Another Tip Worth Passing Along

Here's another tip sent to me from the people at My Fit Foods
This one hits close to home for me- Last year, my dad had a Melanoma spot removed from his back & this year my grandmother was diagnosed with Lung Cancer.
Cancer "runs" in my mom's side of the family, my mom has lost a few aunts and uncles to its various forms.

This list comes from the Corporate Nutritionist, Meg McCall, for My Fit Foods. It is a list of simple things that you can do your your body to assist in cancer prevention- not to mention your overall health! (the comments in parenthesis are from me, btw)

Cancer Prevention Check List:

1.  Vitamin D
Get your Vitamin D level checked by your doctor and make sure it is in the 60 to 80 ng/mol range.  Vitamin D is one of your most important cancer prevention hormones. (This means drink your milk, people!)
2.  Insulin
Control your insulin levels by eating small meals that are low glycemic index.  Remember that insulin is a cell growth promoter and can affect abnormal cell growth. (5 small meals a day, keeps the metabolism moving!)
3. Exercise
Exercise to increase oxygen flow and drink a high pH water to improve your pH balance.  A Nobel Peace Prize was received for the discovery that cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygen rich, alkaline environment. (oxygen rich means aerobic exercise!)
4. Antioxidants
Eat antioxidant rich foods such as berries and leafy greens.  Shoot for every color in the rainbow and supplement with extras like My Fit Foods Green Tea and Cinnamon.
5. Lower Inflammation
The fastest way to consistently lower inflammation and also improve the integrity of each cell wall lining in the body is to take a healthy dose of Omega 3 Fatty Acids.  My Fit Foods Fish Oil has 1,000 mg per capsule. (salmon post, anyone?)
6. Circadian Rhythms
Going to bed in complete darkness a few hours after sun set is critical for healthy melatonin levels which is a hormone that protects you from cancer. (sleep does a body good!)
7.  Body Composition
Our body fat contributes to inflammation and estrogen levels in the body.  It is important to achieve and maintain a lower body fat percentage to lower your risk of cancer.  (cleaner, leaner eating and weight training will work wonders for this!)

Disclaimer: Please do not skip the sunscreen because you "need vitamin d" sunscreen is your friend! :-)

"If you can run, you can run farther. If you can train, you can train harder. And if you do, you might fight cancer"- From an ad in Woman's Health Magazine for the American Cancer Society

Good Fats

I'm craving salmon right now. I don't really know why, and I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've ever craved it. ever. It's weird, I keep thinking about a slab of pink deliciousness and how long it's been since I've cooked myself some.

Man, this is making it so much worse.

Perhaps my body needs something that Salmon contains.... omega-3's? the "good fats"....hmmm, it's been a day or two since I've taken a fish oil capsule.

You might be wondering why I said "good fats"....isn't FAT a bad word? well...... just like with carbs, it all depends.....

I know, everything is so complicated now, but have no fear, my friend, I will help to spell it all out for you. Aren't you glad you're following this blog so that I can clear the confusion? ;-)

Like Avocados (yea, just a great excuse to grab some extra guac!) Salmon contains the "good fats". The fats that actually help out bodies. I like THIS article and maybe you will too.

Mamma Bear knows what the good stuff is!

Essential Fatty Acids (EFA) provide many benefits to our bodies. Like any kind of media, we normally only hear about the bad, rarely the good. But please do not be fooled, your bodies NEED fats. Just the right kind. EFA help provide softer skin, are good for the heart (& some diabetes patients) and deliver fat-soluble vitamins.

So here's what throws people- when you read your nutrition label, most people trying to maintain a healthier lifestyle would opt for the foods with the least amounts of fat on the label. Be careful! The labels rarely say which fat it is! Opt out for anything that has "Trans fat" in it, of course and be weary of those products that have "hydrogenated-anything" as one of the first few ingredients in the list.

For those of you who did not open the link, here's a nice little blurb to reiterate what I am trying to preach ;-)
"Let's start with the good guys -- the unsaturated fats. Unsaturated fats include polyunsaturated fatty acids and monounsaturated fats. Both mono- and polyunsaturated fats, when eaten in moderation and used to replace saturated or trans fats, can help lower cholesterol levels and reduce your risk of heart disease.

Polyunsaturated fats, found mostly in vegetable oils, help lower both blood cholesterol levels and triglyceride levels -- especially when you substitute them for saturated fats. One type of polyunsaturated fat is omega-3 fatty acids, whose potential heart-health benefits have gotten a lot of attention.

Omega-3s are found in fatty fish (salmon, trout, catfish, mackerel), as well as flaxseed and walnuts. And it's fish that contains the most effective, "long-chain" type of omega-3s. The American Heart Association recommends eating 2 servings of fatty fish each week."

I added the bold/italic/underline there in the middle, because, honestly people, MODERATION is what it's all about. Get your body the vitamins it needs by eating a variety of foods, but do so in moderation. (btw: exercise helps lower cholesterol too)

Okay, well dinner has been decided on, and I am having fish tacos. :-)
I do have a recipe for fish tacos that I love, but that will have to wait, I'm starving!

"I'm not on a diet, I'm just eating HEALTHY"

Summer Food

I went to my friend Rebecca's house yesterday to hang with some girls from work.
We all brought something food-wise (or drink-wise....adult drink-wise, I mean)
I thought I would share the recipes for what I brought because, well, I am quite pleased with how they turned out. :-)


Chicken in Jerk Sauce with Cool Pineapple Salsa- adapted from Ellie Kreiger's version on Cooking Channel


Ingredients:
for salsa-
1tbs honey
1tbs lime juice
1 cup diced pineapple- please no canned crap!
1/3 cup diced cucumber-seeded (seeds will make it watery)
1tbs chopped fresh mint- don't skip this! it makes a huge difference!


For the chicken/sauce:
4 tsp Olive Oil, divided
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts- sliced
1 clove garlic, minced (or 2 tbs garlic powder)
1tbs red pepper flakes
1tsp fresh grated ginger (or 1/4 tsp ground)
1.5 tsp fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp dried)
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 tbs low-sodium soy sauce
2 tbs lime juice


Directions:
1) make the salsa- in a small bowl whisk together the honey and lime juice. Add the pineapple, cucumber & mint and toss to coat- set aside.
2)Make the sauce- combine2tbs olive oil, garlic, pepper flakes, ginger, thyme, chicken broth, soy sauce & lime juice- whisk together and set aside.
3) Cook the chicken in 2tbs of Olive Oil, when cooked through, transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm. Pour the sauce in the pan and cook on Medium heat for about 30 seconds- add the chicken to the pan and coat with sauce.
Serve warm with the pineapple salsa!


*This is the way I cooked it- you could also let the raw chicken marinate in the sauce and then cook it if you don't want extra sauce for dipping- (please don't cook the "marinade", it's not safe) I'm sure you could also throw this all in a crockpot for a few hours!




Next was dessert- Rebecca had said not to bring any....but I did anyway. :-)


Pina Colada Popsicles:
10-12oz Coconut water
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (that's right!)
frozen diced pineapple- to taste

Blend it all together until smoooooooth (does this look familiar?)
Then pour into Popsicle molds (I found mine at HEB for $2/ea) and Freeze for a few hours. To get them out of the mold, run the molds under some warm water for a few seconds each until you can wiggle them out. This amount filled my 8 molds and I had a little bit leftover still that I just drank myself- it would probably make about 12 Popsicles with no leftovers.


The best thing about these is that there is just about NO SUGAR in them! It's probably the lowest calorie Popsicle ever, and it has lots of good for you stuff in it! The kiddos each had two, they never knew the difference!