Author: Christina Bruni

Christina Bruni is the author of the new book Working Assets: A Career Guide for Peers. She contributed a chapter "Recovery is Within Reach" to Benessere Psicologico: Contemporary Thought on Italian American Mental Health.

Chemical Chow

Christina BruniLeave a comment

How and what a person consumes in terms of food and drink is a personal choice. I’m not going to judge anyone else for chowing down on chemical cuisine. Nor am I going to glorify a person who is a total saint in their nutrition practice.

“Everything in moderation” is what I think is the best approach. Striving to have a healthy balance and not overdoing it with the extreme in either direction.

My aversion to using food and drink “products” containing natural flavor I found out is a real issue after eating two different bags of potato chips within four days of each other. I could taste the different taste between the Siete chips with three real food ingredients and the Deep River regular chips that use canola or safflower or cottonseed oil.

Though the Deep River didn’t use natural flavor I could taste that their chips tasted funny compared to the taste of the Siete chips.

There’s a chemical taste to food using natural flavor too. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) calls natural flavor a drug like crack because it’s an addictive food additive. The EWG goes so far as to say this.

I ordered the Nutrition Action booklet Chemical Cuisine that lists the chemicals in food products that cause ill health like common caramel flavor. The other chemicals in the guide are too numerous to list here.

It can appear that I’m nuts writing about this repeatedly. This shall be the last time I detail my thoughts on the topic of natural flavor. Though trust me real food tastes better.

I would like to say that it’s because I’m Italian American that using chemicals to cook food with leaves a distaste in my mouth. And of course, too I’m a fan of the Slow Food movement that started in Italy at the time of the rise in fast food restaurants there.

I don’t use a microwave either. It’s a matter of personal choice. In the coming blog entry I’ll talk about Choosing Sanity over Vanity in adopting a nutrition practice.

For one as a person who weighs 107 pounds I don’t like when other women tell me either that I’m too thin or else tell me “That’s good!” for fitting into a size 2P. My workout routines and weekly eating plan are not habits that I think 90 percent of Americans would want to adopt.

For the 212 loyal followers to this blog that I have after WordPress deleted the inactive accounts I think the readers who’ve stayed on this long might be the ones getting value from my approach.

Takes what works and leave the rest as the saying goes.

I eat well to feel good. That’s the story.

Protein Powder Economics

Christina BruniLeave a comment

The Truvani vanilla protein powder package I order from Amazon has 18 servings and costs $45. Eighteen servings will last 18 days if you have one protein drink each day.

That’s $2.50 per drink which is cheaper than getting a coffee at Starbucks. Not including the tax and shipping fee if you don’t have Amazon Prime and load up on AMZ deliveries regularly.

Cheaper products were sold that I found by typing protein powder into the AMZ search box. My thinking is that they contain natural flavor not real vanilla bean or cocoa powder for the chocolate version.

I’ve seen that with the 12-ounce cup after I shake the powder with a spoon in the almond milk a clump of thick powder settles on the bottom of the cup. I’ve ordered a 16-ounce pint glass to use for the protein drink in the future.

In the coming post I will write about how I accidentally found out that I have a justified aversion to consuming food products that contain natural flavor.

Chips Ahora

Christina BruniLeave a comment
This is a photo of potato chips.

You can buy these potatoes, avocado oil, and sea salt chips from Fresh Direct online in New York City. Potato chips really aren’t the best snack however I approve of the Siete version. The brand’s origin story is that a family of 7 who are the Garzas founded the company due to health reasons. The family members are Spanish and in that language siete is7.

You can only go right with potato chips like these if you ask me. No questionable fat like canola or sunflower or cottonseed oil. No chemical additives called natural flavor.

The real taste of potatoes not tainted by a chemical flavor. Is it just me and am I the only one who doesn’t like the taste of food products made with natural flavor?

I think that food “products” with real ingredients can be OK to have in a weekly eating plan. The goal as said is not to eat right in every meal of every single day. The outcome to strive for is to eat food guilt-free. I realize it can be easier said than done when so-called experts fly flags advertising various stripes of acceptable diets.

Come on–it’s time to recognize that with a little market searching online and on in-store shelves we can find better alternatives to the standard junk.

I was not paid to promote the Siete potato chips. They also sell corn-free tortilla chips how about that? I reserve these kinds of chips for holiday time or for an every so-often “side dish” to a lunch with sandwiches.

