Want to Look More Attractive to the Opposite Sex?!

 One of the Surprising Benefits of Vegetables, Plus More on Veggie Awesome-ness!



 A RAINBOW of beautiful, bright, and bold colors!
The more COLORFUL, the more BENEFICIAL!
PHYTOCHEMICALS are a wide variety substances found in plants.
They WORK TOGETHER to help our BODIES
Via antioxidants, cancer protection, anti-aging, and more!

COMING SOON: Specifics on phytochemicals and COLOR in a future post!

VEGGIES are SUPER for WEIGHT LOSS

There are many reasons for weight loss associated with fruit and veggie intake!
More FIBER and WATER: these fill you up -- so you won't eat as much!
And keep you FULL longer -- so you won't eat as often!

Here are a couple of cool visuals from the CDC:

Compare a serving of corn chips to fresh produce and you can have
strawberries, an apple, carrots and a low-fat dip for the same number of calories!!

If you read much ww.fresh-you.com,
you know I love dates, AND think they are super nutritious,
TRY LARABALLS and Peanut Butter COOKIES!!
...but they are also calorie-dense :)

Check out this comparison of dried fruit to fresh:
1/4 c raisins and 1 whole cup grapes have the same number of calories.

For a bit more on weight loss:

Wonder about Wheat and Weight Loss?

Something else you might find interesting:
5 Big Reasons to Make Your Meat Portions Small

Plus a pamphlet from the CDC called
"How to use fruits and vegetables to manage your weight."

LOOKING HEALTHIER and MORE ATTRACTIVE

THIS IS SO COOL!
Eating 3 more veggie servings for 6 weeks
resulted in this lovely GLOW shown in photo below on the right!
And according to one study
 that glow results in INCREASED perceived HEALTHINESS
and ATTRACTIVENESS to the opposite sex!
(in facial skin)  

 

Photo courtesy of the study carried out at University of St Andrews' School of Psychology. 

It has to do with CAROTENOIDS... the pigment that makes carrots orange,
among many other bright colored produce!
Look for MORE on PHYTOCHEMICALS (Carotenoids are one of hundreds!) in a future post!

HEALTHY BLOOD PRESSURE

More veggies = more potassium = LOWER blood pressure!  Read on...

High blood pressure is a "silent killer"since there are no symptoms...

up to HALF of Americans with the condition DON'T even know it!

Hypertension (high blood pressure) is disastrous to our bodies!  It causes all sorts of problems including: damage to our EYES, ARTERIES, HEART, BRAIN (dementia, cognitive impairment, and stroke), KIDNEYS, sexual dysfunction (in males AND FEMALES), and more!

For a nice summary with details of these changes from the Mayo Clinic click here.

What is ONE easy way to lower our blood pressure?

There are many things one can do, including changes in LIFESTYLE and OTHER DIET changes, but today, let's talk POTASSIUM -- the MORE you consume, the lower your blood pressure will be!  It blunts the hypertensive effect of sodium!

Besides bananas, the MAJORITY OF ALL fruits and vegetables are rich sources of POTASSIUM!

If you have kidney problems, please consult your doctor before making a change in your diet, as potassium levels need be monitored closely with such conditions.

Here is a link to a great summary of one study done at St Andrews Medical School in London.
Here is a link to an abstract of another study done at University of Navarra in Pamploma, Spain.

(They found a high fruit and veggie intake was associated with lower BP.)

Want Fresh, Local, and Organic Veggies all through the Growing Season?!  Check this out!!!

COMMENTS:  Why do you eat your veggies SPECIFICALLY?  Just curious!  Something your mom always said?  News report?

Easy Sandwich Snack!

Hungry?

Try this quick snack!

Simply chop half an avocado and spread it on your bread of choice -- whole grain!

Add generously good old-fashioned regular mustard!

Great with the roll-up (above is a piece of Multi-Grain Flatout!) heated 10-15 sec for a warm treat,

or by toasting a Whole Wheat Bagel Thin!

Multi-Grain Flatout bread is awesome!  Just 100 calories, 8 g fiber, 9 g protein, omega-3 fats, no saturated or trans fat, a huge variety of grains from bulgar to millet to rye to oats and more!

Enlisting help from the little ones increases the chance they'll eat it all up!

Toddler EATING TIP: Read them a book, reading another page with each eaten bite.

If there is a challenging food on the plate, a page is earned with a bite of that food.

For more Picky Eater Tips click HERE.

You likely know by now that AVOCADO is a HEALTHY FAT

full of FIBER (~10g per whole fruit - yes it's a fruit!) and 

They are among the HIGHEST fruit sources of vitamin E (an ANTIOXIDANT), folate (this is key for potential MOMMYS), potassium (higher levels in diet correlate with lower blood pressure), and magnesium.

Let's discuss MAGNESIUM tonight: it's important for having a healthy blood pressure, overall cardiovascular function, blood sugar control, bone health, and may be helpful with migraines!

Check out this comparison to butter and cheddar (UNhealthy fats).

This chart is from www.avocado.org/nutrition

For MORE avocado BENEFITS click HERE!

One more thing: MUSTARD!

Did you know it is healthy for you?  Did you know why?

Mustard is a RICH source of TURMERIC!

Top 3 Reasons TURMERIC (which contains CURCUMIN) is good for your health!

1. Powerful anti-inflammatory: this can help about every part/system of our bodies -- we're all inflamed :~

(this is a link to a nice summary of the research on Tumeric from University of Maryland Medical Center)

2. Powerful antioxidant ~ helpful in many ways,
including preventing a variety of cancers, aging, and more!

3. Makes platelets less likely to clump and clot (like CHOCOLATE and ASPIRIN!)

Ok, that's it for now, go enjoy a nice avocado and mustard roll-up now!

WHAT DO YOU THINK?  Can you replace other fats with avocado?  What creative ways can you think of to do this?

Dr Oz's Tangy Green Drink

Here are some benefits of this tangy green drink! You get nearly 40% of the fiber you need each day, half of your iron, vitamins A, and folate (the important vitamin for pregnancy), tons of vitamin C (may help relieve arthritis) and vitamin K (well over daily requirement), 25% of magnesium and riboflavin and it’s a source of coenzyme Q10 (important especially for those on statin drugs).

There is lipoic acid which is important for fat burning capacity, lutein for your eyes, and glutathione an important antioxidant for cancer prevention. Silica helps with skin health and your overall complexion. Green drink also provides some calcium, potassium, zinc, selenium, vitamin E, and all but one of the B vitamins (7 out of 8).

Experiment with making it however is best for you, and you will certainly become more efficient with experience. Soon, you may find you miss it on days that you don’t drink it! I find that when we (my husband and I) are into the habit of making it, we are sick less often and feeling healthier overall!

24 oz water (1/2 could be ice for immediate drinking temperature; otherwise, it gets a bit warm from blending process)

1/2 lemon, seeds removed, and most of peel*

2 large handfuls kale

1 small handful fresh parsley (1/2 c)

2 apples, cored, quartered

1 inch cube fresh ginger, peeled

1 small cucumber

3-4 stalks celery

2 servings green tea, Japanese, open tea bag and dump in contents

Combine all ingredients until well blended. Note that blending may warm drink and require chilling time in the frig or ice to drink right away! Preparation makes roughly two 32-ounce servings. Begin your day with a head start on your veggie intake, a good amount of healthy hydration, and a burst of energy from doing something for the good of your own body and well-being! Thanks Dr Oz!

WHAT DO YOU THINK? Tell me in a comment below: Do you watch Dr Oz? What is the best advice he ever gave you? What hints from him have stuck?