Truth Behind Potatoes

Posted on April 14, 2013 by danayeats

Are you getting in touch with your Irish side this weekend with St. Patty’s Day fast approaching or do you just love potatoes…If you are like me you love potatoes. Many people worry about their carbohydrate intake but remember “whole foods” are healthy foods. The best potato to eat, with the least amount of starch are red potatoes. Bake them, boil them or mash them – they are all great. My personal favorite are baked red potatoes with rosemary, basil, pepper, and a touch of olive oil and salt.

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Quick Mid Week Dinner Recipe

Posted on April 14, 2013 by danayeats

If you are like me, you want to eat something healthy but don’t have hours to spend creating it and cooking it during the week. Here is a quick and healthy meal.

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms with chicken sausage:

Preheat oven to 375. Saute chicken sausage with casings removed in 1 T extra virgin olive oil, once the chicken is cooked, add in 1 whole diced bell pepper, 1 C chopped crimini mushrooms and about a 1/4-1/2 C bread crumbs. Once it is all combined and your bell pepper and mushrooms are cooked (about 5 -8 mins), stuff the portobello mushroom and bake for an additional 10-15 min, if you want you can sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top.

Add a green salad to make your meal balanced and complete. This meal is packed full of wonderful nutrients and is around 500 calories, has 26g of fat (but only 12g of saturated fat – most comes from the olive oil which is a heart healthy fat), 28g proteins, packed full of fiber, vitamin A and C. Enjoy!

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Quick and Easy Lunch Idea

Posted on April 14, 2013 by danayeats

Are you stuck trying to find something you can quickly make in the morning to bring to work or constantly struggling to provide a healthy lunch for your school aged child? If so try, this healthy low-fat, high protein , balanced carbohydrate and vitamin enriched wrap idea.

I use a combo whole wheat and corn tortilla that I get from Trader Joe’s along with their original humus as the base. Then add turkey or ham whichever you prefer. For the adult version, I add sliced bell pepper and cucumber along with spinach… My son will eat it with bell pepper since he likes the crunch so try that as well if your child isn’t bothered by different textures (since bell pepper is packed full of vitamin A & C). With the humus and turkey you are getting around 12 grams of protein and once you add in the spinach you add another gram of protein and vitamin A & C along with fiber, calcium and iron. Give this wrap a try today for lunch.

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Breathing Exercises

Posted on April 14, 2013 by danayeats

Can’t turn your brain off at night…try this simple breathing exercise to relax your body and mind.

Take slow deep breaths, on the 1st exhale count in your head one. Due this for 5 exhales. As you continue, your breathing should get deeper and quieter. If you find that you have counted higher than 5, try to refocus and quiet your mind. Continue this exercise for 10 complete sets or more.

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Kids and Meal Time

Posted on April 14, 2013 by danayeats

Do you struggle to get your kids to eat and make healthy choices? If so you are not alone! It takes many, many patient attempts from parents to get our children to eat healthy choices. One trick/tip that I use frequently with my own 2 small children is to encourage them to eat their colors…they get to pick what color they want to eat. Towards the end of the day I ask what colors have you eaten and which ones are we still missing..it eventually turns into a fun game/challenge to see who can eat the most colors in a day. To make this game successful make sure you have many fresh fruits and veggies handy (cucumbers, bell peppers,avoccado, carrots, apple, oranges, bananas are all great choices as they stay fresh for a while). Let’s making eating our colors a fun, and let’s be honest we as adults could probably eat more colors every day. I would love to hear how this goes in your house.

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Drinks

Posted on April 14, 2013 by danayeats

It is about little changes for me that are sustainable over the long haul. Do you drink a lot of soda or coffee? Both of these have many hidden calories from the cream and sugar in our coffee, to the numerous heapings of sugar found in a regular soda, or the unhealthy toxins found in diet sodas. If you find yourself reaching for that 2nd or 3rd coffee or soda, try to subsitute it for a glass of water or cup of green tea. Before you know, you will have cut back your consumption of these non-nutritious beverages.

