Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Can You Change Your Life Just By Watching a Video?
I have a really unique free gift for you today – something you have never seen before! My friends at Whole Healthy Life Members Club are sharing a FREE demo of their revolutionary new Mind Shift ThetaHealing® Videos!
Check it out!
You have never seen anything quite like this before. You may have heard of affirmations. You may have used subliminal messages. You may even meditate regularly. But what you haven’t seen before is a complete series of self-transformational videos geared towards improving every single aspect of your mind, body and spirit wellness.
Mind Shift ThetaHealing® Videos from Whole Healthy Life Members Club are one-of-a-kind, and different from any other program available today. Not only do the videos contain technology for brainwave entrainment, which allows you to go into a deep meditative state instantly, but they also contain audio and visual subliminal messages.
But what is it about the Mind Shift ThetaHealing® Videos that makes them completely unique and effective? It’s the ThetaHealing® session embedded within each and every video!
These videos directly access your subconscious mind with positive affirmations, sending direct commands to your subconscious mind to transform you at the deepest levels, raising your vibrational frequency instantly – so that you can turn the Law of Attraction around to make it work for you in EVERY aspect of your life!
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Love and relationships, including attracting a soul mate, repairing injured relationships, and enhancing physical pleasure
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And much, much more!
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Enjoy!
Monday, May 30, 2011
What Are Superfoods And Why Are They So Important?
Superfoods are a collection of foods which are exceptionally "nutritionally dense", which also have extra add-on health benefits which come from "antioxidants" and "phytochemicals". Next we'll go into what these statements actually mean in real terms.
Being dense in nutrients means that the food has high concentrations of vitamins and dietary minerals that we recognize as being good for us. That includes all the vitamins we know so well such as vitamins A, B, C, D, E, K, and dietary minerals such as Calcium, Iron, Potassium, Magnesium, Zinc and so on. But of course many foods contain these things. In fact, all foods we eat every day (even junk food!) contains at least some vitamins and minerals, so what's so special about superfoods?
The difference with superfoods is that they contain very high amounts of vitamins and minerals compared to their size. For example, cucumbers are mostly (90% or so) made up of just water, so to benefit from any significant levels of nutrients from a cucumber you'd have to eat a whole one. Or two!
Superfoods are so strong that even as little as a single mouthful can provide you with a good sized portion of nutrients, occasionally providing as much as you need in a single day, in a single bite. Now that's super! Not many foods show such high levels of nutrients in such small amounts, and that's why superfoods are so great. They can provide nutrition like you've never felt before.
Next, we'll talk some more about antioxidants and phytochemicals. These may be new to you, so let's explain them both .
Inside your body, oxygen reacts with cells in a process called oxidation. Unfortunately, this process is damaging to the cells. Antioxidants are chemicals which prevent or stop oxidation, and prevent the damage caused by it. Damage from oxidation is thought to be the cause of various illnesses and diseases such as heart disease, cancers, premature ageing amongst others. Antioxidants prevent the damage from oxidation by blocking the chemical reaction and stopping it from happening at all, and so in theory cut down any undesirable effects. As an example, Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is an antioxidant which we need for everyday use.
Phytochemicals are naturally occurring compounds found in plants and animals, which do not yet have recognized status as being an essential vitamin or dietary mineral. As humans we require some vitamins and dietary minerals for the various chemical processes inside our bodies to work properly - that's why they're called "essential", whereas we're only just starting to fully comprehend the uses and benefits of phytochemicals. A large part of the reported power of superfoods (such as anti-cancer, anti-heart disease, anti-ageing and so on) is thanks to the various phytochemicals found inside them.
So, not only do superfoods contain huge levels of essential vitamins and dietary minerals, they also contain large levels of phytochemicals and antioxidants making them even more powerful!
Here's the big summary: We are human , and so we require various essential vitamins and minerals to live. If we don't get enough of these elements, our bodies start to break down. Now we're uncovering powerful new nutrients which can help to boost our health and prevent disease. Superfoods are foods which combine potent amounts of both essential and non-essential nutrients and taste good too - even more reason to start including superfoods as part of a healthy diet.
Click here to check out a list of the world's most powerful superfoods, all available from your local supermarket.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
The 4 Key Components of a Healthy Meal Plan
Most people admit to feeling a little overwhelmed when it comes to developing a healthy meal plan. In fact, I would guess that’s the biggest reason why most people fail when it comes to a diet of any kind. If it’s too complicated or too difficult, there’s no way you are going to stick with a plan for weight loss. And that’s where most diets lose you—there’s always a mile-long list of what you can eat and what’s forbidden. Or you have to count calories and carbs, which means you have to jot everything down in a book.
