Vitamins, Minerals and YOU

              It is important to listen to your body and not so much your head in the case of feeding yourself. Most of the time there are things that our bodies crave based on how we have been eating. If you go the day without eating, towards the end of the day you are starving and most likely craving something fattening and something quick. This is because your body is in starvation mode and needs quick fats as fast as possible, so you drive through a fast food restaurant and get your burger.  Another is your body is craving greens and fruits but your head is telling you that you want ice cream and pizza, you have to learn to make better choices when deciding what it is you will eat, but also know how to feed your body regularly during that day and with nutrient complete meals that help balance your self out.  

We all know the food pyramid from when we first were growing up. Its pretty simple, the stuff at the top such as sugars and oils we eat less of and the things at the bottom we eat more of. Although this pyramid is pretty accurate my preference would to have fruits vegetables and meats at the bottom, but grains are extremely important. What we don't realize is that almost all packaged and processed foods are made with Cornmeal, Corn syrup, Cornstarch, Ethanol, Corn oil; pretty much CORN! Corn is not very substantial and has almost no nutritional value. If we look on a cereal box and it states "Made from Whole Grains" this simply says that it comes from corn, it even has a small picture of a corn stalk!? Ironic yes, but to people who are not educated about what goes into our food, it is very deceiving.

 

 These labels clearly state "whole grain corn flour" and "sugar" as their 1st ingredients.

          

If you are receiving all your nutrients and vitamins through a balanced diet there is no need to take daily vitamins unless you have medical reasons to be taking them. On a side note, some vitamins such as vitamin C and B-complex are water soluble vitamins and when you have reached the daily max amount that your body needs, you eventually get rid of the extra via your urine. Also fat soluble vitamins such as A, D, E and K dissolve in fat and then are absorbed into the blood stream to do work on your body, extra of these are then stored in your liver so they are not needed every day unlike water soluble vitamins that are needed on a daily basis.  

              If you know that you are not getting enough vitamins in your diet and taking vitamins will help you to maintain healthy levels of everything you need, then you should take them but some food scientists recommend that you take half of your multi-vitamin in the morning and the other half at night. This allows you to use the vitamins sufficiently instead of spending lots of money taking vitamins that your body wont use. An example of this is that emergen-C 1000mg packets you put into water, they are great for getting a lot of vitamin C but the catch is that your body can only absorb 500mg at one time, so essentially you are paying more. Like I said before take half of it at one time and save the other half for later! Below I have listed vitamins and what foods you can find them in!

         As I was browsing through the web for research on vitamins and minerals I came across some awesome information from the extension education program at Colorado State University. There are three links I am going to post, the first one will discuss the water soluble vitamins, second will be fat soluble vitamins and the last one will go into depth on food vs pills. You can even print them out at the top or download them as a PDF! Go to work my little food nuts!

Colorado State University Extension Education Links:

Water-Soluble Vitamins

Fat Soluble Vitamins

Food vs. Pill

	Vitamin
	Vitamin A (Retinol)	Cod liver oil
	Vitamin B1 (Thiamine)	Rice bran
	Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid)	Citrus, most fresh foods
	Vitamin D (Calciferol)	Cod liver oil
	Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)	Meat, eggs
	Vitamin E (Tocopherol)	Wheat germ oil, unrefined vegetable oils
	Vitamin B12 (Cobalamins)	liver, eggs, animal products
	Vitamin K1 (Phylloquinone)	Leafy green vegetables
	Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic acid)	Meat, whole grains, in many foods
	Vitamin B7 (Biotin)	Meat, dairy products, eggs
	Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)	Meat, dairy products
	Vitamin B3 (Niacin)	Meat, eggs, grains
	Vitamin B9 (Folic acid)	Leafy green vegetables

Healthy Organic Chcolate Milk

Organic chocolate milk. 

When I am having a sweet tooth craving I try and find little tricks and treats that can give me my fix but not give all that sugar and calories! When I came home this morning from working out I wanted something sweet and that is most likely because my body wants quick energy and that is usually gained by consuming glucose. A better option would to have a piece of fruit instead but sometimes you just have to treat yourself guilt free!

