Hungry for Change

I really wanted to watch Hungry for Change while it was free, but time got away from me, and I missed it. Did anyone get a chance to watch it?  If you've watched it, what did you think? I'm hoping if I can't borrow it from a friend, it will come out on Netflix soon. I've found lots of other informative natural, healthy and/or green living DVDs on Netflix.

I did scoop up the Free Hungry for Change Action Guide and Sneak Peek at the "Food Matters" Recipe Book with Juice and Healthy Recipes Preview:

10 Step Action Plan -- Click on the Image above to view and print the complete, full-size Hungry for Change free printable.

Here are the highlights from the 10 Step Action Plan:

1. Add freshly squeezed vegetable juices into your day!

2. Detox your body with green vegetables & gelatinous plant foods.

3. Add parsley & cilantro into your diet.

4. Add cultured foods into your diet.

5. Eat yourself beautiful!

6. Dissolve stress in your daily life!

7. Use the power of visualization.

8. Transform your life with love!

9. Add healthy fats into your diet.

10. Avoid aspartame, msg, high fructose corn syrup & heavily processed diet and fat free products.

Sneak Peek at the "Food Matters" Recipe Book with Juice and Healthy Recipes Preview -- Click on the Image above to view and download the free sample recipes.  Some of these look so good.  I can't wait to try them!

Related articles:

• Diet Soda Linked to Poor Health
• Beef Consumption at 50 Year Low

Health Benefits of Reduced Meat Consumption

Meat consumption in the U.S. is down. Are you eating less meat at your house? If so here are some of the benefits that you may experience:[1]

• Reduced Cancer Risk
• Reduced Risk of Heart Disease
• Reduced Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes
• Prevention of Long-term Weight Gain and Obesity
• Increased Longevity
• Improved Nutrition including:
• higher intakes of fiber, protein, folate, zinc, iron and magnesium
• lower intakes of saturated fat and total fat

Learn More:

Meatless Monday

Beef Consumption at 50 Year Low

Environmental Benefits of Reduced Meat Consumption

Source:

[1] http://www.meatlessmonday.com/why-meatless/

Beef Consumption at 50 Year Low

Meat consumption in the United States dropped for the fourth year in a row with beef consumption at a fifty year low.[1] Whether this drop in meat-eating is due to the global recession or the concerns of better-informed consumers for their personal health and the health of the planet, I hope this trend will continue. The health and environmental benefits of eating less meat are numerous and far-reaching . . . significantly affecting not only the individuals who curtail their carnivorous tendencies, but our planet as a whole and all of its inhabitants.

Learn More:
Meatless Monday

Health Benefits of Reduced Meat Consumption

Environmental Benefits of Reduced Meat Consumption

Source:
[1] http://www.dailylivestockreport.com/documents/dlr%201-5-2012.pdf

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday and were able to enjoy some quality time with your loved ones.  If you're like most Americans, you probably also overdid it with the Thanksgiving goodies.  Did you know that to burn off the calories from the average Thanksgiving dinner you have to walk, jog, or run a full-length marathon?  That's 26.2 miles!  Even scarier . . . the left-overs!  Many of you will eat that same meal again tomorrow and the next day.  Unless you're one of those wild and crazy ultra-marathoners (and I know a few of my followers are), I hope you will try to find some balance this weekend . . . a few less left-over Thanksgiving calories and a little more exercise.

The Infographic below breaks Thanksgiving dinner down by calories and by the miles of walking, running or jogging required to burn it off.

Source: newmango.com via Shannon on Pinterest

If you can't read the print, you can click the image for a larger view of the graphic or press Ctrl and + at the same time on your keyboard to enlarge everything on your screen. (Pressing Ctrl and - at the same time will decrease the size when you are done.)

A Thanksgiving Milestone for Me

I thought I'd also share a healthy little milestone that I celebrated today.  Today was the 22nd anniversary of the day I became a vegetarian.  That's 21 years meat free . . . no red-meat, no poultry, no pork, no seafood.  I chose Thanksgiving to officially go vegetarian because there are so many great meat-less side-dishes on Thanksgiving, I figured I would never miss the turkey.  I didn't miss it way back then and I never have since.