Let’s be realistic—none of that is going to happen long-term when you are busy and always on the go.
I like to break down my healthy meal planning into four blocks. If you incorporate each of these four blocks into your daily routine, at every meal and every snack, then you have mastered the Diet Solution Program. Sound too easy to be true? It’s no gimmick—just plain common sense that takes the guesswork out of eating right to lose weight. Here are the four components you should use with every meal:
Vegetables
As you were growing up, I bet your parents told you to “Eat your greens!” As with most of the things our parents tried to teach us, this healthy eating tip is absolutely true. You should incorporate a serving or two of veggies with every meal and every snack.
They will provide you with essential vitamins and minerals your body needs. They also contain fiber, which will help keep you regular and also helps to keep you feeling satiated between meals.
Remember that foods like corn and peas are actually not vegetables, but legumes and grains. Limit your intake of those, and opt for vegetables like lettuce, spinach, kale, celery, and peppers instead.
Healthy Fats
Did you know that organic coconut oil is actually a healthy fat?
You should absolutely eat fat with every meal, and I am including snacks in this as well. Healthy fats are MUFAs or PUFAs that give your body the kinds of essential fatty acids you need to thrive. Healthy fats can also help you feel satiated between meals, which is what helps you to stay on the straight and narrow with your healthy eating plan, resisting the urge to binge eat. Healthy fats include olive oil, organic butter, coconut oil, raw nuts, nut butters, and avocadoes.
Water
Water should be your go-to beverage of choice while making the healthy eating switch. In fact, you should be drinking water not just with every meal, but between meals as well. The old adage about drinking 8 glasses of water per day is outdated. Instead, you should be aiming for half your body weight in ounces of water per day—more than that if you work out.
Why so much water? Studies show that most Americans are slightly dehydrated. Dehydration can actually register in the brain as hunger rather than thirst. So by drinking enough water, you are keeping your body from feeling hungry, and that keeps you from eating more food than you should.
Protein
If you’ve read my blog for any length of time, you know that I am a big believer in the power of protein. That’s why it’s an essential building block of a healthy diet and should be included in every meal, even snacks. Protein provides your body with essential amino acids you need for neural and cognitive processes. In addition, it has a stabilizing effect on your blood sugar, evening out those highs and lows that can cause you to eat everything in sight.
Not all proteins are created equal, though. I am a fan of whole organic eggs, all-natural cuts of meat, raw nuts, and nut butters. Stay away from fatty sources of protein, meats that contain nitrites or nitrates, and soy products. Those types of proteins can be detrimental to a healthy diet.
Building the perfect meal is easy when you follow the Diet Solution Program. Simply build these four nutritional blocks into every meal and snack, and you should begin seeing results in no time at all!
Monday, May 23, 2011
Healthy Recipe: Apple Oatmeal Pancakes
Makes 1 Serving (4 to 6 small pancakes)
Ingredients
• 6 egg whites
• ½ cup oatmeal (dry)
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened apple sauce
• Pinch of cinnamon powder
• Pinch of stevia
• 1 apple, diced finely
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• Cooking spray
Directions
1. First heat a frying pan until hot and then reduce to medium temperature. After mixing together all the ingredients in a blender (except for the diced apple), spray some pam (or other cooking spray), drop by spoonful onto the pan.
2. When bubbles start to form, place evenly on pancake some of the diced apple.
3. Let them set in before flipping the pancake.
4. Makes about 4-6 pancakes depending on the size.
Nutritional Facts
(Per Serving)
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Click here for 250 Fat Burning Recipes
Free 34-page report: 7 quick & easy cooking tricks to burn fat faster
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Asian Turkey Burgers
Makes 3 Servings (3 Burgers)
Ingredients
• 1 pound ground turkey
• ¼ cup minced onion
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons minced green bell pepper
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• Salt and pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
Directions
1. Combine all the ingredients in a big bowl.
2. With clean hands, squeeze it together until it’s very well combined.
3. Divide into three equal portions and form into burgers about ¾ inch (2 cm) thick.
4. Spray a skillet with non-stick cooking spray.
5. Place over medium-high heat.
6. Cook the burgers for about 5 minutes per side until cooked through.
Nutritional Facts
(Per Serving)
*****************
Click here for 250 Fat Burning Recipes
Free 34-page report: 7 quick & easy cooking tricks to burn fat faster
Unique recipes that "torch" bodyfat <--FAST
Cooking when trying to lose body fat can Be tricky, we all know that. But today I got good news for you!
My friends Karine Losier and Dave Ruel spent the past year or so crafting the perfect "metabolic" recipe book.
