I’m so bummed this came out blurry, but this is an example of the lunches I’ve been bringing to work recently. I chopped up 4 baby bok choy and a handful of spinach, mixed with a bit of ginger dressing from Trader Joe’s, mixed nuts and a little bit of chow mein noodles.
I love adding the nuts because the salad tend to stick with me longer and I don’t feel starving two hours later. 🙂
I was perusing the Target grocery aisles the other day and came upon this yoghurt. I had tried most of the premium brands, Fage, Siggi’s, Chobani, etc… but I had never seen this brand, or never paid much attention. The container stated that it was an Australian culture made in a farm in Colorado with happy cows. The ingredients were all natural. That intrigued me enough to buy a container each of the passion fruit and strawberry rhubarb flavors.
This yoghurt is very addictive. It is of the fruit on the bottom variety and has a very creamy consistency. It reminds me of traditional yoghurt, with the mouthfeel of Greek yoghurt. The passion fruit flavor actually contains real passion fruit, with seeds and everything! I want to eat a whole stub of this stuff.
If you see this yogurt in your grocery store, please give it a try!
Honestly, I don’t deal with morning sickness well at all. I’m not sure why I’m even posting about it, but there are a few things that have helped me ease my suffering and I thought I would share them here. Always consult with your doctor before introducing anything new to your diet if you are pregnant.
Coconut water
I’ve been having a hard time drinking water. I love water, but my body wasn’t loving it back. I’m queasy and thirsty all day long and all water would manage to do is spread around my stomach acid and make me feel worse. I tried drinking flavored water, but anything artificially sweet made the feeling worse. Soda helped, but I wasn’t crazy about consuming so much sugar and calories, but what else was I going to do? Seltzer water with juice didn’t help. Juice straight up helped for about 5 minutes and then the sugar eventually made me feel sick.
Cue in Coconut water. My housekeeper suggested it. She said the fresher the better. She was right. I went to my local ethnic foods store (and even Whole Foods) for fresh young coconuts. It helped. Alot. I wanted too buy several fresh coconuts, but they are bulky and won’t fit in my refrigerator, so I decided to try the canned stuff. It doesn’t help with the nausea as much as the fresh, but it still does the trick. Before I was pregnant, I preferred the Amy & Brian’s brand. It had a decent amount of sweetness without being overly sweet. Now that I’m pregnant, it’s too sweet, I prefer the Zico brand. It is mildly sweet and great over ice.
My guess is that they high potassium content of the coconut water helps counteract the nausea. Or maybe it’s all in my head.
Lemon Tea
Very simple. Boil water and stick wedges of lemon in it. Let it sit for a couple of minutes. I don’t had an sweetener.
Avocado
I would eat this with a bit of brown rice, or crackers and it really seemed to helped even me out. I believe the B-vitamins in the fruit help, but also the added fat slowed down any sugar spikes that contributed to my nausea.
If you are currently suffering from monring sickness. I hope these small little tips help you like they helped me.
This is something I’ve been making quick either for breakfast or for a quick energy snack. It’s a nice change of pace from oatmeal and kids tend to like it.
All it requires is:
Combine the warm quinoa, brown sugar and cinnamon together until quinoa is evenly coated. Then add a dollop of Greek yogurt (or more, if you’re like me) on top if you so desire. I told you it was easy. 😉
Enjoy. 🙂
GT's Kombucha Cherry Chia and my desk clutter 😉
Kombucha is a drink that I heard about, but flew under my radar fro some reason. I just happened upon this bottle of kombucha whilst scoping out my local Whole Foods for lunch options. I was think about picking up a can of green tea when this bottle containing chia seeds caught my eye. I had to have it. There was a choice between Raspberry, Grape and Cherry. I chose the cherry obviously.
I glanced at the Nutrition Facts
1 bottle contains 150 calories. Not bad. I was purchasing a low cal tofu salad, so I could handle the extra 150 kcal. What I LOVED was that the whole bottle contained 8g of fiber. Hello! Welcome to my life. In addition to this, was added the probiotics and antioxidants.This is an IBSer’s dream drink. lol.
Kombucha is a fermented tea that is, from what I’ve read, an acquired taste. What GT has done here is mixed the kombucha with juice to mellow the flavor – the ratio is 95% tea to 5% juice and the addition of chia seeds. Also of note is that this is a raw drink, so most of the nutrients should be alive and well. 🙂
When opening the bottle, you get a bit of a vinegary smell from the fermentation, don’t let that sway you. The taste is tart with a bit of fizz from the fermentation and crunch from the seeds. I really enjoyed this. It’s kind of like candy, but good for you. 🙂
If you see this drink at your local health food store, give it a try.
