Addictive Snack, Take Two!

This is a healthier variation of Perfectly Addicting Snack! Enter quinoa!  

QUINOA is:

~ A very healthy WHOLE GRAIN, so it's rich in many nutrients, phytochemicals, and fiber!

~ High in protein from a plant!

~ Easy and FAST to prepare ...just like rice.  In particular, it cooks faster than brown rice, done in about 15 minutes!

Quinoa is moist like cottage cheese, and sort of has a similar texture, with none of the saturated fat! 

It tastes like pasta, similar to those tiny Italian pasta stars, pastini!...only it's a whole grain!

Quinoa prepared (Costco sells a big bag!)

Trader Joe's Lemon Pepper with attached grinder

Hemp seeds

Chick peas (optional)

COMMENTS: What are you doing this weekend?  Buying hemp seeds!  You can get them in the bulk food section of Whole Foods, or get organic from www.amazon.com!

4-Ingredient Simple Super Smoothie

We have been enjoying this FAST drink very often -- it's super nutritious!

SOME Key Benefits You'll Super Charge with:

1. Omega-3 fats (in walnuts or hemp seeds)

Chia and flax may also be added to boost omega-3!

2. Probiotics -- TONS if you stick with PLAIN regular yogurt!

3. Fiber -- from the bananas, nuts, AND cocoa!

(Here are 3 Reasons I Love Chocolate for My Health and Mood!)

This is what we do!  Blend the following in this order:

3 c PLAIN yogurt

1/3 c unsweetened cocoa (roughly!)

1 c nuts (any kind! walnuts, hemp seeds, pecans, peanuts, sunflower seeds, cashews)

3 bananas

I use my Blendtec.  It turns all these nutritious foods into a delicious drink in a matter of seconds.  This recipe makes about 40 ounces and tastes great immediately.  Alternatively, drink or serve this chocolate smoothie chilled.

I love it for it's simplicity, nutrient density, tastiness, and even value!  My hubby, a previously non-yogurt-eater, even enjoys this drink!  

The kids ALL love it!  And we hope you will too!

You may also love the 3-Ingredient Super Shake!  I guess if you're getting a super nutrient dense drink, the word SUPER must be the title!

COMMENTS: Does this remind anyone of Chocolatey Goodness?  It's pretty similar, only with slightly different proportions, as well as the addition of nuts, blended to a completely smooth drink! You can consume a lot more of this, and more quickly too, compared to sitting down and eating a big bowl of Chocolatey Goodness.  SO if you're after weight loss, you may want to choose Chocolatey Goodness!  Though either way, all the great nutrients included will help boost anyone's metabolism!

10 Simple Ways to Share Your Kindness

I am SO excited to make a day of this, with my kids, soon, soon, soon!

How good does it feel to perform a RANDOM ACT of KINDNESS?  My heart is pounding -- and I want to shout out -- AWESOME!

Just think about how fun it is to find money, whether it's a quarter or a twenty!

Now imagine getting a good parking space because someone let you in, or someone asking you to go ahead of them in line at a grocery store or the license bureau!

Random Acts of Kindness for your health!

YOU can make these things happen, without a lot effort.  The pay back is a wonderful MOOD and an amazing sense of well being, as well as awesome health benefits!

Random Acts of Kindness can make the giver AND the "getter" feel that there is goodness in the world, and that everything is going to be alright.

I can think of amazing times when a stranger has paid for my meal, a cashier or fellow shopper has helped me save money during check-out with an extra coupon, and generally things have happened that surprised me for the better!

Here are some suggestions to get started, and really the possibilities are endless!

#1 Hand out stamps to people in line at the post office.

#2 Take a neighbor's trash cans back up their driveway on garbage day.

#3 Leave a package of baby wipes at a fold-out changing table in a public restroom.

#4 Slip dollar bills in random places on the shelves at a dollar store.

#5 Send a card/letter to a friend or relative telling them why they mean so much to you.

#6 Pick up litter anywhere!

#7 When a UPS or FedEx package arrives, trade the delivery person your package for a packaged snack, like a Larabar!  You don't want to freak out a stranger with homemade goods.

