By Mandy Kendall

Looking back on the holiday weekend, eating seemed to be one common activity shared and enjoyed by most people. Food is an absolute necessity for survival, but can also be wrapped up in so many of our social habits. We are taught from an early age not to waste food and to eat everything on our plates. Food is used as a celebration and can become entwined into our perception of enjoyment. Emotional triggers can also cause us to reach for food, not to satisfy hunger but to fill a void or replace something that is missing in our lives.

Carole Carson, an AARP contributor, writes about Edward Abramson, a clinical psychologist and internationally recognized authority on emotional eating, weight control and eating disorders. Abramson has written five books on the issues surrounding eating and has authored 20 scientific studies.

Mandy Kendall

When Carson asked Abramson what percentage of our eating was a function of genuine hunger, Abramson stated that in general, people eat for one of three reasons: (1) physical hunger (for example, low blood sugar, gastric motility); (2) external cues (for example, the sight of others eating in television commercials); and (3) emotional arousal.

Experts estimate that we make more than 220 eating decisions each day and most eating seems to be prompted by external cues that are all around us.

So it seems we are vulnerable to much more than just the hunger pangs we feel when our body tells us it’s time to eat. We may eat to relieve boredom, to fight fatigue or to distract us from a stressful situation. Feelings of obligation may cause us to eat a meal that has been prepared for us even though we might not be hungry. Sometimes food just tastes and smells so good we just can’t stop ourselves, and simply eating with people who eat a lot can, consciously or unconsciously, trigger you to follow their example.

Finally, the food companies have spent many years, and a lot of money, manufacturing food that excites all the perception and arousal centers of our brains to make sure we want to keep on eating more and more of their food.

So here are some Qwik-e tips to help make sure that you are eating for the right reasons:

Serve up a portion — It is easy to overeat when reaching into a bag of something like chips or cookies, especially if you are distracted watching TV. Personally, if I have only two (OK maybe three) of my favorite cookies on a plate I am much more likely to savor each one rather than just keep scoffing them out of a bag until I’m full (which I can tell you will end up being way more than three).

Serve up food on a smaller plate — Studies have shown that the size of the dish food is served on has a huge impact on how full people claim they feel after they have eaten. Subjects claimed that a serving of food on a large plate was not as satisfying as the same size serving on a smaller plate. So maybe try using a salad plate as your entree plate.

Check portion sizes — Apparently 20 years ago a bagel was about 3 inches in diameter and contained about 140 calories. Now bagel is twice the size and twice the calories. Check out this site for an eye opening look at what size portions the experts recommend we eat.

Take your time — If you give your body a chance to register the food that has entered your stomach, you might find you are actually full quite some time before you would normally stop eating. When I was young, and claimed I was still hungry when I had finished my plate full, my dear old mum used to say, “Just wait five minutes and see how you feel.” She was pretty much always right (as mums usually are) and I would feel much more satisfied and not need to go back for more.

Savor each mouthful — Concentrating on the task in hand is always a good idea, especially when eating. Taking a mouthful of food, putting down your cutlery, and savoring all the flavors and chewing until there is nothing left in your mouth will make sure that you don’t rush through a meal and eat too much. It will also make you realize if you are eating food with a high nutritional content or not as poor quality food tends not to taste so good the longer you chew it.

Eating out — If the portions are huge try to make the decision to take half home with you before you start eating? That may stop you from being tempted to eat more than you intended. Maybe split an entrée with someone else or just have the appetizer version. Also when eating at a friend’s house, explain that you are watching your portion sizes and ask them not to give you too much.

Celebration food — Try to have all kinds of food available during celebrations and get creative with healthy foods presented beautifully to distract from the habit of reaching for cakes to celebrate.

A little help from your friends — Some moral support from family and friends can help you spot those times when you might be making those unconscious, and undesirable, food choices. Giving people you love and trust guidelines on what you are trying to achieve, along with permission to keep you accountable, can go along way to break some old habits. For example ask friends if you can meet on a walk rather than sitting in your favorite cafe surrounded with all your favorite ‘snack’ foods to tempt you, or give people permission to distract you if they see you going for the cookie jar for that snack fix.

Until next time.

Mandy Kendall operates Health Connective in South Lake Tahoe. If you have any questions, would like some advice, or would like to request some Qwik-e tips on any health and wellbeing topic, please feel free to drop me an email at healthconnective@gmail.com, visit us on Facebook, or keep an eye out on Lake Tahoe News for regular Qwik-e tips on how to make healthy changes one Quick and Easy step at a time.

• Sunnyside restaurant in Tahoe City turns 25 this year.

• El Dorado County is having a budget workshop June 5. Details are online.

