Fiber

Ask The Nutritionist: Fiber

Bliss

Judith Orloff, MD on NBC Today

Mind & Body

Pilates: Mind And Body

Relaxation & Detoxification

Add 1 cup of baking soda and 1 cup of epsom salts to your bath. This will relax you and also help to detoxify your body. Stay in for atleast 20 minutes any time you feel the need to relax. Epsom salts are very good for tired and sore muscles.

Rotessiere Chicken & Greens

For a quick lunch or supper I buy a rotessiere chicken and a large box of organic greens (variety). Fill your plate with the greens and top with sliced chicken, add cucumber, green onion or whatever veggies you have on hand. Top your salad with a dressing of equal parts balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. You can also pick from a variety of low fat dressings at your grocery store but I prefer the oil/vinegar mix that I make myself. We happen to be having this for supper at my house tonight. Not only is it easy and a great fast meal , it is also a meal that my entire family likes and it tastes great too. You can servce some crusty whole grain rolls to the side. I usually don't serve the same meal very often but have to admit that with this one we average once every two weeks and in the summer probably once a week (especially when it is too hot to have your oven going).

Eating Seasonally

As I mentioned before visiting a local farmer's market ranks up there as one of my favorite things to do. Buying locally and seasonally will actually save you money while supporting your own community. Here are some guidelines for buying seasonally from an article I found on the web (world's healthiest foods):
In spring, focus on tender, leafy vegetables that represent the fresh new growth of this season. The greening that occurs in springtime should be represented by greens on your plate, including Swiss chard, spinach, Romaine lettuce, fresh parsley, and basil.
In summer, stick with light, cooling foods in the tradition of traditional Chinese medicine. These foods include fruits like strawberries, apple, pear, and plum; vegetables like summer squash, broccoli, cauliflower, and corn; and spices and seasonings like peppermint and cilantro.
In fall, turn toward the more warming, autumn harvest foods, including carrot, sweet potato, onions, and garlic. Also emphasize the more warming spices and seasonings including ginger, peppercorns, and mustard seeds.
In winter, turn even more exclusively toward warming foods. Remember the principle that foods taking longer to grow are generally more warming than foods that grow quickly. All of the animal foods fall into the warming category including fish, chicken, beef, lamb, and venison. So do most of the root vegetables, including carrot, potato, onions and garlic. Eggs also fit in here, as do corn and nuts.

Yoga For Relaxation

Relaxation:Yoga For Relaxation

Healthier Lifestyle Tea

The phytonutrients found in green tea help combat free radicals and provide a wide variety of health protective benefits.

Prep and Cook Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:
green tea
1 tsp lemon
Directions:
Prepare 1 cup of green tea and add lemon.

5 Minute Kale

and Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
1 pound kale
Mediterranean Dressing
2 tsp lemon juice
1 medium clove garlic, pressed
1 TBs extra virgin olive oil
salt & black pepper to taste


Directions:

Chop garlic and let sit for 5 minutes to enhance its health-promoting properties.
Fill bottom of steamer with 2 inches of water and bring to boil.
While water is coming to a boil, slice kale leaves into 1/2-inch slices, and cut again crosswise. Cut stems into 1/4-inch slices. Let kale sit for at least 5 minutes to bring out its health-promoting properties.
When water comes to a boil add kale to steamer basket and cover. Steam for 5 minutes.
Transfer to a bowl and toss with Mediterranean Dressing ingredients. For the best flavor, toss with dressing while kale is still hot.
Serves 2

5-Minute Kale
240.38 grams
176.91 calories

Tomato & Basil Salad

The only change I made to this recipe was to use olive oil instead of canola oil in the dressing. I use extra virgin olive oil.

Salmon With Pesto

Pasta Fagioli Soup

I love pasta and bean soup. It is so easy to make and creates lots of leftovers for lunches and dinners. This is an affordable meal that takes very little time!

Ingredients
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 whole sprigs of fresh rosemary
2 whole sprigs of fresh thyme
1 whole sprig of fresh oregano
1 dried bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 (15 ounce) cans of white beans
1 (15 ounce) can of tomato sauce
1 quart of chicken stock
1 1/2 cups whole wheat fusilli pasta

Heat oil in a deep cooking pan on medium heat. Cook onions, chopped vegetables, garlic, and fresh herbs until soft. Add beans, tomato sauce and stock and raise the heat to high until boiling. Add pasta, reduce heat to simmer, stirring occasionally until pasta is cooked. Remove herb stems. Serve!

Fiber In Our Diets

Benefits of Tea

Tea contains caffeine and L-Theanine along with the antioxidant EGCG. Together, they work in harmony to help stimulate your metabolism, reduce cravings for sweets, lower cholesterol and increase insulin effectiveness. Tea also helps to activate thermogenesis, which helps the body convert fat into energy.

Drinking tea is not a quick weight loss gimmick. Along with drinking tea throughout the day, you must learn portion control, reduce the amount of sweets you eat, limit your fat intake and try to add a moderate amount of exercise into your normal routine.

I drink a lot of herbal teas and most of these do not contain caffeine so you can safely drink them in the evening as well. There are so many to pick from...the list is endless. I personally drink a lot of different green teas(regular, mint, ginger etc) and most recently pomegranate and blueberry.

Emotional Wellness

Mothering Myself

I just finished reading "Women's Bodies, Women's Health" by Dr. Christiane Northrup and I thought I would share this poem. It really moved me...to tears actually..especially at the end. You may wonder what any of this has to do with nutrition - it doesn't really but it has to do with health - mind, body and spirit and they all play a major role in our health.