#8 Deliver homemade cookies, like peanut butter cookies or LARABALLS, to a relative or a neighbor.

#9 Visit a nursing home.  There is always someone there who would love company :)

#10 Hand out stickers to kids on a playground.  To avoid worrying anyone about kids talking to strangers. have your kids do this, or offer them directly to parents to share with their kids.

Here is one family who knows all about Random Acts of Kindness -- what an awesome family tradition!

COMMENTS: What kind things have people done for you?  Have you seen Pay it Forward?  Cool movie!  Watch it free if you have Amazon Prime!

Healthy High Anyone?

Would you like to feel a heightened sense of EXHILARATION or euphoria?

Perhaps, you want to be more OPTIMISTIC or have a more positive outlook on life?

Want to have more ENERGY?  Feel less lonely, depressed, helpless?

Have less pain, SLEEP better, get sick less?

The list literally goes on and on and on!

These are among the many BENEFITS of kindness!

It helps to do several acts of kindness in a day and do them deliberately in order to feel the mental benefits of your kindness.  I've mentioned Sonya Lyobumirsky's book before, and she discusses this topic quite a bit in How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want.

Here is a great article by another author, David Hamilton, clearly describing 5 benefits of kindness, along with the scientific studies and explanations for the benefits!

The Australia Kindness Movement provides another great resource for the topic!

There is the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation (they have some awesome "kindness research") and www.giftofkindness.com!

COMING SOON: What to do! 10 Simple Random Acts of Kindness to Share!  Plus, sugar/butter/flour free Girl Scout Samoas!  A great breakfast drink!  And a yummy way to eat quinoa!

COMMENTS: Did you LOVE the pretend spring we had this weekend?!  Did you get outside?  What did you do?

Delightfully Sweet, Fruity, Chewy Goodness!

That describes Trader Joe's Unsweetened and Unsulfured Dried Pineapple Rings perfectly!

These are a wonderful TREAT of a snack!

Chewy TAFFY-like texture,

WHOLESOME and rich fruity taste, 

Sweet SMELL that wafts from the bag!

Eating a ring really reminds me of chewing up a piece of taffy!

Only without the yucky taste in my mouth and feel in my belly afterward!

Trader Joe's Dried Pineapple Rings

Trader Joe's also sells frozen pineapple - YUM! and many other delicious things!

Calorie per calorie, there is twice the fiber in dried fruit compared to canned.

Looking for ways to eat this fruit?  Try homemade Popsicles or No-Bake Carrot Cake!

COMMENTS:  Did you eat Laffy Taffy as a kid?  What was your favorite flavor?  Have a new years resolution to share?  How is it going?

Perfectly Addicting Snack!

COTTAGE CHEESE is a great way to get protein to jump start your day OR eat before bed to make sure you don't get hungry in the middle of the night. How about some chick peas in there instead? Yes, please!

I have been adding Trader Joe's LEMON PEPPER with a built in GRINDER -- it is SO fabulous!!   I just love those pepper corns and lemon peels and garlic!!!

HEMP seed is also a great addition -- it blends right in with the yummy spices, and ADDS a BIG NUTRITIONAL punch! There is protein, fiber, and it's another plant source of OMEGA-3 fat (others include chia, flaxseed, and walnuts)! Dr Oz recommends these little seeds too!

Trader Joe's Lemon Pepper, shelled hemp seed!
Edit: please use chick peas instead of cottage cheese.

Chick peas + lemon pepper + hemp seed is all I add for a snack/small meal that I want to lick the bowl clean!  I hope you enjoy too!

COMMENTS: How do you enjoy your hemp seeds?

Best Bites from 2012!

Best Bites Round-up!

Sharing nutrition, wellness, and fitness information has been such a pleasure for the past year or so!  I am amazed and grateful at how many readers have tuned in!  Fresh-you pages have been viewed nearly 30,000 times, and Fresh-you's 500th fan recently joined :)  THANK YOU everyone for reading, trying new things, and telling a friend about fresh-you!

