Posts by yammy:
Healthy Eating Plan for More Energy
March 25th, 2010Most people simply eat. They don’t stop to think about what they’re putting into their bodies, and they certainly never ponder if there are better options when it comes to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and getting more energy from their food. But if these are areas that concern you, here are a few tips to help you get the most out of every mouthful.
One of the best things you can do is eat raw foods as often as possible. In their raw form, many of the foods you eat contain more vitamins and nutrients. That’s because the cooking process leaches away many of these benefits, not to mention killing all of the natural living enzymes that could really be helping your body out.
Another way to help yourself is to choose healthy snacks instead of junk food. It sounds obvious, but it does take a little planning ahead. There is always a candy machine nearby, but if you have a bag full of almonds and apple slices, you’ll get the snack you need, when you need it, and you won’t suffer later when the candy would usually run out and leave you with a sugar deficit.
And while it might seem like a good idea at the time, you should never skip a meal. Your body thrives on regular consumption of fuel – if you skip meals, you teach your body to store excess calories for lean times, rather than letting your body burn them as needed. Stay to a fairly regular eating routine, and your body will know that there is always more fuel coming, and be more willing to let you run the tank right to empty.
Drink plenty of water. Again, this sounds like common sense, but sadly, many people neglect their water intake needs. A properly hydrated body is one that can concentrate all of its efforts on the task at hand.
You should always eat when you’re hungry. If you are between meals and you feel a little pull in your stomach, go find yourself a healthy snack. Ignoring those signs from your body will impair your energy levels, as a starving body will begin to shut down, and you will feel weaker for it.
On the flip side, don’t eat when you’re not hungry. Many people will do this, absent-mindedly snacking while they watch television or read a book, or while they are out with friends. When snacks arrive, take a second to do an inventory of your stomach. Are you really hungry, or just looking for something to do?
Don’t eat out of boredom!
Watch the toppings! Even the healthiest foods lose their purpose when they’re drenched in fatty, heavy dressings, or covered with salts or sugars. Always remember that even an energy-rich food like blueberries can be rendered into an “energy bar” that’s more sugar than anything else.
And don’t forget to season your food. Many people grew up with the only seasoning on the table being salt. There is a whole world of spices out there, and they will allow you to keep eating healthy foods without getting bored of the same old tastes with every meal. Spice things up, and you’ll be able to stick to the good stuff longer.
=> Got any favourite energy tips of your own? Feel free to share them in the comments.
Bananacavo Energy Smoothie
March 24th, 2010Let’s say you’re an athlete. You’re not a professional by any means, but you get out there a few times a week and really build up a sweat. Maybe you run, maybe you play a team sport, or maybe you just hit the weights and give your muscles a good thrashing.
Regardless, you come home happy but tired. You’ve left it all out on the court or the path or the gym floor, and you have no energy left. You know you should eat something, but man, it’s tempting to just flop down in the chair and relax. Who wants to spend a bunch of time in the kitchen preparing a tasty snack at that point?
So, maybe you reach for one of those chocolate bars that tosses a bit of protein into the mix and calls itself an “energy bar”. Sure, you get some fuel for your system, and it’s easy, but is it really what you want to put into your body? What if I told you there was a simple and easy snack that would take less than three minutes to prepare, but would give you an amazing amount of energy, help repair those overworked muscles, and taste great to boot?
That, my friends, is the beauty of the Bananacavo Energy Smoothie. Not only does it have a great name, it has a taste to match, and benefits beyond your expectations.
First of all, let’s go through the ingredients…
First, you have bananas. If you have seen a marathon or even run in one, you know that pretty much the only solid food they hand out at the water stations are bananas. Not only are they nice and mushy (so very easy to eat), but they are full of all sorts of things that a hard-working runner needs – right now. There is a ton of potassium in bananas, and potassium goes straight to your poor muscles, helping to break down the pockets of lactic acid that build up in your overworked muscles.
