Vitamins!

My friend/co-worker and I just went on a field trip to the health food store. Fun! I know...don't be jealous.

First we stopped in the grocery part and she got a mango smoothie and I bought some weird Cacao gogi berry superfood desert things and another Cacao super greens desert things- they taste really yummy, contain chocolate and are "good" for you I...perfect!

-Then we stopped at on the vitamin side.

We both got probiotics. Why you ask? Well, probiotics are good for the large intestine, aka , colon which the main part of your immune system is stored there.


*You see, (this is the what the health food lady told us....) you lose healthy bacteria everyday and probiotics replace the healthy bacteria that you need to fight off infection, digestive orders etc.
*almost everything we do affects our digestive system (foods we eat, stress, etc) so it is important to keep your digestive track in good balanced condition.
*Most health problems form in your digestive track since that is where your immune system is.

I could go into many more reasons why it is good to take them but then my blog would be too long...so just do it! You will notice you will be more...er...regular which means everything is clean!

We also got vitamin B-complex because that is good for stress, hair, skin and nails.

You should take a field trip your self sometime and just ask a bunch of questions. That's what I do and I really enjoy it! (then again...I'm kind of a nerd....)

Beauty Tip: since we are talking about vitamins....Take a vitamin E capsule and break it open. Use it at night all over your face or when ever for your lips, eyes, cuticles, what ever.- It is amazing for your skin!

Cravings:

Today I am feeling a little stressed (Ok, a lot stressed)-

Days like this make me want to munch mindlessly on random things usually....

*One day someone (a guy of course...) told me when I was hungry to drink tea as it's supposed to help cravings. I wanted to smack him. But you know what....today that is exactly what I did!

*Instead of reaching for the corn nuts in my drawer- (hello corn nuts....) I grabbed a cup of Yogi Detox Tea instead. Chamomile would have been better because it also supposedly helps soothe the nerves but I couldn't find any- this is just as nice though!

**Usually when we have a craving, its not the food we are craving , it's the distraction we are craving**. (you may just be bored or emotionally eating, thirsty, eating too many sweets so craving salt etc, or sometimes if you are eating too much of something, you will keep craving it....)

*Next time you are craving something but don't want the calories- think about what you are really craving. If you can, grab a cup of tea or water or go for a walk....(don't smack me!) If it is serious, then go ahead have that slice of pizza.- At least you can say you tried!

Beauty Tip: Sometimes I will use dark lip liner as eye liner if I am in a pinch to make my eyes pop!

Dr. Praeger's....yum.

Today I was trying to recover from the weekend. I probably wasn't as good as I should have been- but hey, we do what we can right??

To clean up my diet today for breakfast I had:

1 apple

1 prickly pear- it was my first time trying this and I did not like it all! What a pain in the butt fruit!....That's just my opinion.

For lunch I made a salad with:

Romaine

Pea Sprouts

Sun Dried tomatoes

Cucumber

Fennel

Celery

balsamic vin and olive oil dressing

All of which I already had in my fridge. I made this salad in 5 minutes this morning. (except for the oil and vin- I stole that from the salad bar at the place I get my fruit from!)

Because I haven't done too much grocery shopping and I am going to yoga and won't get home until 9 for dinner I am making Dr. Praeger's veggie burgers. They are SOOO good and such a great thing to have on hand in the freezer.

They are least processed veggie burgers I have found and consist mostly of- what do you know...veggies! They have many different types including Gluten Free. (I prefer the Tex Mex kind)

I usually microwave them for a minute and then stick them under the broiler for another couple of minutes, just until they are warm and browned. Meanwhile I make a salad and I have a whole meal in less than 10 minutes. Luke even likes them!! He puts them in a wrap with avocado, tomato, lettuce and hot sauce.

There you have it: I will spend less than 15 minutes preparing food today.

Beauty tip: For a homemade moisturizing and soothing skin mask for all skin types take 2 egg whites, separated from the yolk and place in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of plain yogurt (I like Greek yogurt- but do not use flavored yogurt) Mix them together and apply to face for a few mins.

Sunday...

Ok, so last night was my friend Wade's birthday and it wound up being kind of a big night! So yeah, I had a breaded chicken cutlet sandwich with lettuce and mayo for "breakfast".- and it was SOOO good! It did come from the gourmet deli...does that count for healthy?

I did just make myself a juice though. I thought it might make me feel better, and it did!!
Celery is a great natural re-hydrator and is a natural "sports drink" and is great for your skin. Any time you can use greens you are getting chlorophyll which is great for your digestive track. Normally I use more greens but today I wanted something a little sweeter.

For my juice today I used:

3 celery stalks
1/2 cucumber
1apple
2 small organic carrots
1 small beet
3 bunches kale

I have the breville compact juicer and I love it!! I make myself a juice almost every morning. People complain about the clean up but seriously, it takes 10 mins from start to finish to make the juice and clean the juicer. Every one can find 10 minutes!!- You should try it- google about juicing and become familiar with its benefits and combinations to try when you are starting out.

