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9 posts tagged healthy
PAUSE FOR PREVENTION // Eating On The Go?
Our educational booth is on the road close to 100 days out of the year. Being on the road means eating on the go, which can easily lead too some pretty gnarly dietary choices.
So our Pause For Prevention tip this week is to BE PREPARED! Whether you’re traveling or have a jam-packed work/life schedule be prepared by starting to plan & pack healthy snack options to get you through the day. Stash them in your bag, car, or at the office to ensure that you’re getting the nutrients that you need. This will also help eliminate the urge to grab fast food or skipping meals because you’re just “to busy to eat”!
Our favorite snack packs include anything from fruits like bananas & apples to carrot sticks, organic almonds, raw granola, organic cheese sticks, or even a little Greek yogurt! To stay hydrated & to eliminate plastic usage on the go, we also pack our B4BC stainless steel water bottles.
So be good to yourself & plan ahead!
TASTY TUESDAY // Sip on Summer
Tomorrow is the official first day of summer! It’s high time to bust out that bikini and enjoy a refreshing poolside beverage. Skip the calorie-laden smoothies and sodas and try one of these recipes from Breast Cancer Defense instead. Here is a creamy coconut shake that only tastes indulgent; it is low in sugar but high in protein and fiber. Keep a pitcher of this iced ginger tea in the fridge—it packs a punch of both flavor and antioxidants!
Creamy Coconut Shake
1 frozen banana
8 small frozen strawberries
2 dates, pitted
2 teaspoons raw cacao powder or cocoa powder
1 cup light coconut milk
2 teaspoons almond butter
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ice cubes
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.
Iced Ginger Tea
8 cups water
8 1/2-inch pieces peeled fresh ginger root
1/2 cucumber sliced thin
1 lemon sliced into rings
handful of fresh mint leaves, roughly torn
Directions:
Place ginger pieces and water in a medium-large saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, lower heat, cover and simmer for 10 to 20 minutes. The longer you simmer, the greater intensity of ginger flavor. Strain ginger pieces from water and discard. Let ginger tea cool to room temp before adding cucumber, lemon, and mint. Place into the refrigerator. Serve over ice!
TASTY TUESDAY // Gazpacho
When the mercury is rising, the last thing you want to do is crank up your oven or stand over a hot stove. Gazpacho, a cold tomato soup, is an excellent option for a healthy and refreshing no cook meal. Just whip up a batch in your blender and refrigerate until chilled for a delicious and quick light lunch.
Tomatoes are a great source of cancer preventing lycopene, as well as Vitamin C and other antioxidants. By not cooking the tomatoes, you also benefit from preserving more of their nutrients. Take advantage of this prime tomato season and pick up a bag from your local farmer’s market (they just taste better when you buy them outside) and enjoy this lovely soup!
Gazpacho
Ingredients:
2 thick slices stale French bread, crusts removed
1 pound ripe tomatoes, cored
2+ garlic cloves, peeled and halved
1 thick slice red or white onion, coarsely chopped
1 to 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar or wine vinegar
1/2 cup to 1 cup ice water, depending on how thick you want your soup to be
Salt and pepper
Optional Garnishes:
1/2 cup finely chopped cucumber
1/2 cup finely chopped green pepper
1/2 cup small croutons
1 hardboiled egg, finely chopped
Directions:
Place the bread in a bowl and sprinkle with a little water to soften it.
Combine the bread, tomatoes, garlic, onion, olive oil, vinegar and salt in a blender. Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings. Pour into a bowl or pitcher, thin out as desired with water and cover and chill for several hours.
Serve in glasses or bowls and garnish as desired.
TASTY TUESDAY // Tomato and Watermelon Salad
Memorial Day Weekend means the unofficial start of summer, and what says summer better than a sweet, red, juicy watermelon? We’re adding a touch of sophistication to watermelon and turning it into a sweet and savory salad. Tomato and watermelon are great sources of the breast cancer fighting antioxidant lycopene, as well as Vitamin C. Eat this melon to save your own melons ; )
Pass on the mayonaise filled potato salad and bring a big bowl of this refreshing Tomato and Watermelon Salad to your Memorial Day BBQ!
