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Showing posts with label nutrition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nutrition. Show all posts

I love to SHOP

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Hello All,
Sorry for the long gap between post, but May has been a busy month, but the summer is right around the corner!!!
I love grocery shopping, I can spend hours, just browsing the isles. Here are some tips to remember when shopping.

Key points to remember before heading to the store:

Extra calories added to traditional foods, with the invention of high fructose corn syrup in 1970, this cheaper alternative is being added to food from anything to ketchup to some whole wheat breads…is cheaper, has a longer shelf life and it can be incorporated to foods that never received sugar treatments. Look at your food labels and if you see this as a top 3 ingredient, STAY AWAY. It's SUGAR

Time bombs, trans fats,… a generation ago it was hard for manufacturers to create baked goods that would last on store shelves, most baked goods require oils and oil leaks at room temperature…so since 1960s manufacturers had been baking and restaurants have been frying with trans fats…trans fat is cheap and effective. It makes potatoes chips crispier and cookies tastier…it also lets fry cooks make pound after pound of fries without smoking up their kitchens . But Trans fats increases your bad cholesterol, lowers your good cholesterol and greatly increases your risk for heart disease.

Animals we eat aren’t as healthy, as they used to be. The average piece of chicken has 266% more fat than it did in 1971, while it’s protein content has dropped by a third….mainly because chickens aren’t roaming and are being kept in cages and fed antibiotic laced soy-corn and other unnatural foods…so if this is happening to the food we eat, what is it doing to us! So if possible, look for organic meat or "naturally raised"
Rules when shopping at the grocery store:

1. Work the edges, in general the healthiest foods in the store is found along that walls…the dairy case, produce, and meats/seafood. The inner isles can be a nutritional dead zone with boxes, bags, and cans of highly processed foods.
2. Look high and low. One reason why good foods at the store can be harder to find, is because the big food companies overwhelm most smaller companies. Most big manufactures pay a slotting fee to have prime placement of their products…where they are easily reachable. So healthier foods typically on the top or bottom shelves.
3. More packaging=less nutrition. The closer you get to the earth the better. The process of shipping, cooking, refining, and packaging foods all helps strip out essential nutrients, leading to empty calories.
4. Learn the lingo. Differences between whole grain and multi grain.
5. Fewer the ingredients the healthier the food. Read labels
6. Watch the ingredients on the food label…listing in order of abundance.
Picking the produce that is in season…cheaper and better quality

Break out of Breakfast's Mold

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Everyone know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day right???????

But a lot of people rarely eat breakfast. it could be because of lack of time, but mainly lack of preparation. Not only does breakfast give you fuel to sustain your day, it can also help with any weight loss goals. Here are some of the ways regularly eating a healthy breakfast may help you lose excess weight and maintain your weight loss:

Eating breakfast reduces your hunger later in the day, making it easier to avoid overeating. When you skip breakfast, you may feel ravenous later and be tempted to reach for a quick fix, such as candy from the vending machine. In addition, prolonged fasting — which occurs when you skip breakfast — can increase your body's insulin response, which in turn increases fat storage and weight gain. In fact, skipping breakfast actually increases your risk of obesity.

Eating breakfast gets you on track to make healthy choices all day. People who eat breakfast regularly tend to eat a healthier diet — one that is more nutritious and lower in fat. When you skip breakfast, you're more likely to skip fruits and vegetables the rest of the day too.

Eating breakfast gives you energy, increasing your physical activity during the day. A healthy breakfast refuels your body and replenishes the glycogen stores that supply blood sugar (glucose). Skipping breakfast is associated with decreased physical activity.

Breakfast does not have to be traditional foods every day. It can be anything from waffles to a sandwich. It’s always a good idea to have quick0fix foods on hand or get breakfast foods ready the night before. If you’re running late grab some yogurt, a bagel with peanut butter or some cheese and crackers. Here are some good nutritious quick breakfast ideas:

· Fruit and milk with instant oatmeal
· Iron-fortified cereal with banana slices
· Peanut butter on toasted whole-grain bread, waffle, or tortilla
· Cheese slices melted on whole-grain toast
· Hard-boiled egg sliced on an English muffin
· Apple and cheese slices between whole wheat or graham crackers
· Bran muffin and yogurt topped with berries
· Whole-wheat waffle topped with fruit, nuts and ricotta cheese
Also you can try some of these ideas when you have a little more time:
· Add berries or other fruit to pancake batter. Also try grated/pureed carrots or zucchini work well too
· Try bagel with salsa
· Broil a bagel topped with apple or pear slices, sprinkled with cinnamon and low fat cheese
· Try using mashed avocado as a spread on bread
· Try raw vegetable with a cottage cheese or yogurt dip
· Add diced vegetables to a soft tortilla to make a breakfast quesadilla or burrito
· Add diced vegetables to an English muffin to make a veggie pizza
· Bake or steam an apple or pear
Try these recipes…they work great with kids too

Banana Dog or burrito

Whole wheat bun or tortilla, peanut butter, flax seed, banana, and jam
Spread peanut butter on bun or tortilla, sprinkle with flax seed, topped with a whole banana and a little jam on top.

