The idea of a "green smoothie" may not sound appealing at first. But it won't be long before you're addicted to these vitamin/mineral power-packed drinks.
Juicing fruits and vegetables gets the pure essense of the vitamins and minerals from the fruits and vegetables into your system. That is a reason why the smoothie should be consumed within 30 minutes. It's great to start the day as breakfast. You can take it with you in your travel cup in the car.
Here's an easy start:
Banana
Favorite two fruits (cut up to easily blend)
Spinach ( handful, washed and put in blender)
I put the whole peeled banana in the blender. Peel and roughly chop fruit as necessary. You can put strawbeerys, blueberries, etc in whole. Add some filtered water. I also add crushed ice. Blend and drink. How easy is that.
Be sure to use your freshest fruits and veggies. I'm also starting to experiement wtih frozen veggies as these are also next to fresh because they are usually flash frozen fresh.
To start, get one of those large bags of spinach. Get bananas which are full of potassium. I don't like bananas too much by themselves but they add the smooth quality to the smoothie that makes it like a milkshake. Get used to these combinations, finding out your desired fruit to veggie ratio. Then experiment using an additional vegetable. Next, try new fruits and veggies!
Let me know how it goes!
Monday, August 30, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Big Belly Syndrome
I read an interesting article today about the dangers of having a big belly. It's particularly dangerous the older you get. Apparently, having a large waist will take up to 10 years off of your life. That's pretty sobering as a majority of Americans are considered to be obese.
I don't happen to have a tape measure right now or I'd do a quick measurement of my waistline. Of course I wouldn't post the results on this blog, but I would share if I was "worried" or not at the results. I realize that I'd be in good company if I was. However, as I continue to develop more conscious eating habits, the problem is quickly fading away.
Too many people that have the Big Belly Syndrome and don't know what to do about it. Let me give you a hint about why stomach fat occurs. (By the way, let me put in the disclaimer that I don't know if there is such as thing as a "Big Belly Syndrome"; I just made it up. But that stomach that sticks out past your breast is what I'm referring to).
Let me give you an example of why this could happen. I just went through a 7 day raw foods cleanse and detox of coffee. In that time, my digestion improved, taste buds became more sensitive, food became a new excitement. It also helped me to get over the cravings for white sugar.
Well, I had company over the weekend and they wanted to try the cakes at the famous Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, so off we go, four of us ordering a slice apiece of the type we each wanted. I thought I was being good because I ate my slice over two days. Well tonight, I have a first hand knowledge of what brings on big belly syndrome - white sugar.
As of tonight my stomach is growing bigger again and I'm so disappointed. All of that hard work seems to have gone down the drain. I guess I have to confess to sneaking some baked potato chips too. Even though baked, it was too much sodium.
All of this white sugar and artificial seasonings is death to a flat stomach. Don't eat these - I tell you, if there's any motivation to get off of white sugar it's to keep a flat stomach.
Well, I immediately went back to watching my eating and getting off of the white sugar with great results. This is an example of why it really pays to be attentive and think "health" prior to stuffing anything into your mouth.
The questions to ask are:
* Is it worth dying 10 years early just to eat sweets?
* Is it worth being sick?
* Is the temporary taste of white sugar worth a big belly?
Now, I know there's more to the problem than just white sugar. Stress plays an big role in the situation along with increasing the cravings for sugary foods. Managing stress is an important part of managing the cravings for sweets. Being aware of stress is a step towards managing it and the effects it has on your eating. For instance, start charting what makes you go for that piece of cake. It's not just because it was Sunday and everyone was around. It was because of the conversations happening that day, the stress of what was coming on Monday and the result of feeling out of control. Right?
Learning to take control of your health means learning to chart behaviors, recognize them and change them. You'll be more aware although it might take some time to realize that real behavioral changes. More later.
I don't happen to have a tape measure right now or I'd do a quick measurement of my waistline. Of course I wouldn't post the results on this blog, but I would share if I was "worried" or not at the results. I realize that I'd be in good company if I was. However, as I continue to develop more conscious eating habits, the problem is quickly fading away.
Too many people that have the Big Belly Syndrome and don't know what to do about it. Let me give you a hint about why stomach fat occurs. (By the way, let me put in the disclaimer that I don't know if there is such as thing as a "Big Belly Syndrome"; I just made it up. But that stomach that sticks out past your breast is what I'm referring to).
Let me give you an example of why this could happen. I just went through a 7 day raw foods cleanse and detox of coffee. In that time, my digestion improved, taste buds became more sensitive, food became a new excitement. It also helped me to get over the cravings for white sugar.