Source: meatlessmonday.com via Shannon on Pinterest

Muffin Tin Monday

Have you tried Muffin Tin Meals for your little ones yet?  I've seen lots of posts about them all around Blog Land, but hadn't tried them until recently.  I only had full-size muffin tins (with 12 cups), so I purchase four 6-cups muffin tins at The Dollar Tree especially for muffin tin meals.  The cups in the tins are regular size, but the tins themselves are small (just six cups).  At first it was a little bit of a challenge for me to come up with six healthy, balanced servings of kid-friendly foods, but it gets easier and my girls really love them!

Here are a few of the combinations we've tried so far:

1. Morning Star Farms Chik'n Nuggets

2. Carrots

3. Raisins

4.Watermelon

5.Keebler Club Minis Multi-Grain Crackers

6. Sharp Cheddar Cheese

1. Annie's Bunny Grahams Friends

2. Blackberries

3. Chobani Blueberry 0% Greek Yogurt

4. Nature's Promise Organic Unsweetened Applesauce

5. Strawberries

6. Plain Quaker Oatmeal w/Raisins Added

1. Mashed Potatoes

2. Snaps Peas

3. Watermelon

4. Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

5. Baby Carrots

6. Mozzarella String Cheese

1. Chobani Blueberry 0% Greek Yogurt

2. Post Banana Nut Crunch Cereal and Milk

3. Grapes

4. Banana

5. Raspberry

6. Craisins

And here's my youngest daughter cheesing like a crazy baby in anticipation of her muffin tin breakfast:

Can you tell she loves them?

Diet Soda Linked to Poor Health

Pass it on: A new study links the consumption of diet soda to poorer health

I've never been much soda drinker and especially not diet soda except for an occasional Fresca.  Over the years, I've watched clients time and time again drink calorie free soft drinks and struggle to lose or maintain weight as much as they would as much as if they were gulping down regular sugary drinks.  I never knew why it worked like this or really had any science to back it up. I just figured soda is full of unnatural chemicals so you can't expect your body to react in a natural way to something that is unnatural.

Two new studies on the topic of diet cola were presented June 25th 2011 at the meeting of the American Diabetes Association. Both studies have linked drinking diet soda to poorer health compared with those who don't drink the beverage. People who said they drank two or more diet sodas a day experienced waist size increases that were six times greater than those of people who didn't drink diet soda, according to researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

A second study that found the sweetener aspartame raised blood sugar levels in diabetes-prone mice."Data from this and other prospective studies suggest that the promotion of diet sodas and artificial sweeteners as healthy alternatives may be ill-advised," said study researcher Helen P. Hazuda, professor and at the university's school of medicine. "They may be free of calories, but not of consequences."

The human study was based on data from 474 participants in a larger, ongoing study called the San Antonio Longitudinal Study of Aging. In that study, the participants were followed for nearly 10 years. Diet soft drink drinkers, as a group, experienced 70 percent greater increases in waist circumference compared with those who don't drink diet soda. Abdominal fat is a major risk factor for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and other chronic conditions, the researchers said.

In the mouse study, researchers fed aspartame, a calorie-free sweetener used in some diet sodas, to diabetes-prone mice. One group of mice ate chow to which both aspartame and corn oil were added; another other group ate chow with only corn oil added.

After three months, the mice that ate aspartame showed elevated blood sugar levels.
"These results suggest that heavy aspartame exposure might potentially directly contribute to increased blood glucose levels, and thus contribute to the associations observed between diet soda consumption and the risk of diabetes in humans," said study researcher Gabriel Fernandes, professor of rheumatology and clinical immunology at the university.


 Source: My Health News Daily

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Meatless Monday -- Starts Tomorrow!

For a while I've been planning to start a Meatless Monday series on my blog, and finally tomorrow I am going to do it!  Since every Monday is meatless at my house (I've been a vegetarian for 20+ years.), I have lots of experience going meatless and lots of great recipes to share. I hope you'll join me tomorrow and every Monday!

