Chic Galleria » healthy

Pecan Butter

Lauri Rottmayer — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 07:11:49 +0000

I have a friend on twitter who calls herself Paleo Bride. The other day, she made almond butter. I was really interested to see how it worked and watched for her tweets. When you go to the store and find almond butter on the shelf, you have to look at the ingredients just like everything else to make sure what is in it. I like my almond butter just plain, with no additives and it can sometimes be hard to find.

About ten minutes later, she was back telling of her success. I asked her if she had added anything and she said no, just put the nuts in the food processor and turn it on. Awesome! I wanted to make some myself. I got almonds at the store but was a little worried about my food processor. Even though it’s new, almonds are hard nuts and I was afraid they might break the processor.

So I decided to try a softer nut: pecans. We have five pecan trees and, now that I know where to get them shelled, quite a nice supply of usable pecans.

I put about three cups of nuts into the processor

put the lid on and turned the motor on.

After a couple of minutes, I could see the nuts collecting on the sides. So I stopped the motor, and scraped the sides down.

I did this a couple more times until the nuts finally became nut butter which took less than ten minutes.

Pecans are sweet nuts and the nut butter is fabulously sweet! My preferred method is to eat it off of the spoon but it was equally tasty on celery.

So there you have it! Easy as one, two, three you have healthy nut butter with no yucky stuff in it. I’ll be trying the almonds soon and I doubt I’ll ever buy processed nut butter again!

Lauri Rottmayer is the author of Rott-I-Tude. Visit Lauri’s website www.rottitude.com

Why Waist Management Matters

Editor — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 07:34:40 +0000

By Betsy Muller, MBA, EFT Cert., CEHP

Look around. We intuitively know that people with slim middles and flat tummies are the healthy ones. They look fit and attractive. They are the athletes, the young ones, the women who haven’t had kids yet and the men sport “6 pack abs” instead of lounging on the couch drinking a 6 pack.

But wait a minute, look again! Kids seem to be carrying more weight around their middles these days too. Young women who haven’t yet carried a child are sporting a “pouch” out front. Little boys have belly rolls too. What’s up with that? Should we be concerned? The answer is YES!

Modern medical science has provided ample clinical evidence that carrying excess weight around the waistline correlates strongly with health risk. It is beyond debate. Carrying excess fat around your waistline can be predictive of health problems, including early death.

For women, excess waistline girth is associated with diabetes, heart disease, infertility and ovarian cancer. Women with a waist-hip ratio of 0.7 have optimal estrogen levels, and are less susceptible to major disease and health problems.

Belly fat in men also correlates with increased diabetes, cardiovascular disorders, prostrate and testicular cancers. Men with waist-hip ratios around 0.9 are likewise shown to be more healthy, fertile and with a greater resistance to disease and cancer.

Watch a short video showing you how to measure your waist hip ratio:

Two Kinds of Belly Fat

There really are two kinds of fat that add to your waistline. The first type is subcutaneous fat, which is the fat just under your skin. Subcutaneous fat shows up as dimples and cellulite. The second type is visceral fat, which is the fat that surrounds your vital organs deep within your abdomen. Visceral fat is the type associated with health problems and inflammation. While diet is one way to reduce inflammation and visceral fat, aerobic exercise has proven to be the most rapid and effective way to reduce the waistline inches associated with this high risk visceral fat.

WHR – The New Health Standard!

The evidence now available suggests that waist-hip ratio (WHR) is far more predictive of health risk than body mass index (BMI). Although BMI is the current standard used for defining obesity, if obesity was redefined by WHR instead, there would be a 3-fold increase in the early detection of human health risk! It is reasonable to predict that WHR will become our new health prediction standard. One more reason to get your waistline in check.

Betsy Muller, MBA is self-care enthusiast who has been professionally coaching and leading seminars for 5 years. She is a certified Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) practitioner and also a Certified Energy Health Practitioner through the Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology. You can download a free Winning at Waist Management Starter Kit. Learn more about Betsy Muller on her website www.theindigoconnection.com

Healthy Eating: Chocolate Oat Balls

Editor — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 05:30:19 +0000

This Chocolate Oat Ball recipe is so simple even kids can make it! Whenever I make them, they’re gone in no time! I enjoy this recipe because when I’m craving something sweet, these Chocolate Oat Balls do the trick! The best part about these sweet little treats, is that they’re delicious AND healthy!

Chocolate Oat Balls
By Devani Alderson

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups Oats Toasted

½ cup Your Favorite Creamy Nut Butter (we like almond butter)

½ cup Honey

½ cup Fruit & Nut Mix (your favorite blend)

½ cup Chocolate Chips

DIRECTIONS:

First, preheat the oven to 350˚F. Put the oats on a cookie sheet, and set them in the oven, for about 10–15 minutes, or until slightly golden, stir once, halfway into cooking time.

While the oats are in the oven, mix the nut butter with the honey in a large blow. Then add the oats and nut mix. Stir them together and let cool for ten minutes.