I highly recommend this for your kitchen if you want to get leaner, do it faster, and have it taste BETTER than ever:
My TOP Fatloss Recipe Book <--- see how tasty
Quickly:
What is "metabolic cooking"?
Simply stated, it's a unique way of preparing food that combines nutrients specifically geared for melting off body fat FASTER than normal.
Here's what I really love about Metabolic Cooking:
1. The recipes are made from foods with a high Metabolic Thermo-Charge; more calories burned faster without losing taste...
2. They structured the cookbooks around their incredibly helpful "Metabolic Nutri-Profile"... makes it SUPER easy to use...
3. It's been specifically designed to fight the Metabolic Adaptation Phenomenon: That is what happens when you are on a diet plan and you all of a sudden stop dropping body fat!
Taste, ease, and metabolism-boosting power.
You need nothing more.
The BEST recipes for faster fat loss <--- Yummy recipes to melt bodyfat
Talk to you soon,
Friday, May 20, 2011
Would you like to improve your health by only eating healthy and balanced food?
| "Would you like to improve your health by only
|
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Ginger Beef
Makes 2 Servings
Ingredients
• 2 sirloin steaks (4oz each), cut in strips
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 2 diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• Salt and pepper
Directions
1. Place the oil in a large skillet and brown the steaks in it over medium-high heat.
2. When both sides are well-seared, add the onion, garlic, and tomatoes.
3. In a bowl, stir the ginger, salt and pepper into the vinegar and add that mixture to the skillet, stirring to combine.
4. Cover the skillet, turn the heat to low, and let the whole thing simmer until liquids evaporates completely.
Nutritional Facts
(Per Serving)
*****************
Click here for 250 Fat Burning Recipes
Free 34-page report: 7 quick & easy cooking tricks to burn fat faster
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
8 ingredients you should NEVER cook with!
Think you’re cooking with healthy foods? Better think again. If you’re following mainstream eating advice, many of the so called “healthy foods” the magazines recommend actually encourage fat accumulation.
8 ingredients you should NEVER cook with! <== read here
I just read this new free report from my friends and fat loss cooking experts Dave Ruel and Karine Losier, and I was absolutely stunned to learn what these ingredients are!
The worst thing is, they turn up in some of the best-selling “healthy cookbooks” on the market today.
8 ingredients you should NEVER cook with! <== and more in their free report
Read the report, and banish these un-metabolic foods from your kitchen immediately!
Talk to you soon,
Arthur M.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Can Delicious Snacks Actually Be Good For You?
Remember sneaking into the kitchen when you were young to steal a snack when mom was not looking? Well, those days might be over if ex-bodybuilding champion Carolyn Hansen gets her way. She has come up with a set of 100 snack recipes that will have mothers everywhere positively encouraging their children to dig in.
The reason? The ingredients. No sugar, flour, or butter to be found in these recipes - just raw healthy foods that Hansen likes to call living. No cooking either, which makes preparation a snap. All a mom need be proficient with in the kitchen to keep her kids satisfied is a blender. That's the conclusion Carolyn Hansen reaches in her book 100 Healthy Raw Snacks And Treats.
At first glance you might be tempted to think that snacks prepared without sugar and butter might taste like the experimental designs that mom came up with in your youth when she ran low on those items and could not get to the store. If you share the same memories of those bold snack alternatives that I do you might be quick to dismiss the idea of a tasty snack that foregoes the ingredients that we know contribute to chronic disease in later life. Too much sugar and butter in the diet are prime causes of obesity, diabetes, and coronary disease.
Carolyn Hansen knew this when she went into her kitchen years ago to find alternatives to the snacks she found so difficult to remove from her diet. As a competing bodybuilder she was determined to find a way to keep herself from ruining her progress in the gym by binging on unhealthy snacks when her willpower wore down.
At first the going was difficult. It turns out that there are a lot of things to take into account when you begin throwing out the staple ingredients of recipes thousands of years old. There were a lot of missteps along the way. But Carolyn persevered, and in the end she came up with snacks that she could share with her bodybuilder friends. Snacks that you can share with your family and friends and know that you are contributing to the maintenance of their health, not only today but for years to come.
So, if you want to get your hands on recipes for snacks and treats that you will not need to feel guilty about eating the next time you have a craving for something delicious, be sure to check out Carolyn Hansen's book 100 Healthy Raw Snacks And Treats, where she shows you how to take control of your blender and churn out mouth-watering snacks that will have the kids in your neighborhood lined up around the block for a sample.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Have You Heard of Cooked Food Toxins?
There are 5 major toxins that scientists label “Cooked Food Toxins.” You should know about these poisons and ways to avoid them or at the very LEAST lessen your exposure. You’ll learn all about these confirmed and probable carcinogens in the education and training section of the site I’ve been telling you about.
