Food for thought Idea's Carbohydrates, Protein, Food groups, Spice!
Some Food for thought idea's: Skipping meals can lead to out-of-control hunger, often resulting in overeating. When you're very hungry, it's also tempting to forget about good nutrition. Snacking between meals can help curb hunger, but don't eat so much that your snack becomes an entire meal. If your favorite foods are high in fat, salt or sugar, the key is moderating how much of these foods you eat and how often you eat them. Not every food has to be "perfect." When eating a food high in fat, salt or sugar, select other foods that are low in these ingredients. If you miss out on any food group one day, make up for it the next. Your food choices over several days should fit together into a healthy pattern. Just as there are no "superfoods" or easy answers to a healthy diet, don't expect to totally revamp your eating habits overnight. Changing too much, too fast can get in the way of success. Once again, learn to make fitness FUN!
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I feel there is no direct definition for "clean eating". Specifically, clean eating is NOT a diet - it is a lifestyle choice. Clean eating is not a new concept, as a matter of fact clean eating has been around for quite some time. Learning to eat clean, one meal at a time. Take it in Steps.
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Maybe pick a Pyramid or Mix & Match
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Mix some food idea's. Make it FUN
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Healthy diets don't equal flavorless food. You don't have to give up flavor when you start eating more healthy foods. In fact, when you start using these spices and other new spices you discover, you won't miss the high salt content of food that you are accustomed to eating.
Adding Spice to Meat, Poultry, and Fish
Tasty Ways to Spice Up Your Vegetables
Adding Spice to Meat, Poultry, and Fish
- Beef-Spice up your beef with:
Bay leaf, marjoram, nutmeg, onion, pepper, sage, or thyme. - Lamb-Add delicious flavor to your lamb with:
Curry powder, garlic, rosemary, or mint. - Pork-Pork is easy to spice up with:
Garlic, onion, sage, pepper, oregano, or thyme. - Veal-Veal is a delicious and tender meat you can add distinctive flavor to with:
Bay leaf, curry powder, ginger, marjoram, or oregano. - Chicken or Turkey-Poultry such as chicken and turkey is easily spiced up with:
Ginger, marjoram, oregano, paprika, poultry seasoning, rosemary, sage, tarragon, or thyme. - Fish-Add great taste to your fish with:
Curry powder, dill, dry mustard, lemon juice, marjoram, paprika, or pepper.
Tasty Ways to Spice Up Your Vegetables
- Carrots- Carrots taste great with:
Cinnamon, cloves, marjoram, nutmeg, rosemary, or sage. - Corn-Corn is easy to add taste to with:
Cumin, curry powder, onion, paprika, or parsley. - Green Beans-Add a special touch to green beans with:
Dill, curry powder, lemon juice, marjoram, oregano, tarragon, or thyme. - Greens-Greens and spice go hand-in-hand with these terrific spices:
Garlic, onion, or pepper. - Peas-Some delicious ways to add flavor to your peas include:
Ginger, marjoram, onion, parsley, sage. - Potatoes-Instead adding butter and salt to your potatoes, add flavor with:
Dill, garlic, onion, paprika, parsley, or sage. - Summer Squash-The yummy taste of summer squash is enhanced with:
Cloves, curry powder, marjoram, nutmeg, onion, rosemary, or sage. - Winter Squash-What could be better than winter squash with:
Cinnamon, ginger, marjoram, or onion. - Tomatoes-There's nothing better than ripe red tomatoes with:
Basil, bay leaf, dill, marjoram, onion, oregano, parsley, or pepper.
Proteins
Proteins help you to grow. We are made out of protein, if you weren’t, you’d look like skin and bones. Actually, your skin is also made out of protein so you’d look like a skeleton. Also, proteins help you to repair yourself when you get cuts. Proteins come from foods like fish, meat, chicken, eggs, soybeans,
and many others. Whey Protein shakes
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are a big source of energy for you. What is a carbohydrate? It’s starch and sugar. Watch out though, because sugar by itself or in junk food like candy provides energy but isn’t nutritious. This kind of sugar is called an empty calorie because it has energy but doesn’t provide you with anything else. Having too much can even harm you like with cavities in your teeth. Some forms of good carbohydrates are whole wheat bread, brown rice, pasta… a lot of foods that have grains.
Junk food has more fats and oils than you need. But, you can get the right amounts you need from other foods. Fats and oils make up the cells that bring other nutrients and the air that you breathe all around your body. They also control your body temperature and cushion body organs so that they are protected from things that could poke into it. Your body only needs a certain amount of fat, though. Having too much can clog the veins and arteries that carry blood around your body and overwork your heart to pump blood. Vitamins and minerals help to keep your bones growing, keep your body functioning properly, and keep you from getting sick.
Water
Did you know that you’re mostly made of water? Around 60 percent of your body is made up of water. Having all that water helps you to carry other nutrients around your body, controls the temperature of your body, and moves food down along your system and eventually come out of your body. You can get a lot of water by drinking it by itself, in drinks, or from food. Many fruits are more than 90 percent water.
