Saturday, June 27, 2009

HUNGER MANAGEMENT!!!

Hormones, hardwiring, and set points aside, hunger isn't completely beyond our ability to control. Below are several ways to stave it off when we know we've already eaten enough.

Have a drink—water, coffee, tea, club soda with lime. Often what initially feels like hunger is thirst, and the liquid can temporarily fill your stomach. It can also trick your metabolism to kick into gear tricking your body to burn more calories AHA!

Eat breakfast. Many people who skip it eat much more later. Eat a king's breakfast, a Prince's lunch and a Pauper's dinner.

Delay. If you're hungry even though you think you've eaten enough, give yourself 20 minutes to consider whether you're feeling real hunger or boredom, stress, or unhappiness.
Count each bite: think about every bite you take. It encourages you to plan a nutritious and tasty meal. Also, think "HARA HACHI BU". The Okinawan cultural habit of calorie control , which means eat only until you are 80% full.

If a mealtime is coming up in an hour or so, remind yourself of that. Just knowing there's only a short wait can give you incentive to hold off a little longer.

Chew gum. It can quiet hunger aches for a while. This does not work for me though, I always have a fruit: orange /banana in my purse.

Avoid processed foods, which are usually stripped of filling elements like fiber and water. . .


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Friday, June 26, 2009

What I learned from Michael Jackson: Depression, Non Judgemental, Parenting, Health & Well Being. By Florence Iwegbue.

In my plight to achieve and maintain good physical and mental health, I identified key lessons from Michael Jackson in life and in death. Indeed this culture contributed to his tortured soul, that ultimately haunted, isolated & killed him.

Human beings are intricate yet mediocre in their ability to accept each other as who they are. Most appease themselves with the thought that someone else is living a life more tortured than theirs... This helps them feel better. My mother began warning me of the danger in this trait as a pre-schooler. The ability to remain non judgmental is a trait that needs constant practice and reinforcement. Perhaps parents must see this as a learning tool. Perhaps the teasing he got as a kid for his looks may not have spiraled out of control & made him subject to ridicule. Though his autopsy has not been released, the belief is that the heart failure was caused by an extended period of depression. Cortisol (increases in the blood) & Serotonin (levels decrease in the brain) are 2 hormones that affect the body when depression is present. As research shows people suffering from clinical depression are at a higher risk of heart disease. He did all he could: stayed out of the music business & even moved out of a country he loved in order to avoid the pressure. In the end his financial situation and his love of music brought him back. This morning the Jackson Family attorney admitted on T.V that he(the attorney) only just recovered emotionally from the effects of Micheal's 2005 criminal trial on child abuse. What alarmed me was that he was not even the trial attorney, he did not even work on the case itself. He merely held the Jackson Family's hands through the process. Wow what a torture it must have been; it took so long for him to recover, how on earth must this have affected Michel?

For those who don't realize it or who have never seen him up close, Micheal beamed when he performed and I often commented on the stark difference in his demeanor whenever the media captured him off stage.
By doing the concert he was trying to rekindle an old flame with the populous. He was trying to remind us of how much he still loved us and hoped that we all still felt the same way. Like every one else he still wanted us to like him. Of course we know that preparing for the concert came with criticism too... As of 5:27pm(ET) when he passed he was still being criticized and ridiculed by the the media and populous.

More important is the genius that Michael was. Many who worked with him admitted that he was way beyond his time in Music. He was a perfectionist in a craft he loved: Quite a dangerous combination as this makes a person rather eccentric. Many among us carry this trait. It is said that Isaac Newton lived in his Lab for 3 years straight working on his research. Has society as a whole been advised on how to be patient with eccentric people? Do we even know how to identify eccentricity and thus accept it as a compromise to the gift the person offers?
Was the financially flamboyant nature of his eccentricity generate a level of envy among those who fed into the media frenzy that brought him down? To put it blatantly, where some of us jealous of his success instead of celebrating it? Do we realize that everyday in the media someone is being witch hunted? Is it healthy for this to continue as part of our culture? Where and when do we draw the line?

Michael was naive with a lot of bad advisers around him. It didn't help that he could barely trust anyone. But when the initial allegations of child abuse and compensation arose i was already a mother. My question then was if I knew my child was abused why on earth would I accept money instead of making sure hell came upon the person by way of jail time? Why would I accept compensation and leave other children at risk of the abuser?
With all the pressures that life itself presents for an average person, isn't it sometimes better to literally pay someone to leave you alone? I know I have done it several times in little ways: Sometimes I often think: "Is it worth the stress?" Perhaps this was Michael's reasoning in paying off the family initially.

I feel lucky in knowing Michael in a different way: Just his Music. It was until I moved to the West that I saw the negativity that pervaded Micheal's image. Back in Africa all we got was his music: no magazines, news stories, paparazzi shots etc I love and cherish that this is something I have over many. It is important that Americans realize that the rest of the world is immensely devastated by his loss; perhaps because we all share this filtered image of the King of Pop. Speaking ill of the dead is frowned by many cultures and Americans must endeavor to alert their media of the consequence: The ironic danger of looking heartless with one of the indisputable global icons of their own society. Many may wander, if they can treat their own like this even in death, how on earth will they treat anyone else?

