Last Day of March!

Dear Nutrinutters,

Today is the last day of March and although I missed a few tips, I wanted to make up for it with this:

Try this one at home ;)

Day 21 Celebrating Nutrition!

Friday arrives just in time!


Tip of the day!

I'm sure you've heard this a few times before...chocolate is good for you!

Why not have a square today...and every other day!

Now the tricky part here is that not all chocolate is good for you - it must contain at least 50% of cacao for you to actually be getting the benefits (antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and mood enhancer!) and not just another junk food, so...

Indulge yourself in a little dark chocolate!

Day 20 Celebrating Nutrition!

We only have 11 days left of March...meaning 2 things...

National Nutrition Month is almost over (don't be sad, I will still continue our Journey exploring vitamins and minerals and the sky is the limit after that!) and the other thing, my birthday is coming up :)

Today starts my favorite season...SPRING! I love it for a few reasons...although in Florida there's hardly any season change, I do associate spring with flowers and fresh starts! and secondly, fruits and veggies are oh so yummy at this time.

Speaking of which...

Tip number 20:

Enjoy the fresh fruit and veggie season and go crazy grocery shopping in the produce isle...

Here's an idea, start with the fruit and veggie section, that way you will fill your shopping cart before you get to the naughty cookie isle!

Day 19 Celebrating Nutrition

We are right smack in the middle of the week! Good news is that we only have 2 days more to go after today! :)

Tip number 19:

Does stress from work and school make you go to your junk food stash???

To avoid exaggerating on these during stressful moments, keep "junk food" and "trigger foods" out of the house - you can always make a special trip to the store when you crave it :)

Day 18 Celebrating Nutrition

I've got a question for you, when's the last time you had dinner with your family???

Just dinner and conversation...no TV, computer or cell phones to interrupt...

Tip number 18:

Tonight, have dinner with your family...enjoy good food, good conversation, and most importantly, NO TV!

Live alone? Call your bestie ;)

Tomorrow there will be more! So stay tuned for tomorrow's tip!

Days 15, 16 and 17 Celebrating Nutrition!

I hope everyone had a good weekend and is feeling lucky today!

Today's 3 Healthy tips are:

Tip 15:

Did you do groceries for the week already? Ever tried using a Shopping List? Give it a go! :)  You can save money and get things done a lot quicker if you know what you need for the week!

Don't miss out on "The List" where you can get more info on how to get started!

Tip 16:

With this gluten-free trend the idea that gluten-free products have less calories has been quite popular...is this true though?

Be careful, gluten-free does not mean less calories, the product just doesn't have gluten 

Wanna know more about gluten? check Why is gluten so out?

Tip 17:

Speaking of calories, they are not the enemy...the gain of weight is caused when you consume more calories than your body needs.

Want to learn how to estimate how many calories your body needs per day? You are one click away
411 on calories

Well, that's all for today! Hope everyone has an amazing week!! :)

Day 14 Celebrating Nutrition

We've made it to Friday! Yay!

Hope everyone had an amazing week :)

Let's cut to the chase, tip number 14:

Did you know that there are amazing spices that make your salty foods taste AMAZING without actually adding that much salt??

Explore new flavors - use spices instead of more salt in foods

Here are some ideas:

• Rosemary
• Basil
• Black Pepper
• Oregano
• Turmeric
• Ginger
• Lemon
• Garlic
• Onion
• Celery
• Chives
• Cilantro

You get the idea ;)

Day 12 and 13 Celebrating Nutrition!

Here are 2 more tips that also go well together like peanut butter and jelly ;)

Tip number 12:

Drink 1/2 of your weight (in pounds) in water (ounces)

ex: if you weigh 160 pounds (160 divided by 2) you  should drink 80 ounces of water 

(10 cups) per day!

Tip number 13:

Let's get a move on it :)

Aim to be active at least for 30 minutes every day...

here's how:

Day 11 Celebrating Nutrition!

You've probably heard of Omega-3 and its benefits not only for cardiovascular health but brain too!

So here is tip number 11...


Include fish in your meals at least 2 times a week (preferably salmon, tuna, sardines)...

Not a fan? You can always try fish/krill oil or algae...

Which one is the best??Ah! in there lies THE question! The important thing to be in the look out for is the amount of EPA and DHA found in the supplement..

Day 7-10 Celebrating Nutrition!

Missed a few days, but I'll still post the 4 next tips for the month :)

Number 7:
Try new foods!

Heard of any of theses??

