I weighed about 112 pounds and I competed at 100 pounds.  I'm 5 feet even. 

I accomplished these changes with diet and consistent, hard! exercise (cardio and weights about 4-5 days a week, a good hour and a half each time).  In addition to my meals, I used BCAA (branched chain amino acids- 3 tablespoons in my water bottle while I worked out) and Glutamine (1 scoop after each weight training session), and multivitamins and fish oil.  No steroids, fat burners, pre-workout drink, etc. You can go to my FITNESS page to see more posts about my meal plan and to see the process along the way. 

Below are some of the unedited stage photos I received from the show photographer. 

STAGE PHOTOS

PREPARATION 

The contest was on Saturday, July 5 and we left for Dallas on Friday morning. My trainer didn't change my food that much for the last week of prep.  On Wednesday before the show, I cut out egg whites.  Then, on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, I was to eat 6 meals instead of my usual 5 and I eliminated my Molly McButter (due to sodium).  I contented to drink water normally, stopping on Friday night at 10pm, and just sipping the next day. 

I stopped at the grocery store on Thursday night to prep my 12 meals for Friday and Saturday.  I will write a separate post on how I do my meal prep.  It's super simple and barely takes any time.  

I packed a cooler with ice and replaced the ice in Dallas to keep everything cold.  I ate all but one of the meals cold (I was able to use the Subway microwave for one of them!).  Also, I didn't finish the meals on Saturday, so a few weren't eaten.

Packing for the trip was pretty easy.  Bikini, heels, jewelry, makeup, hair tools.  But also, I brought a black sheet (to cover the hotel bed) and loose clothes I wasn't afraid to ruin because I knew the spray tan would get everywhere.  It ended up washing out though. 

I also knew I'd be ready for a good long shower after the contest and really want to try to scrub the fake tan off, so I packed my body scrub and loofah gloves.  

It felt good to shower, but the tan doesn't just scrub off I found.  You have to wait for it to fade from your body- other competitors told me it can take two weeks and that it comes off in patches, so you look all splotchy.  Nice.  Hasn't happened to me yet. Speaking of spray tan . . . 

SPRAY TAN

I got to the hotel just in time for my first spray tan appointment.  What an experience!  First, I opened the door to a small conference room where they were applying the tan and the first thing I saw was a bunch of dark, fit, naked booties.  You strip all your clothes off and step into a small tent where a woman sprays the tan on you with a hand-held sprayer.  Then, you stand around with the other naked women for a good 20 - 30 minutes in front of fans while it dries enough to get dressed.  We had to laugh because there's nothing else you can really do!  And you can't help but check each other out, two of the ladies I tanned with won medals at this event! 

Here's how I looked after one coat of spray tan.  They don't spray your face- only for bodybuilding men I heard.  The tan does accentuate your muscles.  

Below is the next morning, after two coats of spray tan.

CHECK-IN

Each competitor has to be a member of the NPC and check in at the contest venue the night before the contest.  This is the first time you get to see a bunch of the competitors from every category.  You can easily tell who's competing by who looks orangey/brown from the spray tan! 

They measured me at this check-in at 5 feet 0.  In the morning, we had to go back to get our competitor number.  Lucky #169 here:) 

HAIR & MAKEUP

For this show, I used the hair and makeup artists assigned to the show.  They did an okay job and were super nice and friendly, but next time, I would definitely do my own.  I "redid" my hair and makeup after they were done.  She had my foundation so dark orange, when I finally saw it, I felt like I had aged 10 years.  :(  I hired the makeup artist because I was worried about matching my face to my tan, but I think I could have done okay.  Below is a picture from AFTER I touched up my face.  I know this is picky, but I wish I would've curled and trimmed the fake lashes- I think they are too long at the end (the sides of my face) and in the stage pictures, I feel like my eyes look tired.  I'm pretty good at doing hair/makeup and I could have saved the expense too.  

And then we were off to the pre-judging.  

PRE-JUDGING

Pre-judging is where the judges see all the competitors on stage and make their decisions about who wins.  Then, you get a break and come back for the finals at night and the competitors go on stage again and the winners receive their medals.

