May Contain Nuts- Eat The Cake
August 2018
Jenelle McAuley, RD
Tell me about your diet. And no I don’t mean your Atkins diet or keto diet- those are not diets, they are torture. Tell me about all the things you eat.
My diet? It contains fruits and veggies, coffee, lots of coffee. Some days it’s green smoothies and salads, others its nachos and wine. There is a balance of everything. With chocolate, of course. I am blessed to have a good relationship with food; it makes my job a lot easier! I know food fuels my body and some days I will eat more or less depending on the day, my mood, and my energy. Let’s face it; it can’t be homemade meals every night.
Those other things I mentioned, the “diets” that advertisements make you think are the solution to your problems, are just contributing to your tainted relationship with food. Each time the diet fails, you blame yourself, it couldn’t possibly be that the idea of never having another cupcake is way more than one person can commit to. It’s not that telling yourself you cannot have something makes you want it even more. And it couldn’t possibly be that drinking all your meals is not nearly as satisfying as chewing them. After all, your friends-moms-aunts-sister did it and so did that guy on tv. It has to be you. It couldn’t possibly be the diet.
It’s time to banish crash diets for good. Make all the foods you enjoy a part of your diet. Eat the cake, or don’t eat the cake. But do it because you want to, not because someone in a book somewhere told you so. Embrace food. Enjoy meals with your family. Attend the neighbour’s bbq. Have game night with chips, and dips or veggies, or whatever it is you want to have! Rebuild your relationship with food into one that is fulfilling. Don’t sit and stare at pie while convincing yourself you are not hungry.
Listen. Listen to your body. What does it tell you? Are you happy with your diet? Are you miserable and find meal time a torture of measuring and weighing food? Are you hungry after meals? Are you convinced if you lost 10 lbs you would feel better? Do you ever tell yourself you will do something, once you have lost the weight? Stop waiting. Go do it now! Being 10lbs less will not make that something any more enjoyable. Eat when you are hungry. Stop when you are full. Listen to your body.
Eat foods that are all different colors and shapes and textures. Eat foods you enjoy. And if you want to, eat the cake!
Lemon Zucchini Cake
11/4 cup granulated sugar
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 eggs, room temperature
⅓ cup vanilla almondmilk
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla or almond extract
2 cups cake flour
11/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
11/2 cup shredded zucchini, drained and squeezed dry
2 tbsp lemon zest
Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1-2 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Spray a loaf pan with baking spray and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
3. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk together. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, combine the sugar and olive and oil. Whisk to combine.
5. Add eggs and almondmilk and whisk together.
6. Add lemon juice and vanilla extract and stir to combine.
7. Add flour mixture and stir just until incorporated.
8. Fold in zucchini and lemon zest.
9. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out with moist crumbs. The top of the cake should look dry.
10. Place the loaf on a cooling rack and cool for 15 minutes. Use the parchment paper to carefully life the cake from the pan. Let cool completely on rack.
Glaze
1. In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar and lemon juice. Whisk until smooth.
2. Drizzle the glaze over the cake.
3. Slice and serve.
From https://www.momontimeout.com/lemon-zucchini-cake-recipe/
SOURCE – Jenelle McAuley, RD, BScAHN
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I agree that you can eat what you enjoy but I recommend that you restrict is where you select your food in the grocery store. Get your food on the outside wall of the store – where the fresh fruit, vegetables and meat are displayed. Pick food that does not have an ingredient list- and if it does have a list, make sure you can pronounce the words. If you think that it takes too long to prepare your own food – turn off your phone, get off Facebook, etc. You don’t have to use fancy, complicated recipes. Keep it simple. Another advantage of preparing your own food is that packaged food with all its chemicals and unhealthy stuff makes you crave more after you have had your meal. Simple basic food satisfies you and you shouldn’t want to eat again a hour after your main meal.