Healthy Eating Roadmap

This is a new series!  Healthy Things from Healthy Bloggers will run every couple months and feature healthy eating tips and recipes from the bloggers doing it right!  If you want to be featured in a future edition, just write me a note –>    michelledodsonrd (at) gmail (dot) com.

Today we’ll feature four awesome “Healthy Things” from the writers behind the wonderful blogs Eater Not A Runner, Oh She Glows, The Candid RD, and Chow and Chatter.  I’ll turn it over to them:

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1.   If you love something, eat it…..Without guilt!

2.   A delicious Green Monster anyone?

Wait, what is a Green Monster, anyways?

My healthy living website, Oh She Glows, is where I first started writing about my first shot at making a green smoothie that I called ‘Green Monster’. Let’s just say my first attempts did not turn out that great!

Now, I blend together kale or spinach, milk (almond or soy), fruit, seeds, powders, etc. and come up with some amazing Green Monster drinks! I have noticed a HUGE increase in my energy, along with a decrease in cravings for sweets. My skin has also become more clear and my hair and nails started growing like weeds! The response has been huge online and offline.

Try this fail-proof Virgin Green Monster recipe and you too will be hooked.

This recommendation was brought to you by Angela, the gal behind the Green Monster Movement and the fabulous blog Oh She Glows.

3.  Natural Born Eater

My biggest tip as far as healthy eating is to be intuitive, and eat like you did when you were a kid.  As a kid you ate when you were hungry, and didn’t eat when you weren’t. Most importantly, you didn’t eat everything on your plate if you were too full to finish (unless your parents made you, which is a practice in which I don’t agree).

Most of us no longer eat intuitively, especially the older we get.  We no longer listen to our bodies to tell us when we are hungry or when we should stop eating.  We are surrounded by food in ads, commercials, on signs everywhere we go, on the internet, and at just about every social event.  It’s basically in our face 24/7 and we no longer have the ability to say “no thanks” when food is offered or given to us. It’s as though we think we have to eat when everyone else is, despite what our body is saying or the signals it is sending.

It’s a problem.

We all need to get back in touch with our own hunger cues and learn how to eat intuitively again.  It doesn’t mean dieting and eating “rabbit food”.  It means eating what you want, when you want it, but not too much, and not at every eating opportunity.  This is how we were born to eat.

This tip was brought to you by Gina of The Candid R.D. Check out her site for lots of important nutrition tips and fun stories.

4.  Rebecca’s Carrot Soup

It is my great pleasure to contribute to Michelle, a fellow RD blogger.  I love this soup, it’s simple to make and packed with nutrients. It’s wonderful for little ones even when weaning and with the addition of the lentils it packs in some protein. In today’s culture families are always running here and there with their kids, but with a little forward planning healthy nutritious meals can fit it. A soup like this would be great to have on hand for a light meal or snack.

Ingredients:

• carrots – 6
• 1/2 red onion
• 1.2 l vegetable stock
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• salt and pepper
• fresh coriander/cilantro about 1/2 a bunch
• one cup small red lentils
• 1/2 cup frozen petite green peas

Method:

1. heat oil and add onions and carrots, then add spices
2. add broth, peas and lentils and simmer for 30-45 min until very soft
3. use a hand blender to make into a puree
4. then add fresh chopped fresh cilantro

This healthy recipe was brought to you by Rebecca, the cheery blogger behind Chow and Chatter.  Be sure to visit her site for plenty more awesome recipes.

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You might also like these articles:

• Cold Fighting Meal Plan
• The Minimalist’s Guide to Eating
• How To Start Gardening
• Simple Weight Loss (free PDF poster)

1st, a special announcement….

We’ve been working hard on an eBook we’re creating called Organized Eating. I say we because my fiancé Nate has volunteered to occasionally help write for the blog (this blog!). Nate reads a ton and has a killer memory and therefore probably knows as much about healthy eating as me.  So welcome him aboard as an occasional writer and at the very least contributor/editor/moral supporter!

Anyways, back to Organized Eating….

We’ve been hard at work creating this eBook that has the potential to help a lot of people save time and eat better.  The eBook will be released sometime in the next few months and it will be absolutely free, no e-mail sign-up or anything will be required. Its going to be AWESOME my friends!

While putting together a section of the book about strategic meal planning, we decided to make a list of our ultimate favorite healthy foods.   We posed the question: “If we could eat/drink nothing else for the rest of our lives besides 75 things, what would they be?”  AND…here’s the catch…they must be considered healthy (by someones definition at least).

I have posted the results below and I encourage you to create a list of your own.  Sit down and write it with the people you cook for- trying to shoot for 75 items.  It’s a great list to have on hand as a personal resource; use it as your base of reference when you sit down to plan meals.  Or take it to the grocery store and buy lots of stuff off it -  try to eat it all before anything goes bad (using common sense!).