Beauty tip:
If you don't have shaving cream use hair conditioner. It works amazing and leaves your skin so soft! You can use it everywhere too!

Mercury in Retrograde....

Is going on right now for 2 more days!... They say that it is not a time to start something new (oops...started my blog! Oh well, hopefully I will be alright)- Be aware of communication "challenges"....

Ok- anyway, I am off to a party tonight so I will not have time to talk about what I am having for dinner (also because I don't know yet!) But I can talk about what I had for breakfast!

I am trying to stay off the (bad) carbs for a little bit so I am doing somewhat of a more protein based "diet" for a little bit.

This morning I had eggs with sauteed kale,Swiss chard and goat cheese- it was so yummy and kept me full from about 11:00 am until now 4:30. (I am def starting to get a little hungry-)

How to make it:

• Take what ever leafy green you are using,(kale, swiss chard, spinach-whatever you like. Use one kind or a mixture) rinse it and then chop it up.
• Take a tbl of Olive oil and put in skillet
• Add a little bit of chopped garlic and saute for a minute
• Add the greens and the water leftover from rinsing it should create steam for you to saute it.
• turn heat down to medium and simmer for a couple of minutes until it is soft. Make sure you keep checking to see if there is enough liquid in pan and a little if necessary.
• while this is cooking take fresh organic, no antibiotic eggs and beat in a bowl
• when greens are done, add a little more oil to prevent eggs from sticking (unless you are using non-stick pan) and add eggs a little salt and pepper.
• keep stiring eggs and veggies until eggs are cooked.
• add a little goat cheese or cheese of your choice at the end.

You can eat this alone in a bowl or add it to a wrap or bread of your choice. This whole meal took less than 10 mins to make and it was delicious!

The key is remembering not to be so rigid with your "recipes"- have fun- mix and match and experiment.

Beauty Tip: For shiny hair try this...Blondes -Add a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice to your rinse water.
Brunettes and Redheads - Add a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to your rinse water.

Confessions of a "healthy person".....

I started thinking that you might be wondering "why should I listen to anything this girl has to say and who she?"....good question. (although, if you are reading this, most likely you already know me because there are only few of you that know about this blog! ha!)

But here's the story: I used to not always be super healthy but I did always considered myself a "closet healthy person".

I smoked, (ew gross! And sometimes more than cigarettes...oops!) and I would partake in the "party scene" quite a bit- hey what can I say, it was fun!! Luckily I always enjoyed sports and being active though. (p.s.- I quit smoking almost 3 years ago!)

Now that I am getting uh, eh-hmm....older...I know that my body is changing and I want to make sure I feel as good as I possibly can and I am determined to beat all the health crap problems that most Americans face today (cancer, heart disease, hypertension, diabetes....).

I was also diagnosed with my own health problem of thyroid disease which I am determined to beat. Currently I am on medication for thyroid but I am planning on curing it without medication by eating the most nutritious foods I can. Juicing for me is a big part of it-which is a whole other story! I will keep you posted!!

That is how I wound up at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition which changed my life. My education opened my eyes to how important the connection between diet and lifestyle is- and now all I want to do is help other people feel as good as they can too!

So that's it in a nut shell....yes, I still love to have fun and drink wine (and vodka, and tequila, and Beer...and....) and I still eat french fries but 90% of the time I try and be good.

What to expect from my blog: I will try and update it often- if not everyday. Most likely at night after we've had dinner and Luke is watching any kind of sport he can find on TV!

I will try and always have some cooking tip (or something to do with eating healthy) and a beauty tip. But if there is something you want to know...please ask! I love telling people my opinion!! :)- These posts coming later...I am off to the farmers market to figure out lunch!

Eat Healthy For BCA

Ok, so this is my first post!! How exciting! I figured I could talk a little bit about myself, blah, blah, blah, but then I figured you would get to know me after a while so I will get straight to the good stuff. ( and I promise, not all blogs will be this long...I have no attention span either..)

It's Breast Cancer Awareness month so let's eat healthy!

This month, why not incorporate these cancer fighting ingredients into your diet:
Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower kale and anything with high fiber to keep you nice and “clean”!! Heck, have a glass of wine too…stress reduction is important.

For a quick and no brainer way to consume these veggies:
Take any combination of ingredients or all at once and toss them in a bowl with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast them in the oven at 425 for about 20-25 mins depending on your oven. (except for the Kale, you will probably want to sauté that) and voila! You are off to a great start.

Pair it with any protein of your choice (salmon, chicken, veggie burger…) which can be roasted/ broiled or pan seared and you have a great meal in less than 30 mins. Bon Appetite!

Beauty tip: Take 1 tbl of sugar and mix it with enough olive oil to be able to rub it gently on your face to slough off dead skin. Move in circular motions and then rinse with warm water. Your face will feel sooooooo smooth and nice someone might want to eat you!