Good for you, low-calorie snack

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I’ve been working hard at losing weight and eating [even] better for over six months now but I must admit that snacking has been a hard habit to break. Maybe if I could just nibble on a few things throughout the day that wouldn’t be so bad; however, I also love a good breakfast, lunch and dinner. Combined that is just way too many calories! What was I going to do?

Well, one day while flipping through the TV channels I caught part of a story about a supermodel (on average a group of VERY skinny people) who keeps boiled eggs on hand for when she is hungry. Since I’ve always been a fan of eggs (fried, scrambled, deviled – the list goes on and on!) I did some research on eggs in general and then put some boiled eggs to the test. Here’s what I’ve found out:

• Cholesterol: For a long time eggs were considered bad for you because they would raise your cholesterol levels. Well, turns out that they were wrong. Eating a couple of eggs a day won’t adversely affect your cholesterol and their other health benefits far outweigh that small amount anyway.
• Calories: Depending upon the size of the egg you are looking at between 60 to 80 calories each. There are tons of chips, cookies, and other snacks being sold in 100 calorie packs which cost more and have little to any of the health benefits of an egg.
• Nutrients: Since the egg is designed to be the vehicle by which a chick grows it should be no surprise that they are packed with good things. Vitamins include B2, B5, B12, and D. Also included are phosphorus, selenium, iodine, and choline (essential for brain function). And let’s not forget protein, on average you get 6 grams per egg or about 12% of your daily needs. The great thing is that all this goodness is packaged in a form that is very easy for the body to digest and absorb.
• Hunger: I’ve been really surprised to find that if I eat an egg it really satisfies my hunger. I’ve also found that I don’t get as hungry later. Something about all that protein  keeps my system happy, and not hungry, for quite a while.

Of course, one problem is how to prepare them so they are not a pain in the neck to peel (!!!). Here’s my sure-fire solution:

1. Start with eggs you purchased a week ago, fresh ones are just too fresh for this process.
2. Take a big pot of water, add a little salt and oil (keeps the water from boiling over), and room temperature eggs – keeps them from cracking open as they heat.
3. Bring this just to a boil, turn the burner down to low, and put a lid on the pot.
4. Set a timer for 25 minutes.
5. When the buzzer sounds, drain the water from the pot and add a bunch of ice to cover the eggs. Add cool water over this to cover the eggs and ice. Let them sit for a couple of minutes.
6. You should find that the eggs peel easily at this point. Don’t let them sit too long before starting; and I tap the egg against the side of the sink to ensure that the shell is cracked all around.

If you would like to find out more about the health benefits of eggs, here are a couple of good sources: The World’s Healthiest Foods and Benefits Of Net.

Enjoy!

 

The Many Health Benefits of Flaxseed Meal

Flaxseed has been used for over 1000 years as relief for digestive problems. Within the last 20 years or so many additional health benefits have been found, including:

• High in fiber, both soluble and insoluble
• High in antioxidants
• Good source of Omega-3 fatty acids
• Excellent source of protein
• Helps to lower cholesterol
• Contains B vitamins, magnesium, and manganese

Here’s a short list of some of the things I sprinkle flaxseed meal on: eggs, hash browns, mashed potatoes, home fries, sandwiches, meatloaf, hamburgers, yogurt, pasta sauce, cereal, stews, biscuit mix, quick bread mix, muffin mix, pancakes, and heat-n-eat frozen dinners.

Adding flaxseed meal to food is like adding wheat bran, it really doesn’t affect the taste of the food. In large quantities it has a pleasant, nutty taste. Most people probably wouldn’t even notice that it has been added, but your body will appreciate all the positive things that it can do for you.

A few words of caution:

• Because of all the fiber you might want to start slowly with this or risk a “laxative effect.”
• Flax is one of those plants that contains phytoestrogens. There are some people that may be sensitive to their effects.
• Flax, like cashews and some beans, contains small amounts of cyanide compounds. If you are using it uncooked you should limit your consumption to two tablespoons per day. Cooking removes the compounds so once you heat it you should not have to worry.
• Proper storage is important. Keep your flaxseed meal in a cool, dark place. I keep most of mine in the freezer so that it will last longer. I have a stainless steel container that I keep in the refrigerator for daily use.

I poured some into a bowl so you could see it easier. That’s my stainless steel container above the bowl.

My favorite brand of flaxseed meal can be found here.

If you would like to learn more about flaxseed, some excellent sources for information can be found here  and here.

In my opinion, adding flaxseed meal to your diet is an excellent way to stay healthy, keep weight under control, and lower bad cholesterol. It is also an excellent way to inexpensively add protein to your diet. Anyone following a vegetarian diet should be using flaxseed meal daily.

Staying healthy doesn’t have to be hard work. A few simple diet changes here and there can work wonders. This is one change I highly recommend to everyone.

 

An Apple a Day

A nice red apple

Cold weather and hot apple cider seem to go hand in hand. But apples are good for more than just cider. There is a great deal of truth to the old adage: “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.”

