Principles for Eating Right for Life!

Principles for Eating Right for Life!

ü  Eat 5 to 6 small meals per day

ü  Eat breakfast everyday, within an hour of rising

ü  Eat a combination of lean protein and complex carbohydrates at each meal

ü  Eat sufficient (two or three servings) healthy fats everyday

ü  Drink two to three liters of water per day

ü  Carry a cooler packed with clean foods everyday

ü  Depend on fresh fruits and veggies for fiber, vitamins and minerals

ü  Learn proper portion sizes

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How to Build a Healthy Meal

From the AllyFitness ebook - Thinner Winner!

Each meal should contain a lean protein source (chicken, eggs, lean beef, etc.), a whole grain and some leafy green vegetables or other “water dense” vegetables. One quarter of your plate should be protein, 1/4 starchy-type carbohydrate and the other half should be vegetables and fruit.  Below is a typical day of Clean Eating.

Breakfast: This meal should consist of a healthy protein (nuts, eggs, cottage cheese, etc), fresh produce (berries, citrus fruit, other fruit, tomatoes and spinach) and a whole grain such as a high fiber cereal, oatmeal, or whole grain bread.

Mid Morning Snack: a fruit or vegetable with a protein.  For example, an apple with organic nut butter, a pear with cottage cheese or yogurt, a piece of fruit with a small portion of nuts. 

Lunch: This meal should include a lean protein, along with a nice dose of “slow-release” carbs (fruits, non-starchy vegetables, beans and/or whole grains with a healthy fat. For example, a bowl of leafy greens like romaine lettuce or spinach with chicken on top.  Add vegetables like cucumbers, carrots, etc.  Another option would be a whole grain low carb wrap with hummus, turkey or beans, leafy greens and cucumbers or peppers to add crunch, then top with salsa.  Soup is also a good option.  Make sure it has protein and is not cream based.

Mid Afternoon Snack: this should be a lean protein with vegetables or fruit – like the mid morning snack.   This could include a few slow digesting carbs like triscuits, or pretzel with hummus. Limit the higher carb snacks to once or twice a week. 

Dinner: This should also be a lean protein source, lots of vegetables in a variety of colors, whole grains and healthy fats. Think of grilled or roasted lean meats, big leafy salad with lots of veggies and another vegetable like a baked sweet potato, roasted butternut squash or sautéed veggies.

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20 Ways to Enjoy more Fruits and Vegetables!

Food, Nutrition and Health Tips from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

20 Ways to Enjoy More Fruits and Vegetables

 Variety abounds when using vegetables as pizza topping. Try broccoli, spinach, green peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms and zucchini.

2. Mix up a breakfast smoothie made with low-fat milk, frozen strawberries and a banana.

3. Make a veggie wrap with roasted vegetables and low-fat cheese rolled in a whole-wheat tortilla.

4. Try crunchy vegetables instead of chips with your favorite low-fat salad dressing for dipping.

5. Grill colorful vegetable kabobs packed with tomatoes, green and red peppers, mushrooms and onions.

6. Add color to salads with baby carrots, grape tomatoes, spinach leaves or mandarin oranges.*

7. Keep cut vegetables handy for mid-afternoon snacks, side dishes, lunch box additions or a quick nibble while waiting for dinner. Ready-to-eat favorites: red, green or yellow peppers, broccoli or cauliflower florets, carrots, celery sticks, cucumbers, snap peas or whole radishes.

8. Place colorful fruit where everyone can easily grab something for a snack-on-the-run. Keep a bowl of fresh, just ripe whole fruit in the center of your kitchen or dining table.

9. Get saucy with fruit. Puree apples, berries, peaches or pears in a blender for a thick, sweet sauce on grilled or broiled seafood or poultry, or on pancakes, French toast or waffles.

10. Stuff an omelet with vegetables. Turn any omelet into a hearty meal with broccoli, squash, carrots, peppers, tomatoes or onions with low-fat sharp cheddar cheese.

11. “Sandwich” in fruits and vegetables. Add pizzazz to sandwiches with sliced pineapple, apple, peppers, cucumber and tomato as fillings.

12. Wake up to fruit. Make a habit of adding fruit to your morning oatmeal, ready-to-eat cereal, yogurt or toaster waffle.