• Goji berries + acai
• Quinoa
• Chia Seeds
• Camu Camu berries

What are you waiting for? These are just some of the hot "superfoods" of the moment !


Number 8:
Learn to read food labels before purchasing/eating processed foods - that way you can make healthier choices ;)

Although there's talk of a food label "makeover", learn more about reading present labels here: Reading Food Labels


Number 9 and 10:
Make at least half of your plate fruits and veggies (for every meal) 

and

Fruits and veggies can be fresh or frozen as long as you read the label!
Ingredients list should be consisting of only the fruit/veggie you are purchasing

Day 6 celebrating Nutrition

Friday's almost here! Excited? Me too! The idea of getting a few extra hours of sleep sounds heavenly! :)

Speaking of which, tip number 6...not so much to do directly with nutrition but still very important for your health:

Aim to sleep 7-8 hours per night

Why?

Sweet Dreams! ;)

Day 5 celebrating Nutrition

Today when I was driving home after work I saw what I consider one of the most beautiful gifts from nature to us...a rainbow! And that inspired today's nutrition tip...

So here it is, day 5 of March:

Brighten your plate with fruits and vegetables...the more colorful your plate, the more nutrients!!

Day 4 celebrating Nutrition

How are the nutrinutters doing?

Today's tip from the nutrinut is:

Make at least half of your grains whole grains!

Wanna know why? A picture can speak louder than words:

To learn more about the benefits of fiber, check out The Wonders of Fiber and for ways to increase fiber in your diet Fiber-it-away.

Have a super Wednesday! :)

Day 3 Celebrating Nutrition

Can't wait for tip number 3??

Here it is...

Trying to lower amount of added sugar you have per day?

Here are some ways to do so ;)

Add fresh or dried fruits...they add extra flavor, color and sweetness!

And don't forget to use spices..cinnamon, vanilla, ginger....the sky is the limit!

Day 2 celebrating Nutrition!

Day 2

Let the 30 tips on "being healthy" begin nutrinutters!

This tip has a special place in my heart since I loooove the first meal of the day!

A healthy breakfast is important to start your day just right!

Here are some ideas:

Smoothie Craze
-8 ounces of skim milk
-Berries
-Banana
-1 tablespoon of oats
-1 tablespoon of flaxseed

Breakfast of champs
-1 scrambled egg (add 1 tbsp of shredded cheese for extra flavor)
-1 slice of whole-wheat toast
-1 cup of fruit juice (make your own to make it that much tastier!)
Remember: fruits are sweet on their own...no need for extra sugar ;)

The Fiber Master
Cook 1/2 cup of oatmeal or quinoa with skim milk
Add fruits (preferably fresh but dried can also be an option)
For extra texture add pecans/almonds

No prep needed fix
1 cup of fruit (papaya, cantaloupe, berries)
1 cup cottage cheese
6 whole-wheat crackers

To know more about the benefits of having breakfast and for other tasty ideas, check out The Breakfast Club...

Happy Sunday!

Celebrating Nutrition for 31 days...

Ciao Nutrinutters!


Today is March 1st and we are starting National Nutrition Month!

This year's theme decided by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is "Enjoy the Taste of Eating Right".

Being so, I prepared a little treat for my dearest nutrinutters and every day, for the month of March, I will post a nutrition tip.


Today I wanted to start with a little game I found in the eatright.org website...it is called Rate Your Plate. I thought it would be fun to start of with this to get everyone in the nutrition mood :)

The idea is to answer the questions below and add up your score to know how you are eating! Want to give it a go???

  Do you...                                                                   Most Days      Sometimes    Never
                                                                                       (2 pts)              (1 pt)           (0 pt)

1- Consider nutrition when making food choices?                

2- Avoid skipping meals?                                                  

3- Include 3 or more whole grain foods daily?                      

4- Eat at least 2 1/2 cups of veggies per day?                      

5- Vary veggies with dark green and orange varieties?          

6- Eat at least 2 cups of fruit daily?                                      

7- Get 3 cups of low-fat/ fat-free milk or yogurt?                  

8- Choose lean meats and poultry?                                      

9- Vary protein with more fish, beans and nuts?                    

10- Limit saturated fat and trans fat?                                    

If your points added up to:

16-20 points - Healthy eating seems to be your habit already

10-15 points - You're on track! A few easy changes will make your total eating plan healthier

0-9 points - Sometimes you may eat smart. For good health, add more smart choices to your eating

So how did you do?

Come celebrate with me Nutrition month and stay tuned for the daily nutrition tips ;)

XOXO

-The Nutrinut-