Weekly Eating Plan

Christina BruniLeave a comment

The following is the health coach vetted nutrition practice that I try my best to follow every week:

It’s a fact that the oceans have been overfished. Farmed salmon is not OK to eat though. What do I think? I’m going to have baked salmon once a week. There’s a deli counter at a food market that sells this fish.

It’s quick and easy: heat for 20 minutes with Brussel sprouts (also from deli counter) in a baking dish at 350 degrees.

I can also get from the deli counter roasted vegetables which don’t need to be cooked. The deli vegetables are not organic and I’m OK with this. Otherwise I buy online frozen bags of organic broccoli, spinach leaves, cauliflower, and green beans.

As well once a week or every other week I order grilled shrimp from the online grocery delivery service. I also order dry sea scallops with the weekly delivery.

For lunch I order a mixed greens salad with no dressing. Add organic cashews and chickpeas and Cento pitted olives. Toss Boticelli finishing olive oil and balsamic vinegar to dress the salad.

This is the standard fare. I have the salad for lunch 3 times a week. I read a while ago that bringing your lunch from home to your job 3x/per week is OK and a viable option. It can be impossible to expect ourselves to bring lunches from home 5 days a week.

The goal as I see it is to have the grace to accept that you and I cannot do the right things 100 percent of the time every day of every week of our lives.

Coming up I’m going to review a food product I found. The origin story of the company might be a come-on. Yet I’ll talk about this food because it shows that there are alternatives to common products laden with chemical additives or questionable kinds of fat.

Protein Source Experiment Success

Christina BruniLeave a comment
Photo is of Mooala Almong Milk and Truvani plant based protein

This is the first post re: the Integrative Health Coach eating plan that I’m going to use as a weekly practice starting this fall.

She recommends consuming 100 grams protein per day or at least at or near 90 grams protein for the ideal RDA. The calculation using your weight only accounts for the average grams of protein that are thought to be acceptable.

On Amazon–yes on Amazon–I found the Truvani protein powder shown. It’s the only protein powder source without a chemical additive called natural flavor. In California–yes in Cali–I think it’s Prop65 that lists Truvani as having a cancer-causing agent.

I’m taking my chances as this product has been on the market for at least a decade. The Mooala almond milk you can order on Fresh Direct online grocery delivery service in New York City.

About a decade ago I bought soy milk and the soy milk tasted awful to me. So I was hopeful when the Health Coach vetted that I could use almond milk. Again, the Mooala almond milk was the only almond milk I found that didn’t have a questionable ingredient.

Inside the Truvani package is a scoop you use to pour the protein powder in the almond milk. I used a 12 ounce ceramic mug that I bought in Starbucks long ago. It might be Venti sized according to the Starbucks system. I have no idea. I used the 12 ounce mug and tossed one scoop of Truvani in the almond milk. Filled the mug with the milk to an inch below the rim.

One scoop of Truvani has 20 grams of protein. It has 2 grams of fiber too if that counts for anything towards your RDA of fiber while you’re at it.

After the awful taste of the soy milk I was reluctant to try the almond milk. To my surprise the protein drink is drinkable because it tastes better than I thought it would.

As the drink is actually drinkable to me I’ll be getting 20 extra grams of protein with breakfast. My said breakfast 3 large organic eggs scrambled with organic shitake mushrooms.

So there I’ll have it–at least 30 grams of protein in my first meal of the day. Like real experts to trust have repeated for years a person should have 20 to 30 grams of protein with each meal starting with breakfast. Not waiting until dinner to load up on protein.

Va bene! A protein drink that is really kind of delicious! With no chemical additives in the form of natural flavor.

The only drawback is that the scoop is big so I envision going through a package of Truvani in one week or so. And the Truvani if I recall costs at least $30/per package.

For those of us who can’t afford Truvani there are other options like having with the eggs a container of Fage plain Greek yogurt. Mix blueberries into the yogurt like I do if you want. Use only a drizzle of honey. As per my Health Coach honey is not really okay to have except in tiny amounts.

Fage plain Greek yogurt doesn’t contain chemical additives in the form of natural flavor. Should you be okay with it you can opt for the Fage full-fat plain yogurt not the 0 fat. I happen to be sensitive to food that contains fat in it.

So having the eggs plus a container of the Fage plain yogurt could bump your grams of protein up to near 30 grams for breakfast.