Proteins help you to grow. We are made out of protein, if you weren’t, you’d look like skin and bones. Actually, your skin is also made out of protein so you’d look like a skeleton. Also, proteins help you to repair yourself when you get cuts. Proteins come from foods like fish, meat, chicken, eggs, soybeans,
and many others. Whey Protein shakes
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are a big source of energy for you. What is a carbohydrate? It’s starch and sugar. Watch out though, because sugar by itself or in junk food like candy provides energy but isn’t nutritious. This kind of sugar is called an empty calorie because it has energy but doesn’t provide you with anything else. Having too much can even harm you like with cavities in your teeth. Some forms of good carbohydrates are whole wheat bread, brown rice, pasta… a lot of foods that have grains.
Junk food has more fats and oils than you need. But, you can get the right amounts you need from other foods. Fats and oils make up the cells that bring other nutrients and the air that you breathe all around your body. They also control your body temperature and cushion body organs so that they are protected from things that could poke into it. Your body only needs a certain amount of fat, though. Having too much can clog the veins and arteries that carry blood around your body and overwork your heart to pump blood. Vitamins and minerals help to keep your bones growing, keep your body functioning properly, and keep you from getting sick.
Water
Did you know that you’re mostly made of water? Around 60 percent of your body is made up of water. Having all that water helps you to carry other nutrients around your body, controls the temperature of your body, and moves food down along your system and eventually come out of your body. You can get a lot of water by drinking it by itself, in drinks, or from food. Many fruits are more than 90 percent water.
How about those Protein Shakes?
The first thing to realize is that protein shakes are intended to be supplemental to your regular whole meals — not replacements for whole meals. So if you view it that way, you should typically be consuming no more than 2-3 shakes a day on your workout days,
and 1-2 (if any) protein shakes on your non-workout days.
In general, the two most critical times for drinking a protein shake:
Why first thing in the morning?
Well, when you wake up, you have essentially been in a fasted state for the past seven to eight hours. That means you’ve had no protein during this time and you are at risk for becoming catabolic (meaning you’ll start to break down muscle for fuel.) By drinking a protein shake with some simple carbs (like orange juice or a banana blended in) as soon as you wake up, you can stop this muscle breakdown dead in its tracks and put yourself back in “positive nitrogen balance” — a fancy term that simply means you have more protein available for your body than what it is using for fuel or excreting.
The second key window of opportunity for drinking a protein shake is immediately following your resistance or weight training workout.
During this 30-60 minute post-workout window, your muscles are like sponges and take up nutrients — including protein — very quickly as part of the repair and recovery process. Your body also utilizes carbohydrates more efficiently during this period, due to increased insulin sensitivity, so drinking your protein shake with some simple carbs can help the body more efficient absorb amino acids and utilize them for ongoing tissue repair and growth. IMPORTANT: Once again, protein shakes are intended to be supplemental to your regular whole meals — not replacements for whole meals.
and 1-2 (if any) protein shakes on your non-workout days.
In general, the two most critical times for drinking a protein shake:
- First thing in the morning
- Immediately following your resistance or weight training workout.
Why first thing in the morning?
Well, when you wake up, you have essentially been in a fasted state for the past seven to eight hours. That means you’ve had no protein during this time and you are at risk for becoming catabolic (meaning you’ll start to break down muscle for fuel.) By drinking a protein shake with some simple carbs (like orange juice or a banana blended in) as soon as you wake up, you can stop this muscle breakdown dead in its tracks and put yourself back in “positive nitrogen balance” — a fancy term that simply means you have more protein available for your body than what it is using for fuel or excreting.
The second key window of opportunity for drinking a protein shake is immediately following your resistance or weight training workout.
During this 30-60 minute post-workout window, your muscles are like sponges and take up nutrients — including protein — very quickly as part of the repair and recovery process. Your body also utilizes carbohydrates more efficiently during this period, due to increased insulin sensitivity, so drinking your protein shake with some simple carbs can help the body more efficient absorb amino acids and utilize them for ongoing tissue repair and growth. IMPORTANT: Once again, protein shakes are intended to be supplemental to your regular whole meals — not replacements for whole meals.
It's not candy it's...Peanut Butter
Eating two spoonfuls of peanut butter straight from the jar may seem like a guilty pleasure, but new research shows it could be a healthy habit. Peanut butter and jelly may remind you of your school days or it may be a part of your current eating regimen. You've probably wondered whether this childhood favorite can be a part of a healthy diet as an adult. Peanut butter is a healthy, energy-packed high-protein food. Although it is high in calories and fat, peanuts contain monounsaturated fat, which is much better for your heart than other types of fat. Peanuts are also a rich source of vitamin E and minerals like magnesium and copper. To get the most out of peanut butter snacks, choose an all-natural peanut butter that does not contain added sugar, salt or other fillers.
The Magic BULLET, my Review...
This machine allows for including more fruits/veg into your diet. I recommend using some frozen fruit to make your drink cold. There is overflow if you fill the container too much. You must not fill past the fill line or your juice WILL come out of the blender and the juice will leak into the actual machine. That is the only problem. It is still a good machine. The magic Bullet does do a good job at blending . I mainly use it for my protein shakes. Highly recommended to add FROZEN fruit. Adding only room temp. veg and fruits will not taste as good. You can craft a never-ending combination of fruits and veggies into a delicious and healthy "Blast."
