nutrition – Page 3 – sassyfitnesschick

Spotlight On Carrots

In todays veggie spotlight boys and girls, we’re gonna talk about carrots. Stop making faces and wondering when I’m gonna talk about donuts or something like that. I can’t even tell you when I last ate one so I’m not the expert on it now days….

Anyway, carrots. The color alone should clue you in that it’s a food to be eating. Remember bright rainbow colors of food deliver the biggest nutrition and vitamin punch.

Carrots have been around for centuries. Historians believe that carrots were cultivated by the Ancient Greeks and Romans, as they were mentioned by Pliny the Elder and prized by Emperor Tiberius.

20180301_163337 — Do these make my eyes look bright and shiny?

The basic facts first

Carrots like most veggies are low in calories and high in all the stuff that is good for a healthy body. The carrot is a root vegetable and is most often orange though purple, black, red, white and yellow exists.

Geez. It sounds like I just described a bad bruise.

Where are those? I’ve never seen carrots in those colors, have you?

They are also low in calories AND have a whopping amount of Vitamin A as well as impressive amounts of Vitamin C and B-12.

You’ve heard the saying that carrots are good for your eyes? Well there is some truth to that. Carrots are rich in beta-carotene, which is converted into vitamin A in the liver. Vitamin A is transformed in the retina to rhodopsin, a purple pigment necessary for night vision.

Beta-carotene has also been shown to protect against macular degeneration and senile cataracts. A study found that people who eat large amounts of beta-carotene had a 40 percent lower risk of macular degeneration than those who consumed little.

Eat your carrots.

But wait.. there’s a lot of other reasons to eat them….

They could help prevent cancer. Falcarinol is a natural pesticide produced by the carrot that protects its roots from fungal diseases. Carrots are one of the only common sources of this compound. A study showed 1/3 lower cancer risk by carrot-eating rats.

How is that for an interesting factoid??

Chowing down on carrots can also help slow aging. The high level of beta-cartone in carrots acts as an anti-oxidant to cell damage done to the body through regular metabolism. It help slows down the aging of cells.

Carrots can also promote healthier skin and hair

Do you see a trend here if you’ve been reading my veggie and fruit posts? find one here……https://sassyfitnesschick.com/2018/02/14/sweet-potato-spotlight/

They can help prevent cancers, promote healthy skin, hair and slow aging. Hmmmm.. could vegetables and fruit be preventive medicine after all ? 😉

Carrots are also associated with a lower risk of heart disease. Studies show that diets high in carotenoids are associated with a lower risk of heart disease. Carrots have not only beta-carotene but also alpha-carotene and lutein.

Have you ever thought about any of those crazy “cleanses” or “detox” things? ( don’t, please don’t) carrots naturally do this within your body. Vitamin A assists the liver in flushing out the toxins from the body. It reduces the bile and fat in the liver. The fiber present in carrots helps clean out the colon and hasten waste movement.

Oh. Your dentist might tell you to eat them too.

All that crunching and stuff…. Carrots clean your teeth and mouth. They scrape off plaque and food particles just like toothbrushes or toothpaste. Carrots stimulate gums and trigger a lot of saliva, which, being alkaline, balances out the acid-forming, cavity-forming bacteria. The minerals in carrots prevent tooth damage. And yeah, that might just make your cleanings go faster, if you’re also good and flossing like you should 😉

Some fun and weird facts…

I don’t wanna bore you to pieces with all the good, healthy and smart reasons about eating this veggie so here’s a few things you may or may not know.

Carrots are the second most popular veggie after potatoes.

The biggest carrot ever recorded is over 19 feet long and over 19 lbs!

There are over 100 specimens of them.

Rabbits love to eat them but shouldn’t eat to many. One for us is like them eating 20 carrots. They would be better off eating the green tops.

English women in the 1600’s often wore the greenery in their hats in place of flowers… so there’s that…

20180301_163532 — Trying to picture this greenery hanging off a ladies hat..

The name carrot actually comes from the word karoton. The beta-carotene that is found in carrots was actually named for the carrot itself.

Wild carrots are often seen in fields and along roadsides, only they’re usually known by a more common name: Queen Anne’s Lace. Pull up the root of a wild carrot, and you’ll find a long, fibrous tuber. Break it and you’ll discover it has the unmistakable aroma of a carrot.

Hey! When do we get to eat?

Carrots are a simple vegetable to cook. In my house they are happily devoured with onions that have been cooked with a roast 😉

I also like steaming them with a little honey and cinnamon that makes the carrots natural flavor pop.

I’ll toss in a couple recipes you can experiment on too

Like this one for you bacon lovers… but seriously… yummy….

Another vegetable with lots of positive, healthy, life giving benefits. Now run yourself to the store, pick some up, and experiment with a new recipe or two.

Do you like carrots? If so what ways do you enjoy eating them?

Sweet Potato Spotlight

Let’s talk about food. Ya’ll seem to really like food posts and I love offering up spotlights on various fruits, veggies and healthy meals. Today boys and girls, we’re gonna talk about sweet potatoes.

20180213_165907 — Sweet potatoes are one of my favorite “go to” foods

Now if I mention that and you think “Hey, that’s Thanksgiving food!”

Well just hold on a minute. If your idea of eating them involves a lot of sugar and butter, well.. we need to talk….

Now don’t get your feathers ruffled up. I know it’s tasty and hopefully you eat them like that once a year but let’s be honest. With all the sugar, butter, marshmallows, etc. it might, just might, negate the goodness of the lowly, not really attractive looking potato.

Here’s the low down on them

Although they’re soft and creamy enough to be put in pies and called dessert, sweet potatoes are also a surprisingly nutritious vegetable.

For a one cup serving they come in at only 114 calories. They pack a whopping amount of Vitamin A in the form of beta- carotene providing 377% of your daily needs.

