Carlito's Way

Carlito makes a mean smoothie at Arden's Garden in Atlanta, GA

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Forks Over Knives (OFFICIAL TRAILER)

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Healthy Living and Eating for Our Children

 A lot of parents say “My child won’t eat that! S/He will only eat this! Well, we know that when children do not eat the recommended servings of 5 or more fruits and vegetables, it makes them more susceptible to illnesses and deficiencies. So, how can we teach them to make better choices ? Below are some tips: 

Ssh!! Just Between Us

· Stock the cabinet with healthy, low-fat, low-sugar snacks. Examples- Raw veggies with fat free , dressing or hummus, fat-free yogurt, graham crackers, peanut butter or soy butter on celery, apples or bananas. Spruce up the choices with pineapples, mangoes, kiwis, etc.

· Avoid bringing sodas and juices loaded with sugar into your home.

· Keep orange or lemon slices in a bowl in the refrigerator which makes plain water more appealing.

· Blend up some smoothies and freeze in popsicle molds.

· Set a regular time for after school snacks, so these foods do not interfere with dinner.

· Search for a well-balanced children’s multivitamin*

· Plan your menu each week and to save time during the week, do batches of cooking on the weekend

· If your child is on the free or reduced lunch program and you don’t like what is being served, get involved in lobbying for more healthy foods

· On weekends, keep your crew busy and physically active so they are less likely to ask for food all day.

* Multi-vitamin/Minerals

Research shows that children low in vitamin B12 did not score as well as children with higher B12 levels on tests that measured spatial ability, short-term memory, the ability to solve complex problems, abstract thinking ability and the overall ability to learn. Studies increasingly suggest that micronutrients, including zinc, selenium, iron, copper, beta carotene, vitamins A, C, and E, and folic acid, can influence several components of immunity.

Learning and Nutrition

According to Jeff Bradstreet, MD of Florida’s International Child Development Resource Center, “Several studies have shown that excel carbohydrates in the form of both sugars and starches from cakes, chips, and cookies are to blame for the highs and lows of blood sugar levels in our children. This roller-coaster effect adds to attention-deficit problems.

The ADD Nutrition Solution by Marcia Zimmerman, “Controlled Trial of Vitamin-Mineral Supplementation y”Effects on Intelligence and Performance”by S.J. Schoenthaler et al

http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/heart/cholesterol.html# 

Brain Power 

½ cup vanilla yogurt (soy)j

1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries

1 tablespoon liquid soy lecithin or lecithin granules* (source of choline that can improve mental functionioning)

1 tablespoon honey optional

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tablespoon almond powder or soy protein powder

Blend and enjoy! 

Energizer 

1 cup orange juice

¾ cup red grapes or ¼ cup red grape juice

1 cup frozen unsweetened cherries

1 frozen banana, sliced

Blend until smooth.

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Chili For Two?

Chili for Two?

It has been confirmed that I do not know how to cook for two people. After years of preparing food for a family of 5, making the transition since everyone has left home, has been quite an adjustment.  Plus, growing up, I observed my grandmother always cooked more food because she never knew who may stop by.  Big Mama  was one of those “pinch of ths, dash of that, taste  and serve with love” kind of cooks.  Following in the tradition, I have approximated the big and little pinches for your duplication and pleasure.
The other day, the menu consisted of Chile and cornbread.  I chopped and sliced ingredients for both dishes and asked my husband if he would like to cook with me by making the cornbread.  He said, “ok” then proceeded to sit at the kitchen table doing work on his laptop.  Twenty minutes later, I’m standing at the stove, tasting and humming and he was sitting in the same spot at the computer when I turned and asked, “You still making the cornbread?”  He said, “You want me to?” I almost said, “Never mind,” but what would have been the fun of that!
Given the time and  hearing the growl of my stomach,  instead of having him make cornbread from scratch, I reached for the Trader Joe’s cornbread mix, and advised him to follow the directions, substituting the egg replacer for the egg and adding the chile powder, onions, bell peppers, and jalapenos.  Below, I have included the “scratch” recipe.   Do whichever works for you.

Mexican Corn Bread

1 cup corn meal
1 cup whole wheat flour
4 Tablespoons baking powder
1 egg replacer (Energ-G Egg Replacer)
½ teaspoon chile powder
2 Tablespoons honey
½ cup canola oil
½ cup soy milk
¼ cup finely chopped onion
2 Tablespoon minced red bell pepper
¼ cup diced green pepper
2 Tablespoon finely chopped jalapeno peppers

Preheat oven to 425°.  Combine corn meal, flour, baking powder sea salt and chile powder.  Saute̒ veggies for 1 minute in 1 tablespoon of canola oil.  Add to cornmeal mixture.  Mix honey, oil and soy milk and add to previous mixture.  Pour in cake pan and bake for 35 minutes or until tooth pick inserted comes out clean. 

