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Have a healthy day.
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Go Green!
That’s sounds so great, but how do I do that? You do it one step at a time. When it comes to food and cooking, “being green” can mean eating local, sustainably, and planet friendly.
A few years ago I heard a RD speak about her cookbook and strategies for cooking green. They were really clever and of course, tasty. Below is her cookbook. I highly recommend it, especially if you’d like to be more planet conscious, but not sure how.
Remember to check back in tomorrow for the big surprise I have been telling you about!
Have a healthy day.
“Broccoli will save your life.”
That’s a quote by me, by the way. I’ve been saying for a long time. The pictures is of Romanesco broccoli, an Italian heirloom variety. Isn’t it beautiful!?
Broccoli has been found to help lower cholesterol, help detoxify the body, and improve immune response specific to allergies. It is a great source of vitamin C, vitamin K, folate, vitamin A and fiber. It’s a part of the cabbage family and it’s amazing for you! You need to eat it.
Choose broccoli 2-3 times a week to equal at least 1 1/2 cups. There are a couple of types of broccoli that you may have available to you – regular broccoli, sprouting broccoli, purple broccoli, and ramanesco (picture above). All are great choices.
All parts of broccoli are edible – leaves, stalk and all. To eat the stalk, peel it, slice it and cook it up just like the florets. Can’t get your kids to eat broccoli? Cut them into tiny florets, call them trees and present with a tasty nutritious dip, like this hummus.
Go green with broccoli today! There are so many ways to enjoy it that “I don’t like it” is no longer an excuse. Check out this link for Eating Well for more broccoli recipes.
Today’s green thing is inspired by my dinner last night. Today, we are talking about fresh herbs – beautiful, green, fresh herbs. Here are some pictures from my humble herb garden.
Herbs have been used for centuries for medicinal purposes. We also know that herbs are rich sources of phytonutrients, many of which are antioxidants. You really can’t go wrong with any of them – basil, parsley, cilantro, thyme, and dill, just to name a few.
How do I use fresh herbs, you ask? Easy. Add fresh herbs to salads for a pop of flavor. Make a quick tomato basil salad by dressing with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Turn quinoa into a tasty, cold salad by adding red wine vinegar, fresh chopped veggies and parsley. Make your own salsa with cilantro. You can also add a handful of any herb to you smoothie as well.
Growing your own herbs is easy. They are often available in the produce section of the grocery store. Just put them in a pot and fertilize about once a month. If they die, no big deal. They usually only cost a couple of dollars.
So back to last nights dinner. I tried roasted eggplant with tomato and mint. It was lovely! I always want to use mint in my cooking but not sure how to incorporate it without overpowering a dish. This was a great side dish to dinner that had just the right balance of flavors. The topping would go great over anything really, so make it and play around.
Please post about how you like to use fresh herbs in your cooking.
Roasted Eggplant with Tomato Mint Salsa
2 tbsp Olive oil
2 eggplants, medium size, sliced into rounds
salt and pepper
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
1/3 cup red onion, diced
2 medium tomatoes
3 tbsp fresh mint, minced
2 tsp red wine vinegar or more if desired
It’s March which means National Nutrition Month, National Registered Dietitian Day (March 14th), and St. Patrick’s Day to me and basketball to my hubby. Well, I like watching basketball too and will gladly boast that I have won my husband’s bracket challenge (with all his fellow coaches), not once, but twice!
Anyways, there’s lot of healthy things to celebrate this month. I’d like to dedicate this week on my blog to all things green. I’m not 100% sure what that will mean each day, but that means you should check in daily to see. I’m hoping to end the week with a big blog surprise too!
Ah ha! It came to me what today’s inspiration is. As I type, I am drinking GREEN Tea! How perfect. Let’s talk some tea.
Green tea is the least processed of teas. It contains a polyphenol referred to as EGCG (short for the super long chemical name) that is a potent antioxidant. This means it helps quench nasty free radicals circulating in our bodies. Green tea has about 5 times more EGCG than black tea. A lot of research has been performed on green tea showing it may help prevent many causes of death.
A study conducted on Japanese citizens for about 11 years found the following results for those who had a high intake of green tea (3-5 cups a day):
| Green Tea Benefits | |
|---|---|
| In Women | In Men |
| 23% lower risk of dying from any cause | 12% lower risk of dying from any cause |
| 31% lower risk of dying from CVD | 22% lower risk of dying from CVD |
| 62% lower risk of dying from stroke | 42% lower risk of dying from stroke |
That’s pretty impressive and it’s only scratching the surface. Check out this link for the whole extensive list of the health benefits of green tea.
