Dinner is probably the healthiest meal for most of us. We often overlook breakfast and eat lunch on the run, but for dinner, most of us take more time in preparing and planning how to eat a balanced, healthy dinner.
But there's also a lot of pressure on dinner. It's the last meal of the day and if you are lacking important nutrients in your diet that day, you have an opportunity to make up those nutrients in your evening meal. But you don't want your meal too heavy or you might not sleep well. Conversely, eating too little will not only likely leave you lacking in nutrients, but could also leave you ravenous for breakfast 12 hours later.
So how do you make sure dinner is a balanced, nutrient-packed meal? Plan, and plan some more. Although we are more likely to spent time preparing dinner versus other daily meals, it's also a meal that can easily get derailed. You plan to grill chicken breasts and vegetables, but then belatedly remember your son has a baseball game or it's open house at school. So it's chicken nuggets all around.
Planning keeps you in synch with your schedule. If you plan a week's worth of meals, you can think about the various obstacles you might find that week in actually bringing your plans to fruition. You can plan a quick pasta salad on open house night, and healthy, veggie-packed sandwiches on baseball night. This keeps you out of the fast food lane.
What are some other tips for planning healthy dinners?
*Don't cook separate meals for picky children. If you know that your salmon and sautéed spinach will also result in you making mini hot dogs and fries for the kids, you might rethink it, not having the time or energy to make two completely separate meals. Then you suffer, and they do as well. It's important to expose your children to a variety of foods, so make the salmon and spinach. Be sure to offer applesauce, whole wheat bread and some fruit. Then everyone gets a healthy meal and your children just might surprise you by actually eating some of the "adult" meal.
*On weeknights, stay away from involved meals. Think of things that can be prepared in less than 45 minutes, though it's ideal to keep your meal prep to 30 minutes whenever possible.
*Do as much prep as you can ahead of time. If you're planning grilled chicken and vegetables for dinner, say, then you can clean and slice your vegetables in the morning before you head out for the day. Marinate the chicken. In the evening, all that's left is tossing a quick bag salad and grilling your meat and vegetables. This saves on clean-up time as well.
*If you must eat out, apply the golden rules for restaurant eating: Stay away from white or heavy sauces, order oil and vinegar to dress your salad, and eat only half the entrée, pack the rest and enjoy it for lunch the next day.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
7 Ways to Make Alkaline Diet Benefit You
The premise of an alkaline diet is that the nutrients found in supplements, alkalizing foods, and water can bring the body back to balance. These vitamins, minerals, and herbs infuse the body with new energy, vitality, and better health.
Alkaline foods and water must be consumed in order to provide nutrients the body needs to neutralize acids and toxins in the blood, lymph, tissues, and cells.
When pH balance inside the body is 'out of balance' the body tries to correct that sensitive pH balance. That process shows up as uncomfortable symptoms, including colds, flues, allergies, diseases, viruses, and bacteria.
When the pH level in our body is unbalanced, almost any area of the body can be affected. For example when the nervous system is effected as the result of unbalanced pH balance it shows up in the form of the depression. When cardiovascular system is effected we could have heart disease or experience other heart-related problems, including thickening and hardening of the arteries, coronary heard disease, pain or discomfort in the chest, stroke, high blood pressure, and heart failure. When muscles are effected we often feel fatigue and lack of energy. When skin is effected by improper pH balance we age quicker than normal.
When the body's pH level is in balance, the body reaches ideal weight and corrects negative health challenges naturally.
Transition to a more alkaline healthy diet requires a shift in attitude towards food. The important point to remember is that small changes go a long way. Add more alkaline foods to your diet gradually.
7 Sure-fire ways to make alkaline diet benefit you:
1) Reduce the consumption of sugar and products made from sugar, including soda pop, pies, ice cream, jello, jams & jellies, artificial juices, puddings, doughnuts, corn syrups, chewing gum, sweetened drinks, cookies, breakfast cereals, liqueurs, mixed drinks.
