Another Reason to Love Asparagus...

Asparagus is one of the best, natural artery-clearing foods around!  Asparagus works within the 100,000 miles of veins and arteries to release pressure, thereby allowing the body to accommodate for inflammation that has accumulated over the years. It also helps ward off deadly clots!

Until Monday - Keep thinking veggies and protein!  

Rice Cakes...

They may have been touted as the ultimate diet food during the low-fat/no-fat craze of the late 1980s and 1990s, but don’t be fooled. Rice cakes can have a glycemic index rating as high as 91 (pure glucose has a rating of 100), making it the kind of carbohydrate that will send your blood sugar on a roller coaster ride. This is bad for weight loss and for your health.

Forgetting the Basics...

With a plethora of YouTube videos, exercise books and fitness DVDs all around, it's easy to fall prey to a "newer is better" mentality. Cool gadgets and intense-sounding routines with never-before-seen exercise secrets can be seductive, but they pale in comparison to old standbys like squats, deadlifts, bench presses and pull-ups.

There are many variations of these lifts that you can apply to help counter the boredom that can arise from doing the same exercises all the time. But remember the 80/20 rule: 80 percent of your results are going to come from 20 percent of the exercises you use. Make sure the basics are your 20 percent foundation.

Metabolism Mistake: Not Washing Produce...

I confess - this is something we (Bob and me) have to get better at!  Pesticides are not just insect killers, they’re also endocrine disruptor's. Because the endocrine system controls metabolism, exposure to certain chemicals can increase appetite, stimulate fat cells, and cause a sluggish metabolism. Pesticide residue on produce (as well as any plastic packaging they come in) can throw off your hormone levels and even lead to weight gain.

The solution: Keep eating those fruits and veggies, but be diligent about washing everything, even “pre-washed” salad mixes and foods you won’t eat the rind of, such as cantaloupes and avocados.  Try submerging in a large bowl of water for one to two minutes, then rinsing under running water. Use a soft brush to scrub citrus and other foods with hard peels.

Moringa... 

Remember the moment when every runway regular suddenly became a supermodel? Now every healthy edible wants to be called a superfood. Which is why even that term likely doesn't do justice to moringa, a tree leaf that contains more nutrients and natural remedies than your body knows what to do with. Ancient warriors fueled for battle with the leaf extract, hot for the stamina and strength it gave them; and legend has it that Egyptian Pharaohs were buried with it to sustain them in the afterlife. Health-savvy Americans are the latest followers, thanks to the energy, immunity, and metabolism boosts moringa delivers.  Moringa has incredibly nutritious qualities—it has 3.5 times the calcium of milk and 4 times the vitamin C of oranges!   A recent analysis of the leaves found that moringa contains more vitamin A than carrots, more iron than spinach, and more potassium than bananas. It also packs as much protein as milk or eggs.

If you can get your hands on the fresh leaves (not a grocery-store staple yet, as they mostly grow in southern Florida and California), expect a lemony, peppery spinach taste.  Add to a salad mix or sauté.  I have got to find this stuff!  Love the name - morning - get your moringa!

Refined and Re-Fortified Grains...

Unfortunately this rules out a majority of the carbohydrates found on supermarket shelves. Refined and re-fortified grains are grain-based foods like certain breakfast cereals, pastas, and rice products that have been refined such that the naturally occurring fiber, vitamins, and minerals have been removed. Companies then replace the fiber and synthetic versions of the vitamins and minerals that were initially removed. Sometimes (and this is really sneaky) they put everything back in naturally occurring ratios so that they can still claim the food contains ‘whole grains’. My suggestion: Just eat the real unfortified stuff in the first place.

Until Monday - Keep thinking veggies and protein!  

Cut Up Your Food...

You may think you look silly cutting your food into tiny pieces, but the strategy may just work. A study found that cutting up your food may help trick your brain into thinking there’s more on the plate, which can translate into eating less while still feeling satisfied.  I really need to get better at this, I might even try making food art like the picture to this blog!

You can drop pounds and inches -without dropping a bead of sweat...

Advice such as, "dance while you clean,” "walk around your office on a conference call," and "do more yard work!" has been lauded by magazines and websites as a time-efficient way to lose. The truth: If you went from couch potato to active housekeeper, you may experience some weight loss,  but to actually improve your fitness level, this isn’t enough.  Of course, any movement is healthier than none, but these types of tips should be considered add-ons -- not your total fitness plan.

Warm Water...

When it comes to weight loss, every little bit helps. If you're stuck in a diet-and-exercise rut and are looking for a little extra calorie-busting help to meet your goals, then this weird weight-loss tricks just might work!

Drink Warm Water: A glass of ice-cold water may be more refreshing, but if you want to lose weight, then you may want to switch to warm water. Recent research found that drinking a glass of warm water before a meal helps you feel fuller faster, so you may end up eating less food during your meal.

More bout Kale...

