Have a healthier life
Eat fewer refined and processed foods for a healthier life. Exercise and sleep well. Don’t forget the Hoodia. It can help you keep your weight under control.
This was on Yahoo Health by Gabrielle Reece: Basic Weight Loss Mistakes
A lot of us are out there watching what we eat and exercising, but still not making a dent in our bellies and body weight. There are a few things we are probably not doing, or doing too much of, that would mean major improvements in our health.
Get more sleep. After a very short period of time (about 6 nights), studies show that your glucose levels can rise if you get only 4 to 7 hours of sleep each night. New parents are excluded, but everyone else should try to hit the 8 hour mark as often as you can and get to bed BEFORE midnight. Every hour of rest before 12 a.m. is twice as valuable as the hours after midnight: Our cortisol levels are lowest before midnight therefore our recovery is the highest.
Eating fewer refined and processed foods. Avoid fast and fried food and try to consume as many real foods as you can. It’s also imperative to get enough fiber (helps with elimination); fruits and veggies are a great way to fill up.
Avoid sugary drinks and reach for more water. Water is great for so many things like digestion, eliminating toxins in the body, and transporting important nutrients to our cells which need energy to burn calories. Americans drink 20% of their calories, so be careful of that silent pitfall.
Get to know your kitchen. I realize it takes more work, but the simple truth is we eat out or order in too often. There is a greater opportunity to control what is in your food if you cook it yourself.
Slow down. When you do sit down to a meal, don’t wolf it down. Our culture encourages eating while driving or sitting at our desks. The only time we seem to sit down and enjoy our food is at Thanksgiving. The monks chew each bite of food 100 times (which is excessive), but they also eat only until they are full. They recognize that chewing their food more makes it easier for the body to digest.
Breathe. There are so many days that I don’t breathe deeply. In the morning, mid-afternoon, and at the end of the day take a 10 conscious, belly-deep breaths. Close your eyes, pull that air deep into your stomach via your nose and let all the junk out through your mouth. Whether its a stressful day, or you just want to start and end your day on the right foot, breathing is important.
Don’t starve yourself. Oddly enough some of you may not be eating enough, and the lack of calories is putting your body into save mode. Our bodies are so brilliant, and if they aren’t getting enough food, your metabolism will tell your body to store each and every calorie it receives or to make energy from whatever muscle tissue you have. Not good. Oh and by the way, don’t skip breakfast. People who skip breakfast are over 4 times more likely to be overweight.
Do more than exercise. Even if you are working out, you can’t eat and drink whatever you want. It really is a three sided puzzle: balancing exercise, food, and (oh yes) the spirit (which stress and happiness play into).
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Write your Weight Loss Goals Down
Make your plan and write it down. Plan what foods and exercise you will do or not do. Be sure to go over it every night before bed so when you wake up in the morning you are ready to get to it. Remember your Hoodia.
Great Snacks
One of the best snacks is freash fruits and vegetables. Plan in advance to have something ready when you are hungry for a snack.
I found this on Yahoo, Shine and thought you might like it:
In the October issue of Prevention magazine, my Grocery Guru column is all about one of my very favorite foods: tortillas! They date as far back as 3000 BC and they’re growing in popularity today. In fact, they’re one of the fastest growing products in the supermarket.
I’ve always been a fan of Mexican food but after I met my husband Jack (a Texan), corn tortillas became a definite staple in my diet. From a nutritionists point-of-view, here’s what so great about them:
Corn tortillas count as a whole grain.
Whole corn is a powerhouse member of the whole grain family. A recent study found that corn has almost twice the antioxidant activity of apples!
Taco-sized tortillas are quick calorie cutters.
Using two 6-inch soft yellow corn tortillas instead of the same sized flour version saves 110 calories and adds an extra gram of fiber to your daily intake. That’s nothing to sneeze at since shaving off 110 calories a day can mean losing (or not gaining) 10 pounds in a year’s time.
They can be made from a variety of whole grains.
Great choices for wraps and tortillas include corn as well as multigrain (mixtures of whole wheat, rye, barley and oats), brown rice, hemp and teff (a whole grain staple in Ethiopia that has a sour dough taste and provides over twice the iron and twenty times the calcium of other grains). Variety is key because the nutrients and antioxidants in each type of whole grain differ. For example, corn is rich in lutein and zeaxanthin, known to protect vision, while polyphenols in brown rice have promising anticancer properties. (See a doctor’s list of cancer-fighting foods here).
They’re extremely versatile.
I typically fill corn tortillas with black or pinto beans, lots of veggies and sliced avocado or guacamole, but I use them for sweet treats too. The flavor of corn blends well with just about everything, so I also like to spread mini corn tortillas with nut butter (cashew, peanut or almond) and fill them with fruit. I also make chocolate “pizzas” with cinnamon dusted whole grain flour tortillas, melted dark chocolate, colorful sliced fruit and slivered almonds. Yum!!!
healthy tortilla recipes:
Mexican Chicken Tortilla Soup
Spicy Chicken Tortillas with Mango Salsa
Cheese & Black Bean Casserole
I found this recipe on EatingWell and it is great.