2) Avoid processed foods and condiments including ketchup, salad dressings, pickles, luncheon meats, canned fruits, breads, relish, cheese dips, peanut butter, prepared seafood, frozen vegetables, crackers, canned soups, hot dogs, sausages, sweetened yogurt
3) Avoid cooking and heating foods and drinks in microwave.
4) Avoid dairy, meats, fried foods and fast foods.
5) Increase your consumption of raw vegetables and raw fresh fruits (without sugar). You should include raw vegetables in every meal. If your breakfast is so small that you only eat toast or cereal, stop eating toast and take fresh fruits or vegetable juices instead. If your lunches are usually consist of sandwiches try to substitute it with a raw salad or a vegetable juice. Have a large salad before you eat a heavy entree at dinner. This way, you will be sure to eat all of the salad instead of finding yourself too full to finish it.
6) Grains form the base of a balanced diet and are important in maintaining the alkaline balance in the body. Grains are great source of vitamins, minerals, and essential nutrients, including folic acid, fiber, carbohydrates antioxidants and phytoestrogens. The Department of Food and Science and Nutrition at University of MInnesota determined that consumption of whole grains reduces the risk of chronic diseases including cancer and cardiovascular disease. By eating grains you can eat less but feel full. Grains should comprise about 20% of your diet.
7) Don't forget to hydrate. Drink at least half of your body weight in ounces of good quality of water each day. Add liquid minerals to increase the quality of water.
If you follow these easy 7 steps it will allow you to create the proper alkaline balance within your body.
Creating the proper alkaline balance within your body will bring you increased quality of life. You'll start seeing immediate improvements in your health. Your energy will increase, your concentration will be stronger. You'll build strength, stamina, and resistance to diseases. Your entire body will function more efficiently just like it was meant to do.
Alkaline foods and water must be consumed in order to provide nutrients the body needs to neutralize acids and toxins in the blood, lymph, tissues, and cells.
When pH balance inside the body is 'out of balance' the body tries to correct that sensitive pH balance. That process shows up as uncomfortable symptoms, including colds, flues, allergies, diseases, viruses, and bacteria.
When the pH level in our body is unbalanced, almost any area of the body can be affected. For example when the nervous system is effected as the result of unbalanced pH balance it shows up in the form of the depression. When cardiovascular system is effected we could have heart disease or experience other heart-related problems, including thickening and hardening of the arteries, coronary heard disease, pain or discomfort in the chest, stroke, high blood pressure, and heart failure. When muscles are effected we often feel fatigue and lack of energy. When skin is effected by improper pH balance we age quicker than normal.
When the body's pH level is in balance, the body reaches ideal weight and corrects negative health challenges naturally.
Transition to a more alkaline healthy diet requires a shift in attitude towards food. The important point to remember is that small changes go a long way. Add more alkaline foods to your diet gradually.
7 Sure-fire ways to make alkaline diet benefit you:
1) Reduce the consumption of sugar and products made from sugar, including soda pop, pies, ice cream, jello, jams & jellies, artificial juices, puddings, doughnuts, corn syrups, chewing gum, sweetened drinks, cookies, breakfast cereals, liqueurs, mixed drinks.
2) Avoid processed foods and condiments including ketchup, salad dressings, pickles, luncheon meats, canned fruits, breads, relish, cheese dips, peanut butter, prepared seafood, frozen vegetables, crackers, canned soups, hot dogs, sausages, sweetened yogurt
3) Avoid cooking and heating foods and drinks in microwave.
4) Avoid dairy, meats, fried foods and fast foods.
5) Increase your consumption of raw vegetables and raw fresh fruits (without sugar). You should include raw vegetables in every meal. If your breakfast is so small that you only eat toast or cereal, stop eating toast and take fresh fruits or vegetable juices instead. If your lunches are usually consist of sandwiches try to substitute it with a raw salad or a vegetable juice. Have a large salad before you eat a heavy entree at dinner. This way, you will be sure to eat all of the salad instead of finding yourself too full to finish it.