The bottom line is that it’s good for you and we should drink it. Loose green tea seems to be preferred because you can buy them in small quantities and control the amount you use. When I visited San Francisco a couple of year ago, I went to a tea shop in China Town that offered tastings. It was so much fun to learn about all the types of loose, large leaf teas. I am by no means a tea expert, but there seems to be a lot more to it than we Americans think (at least that is what I was told.)
So raise a mug of antioxidant rich green tea with me this week! Please post a picture of your mug of tea (if you can). Here’s mine.
(I just have to finish the song) But I get up again. You’re never gonna get me down….
Why the cheesy song this morning? Well, the River Run 15K race was this morning in Jacksonville. It is my very favorite race of the year. My husband and I both look forward to it. We found a sitter for Jackson (thank you Amanda) and were ready to have a fun race.
Unfortunately, about a half mile in, my right leg started having a really strange, very sharp pain. I pulled off to the side and walked till it started to feel better. My husband caught up to me and we started running together. At 2 miles in, he knew his knee was not doing good either. By mile 4, we knew running was a bad idea. Bummer. We were both sad. We walked another mile and found our friends who set up a very fun “fueling” station (hot breakfast and beverages galore) for runners outside their house on the course. We decided to pull off and DNF and enjoy some breakfast.
Although it was fun being with friends and watching other runners go by, we were both really dissapointed. This is the first race we have not finished. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t really matter but the rest of the day just seems like a wash. Wait a second! That’s exactly the attitude we need to avoid in healthy living!
For whatever reason, when something goes wrong in our healthy living we tend to let it derail us quickly. Frustration is a big factor. Sometimes we can control it (i.e. I over ate) and sometimes we can’t (injury). But it’s good to step back and see the whole picture.
This incident is one piece of my whole healthy being. There are so many other pieces that make me up. I need to pick myself up and look for other opportunities to continue my health quest. “You’re” never going to get me down!
It looks like running may be on the back burner for a little while for the Braddocks. (We are both heading to the Doc this week to see what’s up.) But that’s ok. We will find something else. I’ve been looking forward to swimming and biking again.
As for the River Run, I will see you next year! Or, when my leg is fixed, you may see the 2 of us pounding out the course, just to finish it. =)
Whatever has challenged you today, this week, this year, stare it in the face and don’t let it get you down. Get up and find another way to live our your health goals.
Go get em Tiger!
I know I’ve been terrible about my Science Friday idea. I’m sorry. But today I came across a research brief that made me smile. I’m not saying I support it or deny it. I just think it’s interesting info. It makes me chuckle a little because eating has become so complicated!
Anyways, enjoy some light afternoon reading and maybe a piece of chocolate cake at breakfast tomorrow. =) Have a healthy weekend!
February 14, 2012
A study published in the journal Steriods shows that adding sweets to your morning breakfast may aid in weight loss.
The researchers split 193 clinically obese, non-diabetic adults into two groups who consumed either a low-carb diet that included a 300-calorie breakfast or a balanced 600-calorie breakfast that included a chocolate cake dessert. Halfway through the 32-week study both groups had lost an average of 33 lbs per person. But in the second half of the study the low-carb group regained an average of 22 lbs per person, while the dessert gorgers lost another 15 lbs each. At the end of the study, those who had consumed a 600-calorie breakfast had lost an average of 40 lbs more per person than their peers.
Although both groups consumed the same daily total calories—1,600 calories/day for men and 1,400 calories/day for women—“the participants in the low-carbohydrate diet group had less satisfaction and felt that they were not full,” said Professor Daniela Jakubowicz. Their cravings for sugars and carbohydrates were more intense and eventually caused them to grab sweets later in the day.
The researchers hypothesize that since breakfast is the meal that most successfully regulates ghrelin, the hormone that increases hunger, a breakfast high in carbs would reduce diet-induced compensatory changes in hunger, cravings, and ghrelin suppression. Basing their study on this fact, the researchers hoped to determine whether meal time and composition impacted weight loss in the short and long term or if it was a simple matter of calorie count.
With so much nutrition information out there, sometimes you just need a fresh perspective. Written by a registered dietitian, sports fan and food lover.