• The Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit via the regional Forest Service office received a $63,500 grant for the Youth Conservation Corps. The money will be spent on hiring 31 students for the Generation Green program for the summer.

• Wildfire lessons for Incline Village-Crystal Bay will be given June 2 as part of Wildfire Awareness Week. More info is on the flyer.

• The annual environmental summit in Lake Tahoe is Aug. 13 at Edgewood Tahoe.

While no temperature records were broken Thursday in the region, that could change today.

The National Weather Service in Reno is calling for a high of 80 in South Lake Tahoe. The record for June 1 was set in 1992 at 79 degrees.

Reno on Friday is expected reach 95 (2007 record of 94), Carson City may hit 93 (1960 record of 91), and Virginia City could tie the 2001 record of 86 degrees.

Expect record heat in Lake Tahoe today. Photo/Kathryn Reed

Truckee is slated to hit 86 degrees, but the record for this date was set in 2001 at 88 degrees.

Jessica Kielhorn, meteorologist technician with the Weather Service, told Lake Tahoe News a cooling trend is in the forecast starting Saturday. Temps are likely to drop about 5 degrees.

She said starting Sunday night and into mid-week it will be much cooler than it has been the past couple days.

— Kathryn Reed

To the community,

Two items that might be of interest:

First, after I left the City Council, I met with City Manager (Tony) O’Rourke two or three times. At one of the meetings, he told me about the plan to privatize the ice rink. He said the contractor wanted a 10-year contract. I said I favored a five-year contract for openers. Mr. O’Rourke said that a 10-year contract was needed because of the capital improvements that the contractor had in mind. I said, OK, but if privatizing doesn’t work, I suggested the ice rink be turned into a city hall. It is, I said, an ideal location with parking, etc. Mr. O’Rourke, as I recall, agreed it’s a good location.

Bill Crawford

Second, several weeks ago I suggested to the city an idea for a special event. I thought a film festival of the movies based on several of John Steinbeck’s novels would be a natural because Steinbeck for a time lived at Fallen Leaf Lake. Steinbeck was quoted as having said that Henry Fonda’s performance in “The Grapes of Wrath” got him, Steinbeck believing his own words. With what’s going on these days, we need to again hear those words. The city did listen to my idea, and there has been some feedback. But lately it’s pretty quiet.

Perhaps in July things will pick up in the city.

Bill Crawford, South Lake Tahoe

PS: In Steinbeck’s “The Red Pony” Tahoe is mentioned.

By Claire Veyriras, California News Service

WASHINGTON — Visitors to California’s national parks may notice more trash on the trails, longer lines at service booths and fewer rangers this summer as the pinch of the federal government’s budget problems grows increasingly difficult to overlook.

Unlike the state’s park system, which is scheduled to close 54 parks for lack of money this summer, the vast resources of the U.S. Park Service will prevent Yosemite or any of the state’s national parks from shutting their gates for now.

Still, park enthusiasts warn that Washington’s budget squeeze – after consecutive years of cuts – will be felt from Redwood’s old growth forests to Death Valley’s barren dunes.

“The cuts will significantly decrease the quality of the experience visitors have in the national parks,” said Ron Sundergill, Pacific Region director of the National Parks Conservation Association, an advocate for the parks in Washington.

President Obama’s proposed 2013 spending plan calls for no increase to National Park Service’s $2.75 billion annual budget, which it uses to oversee its 397 parks, 582 natural landmarks and 2,461 historic landmarks.

To meet growing demand and prior obligations, some programs will need to be cut. For instance, the newest budget strips $3 million from the funds that pay for visitor centers, information booth, cleaning and safety.

Read the whole story

By Jon Ortiz, Sacramento Bee

With California voters poised to vote next week on a tobacco tax hike, a new federal study concludes that the state has used relatively little of the billions of dollars in tobacco money it already takes in to prevent kids from smoking or to help smokers quit.

Between 1998 and 2010, just 6 percent of the money collected from a massive lawsuit settlement and from cigarette taxes went to tobacco interdiction and education programs, the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last week, far below federal spending guidelines for effectively curbing tobacco use.

The report has provided fuel for both sides of the pitched debate over a June 5 ballot measure that would more than double the state tax on a pack of cigarettes. The money would pay for tobacco-related disease research and anti-smoking programs and go to fight illicit tobacco sales.

Proponents such as American Cancer Society lobbyist Jim Knox say the CDC report underscores why voters should support Proposition 29 – to lock in money for anti-tobacco efforts, improve public health and ultimately save lives.

The measure would bolster proven anti-tobacco programs that are woefully underfunded but remain a “model throughout the nation and the world,” Knox said.

Beth Miller, a spokeswoman for the tobacco industry-backed No on Prop 29 campaign, said the CDC study just proves government can’t be trusted with more tobacco tax money. She compared the ballot measure to others that funded controversial state projects, such as high-speed rail and stem cell research.

