Tasty Salad Recipe

Enjoy this delicious and nutritious Jicama Red Apple Mint Salad.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Jicama, peeled and sliced into thin strips ( place in lemon water along with prepared apple to prevent discoloration)
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 1 red apple, cut into thin strips
• 1 tsp. fresh mint, chopped
• 1 lemon
• olive oil
• pinch of a salt (real salt or your choice of natural sea salt)

Directions:
Mix drained and dried jicama, spinach, apple and mint in a bowl. Toss gently with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Enjoy!

Nutrition:
Jicama is high in potassium which helps prevent muscle cramping, low blood sugar, stroke, heart attack, muscle disorders, high blood pressure as well as normal brain functioning. This vegetable/root is high in carbs, so be careful if you are watching your carb intake.

Spinach his high in folic acid which helps prevent birth defects, high blood pressure, colon caner and heart attacks. It’s also very high in Vitamin K which helps the blood clot normally, helps prevent bones from fractures, helps prevent liver and prostate cancer, lower’s your risk of kidney stones and Alzheimer’s. Spinach also contains high amounts of Vitamin A which helps maintain and repair your skin cells, it’s good for your eyes, helps fights bacteria and virus ( we all know that cranberry juice is a good treatment for urinary tract infections). People who have strokes and high levels of Vitamin A are less likely to die or suffer from disabilities caused by strokes. Spinach is also high in Manganese a mineral that helps with bone formation, thyroid function, calcium absorption, immune function, etc. It’s also very high in iron which helps transport oxygen to our cells. Surprisingly spinach contains high amount of calcium which is good are bones, teeth and is good for our heart and metabolism.

