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Archive for the ‘Healthy Food’ Category

I remember learning “Beans, Beans, The Musical Fruit,” while driving in our old red and white van. When my mother complained about my sister and I learning songs with people “tooting,” my father promised we wouldn’t remember. Now, thirty years later, I remember.

In my parent’s home, I grew up on steak and noodles; it was a favorite and eaten regularly. As an adult, I follow a vegetarian diet and avoid refined carbohydrates. It’s likely I’ll never eat my favorite childhood dinner again, and I’m perfectly okay with that.

Instead of both of those former favorites I now enjoy: Beans.

I love beans and lentils, and I’ll share how to make one of easiest and best tasting bean dishes I’ve ever had. This dish is incredibly delicious and full of protein. In addition, once you know that it takes one thousand gallons of water to produce just one pound of beef, or worse, that many animals used for consumption these days have cancer and tumors, you’ll understand that why using this dish often will benefit both your body and the environment.

One of the best things about bean dishes is that there are so many different kinds of beans, and they all taste different. The recipe I’ll share will work with just about any type of bean or lentil, but my favorites are red lentils and black-eyed-peas. Red lentils are delicious and because they only take about fifteen minutes to prepare, they are a wonderful fast meal and a perfect pasta replacement. Black-eyed-peas take a bit longer, about forty minutes, but when you’re eating them, you’ll know exactly why you waited.

Because I’m big on easy food preparation, you’ll just need a couple of things to make this simple dish.

The first is coconut oil, which if you’re not cooking with coconut oil regularly, you should be. Coconut oil is full of medium chain fatty acids, which offer remarkable health benefits. Coconut oil is known to kill cancer cells, be anti-bacteria, and contrary to popular belief, coconut oil actually works to prevent heart troubles. On top of that short summary of the benefits of coconut oil, coconut oil is the only oil that can stand the heat of cooking without creating free radicals. Plus, it’s delicious.

The second item needed is sea salt, which is very different than traditional table salt. Unprocessed sea salt is full of minerals – which most people are deplete in – and is structurally different than standard table salt, which the body sees as toxic. So, if you haven’t made the switch yet at your table, now’s a perfectly good time to do so.

The third is fresh sage. Like many herbs, sage protects against cancer, has anti-bacterial properties, and is absolutely delicious. Now, you’ll need your beans or lentils and purified water and that’s it.

So, this is what you’ll do with all of it…

Add a teaspoon or two of coconut oil to your pot. Heat it up, and tear up and add 5-7 large fresh sage leaves per large serving of prepared beans or lentils you plan to make. Let the sage saut

Some of the biggest excuses I hear about healthy eating, be it for health reasons, or to lose weight or gain muscle are – “healthy food doesn’t taste good,” (which is a serious problem because if your food doesn’t taste good, it’s very unlikely you’ll stick to the plan) “it takes too long to prepare healthy food”, and, “it’s too complicated.” These excuses are usually the result of thinking you need to slave over a hot stove preparing 6 course meals all day long. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Excuse #1 Healthy food is bland food

First off, the reality is that healthy foods aren’t the one to blame; it’s the cook who’s at fault. Healthy foods don’t have to be boring, or taste bad. Foods like rice cakes taste like cardboard because that’s what rice cakes taste like, not because all healthy foods do

The belief that healthy food doesn’t taste good will slow down your progress. Healthy food is like high performance race fuel for your body, while junk food laden with salt, sugar, fats, preservatives and the like are nothing more than camouflaged candy. You can say healthy food helps you perform like an Indy car, or a jet fighter, and junk food gives you the performance of a garbage truck! If you insist on eating junk and avoiding healthy food because “it taste’s bad,” don’t expect to win any races or competitions anytime soon.

Another point to keep in mind is the following, expensive restaurants don’t serve Big Macs – notice I didn’t say burgers. They have burgers alright; one’s made with top quality beef, nutritious bread and piles of veggies.

A tasty menu will actually make you look forward to your meals, and that’s critical.

You might be able to eat a bad meal every now or then and brush it off, but do you think you could do that every day? How about 4, 5, 6 even 7 times a day? Probably not unless you were in a POW camp and didn’t have a choice.

