I read a book by Kimberly Snyder when I came back from my
reading week. She is a clinical
nutritionist and I decided I was going to learn more about my health and try to
put together pieces of things I know to actually come up with a diet that will
be good for my lifestyle! I have
also falling IN LOVE with Healthful Pursuit which is a blog composed by this
Canadian holistic nutritionist!
She went to the school I plan on attending next spring, how
awesome! Her site it full of great
ideas and best of all, her advice and knowledge fits in with anyone’s life and
she has great recipes that will tempt anyone who doesn’t believe in being
vegetarian or health foods! Check
it out for yourself!
One thing that seems to be in common with these two
resources I have been looking through, is that it is important to respect your
GI tract! Digestion can cause
problems for everyone, heart burn, upset stomach, gas, bloating, constipation..
etc, the list goes on, can all come from having poor digestion. I have always thought I was lactose sensitive, saying
lactose intolerant would be a bit too severe, so I have decided to remove most
dairy form my diet and it has made a huge difference! Another thing that has changed greatly for me is my
breakfasts and my coffee consumption.
Dairy!
[source] |
Of course this meant that I was struggling to get my
calcium, so I am picking up a supplement this weekend to make sure I can have
strong bones (ladies especially, this is super important and I will post on
calcium later)!!
Nut Milk! (I have made almond milk!)
Ingredients
2 cups of raw
nuts
2.5 cups of water
Directions
Soak the nuts for at least 24 hours, this allows them to be
easily blended. Blend the soaked
nuts with the 2.5 cups of water, make sure you are using fresh water. When we soak nuts not only does it make
them softer for blending, but this can make the enzymes more active (which is
why we use raw nuts, blanched ones don’t have nearly as many health benefits)
and removed tannins and other things which can cause unpleasant tastes. Put the water and the nuts into a
blender and pulverize the nuts until you get a pulp filled mixture. Add more water if you like less intense
taste, and you can also add stevia, which is a natural sweetener to your milk
if you want to add sweetness.
Remove from the blender and strain through a nut bag if
possible, if not, feel free to use anything that has small enough holes for
removing the pulp. Use the pulp
for another recipe or just composts it.
Enjoy your milk! Yumm, you
can add it to smoothies or any recipe as a milk replacement or just drink it
up.
Breakfast..
I have seriously changed my breakfast, I often find that I
am so hungry in the mornings and generally, before my diet change, I had cereal
each and every day! This is okay
but then I saw that I was not really able to get enough fruits and vegetables
into my diet to get the amount that would keep me healthy!
My solution came from both, drinking delicious smoothies in
the morning! YUM! This was awesome because I love
smoothies and they are jammed full of vegetables and fruits and taste awesome!
Why a smoothie?
Well not only is it a great way to combine many different fruits and
vegetables in a way other than a salad (for breakfast?), it is great because it
allows your bodies digestion to start up nice and slowly without doing very
much work. Eating something that
is hard to digest right when you wake up can start your body off the wrong way
making it difficult to get digestion right for the rest of the day, it is kind
of like stretching before a workout!
Smoothies are wonderful because you can make them taste however
you want and change up the ingredients whenever depending on what you have left
over or what may be going bad in your fridge! I have roommates who dislike lots of noise in the morning so
they can even be made before bed and then just shake them up before you want to
eat them!
I love berries so much, so when frozen berries go on sale at
the store, my dad (and me) stock up so I can survive with my yummy
smoothies. I often have two a day,
and I change the content depending on how heavy a day I have eaten and also if
I am going to the gym, if I am, I make the second one more hardy with a scoop
of protein powder or extra seeds to give a kick of nutrition!
With the change in breakfast came a reduction in my coffee
intake, now I must admit, when I go to classes on Tuesday and Thursday I do
have a cup after my morning class, but every other day of the week I have remained coffee free, as in I
stopped making my own coffee at home!
There are many varying coffee views that should be saved for another
blog entry!
Hints for smoothies!
Looking for good fats? Try
coconut oil or avocado, avocado is a great fat and has minimal taste especially
when added to a smoothie or chocolate.
It also makes a wonderful creamy texture that can delight anyone! To bulk up the nutritional content, you
should always have a fruit and
vegetable in the smoothie. Fruits
are strong flavours so something like a bananas, can over power any other tastes
of spinach you may not like. Berries
are great too, and instead of adding sweeter, add a fruit to give it a
sweetness. If you are craving more
then just a sweet apple taste, dates are a great option.
Don’t forget to use flax or chia or even hemp to beef up the
content in your smoothie.
Incorporating these health explosion seeds can help make sure you are
getting your omega 3s and chia has a bunch of other benefits. Make sure to only add about a tablespoon,
seeds can make your smoothie a bit gritty and can change texture if use too
much making your smoothie harder to enjoy. \
Be creative!
Think about your favorite flavours and make a healthy smoothie
option. Almond butter with banana
and almond milk can make a yummy combination. Adding cocoa can change the whole vibe of the dish too, just
be careful as it is super strong, but when mixed with banana or strawberries,
it can be heaven, healthy heaven!
Do you have any favourite smoothies you like to eat? What goals have you made to change your
health?
No comments:
Post a Comment