Archives for May 2015

May 18, 2015 by hiaprilw

Have you heard of Buddha Bowls yet?

Some call them Nourish Bowls but no mater we what we call these colorful super food bowls they are always a crowd pleaser.

You can use any super colorful and nutrient dense foods you have on hand. As a general rule you want to include a green, a raw or roasted veggie, a cooked grain, lean protein, something with some crunch and a tasty dressing.

I love changing it up and trying new things and it's always fun to ask my family what they want me to put in the Buddha Bowl. Besides, I'll never get tired of hearing my kids ask for Brusells Sprouts!

You will find few dishes that are as this gorgeous on the table and beautifully nourishing to your body.

I like to make the dressing the day before to let the flavors really blend. I usually chop the veggies and prep the black rice (or quinoa) ahead of time too just to make this a quicker put together later. This recipe serves 4.

INGREDIENTS

1½ pounds sweet potatoes (2 medium)

1 head cauliflower

3 tablespoons extra virgil olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

Fresh ground pepper

1 black rice (or quinoa) uncooked

15-ounce can chickpeas (1½ cups cooked)

1 beet

¼ head red cabbage

12 cups salad greens

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

**Lemon Tahini Dressing

½ cup tahini

2 large lemons (about ½ cup)

¼ cup water

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ teaspoon sea salt

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Dice the sweet potatoes; place them in a bowl and mix with 1½ tablespoons olive oil and ½ teaspoon sea salt. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pour the sweet potatoes onto half of the sheet.

Cut the cauliflower into florets; place them in the same bowl and mix with 1½ tablespoons olive oil and ½ teaspoon sea salt.

Pour them onto the other half of the baking sheet. Add fresh ground pepper and roast until tender, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the black rice according to the package instructions.

Drain and rinse the chickpeas; mix them with a drizzle of olive oil and a few pinches sea salt.

Peel and thinly slice the beet. Thinly slice the red cabbage.

Make the dressing (below).

To serve, place the salad greens in a bowl. Arrange small piles of each component. Drizzle with dressing and top with sunflower seeds.

***For The Dressing

In a canning jar or small bowl, combine ½ cup tahini, the juice of 2 large lemons (1/2 cup), ¼ cup water, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and ½ teaspoon sea salt. Cover and vigorously shake the canning jar, or whisk together the ingredients in a bowl.

Reserve extra dressing for later use; it saves for about 1 month in the refrigerator. Bring the dressing to room temperature before serving (it becomes thick when chilled).

There will be more than enough dressing for 4 salads so save the leftovers! Why not consider adding Buddha Bowl night at your house too?

Yours in Health,

Danette

P.S. Please share this with your friends and I welcome your comments below!

May 15, 2015 by hiaprilw

A lot of people don't realize it but Magnesium is the most important mineral in your body.

It's directly involved in over 300 metabolic processes. Every single cell in the body needs magnesium to function properly.

This mineral is essential for the health of our heart, muscles, joints and teeth. And even though it plays such a vital role in the human body, as many as 80% of us are deficient in magnesium.

How Deficient Are You?

Take the 30 Second Quiz to Find Out Now

Any one of the symptoms below could be due to magnesium deficiency:

♦ Calcium deficiency ♦Heart problems ♦Weakness

♦Muscle cramps ♦Tremors ♦Nausea

♦Anxiety ♦High blood pressure ♦Type 2 diabetes

♦Respiratory issues ♦Dizziness ♦Fatigue

♦Potassium deficiency ♦Difficulty swallowing ♦Poor memory

♦Confusion ♦Insomnia ♦Irritability

♦Headaches & migraines ♦Body odor ♦Constipation

♦Poor dental health ♦Kidney stones ♦Gut disorders

♦Abnormal heart rhythm ♦Low energy ♦Hormonal imbalances

Why so many of us are lacking this mineral

A number of issues team up to cause this widespread mineral deficiency:

Modern farming methods have depleted magnesium from the soil.
We filter the minerals out of our drinking water.
Processed foods lack magnesium (as well as other important minerals and nutrients).
Calcium supplementation depletes magnesium from the body, because we need magnesium to process calcium.
Insulin is required by the cells to process magnesium. But when the cells become insulin resistant they cannot take up the magnesium and it is passed as waste.
Nearly all prescription drugs deplete magnesium from the body.
High consumption of caffeine, alcohol and sugar deplete magnesium.
Stress and lack of sleep lower our magnesium levels.

