Five Good Things to Add to Your Diet Now

One of the concepts I have learned since I started studying at IIN is the concept of Bio-individuality. Every person's body is unique and different, and that is why some people are allergic to certain things and others are not. It's also why there is no one right diet for everyone. Some people can eat lots of protein and fat and very few carbs, and feel great. Others may need more carbs and less protein. But there are general guidelines that are pretty much good for everyone across the board. I would like to share five things you can add to your diet now to help you feel healthy, happy and full of energy.

1. ANTIOXIDANTS

Antioxidants boost your immune system, reduce damage caused by free-radicals and help prevent heart disease, macular degeneration, diabetes and cancer. Good sources of antioxidants are brightly colored fruits and veggies, nuts, fish and whole grains.

2. OMEGA 3 FATS

Omega 3's improve brain function, promote healthy vascular function and help prevent alzheimer's and depression. Omega 3 fats can be found in flaxseeds, walnuts, squash, and soybeans. I like taking a fish oil supplement in capsule form just to make sure I am getting enough. 1 to 3 grams per day is good for most of us.

3. FIBER

Fiber aids digestion, rids the body of built up waste products and helps you maintain or lose weight by keeping you feeling full longer. Good sources of fiber are oatmeal, whole grains, dry beans, raw fruits and raw vegetables.

4. OLIVE OIL

This wonderful fat promotes healthy skin and hair, lowers bad cholesterol, and helps reduce the risk of skin and breast cancers. Saute your favorite fresh veggies in 1 Tbsp. of olive oil for the perfect daily dose.

5. MULTI-VITAMIN

It is nearly impossible to get all the vitamins and minerals your body needs to be healthy from food sources alone. Take a high quality multi-vitamin daily, and if you are a woman who is still menstruating, take a vitamin with added iron. Iron supplements will help your body produce new red blood cells to replace those you've lost.

Next week: Five foods to avoid!!

Chinese Coleslaw

In my quest to add more vegetables into our family diet, I ordered a Bountiful Basket on Saturday. In my order was a lovely head of cabbage. I never buy cabbage, as I am the only one in my family who even likes it. But there it was, and I felt obligated to do something with it. So I got online and looked up some recipes that had cabbage in them, and this is the one I settled on. I made it tonight to go with our pulled pork sandwiches, and it turned out really great! David even ate two large helpings, and he has had a lifelong aversion to coleslaw. The reason I chose this recipe was because it's not a traditional coleslaw, but instead has a lighter, vinaigrette dressing. The best part of all is it only has 45 calories per 1 cup serving!

(The recipe is written the way that I modified it)

Ingredients:

5 cups chopped cabbage

1 cup finely chopped carrots

1/2 cup sliced green onions

1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained

Dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tsp. sesame oil

2 Tbsp. raw sugar

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar

1 Tbsp. organic tamari (gluten free soy sauce)

Directions:

Toss all vegetables to combine. In a small bowl, whisk dressing ingredients. Pour dressing over cabbage mixture; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours before serving; toss again before serving.

Garden Primavera

I got this wonderful recipe from my favorite cooking magazine -- Healthy Cooking. I love it because it contains so many vegetables as well as healthy, whole wheat pasta. When I made it the first time, Devin wondered where the meat was, so I grilled some chicken breasts and added them on at the end. But I think it's great without the meat as well!

Garden Primavera

8 oz. uncooked whole wheat fettucini (I used linguini)

1 cup fresh broccoli florets

1 medium red pepper, julienned

1 medium carrot, sliced

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

1/4 cup sliced celery

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbsp. olive oil

3/4 cup V8 juice (I used low sodium)

1/4 cup minced fresh basil

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

2 tbsp. shredded parmesan cheese

1. Cook pasta according to directions on package. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the broccoli, red pepper, carrot, mushrooms, celery, and garlic in oil for 3 minutes. Add V8 and basil; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 3 minutes. Stir in the peas, salt and pepper; simmer 2 minutes longer or until peas are tender.

2. Drain pasta. Add to vegetable mixture and toss to coat. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Serves 4.

1 1/2 C. = 310 Calories

529 mg. sodium

Note: I added extra V8 to make it a little less dry, but you can adjust the recipe for your own tastes.

16 Bean Soup

This is a great recipe that I found online for making 16 bean soup. I changed it slightly, because the original instructions had you add the beans dry, without soaking or rinsing them beforehand. I much prefer to soak them and discard the rinse water before eating them, just personal preference I guess.

16 BEAN SOUP

1/2 pkg. 16 bean soup

1/2 lb Italian pork sausage

1 onion, chopped

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 cans low sodium chicken broth

1 can diced tomatoes, pureed

2 bay leaves

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

3 stalks celery, thinly sliced

1/2 lb baby carrots, diced

salt and pepper to taste

Rinse beans and remove foreign material. Place in large pot and add water until beans are covered and water is 2 inches above beans. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. Add more water to cover beans if needed. Let soak overnight. Discard water and rinse well.

Crumble sausage in skillet with olive oil and saute until slightly browned. Add onions and cook until transparent. Add garlic. Add chicken broth to deglaze pan and transfer to a crockpot.

Add remaining ingredients except for tomatoes. Set crockpot to high setting and cook for 2 hours, then set to low and simmer until beans are very tender. Add tomatoes during final hour of cooking. Remove bay leaves before serving.

