Summer Breakfasts To Fuel Your Day The Healthy Way

We’re told time and time again of the importance of a good breakfast, but sometimes time constraints make it difficult to opt for something healthy as well as fast. These recipes are perfect for beginning your day in a healthy way, as well as being quick and easy to prepare.

Burritos

Breakfast burritos are a popular start to the day, but they aren’t always the healthiest meals – often laden with fat and carbohydrates, they require something of a makeover in order to be the nutritious meal you need to fuel your busy day. The good news is that you can achieve just that by making some small changes to what you fill your burrito with. What goes into your burrito is down to what you enjoy eating the most – you can fill them with anything from cucumber, hummous and roasted peppers to goat cheese, mint or even strawberries and honey.

• 2 sheets brown rice paper


• 4 dates, pitted and sliced in half


• 2 tablespoons goat cheese crumbles


• 4 large basil leaves

Begin by dipping one sheet of rice paper into warm water and spreading it out on a dry plate. Arrange half of the remaining ingredients in a horizontal line down the middle, leaving around an inch on either end. Fold the right and left sides of rice paper inwards over the filling, then fold the bottom of the rice paper over the filling and roll. Repeat with the remaining sheet of rice paper and the filling ingredients. These contain around 187 calories and are a quick breakfast snack to whip up before you head out to work.

Overnight Chia Pudding

Blending chia seeds with leftover brown rice is the perfect way to create a healthy, no-cook alternative to a classic dessert. The best part is that this is created overnight, so you don’t need to worry about preparing anything first thing in the morning.

• 1/2 cup cooked brown rice


• 2 tablespoons chia seeds


• 1/2 cup unsweetened rice milk


• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon


• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract


• 1 teaspoon raw honey


• 2 tablespoons crushed walnuts


• 1/4 cup berries (optional)

In a large bowl, mix the rice, chia seeds cinnamon, vanilla, honey and chia seeds together. Cover and set in the fridge to sit overnight. In the morning, mix the pudding again and top with the walnuts and berries if desired. This will last for a couple of days so it’s perfect if you want to make a larger batch to last you, saving you time and making this a really cost-effective breakfast. The berries, nuts and milk all provide different nutrients to fuel you throughout the day, and the brown rice is a healthier alternative to the more common starchy breakfasts we’re used to beginning the day with.

Open-Faced Salmon Sandwiches

Taking inspiration from a classic high tea, this is a great way to jazz up your breakfast toast. If you wish, you can replace the salmon with baby shrimp, goat cheese or a hard-boiled egg.  Avocadoes and salmon are both loaded with healthy oils and fats, so they make a great addition to your breakfast meal.

• 2 slices smoked salmon


• 4 slices cucumber


• 1/4 cup sliced avocado


• 2 pieces whole-grain or gluten-free bread


• 4 2-inch pieces chive


• 1 lemon wedge (optional)

 

Take a slice of bread and arrange the salmon cucumber and avocado slices on the top. Top with chives and, if you wish, you can also sprinkle with a little lemon juice. These sandwiches can be updated with a variety of different ingredients and contain just 330 calories.

Categories: breakfast, Brown Rice, chia, Chia Seeds, goat cheese, nutrition, paper, Recipes, Rice, rice paper, salmon

Seven Little New Year’s Resolutions You Can Actually Achieve

When you’re setting your New Year’s resolutions, you tend to come up with something big and vague, like “lose some weight” or “eat more healthily” – but these resolutions never pan out. In order to achieve some of your wellness goals in 2014, you need to make them smaller and, in turn, more achievable. If you set, say, seven little goals instead of one big one, you’re at least guaranteed to check one or two off your list come next year. Here is our list of New Year’s suggestions, as well as the reason why they’re so beneficial to your wellbeing.

 

1. Drink More Water: Celebrity Nutrition & Fitness expert JJ Virgin, author of NY Times bestseller The Virgin Diet and the bestselling Six Weeks to Sleeveless and Sexy, comments, ‘More than 50% of the human body is made of water, yet dehydration can make that number drop, and fast. Dehydration means your metabolism coming to a grinding halt and increasing your body’s inflammation levels, often resulting in weight loss resistance. By the time you realise you’re thirsty, you’re already dehydrated. Start with a large glass of filtered water upon waking and keep a water bottle nearby to sip throughout the day.’

