Love Natural Health

If you are motivated about eating healthy, but you can’t think of any attractive meal options, these ideas for meals and snacks should sparks some interest. Download or print this here.

Breakfast

Pressed for Time? 
Make a fruit smoothie with plain yogurt your choice of berries, protein powder, flaxseeds and ice. Blend all them together.

Need Fiber?
1/2 cup All-Bran cereal or other high fiber cereal with 3/4 cup berries
1 cup almond milk
1 hard-boiled egg




Love Toast?
2 slices Ezekiel toast topped with 2 tablespoons organic nut butter
1 cup plain yogurt
1 fresh pear

Lunch

Simple Sandwich?
Make an open-face sandwich: 1 slice toasted Ezekiel bread topped with 2 ounces tuna, mayo and 1/2 cup sliced cucumber and tomato
1 cup baby spinach tossed with 1/2 cup garbanzo beans and lower-fat salad dressing

Feeling Creative?
Seafood pasta salad: Mix 1/2 cup whole-grain pasta with 2 ounces seafood (use tuna canned in water, shrimp, scallops — your choice!), 1/2 cup kidney beans, 1 cup chopped vegetables (try to use at least three different colors: red peppers, white jicama and green broccoli; or orange carrots, white radishes and red tomatoes, etc.) and 1 cup yogurt

Love Chicken?
Chicken Caesar salad (3 ounces organic chicken with 2 cups mixed salad greens, 1 ounce shredded Parmesan cheese and low-fat Caesar salad dressing)
1 cup croutons

Dinner

In a Rush?
Go for shrimp stir-fry (include 3 ounces wild shrimp, 1 cup mixed oriental vegetables and 1/3 cup brown rice with your favorite oriental seasonings)
Decaf green tea

Need more Veggies?
Make some shrimp and vegetable kabobs (use 3 ounces of various meats/fish, including, shrimp, scallops or lean sirloin with 1/2 cup chunks of celery, mushrooms, onions, cherry tomatoes or summer squash)
1/2 cup coleslaw made with lower-fat dressing
1/2 cup black bean salad (drain and rinse canned black beans under running water to remove some of the sodium, then combine with lower-fat Italian dressing and diced onions, green or red peppers and celery)

Baked Potato Fan?
Go for the halibut and baked potato. 3 ounces wild halibut (marinate in your favorite herbs or a lower-fat salad dressing)
1/2 cup green beans (add fresh or dried dill, cider vinegar and black pepper instead of salt)
1/2 cup baby carrots
1/2 cup baked potato topped with 1 tablespoon fat-free sour cream

Snacks

Milk Snacks
• 1 cup hemp milk
• 1 cup almond or rice milk
• 1 cup plain kefir

Protein Snacks
• 1 hard-boiled egg
• 1/4 cup low-fat cottage cheese
• 1/4 cup raw nuts

Combination Snacks
• 1/4 cup low-fat cottage cheese with 1/2 cup fresh pineapple (protein and fruit)
• 1 cup plain yogurt with 1/2 cup fresh chopped pear (milk and fruit)
• 1 sliced apple or celery with 2 tablespoons almond butter (fruit and protein)
• 1/2 cup almonds or walnuts with 1/4 cup dried cranberries (protein and fruit)

There are things you can do to help yourself avoid the ugly urge to snack uncontrollably. You can download this post in PDF format here.

First things first: Eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Plan to have healthy snacks throughout the day. Do not skip meals or planned snacks.




Skipping nutritious foods will make you feel uncontrollably hungry! To build a balanced meal, choose a fruit, veggie, or grain and a protein choice to create a meal that is nutritionally balanced and balances blood sugar. The bonus is that by eating fruit or veggies and/or whole grains together with a protein food, you will influence your blood sugar levels for 3 to 4 hours at a time. Stable blood sugar levels prevent you from feeling hungry all the time, and offers you better energy. You really won’t believe the difference!

If you can, avoid purchasing any unhealthy snacks. There are so many “good-for-you” snacks on the market today. Start learning to read the back of the packages of foods - look at the kind of fat and sugar content - if it says that it has hydrogenated fat, stay away. Also stay away from the fake sugars like aspartame.

Easy Snack Ideas

Here’s a list of healthy snacks that are low in sugar, but still high in satisfaction.