This is a quick round-up of some of my FAVORITE and most VALUABLE (nutrition/health-wise) foods!

#1 CHIA an amazing source of sturdy nutrients. Chia can be added to just about anything. When I consume it regularly, I feel fewer cravings and even feel hungry much less often!

#2 BROCCOLI has been shown to actually reverse CANCER! There is a ton of reliable research with promising conclusions! Actually, the entire class of cruciferous veggies are responsible for such cancer protection :)

Veggie artwork by Saxton Freymann

#3 POMEGRANATE is a recently covered superstar which my family thoroughly enjoys and a few of us even find addicting!

#4 WALNUTS the queen of all nuts! All nuts are fantastic nutritional source, and the more you have from a handful a week to a handful a day, instead of unhealthy fats, improves your health in a variety of measurable ways, from heart health to inflammation and cancer protection!

#5 AVOCADO is another healthy fat source that is simple to use and oh so savory to taste!

#6 SWEET POTATOES / Pumpkin haven't been specifically highlighted that I can recall, but they fit so well with these other spectacular foods, so I wanted them to be included here anyway! High fiber, healthy carbs, sweet flavor, loads of vitamins and phytochemicals, and super convenient!  

QUICK TIP: Simplest/fastest way to prepare: pierce a potato a few times with a fork, pop it into the microwave for 5-8 min (depending on size), cut open, and enjoy!

#7 BEANS

#8 PLANT-BASED PLAIN YOGURT or KEFIR for a super-sized portion of probiotics!

#9 GREEN TEA!

#10 CHOCOLATE!

Pomegranate Power!

Looking for a healthy "movie snack"?

POMEGRANATE!

This fruit is perfect for slowly nibbling away on something sweet while you watch your favorite show, movie, or one of the recommendations that I will be suggesting soon!  It takes me a good hour to sit and take my time eating a whole pomegranate!  If you want to get this fruit fast read below.

Have you ever heard that you actually burn calories eating celery (as in more than you're eating)?  I AM CERTAIN that must be the case for pomegranate!

Top 5 Reasons this fruit is Powerful!

#1 Dr Roizen says: Heart health -- improving good cholesterol (HDL), and reducing BLOOD PRESSURE and triglycerides!

#2 Dr Dean Ornish says: Cancer PREVENTION -- particularly prostate cancer, by reducing damage to DNA.  Others also note inhibition of leukemia, breast, and colon cancer.

#3 UCLA says: SKIN health -- increases effectiveness of sunscreen in humans AND inhibits skin cancer in mice!

#4 Dr Mark Liponis says: Help you lose BELLY fat!

#5 Dr Joel Fuhrman says: it can help treat and prevent DIABETES, erectile dysfunction, INFECTIONS, and ANTIBIOTIC resistance through antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties.  He also notes potential to decrease depression AND build BONE mass.

HOW TO? and POMEGRANATE TIPS

• It's messy!  
• Each red, corn-kernel-like piece is called an anril.  
• Cut the fruit open and pick anrils out one at a time; there are sections within the fruit.  Separate the red and white pieces and white paper-like sectional dividers.  
• Eat each anril entirely, including the small, crunchy seed in the center.  
• The whole fruit lasts up to two weeks at room temperature.  
• You can extend shelf life by refrigerating (as with avocados!); plus, it TASTES great cold!

Get it FAST: Costco sells a great frozen bag of mixed berries which includes pomegranate anrils!  Trader Joe's also sells them all prepared in a bag in the fresh fruit section!  Trader Joe's has so many awesome things!

COMING SOON: movie recommendations

COMMENTS: What have YOU been up to for the last few weeks?  My brother was in intensive care, after a bicycle accident (without a helmet), and is finally on the mend, thank heavens!  Please wear a helmet when you ride a bicycle!

4 Terrific Tools for Picky Eaters

Here are some tools to help kids become more open to new foods!

1. Copy Kids dvd (on sale until Dec 9 #4 stocking stuffer)

So cool!  Your kids just watch other happy kids enjoying fresh fruits and veggies, such as broccoli!

