Healthy Drinks

As you head into the hot summer months keeping your kids hydrated is always a challenge. There are so many liquids out there that have nothing to do with rehydration or nutrition. Water is always your healthiest choice, however, many kids (and adults) don't like drinking plain water so here is an easy solution:

Homemade "Gatorade"! You can make your own healthy electrolyte drinks to keep your kids hydrated. 

Remember when Gatorade was made with just lemon or lime juice, salt, sugar and water? There were no chemicals or artificial sweetners added "back in the day". 

To about a quart of water add a pinch of colored salt* (if you can taste the salt you probably added too much), juice of 1/2 lime, drop of stevia if sweetness is needed. This will alkaline the body with the lime juice and help balance the electrolytes with the colored salts.

Great for replacing electrolytes when a kid/adult is getting lots of exercise.

*Colored salts are unprocessed salts like pink Himalayan salt, gray Celtic salt, black or red Hawaiian salt. It looks expensive, but one bag with a pinch a day will last a long time. There are a lot of essential minerals in these salts.

Kids tend to do what their parents are doing.....if Mom and Dad are drinking lots of water, the kids will probably follow their example. Drinking a large glass of water with a pinch of salt first thing in the morning will kick start the rehydration process. It will stimulate the appetite as well so they will be more willing to eat a healthy breakfast (another good start for the day!)

A good guideline: Take your weight, cut in half, that is a minimum of how many ounces of water you need each day to stay healthy.

Breathe!

Breathe! One of the easiest health tips we have and one we neglect too often. People who breathe deeply and slowly get more oxygen and this has great health benefits. As you breath deeply your blood will carry more oxygen, you will be less stressed, and your brain will function better, along with all parts of your body. Try the following 3 times a day for a week and see how great you feel: Breathe in through your nose with your stomach expanding a de-e-e-ep           lo-o-o-ong breath. Hold for 20 seconds (or as long as you can) Let it out slowly through your mouth Repeat 10 times Watch your stomach move out and in, and make sure your chest is not doing the work. Do not slouch at your desk as this makes it hard to breathe. Initially you will feel dizzy or strange, but after a short time you will start to feel more alive as your body will have more oxygen! Many seemingly complex health issues can be caused by shallow breathing.  You will also feel less stressed and this can help back and neck pain. There are many types of breathing exercise you can incorporate into your lifestyle - yoga and Oxycise are a couple I have tried that work for me.  Breathe deeply and don't waste your breath......

More on Beets

Since beets are such a nutritional asset to my diet, I am trying to give them a second chance. I have to admit, I have never been a fan of beets in any form. I'm afraid I have neglected to give my family beets because of this bias.

I ordered a wrap from a raw food restaurant. It came with raw beets! There were so many vegetables and tofu in it that I couldn't even taste the beets! The beets were in julianne slices. An easy addition to many foods. I will be trying that again. You can add beets to many foods for color and slight flavor.

Here is a recipe that looks and tastes great. It has lots of fiber too.

Beet Dip

Ingredients:
3 medium beets – scrubbed with greens cut off
Juice of one lemon
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 can small white beans – drained and rinsed
1/2 cup toasted walnuts (cashews or pine nuts would make good substitutes)
1 clove garlic
Dippers (I love carrot sticks, but it is even better with pita chips)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Wrap beets in foil after drizzling with enough olive oil to just coat them.
3. Roast beets for 1 hour or until soft.
4. Allow beets to cool and then peel them (they WILL stain your fingers, countertop, and clothing. Wear gloves if possible and be sure to clean up right away).
5. In a food processor, combine all ingredients and grind until smooth.
6. Serve with assorted dippers. Veggies, pita chips, or tortilla chips work great!

Beets

Reasons to add Beets to your diet:

A recent study at London’s Queen Mary University found that one glass of beet juice daily was more effective at lowering high blood pressure than medication.  Of course, this doesn’t mean you should stop taking medication if you have high blood pressure. But, it does mean that adding a cup of beet juice and more beets to your diet could be helpful in the treatment of high blood pressure, angina and heart disease.

Naturally-occurring nitrates have been shown to widen blood vessels and allow more oxygen-rich blood to travel to the heart.  

Raw beets or raw beet juice contain betaine, a natural anti-inflammatory that helps protect against aging and disease.

The phytonutrient, proanthocyanidin, that gives beets their rich purplish color is also a potent anti-cancer compound. 

Beets are high in vitamin C, which boosts the immune system.

Beets are high in the B-complex vitamin folate which when consumed by pregnant women have been shown in many studies to reduce the risk of birth defects in the baby.

Beets are also high in the minerals manganese and potassium.  Manganese is required for healthy bones, liver, kidneys, and pancreas.  Potassium helps ensure healthy nerve and muscle function.

Now I am not a beet fan. It is a bit too earthy even for my taste. However, with all these benefits I may have to try to disguise it in my juice! Warning: your urine will be red and it is a good thing. ;) What beet recipes do you enjoy? Really, I need help here 

Healthier Beverage Options

We are constantly pounded with advertisers messages every day brainwashing us to use their beverages.  Coke, coffee chains, energy drinks, alcohol, soft drinks, ice teas.   All of these drinks are high in sugar and/or caffeine or other bad things.  They give us an immediate lift or high as they taste fantastic and we feel great.  However we get addicted to them.  Short term we get energy swings and feel less than 100%.  And long term they cause disease as they inhibit our body to perform vital functions.