It has more vitamin C than an orange. One cup of chopped kale has 134 percent of your recommended daily intake of vitamin C, while a medium orange fruit has 113 percent of the daily C requirement. That's particularly noteworthy because a cup of kale weighs just 67 grams, while a medium orange weighs 131 grams. In other words? Gram for gram, kale has more than twice the vitamin C as an orange.

It might be the queen of vitamin A. Kale has 133 percent of a person's daily vitamin A requirement—more than any other leafy green. 

Kale even beats milk in the calcium department. It's worth noting that kale has 150mg of calcium per 100 grams, while milk has 125mg.

Trader Joe's has a great product on the shelves - Bagged power greens.  I either add these to my organic romaine or use the whole bag for my my salads!

Eat Carbs to Get Lean...

When it comes to losing weight, you've heard it all: Eat breakfast (but not too much). Don't eat breakfast. Eat carbs. Don't eat carbs! Avoid fat—but not all fat. It's enough to make you say - What the fad!

From Atkins to the Paleo movement, carbohydrates have been criticized more than all of the ladies on the Real Housewives shows—combined. Here’s the real reason why carbs get such a bad reputation: Up to 50 percent of the carbohydrate intake in the typical American diet is in the form of highly processed carbs and sugar. So when people say carbs are bad, they’re usually just talking about eating lots of sugar. But that’s not really fair to every other food that also is labeled a carbohydrate.

When compared to a typical American diet, a low-carb diet looks like the undisputed champ. However when compared to a good carb-based diet that is low in sugar, refined foods, and gluten (like the “Japanese Diet”), the results are very different. Before 1991, when Japan was considered a carb-dominate society, diabetes and obesity rates were never greater than three percent of the population. If carbs in general were the enemy, with their high starch intake via rice and sweet potatoes, the Japanese would be the fattest, most diabetic and unhealthy population on the planet. However this was not the case, and their levels of obesity are a “problem” people in the United States wish they had.

The fad-free truth: Your body needs carbohydrates. If you completely remove this essential nutrient from your diet, you could experience a down-regulation of the hormones that control fat loss, making it harder to have the lean, sexy body you want. A good general rule: Eat more carbs on the days you’re active and fewer carbs on the days you’re sedentary. And make sure most of your carbs come from whole foods such as fruits and vegetables.

Until Monday - Keep thinking veggies and protein!  

More About Beets ...

Beets reverse dull skin by stimulating the lymphatic system and removing waste from our cells. Beets can also increase the oxygen-carrying ability in the blood by 400 percent, bringing brightness and vitality to the skin. They may even help reduce the appearance of cellulite by strengthening the dermal skin layer. 

The Easy Recipes: 16 ounces of beet juice will have skin looking peachy and pretty for up to 12 hours. If juice isn't your thing, try a roasted beet in your next salad or grate raw beets onto any salad.

To Eat or Not to Eat...

Exercise On an Empty Stomach

During the week I tend not to eat before I go out for a run.  On the weekends when time is more on my side I sometimes have a hard boiled egg, or if it is before a race and I really have some time to digest I will have a smear of almond butter on a whole wheat sandwich thin!

If you exercise with a high intensity, there’s nothing worse than feeling sick to your stomach because you felt forced to eat before you hit the gym or pavement. There’s a lot of science that shows eating before a workout is important, but “before a workout” is a much wider time range than you might think.

In the simplest sense, your digestive process is very complicated. When you eat, the food does not go directly to your muscles or your gut. It takes time—a lot of time, in fact. So if you eat many hours before you train, there’s still plenty of fuel to help you perform and feel great.

The fad-free truth: Research published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism found that the protein you eat digests anywhere between one gram per hour and 10 grams per hour. So if you have a meal consisting of 25 grams of protein, that meal could last in your system for up to 25 hours. Hydration level and sleep patterns also play a significant role in performance, so make sure you’re well rested and have plenty to drink, and then eat when it feels best for your body, even if it means a small meal or no meal at all. 

There's No Such Thing as "Too Much Protein"...

You may have heard that eating lots of protein can cause all sorts of health problems,  including kidney stones and gallstones, but this is a moot point for most people. Why? Because there’s no research showing any relationship between eating a lot of protein and developing kidney problems. In fact, a study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research tested eating up to 400 grams of protein per day without any negative consequences.

If you have a preexisting kidney problem, it’s possible that a higher protein diet could be hard on your body. But if you have a kidney problem, you should be talking to your doctor about your diet anyway.

The fad-free truth: If you’re healthy, you are clear to eat protein and not worry about any health problems—because there are none. What’s more, protein is one of the most metabolic macronutrients, meaning that the more protein you eat, the more calories you burn. Just remember that calories are still calories so the rules of total intake still apply.

Black Sesame Seeds...

If late nights, alcohol, and indulgent food have taken a toll (no judging!), black sesame seeds help restore your skin's radiance and elasticity. Packed with essential fats, oleic acid, amino acids, potassium, and fiber, these seeds are so abundant in skin-beautifying nutrients that they deserve to be added to every meal-and probably could be! 

