Keep Breakfast Simple

As moms (and dads) on the go it's easy to skip breakfast to save a few minutes.  This can actually wreak havoc on your diet for the rest of the day.  Skipping breakfast not only makes you feel sluggish and grouchy it can slow down your metabolism and make you ravenous at lunch time; therefore vulnerable to making unhealthy choices.

Here are my simple suggestions to make breakfast easy and delicious:

1. Keep it simple:  Don't try to re-invent the wheel each morning.  Stick to the same routine and keep it simple.  If you are not a big eater in the morning don't plan on a huge meal.  Healthy whole-grain cereal and low-fat milk are your best friend.

2. Keep it healthy: Simple does not mean grabbing a doughnut or huge muffin from the local coffee shop!  Eat your breakfast at home before you run out the door. It will save your wallet and your waistline!

3.  Keep your pantry and fridge loaded with staples: I always make sure I have whole-grain, high fiber cereals and instant oatmeal  in the pantry and a healthy supply of fruits and nuts in the fridge.

My suggestion for breakfast: Kashi or any other organic brand cereal or oatmeal, blueberries, a handful of walnuts, dash of cinnamon and low-fat soy milk.  I eat it almost everyday.  I don't have to think about it - it's routine - and gets me going for the rest of the day.

Healthy Snack Choices

I happen to believe that healthy snacking is an important part of eating a well balanced diet.  Eating healthy snacks between breakfast and lunch and then again between lunch and dinner helps to keep you from becoming too hungry and then either over eating or making poor food choices at meal time.

Starting off you day with a healthy breakfast is the beginning of a great food day.  Add a little protein to your breakfast to help keep you feeling full for a longer period of time.  Skip the sweets like donuts or pastries and opt for Kashi cereals or oatmeal topped with fresh fruit and a few almonds or walnuts and make sure you use skim or low fat milk.

For your morning snack choose low fat yogurt (make sure it does not contain high fructose corn syrup or any artificial sweeteners) and top it with fresh berries, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and a couple of chopped walnuts.

For your afternoon snack I recommend you follow Elvis’s lead and eat a sliced banana with a heaping tablespoon of all natural peanut butter.

Here are a few other healthy snack options:

• Fruit smoothies: Opt to make your own with fresh or frozen fruit, low fat yogurt, a little light vanilla soy milk, and a dash of cinnamon – store bought smoothies may contain high fat yogurts or ice cream.
• Berries: They are sweet, easy to pop into your mouth, and a much healthier choice than a candy bar. Raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and blackberries are all anti-inflammatory, rich in flavonoids (compounds to protect cells against damage) and offer immune-boosting antioxidant activity.
• Cut Up Vegetables: The fiber in veggies will help fill you up, and they provide a nice, satisfying crunch. Choose a wide range of colors (broccoli, cauliflower and carrots are good choices). I like to keep baby carrots and cut broccoli on hand to have an easy to reach for snack.
• Nuts: When eaten sparingly, nuts are a great snack. Walnuts are rich in omega-3 fatty acids.  Nuts can be high in calories and fat (even if it's the healthy monounsaturated kind) so watch your portion control.
• Dark chocolate: An ounce of dark chocolate now and then will satisfy a sweet tooth while providing antioxidant polyphenols (A kind of chemical that may protect against some common health problems and possibly certain effects of aging). Choose high quality dark chocolate with at least 70 percent pure cocoa, and enjoy the rich flavor.

Mom (or Dad) on the Go Breakfast

We're always in a hurry but that is no reason not to take a few minutes and eat a healthy breakfast.   I try to eat my breakfast soon after the kids leave for school so that I don't let myself get too hungry and then start to think about unhealthy food choices.  To keep it simple I eat the same breakfast almost everyday.  It's simple, quick and full of good stuff:

Kashi Instant Oatmeal - Maple Brown Sugar
I add a sprinkle of cinnamon, a few whole walnuts, blueberries (about 2 dozen) and a few craisins for sweetness.

To drink I have a cup of green tea - I like Stash Green Chai Tea.


It's a simple, super healthy breakfast!

