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.

Here are some simple eating guidlines that can help you regulate your blood sugar level to give you constant energy throughout your day.

Eat Five Times a Day

Eat a balanced breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and have two small snacks-one in the morning(11:00) and one around the afternoon( 3:00-4:00) -every day.




Break Your Fast

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day; after all, you fasted all night. To maintain a balanced blood sugar level–thereby giving yourself energy throughout the day–try to make the time to prepare balanced meals in the morning or the night before. After four to six hours, you will need to eat another balanced meal or snack to replenish yourself and keep your blood sugar level steady.

Eat Before You Become Hungry

Unfortunately, many people do not think about food until they are hungry. By that time, they are running out of fuel (i.e. blood sugar may already be low). Skipping meals also causes a low blood sugar level. The longer you wait between meals, the longer you will be in a catabolic state. This in turn places more stress on your hormone and immune systems.

Eat Balanced Meals and Snacks

A balanced meal or snack consists of fat, carbohydrates and protein. For example, a balanced breakfast might consist of plain low-fat yogurt or cottage cheese (the protein) and your favorite fresh fruit (a carbohydrate). You might also combine protein sources like eggs, chicken, or turkey with carbohydrates like fresh fruit and a small amount of potatoes or toast.

Again, avoid eating a large amount of carbohydrates without protein or fat. Eating just carbohydrates will produce a sugar rush. An hour or two later, your blood sugar level will drop. As a result, you will likely feel sluggish or irritable and may have difficulty thinking clearly. Eating a balanced meal (with a small amount of fat) will help you avoid the sugar rush and prevent the peaks and valleys of blood sugar swings.

Eat Organic Foods

The most important way to improve your nutritional status is to eat organic foods, which are richer in nutrients than commercially grown foods. Studies have shown that organically grown food contains a minimum of 50 - 100% more nutrients than commercially grown foods. (In fact, some commercially grown vegetables virtually lack essential minerals.) Eating organic foods also helps you avoid consuming the toxic pesticides, antibiotics, hormones, and herbicides.