Ahhhh... Fall!

Such a lovely time of year!  Fall is my favorite season, that's why I want to dedicate this post to Fall.  As you all know Fall is just around the corner.  And soon the temperature will be dropping, the leaves will be changing color and the lovely smells of pumpkin pies will be in the air.. ahhh, how I love this time of year!  Not to mention Halloween and Thanksgiving happen during this season.. My most favorite celebrations!

Of course as we approach the months, we will begin to crave more comfort foods.  This of course means that we will be eating calorie packed foods, which can result in weight gain, specially after Thanksgiving!  During these times we have to remember, it's okay to indulge!  We just have to eat in moderation, everything in moderation is good!  When we over-indulge, then we begin to stray away from our path.  Here are a few tips from EatRight.com to help us out during these comfort food filled upcoming seasons!

• If you plan on treating yourself later, start your day with a small meal that includes whole grains, fruit, dairy foods and protein like eggs, ham or peanut butter.
• Don't starve yourself beforehand. Rather, eat a small, lower-calorie meal or snack such as fruit or a bagel so you aren’t tempted to overdo your calorie intake for the day.
• Select carefully between foods you definitely will eat, those you will sample and those you will skip.
• Don’t rush to eat. Socialize and settle into the festivities before you eat.
• Move your socializing away from the buffet or appetizer trays. This will minimize the unconscious nibbling.
• When it comes to drinking alcohol, start with a calorie-free, nonalcoholic beverage. Satisfy your thirst before having an alcoholic drink. It is recommended that women have only one to two drinks per day and two to three drinks per day for men.

Well, lets get ready for a wonderful Fall season.  Hope you all have a wonderful Labor day weekend! See you next time!

The One, The Only... The Chia Seed!!!

Chia are so tiny in size but they have so many super powers! Well, not super powers like super heroes, their powers are even better.  Chia seeds have been known to help for many things, such as weight loss, blood sugar balancing, diverticulitis prevention, craving prevention, among many other things.

Can you believe these tiny seeds are also a complete protein (do you see how tiny these seeds are, how can they possibly pack in so many benefits?!)  Unlike beans and most whole grain breads, Chia seeds don't need any other ingredient to become complete proteins.  They also have Omega-3 fatty acids, which make them perfect for vegetarians and vegans who do not eat fish.  And did I also mention that these babies have soluble and non-soluble fiber!  And chia seeds also make you look younger with their share of antioxidants and give you more energy!  Whoa, is there something chia seeds cannot do?! Well, they won't be able to rescue you from a villain, but they sure will rescue your health!

Here comes the big question... How does one, eat these seeds?  Well, you can put chia seeds pretty much anywhere you want! Salads, puddings, yogurts, breads, smoothies, breakfast scrambles, juices, sauces, you name it!  Chia seeds are flavorless, so they can be added to any food and they will not alter its taste.  Because they have soluble and non-soluble fiber, when chia seeds come in contact with liquids they will develop a gel-like outer layer, which can be great when added to yogurts, smoothies, juices and sauces!

Chia seeds are just simply amazing! The fact that they are so little in size but can do so many things for us is really astonishing !  Personally I just recently found out about chia seeds not so long ago, and I have been adding them to foods here and there and I have to say, these little seeds do what supplements on the market listed for insanely high prices claim to do.  And chia seeds are really affordable! There really is no excuse not to include chia seeds to your diet!  Try them out first to see for yourself!  Some grocery stores carry them in bulks so you can choose how much you want to start off with.  I hope you enjoy chia seeds as much as I do!

Thanks again for reading! I wish you all a wonderful day full of laughter, happiness, good health and good energy!

Delishious Smoothies... That are good for you!!!

Smoothies are great ways to have a nutritious meal or snack and not feel overly stuffed!  Here are some delicious smoothies that are perfect to have for breakfast, lunch, dinner or even as a snack! Enjoy!

Kimberly Snyder's Official Glowing Green Smoothie
 

Ingredients:

• 1 ½- 2 cups very cold, filtered water
• 6 cups spinach, chopped
• 5 cups organic romaine lettuce, chopped
• 2 stalks of organic celery
• 1 organic apple, cored and chopped
• 1 organic pear, cored and chopped
• 1 organic banana
• 1–2 Tbs. fresh organic lemon juice

Directions:
Add water, spinach and chopped romaine to the blender. Starting the blender on a low speed; mix until smooth.
Gradually move to higher speeds and add the herbs, celery, pear, and apple. Add the banana and lemon juice last.
*For 1 serving, cut out one of the fruits and the celery.

Blueberry Banana Smoothie with Flax Seed

Ingredients:

• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 1 banana
• 6 ounces plain nonfat plain yogurt
• 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
• 1/2 cup ice cubes 

Directions: Place your ingredients in the blender and start blending on low speed and then gradually increase the speed until all ingredients are smooth. Add another 30-60 seconds to add air which makes the smoothie lighter. Serves 2 so bring an extra glass.

POM Breakfast Smoothie

Ingredients

• 1 cup POM wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice
• 3/4 cup soy or low-fat milk
• 2 ice cubes
• 1 large banana
• 2 tablespoons almonds
• 3 table spoons protein powder (optional)
• 1 teaspoon honey or stevia sweetener

 Directions: In a blender combine all ingredients. Cover and blend on high for at least 30 seconds (make sure the almonds aren’t visible) then pour into two glasses. Makes 2 servings.

 Banana Cocoa Soy Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup silken tofu
• 1/2 cup soymilk
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon honey

 Directions:
Slice banana and freeze until firm. Blend tofu, soymilk, cocoa and honey in a blender until smooth. With the motor running, add the banana slices through the hole in the lid and continue to puree until smooth.