Apples are high in fiber (if you don’t peel them) and vitamin C while only packing around 80 calories. You won’t find any fat, cholesterol, or sodium in an apple either. So let’s take a look at what the humble apple can do for you:

• Apples contain two types of fiber. The first works just like wheat bran pulling the bad LDL cholesterol out of your body. The second, pectin, helps to reduce the amount of LDL cholesterol that your liver produces. Lowering your LDL levels can go a long ways towards cardiovascular health.
• Pectin can do many other things for your health too. For example, it can help to pull toxins out of your system. Except for the few people living out in the open country, most of us are exposed to many harmful toxins on a daily basis. Pectin is also great for regulating your digestion; in other words, if you are constipated it will help to move things along, or if you have diarrhea it will help to slow things down.
• The component that gives apples their lovely color, flavonoids, also confer health benefits. The skin of an apple is an excellent source of a potent flavonoid called quercitin which studies have found helps to reduce heart disease. Quercitin is a type of an antioxidant which, especially when combined with vitamin C (also found in apples), reduces the damaging effects of free radicals in the body.
• The sugar in apples is in the form of fructose which is a very simple sugar. Because your body takes a long time to break down fructose it helps to keep the blood sugar levels stable. If you or someone you love is diabetic or near diabetic, then you should consider adding apples to the diet.
• Another benefit from apples can be found in the juice: reducing the risk of kidney stones. Those who suffer from calcium oxalate kidney stones would do well to add apple juice to their daily diet.
• One interesting study I found was done in Australia where they found that adding apples and pears to the diet reduced the effects of asthma.

Staying healthy doesn’t require fancy, and expensive, pills. A few simple additions to your daily diet can go a long way to keeping you healthy and happy.

Interested in more information? Check out these sources:

• Whole Foods
• The Nutrition Journal
• All About Apples

 

Surviving Cold & Flu Season

Take a stroll down the medicine isle at your local grocery or drug store and you will find hundreds of concoctions out there to treat the common cold and flu. I’ve tried my share of them in the past, some work and unfortunately many don’t. Recently the FDA has recalled many of them because they’ve finally “admitted” that they are bad for your health. What can a person do?! Here are a few suggestions:

Herbs that can help keep you from getting sick:

• Echinacea and olive leaf have properties in them that strengthen the immune system.
• Echinacea is safe to take every day.
• If you are around a lot of sick people or traveling you should take olive leaf for a few days.

Herbs and vitamins that can help you get well:

• Elderberry and goldenseal are both good at fighting off germs. Elderberry can be taken up to 3 times a day. However, goldenseal can lower blood pressure and should only be taken once every 12 hours.
• Vitamin C helps to reduce congestion. Some people will take up to 1 gram per hour; however, too much can cause diarrhea, so be careful.

Homeopathic medicines I use:

• If you have a cold try Coldcalm by Boiron. It is especially good to take when you first feel like you are coming down with a cold. I’ve found that my cold is less severe and over much sooner when I start taking it right away.
• Got a nasty, sore throat? Herbs Etc. sells a throat spray called Singer’s Saving Grace. I know your throat hurts and you’re not trying out for American Idol, but trust me, this stuff works wonders.
• To treat a cough caused by post-nasal drip Boiron also sells a product called Hydrastis Can. Sounds weird, but it’s the only thing that will stop my cough.
• For the flu get Oscillococcinum by Boiron. I keep some in my purse so I can take it when I feel the first symptoms. For me it is the best way to beat the bug.

Want something warm to drink? Read my post at Capessa for suggestions on herbal teas.

Stay well!

 

Essential Staples

In these tough economic times I thought I’d go over some essential staples to have on hand. This is a list of basic, inexpensive food items that can be used to create a variety of meals, ensure basic health and nutrition, and still leave you happy when you get up from the dinner table.

Fruits:
Apples and bananas. Both are relatively inexpensive, good for you, and very flexible. Here’s one of my favorite, sweet snacks: slice an apple in to bite-sized wedges, sprinkle on some brown sugar and cinnamon.

Vegetables:
Onions, celery, carrots, and garlic. You can add these to just about any dish you cook. You’ll be adding both fiber and essential nutrients too.

Starches:
Rice, potatoes, and pasta. Breakfast, lunch or dinner – these three items are some of the most versatile foods available. Save money by buying rice and pasta in bulk, both store for a long time in airtight containers in a cool, dry location.

Meats:
Purchase whole meats when ever possible. For example, instead of chicken pieces, purchase a whole chicken and cut it up yourself. Use the parts you don’t want to make broth or stock for soups. Many stores and mega-marts sell beef and pork in large pieces that you can cut up yourself and then freeze the pieces. You can easily save several dollars per pound this way.

Here’s a couple of other inexpensive items that I always have on hand:

• peanut butter (high in protein)
• crackers (great for snacking)
• cereals (not just for breakfast)
• eggs (high in protein and used in so many recipes)
• cheese (high in calcium).

