What the heck is Quinoa?

What is Quinoa? pronounced Keen-wah 



I've also tried red/rainbow quinoa. It's a little more expensive and I didn't taste any difference in flavor. I'd opt to buy regular and save money.




Quinoa is an ancient grain and is considered a super food. Very high in protein and a complete protein.

It's is pretty flavorless.

It is very versatile. You can sub it for oats, rice, pasta, add to salad. The recipes are endless for any meal.

How to prepare:

Rinse under water. They say it has a bitter taste if you don't. It's very hard to rinse under water. The tiny grains slip thru the strainer. I seldom wash it and it taste fine.

You cook it like rice.  2 to 1 ratio. 1 cup of quinoa to 2 cups of water.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer approx 15-20 minutes until water is adsorbed and grains sprout open. (as pictured above in red)

Where to buy:

I usually buy mine at BJ's whole sale club. It's organic and pre washed. I think a bag is 4.00.
You can buy it at any health food store it's a  bit more pricey.
It's  available at any local grocery store in the health section.

Recipes:

Tonight it's late and instead of eating dinner and dessert I combined my meals;)

I made a quick quinoa pudding. I cooked quinoa in water for approx. 20 minutes. Once water was absorbed I added almond milk, a few raisins, dash of vanilla, some cinnamon and real maple syrup for natural sweetness.

Though it tasted like a dessert. I really had a high protein meal. You don't always have to get your protein from meat. This is an excellent substitution.

I could save leftover for breakfast tomorrow.

For dinner. Typically, I would cook with a bouillon for flavor. These are a few pictures I found on the internet. You can Google recipes. There are tons!







There is a new burger chain called BurgerFi.  They offer a delicious quinoa burger. Yummy;) It is very delish and I feel like I ate a burger! All the protein with very little fat

Should I Juice? Detox? Vitamins? Which diet is best?

Which diet is best?

This is a multi billion dollar question? 



You choose how you fill your belly!

Learn from what I say but don't believe me. Experiment with your own body. We are all different. What works for me, may not work for you. 

Over the course of the years I tried tons of diets. They never worked. I deprived myself of foods I was craving and was miserable. 

My weight became an issue after my second son. I was over weight, depressed, suffered from reflux, smoked and had poor health. I remember my uncle telling me this was my destiny~ a family trait:( 
Prior to kids I ate whenever and whatever I wanted. Never thought much about food. I was never a person to really care about eating. I did eat lots of fast food and sweets. 

Now that I'm older and have children it's all I think about (within reason;) My parents prepared meals daily. My dad loved to cook and was home early enough everyday to make us dinner. We always sat down as a family. This was important and I wanted to do the same for my children. 
I love to cook and try new recipes. I'm always making a healthier version. I love the fact that I can purchase foods. Whip, chop,and dice up ingredients to form a meal. I'm blessed to have the time to spend with my family to prepare meals nightly. Sometimes with complaints and other nights are a success;) 

My AH HA moment

The biggest eye opener was finding out that FOOD-yes FOOD can cause or cure adult onset disease! Now this is unfortunately being seen in children more and more. Obesity, high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes  and even cancer! Some of these illnesses are directly related to the foods we consume and eat daily. PEOPLE YOU ARE WHAT YOU PUT IN YOUR MOUTH. You can reverse or reduce medication under DCT supervision by switching up your diet. This is a proven fact! I was astonished to learn this in my college years. 
With my family history being so poor. I soon became very interested in keeping my body the healthiest it can be. While I am blessed to be on this earth! It is my mission to spread the word teaching my family and friends the amazing transformation you can make by simply changing what you eat. 

