Hello All,
Everyone has their own idea of what eating healthy means for them. For some it's fried Tilapia everyday, for some its Morning Star products for others it's freshly prepared from scratch meals. No matter what eating healthy means to you, make sure that you've done your homework, or due diligence and discovered what works best for your lifestyle, your budget, your dietary needs (after consulting your physician of course).
Beware of "Quackery" in other words, if it sounds to good to be true it most likely is. Below is a link from WebMD that should help you with that - http://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/guide/health-quackery-spotting-health-scams.
Be sure that you do some research from reliable sources such as - http://www.eatright.org/. and http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/. These sites provide a plethora of helpful information for you to use to make informed choices about your diet and the diet of your loved ones.
No matter what healthy eating means to you, be sure that you're doing all you can to learn about what healthy eating can do for you. And don't forget to exercise, walking around your neighborhood is free!
Much love,
J
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
If Not Now, When?
Hello All,
One of the many frustrating things (at least to me) I hear from people all the time is "I DON'T HAVE TIME". People often say to me that they don't have the time to cook, or to cook from scratch which is something I strongly advocate. Now, lets get this straight, I'm not saying that you have to cook organic foods, although that helps (if you can afford it) but in my experience things worth having such as good health are worth taking time for. Think about it this way, if you don't take the time now, you may be forced to take the time later, because you may (or not, God willing) develop a health issue that will require you to change your eating habits, so why not start today!
Start small, get some fresh broccoli, cut off the stems and steam the florets (this is what a head of broccoli is called). What you don't have a steamer? That is okay, just put a little water (1/2 cup or less) or vegetable, chicken or beef broth in the bottom of a pot and let it come to a low boil, add the broccoli florets and cover. Let steam for about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the flame, let cool and you now have some nice steamed broccoli. You can do this with just about any fresh vegetable you may fancy. This gives you a serving of vegetables, and fiber.
You may love corn and are challenged about how to cook it besides creamed or just plain old boiled. Well try some Confetti corn. You make this with a little minced red onion, minced Orange bell pepper, and some fresh basil, chopped roughly. Contact me for the exact recipe, but that is a viable option, and I'll even let you use frozen corn! LOL.
Another way to look at this is: when you're making a new friend you want to spend time with that person, talking and such. Well become your own new friend and take the time to get to know yourself through healthy eating.
Yes, I advocate eating healthy and cooking from scratch, and yes I do practice what I preach. I make my own soups, spaghetti sauce, pancakes, granola, etc, and at some point I may bake my own bread. Let me give you an example of the perfect time to cook a bunch of dishes and freeze them. Last weekend it snowed, and if you didn't have anywhere you absolutely had to be, you were home. If you'd been to the grocery store prior to the snow falling, then you had some food in the house and you were able to cook a few things and freeze them. Another way this could work for you is if you're home at least one day a week and do a little advance planning. Plan out what you think you might like to eat for lunch and dinner for a week and head to the grocery store. Select some recipes and get to cooking. I know for a fact that this works because I've done it ( I once had 3 jobs and the one day a week I was home all day was my day to cook and freeze). I would prep some turkey burgers but not cook them cause they're pretty easy, just pop them in the oven. I would make a pan of lasagna, cut it up once it cooled and freeze that. I would make my spaghetti sauce and freeze that so when I wanted something different from what was already cooked I could have it, something like Shrimp Fra Diablo, or Penne ala Vodka. These don't take a long time to make and the sauce was already made all I had to do was defrost it.
So, think about it, there are many ways to eat healthy ( I even oven fry chicken and it's pretty good if I do say so myself) do what works best for you and your dietary needs, think outside of the box, experiment a little with different flavors and have fun!
Much love!
J
One of the many frustrating things (at least to me) I hear from people all the time is "I DON'T HAVE TIME". People often say to me that they don't have the time to cook, or to cook from scratch which is something I strongly advocate. Now, lets get this straight, I'm not saying that you have to cook organic foods, although that helps (if you can afford it) but in my experience things worth having such as good health are worth taking time for. Think about it this way, if you don't take the time now, you may be forced to take the time later, because you may (or not, God willing) develop a health issue that will require you to change your eating habits, so why not start today!
Start small, get some fresh broccoli, cut off the stems and steam the florets (this is what a head of broccoli is called). What you don't have a steamer? That is okay, just put a little water (1/2 cup or less) or vegetable, chicken or beef broth in the bottom of a pot and let it come to a low boil, add the broccoli florets and cover. Let steam for about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the flame, let cool and you now have some nice steamed broccoli. You can do this with just about any fresh vegetable you may fancy. This gives you a serving of vegetables, and fiber.
You may love corn and are challenged about how to cook it besides creamed or just plain old boiled. Well try some Confetti corn. You make this with a little minced red onion, minced Orange bell pepper, and some fresh basil, chopped roughly. Contact me for the exact recipe, but that is a viable option, and I'll even let you use frozen corn! LOL.
Another way to look at this is: when you're making a new friend you want to spend time with that person, talking and such. Well become your own new friend and take the time to get to know yourself through healthy eating.
Yes, I advocate eating healthy and cooking from scratch, and yes I do practice what I preach. I make my own soups, spaghetti sauce, pancakes, granola, etc, and at some point I may bake my own bread. Let me give you an example of the perfect time to cook a bunch of dishes and freeze them. Last weekend it snowed, and if you didn't have anywhere you absolutely had to be, you were home. If you'd been to the grocery store prior to the snow falling, then you had some food in the house and you were able to cook a few things and freeze them. Another way this could work for you is if you're home at least one day a week and do a little advance planning. Plan out what you think you might like to eat for lunch and dinner for a week and head to the grocery store. Select some recipes and get to cooking. I know for a fact that this works because I've done it ( I once had 3 jobs and the one day a week I was home all day was my day to cook and freeze). I would prep some turkey burgers but not cook them cause they're pretty easy, just pop them in the oven. I would make a pan of lasagna, cut it up once it cooled and freeze that. I would make my spaghetti sauce and freeze that so when I wanted something different from what was already cooked I could have it, something like Shrimp Fra Diablo, or Penne ala Vodka. These don't take a long time to make and the sauce was already made all I had to do was defrost it.
