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Blood Sugar | Insulin Resistance | PCOS Diet | Nutrition | Recipes Latest News

Fruits and Veggies—More Matters Month

Fruits-Veggies-More-MonthWhat is in for you?

  • More DIETARY fiber, vitamins, and mineral
  • More plant-based protein — YES, vegetables have protein!
  • Keep appetite in check
  • Reduce risk of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and more
  • Organic or not, just eat more of them!

Isn’t it a great excuse to eat more fruits and veggies? How about today? Sub any other food for a colorful and fun veggie or fruit and you got it. NO EXCUSES. It’s that simple!

Fruits

berries-antioxidantsThey come in a variety of colors, shapes, tastes and sizes. Fresh fruits are generally high in fiber and are a good source of vitamins and minerals.

Regular consumption of fruit is also associated with reduced risks of several diseases and helps to fight aging. Whatever your preferences are for fruits, my recommendation is to have two servings a day. Berries are low in sugar and great antioxidants!

Vegetables

Most persons do not associate vegetables with high levels of protein but there are lots and several that we eat everyday. Broccoli, asparagus, and spinach are great examples of greens foods with protein. Cup of sautéed spinach has 3 grams of protein. Broccoli has 2.6 grams per cup. It is important that you eat 5-7 servings of both cooked and raw vegetables a day. When selecting do your best to have at least 3 colors of vegetables on the plate for more phytochemicals and antioxidants.

A diet rich in vegetables and fruits can lower blood pressure, reduce risk of heart disease and stroke, prevent some types of cancer, lower risk of eye and digestive problems, and have a positive effect on blood sugar which can help keep appetite in check. Whatever fruits and veggies you choose, it is my recommendation that you buy organic when possible. They give you higher nutritional value and less toxicity inhibiting your body from being 100%. Don’t forget to properly wash vegetables and fruits very well.

Organic or not, just EAT MORE of these nourishing foods–your body and mind will thank you. I use the app Dirty Dozen to decide when or not buy organic. EWG is a great organization and provides great information for FREE!

What’s stopping you from eating More Fruits and Veggies?  NO EXCUSES! 

Call 770-835.5490 when you’re ready to Elevate Your Energy and Take On Life with confidence and joy! Let’s discuss your health, goals, and a path that works for you to reclaim energy, focus, productivity and feel your best again!  I am offering a limited number of  ‘Energy Audit‘ 45-min sessions at no cost to you.

Sources

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/vegetables-and-fruits

http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/LabelingNutrition/UCM169234.pdf

http://www.bodybuilding.com/content/8-high-protein-vegetables.html

 

Categories
Blood Sugar | Insulin Resistance | PCOS Diet | Nutrition | Recipes Latest News

Green Slaw with Thai Dressing Recipe

sesame-ginger-coleslaw

Recipe Corner: Green Slaw with Thai Dressing 

This recipe is full of nutrition. It delivers healthy carbs and protein from vegetables and healthy fats from coconut. Plus, cruciferous vegetables are natural detoxifiers. Meals like this will bump your energy, you feel nourished and light—refreshing meal for hot days.  Help your digestive system by taking a few deep breaths before your meal. Close your eyes and smell the food. This process gets your hormones and digestive system ready for a meal. Chew your food well, especially dishes with rich vegetables like this one. 

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups shredded raw greens: cabbage, kale, chard, collard greens, baby bok choy, any combination
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 medium red onion , thinly sliced
  • 1 – 2 large carrots, shredded (substitute daikon radish if your blood sugars are sensitive to carrots)
  • 2-inch piece of lemongrass
  • 2 – 3 limes, juiced
  • 2 tablespoons coconut butter
  • 1/2 – 1 jalapeño pepper
  • 1 bunch fresh cilantro

Directions:

1. Put greens in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt. Massage greens until they are wilted.
2. Put lemongrass in blender with 1/2 cup water and blend until liquefied.
3. Strain through cheese cloth, a fine mesh strainer, or a nut milk bag.
4. Combine liquid from lemongrass with lime juice and coconut butter in the blender and blend until smooth. Add water if needed.
5. Pulse in jalapeño and cilantro.
6. Shred carrots or daikon, and thinly slice the red onion. Add to bowl with greens.
7. Pour dressing over the vegetables and massage in well. The greens should be wilted.
8. If possible, allow to sit for an hour before serving. Place a second bowl over the salad and put something heavy in it to press the dressing into the salad and allow the vegetables to fully absorb the flavors.