Of course I eat junk once in awhile. Here and there but when I feel like crap later it's easy to say, "NO Thanks" next time. Trial and error. Your taste buds will change. Believe me the human body is amazing! Sometimes I look at what I'm eating and laugh. If you put this in front of me years ago I would of laughed and said, "HELL NO"

I rarely repeat the same meal. Except burgers.I'm always googling new recipes. I go by how I feel that day. This could be an issue at times. It is easier to have a weekly menu planned and stick with it. I tend to base meals off grocery flyer sales Or a magazine article.

Atkins-  I am a carb aholic and can't live without my pasta, bread, etc. My body doesn't work well with just using veggies as my carbs. 
My grandmother and uncle both died at a young age from kidney complications. I don't want to tax my kidney's more then need be. High animal fat diets tax the kidney's.  There are people who can thrive on this way of eating, not me.

Paleo- I could not live with out legumes or grains. Most of my diet is based on these two food groups.

Gluten Free- Not a fan. You should only eat this way if you have a true allergy. Many foods are naturally gluten free but are being labeled "gluten free" to get you to purchase the already gluten free product.

HCG- I worked briefly for a few months at this facility. I had no idea what I was stepping into. After learning about the product. I couldn't stay there consciously knowing that I didn't believe in the product. Note: the staff, phone calls, nurses where ALL scripted on what to say. As the "nutrition counselor" I had to learn veer bat-um a 3 page script. Doesn't sound kosher to me!
Also, I would NEVER inject myself with a shot daily and reduce my calories to 800 a day. I avoid FAT FREE(chemically made) like the plague. Which is what they recommend.

Many companies have a slogan of "Life Time Member" RUN the other way. IT's because they know you will fail!! Money in their pocket.

Though  I don't count calories. I would never recommend dropping below 1200 for a woman. Woman should be consuming 1500+ a day depending on activity. The biggest misconception is to eat less. YOU MUST EAT 5-6 small meals a day to maintain weight and health.

Juicing vs Blending 

Juicing-gives me sever indigestion. Juicing seems to be the new craze. Juicing lacks FIBER. The machine separates the juice from skin (fiber).  I don't think once a week is bad. Especially if you won't eat vegetables. However,  I am way to cheap to purchase that many fruits and vegetables to get such a small amount of juice.side effects

Plus, the clean up is time consuming...GRRR

If juicing only use Organic to reduce toxins.

Thyroid peeps beware! Cruciferous Vegetables it is recommended that Thyroid patience limit their intake of these vegetables. If you want to eat these vegetables its best to cook, steam, sauteed  and add a little salt when cooking. I eat these vegetables everyday but usually steamed. I wouldn't juice these daily. You would consume mass amounts of raw veggies which may interfere with thyroid. 

Also, remember because there is no fiber. Juice converted to sugar gets absorbed quickly into the blood. This is a lot of natural sugar at one shot. Which can be followed by a spike in insulin and unwanted side effects.

Kids won't eat veggies: This is an issue with my family so I make smoothies. It's all chopped up and masked with fruit flavors. Fruit covers any vegetable flavor. I'm not saying this is a substitution to eating vegetables everyday but for a picky eater it's a battle won!

It is always best to EAT you foods. You want your stomach to fill up and breakdown food naturally. 

DETOX

Your body naturally detox's its self. Especially if you increase your vegetable intake. Many veggies naturally detox the body.

Juicing multiple meals will result in spending most of your time in the bathroom. You will lose weight through bathroom waste. DON'T be fooled you will end up gaining this back! Balance

I do think many skinny fat, obese, overweight folks are filled with toxic chemicals. This may be a jump-start way to rid toxins out of the body. NOTE  if you are on medications check with your DCT. detox is not recommended for certain conditions. Thyroid being one.

What ever way you choose-ask yourself: Can I eat like this forever? 

The best way to eat is to stick with grains, fruits, vegetables, organic lean meat, and dairy. Again, basically shopping the outer isles of the supermarket.  

You know your body best. LISTEN to the signs it's giving you. Do you feel energized or sluggish? Are you sleeping well or insomnia? overweight and depressed, sex drive low? These are ALL related to your diet. The good news is they can be reversed!