So, think about it, there are many ways to eat healthy ( I even oven fry chicken and it's pretty good if I do say so myself) do what works best for you and your dietary needs, think outside of the box, experiment a little with different flavors and have fun!
Much love!
J
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Food Safety and YOU!
Hello All,
While doing some research today, I came across some interesting information that I decided to share with all of you. Food safety should be one of your top priorities because buying, storing and preparing food requires (for the home cook and for the food service professional even more so) an understanding of how to buy, store and prepare food. For instance when defrosting in your refrigerator any type of poultry product, be it chicken, ground turkey, turkey or ground chicken, you should place the product in a rimmed bowl, or a plate large enough to hold the item and place this on the bottom shelf of your fridge so that as it defrosts all the meat juices are caught by that bowl or plate and the rest of your food is not cross contaminated. Also be sure to wash your hands with soap and water after handling any raw foods, but especially poultry. I'm going to say this again, WASH YOUR HANDS WITH SOAP AND WATER!!!!! Not hand sanitizer, but actual SOAP, and dry them on a paper towel. Not a hand towel or a dish towel as the germs that are on the towel can be transferred, so a single use towel is best.
So anyway, what I found that I'd like to share is a link to the NSF's list of companies that require or accept Global Food Safety Benchmarked Certification :
http://www.nsf.org/business/global_food_safety_standards/GFSI_Supporters_6_30_11.pdf . What this should mean to you the consumer is that your food is received and stored properly prior to your purchase at the store. It means much more than this, but this is what I'm imparting today. So, be sure to check out this list for companies in your neck of the woods.
I hope you will find this information helpful, and let me know if you do any further research into this area!
Much love always!
J
While doing some research today, I came across some interesting information that I decided to share with all of you. Food safety should be one of your top priorities because buying, storing and preparing food requires (for the home cook and for the food service professional even more so) an understanding of how to buy, store and prepare food. For instance when defrosting in your refrigerator any type of poultry product, be it chicken, ground turkey, turkey or ground chicken, you should place the product in a rimmed bowl, or a plate large enough to hold the item and place this on the bottom shelf of your fridge so that as it defrosts all the meat juices are caught by that bowl or plate and the rest of your food is not cross contaminated. Also be sure to wash your hands with soap and water after handling any raw foods, but especially poultry. I'm going to say this again, WASH YOUR HANDS WITH SOAP AND WATER!!!!! Not hand sanitizer, but actual SOAP, and dry them on a paper towel. Not a hand towel or a dish towel as the germs that are on the towel can be transferred, so a single use towel is best.
So anyway, what I found that I'd like to share is a link to the NSF's list of companies that require or accept Global Food Safety Benchmarked Certification :
http://www.nsf.org/business/global_food_safety_standards/GFSI_Supporters_6_30_11.pdf . What this should mean to you the consumer is that your food is received and stored properly prior to your purchase at the store. It means much more than this, but this is what I'm imparting today. So, be sure to check out this list for companies in your neck of the woods.
I hope you will find this information helpful, and let me know if you do any further research into this area!
Much love always!
J
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Happy New Year to you!
Hello All!
By now almost the middle of the month, you're deep into the resolutions you've made (or not, if you don't make them).
One of the things I'd suggest is to find something that you truly love doing, and get up and do it. As long at it's legal and won't harm you or anyone else, I say go for it!!! The sky is the limit, and the possibilities are endless!
There are a lot of places to visit on the web with a plethora of information on an ever widening variety of topics. So much so that sometimes it's hard to figure out who/what is the truth or will have the most benefits for you and your life.
I aspire here to give you truthful/helpful information from a variety of sources so you can check them out for yourself, not just blindly take my word for it.
My first of 2012 is the following link http://www.eatright.org/ . This is the link to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics who are the people that make sure Nutritionists and Dietitians are credentialed. This organization can also assist you in making healthy food choices not only for 2012 but for your entire life. Keep in mind that "you are what you eat"!
So, while you're thinking about whether to keep your New Year's resolutions or not, at least commit to eating better, making healthy food choices and living the best life you can for you! Much love as always from me to you!
J
By now almost the middle of the month, you're deep into the resolutions you've made (or not, if you don't make them).
One of the things I'd suggest is to find something that you truly love doing, and get up and do it. As long at it's legal and won't harm you or anyone else, I say go for it!!! The sky is the limit, and the possibilities are endless!
There are a lot of places to visit on the web with a plethora of information on an ever widening variety of topics. So much so that sometimes it's hard to figure out who/what is the truth or will have the most benefits for you and your life.
I aspire here to give you truthful/helpful information from a variety of sources so you can check them out for yourself, not just blindly take my word for it.
My first of 2012 is the following link http://www.eatright.org/ . This is the link to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics who are the people that make sure Nutritionists and Dietitians are credentialed. This organization can also assist you in making healthy food choices not only for 2012 but for your entire life. Keep in mind that "you are what you eat"!
So, while you're thinking about whether to keep your New Year's resolutions or not, at least commit to eating better, making healthy food choices and living the best life you can for you! Much love as always from me to you!
J
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