The Nutrient Rich Avocado
Avocados are delicious and filling. Whether eaten plain or used in a guacomole dip, they have a rich creamy texture that is, undoubtedly, appealing. Avocados are not necessarily a low calorie food. One half of an average avocado contains approximately 125 calories.
One cup of pureed avocado contains 384 calories and 297 of those calories is from fat. That fact sounds unhealthy but it is not. Avocados have zero cholesterol. A one cup serving of pureed avocado provides 63 % or 16 g. of dietary fiber. It also provides 5 g. of protein, 7% of the RDA for vitamin A, 34% for vitamin C, 3% for calcium and 8% of iron.
Avocados, ounce for ounce, are a very nutrient rich food. The calories in an avocado contribute nearly 20 vitamins and minerals and healthy plant compounds to your nutritional intake. While avocados seemingly have a high fat content, 75% of the fat is unsaturated. Avocados contain the good kind of fat.
Avocados also contain lutein which is a carotenoid that may help to maintain eye health as we age. Another bonus to selecting avocados as part of a healthy diet is that they naturally have a low sugar content. A one ounce serving of an avocado has less than 1 g. of sugar.
Avocados can help individuals stay within the Heart Association’s recommendations of limiting sodium and eating 4 1/ 2 cups of fruits and vegetables per day. Also, avocados can help you to concentrate on monounsaturated fats.
Avocados are sodium, cholesterol and trans fat free. Monounsaturated fats can help to lower bad cholesterol levels. For people trying to maintain healthy eating habits, avocados can be used to substitute for butter or mayonnaise on sandwiches. The creamy texture can add moisture and flavor to sandwiches and be a healthy addition with zero cholesterol.
For dips, the use of avocados in place of the more fattening, cholesterol laden choices such as sour cream or cheese bases, can reduce your cholesterol intake dramatically. Avocados are a good choice for anyone who needs to address weight management, diabetes control or cholesterol control.
Avocados can be an excellent choice for baby foods. Because of it’s creamy texture and mild taste, it could be one of baby’s first fruits to enjoy. In addition to this use, avocados can be used in salads and recipes with chicken and guacomole.
When choosing an avocado at the market, look for a ripe one. A ripe, ready to eat avocado will yield to gentle pressure, but will not feel mushy. Make sure you only gently squeeze the avocado since the avocado may bruise if you apply too much pressure.
If you pick a ripe avocado, you will need to eat it in a day or two. You can select a firm green avocado if you want one to eat in about 5 days. Just store the firm avocado at room temperature. If you need to slow the ripening, store your avocado in the refrigerator.
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An Apple a Day Helps Keep Me Thin
I’ve come to the conclusion that eating an apple a day plays a big role in keeping me within my weight range that I most prefer. Every time I stop eating apples, I notice that I eat more junk food. Apples supply me with filling fiber, and they really help me to maintain my regularity. I’m the type of person who isn’t easily regular like some people.
I get easily constipated, and therefore need a steady dose of healthy fiber in my diet to maintain it. I also have to avoid a lot of cheese and dairy, which can be binding agents and prevent you from staying on the regularity track.
Pectin is a fiber that the apple contains that has numerous health benefits. It fills you up and creates a feeling of satiety that is pretty potent for the mere 60-80 calories an apple contains. I only eat organic apples too. Not only do they taste worlds better, but I know I’m not eating poison when I eat the skin (which is the healthiest part of the apple if you ask me).
The saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” definitely is rooted firmly in the truth.
Apples that are sprayed with insectides and other pesticides really retain these poisons because they actually grow with them. They are usually repeatedly sprayed. I also don’t like the food wax that is put on non organic apples. Non organic apples actually taste different to me. They seem much mealier, with not as much rich flavor.
I’m not sure exactly why this would be, but I suspect it may have something to do with the fact that they are irradiated. Irradiation is a process by which the fruit is exposed to radiation so that the fruit may travel longer distances and last longer without spoiling. Nice, eh?
