The key to succeeding at eating healthfully is to make healthy eating a taste-tempting journey of savory foods to be enjoyed and not a sentence to be imposed. It is simple, straightforward and distinctively delicious if you know which foods to choose and which to avoid.
Most of the snack foods on the market contain processed and refined sugars, grains and other harmful ingredients.
It's hard finding truly healthy snack foods. I've shared some of my favorite healthy recipes for snacks in this blog. However, frequently there just isn't enough time to prepare all the foods and snacks we want to eat.
So, now, I'd like to share a healthy snack food that you don't have to make yourself.
The name itself leads you to believe it's a healthy drink. Some people might even think of it as a way to get their daily dose of vitamins.
But is it?
The marketing makes you think it's healthy for you. But the Coca-Cola company that produces Vitaminwater has been sued for making "deceptive and unsubstantiated" claims for it.
In fact...
"In response to a recent lawsuit against Coca-Cola filed by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), Coke's attorneys replied in court briefings that, '...no consumer could reasonably be misled into thinking vitaminwater was a healthy beverage.' "
Food in your local grocery store may be trucked in from thousands of miles away. So that it keeps that "fresh" look, it's often picked before it's ripe or it may be treated with chemicals or irradiated to keep it from ripening before it gets to the store.
When you buy from your local farmer's market, you get fresh, locally grown food, much of it picked that very same day.
While it's ideal to buy organic, even from the farmer's market, often you'll find vendors who are not certified but who do not use the chemicals and pesticides used on the food trucked in from great distances. These foods, though not organic, are a much better choice than the non-organic choices in your grocery store.
Of course, organic is always best, but when it's not practical for you, make sure you check for the low pesticide foods that are safe to buy non organic.
Click here to watch a video on farmer's markets and find a farmer's market in your area.
1 cup filtered water
2/3 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 teaspoon Celtic Sea Salt
1 thin slice fresh onion
1 clove fresh garlic
1 heaping teaspoon Italian Herbs
3 tablespoons raw, unfiltered, apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (optional)
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until creamy and smooth.
Chill at least 30 minutes before serving.
This is great with all kinds of raw veggies and is a healthy alternative to Ranch dressing. It can also be used as a salad dressing.
1/2 head of cabbage, grated or shredded
1 carrot, shredded
1/2 of a medium zucchini, shredded
1/2 of a small onion, finely chopped (optional)
2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar, or to taste
Celtic Sea salt to taste
Vegetables can be grated, shredded or chopped in a food processor. This makes it really quick to prepare.
Mix all ingredients. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.
Most mayonnaise on the market is made from soy, canola or safflower oil. None of these are healthy oils. Mayonnaise made from extra virgin olive oil is very expensive. This is a great alternative to using mayonnaise on your coleslaw and it tastes great!
My big complaint about veggie burgers is that most you buy in the stores contain soy ingredients, canola oil and/or some form or MSG. It's really hard to find a healthy veggie burger in the grocery store or your natural foods market.
When I came across this article on veggie burgers, I was very suspicious that they would contain some of these harmful ingredients. I was pleasantly surprised.
Calls for orange zest. Make sure you make it from organic oranges only. Non organic oranges can be artificially colored with Citrus Red. No. 2, which is a possible carcinogen.
Calls for toasted whole grain bread crumbs. Make sure they're free of harmful chemical additives. Better yet, make your own from organic, sprouted grain, flourless bread.
Calls for olive oil to cook the burgers. A better cooking oil is coconut oil. Organic coconut oil has had the coconut flavor removed and still has the healthy, therapeutic properties of coconut oil.
Calls for olive or canola oil to cook the burgers. Skip the canola oil. It is an unhealthy oil. And as I mentioned above, coconut oil is a better choice for cooking than olive oil.
Calls for stale or toasted sandwich bread to make breadcrumbs. Best to use organic, sprouted grain, flourless bread.
Calls for hamburger buns or hard rolls. Flourless, sprouted grain is your best choice. However if, like me, you don't like using buns or rolls, try wraping your burger in a couple big leaves of lettuce. It's a great way to have sandwiches without the bread.
Calls for whole spelt flour or other flour. If you use other flour, make sure it is whole grain.
Calls for tamari. Traditionally made tamari, as made in Japan, is fermented over long periods of time and is one of the few soy products that have the least harmful effects. However, made in America, the processing is modern, high speed and very unlike traditional processing. Modern soy sauces may contain dangerous levels of toxic chemicals. "The safety of commercial soy sauces cannot be assured." Reference, The Whole Soy Story, by Kaayla Daniel.
If you can get traditionally prepared tamari imported from Asia, then that would be a better choice than American made. I personally substitute Celtic Sea Salt in recipes that call for tamari or soy sauce.
If you enjoy veggie burgers, give these a try. They're definitely more healthy than the pre-made ones you buy in the stores.
Dr. Christine H. Farlow is "The Ingredients Investigator." She is a Doctor of Chiropractic who has helped thousands improve their health through nutrition and the elimination of harmful ingredients from food, cosmetics and personal care products.
She's a veteran at helping people solve their health challenges naturally, without the use of drugs.
The study of nutrition has been a passion for Dr. Farlow since 1975. Before becoming a doctor, people were coming to her unsolicited, asking for nutritional advice. She’s been counseling patients professionally since 1984 and researching ingredients in foods, cosmetics and personal care products since 1991.
Dr. Farlow is the author of three health and nutrition books:
FOOD ADDITIVES: A Shopper's Guide...
HEALTHY EATING: For Extremely Busy People...
DYING TO LOOK GOOD
Her books evolved out of her experience counseling patients back to health and wellness.