Ready-To-Go Smoothie

Fruit, yogurt, Ziploc bags, milk, and juice
Measure ½ cup of your favorite fruit and ½ cup of yogurt, and spoon into an individual Ziploc bag. Place in the freezer. The next morning grab a bag, put it in a blender with ½ cup of milk and ½ cup of juice and blend until smooth.
A few fruit combos to try are: bananas and blueberries, banana yogurt and pineapple-orange-banana juice; strawberries and bananas with strawberry yogurt and orange juice; or raspberries and blueberries with vanilla yogurt and cranberry juice.

I LOVE to Cook

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Hi Guys,

If you know me, you know I love to cook!! I don't do it as often as I would like, but Ima do better, since I want to be on Food Network on day. Here is a new recipe that I tried and liked it. It may seem like an odd combination, but try it out or try to modify it

Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!

Thai Curry Shrimp


1 tablespoon chile oil or vegetable oil
1 item scallion, sliced (including tops)
1 cup low-fat, low-sodium chicken
2 cup cubed sweet potatoes or white potatoes
3/4 pound large, shelled, deveined shrimp.
2 teaspoon lime juice.
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
1 1/2 tablespoon red Thai curry paste
2 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup light coconut milk



In skillet, heat oil until hot. Sauté scallion, about 1 minute. Stir in curry paste. Whisk in coconut milk and broth; bring to simmer. Add potatoes; cook, partially covered, until tender, about 10 minutes. Add shrimp, lime juice, peas and chopped cilantro. Simmer until shrimp are opaque and cooked through, about 3 minutes. Serve with couscous or rice. Garnish with sliced scallion, lime wedges and cilantro. Yields 4-5 servings


Nutritional Information
Per serving: 238 calories, 23 grams carbohydrate, 126 milligrams cholesterol, 9 grams fat, 18 grams protein, 242 milligrams sodium.

Let me know if you like it!!!

Sugar, Sugar, Sugar

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Sugar, Sugar, Sugar…

Today I had my first “regular” soda in a long time. After not eating any sweetened foods for over a month, it was like that first drink to a recovering alcoholic, I couldn’t get enough of it… and then I crashed 15 minutes later. I was sitting at my desk staring at the wall

This led me to really understand the effect that sugar has on our body. Most food has carbohydrates in them, and our body NEEDS carbohydrates to survive. They provide the fuel needed to sustain all bodily functions. Yet all sugar isn’t the same. There are complex carbs and refined carbs. The refined carbohydrates are white sugars, high fructose corn syrup, and added sugars in many processed foods. These carbs are easily digested, so they are released into the bloodstream quickly, but once they’re gone, they’re gone. Unlike complex carbs like whole grain and oatmeal that make our body work to digest them, so the sugar that is in them is released slowly, keeping your blood sugar regulated and not causing the crash effect that refined sugars cause.
Many of us who try to stay away from refined carbs in our foods still may be getting them in your drinks during the day….
Our recommended daily intake of these refined sugars is 40g. Look at the list below of some common drinks, and see if you are going over this during your day…


A-Coke: 20 ounces 65 grams of Carbohydrate, 13 Teaspoons
B- McDonald’s Sweet Tea: 32 ounces 59 grams of Carbohydrate, 12 Teaspoons
C- Gatorade: 12 ounces 22 grams of Carbohydrate, 4 ½ Teaspoons
D- Welch’s 100% Grape Juice: 10 ounces 53 grams of carbohydrate, 11 Teaspoons
E- Starbuck’s Tall Nonfat Caramel Macciato: 12 ounces 25 grams of Carbohydrates, 5 teaspoons
1 teaspoon = ~5 grams
Recommended daily intake of added sugar is 40 grams or 8 teaspoons based on a 2000 calorie per day diet

Super Charged...

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Everybody is super busy, with work, families, meetings, etc.
By the end of the day are you drained or do you even burn out by 1pm LOL

Well busy days need fuel to help you thru the day. We can drink a red bull or 5hr energy and try to make it thru. After you take these supplements you get a burst of energy and then you will eventually crash and crash hard. I had a regular soda (grape; my coworker was trying to kill me LOL), and I was going a mile a minute for about an hour and then I came down off of the sugar/caffeine high. It was not pleasant; I was just sitting at my desk staring at the wall. If this happens to you, stop relying on energy drinks to get you thru your day. Below are some energy boosting foods, for you to try. The foods are simple and common, but the combination of certain food groups gives your body the boost it needs, without the crash.

