Posts Tagged ‘health’

Recession Food:  Get the most out of your food!

Although the times are tight it doesn’t have to mean that your belly has to suffer!  There are five main foods that you should have in your cupboards and wardrobes that will help you whip up tasty treats in no time at all - and they’re cheap!

Cabbage

There may be a sniff of school dinners about this friendly vegetable but trust me, if you have this in your kitchen you will be better off!  Cabbage is packed with freshness and our healthy old pals the antioxidants perfect for  your body.

Cabbage is versatile and can be thrown together with loads of different options which makes it such a good kitchen companion.  Chuck some cabbage into your salads, soups and sautés and get the goodness of the leaves and the familiar sweetness they produce.

Eggs

If there was ever a food stuff that could find its way into the plate of any meal then the egg would be it!  Throw ‘em on your chips, in your salad or even scramble them and put them on your morning toast - what can’t you do with them?

The thing with eggs is that they will last for weeks and weeks which is helpful if you’re a bit scatty with your food and you tend to find bits leftover from the previous month in the back of the fridge.  What’s even better about eggs is that they’re crammed with protein, selenium and vitamins A, B and E keeping your immune system happy and healthy.

Pasta

While you might be told that pasta is a stodgy mess that should be banished from your kitchen if you want to lose any weight but seeing as we give little thought to our weight when we’re worried about a recession then go out and buy some pasta.

Pasta is incredibly filling and surprisingly cheap - mix it together with a beautiful sauce and you’re away with the fairies…and tomorrow you can just mix it with a different sauce…

Sweet Potatoes

Normal potatoes are all right but they don’t take eating to that next level that we’re looking for.  Normal potato’s cousin, the sweet potato, does manage to bring the potato experience to the level we’re looking for and so we need to welcome it with open arms to our dinner table.

Sweet potatoes are packed with vitamins A and C and are sweet (surprise, surprise) so they work well with the more savoury delights life has to offer.  Bye bye normal boring potatoes…

Mince Meat

As meats go, mince meat is a cheap way of getting protein in tasty portions.  There is so much you can do with mince meat and if you have too much then you can just freeze it to have again in a few days.  Mince meat will fill you up right when you want it to…

What’s in your kitchen?

Do you fall back on these kitchen necessities?  Have you found your food shopping habits change through the recession?  Leave us a comment and let us know…

Teeth - The window to your soul?

The British aren’t known throughout the rest of the globe for their sparkling white gnashers so don’t you think it’s about time that we started to educate ourselves on the subject?  If you believe that first impressions are everything then you should really be giving some attention to your mouth - if you didn’t know your mouth is right there on your face!

So what can you do when there isn’t an NHS dentist within a 300 mile perimeter and private dentists would cost you both an arm and three legs…follow these simple steps to a healthier and happier smile;

Visit the Dentist

OK - so it’s not easy to get to the dentist in this country…it’s the stuff of urban legends that there was once one available in your area and your ears always prick up when the word is used in case you hear about vacancies.

Your best bet is to call around and do your research - if there isn’t one in your area then there could be one a few miles away…although it could be a struggle to make it there then that’s what it will have to take if you want a healthy set in your gob.

Say No To Acidic Drinks

You might think that you’re doing the right thing by opting for the OJ instead of the can of Coke but both options will be taxing on your choppers.  The acid in the likes of juices, cordials, diet drinks and smoothies attack the enamel on your teeth and leave a sticky residue to remind you of that fact…

Do It The Right Way!

It takes more than a quick brush and a gargle to get your teeth cleaned - you should find out the exact right way to clean your teeth.  You should ask your dentist the correct procedure when it comes to brushing, flossing and using a mouthwash.  As soon as you know then you’ll pick it up quickly and you’ll never look back.

Smoking - Leave It Out

Apart from the old spot of cancer and other diseases smoking can stain your teeth faster than almost anything else.  If the risk of health doesn’t put you off cancer sticks then perhaps the attack they pledge on the whiteness of your teeth is something to keep in mind…and bad breath…

Think About Tea

Tea doesn’t come with the same stigma that cigarettes do - there aren’t many people who have died from drinking too much tea…but tea can be pretty rough on your teeth.  So can coffee and red wine.  You can do everything else right but still find your teeth stained - this is because a lot of teas are black which is pretty much the worst colour for your teeth.

Stains - do they bother you?

