10 Simple Ways To Eat Your Best (Chart)

• Make higher food choices whenever you can.
• Know your body.
• Choose a variety of flavors, textures, and colors according to what you need that day.
• Accept that your needs change by season, mood, climate, exercise levels, time of the month, health, and other factors.
• Don't follow generic internet advice that claims to be good for everyone. 
• Don't fall into hype traps or fear-mongering pitfalls.
• Become aware of your own inner guidance.
• Eat in a tranquil state.
• Be conscious of tasting, enjoying, and savoring the food.
• Chew well and swallow.

 If this seems so obvious, why don't many people do it?
Thanks for the chart Weed 'em and Reap.

XO 

Who Is Feeding Our Kids' Minds? (Video)

Anna Lappé's Food MythBusters appeared while I was hunting for good videos on food to show my kids.

Food MythBusters take on some the biggest myths about food, helping you learn the real story about what you eat.

	Hunger & Food Security: “We need industrial agriculture to feed the world.”
	Marketing & Advertising: ”Is junk food is what we really crave?”
	Cost & Economics: ”Sustainably raised food is always too expensive.”
	The Environment: ”Genetically engineered crops are the best way to deal with pests, weeds, droughts, and floods.”
	Food Safety & Health: ”Factory farming produces the safest, cleanest food.”

- See more at: http://foodmyths.org/whats-the-real-story-about-what-we-eat/#sthash.xLGNaRdZ.dpuf

The site tackles common myths about food in order to reveal the real story behind them.

I like sharing videos like the one below with my kids while they're young and impressionable. For those of us with a priority of nutritious food, our task is to counteract the constant bombardment of media and advertisements.

Unfortunately, the food industry funnels billions of dollars into marketing campaigns that enter our kids' minds, convincing them to want packaged food with little to no nutritional value. In fact, those foods contribute to the rise in illness, obesity, ADD/ADHD, and other issues.

When I share information with my kids, I don't preach. (At least I hope not!) I merely show them what "other people" are saying. Then I trust that eventually they will make healthier choices for themselves too.

• Keep the talk short. They will stop paying attention if you stand on the soap box for too long.
• Invite a discussion by asking age appropriate questions about the video or by asking them what they noticed in the video. There are no right or wrong answers. Let them make their observations. Take them seriously.
• If they don't feel like talking, that's fine too. No need to force it.
• Don't make eating exclusively about weight gain or loss. While that's a component of healthy food choices, it is not the entire picture by a long shot. Good health, strong bodies, steady energy levels, and feeling light and happy show a fuller picture of the way dietary habits affect each of us.

Hunger & Food Security

Marketing & Advertising

Cost & Economics

The Environment

Food Safety & Health

- See more at: http://foodmyths.org/whats-the-real-story-about-what-we-eat/#sthash.xLGNaRdZ.dpuf

Food MythBusters take on some the biggest myths about food, helping you learn the real story about what you eat.

	Hunger & Food Security: “We need industrial agriculture to feed the world.”
	Marketing & Advertising: ”Is junk food is what we really crave?”
	Cost & Economics: ”Sustainably raised food is always too expensive.”
	The Environment: ”Genetically engineered crops are the best way to deal with pests, weeds, droughts, and floods.”
	Food Safety & Health: ”Factory farming produces the safest, cleanest food.”

- See more at: http://foodmyths.org/whats-the-real-story-about-what-we-eat/#sthash.xLGNaRdZ.dpuf

Food MythBusters take on some the biggest myths about food, helping you learn the real story about what you eat.

	Hunger & Food Security: “We need industrial agriculture to feed the world.”
	Marketing & Advertising: ”Is junk food is what we really crave?”
	Cost & Economics: ”Sustainably raised food is always too expensive.”
	The Environment: ”Genetically engineered crops are the best way to deal with pests, weeds, droughts, and floods.”
	Food Safety & Health: ”Factory farming produces the safest, cleanest food.”

- See more at: http://foodmyths.org/whats-the-real-story-about-what-we-eat/#sthash.xLGNaRdZ.dpuf

Do you have any educational food videos that you show your kids? If so, please share them in the comments.


Related articles

Tips to get your kids to eat healthier (originally on Hip and Healthy UK)

Awesome Vegan Pesto For Glowing Skin

This recipe elicits murmurs of "Mmmms" and "Ahhhs" whenever I've served it. Not only is it supremely delicious, it has powerful ingredients that enhance beautiful skin and overall good health.

For optimum skin, a balanced acid-alkaline internal climate eliminates blemishes, rashes, and other signs of imbalance.  Disease breeds and thrives in a body that is either overly acidic or overly alkaline, so achieving equilibrium is not only desirable—it's absolutely essential.