Read the whole story

By Kathryn Reed

It isn’t quite like the Food Network’s “Restaurant Impossible,” but the challenge is probably the most difficult culinary test these budding chefs have had to execute.

Students in Steve Fernald’s Food Preparation class at Lake Tahoe Community College are tasked with planning a three-course lunch menu that includes a beverage, make enough food for about 30 people, and have a vegetarian main dish available.

Two of the four teams have their work behind them. Now they are the servers and helpers for the remaining teams.

It was two years ago that Fernald last had students put on these types of lunches.

“It is based upon the fact that we have a great group of students this year who have proven to work hard and do good jobs at nearly every task that has been given to them. I am really proud of the effort, creativity and energy the students are putting into planning and executing their own lunches,” Fernald told Lake Tahoe News why he brought the lunches back.

Spinach salad starts the three-course meal May 31 at Lake Tahoe Community College. Photo/Kathryn Reed

Anita Kasch, who is part of Team El Dorado, said her group brainstormed a couple times before coming up with their menu.

“When we decided on a Mexican theme, we searched for recipes and ideas online as well as in a couple of cookbooks. For the rice dish, for example, we had three or four recipes that we made in class as a team. We sampled them and decided which we liked and which we didn’t,” Kasch told Lake Tahoe News. “The one we liked the best we tweaked a little to make it our own and to make it better to fit on our plate. We went through this process with nearly every menu item, using trial and error to find what worked the best. It was all a real team effort.”

On May 31 it was Team Sierra’s turn to wow the crowd gathered at the college. They had about 3½ hours that morning to get the food ready.

Dressed in their white chef coats, two students greet Becca and I  who check off our reservation and take our money. We are seated at a table that has a carafe of water on it. While Tahoe water is already delicious, this water has fresh limes, lemons and oranges in it to make it taste even more flavorful – and perhaps healthy.

Pull apart rosemary Parmesan bread is quickly brought to the table with olive oil-balsamic vinegar for dipping. Being able to pull it apart made it fun, and definitely different than just having slices of bread. Having it be light, airy and small pieces made it so we didn’t just fill up on bread and water.

Out comes the first course – spinach salad. It has red onions, feta cheese, candied almonds, craisins and finely diced tomatoes. The presentation is superb and the amount perfect.

The flavor, though, well, we both thought it needed something more. The dressing tasted only like oil had been put on the greens and nothing more. Nuts in a salad like this are great, but the candied aspect made it too sweet.

While we had different entrees, our sides were the same – spaghetti squash, zucchini and asparagus. Mixing the spaghetti squash and zucchini together gave it the right flavor, while on their own they were just OK.

Becca had the steak rouladen – stuffed with collard greens, bacon and goat cheese, topped with a demi-glace wine reduction sauce.

I had the eggplant stuffed with herbed ricotta cheese, breaded and pan-fried.

Unfortunately, neither of us was thrilled with our entrée. Becca’s meat was dry, and the bulk of my eggplant was left on the plate.

The dessert, a peanut butter custard with a chocolate crust topped with flambé bananas could have lost the bananas for better a presentation and less competing flavors.

The caramel on the dessert tasted like it could have been made from scratch. It was yummy.

“It is definitely an empowering form of education that has lit a fire under this group,” Fernald said of all of the students.

—–

Note: To sign up for the June 7 or June 14 lunches, email fernald@ltcc.edu. Seatings are at noon and 12:20pm. Cost is $10. This includes a three-course lunch and creative drink. There is a set menu, but a vegetarian option can be ordered when making the reservation.

The Renaissance Faire is still looking for volunteers.

The event is this weekend and the following in the Camp Richardson area.

For more information, email carl@valhallatahoe.com.

Volunteers for other Tahoe Tallac Association events are also needed.

There will be a volunteer workshop at the Valhalla Grand Hall on June 20 at 10am and June 27 at 6pm. Both are expected to last about 90 minutes.

Tangled Roots Writing is offering a poetry workshop on Saturday at For Goodness Sake in Truckee from 1-4pm.

Explore different techniques in writing poetry using prompts that help people discover new material. Even if you’ve never written poetry, or understood poetry, you will learn how poetry communicates and find inspiration to write your own in this three-hour workshop.

Cost is $35.

Call Karen Terrey at (530) 386.3901 to sign up.

Bona Fide HQ is hosting a reception for award-winning pastel artist Bonita Paulis on June 1 from 6-8pm.

Her Wild Western Landscapes exhibit will be on display for the month of June.

Bona Fide Books is at 1069 Magua St., No. 4, Meyers, behind the Getaway Cafe.

The reception is free.