   Recipe:                       

   1 cup organic original soy milk

   1 tbsp organic honey or raw agave nectar

   (soy milk already has a sweet taste so only a little honey
    is needed)

    2 tbsp organic raw cocoa powder 

    raw coconut shreds for topping

  I mix the cocoa powder and the honey together   first because the cocoa powder may clump up in the soy milk making it hard to mix. Then i pour the chocolate honey into the soy milk and mix   until its completely dissolved. I then top it off with a little organic raw coconut and a sprinkle of cocoa powder.

Avocado Bean Dip

 This is by far my go to food during the week! I pre-make it and put it in a big bowl in the refrigerator so when i am pressed for time i can scoop some out and chow down. Also there are so many ways you can eat it, in a bowl by itself, with some sprouted blue corn tortilla chips, in a bed of mixed greens or wrap it up like a burrito or taco in a tortilla! People under estimate how wonderful beans are, they are pack with tons of protein and nutrients and for vegetarians it is glorious! I've included a link from a blog post that does a pretty good job discussing the good and bad of beans from a more neutral standpoint. Its very interesting!

http://jdmoyer.com/2011/02/15/to-bean-or-not-to-bean-that-is-the-question-legumes-lectins-and-human-health/

Ingredients:
2 avocados
2 tomatoes
1/2 red onion
1-2 green onions
1 lime
24 oz can of black beans
cilantro
Garlic salt
chili powder
pepper
So basically chop everything up chunky, tomatoes, avocado, onion etc...drain the black beans and rinse them off with cold water in a strainer, combine everything into a bowl or Tupperware juice the lime into the bowl, garlic salt, chili powder and pepper to taste (how ever much you want in but gradually add so you don't put too much in at once then ruin it all!) and add as much cilantro as you want, can chop it or just pick off the leaves and throw them in, I like a lot!
 

Also if u like spicy you can add Serrano peppers or jalapenos chop them up super tiny!
ENJOY! Love ya!

Portabella Mushroom Sandwich

 One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well. —-Virginia Woolf

For Lunch I made my version of a Portabella Sandwich! 

I am a vegetarian and also try to stay vegan as much as possible. For those who are first starting a vegetarian diet portabella mushrooms are perfect for supplementing into your meal instead of meat. Its thick and gives you substance and meaty texture.

Portabella Sandwich! Opened faced sandwich, less carbs and calories, all organic Tomatoes, onions, bell pepper, fresh spinach and an egg ( I like to do mainly vegan, but when I'm playing rugby and training I like to add a little protein, eggs are the best protein over milk and meat!!) asparagus and dill dip and for dessert Pineapple ( which has an active enzyme in it that helps with digestion, but is only present in fresh not canned, preserving and heating in canned pineapple kills it!)

 I love to EAT! Its the first thing I think about when I wake up and constant battle through out the day to make sure that I feed my body and mind.  Over the years I have noticed that not eating can really hurt me and my performance especially when I am training hard. So I am here to promote healthy eating and being able to indulge in your favorite treats without all the guilt!

Today when I was cooking I decided to use vegan butter, instead of olive oil just to give the mushroom a savory taste. Sometimes mushrooms give me a weird taste and I find I have to find things that will absorb into the mushroom to give it a better taste, and as we all know butter makes everything taste better! What I did was I started off with sauteing some butter and garlic and placing the mushie face down, then I added all the veggies around ( you can add any vegetables you want just make sure to chop them up small) to give the mushroom some extra added flavor. Cook to your own liking, if you want crispy then sear them at a high temp for short amount of time until they get brown and crispy or at a low temp and longer time to soften them up!

Recipe:

1 small portabella mushroom cap

1/4 an onion

1 small green onion

3 slices of a tomato

a handful of fresh spinach (or mix greens)

1 slice of organic sprouted bread

1 free range organic egg

(Also if you like to put mayo on your sandwiches , sub it for Hummus)

To cook-

Saute all veggies and mushroom in a pan, cook egg in separate pan over easy (or to your liking)

Cut up tomato and prepare spinach

Toast your bread or leave it soft

Then once it is all cooked and ready I layer the spinach first (so it gets warm and wilts a little bit), then tomato, egg and veggies!

4 asparagus 

Dill dip (1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise, lemon juice, dill, salt and pepper)

To cook asparagus- I am always in a rush with school and practice so time is precious. I take a paper towel roll the asparagus in it and dampen it with water, then i put it in the microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds.

I cup of Fresh Cut pineapple