Making Better Choices

If there is one thing that effects all of us everyday is the choices we make.  How many times have you had something to eat and said “why did I do that”, “Why did I have that”? Simply put the food choice we make each day affect the way we feel.  Start today and make the better choice.

You Are Where You Are

When you are more aware of making better, daily food choices, you begin the process of reaching optimal health. You are where you are! Optimal health is more than the absence of dis-ease. It is the sum total of all of the good and bad food choices you have made in your life. The body will do the best it can to keep healthy and balanced. However, due to poor dietary habits and various types of stress, the body will breakdown and show signs of pre-mature aging or  dis-ease. This is why it is extremely important to search for knowledge and employ critical thinking so you can improve the quality of your life.

Ask BEFORE your DINE

Before going out to a restaurant, check the internet website and review the menu or call and ask for the healthier type menu options or if they will allow for substitutions. 

For example, if you are with your family or a group, call ahead of time and ask if the chef will prepare menu substitutions that meet your health needs. It makes a lot of sense because, you may really want to be a part of that special event. Bottom line: check ahead of time, this way you know that you can suggest the restaurant to your family or group and know that everyone will enjoy the meal.

In addition, your family and friends may take notice of the healthier choices that you are making and inquire about it.

You never know, they may ask you to try it!

Traveling? Eat Healthy on the Road

Let’s face it, eating healthfully on the road can be one of life’s great challenges. With fast food restaurants everywhere, convenience stores with an overabundance of processed foods, standard airport fare, coffee and so-called healthy smoothie bars, healthy food options can be very hard to find. To prepare for the big trip, try the following to help navigate some of the common pitfalls of travel dining:

Check the internet to locate restaurants offering more vegetarian, vegan and raw food dishes in your travel area.

Happycow.net is a good start!

Pick up some of the following snacks to enjoy on your journey and satisfy cravings: organic raw nuts, seeds or nut butters, organic or natural trail mixes (with no added sugar or oils), hummus or salsa with fresh vegetable sticks or organic corn chips with sea salt, fresh fruit, raw food snacks by Gopals (found in health food stores or online) and a small travel sized container of natural, unprocessed sea salt.

Stay at a local bed and breakfast that offers more vegetarian, vegan or raw options or a residence inn style lodging that you can prepare your own meals

Bring along a portable water filter container. There are many available online @ http://www.purewater2go.com/

All in all, by preparing in advance for the big trip and using some of the ideas listed above, you will feel more empowered about what goes into your body and that will take your health a long way.

And that makes for a much more enjoyable journey!

Cooking with Healthier Intentions

Cooking with healthier Intention:

When it comes to food and living a healthy lifestyle, here are some simple ideas on preparing and cooking, and creating a better environment to enjoy your meal:

• Whenever possible, choose the best, freshest (the first pick of the day) local or organic produce available.

• Shop for produce the same day you make the meal.

• Wash all produce carefully and use food grade peroxide or fruit and vegetable wash.

• If local or organic produce is not available, it’s okay. Make sure to wash and scrub well with fruit or vegetable scrubber. Also, be sure to download the following helpful food shoppers guide free from EWG.org - http://www.foodnews.org/walletguide.php?key=38963240

• Prepare dishes with more raw foods like guacamole, fresh smoothies, hummus, raw or      soaked nuts and seeds, sprouts, etc..

• If cooking foods, use lower temperatures to leave more texture, color and flavor.

• Use proper food combining; ie. Pair proteins with lightly steamed green vegetables or starchy vegetables with salads or steamed vegetables. Eat fruits alone or away from meals and drink water or other beverages in between meals.

• Spend enough time enjoying your meal, savor, chew and enjoy each well-earned bite. 

• Put on some soft music – Mozart, Hadyn, Gershwin, Ella Fitzgerald, light bluegrass music or jazz

It’s all good and makes for a calm and enjoyable meal and a happy tummy! 

**After eating, if it’s nice outside, why not take a short, 10 - 15 minute walk around the block and enjoy the benefits of improving your food lifestyle!  

Using Superfoods

Superfoods are the most powerful, nutritious, mineral-rich plant foods on Earth and are the great gifts given to us by the greatest civilizations that have ever existed. The Chinese civilization gave us goji berries, the Aztecs/Toltecs/Mayans/Olmecs gave us cacao (raw chocolate), and the Egyptians gave us aloe vera. Polynesians gave us noni, the Incan peoples gave us maca, central Africans gave us spirulina, and beekeepers around the world gave us bee pollen, propolis, and royal jelly. Superfoods represent an interesting piece of the nutrition puzzle as they are the best natural sources of clean pesticide-free and chemical-free:                                                                                                                                          Vitamins, Minerals, Enzymes, Antioxidants, Co-enzymes, Good fats and oils, Essential fatty acids
Essential amino acids, Fiber, Polysaccharides (glyconutrients or essential sugars), Protein (most superfoods are complete protein sources).                                                                                                                                        

Superfood is a marketing term sometimes used to describe food with high phytonutrient content that may confer health benefits as a result. For example, blueberries are often considered a superfood (or superfruit) because they contain significant amounts of antioxidants, anthocyanins, vitamin C, manganese, and dietary fiber. Many of these foods have a higher nutrition density and medicinal properties.

Superfoods are both a food and a medicine and offer deep, well-rounded nutritional support.
Superfoods immediately help nourish our brain, bones, muscles, skin, hair, nails, heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, reproductive system, pancreas, and most importantly our immune system. Over the        long-term, superfoods work to correct imbalances and guide us towards a more natural, original diet. When we consume superfoods it becomes dramatically easier to achieve our ideal weight, diet, and food habits. Superfoods ease our efforts to energize, cleanse, detoxify and satisfy our taste buds and appetite! What more could you ask for? Superfoods promote longevity!

That being stated, how can you make them a part of your daily routine? The first step is education.

It’s important to learn all you can about these foods and understand how to use them in your daily    food lifestyle. The most  simple way to try them is to make a basic smoothie. 

For example, make one with 20 oz filtered water, 1 cup fresh or frozen organic berries,                          2 tbsp. organic hempseed powder, 1 tbsp raw honey and a few dashes of cinnamon and a                    pinch of natural sea salt. (Add a few ice cubes if desired) 

Or try one with 20 oz water, 1 tbsp. fresh almond butter, 1 tbsp, maca powder, 2 tbsp. raw chocolate powder, 1 fresh or frozen organic banana and a few dashes of cinnamon and a pinch of natural       sea salt. (Add a few ice cubes if desired.)

Take a look at a few books using raw food  and superfood recipes and you’ll be off and running on your way to better nutrition, flavor and more energy!                                                                                                          

The following are considered superfoods:
Goji Berries, Cacao: Raw Chocolate, Maca root, Raw Honey, Bee Pollen, Royal Jelly, Propolis, Spirulina, AFA Blue-Green Algae, Marine Phytoplankton, Aloe Vera leaf, Hempseeds, Açai Berry, Camu Camu Berry, Blueberries, Chlorella, Incan Berries, Kelp – Sea weed, Noni Fruit, Yacon root.                       

Other honorable mentions: avocados, broccoli, leafy greens, tomato, garlic, onions, beans, sweet potatoes, berries, pomegranates, green and white teas, cinnamon, quinoa, wild salmon, and almonds.