 

2. Get Enough Sleep: You may have had a few late nights over the festive season, so try to get more sleep during 2014. ‘Just one [bad] night’s sleep can knock fat-burning hormones out of whack,’ Virgin warns. ‘Turn off electronics and use the hour before bed to power down. The best gift you can give yourself is seven-to-nine hours of high quality sleep every night.’

 

3. Actually Do Some Exercise: It’s easy to drive past the gym unless you’ve committed yourself to a membership and trainer (just think of the money you’re wasting!) According to Virgin, ‘Muscle is your metabolic Spanx that holds everything together’ so make sure you fit burst training and weight resistance into your schedule.

 

4. Control Your Stress Levels: While the Holidays have probably been stressful enough, coming back to work, getting the kids ready for school and just general life can keep those stress levels up in 2014. Not only is stress bad for your health, the high levels of the stress hormone cortisol in your system will cause your body to break down muscle and store more fat. ‘Find your centre of calm,’ Virgin advises. ‘Meditation, deep breathing, yoga, or just walking your dog around the block can provide momentary bliss.’

 

5. Eat More Fibre: ‘[Fibre] slows stomach emptying, dials down your hunger hormone ghrelin, balances blood sugar, and reduces cravings,’ says Virgin. ‘The Centres for Disease and Control Prevention recommend a daily intake of fibre of between 25 to 35 grams for adults, but I personally aim for 50. To make it easy to meet your daily quota, try to eat high-fibre foods like berries (especially raspberries), lentils, leafy greens and nuts and seeds. I throw flax or chia seeds into my protein shake for an easy fibre boost.’

 

6. Make Breakfast Easy: On busy mornings, you can be tempted to skip breakfast altogether, and at the weekend you can overindulge in pancakes or a fry-up. However, Virgin points out, ‘A protein shake can rescue you in even the trickiest situation for a fast, filling, cravings-busting meal. Whether I’m at the airport or on the road, I always keep vegan (but not soy) protein powder nearby. I blend it with flax or chia seeds, frozen raspberries, raw kale, and unsweetened almond or coconut milk.’

 

7. Indulge Smartly: While setting all these goals may make you feel virtuous, you can’t be too strict with yourself or you’ll fall off the wagon. Virgin recommends, ‘Aim for a low-sugar dark chocolate with at least 80% cacao, preferably organic, and enjoy sparingly. For extra indulgence, smear some almond butter on top of it.’

Categories: Chia Seeds, fibre, nbsp, new years resolutions, protein shake, sleep, Stress Levels, virgin, Water, year

The Jetsons Diet: Why Seeds Can Take Us into the Future

If you were ever into science fiction as a kid, you probably thought that, by the time you reached the age you are now, your diet would be comprised of nutrient-dense, wellness boosting pills (just like in The Jetsons). However, if you’re disappointed that food still looks very much the same as it did 30 years ago, there is still solace to be found: seeds. They may be a little less sci-fi and a little more natural, but seeds give you the opportunity to take care of your wellbeing in (sort of) pill-popping form, and that’s pretty cool.

 

According to says Sharon Palmer, RD, author of the new book The Plant-Powered Diet: The Lifelong Eating Plan for Achieving Optimal Health Beginning Today, edible seeds are packed with fibre, protein, vitamins, and minerals. She comments, ‘People don’t think about grabbing seeds as a snack or as a food source. People think of them as bird food more than anything else.’ However, you should ignore seeds at your peril, as these little beauties also contain high levels of phytosterols, which are plant compounds that have been proven to be just as effective as prescription statins for lowering your cholesterol. Palmer adds, ‘And they’re such easy snacks!’ So, which seeds should you be loading up on?

 

1. Pumpkin seeds: Being high in protein, iron and zinc isn’t all that pumpkin seeds have to boast about; they’re also one of the best dietary sources of magnesium. This miracle mineral helps to stabilise your blood pressure, build the strength of your bones, and even reduce your stress. In fact, French researchers have found that having high levels of magnesium in their blood means men are 40% less likely to die prematurely compared to men with the lowest levels. Moreover, the phytosterols found in pumpkin seeds help alleviate symptoms associated with having an enlarged prostate, such as urinary difficulties.