Papaya and Kiwi Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 1 cup vanilla soy milk or almond milk
• 1 cup papaya
• 1 peeled kiwi fruit
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• Dash of cinnamon
• 2-4 ice cubes

Directions:
Place ingredients in your blender. Start slow and gradually speed up blender until smooth. Then blend for another 30 seconds on high.


I hope you all enjoy these delicious recipes!  Cheers!

Check your Tortillas...or Corn Products!

I'm Hispanic, and my gastronomic culture involves tortillas... lots of them.  But as I've been doing more and more research, I found that most corn tortillas on the market are made with GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) this was a shocker for me, because I've been eating them my whole life.

Here's something to think about, when you go out and eat Mexican food, most Mexican dishes consist of corn, whether it be the tortilla chips you are enjoying with salsa or an enchilada, sope, taco, taquito, quesadilla.. etc... Since corn is so widely mass produced, it often has GMOs.

Did you know that GMO corn is also used for most products on the market?  According to the Live Strong website corn is used in soda, condiments, packaged desserts, candy, granola bars, fruit snacks, chips, cereal along with many other products on the market shelf.

These GMOs cause many problems to our health.  According to Hub Pages, some scientists predict that GMOs are one of the root causes of epidemics that now plague the United States including obesity, diabetes, asthma, fertility problems, food allergies and even cancer.  We should all be aware of the effects of GMOs, they cause problems for us and specially children and the elderly. I also fount it a shock to discover that most public school lunches consist of high contents of high fructose corn syrup, that should concern parents!  Watch the short video below from Food Inc.

 The best way to avoid these GMOs, is to shop carefully.  You absolutely MUST CHECK THE INGREDIENTS LABEL ON ALL THE FOOD YOU PURCHASE!!! This sounds like a tedious task at first, but you should take proper precautions and shop for the best food possible.  Shop organic and watch out for High Fructose Corn Syrup! It's everywhere and in everything! 

Best of luck on your endeavor for good health! Thanks for reading.

Is Bottled Water as Pure as you Think?

When we want purity and quality, we immediately think about bottled water.  A product that is clean and pure, free of bacteria, chlorine and all types of contaminants.  But what if bottled water is NOT as pure as we think?

Most of us believe that bottled water is the most pure form of water, assuming that it comes from the purest sources, regulated frequently, and the safest to drink.  However, we might not know the whole truth about bottled water.

Bottled water not only causes one problem, but many.  Let us begin with the fact that the plastic used for most of bottled water is made with chemicals that are very harmful for our health.  According to an article by Ban the Bottle contaminants we find in bottled water are: Coliforms, Arsenic, Chloride, Iron, Manganese, Phenols, Dissolved Solids, Zinc, Fluoride, Barium, Chromium, Copper, Cyanide, Nickel, Ethyl benzene, Monochlorobenzene, Styrene, Toluene and Xylene. Now, where are these listed on most bottled water?

According to an article by Mercola, BPA, a chemical found in bottles is an estrogen-mimicking chemical that has been linked to a host of serious health problems including: Learning and behavioral problems, Altered immune system function, Early puberty in girls and fertility problems, Decreased sperm count, Prostate and breast cancer, Diabetes and obesity.  These are serious problems we are facing today.  We often seek to find solutions or a fix to our health issues (either medicine or therapy) but we sometimes skip the step where we go back and try to find the cause of the problem, well, this is the cause.  Plain and simple, PLASTIC IS BAD!

 In terms of purity, bottled water is no safer than tap water.  In taste, the only main difference may seem to be that tap water has a chlorinated taste, the reason for the chlorine is to maintain safe water levels and to eliminate any kind of bacteria or contaminant. Although tap water is regulated more frequently than bottled water, that doesn't make it safe to drink.  Contaminants often found in tap water are chlorine, household chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, detergents, fertilizers, industrial chemicals, heavy metals like mercury, lead, nickel, chromium, as well as microorganisms like bacteria, algae, fungi, cysts, cryptosporidium and giardia. 

 In terms of the environment, bottles are made in millions daily.  We are using up all of the earth's resources to mass produce more bottles, making bottled waters creates pollution, both in the air and once bottles are used.  Bottles are often disposed of incorrectly and either end up in landfills or in the ocean affecting the ocean's pH and chemical levels. (remember the chemicals in bottles?) Once the heat from the sun hits those bottles in the ocean.all of those chemicals sift slowly into the ocean affecting the ocean's wild-life.  Did I mention that the same occurs with bottles in landfills as well as all of the waste in the landfill, all of those chemicals end up in our groundwater.

This brings us to our next point.  WATER.  So the water is either taken at the source (waterfalls, springs, groundwater, or it's simply filtered with a reverse osmosis system.) Water from the ground is very likely to have traces of chemicals like listed above.  The other water is being taken at such large amounts, that we are now experiencing droughts more often.  We are simply taking too much out.  How about the water that goes into the Reverse Osmosis filtration system? Did you know that it takes 4 gallons of water to create 1 gallon of drinkable water via R.O.? This is terrible, and just simply a waste of water!

"So?" you say, "I can't drink bottled water and I can't drink tap water... So what do I drink then?"  You can start by getting a BPA Free Water Bottle, and getting a water filtering unit for your home.  Do not get an R.O. system, you will waste a lot of water! A2O Water Co. offers a great line of water filtering units that filter out most of the contaminants in tap water. Sure they might seem like a big expense at first, but they are an investment for your health and our planet.

So there you have it, the problems, causes and solutions!  We hope you seriously reconsider before buying a bottle water next time! Thanks for reading!