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Making Healthy Changes in Your Family: One Step at a Time

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Colorful Vegetables

I recently had a funny e-mail conversation with an online buddy about healthy foods. She’s a regular visitor to my recipe blog and, good-naturedly, made fun of my inclusion of turkey bacon on my Current Top 10 List of Healthy Foods and Drinks. She said something to the effect of preferring to have her face ripped off than to ever eat turkey bacon.

Silly girl. That’d hurt.

I finally got her to admit that she’d never even tried turkey bacon and, I think, she kind of sort of maybe consented to give it a go this week.

I’m just glad to see more people taking charge of their health in the most important place: In their own kitchen. When you stop and think about the diseases that can be avoided, and even improved, by eating the right foods and drinks – you can’t help but want to eat a healthier diet.  Don’t listen to your inner negativity – healthier food isn’t always more expensive, it most certainly doesn’t taste bad, and you won’t even miss the unhealthy alternatives.  In fact, you’ll probably start feeling so good that many of them will sort of gross you out!

I’ve actually been quite successful at introducing healthier foods to my family.  They love grilled and baked fish and chicken, steamed vegetables, green tea, oatmeal, fruit, and didn’t even through me out of the house when I served Sweet Potato “fries.”  My husband crinkled his nose when he saw them, but he actually seemed to really like them.

The following are a few things you might want to keep in mind when trying to get anyone (including yourself!) to eat/drink healthier:

  • If you don’t buy it, it won’t be eaten. Leave the unhealthy foods and drinks on the grocery store shelves.  Hold food accountable before putting it into your cart.  If it doesn’t have any nutritional value, let it stay where it is.  Roll your cart and your health on down the aisle.
  • Kids, kids, kids. Big and small kids can be difficult to navigate around when it comes to healthy foods.  But, not only CAN it be done – it MUST be done. Their health depends upon it. If a child is given healthy food, he or she will eat it.  Of course, the adult can’t be sitting beside them making all kinds of horrid faces about it – it’ll scare the wits out of them!   If you have fruit, cereal bars, little cups of apple sauce, mixed fruit, smoothies, and such on hand – your kids will eat them.  What’s more, they’ll like them.  Allow them to pick out their favorite healthy foods.  Fortunately, many food manufacturers are making it easy on parents by making the packaging more attractive to kids.
  • Start out with small changes. Have dried fruit in the bowl that once held candy.  Dried banana chips and pineapple are most excellent.  Instead of potato chips, offer up air-popped popcorn and nuts (except for very small children, of course).  Introduce a new type of vegetable at different meals – repeat those that are liked, revamp those that are ignored.  Replace soft drinks with fun pouches of fruit juice.  Kids love them – but make sure little ones don’t run through the house with those little straws.
  • Navigate the Grocery Store like a pro. Stay completely out of the aisles that bring nothing but trouble – potato chip aisles, soft drink aisles, the bakery aisle for crying out loud… or maybe I should say for gaining out loud!  Become a regular grazer in the produce section as well as the Health Food department.  Also, try out different Lean Cuisine and Healthy Living frozen meals for lunches.  Again, allow kids and spouses (after all, they aren’t totally unlike children, are they?!) to pick out their own.
  • Read those labels – some are horror stories. Often you think you’re doing well by cutting calories only to realize that you’re consuming enough sodium to make a replica of Lot’s wife.  Biblical refresher course:  She looked back. She turned to salt.  Moral – if God says GO, GO and don’t look back. Don’t focus on the calories as much as the nutritional value, or lack thereof.
  • When given the choice between white or brown (bread, rice, pasta..) – go with brown. In order to turn products white – fat is added.  Ick.  I have to admit, wheat pasta can take a little getting used to.  For me, it isn’t the taste as much as the smell – it just smells different.  Fortunately, I use a lot of herbs and garlic when I cook, so I can outsmart my nose.
  • When eating out, always go for grilled or baked rather than breaded or fried. Also, falling in love with Subway has done wonders for many people. Frankly, I love Subway as much as any fast food restaurant.  It always smells so fresh and amazing inside and the food?  Delicious.
  • The more color on your plate, the better. I’ve always loved serving really colorful meals to my family – even before I fully registered the health benefits.  Always serve up plenty of dark greens, rich reds and oranges, purples, and yellows.  Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables will reward you with a healthier body.  Not only will you be healthier and look better – you’ll feel better, with more energy.  Suddenly you’ll feel years younger!