Well, I had company over the weekend and they wanted to try the cakes at the famous Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, so off we go, four of us ordering a slice apiece of the type we each wanted. I thought I was being good because I ate my slice over two days. Well tonight, I have a first hand knowledge of what brings on big belly syndrome - white sugar.
As of tonight my stomach is growing bigger again and I'm so disappointed. All of that hard work seems to have gone down the drain. I guess I have to confess to sneaking some baked potato chips too. Even though baked, it was too much sodium.
All of this white sugar and artificial seasonings is death to a flat stomach. Don't eat these - I tell you, if there's any motivation to get off of white sugar it's to keep a flat stomach.
Well, I immediately went back to watching my eating and getting off of the white sugar with great results. This is an example of why it really pays to be attentive and think "health" prior to stuffing anything into your mouth.
The questions to ask are:
* Is it worth dying 10 years early just to eat sweets?
* Is it worth being sick?
* Is the temporary taste of white sugar worth a big belly?
Now, I know there's more to the problem than just white sugar. Stress plays an big role in the situation along with increasing the cravings for sugary foods. Managing stress is an important part of managing the cravings for sweets. Being aware of stress is a step towards managing it and the effects it has on your eating. For instance, start charting what makes you go for that piece of cake. It's not just because it was Sunday and everyone was around. It was because of the conversations happening that day, the stress of what was coming on Monday and the result of feeling out of control. Right?
Learning to take control of your health means learning to chart behaviors, recognize them and change them. You'll be more aware although it might take some time to realize that real behavioral changes. More later.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Three Ways to Serve One Roasted Chicken
Busy people don't always have a lot of time to cook but eating healthy is even more important when you live a stressful life. To help with this problem, create a few meals using one roasted chicken you can buy at the store or deli. This is an economical way to eat well for one to two people depending on the appetities involved.
Here's the way to get three meals from that one roasted chicken.
First find a supermarket or deli that sells roasted chickens. These are usually about the same cost as an uncooked chicken. Each place seems to do theirs a bit differently. There's only one market in my area that cooks the chickens well enough to not have to keep cooking them once you get them home. You'll have to experiement to find your right source. If you can't find a cooked chicken, you'll have to roast one yourself. This is a simple process but we'll cover that in another post.
Take the cooked chicken home. Usually, I find the chicken still needs some "doctoring" to be ready to eat. Many stores don't cook the chicken well and some of them are very fatty. So I always season and finish cooking the chicken at home.
First, skin the chicken. I've been skinning all of my poultry for decades so the first thing I do is remove the skin. When the chicken is already cooked that's very simple to do. I do this to cut back on the fat and toxins which are held under the skin. If you enjoy the skin, take off the majority and give yourself one bite of skin so you won't feel deprived and end up eating more than you should.
After making the skin decision, you're going to cut the chicken into pieces with the breast, wing, thigh and leg. Season with herbs and spices and put into a baking tray. Use what you have and what you enjoy as flavor. You can also use some marinade such as a barbeque sauce, curry sauce or other sauce or dressing. Using a sauce adds an additional dimension of providing a type of gravy to use if you want to add a starch such as rice. You can spoon the sauce over the rice or potatoes and pull the dish togehter.
Cover the chicken with foil to hold in the moisture and place the dish in the stove at about 350 Degrees. Cook for about 15 to 30 minutes depending on the doneness of the bird. If it was well cooked already, you only need a few minutes to get it warmed up well. If it was still rather raw, cook longer. You might even need more than 30 minutes if it was really raw.
Now you're ready to create your meals.
1. The first meal can be the full pieces. Use one thigh and leg for one serving and one breast and wing for another for a meal for two people If it's only you, that's two meals already. If you created a sauce, spoon this over rice or another starch. Add a green salad and you have a full meal.
2. The second meal will use one breast and the wing meat. Roughly chop the chicken or pull the meat from the bone to put into your salad for the day. Create your Humongous Vegetable Salad (see the prior post for the recipe) and top with the chopped chicken. Sprinkle some nuts and cheese on top if you want. Sprinkle with your favorite dressing. I suggest olive oil and balsamic vinegar or a splash of fresh lemon.
3. Your third meal will be a chicken salad. Take meat from the leg and a thigh and chop well. Add chopped celery, some green onions, parsley and other herbs to taste such as fresh cilantro. Don't worry about being exact. The use of additional vegetables stretches the meal and keeps it from being just asolid protein dish, so use the vegetables and other ingredients that you enjoy. I've also added green or black olives, paparika, and other seasonsings depending on my mood that day. So use what you have and season to taste. Mix everything in a bowl with a low-fat mayonaise or non-fat plain yogurt. Serve as-is, make a sandwich or put into a salad.
