~Source: http://www.kidspot.com
Cooking Vegetables
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Tag Archives: food
Fiber is Yummy
- Vegetables (Photo credit: Professor Bop)
5 Simple Ways to Add More Fiber Today
When it comes to nutrition these days, fiber is IT!
Fiber is a nutrient that every one of you needs to include in your diet each day. According to the American Dietetic Association, most healthy adults should aim for 20 to 35 grams of fiber a day.
Does that sound like a lot? Don’t worry— it’s not as hard to include in your diet as you might think!
Wedges of pink grapefruit, lime, and lemon, and a half orange (clockwise from top) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Fiber is found in all the fresh and delicious foods I love: fruits, vegetables, beans, legumes, and whole grains. There are two types of fiber:
Variety of fresh vegetables being sold on a street at Guntur, India. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Soluble fiber is found in oats, barley, apples, pears, edamame and other soy products, dried beans and peas, and citrus fruit. This type of fiber may help reduce your cholesterol levels, which will protect you from heart disease.
Insoluble fiber is found in wheat bran, whole-wheat products, and most vegetables. This type of fiber may alleviate constipation by helping wastes move through your system faster.
Wheat bran (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Fiber is also fantastic because it fills you up so you eat fewer calories and lose weight!
Research suggests that diets high in fiber may also reduce the risk of developing diabetes.
Additionally, fiber may offer some protection against colon cancer, although studies have not produced consistent results.
Feeling pumped to get more fiber? Here are five simple ways to add fiber:
- Eat fruit with breakfast every morning – try berries with your cereal, or slice a banana into yogurt.
- Add lettuce, tomatoes, and onions to your sandwiches and swap white bread for whole wheat.
- Throw a bag of mixed frozen veggies in the microwave for a veggie side dish that’s ready in minutes!
- Add vegetables to casseroles, soups, rice dishes – almost anything is better with more vegetables!
- Drink plenty of water as you work on increasing your fiber intake.
Challenge yourself to try at least one of these tips every day in the coming week — before you know it, you’ll be full of fiber, healthier, and feeling fabulous!
Source: DeniseAustin.com
Be Nice to Your Knees
Be nice to your knees now, avoid surgery later.
Whether you’re dashing up the stairs, saying your prayers or strutting your best Michael Jackson move, a sudden “OUCH!” from your knees can stop the action faster than a goalie.
I told my knee surgeon when I was a girl I did too much kneeling on hard, wooden benches in Church. All joking aside arthritic knees are painful.
Ignore persistent ouches, and getting to know a knee surgeon may be next. Don’t want to go there?
Take this fast new knee health test. It can predict your future.
- Have you ever had a knee injury?
- Have x-rays spotted knee osteoarthritis? I have had a cat scan and an MRI done on my left knee and yes I do have arthritis under the knee cap. I also have a benign tumor on the same knee.
- Is your body mass index 25 or higher? (Not sure? Use the BMI calculator at Realage.com)
If you’re a female over 50, even one “yes” means you need to do something now to prevent knee problems later.
Three “yeses” and you’ll know that surgeon’s office hours by heart if you don’t get serious. What to do:
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Abandon the couch. Regular exercise strengthens your leg muscles, giving your knees vital support. Focus on low-impact activities that build stamina, strength and flexibility: Walking, biking, swimming, weightlifting.
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This is one of the many reasons I am so committed to my gym workouts and walking activities.I can only try to do the best I can for my knee as I have been told I am looking at a knee cap replacement surgery in the near future. I am hoping that I can put it off. My Momma had severe arthritis in her left knee so it can also be genetic.
- Eat like a knee doc. These DHA-rich foods stifle joint damaging inflammation: walnuts, avocado, flax seeds, salmon and trout. To be sure you get enough, take 900 mg a day of DHA omega-3.
- Don’t go back for seconds. Obesity almost guarantees osteoarthritis because it speeds cartilage breakdown. Every extra pound puts 3 pounds of pressure on your knees when you walk. Dropping even 10 pounds or so can cut your risk of osteoarthritis in half. Good for it! Bum knees are a bummer, and most knee surgeons aren’t that much fun. I work hard to keep a good weight for my body size.
“You’re only as old as you feel. Age is only a number. You don’t have to act old. You can be “young” at any age! “
Source: Health Tips
Delicious Berries
Who says you can’t enjoy fresh blueberries before the summer months? Or that you have to put cranberries away after turkey season? I enjoy blueberries all year round and especially when they are good for memory as we age. Why not eat them?
A pack of blueberries from a organic farm co-op program. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Squeezing more berries into your diet (think homemade cranberry sauce, blueberry breakfast smoothies and no-sugar added blackberry jam) will help keep you sleek and slim.
Berries are loaded with anthocyanins, phytonutrients that are believed to aid with muscle repair and may reduce muscle fatigue, too-a recent study found desk-bound people who ate black currants had less shoulder stiffness.
Cranberry Sauce 009 (Photo credit: MGF/Lady Disdain)
As a rule, the darker the berry, the more potent the anthocyanins. And in the hierarchy of healthy fruits, cranberries, blueberries and raspberries reign supreme, with some of the highest levels around.