• String cheese
• Low fat popcorn with very little real butter & unrefined sea salt
• High fiber cereal like All Bran, Puffins, and shredded wheat (look for more than 5 grams of fiber per serving) with organic milk
• Raw Nuts
• Fruit such as an apple, orange or grapes with cheese
• Peanut butter and celery, apple
• Low fat yogurt with low sugar granola or real fruit
• Hummus and carrots
• Cottage cheese
• Cheese and high fiber crackers like Dr. Kracker, Triscuit, or WASA (look for at least 2 grams of fiber per serving)
• Fruit Salad with plain yogurt or kefir
• Soy nuts
• Raw vegetables (like baby carrots) with reduced-fat ranch dressing or yogurt dip
• Celery with low fat cream cheese
• Raw Sunflower seeds
• Sprouted Grain bread (without gluten) with natural peanut butter
• Ezekiel toast with butter or nut butter
• Hard boiled egg
• Baked chips with guacamole or fresh salsa
• Organic Tortillas (Corn or Wheat) with lowfat refried beans
• Brown Rice with butter or ghee
• Brown Rice Cakes with nut Butter
• Homemade oatmeal with milk or yogurt
• Little green salads
• Celery, especially the tender inner stalks with dip or nut butter
• Organic Peanut or Almond Butter
• Organic Fresh Fruits (Apples, Pears, Peaches, Grapes, Bananas, etc.) with string cheese
• Raisins and other Dried Fruits without nitrates with raw nuts
• Homemade Fruit Smoothies with yogurt and flaxseeds
• Sandwiches – on good-quality, sprouted grain bread(Ezekiel): Tuna salad, Turkey (oven-roasted or other nitrite-free packaged or deli turkey).

Avoid intake of foods with unhealthy additives. The basic additives to watch for: Artificial colors, in food and drinks, and many other colored foods. Excess refined sugar in a wide variety of processed foods and baked goods MSG (monosodium glutamate) found in soups, cereals, and crackers. Aspartame (an artificial sweetener) found in sodas and gum. Sodium nitrite in treated meats sulfites and sulfur dioxide used in drying fruits and other preserved foods. Hydrogenated fats found in many baked goods and cereals Olestra, the fake fat used in potato chips. Also limit intake of foods containing artificial flavorings, the preservatives BHT and BHA, and excess salt.

Foods from the grain, fruit, vegetable, protein, and dairy groups are healthy snacks because they are packed with nutrients. Foods like chips, cookies, and candy are not as healthy because they are loaded with refined grains and sugars that can raise your insulin levels. It’s okay to eat these snacks once in a while, but not every day. Remember to pick high fiber, low sugar foods from the grain group and combine them with high protein foods. For example, try apple or celery and peanut butter, whole-wheat crackers and cheese, whole-wheat pita or carrots and hummus, or yogurt and nuts.

This very versatile, very healthy drink, especially rich in antioxidants, protein, fiber, essential fatty acids and probiotics can be the better part of your lunch, snack, or even breakfast. The recipe below serves two…just mix them all in a blender and enjoy!




3 oz. frozen organic blueberries
1 tablespoons lemon juice (giving it a burst!)
3 cups rice, almond or hemp milk
1 cup plain orgainc yogurt
1 tablespoon of greens mix (optional)
1/2 banana
1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds (optional)
1 tablespoon of Igg pure whey protein (optional)

This yummy snack is high in beta carotene, vitamin C, fiber and potassium.

You will need:




• 8 oz. sweet potatoes
• sliced like french fries (thick or thin)
• 1 egg white
• Pam spay
• Salt and pepper to taste or cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
2. In a large bowl combine whip whites and add fries to the bowl, coat the sweet potatoe fries
3. Spray 2 layers of pam onto baking sheet to prevent sticking
4. Spread the potatoes on a large baking sheet so they rest in one layer
5. Then spray 2 layers on top of potatoes.
6. Bake the potatoes for 30 minutes
7. Remove the pan from the oven and turn the potatoes over
8. Continue cooking for an additional 15 minutes or until tender and brown
   

Inorganic sediment residue and calcification can aggravate your joints.  These conditions are caused by improper balance of minerals and overuse of joints.

The bath described below, consisting of Epsom salts, dead sea salts or herbs with a diaphoretic (sweat-producing) action, can help alleviate this aggravation.

For best results, take this bath at night before retiring to bed and protect your mattress with a sheet of plastic.

Ingredients: elder flowers, peppermint, yarrow, Epsom salts or dead sea salts.

Directions

1. Make sure you are well hydrated with water before you being the procedure. 
2. Make a tea of elder flowers, peppermint and yarrow and drink it hot right before your bath.
3. Pour three pounds of Epsom salts or dead sea salts in very hot bath water.
4. In the bath, rub arthritic joints with a stiff brush for five to ten minutes.
5. Stay in bath for 20-25 minutes.
6. On emerging, do not dry yourself.  Instead, wrap up immediately in a clean sheet and go straight to bed covering yourself with several blankets. 
7. Expect to sweat out the toxins accumulated in your joints and tissues.

The osmotic pressure of the Epsom salt solution absorbed by the sheet will draw off heavy perspiration.  The next morning the sheet will be stained with wastes excreted through your skin - sometimes the color of egg yolk.

Note: this is a strong detox procedure and it happens relatively quickly so take extra care if you have a weak heart or high blood pressure.

Repeat this bath once every two week until sheet is no longer stained, a sign that the body is cleansed.