In saying this, let us all take these lessons away from Michael, besides his music this was the most important gift he may have left for us.
Regards to you all,
Florence.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

11 Ways To Boost Your Energy

Fatigue is one of the biggest problems of modern life. But most of us deal with the problem in all the wrong ways. We want a magic bullet--an energy bar or supplement or tonic that will make us feel like a superhero.

So is there an easy and quick solution to our energy crisis? Yes and no.

Yes, in that there are simple strategies that you can put into effect immediately. They will make a huge difference to your well-being and sense of energy and vitality. The caveat is that energy loss can result from a complicated interplay of factors. No single nutrient or tactic will likely fill your energy deficit. If you have persistent low energy, you should consult your doctor. A thyroid problem can explain a prolonged lack of pep.

Energy is the natural byproduct of certain lifestyle decisions. Consuming fewer calories is one of the easiest ways to boost your vitality. When you eat, blood is diverted to your stomach and gut and energy is spent on digestion. Simply cutting calories by about one-fourth will hike your energy and extend your life, according to multiple studies.

Not quite as easy as cutting calories is a practice I call detox. I'm not talking about a packaged detox kit like Master Cleanses. Just eat clean for a week. Try Dr. Elson Haas' SNACC program: Cut out all SNACCs (Sugar, Nicotine, Alcohol, Caffeine and Chemicals) and limit your menu to raw foods like nuts and seeds, berries and fruits, tons of vegetables, small portions of cooked non-gluten grains like oatmeal (or quinoa), 3-4 ounces of grilled or steamed fish or grass-fed beef a day, and lots of fresh vegetable juice and broths. You'll feel amazing, and your energy will go through the roof.

Supplements can also help. While they don't really give you energy, they can correct metabolic issues that are draining it. Coenzyme Q10, for instance, is a powerful antioxidant that is also fuel for the heart. Supplements can speed along certain metabolic pathways that are nutrient dependent and that get sluggish (and energy-draining) when those nutrients are in short supply.

As everyone knows, stress saps energy. When you're under stress, your body pumps out hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. Called the "fight or flight" hormones, they serve a great evolutionary purpose: They prepare your body for an emergency. But they were never meant to be turned on all the time. High levels of the hormone cortisol shrink the hippocampus, an important part of the brain needed for memory and thinking. Meditation is the best stress-buster on the planet, but deep breathing exercises work equally well, as do warm baths, walks in the woods or just taking some time out every day to relax.

Another great stress reducer that also energizes: exercise. Though many folks feel like they don't have the energy to work out, the paradox is that exercise makes you feel more energized, not less. A short, equipment-free 15-minute routine like running, squats or push-ups will send oxygen and nutrients to the brain, improve circulation, get feel-good endorphins flowing through your body and ultimately make you feel like a million bucks. No kidding!

Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., CNS, is a board-certified nutritionist and the author of seven books on health and nutrition, including The 150 Most Effective Ways to Boost Your Energy and The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth.


RULES TO LIVE BY :

1. Eat Fewer Calories

Ever notice how tired you get after a big meal? When you eat, blood is diverted to your stomach and gut and energy is spent on digestion. Follow this Okinawan mantra--"Hara hatchi bu"--which means "eat till you're 75% full." Simply decreasing your calories by one-fourth has been shown to extend life in every species studied.

2. Never Skip Breakfast

Studies show that breakfast eaters perform better on tasks, think more clearly, have more energy and are far less likely to be overweight or obese. Eat protein. One study showed that a high-protein breakfast stimulated metabolism for over 24 hours. The ideal breakfast for energy? Two eggs and a small bowl of oatmeal. Skip the toast and potatoes.

3. Sleep

Even one hour of under-sleeping impairs judgment, performance and energy. During sleep, important hormones and biochemicals are replenished. When you don't get enough sleep, you're at a metabolic disadvantage. Try going to bed one hour earlier than usual. It's more effective than trying to sleep in. 7 - 8 hours is ideal. Kids (0-19) should aim for 10 - 12 hours. Researchers have linked the increase in cases of depression and other mental illnesses in our youth to the declining amount of sleep they get.

4. Exercise

Here are some "no excuses" low-tech workouts that you can do just about anywhere in as little as 15 or 20 minutes for an amazing boost in energy: 1) Run a mile, 2) do some squats, 3) do some push-ups, 4) do some crunches. Or try some jumping jacks in your office, or run the stairs.

5. Supplement

Supplements can correct metabolic issues and increase speed along certain metabolic pathways that are nutrient dependent and get sluggish when those nutrients are in short supply. One terrific energizing nutrient is Coenzyme Q10, a powerful antioxidant that is also fuel for the heart. Also consider vitamin D and a high-quality B complex vitamin.

6. Detox

I recommend Dr. Elson Haas's SNACC program: cut out all SNACCs (Sugar, Nicotine, Alcohol, Caffeine and Chemicals) for a week or so. Limit your menu to raw foods like nuts, berries and fruits, tons of vegetables, small portions of cooked non-gluten grains like oatmeal or quinoa, 3-4 ounces of grilled or steamed fish or grass-fed beef a day, and lots of fresh vegetable juice and broths. You'll feel amazing, and your energy will go through the roof.