After they’ve cooled stir in the chocolate chips. Roll the mix into, about one inch balls then…ENJOY!

Devani Alderson, age 15, loves cooking healthy food for her family. She is building a blog for fun and learning. Visit her website at www.devanianjali.com.

Is It Sugar Or Fat That Is Making Us Fat?

Editor — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 07:02:48 +0000

By Michele Loesch

Don’t you often wonder which you are supposed to eat less of? Fat or sugar? What kinds of fat and sugars are you supposed to avoid and which ones should you eat?

When I was in my early 20’s (early 90’s) the craze then was “low fat” and “reduced fat foods.” Avoid anything with fat in it and eat processed foods that had the label of “low fat or reduced fat.” That was the answer to weight loss. Right?

Wrong! I fell into the trap and often binged on anything that had “0” grams of fat on the label. Never did I think to consider how many grams of sugar were on the label. Sugar had zero calories, so I didn’t care how many grams per day I was consuming. Zero calories meant zero weight gain.

After a lot of research and understanding just what processed food is made of, I am convinced it is not fat that is making us fat, but the refined sugars, refined flours and High Fructose Corn Syrup that is in just about every kind of processed food imagined. Today, Americans consume 150lbs of refined sugar, of which, 51.7lbs of that is High Fructose Corn Syrup.

You may ask why eating “low fat” and “reduced fat” foods have only made this country fatter. I will tell you it is not from a lack of discipline or motivation to want to eat healthier. The body actually has a hormone called leptin. Leptin is turned off when we eat refined sugars. It is the hormone responsible for telling our bodies when we are full. If most processed foods contain High Fructose Corn Syrup and you are not aware of what it does to your body, you assume you lack discipline because you will continue to crave and want more of the processed food.

How do you turn on the leptin hormone and keep it on? By eating less processed foods and a lot more whole foods. Whole foods such as dark leafy green vegetables, fruits (yes, are ok due to their high fiber content which slows down the absorption of sugar into the body), beans, nuts and seeds, whole grains and lean proteins such as wild caught fish (high in Omega-3 fatty acids) and organic chicken.

Knowledge is power! I will tell you from experience, slowly incorporating more whole foods into your diet will help you eliminate the processed foods from your diet. You will never even miss another Snack Well Cookie or 100 Calorie pack again!

Michele Loesch is a Certified Health Coach who received her training at Integrative Nutrition in New York City. She also is a Certified Fitness Professional with the ISSA and Master Trainer with New York Strength. Michele leads workshops on nutrition and offers individual health and nutrition coaching to parents and families.

Photo credit © Svetlana Kolpakova | Dreamstime.com

The Weight Loss Connection To Emotional Well-Being & Nurturing Your Spirit

Editor — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 07:21:39 +0000

By Suzanne Pantazis

This article is devoted to encouraging you to take a good honest look at the roadblocks which may be keeping you unhealthy and to help you find ways of overcoming these roadblocks. I have managed to lose and keep off 100 pounds for over three years now. A critical part of my success has been taking care of my emotional well-being and nurturing my spirit and learning how to love myself again and re-build my self-esteem.

Before we can move forward with our weight loss or health goals, I think it is important to be aware of the roadblocks which may be holding us back from our success. I have identified seven roadblocks that commonly hold us back from attaining our goals. I would encourage you to honestly think about each of these roadblocks and be truthful with yourself when looking at your own situation. You will notice that most of these items have nothing to do with eating better and exercising. They all have to deal with your state of mind. When we can honestly reflect on our own situation, we can then move in a direction of a happier and healthier self. A slight change in your thinking can have dramatic effects on your health.

Many people overlook the importance of their emotional well being and forget how important it is to nurture your spirit. Instead they stay focused on what to eat and how much to exercise. If you want to get physically healthy, you really need to get emotionally and spiritually healthy. You also need to be honest with yourself. Not all of these will apply to every person, but many of them are consistently seen in people who have struggled with weight loss for a long time.

So let’s take a look at some of the roadblocks that might be holding us back.

SEVEN ROADBLOCKS TO PERMANENT WEIGHT LOSS

1. We are using food as a reward and as a coping mechanism.

So many people in the world are unhappy and unfulfilled in their lives and they use food as a way to make them feel better about themselves. We reward ourselves with food. This habit is often learned in early childhood, so it becomes an automatic response as we continue into adulthood. How many times as a child were you rewarded with food? (i.e.: If you are a good girl, you will get a treat) It is important to learn to reward yourself in other ways, rather than using food as a reward or as comfort. Like an alcoholic uses drinking as a coping mechanism, many of us use food in the same way. The first step in overcoming this is to simply become aware of what you are doing. Find other ways to feel good about yourself or to reward yourself. You may find it beneficial to work with a coach or a counselor to help you deal with this issue.

