Healthy Eating Blog Is Moving ...

All future Healthy Eating blog posts will be made to my new Healthy Eating Advisor blog

Some of the info on this blog will be moved to the new blog, but not all. So you may want to bookmark this page to come back to some favorite recipes or other useful healthy information.

Come visit me on the new Healthy Eating Advisor blog and let me know what you think.

Pepper, Mushroom & Green Bean Stir Fry

1 cup onion cut into 1/2" pieces
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 cup red bell peppers cut in 2" thin strips
1 cup green beans cut in 1" pieces
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
marjoram to taste (optional)
thyme to taste (optional)
Celtic Sea Salt to taste
1 tablespoons coconut oil
bone broth, chicken broth or water

Melt the coconut oil in a good quality skillet.
Saute the onions for about 1 minute.
Add the mushrooms, bell peppers and green beans and saute for another minute.
Add a small amount of broth or water, cover and simmer on low heat until the beans are just slightly tender.
Add seasonings and stir. You may substitute your favorite herbs or spices.
Add cilantro and turn off the heat.
Let sit for a few minutes then serve.
Enjoy!

Find more healthy recipes here.

Do You Take Your Water With Or Without Lemon?

Silly question? You decide ...

A study done in 2007 found that 2/3 of the lemon slices served at 21 different restaurants were contaminated with bacteria that had the potential to cause disease.

Does that make you want a slice of lemon in your next glass of water?

Read more here.

The Truth About Organic Eggs

Have you ever wondered what's different about the organic eggs you pay such a premium price for and if they're really worth the extra cost? What about the organic eggs that are lower priced? Are they still as good as the higher priced organic eggs?

These are very good questions, and you'll probably be surprised at the answers.

There are some less than honorable egg farmers out there producing "Bogus" organic eggs and calling them "Organic." Read the article here to get the full definition of "Bogus" organic eggs.

How do you know if the organic eggs you buy are the real thing or the oh-so-common "Bogus" organic eggs?

The Cornucopia Institute created an "Organic Egg Scoreboard" and rated them on housing and outdoor space for roaming and feeding. The rating system is from 1 to 5 stars, 5 being the best.

Some of the common organic brands found in Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Safeway, WalMart and other popular grocery stores scored only in the 1 star category - "Bogus Organic Eggs."

Are you eating any of these "Bogus Organic " brands?

* Trader Joes Organic
* Safeway's O Organic
* Costco's Kirkland Signature
* A&P's Green Way
* Walmart's Great Value
* Whole Foods 365 Organic
* Land O'Lakes
* Horizon Organic
* Garden Valley
* Eggland's Best
* Chino Valley Ranchers

These are only a few of the "Bogus" brands.

A couple of the 3 star brands - rated "very good"

* Clover Organic Farms
* Organic Valley

The 5 star farms are small to medium family farms. Most of those brands I've never seen in the health food markets where I shop and actually have never heard of.

See the entire Organic Egg Scorecard.

Now's the time to start scrutinizing the brand of eggs you buy. It's obvious by this study that organic on the carton, even certified organic may not really be true organic.

Learn more about healthy eating.

Cancer And Diet

According to Dr. Mark Hyman, during his medical school oncology rotation, his professor stated that 70% of all cancers are diet related!

What would happen to the rate of cancer in this country, in the world, if everyone ate a healthy diet?

What would happen to the food industry if everyone only bought healthy food?

If you knew that you could save yourself from cancer, diabetes, obesity, heart disease and many other ailments by eating a healthy diet, would you do it?

You don't have to figure it all out and do it on your own. It's all made easy for you in the Healthy Eating e-class. If you need more personalized assistance, try Healthy Eating Coaching.

Health Benefits of Beets

Beets are a nutritional powerhouse. There is abundant nutrition in both the root and the leaves. They are especially helpful for the health of your liver and gallbladder. They are also anticarcinogenic and protective against heart disease.

Beet greens are an excellent source of beta carotene, calcium and iron. The young beet leaves are a rich source of betaine, which is important for liver health and helps your body to metabolize fat.

The beet root is a source of vitamin C, folacin and manganese, as well as many other nutrients. Fresh beets have greater amounts of the C and folacin.

Both the greens and the roots can be eaten raw or cooked. The greens can be used raw in salads or green smoothies. They can also be steamed lightly, for 2-3 minutes. Season with raw organic butter and Celtic Sea Salt®

The beet root can be shredded and mixed with lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil for a liver-gallbladder tonic or added to a salad. Beets can also be steamed or baked. They should be cooked whole and cut after cooking is complete.

Read more about the amazing benefits from eating beets.

Learn more about healthy eating.

Top 10 Ways to Avoid GMOs

Avoiding GMOs is getting harder and harder as more and more GMO crops are planted and high levels of secrecy are maintained as to which products contain genetically engineered ingredients.