The only thing you hear from folks that eat healthy plant based foods is  HOW GREAT THEY FEEL. You will never have bad side effects from eating healthy foods.

Try to take Challenges and educate yourself. 

How I Eat

First, I went Vegetarian for years. Just cause this girl told me how great she felt! I thought, I'll give that a try. Fast forward a few years later. I still stick with Veggie Diet. I've slipped a few times but was quickly reminded as to why I gave up meat.
Then I went vegan. This was much harder then going Vegetarian. However, I was taking the 21 day challenge. When it got tough I would remind myself it's just 21 days. 

Take a challenge see how your body reacts. Watch for positive and negatives symptoms. Which you are willing to live with and which aren't you? 

You'll be AMAZED at the knowledge you gain.  You may see illnesses subside and other health issues disappear.  Once you eliminate it you can always go back. Watch for pro's and con's. You won't know until you give it up. Typically 20+ days to see results.

I eat a Plant based diet. I don't live off tofu or processed morning star. I get all the protein and nutrients from variety of grains, bean, nuts, legumes, whole wheat and a well balanced diet. This can be tricky to learn and getting the right nutrients. I've included books and links for you below.

I do incorporate fish on occasion. I use butter, oil and eggs to cook with. These are all foods that don't wreak havoc on my body and digest well. However, I would of never known this if I did not given them up for a mere 30 days. This actually carried over into 60 days! I even ran a half marathon and a relay from Miami to the Keys off a plant diet!! This was eye opening experience. I was amazed at how the human body responds when you fuel properly.

Dairy

I would recommend you try to eliminate diary first. YES, you read this right. With so much processing and additives out there. Our dairy basically isn't dairy once it's in your fridge. 
Allergies, asthma, migraines, etc are linked to dairy! I believe it's because of the poor conditions, diet and antibiotics/steroids these animals are exposed to daily.

For me this was difficult at first but becomes very easy over time. Once I became conscious of NOT eating dairy. I saw how much food was covered in cheese at restaurants. I was astonished to of never noticed this before!

A majority of folks are lactose intolerant and this seems to increase when we age. Our bodies aren't ment to consume another animals milk. We are the only species that cross drinks another s milk. The Ad's are tricking us into believing this. People often say where do you get your calcium from? Dark leafy GREENS. We are one of the most deficient countries in calcium YET we drink the most milk! 

One reason I steer clear of dairy is because I noticed my belly fat and hips went away within weeks. Now if I slip up and have dairy as it's in EVERYTHING. I am foggy, lethargic and backed up the next day. 

Also, I'm not sure if it's dairy or meat. I have very cystic breast and when I eliminate these from my diet the size of them drop dramatically! I think it's mainly dairy as I gave up meat for years and still had them. It was when I took the vegan challenge they shrunk!

I'm not into subbing fake cheese so I've learned to live without it. (I do seldom use the fake stuff).

 I LOVE PIZZA. I always thought belly fat was from consuming the pizza dough. When I ordered my first veggie pie with no cheese (sm) I ate the whole thing and was astonished at how my stomach was NOT bloated. How could this be? I thought ..I just ate this whole pie? It was then I realized the belly bloat was from the cheese not the dough!

 RAW MILK

You may of heard that many people are consuming RAW milk. Basically, this is bought directly from the farmer. HOWEVER, there are risks associated with this. As long as you take precautions you can drink it. Know your farmer! Go to the farm see how the animals raised, do they drink the milk, is the environment clean, animal free of feces, etc.
Raw milk is very expensive. I paid $10.00 a gallon to try it. It's illegal to sell in most states. You can find it. It will be sold for "pet consumption" this is how they can sell it legally.
Many of our parents grew up on RAW milk and thrived. Most people that are lactose intolerant can consume RAW milk with no issues.