Organic produce is so much healthier in so many ways. It’s a shame that in some areas it can cost as much as double normal produce. It’s also a shame that it is not readily available in many areas. Unfortunately, non organic, pesticide and insecticide laden produce is easier to buy and more easily accessible.
Sure, it’s still better to eat fruits and vegetables rather than none no matter what, but the benefits of organic are truly amazing when you consider the guidelines organic farmers have to follow vs. non organic farmers.
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Dreamfields Pasta – Really Lower Carb?
I always tend to snicker a little to myself when I see these phoney baloney claims about “net carbs”. To me, it all seems like a big ploy to get people to buy a product that is still just as high in overall calories, and still fairly high in carbs, just because they think they are eating less overall carbs than if they bought a food that was the real deal.
Also, a lot of foods that advertise themselves as not having high carbs because they reduce the net carbs by adding a lot of fiber, typically add a type of fiber that does not agree with a lot of people.
It can be sugar alcohols, which can make you gassy and crampy, or it can be inulin fiber, which for me actually has a constipating effect rather than a laxative effect, which is what you expect from a “fiber”.
At any rate, Dream Fields does not contain any of the above. Rather, they have a patented formula where they do bulk it up with a type of fiber, and they do reduce the net carbs and the overall glycemic impact.
I’ve seen several people say they are diabetic and this pasta has the same effect on them as 5 carbs do, instead of the typical 30-50 that most pastas have per serving, so that is a very good sign that they are a healthy version of regular pasta.
I have actually purchased some Dream Fields pasta to try, and I will report back to you what I think of it as far as taste, filling potential, and overall impression once I’ve tried it. I’m going to add some hoisin sauce to it and make a big veggie stir fry.
Apparently, you do need to cook this pasta exactly according to directions, or else the glycemic impact can be altered. I also read that you should not try to reheat it or this also alters its glycemic impact negatively (as in, it pushes the blood sugar higher).
I’ll be sure to let you know how I like it when I try it. I purchased the Dream Fields spaghetti style noodles. My grocery store also carried the angel hair version and the linguine version.
BOOKMARK OR SHARE :Naked Smoothies Provide a Quick Pick Me Up
I’ve recently become a huge fan of Naked fruit smoothies. You can find them in a lot of natural foods stores and also they are carried, I’ve found, in quite a few chain grocery stores as well. They can be a bit pricey, but I’ve found that they go on sale quite often at the natural foods stores I frequent (actually the grocery store rarely has all flavors on sale, go figure), for 2 for five bucks (Whole Foods has had this sale a few times), so that’s not bad at all when you consider the high price of nutritionless sodas and “juice drinks”.
There is another brand too that has a similar concept, Odwalla, but I’ve foudn the Naked ones to have more flavors that I personally like – just a personal preference, nothing against Odwalla.
If you are a person who watched their calories, or even more so their carb intake, you may look at the back of one of these smoothies and think it’s really high in both. However, I’ve found that just a few swigs is a great tide over to dinner and lunch when you’re just starting to get hungry and need a quick natural blood sugar pick up.
I have never drank a whole one at one sitting, I’ve found them more beneficial when you keep them around for a little “snack” in between meals. My two favorite blends are the Green Machine, which contains everything from apples, to broccoli, to spirulina for an even great energy boost. And it tastes nothing like vegetables, and yet it’s got them in it. That one is probably my all time favorite, plus there are tons of good nutritious ingredients in it.
The runner up for me is the mango flavor with beneficial probiotics added, for digestion and waste elimination efficiency. It helps you to be regular, since mango is filled with fiber, and also helps replenish your healthy intestinal flora that keeps things moving in that regard, if you know what I mean.
When I’m buying the smoothies, I try to really look at what’s in them, including their “boosts” and see if those vitamins and nutrients are something that I might be lacking in or not. This way, I know I’m getting the right benefits from drinking them, in addition to the benefits I’m getting from drinking something that helps tide my appetite over for big meals.
Does Chocolate Cause Depression, or Do Depressed People Just Like It a Lot?