That lactic acid is what brings the pain, so bananas are like aspirin for your legs on a long run, and you’ll be thankful for it later. But on top of that, bananas contain natural sugars that help to fuel your body right now, rather than later. The mushy texture means that those sugars are digested quicker, and are available to your body faster. All good things, when you’re working that hard.
The other main ingredient in this smoothie is avocado. This fleshy green fruit might not be your first choice to pair with bananas, but the fats contained within are truly beneficial to the hard working body. These healthy fats are essential to maintaining proper health, and besides, they taste great.
To make the Bananacado Energy Smoothie, combine a whole, peeled banana with a half of the flesh of an average sized avocado in a blender. To complete the mix, add in a cup of cold water, the juice of half of an orange, a pinch of salt and a handful of previously soaked and softened almonds. Blend until smooth, and consume immediately.
I guarantee you, you’ve never tasted anything like this before, and once you go Bananacado, you’ll never go back.
Raw Food Smoothie Recipes
March 23rd, 2010
If the last smoothie that you had came from the mall, I have big news for you. While it might have been made fresh to order, and it might have contained all sorts of delicious fruits, it was probably about as healthy for you as a big, heaping bowl of chocolate ice cream – with whipped cream and sprinkles.
Yes, those smoothies from the fast-food joints are not smoothies that are going to do you any good. If you want a true smoothie – one made only from raw ingredients, and one that is going to make you feel great inside and out, then there is only one place to go – your own kitchen.
Not only will a smoothie made at home cost you pennies on the dollar as compared to what you can buy at the mall, you can control the contents in a way that will really benefit you.
For instance, let’s say it is early in the morning, but not early enough. You have five minutes to get out the door and head to work – no time to brew a cup of coffee, and certainly no time for a properly prepared breakfast.
You could stop somewhere and pick something up, but this recipe will take less time than even the most efficient drive-through window. All you need to do is toss a handful of leftover greens from last night’s dinner – be that spinach, kale or lettuce – into the blender, along with a cored apple, a drizzle of honey, and a cup of ice water. After less than a minute of blending, you have a great, healthy green smoothie that you can pour into a travel mug and enjoy on your way into work. It is nutritious, delicious, modifiable and incredibly easy. What more could you ask for in the morning?
But what if it’s not the morning? What if you’ve just come in from a hard workout, and you need to replace all the fuel you’ve just burned in your system?
You could grab a glass of pasteurized and otherwise dead milk, mixed with a dose of chocolate-flavored syrup. But why not replace the fuel with something of a higher octane than that?
Grab your trusty blender, and toss in a handful of your favorite fruits and berries, along with a few ice cubes, a cup of water and some nut milk – almond tends to work best for flavor, but go with whatever you prefer here. There are other milks available, including raw soy milks, so experiment a little, and find out what works best for you.
If you like a little more sweetness than the berries and fruit provides, add a bit of raw honey or agave syrup. Blend until smooth, and drink while it’s still cold. You’ll get a healthy dose of vitamins and minerals, fluids to replace what you’ve sweated out, and some protein to help those tired muscles to recover. And you’ll do it without all the added processed sugar and the hard-to-process milk products that your regular smoothie stop will usually toss in.
How to Eat Vegan and Have More Energy
March 20th, 2010It is amazing how many people are willing to adapt to new technology in health and sports, but are still doing things the old fashioned way when it comes to the nutritional aspect of their well-being.
We buy pedometers and heart rate monitors; we run in the latest and newest innovations in shoes; but before we work out, we still slam back heavy foods; during, we consume sugary drinks and thick, viscous gel packs; afterwards, we gorge on fat and processed junk.
Sure, eating vegan would me much healthier, but the common misconception is that a vegan diet would be lacking in much of the energy-providing foodstuffs that a regular diet would provide. After all, eating vegan means limiting your intake so drastically, that you’re left with nothing but fruits and vegetables, right?
Wrong. A vegan diet can actually improve your athletic prowess, by providing you with the energy you never thought you could get from such basic and delicious foods.
