Super Foods Part 2: Spinach Craze

Hello all, good morning! Or in Germany I say guten morgen. If you're going to eat a salad I recommend choosing the green leaf; spinach. The nutrients are much higher than Romaine Lettuce.

Grocery Store Tips:
When you're at the grocery store there are different sizes of spinach. I always choose the smaller leaf bunches vs. the bigger leaves because those tend to be more stringy and tough to eat. Always look for a grocery store that places their veggies under the direct light. Those ones will have more nutrients.

To eat raw or cook?
For just a 1/2 cup of cooked spinach gives you more for your diet than 1 cup of raw spinach. Cooked spinach is easier to digest as well. Spinach eases constipation and protects the mucus lining of the stomach, so that you stay free of ulcers.  It also flushes out toxins from the colon. Good to know!

The juice craze part 1
If you're like me you starting to join the juicing trend. I told someone I had started to juice and they said, "What, you're taking steroids? No you’re not!" ...So I guess to in fitness terms, juicing means that. The healthiest way I know to consume spinach is taking it in juice form because it gets in your system faster. The green smoothie as I call it is best taken with other fruits and veggies.

What other fruits and veggies?
There’s a compound in spinach called oxalic acid, which blocks the absorption of calcium and iron. An easy way to solve this problem is to pair spinach with a food high in vitamin C, like mandarin oranges and cantaloupes. Any veggies that are green, like broccoli is a good choice.

What makes it so green?
Spinach is high in chlorophyll, which is found in all veggies that are green. The chlorophyll has been shown to help reduce buildups in your blood stream and helps carry blood throughout your body. So, if you’re always on the go or starting to work out more remember to eat your spinach!

Keep in mind there are 3 ways to have spinach.

1. Raw; in a salad
2. Cooked
3. In a green smoothie

Natalie

 

The Super Foods: Part 1

Lets face it, loosing weight and getting healthy can be a challenge. I want to eat everything in sight and I even caved in today at the grocery store when my husband said "let's just buy a frozen pizza so when both don't feel like cooking we have it." I stuffed that sucker in the bottom of the freezer hoping we both forget about it. There are foods that can aid with the weight loss process and your metabolism. These foods are called Super Foods

We are all shapes and sizes
For starters you want to eat the right way. We all have a different need in each type of food.

Quantity and quality
Starving yourself is the wrong mentality. Your body needs food to function like our brains needs energy function. Quantity and quality in the food you consume will make a huge difference in your overall health! For example: Switching the products that you buy

Greek Yogurt instead of regular. Greek has twice the amount of protein.
Raw honey instead of Splenda, Equal, etc.
Coconut Oil to cook with.
Almond flour instead of the processed bleached flour
Green Tea instead of those sugary juice blends
Almond milk vs. Vitamin D or 2% (dairy can make your body bloated)

Fresh, mmm
Fresh and unprocessed foods are filled with a ton of vitamins for your body.

The first super food is Avocado

I had feedback about the avocado being too high in calories but it's a perfect alterative to margarine. Use avocado on sandwiches or in a salad to get great flavor and get the benefits of mannoheptulose. This is a sugar that inhibits the release of insulin. So its a great food for diabetics and all those trying to loose weight.

Whats Happening With This Experiment?

Who remembers their biology teacher? He had the craziest classroom, unorganized, and smelled of formaldehyde. We were forced to think science wasn't 'cool.’ Who remembers all that? Yep, I do! I never understood why my teacher had so much passion. Crazy thing is, it has taken me 6 and a half years to finally realize science is awesome!

Since I graduated from high school I have just gone through the motions and have done exactly what was expected of me. I have beaten myself down a few paths more than I like to admit. I then graduated from college, have always had a job, and my parents knew where I was and that I was okay. These past years have been so bland to me. I did enjoy wearing pencil skirts and fancy business suits butt man do I hate wearing heels for longer than 1 hour. No way Jose!

That's when I realized, I can be my own boss. We all start somewhere, if you’re like me than that's at the bottom. I didn't just poof become this fitness go-getter. It grew on me, just like muscles do, over time.

We all have faults. I have struggled with body image and relationships with the wrong people. I had it made at my most recent job. Working for a well-known company looks so pretty on resume...cool?! That type of business isn't where I want to be. I could not sell a product that I don't believe in.

I am giving myself a second chance (more like the 100th chance, ha-ha) to believe in myself and sell my product to you all. You know what that is? Fitness. I want to help people be fit and happy with themselves.

Feel free to share your comments and topics you would like me to touch on. I will be straight to the point and share with you as much as I can. I have given my email at the top if you want to write me a personal email. Looking forward to this experiment.

Natalie