by Leslie Myers

Here are a few easy changes you can make to your lifestyle which hopefully will point you down the road of feeling healthy.

1.  Eat more fresh fruits. And vegetables. Make it a game.  Try to eat 5 servings of each fresh vegetables and fresh fruit a day.  Fruits and vegetables are PACKED with phytonutrients, fiber and WATER. You will find that you won't have to consume as much water if you load up on these.  Think about it, we eat so much "dry" food (such as crackers, pasta, cereal, sandwiches) only to have to replenish our systems with water. Why not just get most of your hydration in one nutritional shot?  Who says a cup of june strawberries can't make a perfect dessert?

2.  Have a Vegan day or two a week. By doing so you will celebrate the summer bounty of fruits and vegetables (especially what is grown locally) and reduce the carbon footprint associated with the growing production of animal husbandry.    

3.  Stay away from the "white". White carbohydrates, that is. Vow not to eat any white flour, white sugar, white rice or white pasta for the week.

4.  If you are a soda drinker, switch to flavored seltzer water (0 calories and natural)

5.  Eat your main meals at breakfast and lunch. Have a light dinner of salad with a four ounce piece of protein such as grilled fish, free range chicken, tofu or a cup of beans.

6.  Limit your alcohol intake--a glass of wine a few nights a week is fine but the beer and the hard stuff (particularly with the sugary mixers) pack a wallop of calories, dehydrates you and can render you unproductive the next day.

7. Make sure you aren't drinking an excessive amount of calories in your morning coffee--keep it simple.  You can quickly undo a half hour of exercise with an overly sweetened, whipped cream-laden coffee drink. Switch to tea (black tea has half the caffeine of coffee; green a quarter of the amount); herbal tea or tisane-none) for the rest of the day.

8. Take an hour at the end of your week to make a list of meals and foods you would like to eat the following week. Shop accordingly.  You will find that if you stay organized with list and a plan, you will spend less and eat the foods which you intended to eat. 

9.  Have a refrigerator and kitchen "cleanse" Throw away any processed food (think "anything with ingredients you can't pronounce"), any condiments you haven't used in two years (or less if they look gross). Reorganized your cupboards and refrigerators and make a list of anything that you need to use up. Make it a game and try to maintain a kitchen "inventory" mostly of items you use on a regular basis.  That jar of ground cloves that you've had for 15 years??? Throw it out! Those packets of Hot Cocoa mix with 13 ingredients (half of which you can't even pronounce--what is "Carboxmethylcellulose", anyway?) including partially hydrogenated vegetable oil and artificial flavors--PITCH THEM! A clean, organized kitchen is a happy kitchen :)

10.  If you have the time in the morning, exercise. Exercise is something that is easy to put off and eventually run out of time to do; so by scheduling it in the morning you most likely will get it done. It also clears your head and can really set a positive tone for the day.

Have a wonderful day!

-LM 

After doing a little research on this subject, I think that it comes down to personal preference.  Off the top of my head, I would tell you that I think that almond butter is healthier, but.  I think the initial comparisons pf Almond to peanut compared Natural Almond butter to poorly made commerical peanut butters which contained hydrogenated oils and high fructose cornsyrup. If you compare those products, I would tell you that yes, almond butter is much healthier for you than peanut butter.  However, if you compare natural almond butter to natural peanut butter, here are the difference

Peanut butter has slightly more protein--1 gram per 2 Tbsp serving

Peanuts are legumes, almonds are tree nuts

Almond butter is more expensieve than peanut butter

Almond butter is available as a raw product, peanut butter is not

Almond butter has more.... 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture found that even after washing, some fruits and vegetables consistently carry much higher levels of pesticide residue than others. Based on an analysis of more than 100,000 U.S. government pesticide test results, researchers at the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a research and advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., have developed the “dirty dozen” fruits and vegetables, above, that they say you should always buy organic, if possible, because their conventionally grown counterparts tend to be laden with pesticides. They sometimes cost more than 50% — but are well worth the money.

Fruit

There are a few things that you should ALWAYS buy organic: 

• Apples
• Cherries
• Grapes, imported (Chile)
• Nectarines
• Peaches
• Pears
• Raspberries
• Strawberries

Vegetables

• Bell peppers
• Celery
• Potatoes
• Spinach

Reduce the risk of exposure to the agent believed to cause mad cow disease and minimize exposure to other potential toxins in non-organic feed. These foods contain no hormones, and antibiotics — which have been linked to increased antibacterial resistance in humans — have not been added to the food. They often cost 100 percent more than conventional products. BUT ISN'T YOUR HEALTH WORTH IT 

 These foods have have been found to have less or no pestiside residue:

Fruit

• Bananas
• Kiwi
• Mangos
• Papaya
• Pineapples

Vegetables

• Asparagus
• Avocado
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Corn
• Onions
• Peas

But, I would advise you to eat organic whenever possible!

Being active is an integral part in looking and feeling your best. You've heard it before.. Eating healthy exercising=Feeling and looking great. You not only reap the physical effects but you will feel mentally clear as well.

• Increases mental clarity--I have done some of my best problem solving while running/swimming/snowshoeing/hiking, etc. There is constant cacophony in our world. We are "plugged in" to TV, computer, blackberries, and ipods. Unplug yourself during physical activity and take notice of how your brain starts to fire. I ask myself questions and then try (and usually suceed) in answering them. Sometimes late at night I am hit with a question. Usually by the end of a workout I have the answer or or at least some clarity toward the situation.

• Social--I can't tell you how many conversations have started with "...so I met this cool person at a race/yoga class/at a group workout"

• You can eat more. Okay, don't take this and run with it. Exercising doesn't give you license to eat copious amount of food with no consequences. I find that there is a two fold explanation to this. When I exercise first thing in the morning, I find that I am more apt to adhere to a healthy, clean diet. It is as though the pace is set for the day! Secondly, exercising builds and maintains muscle. The more muscle and less fat you have in your body, the more calories you burn in a day. Even if you don't do a thing! The more you burn, the more you can eat without gaining weight.

Jessica Cover and Leslie Myers sprint to the finish!

by Leslie Myers

Before you say "eeewwwww", you need to try this. Oh boy, this is a good one! Maybe I am being a little over enthusiastic about this but If there is one immediate incremental change you can make in you diet, this is it. Drink a green smoothie each day. While an apple a day is good--the Green Smoothie (GS) is better. The vivid emerald green color, while atypical of smoothie, tastes neutral.

Here's how drinking green has affected my overall being

My teeth are whiter--hmmmm.

I don't get crazy cravings for sugar and simple carbohydrates ESPECIALLY if I drink this before

I don't have to chew tons of greens to feel like I am getting my healthy greens.

Green Smoothies are a great way to get you greens into you WITHOUT having to masticate them yourselvs. At first you might be put off by the color

Release of nutrients

Very Simple

Great way to use up ripe, bruised fruit, parsley stems, etc. No real recipes

For Green Smoothie Recipes The classic Green Smoothie, Lemon and Ginger Green Smoothie, and Pineapple Green Smoothie Click here.