Simply put, tastier food makes it easier to stick to your nutritional plan. Stick to your nutritional plan long enough and it’ll become a lifestyle. By making it a lifestyle you’ll reap the benefits from eating healthy only gained from “sticking to the plan” for the long haul. Sticking to a healthy lifestyle for the long haul means your results will stick with YOU for the long haul – and I’d bet it’s safe to say that’s what you want.

Kirsten Hawkins, nutrition and health expert writes: “One of the biggest reasons that people slip off their diets and eating plans is BOREDOM. It’s very easy to look at the foods allowed on your diet and see it as restrictive and boring. Chicken four nights a week. Fish three times a week. Green leafy vegetables till they’re coming out of your ears. Who wouldn’t get bored? The answer is – anyone with a good set of cookbooks and a healthy imagination. Perk up your cabinet with spices and fill your refrigerator with fresh fruits and vegetables, then look for novel ways to combine them.”

Excuse #2 I don’t have the time to prepare healthy food

You may be saying to yourself “that’s great but I don’t have the time to cook.” The truth is neither do I, at least not 5 or 6 times a day. However, I do have time to cook once a day and will usually prepare multiple meals at a time.

Once you realize that most healthy foods don’t take much longer than unhealthy foods you’ll find you’ll have time for it too.

Most times it’s just as fast and even quicker. Usually you can take the same recipes and replace the ingredients with healthier choices. For example, swap medium ground beef for extra lean, butter with olive oil, brown rice for white, and presto, you have a healthy meal. It also helps to experiment with different types of foods and try things you are unfamiliar with.

Excuse #3 Too complicated

It’s also not that complicated. You don’t need to spend hours seasoning and boiling down dishes. The great thing is that healthy meals tend to be simple dishes that use easy to learn cooking methods.

Toni Tanner Scott, Personal Chef and Cooking Coach, writes, “To support your healthy eating plan, stock your pantry wisely, focusing on the kinds of cuisine you and your family prefer. Start with the basics: good olive oil, reduced fat/sodium broth, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, dry beans and lentils. Then if you particularly enjoy Tex-Mex, add good chili powder, cumin, and oregano and tomato paste. If Asian fare is always favorite, keep low sodium soy sauce, ginger and sesame oil on hand, along with longer grain rice… you’ll always be able to whip up a fabulous meal with some fresh lean meat and vegetables.”

All of this healthy good eating will cause you to feel and look better, which will make you want to stick to the plan even more. Also, consistently eating healthy and balanced meals that meet your caloric requirement will provide you the fuel you need to push yourself to higher levels and maximize the returns from each workout. You will also recuperate better and quicker from your workouts which means you’ll be in the gym sooner and reaching your goals faster.

If you’re serious about your health, your looks, your mental wellbeing, making the most out of the time you spend in the gym and actualizing your true potential, fueling your body is a top priority.

And it all starts with a tasty menu based on a rock solid nutrition plan and a proven system that will get you there.

Eating Time!

Learn the basics of cooking.

You really don’t need more than the basics, and they are very quick and easy to pick up.

Use the best ingredients you can get

Use fresh ingredients when you cook it’ll make your foods taste much better. Even the best chef in the world would be hard pressed to make a tasty meal with old, wilted and stale ingredients.

Stay away from wilted fruits and veggies, and make sure the colors are bright and/or clear.

While fresh organic whole foods are my first choice, using pre cut or pre mixed fruits and veggies, like a salad mix, is ok when you’re short on time.

As a rule of thumb, don’t use anything that has a strong odor or has a cloudy color.

Fresh fish doesn’t have a strong “fishy smell”. If it does, it’s more than likely going, if not already, bad. Same goes for other meats, stay away from strong odors.

Leftovers with a purpose

Cooking in bulk, i.e. making leftovers on purpose is a great way to keep the fridge or freezer stocked with ready to eat foods and meals.

Eating vegetables is good for you. But the way you prepare them can destroy most of the nutrients your body craves. Some vitamins and minerals can be sensitive to heat from cooking. Microwaving is not the preferred method as it has not yet been determined how microwaving effects nutrients.

