The Detox Debate

Whole Living’s Detox Green Smoothies

Detoxing is IN. Yall would agree right?

What is a detox? Detoxing is cleansing the body of wastes and toxins.

Do you need to detox? That’s the million dollar question. I’ve seen research to support both sides of the argument on whether a detox is necessary. My response, well-no. Your body has natural detoxifying organs. The biggest and more important is the liver.Your liver is actually the biggest organ in your body and without this thing you wouldn’t be able to survive. (other organs that detox: colon & kidneys)

Well if it’s not really necessary why do people detox? Because it’s in! Duh! Everybody is doing it and everybody is doing a different type of detox. More importantly these people who are doing it, whether it be your friends, family, coworkers & even celebrities, are yielding results… AND QUICKLY!

Personally, I’m neutral on this debate. If you detox great. If you don’t great. If you know what you’re doing when you do detox and you are still nutritionally balanced then yea sure why not. But don’t just do a detox, then pass out mid day on day 3.  #NO.

Currently, I guess you could say I’m doing a detox.  This is out of the January/February Whole Living Magazine. Theirs is 3 weeks long, it provides breakfasts/lunches/dinners/snacks + more (it’s really a great detox), but I’m not doing all that. I’m taking a few meals and adding them into my life while removing

• Simple carbs (bagels, thin bread, waffles, vanilla almond cold cereal, pasta, rice etc)
• Dairy (yogurt/ice cream/ cheese)
• Sweets (snickers, lollipops, hot chocolate, juice etc)
• Meat

This Week’s Nutrition Tidbit: Antioxidants (AO)

Nowadays, you ALWAYS hear about how this berry or this juice or this new “next greatest food” gives you a powerful dose of antioxidants.  But do yall understand what antioxidants are and why they are so important to have in your diet?  It’s kinda complex, I’ve been reading about it lately and it’s definitely something I want to break down & share.

Ellen Brown, MS RD put it like this, “Antioxidants are a substance in your diet that reduces cellular damage caused by oxygen.”  Including AO in your diet helps boost and supercharge your immune system which is important all year long, but especially important now during flu season.

When your cells come into contact with oxygen, a change happens to those cells.  When oxygen comes into contact with molecules in the body they produce free radicals.  #PAUSE….oxygen is necessary for life! YES true your 5^th grade bio class didn’t lie! But in this case, the oxygen isn’t acting as a positive agent and when it interacts with cells in your body,  it has negative outcomes.  SO to put it simply, free radicals cause the functions of the cells to become disrupted. One huge disruption happens to the immune responsibilities for the cell.

Source: Love Wine With Me

If you need a visual aid picture this: You bite into an apple set it on the table and come back a couple hours later. What happens to your apple? It gets brown due to the oxygen; your apple flesh has been oxidized. When oxygen hits your cells they become oxidized. When cells become oxidized they produce free radicals

For the most part our body can handle the effect of free radicals, BUT when you are in short supply of antioxidants or the radicals are being produced at an excessive rate we have a problem.  For a bit more clarity let me talk about free radicals, they are cells that are damaged that could possible become hazardous if they start injuring your cells and mutating your DNA. That changing of your DNA is the part that gets us sick.

Your immune system is your NUMBER ONE!-Your first line of defense against any foreign agent that enters your body and could possibly do you harm. With a weak immune system you are very susceptible to illnesses and diseases.  (oh yea folks, lack of sleep also weakens your immune system.)

Sources that produce free radicals: bad air quality and cigarette smoke. Guys, a puff of smoke produces millions of free radicals.

Sources of antioxidants: fruits and veggies! Of couuuuuuuuuurse!!! Okay I’ll be more specific.

• Berries/ apples
• Walnuts/Pecans
• Dark Chocolate
• Sweet potatoes/ broccoli / artichokes
• Red beans

This is a glimpse into why we need antioxidants! We gotta keep our body clear of those radicals!  Share your info. Eat your fruits and veggies daily and please ma’am and please sir stay away from smoking!!

Get There.
✗♥O

Banana Nut Muffins

I LOVE MAKING THESE!  So I thought I’d share!