7. Combat Stress

When you're under stress, your body pumps out hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline that prepare your body for an emergency. They were never meant to be turned on all the time. Meditation is the best stress-buster on the planet, but deep breathing exercises work equally well, as do warm baths, walks in the woods or just taking some time out every day to relax.

8. Check Your Thyroid

The old saying "my get up and go got up and went" describes a person with hypothyroidism (low thyroid). The thyroid gland is your metabolic engine, and when it's not putting out enough juice, your energy goes down the drain. At the very least, get a TSH test, the first level of screening for thyroid problems.

9. Get Some Sun

The body makes vitamin D after exposure to sun, and experts now agree that we're woefully lacking in this essential vitamin, which has been linked to lower rates of cancer, higher physical performance and improved mood. Try to get 10 minutes of unprotected exposure to the sun at least three times a week.

10. Organize

Here's a rule I've found to be a universal truth: Your energy has an inverse relationship to the accumulation of stuff you don't need. The more unwanted, unused, unneeded stuff you have cluttering up your life, the less energy you have. Take time to organize and de-clutter. It truly feels your mind and spirit.

11. Stay Connected

In his landmark book The Blue Zones, National Geographic explorer and writer Dan Buettner reports on four areas in the world where people live the longest and healthiest lives and are frequently active, energetic and healthy into their late 90s. Every one of the people he studied listed strong social connections as one of the energizing forces in their lives. So invest in your friendships and family, nurture those relationships... they pay.

Take Care

Florence x.



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Wednesday, June 24, 2009

How Many Calories Should I Eat in a Day?

The only way to know exactly how many calories you should consume is to get tested in a metabolic chamber, an elaborate setup found mostly in research labs and universities. This is far from necessary. Relatively simple formulas can estimate your caloric needs, like the Harris-Benedict equation (it's used in many of the online calculators, and you can find it at weight-loss-for-women-over-40.com/bmr-calorie-needs.htm). Plug your numbers into the equation.

However please be a little suspicious; this figure is based on an average basal metabolic rate. If your basal metabolism, which accounts for nearly 65 percent of all calories the body burns, is lower than normal, you need fewer calories; if it's higher, you require more.

Another approach is to keep a detailed food diary (nutritional log programs for computers and PDAs may be helpful). The idea is to count your food calories for, say, a week during which your weight is stable. Take the daily average, and that's the number of calories you should aim for.
I find that the bigger benefit of this is that you get a full picture of how much you eat. When I looked at my log I was alarmed and scared straight. I wrote down everything that went into mouth. It explained why I was having so much trouble losing weight :-0


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Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Giving Your Refrigerator & Pantry a "Facelift"


For those that wonder where to start, here are a few pointers as to what should be in your pantry or refrigerator.

Best carbohydrate choices

Artichokes, avocados, dark-green leafy vegetables, broccoli, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, spinach, escarole, romaine lettuce, cherries, berries (blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, etc.), apples, pears, barley, beans (dried and fresh), bean sprouts, endive, eggplant, cabbage, kale, red and green peppers, bok choy, celery, cucumbers, kidney beans, pinto beans, chick peas, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, honeydew melons, lentils, bean sprouts, mushrooms, tomatoes, turnips, pomegranates, snow peas, slow cooking oatmeal.

Best Protein sources
Wild Alaskan salmon, halibut, trout, anchovies, sardines, poultry, yogurt, high EFA eggs, kefir, cottage cheese, tofu.

Best fats
Extra virgin olive oil, flax oil, flax seed, nuts (esp. almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts and macadamia), pumpkin, sesame and sunflower seeds.

Beverages
Spring water, green tea, white tea, black tea.

Grains
Buckwheat, whole oats, barley.

Spices
Turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, oregano, basil, thyme, cayenne, (every spice and herb you can think of are stellar anti-aging foods).

Hope this helps...

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Monday, June 22, 2009

5 Things You'd Never Think Would Make You Fat (But Guess What?)

Food and exercise aren't the whole diet story. A slew of stealthy, often surprising weight gain culprits could be causing the scale to creep upward.

Carb-free liquor. An increasing number of purveyors of everything alcoholic, from wine to beer to vodka, are trying to surf the low-carb wave. But alcohol has never been a carbohydrate, so carb-free defines all hard liquor. Most beer and wine contain some sugar (a.k.a. carbohydrates). Makers of the low-carb versions have tried to minimize sugar content, but they've not invented a diet drink: A five-ounce glass of the new low-carb One.9 Merlot has 125 calories, and typical red wine weighs in at 105. The solution: Let "low calories," not "low carbs," be your principal dieting mantra.

Depo-Provera. The birth control shot may be convenient, but it delivers a high dose of progesterone, which can cause appetite to increase. Seventy percent of women who use it gain weight, with nearly half gaining more than five pounds after a year. The solution: Consider lower-dose possibilities. The Pill may get a bad rap for causing weight gain, but in a review published earlier this year researchers found no correlation between oral contraceptives and added pounds. Another low-dose option is the Ortho Evra patch.