Lentil Soup and a salad: try an 8oz. bowl of lentil soup, whole wheat roll, and a side salad with a light dressing (vinaigrettes are great). This combo contains 490 calories, 14 grams of protein, 17 grams of fat, and 13 grams of fiber. It work to boost energy because of the veggies and beans are high in fiber and protein with will keep you full and energized. Broth-based and tomato soups by themselves won’t keep you full, so aim for something heartier like chili.


Whole Wheat Pasta with Broccoli, beans and cheese: Mix 1 cup whole wheat penne pasta, 1oz feta cheese, ½ cup cannellini beans, 1 cup chopped broccoli, with 2 tsp. of olive oil. This contains 480 calories, 19 grams protein, 19 grams fat, 13 grams fiber. The fiber/protein combo is the pasta is the ultimate energy lunch. The body digests whole wheat pasta slower than white pasta, which will help avoid afternoon fatigue.


Peanut butter and Banana Sandwich: Spread 2 tbsp. peanut butter on whole wheat bread with a sliced banana. This contains 511 calories, 25 grams protein, 19 grams fat, 8 grams fiber. Use no sugars added peanut butter and add 8oz. of skim milk. This can be a great midday alternative to the PB&J. The bananas are a good carb source with the benefit of fiber and potassium. This combo with the whole wheat bread will keep you feeling full from 6 grams of fiber and keep your blood sugar at a steady level. The peanut butter and milk provides the needed protein source.

Did you see the pattern with these meal ideas??? High fiber and High protein foods. These foods digest slowly, so your body can have fuel and a steady level for longer. Remember, the ideal lunch should be 400-600 calories with some fiber; at least 20% of food on your plate should be protein; don’t eat more than four hours after you have eaten breakfast, when you delay longer it causes you to over eat.

Happy Lunch All

The most important meal of the day...

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Power Up with Breakfast


Breakfast gives you energy to start the day. A healthy breakfast is important for everyone.
Get the morning nutrition you need with these quick breakfast ideas.



• Make instant oatmeal with milk instead of water. Mix in raisins or dried cranberries. Top with chopped walnuts.
• Layer low-fat yogurt with your favorite crunchy cereal and sliced fruit or berries.
• Mix up a breakfast smoothie made with low-fat milk, frozen strawberries and a banana.
• Top a bowl of whole-grain cereal with blueberries, sliced peaches or any favorite fruit. Pour on low-fat or fat-free milk.
• Top a toaster waffle with low-fat yogurt and fruit.
• Stuff a whole-wheat pita with a sliced, hard-cooked egg and low-fat shredded cheese.
• Spread a flour tortilla with peanut butter. Add a whole banana and roll it up.
• Spread almond butter on a whole-grain toasted bagel. Top with apple slices.
• Add lean ham and low-fat Swiss cheese to a toasted whole-grain English muffin.

If your taste buds just don’t crave breakfast foods, try these:
• Peanut butter and banana sandwich on whole-grain bread
• Leftover veggie pizza
• Deli turkey, a slice of low-fat cheese and lettuce wrapped in a tortilla

5 A DAY

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5 a day…

How many of us eat fruit and vegetables on a daily basis??? You would be surprised to know that most Americans don’t. American more than any other countries eat a diet of mainly meat, starchy foods, and lots of refined sugars; causing major chronic diseases and obesity. Fruits and Vegetables have vitamins and minerals that can help protect your health. We all have heard the great information about fruits and vegetable, but still aren’t getting them into our diet daily…
Here are some tips to get your 5 a day:


· Try Something NEW- add fruits and veggies to favorite dishes, like shredded veggies to meatloaf or adding pureed vegetables to brownies or muffins

· All forms of fruits and Vegetables count- using frozen, canned, dried and 100% fruit juices count towards your 5 a day- frozen berries can make a great smoothie or as a cereal topping, canned beans can add color and variety to a salad, dried fruit can serve as a snack on the go…


· Shop Smart- planning meal in advance can help reduce waste and spoilage of fresh items. In the store look for pre-cut fruits and veggies and pre washed salads

There are over 300 varieties of veggies alone, so it should be hard to find something new and delicious that you would eat.
Also remember that VARIETY do matter, the varitey of colors provides different range of nutrients and antioxidents.

It's Easy...

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25Ways to cut calories…
Losing weight is easy (I know yeah right), it’s as simple as burning more calories than you take in. This does sound easy in theory, but you can cut calories in common food daily


Here are some ways to cut 100 calories from common foods: