To Snack Or Not to Snack?
Written on April 12, 2010 at 8:18 am, by sjennas
Breaking the snacking habit is not impossible with a little tweaking. There are many little things you can do to prevent yourself from grabbing those wrong kind of snacks throughout the day. Believe it or not, snacking is not a bad thing, if you change what you snack on. Sometimes snacking is more out of routine or boredom, but in most cases important to eat healthy snack so you won’t over eat at lunch or dinner and to keep your metabolism going. Here are some strategies for avoiding getting caught up in the wrong “snack trap”:
- Do you want to learn how to keep all tempting goodies in the back? Store the goodies in the back of the cabinets, in the back of the refrigerator, freezer and pantry. It is harder to get to the goodies in the back and harder to reach, perhaps you may give up before actually reaching them.
- Out of reach or out of sight, results sometimes out of mind. Be sure the candy jar at work and the cookie jar at home are not visible. Remove the candy jar off your desk. If you can’t see it, you will forget there is a candy jar around.
- What can you use for substitutes? Pre-chopped and bag hard and crunchy veggies and mixed nuts, so they are ready to grab instead of a bag of chips, or candy. Store fresh, whole fruit readily available for your sweet cravings.
- Ask yourself if you are actually hungry before reaching for a snack.
- Before you start snacking, distract yourself for 5 minutes with a task unrelated to food such as a phone call or empty your dishwasher. Snack when you’re done.
- When dinner is done shut down your kitchen, and kitchen closed.
Is breaking the snack habit easy? Not really, but it is not impossible. I do think snacking smart is essential to maintaining your weight. If you do want a snack in the evening, drink a low sugar protein drink mixed with water.
Wendy Caamano, MS, CN, dietetic intern, and Debra A. Boutin, MS, RD,
chair and dietetic internship director, Department of Nutrition and Exercise Science at Bastyr University
Ginger Saigon Chicken Wings recipe from BigOven
Written on March 29, 2010 at 1:58 pm, by sjennas
I love this recipe from BigOven.com. I have made this sauce over and over again and my family, kids included absolutely loves it. I mix the sauce, which takes less than 10 minutes and pour it over either chicken wings or legs. My favorite thing to do is broil the chicken, use a low broil. This is a healthy, delicious and quick recipe, enjoy.
Yield: 4 Servings
Main Ingredient: Chicken
Cuisine: Chinese
Tags: Appetizers Hors dOeuvres Main Dish Side Dish Snacks Easy Bake Grill Chinese Chicken Dinner Spring Light
Ingredients:
1 kilogram Chicken wings
3/4 cups Soy sauce
1/2 cup Brown sugar
1/2 cup Vegetable oil
1/4 cup Sesame oil
2 tablespoon Ginger fresh/grated
2 tablespoon Mustard
6 cloves Garlic crushed
Instructions:
Whisk all of the ingredients together. Pour over chicken wings. Refrigerate for a few hours (best if left overnight). Place rack on a foil lined baking sheet and arrange chicken wings on the rack. Bake uncovered at 375 F for 25 minutes. Turn wings and brush with remaining sauce. Continue baking until wings are golden brown and crisp, about 25 to 30 more minutes.
You can also barbecue the wings, turning and brushing with sauce often for about 20 to 30 minutes.
canola oil what is the controversy?
Written on August 18, 2009 at 1:44 pm, by sjennas
Hey there, here is my audio file on canola oil. Whether it is good or bad?
http://thenutritiongal.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/canolaoil8.m4a
I am also attaching a link to nutrition diva’s podcast. Here is the link: http://nutritiondiva.quickanddirtytips.com/canola-controversy.aspx
weight maintenance-tips
Written on August 17, 2009 at 2:52 am, by sjennas
Maintaining our weight and staying healthy is hard work, here is a couple of tips.
- Limit sugar intake
- Eat 9 servings of fruits and vegetable per day. A servings size of vegetable or fruits is the size of an ice-cream scoop.
- Exercise regularly – 30 minutes 3-6 days a week. Walking, tennis, freebie, gardening are forms of exercises.
- Sleep – lack of sleep can increase your cortisol level (stress hormone) and causes you to age quicker.
disclaimer – not intended for medical advice. everyone’s body is different, please consult with your doctor.
Natural Healing, What is it?
Written on August 17, 2009 at 2:31 am, by sjennas
What is natural healing? It is a conscious decision to stop doing the things that have been hurting you and begin to do things that make you happy. We can get into a spin zone of doing the same things to our minds and bodies for years and years. That is called CRAZY!!
For each person this will be different because we are all different. Natural Healing is getting the toxins out of your Body, Mind, and Soul.
How do we do this? We need to accept all parts of who we are, accepting every experience that has made you who you are today. Embracing your WHOLE story every part of you. Learning to love yourself and every-part of you, the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Indeed, the Mind and Soul are as important as the physical body. I think your physical health goes hand in hand with your emotional health. If you are emotionally holding onto old traumas, bitterness, unforgivingness and are easily offended. Physical ailments will manifest in your body as allergies, skin problems, liver disease, tumors, cancer and sleep issues. These illness are just to name a few, then we take a visit to our doctors and they have no clue on how to treat the WHOLE person.
When I go to my doctor, I usually leave there without a true answer and I end up going to my local Health Food Store and the employees working there usually gives me a more satisfying answer.
We know that conventional MD’s are not trained in Nutrition because they are clueless when it comes to mending the body HOLISTICALLY. I try to keep an open mind to having both a conventional MD in case I really do need antibiotics, or need a physical checkup. Then I also establish a relationship with a Naturopathic doctor, who can help me see the bigger picture and treat the underlying issues instead of the surface.
Remember, natural healing does not provide a magic herb or pill, but re-teaches you how to believe and understand that the Mind, Body and Spirit works as a synergy.
Food as Medicine
Written on August 17, 2009 at 2:21 am, by sjennas
We have to realize what we eat is a major contribution to our health. The food companies will always try and market to us to buy their products. I used to think when I was a kid that I can eat that Twinkie, after all I just saw it on TV, so therefore it can’t be bad for me. The government won’t allow anyone to sell foods that can harm me(us), but I was very, very wrong. Food companies will do anything to sell their sugar cereals to our children, all that packaged, artificial garbage they call food that we consume daily.
So what is the connection between nutrition and health care? Let’s see if food is the culprit for diseases such as cancer, diabetes, obesity etc.. Then we need to take a second look at what we put into our mouths. I know temptation, temptation but we need to be strong and be delivered from the blinking golden-arch (McDonald’s) and the numerous flashy light fast food restaurants that smell sooo good, when we are driving during lunch hour and dinner timer. Be strong and drive past the fast food smelling good restaurants, we can then avoid making fewer trips to the doctor’s office. Let’s start paying attention to how whole foods can deliver us from cancer, diabetes, obesity and many other diseases not mentioned.
So what is whole foods? It can be as simple as steamed broccoli with brown rice and grilled or broiled chicken. Simple, simple it’s not complicated.
Take a look at Bastyr University for more details. http://www.bastyr.edu
best fat burning breakfast
Written on August 17, 2009 at 2:14 am, by sjennas
I always wonder what I should be eating before my workouts. What would best nourish my body? Through a new study in the Journal of Nutrition discovered that women who ate muesli, yogurt, and fruit an hour before their workout will burn 50 percent more fat than those who had an equal caloric meal of cornflakes, white toast and jam, and milk.
Eating foods such as muesli is lower on the glycemic index (GI). A meal high on the GI, for example processed foods such as white bread, white rice will spike up your blood sugar. Your body then uses up the immediate fuel eaten for breakfast during your workout without using the stored up fat. Meanwhile, a meal low on the GI index is digested slower, this allows your body to pull energy from stored fat.
Also log on to glycemidindex.com for meals ideas lower on the GI index.
Acai Berry Detox
Written on August 17, 2009 at 2:06 am, by sjennas
What is the hype about Acai Berry Detox? Does it really work? Is it another fade diet/detox, such as Atkins, Jenny Craig, Slim Fast, Nutri-slim and South Beach diets. I’d really like to think that these diets are all catalyst to getting you started. Sticking to your diet to the end is the battle that many people face.
I went to a Whole Food Market this week and asked one of the employees working there about the Acai Berry Detox. I said “do you really think the Acai Berry Detox works”, she said, “no another fade”.
Millions or should I say billions of dollars each year are spent on fade diets. The woman in Rachel Ray’s journal (Marie Johnson from Odessa, FL), said “Most people think that overweight people got that way because they are lazy. Truth is, many woman gain extra weight because of life. Kids, work, school, driving around running errands. It all takes time from our day. And it is all so exhausting. Which can cause us to eat a bit more than we need.”
I don’t agree with her at all. I think people gain weight because they are lazy. They don’t press on and dig deep inside themselves to want to get up at 4:30-am and drive to the gym or run outside before going to work in the morning.
Face it most of us have kids, work, school, extra activities, but we must find the time to workout and eat healthy. If not, we will be like millions of Americans each day turning to fade diets. We need to make diet and exercise part of our life style. It is who we are!!
Don’t get me wrong, I think that detoxifying your body periodical is healthy, but to say that the Acai Berry Detox will give you a flat stomach is pushing the envelope.