They are also a very good source of vitamin C, manganese, copper, pantothenic acid and vitamin B6. Additionally, they are a good source of potassium, dietary fiber, niacin, vitamin B1, vitamin B2 and phosphorus.

If you’re wanting to lose weight the sweet potato is a healthy, low calorie, satisfying food to add in your daily nutrition. Just as long as you don’t load them down with sugar, butter and other stuff 😉

Why are sweet potatoes good for you?

Well besides all the good vitamins and minerals mentioned above, consider this,

For as sweet as they are, sweet potatoes have a low glycemic index (which means they release sugar slowly into the bloodstream). … Manganese helps the body metabolize carbohydrates and thus maintain healthy blood sugar levels, and it can even stabilize your appetite. It also helps the body utilize antioxidants. Sweet potatoes are also high in fiber helping the digestive system.

That all sounds like a win, right?

What about some health benefits?

Due to the color-pigmented vitamins, sweet potatoes are high in anti-inflammatory benefits. One sweet potato contains about half of the daily recommended intake of vitamin C. Vitamins A and E also support a healthy immune system and are powerful disease fighting antioxidants. While orange sweet potatoes contain more vitamin A, purple sweet potatoes are packed with the antioxidant anthocyanin, which is responsible for red, blue and purple colors in fruits and vegetables.

The high level of Vitamin A also contributes to healthy glowing skin and hair and promotes collagen growth.

Ok well sign me up. But how do I cook them?

There are all kinds of healthy and tasty ways to eat sweet potatoes year round. Below is one of my favorite, quick and easy ways to eat them. You seriously can’t go wrong roasting any vegetable in my opinion.

Oh, brussel sprouts are also making an appearance with them, don’t go hatin’ on them ok? Roasted together with olive oil and cracked pepper and sea salt are amazing.

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Cold sweet potatoes are always tasty the next morning tossed in with my other veggies and eggs.

If you don’t like those options, I’ll toss in a couple recipes here from my Pinterest board for you.

You’re welcome for the last one 😉

You can always turn a potato into a meal by adding healthy proteins like lean chicken or turkey. Black beans are pretty tasty with it too.

Wrapping it up….

Oh. Yeah you can wrap them in foil and just bake them too, nothing fancy required there. Sweet potatoes are a healthy. low calorie, food choice that offer again, lots of good nutritional value to your daily eating plan.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with new ways to eat them, but be mindful too that various add in’s can move up the calorie count.

Tell me, do you like sweet potatoes? Do you eat them all year, or just occasionally?

Benefits Of Elderberries

elderberries-fb

One of the things I enjoy about writing is the freedom to write not only on health and fitness, but also on a wide variety of topics as well. I talk a lot about healthy foods and what they can do for your body but today I wanna talk about a supplement.

I know, I know. A supplement. It’s not my usual style for sure but this one I think bears examining a little.

Here in the states, the flu right now is extremely serious. You can’t see the news without more awful stories coming out about people dying, many are children.

This supplement kept coming to me in a variety of ways so I figured I needed to investigate it further. I will always encourage real, whole food sources over supplements, but I believe this supplement is most likely easier for people to get their hands on, thus receiving the benefits.

I’ve been reading about elderberries, and how they can actually help slow the virus or cut the duration shorter.

What are elderberries?

Elderberries are the fruit of the flowering plant known as Sambucus, more commonly referred to as elder or elderflower.

You will mainly find elderberries in the Northern hemisphere, particularly in Europe and North America, although some southern species are grown in Australia. The berries are black or very dark blue and have a sharp, sweet flavor that makes them highly preferred for desserts, syrups, jams, jellies, spreads, and as the base for various cocktails and drinks.

Since most of the berries in the genus Sambucus are toxic, caution is suggested and cooking the elderberries before consuming is always a wise choice. The branches, leaves, and twigs of all species contain trace elements of cyanide, which can build up in your body and eventually kill you, so be careful! ( how’s that for a fun and random fact??) if you decide to buy elderberries make sure you get them in a licensed reputable store. Don’t pick and eat wild berries as not all are safe to eat.

However, despite the implicit risks of elderberries, they are packed with beneficial nutrients, so they have been a part of traditional medicine for hundreds of years and some health benefits have become more commonly acknowledged. We’ll look at some of those below.

Elderberry actually has a very long history of medicinal use. Most historians typically trace it’s healing power back to Hippocrates, the ancient Greek known as the father of medicine and who described the plant as his “medicine chest” due to the wide array of health concerns it seemed to cure.

Used for its antioxidant activity to lower cholesterol, improve vision, boost the immune system, improve heart health and for coughs, colds, flu, bacterial and viral infections and tonsillitis. Elderberry juice was used to treat a flu epidemic in Panama in 1995.

Do I have your attention now? It certainly grabbed mine when I started reading about it.

Health benefits of the elder plant

It naturally improves colds, the flu, sinus issues, nerve pain, inflammation, allergies, chronic fatigue, and constipation.

Get this… studies have shown when used within the first 48 hours of onset of symptoms, the extract has actually been found to reduce the duration of the flu with symptoms being relieved on average 4 days sooner.

During the ’95 flu epidemic the government actually employed the use of elderberry to fight the flu.

Elderberry has been the subject of numerous studies that shows it can actually decrease the duration and symptoms of the influenza virus. The high levels of antioxidants present in the extract are able to interfere with the activity of the virus itself.

Wait.. there’s more….

when it comes to antioxidants power, elderberry is higher in flavonoids than blueberries, cranberries, goji berries, and blackberries!

Elderberries are an excellent general immune system booster. Elderberry extract has been shown to be a safe, efficient and cost effective treatment for colds and flu.

With elderberries anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, it naturally helps clear and heal sinus issues.

Other ways it has been used and has benefits include:

It can help lower blood sugar, it’s a natural diuretic and laxative, and with it’s antioxidants and flavonoids as well as its high Vitamin A content, it makes it excellent for skin health.

The high levels of essential minerals help promote bone strength and development of new bone tissue.

