One of the easiest ways to make sure you are getting a good balance of nutritional elements is to have lots and lots of color in your diet. That is a super tip for losing weight, too, because in general if it is naturally colorful it tends to be lower in calories and fat.
Of course there are exceptions...like my personal favorite, ice cream...it can often have a lot of color to it, even if it is all natural. But the added sugar and fat doesn't make it the healthiest choice...at least not for every meal, every day!
The point is to move away from the bland, beige meals. Enjoy the rainbow...either in a meal, a day, or over the course of several days.
Today was a "red letter day" for me...
What do I mean by a red letter day? Well I had lots of red foods, of course. This gave me great taste, good complex carbohydrates and lots of lycopene for good measure!
I had broiled Provencale tomatoes and beets for example. I love how easy they are and how you can take advantage of a hot oven created for one to make the other!
If you've only ever had pickled beets, give baked beets a try. I'm not fond of pickled beets but I love beets baked or boiled.
Baked Beets
Heat the oven to 350.
Wash the beets and clip off the greens, leaving about an inch or two on the beet. Do not remove the root.
Place the beets into an oven proof dish (with a lid) in a single layer.
Add a small amount of butter or olive oil and salt & pepper if desired...or just leave them plain.
Bake in the oven until tender. The time will depend on 1) the size of the beet and 2) the age of the beet. The younger the beets the less time it will take (maybe under 1 hour) Older beets will take longer.
Once the beets are done, I like to cut off the root and the remaining top and peel them before serving. But beets are great cold, so if you cook extra leave them unpeeled and store in the frig. They can be added to soups, salads, salsa...just about anything you want a little color on.
Provencale Tomatoes
Turn oven to broil.
Slice tomatoes into thick pieces.
Place on a broiler pan.
Brush a very light bit of olive oil on the tomatoes.
Sprinkle with herbs and spices. I love Herbs de Provence and a little pepper, but you can try Italian Seasoning or salt-free Spike or any herbs you prefer. Since tomatoes are naturally high in sodium I do not recommend using any salt on your tomatoes.
Place the tray in the broiler for about 10 minutes.
Keep an eye on the tray as everyone's ovens are different.
Serve the tomatoes hot.
You can serve the tomatoes as the main vegetable or sprinkled with feta cheese for a light lunch.
Maybe tomorrow I'll "go green".
Showing posts with label foods to eat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label foods to eat. Show all posts
Friday, November 12, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
Anti-Aging and Weight Loss Success Secret Weapon
One of the biggest secrets to losing weight successfully and for looking younger is quite simple...protein.
We hear all the time that Americans eat too much protein. But that may not be really accurate.
While it is true we don't need a lot of protein at any one sitting, we DO need to eat protein regularly...several times every day. Research from the University of Texas backs this up and states that the most important factor for maintaining our lean body mass is eating protein regularly through out the day. You see, our bodies don't store protein...at least not as protein. If we eat too much protein it is converted and stored as--fat! That means saving it all up for dinner won't cut it in terms of looking youthful or being healthy.
The trick is, if we don't eat enough protein then our body will actually start to "eat" our own lean body mass...we will tear down our "less important" tissues in an effort to protect our most vital organs (like our heart.)
What exactly is lean body mass? It is most of the parts of our body that we love (read "not our fat")...including our bones, skin, muscles and parts of our essential organs. And once we get over the 40 year hump we start to lose that lean body mass. Figures indicate on average we lose 8 % every decade.
Less lean body mass could mean that our metabolism slows down (ever heard that it is harder to lose weight once you hit 40?) This is because muscles burn more calories than fat. So, that is enough all by itself to make me want to be sure I get enough protein in every day.
But that's not all...losing lean body mass affects our bones, making us more susceptible to breaks, our skin becomes more easily damaged and all of our organs are adversely affected. Think about it...pretty much all the signs of aging could be linked to loss of lean body mass!
So whether you are trying to drop excess fat or keep your body looking younger, one of the most important things you can do for yourself is to eat small servings of protein several times a day.
Don't think this means you have to be eating meat three times a day...mix it up with wild salmon (avoid "Atlantic" salmon as that means it is farm-raised and less healthy) or other fish, nuts and seeds, chicken and other poultry, dairy, eggs, and off course beans and legumes.
Add nuts and seeds to your morning yogurt or oatmeal, or a little Feta and Quinoa to a salad and you've got meals with protein that won't raise your cholesterol either!
We hear all the time that Americans eat too much protein. But that may not be really accurate.
While it is true we don't need a lot of protein at any one sitting, we DO need to eat protein regularly...several times every day. Research from the University of Texas backs this up and states that the most important factor for maintaining our lean body mass is eating protein regularly through out the day. You see, our bodies don't store protein...at least not as protein. If we eat too much protein it is converted and stored as--fat! That means saving it all up for dinner won't cut it in terms of looking youthful or being healthy.
The trick is, if we don't eat enough protein then our body will actually start to "eat" our own lean body mass...we will tear down our "less important" tissues in an effort to protect our most vital organs (like our heart.)
What exactly is lean body mass? It is most of the parts of our body that we love (read "not our fat")...including our bones, skin, muscles and parts of our essential organs. And once we get over the 40 year hump we start to lose that lean body mass. Figures indicate on average we lose 8 % every decade.
Less lean body mass could mean that our metabolism slows down (ever heard that it is harder to lose weight once you hit 40?) This is because muscles burn more calories than fat. So, that is enough all by itself to make me want to be sure I get enough protein in every day.
But that's not all...losing lean body mass affects our bones, making us more susceptible to breaks, our skin becomes more easily damaged and all of our organs are adversely affected. Think about it...pretty much all the signs of aging could be linked to loss of lean body mass!
So whether you are trying to drop excess fat or keep your body looking younger, one of the most important things you can do for yourself is to eat small servings of protein several times a day.
Don't think this means you have to be eating meat three times a day...mix it up with wild salmon (avoid "Atlantic" salmon as that means it is farm-raised and less healthy) or other fish, nuts and seeds, chicken and other poultry, dairy, eggs, and off course beans and legumes.
Add nuts and seeds to your morning yogurt or oatmeal, or a little Feta and Quinoa to a salad and you've got meals with protein that won't raise your cholesterol either!
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