Day 8

Hello beautiful friends,Today I took a sick day... like from work, from life, from exercising... from everything. But I still wanted to post something today and I hope you'll forgive the lack of chit-chat. I thought I'd throw some helpful little tips out there to you (mainly I am posting them to remind myself!) and hopefully you will find them as interesting and helpful as I did :)

• Researchers found that not only does milk do a better job rehydrating the body that water or sports drinks but that chocolate milk repairs muscles 40% faster than plain milk. Personally, I just stocked up on some Organic Valley Chocolate Lowfat Milk at Whole Foods... go getcha some!
• Wisk some avocado oil together with a spoonful of Dijon and fresh lemon, then drizzle over a salad to increase your absorption of fat-soluble nutrients found in vegetables.
• Want to add the health benefits of whole wheat (like fiber and vitamin E) to the things you bake? Swap white whole wheat flour for half the white flour in any recipe (muffin, pancake, or any baked good)
• Go find some broccoli SPROUTS - these have 20x more cancer fighting sulforaphane than their grown-up counterparts. Use them on sandwiches or in your salads and soups.
• Stick to Nestle Toll House when it comes to cookie dough... Pillsbury likes to scatter trans fats and other big bad oils.
• Worst candy bar = Twix! It has MORE THAN HALF the USDA's daily consumption recommendations for saturated fats, it's equivalent to eating 11 strips of bacon. Go eat a 100 Grand instead, trust me.
• You should get some Edy's Loaded Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup ice cream in your freezer ASAP. Edy's is made from skim milk and has about HALF the CALORIES and FAT of most other major brands! Extra tip - use a small spoon and small bowl to serve yourself, researchers show that people eat up to 40% less ice cream when using that helpful little trick.
• Worst soda = Sunkist! You could eat 17 Chewy Chips Ahoy! cookies and get the same amount of calories and sugar! To burn that off you'd need to ride your bike 7 miles. Burn that one into your brain before you decide to grab a Sunkist.
• Add pumpkin seeds to your salad or trail mix, they contain magnesium. By adding more magnesium to your diet you can slash the risk of diabetes by 23%.
• Quinoa... never heard of it.... well go get some, it's one of the HEALTHIEST FOODS ON THE PLANET! It's chock full of healthy fats and protein and makes the perfect substitute for brown rice. Tip: Before you cook it rinse quinoa to remove any bitter coating. To deepen the nutty flavor toast it in a skillet for a minute or two with a little bit of oil over low heat. Then boil away.
• Sweeteners... stay away from Equal and  NutraSweet - they have been shown to cause problems such as headaches, dizziness, sleep problems and memory loss. Sweet 'N Low - use to have a label that warned consumers  about cancer risks and has more recently showed a link to weight gain. What should you use? Splenda - it's the safest of all the artificial sweeteners on the market. Stevia - it's an all-natural, zero calorie sweetener that is 300x sweeter than sugar! Molasses - each tablespoon contains more than 10% of your daily calcium, iron manganese AND potassium... um I don't know about you but I'm getting some molasses in my belly! And Honey... well honey gives your body natural energy... and you just can't beat that.
• What's the veggie and fruit color code?? Blues & Purples (blueberries, blackberries, purple graves, plums, eggplant, raisins) keep your memory sharp and reduce the risks of many types of cancer. Greens (kiwi, honeydew, spinach, broccoli, romaine lettuce, Brussels sprouts, cabbage) protect your bones, your teeth and your eyesight. Whites (pears, bananas, mushrooms, cauliflower, onions, garlic) lower the bad cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. Reds (watermelons, strawberries, raspberries, cranberries, cherries, tomatoes, radishes, red apples) help prevent Alzheimer's disease and improve blood flow to your heart. Yellows & Oranges (oranges, grapefruit, peaches, cantaloupe, mangoes, pineapple, squash, carrots) boost your immune system and help prevent eye disease.

Okay so.... AWESOME info right?!?! Well, here is my first BLOG GIVEAWAY!!!!! What? Oh yes, BLOG GIVEAWAY! Comment below with your very own tip and one of you will win The "Supermarket Survival Guide: Eat This, Not That" book that has these and soooooo many more nifty little food tips.