Artificial sweeteners. A recent Purdue University study compared two sets of rats: those fed liquid spiked with saccharin, others fed liquid sweetened with natural sugar. When both groups were later given a sugary snack, the rats accustomed to artificial sweeteners ate more. "Our bodies have ways of judging how many calories a food has from how it tastes, and artificial sweeteners may mess up that natural regulating process," says Susan Swithers, PhD, associate professor of psychological sciences at Purdue and one of the study's lead authors. The solution: "We're not suggesting you give up your diet soda at this point," Swithers says. But if you consume artificially sweetened products, pay extra attention to the calorie count of everything you eat, especially snacks with real sugar.

Missing meals. Research shows that people who eat breakfast are less likely to be overweight, and that morning meals seem to help those who've lost weight keep it off. It's not just breakfast, either: Denise Bruner, MD, obesity specialist and former president of the American Society of Bariatric Physicians, says that skipping meals of any kind results in a "tremendous bout of compensatory hunger." The solution: Eat small meals throughout the day. A steady nutrient intake will keep your blood sugar relatively constant, helping prevent out-of-control binges. It also tricks the body into burning more calories frequently. One thing i did while trying to shed my pounds was to take my normal serving of a meal and split it three ways eating them slowly at 90 minute intervals.

Dining out. Super Size Me gave fast food a bad name, but restaurant portions can be just as oversize as a McDonald's meal. An order of chicken Parmesan and pasta at Ruby Tuesday, for example, tops out at 1,466 calories—more than a Big Mac, large fries, and a Coke combined. The solution: Eating out is fine, as long as you don't use it as a frequent license to indulge. Choose your entrees wisely, and find restaurants that serve smaller portions or doggie bag half your meal. Ofcourse you will realise that those who wish to shed or maintain weight tend to often cook their own meals. This is th ebest way to control your caloric intake.

Happy Shedding!
Florence


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Saturday, June 20, 2009

Building A Fat Resistant Body

Our ability to lose weight depends on a hormone called leptin and how it functions in your body. Under normal circumstances, leptin is a hormone produced by fat cells that turns down your appetite and speeds up your metabolism. This signaling mechanism, helps your body maintain a normal body weight. Appetite control is a function of the brain, more specifically, the hypothalamus. This is a small area lying between the thalamus and pituitary.

If you have trouble losing weight or are chronically overweight, there's a good chance your body has become leptin resistant. According to recent studies, the cause of leptin resistance is chronic inflammation. Inflammation not only causes leptin resistance—it also increases a person's risk of developing obesity-related diseases, including heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease.




Hormones that Control Eating.

The science below is both boring and highly informative. Though not necessary to read, if one is overweight, obese, diabetic etc, it is imperative you read the following in order realize the insurmountable power that a good diet can have on your health:

Several hormones are instrumental in control of the appetite center. Some increase hunger, others reduce the urge to eat. These have both short-term and long-term actions and are essential for control of body weight. Key regulators were presented by Schwartz and Morton in a "NEWS" article published in Nature. Several hormones were discussed:

1. Ghrelin. This is a peptide hormone which is released by the stomach and activates NPY/AgRP releasing neurons, thereby stimulating appetite. Ghrelin is released from the empty stomach. Its secretion abruptly stops following food intake.

2. PYY3-36 is a small peptide released from intestinal endocrine cells. It inhibits "appetite-stimulating" NPY/AgRP producing neurons, thus signaling food intake and damping hunger.

Thus, hormones released directly from the digestive system steer appetite in tact with food consumption.

3. Insulin and leptin. Insulin release from pancreatic islets cells follows intake of both carbohydrates and proteins. We usually assume that the brain is not dependent upon insulin for uptake and metabolism of substrates for energy metabolism. After all, the brain has a large and relatively constant requirement for glucose as its primary energy source. Uptake of glucose from the circulation to the CNS must not vary according to insulin levels. However, the arcuate nucleus appears to have many properties that are in contrast to those of the rest of the brain. Among these are receptors for protein hormones involved in the control of metabolism. The arcuate nucleus responds to both insulin and leptin. Insulin dampens appetite by inhibiting NPY/AgRP-secreting neurons and by activating POMC-releasing neurons. Insulin appears to have both short-term and long-term actions and is essential in regulation of body weight. Resistance to insulin is very often associated with obesity and the loss of insulin's regulation of metabolism as seen in diabetes type 2.

Leptin levels follow body fat levels; circulating leptin levels are increased in obesity. As is the case with insulin, leptin dampens appetite by inhibiting stimulatory neurons and stimulating inhibitory fibers. Leptin release from adipose tissue is enhanced by insulin. Leptin is, therefore, one of the hormones that are coupled to food consumption. It appears that the arcuate nucleus can become leptin-resistant. Obese persons tend to have high circulating leptin levels but without response to leptin in the arcuate nucleus. Abnormalities in leptin appear to be correlated to overeating and obesity.

Science Over!!! Back to Normal speaks.

Having read this I realized how delicate yet complex and hardworking the human body can be when it comes to food management.
By eating the right foods and eliminating those that cause inflammation, you can restore leptin to its normal functioning and lose weight.