Where do I get this super power food/supplement ?

As mentioned above, if you buy the berries, make sure they are from a reliable source. They offer many health benefits, including a high dose of daily fiber.

However, you can buy supplements that come in the forms of syrups, lozenges, and capsules. Dosing varies for each so it’s important you follow the directions on the package. These products can be found at local health and wellness stores or purchased online. These supplements as mentioned when taken accordingly can help with colds and flu.

Of course, if you feel like doing it, you can always make your own syrups from the berries.

Are there any side effects?

As with any herbal remedy it’s important to be aware of anything unusual you may experience. Signs of reactions could be a rash or difficulty breathing. Both should have immediate medical care. As mentioned it’s a diuretic so if you have kidney problems you may need to stay away from it.

In summary

This post is not meant as medical treatment or to suggest not using all available healthcare to keep you and your family well. It was intended to inform and educate to help alongside your health care choices. There is enough research to support elderberry helping with colds and flu that I thought it was relevant enough in this time to share with you.

Share with me. Have you tried this? If so, what has been your experience?

The Super Powers Of Blackberries

I thought I might get a little sweet on you today. No, we’re not talking about candy.

Veggies have been getting exposure on my blog so I wanted to give fruit some advertising time too.

What better fruit to start with than one of my most favorites, blackberries. I’m pretty sure I eat them most days of the week, sometimes multiple times in my day. The past year not only have they been really on the affordable, often crazy cheap side, they’ve been awesomely sweet too.

Cheap,sweet AND ridiculously good for you?? Say what?!

Oh, and you don’t have to peel, slice or prepare them other than wash them.

Now……get over here and get in on the scoop if you don’t know about these wonder berries and I’ll tell you why you should be consuming these tasty morsels.

How about a little history lesson first?

Blackberries belong to the Rubus genus in the Rosaceae family and have been used for their medicinal values for more than 2000 years. The traditional usage of blackberry fruit, leaf, bark and roots by the Romans and Greeks was for healing numerous health conditions that ranged from mild infections to venomous bites. In fact, during the 18^th century the Greek cure of using blackberry for treating gout was so influential in Europe that it was famously known as the ‘gout berry’. Recent scientific evidences have contributed extensively in unearthing the therapeutic potential of blackberries and its worldwide consumption.

The berries are known by a variety of names including brambleberries, brambles, dewberry or thimbleberry.

Whatever you wanna call them, I’ll eat them.

Are blackberries nutritious?

Yes!

The nutrient list of blackberries is extensive. They are loaded with Vitamin C (a 100g serving has 23 mg or 35 percent of the recommended daily allowance or RDA), but are low in calories (only 43 calories per 100g serving) and sodium. They are an excellent source of both soluble and insoluble fiber.

One cup of blackberries has over 7.6 grams of fiber, more than a cup of bran flakes! ( and probably a lot more enjoyable) this one cup offers 30% of our daily needs. Who says fiber can’t taste good?

Blackberries are also rich in vitamins A, E, K, and B vitamins, as well as antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, which scavenge free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) that play a role in aging and chronic diseases. They are one of the best high-ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) foods available. Minerals like copper, manganese, magnesium, potassium, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, riboflavin, niacin, and folic acid, are also found in this fruit

The humble blackberry contains impressively high levels of phenolic flavonoid phytochemicals, such as ellagic acid, anthocyanins, tannin, gallic acid, pelargonidins, quercetin, cyanidins, kaempferol,catechins, and salicylic acid.

I know there are lots of big words here but they do lots of big things!

These antioxidant compounds protect against aging, inflammation, cancer, and other neurological diseases.

You want products that offer anti-aging? Don’t look for it in lotions or creams. Eat foods that contain high levels of antioxidants, of which blackberries are extremely rich in. According to a research from the Human Nutrition Research Center, eating a cup of blueberries daily can help to reduce oxidative stress in 2 regions of human brain and protect neurons. In fact, most fruits and vegetables with the dark violet color can work to fight off fee radicals, a key component that damages DNA ( meaning, aging)

There is also growing research suggesting blackberries might be among the most potent cancer fighting fruits.

Blackberries may also be good for your brain health suggesting that the high antioxidant level in blackberries, strawberries and other berries may prevent age-related memory loss.

Do you want glowing skin and beautiful hair?

Every since I learned about the connection between nutrients and the aging process, I’ve kicked up my antioxidant game.

Because of large amounts of vitamin A, C, and K blackberries have skin rejuvenation properties. Blackberries are also about 85% water so you are naturally hydrating your skin from the inside out. ( drinking plenty of water is the best way to keep skin hydrated)

There are also several face masks you can make with blackberries to hydrate skin. I’m not actively promoting them as I haven’t tried them (yet) but if you like experimenting, find one and give it a try.

They also consist of collagen-forming vitamin C, and a small amount of vitamin A. Acting as antioxidants, these vitamins can protect their skin cells from the damage resulted by free radicals that contribute to skin aging. Therefore, regular consumption of blackberries could protect the skin against UVA and UVB damage and aid in skin cell renewal.

The antioxidants found in blackberries are proven to be good for the hair. There are some ways in which they could support healthy, smooth hair. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant which is largely responsible for collagen, making hair healthy and strong.

Is it time to eat them yet?

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of course the best way to eat them is crisp and cold right out of the carton. seriously I can nibble them away in an afternoon and wonder why the carton is empty.

Thank goodness they are so low in calories, high in fiber and loaded with all those good antioxidants!

I also use blackberries for a fast healthy protein packed breakfast with non fat Greek yogurt and some raw almonds.

I also enjoy tossing them in a spinach salad with strawberries, feta cheese, some chopped almonds and a few other colorful veggies.

Of course you can always use them to make tasty baked goods like blackberry cobbler 😉

I’m attaching a recipe from my Pinterest collection I haven’t tried yet but it’s happening soon.