2. We are blaming others for our failures.

Many people blame others for their diet failures. They will blame their spouse or children for eating unhealthy foods in front of them. They will blame their job as being so stressful, that they need to comfort themselves with food to deal with their stress. They will say that their spouse or some other person upset them, so they blew their diet as a result of that. They will blame their spouse or children for placing lots of demands on them, so they don’t have time to cook proper meals or exercise. We can’t expect the world to change because we are on a diet. We need to accept that life will always have challenges and we need to be responsible for our own health. No one else can force you to eat unhealthy. That is a choice that you are solely responsible for. You need to accept the consequences of your choices. By blaming others, we are failing to take responsibility for our own actions and we are playing the role of the victim. By changing our attitude to someone who is in charge of their own actions, we can choose what to eat or not to eat and quit blaming others for our problems.

3. We are not being honest with ourselves.

Many people will say to themselves, that they don’t understand why they are overweight, because they don’t really eat that much. I think if you actually wrote down everything that you ate and drank over the course of a week, you might be surprised at how many calories you are actually consuming in comparison to what you actually need to survive. There are so many hidden calories in the sauces that we add to our food and the drinks that we have throughout the day, so make sure to add them all up and become more aware of what you are actually consuming.

Many of us will say that we are too busy to exercise, or cook proper meals, however we still seem to have time to sit around and watch TV, play on the computer or play video games. I know it is hard to be honest with yourself, but self-reflection is critical. Sometimes we really need to give ourselves an honest reality check. Take the time to determine the amount of calories that you are eating and the amount that you should be eating to maintain a healthy weight. Honestly take an accounting of how you are spending your time, to see if you are wasting time when you could actually be doing something beneficial for your health. By failing to honestly look at our situation, we are only fooling ourselves and keeping ourselves stuck. Most of us have a hard time being honest with ourselves, but in the long run, we will benefit from our honesty.

4. We are looking for excuses rather than solutions.

A common trait that I have noticed in people, who are chronically unsuccessful, is that they are always looking for an excuse to justify the reasons why they can’t lose weight or get healthy. This is a waste of energy and it will only keep you fat and unhealthy. Instead of complaining about how bad things are and looking for excuses to justify our actions, we sometimes need to switch our mindset to making things better for ourselves, by looking for solutions to our situation. Our energy is so much better spent finding solutions, rather than looking for excuses. This is something that we have to keep an eye on, until we automatically look for the solution instead of the excuse.

5. We have unhealthy relationships.

Unhealthy relationships can drain us of our energy and motivation. Relationships should be based on mutual respect and balanced amounts of give and take. If you are feeling trapped in an unhappy marriage you may be stuffing your sadness and frustration down with food. Are you always giving to others? Are there certain people who cut you down or make you feel bad about yourself? If your relationships are causing you to be unhappy and unfulfilled, you may need to look at ending those relationships, going for counseling and pursuing healthier relationships of many different types. If you want to be healthy, don’t spend your time with unhealthy people. If you want to be positive and uplifted, don’t spend your time with negative depressing people. Birds of a feather flock together and you just may need to change your feathers. This is not something that you can change overnight, but try to become more aware of how different people make you feel. If it doesn’t feel good, spend less time with them or have an open and frank discussion about ways to improve the relationship. Life is short. Don’t waste your life being unhappy.

6. We are not making ourselves and our health a priority in our lives.

Many of us are so busy looking after others that we fail to properly look after ourselves. This is something that I struggled with for many years. It is hard when you are trying to work, maintain a household and care for your family. Many times we run out of time and it seems like our needs are the first to be neglected. What I finally realized, is how important it is to take care of my health, because when my health fails, I won’t be able to look after anyone. Try and find an hour a day to look after yourself. This time can be spent resting, exercising, shopping for healthy meals or meditation. If your life is too busy to allow you one hour a day to take care of yourself, then you need to change your life around. Don’t wait until you have a health crisis that forces you to slow down, instead take the time now and keep yourself healthy.

7. We try to implement change too quickly – by going from one extreme to another

I have seen many people go from one extreme to another. They will be completely sedentary and then all of a sudden they are planning to exercise every day for an hour a day. They will go from eating everything in sight to starving themselves. This is very hard on our systems and it is even harder on our emotional well-being. Instead, look at the changes you are making as a permanent life style change. Don’t be too strict on yourself. If you say that you can never eat certain items ever again, then you will feel deprived. I would suggest that you gradually implement changes to your diet, but allow yourself one day a week, when you can indulge a little. If you go from one extreme to another, you are setting yourself up for failure. If you gradually implement changes, you will have a better chance at long term success.

When it comes to implementing exercise, start gradually and slowly increase it as your strength and endurance improves. If you exercise too hard, you are probably going to injure yourself or become so sore, that you won’t be able to do any exercise at all. If you don’t exercise at all, then start by going for a short walk 3 times a week. If you already exercise, then just try to maintain a regular schedule and look at increasing the intensity of exercise once you need a bit more of a challenge.

This article has been written by Suzanne Pantazis. The author of “ A Better Life Awaits”- Baby steps to health and happiness. Suzanne has managed to lose 100 pounds and keep it off for more than 3 years. She is a Life Success Coach and Motivational speaker. Visit Suzanne at www.joyvibe.com