Thursday, July 19, 2012

Going veggie!

See this article in the UCLA magazine (July 2012) and this one from Time magazine. It's becoming evident that tilting towards, or going veggie, is not only good for you, but ultimately good for the planet, too. Simply put, it just takes too much feed, water, and petroleum to raise and harvest stock animals as protein sources. If there's going to be enough food to go around as the population increases, then we have to move away from dependence on high-cost, high-energy protein sources - to more sustainable and healthy ones!

In my experience, the more adapted to veggie eating I become, the less I miss meat. In fact, it's even become a little unappetizing for me to consider now. Consider giving it a try yourself and see!

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Bottled juices

What are some things to look for in bottled juices?

Check for the following:
  • 100% juice (sweetened with pear or apple juice, not sugar or sugar substitutes)
  • No added preservatives or artificial ingredients (ascorbic acid, aka. Vitamin C and other vitamins OK)
  • Dark juices (higher in antioxidants and beneficial sterols; including purple grape, pomegranate, blueberry, and raspberry)
  • Cranberry is good for urinary tract health.

Some examples:
  • Ocean Spray 100% Juice (no added sugar)
  • Dole Orange Pineapple Mango or Orange Banana Strawberry blends (refrigerated bottles and frozen concentrates)
  • Welch's Grape Juice (frozen concentrate)
  • 100% Orange Juice (primarily frozen concentrates; check the labels on refrigerated bottles or cartons)

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Healthy breakfast cereal choices

For many years, there have only been two ready-to-eat breakfast cereals on store shelves that contain no added sugar: Post Grape Nuts and plain old shredded wheat. However, be careful of the shredded wheat offerings out there, because some contain BHA in the package lining as a preservative.

These cereals offer fine nutritional choices:
Did you know that you can eat rolled oats raw, as is, out of the box? Sounds weird, but it's possible. Just mix some in with one of the above cereals, include some fruit & nut trail mix, add milk or juice, and you have a very nutritious morning meal!