What are your favorite essentials?

 

Too little sleep

Our modern, fast-paced life-style is robbing us of a critical ingredient in our quest for health: enough sleep. Personally, I’ve suffered with insomnia most of my life, so I know first-hand how bad an effect not getting enough sleep can have on your life. Your body needs sleep to regulate hormones, process daily events (sleep enhances memory), and many other restorative functions. Not getting enough sleep can have many adverse effects, including:

• Weight gain
• Slowed reaction times
• Mental confusion
• Irritability
• High blood pressure
• Weakened immune system

There are just so many things to do and worry about that it’s hard to get a full nights sleep (most adults need 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night). We wake tired and consume caffeine to get us going. Bed time comes and we take pharmaceuticals or drink alcohol so we can sleep. It’s a dangerous cycle. The good news is that there are alternatives.

Some people swear by hot milk, but it can sour on the stomach and cause you to wake up in a couple of hours. A better use of milk is to have a small amount of cerial (a low-sugar variety, I use Grape Nuts) with milk one half-hour before going to bed. The combination of the grain in the cerial with the milk will prevent the souring effect of the milk and help relax you so that you can go to sleep.

A warm, relaxing bath before bed can help you go to sleep. A foot rub, back, or neck massage can also make you sleepy. A friend of mine, who lives alone, purchased an inexpensive ($99) back massager that fits in a chair that has helped her relax and get to sleep. There are also many natural herbs that are effective in helping you to both get to sleep and stay asleep, some of these are:

• Valerian
• Catnip
• Hops (beer may have hops, but the alcohol will wake you up after a couple of hours)
• Scullcap

Many health food stores sell melatonin which is the sleep hormone that our bodies naturally produce. Taking some one hour before bed will help you to go to sleep. However, you should not take more than 5 mg per day, and some people find that they have very vivid dreams when they take this. To treat my insomnia I found a homeopathic liquid that helps me to both go to sleep and stay asleep.

Here are some excellent resources for sleep information:

• Wikipedia – Sleep deprivation
• National Sleep Foundation
• SleepDeprivation.com
• Nebraska Rural Health and Safety Coalition  – Sleep deprivation

As always, you should check with your health practitioner to ensure that you do not have other, serious underlying health issues.

 

Keeping your kids healthy

My sister, Leesa, has two wonderful (prejudiced you say, of course, I’m their aunt!) boys. She has battled food allergies and the ever present problem of trying to get kids to eat healthy foods and not just the yummy tasting junk that seems to be everywhere. Today I wanted to share some of her tips and tricks for getting her boys to eat healthy foods. In later posts she’s going to share some of the recipes that she developed to deal with their food allergies (this is a problem that many families have to battle).

Leesa’s kitchen is a veritable cornucopia of fresh fruits. To save money she goes to the local Costco and stocks up on apples, bananas, and other seasonal fruit. She keeps them readily available and whenever one of the boys is looking for something to snack on she offers fruit. Apples and bananas are a great starter fruit for kids and are full of fiber, vitamins, and minerals that they need. If they still want chips or other ‘junk food’ she lets them have some of the fun food if they will have some of the fruit. Her husband often dresses the fruit up so that it looks like an animal to encourage the boys – he’s even made a banana look like a train! Here is one of his creations.

Fun fruit for your kids

At dinner time Leesa includes either a vegetable or more fruit for the kids. Sure, they love mac and cheese (heck, I still do too!), but she always includes some brocolli or another vegetable that they like for added nutrition and fiber.

Don’t expect kids to like something the first time they try it. Let them sample things you are eating, or try a different way of cooking the food. Brocolli is great, but you may have to cover it with some cheese to get your kids started eating it. Changing eating habits can be hard, but with persistance and gradual changes you too can get your kids to eat healthier.

 

Vitamins A, D, E, & K

In talking with a number of people about nutrition and the vitamins and minerals that they take I have found that very few are aware of the two main classifications of vitamins: water-soluble and fat-soluble. This is an important distinction because the fat-soluble vitamins can become toxic if you take too much of them. You don’t have to worry about the water-soluble ones as they get flushed out of your system. Some of the water-soluble vitamins are the B complex of vitamins and vitamin C.

Vitamins A, D, E, and K are very important to human health, but they are fat-soluble so you must take care with the amount that you take and how frequently that you take these vitamins. All fat-soluble vitamins are stored in the liver for when they are needed. You should not take these vitamins on a daily basis unless you are under direct medical supervision.

Don’t worry though about taking a multi-vitamin on a daily basis as the amounts of the fat-soluble vitamins in them are very small and you would have to take a lot of your multi-vitamins on a daily basis to build to toxic levels. However, if you are taking individual doses of any of these fat-soluble vitamins you might want to skip a day to two to allow the excess to work its way out of your system.

In putting this blog together, I came across some excellent information from the Colorado State University and the Nutrition and Well-Being web sites. Check these out for additional information.