350/365 Plantz a-Make Her Dance: Tips for Getting More Vegetables into Your Diet

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

We know fruits and vegetables are great for us but are we eating them as often as we should? According to the USDA, we are supposed to consume 3-5 servings of vegetables a day. I know it can be hard to add them into your diet but here are a few techniques I use that may be helpful to you:

- If you eat salad, put all of your chopped romaine, spinach, Bibb/Boston, etc. lettuce in a container at the beginning of the week.I have been reusing the same giant, plastic container I got months ago when I bought Earthbound Organics's Spring Mix. Every weekend I go to the grocery store, chop up all my lettuce for the week, and store it in that container. It makes it so easy for me to put handfuls of salad into my container to take to work in the morning.

egg white omelette with broccoli, celery, onions, and mushrooms

- I've always loved omelettes but, never thought I'd ever have time to make them. Not so! My dad is a genius when it comes to working smarter and not harder. He stores all his chopped veggies in a container so he can just take a handful to fry (in grape seed oil, of course) when he's ready for breakfast. You can be so creative with these. This week I'm enjoying red bell peppers, onions, shitake mushrooms, and Chinese eggplant. Putting in that extra effort to chop everything ahead of time cuts down breakfast making by half. This meal also gets an A+ if you're paleo, more on that later.

- Though it's better to have fresh vegetables over frozen, I understand it's hard to take time to chop your vegetables every week. An easy way to prepare vegetables is to steam them either in the microwave or on the stove. If you're microwaving, pour your veggies in a bowl and fill the bottom with water. Microwave it for 3-4min. They should be vibrant and tender. If they aren't, microwave them a minute more at a time until they are.

- If you've got a little more time and want to be a little more ambitious, try roasting your vegetables. Set the oven to 350F. Get your vegetables together. I recommend broccoli, bell peppers, cauliflower, and potatoes to start. Chop them all about the same size and put them in a bowl. Pour oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder over the vegetables. Toss until they are evenly coated. Spread the vegetables onto a pan and bake them for about 25-30 minutes. Your veggies should be fragrant and a little brown but, not burnt, toasty on the outside and tender. Who knew vegetables could be so dynamic? Roasted vegetables are amazing. I love them. I could eat them literally every day AND since they shrink down and are so tasty you can scarf a whole mess of them down without even realizing it. Heck, you could easily get all 5 servings from roasted vegetables. Moving on...


Vegetables are not as grab-and-go as granola bars or yogurt cups but they are definitely great for you. If you're not convinced that vegetables are super cool or want more of a challenge, watch this video. Jose Andreas is just the coolest:

In health,
Lauren

267/365 Homemade Energy Granola Bar

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Though I totally love Kashi's GoLean Crunchy! granola bars, I've always wanted to make my own bar. FYI: if a granola bar says "energy" in the title, it usually means its high in carbohydrates and/or fat. If it says "power" then it is most likely high in protein. Moving along, here is my first attempt at this allrecipes.com recipe:

note the incredible texture  :)

It is loaded with carbohydrates and good fat from all the oats, seeds, and peanut butter (I also added sweetened coconut flakes). Sadly, I didn't have enough peanut butter when I made this so it kind of falls apart. Still, it is very good! If you want to try this recipe, cut the salt down to 1/4 tsp because 1 tsp is a little too much especially when you've used roasted and salted sunflower seeds and mix in the chocolate chips. Anyway, I recommend this recipe and I will definitely try this again with all the right ingredients; it makes 24 servings. Each bar has about 200 calories according to livestrong.com's "My Recipes" feature.

In health,

Lauren

72/365 Don't Be Deceived

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Though I advocate reading nutrition labels before you purchase something, I was deceived by the packaging and ad design of a particular granola cereal.

To my dismay, Nature Path's Organic Acai Apple Granola was not as nutritious as I hoped it would be. I was intrigued for three reasons: 1. It was on sale. 2. It had acai in it. 3. It was organic. What should have intrigued me was its nutrition label. For 1 serving (3/4 cup of granola), you get 5g protein and 4g fiber. This is wimpy compared to Bear Naked. For only 1/4 cup of their Peak Protein version, you get 6g protein and 3g fiber. My other complaint is that the acai in Nature Path's granola is really "acai powder" and did not prove to have very many vitamins; it was merely a ploy to get you to buy it. Unfortunately, I fell for it. Something else I hadn't done was look at the ingredient list. Those listed first are most abundant in the product. Acai powder was towards the end, very sad.

