If you’re going to consume sugar, you may as well use the natural kind. While honey is high in sugar, and therefore high in carbohydrates, there are many benefits to this natural sweetener.
Honey has many healing properties, including antioxidants, royal jelly (a serum produced for the queen bee that makes her live longer), and antiseptic and antibacterial properties. Honey has been effectively used to treat everything from sore throats to liver damage, and from skin burns to digestion issues. Local honey has been shown to help with seasonal allergies in a given region.
Below is a recipe for whole wheat bread using honey as a sweetener. This recipe requires having a bread machine, so if you don’t have one or prefer not to bake, try buying a whole wheat loaf that is sweetened only by honey. It will taste delicious and it’s healthy.
Whole Wheat Bread with Honey
1 1/8 cups water
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon dry milk powder
1 ½ tablespoons butter or non-hydrogenated shortening
1 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
Assemble ingredients into a bread machine and follow manufacturer’s directions for whole wheat bread.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
Friday Foods
Building and Grilling a Kebab
(womenshealthmag.com)
The very nature of a skewer—lean meat or fish interspersed with a variety of fresh vegetables and maybe brushed with a simple low-calorie, high-flavor sauce—all but guarantees healthy eating. Best of all, kebabs take just a few minutes to assemble and the potential for deliciousness is limited only by your imagination. Try one of our suggested kebab perfections (at left), or thread your own lean-and-mean masterpiece (at right). Now stop drooling and go fire up the grill!
Rules of the Skewers
Step 1 Soak wooden skewers in water for at least 20 minutes before loading them up. The moisture will prevent the wood from catching fire and scorching your dinner.
Step 2 The protein you're cooking will determine the size of the produce on your skewers. Shrimp and scallops cook quickly, so fruits and veggies should be cut smaller. Chicken and pork take time to cook, so pair them with larger chunks.
Step 3 You can marinate the loaded skewers in sauce before grilling—up to two hours for meat, but no more than 30 minutes for seafood. Or simply brush the sauce onto the food before grilling and at least once during cooking. Whether the food has been marinated or not, it's always great to finish the kebabs with a light sheen of fresh sauce just before bringing them to the table.
Step 4 You want a medium-hot grill—not so hot that it chars the food's outside before cooking the inside, but hot enough that the food's surface will fully caramelize.
(womenshealthmag.com)
The very nature of a skewer—lean meat or fish interspersed with a variety of fresh vegetables and maybe brushed with a simple low-calorie, high-flavor sauce—all but guarantees healthy eating. Best of all, kebabs take just a few minutes to assemble and the potential for deliciousness is limited only by your imagination. Try one of our suggested kebab perfections (at left), or thread your own lean-and-mean masterpiece (at right). Now stop drooling and go fire up the grill!
Rules of the Skewers
Step 1 Soak wooden skewers in water for at least 20 minutes before loading them up. The moisture will prevent the wood from catching fire and scorching your dinner.
Step 2 The protein you're cooking will determine the size of the produce on your skewers. Shrimp and scallops cook quickly, so fruits and veggies should be cut smaller. Chicken and pork take time to cook, so pair them with larger chunks.
Step 3 You can marinate the loaded skewers in sauce before grilling—up to two hours for meat, but no more than 30 minutes for seafood. Or simply brush the sauce onto the food before grilling and at least once during cooking. Whether the food has been marinated or not, it's always great to finish the kebabs with a light sheen of fresh sauce just before bringing them to the table.
Step 4 You want a medium-hot grill—not so hot that it chars the food's outside before cooking the inside, but hot enough that the food's surface will fully caramelize.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
G is for Gum
Have you ever wanted to eat a half an hour after dinner—just to get the garlic taste out of your mouth? While the obvious solution would be to brush your teeth, another option would be to stick a piece of gum in your mouth.
When I was a kid, we were told that gum was unhealthy—worse than candy. But somehow between then and now, dentists and nutritionist alike have proclaimed it healthy. I suppose one could argue about the sugar or artificial sweeteners and their negative effects, but one thing I know is true: gum helps to control senseless eating.
We all have those moments when we eat simply because the food is there. Or we’re nervous or stressed and our first impulse is to chew madly on something. Or we are wrapped up in a movie or a conversation and don’t notice that our hand keeps returning to the bowl for more munchies.
When we have those dumb-cow moments, gum can rescue us from sabotaging ourselves. If we stop and think long enough to pop in the Trident, the distractions can come and go without us breaking our goals.
So the next time you head out the door for a graduation or retirement party, arm yourself with a pack of gum. It just might be the best diet pill out there.
When I was a kid, we were told that gum was unhealthy—worse than candy. But somehow between then and now, dentists and nutritionist alike have proclaimed it healthy. I suppose one could argue about the sugar or artificial sweeteners and their negative effects, but one thing I know is true: gum helps to control senseless eating.
We all have those moments when we eat simply because the food is there. Or we’re nervous or stressed and our first impulse is to chew madly on something. Or we are wrapped up in a movie or a conversation and don’t notice that our hand keeps returning to the bowl for more munchies.
When we have those dumb-cow moments, gum can rescue us from sabotaging ourselves. If we stop and think long enough to pop in the Trident, the distractions can come and go without us breaking our goals.
So the next time you head out the door for a graduation or retirement party, arm yourself with a pack of gum. It just might be the best diet pill out there.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
F is for Fats
Fats make up an essential part of our diets if we are going to be healthy. For instance, omega-3 fatty acids help protect your brain, heart, bones, joints and skin from the deterioration that comes from aging. Other fats, like monounsaturated fats, can make a healthier heart and improve life-expectancy.
But what about weightloss? One of the first things we often think we should eliminate from our diets when we’re trying to lose fat is fat itself. It seems to make common sense. But does fat elimination work?
First, elimination of bad fats is always going to be good. Hydrogenated oils, saturated fats, deep fried foods, and processed fats are going to work against our health on multiple levels. However, there are good and necessary fats, as mentioned above. These fats, when used in moderation, will improve our health—including the much longed for weightloss.
Here are 5 reasons why fats are good for weightloss:
They make us feel full
Make us feel satisfied for longer
Helps us with portion control
Helps minimize cravings
It tastes good
I have heard that if we starve our bodies of fat, our bodies will cling harder to keep the fat it has. There is a reason I have named my blog after a natural food that is high in fat. Whenever I hit a weightloss slump I start eating avocados. So far, I’ve successfully broken through the slump when I do. There must be something to it!
But what about weightloss? One of the first things we often think we should eliminate from our diets when we’re trying to lose fat is fat itself. It seems to make common sense. But does fat elimination work?
First, elimination of bad fats is always going to be good. Hydrogenated oils, saturated fats, deep fried foods, and processed fats are going to work against our health on multiple levels. However, there are good and necessary fats, as mentioned above. These fats, when used in moderation, will improve our health—including the much longed for weightloss.
Here are 5 reasons why fats are good for weightloss:
They make us feel full
Make us feel satisfied for longer
Helps us with portion control
Helps minimize cravings
It tastes good
I have heard that if we starve our bodies of fat, our bodies will cling harder to keep the fat it has. There is a reason I have named my blog after a natural food that is high in fat. Whenever I hit a weightloss slump I start eating avocados. So far, I’ve successfully broken through the slump when I do. There must be something to it!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
E is for Encouragement
I’ve heard it said that if you want to be healthy, you need to hang around healthy people. It is difficult to order a salad and water at a restaurant when those around you are getting platters of deep-fried junk food. It’s difficult to exercise when everyone around you wants to sit and do nothing. It’s not easy to keep an ideal weight when those around you say it doesn’t matter. However, I do not suggest that you dump your unhealthy friends. We can adopt a couple strategies that will help us be encouraged, even if we are surrounded by unlikely candidates.
I’d like to offer advice in two areas. First, connect with a person who will be an encouragement in healthy living. A partner for accountability, for praise, for motivation, and for advice is an ideal recipe for success. Second, be an encouragement to someone else. I am not talking about nagging someone—I’m referring to building someone up. Give praise. Give a listening ear. Motivate by leading.
Encouragement is an essential part of our lives. Starting from the time we are children, we rely on the adults around us to praise us when we do well and motivate us when we are struggling. As adults, encouragement doesn’t always come falling down upon us, however. More likely we hear our faults before we hear about our achievements from others. When encouragement is steady in our lives, we have a distinct advantage in achieving our goals.
The neat part of encouragement is that when we encourage others, often we are encouraged as well. It makes others feel good and believe in good things—it makes us feel good and believe in good things too.
I’d like to offer advice in two areas. First, connect with a person who will be an encouragement in healthy living. A partner for accountability, for praise, for motivation, and for advice is an ideal recipe for success. Second, be an encouragement to someone else. I am not talking about nagging someone—I’m referring to building someone up. Give praise. Give a listening ear. Motivate by leading.
