September 27, 2013

The secret to consuming more antioxidants

When most people think about the nutrients our bodies need they immediately think fats, carbohydrates, proteins and some key vitamins or minerals. There are many other nutrients that our bodies need and they all have a specific purpose in the proper functioning of our body. We may or many not have learned some these things in science class many years ago. I fully admit, until I started down the path of learning more about nutrition, I didn’t really pay attention to all the nutrients in the foods that I ate.

We have all heard the importance of eating 5 – 7 fruits and veggies a day, eating the colors of the rainbow and to switch up and rotate some of our food choices. In reality, how many of us actually eat our recommended 5 – 7 fruits and veggies a day. Do we realize the real health benefits these foods have in nourishing our bodies? It’s not just the vitamins and minerals in these foods that our bodies need, there are so many other benefits. The one key nutrient I want to highlight today are Antioxidants.

Antioxidants offer a number of health benefits and research suggests that antioxidants can indeed be effective in preventing a number of age-related diseases, ranging from cancer to Alzheimer’s.

Antioxidants slow down or even prevent the oxidation of other molecules. When molecules in the body oxidize, they can create free-radicals. It is normal to have these free-radicals in the body, but in excess, they can ruin our cellular structures.

Free radicals create a destructive process in our cells, causing the molecules within the cells to become unstable and then try to attack other healthy cells. In layman’s terms, free-radicals are bullies that start pushing everybody around, and encourage nice cells to become bullies as well. If our cells are weak, it is natural that our organs, tissues and skin of the body will likewise become weakened.

Antioxidants help to STOP this cellular chain reaction of oxidation by neutralizing the free radicals. They act like a shield that protects the cells from becoming damaged.

What is the secret to consuming more antioxidants? Eat more organic fresh fruits, vegetables and nuts. You will not get antioxidants from dairy, meat, or grains. One helpful tip, if you eat chocolate and berries together it triples the amount of antioxidants your body is able to absorb!

This is just one example of some of the information and tips we will talk about in my upcoming Nutrition Renewed program. If you are interested in learning more, checkout my website http://onepowerfulstep.com/events/with the details to my program beginning in October or contact me at jen@onepowerfulstep.com

September 14, 2013

Great Opportunity -Group Health Coaching

Are you feeling overwhelmed and exhausted in trying to get you and/or your family to eat healthy? Are you confused by all the mixed messages out there on what is good vs. what is not? In the hustle and bustle of daily life, it appears there is not enough time to focus on nutrition and it’s much easier to pop something in the microwave, grab something convenient or go through the drive through.

This past year, I have been sharing a variety of tips on healthy nutrition, healthy relationships and healthy home. I have received feedback that it would be nice to offer additional information for those that want to dive deeper. As an extension to my blogs, I am excited to announce that One Powerful Step is offering group coaching classes this fall.

If you are interested in diving deeper into learning about Nutrition Renewed and how health coaching could benefit you, please reply to this blog, or respond directly to Jen@onepowerfulstep.com. Stay tuned for additional details on the program including content, scheduling, timing and cost.

 Tip of the week: Once Choice

Are you sitting on the fence of indecision awaiting the courage to take action?

“Think about it. One choice, just one, can change your life forever. Simply put your life today is what your choices have made of it, but with new choices you can change directions this very moment. This the subtitle, you are always one choice away from changing your life”. by Mac Anderson .

No matter what the choice, spending more time with a loved one, switching careers, losing weight, making healthier choices, etc… if you have the courage, you could make any one of these choices today and you would change your life forever.

How many times have you thought about doing something and then made excuses not to do it? I challenge you to think about something important to you that you might have been putting off and make the choice to take action.

