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Sale on now – Great Taste No Pain – Get Rid of IBS

December 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

There is a sale on right now at Great Taste No Pain.   The creators of this system, Sherry and Mike Brescia, are very well known in the industry and their system for getting rid of IBS and other digestive issues is incredible!

If you just check out the Great Taste No Pain site and see all the incredible testimonials you’ll see how much success Great Taste No Pain customers have had.

Do you suffer from IBS, Diverticulitis, Acid Reflux, or other digestive issues?  If so, this is the answer for you!

You may wonder why I am recommending this system, as I have written my own IBS ebook, however I want all of my readers to have every opportunity to get rid of their IBS!  If this system is the one for you, then I am happy to recommend it.

It is on sale right now for $29.97 – a screaming deal – but this only lasts until this Wednesday, December 8th.  The sale ends at midnight on the 8th, so don’t delay.

Great Taste No Pain

To your health,

Kimberly

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My First Vegetarian Thanksgiving

December 1, 2010 By 2 Comments

First of all, sorry to all of my non-US readers – I promise this is the last post about Thanksgiving for the year.  This was my first Thanksgiving since 2004, so it feels special enough to talk about a little bit!

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my immediate family and all of my sister-in-law’s family.  We saw the maternal side of her family for lunch and then the paternal side for dinner (just for clarification I only ate once!) It was a really fun day, but what made it ultra-unique was the vegetarian food we had.

One of the cousins in the family was vegan, so she had brought all vegan food to her grandmother’s house – her grandmother had asked her to do this, as she didn’t want to have to make two different dinners to feed the meat-eaters and vegetarians…rightly so.  Anyway, as my husband is really trying to be vegan and I rarely have any meat these days, we both had the non-meat Thanksgiving meals.

We had vegan stuffing, some kind of soy roast (a soy based stuffing inside of a pastry crust), mushroom gravy, and cauliflower mash.  All items were vegan apart from the mash which had ricotta cheese.  Did I miss the turkey?  Not a bit.  Did I miss the sour cream laden mashed potatoes covered in turkey gravy?  Definitely.  But, I woke up the next day and didn’t feel totally bloated.  And I didn’t suffer from the normal post-meal fatigue caused by tryptophan.

All in all, this Thanksgiving was no less special than previous years, even without the traditional turkey.  I’ll try to get the recipe for the mushroom gravy to share with you guys. It was a real hit!

To your health,

Kimberly

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What does Organic really mean?

November 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

For anyone who tries to buy organic food or at least food with natural ingredients, labeling can be very confusing.  Why do some things say 100% USDA Organic?  Why do some things just say Organic?  Why do some products list certain organic ingredients but don’t say Organic on the front of the packaging?  Hopefully this will help the confusion a little bit!

Definition

Simply put, ‘organic’ means that the food has been grown without the use of pesticides, sewage sludge, synthetic fertilizers, or genetically modified organisms (GMOs.)  If you’re buying animal products, it means the animal was not given any antibiotics or hormones.

Labeling

Here are the definitions behind the various labels that you find in the US:

  • 100% USDA (US Department of Agriculture) Organic – these products should be 100% organic
  • USDA Organic – these products should be at least 95% organic with the other 5% having strict restrictions, including being non-GMO.
  • Organic – these products should be at least 70% organic, but again with strict restrictions on the remaining 30% of the ingredients.

If you see other products that don’t advertise themselves as organic, but do show organic ingredients in the ingredients list, this means they are less than 70% organic.

Finally, when something says natural or hormone-free, this doesn’t mean organic.  It might mean that the ingredients are not chemically produced or altered, but these phrases are not interchangeable with organic.

Is Organic Better?

There is a lot of disagreement out there about whether or not organic is better and about whether it’s worth the extra money.  I think ultimately it comes down to your personal budget, personal needs/beliefs, and your priorities.  Yes, organic foods can be more expensive (a lot more expensive depending on where you are shopping.)  Yes, organic produce can look different to the ‘normal’ produce you’re used to buying.  It can be really big or really small, or just shaped differently than what you’re used to.

Based on my own experience, I think that organic produce definitely tastes better.  There is just so much more flavor!  But, I am careful about where I buy my food. When I was living in England, I religiously shopped through Abel & Cole, a local, organic home delivery company.  I haven’t been able to find something similar here in San Diego, so I’ve been shopping around trying to find the best value for money and considering where the food has been grown.

I don’t buy everything organic, but I stick to it at least for my fruits, vegetables, and most of my whole grains and legumes.  (By the way, organic grains/legumes are NOT always more expensive than the non-organic varieties.)

Whether you go organic or not, fruits and vegetables should be a consistent part of your daily diet.