 

2. Sunflower seeds: In just half-a-cup of sunflower seeds you’ll find more than 100% of your daily requirement for alpha-tocopherol, which is the most active form of vitamin E. Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant that can help you ward of damage from the sun, as it protects your cells from the damage of free radicals and UV rays. On top of this, sunflower seeds are also an excellent source of the antidepressant phenylalanine. Your body turns this amino acid into the brain chemical norepinephrine, which keeps you alert and focused. You can eat these seeds raw, or use sunflower-seed butter on toast if you’re getting sick of peanut butter every morning.

 

3. Sesame seeds: You probably already love these seeds on burger buns or sesame chicken, but did you know that these seeds are also providing you with an incredibly high amount of calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc? As they’re so small, sesame seeds probably aren’t the best for snacking but hummus is, and this contains a paste made from ground sesame seeds known as tahini. You can also buy tahini on its own and spread it on flatbreads or pitas, again, just like peanut butter.

 

4. Chia seeds: Nearly half of the fibre you need every day (11 grams) can be found in a single ounce of chia seeds. These little beauts also contain 18% of your daily calcium requirement, which is more than three times the amount of calcium that milk provides. As well as giving you good digestion and strong bones, chia seeds have some of the highest levels of plant-based omega-3 fatty acids of any seed – so you can throw good heart health into the mix too. Not bad for a little seed, Jetsons here we come!

Categories: Chia Seeds, high levels, nbsp, peanut butter, pumpkin seeds, Seeds, sesame, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds

How To Get More Energy With Natural Products

An energetic person is often a sign of a person in great health. This type of health mainly comes from a consistent lifestyle of clean eating, proper hydration, and moderate exercise. However, the environment in which one lives also affects one’s health and well being which is why alternative health professionals also promote the use of intelligent supplementation to improve vitality. Intelligent supplementation are those products that are extracts of naturally derived substances that promote holistic health. Here are a few examples of these natural products and supplements that are known to increase energy levels.

 

Green Tea

The benefits of drinking green tea is ancient as evidenced by its widespread use within the Chinese culture for thousands of years. The main components of the tea are l-theanine, catechins, and caffeine. Although the catechins offer major antioxidant properties that strengthen and energize the body over time, it is the caffeine and l-theanine components that deliver sustained energy in real time. Unlike other caffeinated beverages that leave a body feeling energized but jittery, tea has l-theanine that eliminates the jitters commonly associated with products whose main ingredient is simply caffeine. Online retailers like xalo.xango.com carry high quality supplements that contain extracts of green tea for those who do not prefer to drink large quantities of the tea.

 

Chia Seeds

Chia seeds were used by the ancient Aztecs and Mayans of North and Central America as a major part of their diet because of the seeds’ energizing properties. Although some Mexicans retained the secret of the chia seeds and still carry them in their stores, the mainstream public knew very little about the properties of chia seeds until recently. Now alternative healthcare professionals advertise the seeds as high in many B vitamins, calcium, iron, and some trace minerals. Chia seeds are known to have more antioxidant value per ounce than fresh blueberries, and they are also significant sources of the essential fatty acid omega 3. All of these nutrients contribute to the amazing energy properties that the ancient Aztecs as well as modern day athletes experience.

 

Goji Berries

The goji berry is another Chinese wonder plant, and it is known for boosting immunity and increasing circulation. Not only do the berries increase energy, but they have mood enhancing properties as well. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine conducted a two week study with two groups of people. One group received goji berries in juice form while the other took in a placebo for two weeks. The group that received the goji berry juice reported marked improvements in energy levels and overall well-being. One of the reasons for the potency of goji berries include its high vitamin content. Goji berries are the richest source of beta carotene on earth and has by ounce about 500 times the vitamin C of oranges.

 

Nature is packed with a host of products that help improve one’s energy levels. However, the soil in which many foods are grown are nutrient deficient, and the food grown there reflect this issue. While the challenge is being addressed by many farmers who seek innovative ways to build up their farm’s soil, incorporating natural supplementation into one’s dietary lifestyle is currently a key ingredient to achieving vibrant health. Unlike synthetic products, these items are superior because the human body recognizes them as real food.

Categories: ancient aztecs, Chia Seeds, energy levels, goji berries, goji berry, green tea, increase energy, intelligent supplementation, natural products