I competed in BIKINI division, in two categories - NOVICE and MASTERS.  Novice is for women (any age) that haven't placed in the Top 5 of a previous contest.  You can compete in this division if you have never competed before, or if you have competed, but not placed Top 5 in your class.   Then, they divide the Novice Division into Classes depending on height.  I measured 5 foot even and Class A went up to 5'4 I think.  There was also Novice Class B, C, and D.  Masters is for competitors age 35 and older.  

Prejudging started at 9:30 a.m. and we finally finished at 2:30 p.m.  Long morning!

The first category I competed in was Bikini Novice Class A.  Backstage, while we are all lined up (maybe 35-40 of us??) you could feel the nerves and excitement.  I just kept hoping my posing would look decent and fluid.  But, I felt pretty confident- I had been practicing backstage.  I was about the 4th woman in our group to go on.  The posing happens so fast - you only have 10 seconds to hit four poses and then walk to the side of the stage and wait while the rest of the group goes.  I got to see all of the other competitors pose and I knew I could have done better had I practiced my posing more during prep.  

Then the judges "CALL OUT" their Top 5 competitors to come to the front of the stage.  They'll have certain competitors move next to another competitor for comparison.  I wasn't in the first call-outs, but I didn't necessarily expect to be.  Then, the judges call out the next five.  I wasn't in the second call-outs either.  I started to feel bad.  It sucks to be standing there, getting critiqued, feeling like you aren't measuring up, like you are being judged.  And duh, it's a contest- you are literally being judged.  Then, the judges called the next 5.  I wasn't in that group either.  I felt my cheeks getting hot.  It felt like I was standing (on the sidelines) forever.  I was in the 4th call outs and that felt BAD.  That means I finished in the Top 20, not near the top.  I wasn't prepared for how low I would feel not doing well in the judges eyes.  Throughout this competition prep, I've felt so good just knowing that I'm going for it and reaching for a goal.  The actual competing part didn't cross my mind too often and I never focused on winning.  But, once I was standing on that stage, boy did I want to win!  

After my group was called out, we exited the stage while the remainder of the women were called out.  I felt so defeated.  I know it sounds bad, but it's how I honestly felt.  I was having a pity party, feeling like I didn't even want to compete in the next round for Masters.  The Enemy had a field day with my mind for a good bit, "What were you thinking, trying to compete in a bikini contest??"  I felt so foolish and hurt.  My good friend Cassie and her daughter had come to watch pre-judging and I felt embarrassed that they had come out just to see me lose.  I felt like I had let them down.  Of course, Cassie was super encouraging and comforting.  She is also funny like nobody's business, so she got me to crack some smiles.  

There was a bit of down time while the rest of the classes competed before it was time for Masters.  There were only 11 women competing in Masters, which told me that the majority of women competing at this contest were under 35.  I'd guess mid-twenties is the average age.  But, in the Masters category, those women looked fierce!  Each one of them could have won in my opinion.  So, when I made the first call outs in that division, I did feel very happy.

Leaving pre-judging, you don't know what place you won, but I knew I was in the Top 5 for Masters and that felt really good.  But, in reality, it took me some time to "get over" feeling inadequate and foolish during the Novice round.  

My best friend, Karen, drove to support me and got there after pre-judging, but before the night show.  Thank God for her.  I got to have the rest of my pity party in her arms and then I snapped back to reality.  It's just a roller coaster of emotions that I didn't expect.  I confided in Karen and admitted to myself, "I didn't realize winning/placing higher would mean so much to me."  

FINALS  

The Finals started at 6:30pm and I got there about 7:30, with just about 30 minutes until the Masters Women Bikini division.  The contestants and I got back out on stage and then they called out the Top 5, which I was thrilled to be a part of.  They called out 5th place (which I thought would be me, but it wasn't).  I got 4th place.  I was so happy to have that medal!  My husband has been such a great support to me too.  He not only encouraged me to compete, he went on the same diet as me for the last month AND helped prep my meals.  He's a "good egg" as Cassie always says!

REFLECTIONS

Since the contest ended, I've had a little time to reflect on the whole experience, what I've learned about the contest and myself.  It will take longer to truly digest all of the lessons and I'm good with that.  I don't know if I'll compete again.  I definitely want to continue to make changes to my physique.  If I didn't want to get pregnant again soon, I probably would sign up for another show in the near future- keep the momentum going.   I enjoyed having a goal to work toward and it did make me train harder and stick to my diet.  Maybe after Baby #2??  If there's one thing I know now, it's never too late to change your physical fitness!