6) Grains form the base of a balanced diet and are important in maintaining the alkaline balance in the body. Grains are great source of vitamins, minerals, and essential nutrients, including folic acid, fiber, carbohydrates antioxidants and phytoestrogens. The Department of Food and Science and Nutrition at University of MInnesota determined that consumption of whole grains reduces the risk of chronic diseases including cancer and cardiovascular disease. By eating grains you can eat less but feel full. Grains should comprise about 20% of your diet.
7) Don't forget to hydrate. Drink at least half of your body weight in ounces of good quality of water each day. Add liquid minerals to increase the quality of water.
If you follow these easy 7 steps it will allow you to create the proper alkaline balance within your body.
Creating the proper alkaline balance within your body will bring you increased quality of life. You'll start seeing immediate improvements in your health. Your energy will increase, your concentration will be stronger. You'll build strength, stamina, and resistance to diseases. Your entire body will function more efficiently just like it was meant to do.
Learn the tips on this necessity for better health today
Now that we've gone over the reasons why proper food combining is important and the groups of foods, let's go over the principles of mixing these items properly.
Food combining: Rules to follow
To avoid fermentation in the intestines, indigestion, water retention and toxicity, do apply these simple techniques in eating for health
1. Eat sweet fruits with other varieties of sweet fruits only.
They may combine with sub-acid fruits
2. Eat Acid fruits alone or with Lettuce and Celery. In little quantities they may combine with Avocadoes or Nuts and Non-Starchy vegetables.
3. Avocadoes and Olives are best eaten with non-starchy vegetables. I believe mashed, avocadoes combine great with boiled potatoes.
4. Melons, as a rule eat alone or leave alone.
Food Combining: Combinations to Avoid
When practicing proper food combining as rule for eating healthier, these are some combinations you especially want to avoid.
1. Starch and Acid (e.g. Tomato and Potato)
2. Protein and Protein (Avocadoes and nuts)
3. Sweets and Starch (Maple Syrup and Rice)
Food Combining: Comments on other Food items
1. Never, ever eat fresh fruits with cooked meals. Save for the avocado and even then with caution.
2. Lettuce and Celery combine with anything. Eat these raw.
3. Meat & Fish: Eat these substances in very, very little quantities, one at a time and with
No/low starch vegetables exclusively.
4. Bread: Well, here is a thought, Nature doesn't produce bread! If you must eat this item, eat as little of it as possible, toasted and with vegetables and fat only. Also to be considered is this fact: you're only being rendered as soggy as that bread and if you're male, it has the tendency to throw your sexuality out of sync. Ever wonder why some guys have breasts? Well, bread is piled with a high amount of estrogen (a female hormone) so do yourself a favor and eat of it no longer. (I have read that rye, spelt and un-yeasted breads might be okay in moderation)
5. Grains: Eat as little as possible of grains and when consumed, combine them with vegetables only.
Food combining: Final Suggestions and Closing thoughts
1. Never eat until you're hungry and guidelines to know when you are in true hunger are as follows:
-The stomach aspires.
-The mouth salivates even at the sight of plain lettuce.
-The mind is happy and clear
-It happens usually after noon when the body is its building stage.
2. Do not drink liquids of any kind with your meals. It only dilutes the digestive juices in your stomach leading to indigestion and constipation.
3. As a rule of thumb, don't drink anything but water an hour or 2 prior to and/or after eating your meals.
4. One truth regarding the conditions of the human blood found out by medical doctors is that acidity is a sign of disease. This readily happens with the mixed eater when he fills his stomach daily with meat, starch, confectioneries and fruit all at the same time.
If you are not fully convinced, next time you sit down to your Sunday dinner; have your usual menu served for an imaginary guest. Empty his portion in a pot, using the same quantities that you eat and drink yourself. Stir thoroughly, and then bake this in an oven at 500 degrees Fahrenheit for no less than 30 minutes. Place a cover on the pot and leave it overnight. When you remove the cover the next day, a distinct surprise will await you.
