Detox 'Diet'

Watch out! I'm on my soapbox today!

It's popular nowadays to do a detox, especially at the beginning of the year. Some people do it to lose weight, others to get rid of toxins in their body, and others just because it's the thing to do at the time. Dr Oz told you that it's good for you and somehow a lot of people think that whatever he says is true without doing any more research. I'm not saying doing a detox is bad, I actually think the opposite! I think it's a great way to get rid of toxins in your body or to kick start your weight loss again. The thing that I don't understand is that people think that it's a good idea to do a Lemonade Diet for a few weeks to lose weight. What are you going to do after that? You can't drink a mix of maple syrup, lemon juice, and cayenne pepper forever. Or even when you eat just veggies and fruit for 2 weeks you put yourself in trouble. Although veggies and fruit are both good for you, and have a lot of nutrients, they don't provide all the necessary protein. Know that when you starve your body like that it'll try to get nutrients from the most nutritious part of your body, which is muscle. You're not actually losing that much fat, it's mostly water weight that you lose. Now that your metabolism has slowed down, you're more likely to gain fat once you start eating your regular diet again. Here are some ideas for a good detox plan:

1. Prepare in advance. Don't go cold turkey, but slowly wean yourself off of coffee, soda, carbs, chocolate, or whatever you're addicted too. Start doing that 1 week before you're actually starting your detox

2. You're not using any animal products during your detox, but make sure you use a substitute protein. Rice and pea protein are a great option (no soy, too much of it raises your estrogen levels). You can get that at Whole Foods, Trader Joe's or I can get it for you too. Use it in a smoothie with some berries, unsweetened almond milk, and if you're into it put spinach or some other type of vegetable in it. A great breakfast of snack!

3. Don't starve yourself, simply have lots of vegetables, fruits, legumes (beans are a great source of protein when eaten in combination with other foods), and nuts (healthy fats).

4. Don't stop working out (if you work out that is), simply do less intensity. See it as a time of recovery.

5. Drink plenty of water. A rule of thumb is half your body weight in oz. You can have decaf tea (unsweetened!) as well.

6. No carbs (such as bread, rice, pasta, cereal etc), no added sugars (not splenda, aspartame etc eiter), no alcohol, no caffeine (no I'm not trying to ruin your life!).

7. Do it only for 2 weeks and start going back to a more sustainable diet.

Check in next time for another recipe!

5 eating habits

There is so much information about food out there that it's hard to see the three through the forest. Some sources say we should eat a low fat, low calorie diet. Others say we should eat plenty of fats, because it'll keep you full longer. Some say it's good to have a lot of protein, while other sources say to not have too much protein and more whole grains. Oprah said once that you shouldn't eat anything after 7 PM so that must the be truth right..? Some say nuts are a great source of protein, other sources will tell you that it's actually not significantly high in protein compared to the calories. Some say all saturated fats are bad, others say it's good for you depending on what you eat with it. Today I'm not talking about whether I agree or disagree with these statements (don't worry I'll get on my soap box another day), but I want to make it simple for you. Teach yourself these 5 eating habits and it will get you a long way:

1. Eat slowly and stop at 80% full. It takes a while for your body to notice that you're full so learn to listen to your appetite signals.

2. Where is the protein? Eat protein dense food with each meal (for women 20-30 gr, for men 40-60 gr). It helps to achieve the best health, body composition, and performance.

3. Where are the vegetables? This is an important source of vitamins and minerals that helps your body to function correctly. It also provides an 'alkaline load' to the blood, since protein and grains give acid loads to the blood.

4. Where are the carbs? If you're looking for weight loss you have to earn them. After exercise is the best time to have carbs and look for unprocessed carbs. (more on this when I write about body types)

5. Where are you fats coming from? Get it from whole food sources such as fish, nuts, olives, avocado, seeds. If your carb intake is high your fat intake should be low and vice versa.

Pack a Snack

I'm sorry about my absence the last few days. We moved to a different place so I've been busy packing, unpacking and all that good stuff. We're all settled now and I'm back online!

Today I'm giving you a recipe that I got from my brother. He is a great cook and makes the best healthy snacks. A few years ago he and his wife started eating more organic food and they've noticed the importance and benefits of it. Now they eat pretty much all organic! 

This snack is perfect for when you're on the run in the morning, doing endurance workout for longer than 1 hour, or when you just have no other option besides fast food. Remember though, don't let this be a replacement of your daily 8-12 servings of fruits and vegetables (2 pieces of medium sized fruit). Always try to make time to have fresh and real food! "Let food by thy medicine and medicine be thy food" - Hippocrates.