I again refuse to spend that much money and don't know the farmer personally.  I'm not willing to take the risk. There are many substitutes. Some will argue that there not as beneficial and processed. I don't  really drink milk and use it sparingly to cook. So for me I'll stick with Almond or coconut milk for now. I do buy milk for the kids. It will be there choice as they grow.  I rarely let them just drink it plain. They use it for cereal. 

Vitamins

I was taught in college vitamins are expensive urine. You can get all your daily vitamins through a healthy diet. If I have a deficiency in a vitamin try eating more of a healing food. IF your doctor recommends a vitamin then by no means stop taking it. 

Vitamins are NOT FDA approved. You are trusting the label and manufacture.  If you really want a vitamin make sure it's coming from a reputable company. Ask at your local health food store. Also, note that vitamins will NOT work to full potential if they are not consumed with a healthy diet. You can't eat MCD's and swallow a vitamin with a diet coke. That defeats the purpose and it has nothing to latch onto.



NETFLIX Documentary to watch

Forks over knives 
Vegucated
there are many more

You tube
Meet your meat

Books by Micheal Pollen, T. Colin Campbell, and Dr. Ornish, MD Neal Barnard. 

My beef with Meat by fire fighter and tri athlete Rip Esselstyn

There are so many books. I read them. Try the recipes and stick with what I like and works for me.

I don't follow any of them 100% as I'm willing to do this but not that....balance and find your happy medium.

Eat more veggies. Your body will thank you and shine;)

Give A Hoot Don't Pollute

I find myself recently annoyed at people who leave their trash anywhere except the garbage can.

If I pass left trash near my car, on my way into a store, etc. I can't just walk by it. I pick it up and carry it to the trash can. If your a germ phoebe-place in trash- go immediately to the sink..=)

Why people still litter and pollute is shameful. We need those commercials back "GIVE A HOOT DON"T POLLUTE"



As I walk into a store it never bothered me as much as it does now. I find myself unable to just walk by and leave the trash, left cart, etc.

Why am I writing about  this?

I've always had a huge pet peeve with people leaving popcorn and soda containers in the movie theater.  The workers are not YOUR MAID. Pick up after yourself.  How can you walk away and leave your trash for someone else? You carried the popcorn in. Why? Dear God- can't you carry it out. Toss it in trash can. Which by the way is placed right outside the theater door!

Tonight, I brought Jordanne to see Jurassic Park 3D. The movie was packed with folks. As the movie ended  we sat and waited for the crowd to exit. While sitting I noticed an empty (huge) soda right in the middle of the isle. You know large movie soda's look like a liter bottle. Very noticeable.

As I sat, I watched multiple folks walk around it or over it. NO one picked it up. They did lift their foot to walk over it or step around it.  As I sat watching I was appalled and thought I'll get it once the crowd lessens.  Just then a young girl about 10ish bent down without her parents knowledge and picked it up. Awesome!!

I stopped her and her parents. I said, "I want you to know about 15 or so adults just walked over or around that. YOU stopped and picked it up without anyone asking you. Good for YOU! You should be very proud of yourself. Thank you;)

Catch someone doing something good and without any direction is awesome to see.

If we continue to trash our environment and living space how can it stay beautiful? I want to run/bike ride/drive down the road seeing flowers, tree's and grass. It's so easy to toss your trash in a garbage can. There are so many available garbage cans all over. There is no excuse.

Be proud and take pride in your living environment.

Guest Post: Basic Eating for Joggers and Updated Shopper's Guide

This is an article written by my  friend Jill Corleone. She is a Registered Dietitian.  

BASIC EATING GUIDE FOR THE JOGGER

Regular physical activity is one of the best things a person can do to improve their health, says the Harvard School of Public Health. 

As far as physical activity goes, jogging makes perfect sense because the only required equipment are a good pair of running shoes. In addition, jogging is easy to fit into a busy schedule and it's free. 