Crockpot Blackberry Jam, because you know, homemade biscuits 😉 Ok I’ll add that recipe here for you too. Enjoy!

Tell me…do you like blackberries? How do you enjoy eating them?

Cauliflower And Breadsticks

Mark Twain once wrote, “Training is everything. A peach was once a bitter almond; a cauliflower is nothing but a cabbage with a college education.”

I got you with the title, didn’t I? You are wondering what on earth one has to do with the other…..

If you’ve been following along on some of my posts in the last couple weeks you may have seen some of my comments on food “projects” I wanted to try. Sometimes it’s about a particular veggie or fruit as in my spinach post last week.

Spinach Benefits And Great Hair

One of the things I’ve talked about experimenting with is cauliflower. That plain, ordinary looking vegetable is also rather versatile which is great if you are following any low carb or gluten free eating plan ( which I’m not)

cauliflower

I just like food ya know? Eating veggies is really good for me and they also tip the scale fairly low in calories so it’ a win/win.

Fun food and nutrition facts

Let’s start with the fact an entire head with a 6 inch diameter has only 146 calories. Yes, you read that correctly.

146 calories. Impressive.

It is also loaded with calcium, magnesium, and Vitamin B-6. Most impressive, that entire head offers 472% of Vitamin C! It also contains 50% of our daily need for potassium. C

Bet you didn’t know that 😉

Ok so we now know that cauliflower is crazy low in calories AND contains lots of good vitamins in abundance for our bodies.

Does it offer any health benefits?

I’m glad you asked. Why yes, yes it does. Cauliflower includes plenty of vitamins and minerals, but its real power comes from cancer-fighting compounds known as glucosinolates.

Other top benefits include….

Reduces Cancer Risk.
Fights Inflammation.
Provides High Levels of Vitamins and Minerals (especially important Vitamin C and Vitamin K)
Improves Digestion and Detoxification.
Aids in Weight Loss.
Helps Balance Hormones.
Preserves Eye Health.

You know what kinda, semi-amuses me? That list reads like what some of these snake oil health companies claim with their products, and look at this, you can eat whole, real, natural food and get the same benefits. AND you can buy a whole lot more cauliflower for your money 😉

How to eat it

Cauliflower is essentially a blank canvas. I hope you venture more into cooking with it than just steaming . One of my most favorite, fast and easy ways to cook it is by roasting it.

Sweet heavens, roasting any vegetable adds so much more flavor and overall “deliciousness” to it.

To roast, simply wash and prepare the cauliflower breaking it out into florets. Toss with some olive oil, cracked pepper and sea salt. Roast in a hot oven ( about 400) turn frequently so it browns and crisps all over ( the best part) it usually takes about 40-45 minutes. I have to be careful because I can literally nibble away at it while I’m cooking the rest of the meal and my kids really are into this version of cauliflower and like to find some left to go on table 😉

I should say I’ve got numerous recipes pinned on Pinterest for this vegetable. Some are waiting to be tried and a few others I have tried.

I mentioned in Monday Musings https://sassyfitnesschick.com/2018/01/22/monday-musings-2/ that I had made the “potato” salad version. Seriously, of my family members that eat potato salad, they all ate it and liked it.

Find it here…. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/ARWljr6ZFFOvYUscYjTe9A7nbrhyjxkPAneCDUxOw3Ivn3gw6Jl8SRY/

Another recipe that has been taunting me is using cauliflower as a crust for breadsticks or pizza. I mean… really? I decided tonight was the night to experiment. This is best done when no one is home and has high expectations of me making a meal while I’m in the middle of food experiments.

Tonight it was the breadsticks.

I found it fascinating that after a quick trip through my food processor it did indeed look like fine, fluffy “flour”.

20180124_175414 once you add in the additional ingredients you pat it out onto a baking sheet so it looks kinda like this….

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20180124_185958 — After baking it’s all golden and pretty

Oops. The final product. I guess I got a bit zealous sampling before I snapped a pic.

20180124_200547 — I added a bit of cheddar with the mozzarella because, why not?

My take on it.

Ok, it’s not bread. I had read on several posts the “negatives” to this is the fact the cauliflower contains a lot of water and trying to get enough of the water out so it can bake and not be soggy. I baked longer than recommended time, the outer edges were crispier but the inside was more soft, soft but good. Next time I will try a method I read about that suggested pressing it into paper towels to help pull out more of the water.

It smelled delicious and had good flavor. I can definitely see using it as pizza crust as tomato sauce would enhance flavors.

If you are on gluten/carb free diet this could be a good substitute for bread cravings… but still it isn’t bread… and I guess if I want breadsticks I will most likely have the real thing.

Next up on my “to try list” is Sweet and Sour Cauliflower. I hope that is as good as it sounds.

Now what about you? Have you tried any cauliflower recipes? Have you tried it as crust for bread or pizza?

Monday Musings

Monday again. Wow. How did that HAPPEN??? I mean, I’m not “anti-Monday” or anything. I sometimes just find myself thinking wasn’t I just here starting a new week and now I’m off to another one.

Although my week felt a little “off” when we had some real winter weather show up down here in south Texas… as in ice.. and crazy, stupid cold.

No one drives and nothing happens when those roads ice over. So it was definitely a stay home and warm day and I even managed to get a few little projects done since I was trapped….. all day long. The negative to cold, grey days ? They make me want to eat! Carbs. All the carbs. My muscles soaked those goodies up haha

Anyway that cold stuff doesn’t last long down here so…..

I did a little weekend road trip to explore and hang out with hubby. Road trips always offer up some kind of adventure and we always have fun being together.