What you’ll also learn is that you won’t be exposed to ANY of these toxins on a raw food diet. You’ll see how the high levels of antioxidants and phytonutrients in raw foods can help offset the damage that can be done by these toxins when you do eat cooked foods. The skills you learn in this raw food boot camp will serve you and your Rocking Body well whether or not you stick with a high raw diet.
My bet is that you’ll love these raw food recipes so much that you’ll incorporate what you learn every day and you will see the benefits EVERY time you look in the mirror.
Thanks,
Arthur M.
P.S. – Check out the issues the chef that created this diet overcame using raw foods. I wonder how much of that was the absence of the cooked food toxins in her diet.
Check it out now: http://bit.ly/cBTrQg
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Fruit and Green Smoothie Health Benefits
Before whipping up a batch of mouth-watering smoothies, you should go back to basics. Smoothie maker – young and old alike – should know not just what a smoothie’s ingredients are, but what it can also do for you.
Whether it be made of fruits or veggie greens, smoothies are definitely good for your soul and your body. Here are 12 of the best reasons why they are:
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Smoothies are very easy to prepare. All you need is a blender, a knife (to cut up or chop your fruits or vegetables), your ingredients, which are usually just the fruit/vegetable, some milk, juice or water, yogurt and/or ice cubes and other condiments to sweeten it up a bit, and you’re all set. Within just 5 to 10 minutes of chopping, blending and pouring, you’re ready to enjoy a refreshing and revitalizing glass of smoothie.
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Smoothies give you a natural source of nutrition. Getting nutrients and vitamins from food is still the best way to stay fit and healthy. Having a smoothie a day ensures you of a daily dose of life-giving substances.
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Ingredients are easy to source. Fruits and vegetables are very accessible and very easy to find (unless you live in a small island devoid of trees or vegetation). You can even grow your own ingredients, or you can simply go to the grocery and check out the fruits and greens section.
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Smoothies are inexpensive to prepare. This is specially true when you compare it to food and beverage choices that are half as healthy. The ingredients you use don’t cost much. Aside from that, you also save money on doctor visits and drugs as a result of a healthy diet and a stronger immune system.
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Smoothies help keep the body hydrated. Most fruits and some vegetables have the natural moisture to keep you hydrated, especially at the start of your day. Having a smoothie assures you of a lesser chance of acquiring electrolyte imbalance for the rest of your day.
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Get your daily dose of antioxidants. These healthy, God’s-gift-to-mankind foods not only provide vitamins and nutrients that are important for the well-being of your body; most of these also have antioxidants that help to detoxify and eliminate unnecessary waste products from your system. (This will especially work if you combine your smoothie-drinking with the proper diet and exercise plus a healthy lifestyle.)
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Smoothies provide a good source of fiber. Fruits and vegetables are rich sources of fiber that helps your digestive system eliminate waste and toxic substances easily.
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Smoothies help your brain function at its best. Some fruits and vegetables contain folic acid and/or fructose – both of which help enable the brain to function at its optimum level.
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No cooking skills required. If you don’t know how to cook, then smoothies are perfect for you as there is no need to cook your ingredients. You just dump it all in the blender and just puree away!
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Get your daily recommended allowance of fruits and vegetables. You get your 5 servings of fruits a day – just like what the doctor ordered. This means you get a ton of vitamins and minerals all at one go. Sometimes you even get more than 5, what with the numerous but satisfying and definitely delicious combinations you can make.
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Smoothies give your body a good source of energy. Fruits are endowed with natural sugars which convert to energy as soon as an intake of it is figured out by your body. Smoothies just make it easier for your body to recognize its worth.
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Smoothies are convenient, too. If you’re running late and you don’t have time to drink it at home, all you need is a mug with a cover and you can take it with you even while chasing after the bus that takes you to work.
With all these benefits, it’s no wonder a lot of people are getting into the habit of drinking a glass (or more) a day. For variety, you might want to get a healthy smoothie recipe book, like “Sensational Smoothies: Drink You Way To Health Deliciously”.
Smoothies are best taken at breakfast – actually, it is a complete meal in itself already. With an ample supply of fruits and vegetables, prepare your ingredients before going to bed (so that it would be less of a hassle in the morning, when you’re preparing to go to work or school). Drink up in the morning and prepare for an energy-filled day.
If you are on the look out for amazing diet smoothie recipes, do check out “Sensational Smoothies: Drink Your Way To Health Deliciously”. This amazing ebook contains over 180 smoothie recipes designed to keep you fit and happy. The recipes featured are kitchen tested and have been certified to taste as good as they are healthy.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
What is the Best Fruit for Smoothies?