Here is our list (excluding herbs & seasonings):

1. carrots
2. milk (soy or reg)
3. cantaloupe
4. tuna (troll or pole caught only, from US or B.C.)
5. wild salmon
6. sardines
7. grass-fed beef
8. Sriracha sauce
9. quinoa
10. brown rice
11. tamari
12. chicken
13. lamb
14. romaine lettuce
15. turkey
16. hazelnuts
17. onion
18. eggs
19. yogurt
20. butter
21. extra virgin olive oil
22. cheese
23. parsnips
24. spinach
25. tomatoes
26. strawberries
27. blueberries
28. avocado
29. garlic
30. shallots
31. almonds (and processed for almond butter/milk)
32. banana
33. potato/sweet potatoes
34. chia seeds
35. black beans
36. coconut/coconut water
37. walnuts
38. pinto beans
39. whole oats/oatmeal
40. kale
41. kombucha
42. tea
43. coffee
44. beets
45. oranges
46. grapefruit
47. blackberries
48. raspberries
49. dark chocolate
50. lentils
51. chickpeas
52. pine nuts
53. sweet peppers
54. hot peppers
55. sunflower seeds
56. sun-dried tomatoes
57. pistachios
58. coconut oil
59. whole-wheat bread (esp sprouted!)
60. grapes
61. beer
62. cherries
63. red wine
64. asparagus
65. green beans
66. watermelon
67. artichokes
68. cucumber
69. pears
70. pluots
71. honey
72. squash
73. celery
74. red snapper
75. dates

(notice how we cleverly said the all inclusive “squash” instead of zuke, butternut, or pumpkin.  You can find clever ways to cheat on the 75 things limit too if you want)

I know I’m going to remember some favorites that I left off here, so don’t hold me to this list forever.  You can look at updated versions whenever you want at https://healthyeatingroadmap.com/favoritefoodslist/.  Feel free to try and talk me into adding something to my list if you want, but make sure to also mention what I should remove in the process!  (haha, tricky stuff right!)

###updated 4/22 – since I first ran this piece, I have removed celery and cucumber and added water and broccoli (thanks Jess).

So, are you considering making a list?  Think your family’s input will give you greater confidence to cook for that picky kid/husband/wife of yours?  Do you think it would make meal-planning easier for you?  Tell us in the comments.

It would be really fun if you created your own list and blogged about it!  If you do, give us your link in the comments so we can check it out.

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(photo by Rennett Stowe)

Overlooked and underused in the american kitchen, these five foods pack a nutritional uppercut.  Shoot for incorporating at least two of them into your diet each week.

1. Sun-Dried Tomatoes

With potent lycopene levels, these delicious gems may reduce cancers of the lung, stomach, and prostate.   Sun-dried tomatoes are also high in antioxidants and vitamin C.

Throw them in your next pesto dish, on a home-made pizza, or in a lunchtime veggie wrap.   If your feeling really frisky, head over to pickyourown.org to learn how to make sun-dried tomatoes all by yourself.

2.  Sardines

You’ve been told a million times to eat more fish, specifically salmon and tuna for the high Omega-3 fatty acids.  Well, dare I say, these are even better (for you).  They are tiny little fishes, so they haven’t had the time and energy to bio-accumulate so much mercury.  They are extremely low in mercury contaminants.

Buy them packed in extra virgin olive oil and you’ll see they totally deserve a spot on your caesar salad tonight.  Yum!  Or, Sometimes we buy them packed in mustard sauce and spread on whole-wheat crackers for a mid-afternoon snack.  Crown Prince brand is really good and you can buy them in bulk on Amazon to save time at the grocery store if that’s your thing.

#update:  important new video clip about sardines:  http://blip.tv/file/3492270

3.  Sunflower Seeds

Firm and tender?  Yes, that’s totally possible!!  And sunflower seeds are the perfect example.   These anti-inflamatory mini-guys pack a huge amount of vitamin E in every serving, which is a very important nutrient.  Vitamin E is the body’s main source of fat-soluble antioxidants.  They are also high in thiamin and magnesium.  And BONUS: the flowers are beautiful!

The eating possibilities are many.   Throw them on salads or just eat them by the handfuls.  You can also incorporate them into your favorite granola bar recipe.

4.  Quinoa

A favorite amongst vegetarians.  And mayans!

The grain-like quinoa have been gaining popularity for good reason.  They have a perfect set of amino acids which form a complete protein.  Also, there are so many great recipes to make with quinoa.  We are big fans of just putting some lightly sauteed or steamed vegetables over them.   Here is one of my favorite recipe websites, 101 cookbooks, showing you how to do quinoa for breakfast or as an interesting dinner.

5.  Black-Eyed Peas

These are good for you despite being named after the low talent music group (haha, j/k).   And don’t confuse them with the pea family either, they’re actually beans!

Black-eyed peas are all about the fiber – good for your heart and intestines (and pooping!).  They are high in folate, low in fat and sodium, and contain no cholesterol.  And for the protein junkies, good news – black eyed peas are extremely high in protein.

Buy from the bulk bin and relish in your frugality or buy fresh for maximum flavor and nutrients.  Here’s how to cook fresh black-eyed peas:

• Place black-eyed peas in a large pot or saucepan.  Cover with water and bring to a boil over high heat.
• Reduce heat to low.  Simmer covered until peas are soft when pierced with a fork, 15 to 20 minutes.  Drain and serve.

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I’ve got some other ideas for “Often Forgotten Power Foods” so I’ll probably do another post sometime in the not-near future.   Make sure to subscribe to this blog so you don’t miss out on all the exciting things I’ve got coming soon, including more free stuff.   Let me know in the comments if your a fan of any of these foods.

(photo by diongillard)

The major causes of weight gain are:

• over-eating
• under-moving
• stress

And I’m betting you knew that already.   You already have the knowledge you need to maintain a healthy weight and feel great.   The hard part is finding the motivation for action – getting exercise, cooking a healthy meal, etc.

On occasion, we all need friendly reminders on how these choices benefit us and how great they make us feel.

I’ve created a free poster PDF that will keep you motivated.  Its got 8 little mantras that you can say to yourself to help you eat right, move more, and feel less stressed out.  Hang it someplace you’ll see it everyday and make a point to read over it from time to time.  Maybe reading it will become a short part of your daily routine.

Promise your body the best!  Say it out loud:  “Today is the day I will make permanent lifelong changes so I will feel great and be happy.”

Click here to download and/or print your free copy of the Simple Weight Loss poster.

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