However, heading to my destination, there’s this super nice mega gas station/food mart/ buy weird stuff place to stop. Honestly, it’s like an oasis in the middle of god awful bathroom stops along the way. In fact they boast the cleanest restrooms anywhere and they are constantly staffed to ensure they stay that way. It’s worth waiting that extra 50 miles to stop when you really needed to stop 50 miles back 😛

20180120_074338 — It’s a beaver… he’s the mascot of the place

Of course we ate breakfast out, which is always fun in new areas and we found this super cool, healthy breakfast place with a great vibe and amazing food. Farm fresh eggs, thick multi grain breads, and salad greens? I never had those with breakfast but liked it. Definitely want to go there again….

20180120_175956 — What is wrong with this picture? My coffee cup is empty… again. No worries, they leave a carafe on your table.

OH. And I tried an elliptical for the first time…. ever. Now I’m not sure what the normal is for using them but tossing a runner/cyclist on it.. well.. I took off like a crazy girl. It’s like running on steroids! haha anyway I did a 10k in 31 minutes so I think that’s decent for a first attempt. However, I quickly learned if I didn’t stay focused that sucker could throw me. I really liked that it felt like running. I think I may need one for inside workout days, which are usually days that are to awful to be outside.

Alrighty, in big news this week : evidently if you’re one of the cool kids, eating Tide clothes soap pods is the IN thing to do ( I’m being sarcastic here… please.. don’t do this) at first I thought it was just a joke of some kind.

I mean it had to be, right? After some more investigating it appeared to be rather true. I can think of a lot of things to eat but that is no where on my list.

Soap. Just…why ???

Speaking of actual food….

I’ve been experimenting with a variety of recipes this week, namely in the veggie department that I have pinned to my boards on Pinterest. Several have been good but the biggest surprise and unexpected delight was a cauliflower recipe used to make mock potato salad. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/ARWljr6ZFFOvYUscYjTe9A7nbrhyjxkPAneCDUxOw3Ivn3gw6Jl8SRY/

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Cauliflower right now is the multi purpose veggie that seems to be able to be morphed into a lot of other things… rice, bread crust, pizza crust, mashed potatoes, stir fry rice, and of course, potato salad. I may have mentioned on last weeks Monday Musings (I’ve slept since then) about my quest for experimenting with it in these various ways.

This turned out amazing and even passed my pickier eaters inspection so I think that’s a win. Next up I’m anticipating trying cheesy “breadsticks”.

Hubby’s take on this? “If I want bread, I’m going to eat bread” haha

Still…. I want to see if it will be a tasty replacement ( sometimes)

It has cheese. What’s there to lose, right? Cheese. It’s worth the effort.

Speaking of effort.

I hope your year is starting with you getting daily exercise in. I understand some times it’s just hard to make it happen, or maybe you have just a short amount of time to work with. I’ve tried a few circuit bodyweight exercises that get your heart pumping and give you a solid workout but only take a small amount of time.

I’ll share a couple workout ideas that just require your mental energy and your body 🙂 This is something you can do anywhere.

( please note: I do not or am not endorsing this X-Slim product)

I just found the second one a couple days ago. I really like the idea of being able to “build” your own routine. This allows you to get creative and try new things. Not to mention it’s a great way to work all parts of your body.

No matter what you decide to do, make sure you keep good form to avoid injury and to get the most you can out of each move.

Now, here’s to a new week of adventures and shenanigans! Make it a good one.

Tell me… do you have a favorite quick workout plan? Do you use an elliptical machine? Do you like it? Do you have a new recipe you’ve tried?

Spinach Benefits And Great Hair

Today boys and girls we’re gonna talk about food. One thing I have decided and I know is this: I won’t ever be led to be a food blogger but if I’m going to be a blogger who talks about healthy nutrition, I will most likely share some food posts at some point.

Don’t expect cute, cool food pics from me haha.. well maybe.

Earlier today I was updating some boards on my Pinterest account and came across a tasty sounding breakfast recipe, Spinach and Mozzarella Egg Bake. This was rather handy since I was out early for my yoga class, which unbeknownst to me, was not happening when I got there.

So plan B? Go get some coffee and rearrange some of my boards. A quick assessment showed me I had all the ingredients needed for this recipe so I hurried home to make it ’cause I was like… you know.. hungry.

This breakfast contained several of my favorite things : Spinach, eggs, and cheese.

Now don’t go getting all weird on me with the mention of spinach. Since I’m about healthy foods, let’s just take a quick look at what spinach can do for us, shall we?

20180118_112604 — I seriously go through about two of these cartons a week… on my own.

What’s in that leafy green goodness?

Low in fat and even lower in cholesterol, spinach is high in niacin and zinc, as well as protein, fiber, vitamins A, C, E and K, thiamin, vitamin B6, folate, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, and manganese. In other word, it’s loaded with good things for every part of your body!

Spinach is appreciated for the high amount of protein in its leaves.

Among vegetables, only peas and beans contain more protein than spinach.

Spinach is made up of 91.4% water, 3.6% carbs, 2.9% protein, and 0% fat.

A hundred grams of spinach has only twenty-three calories, which makes it an excellent choice for people who want to slim down

What health benefits does it offer?

Popeye was definitely on to something with his spinach consumption. Spinach is a super food loaded with tons of nutrients in a low calorie package. Dark leafy greens like spinach are important for skin, hair and bone health. Dark leafy greens also provide protein, iron, vitamins and minerals.

The possible health benefits of consuming spinach include improving blood glucose control in people with diabetes, lowering the risk of cancer, reducing blood pressure, improving bone health, lowering the risk of developing asthma, and more.

But check this out…

Spinach leaves are also very rich in vitamin K, as a hundred grams contains 604% of the daily value intake.

Vitamin K is vital for your health, since it strengthens the bones and stimulates the bones’ osteotropic activity. Spinach also provides better calcium absorption and even helps maintain your calcium levels in check.

At this rate I should never have a broken hip.

If you love your bones, you really want to make spinach a part of your daily intake.

Vitamin A helps in sebum production to keep your hair moisturized.

This vitamin is also necessary for the development of all bodily tissues, including skin and hair, both of which never stop to regenerate.