Read on to find out my Current Top 10 Favorite Healthy Foods and Drinks.

Why You Should Be Drinking More Tea!

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I struggle like a moth in a windstorm with some healthy habits. For example, grilled or baked salmon and I just don’t see eye to eye. I expect him to have more taste, he expects me to lower my expectations. I’m also not a huge fan of milk.  I try to outfox myself by throwing it over a bowl of sugary, chocolaty cereal.  I wish I were kidding.  The size 10 Levi’s I’d love to get back into wish I were kidding.

I love walking and biking and live for fresh vegetables and fruit – so at least I’m all over those areas.  I’m also the poster gal for drinking coffee and tea (black, green, herbal, white..).  Coffee has been shown to help ward off Alzheimer’s and tea?  It’s fantastically healthy for just about every inch of your body.

From Prevention.com:

Both green and black teas contain a concentrated dose of catechins, substances that help blood vessels relax and protect your heart. In a study of more than 40,500 Japanese men and women, those who drank 5 or more cups of green tea every day had the lowest risk of dying from heart disease and stroke. Other studies involving black tea showed similar results.

Be warned, though:  If you rely on bottled teas to get your daily doses of goodness, you’re missing out.  For the most benefits, you need to drink freshly brewed tea. Ready-to-drink teas simply don’t offer the same health benefits. . Also, don’t add milk to your tea (for the life of me, I don’t know why anyone would invite milk to a tea party anyway).  Adding milk may eliminate tea’s protective effects on the cardiovascular system, so stick to just lemon or honey.

So there you have it.  If you regularly drink soft drinks, make the healthy switch to tea.  Scientists in Boston found that drinking one or more regular or diet colas (double dang! – I love my Diet Dr. Pepper so..) every day doubles your risk of metabolic syndrome- – a cluster of conditions, including high blood pressure, elevated insulin levels, and excess fat around the waist – that increase your chance of heart disease and diabetes. Here’s a cute little tip from Prevention: If you’re all about the fizz that comes from soft drinks, try sparkling water with a splash of juice. Hmmm, maybe if I pour it into a Diet Dr. Pepper bottle…. Not that I have 2, 4, or 7 bottles in my home at this moment.

I’ll meet you in the tea aisle. There are countless varieties and flavor combinations to entertain your taste buds. Your heart will love you for it.

Green Sampler

Simple Little Steps That Will Improve How You Feel

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Anthony Robbins Quote about life.
The following “Feel Good” tips are easily implemented into your daily life. You can even get started before you finish reading the post. How’s that for instant?!

The trick is this: Make up your mind, right now, that you are going to improve your world by improving the center of your world…. YOU. When you feel good, you are happy. The world is a beautiful place. When you feel bad, you are rotten. The world is a miserable place. That sounds like text pulled from a second grade school book, doesn’t it? That’s the beauty of it; it’s so simple.

Fortunately, there are countless things we can do to make ourselves FEEL better. Let’s make it a challenge. I’m feeling extra creative today, so I’ll name it something outrageously clever. How about the “FEEL BETTER CHALLENGE?”

Wow, that was so original and random I can hardly see through the smoke.

For any challenge to work, you have to commit to it. So, I’m asking you to begin right now (it doesn’t matter if it’s morning, noon, or night). We’ll give our challenge three months to make a marked difference in how we feel. Personally, I know results will begin to rear their beautiful heads long before March 5th rolls around, but we’ll see just how gloriously fierce we can be by then.

Are you ready for the check list?!