Here are a list of foods you should avoid and foods you should consume to combat inflammation and boost your body's fat-fighting abilities:

  • Avoid trans fats. Trans fats are among the worst inflammatory foods that you can eat, because they interfere with the activity in the body of the essential fats, omega-3s and omega-6s.
  • Avoid sugar. Simple sugars have an inflammatory effect because they boost insulin levels.
  • Limit saturated fats. Saturated fats are typically solid at room temperature, and are not essential—meaning you can make them in your body.
  • Consume the right ratio of essential fats. Some good sources of omega-3s are fish and fish oil, green leafy vegetables, flaxseed and walnuts, as well as soy and some beans. Ideally, the ratio of omega-6s to omega-3s should be somewhere between 3–6 to 1. It's a little bit like an orchestra, it's not just one or the other.
  • Avoid processed foods. Processed foods contain numerous inflammatory ingredients. High Fructose corn syrup is very powerful at shutting down and triggering these hormones causing them to act abnormally; increase in appetite and shutting down the body's ability to detect that it is full. That is why it was produced in Labs as a "money making" ingredient. Well before I got educated, I sure helped make a lot of money for the food industry. I always make sure that when I place my groceries on the conveyor belt, they cannot be packed neatly in a box i.e no pre packaged foods. Anything that requires you to simply heat & eat is sadly processed. As I eliminated processed foods from my diet, my sleep pattern normalized, my joints stopped hurting, my headaches disappeared and more importantly my mood stabilized. My skin even became clearer. It was well worth the effort.
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Thursday, June 18, 2009

10 Superfoods for Age-Defying Beauty

Ten foods for age-defying beauty

The benefits from eating healthy are endless. Some foods can be eaten to help you look and age better! The sooner we all start the better :-)

Acai Fruit
This little berry is one of the most nutritious and powerful foods in the world. It can often be found in juice form in health food and gourmet stores.


Anything in the "Allium Family"
Garlic, onions, leeks, scallions, chives and shallots can all help the liver eliminate toxins and carcinogens.

Barley
This can be used as a breakfast cereal, in soups and stews, and as a rice substitute. Barley's also high in fiber, helping metabolize fats, cholesterol and carbohydrates.

Green Foods
Green foods like wheat and barley grasses can be bought in powder, tablet or juice form, and offer greater levels of nutrients than green leafy vegetables. They also help cholesterol, blood pressure and immune response.

Buckwheat: Seed and Grain
Buckwheat is loaded with protein, high in amino acid, stabilizes blood sugar and reduces hypertension.

Beans and Lentils
You can reduce cholesterol while beefing up on antioxidants, folic acid and potassium. Try red, kidney, black, navy, pinto, chickpeas, soybeans, peas and lentils. Soup recipes with these ingredients are abundant but any Nigeria will swear by a moi-moi or akara recipe. YUM!

Hot Peppers
Both bell and chili peppers contain antioxidants, have twice the Vitamin C as citrus fruit and work as great fat burners.

Nuts and Seeds
You can't go wrong with a handful of nuts a day—walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, macadamia and pistachio nuts contain Omega 3 fats, which are great for your heart. You can also take them as a vitamin supplement. Raw, unsalted nuts and seeds are best.

Sprouts
Numerous varieties of sprouts are great with any meal. They are very easy to grow in a pot. They're a great source of protein and Vitamin C. Try adding them to any dish and your immune system will get a boost.

Yogurt and Kefir
These cultured foods contain healthful bacteria that aid immune function, and the calcium helps burn fat. Try using them as a base for a smoothie.

Now you know the secret go out there strut your stuff!

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Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Recession Grocery Shopping & Eating Tips

You want to eat well—you just prefer not to hand over all your hard-earned cash to the grocery store cashier. There is some good news for both your wallet and waistline: You can eat a healthy diet without breaking the bank. Here are some smart, penny-pinching strategies. Try a few, and you'll find they really add up.

Shop around. Buy the Sunday newspaper and peruse the circulars, or check the Internet. You'll find store and manufacturer coupons that can save you quite a bit of money. And don't forget to check out warehouse stores and Internet grocers; they may offer competitive prices on specific brands and specialty foods.

One note: You may want to limit yourself to only a couple of stores. Think about it: If have to drive all around town to get the best deals, you'll end up spending all your savings on gas. Not to mention, shopping in an unfamiliar store can be time-consuming.

Plan ahead. Take a few minutes to think about what you'd like to cook or make for the week. Then, whip up a list based on this meal plan, and stick to it. Don't buy anything that's not on the list.

Limit your trips. If you can, try to hit the supermarket no more than once a week. That will automatically help you keep your spending under control.

Fly solo. When it comes to shopping, going stag is the best way to save your greens. If you leave your spouse and kids at home, you can easily take $20 off your total bill.

Go on a full tank. You've heard it before and with good reason: Eat before you shop. When your stomach is rumbling, you're more likely to fall for marketing gimmicks, which means you'll end up with a fridge full of food you don't even really like. Plus, if you've eaten beforehand, you'll be less likely to feast on all those supermarket free samples.