Fruit smoothie drinks are fun to make and fun to drink. Both kids and adults alike love to have them. There is just something about fruits and smoothies that make it a perfect, delicious combination that is guilt-less as well.
But is there one best fruit for smoothie-making?
Actually, there is no such thing. All fruits, regardless of sweetness, sourness, color, price or country of origin, can be made into a smoothie drink. It all boils down to the benefits garnered from the fruit.
Oranges are a popular fruit, both for juices and smoothies. It’s nutritious as it is delicious. Oranges are an excellent source of vitamin C (which is also said to heal wounds much faster; hence an “orange diet” after a major surgery). Aside from that, oranges also have beta carotene (a powerful antioxidant that protects cells from being damaged), folic acid (helps in brain development), magnesium (maintains a normal blood pressure), potassium (maintains your body’s electrolyte imbalance), vitamin B6, thiamine, and calcium.
Strawberries are another top favorite. Armed with vitamin C, it also has antioxidants, vitamin K (which is necessary for the proteins that help blood clotting), manganese, folic acid, riboflavin (or also known as vitamin B2, which is important for body growth and red blood cell production; also helps in releasing and converting energy from carbohydrates), potassium, B vitamins (such as vitamins B5 and B6), copper, magnesium and omega-3 fatty acids.
Bananas can be made into smoothies and taken as is, or can be combined with other fruits. It provides additional texture and thickness to the drink, and also gives a natural sweetness so that you really don’t need to add some more sugar to your mix, especially if you just used an almost-overripe banana. As for its benefits, it has carbohydrates, vitamin A, iron, phosphorus and potassium (keeps your electrolytes in balance and helps the body’s circulatory system deliver fresh oxygen to the brain). Also, bananas contain tryptophan, a substance that makes a person happier than normal.
Sometimes, the beauty and delish-ness of a smoothie lies in its sheer simplicity. There are a lot of fruits out there, but with these three simple and common fruits, you just know that you can never go wrong. To explore the variety of smoothie recipes that makes use of these fruits and more, grab a recipe book, like “Sensational Smoothies: Drink Your Way To Health Deliciously” and start mixing!
If you are on the look out for amazing diet smoothie recipes, do check out “Sensational Smoothies: Drink Your Way To Health Deliciously”. This amazing ebook contains over 180 smoothie recipes designed to keep you fit and happy. The recipes featured are kitchen tested and have been certified to taste as good as they are healthy.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Smoothies – How to Ensure Your Child Gets the Right Nutrition Minus the Stress
Smoothie drinks cater to young and old alike, mostly for the same reasons. To sum them up, smoothies are fairly easy to do (usually done in about less than 10 minutes, provided that you have the proper ingredients and machinery), delicious and can be enjoyed by anyone without feeling the guilt of gaining more weight (or even losing more weight for people who are trying to gain a few extra pounds). Best of all, they are healthy and nutritious.
Smoothies are really popular these days. You can see it in the many smoothie shops that serve smoothies as their main product. And while store-bought smoothies are convenient and created under strict quality control, nothing beats the goodness of homemade smoothies. This is specially so, since with home prepared smoothies, you can be sure that the ingredients are always fresh, truly healthy, and prepared according to what you and your family needs.
When it comes to ensuring that your child gets the right nutrition they need, smoothies are a parent’s secret weapon. When you have a picky eater who refuses to eat anything with fruits or vegetables in it, one creative way to sneak it in is through smoothies. In fact, kids seem to enjoy smoothies so much that in a lot of cases, you may actually have a child who will bug you to make a refreshing glass for him.
To make fruit and vegetable smoothies more appealing to kids, there are some things you can do. One is, add things they love into your recipe. Ingredients such as milk or yogurt and even chocolate are a hit among kids. Adding a portion will make them love your smoothies more.
Another thing that works with kids is to let them help in the preparation. Not only does it give them something fun to do. They are also more likely to try something they made. And who knows? Their love for fruit and vegetable smoothies might actually help them cross over and enjoy fruits and vegetables on their own.
The most common fruits and vegetables associated with the humble and unassuming smoothie includes the following fruits:
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Mango
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Orange
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Banana
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Strawberries (or any berry fruit such as raspberries and blueberries)
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Pineapple
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Kiwi
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Lime
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Spinach
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Broccoli (not for the smoothie maker who is faint of heart)
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Carrots
If you would like more guidance in creating smoothies kids love, a guide like “Sensational Smoothies: Drink Your Way To Health Deliciously” can come in handy. After all, there’s nothing more stress-free than kids who voluntarily consume their portion of fruits and veggies.