Enjoy it!

Search for more healthy recipes at www.BeFabBeYou.com/blog

Recipe Credit: Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo

Categories
Blood Sugar | Insulin Resistance | PCOS Diet | Nutrition | Recipes Latest News

Zucchini Bacon Frittata

I made this recipe of zucchini bacon frittata with mushrooms, spinach and kale and loved it. If you like eggs and bacon, you and your family will not regret it. Nourishing and tasty food is great at anytime. I encourage you to think of the nutritional value of a meal or snack and how it will fuel my body and mind so you feel accomplished by the end of your busy day.

If you think this way, you are likely be fine eating dinner for breakfast, lunch for dinner, breakfast for lunch 😉 . It’s a mindset type of deal. Mind over matter gives you control!  

Give it a try and share with your family and friends next gathering and/or holiday.

Ingredients

  • 3 slices of bacon. My recommendation for uncured pork bacon that is FREE of nitrites, nitrates, sugar, hormone, and antibiotics.
  • 4 cups of chopped baby spinach and kale (or other greens of your choices—all greens are game)
  • 2 small zucchinis, spiralized. Don’t have a spiralizer? Sliced them thin.
  • 1 cup sliced mushrooms
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • 6 eggs, beaten. I recommend eggs be pasture-raised, non-gmo, soy free, and organic
  • pepper to season
  • Salt, celtic sea salt or Himalayan (pink) salt for trace mineral, electrolytes, and much more benefits. My recommendation is to avoid, at all costs, the highly processed table salt found everywhere. It’s easy to bring your salt with you. Seriously!

Instructions

  1. Organic foods, especially greens, are best for nutritional content and to minimize adding more chemicals to your body, which disrupt your hormones and body function. If organic isn’t an option, wash vegetables really well.
  2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until medium-crispy. Set aside on a paper towel lined plate, leaving 1 tablespoon of bacon fat in the skillet.
  3. Add the mushrooms to the skillet and cook for 2 minutes and then add in the kale, zucchini noodles and garlic powder. Cook until the kale wilts mostly.
  4. Pour the eggs over the noodles, distributing evenly. Top with a salt and generous amount of pepper and let cook for 2 minutes, letting the eggs cook to set on the bottom.
  5. Place in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until you can stick a knife through the center of the frittata and it comes out clean.

Original recipe calls for pesto sauce on top, which I think it’d be wonderful but I didn’t make it since I was cooking another 4-5 other recipes the same night. This girl here likes to keep things simple and minimize time in the kitchen without compromising tasty. It’s delish as is, warm and cold.  Try it!

Zucchini_Bacon_Frittata_Side
Zucchini_Bacon_Frittata_Side

Personally, when it comes to animal protein, I am very selective and it’s part of the food budget I spend the most. When consuming conventional protein sources from animals, it can be packed with hormones, inflammatory fats, hormone disrupters, etc. Ultimately, it can do more harm than good.

Considering that May is Blood Pressure month, we must make smart choices. Quality is essential for heart health. Over the past four years, I have reduced consumption of animal protein significantly. Technically, we can get 100% of protein from plant base, even if you rarely eat legumes such as beans and lentils. Protein is found in many vegetables including broccoli, peas, spinach, kale, and the list goes one. If you pack your smoothie with vegetables, it won’t be hard to get 15 grams of protein without adding powders. Then, you can complement your smoothie with vegetable protein such as pea protein and even eat one or two hard boil eggs separately.

