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Thursday, April 15, 2010

Do You Get Enough Fiber?

According to the Institute of Medicine it is recommended that MEN consume about 38 grams of fiber per day and WOMEN- 25 grams daily.
However, the average man and woman in the United States each currently consumes less than half that amount.
I like to think that I am better than the average American when it comes to my eating habits. I do my best to eat whole grains and lots of veggies.
BUT...
I have been tracking my fiber intake the last few days and it turns out that although I may be slightly above the average, I am still falling short of getting the recommended amount of fiber in my diet on a daily basis.
Do you get enough FIBER?
I challenge you to do a fiber inventory.
Focusing on fiber intake will help you consume a much healthier diet. If you are filling yourself up with fiber rich foods you are going to feel more full and satisfied, and won't have room for all the extra calories that you don't need.

Cranberry, Pear, Pork Salad

PLEASE try this recipe!!!

It is healthy
It is budget friendly
and it is DELICIOUS!!!
If you aren't a fan of pork I am sure it would be great on chicken.
I did use a spring mix of greens in place of the spinach because I have been doing a lot of spinach lately. I liked the change.
Canned pears (without added sugar) work great if you don't have fresh.
Oh, and I used onions in place of the shallots because that is what I had on hand.
The cranberry mix used for the topping is to die for!!!

Click Here-
Budget Recipes: Pork Tenderloin, Pear, and Cranberry Salad - Budget Recipes: Feed 4 for $10 - Photos - CookingLight.com

Monday, April 12, 2010

Oatmeal with some Flavor!


I have to thank my cousin for this twist on oatmeal. Once you try it, you will be thanking her as well.


Steel-cut Oats (You can use regular Old Fashion oats too)


Cook oatmeal in all natural (not from concentrate) apple juice instead of water. Depending on how sweet you want your oatmeal you can dilute the juice with water.


Add coconut flakes and fresh berries after cooking the oatmeal. (I actually like cooking my oatmeal with the berries in it).


Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Researching my Leafy Greens

I decided this week to challenge myself and learn more about all the different varieties of leafy greens. To be honest my knowledge and experience with them doesn't go much further than Spinach and Romaine Lettuce. I didn't grow up with much more than iceburg lettuce so I guess I have been a little scared to expand my horizons because it is like entering a whole new world. I like my spinach but I am ready to step outside my little comfort zone and find new ways to eat my veggies.
I am going to start my research with Endive. The first trick has been to find it at the grocery store. Wal-mart sure didn't have it and Kroger had signs for it but it was no where to be seen. I will have to check back tomorrow. I guess that is part of living in a smaller town.
Why try Endive?...
It is a good source of fiber, vitamin A, C, K, and E, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Folate, Pantothenic Acid, Calcium, Iron, Potassium, Zinc, Copper, Manganese, Magnesium, and Phosphorus.


I figure all this information isn't worth much if you don't know how to put Endive to use. So here is a yummy recipe to try.

Shrimp Salad with Endive

1 1/2 lb Shrimp

4 Large Endives, prepared

1 large Cucumber, sliced

1 Carrot, peeled and sliced

Layer Endive, Cucumbers, Carrots, and Shrimp and top with Cucumber Sauce just before serving.

Cucumber Sauce-

1 cup yogurt/sour cream (I am trying plain greek yogurt)

1 TBSP Horseradish

1 small Cucumber, pared and grated

Juice of Lemon/Lime to taste

2 TBSP dill, chopped

Salt and Pepper to taste

E-N-J-O-Y!!!

Monday, April 5, 2010

Toned Triceps



Something for the girls...
It seems that every girl wants to know how to reduce the underarm giggle. There is no miracle move, and you may need to drop a few pounds before you see any results, but these moves are great ways to target the tricep muscle.





Next we will focus on some shoulder exercises. If you notice in the pic of Cameron Diaz it is the shoulders that make her arms looks so fantastic!

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Sweet Pineapple Salsa-



Basically add as much of each ingredient as you would like. Just depends on your taste preferences.


Pineapple

Lime juice

Cilantro

Onion

Pepper


Chop it all up or throw it in the food processor and you have one delicious salsa!!!
It goes great on top of a salad or jazz up a chicken breast or fillet of grilled fish. Of course it always tastes great as a chip dip, just keep the chip consumption in check:)

Egg Facts- Making informed choices

I came across this when doing a google search...