Here are some tips from Maria Rodale about how you can avoid GMOs:

1. Buy USDA-certified organic food.
2. Avoid all nonorganic soy products like the plague. (I recommend avoiding ALL soy.)
3. Don't buy anything that claims to be "non-dairy" that isn't organic.
4. Don't buy or eat anything with corn in it that isn't organic.
5. At all costs, eliminate high-fructose corn syrup (a.k.a. "corn sugar") from your diet.

Read the full article.

For more help with choosing healthy food, get the FREE Healthy Eating E-Class. Work through all the lessons and implement what you learn. It is guaranteed to get you eating healtfully in 5 easy lessons ... if you follow the plan.
  

Healthy Fish To Eat

Do you want to get the health benefits of fish, but don't know which ones to choose?

Many different varieties of fish are contaminated with mercury or PCBs. How do you choose the fish that are the healthiest to eat and won't adversely affect your health?

The Smart Seafood Guide 2010 tells you which fish, both nationally and regionally (U.S.) are the healthiest choices. "Food & Water Watch analyzed over 100 different fish and shellfish to create the only guide assessing not only the human health and environmental impacts of eating certain seafood, but also the socio-economic impacts ..."

This is the best seafood guide I have seen. It makes seafood selection easy.

Learn more about healthy food here.

3 Ways To Enjoy Your Burger Without The Bun

White bread and buns, even if made with enriched flour or wheat flour - but not whole wheat - have all the nutrients removed and a few synthetic chemical nutrients added to give you the false impression that they are healthy and nutritious. They're not. In fact they deplete the body of the B vitamins and other nutrients your body needs to be healthy.

Besides being unhealthy for you, processed grains contribute to obesity, diabetes and other health problems. In fact, we eat far too many grain products. It is not advisable to eat the large number of servings of grains as recommended by the FDA food pyramid, even the 2010 version, and especially not refined grains.

Truth be told, you don't need a bun to enjoy your burger. And yes, burgers can be healthy if they are made of beef from pastured, grass fed cows or turkey from free range, organic birds. So, it's best to make your own burgers at home from scratch.

Here are my 3 favorite ways to eat a burger:

1. Use a corn tortilla (made with corn, lime and water only) instead of a bun or bread. You could also use a sprouted grain tortilla as well.
2. Wrap your burger in 1 or 2 large leaves of lettuce.
3. Eat your burger as a serving of meat in a meal with a salad, steamed vegetables and brown rice or a starchy vegetable, like red potatoes, sweet potatoes or winter squash.

You can add healthy condiments to your burger, like lettuce, organic mustard, organic ketchup, onion, tomato, sprouts, cilantro, shredded carrots, etc.

So, enjoy your healthy burger!

Learn more about healthy eating.

Healthy Halloween Tips

On Halloween, our little "trick or treaters" get so much candy, full of sugar and chemical additives. Sugar is known to cause hyperactivity in children and dental caries, as well as mood swings, depression, and obesity. But, it's not only the sugar that's so bad for them. It's also the other chemical additives, including artificial and natural flavors and FD&C colors, most of which are derived from coal tar which is a carcinogen. Here are five tips ...

Read more.

Celebrate Your Body!

Join the body image revolution

You Can Start a Body Image Revolution

Are you bored with ‘managing’ your weight, sick of ‘watching’ every thing you put in your mouth, or tired of being embarrassed when you look at your body in the mirror?

What if there was another way to be a woman?

A way that honored all of you, just the way you are, rather than just what you’re not? A way that recognized everything you DO do, rather than just what you don’t? A way that helped us decide who and how we WANT to be, rather than trying to fit us in the picture of perfect in a magazine or movie?

There is a way, it’s called The Body Image Revolution, and it starts today, Thursday October 21, I’m part of it and you can be too. I am teaming up with eleven other international body image experts in one big Telesummit to bring you the real facts about your weight and your health, Practical 'How-To' Tips to help you see your body and your life, just how it is right now, in a new light that is more real, more powerful, and more YOU.

Click here to visit The Body Image Revolution.

Tofu and Your Brain

There are two camps on the benefits of soy products - those who proclaim it has health promoting benefits and those who claim that it is harmful to your health.

In spite of those who vigorously promote soy as a healthy food with health-promoting benefits, there is a great deal of evidence indicating that soy is not the health food that the industry would like you to think it is. Kaayla Daniel, in her thoroughly researched book, the whole Soy Story, explains in great detail why soy is not a healthy food and should generally be avoided, except for use of some of the fermented soy products, like natto, tempeh and miso.

