Monthly Archives: January 2013

Healthy Products

Guide to Acai Juice Choices

Published by:

Healthy To Go Acai Natural Energy Boost

Acai Natural Energy Boost™ combines one of nature’s most powerful superfruits, organic acai, with organic grape, apple, pomegranate, and mango to create an all-natural, antioxidant packed energy drink in convenient “stick packs” designed to go where you go!

These amazing SuperFruits are then blended with a balanced Vitamin B blend, all-natural energy compounds from organic green tea, organic Yerba Mate, and organic guarana seed extract and a special dark chocolate extract called Chocamine™. Chocamine™ offers the proven antioxidant and energizing benefits of chocolate without the fat, sugar, or dairy.

Rounding out Acai Natural Energy Boost™ is Chromium. This essential mineral is needed in the body to support normal blood sugar levels. Acai Natural Energy Boost™ contains more than 80% of your daily value of chromium in one serving. This combined with the naturally sweet Stevia Leaf, provides a sustaned energy boost without the typical energy drink , “spike & crash”.

Acai Natural Energy Boost™ contains no MSG, preservatives, artificial sweeteners, colors, or flavors ,and no genetically modified organisms (non-GMO).

Reviews:

“Tastes slightly medicinal. I didn’t like it mixed with water but loved it when I added it to either a vanilla or chocolate protein shake.” Jenn – Hollywood, CA

“I wasn’t crazy about the taste but when I added it to lemonade I actually liked it and it was good to know that I was getting all the extra nutritional benefits of the acai.” Patty – Irvine, CA

Recipes

Pros and Cons of Cooking Spinach

Published by:

Spinach is one green leafy vegetable that is very rich in nutrition. Most people can relate to having been cooreced to eat spinach as a child because of their parents belief that spinach helps to keep the doctor away. The real truth is that spinach contains a variety of components which help maintain good health and build up immunity against diseases. However, one question remains – which is best, cooked or raw spinach?

Eating raw vegetables of any kind is generally encouraged in any weight loss program. And while that is certainly true, cooked spinach has its own unique advantages over raw spinach. Cooking spinach seems to improve your body’s ability to absorb the beneficial nutrients. Whether you boil, steam or fry, cooking spinach changes the iron into a form that is more readily absorbed into the body. Spinach contains iron in the non-heme form which is not as bio-available as heme iron that is found in foods from animal products. Moreover, spinach in its raw form contains a compound known as oxalic acid which inhibits iron absorption by binding onto it. When you cook your spinach the oxalic acid and other inhibitors will be unlocked and iron will be made more bio-available.

Secondly, cooked spinach releases more lutein. Lutein is a type of phytochemical that protects the eyes from the formation of cataracts and other age related complications like macular degeneration. In raw form, spinach has lower levels of lutein.

On the other side of the argument, raw spinach has more antioxidant properties compared to cooked spinach. The antioxidants are found in the form of vitamins like A and C and also flavanoid polyphenolics. Cooked spinach still contains these antioxidants but in reduced quantities.

Another disadvantage to cooking spinach is that there is a tendency towards overcooking it which greatly reduces the nutrient load. When cooking be careful to keep an eye on it and remove it from the heat right at the moment that it wilts. There is no need to cook it any longer than that.

The one method that I would not recommend is to boil spinach in a pot of water – unless you’re making soup and are boiling the spinach in the broth you’ll end up consuming. Boiling in water that you’ll then throw out means you’ll lose the water soluble vitamins such as the B complex vitamins.

So bottom line – cooked spinach is going to give you a more nutrition packed meal, just be careful not to overcook it and not to boil it and toss out the water.

 

Garlic Spinach

One of my favorite ways to serve spinach is to saute sliced onion in extra-virgin olive oil. Seasone with sea salt and black pepper and a bit of crushed red pepper if you like. Once the onion starts to soften, add some crushed or sliced garlic and continue sauteing until the onion is soft. Add handfuls of fresh spinach. Turn off the heat and allow the spinach to wilt. Season again with salt and pepper and serve with just about any meat dish or add some more extra virgin olive oil and toss with whole grain pasta.

 

Spinach Pizza

Pick up a prebaked whole wheat pizza crust. Spread with tomato sauce. Top with 1 bag of baby spinach that’s been steamed, squeezed dry and chopped, then mozzerella, Parmesan cheeses. Sprinkle with sea salt and crushed red pepper flakes. Bake until cheeses are melted and slightly browned.