13. Top a baked potato with beans and salsa or broccoli and low-fat cheese.

14. Microwave a cup of vegetable soup as a snack or with a sandwich for lunch.

15. Add grated, shredded or chopped vegetables such as zucchini, spinach and carrots to lasagna, meat loaf, mashed potatoes, pasta sauce and rice dishes.

16. Make fruit your dessert: Slice a banana lengthwise and top with a scoop of low-fat frozen yogurt. Sprinkle with a tablespoon of chopped nuts.

17. Stock your freezer with frozen vegetables to steam or stir-fry for a quick side dish.

18. Make your main dish a salad of dark, leafy greens and other colorful vegetables. Add chickpeas or edamame (fresh soybeans). Top with low-fat dressing.*

19. Fruit on the grill: Make kabobs with pineapple, peaches and banana. Grill on low heat until fruit is hot and slightly golden.

20. Dip: Whole wheat pita wedges in hummus, baked tortilla chips in salsa, strawberries or apple slices in low-fat yogurt, or graham crackers in applesauce. 

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Tasty Tuesday! Quinoa! Get it going with these great recipes!

Quin-What?

Quinoa is a grain-like crop known for its edible seeds. It is a false grain because it is not part of the grass family, but shares many of the same nutrients as a grain. Quinoa is actually closely related to beets, spinach, and tumbleweed.

Nutritionally, quinoa is very good compared with cereal grains. It contains essential amino acids and good quantities of calcium, phosphorus, and iron. Quinoa is a good source of complete protein and dietary fiber. It is also gluten-free.

Quinoa can be an alternative to rice or couscous as it has a similar light, fluffy texture when cooked. Quinoa does have a mild, slightly nutty flavor when cooked. Cooking quinoa is very similar to cooking rice, using a 2 parts water to 1 part quinoa ratio. Bring the water to a boil, add quinoa and cover, simmer on low for 10-15 minutes, or prepare as the directions on the quinoa package suggest. Quinoa can be used for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

Try Quinoa with our Top 10 Favorite Recipes

Quinoa with Peaches and Creamy Yogurt (serves 4)

·         1 cup quinoa

·         2 cups water

·         1 tsp. ground cinnamon

·         1 tsp. ground nutmeg

·         1 large fresh peach, pitted and chopped

·         ½ cup fat-free Greek yogurt

·         2 Tbsp. honey

·         1 pinch ground nutmeg

·         1 Tbsp. lime juice, or to taste

If quinoa is not pre-rinsed, rinse in plenty of cool water to remove coating, and drain. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan, and stir in the quinoa; reduce heat to low, and simmer until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain excess water, and mix in the cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of nutmeg.

Mix the chopped peach with yogurt in a bowl. Serve quinoa in a serving bowl, topped with about 2 tablespoons of the peach yogurt. Drizzle with a teaspoon or so of honey, sprinkle with nutmeg, and drizzle about a teaspoon of lime juice over the top.

Salad (Makes 6-8 servings so great for busy weeks!)

·         2 cups cooked quinoa

·         1 15-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

·         2 cups frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed

·         1 large red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped

·         1 small onion, peeled and chopped

·         1/4 cup white wine vinegar (or to taste)

·         1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

·         1 tsp. mild chili powder, cayenne pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in large bowl and toss.  Make ahead of time on the weekend for quick lunches.

Quinoa with Roasted Garlic, Tomatoes, and Spinach (Makes 4)

·         1 whole garlic head

·         1 Tbsp. olive oil

·         1 Tbsp. finely chopped shallots

·         ¼ tsp. crushed red pepper

·         ½ cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained

·         1 Tbsp. dry white wine

·         1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

·         ½ cup baby spinach leaves

·         1/3 cup chopped seeded tomato

·         1 Tbsp. shaved fresh Parmesan cheese

·         ¼ tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Remove papery skin from garlic head. Cut garlic head in half crosswise, breaking apart to separate whole cloves. Wrap half of head in foil; reserve remaining garlic for another use. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour; cool 10 minutes. Separate cloves; squeeze to extract garlic pulp. Discard skins.