While the jogging part is simple, some joggers may have a hard time figuring out what they need to eat. Joggers do not need to follow a special diet but need to make good food choices to enhance the health benefits of their physical activity.

Grains provide joggers with the energy they need to start and complete their run. Grains include foods such as bread, rice, pasta, cereal and crackers. To maximize nutrient intake, at least half of a jogger's daily grain choices should be whole grain. Whole grains are rich in B-vitamins, which are necessary for converting food into energy. 

Whole grains also provide other essential nutrients including selenium, iron and fiber.

For good health, joggers need to eat at least 2 1/2 cups of fruits and vegetables a day, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Fruits and vegetables are naturally low in calories and rich in nutrients like vitamin C, vitamin A, potassium, copper and manganese.

Eating foods high in vitamin C may help improve muscle soreness,
according to Liz Applegate Ph.D. Copper and manganese are trace minerals necessary for proper muscle function.

Protein foods are necessary for muscle repair and growth. Good sources of protein include poultry, fish, eggs, meat, beans and soy products. When it comes to selecting meats, joggers should include more lean meats in their diet to limit their intake of saturated fat. Eating too many foods high in saturated fat increases risk of heart disease. 

Seafood is a great source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids for joggers. Omega-3
fatty acids help reduce inflammation and improve heart health. Joggers should aim for 8 ounces of seafood a week.

Dairy foods provide the body with calcium and vitamin D for bone health. Dairy foods are also a good source of protein. To limit saturated fat and calorie intake, joggers should choose low-fat and fat-free varieties. Fortified soy-milk products are a good alternative to cow's milk for people who cannot tolerate or prefer not to drink cow's milk.

Fat in food provides the body with energy. But for joggers, fat is not an efficient source of energy and intake should be limited to less than 30 percent of daily calories. Fat choices do matter, however, and joggers should include mostly healthy fats such as olive oil, vegetable oils, avocados, nuts and nut butters. Nuts, especially almonds, are a good source of the antioxidant vitamin E and help protect cells from free radical damage. 

(reference 2, reference 3 pg 39-40, reference 4)

Thank you Jill! 

Another post sent from a family friend Peggy on Updated Shopper's Guide. Thank you!

How to Find the Healthiest Fare in Meat and Produce Aisles

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/05/08/ewg-pesticide-guide.aspx 

Positive Thinking~ Retrain Your Brain

Woman need to believe in themselve and love your unique self. 


I hear woman to often put negative labels on themselves. 

YOU ARE NEVER TO OLD TO DO ANYTHING. 
YOU ARE ONLY LIMITED TO THE LIMITATIONS YOU PUT ON YOURSELF.








You need to re train your brain. Practice looking for your positive aspects instead of focusing on the bad. 





Stop dissecting yourself in the mirror. Stop focusing on weight, blemishes, zits, freckles, crows feet,body parts that are headed south and all your so called faults.

Ever notice no one see's your faults until you so graciously point them out. They always follow up with "What?, Where?" We see it because we focus on it. Everyone has a body part they dislike. Focus on the positive changes~ not what's left.

Look at how far you've come. NOT how far you have to go. Celebrate the small goals. Each small goal adds up and gets you closer to your dream.

Have someone take a photo of you. Sometimes I feel like crap. After I look at the picture I think: OK, not as bad as I thought.

Inspire to be a better you. There are to many people I meet going thru life like a robot, miserable, and surviving. LIVE and LOVE

Find your passion, educate yourself on a topic, learn/grow spiritually, take a class, cooking, painting,knitting whatever your interest may be. Learn something new. 

Empower yourself and you will become unstoppable. Don't let someone crush your dreams. 

If you have negative people in your life it's time to re asses and surround yourself with like minded, strong, loving, supportive people.



Every time I'm having a bad day and everything seems to be going wrong. I stop and look at what is going right. Your day and outlook will change. Appreciate your health, family, and be thankful for what you have. This simple shift of thinking can change your outlook on life. 