The lesson here is to look at the nutrition label. The marketers may do a wonderful job of making a product seem tasty but, do not be deceived. When buying cereals and other grain products, it is important to look for ones high in fiber (3 and above is pretty good; the higher the better), high in protein, and low in sugar. This will ensure that you will have a slow release of sugar meaning a constant, steady release of energy for the morning and rest of your day.

In health,

Lauren

53/365 Let's Go Redskins (Potatoes)!

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Potatoes get a bad reputation of having carbs and nothing else. In actuality, they are quite good for you in moderation as is everything else. Certain potatoes, like sweet potatoes and red potatoes, are better for you than others.

Red skinned potatoes are one of my favorites because of their uniquely creamy texture compared to their white relatives. When I cook them I always leave the skin on; that's where all the nutrients are. Red skin potatoes have about as many "phytochemicals as broccoli, spinach, and Brussels sprouts. (WHF)" They also have "flavonoids with protective activity against cardiovascular disease, respiratory problems and certain cancers. (WHF)" Vitamin B6 is also present in potatoes. These are essential for enzymatic reactions that occur in your body, creating amines (neurotransmitters), and converting homocysteine, a molecule that can damage blood vessels, into a benign substance. Plus red skinned potatoes are delicious.

Here is a recipe from my dear friend Susan. I haven't tried it myself but I am certain that this will be delicious. I'll make them this week and see how it goes. So enjoy your spuds with their skins on, please!

In health,

Lauren


http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=48

41/365 A Deep Fried Toast to Your Arteries

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

For many reasons, I've been going out with friends for dinner, drinks, or both more frequently. Each time, somebody asks me how healthy this is or to write a blog about it. Upon further reflection I decided to look into something that fascinated me about drinking. Why is it that we all seem to crave fatty foods after or while we consume alcohol?

Lacy Perry's article "How Hangovers Work" featured on Discovery Health's website informed me that fried/fatty foods are a proven means of preventing a hangover. The fat sticks to the lining of our stomachs very well; this prolongs the absorption of alcohol giving us more time to process and a smaller chance of having a hangover. Our bodies must know that fried/fatty foods will have this effect. An article I found from the Journal of Young Investigators stated that the neurotransmitter galanin which signals to us that we're hungry is produced when we consume alcohol. Galanin also promotes alcohol consumption.

By these statements, I am by no means saying that it is good to drink in excess or eat fried/fatty foods. There are serious repercussions for doing this. As a young person, you often think that you are invincible and rarely stop to think about the arterial damage caused by fried/fatty foods. What more when you are drinking? Fried/fatty foods have high LDL cholesterol. This is the bad kind that sticks to your arteries, builds up into foam cells (which are irreversible), and causes atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). This is so not okay.

Hangovers can be prevented and remedied with healthier choices like eggs, bananas, water, fruit juice, and not drinking in excess. Think before you drink.

In health,

Lauren

13/365 Creature of Habit

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Something that I have found that helps me in my endeavors to be healthier me is becoming a creature of habit. Routines can help you stay disciplined with your diet, exercise, and/or sleep. Try scheduling your work out at the same time every day, preferably at the beginning of the day. I suggest that because you are more likely to do it. With our busy lives, we can easily make excuses to not exercise if we put if off until later in the day.

If eating healthier is where you struggle, try eating the same great food every day. In the morning, I have my yogurt-fruit-granola/cereal parfait, a piece of whole wheat high fiber toast with peanut butter and preserves or honey, and a glass of milk. All the food groups are represented and I find my breakfast to be delicious. I'm full for about 4 or 5 hours and packing in about 400 calories. Then I work out, have my protein to refuel (I'll discuss this later), then lunch. Lunch consists of a very large salad of mixed greens with cranberries on top. Dressing is whatever I find but limited to a tablespoon. Tossed correctly, that tablespoon goes a long way. Dinner is up to me.

Yes I eat the same things for the first half of every day but, I don't get tired of it. When you eat healthy, you don't get that uncomfortably full feeling, just satisfaction.

So try a routine for a week making sure that you're getting in all your food groups, exercise, and sleep. You may find that you like it.

In health,

Lauren