Gimme More Veggie Chili

1 cup white kidney beans

1 cup black beans

Medium onion, sliced

Medium Green Pepper, chopped

3 stalks Celery , Chopped

1 carrot, sliced

½ cup mushrooms sliced

1 cup fresh or frozen corn

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon cumin

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 tsp basil

2 bay leaves

1-2 jalapeno peppers (depends on how much heat you like)

¼ teaspoon  ginger powder or small piece of ginger root *

2 cans no salt added tomatoes

½ cup Gimme Lean Veggie Sausage

3 Tablespoons  olive oil

1 teaspoon Spike seasoning or 1 teaspoon Sea Salt

1 Tablespoon Hasa Marina (corn flour)

Pinch of cinnamon

In large pot, saute garlic, onion, green pepper, celery, mushrooms, corn and carrots in 2 Tablespoons of olive oil.  Add cumin. chili powder, basil and Spike.  Add white kidney and black beans,  tomatoes, ginger, bay leaves and jalapenos to mixture.  Cover and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring frequently.   Break up Gimme Lean Sausage and sauté in 1 tablespoon oil.  Add sausage and corn to pot.  Cook for another 10 minutes.  Add corn flour(helps thicken), stir,  and pinch of cinnamon.  Taste and flavor to your pallete.   

*Ginger reduces gas experienced by some when they eat beans.

By the way, you can get eight servings out of this!  

So you can freeze, share with friends or have lunch for days.

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Sexy Eating for Good Health, Weight Loss and Lifestyle Change

Photo source: Tres Sugar

Every one wants to feel good, look good and enjoy life.  That includes having great sex. Do you remember a time when you couldn't wait to see and touch your partner? Yet, what happens when what you're eating, drinking or thinking gets in the way? You just may find yourself doing more complaining than engaging in lovemaking.

Of course, purposeful talk can be a turn on since it does aid in the release of oxytocin, "the love" hormone.


But let's be real, when your energy is low, breath is short, sleep is at a minimum, and you're thinking, "I am not in the mood," there won't be much sexy feeling going on.  So, a few quick changes can alter that.  First of all, gratification begins in the brain.  Taking care of your body makes you think and  feel better about yourself and certainly about sharing with someone else.

Where do you start?  When you go grocery shopping, add some almonds, walnuts and Omega-3 in the cart.  Increase your consumption of anti-oxidants with spinach, broccoli, tomatoes, red grapes, beets, greens, and dark chocolate.  The high flavonoid in dark chocolate has been reported to improve circulation and that contributes to more enjoyable sex.  Just resist the temptation to eat  the whole bar at one time.  Ask me how I know!

And let's not forget to do some physical exercise.  If you haven't been doing any exercise- start with some push-ups and situps each day.  Drink water, get outside, feel the sunshine on your face and breathe deeply. You'll be surprised how quickly you experience results. So women and men get your sexy back in 2012.


Sources:
 http://psychcentral.com/lib/2008/about-oxytocin/all/1/
 http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/phytochemicals/flavonoids/

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The Best Time To Maintain Good Health

The best time to maintain good health, is while you have it. It's kind of like what my parents used to say about school work. I was encouraged to stay ahead and keep up so I would not have to play catch up. So, what causes some of us to overeat, overindulge, underexercise and then, decry the weight gain, bulges and "bad" news from the doctor? 


Call it human nature, reacting to life upsets, wanting to do what we want to do, repeating what we've seen, or my all time favorites, "I have plenty of time to deal with that" and "Well, I'm going to die from something".  While there are some things that genetics may have predisposed us to, we still have choices. Just suppose, we made some moderate changes now in our thinking, eating and exercise plan? Do you suppose we could then avoid the doctor's "cut back on and cut out" decrees? When we order the apple instead of the bag of chips with our sandwich, do you think it may make a difference? It makes sense to me. How about you? Now I know that some folks don't move until their backs are up against the wall and that's okay. "Back against the wall" can be a great motivator. One of my clients made some drastic changes when he thought he would not be here for his grandson's arrival. 


For anyone who is serious about maintaining or restoring good health there are some steps to be taken and key questions to be answered. We will deal with the first here which involves our thought process. Step 1- Think about the benefit to you of being in good health. What would you be doing, seeing, hearing and experiencing? What are you losing or missing out on as a result of not being in good health? Are those losses acceptable to you? If yes, what are you getting out of having those losses? What is being in good health worth to you? Start answering those questions for yourself with honesty. Then we will go to Step 2.

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