That surprise is also in your digestive tract and has and will continue to be there everyday as a result of improper food combining.
In Nature such as exists in the animal kingdom, there are no mixtures at all. The ideal and most natural method of eating is the mono-diet. Truthfully, one kind of fresh organic fruit, when in season, should constitute a meal and you will find yourself better nourished. However going back to that simplicity is very difficult in our complicated world. This is why, as an alternative, you should apply the guidelines above when eating for health. So at all times, follow these food combining principles properly and your body will thank you for years to come that you did.
Food combining: Rules to follow
To avoid fermentation in the intestines, indigestion, water retention and toxicity, do apply these simple techniques in eating for health
1. Eat sweet fruits with other varieties of sweet fruits only.
They may combine with sub-acid fruits
2. Eat Acid fruits alone or with Lettuce and Celery. In little quantities they may combine with Avocadoes or Nuts and Non-Starchy vegetables.
3. Avocadoes and Olives are best eaten with non-starchy vegetables. I believe mashed, avocadoes combine great with boiled potatoes.
4. Melons, as a rule eat alone or leave alone.
Food Combining: Combinations to Avoid
When practicing proper food combining as rule for eating healthier, these are some combinations you especially want to avoid.
1. Starch and Acid (e.g. Tomato and Potato)
2. Protein and Protein (Avocadoes and nuts)
3. Sweets and Starch (Maple Syrup and Rice)
Food Combining: Comments on other Food items
1. Never, ever eat fresh fruits with cooked meals. Save for the avocado and even then with caution.
2. Lettuce and Celery combine with anything. Eat these raw.
3. Meat & Fish: Eat these substances in very, very little quantities, one at a time and with
No/low starch vegetables exclusively.
4. Bread: Well, here is a thought, Nature doesn't produce bread! If you must eat this item, eat as little of it as possible, toasted and with vegetables and fat only. Also to be considered is this fact: you're only being rendered as soggy as that bread and if you're male, it has the tendency to throw your sexuality out of sync. Ever wonder why some guys have breasts? Well, bread is piled with a high amount of estrogen (a female hormone) so do yourself a favor and eat of it no longer. (I have read that rye, spelt and un-yeasted breads might be okay in moderation)
5. Grains: Eat as little as possible of grains and when consumed, combine them with vegetables only.
Food combining: Final Suggestions and Closing thoughts
1. Never eat until you're hungry and guidelines to know when you are in true hunger are as follows:
-The stomach aspires.
-The mouth salivates even at the sight of plain lettuce.
-The mind is happy and clear
-It happens usually after noon when the body is its building stage.
2. Do not drink liquids of any kind with your meals. It only dilutes the digestive juices in your stomach leading to indigestion and constipation.
3. As a rule of thumb, don't drink anything but water an hour or 2 prior to and/or after eating your meals.
4. One truth regarding the conditions of the human blood found out by medical doctors is that acidity is a sign of disease. This readily happens with the mixed eater when he fills his stomach daily with meat, starch, confectioneries and fruit all at the same time.
If you are not fully convinced, next time you sit down to your Sunday dinner; have your usual menu served for an imaginary guest. Empty his portion in a pot, using the same quantities that you eat and drink yourself. Stir thoroughly, and then bake this in an oven at 500 degrees Fahrenheit for no less than 30 minutes. Place a cover on the pot and leave it overnight. When you remove the cover the next day, a distinct surprise will await you.
That surprise is also in your digestive tract and has and will continue to be there everyday as a result of improper food combining.
In Nature such as exists in the animal kingdom, there are no mixtures at all. The ideal and most natural method of eating is the mono-diet. Truthfully, one kind of fresh organic fruit, when in season, should constitute a meal and you will find yourself better nourished. However going back to that simplicity is very difficult in our complicated world. This is why, as an alternative, you should apply the guidelines above when eating for health. So at all times, follow these food combining principles properly and your body will thank you for years to come that you did.
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