2. Seven Silly Eaters by Mary Ann Hobermann

So cute!  A tale that culminates in seven picky kids all preparing, eating, and loving a new food, reducing their mom's hard work in the kitchen by hours and hours!

3. Tales for Very Picky Eaters by Josh Schneider

So funny!  Various separate stories, each convincing a questioning eater to try something like broccoli, for example, instead of alternatives like smelly, sweaty socks!
There is also an audio for this one...great for the car!

4. Fast Food, How Are You Peeling?, Dog Food, One Lonely Sea Horse, Baby Food, Gus and Button, and Food for Thought, all by Saxton Freymann (astounding artist!)

So creative!  Every face, animal, truck, and skateboard is made amazingly, completely out of fruits and veggies!  Awesome tool for introducing new fruits and veggies, as well as helping kids to become more familiar with foods they don't see all the time!

Broccoli gets such a bad wrap!  AND it's one of the most amazing and widely available veggies around!  If these books and videos don't work, or if they do!, hopefully something here will also help your kids to eat their "trees"!

COMMENTS: Do you have any books or movies that help you get your kids to eat?  PLEASE SHARE!!  Green eggs, anyone?

Delightful Dessert-y Snack

Sharing a savory snack!

It reminds me of a childhood treat of the extra pie crust around from the edges baked with cinnamon sprinkled over it!  Only, of course, this version is much healthier!

Chop, smash, or leave whole, 1-2 cups pecans.
Spread evenly over rimmed baking sheet.
Bake at 400 (convection) or 425 (conventional) for 10 min.
Let cool (be sure to taste some warm and toasty!) and pour into storage container.
Sprinkle nuts generously with cinnamon (around a Tbsp) and stir, or just close lid and shake.
Slice a banana and sprinkle as much of mixture on top, and enjoy!

Extra stays nicely for a few days, though it doesn't have much chance to sit around long before being gobbled up by me!...really good all by itself!

It's so healthy and simple! And YUM!  I adore those toasted pecans!  They're delicious with BRUSSELS sprouts!

Read here for the benefits of HEALTHY FATS, AND NUTS in particular!

COMMENTS: are you one to prepare for the holidays early, or wait until the last minute?  Or star early and still have things left to do at the end, like me!?

Lucky 7 Sipping Suggestions!

The previous post warned of the dangers of added sugars in fruit drinks and pop, with the SOLUTION of drinking 100% fruit juice.

Many readers do this already!

Whole fruit instead of juice = 

Fewer calories, MORE fiber, and usually more nutrients :)

Read on to REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF JUICE you consume:)

#1 ADD WATER or carbonated water to juice (soda water, club soda, sparkling, SELTZER, or "fuzzy" water as my 4 year-old calls it!), 50% is good for most kids and adults, but you be the judge.  For 2-3 year-olds, just use a small fraction of juice for a bit of flavor.  For some older kids, teens, and adults, perhaps only add a small portion of water at first, to adapt to the milder taste.

BONUS TIP: TART CHERRIES* are rich in MELATONIN.   In one study, published in the European Journal of Nutrition, consuming (1 oz of concentrate with 7 oz water) 90 minutes before bed resulted in an average of 30 bonus min of sleep per night!  *MONTMORENCY variety have the most melatonin of tart cherry varieties.

#2 Herbal and fruit TEAS, hot or cold, can be very flavorful!  With zero calories or sweeteners!

#3 Juice can also be combined with milk (ideally, non-fat, organic) or KEFIR (yogurt-like drink with TONS of probiotics!); either combination tastes like a traditional SMOOTHIE!  Orange juice is a great juice to begin with and then you can experiment!  It's especially great for post-workout replenishing!

#4 REAL CITRUS packets!  Check them out in previous post!  Plus, add some CHIA and you've got Chia Fresca!

These silly straws help any little taster to be more open to a new drink!

#5 Try flavoring a PITCHER of water with some fresh fruit -- raspberries, citrus fruits, apples, cucumber (yes, yes, it's a veggie, still tastes so nice :), cherries, kiwi, peaches, mango, passion fruit (Y-U-M! ...though I've NEVER had it around here)!...what would you add?