Source:Chatelaine
1. Blueberries are packed with antioxidant power. The resveratrol found in blueberries may help prevent macular degeneration, a disease of the retina and the leading cause of blindness in people older than 65, according to vision researchers at Washington University School of medicine in St. Louis.
Eat A Rainbow!
When you reach for your five fruits and vegetables a day, do they typically include the old standbys of corn, potatoes, iceberg lettuce, apples, and bananas? If so, there’s a much bigger fruit and vegetable world waiting for you! The American Dietetic Association says you should think like an explorer looking for new adventures to get the best nutrition from your botanical booty, using color as your guide:
~ Yellow and orange–replace corn and bananas with carrots, sweet potatoes, winter squashes, oranges, cantaloupe, and grapefruit.
Image via Wikipedia
~Red–trade your daily apple for some tomatoes, red peppers, and strawberries.
~Green–the deeper the better! Reach for dark lettuces (such as romaine and red leaf), spinach, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli in place of iceberg lettuce and green beans.
Image via Wikipedia
~White–try cauliflower instead of potatoes, onions, and mushrooms.
Although I love to try different fruits and vegetables, I do have my favorites, bananas I do eat everyday. I also go with what is in season. If I don’t have fresh blueberries available I do buy a frozen bag of the berries in the winter months.
Cauliflower is really yummy to cook it well and then I mash it on my plate. It is like a trick for me that I am eating mashed potatoes. ha ha. I sprinkle garlic pepper on the potatoes…oops… I mean… “cauliflower”. Delicious!
Chia
Image via Wikipedia
I asked my brother the other day if he had ever tried Chia Seeds and he chuckled and said he had never heard of them. He said he knew what a “Chia Pet” was. What a guy! I have done my research on this seed. My brother being a runner would be thrilled to hear what more I have learnt.
Chia Seeds is known as the “running food”. These seeds were a staple for ancient Aztecs and Mayan Warriors. Chia bread is a tasty way to go the extra mile! So, I must have my brother read my posting as he loves to enter marathons.
I stumbled across an article on Chia Seeds awhile back and could not believe the beneficial health benefits these seeds have. I eat a variety of seeds everyday. Today I wanted to rave some more about chia seeds and I hope after reading this that someone will be tempted to try them.
Nature’s super food, the Chia Seed. There are so many reasons you’ll love the Chia Seed! First, because it has no flavor of its own, Chia is amazingly easy to add to your diet. You can add it to drinks or food, and instead of changing the flavor, it will enhance it. Chia Seeds take-on and distribute (never replace) the flavor of foods or drinks you add them to.
Recommended daily: 2 tb. chia seeds. It will give you 100% of your omega 3 daily value. You can add whole or ground chia into cereals, yogurt, smoothies, juices, soups, sauces, salads and dressings. Chia can be used as a gluten-free thickener replacing flour and other starches, or as a binder replacing eggs in baked goods.
I have not tried to use it to replace eggs or flour. When I do experiment with it in my baking it will be another post.
Gluten-free, chia is rich in omega 3, antioxidants, fibre, vitamins and minerals and other nutrients essential for optimal health.
Smoothie Recipe: that I am going to try for sure!!
Enough for 2 people: 2 cups of natural apple juice, 3 tbsp. of ground chia seeds and 2 cups of mixed frozen berries. Put all ingredients together in blender and blend until smooth. Serve immediately while smoothie is still cold.
It sounds so yummy!! I will try it with frozen blueberries as they are my favorite frozen fruit.
I could go on and on about Chia Seeds. They are awesome!! They give me that full feeling that last longer and which is terrific for anyone trying to lost weight. Not all stores carry the seeds or bread and my hubby took it upon himself to hunt for it. I was thrilled when he came home with the Chia Seeds and Chia Bread.
Thanks hon. Little things that mean so much!!
Chocolate
Image via Wikipedia
Think more clearly with chocolate!
In a study of more than 2,000 older adults, those who regularly ate dark chocolate scored higher on tests measuring brain skills than those who didn’t indulge! Chocolate is full of flavonoids, which protect the brain’s learning and memory centers. Aim for 1 oz. to 3 oz. a week.
I guess it is a good thing that my Hubby loves his chocolate.
Chia Seeds
I love to eat ‘Chia Seeds.’ I put them in my yogurt or my soups. I also make myself a “Chia Fresca”, which is very popular in Mexico. Add 1 tsp. of Chia seeds and a bit of juice from a fresh lemon into a glass of water. Stir and enjoy!! Yum.
| Lose Weight Without StarvingThe Chia Seed is a dieter’s dream come true. The tiny, healthy seeds can be made to taste like whatever you want, and their unique gelling action keeps you feeling full for hours. Hunger is a main enemy of real weight loss, and you don’t want to fight it with jittery expensive pills. When a chia seed is exposed to water, it forms a coating of gel, increasing its size and weight. Since the gel made of water, it has no calories. It’s also difficult to remove from the seed, meaning that it helps your body think it is full, without adding calories! | |
| Chia Seeds have so many good health benefits! | |
