Taste the Seasons

To ensure the best tasting and lowest prices on fresh produce, eat by the seasons. Ever eat a peach in February? No comparison to a fresh picked peach in July, right? Along with the benefit of optimal taste, seasonal and locally grown produce costs less and aren’t preserved with pesticides.

Some fruits and vegetables require higher amounts of pesticides if not grown organically. Buying and eating the following foods in season or from a farmers market is a healthier and inexpensive choice:
-Strawberries
-Apples
-Peaches
-Cherries
-Pears
-Nectarines
-Potatoes
-Spinach
-Celery
-Bell peppers

RECIPE

Tomato Basil Soup

Ingredients:
20 medium organic tomatoes (red and orange)
5 leaves of finely chopped basil
Sea salt
Ground pepper
½ cup organic heavy cream

Directions:
Place whole tomatoes in a large pot over medium heat. Allow to cook until they give off their liquid. Using a fork, pull off and discard skins.

Stir often. Reduce heat to low. Add basil leaves chopped with sea salt and pepper to taste.

Continue stirring. As the soup becomes creamy, add slowly the ½ cup of heavy cream until completely blended.

Fuel for Thought

Your brain needs energy in a steady flow for optimal performance. An even supply of glucose (energy) during studying and periods of intense concentration is important. Many students complain that in an exam situation, their mind goes blank and they can’t remember a thing. In many cases, it may be that their brains are low on glucose fuel, resulting in poor concentration, reduced mental energy and lowered alertness. The best foods for supplying the brain with fuel are complex carbohydrates found in whole grains and vegetables. The first step towards excellence in academics is a diet rich in whole wheat and millet pasta or whole grains and fruits such as, apples or oranges. As well as nuts, seeds and broccoli or carrots.

Sustaining the brain energy takes proteins and smart fats. Found in lean meats and fish, eggs and low-fat cheeses. Along with the fruits and vegetables, these nutrients work together to optimize brain function, including increased alertness and improved memory.

Recipe

Blueberry Breakfast Smoothie

A brain boosting recipe to start off your day!

Ingredients:
1peeledorange
½ cup blueberries fresh (or frozen)
2 TBSP quinoa
¼ cup plain yogurt
1 TBSP Olive oil
1 TBSP Honey

Directions:
Blend together in a blender oranges and blueberries with yogurt, oil, honey and quinoa.

Wordless Wednesday

Forgetful? Eat Memory Foods

Every cell in your body needs a steady supply of oxygen and nutrients in order to stay alive and work properly, including your brain cells! So what foods do we need to eat to help our brain function, specifically for our memory? The more overall produce you eat, the better. Cruciferous vegetables and leafy green vegetables have the biggest effect on boosting brain memory.

Some of the best cruciferous vegetables are broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, and cauliflower. The best green leafy veggies are spinach, kale and collard or mustard greens. Other foods known to increase memory are ones with folic acid, such as, lentils, black-eyed peas, artichokes, wheat germ, beets and oranges. Fish has also shown to aid in memory retention.

Increase your memory by adding the above foods to your diet, exercising 30 minutes a day and de-stressing your life when possible.

Not All Carbs are Created Equal

Although all carbohydrates are composed of sugar, not all sugar is the same. The two types are simple sugars, short chains and complex sugars or starches, long chains. Traditionally, simple sugars are considered unhealthy. Found at the top of the Food guide pyramid, they were to be eaten sparingly. Starchy foods, such as bread, rice and potatoes were considered healthy. As the base of the pyramid, they were to be our staple. Unfortunately, if the starchy food has been refined or stripped of fiber and nutrients, it acts more like a simple sugar in our digestion process. Quickly being digested and spiking our blood sugar, causing a quick burst of energy, followed by the inevitable low.

Choose healthy carbs, such as fruits and veggies as much as possible. Supplement you diet with whole grains which are high in fiber and low in fat. “White’ carbs, for example, white breads, cakes, white flour and sugar should be limited. Healthy foods are full of color and texture. Bland color foods typically are quickly absorbed in our bodies and contain a less amount of nutrients per serving.

Help with Hormones

Humans have a basic biological problem: Our metabolism runs continuously, 24-7. However, the availability of food to fuel our metabolism is unpredictable, and the type of food is even more variable. So how do we survive during feast and famine? The answer is hormones.

Our hormones help ration out energy and regulate our weight. Most of our hormones respond directly or indirectly to the type and amount of food we eat. Not enough calories eaten? Over the short term, hormones increase appetite and help convert stored fat into energy. Over the long term, some hormones conserve energy by decreasing metabolic rate. When good nutrition is reestablished, hormones restore metabolic rate to normal and promote optimal growth in children.

Food is medicine. Food is fuel. Choose the foods you eat wisely to maintain hormonal balance and a thriving metabolism.