Saturday, February 27, 2010

Eat Right: Extending Your Healthy Life

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Face-lifts, Botox injections, and other anti-aging procedures are all the rage—yet doctors still have not developed a surgical procedure that will add years to your life (angioplasty doesn’t count.)  “With enough money, you can always look good on the outside,” says Ralph Felder, MD, Ph.D., coauthor of The Bonus Years Diet.  “Reversing the aging process internally is much more difficult.”  And, while a healthy diet won’t necessarily make you look like Demi Moore, it can extend your life.

To get some perspective on what proper nutrition and diet can mean for your health, think of your body as an engine—if you will—a machine.  The higher the octane of the fuel you put into it, the better it’s going to run.  Now, consider what might happen to your internal machinery after ten years of fueling up on double burgers, high-fat cheese, grease-laden fries, and milkshakes:  painfully slow blood flow, and hardened arteries.  Not pretty.

Here’s the good news:  By changing your diet and starting to eat right, we can increase the changes for enjoying a longer life.  Here's how to start:  Quit focusing on the obvious culprits (steak with saturated fat along the outside and béarnaise, buttery mashed potatoes, and full-fat ice cream) and start loading up-on healthful foods.  Let’s try perhaps an egg-white omelet with veggies and some whole wheat toast for breakfast; a small apple between breakfast and lunch; a lean turkey sandwich with lettuce and tomato, a small glass of V-8 juice and a dish of fresh cut-up fruit; some non-fat yogurt and chopped walnuts between lunch and dinner; a nicely trimmed skinless grilled chicken breast with sautéed onions, mushrooms and green peppers, coupled with some garlic mashed potatoes made with low-sodium smart balance butter, along side some applesauce for a healthy dinner.  According to a study published in the British Medical Journal, eating seven “super” foods daily (red wine, dark chocolate, fruits, vegetables, garlic, fish, and nuts) in the appropriate portion sizes can reduce heart disease risk by seventy-five percent and add an average of 6 years to your life.

Slash your calorie intake.  Since the 1930s, studies have shown that calorie-restricted diets improve the health and extend the life span of rodents.  Now researchers are learning that slashing calories may have similar beneficial effects in humans.  A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, for instance, found that 2 markers of longevity (fasting insulin level and body temperature) were lowered in humans through prolonged calorie restriction.

Nutrition professionals consistently report that a Mediterranean-style diet—including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, and a daily glass of red wine—promotes longevity.  (In my opinion, this does not give everyone a license to drink as much as they want.)  In fact, studies show that this type of diet lowers conditions ranging from cancer to stroke.  In 2 separate studies, researchers found that “going Mediterranean” not only protects against Alzheimer’s disease, but also enables people who have the disease to live an average of 4 years longer.  The more closely participants adhered to the diet, the greater the benefit they saw.

Emphasize plant-based eating.  I suspect that you’d be hard-pressed to find a dietitian expert who would argue against eating more fruits and vegetables.  Plant foods are loaded with antioxidants, powerful disease-fighting chemicals that help counteract damage from free radicals, oxidations, stress, pollution and other environmental toxins.  They are loaded with flavonoids, phenols, polyphenols, and thousands of other chemicals we have not even discovered yet, which help prevent disease.  Make today the first day to extend your life the healthy way.

Source:  Everydayhealth.com

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Healthy New England Clam Chowder Recipe for Bone-Chilling Cold

Blustery winds, 5-8 inches of snowfall and bone-chilling cold encouraged me to make my favorite healthy New England Clam Chowder recipe.  It’s really delicious and hope you like it too.

 

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My New England Clam Chowder

 

Ingredients:

  1. 1 51 oz can ( 3 lbs 3 oz) of Chopped Clams (I also buy NO MSG Added)
  2. 4 Cups of low-sodium Chicken Broth
  3. 1-3 large onions ( I use only 1)
  4. 2-Bay leaves
  5. 1 Cup flour
  6. 6 oz Low-Sodium Smart Balance melted butter
  7. 7 Cups of diced potatoes
  8. 1/2 gallon cold fat-free milk
  9. pepper to season (or your own seasonings of choice)

Preparation:

  • Drain Clams and reserve juice.
  • Combine potatoes, onions, bay leaves and chicken broth. Simmer until potatoes are tender.
  • Remove bay leaves; stir.  Sift flour into reserved melted butter and add to potato mixture. Stir until blended.
  •   Gradually stir in milk slowly, stirring constantly until well blended.  Simmer until thickened.  Combine clams, reserved juice, potatoes, onions, milk mixture, butter and seasoning.  Simmer 5-10 minutes more.  Serve hot.

Enjoy! :)

Friday, February 5, 2010

Cider Chicken with Apples & Thyme

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I absolutely love Granny Smith Apples, which I had 2 today.  This particular recipe calls for Golden Delicious, but Granny Smith Apples would work well in this recipe, too.   This is yummy.  Enjoy and thank you for reading.

INGREDIENTS:

  1. 4 – 5 oz. boneless skinless chicken breasts
  2. 1/2 tsp salt
  3. 1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
  4. 2 tsp olive oil
  5. 1 Cup frozen pearl onions, thawed
  6. 4 strips of turkey bacon, sliced
  7. 1 Golden Delicious or Granny Smith Apple (unpeeled), cored and cut into chunks
  8. 1 Tbsp. of freshly chopped Thyme or 1 tsp. dried Thyme
  9. 1 Cup of apple cider
  10. 1/4 cup of low-sodium chicken broth
  11. Thyme Sprigs for garnish

PREPARATION:

  • Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt and pepper
  • Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken and sauté until golden and tender; about 4 minutes on each side.  Transfer the chicken to a plate.
  • Add the onions and bacon to the skillet.  Cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until the onions are softened and browned; approximately 8 minutes.  Add the apple and thyme; cook until the apple is tender and golden- about 5 minutes.  Stir in the cider and broth.  Raise the heat to high and cook until the sauce boils and thickens slightly- about 5 minutes.  Return the chicken to the skillet and heat through.  Arrange the chicken on a platter, spoon the sauce on top, and garnish with the thyme sprigs.

Nutritional Information per serving:

270 calories; 7g total fat; 1 g saturated fat; 92 mg cholesterol; 617 mg sodium; 16g total carbohydrate; 2g dietary fiber; 35g protein.  Weight Watcher Points: 6 Serves: 4    Source:  Weight Watchers Make it In Minutes

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