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and red pepper to pan; cook 1 minute. Add quinoa to pan; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add wine; cook until liquid is absorbed, stirring constantly. Add broth; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat; stir in garlic pulp, spinach, tomato, cheese, and salt. Serve immediately.

Quinoa Vegetable Stir Fry (Makes 4)

·         2-3 cups cooked quinoa

·         1-2 Tbsp. cooking oil

·         1 stalk celery

·         1 small carrot

·         1 cup frozen peas

·         1 tsp. brown mustard seed

·         ½ tsp. dry ginger

·         1 tsp. paprika

·         ½ tsp. turmeric

·         Pinch cayenne

·         1 Tbsp. soy sauce

·         ¼ cup cashew pieces

·         ¼ cup chopped cilantro or parsley

Heat oil on medium-low in a large shallow pan.

Peel the carrot, half lengthwise, and slice in thin pieces. Wash and trim the celery, cut in thin pieces lengthwise, then slice thin.

Turn heat to medium high. Add the brown mustard seeds and heat in the oil until they start to pop. Add the carrots, celery, and cashews. Stir-fry for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the spices and stir-fry for 2 minutes, until mixed well and browned.

 Stir in the cooked quinoa, soy sauce, frozen peas, and 2 Tbsp. water. Cover and steam for 5 minutes on medium low heat, or until the veggies are tender. Stir in the chopped parsley or cilantro, and serve.

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Get Fit Fast with this Simple Strategy - Accountability and Competition

With all the fad diets and latest, greatest exercise gadgets available, it can be confusing to choose a weight loss plan that really works.  There are a lot of gimmicks out there, people waste a lot of money struggling to get fit and healthy.

But you do not have to spend a lot of money or put yourself on a crash diet in order to lose weight and keep it off.  By following one simply strategy, you will find yourself with more will power and motivation than you have perhaps ever had while losing weight.  And that is friendly competition.

Friendly competition means that you have a friend with whom you are comparing notes and habits as you lose weight together. 

It’s friendly because you are doing this with a good friend that you genuinely care about.  You both want to lose weight, and you both want to see the other person lose weight.  It’s competition because you check up on each other’s food and exercise journals to provide accountability. 

The competition component can be as intense as you like it.  If you want to get the most out of your effort, set a time limit to see who can achieve the most success by a certain date.  Whoever wins gets treated to a movie or a healthy home cooked meal by the other!

Friendly competition provides motivation because you are working toward a specific goal, but unlike trying to lose weight on your own, you have someone checking up on you.  If you know someone else is going read over your food journal and see everything you eat, you will likely find the willpower to say no to dessert more often! 

And if there is a coveted prize at the end of your journey, you might find a fun, competitive spirit coming to life inside you.  After all, you do not want to be the one who has to cook that meal at the end of six weeks, do you? 

The competition will keep you from slacking up on your exercise schedule as well.  Perhaps one of the goals you and your friend are working toward is exercising for thirty minutes a day for six days each week.  What if you miss a day, but your friend is steadily plugging along, getting her workout in each day?  That in itself should give you the wherewithal to head to the basement and hop on that treadmill!

If you have not enlisted a friend to buddy-up with in your weight loss efforts, consider some friendly competition for the next few weeks.  You may find that this simple strategy provides you with all the motivation you need to finally lose weight and keep it off!

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How the Compound Effect can Help You Lose Weight

One of the most dangerous traps that you can fall into while dieting is having the “It’s all or nothing” attitude.  But sadly, this is why many people who are trying to lose weight fail at their attempts.  They make a mistake here and there, whether that is missing a day of exercise or indulging in treats too frequently, and end up so discouraged that they just give up completely. 

Losing sight of the big picture is deadly if you are on a weight loss journey.  But it is sometimes hard to see the big picture when you get mired down in the day to day grind of little decisions.  The truth is that everybody fails sometimes.  Everybody.  If you expect perfection from yourself, you will certainly be disappointed, because it is not possible.

You see, focusing on occasional failures is like looking at snapshots rather than the entire movie.   If you went to see a movie that was two hours in length, you would see a whole story complete with plot, background, character development, suspense, and conclusion.  In other words, you would come away with a full scope of the big picture. 