Mothering Myself

In a society preoccupied with how best to raise a child

I'm finding a need to mesh what's best for my children with what's necessary for a well balanced mother.

I'm recognizing that ceaseless giving translates into giving myself away.

And, when you give yourself away, you're not a healthy mother and you're not a healthy self.

So, now I'm learning to be a woman first and a mother second.

I'm learning to just experience my own emotions

Without robbing my children of their individual dignity by feeling their emotions too.

I'm learning that a healthy child will have his own set of emotions

and characteristics that are his alone.

And, very different from mine.

I'm learning the importance of honest exchanges of feelings because pretenses don't fool children, they know their mother better than she knows herself.

I'm learning that no one overcomes her past unless she confronts it.

Otherwise her children will absorb exactly what she's attempting to overcome.

I'm learning that words of wisdom fall on deaf ears if my actions contradict my deeds.

Children tend to be better impersonators that listeners.

I'm learning that life is meant to be filled with as much sadness and pain as happiness and pleasure.

And allowing ourselves to feel everything that life has to offer is an indicator of fulfillment.

I'm learning that fulfillment can't be attained through giving myself away

But, through giving to myself and sharing with others,

I'm learning that the best way to teach my children to live a fulfilling life is not by sacrificing my life.

It's through living a fulfilling life myself.

I'm trying to teach my children that I have a lot to learn

Because I'm learning that letting go of them

Is the best way of holding on.

Working With What You've Got

Excerpt from "Simple Abundance" for January 25th

If your every day life seems poor, don't blame it, blame yourself; admit to yourself that you are not enough of a poet to call forth its riches; because for the creator there is no poverty and no poor indifferent place.

Rainer Maria Rilke

Up until now many of us have secretly believed that we had to wait until things calmed down a bit before we started to get our acts together. Tomorrow we'll begin discovering authentic pleasures. Tomorrow we'll treat ourselves better. Tomorrow we'll take the time to enjoy ouselves , tomorrow when everything calms down. This I can report from the front lines; life never calms down long enough for us to wait until tomorrow to start living the lives we deserve. Life is always movement, always change, always unforseen cirumstances. There will always be something trying to grab your attention; the phone call, the child, the fax, the car breaking down, the cheque that never arrives in the mail. Let's just acknowledge that as far as real life is concerned, we are only one step away from dealing with dysfunction.

So what are we going to do about it? We can stop waiting for life to become perfect and start working with what we've got to make it as satisfying as we can. We can accept, bless, give thanks, and get going. Today, we can begin to call forth the riches from our everyday life. Today we can move from lack of abundance. Procrastination has robbed us of too many precious opportunities. Call a friend for lunch, begin to read or even write that novel, organize your papers, try a new recipe for dinner, smile at everyone you meet, sit and dream before a blazing fire, pick up your needlepoint again, act as if you're grateful to be alive, scatter joy. Think of one thing that would give you a genuine moment of pleasure today and do it. Great! The first steps in the journey are always the most difficult to take. "Life begets life. Energy creates energy", the famous French actress Sarah Bernhardt reminds us. "It is by spending oneself that we become rich."

Wearing A Pedometer

Breath of Life Breathing

Fit For Life Episode

Portion Sizes

Craving Something Sweet?

If you’re craving something sweet: Cottage cheese with diced fruit will satisfy your sweet tooth. Choose low-fat cottage cheese and mix in pineapples, blueberries, strawberries, apples or whatever fruit you have on hand. Add a little sweetener and a handful of slivered almonds and you’ll have a delicious snack that won’t hurt your waistline.Apples with almond butter - cut up an apple and spread almond butter on the pieces for a satisfying snack. Be sure to limit the amount of almond butter you put on your apple to roughly a tablespoon because the calories do add up.

Start The Day With A Healthy Breakfast

Just click on the link to watch the video:
http://www.sutterhealth.org/video/?file=yourhealth/may2005/YourHealthMay2005-3.wmv&title=Sutter%20Health%20Presents%20Your%20Health&type=stream

What Is Fiber And Where Do We Find It?

We may joke about fiber, but many of us aren't sure exactly what it is or how to be certain we're getting enough of it. Fiber is the indigestible portion of plant foods, most of which passes through our system unchanged. Since we lack the enzymes to digest fiber, we can't absorb any calories from it. But we can reap a multitude of health benefits.
There are two types of fiber: water-insoluble and water-soluble. The former, found in wheat bran and the skins of some fruits and vegetables, exits the body basically unchanged. It provides bulk and helps regulate the bowels. Water-soluble fiber is found in oats, beans, lentils, barley and most fruits and vegetables. This type of fiber absorbs water in the digestive tract, which is what helps you feel full and slows your digestion (everydayhealth.com)

Best Secret

An Alternative To Pasta or Rice

Using a food processor fitted with the medium-sized shredder blade, shred cauliflower (it will resemble rice). Place in a microwave-safe container (do not add water), cover loosely and microwave on HIGH for 3 to 4 minutes or until cauliflower is tender. Set aside. This can be used in place of pasta or rice. I tried it the other night and I liked it.

A Very General Guide To Follow

Breakfast: 400 to 600 calories
Morning snack: 100 to 200 calories
Lunch: 400 to 600 calories
Afternoon snack: 100 to 200 calories
Dinner: 350 to 550 calories
Evening snack: 50 to 150 calories