Forget buying a boxed cereal labeled as a better protein source. A food with only 8 grams of protein per serving for breakfast won’t cut it for optimizing your energy and health throughout the day. Should you really want to go the boxed cereal breakfast route it’s imperative to find a container of yogurt or other protein source that will bump up the grams of protein for the meal.

Also forget the commercial that claims having a round waffle product with added protein is an acceptable food for getting protein. I don’t think so. Not all sources of protein are the best sources.

Though who’s kidding who. I have pasta all the time being Italian. And it’s not really an ideal food even when it’s whole wheat pasta according to my Health Coach.

That’s OK. I plan to stick with my 80 percent rule: having healthy food at least 80 percent of the time.

My life is getting shorter. With life being short I’ll have the pasta. You can have the cheesecake. Enjoying life–and the food you eat–guilt-free is the way to go.

The 6 Elements of Recovery

Christina Bruni1 Comment

Years ago when I started lifting weights I chose to make fitness a priority. Value I do fitness of body mind spirit finances career and relationships. I see mental health recovery as possible when these 6 elements of the recovery lifestyle fit together in an organic way.

Cheers to living a long life of health wealth and happiness. Each of us can have an abundance of these three things when we realize that we have enough and we are enough.

My overarching goal is to give peers hope. For readers, followers, and audience members to choose hope over helplessness. There’s hope to evolve and grow to find our divine purpose.

Choosing recovery can make all the difference in how far a person can go. My aim is to share stories and teach people to be well. Even living with illness we can achieve wellbeing.

The goal is not to weigh 102 pounds or have six-pack abs. The objective is to live the life you love and love the life you live with despite and because of whatever challenge you face.

Andiamo!

ItaloPunk Recipes

Christina BruniLeave a comment
ItaloPunk original Italian food recipes

The cookbook in the photo above can be checked out of a library if you’re lucky. The ethic I’m fond of is called Principessa Punk–Princess Punk.

The 145 Recipes to Shock Your Nonna I won’t be using though. As the recipes often require at least 8 ingredients.

Otherwise if you’re a regular user of multiple-ingredient recipes Fire Away!

In coming blog entries I’ll be posting health coach vetted information on how and what to eat. Designed for those of us who want to take our meals up a notch in terms of health-sustaining benefits.

Mangia!

Banana-Peanut Butter Yogurt Parfait

Christina BruniLeave a comment
Banana-Peanut Butter Yogurt Parfait

This is one of my favorite new recipes to have for breakfast or after an at-home workout session:

Banana-Peanut Butter Yogurt Parfait

1 ripe banana

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon natural peanut butter

1/4 cup low-fat plain Greek-style strained yogurt

1 tablespoon unsalted roasted peanuts

____________________________________________

Slice 1 banana. Place half the slices in a small bowl or jar.

Sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon. Mash with back of fork.

Top with 1 tablespoon peanut butter.

Layer on 1/4 cup yogurt on top.

Add remaining banana slices.

Sprinkle on top 1 tablespoon peanuts.

Breathe Mediterranean Diet Edition

Christina BruniLeave a comment

Breathe magazine has out a Mediterranean Diet edition. Though it costs $14.99 I think the issue is worth getting.

For the article like Glimmers of Hope that instructs readers to cue ourselves for “glimmers” instead of focusing on triggers. Glimmers are the experiences that give us joy peace and positive feelings.

Plus the Buon Appetito! feature that shows readers how to set the table for a communal meal like Italians do. Insieme is our word for together.

Really all the articles in this Breathe issue are worth reading.

Pots of Love talks about how cooking can be a valid form of therapy. Talking about using a food journal to jot down ideas about the recipes you’re making and what you think of them and how to improvise new recipes with the ingredients.

One suggestion that I’ve taken to heart for years so far is to set the table for cheer. At the start of each season to change the tablecloth and use a different color mug to drink water from.

I’ll end here with this quote:

A tavola non s’invecchia – At the table, one does not grow old.

Homemade-ish Recipes

Christina BruniLeave a comment
Homemade-ish Book Cover

The cookbook above can be checked out of the library. I recommend buying it. From the guide I created 3 recipes two of which were for dips.

The photos below are the homemade-ish food from top to end in this order:

Spice Rack Whipped Cheeses with Hot Honey:

The food below is Creamed Mozzarella with Honey-Drenched Sun-Dried Tomatoes:

Lastly the Cloud Caprese Cups: