My husband came home last night from work with these in hand. Arizona Southern Style Sweet Tea and Yellow Gatorade. I asked, so what’s this? He should know better. Leftovers from a lunch at work. I snapped photos then dumped the contents.
Here’s why… Read more →
First-Aid may be on your mind since a lot of families spend even more time outside during the summer season. I have a great guest post for you today from + Stu Lieberman. Thanks Stuart!
Read on for these helpful tips… Read more →
I’ve partnered with SloBody and created a 28-day Clean Eating Program. Many people may not be familiar with clean eating so I’m going to break it down for you!
What is Clean Eating?
There are so many different diets out there and all of them promise a sleek, slim, and sexy new you in just a couple of days or weeks. Many of us have tried too many to count AND can count more failures than successes in these endeavors AND have gained back all we have lost and then some.
When deciding what to eat, how often do you listen to YOUR OWN BODY instead of listening to the ‘media health experts’ reporting on what food is supposed to be the best new food? 10 years ago margarine was the best choice, now butter is back. Eggs are good; eggs are bad; eggs are good again. Who can keep up? The problem with cookie cutter nutrition guidance is that some foods may not be good for your unique body.
So what way of eating truly works and is something you can follow for a life time? The Clean Eating way of eating is your answer. This means you eat mostly whole, unprocessed foods most of the time. Using the rule of thumb 90/10 or 80/20 if you are just starting out. You don’t have to eat perfectly clean 100% of the time, it’s what you eat most of the time that counts!
Clean Eating does mean planning meals ahead, but as the saying goes, “when you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” If you are new to this way of eating, seeking an expert to guide you is your best move. An expert such as a Certified Health Coach, can help you plan meals that you will actually eat, and meals that work best for your body. Most diets do not consider your individual needs and that just sets you up for failure. Hiring an expert to learn the Clean Eating way of eating can ensure your success not only in the short term, but in the long run as well.
So what is Clean Eating you ask? Here are the basics:
· Eating whole, minimally processed foods. Stick to the perimeter of the grocery store. Skip frozen meals, packaged snacks, cookies, crackers
· Fresh produce, think fruits and veggies (local and organic are best). Stick to the clean fifteen and dirty dozen list for guidance: http://www.ewg.org/foodnews
· Lean and clean proteins: See Clean Protein Sources section in this manual for details, think fish and animal proteins from sustainable and organic sources, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils
· Whole, intact grains: rice, quinoa, millet, rolled or steel-cut oats, amaranth, sorghum, cous cous (contains gluten), barley (contains gluten)
· Healthy sources of oils and fats, your body needs fat to absorb important nutrients, cushion your joints, give you soft skin and silky hair, helps you feel full longer. High quality olive oil, grapeseed oil, avocados, nuts, coconut oil
· Focus on drinking water as your best beverage, avoid sugary and highly caffeinated drinks
· There is no perfect way of clean eating, follow the basics and you will achieve better health, aim for 80% clean eating, 20% discretionary
Are ready to discover what actually fuels your engine properly and get your body running as efficiently as a racecar?
Check out the 28-day Clean Eating Program: http://slobody.com/training/kickstart/.
And one of the best parts, you can do it from anywhere! All your tools and coaching are online.
Last week my husband and I were away in Puerto Rico for a relaxing vacation. We stayed right on the beach in a little B&B, it was paradise! After getting back results a few weeks ago confirming delayed food allergies, I proved to be a challenge to the B&B. After all, I can’t eat eggs, dairy, wheat, nuts so the standard breakfast of eggs, yogurt and granola, or pancakes was a no go. They offered to get me gluten free bread to eat with fruit and bacon, but the bread proved to have egg whites in it, so I skipped out on bread after learning that and having a little allergic relapse when I ate some.
Here we are on vacation: me at dinner and one of Heman while exploring the beach earlier.
So I kept it simple with meals, and focused on relaxation, not having to make the bed or do dishes, and no laundry for a week either = heaven!
Even if you don’t have food allergies, you may want to live life with more energy, not feel bloated in your belly or foggy in your brain. So clean eating is really important and it’s totally possible in paradise too, that way you can actually enjoy it more! Find out what foods are native to where you are traveling. In Puerto Rico, mangos are everywhere, so are bananas and plantains. They also like to grill meat and fish on skewers, called pinchos. You can get those just about anywhere. I also enjoyed rice and beans, which had bits of cooked yucca and yummy spices in the beans, delish and paired with fresh salad was a delightful meal.
There were other dishes such a mofongo and tostones, made of mashed and fried plaintains. Heman tried those out, very filling but not the healthiest. He also tried the empanadas, some great and some just okay. It’s fun to try these authentic dishes too, but the key is having them as part of the meal, not an entire meal of fried empanadas or tostones. Fish tacos were easy to find and pinchos (skewers) of fresh fish were easy to come by and super tasty!
Tips for eating healthy on vacation:
Plate scenes…
His and her breakfast:
His = pancakes with banana compote, bacon, fruit. Hers = fruit with bacon
Lunch at a cozy cafe: churrasco bowl with sweet potato, red bell peppers, and spinach.
Sunset dinner: churrasco with veggies
Giant salad with grilled mahi, topped with seaweed salad
Overall, I ate pretty well and even though I brought a bar of chocolate with me for dessert, I ate just 3 squares in 5 days. that’s very little for me! When we got back home and I had two super busy days at my corporate job, I craved chocolate and fats like crazy. Wow this really hit me and showed me clearly that high stress = cravings for chocolate and fats. This struck me so clearly and helped me bring a direct awareness that obviously I don’t need tons of chocolate and fat in my diet so I really need to work on reigning in the stress.
One of my neighbors brought a book to me that his friend wrote about how to handle stress called, The Practice. The writer found her way to meditation and has integrated it into her daily routine for over 18 years. If you are like me and affected by stress than check it out. I’m reading through this book and it’s been really helpful!
What are your tips for clean eating on vacation and how do you reign in stress?
My friend Stuart offered up a guest post on how to get kids to eat more fruit. I think this will work for picky eaters too, like my husband! We all know a picky eater or you may be one yourself. Read on for these great tips. Thanks Stuart!
I once heard someone say that kids will eat anything on a stick or in a special shape. Having two children who are picky eaters, I was determined to test this theory out. What I found was that for the most part, this is correct. I have also discovered that if you make fresh fruit easy and accessible—even if it’s not on a stick or in the shape of a star—kids will eat it.
At my kids’ school, every Friday is designated “Fresh Fruit Friday”. Parents sign-up and take turns bringing in fresh fruit (or veggies) for their children’s classroom each week. This not only encourages healthy eating in the schools, but also parent involvement in the classroom, which has been shown to be important to a child’s success in school.
When it’s my turn to bring in the fruit, I often try to make sure the fruit is accessible and easy for the teacher to hand out in the hopes that all the children—not just mine—will enjoy fresh fruit for snack that day. Here are a few of my favorites to prepare:
1. Fruit Kabobs. Again, it’s the stick thing. Arrange fruit on a stick and you automatically have single-portions ready for teachers to hand out.
Grapes are fun. You can alternate between green and purple grapes to add some color to your creation. You can do the same with melon, alternating between cantaloupe and honeydew.
Older kids will likely do fine with fruit on a skewer stick, but younger kids may prick themselves or their friends with the sharp pointed end. For my kindergartener’s class I use lollipop sticks to create the kabobs. You can find these sticks in most craft stores. I got mine at Michael’s.
2. Fruit Cups. My kids love berries. But, dumping a few packages of strawberries off in the classroom only adds to the burden of the teachers. They have to wash them and pass them around.
To avoid that I created mini fruit cups filled with strawberries, blueberries and grapes for each student. Admittedly, this was very time consuming, but when I heard my kids talk about how the kids loved them, it was well worth the effort.
3. Watermelon Slices. I don’t know a kid that doesn’t love watermelon, particularly as the weather gets warmer. Simply slice up the watermelon, put the slices in a bowl, and the kids and grab what they want. In my daughter’s kindergarten class, the kids sit at 3 different tables, so I separated the watermelon into 3 bowls and each table was able to eat it family style.
If you’re thinking “I don’t have time for this!” there are some easy options too. Remove grapes from the stem and put them in a bowl. When they’re off the stem, kids are more likely to reach for them. Or, just cut up banana slices. Again, if the kid doesn’t have to deal with the peel, eating a banana is so much easier.
Having a picky eater can be frustrating, I know. But, with a few tricks, you may have them eating something healthy. After all, fruit on a stick is better than no fruit at all.
This article is written by + Stu Lieberman the writer for Nutri-Health.com, an online High Quality Probiotics and Health Store. Assisting people and helping them find quality natural health supplements and digestive enzymes is what Stu has been doing for over 2 years. Nutri-Health.com carries Digestive Supplements to Probiotics to Joint Health.
Years later, as I young adult, I changed up my diet. I removed dairy and found that I was no longer in pain every day. >> Read More
