Test Your Knowledge: Are You A Health-Smart Chef?

I found this awesome quiz on delish called Are You A Health-Smart Cook? today and decided to take it. I just thought I'd share because it has some pretty good tips on how to cook smarter and healthier.
I got 9 out of 10 right, I missed only one, which I feel pretty good about. It looks like I'm a health smart chef, and I actually regularly practice the tips they give when I'm cooking or even baking.

Take the quiz and find out how much you know about cooking healthier!

Or if you'd just like some quick tips, read on:

Tip #1 Olive oil is the healthiest fat to cook with. It is UN-saturated unlike butter and lard.

Tip #2 If you're looking to add flavor to bland dishes like a side salad try adding some fresh herbs, citrus fruits, or spices.

Tip#3 2 egg whites can be substituted for 1 egg when cooking/baking. Doing so will remove 53 calories and 4 grams of fat!

Tip #4 Rinse canned vegetables to remove up to 35% of sodium.

Tip #5 The skin of a potato contains more nutrients than the inside of it.

Tip #6 Use applesauce as a substitute for butter or oil when baking. (I do this all the time now when I bake brownies or cookies)

Tip #7 Wheat bread has more fiber than white bread.

Tip #8 Steaming and stir-frying are some healthier options when cooking vegetables. They are the best ways to preserve the nutrients in your veggies.

Stay healthy!

Stephanie, WWT

2. Be Temperate

Point #2

1) Do Not Take Harmful Drugs

The guide warns that although drugs may cause temporary feelings of happiness, they will ultimately destroy you physically. Drugs aren't healthy and if anyone you know has problems, encourage them to get help.

2) Do Not Take Alchohol To Excess

In our society today, drunk driving accidents are one of the top ten if not number one killer of people, especially young adults who aren't fully aware of how dangerous the effects of alcohol really are.  Please don't let yourself or others drive while intoxicated or even after they have been drinking.  Excessive drinking is also not that beneficial to your health, with the exception maybe of wine.

Common sense people! We all learned that drugs and alcohol are dangerous in school, respect what you have learned and know about the dangerous effects of them. Don't kid yourself into thinking that "I'll be okay just this one time" because one time is all it takes.

Stephanie, WWT

1. Take Care of Yourself

Point #1 from the Way to Happiness.
Now, keep in mind that this is a COMMON SENSE guide, so even though they may seem straightforward to most, others may often overlook these things or not have enough time in the day to focus on them.

1) Get Care When You Are Ill

Basically, the guide tells us that stubborn people often don't get help when they are sick and tend to isolate themselves. I know, because I've done this before. My mom constantly stresses that I go visit my school health center if I ever feel sick, and you know what? It's true! Being healthy makes you happy! Duh.

2) Keep Your Body Clean

For the sake of everyone around you, bathe please! Washing your hands also helps keep hands germ free, I mean think about how many things you touch daily! Now, the guide and I have differing opinions about one thing. It says that it is within your right to insist that others bathe and wash their hands. I'm cool with that, as long as you kind of know the person...I mean, walking up to a stranger and telling them to take a shower might not always be the best idea :P

3) Preserve Your Teeth

I really would love to advocate this message to everyone out there. I brush two times a day, in the morning and at night, and I also floss religiously EVERY day... yes I know, I'm crazy, but it makes me feel better! I know if I didn't floss for a day, I would feel dirty. Try your best at it people because it will help prevent gum disease and bad breath too!

4) Eat Properly

This is a hugely important message for our society right now. We are facing an obesity epidemic where many people are saying that the generation of kids who are 7-8 years old right now, will be the first generation to die younger than their parents because of diet and health related issues. Nourish your body and limit processed, packaged, junk and fast foods! It's okay to endulge every once in a while, but don't forget the importance of fruits, veggies, and whole grains. You will also have more energy during the day which will make you feel better :)

5) Get Rest

Another important point. Our society is filled with hardworking people that rarely slow down and take a break to relax.  I know many people in my family who have stress problems, that then lead to sleeping problems. Not only does getting enough sleep help you, but taking time out of your day to enjoy something that you love can also help reduce stress. Meditation and breathing techniques may sound corny, but they can really help to relax the body after a long day.


This first point seems easy enough to follow right? See, not too bad, just some life goals that we might not emphasize enough in our routines. Take some time to evaluate your health, slow down, and nourish your body!

Stephanie, WWT

The Way to Happiness: A common sense guide to better living

A while ago I was exploring different philosophies and religions and came across a publication titled The Way to Happiness on a Scientology website. IN NO WAY am I claiming to be a scientologist or anything! I decided to request my free guide to see what it was all about. What I found, was a guide that could appeal to everyone, that does not preach one religion, nor is associated with a Scientology doctrine.

In order to prove to you that I am not extreme, radical, or crazy in any way, here is the explanation taken from the back of the booklet:

"This may be the first nonreligious moral code based wholly on common sense. It was written by L. Ron Hubbard as an individual work and is not part of any religious doctrine."

Yes, it was written by Hubbard, the scientologist guy, but when I read the guide, I found bits and pieces of wisdom that can be helpful to anyone, no matter what you believe in.
I've decided to share from each point, the important things that I took away from the booklet, in the hopes that others might find some knowledge as well.