Buy in bulk. The more you buy, the cheaper it can be. Just be sure not to overbuy, because you'll be wasting your savings if you end up having to toss a bunch of spoiled food. Try to buy only what you can use at a time. Your other option: Freeze the extras. You can stash almost anything in the freezer, including meat and produce. Generally, things with a high-water content, such as tomatoes, don't freeze as well (they tend to be mushy when they thaw). In this case, you can freeze it and add it to dishes like chili, soups or casseroles. Just be sure to wrap things well and write the date of purchase on them before burying them in your freezer.

Do the math. The fact that something is on sale doesn't automatically make it a good deal. Make sure to look at the unit price of a product and compare it to other brands to see if it's truly a discount.

Cash in on good deals. When you do find something that's a great price, make sure to stock up on it. Products that are sealed, like Cheerios, will keep for a quite a while. And you can always freeze foods, like produce, that would spoil before you'd be able to use it.

Show your loyalty. It's fine to pick up a few sale products here and there, but you'll benefit more if you do the bulk of your shopping at one store. That's because most stores offer VIP or loyalty cards to frequent buyers. That means you'll get personalized specials with savings on brands frequently purchased. In fact, some stores have a computer that scans your card and prints out coupons for brands you regularly purchase right there.

Be choosy about your checkout. Consider this the final hurdle. If you have an option, pick a checkout line that's not surrounded by shelves full of candy. Often, there are choices there that may seem like healthy options (such as granola bars), but aren't. Avoid temptation by opting for the aisle loaded with magazines instead. Then, you can browse the latest headlines while you wait instead of salivating over that Snickers bar.

Happy Shopping!!!!

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Friday, June 12, 2009

5 Healthy Foods to Add to Your Diet

Start with foods that don't need a label, like fresh fruits and vegetables. If they're coming out of the ground looking the way they look when you eat them, they're good for you in general. This is why I strongly advocate gardening...


Antioxidants
You should also fill your grocery cart or garden with items that are high in antioxidants, such as tomatoes, broccoli, kidney beans, blueberries, artichokes and prunes. Whatever has that deep color like a blueberry, you know it's rich in antioxidants. Try to eat five to seven servings of these foods every day.

Omega-3 Fats
Increase your intake of omega-3 fats to 3 grams a day. Remember, 80 percent of our brain is fat. We need to have the right kinds of fats in our body to make sure our brain is the most resilient to stress and can learn the fastest. Some good sources include ground flaxseeds, walnuts, salmon, scallops, soybeans and squash.

Fiber
Dr. Oz says the average American gets about 12 grams of fiber a day, but he recommends double that amount. Oatmeal, 100 percent whole grain bread, lentils, pine nuts, peas and raspberries are all great sources of this nutrient.

Olive Oil
The last item to add to your shopping list is extra-virgin olive oil. Ideally, you should consume about a tablespoon every day. One nutritious—and delicious—way to eat olive oil is with tomatoes, made into a pasta sauce or stew. Cook with part of it then when the dish is done add more at the end. Heat tends to depreciate the value of it's nutrients. If you get that into your diet a couple times a week, you're getting these nutrients naturally.

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Thursday, June 11, 2009

5 FOODS TO AVOID

When I initially started keeping a close eye on what I was eating. I started with avoiding these basics. There are a lot more, but I believe in taking one step at a time.

1) High fructose corn syrup

"We most commonly get this in soft drinks". "It's an inexpensive sugar, which means we're getting a lot of it in our diet." The "process" of making it is complex, leaving hardly any work for your body. It simply "passes" through your body. But wait; it also shuts down the brain's chemical ability to tell your body when it is full! A nightmare if you are trying to maintain or lose weight. I have no real scientific results to prove this besides myself, but when I stopped eating foods containing HFCS, I stopped feeling tired and started sleeping better.

2) Simple Sugars
When you eat sweets, your brain receives schizophrenic messages. It says: I got calories, but I didn't get any nutrients. Your body will keep craving food until it gets those nutrients. Foods with complex carbs tend to have nutrients. It is impossible to eliminate sugar entirely, limiting simple sugars goes a very long way in reducing cravings.

3) "Enriched"
Also watch out for products made with "enriched" flour, like white bread. Why would they take bread and have to enrich it? Because they take all the important vitamins out of it, and they sprinkle just a little bit back in there. What a fraud! There are no shortcuts here cut "enriched" ingredients out entirely.

4) Trans fat
Also known as hydrogenated fat, these are fats that were once in liquid form but have hydrogen added to make them solid at room temperature. It extends the shelf life of the product. Great for business; But it shortens the human life. Cut out any fats that can solidify, your ventricles, atria and arteries find it difficult to purge them from your body :-( A nightmare that causes future heart problems. I tend to stick with Olive & Fish oils.

5) Saturated fats
These fats come from four-legged animals like pigs and cows. Enough said!

I would personally like to know how folks out there feel after cutting these foods out. Let me know...

