Eat your snacks!

By preparing snacks for your day before leaving the house, you will be less likely to snack on foods that do not fall within the clean eating guidelines.
Preparation is key to a clean eating lifestyle.

Here are is a list of healthy snacks to get you through the day:

• Organic mini carrots and hummus
• Organic applesauce cups, with or without cinnamon
• Nuts, mixed or your favorite variety
• Organic string cheese
• Organic fruit, ex: apples, bananas, grapes, oranges
• Hard boiled eggs (organic)
• Pumpkin seeds
• Homemade trail mix: nuts, seeds and dried fruits
• Homemade granola with nuts
• Greek yogurt with fresh fruit and granola

Cooking clean...how do I do it?

One of the key parts to clean eating is to eat your fruits and veggies raw whenever possible. They do have many vitamins and nutrients in them and eating them raw will not alter anything that they have to offer.

Cooking your veggies is not a bad thing, as long as we stay away from deep frying and soaking them in animal fats. It is good to keep our food interesting by adding different spices, eating them raw at times and cooking them at times. It is hard to stick to any type of healthy lifestyle if we get bored with it!

Steaming veggies is the healthiest way to cook them. It maintains most of the vitamins and nutrients. We can also, stir fry them, but remember not to add lots of unhealthy oils and salts!

Add some fresh fruits to your Holiday menu this year...

Christmas is just days away and along with all the goodies we are going to eat, we can still add fresh fruits into the Holiday menu! Check out these 2 recipes:

The first recipe is a super easy and taste apple salad dressing. No preservatives in this one though!

Easy Apple Salad Dressing

• 2 apples, peeled and cored
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• Cinnamon, two shakes
• Ground cloves, one shake

Add all ingredients into a blender.
Blend until smooth.
Pour over salad just before serving.


Juice your own sweet lemonade without any sugar or preservatives! Whip out that juicer you have stored in the cabinet and get to juicing again.

Some blenders are also capable of creating this sweet lemonade recipe. Instead of using a juicer, you can use a heavy duty blender as well. If you are, peel the apples and lemon for better results.

Apple Lemonade

• 4 apples, cored
• ¼ of a lemon, with peel

Press lemon through the juicer and then run the apples through.
It is that simple…fresh, sweet lemonade!

Add some sliced fresh fruit for added flavor and a festive Holiday look!

Foods that will help control your cholesterol...

If you are looking to cut bad cholesterol from your diet, here is a list of certain foods to add and remove from your plate:

ADD:
Fresh vegetables
Fresh fruits
Whole grains
Low-fat dairy products
Fish
Turkey, white meat, no skin
Chicken, white meat, no skin

REMOVE:
Egg yolks
Beef
Red meats
Full fat dairy products

If you have elevated or high cholesterol, be sure to exercise. Often times, with the proper diet and exercise, people have been able to manage lowing their bad cholesterol without having to use medications. Be sure to consult your Doctor if you have questions pertaining to your cholesterol! 

Easy ways to cut fat and calories from my diet...yes please!

Looking to cut out fat and calories from your diet? Most of us are! Here are 7 easy ways to go about it:

Cut fat from your pizza: Double the tomato sauce and go light on the cheese. This will cut 20 grams of fat per pie.

Order the steak fries: Order the fat ones instead of the skinny ones, they absorb less oil.

Use juice concentrate in your stir fry: Use a couple of spoonfuls instead of oil and cut the fat.

Soften your butter or spread: Warm to room temp and use less than straight from the fridge.

Refrigerate canned goods: Such as meats, soups and gravy. The fat will rise to the top and you can skim it off.

Dilute your juice: Add water to your juice and drink less calories.

Use olive oil on your potato: Use olive oil in place of butter and sour cream on baked potatoes.

Information taken from: Yahoo! Health / Men's Health  

Need protein? Have a pineapple smoothie!

Smoothies are one of the easiest ways to get more protein into your diet.

This recipe for a pineapple smoothie, provides you with fruit, greens and protein! If you need to eat more greens or want your family to eat more greens, sneak them into this drink and no one will even know they are in there. The blueberries mask the green color and the sweetness from the fruits and juice will hide the flavor.

Pineapple Blueberry Smoothie

1 1/2 cups pineapple juice
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1 banana
1 cup fresh spinach leaves
1 scoop of your favorite protein powder

Add juice and spinach to blender and blend on high for 30 seconds.
Add berries, protein powder and banana and blend until smooth.

Tip: for a creamier smoothie, use half milk, half pineapple juice!

Making banana milk

If you are looking for a healthy liquid to add to your smoothies, look no further!

Generally speaking, bananas have about 100 calories each. If you make the following recipe to add to your morning smoothies or protein shakes, it is equivalent to about 25 calories per 8 ounces (1 cup).

Banana Milk

1 banana
4 cups water

Add banana and water into a blender. Mix until combined. Strain and enjoy.

This milk should be used upon making. It may store airtight for a day but it tends to turn dark in color from the bananas.You could also add 3-4 pitted dates to the mixture before blending for added flavor.

Looking for a tasty smoothie recipe? Here you go:

Pina Colada Smoothie

1 handful (about 1/4 cup) fresh or frozen pineapple, peeled and cut into small chunks
1 handful (about 1/3 cup) shredded coconut
1 banana, peeled
1/2 cup banana milk, or other milk of choice

Add all of the above ingredients into a blender.
Blend on a higher setting to be sure all the banana gets blended in well.
Add more milk if smoothie is still too thick or until you reach your desired consistency of the smoothie.