I will update posts with each main point described and my favorite parts of them in the weeks/months to come. I hope you will enjoy them and take away something meaningful. Then maybe we can all add a little more happiness into our lives :)

Stephanie, WWT

Mid-Day (or late nite) Snack: A Healthy Chocolate Fix?

I have recently discovered the most wonderful way to get a healthy, completely organic snack, while at the same time satisfying my craving for chocolate! It comes in the form of Larabar's Jocalat, a line of chocolate bars to complement their fruit flavored ones. Now anyone who has just tried the fruit ones might have been a little turned off. I agree, some of them have a funky tangy flavor, but the Jocalats are the closest thing you'll find to a healthy candy bar. Each Jocalat bar contains 7 ingredients or less! Here is what was in mine:

• Dates
• Walnuts
• Hazelnuts
• Unsweetened Chocolate
• Cashews
• Coffee
• Cocoa Powder

The texture of these amazing bars of goodness is extremely soft. So soft they almost crumble when you bite into them! There are little fruit and nut bits in them and a delicious chocolatey flavor. The one I tried was the Chocolate Coffee bar, but I know they have a Chocolate Hazelnut as well as a Chocolate Mint one.  The dark, dramatic wrapper makes them easy to spot.

Sorry for the bad pic, but this is what the bar looks like

These magical chocolate bars give you 1/2 serving of fruit and if the taste isn't enough to get you hooked, check out these healthy attributes that they offer:

• Completely Organic
• Gluten Free
• Dairy Free
• Soy Free
• Non - GMO
• Vegan
• Kosher
• 5g of fiber
• Cholesterol and Sodium Free
• Fair Trade Certified

If you haven't tried the regular fruit ones, I suggest you do so. I think the Cashew Cookie one is particularly yummy, but I have to say I didn't really like the Coconut Cream Pie one. Their flavors all boast some sort of dessert theme like Bluberry Muffin, Banana Bread, Apple Pie, Cinnamon Roll, and Carrot Cake.  I'll have to try those sometime, they all sound delicious! There are 19 fruit flavors and 4 Jocalat flavors and you can check them all out at Larabar's website here. According to the website, the bars are made by grinding fruit, nuts, and spices with no baking or cooking involved!

So go to your local supermarket and try a flavor! You might be surprised and if you love them, you won't feel guilty for indulging because everything is natural and organic!

Stay healthy!

-Stephanie, WWT

Cross-Train Your Brain!

So I've been reading this book titled "Cross-Train Your Brain" by Stephen Eiffert.

Find it on Amazon here.

 

It essentially tells us that we don't use our creative side of our brain enough.  By developing our creative right hemisphere to dominate our thinking, we can begin to feel in-tune with our entire brain. By example, if we were in a difficult situation that we feel powerless to, our normal response would be to get frustrated and angry.  If we utilized our creative side, we might realize that we are thinking too negatively, therefore limiting our happiness. We might create a new way of viewing the situation or a new response to it. We might instead attribute it to external factors beyond our control, rather than blaming ourselves.  By thinking creatively and positively, we can begin to develop a healthy thinking lifestyle.

Here's an exercise to stimulate your right brain creativity that I will do myself and share in my blog over the course of the next couple weeks.

1. First, begin by writing your name in the middle of a piece of paper. Then think about all the ways that you can describe yourself. Draw them branching out from your name.
1. My example would be something like this (daughter, student, athlete, amateur photographer, niece, granddaughter, friend, neighbor, etc)
2. Now pick one to write about. It doesn't matter what you write, whether it flows, or how grammatically correct you sound. Just write! Writing every day is a great way to stimulate your brain.

By doing this exercise you are really taking a look at how you see yourself as well as the meaning that you attribute to your various relationships in life. What can you do to change negative aspects of yourself? A great way to keep up with this is daily journal writing. I know it's hard because I've tried before and I can barely keep up for a week. If you don't have time to physically handwrite in a journal, then type up your own diary or blog on the computer. Putting your thoughts into words helps to organize them, you'll be surprised.

A technique that has worked for me many times when I'm angry about something, is to write down my feelings.  Sometimes, I will write down what I would like to say to the person I am angry with. Then when I walk away and come back to it, I am always surprised by what I had written and how it sounds.  When you are frustrated, do you ever find that you can't think clearly? It is due to our left brain taking over and dominating our thought process.  We are less inclined to give into our emotional side and babble nonsense responses when arguing like "Because I said so!!"

So I will update my first journal entry soon, I'll probably start with daughter, the easiest, yet probably most detailed way to categorize myself.

Find ways to think creatively and positively. It will do more for your brain health in the long run!

-Stephanie, WWT

Buzz about Antioxidants

We've all heard that antioxidants are important for our body, mainly to keep skin clean and healthy, right? So naturally we want to know which foods will give us the most benefits. It seems that there is some disagreement between sources, but a few commonalities keep popping up. I did my research from several websites and compiled a list of the most commonly cited antioxidants.