Steps to Improve Your Mind

  • Begin spending time each day with brain games. Search the bookstore, online, or simply find endless brain games on Amazon.
  • Stop getting worked up over trivial matters.  Here’s a trick:  When you find yourself fretting over the slow driver in front of you, smile.  Your facial muscles will fool your bodily systems – your brain will think, “Wow, we’re in a good mood today!”  Tension will melt away and the next thing you know, the smile will be genuine.
  • Eat more blueberries.  Not only are they incredibly delicious – they’ve been proven to help improve memory.
  • Laugh more. Find a reason to smile and laugh each day. If you know someone who never fails to make you smile, keep him or her on standby. Laughter makes you feel good, look good, and will draw a crowd every single time.
  • Learn something new every day! There’s nothing quite as mentally stimulating as learning new things! Periodically pick subjects that interest you and research the daylights out of them. If you want to really make your brain cells sit up and take notice, occasionally choose subjects you’ve never really thought much about. For many this may be the workings of an automobile, Chinese cooking, airplanes, dinosaurs, World War II, Audrey Hepburn…. You get the point. Catch your brain off guard – it’ll love the excitement.
  • Mix things up!  Take different routes to work, school, Starbucks, the mall, etc.  Brush your teeth with the opposite hand, cook meals you’ve never cooked before, watch a documentary about a subject you’re totally unfamiliar with, read the Old Testament, learn a new language – anything that will make your brain cells wake up!
  • Relax.  Relaxation is as vital to mental fitness as it is to physical fitness.  Make a point to slow down and relax more each day.  (More about relaxation below.)
  • Affirmations.  Begin filling your mind with positive thoughts.  If you’re prone to negative thoughts (don’t kick yourself, some people are), you’ll have to work extra hard.  Once you develop the habit, though, you’ll be as positive as you once were negative.  And you’ll like your own company so much more!
  • Drink coffee.  You probably expected that from me, didn’t you?  Well, it just so happens that experts back me up on this one – and, no I didn’t pay them off.  Turns out, it wasn’t necessary.  Coffee has antioxidants in addition to the miraculous healing properties I’m convinced are there.  Did you know that coffee drinkers actually have a lower risk of Alzheimer’s than non-coffee drinkers?

“The higher your energy level, the more efficient your body. The more efficient your body, the better you feel and the more you will use your talent to produce outstanding results.” – Anthony Robbins

Steps to Improve Your Body

  • Cut out red meat.  Don’t panic, I’m not saying you can never have red meat again.  I wouldn’t do that to you.  I’m just suggesting that, for the FEEL BETTER CHALLENGE, it would be interesting to see what difference it would make in the way we felt.  Chances are that when March rolls around, we won’t even want red meat again.  At the very least, commit to cutting red meat out except for once a week.
  • Drink green tea daily.  A great big, iced glass at lunch, one at supper, and a mug of hot green tea in the evening.  For rookies – don’t forget the lemon and honey, I’m not sure you can handle its attitude right off the bat.  You have to work up to it.
  • Eat more fish.  Not only is fish incredibly, incredibly healthy for you in the long run – your body responds to it instantly.  It’s as though our system knows when we’re eating right and rewards us instantly by feeling better.  I notice that each time I eat a really healthy meal, I feel great.  Whereas an unhealthy meal leaves me feeling pretty gross.  If one meal makes such an impact on how we feel, imagine what multiple meals do.
  • Eat more fruit and vegetables.   If you’re one of those people who would respond to the suggestion of more fruits and vegetables with an “Ewwwwww!” – I challenge you to find fresh new ways to enjoy them.  Personally, I love vegetables and fruit, so this isn’t a problem for me.  (I don’t like the prices of produce one bit, though!)  Try dipping vegetables into a Ranch based dip and experiment with adding fruit to cereal, yogurt, pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, etc.
  • Get more activity.  My oldest daughter, Emily, has started exercising each night with an exercise dvd.  She said she already feels better – and she just began a week ago.  There are countless dvds on the market, from yoga and pilates to kick boxing and aerobics.  If this isn’t your “thing,” however, don’t fret.  You can still increase your activity each day.  Simply take more steps.  Park further from the door, walk around the mall, do your chores nonstop for 30 minutes, take your dog for a walk, etc.  Just move what God gave you for 30 minutes straight each day!
  • Relax.  I know we already touched on relaxation above, but I want to stress, again, how important it is to find a way to unwind and release tensions.  If you allow them to stay trapped in your body, they’ll do a whole world of harm.  You have to let them out.   I wanted to point this out:  Each person has their own way of releasing tension, and you have to find the best way for YOU.  Personally, I love to cook.  Sometimes my girls or husband will come in the kitchen after I’ve been there for hours (happily baking away) and say something like, “Why don’t you rest?”  And I’m like, “I am!”  It’s something I love to do and a way that I release tension.  I also love to watch movies.  My husband loves to read and research things online.  He loves bluegrass, so he hunts out bluegrass music and news – as well as business news, sports, internet marketing, seo tactics, etc.  What may look like work to others is actually a way of unwinding and releasing the day’s tensions for him.  Find what unwinds your nerves and lose yourself in it.
  • Take a daily vitamin. This is especially true if your diet is restricted in any way – either by choice or health. For example, most vegans could benefit from taking a daily mutli-vitamin. Many get all the vitamins they require in their diet, but a lot of vegans simply don’t get enough vitamins. That’s where a great multi-vitamin could come in handy.
  • Drink more water. If drinking more water consistently makes every list of advice known to man or woman-kind, there must be something to it.
  • Cut out as much artificial sweetener as possible.  I’m trying to accustom myself to Stevie instead of artificial sweetener.  I can still taste it, but I’m hoping it will be an adjustment I can make.  It is reportedly actually good for you while artificial sweetener is reportedly bad for you – so it’s a change I’m going to stick with.

