Super Fuel for A Super You

fresh figs

It’s difficult to have the energy required to get through a normal day much less one that has  more demands than the usual routine.  Especially if your diet consists of  poor quality fillers such as popcorn instead of a meal (admit it, you’ve done it too!),  pasta covered with butter and herbs, or a tube of snack crackers because  you didn’t feel like getting out in the weather and you forgot to pack your lunch.

Sadly,  I’ve done all of these and worse, then wondered why I was fighting the sleepiness in the afternoon.  It’s simple!  I didn’t give my body the fuel it needs to function.

Let me mention briefly a point that I brought up last week in A New Attitude Towards Food about skipping meals.  It has the opposite effect on weight loss than you would think.   Contrary to what most people think,  overweight people are the most likely to skip meals. There are multiple reasons why we skip meals but the result is the same.  You are more likely to overeat at the next meal and have larger portions because by that time,  you are ravenous!

Skipping meals causes your body to hold onto its fat stores, instead of releasing them. It interprets skipped meals as famine, so it locks down on the fat stores because it doesn’t know when the next meal will come. This is actually a quite efficient process, except for the bulging  belly and thighs that plague us.

So, anyway . . . DON’T SKIP MEALS!

continuing on last week’s theme,   here are some more super foods.

Why are they called super foods? 

Most  “super” foods are good for your heart and your overall health when incorporated into a heart-healthy diet that’s balanced in lean protein,whole grains, fruits, vegetables and low-fat milk and dairy products. This diet should also include nuts, seeds and legumes,  as well as fish and liquid vegetable oils.

There are no standard criteria or approved list of super foods, but they are categorized as such based on the dense nutritional values.  Adding “Superfoods” to your diet certainly has  health benefits but the key to a healthy diet is to consume a variety of nutritious foods in the right quantities.

More superfood choices:

Apples –  Seems there is a lot of truth to the adage that an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Aside from the  benefits of fiber and helping regular digestive flora, apples contain polyphenols that offer an assortment of benefits, the most impressive of which is they’re able to help regulate your blood sugar levels. This can be of great use in weight loss! They also help you stay focused throughout the day!

Asparagus – The  takeaway on asparagus is that it hits on two levels: it provides antioxidants and also works as an anti-inflammatory. I haven’t read this anywhere but I can tell you from personal experience ( it may be part of the anti-inflammatory thing)  it can act as a diuretic as well.  So, it helps in fighting free radicals!

Beets – you won’t catch me eating them voluntarily,  but they are loaded with betalains, that aren’t found in many foods that make it to the dinner table.  I have included beets in a smoothie where other things were combined and masked the taste of beets,  but that is my preference.

Cantaloupe – Low calorie, sweet and delicious, and it has an alkaline effect on the body which can help balance your ph levels from getting too acidic –  which helps  in digestion and prevention of yeast infections!  WIN WIN!  Can I trade in my beets for a double portion of cantaloupe?

Cherries -They can help improve your memory and have a substantial amount of beta carotene. You might also want to consider eating cherries to help get a good night’s sleep as they’re a natural source of melatonin.  So see there? Don’t forget your cherry on top next time you get that sundae. (Just make it a  fresh cherry not a maraschino cherry soaked in sugar)

Dark Chocolate -This is one  superfood that many people will not have a problem eating. While it may not be as ubiquitous as milk chocolate this is worth going out of your way for. It’s antioxidant rich and has been shown to help with the heart, the brain, and stabilizing glucose levels. It can even help with dental health. What’s not to love?  YES! There is a GOD!!!!!

Figs – I have to be honest,  up until last year I had only ever eaten a fig as a fig newton. I still remember that silly jingle! Who knew I was eating healthy?  Recently we found dried figs at the health store and they are just as sweet  as  I remember in the newtons.   Just go HERE and check out all the benefits of figs!

Pineapple -Pineapples have a way of adding instant island flavor to most any dish. But they also pack their own benefits by helping with eye health, gum health, and even easing arthritis pain. Even though it is low in fat and cholesterol free, you’ll want to stick to smaller portions due to the sugar content. Plus, for anyone who has ever overdone it  on fresh pineapple the  enzymes in it play havoc on your tongue. But OOOOOOOOOOH, pineapple.

