Why Is Healthy Eating So Hard?

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Many people complain that eating healthy is really, really difficult. They just don’t know why it has to take so much time to provide healthy meals for themselves and their family.

Truth be told, it’s about as difficult as you make it. And it can be much more affordable than eating out all the time or eating convenience foods.

Your cooking techniques matter, for example. Just about everyone these days knows that frying foods is unhealthy. Yet we eat them all the time at fast food restaurants. After all, it tastes so good!

If you like the taste, it’s far better to stir fry foods at home. You only need a tablespoon or so of oil for most recipes, so you aren’t adding so much fat. Plus you can add fresh vegetables to really make your stir fry delicious. And it’s easy.

A basic stir fry takes some chopped meat, vegetables, a bit of oil and some seasonings. A lot of people use soy sauce in stir fry, and if you’re using a nonstick pan you may be able to get away with using only cooking spray and no oil at all, or even skipping it entirely. Season it up with some herbs, garlic or whatever you like, maybe throw in a handful of cashews or other nuts, and you have a healthy meal that didn’t take too much time to make.

Switching to whole grains helps as well. Stop buying white bread and go for wheat. Switch from white rice to brown. Whole grain pasta. These don’t take any extra time and are much better for you.

If you’re constantly pressed for time, get a crockpot or make extra portions when you cook. The crockpot can be started in the morning, so that when you come home you have a healthy meal waiting for you. Extra portions of many recipes can be frozen so that you have quick dinners or an easy lunch to take to work.

Changing your shopping habits also helps. If you keep chips, soda, ice cream and so forth out of the house, it’s much harder to snack on them. Simple avoidance can work wonders.

You can still eat meat when you want to eat healthy. Just buy the leaner cuts. Most Americans eat more meat than they need to, so consider cooking less of it. This is another area where I’ve found stir frying to be helpful. You feel like you’re getting more meat if it’s cut into small pieces by the time it makes it onto your plate. Mixing it up with a lot of vegetables also gives the illusion that there’s a good amount of meat there.

It takes time to change poor eating habits. It’s a lot of fun eating foods that aren’t so good for you. But you can develop a preference for healthier eating and still not find yourself crunched for time.

Stephanie Foster runs http://www.makehealthymeals.com/ as a place for people to learn to take the time to eat a little healthier. She offes a variety of crockpot recipes on her website.

Article Source: ArticleSpan

How to Make the Lemon Detox Diet Drink - The Correct Recipe and Ingredients

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Lemons
Image by comingstobrazil via Flickr

Getting this very simple recipe right is crucial to your ultimate result.

Ingredients for the Lemon Detox Drink

  • 2 Tablespoons Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
  • 2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup Grade B
  • 1/10th Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
  • 8 fl Oz’s Pure Water

Mix all of the ingredients together in a glass and enjoy! Initially you may find the cayenne pepper a little hot, especially if you are not used to spicy food but this is something that you also become accustomed to very quickly.

I was quite surprised at how hot it was when I first tried it but I was soon adding extra cayenne for an even stronger detox towards the end.

You’ll need to drink a minimum of 6 detox drinks throughout the day. Somewhere between 8 - 12 is ideal. Make sure that you are also drinking plenty of fresh pure water throughout the day too.

Whenever you start to feel a bit hungry, go and mix yourself a drink. This tends to keep hunger pains at bay pretty quickly. Once you get past day 3, you’ll probably find that you will experience very few actual hunger pains although about 1 in 4 people do say that they have regular hunger pains throughout. But don’t worry, I’ve got a good feeling that you’ll be one of the lucky other 3!

The drink is best made fresh each time that you want to drink it but this sometimes isn’t possible, especially if you are heading off to work. To try and maintain the cleaning power of the lemon enzymes, make a concentrate of the maple syrup and the lemon juice and just add water when you want to drink it.

**TIP**

So if you were planning on drinking 3 drinks whilst you were out, you would need to make up a concentrate of 6 tablespoons of lemon juice and 6 tablespoons of maple syrup.