If you are on the look out for amazing diet smoothie recipes, do check out “Sensational Smoothies: Drink Your Way To Health Deliciously”. This amazing ebook contains over 180 smoothie recipes designed to keep you fit and happy. The recipes featured are kitchen tested and have been certified to taste as good as they are healthy.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Monday, May 9, 2011
Smashing Chocolate Smoothies Recipes
It’s fun to make your own chocolate homemade smoothies at home – either for family, relatives or friends. It’s easy to make and quick to do (once you have all your ingredients set out). Best of all, you can expect an easy clean-up afterwards.
Chocolate smoothies bring a lot of added health benefits, too. It’s rich in magnesium (that helps prevent hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and joint problems), has trace elements of calcium, iron, potassium and vitamins A, B1, C, D, and E), and lowers high blood pressure.
It is also delicious (who doesn’t love chocolate?) and makes us happy because it triggers endorphin production and has serotonin (both substances that makes us feel good, content and happy). And when you include it in smoothies, yes, definite bliss.
If you can’t get enough of delicious chocolate smoothie recipes or if you’d also like to try your hand at healthy smoothie recipes, a good recipe book is what you need. We recommend “Sensational Smoothies: Drink Your Way To Health Deliciously”.
Alright, let’s now get started with these simple and easy to follow chocolate smoothie recipes.
Chocolate Mint Smoothie
Ingredients: 2 scoops of peppermint chocolate chip ice cream, half a cup of low fat milk, 2 drops of peppermint extract.
Procedure: Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Serve immediately while still cold.
Choco Banana Smoothie
Ingredients:
2 ripe bananas
1 white chocolate bar
1 dark chocolate bar
150 ml of double cream
1 large strawberry
1 scoop of vanilla ice cream
Steps:
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Melt the white and dark chocolate.
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Blend bananas with the strawberry until smooth; add double cream and blend.
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Pour melted chocolate and add ice cream. Blend until smooth.
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Serve immediately.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie
Ingredients:
1 cup chocolate milk (chilled)
1 frozen banana
2 tablespoons peanut butter (smooth)
half a cup of crushed ice (optional)
Steps:
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Combine all ingredients in a blender (except the crushed ice);
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Blend and process until smooth and creamy.
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Add crushed ice and serve immediately while cold.
Chocolate Overload Smoothie
Ingredients:
2 cups of chocolate ice cream
2 frozen bananas
half a cup of milk
¼ cup of chocolate syrup.
Steps:
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Blend all of the ingredients until smooth.
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Serve immediately. (Note: Frozen bananas add more texture and creaminess to a smoothie. If you don’t have time to freeze a banana, add some ice cubes.)
Fruity Chocolate Smoothie Recipe (an overnight smoothie – prepare at night for consumption the next morning)
Ingredients:
1 frozen banana
1 large mug of steaming hot chocolate drink
a handful of frozen raspberries.
Steps:
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Pour steaming hot chocolate drink in a blender and add the bananas and raspberries. Blend.
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Pour into cups. Cover the whole cup with plastic wrap and freeze them overnight.
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Serve cold the next day.
Chocolate Smoothie
Ingredients:
2 large cups of vanilla or chocolate ice cream
3 cups of milk chocolate drink (or 3 cups of milk and 3 tablespoons of chocolate syrup)
3 crumbled chocolate cookies (preferably Oreo).
Steps:
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Blend the milk chocolate drink and half of the ice cream and cookies for about 20 seconds.
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Add the remaining ice bream; blend until smooth.
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Serve immediately.
If you are on the look out for amazing diet smoothie recipes, do check out “Sensational Smoothies: Drink Your Way To Health Deliciously”. This amazing ebook contains over 180 smoothie recipes designed to keep you fit and happy. The recipes featured are kitchen tested and have been certified to taste as good as they are healthy.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Understanding Smoothies: How Healthy Are They?
Smoothies are advertised as a healthy fruit drink with a variety of benefits. They are known to help people meet their fruit and vegetable requirements, help people lose weight, help boost energy, and so much more. These delicious drinks were the healthy response to the calorie filled milkshake. However, many people do not truly understand smoothies and what makes them healthy. This is the reason why there are so many unhealthy smoothies and smoothie recipes available on the market.
Though smoothies all have a fruit base, not all of them are necessarily healthy. Many fruits are low in calories and full of vitamins, but other fruits are high in calories. Some have as many calories as a whole meal! When you consider that, plus all the other stuff that is added to most smoothies, like yogurt, ice cream, honey, etc., you may be consuming an extremely high calorie and high in fat drink. In fact, some commercial smoothies have enough fat content for an entire day's serving.