Why Meatless? Going meatless once a week may reduce your risk of chronic preventable conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. It can also help reduce your carbon footprint and save precious resources like fresh water and fossil fuel.      http://www.meatlessmonday.com/why-meatless/

Why Monday?  Monday is the start of the week.  It's the day to start fresh.  Most diet and/or exercise plans are started or restarted on Monday.  Monday is the call to action built in to every calendar each week. And if this Monday passes you by, next week is another chance to go meatless!  

http://www.meatlessmonday.com/why-monday/

 I challenge you to try Meatless Monday at your house!  

Soda is not your friend . . .

Click to view larger.

What's for dinner?

My mom taught me to plan a menu each week before grocery shopping, and I've been passing that wisdom along to my clients for years. It takes a little bit of forethought, but it will save you money, headaches and stress and help your family eat better.

Recently, a friend of mine recommended The Six O'Clock Scramble. It's a great menu planning web site for quick healthy meals that makes it super simple to plan ahead! 


When you sign up for The Scramble (Subscriptions range in price from $19.50 for three months to $64.50 for two years.), you receive a weekly Scramble newsletter which includes five dinner recipes complete with side dishes and a corresponding grocery list. You can then choose to keep all the meals for the week or swap them out for any recipe in The Scramble's extensive recipe database to fit your family’s needs, tastes and/or schedule. Your grocery list is automatically updated with your choices and conveniently divided by section to make your shopping easier. Most recipes are under 500 calories for a hearty serving and provide enough left-overs for lunch the next day or you can freeze some for later. Since our children are still small and don't eat very much, we've been able to eat some for lunch the next day and freeze some for later with many of the meals.


We love The Scramble at our house! It's fun to try new recipes and new ingredients. Have you ever had parsnips? I hadn't until a few weeks ago! They're delicious! We feel good about the healthy, satisfying meals that we've been eating, and the shopping list is the best! No more missing ingredients!


If you'd like to sign up for The Scramble, please tell them Healthy Mommy (Shannon Brennan) sent you and use code GLSHA16117 to get a $3 discount off a 6 or 12 month subscription!


Here are two delicious Scramble sample recipes for you to try:

Vegetarian Chili

and

Roasted Sweet Potato and Apple Soup

If you do decide to try it out, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think.  

Tip #7 -- Watch Your Calories and Where They Come From

Most Americans eat way too much food. Our portion sizes are huge and loaded with a surplus of sugar and fat. Moderation is the key, but that is easier said than done. In this “super-sized” era, many people no longer have any idea what moderation is. Try eating off your lunch sized plates, even at dinner. Eat out less, and prepare your own food more often. Get a small cooler, and pack your lunch and snacks for the day! The word snack is not synonymous with junk food. Your snacks should be more like mini balanced meals. Avoid fried foods, full fat dairy products, butter, margarine, regular mayonnaise, sweets, beer, wine, liquor, and regular salad dressing. Do not give yourself a “cheat” day each week. It is completely possible to sabotage a whole week’s worth of work in one bad day. If you are a normal healthy individual, a few “cheat” days per year are reasonable, but more is absolutely not okay.

Tip # 6 -- Increase the Number of Meals You Consume Each Day

On average, you should be eating a combination of lean protein and vegetable or whole grain that is low in fat and high in fiber every 3-4 hours. Start by eating your breakfast within one hour of waking up. Then eat a small balanced meal every 3-4 hours after that for a total of 4-6 small meals spaced evenly throughout the day. Doing so will speed up your metabolism and give you an almost unfair advantage over those who only eat the normal three meals or less each day.

Easy, Delicious & Healthy Chili!

Perfect for fall!  Super nutritious! It comes in a can and heats up in minutes!  Dinner doesn't get much more convenient!  My husband and I love Amy's Organic Medium Chili (Kaylin does too, but it whips right through her 18-month-old digestive system!). We've been feeding her Annie's Certified Organic Cheesy Ravioli as an alternative. 

Have more time on your hands and want to make your own hearty, yet ultra healthy chili?  Try this recipe from Vegetarian Times -- Three-Bean Vegetable Chili.  It's been one of my favorites for years.  I usually skip the fennel and cilantro as I'm not a big fan of either, but that's just my personal preference.  This chili gets better with time!  Make extra and freeze it for later!

Don't forget to have a big glass of water to drink with your chili!!!