Eat your broccoli

Hi guys,
You parents knew what was up! Remember them telling you to eat your broccoli? 

Well they were right, once again!

  
These guys are a powerhouse of nutrients, they benefit digestion, cardiovascular system and immune system and also have anti inflammatory properties and may prevent certain cancers!

They are also low in sodium, fat free and low calories!

Nutritional profile:

– high in fiber, vitamin C, B6, A and potassium 

– packed with photochemicals (immune system protector) and antioxidants (cell protectors and cancer preventers)

– also contains magnesium, phosphorus,zinc and iron

  
Health benefits:

– cancer prevention 

– cholesterol reduction

– detoxification 

– heart health

– eye health

– digestion

– anti-inflammatory 
Facts:

– originated in Italy in around the sixth century BC

– name comes from broccolo, Italian for the flower on top of the cabbage, the word is derived from Latin brachium meaning branch or arm

– came to France in 1560 and was called Italian asparagus

– Thomas Jefferson loved it and imported it!

– George W bush was not a fan and Barack Obama confessed to loving it

– California produces 90 % of the broccoli grown in the United States 

– the average American only eats 4 lbs a year
Ciao for now, go eat broccolo

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What you REALLY need to know about labels!

Hi guys,

“all natural”, “whole grains”, “fat free” and more are labels that we see every day at the grocery stores but what does it really mean?

Be aware of what the manufacturers put on their box and read the labels before you buy, you will be surprised! They want to get your attention and get you to buy their products under very poorly regulated guidelines, here is what you really need to know!

“Natural”

The word “natural” is not regulated by the FDA and is very misleading. “natural” brings to mind thoughts of fresh, minimally processed and healthy foods, but it means nothing about a food’s nutritional content, ingredients, or health effects. Almost all packaged foods are processed in some way.

Natural potato chips will use real potatoes (instead of flakes) but like regular potato chips, they are still a high-fat food choice with little nutritional content.

Natural candy may be sweetened using cane juice (instead of white sugar), but it can still contribute  to weight gain when eaten in excess.

“Made with Real Fruit” and “Contains Real Fruit Juice”

You see “made with real fruits” on fruit snacks, cereals, and fruit drinks. There is no law that requires how much real fruit has to be in a food that uses this claim, the sugary treat could contain just one blueberry or one drop of fruit juice to be accurate.

When high fructose corn syrup and/or sugar are listed as the first ingredients, you know that the “real fruit” content of the product isn’t significant. This is sugary junk food that is trying to masquerade as healthy fruit drinks.

“Whole Grains”

This is one of the most popular marketing claims and definitely the most confusing. Today we see “whole grain” logos on almost all  products, including most sugary cereals.

In reality, refined and highly bleached white flour with a touch of whole wheat added in can be listed as “whole grain.”

Food manufacturers can by law use the term “whole grain” no matter how much whole wheat the product contains.

• “Made with Whole Grains”: All it needs is one tiny bit of whole grains to use this claim, which means nothing for your health benefits.
• “Wheat flour” or “100 percent wheat”: Again, this is a ploy that tries to fool consumers. You want to look for “whole wheat flour” not just the word “wheat.”
• “Multigrain”: This doesn’t explain if the grains are refined or whole, just that there is more than one type of grain. Multigrain has no proven health benefits, especially if all those grains are refined, and they probably are.
• “Whole grain”: This term is also misleading, because whole grains can contain various blends of grains that are refined. You want to avoid words like enriched and bleached on the ingredients label, only trust the term “100 percent whole grain” to be the healthier choice.

When it comes to grain-based foods, you can’t trust the words on the front of the package.

Look at the ingredients list every time, looking for keywords like “whole wheat flour” to be FIRST on the list.

Additives like sugar and CORN SYRUP shouldn’t appear in the top of the ingredients list of a so called healthy food.

Be aware that manufacturers won’t necessarily call their processed flours “refined” on the label. Anything that is listed as corn, rice, wheat, or oat flour IS processed and refined unless it specifically tells you that it is “whole”.

“Fat Free”

“Fat free” food labels may also make you  believe these are healthy selections. Sometimes this can be helpful  especially when choosing skim milk over higher fat varieties. But read the labels, when a meat label announces 90% fat free, it sounds like a healthy choice since only 5 percent of it is fat. But fat contains a lot of calories, so check out the nutrition facts label for the actual number of calories and fat grams per serving, especially if you are trying to lose weight!

“Zero Trans Fats”

Thanks to recent media attention, you surely know that trans fat are really bad for you!

Experts recommend that we avoid trans fats, which are created when oils are hydrogenated (combined with hydrogen) during food processing. But you can’t trust a product’s claim of zero trans fats, nor can you trust the nutrition facts label on this one.

