Jennifer

Not so much to say today, other then one of my first buddies (that is still here) at Buddyslim is having a birthday today. So Happy Birthday to Shanna !!!

All right, so I find food art amusing… what can I say. Veggies and fruits are fun and tasty and you can if you want, build artsy stuff with them and hopefully no one will get mad, especially if you eat them afterwards!

Yes, I am a geek and will not try to be any other way.

Have an excellent Friday and an adventurous weekend. Today I started off feeling a bit under the weather, but feel better now. The plan is to go bowling today. That is right, real bowling. My Wii game was not so good last night so I thought I would give the actual thing a whirl….. Just getting out there and enjoying some good activity.

Hugs…..always.

CHEW, CHEW, CHEW YOUR FOOD

GENTLY THROUGH THE MEAL

THE MORE YOU CHEW THE LESS YOU EAT

THE BETTER YOU WILL FEEL!

-Sung to the tune of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”

Lino Stanchich, “Power Eating Program-You are how you eat”

Happy, healthy YOU. Have a great day!

I am a label reader when I purchase food and I attribute this to my improved health. There are of course other things that have helped me lose weight, but certainly label reading has brought me into The Know. But it was a buddy, Tatiana, this week who reminded me that we can always improve a little more. See I was buying the fat free unsweetened yogurt thinking that was good. But I was all confident and not reading the labels with that one product. Tatiana reminded me that cornstarch is one of those things that is a waste of money and I do not want it in MY yogurt. I have purchased the good on occasion, but have so often purchased the ones with cornstarch (filler…. NO NUTRITION !!!) The ones with just milk and bacterial cultures (all of them listed out) are the best. Very good. I now have in my refrigerator one that is 1% and one that is 3%. The fat will not kill me! Plus I am getting better nutrition for my money.

I often put back items that have sugar unnecessarily added to the ingredients (for instance in pasta/tomato sauce or soups…. though I love pea soup and do get Campbells Pea soup. NO MSG. AND I love it! Still a little added sugar and some naturally occurring sugar in the peas). If one loves something, sure, a treat. But sugars, fats and preservatives are listed, BUT WE MUST READ and make the informed decision.

I LOVE my complex carbohydrates!!! And fruit (simple sugar, but GOOD), but this junk listed below is not good eating. I just learned yesterday that the fructose in fruit is actually one of those sugars that is good for stabilizing blood sugars and make great snacks. Plus the Glycemic index of fructose is surprisingly low!!! The below list of sugars is not what I want to purchase, but fruit is good eating.  I am just trying to eat it by itself and savor is greatness.

So, this blog is just a little reminder to myself that I still have to pay attention. Sure I buy mostly whole foods, but I think this has made me a little slack with the label reading. Chin up, eyes open and healthy shopping….. ahh it is a jungle out there, but I do not have to rush and fill myself up with trash either. Nope, nope, nope……

What did I use to say, this BODY IS A TEMPLE AND NOT A TRASH CAN! Truly, truly, truly my buddies, what goes in REALLY REALLY does affect our health so much more then we really realize. Just because the effects may not be seen so quickly, does not mean that we are not being affected. Feed yourselves well. I work on this all the time. I am not always so wise with my choices and I pay! This month I am really working on making the best choices each meal. Whole. My goal is to develop new behaviors so that I do not even want the junk. Will this happen? I think so.

I am no longer as worried and crazed about how our society is really not going to be so healthy in the years to come when the toxins REALLY start to overwhelm our systems. Mostly I am aware that I will only be able to do so much and the rest is up to every individual. (it is the studying…lol Tis the reason I share….I care. ) Do my best and live a life that is filled with as much happiness a possible. But I would not be me or I would not be true to myself if I did not share that I think Whole is what we should purchase and the crap is only going to make us sick. I ate out this weekend and made a few errors. Yuck! Payed the price because I felt sick for a good hour after and had no energy. I did not fuel my body properly. I knew better, yet why? I was a slave to my taste buds and in the end it was not worth it.