Steel Cut Oats

I remember a few years ago when Dr. Oz was still just a guest on the Oprah Show that he recommended eating Steel Cut Oats for breakfast.  So I ran out and bought some for myself but after I realized that I was going to have to cook them - and they take at least 20 minutes - and then add the flavoring myself - I thought it was too much work.  So I opted for the prepackaged oatmeal (from Kashi) which is still a great healthy choice and very convenient.

Recently I decided to try my hand at preparing  Steel Cuts Oats again and boy am I glad I took the time.  They are filling and delicious and with less processing they maintain their flavor and texture.  Steel Cut Oats are good for you because they are rich in whole grains, are high in B-vitamins, calcium, protein and fiber while low in salt and unsaturated fat. 

To flavor them I add a little bit of brown sugar, cinnamon, a few walnuts and blueberries.

Kids Healthy Snacks for School

With school around the corner I started to think about what to pack my boys for snacks and lunches this year. I thought it would be a great idea to compile a list of healthy snacks to help give other moms some good, easy options. Here is what I came up with so far:

1. Granola Bars: (Make sure to read your label) You want to get a bar that is high in fiber and protein and low in sugar. My favorite is Kashi 7-Grain but another good alternative is Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars.

2. Cheddar Bunnies: You can now get Annie's Cheddar Bunnies in individual snack packs but I think it's less expensive to buy the family size box and make my one individual baggies. They also have new flavors like sour cream and onion and whole wheat. My kids still love the original Cheddar Bunnies.

3. Apple Slices: I cut up apple slices and mix them with a little lemon juice so they don't turn. I also try to place them close to the ice-pack in their lunch boxes to keep them cold.

4. Red Grapes: One of the best snacks there is - grapes are loaded with vitamins, minerals, and fiber. The more you can get them to eat - the better!

5. Kids Clif ZBars: Each bar is low fat, made with whole oats, and contains 12 essential vitamins and minerals kids need every day. What you won't find is all the junk! Lots of great flavors to choose from and I love that they are organic and high in protein.

More Benefits of Flax (Especially for those of us who are post-menopausal)

An article in Women's Health (July/August 2009) I read gave me more great news about the benefits of flax.

Flax has more lignans (a unique group of phytochemicals (plant chemicals) known as phytoestrogens, estrogen-like compounds that also act as antioxidants) than any other food. This is good because the estrogenlike compounds help reduce appetite and help shrink fat cells.

When you are post-menopausal your bodies estrogen production drops 40 or 60 percent. Eating a diet rich in healthy foods (and regular light to moderate exercise like walking) can improve your health and over all well being. By including more soy and flax in the diet as well as eating a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, seeds, nuts, and healthy oils, and decreasing animal fat intake, you can help work thru the regular symptoms of menopause and also improve you overall sense of well-being.

You can buy flax seed at most grocery stores. Great ways to get more flax in your diet is to sprinkle it on cereal or oatmeal, add it to your yogurt or smoothies. Also look for the ingredient in multigrain bread and cereals. Kashi has several choices of cereal containing flax (Honey Almond Flax Cereal).

These estrogen like compounds are also found in sesame seeds, hummus, and dried fruits.

Easy Tips To Keep Your Diet On Track:

Our days are busy. We feel guilty when we over eat or don't have time to exercise. How do we keep our diets and exercise programs on track? How do we stay motivated and keep a positive attitude? Here are a few easy tips:

1. Don’t set unrealistic goals. Commit to eating well for a 1 week. When you have accomplished that goal set a new goal of 2 weeks and so on. Every time you reach your goal you will have a sense of accomplishment.

2. Eat well and exercise not to just look good but to feel good too. When you add a small amount of exercise like walking into you daily routine along with making healthier food choices, you will soon see how much better you feel. Use this as your motivator and keep it up.

3. Move on after a mistake. We all overindulge now and then. Sometimes more NOW than then but forget about it and move on. Follow any overindulgence with several healthy meals and snacks. This will ensure that you are eating healthy food most of the time. And don't feel guilty. Realize that you made a bad choice and move on. Feelings of guilt propel us back into our old bad habits.

