Archive for the ‘Meals’ Category
Grapes Make Great Treats
There’s nothing like biting into a sweet, crunchy grape on a warm day. Grapes make for excellent snacks, or as added bursts of flavor in salads and chicken dishes. Always be ready to eat grapes when you buy them because they are only harvested when fully ripe. When choosing grapes, use color as your guide. Red grape should be a deep crimson, not a milky or pale red. As well as choosing the grapes by their color, make sure the stem is a green color: the greener the stem, the fresher the grapes. They should also be firmly attached to the stems. Keep grape bunches in the refrigerator, and they will stay fresh for a week to ten days. Washing and removing grapes from their stems is about all that is needed to prepare grapes before you’re ready to eat them. Grapes are excellent in cold salads, especially chicken, turkey, or tuna salads. They’re also perfect to add to your kid’s lunches for a sweet treat during school time.
Are You Getting Enough Fiber?
Sorting out the different types of fiber can be confusing. Here’s a quick run-down:
Soluble fiber may help promote normal blood cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Find it in oatmeal, barley, nuts and seeds, beans, and fruits and vegetables like Brussels sprouts and oranges.
Insoluble fiber promotes regularity by helping food move through the digestive system. Food sources include bran cereals, whole-wheat breads and pastas, and fruits and vegetables, such as carrots and apples.
Health authorities don’t give specifics on how much of each type of fiber to eat, so focus on eating a variety of fiber-containing foods to meet recommendations. Getting 25 grams of fiber per day is a good goal for many people.
To get your fill of fiber, eat at least 2 cups of fruit and 2 ½ cups of vegetables daily. Replace foods made with refined grains (such as white bread) with alternatives like whole-wheat bread and pasta, oats and brown rice. Choose bran or other high fiber cereals. Include beans and lentils in your meals regularly. Remember to gradually add these fiber-rich foods and to drink more fluids as you increase the amount of fiber you eat.
Bananas, the worlds most popular fruit
Why the banana of course! The banana is the most well known and eaten tropical fruit.
I eat a banana every day. They are said to contain everything that a human body needs nutritionally. They contain all of the 8 amino-acids that our body cannot produce by itself.
Bananas are available all year round and they are a great source of instant energy.
They contain no fat, sodium or cholesterol. Bananas are rich in vitamin B6 and they are a great source of fiber, vitamin C, magnesium and potassium.
A medium size banana contains approximately 110 calories and 4 grams of fiber. They are easy to digest and very few people have allergies to them.
Bananas are good for your mood because they contain serotonin and norepinephrine. Their nutritional value makes the a great post-exercise snack.
Bananas are great for your meal plans because of their convenience. They make great snacks by just peeling and eating. They even come in their own “packaging” (very “green” and eco-friendly too)!
TIP: Peel your banana from the bottom up and you won’t have to pick those little “stringy things” off it. Thats how the primates do it!
You can use bananas in a variety of ways. You can cook them or freeze them and even make mock ice cream with them!
There are several types of bananas – most popular is the sweet banana pictured here. Plantains are a type of banana most often used in cooking.
There are some great recipes for bananas in my e-book, The Super Simple Weight Loss Plan – Tips and Techniques for Fast and Permanent Weight Loss Without Dieting, Drugs or Surgery.