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: 55% [?]

December 26, 2007

How to add more tofu to your daily diet

Perhaps you have asked yourself this question too many times, “How to add tofu to your daily meal” but you didn’t get an answer that satisfied you. A food that is like cheese but of Chinese origin, tofu is made when you coagulate milk. The process is tedious if you want to try it out at home so just get yourself the ready to cook tofu packs and ensure that you follow the instructions. Through coagulation of the protein that is present in soy milk, the production of tofu begins.

Because tofu is protein rich, most vegetarians prefer to use tofu as a good substitute. Many non vegetarians also prefer tofu to chicken or meat because it is far healthier for bringing down cholesterol and LDL levels by almost 30% reduction. It also has anti cancer properties as well. A diet that is packed with soya proteins like tofu would build your health like never before. In terms of calories, it is perfect for those who are on diets because of its high calcium value as well.

As our discussion focuses on how to add tofu to your daily meal, here are some good ideas for you to try out.

You can cook tofu in a variety of ways. You can have it mashed and spiced up with your favorite herbs like thyme, basil and rosemary. You can have it in other ways too such as blended, whipped, ground, crumbled, marinated, steamed, baked, and even deep fried. This just proves that tofu has great variety.

You can cook anything using tofu as a main ingredient because it has very little flavor that can affect the taste of the dish itself. You can make your favorite chicken gravy based curry and substitute tofu in place of the chicken pieces. You must choose the flavors and textures with care because tofu has the unique ability to imbibe flavors of those specific ingredients that it is cooked with.

For instance, if your plan is to use tofu for a delicious Asian stir fry, the tofu actually imbibes the flavor of the noodles and the sauce that you decide to use in the stir fry. As you may have just thought now, tofu looks and acts like an absorbent sponge! You can use tofu in soups or stews. All you need to do is lock in tofu’s flavor by frying it a little in oil to make it taste less leathery. So you can still have the soya proteins that are a part of the marinated tofu.

For those who suffer from cardiovascular problems, it would work real wonders to have tofu as part of their usual dinner. You can also make scrambled tofu instead of scrambled eggs for breakfast. Instead of having meat balls in your diet, have tofu balls that would do wonders to boost your health. You can get a tofu lasagna kit instead of a meat based one.

This is an established fact that tofu is a healthier option to replace meat with for your meals. So say goodbye to all that harms your health and cholesterol levels, say a big Yes to tofu instead.

Popularity: 9% [?]

November 11, 2007

Why everyone is turning to soy

Although one of the most oldest bean around, it is only now that the soya bean is coming into many house holds as an item for healthy consumption.A paragraph from the vegetarian society reads: “The soya bean is the seed of the leguminous soya bean plant. Soya foods have been a staple part of the Chinese diet for over 4000 years but have only been widely consumed in Western countries since the 1960’s. Soya foods include tofu, tempeh, textured vegetable protein (chunks, mince etc), miso, soya sauces, soya oil and margarine, and soya dairy alternatives.”Soy beans are good because they have high quality proteins and low cholesterol and fats within them. This makes them a great substitute for dairy products and meats for vegetarians and even vegans. Recent research also shows soya beans as being great for anti-carcinogenic activity, using isoflavonoids, protease inhibitors and phytic acid. The vegetarian society says, “The low incidence of breast and colon cancer in China and Japan has been partially attributed to the high consumption of soya products.”I invite you to visit your local superstore and invest in a few soya products to try them out.You’ll be able to get soya milk, soya butter, soya ice-cream, tofu you can cook, and much more. Taste it, share it with the family and see how they enjoy it. Soon, you’ll begin to see better results in your digestion too!

Popularity: 8% [?]

November 8, 2007

How to use almonds to increase brainpower

As amazing as it may seem, your favorite little nut, the almond, can help boost your brainpower, stabilize your mood and even relieve the aging process. It may seem that the little miracle nut has so much to offer you will want to incorporate it into your diet as often as possible.

The almond contains phenylalanine, this is little chemical is shown to work in conjunction with our cognitive processes and supports healthy neurological function. This chemical very easily passes through our blood-brain barrier and makes our brain produce our natural mood stabilizing hormones adrenaline, noradrenaline and dopamine. These same hormones also help reduce pain in the body. While studies are still on going, it is believed that almonds may also help treat some symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

Almonds contain another brain boosting element called nutrientriboflavin as well as L-carnitine. This little chemical is important for the brain because it helps make it possible for our brain to metabolize acetyl-L-carnitinetransferase which supports choline metabolism. Our brain utilizes choline to prevent any neuronal degeneration. The L-carnitine that is found in almonds and other nuts also helps in the release of acetylcholine, which is essential for good memory.

Along with the brain boosting power of the almond it offers other benefits as well. Studies show that by adding almonds to your diet can help with satiety and prevent weight gain. No dangerous diet pill needed, just a handful of almonds a day. Purdue University researchers have found that two servings a day did not cause weight gain or decrease our body’s efficiency.

The almond can do wonders for your heart health as well. Almonds have been shown to lower LDL. The bad cholesterol that we really don’t want and is at times hard to lower can be handled with addition of a hand full of almonds a day.

Obviously, too much of anything is never a good thing, and eating to many nuts can lead to problems such as obesity. But incorporating a handful of almonds a day into your diet can prove to be beneficial to healthy mind function.

Popularity: 36% [?]

November 6, 2007

Can Vegetarians Get Iron Without Eating Meat?

This has been an interesting discussion for a very long time. The question as to whether vegetarians can get enough daily iron intake without resorting to eating animals is at the helm of good dieting.Anemia is when the iron levels in your blood system are low which causes your blood to have difficulty moving oxygen. It tends to be associated with vegetarianism because the most absorbable sources of dietary iron are red meats and fish.Iron is a mineral and is an essential component of haemoglobin, found in all red blood cells. It is vital for the health of cells and for the transport of oxygen to all parts of the body.Iron intake is important because our bodies simply use it as it comes – we can’t get rid of excess or store it for later (this is also why you can get sick from too much iron). Thus, our body keeps tight regulations on how much is taken in from what we eat.that said, the answer is a vibrant YES!: you can get all the iron you require from being a vegetarian, and here is a short list of some of the items you can get it from.- lentils- beans, seeds, nuts, chickpeas- leafy vegetables- tofu, soy products, tempeh- olives- black-eyed peas- potatoes with skin- whole-grain/wheat bread- tomato- seaweed- parsley, garlic- leeks- dried figs, raisins- mushrooms- riceFor people concerned about their iron level a simple blood test at a local medical centre will give an indication of their current iron status.

Popularity: 24% [?]