But suppose your friend, rather than seeing the movie, only saw a handful of still shots from it.  Would your perception be different?  Of course it would.  You might even disagree about what happened in the movie.  This is because she can only focus on a few aspects of the movie, whereas you can see the big picture.  Sure, the main character might have made a mistake at some point, or perhaps things looked really bad for part of the movie, but that is only part of the movie.  It is not the final outcome.

Looking at your own journey to health in the same way is critical if you are going to get through the bad days and the periods of discouragement.  Your failures are only a still shot within a fully developed screen play.  The extra dessert you ate yesterday is a snap shot; it is not the whole picture.  The whole picture includes the one hundred times last month that you resisted unhealthy food!

This is why the compound effect is so helpful when you are making hard lifestyle changes.  Every single good decision you make adds up to a magnificent outcome.  Sure, maybe you did skip your workout three times last week.  Okay, that happens; it was a rough week.  But remember how many workouts you have accomplished over the last six months?  Remember how you took the stairs instead of the elevator several times last week ?  Flex your muscles—see that bicep that you have developed from lifting heavy dumbbells? 

Healthy choices compound together to create a tapestry of health.  They are cumulative.  They are the movie, not the snap shot. You will fall occasionally.  Just pick yourself up, acknowledge that you are not perfect, remind yourself of how far you have come and file that snap shot away.  You don’t need it:  you have an entire movie to watch.

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Tasty Tuesday - Steak Stuffed Pita

INGREDIENTS 1/4 cup lemon juice 3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 2 tsp Dijon mustard 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste Freshly ground pepper, to taste 1 pound top round steak, 1 1/2 inches thick, trimmed 4 cups romaine lettuce, chopped 1 medium cucumber, diced 1 large tomato, diced 8 4-inch whole-wheat pitas, or four 8-inch pitas, split open (see Tip) COOKING DIRECTIONS Step 1  Position rack in upper third of oven; preheat broiler. Step 2  Whisk lemon juice, oil, mustard, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Place steak in a shallow dish and pour half the dressing over it. Let marinate at room temperature, turning once, for 10 minutes. Step 3  Meanwhile, prepare the salad by adding lettuce, cucumber and tomato to the remaining dressing in the bowl; toss to coat. Step 4  Transfer the meat to a broiling pan. Broil for 5 minutes on each side for medium-rare, or until it reaches desired doneness. Transfer to a cutting board, let rest for 3 minutes, then slice thinly against the grain. Mix the meat with the salad and fill each pita. Serve immediately. RECIPE TIPS Tip: Warm pitas on the bottom rack of the oven while the steak is broiling

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Tasty Tuesday! Chicken Breast with shaved Brussels Sprouts

Chicken Breast with shaved Brussels Sprouts

2 – 8 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

¾ tsp kosher salt, divided

2 broccoli stems

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

¼ tsp fresh pepper

3 cups thinly sliced Brussels sprouts (about 12 medium)

2 celery stalks, thinly sliced

¼ cup toasted hazelnuts

¼ cup fresh, flat leaf parsley – coarsely chopped

1 oz Parmesan cheese – coarsely grated

 

Place chicken and ½ tsp salt in small saucepan and cover with water; bring to boil.  Immediately remove from heat, cover and let stand 15 minutes.  Drain chicken and run under cold water.  Cool completely; set aside.  Using a fork, shred into bite-sized pieces.

 

Use a Vegetable peeler to remove outer layer of broccoli stems and discard.  Continue peeling stems into long strips.  In large bowl, whisk together oil, lemon juice and 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper.  Add broccoli strips, brussels sprouts, celery, hazelnuts, parsley and reserved chicken to bowl with dressing and toss.  Divide into 4 shallow bowls.  Top with cheese.

 

Serving size – 1/2 cup slaw and 4 ounces chicken

Calories 309, Fat 17g, Protein 31g, Carbs 10g, Sugar 3g, Fiber 4g. 

 

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Diet Tips that you can use to keep YOUR HEART strong and healthy!