If you are a fan of smoothies, and you want to reap the benefits of these delicious drinks, it is important that you understand what makes a good and healthy smoothie.
A healthy smoothie is one that uses vegetables, fruit, or berries as a base. This is mixed with shaved ice, and a bit of water. If a dairy component is added, it should be non-fat milk, non-fat yogurt, or soy milk. The fruit that is often used are ones that are low in fat, but high in nutrition, and have a natural sweetness. Try Asian mangoes, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, watermelon, strawberries, bananas, apples, and pears. These naturally sweet fruit should stop you from adding sugar, honey, or fruit juice to the mix, which are all high in sugar and calories, but low in nutritional value.
Unhealthy smoothies are the ones that are actually quite popular. They are the smoothies that use honey, sugar, or fruit syrup as sweeteners. They use fruit juice instead of water, and add other flavors such as chocolate, peanut butter, ice cream, whole milk, coconut cream, and protein powder.
Unless you know how to count calories, adding any of these ingredients can derail your recommended daily calorie intake. For example, a tablespoon of peanut butter is considered one protein serving. If your smoothie recipe calls for peanut butter, you have to make sure you only eat 3 to 4 other protein servings throughout the day. Some commercial smoothies have been known to pack as much as 950 calories, which is already about half to a third of an adult's daily calorie allowance.
So, whether you are ordering a smoothie from a store or making them yourself, knowing what goes into your smoothie and how much it adds up in terms of your other meals is important to staying healthy. If you are someone who enjoys following recipes and discovering new blends, grab a smoothie recipe book like “Sensational Smoothies: Drink Your Way to Health Deliciously”. This ebook has sections for various kinds of smoothies, depending on your health goals - whether you want to drink smoothies in order to lose weight by making it replace a meal, or if you are using them to fulfill your vegetable and fruit intake.
Get to know the calorie content of a cup or half a cup of each of the fruits you plan on using often, and try not to use fruit juice, fruit syrup, honey, or sugar. If you do, be sure to calculate for these calories as well. Remember, smoothies can be extremely healthy and good for you, but only if you make sure they are.
If you are on the look out for amazing diet smoothie recipes, do check out “Sensational Smoothies: Drink Your Way To Health Deliciously”. This amazing ebook contains over 180 smoothie recipes designed to keep you fit and happy. The recipes featured are kitchen tested and have been certified to taste as good as they are healthy.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Making Blender Smoothies
Blender smoothies are easy smoothies – you just put all ingredients in a blender, push a button to process, and pour to enjoy. It’s so simple, so efficient and so nutritious that all people should make it a daily habit.
The kitchen blender is a tool that is more often than not overlooked; in reality, a blender is a high powered tool. Not only does it make smoothies, but it can process other foods as well, like pureeing baby foods or making desserts or preparing soups recipes or making juices of some fruits. In relation to smoothies, the normal kitchen blender is a versatile tool that transforms fresh fruit into something easily digestible and drinkable with just the slightest touch or flick of a button.
A stainless steel blender body (or carafe) maintains the temperature of the liquid so this is perfect for making smoothies. However, a glass carafe albeit heavy, will be able to resist scratches better. The top of your blender should have a spout and a top that can be opened at least partially to add more ingredients while blending. These should be at the top of your list when considering a blender for smoothie use.
To make smoothies, you should also take into account the ingredients you will be using. Most smoothies use either fruits (most common ones are bananas, strawberries, blueberries, mangoes or raspberries) or vegetables (even broccoli, cauliflower florets and spinach are used) with its liquid form either as is or as a combination of water, juice, yogurt or milk. Mothers usually use blender smoothies to “lure” their children into drinking vegetable smoothies, sometimes without the children knowing that they are actually ingesting nutritious leafy greens.
Blender smoothies works for dieters too, and even body builders. Protein can work their way into the system via smoothies – nothing that a little whey or protein powder won’t do. Some healthy conscious people drink smoothies with either artificial sweeteners or honey instead of the usual table sugar. For people who are having difficulty in eating, smoothies are also a good way to get them to eat something nutritious.
Aside from the right equipment, having a smoothie recipe book is also a good way to explore the many kinds of healthy smoothies that are out there. For this purpose, I recommend something like “Sensational Smoothies: Drink Your Way To Health Deliciously”. Most recipe books these days are classified according to the health goals that they intend to achieve, such as for dieting, for an energy boost, or for meal replacements. They make it really easy for us to have a variety of recipes to achieve our own goals.
All in all, smoothies are easy to make and good for you. So start a daily smoothie habit today!