Ingredients:
- 4 ripe bananas
- 4 eggs
- 350 grams old fashioned oats (not quick oats!) + 150 grams almond meal
- dash of ginger powder
- zest from 1 organic lemon
- juice from 1 lemon and 1 orange
- 15 drops of stevia
- 2 tbsp melted coconut oil
- Optional 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 100 grams of dark chocolate (at least 72%), or use dark chocolate chips

Directions:
Mash bananas to a smooth paste. Whisk eggs, add bananas and add the rest of the ingredients. Taste to see if there is a good balance between sweet and sour. Add chocolate and mix it up. Spray the pan with either olive oil or use coconut oil, put mixture in pan, and make it into a big chunk of half an inch high. Use a wet spoon to press the mixture down so it's a solid square. Bake for 45 min at 300 F (150 C). Let it cool and cut into bars. You can even freeze the bars for later too!

Salmon muffins

Those who know me will tell you that I love to cook! I'm thankful that my mom taught me to cook with what we had in the fridge. Makes life so much easier. So this is one of those recipes that was created from lack of better options. Now I make it pretty often because I love it, it's cheap, it's healthy, and it's easy to make. Have it for breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack!

Sorry this is the only picture I have of it :)

Ingredients:
- 1 can wild caught salmon
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 6 oz baby bella, mushrooms
- green onions, diced 
- Some shredded mozzarella cheese
- 4 eggs
- 1-2 tsp dill
- 1 tbsp brown mustard
- 1-2 tsp garlic salt (or crazy salt) to taste
- dash of black pepper
- olive oil spray
- muffin pan


Preparation:
Preheat oven on 350 F. Chop veggies to small cubes. Beat eggs in medium size bowl, add dill, mustard, garlic salt, pepper and green onions. Take the bones out of the salmon and add to the wet mixture. Add bell pepper and mushrooms. Spray muffin pan with olive oil, pour mixture in pan and top it off with some cheese. Bake for 25-30 min. Have some veggies on the side or eat it just by itself! Great source of protein and healthy fats.

Note: Play with the spices. Maybe you like more or less dill, more or less salt, or if you like it a little spicy put some crushed red pepper in it. Don't like mushroom? Put some broccoli in it!
 

Quinoa (keen-wah)

Quinoa. So many people pronounce it differently so here it is: "keen-wah". These little seeds are becoming more popular all the time and it's for a good reason. It's a complete protein so a great option for vegetarians or when you're doing a 'meatless day' (I know here in Kansas that's too much to ask for, my husband included...). It's gluten-free and full of nutrients. So basically it's the perfect ingredient! There are a lot of different ways to use this high protein and gluten-free seed. Try using it instead of oatmeal with some walnuts, unsweetened dried cranberries, cinnamon and a little bit of sweetener (stevia, agave), sprinkle it on top of a salad, use it instead of rice or couscous, or be creative and use it in your burgers (meat or vegetarian) as a filler. Feel free to share your experience with others on the blog too!

Check in tomorrow for a new recipe!

Lick a fish

"Lick a fish"... that's what my husband says when he takes his omega-3 fish oil. Glad we don't have to do that in order to get our daily needs of omega-3 fats in! You'd be glad I'm typing and not talking to you. You probably heard about how important it is to eat enough fatty fish (maybe you've heard twice a week?) or else to supplement with omega-3 fish oil. Or if you're a vegetarian some other source of omega-3 like flax and walnuts. But do you know why? There are so many reasons why you should take it and what the benefits are, but I'll try to explain the basics of it here.

Our ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 should be around 1:1. In today's diet this often is more like 16:1 or even 20:1. This is due to the over consumption of omega-6 fatty acids (which is very important to overall health too) from corn oil, safflower oil, meat from feedlot animals (fed by a lot of corn). So to get back to the ratio of 1:1 we need to up our omega-3 intake and keep omega-6 down as much as we can. 

Omega-3 fats help to keep our cells more fluid, which increases insulin sensitivity. It helps with cardiovascular function, nervous system function, and immune health. It promotes blood vessel dilation, has anti-inflammatory effects, and helps to decrease pain. It also helps against Alzheimer's disease. What else do I need to say for you to realize the benefits of taking omega-3 fats?

Note:  Make sure you find a omega-3 fish oil that's high in DHA and EPA and is of high quality (so not the cheapest one at walmart). If you ever stop by Lifetime Fitness you can use promo code 123526 for 10% discount.



 

Coconut oil

Olive oil is so good for you! It has the healthy fats you need in your diet and I know many of you cook with it a lot. I'm going to disappoint you though, it's not always great to use. Olive oil actually changes into trans fat when you use it for high heat cooking. So for high heat cooking coconut oil would be the perfect choice! I love the flavor it adds to the dish too. You'll notice throughout my blogs that I absolutely love Trader Joe's so that where I buy my coconut oil. You can find it at other health stores like whole foods too though.

Some other benefits of coconut oil:
- Anti-inflammatory
- Anti-viral
- Anti-fungal
- Improves nutrient absorption
- Shown to help metabolism and digestion

And you know what? You can also use it as a moisturizer, lip balm, deep treatment conditioner and many other things. So really there's no good reason to not have it in your home!