To your health,

Kimberly

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Whole Grain Goodness

November 22, 2010 By 2 Comments

I am on the mailing list of www.realage.com, so I receive their daily emails which have various tips about healthy eating and tend to highlight recent studies that say that a certain herb, food, or drink does something good for your body.  This particular article they sent talks about choosing the right grains to get rid of belly fat and keep your waist trimmer.  Here is the full article.

I don’t think this is revolutionary information, but every reminder about eating naturally helps.  To me, it’s common sense that you would want to choose whole grains (i.e grains in their natural form, so no goodness has been stripped out of them.)  But, it’s easy to get out of the habit just because there are so many tempting choices of breads or crackers made from refined grains (especially in America.)

I am a firm believer in being able to lose weight naturally, without diet pills and without fancy diet systems.  I try to base most of my posts on this site around that core belief.   So, the fact that this Real Age article mentions that switching from eating refined grains to whole grains can instantly help you lose weight really fits with my attitude toward weight loss.

Look at the Ingredients

So, how do you choose something made from whole grains?  If you’re buying something like bread or crackers, you want to look at the ingredients and find first of all something with very few ingredients.  For example, the rye bread that I like has about 3 or 4 ingredients, the first one being whole rye.   You also want to look for words like ‘unrefined’ or ‘whole’ and make sure the grains are in the first couple of ingredients listed on the package.

Just in case you weren’t already aware of this, ingredients are listed in order by how much of that particular ingredient was used to make the product.  So, the first ingredient listed should be the primary item used to make the food.

Another quick check you can do is to look at how much fiber is in the product you’re buying.  If it’s less than about 3g per serving, it probably isn’t a whole grain.  When grains are processed, some of the fiber is stripped out.

Some of the most common whole grains are barley, buckwheat (which despite it’s name, is wheat and gluten free), brown rice (gluten-free), millet (gluten-free), oats, and whole wheat.

If you’re buying any of these things, you shouldn’t have to check the labels, but I would suggest doing it anyway if you’re not familiar with the particular brand you’re buying.  Whatever you buy, it should just be 100% millet, or 100% barley – essentially 100% of whatever grain you’re purchasing.  Nothing needs to be added to these.

Macrobiotics and Grains

I know some of you already know this, but I’m going to start a macrobiotic counseling course soon.  The reason I mention this is because a macrobiotic diet is based around eating whole grains and vegetables.  As I learn more about macrobiotics, I’m sure you’ll see plenty more posts about whole grains and what they do for you – just a little warning :)

You can see an earlier post I did, which gives a very quick introduction to macrobiotics.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American readers.  Enjoy!

To your health,

Kimberly

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Veggies Galore

November 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment

According to Parade Magazine (which, by the way, I love being able to read every Sunday now that I’m back in San Diego!), one of the food fads of this year is the focus on vegetable-based dishes, even by top chefs.  People are getting creative with new and interesting vegetables (red celery, anyone?) and making those vegetables the main ‘act’ in a meal, rather than meat.

I probably don’t dine at fine restaurants enough to say whether I see this trend happening, but I like the sounds of it.

Certainly in the last six years, while I’ve been in the UK, a lot more vegetarian and even vegan restaurants have popped up in my hometown.   And the idea of having one day a week where you eat no meat (Meatless Mondays), has caught on somewhat.  There actually is a non-profit initiative called Meatless Monday.   Their website has a host of great information and recipes.

I love that this is happening.  Even if you’re a meat eater, through and through, and you say there is no chance of giving up meat, you almost certainly could use more vegetables in your diet.  Get creative.  Try a vegetable you’ve never bought before.

Parade magazine also said that the popularity of hummus, which is made from chickpeas, in the US has increased 1500% in the last ten years.  That is a pretty hefty change.  The reason I mention this fact is that chickpeas count as a serving of vegetables.  So, a lot of people are probably increasing their vegetable intake without even knowing it.

If you’re trying to lose weight naturally, get healthier, or just maintain your health, the trends of today are trying to support you.  Dining out is not going away.   I wouldn’t even want it to go away – it is fun!  But, at least when you do dine out, you are more likely to have a choice of dishes loaded with vegetables.  I know there are many other trends that take you in the opposite direction regarding your health (i.e. fat city, diabetes, heart disease), but if you stick to the healthy choices most of the time, you’re in business.  It’s up to you.

To your health,

Kimberly

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The value of fruits and vegetables

November 12, 2010 By 4 Comments

I got the below info in an email from someone recently – I thought it had some interesting stuff.  It compares certain fruits and vegetables to various parts of the body and makes the argument that there is a reason these foods are shaped that way – i.e. that they are good for the particular body part that they resemble.  (Hope that makes sense, but read on!)