DO you care about the state of your teeth?  Do you try to avoid tooth staining drinks and activities like smoking to keep a fresh mouth?  Let us know…

Stress Busters – the foods that fight stress…

The recession isn’t easy on most of us – stress levels will undoubtedly be shooting through the roof as cash and employment worries become more and more taxing.

So read on to discover which food you should be munching on if you want to beat away the daily stress and anxiety;

Sweet Potatoes

Our bodies cry out for carbohydrates and sweets on a daily basis but when we’re under stress we feel the urge even more.  Sweet potatoes could be the key to quashing that urge and thus relieving your unwanted stress.

Contains: Beta-carotene and other vitamins as well as fibre which helps to burn through the carbs.

Oranges

Vitamin C has been proven to eat away at stress and return blood pressure back to a healthy state – an orange will work wonders in a stressful situation and could also help towards your immune system.

Contains: Vitamin C

Spinach

So just because Popeye piled on the muscles when he munched down a can of spinach doesn’t mean the same thing is going to happen to you.  Spinach is good for fighting off headaches and fatigue though so your insides will be stronger after a bite.

Contains: One cup of spinach supplies 40 per cent of your daily magnesium needs.

Avocados

These little beauties can actually bring down your blood pressure thanks to the amount of monosaturated fats and potassium they contain.  According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute in the United States munching on an avocado is one of the best ways to lower your blood pressure.

Contains: Monosaturated fats and more potassium than bananas.

Dried Apricots

This little treat can blow away the stress of the day and also relax your muscles at the same time – great to munch on at the end of the day while you’re enjoying a relaxing bath – goodbye stress!

Contains: Magnesium and a lot of it…

Salmon

We all know about Omega-3 and the benefits it has on our brains, but were you aware that it can also protect you from heart disease?  Omega-3 manages to put a lid on your adrenaline and cortisol (a stress hormone) letting you put less stress on your heart.

Contains: Omeg-3 fatty acid.

Green Veg

Your dark greens plagued you through your childhood but now they’re back and they need to be cleared from your plate!  Dark green vegetables are full of great treats that keep our bodies refreshed when stressed – isn’t that nice of them…

Contains: Green vegetables are stuffed to the rafters with vitamins.

Stress – Can you beat it?

Do you have any tips to control stress levels?  Did you find out stress busting foods helpful?  Leave us a comment and let us know what you think…

Walking can save your life!

Walking is a great way to get outside and get a little bit of exercise under your belt – but if it is actually exercise you’re after then perhaps walking isn’t the best avenue for you.  Although you think you’re doing great things for your body, you could be moving too slowly to feel any of the benefits!

A study by the American Heart Association has shown that a moderate to brisk walk can do wonders for lowering your blood pressure as well as reducing your chances of getting diabetes.  You will also be fighting off those bad cholesterol levels.  So what can you do to add a bit of oomph into your walk?

Speed

You don’t have to be gearing up to power walk in the Olympics but it won’t hurt to kick it up a notch!  Build your walk up from a relaxing stroll to a brisk pace – you should be aiming to jump up to around a 15 minute mile which is around 3.5 miles an hour.

Work at it gradually and you’ll see the benefits in no time – don’t be scared, be strong!

Uphill Struggle

You’ll be doing more for your body walking up and down hill as your body will be working harder to deal with the inclines.  So effectively you will be having a better walk if you leave the treadmills to the gym-heads and take to the terrain.

Shoes

Don’t wear the wrong shoe – wear a shoe that provides you with the necessary padding that you need for a brisk walk.  All too often we look for shoes that will provide comfort when in fact walking shoes will supply the support where you actually need it!  The wrong shoe will do a lot of damage and will knacker you out a lot faster!

Weights

Don’t worry, you aren’t going to look like Arnie but you should think about throwing a little weight into the routine.  If you carry light weights in your hands as you walk you will be tuning up your upper body muscles without even really feeling the pressure.  Don’t use heavy weights as you’ll probably just do yourself an injury and put yourself off the whole walk which is not what you want at all.

Stride

Think about your stride and try lengthening it – you might feel as though you will be doing more by taking shorter paces but in fact you will be doing a better job if you stick to your walk.  The longer strides will help you burn off more calories and won’t tire you out as fast.  Don’t worry about looking silly either as you’ll just look determined and everyone will love you for it!

What about you?