With the body's natural pH at 7.365 (in blood), eating foods with higher pH levels helps bring the acid-alkaline levels into balance—particularly if you're overly acidic. Each of the ingredients in this recipe neutralize acidity to restore the body's pH to its ideal state.

Parsley (pH 9.0)
Herbs make a welcome component in any beauty regimen both inside and out as they assist in alkalizing the body. The two herbs used in this recipe are particularly beneficial.
Parsley contains vitamin C, manganese, calcium, and potassium. "The vitamin C in this herb speeds collagen production, and its other qualities can help regulate oil production, cleanse pores, and soothe tired eyes," said the WiseGEEK website.
Since these are the ALKALIZING MINERALS, parsley is a winner!

• Calcium: pH 12
• Cesium: pH 14
• Magnesium: pH 9
• Potassium: pH 14
• Sodium: pH 14

Basil (pH 9.0)
Basil neutralizes acne and blemishes of all kinds. It's anti-bacterial, anti-spasmodic, and anti-inflammatory, making it an ideal herb to incorporate into a diet to support good skin.

Lemon Juice (pH 2.0 but becomes alkaline in the body)
"Lemon provides a huge dose of the free radical fighting antioxidant vitamin C, which helps keep skin even-toned and wrinkle-free," said Dana Oliver, senior beauty editor at The Huffington Post, in this post. It also detoxifies the liver, allowing toxins to flush out of the system.

Pine Nuts (Neutral pH 7.0)
Rich in vitamin E and zinc, pine nuts protect skin from oxidative (cell) damage and support healthy skin and hair growth.

Garlic (pH 9.0)
Garlic's list of benefits could extend for miles! It contains Allicin, Sulphur, Zinc, and Calcium, compounds that promote multiple health benefits, beauty benefits, as well as carrying antibiotic and antifungal properties. Garlic provides a rich source of selenium, known to fight cancer and boost antioxidant power when combined with vitamin E.

Sea Salt
Salt meets the body's requirement for sodium, a mineral essential for the bioelectrical system to function effectively. However, most salts found in supermarkets are refined, processed, and heated. The best option is to use high quality sea salt like Celtic Sea Salt, RealSalt, or Himalayan Crystal sea salt. These natural salts leave essential minerals and trace elements intact.

Black Pepper
Often overlooked, black pepper aids digestion, acts as a diuretic, and some studies show it burns fat. It promotes healing in cuts due to its antibacterial properties. The freshest way to incorporate black pepper is to buy peppercorns and grind them.

Olive Oil
The base for this recipe is olive oil. Olive oil and other oils are not water soluble so their acidity cannot be measured in terms of pH. Oils that are cold-pressed or raw have a low acidity while lower quality oils will be more acidic.

Olive oil's numerous benefits have been extolled many times. Among other advantages, the high content of polyphenols (antioxidants), vitamins E and K, and fatty acids dose the body with skin and health loving properties.

Vegan Pesto Recipe

• 3 cups basil leaves, loosely packed
• 1 cup parsley leaves, loosely packed
• 2/3 cup organic extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh garlic (4 - 6 cloves)
• 1 cup toasted pine nuts (or walnuts if you'd rather)
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (2 or 3 lemons)
• 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper or to taste
• 1 tsp salt or to taste

Blend all ingredients in a blender or Vitamix. I like to keep it a bit chunky and not too creamy by pulsing slowly and then one or two high speed mixes. Serve with crudités or as a companion to gluten-free pasta, fish, or salad. It's great layered over sliced tomatoes and avocados too.

Enjoy!
[Original recipe found on Savvy Vegetarian and slightly modified.]
Photo credits: draghicich/photos.com, Kaitlin Gruss/photos.com, manu10319/photos.com, Maksym Khytra/photos.com, YekoPhotoStudio/photos.com, joanna wnuk/photos.com, TatjanaBaibakova/photos.com, AndreyGorulko/photos.com, Svetl/photos.com

Related articles

• 4 Steps to Achieving Beautiful Skin (ediblefacial.com)
• Easy ways to boost your salad's nutritional value (nourishingisrael.wordpress.com)
• 3 Easy Meals That Make Your Skin Glow (beautyhigh.com)

Chocolate Smoothie Dreamin'—Great for Breakfast or After a Workout!

You make the big decision to eat for wellness not just for weight loss.  This means adhering to a diet largely consisting of plants, quality proteins, good fats and oils, lower sugar intake, and other nutrient-dense foods.

Not too long into this radically enormous lifestyle change, the unthinkable happens—you begin to crave chocolate!  What’s a junkie turned health-foodie to do?!
This craving demands some serious and immediate attention or else those addictive Trader Joe’s milk chocolate caramel balls that you’ve successfully been avoiding are gonna find their way off the shelf and into your palm. And once that happens…I shudder to think.