If you need a little inspiration book, check out the book “One Choice” with courageous stories of many people and the choices they have made which had a huge impact in their lives.  http://www.amazon.com/One-Choice-Mac-Anderson/dp/1608101266/ref=sr_1_1?

ie=UTF8&qid=1379027327&sr=8-1&keywords=one+choice

September 7, 2013

The Morning Breakfast Scramble

What is quick, easy and healthy that I can feed my kids for breakfast? As the school year begins many of us are scrambling to find healthy meals for our families. This week I thought I would share a simple healthy breakfast idea. In the fast pace of life, if your house is anything like mine, I am sure many of you are trying to balance getting yourself ready, lunches, kids up showered, dressed and ready, last minute papers signed for school, and oh let’s make sure they actually eat breakfast too. My kids used to eat A LOT of frozen French toast sticks, frozen waffles, frozen pancakes and bagels for breakfast. While these are quick, easy and convenient, they are also loaded with lots of added sugars (high frusctose corn syrup), added colors and artificial ingredients. Many of our kids love loading up on these carbs and then find themselves hungry later in the mornings. Not only do they have what I call “bad stuff” in them our bodies don’t need, they also don’t contain many nutrients in them that our bodies DO need.

Over the next couple months I will spend more time talking about some of the dangers of artificial ingredients in many of our everyday staple foods that our kids are consuming and the potential health issues that could result from the continued consumption of these chemicals being added to our foods. I will also talk about some of the key nutrients our kids do need and how we can start bringing more of these nutrients into their diets. But to get us off to a good start, I wanted to share a specific take away for you on how to make your own home made breakfasts. Some days I make these the morning of and other times I make the batter in advance to make lots of fresh homemade waffles and pancakes for the week. They are very simple and easy to do.

I try to make these as healthy as possible and also try to sneak in some other healthy ingredients. The kids don’t even know these other ingredients are in them and still love them. I have two different kinds of waffle makers to change it up. One is the babycake machine which you can find at your local Kohls. The other is a Belgium waffle maker. This week, I chose the waffle sticks.

Recipe

  • 1 ¾ cup Stone Ground Flour – I use Bob’s Red Mill Stone Ground Wheat Flour. It is made from stone ground 100% whole wheat flour, so I know there are nutrients in them. I will share more on Whole Grains and why it is important to find ingredients that say 100% Wheat. This brand also has 4 grams of fiber per serving.
  • 2 Tbs Sugar – I use Agave Nectar which is a natural form of sugar instead of refined white sugar
  • 1 Tbs Baking Powder
  • ¼ Tsp Salt
  • 2 Eggs – I use Egglands Best Eggs (or any other Cage Free Egg), as they have Omega 3’s as well as Vitamin D in them.
  • 1 ¾ cup milk – I use Almond Milk and the kids don’t seem to know the difference. If your child can’t have nuts, you can always try Coconut or Soy Milk. Dairy is a HOT topic (for another blog as well). If your family uses regular milk, that is fine too and works for this recipe
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 1 Tsp vanilla
  • 3 Tbs Flaxseed – I also sneak in some Flaxseed. (Another way to get some Omega 3’s) It looks like there are little flakes in the batter, but does not change the taste
  • 3 Tbs Protein Powder – Sometimes I also sneak in some Protein Power as an added boost for the morning.
  • Two of my kids like Chocolate Chips, so I will sprinkle some REAL Chocolate Chips into their waffles or pancakes. (Someone asked about chocolate in the webinar, I will talk a bit more about chocolate and the benefits of it in a future blog. Cacoa has some GREAT health benefits, but you need to ensure that you are choosing the right kinds of Cacao, which is why this makes for its own blog)
  • I have also experimented with putting blueberries and strawberries in the batter too. If I don’t do that, I usually serve blueberries or strawberries on top of their waffles or pancakes.

If there are extras left over, they can be used as snacks for later on in the day OR they can be frozen for later use. I usually package them up in little baggie servings so it is easy for the kids to just grab a snack later in the day, or for breakfast the next mornings.

Each week I share a bit more with you on why I chose each of these particular products and the different nutrients found in them. I will expand on each of the ingredients I chose and why this particular ingredient. It has taken me a long time to understand why to choose these, so I figure I would share bits and pieces with you so that it makes it easier to absorb.

If you try the recipe let me know how it works out, or feel free to share any other good homemade recipes that your family loves.