Carrots: Steam carrots. Studies have shown that cooked carrots have higher antioxidant levels than raw carrots. Steaming them for five minutes or less will supply you with that vitamin A and beta-carotene, both good for your vision.

Green Beans: Steam green beans. Keep green beans colorful and antioxidant rich by steaming them for up to five minutes. Riboflavin (vitamin B2) which helps your body produce energy, is light sensitive, so cover the pot when steaming. Steaming them too long will cause them to be limp and not very flavorful, plus some of the nutrients will be lost.

Cauliflower: Saute cauliflower. Suggestion – saute the florets in vegetable or chicken broth for up to five minutes.

Corn: Steaming corn is the preferred method for delicious, healthy corn. Many people have a tendency to overcook corn or corn on the cob. Five minutes is perfect.

Broccoli: Steam broccoli. Steaming broccoli for under five minutes will preserve the antioxidants that protect heart disease and cancer.

Spinach: Boil spinach. Spinach is rich in calcium and vitamin K. Boiling spinach helps release oxalic acid, which makes food taste bitter and may interfere with your bodys’ ability to absorb some nutrients. Boil spinach uncovered for about one minute.

Enjoy your vegetables! To your health!

You can cure your skin problem with natural acne cures. There is no need to resort to expensive over-the-counter products. Did you know that there are extremely healthy foods that make acne worse? Your health-conscious diet could be causing your breakouts.

These are the most dangerous foods because they are hiding behind the mask of healthiness. If you are prone to acne breakouts you need to stay away from these bad healthy foods.

Bananas

Bananas are high in sugar. That’s why they are so delicious. They also are high potasium and some vitamins. They truly are a healthy food. But, because they are high in sugar they will cause an insulin surge which leads to inflammation and acne. If you are looking for natural acne cures, then stay away from bananas, or at least reduce your consumption.

Corn

Just like peas, corn is high in sugar and is therefore an enemy of clear skin, even though in many ways corn is healthy. One of these reasons corn is so delicious is because it is sweet. Corn is loaded with natural sugars which raise insulin levels thereby causing acne. Until you get through your acne stage, stay away from corn.

Dried Fruit

Most fruit, though not all, is safe if you eat just a piece at a time. Eating too much fruit will give you a blast of sugar which will set off the inflammation process leading to acne. Dried fruit is bad for acne because just about everything has been dried out of it except the sugar. Dried fruit is essentially a lump of sugar. Eating just a few pieces can give you a surge of sugar, thereby raising insulin and starting inflammation process. stay away from dried fruits.

Granola

Natural cures for acne, you may have noticed, involving reducing your consumption of sugar. Here’s another food to avoid due to sugar. Most people looking for a health breakfast option turn to granola. I do. Too bad it’s usually loaded with sugar. This truly healthy food will send your blood sugar to the skies, thereby releasing a blast of insulin and setting off the inflammation process leading to your new pimples in a day or two.

Cheese

Cheese is so delicious and healthy. Lots of calcium and vitamins makes this food a health food favorite. To bad it too sets off the inflammation process which causes us to break out with acne all over our faces.

Many think that using natural acne cures means not eating the foods you like. That is not completely true. First try reducing the intake of these kinds of foods until you see your skin clearing up. You may find that your body can handle a certain amount of these foods without causing breakouts.

If you are a person who concerns about health, healthy food should be in your family’s daily menu. For your today’s menu, why don’t you cook something delicious with probiotics contents and have many health benefits to reduce cancer risk, good for diabetic diets, lower cholesterol, boost immune system, and even help weight loss program? ‘Is there one single food that have all those benefits?’ Yes, that is tempeh, a traditional food made from fermented soybean!

In my country, Indonesia, tempeh has been our traditional food from maybe hundreds of years ago. We can find tempeh in almost all markets, even in small villages. Tempeh has been a part of our life. Whether we cook for daily meals (served with rice), or when we have a fine dining in restaurants, we can always find tempeh. It is because tempeh can be processed into many delicious foods. But not as many of its health benefits!