Pomegranate– My mother used to buy pomegranates every time she could.  I never understood her fascination with them. All those little seeds. . . . I guess she knew something.  Nowadays, this usually ends up as pomegranate juice, and it’s makes a great addition to fruit smoothies, or just drinking straight. The top benefits of drinking it are that it can help with breast, prostate, and lung cancer. It’s also been shown to help with blood pressure, and can help prevent or even reverse plaque buildup in the arteries.

Combined with last week’s list,  you should have a variety to plan an entirely new menu!  Try something new this week.  Contact me if you are interested in the menu plans. I’m considering doing a newsletter to include them with some recipes.

Write on my friends,  and eat well!

Ellie

 

A New Attitude Towards Food

Let’s be honest, most of us overindulged around the holidays.  Who can resist those home-baked chocolate chip cookies with melty chocolate? Gingerbread men  that you slowly torture by  dunking first this foot, then that one into your morning coffee. What?  You don’t  create the psychodrama of torturing the little man of goodness?

Maybe it’s a writer thing. Anyway, new year new eating habits.  For the most part it’s a reestablishment of nutritious eating guidelines. My personal approach involves simple changes that I can adapt for long-term lifestyle changes that I can live with because I have more than twenty pounds to lose.

If I make a statement like –  I will not eat chocolate in 2016,  it’s a lie.  I might make it to the afternoon of day 1 before I am scrounging in my secret stash.  It’s not just me,  you do it too.  If we  lay down the law and state that object A is forbidden,  then there is some compulsion within us that screams for it, demands it, wears on our willpower to the point that we give in. A more realistic goal will be that I allow myself 3 small pieces of chocolate throughout the week.   I can live with that!

My new eating plan began on January 4th. Yeah, I’m late in posting this.  I don’t have a big long list of goals to share – sorry to disappoint those of you that are used to my ‘Mega-blowout-I-am-going-to-totally-kick-ass-this-year’ list.  I’m streamlining and simplifying.  Two simple goals: Eat balanced meals and practice portion control.  In reality there are 4 goals because part of eating balanced meals is not skipping meals.  Something that I am terrible about.

I plan my weekly menu before I do my grocery shopping, to avoid impulse purchases and thwart those unhealthy items that tend to jump into my cart like chips or snack crackers and also to save some money on our groceries.

As I plan my menus,  I scour food sites, pinterest, and my cookbooks for healthy nutritious meals.  A typical days menu is between 1500 and 2000 calories. Throughout the week it averages 1800 calories. I plan a couple of desserts into the meal plan sticking mostly to  lowfat, low sugar but still appeases the sweet tooth.

One of the changes I have been making in meal planning is using Superfoods.  The following list is items that I have incorporated into our meals:

Greek Yogurt – plain, unsweetened.  The ingredients on the side of the container  – cultured milk –  that’s it.  The only ingredient.  100%  milk. NO sweetener, no sugar, no additives, no chemicals.

Quinoa – I’ve made some really interesting meals with this versatile grain. Talk about filling!

Kale –  chopped up kale can work like parsley in some dishes, like on top of my potato soup.  It can be the main part of a salad –  like my favorite citrus kale salad. I don’t care for the tough and woody stems,  but the leaves are amazing.

Blueberries – Who doesn’t like blueberries? From blueberry muffins to fresh blueberries in my cottage cheese or greek yogurt, it’s like nature’s candy!

Oatmeal -This rib sticking old-fashioned breakfast is  a godsend.  I am not a morning person and tend to be on autopilot until after the second cuppa. Whether you make zingy lemon lifter, or blueberry blast, or my  new favorite – peach and almond, it’s a versatile mainstay of our kitchen.

Salmon – We have salmon once a week. Whether  as salmon croquettes, or  grilled, or baked salmon is a good protein choice loaded with omega 3.