Tips –Take a Fresh, New Start on your Situation

• Analyze your current situation; recognize obstacles (both real and in your thoughts).  Develop positive solutions and work toward modifying your lifestyle to make effective changes.  This can be as simple as packing healthy snacks each day to take with you to work or on long commutes.
• What represents inner strength to you?  Visualize this whenever you need help in tempting situations.  This will help you maintain your focus.
• Be aware of your self-talk and listen critically to what it is saying. Rephrase negative self-talk with a positive message. Instead of thinking “I cannot eat those fries”, think “I can enjoy a fresh side salad with my sandwich!”
• Set reasonable, realistic, and measurable short- and long-term weight-loss goals.  These should look like weekly action steps that you can do to achieve the long term success.
• Write your goals in a weight-loss diary to make them real. 
• Keep a food journal.  This is very effective in holding you accountable in your efforts.
• Pay attention to what you are eating now and why. Identify the sources of your personal “hidden” calories, such as eating your child’s leftovers.
• Reassess your progress every six weeks and make changes accordingly.
• Anticipate situations, such as office birthday parties or dinner at a neighbor’s house, which can present bumps on the road to successful weight control.  Create a plan on how you want to react in these situations so you’ll be prepared.  One client I have drinks a V8 and eats an apple before every party or dinner out.  It helps her to stay full, chose healthy options and limit the portions of the treats.
• Learn lessons from the tortoise!  Be persistent and practice new behaviors until they become habit. Slow and steady progress is what is needed to achieve long term success and maintenance of your goals.
• Take action to cure procrastination. Don’t let fear of failure keep you from starting toward your weight-loss goals. 
• BECOME a student of nutrition!  Learn how to read labels.  Products labeled “low-fat” can be high in calories. Always pay attention to ingredients.
• Include high-fiber foods, such as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, in your diet. They take longer to digest, so they make you feel full longer. In addition, many fruits and vegetables contain water, which provides volume but not calories.
• Identify the nonessential, high-calorie foods you buy out of habit. Stop buying them! If they’re not in your pantry, you won’t eat them.
• REMEMBER – if it isn’t good for you, it isn’t good for your kids!
• Make extra amounts of your favorite low-calorie foods and freeze individual portions. It’s an easy way to control portion size and have handy options available for last-minute meals and snacks.
• Refer to my blog on “Dining out Tips” for guidelines when eating out.
• REMEMBER – you are going for lifestyle changes – make this the last diet you ever go on.

Reference:  American Heart Association No-Fad Diet: A Personal Plan for Healthy Weight Loss, Copyright © 2005 by the American Heart Association.

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The Low Down on Winter Weight Gain!

Most people are less active when it’s cold outside. Even though they continue to workout at the gym, recreational activity declines when the weather worsens.

Then ENTER THE HOLIDAYS!  Most people think of  two food-oriented holidays, but they forget about Halloween!  Halloween candy sitting on every desk and counter is beginning of what I call the “The Eating Season”.  The constant access to chocolate and candy corns makes it hard to resist and then the sugar cravings get out of control!

An additional factor leading to winter weight gain is lack of exposure to sunlight.  This can lower the levels of melatonin and serotonin, a neurotransmitter that’s linked with mood. So to make up for the low serotonin and improve your mood, you grab the sweets and high-carb foods with lots of calories and little nutritional value.

WHAT’S A GIRL TO DO?

Ø  Get outdoors and walk at least a couple of days / week – even when the weather is bad.   This will help you feel better and keep the SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) at bay.

Ø  Keep active – try to exercise every other day.  If you are really busy and cannot get a full workout in, crank up the intensity and make it count!  Even 20 minutes of high intensity exercise is well worth the time!

Ø  Make sure you strength train.  Cardio exercise, especially long duration medium intensity only burn calories while you are doing it.  Strength / resistance training and high intensity cardio burn more calories for up to 72 hours after the activity.

Ø  More reasons to strength train – the more muscle you have, the higher your resting metabolic rate is.  As we age, we lose muscle mass which then lowers are metabolism and leads to age related weight gain.  Prevent this from happening – keep and build your muscles.  Your bones will thank you also.

Ø  If you are struggling with time to fit your exercise in over these hectic holidays, try one of these ideas to keep with it.  1 – reduce the duration of your work out - but really boost the intensity!  Working out harder can burn the same amount of c calories in less time. 2 – break it up into two or three sessions throughout the day.  Get a 10 minute walk or jog before work, 10 at lunch and 10 when you get home. Don’t let anything derail you from getting activity in.  It is the best way to keep the unwanted pounds away!