If the words “partially hydrogenated” appear in it at all, then the food DOES contain trans fats. But thanks to labeling guidelines, any food that contains 0.5 grams or less of a nutrient can be listed as zero grams on the nutrition facts label…Just stay away!

I hope this helps you navigate your supermarket aisles better and gives you an idea of what the manufacturers are trying to accomplish by flashing these purely false labels in front of you!

Have a great day!

Ciao for now

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Coconut flour banana bread

Good morning,

Here is an easy recipe for a super moist, awesome tasting healthier banana bread:

You will need:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup organic brown sugar

2 organic eggs

1 cup of unbleached gluten free flour

1 cup of organic coconut flour

1 teaspoon of baking powder

4 super ripe bananas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a large bowl cream together the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the eggs one a the time beating well after each egg. Stir in the mashed bananas.

In another bowl, stir together the flours and the baking powder. Blend the banana mixture into the flour mixture stirring just to combine.

Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes until a toothpick inserted in center of the bread comes out clean.

Let cool and enjoy!

Ciao for now and happy Sunday!

Amaranth pancakes

Hi guys,

Amaranth is packed with amino acids, fiber, iron, calcium and magnesium.

Ground into a flour, it’s easily worked into a variety of gluten-free foods.

Combined with white whole-wheat flour and blended with honey to balance out amaranth’s grassy notes, it makes textured but light whole-grain pancakes.

First cultivated in Central America, amaranth typically top lists of South American “super foods” alongside quinoa.

With pre-Columbian roots stretching back 5,000+ years, it knows something about going long.

Amaranth Pancakes
Makes 12 4-inch pancakes

1/2 cup amaranth flour
3/4 cup white whole-wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup low-fat buttermilk, at room temperature
1/2 cup whole milk, at room temperature
1 egg, well beaten
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
2 tablespoons honey
Butter or oil, for greasing

Sift together the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.

Separately, whisk together the buttermilk, milk, egg and melted butter. Pour into the flour mixture and stir to combine, do not overmix. Allow batter to rest for 10 minutes.

Heat a pan or cast-iron skillet over medium until hot. Brush lightly with butter or oil. Spoon the batter (about 1/4 cup) onto the skillet. Cook until bubbles appear along the surface, about 1-2 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side, 1-2 additional minutes. The pancakes should be neither too dark nor too pale. Adjust the heat as needed so that they brown evenly. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve warm with honey or syrup and topped with fruit with additional nutritional benefit like blueberries, blackberries or pomegranates.

Courtesy of http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/home.html

Find amaranth flour here 

Have a great breakfast!

Ciao for now!

What 200 calories really look like!

Hi guys,

200 calories is 1/10 of what you should be eating per day according to federal guidelines.

Do you know what 200 calories really look like on a plate?

2 medium apples:

 

 

1/2 Mc Donalds cheesburger

1 and 1/2 hot dog

One avocado

1 and 1/2 oz of bacon

One handful of gummy bears

5 kiwis

1/2 bagel

Over 1 lbs of baby carrots

One handful of M&M’s

1/2 of a honeydew

1 tablespoon of butter

1 whole bag of celery hearts

1/2 blueberry muffin

2 oz of cooked pasta

50 medium strawberries

1 teaspoon of peanut butter

 

 

2 onions

1 1/2 oz of cheddar cheese

2 oz of wheat cereal

4 tootsie rolls

1 bunch of broccoli

1 low fat strawberry yogurt

1/2 snickers bar

1 whole bag of sweet peppers

8 hersheys kisses

2 oz of rice cereal

2 glasses of coke

7 oz of smoked turkey

3/4 of glazed donut

3 eggs

1 handful of doritos

1 can of tuna in oil

1/2 small order of Mc Donald’s french fries

1.8 oz of brown sugar

1 can o chili con carne

1 handful of salted roasted nuts

These are your calories, choose them wisely!

Ciao for now!

 

 

 

Family dinners??

http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7TWc/kfc-family-feast-a-real-family-dinner

Is that what our society considers family time around the dinner table in 2014?

Is not having time to cook a good excuse to feed families with greasy unhealthy fast food?

Your heart attack has been served!

“Trans fats seemed like such a good thing once, enhancing the flavor, texture, and shelf life of many processed foods — from cookies to frozen pizza. Unfortunately, they come with a health risk. Trans fatty foods tantalize your taste buds, then travel through your digestive system to your arteries, where they turn to sludge.
Small amounts of trans fats occur naturally in beef, lamb, and full-fat dairy products. But most come from processing liquid vegetable oil to become a solid fat.
As of 2006, food manufacturers have been required by the FDA to list trans fats on food labels.”

Why are we still eating this???

