May 15, 2008

Undress your salad!

Are your salads making you fat? It is not entirely impossible to believe. Just when you think you have this healthy eating thing down to a science you realize that after eating like a rabbit, you are still craving “energy” in the mid-afternoon hours and your weight hasn’t really changed much since you last checked. What gives?

One must overcome the idea that salads have to be dressed in order for them to be delicious. You must first begin by undressing your salad and giving it more nutritional value with foods that are packed with energy and flavor. You can start by purging all those creamy dressings that are taking up space in your fridge, that’s your culprit right there. Sorry mega companies who sell the creamy fatty dressings, I can’t support you on this one. It is nearly impossible to eat only the recommended serving of two tablespoons, once you start to drizzle it on, who knows how much dressing you’re really eating. I challenge you to measure next time you try to “drizzle” two tablespoons of creamy fatty dressing onto your salad.

Anyway, let’s first figure out how we dress our salads for success:

Typical salad ingredients–as much as you want: Lettuce, Tomatoes, Carrots, Cucumber, Celery, and maybe even some Mushrooms, yum, delicious.

Toppings: ¼ cup Shredded cheddar cheese, *6 Croutons

Dressing: 2 tablespoons of creamy ranch

*based on only one brand, still, who uses only six, who counts only six croutons?

Nutritional Value of this salad: Almost 300 calories and over 27 grams of fat, the only protein (16g) comes from the cheese. No way? Yes way. I did the math. Obviously there are many nutrients in this meal that are really good for you but wouldn’t you rather put those extra calories and extra fat into something more fun?

Here’s my salad redo, with a fancier dress and much cooler toppings to please the palate:

Choose your veggies:

Hearts of romaine lettuce and baby spinach—lots!

Carrots—baby, shredded, sliced, diced—it really doesn’t matter.

Bell Peppers—your choice in colors.

Tomatoes – they can be cherry, grape, yellow, orange or red—your choice here too!

Any veggies you want to add here is fine

Isn’t this fun, you get to decorate your meal—too cool!

Want to add protein?

Choose one: 2 hard-boiled egg whites OR about 3 ounces (handful) leftover chicken, beef, pork, or fish—which I’m sure was lean OR small can of tuna packed in water OR ½ cup beans such as garbanzo or kidney beans.

If you really like cheese in your salad try one made with part skim milk such as mozzarella or a fat free Feta cheese.

Now choose your toppings:

½ Granny Smith Apple- diced sliced or anyway you like it OR mandarin orange slices OR Berries, why not? Try it out, this is your meal.  Don’t have any fresh fruit?  Try raisins, craisins, dried cherries, fig..all good for you but watch out for added sugars.

1/8 cup chopped Walnuts. Walnuts are a great source of Omega-3. (Source: Worlds Healthiest Foods)

OK go ahead, give it a little outfit:

1 TBS Olive oil mixed with 1TBS Lemon or Lime Juice—that’s all the dressing up this salad will need.

Yes olive oil and walnuts have fat, but it’s good fat. Tim Moore from the Vitaminstuff shares great tips about olive oil and its nutritional values. The tangy and crunch taste of the apple or the sweet, citrus from the mandarin is a pleasant surprise to the palate as are the walnuts and dried fruits.

Toss it all together and voila! You have yourself a well dressed salad.  When you are done with this meal you will be satisfied, for a while. Enjoy and please, share your salad re-do with us.

Stay Well,

Spin Diva!

Popularity: 9% [?]

February 8, 2008

5 reasons to go RAW!

Photo from yoshimov

There is a global consciousness around raw food and health that has been growing over the last 5 years in the West. It is something that has already been there in the East. For example, a lot of raw food is made in India, although the use of ground spices are used to add more flavour.

Even if you look in your own networks - you may know of at least one person who is on a raw food and health plan.  Here are five reasons why you may want to consider going raw:

1. Water-rich content is the best component in any diet. Water makes up a large part of our world, and so to in our body. Therefore it naturally makes sense that we should take in as much water as we can, and one of the best ways to do so is to eat a lot of fruit and vegetables. It’

s also good because it is much more better than processed and highly cooked foods.

2. Eat much more than you would of processed foods. The benefits of raw foods far outweigh that of processed foods and what you get out of it (which is very little). Raw food is pretty much all good for you so you won’t have to worry of loading your body with junk.

3. Eating raw has been shown to slow down the aging process. You’

ll feel better, have more energy and need less sleep. Bad breath and body odor go away. Eyes become brighter, voices more clear.