It seems like all these causal studies beg the question, is it the cart before the horse, or the horse before the cart? What I mean by this is, does the object that they say “causes” something in the human body or mind actually cause it, or are people who are drawn to the object just using it as a crutch or self medication because it makes them feel better, albeit temporarily.
Chocolate is one of my favorite foods. I’m not unlike millions of other women who feel the need to reach for their favorite velvety chocolate treat when they are either PMS’ing or are having troubles ranging from romantic to on the job issues. Chocolate sometimes really does “make it all better”. It’s been shown in some studies to release feel good chemicals into the blood stream, which helps to explain why some find chocolate so dang addictive. Myself included.
Chocolate, or the cocoa bean, is not in itself bad for you. It’s the fattening milk and sugar that is added to the cocoa bean to make it into what we know as pure bliss chocolate bars, pecan turtles and truffles that makes it bad for us, and makes it stick to our thighs. There are actually health benefits to dark chocolate. It’s rich in antioxidants and benefits the heart, but even that should only be eaten in moderation because of the sugar and fat content, and oh yeah, that little thing called calorie density.
Now, some research is pointing to the theory that depression and chocolate consumption may be related. Why? Because they found that those that ate chocolate more experienced feeling depressed substantially more than those who did not consume much chocolate or didn’t really like it at all (this is a totally foreign concept to me).
The thing is, it’s not clear whether depressed people just look for that instant pick me up that chocolate gives, and are using it to “self medicate”, or whether consuming the chocolate actually lends itself biochemically to imbalances in the human brain that contribute to depression, anxiety, etc. I know that when I put a piece of luscious chocolate in my mouth, it seems to solve my problems.
However, if I’m not careful and I over indulge, which it’s easy to do with chocolate, let’s face it, then I actually feel worse in the next hour or so after the sugar crash. Maybe this is the depression they’re referring to 
Applebees Has 500 Calorie and Under Meals
I must say, I’m not personally a huge fan of the Applebees chain of restaurants, but I have to give them kudos for being one of the only chains that offer lower calories options that don’t make you want to run for the more “exciting” menu options of burgers and fries when you get a load of their descriptions.
They are Weight Watcher’s approved, and all are 500 calories or less, which is ideally what just about everyone should be sticking to for their meals, especially at dinner time when most of your calories aren’t going to be burned off any more for the rest of the day.
My husband’s brother actually works out of town most of the time, and Applebees is one of this favorite choices because they offer these tasty, nutritious and calorie appropriate meals. He’s super body and health conscious, so these meals are a pleasant surprise, especially from a chain, to those that are health conscious.
Among the menu choices are light fish that are grilled and seasoned, an herb and garlic chicken breast dish, a mexican style fajita type of roll if you’re wanting naughty mexican but want to be nice to your thighs, an onion soup with cheese, and a few other tempting sounding dishes. It’s refreshing that they offer hearty meals that are actually hot instead of just the plain old salads that many other places offer to satisfy their dieters.
All of the 500 calorie and under meals come with generous portions of low cal, high fiber and vitamin content veggies too. This is a great way to fill up with out overloading on calories. I recommend the loading up on veggies strategy to anyone, whether you’re out enjoying a meal or cooking at home. Your meals should ideally be about 2/3 veggies and 1/3 meat and/or starch (your “main dish”).
There’s just something that is more satisfying about an actual hot meal I guess, so these are better for helping you to feel good about what you ate when you’re leaving a restaurant where there are a ton of BAAAAAD choices. And, on the flip side, by the way, if you’re ever at Applebees and you’re in a naughty mood, and you want a dessert that is postively to die for (I know, who’d have thought it, at a chain restaurant no less), try this Maple drizzled blondie.
It’s a warmed up blondie (a cake-cookie like vanilla baked good) with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, and a side of this absolutely amazing maple cream sauce (also hot). It is TO DIE FOR. Of course it’s not low calorie – not even close, like I said, it’s only if you’re in the mood to indulge. And I highly recommend you split it or else you’ll want to throw up you’ll be so full.