More Tips For You!

A MASSIVE thank you again for the food shelf donations this week! I will bring them to Second Harvest in Maplewood on Friday!

I want to touch on the food logs as well. Overall, they improved from the first week. I will list some points that come to mind as I looked them over. If you feel like I'm singling your food log out, don't worry, I'm probably not. There are similarities between many of them!

TEN SUGGESTIONS:

1. Many people eat 'whole wheat' bread/toast. Consider the quality of it though. Read the ingredients list. I eat Ezikiel sprouted grain bread. However, it's super expensive right now. So I've gotten in the habit of eating wraps. I LOVE Smart & Delicious Tortilla Wraps from Fresh and Natural on Hwy. 96. Easy to wrap stuff up in, don't fall apart. Low carb, high fiber. YUM!

2. I'm not a fan of milk. Substitute rice milk, or almond milk into protein shakes for a try. Go to www.realmilk.org for more info on milk and where to find raw milk in the state. Not easy to drive to a farm...so ditch it all together.

3. Some of you are Lean Cuisine eaters. Let them get freezer burn in your fridge. Read the ingredients list and you'll probably see why. Just a hunch!

4. Canned soups are an easy way to get a quick lunch in or whatever. However, consider the quality of the type you buy. Progresso, Campbells, etc. will most likely have a lot of additives (high fructose corn syrup, MSG, etc). Best to get the good stuff at a co-op or in the natural food aisle of a conventional store.

5. Easy way to get fiber/good oils, add ground flax or low fat coconut milk to your protein shakes.

6. Read the ingredients on yogurt. Most conventional types will have high fructose corn syrup in them. Also, skip the "fruit on the bottom" types all together, or skim the top of the yogurt and leave the all-too-sugary bottom. Look for live/active cultures on your yogurts.

7. Meat. Meat is not just any old meat. Highly processed salami, ham, pepperoni, bacon or whatever is toxic. Take consideration of the quality. Best to go grass fed or pastured because the animals are not eating corn based feed (which is horrible) for them and for YOU. Also, if you are going to eat that type of meat, make sure they don't have NITRATES in them. That causes cancer.

8. Many of you are oatmeal lovers (stick to the real oats). Oatmeal is healthy for you, however, stick to a smaller servings and add in protein to your breakfasts. Remember, protein should be your "go to" first thing in the morning or right after your workouts. Don't just eat oatmeal alone.

9. An AWESOME substitute for the fizzy-ness of soda is Kambucha drinks. You can find Kambucha at Fresh and Natural in the produce section. I think it's super yummy and it quenches your thirst. Sweet/tart and full of good stuff for your immune system and gut.

10. If some of you sleep restlessly, take a look at what you eat before bed. If you have a tendency to eat ice cream, cereal, crackers, and other forms of high glycemic/high sugar stuff...that spikes your blood sugar overnight and often wakes people up unnecessarily!

Here is the link to find natural food stores in whatever area you live: www.localharvest.org

Cheers to your body!
Kate