 

 

Stressed??

Check this out…You are stressed, your body releases cortisol (Higher and more prolonged levels of cortisol in the bloodstream, like those associated with chronic stress, have been shown to have negative effects like hyperglycemia, decreased bone density or increased abdominal fat (yikes)”) which triggers a lower leptin sensitivity (Leptin is a hormone made by fat tissue that acts on the brain to regulate food intake and body weigh) which triggers hunger and a feeling of “never full” which triggers fat storage which triggers weight gain!

Break the stress cycle…exercise, breath slow, eat more fruits and vegetables, drink less caffeine, sleep longer and enjoy your life 🙂

food prepping is the key

In order to be successful at a healthy lifestyle and especially healthy eating, you need to be prepared.

There is nothing worse than getting home to your family after work and to have nothing for them to eat.
This is when take out or boxed foods happens.

So, that being said, you need a day to get organized and to cook for the entire family for the whole week, or at least a few days in advance.

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Pick a day of the week where you can spend at least a few hours cooking.

Make sure that you go grocery shopping the day before and be mindful of the fact that you need to buy all fresh ingredients!

Pick recipes that you like and that you know your family will like as well and get cooking!!!

Make sure to:

-Set aside one day every week when you cook
-Set aside 2 to 3 hours to cook
-Portion all the meals that you want to take to go for lunch in small containers
-Place the rest in refrigerator friendly Tupperwares and  VOILA you are ready for the week ahead!

This way you will never:

-Have nothing to eat which is the number one excuse for ordering take out
-Have to worry about what you are eating, you cooked it!
-Spend time after work cooking for the family, just reheat and serve!

HAPPY MEAL PLANNING!

Just do it!

Good morning!Today is a happy day, today is the day you decide to change your life and get healthy.

Please remember that you are not going to go on a diet but you are changing from “unhealthy lifestyle” to “healthy lifestyle”.

Also remember that in not case I am here to replace a nutritionist or give professional advice like registered dietitians would do , I am only here to guide you to make better choices!
I do strongly recommend that you consult with a physician and/or a dietitian before starting your journey:)  That being said :

Do not tell yourself that you are on a diet, because “being on a diet” means restriction, hunger, frustration and a whole bunch of unhappy feelings…

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Always remember that your mind controls everything! It controls you, your thoughts, your body, your emotions…You want your mind to be your friend and help you through this.
So tell yourself that you want to be happier, healthier and that YOU DON’T WANT TO DIE OF A HEART ATTACK NEXT WEEK!
Set yourself up for success from within first, believe in yourself, believe that you can do this and that you ARE SOOOOO FREAKING WORTH IT!!!!!!

so where to start????
Well first you need to get rid of all the bad stuff in your closet and fridge…What do I mean by bad stuff????

These are just a few examples of bad stuff…come on you know what’s NOT good for you so DO IT , THROW IT AWAY…not in your husband’s or kid’s mouths either! 

 Well done, I’m super proud of you!!
It will all be ok I promise…So now what to eat???????Well let’s start by basic stuff that you should eat on a daily basis according to official dietary guidelines based on a 2000 calorie per day intake:

9 total servings of fruits (2 cups) and vegetable (2.5 cups) each day  for vitamin, mineral and more intake
3 or more servings  of WHOLE GRAINS for fiber intake
3 or more cups of LOW FAT MILK (or equivalent) products for calcium intake

Please see below:

 

Also as part of a loosing weight and getting healthier, you need TO START MOVING…
Get off the couch and move!
Engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity most days of the week.We are just starting here so we will talk about physical activity in later posts.

Let’s focus on what to eat and what not to eat following the easy guidelines :
LET’S MAKE IT EASY…

Replace white bread by whole grain bread, less calories, more whole grains, better for you!

Replace french fries, mashed potatoes and gravy  and unhealthy sides by vegetables, the more colors, the better:

Replace your after lunch or dinner ice cream or cookies by fruits, less calories (duh) and so much better for you (yeah I know you know…GIVE IT UP…NOW)

Replace whole milk, chocolate milks and cafe lattes by 2%milk, low fat cheese and Greek yogurt low or no fat:

Replace beef burgers, pork and beans and white pasta by lean meats (turkey and chicken without skin), green beans and soy beans.

So we are off to a good start don’t you think???
Start making healthier choices right away, it will pay off rapidly…Remember when you go shopping, stay on the outside aisles of the stores where all the fresh stuff is, you want to buy smaller portions of fresh ingredients. DO NOT BUT ANYTHING THAT HAS INGREDIENTS THAT YOU CANNOT PRONOUNCE, PERIOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!HAPPY HEALTHY EATING….STAY TUNED! and get moving NOW! Go for a walk!