Do you love a good walk but have been looking for ideas about how to take it to the next level?  Have you got any advice that you think could help our readers?  Leave us a comment and let us know what you think…

Happiness is only a few steps away…

What does it take to be happy?  That’s a question for the ages…if we all knew that answer to that then there would be no war, hunger, poverty and general upsets around the world…however, I can tell you what will make you happier!

It doesn’t involve spending all your time and money on a fad new Zen body trip…if you follow a few simple steps you will find that you will start to feel happier by doing very little!  But will you do it?  That’s another big question…don’t be negative about it, follow a few of these steps right now to make yourself feel a little happier about the day…

Activity

The more activities you do the more you will be boosting your energy levels.  There is always an opportunity to boost your energy levels so don’t take any excuse you can think of – if you’re working on your computer take 10 seconds out to do some star jumps, if you’re on the phone walk around, don’t just sit there looking glum…

Walk

Walking is one of the most relaxing things you could do but it has also been proven that sunlight actually stimulates brain chemicals that boost your mood.  Go out and get some sun on your face and you will feel better!

Free Yourself

If you’ve been haunted by that note on the fridge reminding you to cancel your magazine subscription then get going and cancel it – don’t let it fester away in your mind as “the task you need to do”.  Get it done and move on – you’ll feel lighter and happier by putting it in the past!

Tidy Up

If you’re sitting in mess then your brain will also feel cluttered.  Clear up your desk, how long will it take…5 minutes?  10?  Just do it and you’ll feel as though you’ve been freed from a prison of paper and clutter.  You’ll be surprised how refreshed you will feel afterwards.

Fake It!

This might sound as though it would make you feel worse but you should actually fake feeling good because after a while you will trick yourself into believing that you do actually feel good.  Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean that you’re stupid and you can easily trick yourself…it has been scientifically proven that a fake smile can actually boost your mood.  Give it a try, it won’t cost you anything…

Educate Yourself

Spend 15 minutes searching the Internet about a topic that you have no clue about – pop to a bookstore and buy a book about something that you have never even heard of.  Teach yourself something new and you’ll find that you will be feeding your mind and making yourself happier in the process.  Don’t go crazy and go straight for the astro-physics – pick something that you think will interest you!

What about you?

How do you make yourself happier?  Do you agree with our methods?  Have you given them a go?  Leave us a comment and let us know what you think…

Be healthy – get a blender…

Everyone wants to be healthy – being a slobby, unfit couch potato is soon to be a thing of the past as people are turning to shots of grass water and liquid vitamins – one of the best ways of staying healthy is by chucking a load of fruit into a blender and having a drink of a smoothie.

Smoothies have gone from strength to strength over the last decade and more and more of us are turning to our blenders to provide us with healthy alternatives to mid-day snacks.  You probably have one in your kitchen right now…

But why smoothies?  There are massive benefits from smoothies, much more than simple juice – if you buy a bottle of orange juice from the shops you won’t be getting the whole fruit, meanwhile in a smoothie you know that the whole apple that you are putting into the blender is what you are going to be putting down your neck!

Where do we start?

So where do we start with smoothies?  Unfortunately it mostly isn’t just a case of chucking in some fruit and hoping for the best – smoothies are liquid based so they can actually be drunk.

To make a smoothie drinkable we need to add a liquid base like fruit juice, milk, yoghurt or ice cream.  If you want to steer clear of dairy products then you can experiment with the likes of Soy milk or Rice…have a go at each base until you find one you like.

So you have your base, no pick your fruit.  The great thing about smoothies is that you are completely in control – long gone are the days of having to stick to a single fruit juice like apple of orange.  Get adventurous – strawberrys, blackberrys and apples?  Orange, pineapple and kiwi?  Who knows – give them all a go.

Don’t forget to prep…

Don’t forget to peel the fruit if necessary as if you would if you were munching on the fruit on its own.  Once the fruit is ready then add it to your liquid base and away you go!  You might want to add ice to the smoothie to cool yourself down on that hot summer’s day?

Another alternative to using ice is to actually freeze the fruit before you use it – this is not only a great way to keep the drink naturally chilly but the smoothie will actually turned out to be a thicker, and often more satisfying, texture.

Keep your eye on the thickness of the smoothie and keep applying your liquid base if you need to.  If you have found you’ve gone over board with the base and it’s now to thin then slap in some more fruit – it’s easy and it’s going to taste great!