#6 Fruit AND vegetable juice -- this takes down the (natural) sugar and calorie count AND increases the nutrients!  Fruitables!  Costco sells them :) and there are also other single serving fruit/veggie drinks from Costco! (Naked and V8 Fusion)

Available at Costco!

#7 Of course there is the option of MAKING YOUR OWN drink for a super fiber-punch, nutrient-punch, and TASTE-bang! -- whatever fruits you like, some spinach or kale, and blend!  Plus, there is always Dr Oz's Tangy Green Drink!

COMMENTS: Did you drink Kool-Aid as a kid?  What was your favorite flavor?  I can still picture the  cups of sugar just being poured into pitcher after pitcher!  Who knew it would cause so much damage in our bodies!

Fruit Drinks -- Those Sneaky Companies!

FRUIT DRINKS are only required by the FDA to contain a drop of juice, so many only contain 0-10% juice!

FRUIT DRINKS sometimes have even more sugar than soda!

This image is from Discovery Channel's website

SUGAR DRINKS, many of which are FRUIT DRINKS, are the top source of ADDED SUGAR for Americans, and the greatest source of calories in teens!

Can you believe Americans consume on average 9 bags of ADDED sugar (45 lb) per year?

Kids who drink an 8-oz sugar drink per day increase their odds of becoming obese by 60%! Regarding adults, sugar negatively affects all of our bodies, from suppressing IMMUNE function, to increasing INSULIN RESISTANCE, to contributing to HEART disease, DEMENTIA, macular degeneration, and of course tooth decay! (www.wikipedia.com)

Curious about what you'll have to do to burn off a can of Coke (or about any 12-oz sugar drink)? Is 70 minutes of ironing worth the sugar/caffeine buzz you're going for? Check out Cocoa-Cola's activity calculator below!




Plus, here is a cool "infographic" about sugar drinks!

Awesome visual is from Discovery!

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Choose 100% fruit juice!

(clearly displayed on the FOOD LABEL)

If you normally drink 100% juice, super!  

It contains NO ADDED SUGAR and a variety of nutrients!

Whole fruit is better still -- containing fewer calories, more nutrients, and most importantly, FIBER!

SO for you 100% juice drinkers out there (many I'm sure!), here is a post providing tips for reducing the amount of juice you drink!

RESOURCES

Much of the above information came from the research and initiative of Yale University's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity.  You can check out the following below for more information.

Sugary Drink FACTS Summary Report

Sugary Drinks FACTS Complete Report

How Much Sugar Do You Eat?  You May Be Surprised! (from New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services)

Get Your Citrus Burst!

True Lime and True Lemon are amazing!

I am loving it!

My hubby actually found it for me on slickdeals.net and as he suspected...
I love the ingredients list!
So it's helping me drink more water!

Just add a packet to some water for a refreshing drink!

And for a few more days (Octobasale!), there's a great deal!

These tiny packets are packed with FLAVOR!  

Each packet = basically just a fresh fruit wedge that's been crystallized.

It's a powder made from citrus oils and juices!

The possibilities are endless!

Mojitos, rice, salsa, tea, burritos, Popsicles, avocado, tortilla soup!

Try it in TWO-MINUTE FRIDAY NIGHT DINNER!

 or SUPER-EASY GUACAMOLE!

This looks like another cool option -- sweetened with the natural sweetener STEVIA!

True Orange will be arriving at my house any day!

And there is a super SALE going on for the next few days!!  Check it out HERE!

BONUS TIP: Stevia is a natural alternative to regular (sugar) or artificial sweeteners.  However, it is labeled as a DIETARY SUPPLEMENT and is therefore unregulated.  SO, if you ever buy/eat STEVIA, on it's own or in another product (such as the raspberry drink above), make sure it is NOT the EXTRACT, and that there aren't lots of other ingredients listed in the product.  You can GROW IT in your backyard for a super-SAFE option!

COMMENTS: How would you use your True Citrus products?