Encouragement is an essential part of our lives. Starting from the time we are children, we rely on the adults around us to praise us when we do well and motivate us when we are struggling. As adults, encouragement doesn’t always come falling down upon us, however. More likely we hear our faults before we hear about our achievements from others. When encouragement is steady in our lives, we have a distinct advantage in achieving our goals.
The neat part of encouragement is that when we encourage others, often we are encouraged as well. It makes others feel good and believe in good things—it makes us feel good and believe in good things too.
Monday, May 24, 2010
D is for Diet
Diet: \ˈdī-ət\ (noun) 1. food and drink regularly provided or consumed 2. habitual nourishment 3. the kind and amount of food prescribed for a person or animal for a special reason 4. a regimen of eating and drinking sparingly so as to reduce one's weight
When considering diet using the first definition, you could say that everyone is on a diet. I have a family member who likes to joke that he is on a seafood diet—he sees food, he eats it. But which of the four definitions above truly comes to mind when you think of a diet? I’d say it is probably number 4.
There are scads and scads of books on dieting—low-carb, no-carb, low fat, no fat, nothing but cabbage soup, the baby food diet, Slimfast, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, South Beach, Zone, Blood Type, Atkins…shall I go on?
There are diets that are unhealthy if one were to make them a lifestyle, but are they bad for a short-term weightloss program? As many diets are out there, there are equally many philosophies on how various diets affect people. It’s probably a guarantee that if a particular diet becomes popular, a resistance to that diet will also become popular.
Here is my philosophy on diets, for what it’s worth among the millions of philosophies: Dieting is okay for a short period of time for the purpose of weightloss and long-term health. A diet should be chosen on an individual basis because every body is different.
As soon as the short-term diet is over, a person should immediately find a healthy way of eating that will keep them healthy long-term. If a person finds they gain their weight back after a diet, it’s time to reevaluate the purpose of the diet and determine if other internal issues, besides the simple nutrition and exercise, need to be worked on.
When considering diet using the first definition, you could say that everyone is on a diet. I have a family member who likes to joke that he is on a seafood diet—he sees food, he eats it. But which of the four definitions above truly comes to mind when you think of a diet? I’d say it is probably number 4.
There are scads and scads of books on dieting—low-carb, no-carb, low fat, no fat, nothing but cabbage soup, the baby food diet, Slimfast, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, South Beach, Zone, Blood Type, Atkins…shall I go on?
There are diets that are unhealthy if one were to make them a lifestyle, but are they bad for a short-term weightloss program? As many diets are out there, there are equally many philosophies on how various diets affect people. It’s probably a guarantee that if a particular diet becomes popular, a resistance to that diet will also become popular.
Here is my philosophy on diets, for what it’s worth among the millions of philosophies: Dieting is okay for a short period of time for the purpose of weightloss and long-term health. A diet should be chosen on an individual basis because every body is different.
As soon as the short-term diet is over, a person should immediately find a healthy way of eating that will keep them healthy long-term. If a person finds they gain their weight back after a diet, it’s time to reevaluate the purpose of the diet and determine if other internal issues, besides the simple nutrition and exercise, need to be worked on.
Friday, May 21, 2010
C is for Chocolate
Chocolate is good for you—mostly because it contains anti-oxidants. Anti-oxidants help protect us from damage to the heart and blood vessels. They also guard our DNA from damage that can lead to cancer.
While rich desserts may contain these anti-oxidants, the fat and sugar involved will do much more damage than the good if it is consumed too often. The more sugar and fat that is added to chocolate, the less healthy it becomes. Therefore, the best kind of chocolate is the dark chocolate, which has more cacao and less of the fats and sugars.
Below is a recipe calling for a small amount of dark chocolate, making it an ideal dessert while still being healthy. It’s simple and quick.
Start with a cup of fresh fruit. I prefer raspberries, but strawberries and peaches work as well. Take one tablespoon of Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chips and melt in the microwave for 30 seconds to a minute. Pour melted chocolate over the fruit and you have an easy, healthy, and tasty dessert.
While rich desserts may contain these anti-oxidants, the fat and sugar involved will do much more damage than the good if it is consumed too often. The more sugar and fat that is added to chocolate, the less healthy it becomes. Therefore, the best kind of chocolate is the dark chocolate, which has more cacao and less of the fats and sugars.
Below is a recipe calling for a small amount of dark chocolate, making it an ideal dessert while still being healthy. It’s simple and quick.
Start with a cup of fresh fruit. I prefer raspberries, but strawberries and peaches work as well. Take one tablespoon of Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chips and melt in the microwave for 30 seconds to a minute. Pour melted chocolate over the fruit and you have an easy, healthy, and tasty dessert.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)