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Wednesday, June 10, 2009

My Rules For Eating

I have had a lot of conversations with various people about my blog. Many have asked me to discuss my eating habits in detail by including recipes and foods to avoid. I have also been cautioned against assuming that the information I give is known by all. I admit this is a mistake I make having sat down to read through it with an American dietitian friend of mine. I have an aversion to sounding condescending but good health is pivotal so I am now willing to tread on that fine line. Forgive me if some things I write about seem condescending.
Right now, I am anxiously awaiting a harvest of some tomatoes, peppers, peas etc. Meanwhile I will recap some "RULES" I have discussed in the past.
  1. Plant a garden. Any garden. Be it in a pot, a box or a patch.
  2. Eat a lot of herbs and spices consistently. They are healthy and they help curb an over- zealous appetite.
  3. Appoint a food engineer in your home AND assign food tasks to EVERYONE.
  4. Cook at least 2 meals per day from scratch: No cans or boxes.
  5. Everyone in the home must cook and eat together no matter what.
  6. Create a compost heap: Put only fruit and vegetable scraps in it.
  7. Minimize beef, pork, chicken, turkey intake. It takes 3 days to digest! Is it worth the hassle? The less, the better.
  8. Eat seasonally; it is cheaper and more environmentally responsible
  9. Buy or grow vegetables in colors: Put them in EVERY recipe even if it does not call for it.
  10. Make ALL snacks (except popcorn) from scratch: This includes cookies, potato chips, cupcakes etc. It tastes better and encourages conscious eating. Unconscious eating causes weight gain.
  11. Consider cutting down dairy. There is a vast variety of foods that will fulfill the calcium loss: This is a dicey topic but here is my reasoning. A lot of us have lactose intolerance. Do you pop antacids like candy? Do you think cows would drink human breast milk ? Essentially this is what we do. I am not personally big on Soy but encourage alternatives like rice milk and coconut milk. I use these in baking, pancakes etc. and the foods taste just fine.
  12. Consider eating organic.... The way your body looks on the outside is a reflection of what is going on inside. Does your body need to treated like a temple? Do you spend more on clothes than you do on food? Should you consider a balance of both?
  13. Have you started REALLY reading the ingredients of the foods you buy? Can your grandmother recognize some of these ingredients? Consider the "grandma" test. If she can recognize it, you are fine, if not reconsider that food item.
My next blog will include a recipe. Please let me know your thoughts on this article.

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Sunday, June 7, 2009

How We Eat: MEAT!!!



Today, the way we ate at my village would certainly be considered "different". Most folks then farmed for a living. As a lakeside village, beef was almost absent in our diet: Most folks did not want livestock around for hygiene purposes (the lake). Chicken was eaten maybe once a month. Beef was bought. No one raised cows. Turkey & Goat were eaten once a year. Pigs: NEVER. Nigeria is mostly Muslim and many do not eat "scavengers". They considered them dirty. The rest of the country like myself merely respected our neighbor's religious needs and avoided having pigs around. Hence I grew up never tasting it. (On moving to the west pork was everywhere and unavoidable. More about that later)
During religious celebrations, a lot of these neighbor's shared one third of their goat / beef meat with us. As you can imagine we got a lot so we shared most of it with family and friends. Many Nigerians will tell you that even though they eat meat, they do not consume the average 200lbs per person per year, that most Americans consume. I recently used a fancy tax program to check last year's receipts and figured that my family of 5 consumed about 40lbs! last year. That includes chicken, beef, lamb turkey etc. We also do not eat out. Yep we do not eat much meat in my home now and never really did while i was growing up. Fish is huge in our household. I can say so now because I know no one in my family is reading this. I flake it into everything. Steak/roast dishes are not the norm at home even though we live in the U.S. Traditionally we cut our meat into tiny stew pieces and everyone gets just a little piece or more. Most folks eat this piece at the end of the meal. It is the closer, like a desert and not part of the main dish. Right now skinless chicken drumettes and minced chicken are the staple chicken consumption. Bony meat is more time consuming to eat making one feel like they have had a bigger portion than they acually had.
Yesterday i was volunteering at a sweetgrass basket festival. My co volunteer asked me if i wanted some crab. I told her just one. She said are you sure? It is quite small. Yes i declared. When she got back she bought 4 for herself and 2 for another volunteer. We all ate together. I was the last to finish! I ATE my crab. Every little inch of it. Infact another lady planned to take hers home (because she thought it was too messy to eat in public), but because she watched how i unashameadly devoured mine, she plucked the courage to eat hers:-). I took my time and i enjoyed my crab. This is how we eat and this is why resturant eating in America is torturous for our family: we feel rushed.