Enjoy it!

Want to learn more about healthy meals, healthy choices, healthy lifestyle? Schedule a complimentary Energy Audit call session here. No Excuses. At Work. At Home. Online. In-Person.

 

Adapted Recipe From Paleo OMG

Categories
Diet | Nutrition | Recipes Latest News

Mexican Burrito Recipe

naked_burritoMexican Burrito

Happy 5 de Mayo! If you are looking for a recipe for a healthy burrito, you found it here. This recipe offers great substitutes for rice, beans, and flour wrap. It will nourish four people or two people with leftovers. You can eat it naked or wrap it with collard green leaf, which i recommend for added nutrition. Plus is a much healthier alternative to any kind of overly processed flour product. Make it a fun and enriching activity for yourself and family or friends. Help spread the concept of eating healthier but replacing inflammatory foods for nourishing foods.

Ingredients For Beef

 

1 pound ground beef, grass fed if possible to reduce inflammatory components in conventional meats

1 medium white onion, diced

1 long red chili, diced with seeds

1 can diced tomatoes

4 garlic cloves, finely diced

1 1/2 tsp sweet paprika

2 tsp cumin powder (you can grind whole cumin seeds)

1 tsp coriander seeds powder (you can grind whole coriander seeds)

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tbsp ghee (or grass fed butter)

1-2 tsp Celtic salt or sea salt (use 1 teaspoon for those with hypertension or whatever other reason)

For roasted sweet potatoes

2 large sweet potatoes, cut in cubes

1 tsp smoked or sweet paprika

1/2 tsp cumin powder

A good pinch of black paper

A good pinch of sea salt

2 tbsp olive oil

redpepper_tomato_salsaFor salsa salad

2 tomatoes, cut in quarters, seeds scooped out

2/3 cup diced roasted red peppers

1 medium cucumber, diced

1/2 cup diced spring/green onion, about 2-3 springs

1/2 cup chopped coriander, leaves and stalks

1/2 lime, juice only

1 small garlic clove, finely chopped

1 small red chili chopped or chili flakes to your heat taste

2 tbsp olive oil

A pinch of sea salt

Instructions

Heat 1 tabslepoon of ghee in a large, deep frying pan or a casserole dish. Sautee onion until soft and golden. At the same time turn the oven to 390F.

Bring the heat back to high and add beef mince in small chunks. Stir and cook until browned on all sides, about 5-7 minutes. At this time I peel and cut the sweet potatoe – it’s all about efficiency. Remember to stir and break the beef apart regularly at the same time.

Add spices, garlic, salt and chili to the beef and cook for a couple of minutes. Add diced tomatoes and a little water, about half a cup, stir and bring to boil. Then turn to low-medium heat and cook for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Once beef is under way, mix sweet potato cubes with sweet paprika, cumin and olive oil and scatter in a large baking tray. Bake for 15 minutes at 190C.  Take out of the oven, sprinkle with a generous pinch of sea salt and pepper, toss around and put back in the oven for a further 5 minutes.

Final step is to prepare the salsa salad. Dice tomatoes, cucumbers and red peppers, add chopped coriander, garlic, spring onion and chili and season with lime juice, sea salt and olive oil. Mix together well and set side until serving.

Cut avocado into quarters and drizzle with some lime juice to prevent discoloration. Once everything is ready, divide between four bowls and serve with a quarter avocado each.

collard-green-wrapsOr add everything to a large leaf of collard greens!

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

 

Adapted Recipe from Eat Drink Paleo

Categories
Diet | Nutrition | Recipes Energy Boosters & Zappers Fitness | Exercise Latest News

Dancing, Beach, Friends, Volleyball, Self-Care

Dancing and Friends

Cheers to self-care!