I will not go into all of the bad things about caffeine here except to say that anything that takes 3-5 days to detox from would be called an addiction. Have you ever had a caffeine headache?  Also diet drinks are usually worse than their sugary counterparts as they contain very nasty chemicals.

Water is the best beverage to drink and, as you already know, you need 8 glasses per day (or 2 litres).  It hydrates us and allows the body to perform important cleansing functions.

But lets get real. Beverages are an important part of our society and it is difficult and perhaps unnecessary to have water 100% of the time.  Here are some alternatives to choose from when you are tempted.

1. Sparkling mineral waters can be refreshing especially with some lemon, ice and/or mint.  Watch out for the commercially flavored ones as most have plenty of sugar added. Be creative and make your own. Try adding a little (very little) Stevia for sweetness.

2. Choose a fruit juice over a sugary soft drink.  While they still contain sugars they are generally from a natural source (as long as sugar has not been added).

3. Try sparkling grape juices for celebrations.  These are mostly grape juice and carbonated water and usually do not have added sugar.

4. Have an herbal tea instead of a caffenated black tea.

5. Instead of a flat white order a soy chai latte (my personal fav).

6. If you like hot drinks there are many alternatives around (caro, inka, lemon, ginger, dandelion tea) at the supermarket to try.  They are never going to match coffee but could be a way of transitioning to healthier drinks.

7. Make a fresh fruit smoothie or a freshly squeezed juice.

Give some a try.  Realize that if you are hooked on the bad things it can take a couple of weeks for your tastebuds to adjust - but they will.  Give it a chance and enjoy your newfound vitality and energy with healthier habits!

SPARKLING LIME JUICE

This is a new favorite drink of mine.  It has a subtle flavor, is refreshing, quick to make and without any sugar!

INGREDIENTS  (1 GLASS)

• juice of 1 lime

• mint leaves

• 6 large cubes of ice

• sliced lemon and lime for garnish

• soda water or sparkling mineral water

METHOD

1. Squeeze juice into a glass and add mint and ice and garnishes.

2. Pour the sparkling water into the glass.

You can also use lemons, oranges or grapefruits.

Red Meat, Gut Bacteria and Heart Disease

I just read an article on "Red Meat, Gut Bacteria and Heart Disease". Not good news for red meat lovers. I know that for every study done there is another study to counter it. But some of this stuff is just good old common sense.

The article states that if you eat red meat your chances of cardiovascular disease are much greater. Beyond the obvious high saturated fat levels in red meat, micro organisms are deposited into the gut that greatly increase the risk of all disease.

The good news is that plant foods contain beneficial microbes that produce vitamins and protect us against the bad microbes from the meat and promote healthy immune function. What we eat determines which species of bacteria thrive in our digestive tract. Healthful, fiber-rich plant foods provide an energy source (prebiotics) for beneficial bacteria to grow.

We get to chose which bacteria are growing in our guts.....it starts with what you are putting in your mouth.

It is an interesting article that goes into much more detail: http://www.diseaseproof.com/archives/cardiovascular-disease-red-meat-gut-bacteria-and-heart-disease.html

Is "Organic" really important?

Organic - to buy or not to buy? "It is expensive."  "How do I know it is really organic?" "Does it really matter if it is Organic?"

Organic gardeners grow their produce without use of pesticides. They enrich the soil with nutrients that are lacking in conventional farming. Is it 100% pure? Probably not. Is the organic food better for my body? Probably. Certified Organic means that there is 5% or less pesticides in the food. That allows for the overspray from conventional farmers. It is tough being "organic" in our toxic world. 

When you go to your local Farmer's Market everyone now is saying they are "Organic". If it is truly organic they will have a certification. The farmer works hard to get that certification so they will proudly display it. If they "can't find it", then they probably don't have one and they most likely don't know where the food was grown. It may cost a little more for the certified organic produce, but considering those pesticides accumulate in your body and cause you harm, I'd say you are worth it. 

To help you decide which produce is the most important to spend those extra organic dollars on, here is a list of foods high in pesticides:

Apples, Celery, Sweet bell peppers, Peaches, Strawberries, Nectarines (imported), Grapes, Spinach, Lettuce, Cucumbers, Blueberries (domestic), Potatoes.

Here is where you can save your money. These foods are lower in pesticides and safer to buy without the organic certification:

Onions, Sweet Corn, Pineapples, Avocado, Cabbage, Sweet peas, Asparagus, Mangoes, Eggplant, Kiwi, Cantaloupe (domestic), Sweet Potatoes, Grapefruit, Watermelon, Mushrooms. 

If you know a local farmer that grows his own produce and doesn't use pesticides (or very little) and you can get it fresh and vine ripened......you have a treasure indeed! Buying local and fresh is always your best option - even without organic certification. "Organic" from China (or any foreign country) may not be organic and it certainly is not fresh. 

So to buy organic or not - you do the best you can with what you have. You get the toxins out where you can, including processed foods and junk food. You do what you can do and don't worry about the rest. Anxiety is also harmful to the body!