Ditch the Salad for a Night

     Moderation is important when it comes to eating; you want to make sure to get a balance of proteins, carbs, and fats. Following a healthy lifestyle I tend to get tired of eating salad topped with lean meat and crave a hearty meal. One of my favorite healthy splurges is Ethiopian food. I have only had it twice and both times my friends and I ordered a platter with both meat and vegetarian dishes. The platters will specify how many people they each serve and the food is very filling. http://bzfd.it/1jZ7xwW is a link with pictures and explanations of Ethiopian dishes.
 

   

      Food is served on injera which is a sponge like but delicious bread. Extra rolls of this spongy bread, or injera, are brought out and used to eat your food. That’s right; you get to eat with your hands! This meal is great if you are trying to load up on carbs and protein, it will definitely leave you stuffed!

   

     Now on the lighter side, I love making stir fries. It’s an easy way for me to get a ton of vegetables in my meal. My favorite choice of meat in a stir fry is chicken; it’s quick and easy to cook up and makes for a fast and simple meal that’s healthy. For a vegetarian or vegan option you can use tofu or tempeh. I can never get enough stir fried veggies; broccoli, onions and baby corn are my top favorites for my stir-fries.

     Garlic is also one of my favorite ways to add flavor, I love fresh garlic! Sometimes Costco will carry a huge bag of fresh, peeled garlic cloves. I will put them on a pan and drizzle a generous amount of olive oil on them, followed with seasonings, once that’s done just pop it in the oven and roast them until they turn golden brown and soft in the middle. They are good enough to eat on their own this way; they taste almost like a roasted potato. Try this roasted garlic recipe from Savory sweet life’s blog http://bit.ly/1i1blMQ . Another option for preparing garlic is to mince the peeled garlic cloves and cook on the stove top in a pan until it is nice and brown then add it directly to the stir fry or to the sauce.

     As for healthy sauce I use with my stir fry, I tend to use an all-natural salsa I find at the store (it’s faster than making my own) but there are several ways for creating a healthy sauce.  http://bit.ly/1R1JQir  and http://bit.ly/1W9Eqsr  have some great sauce recipes and ideas. Enjoy!

Pancakes without the guilt? Yes please!

     Breakfast, the meal that starts off our day! Some chose to skip breakfast because they feel it will help them lose weight where others argue that you need to eat breakfast in order to get your body working on burning those calories. Unfortunately if you are trying to lose weight and don’t know whether to skip or eat breakfast scientists still do not have an answer for you. Click to read the Washington Post article on “The Science of Skipping Breakfast” http://wapo.st/1MqUkE9 .   

     As for me, I never skip breakfast! I love food too much! I discovered one of my favorite recipes on one of my favorite blogs, “Tone it up”.  The blog is run by two women, Karena and Katrina, from California; they post their beach workouts, recipes, great ideas for snacks on the go, plus much more! Here is a link to their blog http://bit.ly/1GdvomN Check it out! 

     Now back to food, more specifically, breakfast. What if I told you, you could have your cake and eat it too, while still eating healthy? I’m talking about pancakes, and yes I have a recipe for a healthy pancake that is delicious and will fuel you for your busy day. I originally found this pancake recipe on Karena and Katrina’s blog “Tone it up” and have since altered it to my liking. This recipe can be made to satisfy many dietary needs such as; Vegan, Gluten free, flour free. 

Ingredients needed are;

1 ripe banana

1 egg

¼ cup flour of your choice (optional, personally I use spelt flour)

1 Tbs Vanilla extract

A dash (or two or three) of cinnamon

3 Tbs of a sweetener of your choice (optional, I use stevia)

Fruit (optional)

Nuts (optional)

Mash the banana up then mix everything together until it becomes blended together.

 I recommend cooking with coconut oil. Make sure you don’t cook your pancake on high heat, it will burn easily. When your pancake is done cooking you can top it with almond butter, peanut butter, sunflower butter or any of your favorite pancake toppings! ‘Justin’s vanilla flavored almond butter is my personal favorite. Sometimes I will drizzle some honey over my pancake in order to satisfy my sweet tooth.  

Try it out for yourself and let me know what you think!

Make the healthy lifestyle change, eat better and feel better!

  

     About ten years ago I would eat whatever I wanted; my favorite meal consisted of potato chips and brownies. At 14 I wasn’t concerned with eating healthy; when you’re young you have this mindset that you’re invincible. The doctor informing me I had high cholesterol didn’t faze me one bit, it was the day I was trying clothes on at American Eagle and the largest size they offered in stores didn’t fit. I still remember crying in the dressing room, not being able to get the size 16 pants on hit me hard; I knew I needed to make a change.  

     

     Figuring out what to eat was overwhelming, there are thousands of diets to choose from! Through trial and error plus a lot of hard work and sweat I was able to reach my goal weight! It’s been ten years since I made a lifestyle change and I have managed to maintain my goal! I don’t believe in diets, my experience with them was horrible. I was always hungry and because I was always hungry I was constantly angry. Nobody wants to deal with that! I like to refer to eating healthy as a “lifestyle”. 

     The key to being healthy and getting the body you want is to make the right food choices, moderation is important, if you’re craving a brownie then have a piece.  Just don’t eat half the pan! The best place to start living healthier is by cutting out all your sugary beverages, drink water instead. Try to drink at least three liters of water each day; this can boost your metabolism by up to 30%! Check out this article from Shape magazine for more benefits of drinking water! http://bit.ly/1Oooazd

 

     What you use in order to cook your food can make a huge difference.  Personally I use olive oil and coconut oil. When choosing an olive oil it can be confusing since there are several different types, for a breakdown on each olive oil check out this link: http://bit.ly/1htlFx4. Now for my favorite oil, coconut oil! This stuff truly is amazing; using it for cooking can really help add flavor, not to mention the health benefits of consuming it. For a complete list of health benefits and the scientific breakdown of coconut oil, check out this link: http://bit.ly/1Lqb9yc.

     

     Here is an awesome recipe for raspberry lemon zucchini bars: http://bit.ly/1N2u45Z, thanks to Nutritionawareness.com. A few healthy tips for this recipe: cut out the sugar and use stevia instead. This plant based sweetener has been deemed safe by the FDA, for more information on stevia click this link: http://bit.ly/1LD1j2t.  As for the all-purpose flour, ditch that and try one of these options: http://bit.ly/1JVV1DP!  Enjoy!