What about you?

Are you a smoothie fan?  Are you a health fanatic?  Did you find our smoothie advice helpful?  Are you going to rush out to buy a blender?  Leave us a comment and let us know…

Is it time to stop eating meat?

Could you live without meat?  Some people do it right now…others couldn’t even think about it…but by giving up meat you could be doing more than protecting your arteries.  Not only will you be saving countless innocent animal lives but you will also be doing great things for the greenhouse crisis and you will be reducing your footprint!

Meat is good for you – it has important nutrients like iron and protein that we need for energy and fuel and above all most of us like the taste of it.  But unfortunately for meat lovers there are some pretty reasonable arguments against the consumption of meat.

Methane

It is interesting to find out that methane is actually far worse for the environment than the usual suspect carbon dioxide – did you know it came out of the wrong end of a cow?  Furthermore were you aware that farming is responsible for a staggering 38 per cent of the United Kingdom’s entire methane emissions?

One cow standing on its own produces from between 100 and 200 litres of methane every single day!  Think about that next time you drive past a field full of cows…

Water

The waste of water involved in making a hamburger is just too much to think about – it takes around 2,400 litres of water, from the growth of the cow to the actual process of making the burger.  Now imagine how little water it takes to grow some veg?

A portion of green beans from Kenya uses only 80 litres of water to produce from start to finish – an insignificant number in comparison.  Water is one of the big problems of today’s climate issue as it is increasingly becoming scarce.

In this light, a vegetarian only consumes around 2,000 litres of water while a meat eater contains 5,000 litres.

Deforestation

We are eating more and more meat and so we need to find more and more room for all the animals we are eating.  The Amazon and areas of South-East Asia have been ripped up to make room for cattle while we are already worried about the lack of trees left in the world.

However the argument against this worry is that most meat eaters in Britain actually eat meat farmed in Britain so there is very little, if any, contribution to deforestation from Britain.

Land

The population of the Earth is growing at amazingly scary rates and while this is a problem in itself we could be helping the issue if we turn away from meat.  Cattle farming takes up massive amounts of land areas which could be used for other things such as providing areas for people to live in.

What do you think?

Would you say goodbye to meat to save the planet?  Are you a veggie and think that others should follow in your footsteps?  Leave us a comment and let us know what you think…

Spring exercise tips…

It’s pretty tough trying to motivate yourself to get fit when the snow is coming down fast and thick.  But now the excuses have to go straight out the window because Spring is going to give you the chance to get out there and allow you to start on the path to a healthy and fit lifestyle.

Take your time – Don’t go all out on the weekend and destroy your body and then do nothing through the week.  You won’t be doing your body any favours but instead you’ll be doing yourself an injury, quickly.

Instead of storming away the hours in the gym over the weekend and then doing nothing through the week you should be aiming to do around 3 or 4 days a week on alternate days to make sure that your body will cope with the dramatic change from couch potato.

Keep your eye on your exertion – It is important to keep your eyes on the intensity levels of your work out wherever possible.  Start small and build it up over time rather than heading in to a harsh workout that you won’t want to do a day or two down the line.

Don’t rush – It’s definitely a good idea to increase your training over time, but you’ll do damage if you increase your training to rapidly.  Build it up, but do it slowly.

If you build up your training by more than 10 per cent each week then you’ll seriously be increasing your risk of injury so remember to increase your training slowly.

Regain your fitness – After a lazy winter it could take you up to 6 weeks to regain your fitness from Autumn.  Don’t rush it but instead start slow because your body just won’t be up for it.

If you feel that you have to do some “all-out” training then you must allow at least 48 hours between sessions to allow your body to regain its strength.

Training programme – You need to organise a training programme if you want to regain a previous level of fitness and you need to be able to stick to it.  It’s a good way of knowing exactly what your doing and will also be a good motivation tool.

Give yourself a chance – Don’t expect your fitness levels to be at the same level that they were before you decided to take the Winter off.  It’s going to take time to build it back up and you have to have a little faith a will power to make it happen.

Don’t worry about time because there are plenty of months to come of nice weather where you’ll be able to enjoy the outdoors – if you could run for an hour before the Winter then work back up to that standard…if you just rush into it you’ll do yourself an injury.

What about you?

Have you found our advice helpful?  Have you got some advice of your own?  Leave a comment and let us know what you think…