Healthy Tacos
Featured Recipe: The EatingWell Taco
Tasty Tex-Mex
By Jessie Price, Food Editor, EatingWell
Carolyn Casner, one of our recipe testers here in the EatingWell Test Kitchen, grew up on the border in El Paso, Texas, so she knows Mexican food. According to her, “the world’s best tacos come from Julio’s Café Corona, where my family and I always went after church. They’re greasy, messy and delicious.”
For convenience Carolyn usually uses store-bought taco shells with an assortment of fillings like ground beef, refried beans, shredded cheese and lettuce, salsa and chopped onions. But if you’re not careful a taco meal like this can be loaded with grease and salt—more like fast-food tacos than homemade.
So we decided to make over Carolyn’s version of homemade crispy tacos for her family. Here are the nutritional results of The EatingWell Taco compared with a fast-food version:
The EatingWell Taco Traditional Taco
Calories 261 340
Fat 5 g 19 g
Saturated Fat 1 g 7 g
Sodium 582 mg 710 mg
Fiber 5 g 5 g
Here’s how we did it:
We “oven fry” the taco shells instead of deep frying or using store-bought. To do this we spray them with cooking spray then bake them until they’re crisp. This reduces fat and saturated fat and we avoid the trans fats found in most store-bought brands of taco shells.
We combine lean ground beef and turkey to cut out much of the fat and saturated fat.
We add vegetables and jazzed-up canned refried beans in place of extra meat and cheese to keep calories and saturated fat down.
When Carolyn’s son Aidan dug into a fully loaded taco (with lettuce, tomatoes and reduced-fat Cheddar), he pronounced it “yummy!” Aidan especially loved the spicy refried beans, which he scooped into a taco shell. Carolyn loved having a lighter side dish with the zucchini-and-chile Calabacitas. “It’s nice to feel content, and not stuffed,” she says. Jeb’s verdict: “When can we do taco night again?”
The EatingWell Taco
Low Calorie | High Fiber | Low Cholesterol | Low Sat Fat | Heart Healthy | Healthy Weight
Active time: 15 minutes | Total time: 15 minutes | Makes 6 servings, 2 filled tacos each
Ease of preparation: Easy
Building the perfect taco is a very personal task—cheese under meat, cheese on top, no cheese at all? This is just our recommendation.
Ingredients
12 EatingWell Crispy Taco Shells
Lean & Spicy Taco Meat
3 cups shredded romaine lettuce
3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
3/4 cup diced tomatoes
3/4 cup prepared salsa
1/4 cup diced red onion
To assemble, fill each taco shell with (in any order): a generous 3 tablespoons taco meat, 1/4 cup lettuce, 1 tablespoon cheese, 1 tablespoon tomato, 1 tablespoon salsa, 1 teaspoon onion.
Per serving: 261 calories; 5 g fat (1 g sat, 1 g mono); 38 mg cholesterol; 31 g carbohydrate; 24 g protein; 5 g fiber; 582 mg sodium; 272 mg potassium.
2 Carbohydrate Servings
Exchanges: 1 1/2 starch, 1 vegetable, 3 very lean meat
Another recipe from Men’s Health: Yahoo Health, Waist Trimming Smoothies
MIX UP YOUR MORNING
Cereal Killer
(Makes 2 8-ounce servings)
1/2 cup All-Bran Extra Fiber cereal
1 cup 1% milk
1/2 cup blueberries
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons whey powder
6 ice cubs, crushed
Calories per serving: 145; Protein: 8 g; Carbs 32 g; Fat: 2 g; Saturated
fat: 1 g; Sodium 155 mg; Fiber 9 g
Start your day on the right foot with this smoothie in hand. The whey
powder packs more of a protein punch than a typical cereal breakfast.
Blueberries deliver antioxidants to help reverse memory
Another recipe from Men’s Health: Yahoo Health, Waist Trimming Smoothies
MUSCLE MAXIMIZER
Pumpkin You Up!
(Serves one)
1 scoop low-fat butter pecan ice cream
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup low-fat milk
1 tablespoon vanilla whey protein powder
1 teaspoon ground flaxseed
3 ice cubes.
Calories per serving: 265; Protein: 17 g; Carbs: 41 g; Fat 5 g; Saturated
fat: 2 g; Sodium: 136 mg; Fiber: 7 g
This smoothie serves up plenty of protein, and adds flax seed’s mood-boosting
omega 3 fatty acids. Consider this smoothie your post-workout personal
trainer — encouraging your body to make the most of the routine you just finished
Ultimate Waist-Trimming Smoothies from Yahoo Health
THE INSTANT ENERGIZER
Turn on the juice!
(One serving)
1 cup skim milk
2 tablespoons frozen orange-juice concentrate
1 cup strawberries
1 kiwifruit
Calories per serving: 222; Protein: 11 g; Carbs: 44.5 g; Fat: 1.4 g; Fiber:
7 g
Caffeine-riddled coffee has become the standard elevator for dragging energy levels,
but it ultimately depletes the vitamin B stores that help keep your mind
sharp. This smoothie gets you going and boosts (or — if you’re a java junkie — replenishes) your vitamin B levels. On top of that, the protein helps trigger dopamine and norephinephrine, your brain’s wake-up chemicals.
Entertain, Grill Kabobs
This is an easy low calorie dish. Just keep the side dishes low cal.