Besides, vitamin C found in spinach is vital in producing and maintaining collagen, which gives your hair and skin proper structure.

I mean, who doesn’t want amazing hair and skin ???

I could go on here about the benefits….

Spinach offers so much more but if I keep on I’ll never get to my recipe and how tasty it was.

I’m just trying to sell you on what a good food choice it is to add to your daily diet. If you only eat it in a creamy spinach dip, you’re missing out! Consider other ways you can eat it too 😉

Spinach makes appearances at almost all of my meals and is most always a part of my veggie scramble at breakfast.

It has replaced lettuce in my lunch salads. And it makes a wonderful add in to so many things.

So let’s get to the recipe….

Find it here…. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/439523244868061922/

20180118_094349 — You just need a few simple ingredients

It really took just a few minutes to whip it up and toss in the oven. I did use more spinach than the recipe called for because although it does cook down and I didn’t over cook it, I honestly thought it could handle more. I basically doubled up on the spinach and even add more green onions ’cause those little things are just tasty AND good for you too.

20180118_095929 — Ready to go to the oven. Isn’t my dish all matchy matchy with the food ? 😉

It has a short baking time so you won’t have to wait long to savor it’s yummy goodness AND it gives you time to quickly clean up and get the rest of your meal ready for when it’s finished.

20180118_112650 — Time to eat. I wish you could smell it.

As you can see I paired it with fresh fruit and (what you don’t see that I also like) salsa/hot sauce, added to the egg bake.

Eating tasty, healthy meals doesn’t have to be boring or bland. A willingness to experiment can lead you on new adventures and a slimmer waist line 😉

Have you experimented with a new food recently? Did you like it?

Pizza, Moderation And Weight Loss

Funny-Quotes-About-Pizza-Weight-Loss — Anyone relate?

I ate pizza the other night for dinner. As you sit there downing your morning coffee you might be thinking… “and WHY are you telling me this?” Hang with me, will you ? I’m not gonna waste your time telling you what I ate for dinner. I mean it’s relevant for where I’m going so… hold on.

Pizza might be one of those things viewed as “off limits” or “bad” if you fall in that line of thinking for weight loss and overall lifestyle health. I mean if you consume a lot of it, well, yeah maybe so.

I want to come to you with a perspective I preach about and believe works for anyone wanting to just live life, be healthy, fit, and not obsess constantly over what goes in their mouth.

I hated those days! Thinking of what I could eat and couldn’t eat. Thinking of when I could have food again because I was hungry and ignoring the signals my body gave me to eat. Feeling guilty if I ate something “bad”. Eating more than what satisfied my hunger, eating for my eyes and mouth. Worrying about how many calories I may have had or trying to keep total.

Such a miserable way to live, controlled by food in a host of ways.

So along the way, as I’ve shared before, that having an open relationship with food put me in charge of it. Basically it gave me power to make decisions based on what I wanted to do.

Food, was simply, food. Some of those foods I knew and understood were to be enjoyed in controlled moderation to reach my goals. Not with held which can bring on those feelings of deprivation that lead to finally eating to much of it or just throwing in the towel.

Healthy, nutritious foods were meant to make up the mainstay of my daily diet. I learned to eat those the majority of the time.

If I had a celebration or was going out to eat, I already determined what I was allowing myself to have.

With that balance I moved forward. The weight slowly and steadily came off, I enjoyed life and didn’t obsess over how I was eating or not eating.

On a side note, this month marks 8 years since I started this process. I think this might be working 😉

So there’s a lot that goes on not just physically, but mentally as well.

Knowing and understanding that I can have any food I want let’s me make mindful decisions over what I have and when. I’ve learned to think more about what I’m eating and assess it’s importance of going in my body. I also let go of the “last supper” mentality.

You know what that is right? It’s that attitude that says… “eat all your favorite foods up now ’cause you’re going on a diet and never, ever having them again!”

When you know you can still have your favorite cereal, snack, ice cream or a baked potato you don’t feel the need to consume it all at once.

Pizza. You’re sitting there thinking, where is this going with pizza? For me now days, that means a piece of pizza with plenty of salad or veggies alongside of it. I have pizza, and eating plenty of healthy, low calorie, nutrient dense veggies fills me and satisfies my hunger. Because I’ve learned to listen to my body and eat enough to satisfy it but not keep eating because it’s in front of me I’ve basically learned how to have it in small amounts.

No, I don’t feel deprived because I’m not eating more of it. I love making mindful choices. It’s empowering to choose your food and enjoy it, whatever it is.

Getting on a path to a healthier lifestyle and way of eating involves really learning to be mindful of what you eat, and how much you eat. It means you really learn to listen to those natural God given signals in your belly and follow them. So often we are simply “trained” to eat at certain times and follow certain social cues instead of just listening to our bodies.

If you are working to lose weight and think you must forego everything you love, rethink that.

Learn to follow a few basic rules or cues from your body

Eat when you’re hungry. Sounds crazy, I know. Just learn to do it.

Eat nutrient dense foods most of the time.

If you choose to have a food that doesn’t perhaps fall in that category, determine what you will allow yourself. Eat slowly and learn to appreciate what it really tastes like.

Build in veggies with every meal. They are filling and beyond good for you. Not only that you won’t be tempted to gorge on your pizza or whatever you’re having.

Satisfy your hunger but learn to stop when you feel comfortable. This takes practice, especially if you’ve been used to over eating for a long time. The point is to keep on practicing till you learn to read those signals. Your body only needs a certain amount of food to deal with it’s hunger. Anything else turns into “head” eating.

These are things that I have slowly learned along these past years. It’s taken practice. Fail, repeat, keep going till it started to feel normal to me.

I think really tuning into your body is huge. I think it’s also important as I’ve mentioned before, to understand why you eat beyond hunger. Our emotions are a powerful drive for over consumption of food. Learn to identify reasons that make you eat beyond hunger, this will give you a huge advantage if you’re trying to lose weight.