 

Cheesy Spinach Eggs

And here’s a recipe from our book “The UnDiet: 2 Weeks of Extremely Low Carb Menus & Recipes” which is only 3 carbs for the entire recipe. You can decide if this is one or two servings.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil or butter

¼ cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

¼ cup mascarpone cheese

3 large eggs

¼ teaspoon each dried basil and thyme

small pinch each of salt and black pepper

1 – 2 cups fresh spinach, steamed, squeezed dry and chopped

Instructions:

In a medium bowl mix all ingredients except spinach.

Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add egg mixture and spinach to pan. Stir once to combine and then allow the eggs to cook without stirring. Lift the edge of the eggs every now and then, tilting the pan to allow the uncooked egg to run to the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat when the eggs are still slightly runny as they’ll continue cooking for a few minutes. This method keeps the eggs nice and moist, rather than dry and overcooked.

 

 

Beverages Recipes

Eating More Greens to Improve Your Health

Published by:

We’re working hard on getting our new book “The UnDiet – 2 Weeks of Extremely Low Carb Menus & Recipes” out on Kindle and so we are very pleased that this guest poster has offered to share these delicious fruit smoothie recipes packed with “green power”.

 


 

Getting more vegetables and green foods specifically into your diet has a wide host of health benefits. These plants can improve all aspects of your life, including cardiovascular and weight loss advantages. Whatever challenges you face in your life, there is no doubt that more greens can help you meet those obstacles.

First off, any kind of green you eat is beneficial because of the chlorophyll present. As you probably know, chlorophyll is the substance in plants that makes them look green, and it is responsible for carrying out the process of photosynthesis, which creates energy for plants in the form of glucose. Interestingly enough, chlorophyll is extremely similar to hemoglobin, which carries oxygen through the human body. The two molecules are virtually identical, except that there is a magnesium atom in the center of the chlorophyll, and an iron in the center of the hemoglobin. It is extremely incredible how they are so similar, and the phenomenon is evidence of the intimate relationship between man and plant.

The point of that little science lesson was to demonstrate the importance of consuming green foods. They flood the system with chlorophyll, the constituents of which can be used to improve the quality of the blood. Since the blood is such a critical aspect of our bodies, having healthy blood usually leads to health in other areas. Chlorophyll has also been shown to have potent antibacterial and energy producing properties, and is a superfood in its own right. Yet this molecule is just one of the many reasons to consume green foods.

All green foods contain many other phytonutrients which act as antioxidants, eliminating free radicals and decreasing the rate of aging. Antioxidants also help prevent cancer, which is why foods like spinach and broccoli are recommended as anticancer foods. There are also many of the common vitamins found in foods like these. For example, spinach is very high in both Vitamin A and Vitamin C, as well as a vegetarian source of iron. Of course, there is also magnesium in all green foods, as it is present in the chlorophyll.

Getting more green foods into your life is not as hard as it seems. Besides simply making a conscious choice to purchase more at the grocery store, there are also shortcuts of sorts. You can get green drink mixes that integrate many different plants into the formula, and these products enable you to get many servings of vegetables in a single drink. Enzymes and probiotics are also featured in green drinks, so there is no shortage of benefits to drinking them. You can also purchase a juicer and make your own green drinks in your home, and both routes are equally acceptable for getting more plant nutrients on a daily basis.

For a quick start on upping your greens intake, here are two great and simple recipes to try out.

Hemp Power Salad

Ingredients:

1/2 cup spinach

1/2 cup kale

1/4 cup almonds

3 tablespoons hemp seed

1 tablespoon hemp seed oil

Mix all ingredients together for a raw salad that is jam-packed with vitamins, minerals, protein, Omega-3, and fiber. You cannot get better than a salad like this. And if you want your greens meals to taste even sweeter, then the next recipe will be even better.

Ultimate Antioxidant Shake

Ingredients:

1 cup spinach

1 cup blueberries

1 cup almond milk

3 tablespoons

Chocolate Hemp Shake powder (or any good quality chocolate protein  powder)

4 ice cubes

Mix all ingredients in a blender, pushing down the spinach as necessary to make sure it is properly pulverized. Both spinach and blueberries are respective superfoods in their vegetable/fruit categories, and the cocao in the HempShake powder compliments the protein with even more powerful antioxidants. Fitting both of these recipes into your day will ensure complete nutrition.