Lentils – Cheap nutrition.  Lentils and rice were a mainstay of our diet when we were newlyweds on starter wages. Sometimes we added some meat to it, sometimes we didn’t. Lentils can be added to salads just as you would garbonzo beans.  They can be tossed in soups and stews for added protein. Lentils are high in iron, something I need battling anemia.

There are numerous superfoods, these are just a few that I have worked into a regular rotation in our diets. Would you like some recipes with these superfoods or some others?  Let me know in the comments. Trust me,  I have loads of recipes. I may have to think about what my pinch translates into in a measured amount,  but I am recipe rich!!  If you are interested in meal plans, contact me!

Write on my friends, and eat well!

Cooking Up Something Special

Every Year for my birthday or for Christmas, since the two are close together, I get at least one cookbook as a gift. This year my mother in law gave me The Pioneer Woman Cooks book.

There are a couple of recipes in there that I am going to try.  As most of you know,  each year one of my goals is to try new recipes. I tend to try at least 4  per month. Some are good,  some are terrible, some are – bury that mess in the backyard and gargle with lysol. Every once in awhile,  I find a really great recipe. I’m sharing today a couple of recipes that are not from any cookbook,  but sraight from the master chef themselves.

My daughter has this good freind that she went to high school with that they stay in touch. Her parents run the  best Chinese restaurant in the area. Anny came over to our home to visit and catch up with my daughter, and brought us nommies from their restaurant!  I love this girl!   She indulged in a slice of my birthday cake, while I indulged in the best crab rangoon ever!

Crab Rangoon 

• 1 package of cream cheese, softened
• I Tablespoon pineapple juice
• 1 Tablespoon of honey
• 6 ounces imitation crabmeat, chopped into small bits
•  wonton wrappers

Combine all ingredients  thoroughly. Place 1 Tablespoon of filling onto wonton wrapper, pinch into lotus flower shape and set on baking sheet until all are formed.

Heat oil in deep fryer.  Drop 2 at a time into hot oil. Cook until wrappers are golden brown. Remove from fryer, placing on paper towel lined baking sheet.

Makes 8 servings.

Egg Foo Yong

This is a great way to use up leftovers, or those little bits of this and that. These are basically Chinese omelets. I made mine without any additional meat,  but if you want more protien in yours feel free to add it in.

My skillet was a little too hot so the edges are darker than I would have liked, but it still tasted amazing!

Ingredients:

• 6eggs, lightly beaten
• 1cup fresh bean sprout
• ¹⁄₄cup minced scallion
• ¹⁄₄cup minced bamboo shoots
• or¹⁄₄ cup celery or ¹⁄₄ cup shredded Chinese cabbage
• 4water chestnuts, minced
• ⁽¹⁄₃–¹⁄₂cup slivered cooked ham or¹⁄₃–¹⁄₂ cup chicken or ¹⁄₃–¹⁄₂ cuppork or ¹⁄₃–¹⁄₂ cup mincedshrimp)
• 1teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 -3tablespoons peanut oil (or other cooking oil)
  

  Foo Yung Sauce

• • 1cup chicken broth
  • 1tablespoon soy sauce
  • 2teaspoons sugar
  • 2teaspoons vinegar
  • 1tablespoon cornstarch
  • 2tablespoons water

  Directions:
  1. Mix eggs, vegetables, meat and soy.
  2. Heat 2 tsp oil in a 4-6 inch skillet over moderate heat for 30 seconds.
  3. Add 1/3 cup egg mixture and fry as you would a pancake until lightly browned on the bottom, turn over and brown flip side.
  4. Keep warm (but do not stack), while you fry remaining pancakes, adding more oil if needed and stirring egg mixture before adding to pan.
  5. Foo Yung Sauce: In a pan, heat broth, soy, sugar and vinegar.
  6. In a bowl, blend cornstarch and water.
  7. Add to sauce and cook, stirring, until sauce bubbles and thickens.
  8. Serve with hot Egg Foo Yung over steamed rice.

  Bon Appetit! We have to eat, why not make it  something tasty and nutritions?  OK, well the egg foo yung is nutritious.

  Write on my freinds, write on! And eat well!

  Ellie