BANANA NUT MUFFINS

• 2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 ¼ teaspoon of baking powder
• ¼  teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• ¼ cup of sugar
• 1 large egg
• 3 tablespoons of applesauce
• 2-3 VERY ripe and mashed bananas
• ¼ cup of milk
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• ¼ –  ½  cup of chopped pecans or walnuts
• ¼ cup of raisins (optional)

12 Muffins!!

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the sugar and egg until well combined.  Then add in the applesauce, mashed bananas, milk and vanilla extract.
4. Add the dry ingredients ( flour mixture) to the wet ingredients and stir until the batter mixed well making sure there are no streaks of dry  ingredients.
5. Add the nuts and raisins in the batter if you want.
6. Do not over mix by stirring too much.
7. Either line your muffin pan with paper liners, or spray the holder  with vegetable oil, (if you don’t have the liners…like me)
8. Add an equal amount of batter into each muffin  holder.
9. Bake for 18-24 mins (depends on your oven. My muffins take about 22 mins max)   Use a toothpick to test, insert into the center of a muffin or 2- if it comes out clean they’re done.
10. Take muffins out of holder to cool.
11. EAT!

Misc Tips:

` I use VERY VERY VERY ripe bananas which are super sweet which is why you really don’t need any sugar. I added a quarter of a  cup but I might just nix the sugar next  time I make them. Also, my mother froze my bananas  by accident. So as they defrosted they made a water/syrup mixture. SO frickin sweet!
`The recipe called for brown sugar- I didn’t have it I just had some fructose from whole foods.
`Applesauce is (and can be used as) a  replacement for the vegetable oil.
`I don’t drink dairy milk. I used almond milk.
`My sister likes nuts and doesn’t like raisins. My brother likes raisins and doesn’t like nuts…they are both optional to add to your mixture.
`USE pastry flour and not cooking flour!! It makes SUCH a big difference.

I eat these for breakfast with fruit and/or an egg or as a snack after dinner when I want something sweet. This satisfies my sweet tooth… especially if I put a little jelly on it. I  have 6 in the fridge && 6 in the freezer to have later. I heat them up and poww.. yum. good stuff.

Enjoy.
Get There.
✗♥O

Fresh out the Oven!

Looking good! No raisins this time!

This Week’s Nutrition Tidbit: Probiotics

12/10-12/16

Probiotics

For many people who are sick, they want antibiotics as soon as possible. Very willingly, doctors give you these pills and you’re back to normal.  I have a bit of a problem with the previously mentioned scenario (which happens way too often.)  You are probably sick because your immune system is compromised and unable to fight as it should.  Stress, lack of sleep && diet are a few reasons why your immune system has weakened.

I do have an issue with how readily we use antibodies considering their role. They are used to inhibit and kill bacteria and germs that have invaded your body and compromised your health. okay so what’s my problem? Very often, antibodies kill ALL bacteria and your body has an abundance of good bacteria which balances the bad. With an unbalanced amount of one, there can be more problems in your body and this is when you get ill.

What are probiotics? They are live, GOOD, bacteria.

What are some health benefits? Plays a large role in the immune system, by protecting us against germs.  Helps keep a healthy balance in the digestive track by filtering out harmful toxins, bacteria and waste. Also, they help absorb nutrients from food and deliver to their designated and needed locations/organs.

What happens when probiotics aren’t present in our body? Our immune system and health really suffer. Infections, allergic reactions and autoimmune diseases (when the body attacks itself) are increased.  You also have more digestive troubles.

This Week’s Nutrition Tidbit: Fiber

11/26-12/2/12

FIBER!!

What is fiber? Fiber is a carbohydrate that cannot be digested.  It is the indigestible component of plant foods.

There are two different types of fiber: insoluble and soluble.

• Soluble fiber dissolves in water. Slows down digestions. Helps with feeling full. Helps control weight.  It has many other duties too!
• Insoluble fiber cannot dissolve in water.  It adds density to your diet and is the type of fiber important for keeping you regular… you know.. having a healthy, hearty bowel movement O.o

Why is it important? Fiber is important to the digestive system. It aids in the digestion process.   It provides you a feeling of being satisfied after a meal… and that feeling of satiety will last longer with a fibrous.  Fiber helps regulate your blood sugar level. Sugar is released more slowly into the blood stream. Fiber also allows the body time to absorb essential and important nutrients from the food you’ve eaten.  It also helps keep you regular

What happens if you don’t eat enough fiber? Constipation. High level of blood sugar (directly relating to diabetes) and cholesterol.  It has an effect on your blood pressure too!