Getting back, the wealthier folks while growing up were the ones that ate more meat. The bigger a person was, the wealthier they were. Size was culturally seen as an indicator of success. This explains why when we moved out to the western world initially, we started eating a lot of meat. I guess we finally felt "rich". I say a lot more but on average as a family of 5, with 3 teens, we probably did not eat more than 100lbs a year in total. Even though we were now in England, we just never bothered picking up pork. In fact I distinctly remembered eating the first susage my mom and I picked up at the butcher's. It was a fresh Irish susage, the best out there. When we sauted it, it made us all nautious :-( Until today, i am unable to eat a pork beacause of that. Ofcourse now that i am the cook in my own family, I don't buy it and I don't cook it. I write this because most folks do not think about how much meat they consume. Meat is the most difficult thing for one's body to digest. It takes about 3 days to work it's way through the average human being. That general feeling of not feeling great for 3 days after eating meat was beacuse my body was just not familiar with that "task". Now because I don't eat meat daily I am better able to "listen" to my body and can tell the difference. This is why "detox" diets work so well on Americans. They report feeling great. I never notice a difference. Imagine that same great feeling everyday. This is how I feel and I imagine how everyone I know in my family/village feels ALL the time. So when one goes from that to eating a quater pound of meat one day, followed by a 3 day "meat hangover" one starts to portion your meat intake. By the way, in recent times, a lot of wealthy Nigerian men started falling victim to colon cancer. What is refered to as "the rich man's disease". Now we know why. Research was never done, but we know for sure is that it was never common, only becoming so as Nigeria started having a promnent middle class. Don't quote me, but I feel there has to be something to be said for that.
Poverty may have led me down the road of limited meat intake, but education has kept me there.
In my next post I will discuss Dinner at my village and include recipes to try if you dare :-)...

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Friday, June 5, 2009

Installing a Raised Garden Bed

Raised bed installation / tips:
Double-dig the bed area. Turn over the soil to a depth of 16”. Leave soil piled up in the center, away from the sides.

Set bed in place and tap down corners. If the bed has built-in stakes, as in the 'build-your-own' model described above, drive one corner down a few inches, then go on to the others and do the same. Repeat this process until bed is at ground level. If you try to drive one corner all the way down before going on to the others, you put too much twist on the structure and may split out one of the stakes.

Level the bed. Use a level for this task. This may seem overly meticulous, but after several waterings the soil will settle to level, and you’ll want the bed to be the same. Set a stiff board (2x4) on top of the bed sides, across the span, and set your level on this board. Tap down the sides as needed till you get a level reading. Be sure to check for level both along the length and across the width of your bed.

Burrowing pests? If your garden has burrowing pests such as moles, a layer of 1" poultry netting (chicken wire) can be laid across the bottom, before soil is added. The mesh should continue at least 3" up along the insides of the bed and be stapled in place. If you plan to grow root crops, such as potatoes or carrots, you may want to set the chicken wire lower in the ground by digging deeper when you are setting up the bed.

Spread soil out evenly. Add any planned soil amendments, such as peat, compost or lime, and spread the soil evenly across the bed. Water the bed with an even, fine spray. This will settle the soil; add more soil to "top off". (Over time the soil will settle an inch or two more.) Rake the bed once more to even out the soil and you’re ready to plant.

Avoid stepping on the bed. Once the soil is added and the bed is planted, make it a policy to never step on the bed. Stepping on the bed will compact the soil, reduce aeration and impact root growth. Pets should also be trained to stay off the raised beds.

Pathway width. It helps when pathways between raised beds are wide enough for a small wheelbarrow. For grass pathways, make sure they are at least wide enough for a weedeater or a small mower. (In our raised bed garden the pathways are 21" wide.)

Mulch the pathways between beds. Weeding pathways is a nuisance which you can avoid by putting a double layer of perforated landscape cloth over the pathway, and cover this with a 2- 3" layer of bark mulch. When laying down the landscape cloth, allow it to come up 1" against the bottom board of the bed, and staple this to the bed. This will not be visible because the mulch will cover it.

Some weeds will still appear on your pathways regardless of the mulch. Wait until it rains before pulling them out, or you may rip the landscape cloth. The weeds will come out easily if the ground is wet.

Good Luck. I hope this helps.

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Thursday, June 4, 2009

CRITTERS!!! Aaaargh!

Oh my goodness!!! The worst thing happened yesterday. My gardeners were cutting my grass and "edging" my lawn, and they found a snake trapped in the plastic mesh i use to surround my raised bed. I put it there to keep deer, raccoons, squirrels, rabbits and others away from eating our food. My home backs on to a protected forest area and it is such an educational treat for my kids and their friends. It also reminds us that we are essentially in their space. As population grows we inch into wildlife space. My husband had to go and cut out a 5 foot snake! What a brave man even my gardeners were terrified and did not want anything to do with it. They suggested we leave it there to die since it was stuck. That would have been inhumane. So i now have to write about critters. After the rains i make a mixture for my spray bottle. I blend habanero (scotch bonnet) peppers, garlic, vinegar and oil. I spray it on my vegetables to keep the critters away. Of course you must remember to wear gloves, sunglasses and a mask. I suspect that because most animals have a much stronger sense of smell than we do, this serves as an effective deterrent.

By the way....
My "gardeners" only cut my grass and edge my lawn: A Home Owners' Association must! I firmly believe that if you live in a neighborhood without stringent restrictions on "grass usage & maintenance", you should utilize every inch of land you have for food and plants. Grass is useless as far as i am concerned. I have heard about people who have fully utilized all their grass space for a vegetable garden and are able to supply local restaurants and even farmer's markets with their yield.
So for the record, my "gardeners" do not tend to my vegetable garden, I do and I LOVE doing it.

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