First of all, what are antioxidants? Well they do just as their name suggests; they prevent or slow the oxidative damage to our body, thus ANTI - oxidant. Make sense? Not yet? Well our bodies naturally produce these things called free-radicals when our cells use oxygen. Okay, wait what are free-radicals you ask? This explanation deals a lot with chemistry, something I'm not too fond of, but here's the short version. Free radicals are basically atoms who need an electron, so these little thieves steal them from other atoms in our bodies. Then the atom who has just been robbed becomes a free radical and essentially starts a chain reaction. Basically, free radicals are natural but accumulate over time as we age.  The way antioxidants help with this problem is by donating one of their electrons to the greedy devils thus ending the chain reaction.

Certain envrionmental factors can also contribute to an excess of free radicals such as cigarette smoke, radiation, pollution, and herbicides. Two of the most common antioxidants that can help fight off these radicals are Vitamin E (the most abundant fat-soluble antioxidant in the body) and Vitamin C (the most abundant water-soluble antioxidant in the body). The main importance associated with these are disease prevention. Vitamin E helps protect against heart disease by defending against clogged arteries. High amounts of Vitamin C have been linked to low cancer rates, specifically cancer of the larynx, mouth, and esophagus. 
Bottom line, antioxidants are good! So let's find out how to get them! 

Try adding some of these into your diet to reap the benefits of antioxidants:

BEANS

• Beans are high in both fiber and antioxidants
• They help lower cholesterol and LDL levels, moderate insulin, reduce cancer risk, and scavenge those pesky free radicals
• How much do I need? Two 1/2 cups servings a day of cooked or canned beans
• Examples: Red beans, Kidney beans, Pinto beans, Black beans
• Meal Ideas: Beans and Rice, Bean Burrito, Split Pea Soup

BLUEBERRIES

• Blueberries provide more antioxidants than any other fruit or vegetable. Surprising right? I mean they're so small!
• They have lots of complicated sounding stuff in them that basically helps with fighting cancer, heart disease, and age-related memory loss
• Raspberries and Blackberries are also good substitutes. Eat any type of berry at least three times a week
• How much do I need? 1/2 cup fresh or frozen or 1/4 cup dried every day
• Meal Ideas: eat them raw, put them in cereal, garnish vanilla ice cream with blueberries, blueberry pancakes, blueberries in yogurt, the list goes on and on...

BROCCOLI

• Broccoli helps fight against cancer while also promoting eye health and warding off macular degeneration
• Broccoli is considered a cruciferous vegetable like brussels sprouts, cauliflower and cabbage
• How much do I need? 1/2 cup raw or 1 cup cooked every day
• Meal Ideas: fresh steamed broccoli, broccoli stir fry with other vegetables and pasta, beef with broccoli, broccoli cheddar soup

TOMATOES

• Tomatoes help with the same problems broccoli does, but they also contain lycopene, a pigment and phytochemical that may be linked with cancer prevention
• Cooked tomatoes contain more lycopene than raw tomatoes
• How much do I need? eat one serving a day with healthy fat like olive oil to help absorb the lycopene. Servings include 1 medium raw tomato, 1 cup cherry tomatoes, 1/2 cup sauce, 1/4 cup paste, 2 tbsps of paste, or 6 oz of juice. Enough options?
• Meal Ideas: pasta with red tomato sauce, bruschetta with basil and mozzerella, tomato soup

DARK CHOCOLATE

• Finally right? Something we actually love and crave! Basically the darker the chocolate (the higher percentage of cocoa) the more antioxidants it contains
• How much do I need? 1 oz serving a day
• Meal Ideas: do i even need to list these? Raw dark chocolate, dark chocolate candies, fruits dipped in dark chocolate, melted dark chocolate over ice cream etc. 

More Great Sources of Antioxidants include:

• Oats
• Soy
• Garlic
• Nuts: pecans, walnuts, peanuts, hazelnuts
• More Vegetables: artichokes, cabbage, kale, peppers, red beets
• More fruits: cherries, pomegranate, grapes, plums, apples

I guarantee you can fit many of these into your daily diet if you don't already. Remember, these aren't necessarily going to prevent you from getting cancer or any other diseases, but they will definitely help decrease your chances. Enjoy experimenting with new foods and try incorporating some of my suggestions to have an antioxidant rich diet!

Be healhty!

Stephanie, WWT

Workout Time

Alright, so now that you've gone out and found a restaurant that serves banana's foster, or maybe even made your own, now what? I couldn't just let you sit there with that filling dessert in your stomach. It's workout time!

Now I know what you're thinking...I've already scrapped my New Year's Resolutions! Well, I have found the perfect workouts on YouTube that are designed to be easy, fast, and fun!

15 Minute Abs Workout by Sparkpeople (on YouTube here)

This one is awesome, and is designed to target your abs. Plus it goes by really fast! Try it, it's not that bad.

If that's not enough for you, add this second one to your routine.

10 Minute Cardio Kickboxing by sparkpeople (on YouTube here)



This one is guaranteed to make you sweat. If you can incorporate these into your day you are only taking up 25 minutes total! If you get bored of them just add music in the background for some excitement lol.

Good luck out there and get moving!

Stephanie, WWT