In January 2014, I was determined that, come July 2014, I would not be in the same place I was in a year ago.  It feels AMAZING to have accomplished that! 

I learned or confirmed during this process that: 

1. God is always in control.
2. I'm strong.
3. I'm capable.
4. I'm a fighter.
5. It's okay to be proud of myself.
6. I can do 45 minutes of cardio and then go on to do a challenging workout immediately after- four to five days a week.  I never thought I could've done that before. 
7. A million walking lunges will tone up your legs and rear.
8. As a beginner, having an experienced coach/nutritionist is critical to achieving maximum results quickly.
9. It takes a long time to change your body, but it can be done.  One day at a time.
10. I need lots of sleep on competition prep.
11. My coffee and creamer are extremely important to me.  
12. I crave Cheerios.  Late at night. 
13. I hate Burpees. 
14. It's no fun being judged. Unless you're winning. 
15. I take criticism hard. 
16. My self-worth is in who I am and how well I love.
17. I need help and support.  
18. Receiving encouragement from other people feels so good.  A kind word from a stranger can make my day. 
19. I get back what I put out into the world.
20. I will always continue to work on myself.  On the inside and out. 

___________________

"Cheezy" Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

I’m so sorry I haven’t had the time to update the blog but I’ve been a busy bee these past few days. I decided to take a scuba diving course so that I can go diving when we travel and it has really kept me occupied. I’ve loved every single minute (okay, lie, the theory lessons weren’t that much fun) and I can’t wait to go diving for real!

So, to this recipe then. I’ve seen more vegan mac and cheese recipes than I can count and I’ve been dying to try it out for myself, my only problem has been that I haven't known where to find nutritional yeast. If you don’t know what nutritional yeast is, I suggest you google it but I can tell you briefly that it’s a vegan, de-activated kind of yeast that has a slightly nutty and somewhat cheesy flavour. Obviously a great choice when making vegan dishes with “cheese” in them. What’s even better is that more often than not, nutritional yeast is PACKED with B-vitamins, thus also the much coveted vitamin B12. Since vitamin B12 is hard to incorporate in a vegan diet without taking supplements, I see nutritional yeast as a great alternative to pills or shots.

Hope you like this recipe, feel free to play around with the quantities a bit!

"Cheezy" Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

Yields: 2 servings 

1 clove garlic 

2 tsp coconut oil 

1 cup cubed butternut squash 

½ cup almond milk 

1 ½ tbsp. nutritional yeast 

½ tsp vegetable bouillon powder 

1 tsp Dijon mustard 

½ tbsp. brown rice flour (or thickening of your choice such as arrowroot powder)

How to:

1. Start off by steaming or boiling your squash until it’s soft all the way through, this will take approximately 20-30 minutes depending on how big your chunks are.

2. Meanwhile, sauté 1 finely sliced clove of garlic with coconut oil in a small saucepan on medium heat until the smallest pieces start to brown, then quickly add the almond milk, mustard, bouillon powder, nutritional yeast and lastly the brown rice flour (through a sieve to prevent clumping). 
3. Let simmer for about 10 minutes and make sure to stir continuously as you go.

4. As soon as the butternut squash is cooked, take it off the heat and blend, in either a food processor or using a hand blender (I prefer the hand blender). 
5. Blend the squash purée with the ‘cheeze’ sauce, taste and add a little more bouillon/nutritional yeast if you want. Serve with freshly cooked pasta and veggies on the side!

Bikini Contest Prep // 2 Days Out

Hi guys!  Just popping in to give a quick update on my bikini contest prep.  I can't believe we aren't measuring time in weeks anymore, but days- only two to go!  This Saturday is the NPC Independence Day Classic and I'll be competing for the first time in the Bikini division.  The photo below was taken today (July 3, 2014) just after my final posing session.  I still need to practice at home because I'm not the most fluid or graceful.  You only get 10 seconds to hit 3-4 stances.  Today, my trainer played music while I was posing and that actually helped.  He said they will be playing music at the show and I guess I didn't realize that.  