There you have it. Three meals from one roasted chicken. Do you have left-overs still because you're cooking for one instead of two people? Here's a few more ideas.
1. Try a chicken omelette. Scamble two eggs, add salt and pepper, fresh herbs. Add chopped chicken, chopped onions or scallions (green onions)and cheese if you want. Feel free to include other fresh veggies if you are so inclinded. Serve this as a breakfast, lunch or dinner. Add a salad or toast.
2. Create a chicken vegetable chili. Open a can of your favorite beans. Rinse the water off which helps take out the sodium and drain the beans in a colander. Heat a bit of olive oil in a skillet. Add onions, chili powder, and other seasonings and spices depending on what you like. You can also add chopped celery and green peppers. Saute until the veggies are a bit soft but not too done. Chop the chicken and add it in so it absorbs the flavors. Add the beans, mix everything in the skillet and heat until the beans are warmed. Adjust spices as needed. Serve while warm in a bowl, add to a corn tortilla as a taco, or use a flour tortilla as a burrito.
3. Just heat up the extra pieces and eat as is!
Keep working with your roasted chicken and you'll start coming up wtih your own ideas about how to use one low-fat roasted chicken to create loads of dishes.
Here's the way to get three meals from that one roasted chicken.
First find a supermarket or deli that sells roasted chickens. These are usually about the same cost as an uncooked chicken. Each place seems to do theirs a bit differently. There's only one market in my area that cooks the chickens well enough to not have to keep cooking them once you get them home. You'll have to experiement to find your right source. If you can't find a cooked chicken, you'll have to roast one yourself. This is a simple process but we'll cover that in another post.
Take the cooked chicken home. Usually, I find the chicken still needs some "doctoring" to be ready to eat. Many stores don't cook the chicken well and some of them are very fatty. So I always season and finish cooking the chicken at home.
First, skin the chicken. I've been skinning all of my poultry for decades so the first thing I do is remove the skin. When the chicken is already cooked that's very simple to do. I do this to cut back on the fat and toxins which are held under the skin. If you enjoy the skin, take off the majority and give yourself one bite of skin so you won't feel deprived and end up eating more than you should.
After making the skin decision, you're going to cut the chicken into pieces with the breast, wing, thigh and leg. Season with herbs and spices and put into a baking tray. Use what you have and what you enjoy as flavor. You can also use some marinade such as a barbeque sauce, curry sauce or other sauce or dressing. Using a sauce adds an additional dimension of providing a type of gravy to use if you want to add a starch such as rice. You can spoon the sauce over the rice or potatoes and pull the dish togehter.
Cover the chicken with foil to hold in the moisture and place the dish in the stove at about 350 Degrees. Cook for about 15 to 30 minutes depending on the doneness of the bird. If it was well cooked already, you only need a few minutes to get it warmed up well. If it was still rather raw, cook longer. You might even need more than 30 minutes if it was really raw.
Now you're ready to create your meals.
1. The first meal can be the full pieces. Use one thigh and leg for one serving and one breast and wing for another for a meal for two people If it's only you, that's two meals already. If you created a sauce, spoon this over rice or another starch. Add a green salad and you have a full meal.
2. The second meal will use one breast and the wing meat. Roughly chop the chicken or pull the meat from the bone to put into your salad for the day. Create your Humongous Vegetable Salad (see the prior post for the recipe) and top with the chopped chicken. Sprinkle some nuts and cheese on top if you want. Sprinkle with your favorite dressing. I suggest olive oil and balsamic vinegar or a splash of fresh lemon.
3. Your third meal will be a chicken salad. Take meat from the leg and a thigh and chop well. Add chopped celery, some green onions, parsley and other herbs to taste such as fresh cilantro. Don't worry about being exact. The use of additional vegetables stretches the meal and keeps it from being just asolid protein dish, so use the vegetables and other ingredients that you enjoy. I've also added green or black olives, paparika, and other seasonsings depending on my mood that day. So use what you have and season to taste. Mix everything in a bowl with a low-fat mayonaise or non-fat plain yogurt. Serve as-is, make a sandwich or put into a salad.
There you have it. Three meals from one roasted chicken. Do you have left-overs still because you're cooking for one instead of two people? Here's a few more ideas.
1. Try a chicken omelette. Scamble two eggs, add salt and pepper, fresh herbs. Add chopped chicken, chopped onions or scallions (green onions)and cheese if you want. Feel free to include other fresh veggies if you are so inclinded. Serve this as a breakfast, lunch or dinner. Add a salad or toast.
