Jennifer's Reading Room: The Body Book by Cameron Diaz

I am LOVING this book by Cameron Diaz right about now. I think you should too. 

I first saw Cameron talking about her new book on the Dr. Oz show. We are just about the same age (she's 41) and I have to say she looks wonderful. Yes, she's a Hollywood star and she lives in sunny California, but her interview with Dr. Oz was intriguing. 

Black is the new brown.

Are you still eating brown rice as your healthy carb?

Brown rice is so passé.

Get hip to the rice game and try the forbidden rice.

Black rice is one of the healthiest foods you can eat on the planet. Why?

Small changes. Big rewards. Work with a health coach.

Have you ever received good advice that you were unable to follow? Has your doctor ever recommended a lifestyle change that you found to be unsustainable? Have you ever wanted something in your life, but found you couldn’t achieve it alone?

Health Coaches are knowledgeable advisors who provide ongoing support and guidance as you set goals and make sustainable changes that improve your health and happiness. As

your Health Coach, I will listen carefully and help you to navigate the world of contradictory nutrition advice to determine what changes are necessary for you.

Your personalized program will radically improve your health and happiness. Together, we will explore concerns specific to you and your body and discover the tools you need for a lifetime of balance.

As a client of my health coaching program, you will…

Soft skin isn't made in the shower. Why you need to start dry brushing.

This summer, I took up the daily practice of dry brushing my skin before showering. This may sound like a weird thing to do, but the act of dry brushing has been around for centuries. I started dry brushing because of the many benefits to my body and I wanted to improve the texture of my much neglected skin. 

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WHAT IS DRY BRUSHING?

Recipe Review: Maple Millet Cereal

I have to be honest, I miss eating cereal. I miss spooning a mouthful of crunchy, sweet satisfaction into my mouth on a regular basis. Drinking the milk from the bottom of the bowl was a wonderful way to start the day.  My favorite cereal as a kid was Froot Loops and Apple Jacks. Growing up, my mom didn't by sugary cereals so I had to wait until I could go to my grandmother's house and she would always have the mini cereal boxes for us.

As I got older, I realized there wasn't any fruit in Froot Loops (and they misspelled fruit on the box) and there aren't any apples in Apple Jacks so I started eating more healthy cereals...or at least I thought they were healthy. My adult favorite was Kashi GoLean Crunch. Mmmm. I could easily eat two bowls of that stuff. As I learned more about the hidden dangers of packaged foods, I realized the reason why I could eat so much of it. There are 13g of sugar in a 1 cup serving of Kashi GoLean Crunch. Considering there are 17g of sugar in a serving of ice cream, it was almost like eating dessert for breakfast every day. 

13 WAYS TO CLEAN UP YOUR DIET

I was planning on writing a similar post on ways to improve your health and clean up your diet and I stumbled across this article on HarpersBazaar.com. The information presented is spot on and the photos are beautiful. Rather than recreate the wheel, I am reposting this article written by Steven Macari. Enjoy!

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What the heck is GMO and why do I need to worry about it?

GMO = Genetically Modified Organisms

There has been a lot of buzz about GMOs recently in the news. To be honest, I didn't pay much attention to it until General Mills announced that they were going to stop using GMO sourced ingredient in Cheerios, I stopped to take notice. I did some research on GMOs and I'm sharing what I learned with you in this post.

GMO is what?
A GMO is a plant or animal created  with the biotechnology of splicing genes; also known as genetic engineering. NonGMOproject.org describes is as an "experimental technology that merges DNA from different species, creating unstable combinations of plant, animal, bacterial and viral genes that cannot occur in nature or in traditional crossbreeding."

Yuck.

In love with PB2

I recently reignited my love for PB2 and began adding it to my protein shakes again. I love this stuff. Yes, it's a processed food product, but it's minimally processed with just three ingredients (roasted peanuts, sugar & salt) and only contains 1 g of sugar per serving. 

If you're not familiar with PB2, it's powdered peanut butter.

Wheat grass is my caffeine

As you know I usually add Amazing Grass Wheat Grass powder to my green smoothies. I admit, when I don't drink a green smoothie, I don't drink my wheat grass. Lately, I've been consuming daily protein shakes and drinking my green smoothie concoctions with less frequency. 

