Jul
16
Healthy Recipe for Healthy Mango Pie
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What better way to usher in summer than with this delicious no-bake mango pie? You won’t find any processed sugars or refined carbs in this dessert – just sweet and nutritious whole food ingredients. That being said, remember to use portion control even with nutritious desserts.
Servings: 12
Here’s what you need…
- 2 cups raw pecans
- 1/2 teaspoon ground vanilla beans, divided
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 1/2 cup pitted dates, divided
- 2/3 cup water
- 3 ripe mangoes, peeled, seeded and sliced
- Combine the pecans, 1/4 teaspoon of the vanilla bean, sea salt and 3/4 cup of the dates in a food processor. Press half of the mixture into the bottom of a pie pan, set aside.
- Combine the remaining 3/4 cup dates, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla bean and water in a food processor or blender. Mix until a thick syrup forms.
- Place the mangoes in a large mixing bowl. Toss with the syrup until fully combined.
- Arranged the mangoes over the crust, then sprinkle with the remaining crust.
- Keep in the fridge and eat within 2 days.
Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 220 calories, 12g fat, 27g carbohydrate, 5g fiber, and 3g protein.
Jul
9
You’ve probably heard of quinoa - it is hailed by some as the new super food. It’s high in protein (12%-18%) and contains a balanced set of essential amino acids - this means it’s a surprisingly complete protein. It’s also high in fiber and iron. And, as if the edible seeds didn’t have enough going for them, NASA is thinking about growing it in space.
Quinoa is quite possibly the perfect thing to have for breakfast to start your day off on the right foot.
Servings: 1
Here’s what you need:
- 1/2 cup quinoa, cooked in water according to instructions on package
- 1 Tablespoon golden raisins
- 1 Tablespoon date pieces, chopped
- 1 Tablespoon pecan pieces, chopped
- Dash of cinnamon
- Dash of nutmeg
- Drizzle of pure maple syrup
1. Top cooked quinoa with raisins, date pieces, pecan pieces, cinnamon, nutmeg and a drizzle of maple syrup.
Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 344 calories, 5g fat, 59g carbohydrate, 6g fiber, and 12g protein.
Jul
5
How to end food temptations
Filed Under Diet, Weight loss, motivation | Leave a Comment
You start each morning with the promise to be “good” today.
You’ll refuse the baked goods at the office. You’ll speed past that fast food place at lunch. You’ll turn a blind eye to the vending machine in the mid-afternoon. And you’ll pass on the ice cream after dinner.
But… you hadn’t counted on the fact that a box of your favorite donuts would be sitting in the break room. Or that co-workers would invite you to join them for fast food place at lunch. Or that Girl Scouts would come through the office after school with boxes of thin mints. Or that your special someone would come home with a pint of Coffee Heath Bar Crunch.
And as you get into bed each night you tell yourself that tomorrow will be different.
Tomorrow you will conquer temptation.
But tomorrow comes with its own set of special circumstances and temptation gets the best of you once again.
Why Does Temptation Always Win?
We live in society where food temptations are everywhere.
- Walk through a store and you’ll see the unhealthy food items displayed front and center.
- Turn on the TV and you’ll be assaulted with commercials for fattening foods.
- Open a magazine and you’ll notice glossy pin-ups of sugary snacks.
- Go down the street and you’ll have restaurant signs clamoring for your attention.
In addition to the abundance of tempting edibles, you also have deeply ingrained positive associations with indulging.
- You treat tempting food as a reward.
- You turn to tempting food for comfort.
- You rely on tempting food as stress relief.
- You allow tempting food to become a habit.
It’s Your Turn to Win
Temptation doesn’t need to have the upper hand on you anymore. It’s time to fight back using your most powerful asset: your brain.
Your mind is an amazing thing. Once it is made up about something it is nearly impossible to change it.
A Matter of Perspective
Imagine for a moment that you’re peacefully floating down a river in an inner tube. The sun is out, the birds are chirping, and you are having a wonderful time. You feel great about the river because it is making you feel good.
Now imagine that you are in a plane flying over the river. Your eye is immediately drawn to an enormous rocky waterfall. You look up the river and just around the bend is a person floating in an inner tube, having a wonderful time, headed straight for the treacherous falls.
Do you think that after your plane ride you’d be happy to get an inner tube and float down the river? Of course you wouldn’t. You’ve seen that the river spells disaster.
You now have a negative association (watery death) with the river rather than your initial positive association (relaxing fun).
Overcoming temptation is all about building negative associations in place of existing positive ones. Use the 2 steps below to harness the power of your mind to become stronger than any temptation.
Step One: Create a Strong Negative Association with all the BAD STUFF
- If cookies and chips and burgers are put on a pedestal in your mind as your favorite things to eat, then you will always eat unhealthy and will continue to gain weight.
- What do you dislike about tempting food?
- It makes you unhealthy.
- It causes weight gain.
- It drains your energy.
- It kills your confidence.
- It degrades your quality of life.
- It hurts your love life.
- Every time that you encounter tempting food items focus on your list of negatives. It’s time to kick those cookies off the pedestal and to put something healthy in its place.
Step Two: Create a Strong Positive Association with all the GOOD STUFF
- Now that your mental pedestal has been cleared, put healthy food items on it. Juicy fresh fruit, crispy vegetables and savory lean meats are a great place to start.
- What do you love about healthy food?
- It makes you healthy.
- It causes weight loss.
- It boosts your energy.
- It builds your confidence.
- It improves your quality of life.
- It enhances your love life.
- Immerse yourself into the world of healthy food. Browse the aisles of a natural food store. Walk through a farmer’s market. Bring healthy snacks to work. Clear your kitchen of anything unhealthy.
Using the technique above, you will soon find that healthy food is your favorite food.
And temptation will become a thing of your past.
Jul
2
Baked beans are filled with healthy protein and fiber. This homemade recipe is quick and easy to make and tastes great. Serve it hot from the oven, or enjoy it chilled – either way it’s a crowd pleaser.
Servings: 12
Here’s what you need…
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 yellow onions, chopped
- 1 (6oz) can tomato paste
- 1/4 cup tamari (low sodium soy sauce)
- 4 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 Tablespoon mustard
- 3 (15oz) cans pinto or white beans, drained and rinsed
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a large baking pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and sauté the garlic and onions until tender.
- In a large bowl, mix the tomato paste, tamari, maple syrup and mustard until a thick sauce forms. Add the beans and onions and mix until fully incorporated.
- Spread the beans into prepared pan, cover tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 134 calories, .5g fat, 25g carbohydrate, 5g fiber, and 8g protein.