Welcome to the June issue
of “Making the Healthy Choice the Easy Choice.” Here you
will find information you can use on a timely topic,
healthy eating, recipes and more! I welcome your
feedback and questions. Please send them to
Janet@nourishyourlife.com Thank you!
June is the
month for endless energy!
The days are
long, nights are short and we have endless energy to
play all day. Or do we? Do you ever watch the energy of
a two year old and wish it could be bottled? (I do-every
Monday when we have the pleasure of grand parenting our
two, two year olds…) What does it take to have endless
energy? As I read through several articles addressing
this very dilemma, the same topics repeated themselves.
Seemingly so simple: Eat healthy foods, exercise daily,
relax and get a good nights sleep. “Simple!” you say…”I
don’t have time...I don’t know how…I don’t know where to
start…” The September/October 2005 issue of Today’s
Health and Wellness gives some excellent tips. If you
can get a copy of the whole article, I know you would
find it helpful. Let me summarize some of the key points
for you:
1. Make time
for breakfast; it IS the most important meal of the day!
Eat at least one fourth of your calories at breakfast.
Calories are energy.
2. Stop late
night snacking; late night snacking may be the reason
that you are not hungry for breakfast. The piece of
leftover pizza or bowl of ice cream is just sitting
there in your stomach without much opportunity to
digest. Ugh!
3. When you go
grocery shopping, choose foods that are high energy,
natural and high nutrition. Choose NEW foods every week;
ones that you have never tried before. Eat 90% healthy
and then treat yourself with the remaining 10% ( maybe
for your favorite dessert.)
4. Be
“present”. “There is energy in the present”, says
Gordon. “If you are in the future or past, your energy
is diffused.”
5. Take a walk
in the fresh air, stop and smell the flowers. Or stop
and smell peppermint and lemon. They seem to be the most
energizing scents.
6. Drink more
water! People who are low on energy are usually low on
water. Don’t wait until you are thirsty; then you are
already dehydrated.
7. Stand up
straight. Poor posture can reduce the amount of oxygen
you take in by about 30%! Do a posture check every 30
minutes.
8. Give to
yourself by forgiving others. Holding on to resentment
is a huge energy drain. Take steps today to forgive one
person.
9. Vanquish
vampires. Energy vampires are people who suck the life
out of you. You know who they are…
10. Be
creative. “Creativity is the mother of all energies,
nurturer of your most alive self. It charges up every
part of you,” writes Judith Orloff, M.D. Orloff says
that “creativity frees energy by connecting you with
joy, getting stagnant life forces moving, providing a
break from problems and improving health and mood.”
(Check out her book: Positive Energy)
My challenge
for you this month is to choose your favorite or
most needed suggestions for boosting your energy. Try 5
this month and 5 more next month. Write to us at
janet@nourishyourlife.com and tell us about your
experience. We would be honored to hear about it.
Quote for
the month:
“It takes as
much energy to wish as it does to plan.”
Eleanor
Roosevelt.
Healthy
eating in June: try a handful of almonds.
Almonds are the
best nut source of vitamin E and one of the highest
plant sources of protein. They also contain riboflavin,
iron, potassium, magnesium, and biotin (essential to the
metabolism of sugar and fat.) Almonds are also a good
source of fiber and calcium. Almonds are high in
mono-unsaturated fat which helps to lower cholesterol,
especially the bad cholesterol (LDL). Almonds contain a
high degree of oleic acid, which is believed to be the
ingredient in olive oil that protects against heart
disease.
My challenge
for you this month is to eat a handful (about one
ounce) of almonds a day. Or try this recipe for quinoa
with almonds (adapted from a recipe in Body and Soul
magazine)
Quinoa salad
with Toasted Almonds
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
½ cup almonds
½ tablespoon olive oil
1 cup carrots, shredded
1 clove garlic, minced
1 green onion, thinly slice
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 cup sliced thinly zucchini
Directions
Preheat oven to
350 degrees
1.Rinse quinoa
before cooking to remove the coating of a bitter
substance called saponins.
2. Bring water to a boil.
3. Stir in quinoa, cover and simmer 15 minutes.
4. While quinoa is cooking, toast almonds in the oven
until lightly browned and crisp. This will take 5-7
minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
5. Heat olive oil in a skillet, sauté carrots, zucchini
and garlic (do not overcook garlic-it will become
bitter) until slightly tender.
6. Stir together all ingredients (except parsley) and
cool in the refrigerator.
7. After cooled, stir in parsley and…
8. ENJOY!!!
Nutrition
facts: 363calories: 38 g carbs, 12g protein, 19g
(healthy) fat,
Do you know of
someone who would benefit from this information?
We welcome you to pass it on.
