Indulge in a Heart-Healthy Treat ♥

Indulge in a Heart-Healthy Treat

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Chocolate.

We all love it. 

Most of us crave it – especially women.

It is the most popular Valentine’s Day gift.  About 58 million pounds of chocolate are purchased the week of Valentine’s Day

But did you know that DARK chocolate can have incredible health benefits?

That’s right!  Choose dark chocolate that isn’t combined with milk, sugar, and fat and enjoy the health benefits that chocolate can offer.

Just a teaspoon of natural cocoa powder can boost arterial function within hours of consumption.  Studies show that raw, unprocessed cocoa beans contain more antioxidant activity that even blueberries and acai berries.  That’s impressive!

Your challenge this week is to find ways to enjoy dark chocolate in healthful ways.  Enjoy dark chocolate in banana nice cream, chocolate chia pudding, in a smoothie, or black bean brownies. 

Cacao powder and cacao nibs are my favorite way to enjoy chocolate without the milk, sugar, & fat.  Cacao nibs are simply cacao beans crushed into small pieces.  Cacao powder is basically the cacao beans ground into powder.

This week, in honor of Valentine’s day I made some chocolate hearts using three of my favorite superfoods:  Cacao powder, GOJI Berries, and Cacao Nibs.  These bites are perfect for an after dinner treat when you want a bit of chocolate.

Click for recipe.

How will you enjoy heart-healthy chocolate this week?

Need more Cacao Recipes?

Let me know in the comments below.

Be sure to hit the LIKE button below :)

Non-starchy Vegetables

Monday Challenge:
Non-Starchy Vegetables

Have you tried long sweet peppers? I started seeing them at ALDI's market last summer and absolutely love them. They're super sweet and great for snacking on - try them!

Peppers, like these sweet peppers, are classified as non-starchy vegetables. Non-starchy vegetables are plants that are too low in calorie content to form the center of a meal but they do provide valuable contributions of vitamins, minerals, fiber, water, essential fat, protein, and other phyto-nutrients.

Think of non-starchy vegetables as foods that have extremely high micronutrients per calorie. Micronutrients are vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. To combat disease and for optimal health you want to consume foods high in micronutrients.

Animal products, including meat, eggs, dairy, and fish are very low in vitamins and minerals compared with plant foods. And they completely lack antioxidants and phytonutrients. Refined grains, oils, and sweeteners also lack micronutrients.

This week, pump up your nutrition by including more non-starchy vegetables in your meals. For lunch and dinner, fill half you plate with non-starchy vegetables.

Eat them raw or cooked. Enjoy them as snacks.

Eat plenty of salads with leafy greens. Include non-starchy vegetables in sandwiches, soups, and stews. Use zucchini spirals or cauliflower rice in your pasta dishes.

Can you fill half your lunch and dinner plate this week with non-starchy vegetables?

How you feel after just one week of making this change?

Leave a comment below.

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ROY G BIV

ROY G BIV

Do you remember Roy G Biv from school?

It’s not a person but a mnemonic that helps you remember the order of the colors of the rainbow. So it's red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. I don’t know why I remember this but I just do.

When it comes to nutrition Roy G Biv is good to know. I’m sure you’ve heard that you should “Eat the Rainbow.” But what does that mean exactly?

Superfoods are awesome and I do make room for them in my budget but they're not required for healthy eating. Instead focus on everyday, affordable superfoods in all colors of the rainbow. Think red peppers, kale, spinach, broccoli, sweet potatoes and other nutrient-dense plant foods along with immunity-boosting and disease-fighting foods like onion, garlic and ginger.

Most grocery stores have their produce section right as you enter. That’s because we are drawn to the fresh vibrant colors of the food. Foods that are vibrantly colored are generally more appealing. A bright yellow banana appeals to us more than an unripe green banana. Red onions are visually more appealing than white. Purple cabbage is more appealing than green.

The same food can have a different nutritional profile for each color:

Red peppers pack the most nutrition, because they've been on the vine longest. Green peppers are harvested earlier, before they have a chance to turn yellow, orange, and then red. Compared to green bell peppers, the red ones have almost 11 times more beta-carotene and 1.5 times more vitamin C.

Although all types of grapes are healthy, red grapes and Concord grapes are higher in flavonoids and phytonutrients, including resveratrol than green grapes.

Sweet potatoes with orange flesh are richest in beta-carotene. Sweet potatoes with purple flesh are richer in anthocyanins. Beta-carotene and anthocyanins are naturally occurring plant phyto- chemicals that give vegetables their bright colors.

Orange carrots have high levels of beta-carotene while purple carrots are packed with anthocyanins, which may prevent heart disease. Red carrots contain lycopene, linked to lower risk of certain cancers.

Red onions are more effective at killing human cancer cells compared with other onions thanks to their higher levels of the antioxidants quercetin and anthocyanin.

These are just a few examples of the power of the rainbow in whole foods. When building your meals, keep in mind that the more colorful your meal is, the more likely it is to have an abundance of cancer-fighting nutrients.

You may not often see some of these colorful foods available at your local grocer but when you do I encourage you to try them out.

This week, challenge yourself to make your meals colorful.

I’d love to hear about your colorful meals - leave a comment below.

*and hit the “like” button :)

Do You Get Enough Sleep?

Do You Get Enough Sleep?

One of the first things my (adult) kids did when they came to visit us after moving was to find the power outlets.  You see, their phone batteries were low and needed a recharge.  Most people feel cut off from the world when their phone dies.  Some feel a great deal of anxiety.  So, it’s no surprise that we’re pretty good at making sure our phone battery is recharged on a regular basis.

What about you? 

Do you take the time to make sure your “battery” is recharged sufficiently?

In 2014, the CDC called sleep deprivation a public health epidemic.  Getting enough sleep is not a luxury – it is crucial for good health.  When you are sleep deprived, your cortisol rises, which impacts your blood sugar levels. Lack of sleep can contribute to weight gain, diabetes, heart attacks, high blood pressure, depression, osteoporosis, depressed immunity, affect how well your body uses nutrients, and can impede weight loss.

Your challenge this week it to concentrate on things you can do to recharge your battery each night this week.  Everyone’s sleep needs are different but aim for 6 to 8 hours.  The tips below can help.

Five easy ways to getting your daily rest:

Eat no later than three hours before bed -- eating prior to bed will lead to a bad night's sleep and will impede the body’s overnight detoxification process. 

No TV in the bedroom (& other electronic devices turned off).  The blue light from your TV, computer, smart phone, and other electronics can mess up your natural rhythm – your body  may think it is daylight and not nighttime.  Many people find it helpful to shut off electronics an hour before bed. 

Avoid alcohol -- it helps you get to sleep but makes your sleep interrupted and of poor quality.

Avoid caffeine after noon – it makes sleep worse.  Even if you think caffeine doesn’t affect your sleep, you’ll be surprised at how much deeper your sleep can be.  Herbal teas don’t have caffeine and are ok.

Practice the regular rhythms of sleep -- go to bed and wake up at the same time each day. Even on the weekends!

Try these tips to help you get your best sleep.  Keep doing them until they become a habit.  Be sure to notice any changes in how you feel. 

What works best for you to get your 6 to 8 hours each night?  Let me know in the comments below.

Need more ideas?

Send me an email or let me know in the comments below.