Ø  High intensity does not mean high impact.  Adding incline to the treadmill or elliptical or resistance to the bike does the job.  Find a neighborhood with hills and repeat them.

Ø  Enjoy the Day, the Family and the MEAL – then be done.  Move on.  The following day make sure you exercise to burn extra calories, drink plenty of water to avoid bloat, and eat clean – focus on lean proteins and fruits and vegetables.  AVOID PROCESSED FOODS.

Ø  GET YOUR SNACKS IN - Eat frequently to prevent hunger and over eating.

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Serving Sizes - make sure you are not victim to "portion distortion"

We are focusing on serving sizes this week as the "topic".  In the world we live where everything is super-sized, it is no wonder our waistlines are following that trend!  Did you know that Levis now is making their jeans larger for vanity reasons?  A 35 inch size of pants from Levis is now a bit bigger!

So...with all that said, what is a serving and how many should you have?  We should strive for 5 a day of fruits and veggies.  If you can eat more than 5 - GO FOR IT (especially on the veggies)!  I tell everyone, eat your greens like you get paid to do it!  New research states that more fruits and veggies increase the protection from heart disease and certain cancers. Grains should be limited to whole grains and protein should be eaten at each meal.  The serving size for protein at a meat fish and poultry is only the size of a deck of cards.  The other proteins should be a palm size or about an ounce (depending on if it cheese or nuts).  Remember to stick to low fat dairy or nuts, or boiled eggs, or a small serving of beans.

I have attached these handy serving size templates - one is for your wallet - and the other is for the refrigerator!  I hope to see it on the Western Reflections fridge next time I am there!

 Yours in health!

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Get your Cave Man Groove ON!

I have been reading the book by Steven G. Aldana, PHD - called Stop Go - Grocery Guide. These concepts are very interesting. Basically, the premise is that we are still very much cavemen! At least our bodies think so. The world has changed rapidly, but our bodies are still the same as early humans. Our ancestors lived off the land. They were hunters and gatherers. Wild game, gathered fruits and nuts were the mainstay of the human diet. Our stomachs are designed to digest natural, whole foods. Cavemen did not eat Hostess Twinkies or Diet Dr. Pepper.

Most foods in the stores today are modern foods and did not exist 100 years ago. Modern food is abundant but not compatible with our bodies. Cheese, butter, sugar, refined flours were not around until recent years and bodies are not adapting these foods.  Along with these foods, the rates of type II diabetes, heart disease and obesity have risen. "Most chronic diseases that afflict the industrial world are caused by a diet and lifestyle that is inconsistent with the ancient bodies we inherited from our ancestors." Steven G Aldana.

The best science available calls the most unhealthy diet "The Western diet". People on a Westernized diet - like America - eat a lot of red meat, processed meats, refined flour, butter, high fat dairy products, with few fruits and fewer vegetables.  The dietary pattern that associated with good health is called the "Prudent diet". This includes mostly whole grains, plant oils, vegetables, fruits and legumes.

So - what does this mean for us? We should eat like a cave man or cave woman! Eat whole foods - foods close to their natural form. Produce is a whole food. Oats are good option. Avoid the processed foods. Processed food undergoes many changes before it ends up on your plate or even in your shopping buggy!

Don't be fooled by nutrition labeling. Many of the "healthy" stamps on foods have been created by the food manufacturers to better market their products. Pepsico started their own label called Smart Spot. General Mills, Kellogg and Draft have another one called Smart Choices. These are not always healthy options, so be sure to read the labels for ingredients and avoid products with hydrogenated oils of any kind.

The Stop and Go Grocery Guide is a great resource and codes many of the products in the store as green light or red light.
Rules to live by from this book - I LOVE THESE!!!
1 - Don't eat anything your great grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food. (this includes gogurt!)
2 - Avoid products containing ingredients that are a) unfamiliar, b) unpronounceable, c) more than five in number, or d) high-fructose corn syrup.
3. Avoid food products that make health claims.
4 - Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle. All of the whole and fresh food is on the perimeter.
5 - Get out of the supermarket whenever possible - get to the farmers market.
Embrace your inner caveman!!

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