2. Create a chicken vegetable chili. Open a can of your favorite beans. Rinse the water off which helps take out the sodium and drain the beans in a colander. Heat a bit of olive oil in a skillet. Add onions, chili powder, and other seasonings and spices depending on what you like. You can also add chopped celery and green peppers. Saute until the veggies are a bit soft but not too done. Chop the chicken and add it in so it absorbs the flavors. Add the beans, mix everything in the skillet and heat until the beans are warmed. Adjust spices as needed. Serve while warm in a bowl, add to a corn tortilla as a taco, or use a flour tortilla as a burrito.
3. Just heat up the extra pieces and eat as is!
Keep working with your roasted chicken and you'll start coming up wtih your own ideas about how to use one low-fat roasted chicken to create loads of dishes.
Sneaking Sugar at the Fair
We went to the local Fair this evening. I've been wanting to go and sneak a cotton candy ever since I saw Bethany Frankel have some on her show, "Bethany Getting Married?" (Yes, I watch it; it's an enjoyable distracton).
After walking the entire fair, I couldn't find one cotton candy vendor. Maybe they don't make it anymore, or maybe they just don't sell it at our local Fair. Well, I found a moment to get off on my own in the Commerce Display Building and lo and behold, there it was. A candy display with vanilla fudge.
I always think things go better with fudge; so I ordered a 1/4 pound piece for $3.50. The amount really was too much to pay the amount given I was desparate; or so I thought. I walked around the corner while my husband was deeply entrenched in learning about some item from another vendor. Hiding the fudge in my purse, I pulled off bits and pieces, savoring them as I walked. However, I did notice something distinct.
I'd figured the fudge was fresh but it just didn't taste as good as I remembered. I could taste the artificial flavorings and it was too sweet. I kept thinking of the headache I expected to get and wondered how many calories I was consuming with that one piece of unnecessary candy.
Things had really changed. After that, nothing looked good. I shared a few bites of a Jalepeno and Cheese Pretzel fresh out of the oven that my husband got and left it at that. By the time I got home, the stomach ache started, the gurgling deep inside and reality hit. Guess my stomach didn't want to house a so-called treat that was full of white sugar and artificial flavorings. The pretzel probably didn't help either.
But I learned a painful yet needful lesson. I've gone through steps to start changing my body dynamics. I don't like going backwards in life so I have to move forward. What was noticably obvious was that there was little to nothing to eat for a person who is seeking to be healthy at the Fair. Sweets, salt, sugar, syrup were the main fare. All I found was roasted corn on the cob and the pretzels but that was about it. Some vendors had a few items; a bag of natural almounds among the sugar coated, salted ones. Even the roasted peanuts are gone.
There's a great opportunity to explore for the food entrepreneur.
After walking the entire fair, I couldn't find one cotton candy vendor. Maybe they don't make it anymore, or maybe they just don't sell it at our local Fair. Well, I found a moment to get off on my own in the Commerce Display Building and lo and behold, there it was. A candy display with vanilla fudge.
I always think things go better with fudge; so I ordered a 1/4 pound piece for $3.50. The amount really was too much to pay the amount given I was desparate; or so I thought. I walked around the corner while my husband was deeply entrenched in learning about some item from another vendor. Hiding the fudge in my purse, I pulled off bits and pieces, savoring them as I walked. However, I did notice something distinct.
I'd figured the fudge was fresh but it just didn't taste as good as I remembered. I could taste the artificial flavorings and it was too sweet. I kept thinking of the headache I expected to get and wondered how many calories I was consuming with that one piece of unnecessary candy.
Things had really changed. After that, nothing looked good. I shared a few bites of a Jalepeno and Cheese Pretzel fresh out of the oven that my husband got and left it at that. By the time I got home, the stomach ache started, the gurgling deep inside and reality hit. Guess my stomach didn't want to house a so-called treat that was full of white sugar and artificial flavorings. The pretzel probably didn't help either.
But I learned a painful yet needful lesson. I've gone through steps to start changing my body dynamics. I don't like going backwards in life so I have to move forward. What was noticably obvious was that there was little to nothing to eat for a person who is seeking to be healthy at the Fair. Sweets, salt, sugar, syrup were the main fare. All I found was roasted corn on the cob and the pretzels but that was about it. Some vendors had a few items; a bag of natural almounds among the sugar coated, salted ones. Even the roasted peanuts are gone.
There's a great opportunity to explore for the food entrepreneur.
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