How to get the magnesium we need

We most easily absorb magnesium through the foods we eat. But due to the above reasons, our food and water today contain only about 40% of the magnesium that they did 100 years ago.

As a result, we need to supplement with magnesium. The problem is that in pill or powder form, our bodies absorb very little of this precious mineral.

As the magnesium supplement passes through the digestive system, most of it will be eliminated, never reaching the bloodstream. The solution to this dilemma is to apply magnesium topically in the form of magnesium oil.

“Magnesium oil” is a misnomer because it actually contains no oil, but simply consists of magnesium chloride and water. But it feels somewhat oily, hence the name.

You can apply magnesium oil:

By massaging it directly onto the skin
As a spray onto your skin
In a bath or foot bath (Epsom salts are magnesium sulfate and are commonly used in this way.)
As a nebulizer for the lungs

The amount of magnesium your body absorbs will depend on the concentration of the magnesium oil, the surface area to which you apply it, and how long you allow it to absorb.

Magnesium oil is readily available in drug stores. Or you can make your own by mixing magnesium chloride flakes with distilled water in a one-to-one ratio.

Supplementing with magnesium can improve sleep, eliminate muscle cramps and twitches, relieve stress, stabilize heart rate and arrhythmia, lower cholesterol and blood sugar, improve mood and help with many other ailments.

Why not treat yourself to a good soak or use one of the other methods above so that you can start feeling the benefits right away!

Yours In Health,

Danette

P.S. Please share this with your friends and I always enjoy reading your comments below.

May 14, 2015 by hiaprilw

If you're like most women (and men), you want to have that V-Shape in your midsection. Well, after having 3 kids I can tell you this is one of the most effective movements for getting that V-Shape. Plus it's simple so just about anybody at any fitness level can do this!

Now, if you want more of my specialized workouts that will get you a flat belly and sexy abs in record time, I’m giving away a certain amount of FREE copies of my NEW Flat Abs Fast DVDs here if you make it to this link before we run out of our inventory.

Please feel free to share this with your friends and leave you comments below!

Much Love,

Danette

May 14, 2015 by hiaprilw

It's hard to believe but ONE THIRD of Americans are walking around right now with elevated blood sugar.

Higher than normal blood sugar is a sign of prediabetes, metabolic syndrome and diabetes.

We always hear about the harmful effects of high blood sugar, but for some reason we never talk about high levels of insulin. Our rigorous pursuit of a low-fat diet over the past 30 years has swung the pendulum to a diet high in carbohydrates.

This has literally overwhelmed our bodies with sugar. Our pancreas manufactures more insulin to handle the high amounts of sugar and our bloodstream becomes gorged with insulin.

Plain and simple—our lifestyle choices are killing us!

Below are 10 ways that high insulin levels harm us.

A high level of insulin in the bloodstream:

1. Makes cells insulin resistant. The pancreas pumps more insulin into the bloodstream to counter the high levels of blood sugar. Dr. Ron Rosedale, MD, explains, “Cells become insulin resistant because they are trying to protect themselves from the toxic effects of high insulin.”

2. Damages the heart. High levels of insulin cause the body to retain sodium. Consequently, we retain fluid and develop high blood pressure, all of which are very hard on the heart.

3. Contributes to the risk of many life-threatening diseases. Dr. Rosedale clarifies, “The way to treat virtually all of the so-called chronic diseases of aging is to treat insulin itself.” Not the least of these is type 2 diabetes.

4. Causes the body to store fat. When our cells become insulin resistant, they can’t burn sugar. This further elevates blood sugar. With high levels of insulin, people become more and more insulin resistant and because their cells can’t process sugar it’s converted to fat and they put on weight.

5. Plays havoc with the sex hormones. Insulin helps regulate the sex hormones. So when insulin is out of whack, so are they, as well as nearly every other hormone in the body.

6. Fills the arteries with plaque. High levels of insulin cause the blood to clot too freely. Fatty deposits then form in the arteries, filling the body with plaque.

7. Increases the risk of prostate cancer. Research conducted by the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, MD, found that elevated insulin levels were associated with a higher risk for prostate cancer.