At this point, I'm just feeling good that I've made it this far without giving up.  I can proudly say that I've given this competition preparation everything I had.  I know that I did my best and I reached a long-time goal.  

CONTEST SCHEDULE

When I get to town for the show, I have two spray tanning applications to do (3 pm and 10 pm) on Friday.  We were advised to start exfoliating on Monday and not use lotion because the tan adheres better to dry skin.  And, apparently the tan gets everywhere, so it's best to bring your own sheets and clothes you don't mind staining.  

Then, my hair appointment is at 6:20 am Saturday, we go to a general contestant meeting from 7:30-8:30 am, then I get my makeup done at 8:50 am.  Prejudging starts shortly after that. Then, we'll get a break until the night show.   I still don't know exactly what time I'll be on stage, but I got the general schedule of the category line-up.  The bikini part is almost last.  

QUICK REFLECTIONS

I plan to do a more in-depth post after this contest is over, but quickly I can share that, surprisingly, sticking to the diet was not that difficult (once I got used to it and figured out how to prepare food I enjoy eating).  I still will never be able to choke down dry chicken, but if it's prepared seasoned and moist, it's really good.  And I fell in love with eating fish (but had to scale back because I didn't want to be eating too much mercury).  I started eating grilled chicken salad with fat free dressing (romaine lettuce and tomatoes) for two meals a day and drinking Muscle Egg instead of my protein shake as my last meal.  I really like that- it's like drinking a glass of chocolate/caramel milk.  Next, I'll try the plain chocolate. 

The hardest part has been the TIME it took to dedicate to the workouts and the physical effort of training so hard.  I was working out one hour with my trainer and doing 45 minutes of cardio 4-5 times a week.  And of course abs at the end of the workout- I never liked doing abs.  The workouts never really got any easier, although I did get stronger and my cardiovascular health improved.  By the end of our training together, I wasn't out of breath as quickly and didn't need to rest as long (if at all) between sets.  

I am not working right now, or I don't know how I would have done this with a family and all.  I really admire those working moms out there who are doing this while working full-time.  When I realized I would be out of work for at least the near future, I decided this was the perfect time to go for it.  I didn't have the "excuse" of not having time.  I'm truly thankful for this opportunity and the support I've gotten from my family, friends, and YOU!  Your encouraging comments make my day! 

I'll be posting pics of my experience this weekend on Instagram if you want to follow along! 

No-bake Vegan Chocolate Tart

This is one of my absolute favourite recipes; it’s super easy and quick to make and has the most wonderful, rich, chocolate-y taste, the perfect healthy alternative to satisfy those chocolate cravings!

No-bake Vegan Chocolate Tart

‘Crust’

 ½ cup cashew nuts

1/3 cup pitted dates

1 pinch of salt 

¼ tsp pure vanilla extract/powder

Chocolate Filling

1 can full fat coconut milk, chilled overnight in the fridge  
      

4 squares good quality dark chocolate

¼ cup pitted and peeled dates (soaked overnight to make them easier to peel if you’re not using fresh

1 tbsp. cacao powder

How to:
1. Start by blending all of the ingredients for your crust in a food processor until thick dough forms. 
2. Press the dough out in a lined pie dish (a small one, mine’s about 6” wide) and put it in the freezer while you prepare your filling.
3. Open the can of coconut milk and spoon out the thick, creamy layer that has formed on top of the ‘water’ and put it in the food processor along with the dates and cacao powder. Save the leftover coconut water to add in smoothies- it’s packed with beautiful coconut flavour, trust me. You could also save a tablespoon or two of the coconut cream to decorate with.
4. Blend the chocolate filling ingredients until they’re evenly combined- it might look like it has split but we’ll fix this in a moment. 
5. Melt the dark chocolate and pour into the chocolate filling while it’s still hot and blend again until you have a smooth mixture of chocolaty goodness.
6. With a spatula, pour the filling into the pie crust; decorate with coconut cream if you'd like and put it back in the freezer for a few hours (provided you can contain your inner chocolate monster for that long) to set. Eat frozen or let sit on the counter top for a few minutes for a creamier consistency!

Please let me know if you give these a try :)

Chocolate kisses, Tilda