Snacking on sweet potatoes can help your skin stay clear, smooth and young-looking. The reason is the vibrant colored orange in sweet potatoes comes from beta-carotene, an antioxidant that converts to vitamin A in your body and switches on DNA that's in charge of producing new skin cells and shedding old ones. A regular influx of new cells keeps the surface of your skin smooth, fresh-looking and resistant to irritants and damage.
Did I also mention they are so delicious? Find your favorite sweet potato recipe, eat them on a regular basis and keep your skin beauteous!
You will need: 1 cup all purpose flour 1 cup whole wheat flour 1/2 cup brown sugar (or you can also use honey) 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1 egg 1 1/2 cup mashed bananas (4-5 bananas)
Instructions: 1. Mash the bananas and beat the egg. Now mix them both together with sugar (or honey), salt and cinnamon.
2. Now take a large bowl and mix in flour, baking powder, baking soda.
3. Stir and you are done. Now all there is left to do is pour the batter into the bread pan and bake at 350F (180C) for 50 minutes. You can test the bread by sticking a knife into the loaf and if it comes out clean it is finished.
Mmm, can't you just smell it baking now!
Image found - wordpress.com, recipe from banana-bread-recipe.com
One of my favorite snacks isedamame. It is the perfect food to eat when you just want something lite and tasty or just want to cook something quick. I love to eat them steamed and with a little bit of sea/kosher or garlic salt. Some people prefer it with pepper on it or cold and/or in a salad.
Here's the nutritional facts you'll find in a half-cup serving of shelled edamame (or 1 1/8 cup edamame in the pods):
The bottom line: "It remains prudent to recommend soy in a heart-healthy diet because of [its] nutritional value and as a healthy substitute for protein sources that are higher in saturated fat and cholesterol," says Pennsylvania State University nutrition researcher Penny Kris-Etherton, PhD, RD.
How Do You Buy It? In the supermarket, you can find two types ofedamamein the frozen vegetable section: shelled or with the pods. Both are already cooked and ready to be thawed and eaten.
Try several different ways to eat it, find your favorite, enjoy and be healthy!
image found - health.discovery.com, ref - medicinenet.com
I know how hard it is to find the time to grocery shop, never mind writing a shopping list. But! I made a pact to myself that I'm going to start thinking of healthy meals I want to make for the week. If you go in the grocery store with a written list and stick to it you will not only notice you will be eating better but also it will be easier on the wallet and it will save you from hitting the fast food places on the way home from work. . Here is a healthy grocery list to help you make better choices at the market:
Canned Foods: Black Beans, Tomatoes, Marinara Sauce, Tuna, Salmon, Pinto Beans, White Beans, Pineapples
One of my favorite pastimes is going to the cinema to watch a great flick. The smell of freshly popped popcorn, the large advertising posters everywhere that gives us a glimpse of wonderful movies to come. The movies are something you can do any time, any weather, any season.
Maybe like me you love a good suspense film or a hilarious romantic comedy. I love getting swept away in the plot and trying to guess the next twist and turn or to just laugh until I cry and my stomach hurts.
So, if you have nothing exciting to do tonight and want to get your heart pumping or just want to relax and enjoy a heart-felt-feel-good movie, then what are you waiting for?!
Make it a girls/guys night or a romantic night out with the one you love!
Three popular chemical, artificial sweeteners are saccharin (Sweet 'n Low), aspartame (NutraSweet and Equal) and sucralose (Splenda). Their appeal has always been to have a sweet taste with no calories; here are additional facts about each one:
Saccharin
300 times as sweet as sugar
Listed as safe by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1972
Proposed ban in 1977 under suspicion of causing cancer
Switched back to safe in 2000
Aspartame:
180 times as sweet as sugar
Approved in 1981
Used extensively in diet sodas and thousands of other foods
Thousands complain to the FDA about bad health effect
Sucralose:
600 times as sweet as sugar
Approved in 1998
Made by attaching three chlorine atoms to a sugar molecule
Failed animal tests and long-term safety unknown
. Scary but true facts! These much-used sugar substitutes are causing disquiet because of continuing evidence that their use causes people to actually gain weight and suspicion that they increase the appetite for more sweets. The substitutes have no nutritional value, cause numerous unhealthy symptoms and have failed animal tests that have been overlooked by the FDA.
Here it is, the Safest, Best Sugar Substitute
Steviais a South American herb (stevia rebaudiana) that is 300 times sweeter than sugar; completely natural containing nutrients but no calories. Stevia significantly lowers blood pressure and doesn't spike blood sugar. And if that is not enough, stevia promotes dental health by reducing plaque.
Natural Sweeteners Natural sweeteners have an advantage over the artificial sweeteners in that they contain nutrients, are trustworthy and healthy, but most contain calories.
Honey:
One third sweeter than sugar and least processed of the naturals
Doesn't spike blood sugar
Raw honey aids in digestion (not for children less than two years of age)
Maple Syrup:
60% sucrose
One gallon uses 30 to 50 gallons of maple tree sap
Has a low glycemic index (54)
Tagatose (Naturlose):
Made from milk sugar
92% as sweet as sugar
One third calories of sugar
Xylitol:
60% as sweet as sugar
Used in chewing gum and other products
Doesn't increase blood sugar; laxative effect at high doses
. ~Guess we have to follow our instincts on this one, I think I will stick to the natural sweeteners but in moderation.
image found - pyagri.gov.cn, statistics suite101.com