I had a great time playing in a volleyball tournament, dancing, catching up with friends, and appreciating the ocean view Fort Walton Beach, FL offers. I left Atlanta on Thursday evening and went straight to AJ’s, in Destin at midnight. Said hello to friends and hit the dance floor until they were about to kick me out at 3:30am. I spent so many hours staring at the ocean, met a few great people, spotted dolphins, and drunk a few margaritas. Yes, I make alcohol consumptions exceptions when I go to this spot. Yesterday, I left the beach just on time to catch the gym. Tough and yet awesome! Literally, body was craving a good workout. Check out memories made.

As far as food goes, I cooked and brought my food. I cooked broccoli, cauliflower, squash, chicken, hard boil eggs, and red cabbage. Also brought walnuts, pumpkin seeds, brazil nuts, chia seeds gel, and hemp seeds. I also brought greens, cocktail of food/herb powders, coconut milk, avocado, beets, and green apples for smoothies. 

Workout: 2 Rounds (done in 44:45 min)

400m Run

26 Hand Release Pushups

400m Row

26 KBS (35 lbs)

400m Run

26 AbMat Sit-Ups

400m Row

26 Hip Extensions

400m Run

26 Double-Unders

400m Row

26 Box Jumps (20 inches)

New friends

Volleyball Warm-up Beach Volleyball Volleyball Team Freak From Beach To Gym

Categories
Diet | Nutrition | Recipes Fitness | Exercise Latest News

Sunday Double!

Weighted LungesBack Squat

 

 

 

 

 

 

Woke up early on Sunday at 6:30am ready to Move my Fanny at 7am!  Double fitness fun day!

Energy boost post workout, healthy and balanced breakfast, and got ready to do some work done during the day and was feeling good enough and compelled for second workout at 6pm. 

At 7am, nobody else at the gym besides the instructor and I. It was pretty way to get day started.

Total of 20 minutes, broken down into 4 minutes, 5 rounds, allowing for little break between rounds. Slowest round was 3:25min

Rounds 1, 3, and 5: 500m row + 12 Toes To Ring

Rounds 2 and 4: 400m run + 12 Back squats (95 lbs)

At 6pm, took the fanny outside for 6 rounds of routine below and completed in 25:30 min.

10x wall balls 14lbs (10ft high)

15x ab-mat sit ups with 14 lbs wallball

20x  alternating leg lunges with 25 lbs per arm

1 minute plank

What else for the day after 7pm? Went to farmer’s market for my vegetables and fruits. I went a little crazy on the amounts of vegetables. Well, more will be freezed as I cook this week 🙂

How did you move your fanny? Remember, walking is great…but for bone health, you need to challenge your body more. Body weight exercises such as squats, push ups, wall sits, lunges, dips, and many more require no equipment and can be done ANYWHERE! If nothing else, add 30-60sec sprints or fast walks in your walking routine! Learn more about the importance of fitness as we age here.

 

Categories
Diet | Nutrition | Recipes Latest News

Cauliflower Popcorn

Cauliflower Popcorn
Cauliflower Popcorn

Cauliflower popcorn is a super healthy sub for corn popcorn.

Absolutely amazing, simple, and nutritious.

– 2 heads of cauliflower cut in florets (they shrink in the dehydrator so don’t cut them too small—yet they must fit your dehydrator)
– 1/4 teaspoon of salt (Celtic sea salt or Himalayan salt)

– 1 tbsp of thyme
– 2 tbsp of cold pressed olive oil
– Nutritional yeast

Directions:

Sprinkle salt and thyme evenly. After you mix oil, coat florets with nutritional yeast. Dehydrate for 8 hours, until desired crunchiness. The longer you dehydrate the crunchier your cauliflower will get.

Is there a reason to avoid conventional popcorn?

Yes, popcorn is a crop that is heavily covered in pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and fertilizers. A large, and that means that it’s best eaten as organic. Plus, if you are not making your own popcorn, watch out for oil that is being cooked, especially at theaters. More than 98% of soybeans grown in the US are GMO. That said, your popcorn is now a source of GMOs. 

Enjoy Your Cauliflower Popcorn!  Bring that to the theater instead 🙂