8. Raises the risk of breast cancer. Researchers from Albert Einstein College of Medicine have also linked high levels of insulin with increased risk of breast cancer.

9. Causes unpleasant side effect in young women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Women with PCOS often display high levels of insulin that can result in thickening and darkening of the skin on the back of the neck, under the arms, and in the groin area. In young women with PCOS, high insulin levels can also cause the ovaries to make more of the male hormones resulting in increased body hair, acne, and fewer or irregular periods.

10. Prevents the body from storing magnesium. Magnesium is an essential mineral to proper body function. When cells become insulin resistant they can’t store magnesium and it is flushed from the body through urination.

You’re probably asking yourself, “How can I lower or maintain a healthy level of insulin in my bloodstream?”

You can do this in two primary ways:

Eat fewer carbs, avoiding processed foods and sugar. The carbohydrates you eat should have fiber in them to minimize spikes in blood sugar. Carbs with high fiber include: most fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds.

Exercise regularly. Regular exercise lowers blood sugar and insulin levels.

Make some simple lifestyle changes today to avoid the dangers of high levels of insulin!

Your in Health,

Danette

P.S. Please share this important information with your friends and I welcome your comments below.

May 13, 2015 by hiaprilw

If you want to lose weight, and especially if you are using one of my clean eating plans to get there, you are going to LOVE this recipe!

Many of my regular readers already know that my plans count mushrooms as a ‘free' food. Meaning there's no need to keep track of how many you are eating if you are using my meal plans.

That applies to raw mushrooms and uncooked is the best choice but every now and then I like to change it up and make this easy side dish. You still want to count the oil for your daily fats and the onion for your daily carbs if you are using one of my clean eating plans.

This is one recipe that will really help you stay full while staying right on track to reach your goals. These are so delicious too, I snack on these all the time!

This hearty dish can be served as a side, a topper for chicken and beef or simply enjoyed as a snack.

Yours in Health,

Danette

P.S. Please share this recipe with your friends. I always love reading your comments below too!

By the way, if you like this recipe you will LOVE the 150 simple and delicious fat-burning recipes in Bikini Body Recipes on the next page:

May 11, 2015 by hiaprilw

Ever feel bloated even though you’re eating healthy?

Chances are those foods you think are “healthy” are the biggest cause of your belly bloat.

Find out at in this video if you’re eating one of these 4 popular foods that cause bloating. Plus you’ll discover 4 superfoods that dramatically reduce belly bloat.

Yours in health and happiness,

Danette

May 8, 2015 by hiaprilw

Ever get tired of the same old chicken, tuna or shrimp in your salad?

Sometimes you just want to sink your teeth into some beef!

Red meat isn't something you want to eat daily but it has plenty of health benefits when included as part of a healthy lifestyle. I always look for organic grass fed meats so that I'm not feeding my family a side of hormones with dinner.

This salad also solves that along with the age old dilemma of ‘what do I do with these leftovers?' Pot roast in the crock pot for Sunday dinner is a hearty and traditional dish you will find on many tables across America and believe me, there are ALWAYS leftovers.

This is an easy solution for your leftovers and a great protein and iron packed lunch. Super quick to put together as long as you use leftover beef and you have a deliciously healthy meal. It's ideal for a light dinner too!

INGREDIENTS

3 oz. leftover cooked roast beef

2 cups mixed greens

1/2 cup fresh shiitake mushrooms

1/8 cup unripened soft goat cheese

1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Lime juice to taste

Pinch freshly cracked black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Slice the shiitake mushrooms and cook them in a non stick pan over medium high heat until nice and golden on both sides, about 3-4 minutes per side.

While the mushrooms are cooking, slice the roast beef as thinly as you can; reserve.

Place mixed greens at the bottom of a shallow plate.

Arrange slices of beef in the center of the pile of greens.

Add shiitake mushrooms and soft goat cheese.

Drizzle balsamic vinegar and lime juice to taste over the whole salad.

Sprinkle with freshly cracked black pepper if desired.

Hope you enjoy it!

Yours in Health,

Danette

P.S. If you liked this recipe, please share it with your friends and I always love reading your comments below.

May 7, 2015 by hiaprilw

I am sad to say this but high blood sugar is epidemic in the US.

