'Tis the Season!

I'm not talking about the holidays, although we are approaching holiday season fairly quickly.  I want to talk about the seasons, most importantly... The FRUITS and VEGETABLES from every season!  Part of our modern society has no season limitation on the grocery store shelves.  Fruits and vegetables are grown year round now a days.  There has to be something wrong with that!

Now, eating fruits and vegetables is a great thing, and we should all do it daily!! But we should also ask ourselves if the fruits and vegetables we are eating are in season.  Not only will we save money on fruits or veggies that are in season, but they will taste a whole lot better!  The flavor of a fruit or vegetable that is in season will never compare to one that is not!

The reason for that is because fruits and vegetables that are harvested year-round are often genetically modified, sprayed with numerous pesticides and waxes to display a "in season" appearance.  But these modifications disrupt the fruit's or vegetable's natural cycle.  We need to understand that there are reasons why these fruits and vegetables do not grow year-round.  According to an article by Natural News "By eating freshly harvested produce, you will be rotating your foods, thereby keeping your body from developing intolerances to certain foods and reaping the health benefits of a diet that is diverse and naturally detoxifying. Seasonal foods also have a much higher antioxidant content than non-seasonal foods."

Not only do these fruits and vegetables help us detox our bodies, but we are also not eating chemicals or other additives on year-round fruits and vegetables, which is a HUGE bonus!!  So the next time you want to get fruits and vegetables, go to a farmer's market, shop organic and local! And most importantly, eat what is in season!! You will notice a difference in your health, the delicious taste of your food and you will also save money in the process!

Thank you for reading, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Eating Fresh?

Sure, most of us have heard about the unhealthy foods at fast food restaurants like McDonald's or Jack in the Box, but we don't really hear a lot of bad stuff about Subway, do we?

Most people are under the impression that Subway is a healthier alternative than eating a burger from these burger joints.  But in fact Subway isn't that much healthier.

Let's begin with the fact that their deli meats are processed and are full of artificial fillers, and of course they are certainly not organic, which means that Subway meats are just like fast food meats, in fact, Subway meats are also distributed by the same meat factories the big fast food joints get their meats from, I urge you to research how these places raise their cattle and how the meat is treated with chemicals to comply with health regulations, not to mention how the poor animals are treated in the process.  Now this is something you wouldn't really think about when eating at Subway.  Most people expect their food to be wholesome, fresh, free of artificial ingredients or chemicals but in reality this food is not in any way healthier!

A fine example of this is the "Oven Roasted Chicken Breasts".  The oven roasted chicken Subway uses is made with separated chicken meat chunks, fillers, water, corn syrup and MSG!! Instead of a wholesome chicken breast, which can just be a chicken breast, why does it have to have so many other ingredients?!

The bread is also not made the old fashioned way, rather the breads at subway have delicious chemicals as ingredients!  According to an article by CBS, "the 9-grain wheat, white and sourdough varieties are made with sodium stearoyl lactylate and ammonium sulfate, which are used as a dough conditioners, and azodicarbonamide, a bleaching chemical most commonly employed in the production of foamed plastics." This ensures a bread like no other!  Now why would this be necessary in a place that promotes eating fresh and wholesome food?

Now, I don't know about you, but I was in shock when I read up on Subway! I honestly thought that Subway was trying to help us change our American diet by offering healthier options, free from artificial ingredients, fillers, and chemicals, but I see that it does not!  This is very discouraging since often times Subway is marketed as the healthier choice.  Sure you get to choose your veggies, but what about your breads and meats, shouldn't TRUE healthier options be offered instead?  I urge you to research your food extensively before eating it, you might be surprised (as I was) to find that the food you think is healthy, is actually not as healthy as you think!

Thank you all for reading, and remember shop smart, because only you have the power to make a change with the items you choose to purchase!

More Delicious Summer Eats!!

With this incredible summer heat, there's nothing better than having a fresh yet deliciously satisfying meal!  Because we don't always crave a large heavy meal, specially during summer, sometimes a light meal seems just right! Check out these awesome summer eats!!! And click on them to see the recipes!!

Lettuce Wraps with Hoisin-Peanut Sauce

Tempeh Greek Salad Wraps

Arugula, Mozzarella, Tomato on Focaccia

Avocado Salad with Heirloom Tomatoes

 

Perfect meals, for a perfect summer afternoon!! Hope you enjoy! 

Where will you be this weekend?

If you live close to Rancho Cucamonga, or if you happen to drive by this Saturday or Sunday, stop by Viva La Vegan Grocery Store between 10am-8pm!  They will be celebrating their store expansion and Grand Opening (Re-Opening!) There will be food, there will be drinks and there will be give aways!!

