Spinach May Help Reduce Stress

Spinach is low in calories, yet high in vitamins and minerals that your body needs. Spinach contains magnesium that helps reduce the effects of stress on the body by keeping your blood pressure from spiking, says Beth Reardon, R.D., director of integrative nutrition at Duke Integrative Medicine in North Carolina. By eating 3 cups of spinach, you consume 40 percent of your body’s daily magnesium needs.
1 cup of raw spinach contains:
• 7 calories
• 0 grams fat
• 0 grams cholesterol
• 24 mg sodium
• 1 gram fiber
• 1 gram protein
• 56% daily value of Vitamin A
• 14% daily value of Vitamin C
• 5% daily value of Iron
• 3% daily value of Calcium
• It also contains Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Phosphorus, Potassium, Copper and Manganese.
photo credit: Clearly Ambiguous

Berry Healthy Smoothie

Berry Healthy Smoothie

1 1/2 C Frozen Strawberries

1 1/2 C Frozen Blueberries

2 Ripe Bananas

1 C frozen Spinach (a handful or two of fresh will work too)

2 C Almond Milk (this you may want to adjust so you can control the thickness)

I absolutely love this combination.  The fruit flavors cover up the greens and the ripe bananas sweeten it up just enough.  I tend to blend mine so it is pretty thick and eat it almost like ice cream.   This recipe makes a good bit so I would encourage you to share with a friend.  photo credit: Azure Begonia

Power Smoothie, Boost your Immune System

Do you have a good blender?  Have you been putting it to good use?

One of the simplest and most enjoyable beverages can also be very good for you (if you are putting in the right things) and a very enjoyable summer treat.  The benefit of blending is that you get the whole food; all the fiber and nutrients in a broken down form.  Because of being broken down it makes it easy for the body to finish breaking it down and for the body to absorb all the nutrients.

There are many different ways you can make a smoothie, but ill share with you what I put in mine.  This simple smoothie is low in calories and high in nutrients, great for boosting the immune system and help eliminating some extra calories if replacing a meal.

2 cups mixed frozen fruit (I usually buy a mixed bag, warning- Black Berries & Raspberries have seeds and will make it gritty)

1 Ripe Banana (the more brown spots the better, this makes it sweeter)

2 Handfuls of spinach fresh or frozen

Water to blend or sometimes Almond milk (water keeps it even lower in calories)

The reason for the spinach is to increase the amount of nutrients I am consuming and I find it keeps me from being hungry longer.  Because of the nice ripe banana you can't taste the spinach although it does make it a funky color.  If color bothers you put a lid on it and you wont even notice =) If your blender is not amazing place the spinach and water in first to blend then add the fruit.  Fruit chunks are fine, but who wants green chunks!  If you are going to be making a lot of smoothies you may want to invest in a high powered blender such as a Vita-mix, BlendTec, or some other industrial blender.  I've found it to be totally worth the investment!


photo credit: tiffanywashko

Eat This: Lentils

Did you know that Lentils are loaded with fiber? 1 cup have over 16 grams! That's more fiber than a cup of Kellogg's "All Bran" cereal!  Lentils also have 27% more folate per cup than a cupe of cooked spinach does. According to Cornell University, there are compounds in lentils that contain disease-fighting antioxidants. One of my all time favorite dish is Curry Lentils on Brown Rice

photo credit: AZAdam