Can you believe it now plagues more than 1 in 3 adults? This condition is called prediabetes and 90% of people who have it don’t even know it.

High blood sugar doesn’t manifest in a series of symptoms until the damage becomes serious. If you have prediabetes, you’re likely to develop type 2 diabetes within a few years.

Diabetes drastically increases the risk of blindness, neuropathy, kidney failure, heart attack, stroke, and other serious health issues.

>> 3-Step “Pancreas Jumpstart” Trick Reverses Diabetes in 11 Days <<

Most people erroneously think they can simply take a pill to lower their blood sugar and all will be good. But without some real changes to their lifestyles the disease will progress.

The good news.

There are some steps you can take to lower your blood sugar naturally and either lower or eliminate your risk for complications associated with high blood sugar.

1. Choose your carbohydrates wisely. Get most of your carbs from fruit, vegetables, and whole grains—all carbs with a high fiber content. Avoid processed foods.

2. Combine carbs with a protein. When you eat a meal or snack, combining a protein with a carb helps slow down the digestion of the carb, thereby preventing a spike in your blood sugar. Nuts and seeds contain carbs, proteins and fiber!

3. Lose weight. I know—easier said than done! However, losing just 5 to 7 percent of your body weight can significantly lower your blood sugar and will probably lower your blood pressure as well.

4. Exercise regularly. Moderate exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week can have a profound impact on your health. It can lower blood sugar and blood pressure, help you sleep better, and lose weight!

5. Reduce your portion sizes. When you eat, reduce the size of the portions you put on your plate and choose not to go back for seconds. Especially cut back on the portion of carbs you take. Eat slowly and savor your food.

6. Maintain regular mealtimes. If you know you have high blood sugar, this is especially important. This routine will provide your body with a rhythm to prevent sharp rises in blood sugar. By the way, don’t skip breakfast! That’s one of the worst things you can do for your weight or blood sugar.

7. Avoid sugary and sweet drinks. Liquid enters the bloodstream much more rapidly than food and raises blood sugar. We now know that diet drinks involving any kind of artificial sweetener or natural sweeteners are just as bad as sugar (if not worse) in terms of raising blood sugar. Wean yourself slowly from the taste of sweet.

8. Reduce your stress. Under stress, the body secretes cortisol into the bloodstream. Cortisol prevents insulin (a hormone produced in the pancreas) from doing its important work of lowering your blood sugar.

While that list may seem daunting, simply choose a couple of those steps and begin to make incremental changes in your lifestyle. When you’ve mastered those, tackle a couple more from the list.

You’ll feel better and will no doubt experience other positive changes in your health beyond lowering your blood sugar!

Yours in Health,

Danette

May 6, 2015 by hiaprilw

I love fooling around in the kitchen with my girls! We don't get a lot of time to do it but when we do, the sky's the limit on what we might create.

If I can stress one thing about making healthy, delicious food, it would have to be to experiment and have fun with the ingredients YOU love most! For us, watermelon tops the list and I can't wait to thump a healthy ripe melon when I go to the Farmer's Market.

Here's an idea we had one day and now, we make it almost every time the girls have friends over during the Summer months.

One of my good friends even took a few of these to her office ‘pizza' party because she wanted to have fun with her co-workers but she didn't have room in her meal plans for fast food pizza. Needless to say, it was a hit!

Here's a good guideline but you can make this recipe your own by adding your own favorite “toppings.”

INGREDIENTS

Ripe Watermelon – Cut as shown below

2-3 Kiwis- peeled and sliced (number of kiwis needed will vary)

aprrox. 20 Blueberries- rinsed

1/4 cup Coconut shavings

DIRECTIONS

Place the watermelon base on a parchment paper or large platter (A pizza box is even more fun if you can find one)

Arrange the ‘toppings' evenly across the red flesh of the watermelon

Sprinkle with coconut shavings

Slice into pie shaped slices and Enjoy the smiles!

The idea with these particular ingredients is to have the kiwis look like pepperoni and the blueberries like black olives. The coconut sprinkles mimic the cheese and if your toppings slide around, add a touch of raw honey under fruit to help hold it in place. It won't have to stay in place long though. These get gobbled up quickly!

Yours in Health,

Danette

P.S. If you liked this please feel free to share it with your friends. I love reading your comments below too!

Archives for May 2015