Myth 2- Eating eggs raises your cholesterol levels.

Truth- Dietary cholesterol found in eggs has little to do with the amount of cholesterol in your body. The confusion can be boiled down to semantics: The same word, "cholesterol," is used to describe two different things. Dietary cholesterol—the fat-like molecules in animal-based foods like eggs—doesn’t greatly affect the amount of cholesterol circulating in your bloodstream. Your body makes its own cholesterol, so it doesn’t need much of the kind you eat. Instead, what fuels your body’s cholesterol-making machine is certain saturated and trans fats.

Eggs contain relatively small amounts of saturated fat. One large egg contains about 1.5 grams saturated fat, a fraction of the amount in the tablespoon of butter many cooks use to cook that egg in. So, cutting eggs out of your diet is a bad idea; they're a rich source of 13 vitamins and minerals.

There is a lot of truth in the above statement, but I feel it gives the wrong impression.
In an attempt to write a new and interesting magazine article a few details may have been left out.
No wonder nutritional info. is so confusing!
The following articles come from MayoClinic.com and a Harvard Study. I like them so much more.

Question
Eggs: Are they good or bad for my cholesterol?

Answer
from Thomas Behrenbeck, M.D.
mayoclinic.com

Chicken eggs are high in cholesterol, and a diet high in cholesterol can contribute to high blood cholesterol levels. However, how much the cholesterol in your diet can increase your blood cholesterol varies from person to person.

When deciding whether to include eggs in your diet, consider the recommended daily limits on cholesterol in your food:

If you are healthy, it's recommended that you limit your dietary cholesterol intake to less than 300 milligrams (mg) a day.

If you have cardiovascular disease, diabetes or a high low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or "bad") blood cholesterol level, you should limit your dietary cholesterol intake to less than 200 mg a day.

One large egg has about 213 mg of cholesterol — all of which is found in the yolk. Therefore, if you eat an egg on a given day, it's important to limit other sources of cholesterol for the rest of that day. Consider substituting servings of vegetables for servings of meat, or avoid high-fat dairy products for that day.

If you like eggs but don't want the extra cholesterol, use only the egg whites. Egg whites contain no cholesterol. You may also use cholesterol-free egg substitutes, which are made with egg whites. If you want to reduce cholesterol in a recipe that calls for eggs, use two egg whites or 1/4 cup (59 milliliters) cholesterol-free egg substitute in place of one whole egg.

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Egg Nutrition and Heart Disease : Eggs aren't the dietary demons they're cracked up to be.

Common misconceptions keep many people, especially those worried about heart disease, from eating eggs. The July issue of the Harvard Heart Letter unscrambles the dietary facts and myths about the egg.

Fact: Eggs are a good source of nutrients. One egg contains 6 grams of protein and some healthful unsaturated fats. Eggs are also a good source of choline, which has been linked with preserving memory, and lutein and zeaxanthin, which may protect against vision loss.

Fact: Eggs have a lot of cholesterol. The average large egg contains 212 milligrams of cholesterol. As foods go, that’s quite a bit, rivaled only by single servings of liver, shrimp, and duck meat.

Myth: All that cholesterol goes straight to your bloodstream and then into your arteries. Not so. For most people, only a small amount of the cholesterol in food passes into the blood. Saturated and trans fats have much bigger effects on blood cholesterol levels.

Myth: Eating eggs is bad for your heart. The only large study to look at the impact of egg consumption on heart disease—not on cholesterol levels or other intermediaries—found no connection between the two. In people with diabetes, though, egg-a-day eaters were a bit more likely to have developed heart disease than those who rarely ate eggs.

If you like eggs, eating one a day should be okay, especially if you cut back on saturated and trans fats. Other ways to enjoy eggs without worrying about cholesterol include not eating the yolk, which contains all the cholesterol, or using pourable egg whites or yolk-free egg substitutes.

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Also a point to remember-

One large egg contains about 90 calories, with about 50 of those calories coming from the yolk. Even if you aren't concerned about the cholesterol levels, you may be able to cut back on the calorie content of your food by eating just the egg whites. Or you could consider the option of scrambling one whole egg with a few extra egg whites. This way you keep both your cholesterol and calorie count in check, yet keep the taste you were going for.