4. Eat a healthy breakfast at home before you start your day so you are not tempted to indulge in the unhealthy treats along the way like doughnuts, bagels with cream cheese, and lattes. Keep healthy alternatives at home and work like Kashi oatmeal and cereal, and snack bars. If you can't drink your coffee without loads of sugar, flavored syrups and whipped cream - skip the coffee!

5. Toss the junk food and restock your cupboard and fridge with almonds, fruits and vegetables, Soy Joy or Kashi Bars. Have cut up fruit and veges on hand so that they are easy and convenient to grab. And do the same at work. Having a bowl of grapes washed and ready in the fridge makes for an easy, healthy snack.

6. Drink lots of water and green tea. Avoid sodas of any kind.

Super Smoothie Recipe

1 Banana
½ Cup Frozen Strawberries
½ Cup Frozen Blueberries
½ Cup Frozen Raspberries
½ Cup Frozen Peaches
½ Cup Low Fat Vanilla Yogurt
1 Cup Orange Juice
½ Cup Light Vanilla Soy milk
Handful of Ice Cubes
1 Scoop Kashi Go Lean Vanilla Energy Shake Mix
½ tsp Cinnamon

Put all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth. Add water if it is too thick and blend again.

I never measure when I am making smoothies but this is a pretty good estimate. You can use any frozen fruit you like. My secret ingredient is the cinnamon. You can also omit the Kashi Powder if you want. I like it because it gives you extra vitamins and helps fill you up!

Welcome to my Blog!

I started this blog not because I am an expert in nutrition, diet or exercise but because I am a pushing forty, happily married, cancer surviving, mother of two who just wants to raise a healthy family without having to have a personal chef, trainer or a degree in nutrition. Why should I have to read the label of every single food item I buy for my family? What happened to food just being food?

Two years ago when I found I had cancer, my family and I, who already exercised and ate pretty healthy, really started doing a lot of research on what we were eating. We began to read the labels of everything we bought. The first few weeks of doing this meant for long hours at the grocery store. I found myself exclaiming out loud in the aisles, “I’ve been feeding this to my kids?” It produced a number of wary looks from fellow shoppers. Once I began to get a handle of what products I thought were okay and what to avoid it began to get much easier but what I found shocking is the number of preservatives, hidden trans fat, and over processed foods that are in our diets. Why should there be ten ingredients in butter? Shouldn’t butter just be cream and salt?
So I decided I would start off 2009 with a blog that had great food tips, easy healthy recipes, and information that I could share with others on getting back to a more natural way of eating. I wanted to help others so they would not have to do all the leg work I have done over the last couple of years to put healthy food on my families table.

1 Corinthians 6:19,20 (New Living Translation)
Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

The first thing I want to talk about is breakfast. For me, it’s boring. I do not get excited about breakfast at home. It is utilitarian. Although I would prefer a nice big toasted everything bagel with a bunch of cinnamon swirl cream cheese. That’s not what I eat. Six out of seven days a week I eat either cereal or oatmeal with fruit. I know it sounds pretty bland but you can really make it a great start to a super healthy day. Here are a few suggestions:

Kashi Heart to Heart Brown Maple Oatmeal
Kashi Go Lean Crunch Cereal
Kashi Heart to Heart Cereal










Whatever I choose I always add about a teaspoon of cinnamon to my cereal, ground flax seed (I’ll tell you why next), and fruit – usually blueberries or sliced bananas. To make the cold cereal even better I use light vanilla soy milk. I know it may sound strange but it is so good. I like it so much that I never use regular milk anymore. If you don’t like the extra vanilla flavoring than just get regular light soy milk. My favorite brand is Light Silk Soymilk. It’s all natural.

The reason I usually choose Kashi brand cereals or oatmeal is that I know I can trust that their products are going to be all natural. I don’t have to read the list of ingredients before buying their products – I have found from my research and reading the labels of many different brands of cereal that they consistently use all natural ingredients. Here’s their website if you want to look at the products they sell.

http://kashi.com/

I also want to add that I do not work for anybody or get anything for mentioning products. I am just simply sharing my opinion about products I love. As I mentioned, I have spent a lot of time reading labels and just want to share the information I have found so that I can help others get back to more natural way of eating.