Month: January 2014

3 Highest Sources of Calories American Children Consume

Warning:  The below foods are high in processed sugar (energy) yet low in nutrients (vitamins and minerals.)  Together these foods make up a mean of 388 Calories in your child’s daily diet.

1.  Grain-Based Desserts    2.  Soda/ Sugar-Fuel Sports Drinks    3.  Pizza

(http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2010/DietaryGuidelines2010.pdf)

Solution:  Make one small substitution daily that encourage healthy eating.  Examples of good substitutions:

1 apple instead of soda pop; OR A low-fat cheese stick for an oatmeal cream pie

Tawnie Goodwin

Lemon Basil Garlic Salad Dressing

My Favorite!
This dressing is one of my favorites because it is low in sodium and rich in good fats and flavor.

1 T EVOO, 1 T Lemon Juice, 1 clove minced Garlic, 1 tsp dried Basil (or 1 T fresh), 1/8 tsp ground Black Pepper, Dash of Salt if you prefer.

Mix the ingredients and let them set for at least an hour.  This recipe is for one person.  Double it accordingly and enjoy!

Tawnie Goodwin

I Bought a Wok!

Chicken and Vegetable Stir FryYesterday I bought a wok.  It is a great cooking investment because it speeds the process of cooking healthy making vegetables cooked but crisp in 10 minutes or less.  I love it!  Below is the recipe I experimented with tonight.  It can easily be tweaked to suit your taste buds.

1. Marinate and let set 20 minutes or longer:

4 chicken breasts (sliced in strips),  2 T reduced sodium soy sauce,  4 T cooking sherry,  1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)

2. Chop:

4 C vegetables (I used 1 yellow onion, 1 small cabbage, and 2 bell peppers, and 5 to 10 cloves of garlic.  Mushrooms and green onions are great too!)

3. Heat on medium high:

     2 T peanut or sunflower seed oil and 1 T ground or minced ginger

4.  Add chicken and cook until barely pink

5.  Add vegetables

6.  Mix in a small bowl:

     1/2 C reduced sodium chicken stock,  2 T cornstarch,  2 T sugar or honey,  2 T reduced sodium soy sauce

7.  Add sauce to the stir fry and serve immediately with brown rice or without.  This is a great, low carb recipe with numerous health benefits.

Exercise for Health

I pulled this excerpt from the American Diabetes Association website.  The page is about prediabetes and the prevention of Type 2 diabetes (the most common form of diabetes.)  It is amazing the difference 30 minutes of exercise a day can make!  With this information at hand, think of all the other health issues which can be resolved by forming healthy eating habits and exercising.

“Research shows that you can lower your risk for type 2 diabetes by 58% by:

  • Losing 7% of your body weight (or 15 pounds if you weigh 200 pounds)
  • Exercising moderately (such as brisk walking) 30 minutes a day, five days a week

Don’t worry if you can’t get to your ideal body weight. Losing even 10 to 15 pounds can make a huge difference.”  (http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/prevention/pre-diabetes/?loc=DropDownDB-prediabetes)

Tawnie Goodwin

My Pick

Blue Diamond Dark Chocolate Almonds.
Blue Diamond Dark Chocolate Almonds.  Just 1/4 cup provides 5 grams protein and lots of healthy fats which are great for heart health.  I love these because they take care of my sweet tooth without the addition of excessive carbohydrates.  Give them a try.  You will like them too.