Tomato and Watermelon Salad
5 cups seeded watermelon cubes (about one large melon’s worth)
1 1/2 pounds tomatos, cut into cubes
3 teaspoons honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 small red onion, quartered and thinly sliced
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
black pepper
Combine the tomato, watermelon, honey and salt. Let stand for 15 minutes. Add the onion, vinegar and oil, and sprinkle on black pepper to taste. Chill for 2 hours and enjoy!
TASTY TUESDAY // Re-Think Your Drink
You don’t usually think about them. You can’t see them. They often hide behind masks of fruit or “vitamins.” They find their way into your diet in any number of forms, and they’re super sneaky. Scared? Us too. What are “they,” you ask?
Liquid calories. **dun dun dunnnn**
Do you start off your day with a fresh glass of 7 teaspoons of sugar? You might, if you have orange juice with your breakfast. Lunch time rolls around, so you enjoy a refreshing pick me up of 10+ teaspoons of sugar. Ew, right? That’s what you’ll be drinking when you down a 12 oz. soda. And what better way to rehydrate after a good workout than with 7-14 teaspoons of sugar? Yeah, put down your sports drink.
It is so easy to overlook the amount of sugar that is in the beverages you drink regularly, but it’s important to take notice. The sugars hiding in your drinks can add hundreds of unnecessary calories to your diet. Controlling your sugar intake is a very important part of weight management, and maintaining a healthy weight is key to reducing your breast cancer risk.
Need more convincing? Check out this eye-opening picture showing you exactly how much sugar is in some beverages.
Hydrate your body in a healthy way, and don’t drink up all of your calories! Think water, water, water. It’s naturally sugar-free (duh…) and costs about nothing. If you can’t do without your flavored drinks and juices, try adding mint, berries, or lemon to sparkling water, and hand squeeze your juice so you know that the only thing going in there is, in fact, juice.
Here’s a picture from our girl Crystal. She mixed up a super refreshing drink with just sparkling water and blueberries!
Tasty Tuesday // Hummus
Whether you use it as a dip for pita or veggies, a spread for sandwiches or wraps, or eat it by the spoonful (wait…is that socially acceptable?), hummus is a wonderful food. It is incredibly versatile and sooo healthy! Hummus is made primarily from chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans) and tahini, which is a sesame paste. A few other simple ingredients, plus any number of other seasonings or additions that suit you, are blended together to make this creamy Middle Eastern favorite. Here is a breakdown of what some of the common ingredients in hummus have to offer:
- Chickpeas are full of protein, fiber, and antioxidants.
- Tahini is high in protein and calcium.
- Olive oil is a good source of monounsaturated fats.
- Garlic and lemon juice contain a lot of antioxidants and can help improve the immune system.
- Hummus on a whole contains a whole slew of great things including Omega-3’s, iron, vitamin B6, and amino acids that are known to boost your mood!
Are you convinced yet? We sure are. You can buy hummus at most grocery stores, but why do that when it is so easy to make it yourself? Check out this recipe and give it a try!
Hummus
- 1 15.5 oz can chickpeas
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tbsp. tahini
- Juice of one lemon
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
Combine all ingredients except olive oil in the bowl of a food processor. Blend until smooth, and then slowly drizzle in the olive oil while the processor is running. If it is too thick, add water as needed. Serve as is, or topped with chopped Kalamata olives, another drizzle of olive oil, roasted pine nuts, fresh parsley, or anything your heart desires!
Tasty Tuesday: Baked Eggs in Avocado Boats
Our obsession with avocados runs deep. They’re so creamy and delicious and indulgent…and so healthy! Want some proof? Here’s a bunch of evidence to convince you (as if you needed convincing?) that avocados are pure magic.
