Nutrition Bite of the Week: A Paleo Take on Oatmeal (Not really Oatmeal)

In my quest to continue to find new recipes to try and keep things interesting, I came across a slow cooker recipe for paleo "oatmeal," but really it is "n'oatmeal" because it has a base made of nuts. I tried this recipe over the weekend, and wow, it is tasty!  I was truly surprised by how good it was, and how much it resembled 'real oatmeal' (look wise).  I want to thank Arsy Vartanian for posting this recipe on her website/blog, because it is delicious, quick, and simple!

                                                       (picture from http://www.rubiesandraddishes.com)


What I really like about this recipe is that there is minimal sugar, the only added sugar comes from coconut sugar, and only 1 tablespoon at that for the entire recipe, the other sweetness comes from the butternut squash and apples.   You can add some raisins on the top if you like, and garnish with coconut flakes (read: dessicated coconut in the recipe, and unsweetened is what I would recommend).

If you have a few minutes on the weekend to put the ingredients into a slow cooker, and then let it sit, this is an easy way to make breakfast for a week!

Exercise and Anxiety......Will Exercise Help?

Everyday it seems, many people suffer from the anxiety of something, whether it is a deadline that needs to be met, groceries that need to be purchased, a speech that needs to be written, the minutes leading up to giving a presentation to hundreds or thousands of your peers.....you get the point.

Interestingly enough, if you exercise, it may help reduce your state anxiety, that is the anxiety you feel right now, butterflies in the stomach before a speech or presentation, anxiousness right before kickoff of a big game, etc.; whereas trait anxiety is more so the overall anxiety level one always has on a day to day basis, and is of longer duration that state anxiety, which can in turn lead to higher state anxiety during highly stressful times.

I say may in my previous paragraph because, depending on the level of anxiety, exercise may do nothing for it. Also, while exercise may help some, it may not help everyone, and I would like that to be remembered when reading the succeeding paragraph.

In a study done by Focht and Koltyn (1999) , the authors found that state anxiety decreased significantly at 180 minutes following resistance training (e.g., weight lifting).  In addition, Strickland and Smith (2014) found that low to moderate intensity resistance exercise lead to decreased levels of anxiety.  Plus, Salmon (2001) noted that aerobic exercise has anxiolytic and anti-depressant effects, as well as protecting against the harmful consequences of stress. It should also be noted that this literature is growing, slowly, but it is growing.

Anecdotally, I do find that when I lift weights, run, or use the elliptical machine, I do notice that I am not as anxious about the daily tasks, both after and then even long after the exercise. 

It works for me, maybe it will work for you too!

Spring Semester Thus Far

In my visits to classes this semester, I have seen some great things happening!  I am going to share some of those in my blog over the next few weeks as I am able to reflect and write about each experience. 

First, I went to an English class last week and witnessed some great collaboration, critical thinking, and some creativity going on between students! 

Let me lay out the ground work.  I was in Jared Colley's English class, and this was a sophomore English class.  Jared gave the students a Google Doc with a set of instructions and questions based upon what the students were expected to read the previous nights.  Each student then placed their initials next to each question, with either a (+) or (-) sign next to their initials, a (+) indicating they were confident with their answer to the question or a (-) indicating they were unsure or not confident about the their answer to the question.  Jared then grouped the students according to which questions they were confident in their answers, and had them discuss them.  In this Google Doc, the students then had to put their answers to the questions underneath each question.  The students were encouraged to critically think about each others answers, and then come up with a group answer to the question. 

What is really interesting about this, is that these are students, who in a large group, would not otherwise freely give their answers.  They are a little shy.  However, the Google Doc, and the small group work, helped give them the confidence to answer the questions, and collaborate in small groups.  Jared told me that there was more great discussion going on in the groups than he anticipated from this batch of students.

In addition, the + and - system that he used, allowed him to see where there was understanding and where he did not reach understanding with the students. In fact, there was one question in particular that the whole class had put (-) signs by their names.  This gave him immediate feedback about that particular concept, and he knew that this was something that he must discuss further with the class to get them to understand it. 

I thought that this was a pretty ingenious example of using technology to help gauge understanding and actually get students to collaborate and talk with each other, when if they were left to the larger group, they would not! 

Thank you, Jared for letting me visit and sharing this awesome lesson!

Nutrition Bite of the Week: Paleo Stuffed Peppers

Each week, I'm always looking for easier ways to make food for the week, because if you're like me, you probably don't have a great deal of time to cook each weeknight.  So, on Saturdays and Sundays, I like to get things cooked for the week, breakfast in the morning, things I can take for lunch, things I can reheat for supper, etc.

This week, I decided to try a recipe for paleo stuffed peppers.  I go the recipe from Paleo Pot. This was a fantastic recipe!  I ended up making 6 peppers, but the recipe could not have been easier.  I really like using my slow cooker as well, makes things even easier.  If you like trying new things, try these, they're pretty simple and pack a ton of flavor!

                                                                   From PaleoPot.com