Recently, I opened my cabinet and saw my canister of wheat grass hiding in the back behind my vitamins. I pulled it out, opened it, poured a scoop in a glass of water, mixed well and chugged. I don't mind the taste of wheat grass, but I will tell you it's definitely an acquired taste. If you're new to wheat grass in the powder form, I suggest mixing it with juice or in a green smoothie until you can drink it with just water. HOWEVER, in my experience, I didn't feel the same boost when I mixed it with other ingredients. I feel the energy results much faster when I drink it with water only. 

A few minutes later, I happily felt a nice surge in my energy levels. It seemed like my morning mood which was very sluggish a few minutes prior suddenly picked up and the early morning fog dissipated. 

my daily energy boost!

Woohoo! I was ready to start my day! 

I'm not a coffee drinker (don't like the taste) so I always felt like I was left out of the daily morning coffee jolt that so many other people experience. I tried drinking tea in the morning, but it never gave me that boost I was looking for.

Well, my friends, I have finally discovered a natural, non caffeinated jolt that is good for you! Now I mix up a glass of wheat grass every morning after I drink a mug of warm water with fresh lemon juice. I even started to drink a glass before I hit the gym if I go in the afternoon. 

I don't drink it for the taste, I drink it for the results. If you haven't experienced the grass, I highly suggest giving it a go! I've only tried the Amazing Grass Organic Wheat Grass powder which you can find in Whole Foods or online. 

Bottoms up!

beHealthy 

Lose weight at work

This morning I saw personal trainer and fitness mogul, Jillian Michaels, on the Today show. One of her fitness tips that I recently started to implement is to STAND more during the day. If you have a sit-on-your-butt-all-day-job like I do, you can burn twice as many calories by standing. 

I'm all about burning more calories, but standing more can improve your overall health and well being. Standing more during the day can:

• increase your heart rate 
• burn more calories
• lower your blood glucose levels (this is really important after lunch)

On JustStand.org, I read that the American Medical Association (AMA) agrees that sitting for extended periods of time can be bad for personal health. Their newly adopted policy recommends business organizations offer sitting alternatives, including standing desks. 

I looked into purchasing a standing desk, but they are expensive and not that cute. I tried standing at my kitchen island, but it's not really high enough for me to properly work for hours at a time.

One day my boyfriend suggested I try using my ironing board as a standing desk. Eureka! It's adjustable, it's flat, it's wide enough to hold my laptop and mouse. I tried it and it works perfectly! The best part is I can store it away when not in use. 

My standing work space at home.

I declare, I will not suffer from  Sitting Disease! Neither should you! Get up off of your duff during the day. 

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JustStand.org has some great cures for the sitting disease. I encourage you to check them out and if you're on a budget (like me), pull out the old ironing board. Whatever you do, just STAND!

beHealthy
beFit
beCreative

Why I love manna bread

Manna what?
Manna who?

One of the beneficial foods for my blood type is manna bread (also known as Essene bread). Before Eat Right For Your Type, I had never heard of manna bread. My boyfriend and I researched it online and he took the plunge and ordered a few different types. 

It arrived in a cooler package because it comes frozen. Why frozen? Since there aren't any preservatives in the bread, it spoils if you don't consume it. Well, we didn't have to worry about it spoiling, but we found it was delicious! The loaves are small, but the bread itself is very dense so you don't need a huge slice. 

Now, this is not your all purpose bread for making sandwiches and french toast. This is a complete, whole food, meant to be enjoyed in it's natural state. I like to warm my favorite kind,Carrot Raisin, up in the microwave for 10 seconds and eat it with a few slices of beef bacon (salty and sweet)! Some people eat it with nut butters and honey.

WHAT IS MANNA BREAD MADE OF?

Good stuff! The recipe is very similar to the heaven sent manna mentioned in the book of Exodus. In the Bible, manna sustained the Israelites as they wandered in the dessert for 40 years. It's made from sprouted grains, seeds, nuts, and fruit, baked a low temperature until golden brown. No chemical additives, yeast, sugar and oil. 

You can buy manna bread online or find it in the freezer section at Whole Foods. My favorite kinds are the Carrot Raisin (organic sprouted wheat kernels, filtered water, organic carrots, organic raisins) and the Cinnamon Date (sprouted organic wheat kernels, filtered water, organic dates, organic cinnamon, organic oatmeal) made by Manna Organics.

Try it! You just may love it like I do. If you're a fanna of the manna, leave me a comment below!

-beHealthy

Give the Gift of Granola

Don't you just love that idea?

Giving healthy food as a gift!

When budgets are stretched thin, this is the perfect time of year to consider this creative gift giving option.  Take a minute to get all the creative details from one of my absolute favorite foodie blogs, Flavor Your Health. 