Some Chocolate May Be Good for You

Fortunately, not all chocolate is created equally.  Those that are laden with sugar and dairy additives are not the optimum choices.  However recent studies show that the darker the chocolate—the kind with a high percentage of antioxidant-rich cocoa—the better.  In fact, I wrote an entire article about how chocolate can be good for your skin here and in what amounts.

Emotional Eating

You may also be interested in exploring what brought on this craving from an emotional perspective.  For a FANTASTIC article that delves into the emotions associated with specific food cravings, click on this link.

In the article, Linda Wojcik, a nutritional kinesiologist and spiritual intuitive, explains how emotions get stuck and need to be fed.  She says, “When we choose to live in the emotion instead of choosing to move through the emotion…it becomes a repetitive pattern.  Eventually, through repetition, this energy finds a place to call home within our bodies.”

As it turns out, chocolate, caffeine, and/or sugar seem to feed several stuck emotions like disappointments, frustration, obsessive thoughts and behavior, as well as anger.  (Surprise, surprise!)

Until reaching such resolution, here’s the edible antidote to the chocolate yearning.  Follow the link to the recipe for homemade almond milk to make this raw.  It can be vegan—just swap out the honey.  And it’s deeeeluscious.

So instead of feeding your emotions, you will be nourishing your body and soul healthfully.
The original recipe can be found on About.com.  I’ve adapted it with a few tweaks that boost the nutritional profile, but it is mainly the same since it came out so yummy.

Raw Chocolate Banana Milkshake:

 
You will need:

• 2 whole, ripe bananas 
  
• 3-4 T. raw cacao powder, cocoa powder, or cacao/maca blend
  
• 1/4 C. raw organic honey Replace raw honey with maple syrup for the vegan alternative.
• 1/4 cup raw organic creamy almond butter
  
• 3 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk (click here for a recipe to make your own), vanilla coconut milk, or other vanilla-flavored dairy-free milk alternative.
• 1/2 cup ice cubes (or pre-frozen, chopped bananas instead)

Preparation:

Place all the ingredients in the blender.  Blend until smooth and creamy.  Serve immediately.  The original recipe suggests garnishing with shredded dark dairy-free chocolate.  If someone wanted to SERVE it to me that way, I’d take it.
 
Other Variations:
I LOVE add-ons in a smoothie because you can rarely distinguish the flavors, so it’s a great way to sneak in extra nutrition.  Avocado is a favorite of mine since it boasts close to 20 essential health-boosting nutrients and allows the flavors of the smoothie to remain in tact.  Coconut oil makes a wonderful addition too.  Both these healthy fat options can replace the nut butter, in case of nut allergy.  (We will have to discuss good fats and oils in another post!  For now, the link leads to an informative blog post written by a naturopath about healthy fats and oils.)
A few tablespoons of hemp seeds, a splash of aloe vera juice, a small handful of greens (like spinach), a tablespoon of nutritional oils, and/or a cup of frozen or fresh raspberries or strawberries enhance the recipe.

Sip slowly and satisfy the urge!  It is so filling that you will not be hungry for hours, nor will your blood sugar spike then dip suddenly.  That’s why it makes a terrific breakfast or after-workout high protein/good carb fix.

Find out what makes this shake so awesome:

Bananas High in vitamin B6, vitamin C, manganese, fiber, and potassium.
Raw organic cacao Great source of magnesium, calcium, zinc, iron, copper, and potassium. To read about the difference between raw cacao and cocoa powder, Nourish My Life blog offers a thorough and well-referenced discussion.

Maca powder Adds a dose of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and sterols that can support general health, immune function, boost stamina, enhance libido, regulate hormones, and reduce exhaustion.
Raw organic honey  Packed with live enzymes, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, and healing agents.
Maple Syrup Not to be confused by the imposters called “pancake syrup” or “breakfast syrup,” real maple syrup comes in several grades. It’s an excellent source of manganese and zinc, both immune boosters among other benefits.
Raw organic almond butter Excellent source of protein and high in Vitamin E and Manganese.  (The original recipe calls for raw peanut butter which is technically a legume and many people are allergic to it, so I opted out.  Cashew butter and other nut butters work nicely too.) 

Related articles

• Five Milk Solutions for Vegans (dairyfree.answers.com)
• Fat Facts: Interview with nutritionist on the fats we should all be eating (hipandhealthy.co.uk)
• The Foods that Feed Our Emotions (healingyou101.blogspot.com)
• Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie (about.com)
• Homemade Almond Milk (purelywholesomelife.com)
• Gone Nuts (theartiscooking.wordpress.com)

Photo Credits

1. From Cupcakes to Crossfit Blog
2. NPR.org