Learn more about Synergy drinks here: http://www.synergydrinks.com/
Photo from: http://www.maangchi.com/
This is a Korean dish that we have been enjoying for breakfast lately. My husband usually has the pleasure of making it and I eat it promptly without thinking of taking a picture first, so I have to link to other bloggers for photos.
We use brown rice, shredded carrots, spinach, bean sprouts, corn and ground chicken and eggs to make our bibimbap, but you can add whatever you want and it will taste good in my opinion. 🙂 We like to use lots of gochujang, which is a Korean Red Pepper paste. Sunchang makes a good Gochujang paste and Annie Chun’s also has a milder sauce that is readily available in stores.
Annie Chun's Gochujang
Here are some great bibimbap recipes. It’s a great way to get a healthy start to your day with carbs, veggies and protein. 🙂
I don’t want to call this a shake review because this is not really a shake, but you can add it into shakes if you want. 😉 I love Amazing Grass products and this is no exception. This is pure 100% organic, whole leaf wheat grass powder. One serving of this equals 5-6 serving of veggies and fruits, but I would never use this to replace your veggie servings. Do. Not. Do. That!
If you have ever tried to juice wheat grass, it is a bit of a pain the the behind, you need a special juicer that can slowly extract the juice and clean up can be tough. While drinking freshly juiced grass is preferable, this is a great alternative.
Here are the product highlights from the Amazing Grass website.
8 gram serving, Amazing Grass Wheat Grass offers:
I like to add it to a glass of low sugar lemonade or Yamamotoyama iced green tea. You can also freeze it in ice cube trays and add to smoothies or for parties (which you will get plenty of questions about. lol). I can’t say enough good things about this product. A 30 serving canister runs around $25.00.
Here are some great recipes using Wheat Grass powder:
I love when my mom makes this soup. This is comfort food at it’s best and very easy to make. Mom uses cornish game hen and whatever vegetables she has in the refrigerator. Here was today’s version:
Chicken Veggie Soup
In a stockpot over medium-high, heat olive oil and add the hen, brown on all sides. Once chicken is browned, add 4 cups of water to stock pot over medium heat. Season with salt, apple cider vinegar and tomato sauce. Add root vegetables and carrots. Let it simmer for 15-20 minutes. Lower temp to low heat, add zucchini, chayote, soy beans and cabbage and let it simmer for an additional 15 minutes (or until you feel chicken and veggies are cooked to your liking).
Add fresh oregano and squeeze fresh lemon juice once you serve. (don’t skimp on the fresh oregano it really adds great flavor)
🙂
I’m currently having a bit of an IBS flare :(, I believe it’s just a hormonal shift that normally occurs during the month. I have to take all my medication and probiotic supplements religiously. As you know, this can get pricey. I currently alternate between two supplements, but I’m going to narrow it down to one. Right now, I’m taking Renew Life Ultimate Flora Critical Care & Align Probiotic. The Ultimate Flora supplement I have been taking for a while and I feel that it helps quite a bit. The problem is that it’s around $55 for a 60 day supply. The Align was recommended to me by two gastroenterologists. I bought it when I was in extreme distress last year and it seemed to be effective when alternating it with the Ultimate Flora, but I digress.
With all that said, I was thinking about what people eat when they couldn’t rely on supplements. Surely, this wasn’t a big problem in the past. Our bodies most likely made to function optimally when consuming food with a certain amount of spoilage. However, in modern times, we know we tend to eat less spoiled and fermented items. 🙂 So while less people are dying from food poisoning and parasites, more people are getting digestive issues due to lack of good bacteria in their guts. Now we are trying to reintroduce this bacteria in capsule or powdered form.
What about natural methods of eating probiotic foods? I’m all about convenience and cutting costs,this way I can be less reliant on supplements and still get the same benefit. The good thing (for me) is that most probiotic foods are among my favorite foods. The downside, is that you have to make the foods yourself to *truly* get the best benefit.
Here is a list of great probiotic foods
In my opinion, it’s best to combine probiotic foods with prebiotic foods. Essentially, prebiotics are the main source of food for your gut flora. This is what will keep them happy and healthy, allowing them to multiply and raise beautiful families. Combinations such as yogurt & honey, miso with edamame on the side are excellent choices.
Here are a couple of great articles on probiotic foods:
Top Probiotic Foods You Are Not Eating – The Conscious Life
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