If you are on the look out for amazing diet smoothie recipes, do check out “Sensational Smoothies: Drink Your Way To Health Deliciously”. This amazing ebook contains over 180 smoothie recipes designed to keep you fit and happy. The recipes featured are kitchen tested and have been certified to taste as good as they are healthy.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Eating Is Believing When It Comes To The Benefits Of Broccoli
Broccoli is a plant in the cabbage family, whose large flower head is what we know as this familiar vegetable, often found on a vegetable snack tray at parties right close to the Ranch dressing. But, broccoli has so much more to offer. That's why broccoli is a favorite vegetable worldwide. Let's take a look at this flowering veggie that looks like a tiny tree. You might just be surprised at where it was first discovered.
What is it?
The word broccoli stems (pun intended) from the Italian plural of broccolo which means "the flowering top of a cabbage." Broccoli has large flower heads, usually green in color, resembling a tree with branches sprouting from a thick edible stalk, or stem. Broccoli most closely resembles cauliflower, which is a different variety from the same species. The cooking aroma of broccoli is most often referred to as 'cabbage like.'
History
The broccoli we know and love today evolved from a wild cabbage plant somewhere in Europe. That solves the 'cabbage like' aroma mystery. The earliest documentation of the small green, edible tree was discovered to be about 2,000 years ago. Since the rule of Rome, broccoli has been considered a uniquely valuable food among Italians. Broccoli was first introduced to the United States by Italian immigrants but did not become widely known until the 1920s.
Health Benefits
Broccoli is high in vitamin C and fiber. It also contains multiple nutrients with potent cancer-fighting nutrients, such as diindolylmethane and small amounts of selenium. A single serving provides more than 30mg of Vitamin C and a half-cup (about the equivalent ingested at any given office party or potluck) provides nearly double that. Broccoli also contains the compound glucoraphanin, which can be processed into the anti-cancer compound sulforaphane.
The benefits of broccoli are believed to be greatly reduced if the vegetable is boiled, but it still remains an excellent source of fiber and other nutrients which boost DNA repairs in cells. Broccoli has one of the highest levels of carotenoids and is particularly rich in lutein and beta-carotene.
A high intake of broccoli has been found to reduce the risk of aggressive prostate cancer and heart disease. A compound found in broccoli appears to have more effectiveness than modern antibiotics against the creation of peptic ulcer causing bacteria. Broccoli is one veggie everyone needs in their diet.
Fun Facts
The word broccoli comes from the Latin word brachium and the Italian word braccio, which means 'arm.' Broccoli comes in a variety of colors, ranging from deep sage all the way to dark green and purplish-green. The world record for eating broccoli is held by Tom Landers who devoured 1 pound of broccoli in 92 seconds. The tree-like shape makes this healthy veggie a popular fun food for kids. Dip a forest of broccoli trees in Ranch style dressing 'snow' and watch the kids gobble them up like hungry giants.
How to eat
Broccoli is usually boiled or steamed in the American culture, but has become a popular raw vegetable to accompany creamy dips. Boiling reduces the levels of anti-cancer compounds in broccoli, with losses of 20% to 30% after five minutes, 40% to 50% after ten minutes, and a whopping 77% after thirty minutes. Steaming broccoli for a maximum time of 3 to 4 minutes is recommended to maximize potential anti-cancer compounds.
Adding broccoli to a stir fry dish helps retain a majority of the beneficial properties, rather than letting the nutrients wash away in the boiling water. Another method of cooking that's getting more popular is oven roasting. Simply spread broccoli florets (that's the top cut into tiny bush-like shapes) and diced stem pieces on a baking sheet, coat with cooking oil, and put in oven to roast. You'll have a lightly toasted broccoli dish that's almost nutty in flavor, plus the nutrients didn't get washed down the drain.
You can enjoy raw broccoli in many popular salads, such as the classic Broccoli Raisin Bacon Salad you find at many potlucks. Toss tiny raw broccoli florets in with a big green lettuce salad for a crunchy nutrition boost. Broccoli Slaw is a relatively new idea for serving broccoli. Just peel the stalk to remove all the woody fibers, then cut the light green inside into very thin strips. You can toss these with cabbage and carrots for a slaw, or just eat as is for a snack.
Another popular dish to serve broccoli in a main dish is Chicken Divan. This classic dish features whole broccoli spears underneath a creamy, cheesy layer of chicken. Then, there is the classic Broccoli Cheese Soup. I could go on and on talking about this nutrient-dense delicious veggie and all the tasty dishes you can make with broccoli.
Eat broccoli raw whenever you can for the ultimate health food. When you do cook broccoli, keep your cooking time short if you're steaming it. Better yet, throw it in the oven and roast it. The next time you walk through the produce department, grab a big bunch of broccoli and enjoy the hundreds of ways to eat it up!
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