Finally, this one is pretty amazing. I’m putting it here at the end because it’s vital to both Mental and Physical fitness. Simply put:  Breathe Deeply. I was reading an article about yoga a few months ago and the author wrote, “Become mindful of your breathing throughout the day.”  So, I did just that.  Periodically, over the next few days, I’d stop and “test” my breathing.  Remarkably, I found that I hold my breath pretty often! Why in the world would anyone – let alone someone with asthma – hold their breath?!

Anyway, I began taking deeper breaths and making a point of not “holding” my breath.

Breathing deeply is more important to our bodies and mind than we probably could ever realize.  It’s the path oxygen must take to get to our cells.  If we take shallow breaths (or hold it like some people), we get in its way.  It’s as though we say, “You aren’t welcome here, oxygen, we’ll try to get by without you.”

Duh on me.

I hope you’ll follow as many of the suggestions above as possible.  I can see it in your eyes, you aren’t happy about going to the exchange counter and handing over your Big Mac and fries while you’re handed a plate of vegetables and fish… But I believe in you and I know you’re going to give it your best.

A little tip:  Instead of going to your regular fast food haunts, go to Subway,  Penn Station, Panera Bread (their iced green tea is a daily ritual for me), Quizznos, or someplace with delicious alternatives.  A personal joy is Penn Station’s Artichoke and Mushroom sandwich.  I swear to you – this thing is Heavenly.

~ Joi

P.S. I’m now officially dying for a Penn Station Artichoke and Mushroom sandwich!

Chase Colds Away With Green Tea

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Cup of Green Tea
My beloved green tea has come through again. Like a champ. A particularly nasty cold has been making the rounds and knocking people off of their feet for about a week and a half. I only got a hint of it, myself, and chased it off with mega doses of green tea.

As soon as I felt it coming on, I drank green tea as though I’d never have the opportunity to do so again. I literally felt better within hours. The congestion cleared, the coughing eased, and the general feeling of “ugh” lifted.

I convinced my daughter, Emily, that Green Tea was friend rather than foe and she also chased the bug away.

Now, like her mother, Em is a green tea convert. She’s actually on her way to drinking it more than I do – which is something I never thought possible.

If you absolutely, positively can’t stand the taste of green tea (rookie!), try the following:

  • Combine one bag of green tea and one bag of Tazo Passion tea in your mug.  The Passion tea, which is extra delicious wins out in the battle of taste supremacy.  It’s all you’ll taste.
  • When brewing water for your green tea, it’ll taste much better if you turn the kettle off before the water actually boils.  I don’t know why it makes a difference, but it surely does.
  • Lemon, lemon, lemon, lemon.
  • Some people swear by floating a slice of orange in their green tea – hot or cold.
  • Sweeten your green tea with honey – enough honey can quiet the nerves of even the most fearful.
  • If you aren’t a fan of hot green tea – try it on ice. I actually had to “work my way up” to loving hot green tea.  I still much prefer it iced, but with a little honey now I love it hot, too. When it comes to hot green tea, honey is the deal maker.
  • Celestial Seasonings makes a FANTASTIC Candy Cane Lane Green Tea (image above). It’s a Holiday Edition, unfortunately, so you’d better stock up now. All of their holiday teas are superb and each are very worthy of stockpiling.

Also See: Check out my tea blog, Crazy Tea Chick for tea reviews, gift ideas for tea lovers, benefits of tea (including green tea), and more.