I have noticed that some who endorse Dr. Daniel's work also endorse the use of tofu, claiming that it is a fermented food product. While fermented tofu is produced by the Chinese and Japanese and eaten in those countries, it is generally not the tofu found in the U.S. In fact there is a study that "showed that men and women who ate tofu at least twice per week experienced accelerated brain aging, diminished cognitive ability and were more than twice as likely to be clinically diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease."

For more information on the harmful effects of soy, check out these resources:

The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America's Favorite Health Food

Facts About Soy, the Industry Doesn't Want You to Know: An interview with Dr. Kaayla Daniel author of The Whole Soy Story

For more information on healthy eating, click here.

Green Smoothie

This is a healthy drink to start off your day or for a refreshing snack.

1/2 - 3/4 cup fresh or frozen mango, cut in chunks
1-2 tablespoons fresh or frozen pineapple
2-3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
1 raw egg, organic, free range
1 cup plain, whole milk yogurt, organic, hormone and antibiotic free
2 cups of fresh, organic greens, just the leafy part (kale, chard, spinach, collards, dandelion, etc.)

Thaw frozen fruit overnight in the refrigerator. Before blending the ingredients, warm the fruit to room temperature or above 76º F.

Add coconut oil to the fruit. Above 76º F, the coconut oil will be liquid. Mix the fruit and coconut oil together until the oil remains liquid.

Warm the egg to room temperature.

Put the raw egg into a blender or VitaMix (A VitaMix is much quicker than a blender).

Add the fruit and coconut oil mixture. Blend till creamy.

Next add the yogurt. Blend till completely mixed.

Last, add the greens. If using a blender, make sure the greens are broken into small pieces. If using a VitaMix, they can be added whole.

If you use a blender, it will take a bit longer to blend completely to a creamy consistency. With the VitaMix, it's pretty quick.

With the amounts of fruit and greens in this recipe, you can taste the greens a little. I like it that way. However, if you would prefer not to taste the greens, you can add more fruit. You can vary the types of fruit according to your taste.

Enjoy!

This is a great way to get these healthy greens into your family's diet.

This Kid Really Gets It!

Watch this video and get inspired to get your kids and your whole family on the path to healthier eating.

Salmon Lovers Beware!

The FDA is getting ready to approve genetically engineered salmon and it won't be labeled. It will be up to you to guess if the salmon you're buying is genetically engineered or not.

Read the article.

As we've seen frequently in the recent and distant past, the FDA has a history of making decisions that are not in the best interest of the consumer, but rather in the interest of the industry. In fact, a statement made by Former FDA Commissioner, Dr. Herbert Ley, makes it real clear that the FDA is not interested in protecting you...

"The thing that bugs me is that people think the FDA is protecting them. It isn’t. What the FDA is doing and what the public thinks it’s doing are as different as night and day."

That's right from the horses mouth.

So, now that you know that the FDA has no interest in protecting you, but is committed to protecting the profits of big business, it's up to you to protect yourself.

Here are some links to resources to help you protect yourself.

Healthy Eating
Food Additives
Healthy Eating Bookstore

Making Healthy Eating Easy

Have you ever thought that you should eat healthier, but have put it off because of the time it would take to figure it out?

Here are some tools to make healthy eating easy for you:

• Free healthy eating e-class
  
• Easy to follow Healthy Eating e-book
  
• Healthy recipes
  
• Your Personal Food Planner - to make the transition very easy
  
• Healthy Cooking Classes

These tools are easy to use. And if you follow the program in the healthy eating e-class, you will be eating healthfully in no time at all!

Choosing Your Eggs

The latest egg recall is just another case of poor practices of factory farming causing contamination. It's not the eggs that are bad for you, it's where they come from and how they are handled. Even organic eggs purchased from a store may be cause for caution.

Your best bet, buy locally grown, organic free range eggs.

Read the article here.

Get an insiders view about chicken farms in the movie, Food Inc.



Learn more about healthy eating here.

Gluten-Free Not Just For Celiacs

Gluten is a protein in certain grains that can cause an inflammatory reaction in your body. In those with Celiac's Disease, it triggers an "immune reaction that damages the small intestine and prevents absorption of nutrients."

You don't have to have Celiac's Disease to be affected by gluten. Gluten Intolerance is said to be more wide spread than most people are aware of.

Read the article here.

Gluten-containing grains include:

• wheat
  
• rye
  
• barley
  
• kamut
  
• spelt
  
• triticale
  
• bulgur
  
• durum
  
• semolina

Learn more about healthy eating.

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Green Tea

You've undoubtedly heard that green tea is healthy for you.

It has been said that it can help prevent cancer, heart disease and lower cholesterol. It is supposed to be helpful in losing weight and preventing tooth decay, to name just a few.

But did you know that all green tea is not created equal?

Click the image below to find out everything you ever wanted to know about green tea.