-beHealthy
-beCreative
-beWealthy

Give the Gift of Granola

Posted on December 4, 2013 by flavoryourhealth

UPDATE! Eating for my blood type

A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog post, I'm tweaking, not twerking, about the blood type diet. As a student at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, we're learning about dozens of different diets and ways of eating. All very fascinating information, but the blood type diet peaked my interest. So much so, that I ordered an at home blood test kit to find out my blood type.

I discovered I am type O+ which made me happy because I liked to eat mostly all of the beneficial foods. I made a few changes to my diet, by reducing the so called "avoid" foods. Notice, I didn't say cut out completely. I followed the 90/10 rule when it came to eating for my blood type and that's perfectly ok. 

So, 7 weeks later, how am I doing?

Something is not right

The acne, bloat and brain fog is back! 

Not in a major way, but enough for me to take notice. There are lots of little bumps on my jaw line and the breakouts on my chest have returned. I also got a nasty little cystic bump on my chest which was pretty painful and there are a few breakouts on my back. 

And this week at work, I could not get my thoughts straight during a status meeting. My brain was just all over the place and I was getting my programs confused. Very embarrassing. Darn brain fog. Losing the brain fog was one huge benefit I noticed when I gave up wheat the first time. 

Could all this be from the wheat I've been happily consuming over the past few weeks? It's funny, now that my pre-wheat free symptoms are showing up, I realize how much better my skin was and how the brain fog had disappeared.

I didn't consume a TON of wheat, but on Saturday, I did eat some foods made with white flour. My body was still processing the damage I did during my wheatastic weekend two weeks ago!

Ok, ok, ok, I get it. Wheat is not good for me. 

Oh baby I like it raw!

Shout out to ODB! If you're in my age group and a fan of hip hop, you know what I'm talkin' bout! 

Day 29 and day 30!
Woohoo, I just finished drinking my 30th green smoothie and I am quite proud of myself. I don't know if it's a coincidence or what, but I had THE best rest last night. I think I slept an entire 8 hours and I woke up feeling 100% rested and ready to tackle the week. In addition to the fabulous slumber, here are some other benefits I noticed throughout the month:

• I am regular - this is HUGE!
• My endurance is stronger during the cardio portion of my cross training. I still have some work to do with the area of strength training, but I can definitely run longer and faster. Yesterday during cross training, I was sprinting at 7.5 mph on a 12% incline. Go Jenny Go! 
• My belly is flatter. It's not FLAT, but is definitely less puffy. I feel like my thighs are smaller too. I didn't weigh myself or take any measurements because I wasn't doing this for weight loss, but I put on a pair of slim, black pants yesterday that were definitely fitting better then when I last had them on in the winter. 
• I like greens! All types of greens. I eat kale almost every day now. That's amazing. 

Overall, it's been a good month for sure. I just realized that I also blogged for 30 days about the challenge so that is a side accomplishment! I guess I can officially call myself a blogger :)

Will I continue to drink the green smoothies?

Of course! They aren't just for breakfast anymore. You can drink a green smoothie at any time of the day or night and reap the benefits. 

On Sunday, I furthered my raw food curiosity and visited All the Way Live, a raw food restaurant in Philadelphia. The ratings were really high on yelp.com so I asked a colleague to meet me there. The food was fantastic! Here is a photo of what we shared. 

The upper left corner is lasagna. The upper right corner is a tasting of quinoa salad, soulful greens and BBQ mushrooms. The bottom is the apple cake - woohoo! Everything was absolutely delicious. I definitely will be going back and I may even purchase a week of raw meals from there. 

Sunday was a great day and I feel like the entire day was FUN! Here is the drink I created on Sunday before going to bed. I used extra water so it was more like a green drink than a smoothie.

1 c chopped kale, stems removed

1/3 c organic frozen blueberries

1 serving Amazing Grass Organic Wheat Grass

1 1/4 c water

1 serving Stevia Kal

Day 30

Today's green smoothie wasn't that good, but I chugged it down because I know it was good for me. Note to self. Do not add wheat grass and the cacao powder in the same drink without sweetener  I tasted it and had to put it back in the blender with some stevia because the taste was not pleasant. I guess I could have added some more fruit as well. 

2 c chopped kale, stems removed

1/2 frozen banana

1 tbsp Cacao powder

1 serving Amazing Grass Organic Wheat Grass

1 tbsp natural peanut butter

1 serving Stevia Kal

Cheers!

The September 30 day challenge is complete! Now, on to the October 30 day challenge...