Life is meant to be enjoyed. It’s filled with delicious foods we enjoy. With practice and intentional, purposeful choices you can have all your favorite foods and lose weight too.

Have you learned any tips or tricks that has helped you successfully lose weight and has been sustainable for you ?

School Days And Healthy Lunches

Monday was a big milestone for many parents. It was the start of another school year. It meant sending kids off for the first time or maybe it meant moving them up to another level of education.

I’ve observed all of it in a different way.

This is the first year I don’t have a child to send off to school. I had to buy no supplies or sign endless miles of back to school paperwork. I didn’t think of back to school clothes or what I needed to have on hand for lunches. My alarm didn’t go off getting me moving to make sure everyone would be up and on time for the bus. No teacher conferences or meetings that drone on forever.

Maybe, I should’ve shed a tear or two over it. I’ve had children in school for more years than I can count now so I’m ready to move on.

I say all that… but…. my kids aren’t really done with their education. I had two head out for college. One, in his second year. The other, back to Freshman status again.

They bought their own supplies. They figured out what they wanted to wear to school. They are adults so they are responsible to sign off on their own paperwork. They get themselves going and figure out what time they need to leave.

It’s all very….. wonderful.

On the other side, my grandson started school. How can this be? This pains my heart as much as when my little ones went off to school. I watch my adult son now contend with all the years of schooling in front of him while I silently ponder, wasn’t it just yesterday, I was holding his little hand walking down the big hall way?

Ok before I go and get all crazy sappy on you…..

One thing that goes hand in hand with school no matter the age, is food. There will be lots of lunches packed and prepared in households with schools arrival.

Lunch boxes will be purchased with the anticipation of what will go in them. ( I can still remember that new plastic smell of a new lunch box)

Let’s take a moment to admire them all fresh, clean, and unscratched.

They will never be like that again once they leave your house 😉

It was a HUGE deal every year, my kids picking out their special lunch box. Of course, by the time they hit high school, it was a bonus if they managed to toss a random assortment of food into a plastic bag before they flew out the door.

Needless to say, over the course of the years, with many kids, I had quite a few lunches at school with them. It was a treat to have your parent come eat with you… well.. for awhile.. until they wanted to pretend like they… had no parents.

The lunch selections that were revealed by their young peers were often, interesting.

There would be the standard cafeteria fare which my kids often begged to eat but were quickly disappointed when they had it.

My oldest pleaded with me to let him eat the spaghetti they were serving the next day.

He was in maybe 5th grade at the time. Why not? I let him. I already knew what to expect when he came home that next day.

“That spaghetti was gross! It was nothing like yours! I’m never eating stuff at school again!”

I figured I’d let him make his own conclusions that the school spaghetti would be Chef-Boyardee from a can and not the homemade variety he only knew.

Many children come with a healthy balance of foods in their cute boxes or bags. The treats were often devoured first, followed by the second better option, with the healthier things being at the bottom of the consumed list.

I remember one child plopping down across from me ( they are always so excited when a parent is there… any parent… you automatically adopt a table load of kids 😛 ) she dumped her lunch on the table and it was nothing but a bag of various sweet items.

I tried not to look horrified. I may have failed miserably in the attempt.

I choked out… ” Wow, that’s an interesting lunch” to which the child smiled at me and said “I made it myself!”

I’d certainly hope so. I wondered if the mom had any clue what her child had assembled for lunch that day.

With school beginning and lunches packed, as parents we will make efforts to offer our kids tasty, portable meals that will hopefully sustain them through a busy, active day.

With childhood obesity at an all time high, we need to be mindful of the foods we provide for our kids, in our home, as well as what they will take to school 5 days a week.

One of my sons teases me about being in school and that he was the kid dragging out a water bottle to drink while the other kids had “juice” boxes. ( Note, many of these are nothing more than sweetened drinks with a nod of “juice” in them) and he had cut up apples while no one else would eat fruit.

Of course he goes on to say I split Oreos in half… haha… he is the most… “dramatic” child I have.

I reminded him he got the whole Oreo 😉

Hey, all I can say is I tried as a parent to offer the best foods to them I could.

Our kids can only eat foods we provide for them. We are responsible for the foods we bring home to them. If there is limited junk/sweet/treat foods they won’t be able to eat them. We need to stop thinking chips/cookies/donuts/muffins/crackers/sodas etc are a necessary food group. If we teach them that healthy whole foods are tasty from an early age they won’t have a problem taking them in lunches.

Healthy tips/suggestions for lunches

~ If you want to send “juice” boxes, read the label to make sure they are juice or are labeled as such. Many proclaim to be but only offer a tiny percentage while the rest is sweetened water. If the first ingredient is “high fructose corn syrup” look for something else.

~ It really is ok for them to take water in their lunch too. You can buy small mini bottles to fit in boxes.

~ Offer whole grain breads over white bread.

~ Baby carrots or other veggies are often a fun snack. Include a small container with some dressing if your child likes that.

~ Prepare fruits or veggies to make them easier to eat.

~ Protein foods will keep their tummies full feeling. Cheese sticks, hard boiled eggs, yogurts all are good protein sources and easily portable.

~ Don’t underestimate the nutritional value of a good peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Peanut butter is nutritious, filling, and a great healthy eating option. It offers 8 grams of protein for 2 tablespoons

~ Opt for whole wheat crackers and breads

~ Milk can be purchased at school which is often colder and more palatable than if it comes from home in a thermos or container. Yikes.. the days of warm milk….

~ Sweet treats are fun and kids enjoy them. Just limit the amount that goes into their lunches. Excessive treats take away from the actual idea of having “a” treat.

~ Consider making roll ups with turkey and cheese in whole grain tortillas instead of using bread.

~ Individual fruit cups are less perishable, look for ones without added sugar.

Our children have busy, active days at school learning, playing and constantly moving. Make sure the bulk of their calories are nutritious and filling to give them energy for their entire day.