Probiotics
Tempeh is one of many probiotics food sources. Rhizopus Oligosporus, good bacteria contained in tempeh, produces natural antibiotic that inhibits some harmful bacteria. Rhyzopus can also improve your intestinal digestion health, as well as your skin health, from atopic dermatitis, pimples, cellulitis, etc. On the other hand, the fermentation process that change whole soybeans into tempeh, produces an enzyme called phytase. This enzyme can break down phytate acid, and therefore increase body absorption of minerals like iron, calcium, and zinc. Good news for you who have anemia, as tempeh is also claimed of having 4mg iron/100 gram!

High Protein – Low Calories
Tempeh, being processed from soybeans, becomes a high protein food, even highest among other plant foods. Daily consumption of 166 gram tempeh contributes around 60% of our protein daily needs. And with the fact that tempeh has less than 329 calories, it is safe to assume that tempeh can be your perfect choice of healthy food!

As a plant protein source, tempeh can provide healthy diet for diabetes mellitus patient too. Diabetic people can use tempeh as a substitute of animal protein foods like milk and meat.

Isoflavone
Now you can get many healthy benefits of isoflavone from tempeh, which is including :

From now into the new year, it’s one long holiday season. As well as giving thanks, sharing, and caring, it also means food and more food. Groan…..

Not the best time for a food gift basket, you say? Well, if you have someone on your list who needs special foods or is dieting, it’s the perfect time. From ‘heart healthy’ and sugar-free to kosher or organic, there are many healthful choices out there. Your thoughtfulness would be even more appreciated at a time when they are tempted by so many ‘no-no’ foods.

Myself, I juggle the dietary requirements for several health problems, including diabetes. For the diabetic on your list, there is the Sugar Free Smiles: Diet & Health Gift Basket, a sugar free assortment of cheese, crackers, cookies, candies, and snacks. For your gourmet diabetic, the Gourmet Sugar Free Gift Basket sounds particularly mouth-watering. A rectangular, natural and blue willow basket with wooden handles is filled with goodies such as Sugar Free Go Lightly Lemon Ice Tea Candy, sugar free jelly beans, Sugar Free Peanut Butter Truffle Bar, Lazzaroni Classic Italian Sugar Free Cookies, Petite Beurre Sugar Free Biscuits, pretzel rods, stone ground mustard, Grissini Original Breadsticks, blue corn tortilla chips, mini corn chips, Verduijn Cheese Waiffers, and Zesty White Cheddar Popcorn. A ceramic mug is included.

Know a diabetic who also eats kosher? Check out the kosher Gourmet Sugar-Free Gift Baskets. The Chatila brand products are Kosher Certified. These baskets are custom gift wrapped and include a holiday card with a personal message.

If they are just generally health-conscious, the Heart Healthy Gourmet Food Gift Basket with Smoked Salmon sounds delicious and is a sweet deal at 11% off. This basket is adorned with ivy and ribbons and includes a personalized gift message from you. [As I am on a low-sodium diet, I noted that the food items do contain sodium.]

Want to treat your college student to some healthy choices in snacks while they study for those exams before holiday break? At a 15% discount, the “For The Health Of It” Care Package is not only good for them but also good on your budget. A white gloss gift box is packed with Baked Lays Chips, Rold Gold Pretzels, Sun Chips, 100 Calorie Toasted Wheat Thins, 2 packs of 40 calorie Gold Fish crackers, Quaker Oats Chocolate Drizzle rice snacks, and Sun Maid yogurt-covered raisins.

Or for something a little different, consider the Study Buddy Healthy College Student Care Package that combines classical music CDs and healthy snacks to nourish mind and body. You have a choice of ‘Motivation’ or ‘Concentration.’ The Motivation Study Buddy Care Package, packed in a handmade basket, contains a classical music CD ‘to inspire peak performance and instill the enthusiasm your college student needs to complete tasks. The snacks are energizing and will enhance mental focus.’

Whether your recipients have special dietary needs or you just want to promote healthy eating, your holiday gift basket choices are numerous. They are not only ‘good for you’ but temptingly yummy, too.