SUGAR…. no matter the name……

• Corn sweetener
• Corn syrup, or corn syrup solids
• Dehydrated Cane Juice
• Dextrin
• Dextrose
• Fructose
• Fruit juice concentrate
• Glucose
• High-fructose corn syrup
• Honey
• Invert sugar
• Lactose
• Maltodextrin
• Malt syrup
• Maltose
• Maple syrup
• Molasses
• Raw sugar
• Rice Syrup
• Saccharose
• Sorghum or sorghum syrup
• Sucrose
• Syrup
• Treacle
• Turbinado Sugar
• Xylose

http://www.holisticonline.com/remedies/Diabetes/diabetes_type_II_diabetes.htmhttp://www.heractivelife.com/women/comment/nutrition-label-detective-part-one-the-words-that-are-harming-your-diet/

http://www.heractivelife.com/women/comment/nutrition-label-detective-part-one-the-words-that-are-harming-your-diet/

http://www.heractivelife.com/women/comment/nutrition-label-detective-part-two-but-what-does-that-mean/

http://www.glycemicindex.ca/glycemicindexfoods.pdf

The Power of Hatha Yoga - Beginner Level

Well….. it was fantastic. I feel so good and I do not feel tired or too too “pulled”. I went at my own pace and though I could not do somethings well, I still did it and then some poses I was surprised at how well I could do. I liked that he said words like Will and Surrender. I felt so at peace and now I get why Inna was so into her yoga. I have done Hard Body Yoga and that is a workout !!!, but this was nice too…. slower, intense, different, nice. The guy is nice to look at too. I mean, yes I was concentrating on my movements/poses….lol I blame the increased libido on eating healthy and exercising. Ha!

Plus, it was wonderful to experience some guided prayer. Very good time.

Have a great day Everyone!

Calcium Sources

This is as much for me as it is to answer Jo’s question. If you do not consume dairy, then where do you get your Calcium? - GREAT question!

I suspect I will not give up yogurt (I actually want to learn to make it from scratch), because it is good for calcium, those friendly bacteria that our digestive systems love (though it is best to feed the existing bacteria well and not poorly so that bad bacteria flourish-sugar. Those bad bacteria love LOVE sugar. I should remember this the next time I want chocolates. *sigh*) and other vitamins and minerals too. So yogurt is in! Not every day, but certainly a couple times a week seems good for me. But I am trying to eliminate the other dairy sources.

I also eat/drink the following sources: Unsweetened soy milk (contains as much calcium as milk, plus it has fiber), unsweetened almond milk(2/3 the calcium of milk, but half the calories, a little bit of fiber), dark leafy greens, fortified unsweetened orange juice, tofu, beans, amaranth, almonds (though nuts will not provide much with how many I eat at a time), canned salmon with the bones, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, broccoli….. However, foods like some green veggies and beans where the content of oxalic acid exist, the calcium is not as easily absorbed. I am sure there are more. PLEASE list your sources as I am certain I have forgotten many. Until I start to maintain, my intake of Calcium from nuts and seeds is LOW… no kidding…lol

Consuming a large amount of dairy has never shown to decrease osteoporosis and in fact may do the opposite. Though I think that colas and high protein diets may contribute more to the loss of calcium or inability to absorb it, not sure though of course. The research varies from study to study and of course WHO is doing these studies. Well the dairy producers will say that we should consume, consume, consume. But everyone can do their own research as I am not out to smash dairy. ..lol, It is just something I am trying to boot out of my diet, that is except for the yummy yogurt which I think the benefits out weigh the negatives. This is just my opinion and I like it…yum. I do not think that sugar yogurts are worth it, however. So, those are my calcium sources. PLUS, I do take a Calcium, Magnesium and vitamin D when my diet is a little lacking. When taken at night it helps me to relax and sleep a little better I have found.

Good to think about such things. Thanks Jo.

Have a great day everyone! *hugs*

http://www.nutritionrc.ca/resources/heha-nsc-ens-c.pdf

http://www.soystache.com/calcium.htm

NEED TO SAY… I have also taken up sardines (mostly they are good for the brain and I need all the help I can get with the studying) and I am the only one who kinda likes them. Oscar does not even like them….lol They are not so bad. I bought the ones packed in water. Pretty high in calcium. Let it be know, I prefer salmon….