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nutrition for weight loss

15 Aug

While cleaning the apartment today, I came across some notes from my recently completed Clinical Nutrition class  and thought you guys might appreciate them. Big thanks to Steve Schechter, N.P., H.H.P., of the Natural Healing Institute for a wonderful class and the below tips on weight loss.

To jump start your weight loss, eat regular, small meals, exercise regularly and load your diet with the following:

- Chromium: take GTF form on an empty stomach

- L-Carnitine: do not take at the same time as chromium

- CLA (conjugated linoleic acid)

- Fiber

- Spirulina

- Nutritional yeast: this will give you a bump of energy and decrease your appetite

- Foods such as mustard greens, watercress greens, radishes, celery, grapefruit, apples, melons

- Spices such as ginger, cinnamon, cardamon, horseradish, turmeric, mustard seed, cumin, thyme, oregano, peppermint, fennel seed, basil, cayenne

You can also create a weight loss tincture.  Mix the below liquid extracts / oils together in equal quantities (or half quantities as noted) to create a tincture. You should be able to find most of these at Whole Foods or a health food store.

Weight/Fat Loss Tincture solution

- 1 part schizandra

- 1 part bladderwrack (Fucus vesiculosus)

- 1 part eleutherococcus senticosus (Siberian gingseng)

- 1 part rhodiola rosea

- 1 part licorice

- 1 part forskohlii (this is the least important, so no worries if you can’t find it!)

- 1/2 part ginger

- 1/2 part cinnamon

Take 4 full dropperfuls in 2 to 4 ounces of room temperature water, white tea, or green tea 3 to 4 times per day.  Take the tincture 15 to 25 minutes before meals or snacks.  Store in a dark, cool place.

guest post – Mom and Dad are juicing too!

22 Apr

My mom writes the best emails – this one was titled Liquid Gold! – I just had to share it (with her permission, of course).  My parents recently got a juicer too and they’ve been making some awesome juices. I’m so proud!  Now I just have to get them into yoga :)

Hi girls,

Further to Helen’s suggestion, we have already bought ourselves our Mother’s Day and Father’s Day gift: a great big, terrific-looking juicer!

This is day 3 since making the purchase and we’re having a lot of fun with it.
The juice is like liquid gold and has the most amazing colors.

We have already learned quite a bit.

Day 1: spinach, cucumber, celery, apple and carrot:
Delicious en invigorating, very spring-like (orange and green.)
Since I don’t like to waste anything I used the pulp to cook lentils with (I added tomato sauce too) – that became an excellent, hearty dish to accompany the whole wheat fettuccine we had that night.

Day 2: beets, oranges and a little fresh ginger:
Beet juice is a regal, purplish-red color and a gorgeous natural dye! Wonder if it’ll ever wash off my pajamas though?
I blanched and saved the pulp to make beet soup another day (not sure how that will turn out…)

P.S. after reading about flax seed on Helen’s and Stephanie’s blogs, I tried to add some whole flax seed to the juicer.
Result: flax seed all over the counter and stuck in the juicer, but none inside the juice! Next time I’ll buy the ground flax seed to add to my concoction.

Day 3: citrus juice combining oranges, grapefruit, lime, kiwi, an apple and a little fresh mint:
Limes are small, but potent. Wow! that was a really sour blend. (I should have read the recipe before dumping unpeeled limes in the juicer.)

Dad is being his own obsessive self and brings home daily bagfuls of fresh fruits and vegetables from Costco and Fiesta.
He also thinks he has lost weight already!
Today I showed him how to use the juicer. He even peeled the oranges and grapefruits this morning! Now I need him to learn to wash the juicer parts immediately after juicing too…  it is a time-consuming routine…

Hope you are all doing well. Call me when you have time.

Love,
Mom

juicing!

25 Mar

Eat (or drink!) your veggies!

(Haha, like the glass?!)

I’m totally loving my new juicing routine, and have even gotten my boyfriend into it! I have the Breville Juice Fountain Plus – a great investment and only $130 if you buy at Bed Bath and Beyond with a 20% coupon. It’s easy to use and clean and pretty efficient; I use a big bowl of veggies and fruit for a glass of juice.

