Nutrient Efficiency

Walk the aisle of the Big Food supermarket and you'll see words on labels like enriched or fortified.  That's because virtually everything from cereals, bread, canned foods and pretty much everything, with the exception of the fruit and vegetable section, can be considered processed junk food!  If it comes in a box, a bag, a can or a wrapper that's a pretty good indicator the food has been altered from its natural whole state with hardly any nutrients remaining.  So the food manufacturer slaps on a larger healthy label to appeal to your desire to eat better. Big Food knows that "health" sells.

Sure the processed foods contain proteins, carbs and fats.  All the food we eat contain these energy giving dense macro nutrients.  However, that's only half the story.  The other half are the micro and phyto nutrients missing from the processed foods touted to contain all the "8 essential vitamins and minerals" your body needs.  When we fuel up on these processed foods that are "fortified" or "enriched" we may find ourselves eating even more of the same food to fill in the bodies need for more nutrients to sustain itself and function properly.  Your body needs energy, but it also needs nutrition from the calories you consume.  Low nutrient foods that are high in calories will give you some energy, but your body will feel like it's starving from malnutrition, and so you simply eat more and more because you still feel hungry.  What your body really is crying out for is nutrient dense calories instead of filling up on empty calories.  It's a vicious cycle of feeling the need to eat because you're lacking nutrients, yet the more you eat the processed foods the worse your body will feel which leads to overeating and an unhealthy weight. 

Natural whole foods contain hundreds of varying things that our bodies can use for defense and promote good health.  So rather than try to add nutrients back into food that's been stripped through processing, it's much easier to simply eat a living organism that is full of nutrition and satisfies your body's requirements.  One of the keys to shedding extra weight and maintaining good health is to get as many nutrients as possible from each calorie you eat.  Begin by eliminating the dirty dozen and start to add nutritional food into your diet.  Throw away and stop buying the stuff in bags and boxes and make veggies and fruits the cornerstone of your diet. 

We humans are omnivores, meaning we eat both plants and animals that are loaded with everything needed to sustain life.  Vegetables are among the most nutrient dense foods you can fuel up on.  You simply cannot over eat on vegetables that are full of fibre.  Fruits in their natural whole state too are chock full of nutrients.  If you want to melt away unwanted pounds and improve your health by supplying your body with energy and nutrition, eat fantastic fitness foods!  That strategy is not what the food industry is trying to shove down your throat!  Don't buy into their deceptive labels and be bamboozled by slick marketing!  Get REAL with your food and live life to its fullest.

Salad Heaven!

I have found the taste of dressing heaven for salad!  It doesn't come in a bottle from the grocery store or in a pre-packaged value added container.  It's gluten free, dairy free and contains no unhealthy added salt, fat or oil.  No matter how much you dislike eating green salads, that's all about to change by simply adding this natural dressing to your garden greens.  Matter of fact, I think I'll try it with chicken too or kebabs as a dipping sauce. Now that I think about it, it would also be perfect as a veggie dip with broccoli, celery, carrots, cucumber, etc.  It's just so delicious, mouth watering and lip licking good that words just don't do it justice.

I came across this gem about a month ago after reading some suggestions from P90X creator Tony Horton on healthy recipes he likes, and this one stood out for me as something I'd like to try.  Well I did last night, and WOW!  It's a combination of nutty, citrus, sour and sweet flavors that blend together magnificently!  It's so good folks you may be tempted to eat this for breakfast!

I pulled some fresh homegrown in my own garden butter crunch lettuce, kale, Swiss chard and romaine lettuce. Next came the decision of what to dress my salad with when it hit me...I remembered this dressing by The Chef and Dietitian.  So I opened up my Ipad2 and turned to the saved bookmark of their blog and found the recipe that's included with their 5 minute YouTube video. 

 
So without further adieu, let me introduce you to these two amazing ladies who dish up a keeper of a recipe!



As you saw in the video, they used Kale only, but I like more variety in my salad, so decide what you want and go from there. Here's a recap of Hail to the Kale and the incredible dressing.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water/coconut water
• A handful of pitted dates (I used 4 Californian grown Oasis Organic Medjool Dates)
• 1/3 cup of lemon or lime juice with some zest (I used the juice from two organic lemons and the zest from one)
• 2 tablespoons low sodium soya sauce or Tamari Sauce (I used Tamari sauce)
• 1 inch of fresh ginger
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 Cup of unsweetened, unsalted, raw Almond Butter
• 1/2 teaspoon of Red Cayenne Pepper Flakes

Directions:

In a high-powered blender, (I use a Vita-Mix 5000) combine all the ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy.  I blended on high for about 30 seconds.  Simply pour the dressing over whatever salad greens you've selected or any other veggies, etc for dipping.  Sprinkle the salad with some finely chopped almonds or hemp hearts.  Refrigerate any unused dressing.

Thank you Chef AJ and Dietitian Julieanna Hever MSRD for this amazing healthy recipe!  Thanks for making healthy taste delicious!!  This gets a 5 out of 5 star rating from this health nut.  Please keep sharing those great healthy and nutritious recipes!!

It's never too late to start changing bad habits, habits that can shave years off your life and impact the quality of your life.   So, if you want the straight dope on fueling your body with nutritious food and what to avoid, I'm here to help and it won't cost you a penny for the free advice based on my own experience and what has worked for me.  I hope you'll follow my blog and provide me with some feedback on my posts.  I'll be catering good choices that include both dietary and lifestyle changes.  So if you could use a boost to your engine, buckle up for the ride of your life and let's get started!