Wednesday Words: More Lables!

Halfway through the week! I hope it's been a good one so far. I don't know about you, by MY GOODNESS this new year has been flying fast! I can't believe we're in February already - and I'm STILL dating things 2009! Haha!

After a very early morning (had to get up at 5:30am), I was dragging. Not as badly as I expected, possibly due to all the salads and smoothies, but still! Coffee called my name. I don't normally drink much coffee (acidic, possibly demineralizing to your body - read "bad for skin, bones, health, etc") and I wish I had opted for green tea instead. Oh well, I only drank half a cup for now, and hopefully can just keep pushing water and my healthy snacks until I can get to bed tonight!

Ah well, on to the fun of label laws!

Today's term and its confusing (ok, today, it's more like disgusting!) meaning:

Ever looked at the ingredient list for hot dogs? At the top of the list, is the oh-so-yummy phrase "mechanically separated" meat. The USDA defines this as a tantalizing "paste-like and batter-like meat product produced by forcing bones with attached edible meat under high pressure through a sieve or similar device to separate the bone from the edible meat tissue."

When the mad cow disease was a risk, the government decided beef could no longer be mechanically separated, but they still do it with pork.

Well, gee golly! Spear me one o' thems and throw it on the bar-B-Q! Sounds mighty tasty!
Actually... I'll pass...

Have a good, natural afternoon!
~Katie

Shooting Stars!

Twinkle, twinkle, little star... how I wonder what you are....

A fruit!

A star fruit, that is!

Tonight I tossed together a quick little Shooting Star Fruit Salad:
-blackberries
-bananas
-and star fruit.
Quite a simple dish!

Now, admittedly, can you tell I had fun with the presentation of my Shooting Star Salad?

I have gone over all the lovely benefits of bananas in a previous post, but to touch on it again - they're good for the heart, rich in potassium and B6 (good for the nerves, building up healthy blood cells, and helping you break down proteins), have some vitamin C, and are a decent source of fiber!

Blackberries, like all berries - rich antioxidant food! Just don't mind the seeds...

And today's guest star: the star fruit! Also know and Carambola, it's a tropical fruit rich in vitamin C, antioxidants, flavonoids, and also a good 15% of your daily needs of fiber in one little pretty star-shaped package. If you pick a star fruit from the store, look for one that's mostly yellow with perhaps a little browning on the ridges. If there are brown spots, yuck, ya got yourself an over-ripe fruit! If it's too green, it's not quite ready for you to indulge on. Nice plus? You can eat the skin! Zero-prep time! Well, okay - 20 seconds to rinse it off, because you should always rinse off your produce.

I have read various descriptions for the flavor of this fruit, and well, everyone seems to have a different opinion! My thought was the texture somewhat like an orange, with a bit of a sweet melon-like flavor... but that's not quite it. So, I recommend you just go out and try it for yourself :)

When you wish upon a staaaaar.....!

xoxox
~Katie

Breakfast?

Good morning!

Today I just wanted to touch on a quick topic: breakfast - essential or not?

Most of us have heard over and over "eat your breakfast!" "Breakfast is a key to losing weight!" and other such promotions of breakfast. And yes, nutrition in the morning is good - helps your mind, body, and energy! ...But only once you're ready for it!

Intuitive eating is becoming the new focus for dietitians in helping counsel their clients. Learning to listen to the body, to wait until you're feeling true hunger to eat and then to listen to your body when it tells you to stop, even if there's still food on the plate! And breakfast is as good a meal as any to listen to your body!

Sunday night went out with a bang - weekends are hard for me to stick to healthy eating! But I ate late at night, and ate a bunch of heavy foods. When I got up this morning, well, I was not hungry! So, I didn't eat right away and instead, sipped on water, and then brought a smoothie with me to work. I did not want to be forced to wait for lunch to get the health and nutrition I need, but I also didn't want to overwhelm my bloated tummy. No, skipping meals is not a great idea. But neither is forcing yourself to eat just because "it's time to" If you are able to, take snacks for when you DO get hungry! Take an apple to work; keep a bag of baby carrots in the fridge; snack on a small bag of nuts, have food available for when you are hungry.

So what do you do about breakfast when you're not hungry? Well, make sure you will be hungry! What did you have for dinner? Lots of dense, heavy foods? What time did you eat dinner? Late? Try eating earlier so you have time to digest your food so that you CAN be hungry in the morning! I know, I know - night time is the hardest time to fight those cravings :) But you can do it! Let your body have the night to rest and recover - not get back logged with processing heavy meals and desserts!

You'll sleep better and feel better!

Sleep well!
~Katie