Do you have any lunch box tips or tricks for healthier eating ?

Brown-Bag_Healthy-Back-to-School-Lunches

Food Vs. Supplements

Sticking-to-Whole-Foods-vs-Supplements-in-Your-Everyday-Diet-765x510

Commercials. If there’s one thing they are designed for it’s to sell you on the product at hand. To convince you that your life will be better with it. They want to make you spend your money on it.

You name it, nothing seems to be off limits anymore. One has caught my eye several times for an anti-aging skin care product… not because I put much stock in products that promote that. The cream supposedly has blackberry extracts to contribute to keeping a young look.

Of course my first thought was… why not just eat those suckers instead of using a cream that may have a touch of blackberry extract in it? They are a staple in my food consumption almost every day… I think it’s better eating them than slathering them on my eyes…

Blackberries are loaded with Vitamin C with a serving at 3.5 oz, offering 35% of the daily allowance, that serving is only 43 calories, and they are an excellent source of soluble and insoluble fiber. A serving offers 5.3 grams of fiber. This humble fruit is also loaded with all kinds of vitamins and minerals and antioxidant properties. These antioxidant compounds protect against aging, inflammation, cancer and other neurological diseases…their dark color is a sign of their high antioxidant content.

Now back to the skin care with blackberries being marketed as an anti-aging cream.

If blackberries are loaded with so many good things in such a tiny package, and are a huge anti-aging food, you should be eating them up and not just slathering a bit of cream on your skin that may have miniscule amounts in it.

You’ve heard that saying you are what you eat? Nourish your body from the inside out.

There’s a huge market right now for supplements and health products on the market. They all offer a replacement option to the actual thing… real food.

Vitamins. Minerals. Health aids. Probiotics. Protein powders. Colorful drinks. Meal “replacements”.

That’s my favorite. I don’t want a meal “replacement”.

I want real food, thank you.

This, that and the other. So many things vying for your attention and your money… mainly…. your money.

A quick stroll down the health and supplement aisle will have you believing you need these products to be healthy because well, you know, eating balanced, nutritious food just isn’t enough to keep you healthy, vital and energetic. Certainly you are lacking something…so take a supplement. Use our drink. Take this pill.

We’ve had this pushed at us for so long, we’ve started to buy into it…literally.

One of the biggest markets right now has to be with protein/supplements/shakes/add in’s etc.

Often people purchase thinking they need it, especially if they are spending time in the gym. I mean, isn’t that just a part of it? Like lifting, sweating, making gains.. you MUST be chugging down protein?

OK first… a quick look at what whey protein is

Milk is made up of two proteins, casein and whey.

Whey protein can be separated from the casein in milk or formed as a by-product of cheese making. Whey protein is considered a complete protein as it contains all 9 essential amino acids. It is low in lactose content.

This is what you see mostly in the aisles of stores.

Whey protein is used for weight loss and to help protect and build muscles.

If you use it, it should in balance too. Over doing on protein supplements can cause health issues such as stomach pains, cramps, reduced appetite, nausea, headache and fatigue.

A friend recently sent me a story of a young woman who was training and working on building her body for fitness competitions. She evidently lived on a pretty steady diet of protein supplements/drinks/high protein diet etc.

She was found unresponsive in her home and later died. Evidently she had a rare genetic disorder that stopped her body from breaking down protein properly. This caused ammonia to build up in her blood and an accumulation of fluid in her brain. Unfortunately, this isn’t really tested for and only found after her death.

I know you’re sitting there thinking… “well, this is a rare thing so… people don’t need to really worry about this” …

the fact is, to much of anything isn’t good for us. Our body can only use and process so much protein at a time before the rest of it’s washed out. Excess protein will not make us have more muscles or achieve a better level of fitness.

I love protein and it definitely keeps me satisfied and from feeling hungry. I know it feeds my muscles and helps them to get stronger, and even grow a little. My protein comes from food sources, although, after long endurance workouts when my appetite is not there, I will use one for recovery just to get some carbs and protein in until my appetite returns.

People are “sold” on the idea that food isn’t enough. Or if a supplement/vitamin/ drink is good, more should be better.

We are bombarded with products in the store, online, and even what our neighbor is pedaling that is supposed to help us fix all of our ills ( which we don’t even know we have till we get the product to miraculously cure them all) There are a few out there that are promising to “cure’ more and more things. Just note, I’ve seen new fine print that says it’s not FDA approved and that its not to prevent, cure or treat diseases)

Once again I’ll say this, our bodies are made in a beautiful balanced way, needing just a certain amount of vitamins and minerals for optimal health. To much of one thing could be enough to make you sick or throw off another vitamin or mineral in your body.

And don’t be lead astray by companies trying to sell you on the idea you’re “lacking” something and need to take their product. The only way you know you’re deficient in something is usually through the doctor after having lab work done. And if you are worried about something, talk to your health care professional!

Case in point… last year my husband had labs done and was found to be deficient in Vitamin D. Yes, he has been using a supplement with his nutrition to get his levels where they need to be.

Don’t be led astray that you “need” something without any evidence for it.

So here’s the deal…

good quality, nutritious food IS enough.

It is enough to give your body daily fuel, sustain it for workouts, your daily activities, and help you build a stronger more fit body if that’s your goal.

When you cut out non-essential foods that don’t contribute to your health and fitness goals and focus on eating nutritionally balanced foods, your body will respond, especially when you add in a good healthy dose of exercise.

So many of the problems we deal with today can be improved on with better nutrition, getting the non-essential foods and drinks out, exercising more and maintaining a healthy weight.

You don’t need supplements, shakes, drinks, potions or anything else to build a healthy body. We need to be careful about extra things we put in it lest we throw off the perfect, beautiful, balance that its naturally made to operate in.

Do you or have you used supplements ? Do you feel they helped you? Have you ever felt like you just had to go along with what was currently popular?