Nuts are one of the best snacks you can have when you’re out on the run. Absolutely portable and incredibly easy to control for portions, you can have a handful of almonds in a bag in your pocket at all times, ready for when the munchies hit or your energy levels start to drop. Leave the energy bars at home, and load up on nuts instead.
Water is essential to having more energy, and the ultimate vegan food. While many of us take a pull on an electrolyte-enhanced drink or even a cup of coffee, we are getting the fluidity of the water but weighing it down with additives that you body could do without. Staying hydrated while you work is a sure way to get more out of your body, no matter what you are doing.
Goji berries have gotten a lot of press lately for their phenomenal health properties, one of which is the quick energy their natural sugars can provide you. In their dried form, these little wonders can go anywhere with you, and give you a quick burst of energy when you need it most.
Hummus and pita might sound like a fancy appetizer, but in actual fact, it is the best possible snack food you can find for during a prolonged workout. This tasty treat is light, which means you won’t feel the weight of it, sending you into cramps when the workout gets tough. But for all the lightness and flavor, you will find a ton of energy – so much so, that many ultra-marathon runners chose this as their on-the-run snack.
Strawberries can also help to give you energy without leaving the vegan track. Rich in vitamins and flavor, these berries are also calorie-neutral, which means that you get the sugars and vitamins, without having to worry about burning off the excess calories.
After you’re finished your workout, kale is a great choice to recoup some of the power you’ve burned off. For ease of eating, you can make a delicious green smoothie that will do more for you than the oft-recommended chocolate milk could ever dream of.
2 Delicious Coconut-Based Raw Food Recipes
March 19th, 2010
When many people imagine a raw diet, they think of what they might eat, were they stranded on a desert island with no means of starting a fire. Of course, if you’re picturing a desert island, you’re probably populating it with plenty of palm trees, containing a ton of delicious coconuts.
While these big shells of hearty water and rich meat can be tough to crack, they are a crack addition to any raw diet plan.
But what do you do with coconut in the raw?
Sure, you could just eat the meat inside and drink the water plain, but where’s the fun in that? Here are two ways to utilize both of the best parts of a raw coconut.
If you feel like having a nice soup, you can whip up something with a touch of the tropics and a heaping helping of warmth and cream – without either the warming or the actual cream, of course.
Raw Butternut Coconut Soup might sound complex, but it’s surprisingly easy to make, and delicious. Simply wash, peel and deseed one butternut squash for each person you want to serve, and place in a food processor.
Add in half of a pear per person, cut into blendable chunks, along with half a cup of fresh raw coconut, and a pinch each of kosher salt, cinnamon and nutmeg per serving. Blend with a teaspoon of fresh, raw honey until completely smooth, and serve garnished with a mint leaf or a sprig of parsley, and some freshly grated cinnamon over the top of each bowl. This rich soup is so creamy and hearty, it will almost feel warm.
If you prefer your coconut served in a slightly more tropical way, you can make a wonderful raw coconut milk dessert that will instantly transport you to somewhere warm. It’s called Raw Kluai Buat Chi, and it is not only easy to make, but delicious to boot. To make this tasty Thai dish, all you need to do is prepare some coconut milk by blending together the water from a fresh young coconut with about a third of a cup of coconut meat per serving.
Once this has been blended to a smooth, milk-ish consistency, you can pour it out into serving bowls, and add in long slices of very ripe bananas. To stay true to the original, you might want to try using Thai bananas from your local specialty grocery store. These bananas are about four inches long and very thick. However, if you prefer to use regular bananas, simply ensure that the bananas you choose are as ripe as possible.
The original recipe in Thailand does call for cooking the milk and bananas to make the fruit extra soft, but of course, that would kill off many of the beneficial food enzymes in the banana and the coconut. Instead, ripe bananas will offer you the soft texture that the dish is famous for.
If the flavors here are a little too muted for your palate, you can add a dash of cinnamon over the top of the dish, or if you want a bit more sweetness, add a bit of honey or raw agave syrup to the blender when making your coconut milk.
Give it a shot and let me know what you think!