 I will be there with A2O Water Co., We are really excited about sharing our products in Viva La Vegan, we really hope you can pay us a visit and try our Alkaline Ionized Water, you will be soo glad you did! Click here for directions!  We hope to see you there Saturday or Sunday!!

Ideas for breakfast?

 

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The Secrets of Running!

What better way to exercise than to run? It's free and it's easy!!...EASY!!??? Yeah Right!!! Although running is supposed to be really "easy", I really struggle with it!  I always start the same way, very motivated and then I begin to run and then I begin to struggle with my breathing and before I know it I get this terrible side pain that makes me want to give up running all together.  I did some research and this side pain is known as a "Side Stitch", apparently it's very common with novice runners.  I've always thought to myself, if only I didn't get this terrible pain, I might actually be able to complete my run!  Well, I guess there are ways to not get the "side stitch" and now I am motivated to give running a chance once more!

After my reading from several sources I have found that they all conclude on simple steps to avoid these side stiches.  Here's what we need to do:

• Let's stretch before we begin to run. We can stretch our sides by reaching up to the sky and holding, repeating on both sides.
• Let's not just jump into running, lets begin by walking briskly, switching to a power walk and finally running.
• Let's BREATHE the right way!! Personally I had been doing this the wrong way every time in the past and it's the most important part of our run, if we are not breathing the right way we are destined to end our run frustrated! The right way to breathe is through our belly, not our chest.  We need to fill our belly with air instead of our chest, so when we run our belly should be expanding and deflating instead of our chest!  Also, the "breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth" is a huge mistake I was making! We need to breathe in and out through our mouth and our nose, it's easier to use our belly to breathe when we breathe in through our mouth.
• Let's check our form! We have to stand up straight and not slouch, I do this a lot too!! If we are leaning forward when we run, we need to lean back and keep our back straight, however for some runners it does help to lean forward a little bit, it's just a matter of experimenting.
• Let's take sips of water rather than gulping down our water before or throughout our run.  We need to drink the most water once we are done with our run, but throughout it is best to take small sips to avoid dehydration.
• If the side stitch does occur during our run, DON'T GIVE UP!!! We can do this!! A way to ease the pain is by slowing down, or walking for a bit, putting our hand under our ribcage where we feel the pain and focusing on our breathing.  Once the pain seizes, let's keep on running! Eventually we will strengthen our body and this will not happen anymore, but we have to keep going and be patient with ourselves!!

I really hope this helps all the novice runners out there that are frustrated with running like myself!  I am going to put these steps to the test and I am going to be patient with myself.  I often get discouraged when things don't work out the way I want them to, and when I see no results as immediately as I want them, I get even more discouraged.  But I really have to learn to change this terrible habit, because I will never see a change unless I do!

Good luck my dear readers! I hope you can show that run who's boss this time around!!

See you next time!

Hello Summer Time!!!!

I love Summer, but during this time I don't really eat that much... that of course is not a good thing.  During Summer we specially need to stay hydrated and eat.  I think part of the reason why I don't really eat that much during Summer is because  I don't really feel like cooking that much when it's too hot.  The good thing is that during Summer we can make really simple and quick meals that taste delicious, are light, and are very low in calories!  Salads are excellent summer meals!  Don't just stick with Ranch dressing or Blue Cheese... EXPERIMENT!!

 I found this amazing sesame dressing from Feast from the East that I purchased at Costco that tastes superb!! I mix salad greens cut up a yellow mango or a tangerine, purple onion, add crunchy noodles or wontons, add shrimp or tuna and mix it all with a little bit of sesame dressing!! this is super easy to make and it tastes amazing!!  You can also make it with chicken or any other type of meat!

There are of course many other salads out there! We can add nuts and fruits to our salads to give them an extra kick, like walnuts, cashews, pecans, dried cranberries, strawberries, grapes, mango, and citrus fruits! There are so many variations that we can try, we just have to experiment with our ingredients!

To avoid all those extra calories, stay away from dairy based dressings like Ranch, Blue Cheese, Caesar and Thousand Island...yes, I know those are very delicious but they are also very high in calories.  Try Vinaigrettes instead or non-dairy based dressings, you might be surprised with the flavor of these dressings, they really are something else and they're very light! You can also make your own dressings if you are feeling bold.  you can use lemon juice, vinegar and olive oil or vegetable oil to make your own dressings!Try this!!  Blend avocado with olive oil and pumpkin seeds (pepitas), cilantro, lime/lemon juice and add a hint of garlic salt in your food processor or blender for a delicious avocado dressing!!

I hope you all have fun experimenting with salads during Summer, I know I will!

Happy Summer Everyone!!