Avocados are one of the great cancer fighting foods, rich in a multiplicity of nutrients, including many potent anti-oxidants and phytochemicals as well as vitamins, minerals, fiber and monounsaturated healthy fats. The antioxidants and phytochemicals found in avocados are shown to inhibit the growth of prostate, breast, and head and neck (oral) cancers.
Avocados are also an awesome source of Vitamin E. One study showed that pre-menopausal women with a family history of breast cancer who consumed the highest quantity of vitamin E enjoyed a 43 percent reduction in breast cancer incidence.
But wait! There’s more! Lutein. It’s in avocados, and women who increased intake of lutein in their diets have been shown to have lower rates of breast cancer.
As if that were not enough, the primary fat in avocados is oleic acid, a healthy monounsaturated fat, that has been shown to offer significant protection against breast cancer.
Adding an avocado to your diet several times each week will provide a wide variety of nutrients that show compelling cancer fighting properties, and here is one tasty way to do just that!
Baked Eggs in Avocado Boats
Preheat an oven with a cast iron pan in it to 425.
Take half of an avocado and remove the pit. If the space it leaves is a bit small, hollow it out some more.
Crack an egg where the pit was, and top with herbs or cheese if desired. Bake until your egg is cooked to your liking, and enjoy a delicious breakfast or post-workout re-fueler, full of vitamins and protein!
Tasty Tuesday: Zucchini & Kale Chips
We all crave the salty, crispy, satisfying crunch of chips from time to time (or all the time), but devouring a bag of greasy potato chips leaves you feeling like a greasy potato chip. Today we’re bringing you a couple alternatives that pack in a lot more nutrition and flavor with a lot less guilt. Sorry potatoes, but you’re just not cutting it for us. Instead, we’re munching on zucchini and kale! Zucchini is a good source of vitamin C, vitamin A, manganese and magnesium, and also contains vitamin K, folate, potassium, phosphorus and copper. Zucchini also is a good source of carotenoids, which have been associated with lower risk of breast cancer. Kale contains isothiocyanates, which have been shown to lower risk of breast cancer. It is also a great source of fiber and antioxidants. A little easy prep and a short stint in the oven turn these veggies into a very tatsy, healthy alternative to potato chips.
Click here to visit The Joy of Clean Eating to learn how to make these delicious Zucchini Chips.
For Kale Chips, check out Gluten Free Girl.
These recipes are both super easy, super quick, and super healthy. Oh, and did we mention super delicious? We’re officially converted and may never go back to boring old potato chips again, and we know as soon as you try these out, you will be too!
Happy Munching!
Tasty Tuesday: Orzo Salad with Chickpeas & Artichoke Hearts
Happy Tasty Tuesday! What are your lunch plans for today? We’re having a healthy, flavor packed orzo salad full of protein and fiber to get us through that mid-day energy slump. Fresh herbs and lemon juice will brighten up your day, and chickpeas and orzo, a tiny pasta that looks a bit like rice, will keep you satisfied. Feta cheese is lower in fat and calories than most other cheeses, and it increases the protein in this salad in a delicious way. Spinach, tomatoes, and artichoke hearts bring antioxidants, vitamins, and fiber to the party, with a little splash of olive oil to top it all off with a dose of omega-3’s. Make this recipe for a lovely lunch date for two, or double it to have an awesome lunch all week long. Enjoy!
Orzo Salad with Chickpeas & Artichoke Hearts
1/2 orzo
1 1/2 tsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed and peeled
1/8 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tbsp. lemon juice
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 14-oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 7-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 tbsp. chopped fresh dill
1 1/2 tbsp. chopped fresh mint
1 large tomato, chopped
2 cups baby spinach leaves
- Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Cook orzo until just tender, about 9 minutes, or according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool. Press to remove excess water. Transfer to a medium bowl and toss with oil.
- Mash garlic and salt into a paste with the back of a spoon in a medium bowl. Whisk in lemon juice and pepper. Add the cooked orzo, artichokes, chickpeas, feta, dill and mint; toss gently to combine. Add tomatoes and toss again.
- Divide spinach between 2 plates and top with the salad.