The Easy Recipes: Sprinkle black sesame seeds over an organic green salad, add them to avocado on toast, or toss them through a quinoa salad.  

Looks like a trip to China town is in the near future!

Look Well Rested (Even If You're Far From It)...

Chill Out...

We all know someone who swears that placing cold cucumber slices on her eyes instantly eliminates puffiness. But there's no miraculous anti-puff ingredient in the veggie -it's the cold that reduces puffiness. Anything chilled—ice, a bag of frozen peas—should do the trick as long as it's held on the area for at least 10 minutes.  You can even stash your eye cream in the fridge - the cold cream constricts blood vessels and the lymphatic system, reducing puffiness!

Until Monday - Keep thinking veggies and protein!  

You Have a Pounding Headache...

Eat: Spinach

Instead of popping a pill, try a salad.  Just think magnesium is used in the ER to treat acute migraine attacks, and spinach contains magnesium as well as riboflavin, another nutrient that may help alleviate migraines! While studies and hospitals use supplements,  foods certainly can’t hurt to try.

Lifting Heavier Weights....

Can also help you lose the “belly fat”.  While it is true that you can't spot reduce—your body is born with pre-conceived places it wants to store fat—a University of Alabama study found that the women who lifted weights lost more intra-abdominal fat (deep belly fat) than those who just did cardio. This not only helps you lose your belly pooch and look better in a bikini, but it also lessens your risk of diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and some cancers.

Metabolism...

Need another reason to love your body? It burns calories all by itself - as long as you don't get in the way. See, every cell in your body plays a role in energy metabolism - the process of turning the food you eat into energy that keeps your heart beating, lungs pumping, and muscles moving. The faster your metabolism, the more calories you burn. And just like there are ways to speed it up - by working out, for instance - certain habits can hit the brakes on your natural calorie-churning engine.  

My two favorite are - dehydration and skimping on sleep!

All of your body's cellular processes, including metabolism, depend on water. If you're dehydrated, you could burn up to 2 percent fewer calories!

A 2012 study found that people who sleep less move less the next day, which means they burn fewer calories. But it gets worse: Sleep deprivation actually reduces the amount of energy your body uses at rest! 

Feed Your Brain for Optimum Performance...

As we age, it is vital to take care of the most important organ we have – our brain. Our brain is able to not only store significant memories, but also help us enjoy our lives to the fullest by being actively engaged in it.

When it comes to your nutrition, you should be thinking about the best foods to feed your brain with. The brain needs a variety of nutritional needs in order to function at an optimum level. So, where can you find them? Turns out in many common foods. Here are a few you can stock your fridge with to get some more brain power:

1. Asparagus – This super food is loaded with folate Folate and folic acid are forms of a water-soluble B vitamin. Folate occurs naturally in food like asparagus. Why does your brain need it? It can boost your mood and keep mental illness such as depression at bay.
2. Avocados- We have all heard that avocados have healthy fats that can be good for your overall health, but turns out avocados can also boost vitamn E in your body which helps with keeping diseases such as Alzheimer's away. One study found people who got their vitamin E from foods, not supplements, lowered their risk of the disease by 67 percent.
3. Berries – Blueberries and raspberries have been touted for being rich in memory improving antioxidants, but they are also full of phytochemicals that can help ward off environmental chemicals we are confronted with on a daily basis.
4. Dark chocolate – Did you know just a few ounces of chocolate can help fine-tune concentration, thanks to improved blood flow to the brain? That is a good reason to keep it in your diet.
5. Fatty fish – Fatty fish such as salmon can boost your brain power with DHA-containing fatty acids, This can help your brain in the mood area and in concentration areas.

Chlorophyll...

This almost sounds like a miracle cure for all!! 

Need to atone for everything? Welcome to the antidote to your dietary sins.  If you drink coffee, chloryphyll helps to negate its acidity. If you drink alcohol, it helps metabolize alcohol faster. If you eat non-organic produce or fish high in mercury, it helps remove these toxins. If you don't do any of these things (Good for you! We'll have another cup of coffee, please!), it simply enhances your own vitality. Chlorophyll is the green pigment in all green plants, but can be bought in a concentrated liquid form made from nettles or mulberry leaves. 

I am going to give these a try this weekend!  Make chlorophyll water by mixing three tablespoons of chlorophyll to 32 ounces of filtered water. Flavor the drink by adding cucumber and fresh mint. Alternatively, make a green tea smoothie with almond milk, matcha green tea, avocado, chlorophyll, vanilla, and cardamom. 

Until Monday - Keep thinking veggies and protein!  

Herbs...

What a GREAT IDEA!  I am going to try and remember to do this at the end of the summer when it’s time to pull up my balcony herb garden! As soon as fresh herbs start to wilt, chop them up and put them in ice cube trays with extra-virgin olive oil. Once frozen, pop out the cubes and store in resealable plastic bags. You can use them to add flavor to just about everything. In addition to the typical ways you cook with oil, heat a few cubes to drizzle on top of air-popped popcorn or throw them in bowl of soup and use them for salad dressings!