Apples are low glycemic fruit. They contain Vitamin A ( see benefits above), potassium which helps prevent muscle cramping , low blood sugar, stroke, heart attack, muscle disorders, high blood pressure as well as normal brain functioning. Cranberries also contain a little bit of calcium which is good for your bones and teeth as well as your heart and metabolism. As well as many other vitamins and minerals.

~~~
Ann Moon

Small Steps for Big Results

Every New Year, millions of people vow to make changes to their lifestyles for better health.  If you are like most people, you start on Day 1 full of enthusiasm.  But, as the days go by and life gets in the way, it is easy to forget about those healthy changes. Little by little, you are back to your old ways.  Having someone there to help you stay on track and to keep you accountable is one way to reach your goals.  Meeting with a Registered Dietitian can help you.  I work out of CNY Healing Arts, which is located in Syracuse, NY.  CNY Healing Arts offers nutritional counseling, as well as a wide variety of other services such as yoga, acupuncture and massage, to help you on your way to a healthy lifestyle.

Click here to read some small steps that will get you on your way to BIG RESULTS!

Heather Neely, RD
CNY Healing Arts Center
Call me at 315.671.5755
Or e-mail me

You Can Eat “Fast Food” and Be Healthy

We all know that our lives can be crazy at times, especially when you have children. Working then coming home to take little Johnny to soccer practice and little Susie to dance lessons doesn’t leave much time to come home and cook , so we tend to hit the drive thru on the way. We all know that fast food isn’t the best thing for anyone to hit, it leaves us eating empty calories and makes our bodies run down. Now I am not trying to tell you never eat at a fast food restaurant again because that may not be something feasible for you or maybe it is. What I am saying however is to make wiser choices of the type of fast food place you go to or what you order from them and do it in moderation. Here are some tips when looking for healthier alternatives at fast food places as well as things you could do at home to make meals a little easier on your waist line and wallet.

• Try to look at the nutrition facts and more importantly the ingredients of they food you eat and compare different types of fast food places. If you are traveling try to see if you can find what fast food joints may be on your route, so that you have an idea of what your choices are instead of stopping at the first place you see.
• If you decide to get a burger, a salad or apple wedges instead of a side of fries; this is a good idea for the kids as well. Bring your own salad dressing made of olive oil and vinegar, so that you get some good fat and are eating less preservatives compared to the dressing that most fast food places sell. Read more

A Healthy Holiday Recipe

The holidays are a great time to enjoy family, friends and food.  For a healthy treat you can feel good about serving your loved ones, try this recipe for Holiday Bread. It’s an easy to make after dinner treat for when family and friends are visiting.  When attending a get together at someone else’s house, by bringing this delicious bread you will know there is one tasty treat that will fit into a healthy diet.

Holiday Bread:

Prep Time:  30 minutes                Servings: 8

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup Splenda Granular
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ¼ cup non-fat sour cream       Read more

The Benefits of Fish for Children

By now, we have all heard of the many benefits eating fish has for adults.  It is great for your heart and brain, it’s low in saturated fats and high in Omega-3 fatty acids.  But, did you know that when children eat fish on a regular basis, it can provide them with even more health benefits than those of adults?

Studies have shown that when eaten on a consistent basis, fish, or more specifically the omega-3 fatty acids in fish, can help increase brain and eye development, and decrease behavioral problems.    Children who eat fish regularly score higher on cognitive tests than non-fish eaters.  As for behavior issues, the University of Oxford, in England, studied children with ADHD.  When the children were given fish or omega-3 supplements on a regular basis, their behavior issues decreased significantly.

What make fish so healthy are the omega-3 fatty acids it contains.  All fish contain some level of omega-3 fatty acids.  Read more

Nutrition: A big key to our well being

I was watching the reality show The Dr’s the other day and Jillian Michaels was on there, she said something that really explained how we should eat. She said we shouldn’t eat anything that doesn’t have a mother or doesn’t come from the earth ( which is a great theory with the exception of a couple foods that I don‘t believe we should eat on a regular basis). Most of us don’t realize what we put into our bodies and how toxic most of the stuff we eat is. We are always complaining we don’t feel well but very rarely do we look into our diets for the blame. Without the proper nutrients our bodies cannot function properly leaving us feeling sluggish and sick. We focus too much on the nutrition label and not on what really counts, the ingredients.

Don’t get me wrong calories still count but where those calories are coming from are more important then how many are in the food. The wrong ingredients can do a lot of damage to our bodies.  I am not saying never eat junk food again but the majority of your diet should be healthy whole foods and as many organic foods as possible; especially those you eat a lot of. I also can’t stress enough how important to you health it is to eat lots of vegetables and only a couple of pieces of fruit a day ( because of the sugar). Read more

Eating right to feel better

At its simplest, food is fuel. Though our preferences regarding taste and texture can vary widely, we all rely on the foods we eat for energy. Most people are aware that it is vital we consume a diverse assortment of foods if we aspire to maintain a state of physical well-being. However, the intimate connection between diet and our mental well-being is less understood. Just as the nutritional components in food power the body, so too do they power the mind. Some foods can impair cognitive functioning and sap our energy while others heighten our intellectual prowess and make us feel vigorous. What we eat and drink can have a powerful effect on our ability to focus, mental clarity, mood, and stress levels. Read more

Super foods to include in your diet

The New Year has arrived, resolutions have been made.  If you are like most people, you may have resolved to eat healthier.  With so much information out there, knowing what to eat can get pretty tricky.  In order to try and get the most nutrition you can out of every meal, I suggest adding “super foods” to your meals.  Super foods are foods that contain an abundant amount of nutrients and have an added health bonus-whether it is decreasing cholesterol or aiding in digestion.  Below are 8 super foods and some suggestions on how to incorporate them into your diet. Read more

The power of the cranberry

What is little, red, and bursting with antioxidants?  It is the cranberry!  Cranberries, whether fresh, frozen or dried can provide a nutritious addition to any meal.  Cranberries contain phytochemicals and antioxidants that can help with everything from heart disease to urinary tract infections.  In fact, cranberries contain more antioxidants than 19 other commonly consumed foods.

Most people associate fresh cranberries with fall and winter cooking.  However, you can obtain the benefits year round with cranberry juice, dried cranberries or frozen cranberries.  Besides helping decrease the risk for heart disease and urinary tract infections, cranberries can help prevent kidney stone formation, ulcers, Read more

Great Soup Recipe

Here’s a great soup recipe that my friend Ned recently sent me. Try it out!

For great soup made with spicy Italian sausage, clams, mushrooms, herbs and spices all in a tomato base see below:

Ingredients: Read more