To make life easier on yourself, take 3 separate bottles of water each containing 8 fl Oz’s of pure water but with the capacity for 10 fl Oz’s as you will be adding your concentrate to it.

You’ll need to pack a tablespoon for measuring and your cayenne to add at the end. (you can add 3/10ths of a teaspoon of cayenne to the concentrate but cayenne tends to get hotter when it hits liquid and is left for a period of time).

Once you’re ready for a drink, just get your concentrate out and give it a good shake, then measure 4 tablespoons into the bottle, add your cayenne, shake and drink!

**Tip**

If hunger creeps in just distract yourself. I decided to detox my house whilst I detoxed my body. There is nothing quite like cleaning to keep you focused and distracted. My house had never looked so good by the time I had finished my detox and of course it helps when you get so much more energy than you normally have.

If you don’t have a house to clean try some light exercise as this will make you feel great and keep your mind off food. Don’t forget to keep drinking the detox drink and replenishing your water supplies.

Nikki writes a blog focused on the Lemon Detox Diet and also has a completely Free Guide to the Lemon Detox available on her site.

Visit her site today for detox tips, advice and support and don’t forget to grab your free detox guide before you leave. http://www.LemonDetoxDiary.com

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2 Delicious and Healthy Superfood Smoothie Recipes

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A glass jar of Spectrum Naturals brand organic...
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Neglecting breakfast has become the norm for most people. Most of us become extremely busy as we prepare for our day. As a crutch, we often dash to fast food restaurants in an effort to save time, making choices that favor convenience over health. Skipping breakfast can lead to overeating during snacking, lunch, and dinner - potentially increasing one’s risks of becoming overweight or developing maladies such as diabetes.

Breakfast is our first meal after a long night’s rest, so you should take the time to choose your energy sources wisely. By eating a healthy breakfast, not only will you boost your energy level, but you will also provide yourself with the fuel necessary to jump-start your day. A good breakfast means better concentration without feeling lethargic or worn-out.

Instead of becoming the victim of the negative health effects that come from skipping breakfast, take charge by incorporating spirulina-based superfood smoothie recipes into your day. Spirulina has more protein per gram than any other food, and it is the richest form of beta-carotene available to us. Superfood smoothies are easy to make and can be conveniently stored for later consumption during work, school or play.

Here are two easy superfood smoothie recipes made with spirulina-based superfood powder and anti-oxidant- rich fruit. Either of these will leave you satisfied for an extended period of time in order to maintain energy, retain nourishment and perform any given task with efficiency.

Berry Chocolate Smoothie

Blend:

- 1.5 cups pure water
- 1 frozen banana
- 1 cup frozen berries
- 1 round tablespoon spirulina-based superfood powder
- 1 round tablespoon raw chocolate bits
- 1 tablespoon cold-pressed coconut oil

Delicious: a total energizer!

Pear Superfood Smoothie

Blend:

- 1 cup water from fresh Thai coconut. Also simple pure water is fine if coconuts are not available…although a touch of agave or honey will help sweetening
- 1 fresh pear sliced into quarters and core removed (for added creaminess, freeze pear beforehand, or add ice)
- 2 tablespoons spirulina-based superfood powder
-2 tablespoons hemp seeds or meat from coconut for added protein

Purify, energize, shine with this total refresher!!!

Neglecting breakfast is not wise. For most of us, a busy day is the norm. As a crutch to get us through our busy schedules, many of us rely upon fast food restaurants in an effort to save time, making choices that favor convenience over health. Skipping breakfast can lead to overeating throughout the rest of the day.

Many of the foods we consume these days are processed, chemically altered, and extremely unnatural. People do not realize that eating these types of foods actually do a disservice to our bodies. Substituting a donut or greasy French fries with a refreshingly healthy, homemade superfood smoothie will make you feel good on the inside and look good on the outside.

You are bound to feel refreshed, energized and revitalized throughout the day with these superfood smoothie recipes, whether you have them for breakfast or for a healthy midday snack.

Billy’s Greens offers some of the best-tasting, healthiest superfood products anywhere, with ingredients sourced from the most nutrient-rich locations around the world. You can order right online at: www.billys-superfoods.com

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