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Diary and Sinuses

Posted on April 14, 2013 by danayeats

Are you suffering from spring allergies or does your child consistently suffer from sinus congestion and head colds? If so, you might want to limit dairy during these times. It has been shown that dairy consumption can increase mucus production in individuals that are sensitive to dairy. Extra mucus is produced due to inflammation in the sinus cavities, which does not allow your sinuses to drain properly. My son loves cheese, yogurt and milk and has no reaction to eating these foods. He clearly doesn’t have a sensitivity to dairy but when he gets a head old we completely eliminate any diary from his diet. I feel that by doing this, his congestion/cold cycle is shorter than normal. Next time you, or someone you know is suffering from congestion, try eliminating diary and see if this makes a difference for you.

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What is Personal Satisfaction

Posted on April 12, 2013 by danayeats

Disciplining yourself to do what you know is right and important, although difficult, is the highroad to pride, self-esteem, and personal satisfaction.” – Margaret Thatcher

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How to Get More Minerals and Vitamins

Posted on April 12, 2013 by danayeats

Do you find yourself eating a bagel or cereal for breakfast, a sandwich every day at lunch and a protein and starch/carbohydrate at dinner…Sometimes we eat these types of food due to ease of accessibility and other times out of habit.

My challenge for the weekend is to increase your intake of raw fruits and veggies. A great way to achieve this is to have a large salad at lunch packed full of your favorite fresh veggies. Of course, please be mindful of the type of dressing you us, so you don’t ruin your healthy low-fat lunch. I prefer a little bit of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. If you feel like you “need” or crave a carbohydrate to go with it, grab a handful of multi-grain cracker that are low in sodium and are made from whole grains. Also at dinner, make sure you are adding a raw veggie or salad again. The key is “raw” for our fruits and veggies, this is due to the fact that you will get all of the vitamins and minerals that nature intended for us to receive. During the cooking process of vegetables, many if not all of the key vitamins and minerals leach out. The best method for cooking vegetables is to lightly steam them, never boil them as all of the mineral and vitamin content will end up in your water.

See how easy it is over the weekend to add at least 3 servings of raw fruits and vegetables throughout your day. Once you see how little prep time it takes, add this into your routine during the week. Not only will you feel better and have more energy, your body will thank you by getting the energy it craves from fruits and vegetables.

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Break The Caffeine Addiction

Posted on April 10, 2013 by danayeats

Do you need the smell of coffee or tea to help get you going in the morning? Does that first cup of coffee help “jumpstart” your brain? Are you then on to many more cups of coffee once you are at the office?

If this sounds familiar, you are not alone. Many Americans, feel the need to have coffee or some sort of caffeinated drink to help them get their day started.

The first step in breaking down the addiction to caffeine is breaking away from the psychological “need” of it…Easier said then done you are probably thinking right now.

My challenge for the next week, to all my caffeine addicted friends is to reach for a large glass of water first thing in the morning vs. your caffeinated drink. When you hydrate your cells, you will naturally feel uplifted and you will slowly change your brain to acknowledge this feeling vs. the caffeine “induced high”. Now, if a couple hours later, you still find yourself needing or wanting that cup of coffee, go ahead and have it. The key is breaking away from the psychological need when you first wake up.

I am sure you are slowly realizing, my husband is my guinea pig for many things nutrition and health related these days. He used to have a cup of coffee each morning when he first got up, now for the last month he drinks water and might have a cup of coffee at the office later on. He has changed that psychological need for coffee to water, which let’s be honest has so many more health benefits. One or two cups of tea or coffee throughout the day or not necessary bad for you, but when you start thinking of all the extra sugar and cream (saturated fats) that get added to these drinks, it is no wonder why we get these feelings of “highs/engery” from them. We need to be honest about these feelings, and realize not only is it the caffeine but the sugar and fat high and not a natural feeling of energy. So go ahead start my challenge for the next week and let me know how it goes.

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