My favorite combos so far are: (more…)

butternut squash soup

26 Nov

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!  I hope you got a chance to enjoy family and friends, relax and eat some delicious food!

I woke up early this morning to try a new recipe, butternut squash soup, for Thanksgiving lunch at my sister’s in-laws.  It was a huge hit and although it took some time to make, it wasn’t difficult at all.  I got the recipe from one of the lecturers in my nutrition program, so it’s healthy too!!

Here’s the recipe: (more…)

Pomegranates!

31 Oct

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Inspired by Parisa’s post on pomegranates on Foodcentricity, I bought some when they were on sale for 2 for $6 at Ralph’s. They’re delicious and can go with almost anything. My favorite is on top of a salad – a perfectly sweet and colorful addition.

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I followed Parisa’s recommendations on slicing and unseeding the pomegranates in water and it worked perfectly. Yum!

Starting the day right: green smoothie!

25 Oct

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I’ve been a fan of making smoothies with frozen fruit in our Magic Bullet for a few years now.  They’re refreshing and healthy and totally easy to make.  To make my usual fruit smoothie I mix frozen strawberries, frozen blueberries, apple juice and a fresh banana.

Fruit digests in just 20 minutes, so it’s best to eat it on an empty stomach (first thing in the morning or at the beginning of a meal). If you don’t, it’ll sit on top of the rest of the food in your stomach and began to digest, eventually fermenting and causing gas – yuck! Many people with digestion issues don’t realize that just changing the order and combination of foods they eat can make a huge difference in how they feel.

I recently wanted to add some greens to my morning routine and after a few green smoothies decided that this was the easiest and yummiest way!  I aim for a 60/40 veggies/fruit ratio, but I think most of the time it’s more 50/50.  You can add whatever veggies you have around, my favorites are mixed greens (spinach, arugula, herb mix I use for salads), carrots and parsley.  Here’s how I make my green smoothies: (more…)

Vegan Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies!

3 Oct

I made some of my delicious peanut butter banana chocolate chip cookies for a friend’s baby shower last weekend and they were a huge hit!  They’re vegan (if you’re okay with honey – you can substitute agave nectar if not), flourless and absolutely amazing :)

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Here’s the recipe with step by step photos! (more…)

I love mangos!

28 Aug

I do.  I’ve always liked their tropical and refreshing flavor but I really fell in love with them when I was in Haiti in the summer of 2003.  I was on a service trip with a group from college, Rice University, and we had fresh mangos every morning for breakfast. It was an intense and at times depressing trip, but we all brought away with us incredible memories of the amazing spirit and positivity of the Haitian people and some of us, a love for mangos! :)

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A friend passed along this recipe that sounds delish!  Here’s the recipe. I might just make it this weekend!

Fiesta Salad (more…)

Do you Twitter?

18 Aug

While I was skeptical at first, I have become a huge fan of Twitter.  It’s convenient and easy to use (especially if you have an iPhone!) and there are some great tweets out there!  By choosing who you follow, you can instantly connect to a community.  From friends to celebrities to complete randoms, I follow over 200 people and have many favorites.

Here’s my recommendation list for wellness-related tweets.

@FitnessMagazine – Great workout and motivation tips

@SELFMagazine – I love the recipes and quizzes!

@EatThisNotThat – Learn about easy ways to add in healthier foods

@lunchboxbunch – I totally dig their vegan recipes and wellness tips

@Deepak_Chopra – Don’t forget to feed your spirit!

@tinybuddha – Amazing how a wise quote can help me refocus and remotivate

@TRX_fitness – More on working out with a TRX to come

@WholeFoods and @TraderJoes – Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, enough said

I’m sure there are tons of other great ones out there!  Who do you recommend? Follow me! @Helicopt

Want Recipes?

14 Jan

Then check out Laila’s blog! She’s got some really interesting and healthy recipes with great instructions and pictures.  I’m going to try a couple in the next few weeks; I’ll let you know how it goes!

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