What happens if you eat too much fiber? Diarrhea. Dehydration. Cramping. Digestive issues-bloating, intestinal gas etc.

Well, how much is recommended daily? Glad you asked! Women- around  25 g. Men- about 38g. It may seem like quite a lot, but when you find out about all the food sources you can find fiber in you’ll be all good.

What foods can I eat to get my recommended amount? Veggies and fruits (fiber found in the skin),  nuts, seeeds, wheat bran, oat…  look at the charts && picture provides for more fiber help.

Insoluble Fiber Sources	Soluble Fiber Sources
Whole Wheat Products	Oatmeal
Seeds	Beans / Nuts
Dark Leafy Veggies	Carrots
Zucchini/Celery/Cucumbers	Pears/Strawberries/Blueberries
If you get your daily servings of fruits & veggies you’ll get your fiber!

So in conclusion, make sure you get enough fiber in the body! You need it, your body needs it and there’s no reason not to do it.

Get There!

Friday’s Fury: It’s The Holidays & I Just Can’t

This Fury was done last minute. Why? Because I am in complete disbelief that Thursday is Thanksgiving. It just sneaked up on me. HELLO!? WHERE DID THE TIME GO!?   To me, Thanksgiving marks the official start to the holiday season….and I looooove the holiday season. I’m already giddy year round, so with Christmas songs and everybody in the “spirit” I’m just on cloud twenty-seven. For real yall.

 So this is my “Fury pertaining to this time of year.” I love to eat. Yall should know this. I LOVE to eat. When my family gets together it’s even more food and more dessert and more options. This happens Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years- 3 times in less than 2 months. && Don’t forget the leftovers! Often you’ll read in magazine about how to get over the holiday hump or Staying Motivated During the Holidays . I know it’s difficult because you have holiday parties at the office, friends have holiday gatherings and the liquor is flowing much more freely. Here are a few of my suggestions to keep you on track or as close to the track as possible:

The best thing to do is to make a schedule pertaining to your fitness availability. What you normally do from week to week will probably change with time off and late nights, but that should be no reason to stop you from working out. Don’t fill yourself with excuses because doing a 30 minute workout won’t affect your whole day’s schedule. If you can’t make it to the gym that is perfectly fine, your house or apartment or neighborhood will work great as a state of the art fitness facility.

The greatest obstacle that everyone has to overcome is not the fitness aspect, the eating is what changes. The eating goes from 0-10 in one meal. There are so many options and so much food you want to eat, but overeating and eating the wrong types of food can really set back your healthy lifestyle goals. I know this may be hard to do, but sometimes you just have to say no and walk away.

• Say no to fried foods
• Say no to multiple servings
• So no to multiple glasses of alcohol

It’s easy to say okay eat in moderation, but it is truly hard. (for thanksgiving…) Wednesday & Friday eat light. If you know that you just won’t be able to control yourself on Thanksgiving or any other holiday, eat light for a day or 2 before and after.

The pies and especially the side dishes should be handled in moderation. Sides dishes will keep creeping up and then, bam! You’ll have eaten 4 servings of mac & cheese, potato salad and stuffing! And that…..is wayyyyyyy over the top!

Enjoy your holidays, make good decisions && stay healthy.
✗♥O

Egg Muffins

Hey world. Do you like eggs? Do you like muffins? Well here’s the perfect dish for you!

I came across this recipe via tumblr and I’m here to share my experiences

Fresh out the oven looking swole.

Ingredients: (servings- 3)

• 2 eggs
• Diced veggies (your choice) I used spinach & mushrooms
• Spices -optional I used black pepper & salt
• Shredded cheese- if you want
• Cooking spray

The only item you definitely need is an egg or few of them.

Directions

1. Preheat oven at 355 degrees
2. Beat the eggs while adding the spices.  Then diced the spinach & mushrooms.  You don’t need a lot of the spices or diced veggies!
3. Sprayed the muffin tin.  (4 muffin holders.) Pour eggs in 3 tins about 1/2 to 3/4 of the tin
4. Then add the veggies and cheese, slightly mix in the muffin tin and pop into the oven for no longer than 25 minutes. I also checked by sticking a toothpick in the center and if nothing is on the toothpick, then they’re done! Just like muffins.