Let go of anger and resentment it is only hurting YOU.

Labels~ Sugar~ how to figure out how much sugar is in your food

Whole Wheat And Home made bread

I hear to often "ew I hate whole wheat" I hear you. I was once there myself. You have to re train your taste buds. 

Remember to read the label. The stores will trick you. There are some of you right now I'm sure eating multi grain bread. That my friend is white bread with sprinkled grains. You might say, "no it's brown bread?" Yes, colored usually with molasses or similar darkening ingredient.
Read the label the first ingredient should be 100% whole grain/wheat.

The food companies trick up the labels to confuse the consumer. They want you to purchase their product. Don't be fooled.

Enriched~ What does that mean?


Enriched wheat basically means it's white bread stripped of nutrients and then they re sprinkled wheat back in. 

Ok, not ideal but a step in the right direction for those who can't stomach wheat.

Years ago we started on "Enriched wheat" 

Basically, the body turns white products "bad crabs" into SUGAR. Not good for anyone watching their weight. Especially not good for a diabetic.

I've actually seen diabetics turn down a  piece of fruit because of sugar yet reach for white bread? White bread will skyrocket your sugar faster than fruit. 
Fruit has fiber to slow the process and is a natural source.

I've heard sugar referred to as "legal cocaine" 

Sugar wreaks havoc on the body and is hidden in almost ALL foods. Foods you would never think of contain sugar.

Ketchup, juice, salad dressings,nuts,cereal,tomato sauce,dips,chips, desserts,hamburger/hot dog buns, soda, EVERYTHING!!! If you think you don't consume sugar daily you are not reading labels. 

When you make bread in the bread machine. You may notice wheat, rye basically any bread has some white and wheat flour combo. Yes, that's fine and I enjoy this type of bread. 
However it contains flour, water, yeast, salt, sugar. This bread is yummy and we enjoy it often. It has very few ingredients and I know exactly what's in it. You will never find this type of bread at the store. It won't last more than a few days (not profitable). It has no preservatives. 
We know exactly what's in it and we can pronounce all the ingredients. YEAH!!

Sugar let me show you how to identify it on a label. 

First, by law the ingredient label is listed by most to least. If sugar shows up in the top 5, that product is mainly made up of sugar. sugar has tons on hidden names. Any thing ending in "ose" is a sugar. 

Label companies know that consumers are reading labels. Yeah, for awareness!  They will actually try to add in several types of sugar so they fall further down the label. 

You may first see HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) then further down the list you might also see cane sugar, molasses, brown rice syrup, or agave,or evaporated cane sugar, the list goes on and on.Hidden names of sugar

Sugar is sugar no matter how they label it.


















Sugar used to be a treat back in the day. Now it makes up most of our diet. Wonder why you can't lose weight, rid the body of cellulite, wonder why your tired during the day, mood swings, craving and experience a sugar crash

To reduce sugar in yogurt
buy plain yogurt and sweeten with honey or sweetener of choice. You will use way less then any pre packaged variety, Starbucks coffee omit the whip cream, always opt for a small. It will satisfy craving and keep calorie and sugar to a minimum.

Now, I am not saying go and use a sugar substitute. I avoid that stuff like the plague. If I'm going to use sugar, I use sugar, honey, pure maple, or molasses to cook with.

How do I know how much sugar is in my food:

Ok, on the label you will find




You see this ingredients list above is all sugar with hidden names.

You have to locate grams of sugar. In picture above there are 24.6 g of sugar PER serving.  Remember if you are eating more then one serving you have to multiply it by 2,3,4, etc

1 teaspoon= 4g of sugar/cube

you would divide the total sugar by 4. Example-  4(g)/24(total sugar) = 6 tsp of sugar/cube in this one serving

Today read all labels and divide your total sugar/4 for each meal.
You will be shocked at how much sugar you are eating without even knowing it