4. Spiritual.Eating raw helps one better tune in to the universal plan, and experience lots of synchronicity. Living food promotes clarity and higher consciousness.

5. Save time. Eating raw food and the creativity it brings out in you will over time lessen the amount of time you spend in the kitchen.

There you have five awesome reasons to consider going raw. If you’

re already eating raw foods, what are you learning? What made you go raw? Please share your thoughts…

Popularity: 5% [?]

December 22, 2007

Christmas 2007 Food Plan

Christmas is an important time to watch what you eat. Whether you’re a raw food junkie or eat as normal, it’s important to note in advance what you’re going to eat, the habits you’re going to take on during the Christmas period and what you’re going to mix together. Whether you’re eating raw or not, here are some things to take note of. 

- Turkeys that are usually bought from grocer’s are kept frozen and wrapped in either a bag or box for a long time. The turkeys have also been kept in good form by using chemicals. Therefore what you eat will be stuffed with chemicals and have lost most of its nature that you’d rather enjoy. Why not look for a farm that sells turkeys that have died from natural causes? “Seek, and ye shall find.”

 - Frozen corns are usually used to accompany the turkey during Christmas. Although nearly but not totally raw, go a step further and buy fresh corn that you could then boil, steam or roast. Steaming is of course the most natural way forward.

- Salad during Christmas dinner is probably the only complete raw food during the festive period. Use fresh juicy fruits and vegetables during your meal. Although dressings are sometimes used, if you don’t make it yourself, it’s not raw and will ruin the salad. Fresh salad is best!

- Apple slices, pickles, olives, pineapple spices - for such side condiments, avoid using bottled or canned items. Get it all fresh and enjoy them after a simple rinse. You’ll also be chemical free!

- Tea, coffee, wine, etc - what do you usually drink during Christmas feasts? I would rank coffee the worst out of those three with wine second and tea the best, however a glass or two of red wine is also quite attractive. I’m a wine fan anyway and enjoy tasting and noting down my thoughts on wine.

If you’re interested in raw food dishes, some of my favorites come from Matt Amsden’s book RAWvolution.

 

Popularity: 3% [?]

December 21, 2007

Healthy eating when you’re dining out

In the West, the number of people that eat out because of lack of time or just too much work has increased tremendously over the last 10 years. Some say eating out a lot is bad. I agree only to the extent of what you eat. If you can control what you eat out and only ensure it is healthy, then there is absolutely nothing wrong with eating out.

(Of course, nothing beats mum’s cooking though, right?)

Here are four specific tips to help you make healthy decisions when dining out:

1. Appetizers. If you’re going to indulge in appetizers, keep in mind that although they’re just for nibbling and you may have lots, they do contain a lot of calories. Things like mozzarella sticks, potato skins, nachos, garlic bread, etc are all high in calories. If you must have an appetizer, also get a big bowl of fresh salad with it so that you’re going to allow for comfortable digestion within your body. Every place on earth must be able to cut you up some fresh salad - if it can’t, don’t dine there!

2. Avoid heavily fried items. The excessive oil doesn’t mix well with your water-rich body. If what you want to eat needs to be fried, ask that it is heavily dried so that the oil doesn’t remain in excess.

3.  Chew well. It’s a simple rule whether you’re at home or dining out. I grew up with the idea that no matter what you’re eating, chew 40 times. I would say the average should be between 25-35 and 40 can be a bit high sometimes. The quality of your chewing determines the quality of your stomach because how well you chew determines how much is already digested in the mouth using your salivary enzymes. If you don’t chew and allow the food lump to go to the stomach, you’re stomach may have problems in breaking it down well enough. 

4. If you have a choice between fried food, boiled food and steamed food, choose the latter. Steamed vegetables, for example, allows most of the nutrients you’re going to gain from eating the vegetables to remain fresh. Boiling vegetables however loses most of the good stuff. Even if you’re going to have a fried meal, try to have a lot of fresh salad or steamed vegetables with it.

Make sure you’re eating out because you’re actually hungry and you don’t just want to nibble on something. Avoid snacking altogether if possible. If you’re feeling peckish and not hungry, eat some fresh fruit or drink a glass of water. Both are good at filling you up and are good at providing you the vitamins and nutrients you need quicker. 

The underlying message here is only eat out when you’re really hungry and with whatever you choose to go for, ensure you complement it with a huge bowl of fresh salad so that it can wash down quicker and you’re still getting the water-rich content you require. 

Popularity: 5% [?]