Healthy Snacks

For me, one of the biggest challenges to eating healthy has always been snacking. How do you overcome that urge to snack in the mid-morning or late afternoon? With my new training as a health and nutrition counselor, I really felt the need to step up and start living what I am preaching! It's difficult, if not impossible, to eat healthy 100% of the time. But I knew I could make major improvements in the foods I was snacking on.

At IIN, it's all about "crowding out" the bad foods and adding in good ones. So I made a commitment to always have a bowl of fresh fruit on my kitchen counter, even if it means I have to visit the grocery store or farmer's market more than once a week! I also committed to eat three of those fruits a day, and then if I still want a not-so-healthy snack after that, like chocolate, I can have it.
I also try to keep a stash of nuts on hand for munching on. Just be sure to limit the amount you eat by putting some in a small cup or baggie. It's easy to eat a lot of this treat without realizing it. Natural (no salt added) is best, but if you must have a little salt, look for nuts flavored with sea salt.
Another great snack I discovered is a brown rice cake with a little natural peanut butter spread on top. It satisfies my sweet craving, leaves me feeling satiated, and has less than 50 calories if you go easy on the peanut butter! It's also awesome with a little honey on top!
There are some days, most days actually, when I just have to have the chocolate! I have discovered this treat is even more special when I treat myself to the really good, more expensive dark chocolate with 70% or more cocoa. It's very rich and creamy, and usually one or two squares satisfies my craving.

A new favorite healthy snack I just discovered is hummus! I've had it at a Greek restaurant, and loved it! I think it would be a great snack to have with some fresh vegies like carrots, celery, red and yellow peppers, etc. I have not really liked any of the ready-made versions from the grocery store, so if anyone has a great recipe they could share with me, I would appreciate it.

Please feel free to share you favorite healthy treats in the comment section below. Healthy snacking!!

The Importance of Water

One of the best things I have learned so far in my IIN course is the importance of water. Water is the foundation of our diet, the thing we need the most of and probably get the least of. Water helps us break down our food more effectively. It helps us overcome sugar and salt cravings. It can prevent premature aging and wrinkling of the skin, eliminate pain and headaches, lower blood pressure and help us lose weight.

I have learned the hard way that dehydration can lead to the formation of kidney stones. I have suffered with kidney stones several times in my life, and I know of many other people who have also experienced this extremely painful condition. I cannot stress enough the need for each of us to drink more water!

From the website watercure.com I learned:

Water is the basis of all life, and that includes your body.

Your muscles are 75% water.

Your blood is 82% water.

Your lungs are 90% water.

Your brain is 76% water.

Your bones are 25% water.

Your entire body is 75% water.

Dehydration produces pain as its first alarm signal. If the dehydration persists and is not corrected naturally with water, it becomes symptom-producing and, in time, develops into a disease condition.

Soda, coffee and tea don't replace water needs of the body. These dehydrate the body even more, and within an hour you will urinate a cup more than the beverage you drank.

Dry mouth is one of the very last indicators of dehydration of the body. By the time you feel thirsty, you are already extremely dehydrated.

WHAT ARE THE SIGNS OF DEHYDRATION?

Dark yellow or orange urine

Decreased coordination

Fatigue

Dry skin, nose, mouth

Decreased urine output

Headache

Impairment of judgement

Pain

HOW MUCH WATER SHOULD I DRINK?

Divide your body weight by two, and drink that many ounces of water a day. If you weigh 200 pounds, you should drink 100 ounces or 10-12 cups per day. If you weigh 100 pounds, you will only need about 50 ounces or four 12 oz. cups per day.

WHAT KIND OF WATER SHOULD I DRINK?

Most municipal water is safe to drink. If you are unsure of the water quality in your area, you can get a water filter that attaches to your faucet.

MORE DRINKING TIPS:

Morning is when you are most dehydrated and full of toxins. Drink a big glass of water first thing in the morning to flush out toxins and get blood flowing.

Drink water before a meal and afterwards to help in the digestion process.

Balance your sodium intake with your water consumption. You should take in 1/4 tsp. of sea salt per quart of water. Low sodium levels in the blood can lead to sickness and even death.

Keep a water bottle by your side at all times. Take it everywhere with you. Don't wait until you are thirsty to drink.

Drink at least 1 liter of water for every 60 minutes of exercise. Drink more if it's hot. During exercise, replenish fluid every 20 minutes.

Starting a New Chapter

I am starting a new chapter in my life. It's called the "Pre-Empty Nest" chapter! I still have one child at home, but he started high school this year, and so I realize how quickly the time will fly and he will be leaving the nest. I have dedicated the last 23 years of my life to raising my children, and I don't regret any decisions that I made to put them first in my life. I know that they are all wonderful, caring people who will go out and do great things in the world. But what about me? What can I contribute to the world now that my nurturing days are coming to an end? I know that my children, even when they are grown, will always need me, and I will always need them and want them to be a huge part of my life. But the days of feeding, changing, chauffeuring, cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, supervising homework, and just taking care of are dwindling.

So I am very excited that I have found a program in which I will be training to become a certified health coach! It is a year-long program that I will start on September 12th! I have been studying and learning about natural health and nutrition for 10 years now, and I have decided to take the next step and get some formal training. I am nervous about having homework again, it's been quite a long time since I've had to do that, but mostly I am so eager to jump in and start learning how to teach other people the concepts that I have been researching and implementing in my own life!

I will keep this blog updated on my progress as I go along, and I will share as much of this journey with you as I possibly can!