Fruits and vegetables provide essential nutrients for your body, and are a necessity in a natural weight loss plan, but if you are ever looking for more reasons to eat fruits and vegetables, here they are!

I don’t know the origin of the email, so I can’t give credit to anyone, but whoever you are, thank you for sharing.  Please forgive the God references if that bothers you.

EAT  LOTS OF SWEET  POTATOES

It’s been said that God first separated the salt water from the  fresh, made dry land, planted a garden, made animals and fish… All before making a human. He made and provided what we’d need before we were born. These are best & more powerful when eaten raw.

We’re such slow learners…

God left us a great clue as to what foods help what part of our body!

  • A  sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The  pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human  eye… And YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.
  • A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research  shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.
  • Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also a profound heart and blood vitalizing food.
  • A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums.  Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.
  • Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human  kidneys.
  • Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength.  Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don’t have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak.  These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.
  • Avocadoes, Eggplant and Pears target the  health and function of the womb and cervix of the female -  they look just like these organs. Today’s research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this?  It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit.  There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of  nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only  studied and named about 141 of them).
  • Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they  grow.  Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and  increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male  sterility.
  • Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of  diabetics.
  • Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.
  • Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.
  • Onions look like the body’s cells. Today’s  research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of  the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the  epithelial layers of the eyes.  A working companion, Garlic,  also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

To your health,

Kimberly

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    Have you heard of Codex Alimentarius Commission?

    November 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment

    Codex Alementarius is Latin for food code.  The commission is an organization established in the 1960′s by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN and the World Health Organization.   It maintains codes and legislation relating to the food industry.

    The reason it is topical is because of discussions right now about countries (at least the US and Europe that I’m aware of) adopting the practice of having supplements available by prescription only.  (i.e. you wouldn’t be able to go to your local pharmacy and buy some vitamin c or any other vitamin, mineral, or herbal supplement.)

    To me this is OUTRAGEOUS and downright SCARY.

    Here is a short video off You Tube that just scratches the surface of this issue.  I wouldn’t normally blog about something political, but I think this is something everyone needs to be aware of as it directly affects each and every one of us and our health.


    To your health,

    Kimberly

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    Can you learn something from an 11-year old about food?

    October 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

    I just had to share this – it is so inspirational!

    http://www.foodmatters.tv/webapp 418730/11-Year-Old Explains His Take On The Food System

    Food Matters offers so much great information about food, where it comes from, what it can do for you, and how to make good food choices for your life.

    To your health,

    Kimberly

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    Too much soda!

    October 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

    A fellow health blogger, www.eatsmartagesmart.com, recently linked to a BBC article talking about what excessive cola consumption can do to you.  Some of the information is pretty shocking.

    You can read the full article here, at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8056028.stm, but one particular statement really grabbed my attention:

    “With aggressive mass marketing, super-sizing of soft drinks, and the effects of caffeine tolerance and dependence, there is very little doubt that tens of millions of people in industrialised countries drink at least 2-3 liters of cola per day.”

    Imagine if those people swapped 1 or 2 of those liters for water – what a difference they would see in their health.  Cola and other soft drinks are NOT meant to be your main beverage every day.  Water should be your main liquid. It does so many amazing things for your body!  See an earlier post of mine about water.

    Cutting out (or at least cutting back) soft drinks is a great step to take if you’re following a natural weight loss plan.  It will undoubtedly help you achieve your goals faster.

    I know that soda is addictive, so if you have a hard time giving it up, don’t worry.  Just cut back a little bit each day.  Your taste buds will come back to life, slowly, so that water tastes good again!

    To your health,

    Kimberly

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    Which Foods are Best?

    September 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

    A friend sent me the link to a Yahoo article today.  It is comparing and contrasting different but similar foods (i.e. turkey v. chicken.)  It makes some really interesting points and probably has something for EVERYONE  to learn, whether you’re a nutrition newbie or quite advanced in your knowledge.

    Here is the article: http://health.yahoo.net/rodale/RW/food-fight

    I especially like what the article says about rye bread (100% rye bread, not anything else!).  I am a huge fan of rye bread as part of a natural weight loss plan.

    I was also excited to see that the article suggested making kale chips!  They are so delicious and I’ve previously done a post about how to make them and some of the things kale has to offer.

    Right at the bottom of the article, it mentions having flax seed rather than flax seed oil…something I probably should consider.  I tend to drizzle flax seed oil on my salads, but maybe I should buy the flax seeds ground up instead.  Those would still make a nice salad topping.

    Let me know what you think.  And if you have any of your own natural weight loss stories or tips, I’d love to hear them.

    To your health,

    Kimberly

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