The best home-made almond milk

Home-made almond milk is a staple in my kitchen, It is so easy to make and not only tastes better than shop bought versions, it doesn't contain any nasty additives. I use this recipe below from 'The Kitchn', it's a great website for foodie inspiration, check it out!

 

How To Make Almond Milk at Home

Makes about 2 cups

What You Need

Ingredients
1 cup raw almonds, preferably organic
2 cups water, plus more for soaking
Sweeteners like honey, sugar, agave syrup, or maple syrup, to taste, optional
Equipment
Bowls
Strainer
Measuring cup
Blender or food processor
Fine-mesh nut bag or cheese cloth

Instructions

1. Soak the almonds overnight or up to 2 days. Place the almonds in a bowl and cover with about an inch of water. They will plump as they absorb water. Let stand on the counter, covered with a cloth, overnight, or refrigerate for up to 2 days. The longer the almonds soak, the creamier the almond milk.
2. Drain and rinse the almonds. Drain the almonds from their soaking water and rinse them thoroughly under cool running water. At this point, the almonds should feel a little squishy if you pinch them. (It's best to discard the soaking water because it contains phytic acid, which inhibits the body's ability to absorb nutrients.)
3. Combine the almonds and water in a blender. Place the almonds in the blender and cover with 2 cups of water.
4. Blend at the highest speed for 2 minutes. Pulse the blender a few times to break up the almonds, then blend continuously for two minutes. The almonds should be broken down into a very fine meal and the water should be white and opaque. (If using a food processor, process for 4 minutes total, pausing to scrape down the sides halfway through.)
5. Strain the almonds. Line the strainer with either the opened nut bag or cheese cloth, and place over a measuring cup. Pour the almond mixture into the strainer.
6. Press all the almond milk from the almond meal. Gather the nut bag or cheese cloth around the almond meal and twist close. Squeeze and press with clean hands to extract as much almond milk as possible. You should get about 2 cups. (See Recipe Note for what to do with the leftover almond meal.)
7. Sweeten to taste. Taste the almond milk, and if a sweeter drink is desired, add sweetener to taste.
8. Refrigerate almond milk. Store the almond milk in sealed containers in the fridge for up to two days.

Enjoy! I often add a little cinnamon and omit the dates, great in bircher muesli or just warmed up on it's own on a cold night....

Source:http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-almond-milk-at-home-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-189996

Can exercise be replaced with a pill?

 

Everyone knows that exercise improves health, and ongoing research continues to uncover increasingly detailed information on its benefits for metabolism, circulation, and improved functioning of organs such as the heart, brain, and liver. With this knowledge in hand, scientists may be better equipped to develop "exercise pills" that could mimic at least some of the beneficial effects of physical exercise on the body. But a review of current development efforts, publishing October 2 in Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, ponders whether such pills will achieve their potential therapeutic impact, at least in the near future.

 

Image courtesy of serge bertasius@freedigitalphotos.net

 

 

"We have recognized the need for exercise pills for some time, and this is an achievable goal based on our improved understanding of the molecular targets of physical exercise," says coauthor Ismail Laher, of the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.
Several laboratories are developing exercise pills, which at this early stage are being tested in animals to primarily target skeletal muscle performance and improve strength and energy use--essentially producing stronger and faster muscles. But of course the benefits of exercise are far greater than its effects on only muscles.
"Clearly people derive many other rewarding experiences from exercise--such as increased cognitive function, bone strength, and improved cardiovascular function," says Laher. "It is unrealistic to expect that exercise pills will fully be able to substitute for physical exercise--at least not in the immediate future."

While exercise pills may provide some benefits for people in the general population, they might be especially helpful for those who are unable to exercise for a variety of reasons, as the review by Laher and his coauthor Shunchang Li notes. "For example, a pill for people with spinal cord injury could be very appealing given the difficulties that these individuals face in exercising due to paralysis--in such patients, a large number of detrimental changes occur in cardiovascular and skeletal muscle function," explains Laher.

Much more research is needed to fully understand the side effects of candidate exercise pills, in addition to determining their optimal dosages, and the potential for misuse in humans and animals (e.g., races). (The first doping case regarding one candidate pill was reported in a cycling competition in 2013.)

"We are at the early stages of this exciting new field," says Laher. "Further development of exercise pills that act in combination may be more effective than single compounds. We just don't know anything about their long-term use in humans yet."



Source:http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/10/151002133144.htm

Journal Reference:

1. Li and Laher. Exercise Pills: At the Starting Line? Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, October 2015 DOI: 10.1016/j.tips.2015.08.014

Top Tips for Eating Clean

There is no direct definition for "clean eating".  Specifically, clean eating is NOT a diet - it is a lifestyle choice.  Clean eating is not a new concept, as a matter of fact clean eating has been around for quite some time.  Those involved with health, fitness or nutrition from competitors to personal trainers and health conscious individuals have been practicing "clean eating" for years.

One with many benefits that include:

1. Fat Loss
2. Weight Loss
3. Increased Energy
4. Clearer Skin
5. Shinier Hair
6. Better Sleep
7. Increased mental well -being

When someone makes the choice to eat "clean" they are choosing to eliminate all processed foods and extra additives from their diet.  Basically, you are choosing to eat whole, unrefined foods.

The basics of eating clean include - eating lots of fruits and vegetables.  These are straight from nature - the idea is to stay away from anything that may have been altered in any way.

Include meats, however; "whole" meats that you have chosen straight from the butcher or prepared yourself.  You would be very surprised to find out what is actually in ground turkey.

Enjoy whole grains - these are grains that are still complete and haven't been broken down in any form.  Examples include: brown rice, whole wheat and other whole grains.  You will have to get used to reading over food labels.  Just because a product says its "whole grain" does not mean it is.  It also does not mean they have not added a bunch of other ingredients as well.

Eat fewer ingredients - try not to purchase items with more than 4-6 ingredients in the ingredient list.  Also, be sure you recognize every ingredient.  If you can't pronounce it, you probably shouldn't put it in your body.

Simple Guidelines for Success:

1. Eating small frequent meals 5-6 times per day to level blood sugar and prevent hunger
2. Include lean protein, complex carbohydrates and heart healthy fats in each meal choice
3. Avoid ALL processed and/or refined foods (sugar, baked goods, candies, white flour, white rice, etc)
4. Avoid saturated and trans fats
5. Avoid sodas, high calorie juices and other drinks that give your body no nutritional value and lots of unnecessary (unwanted) calories
6. Avoid high calorie, non nutritious foods (i.e. junk food)
7. Drink at least 8 cups of water per day

As I mentioned above, "clean eating" is not a new concept; it has been around for a long time.  If you have never eaten this way before it may take some practice and some time to get 100% "clean".  Unprocessed, natural state foods have a different taste than frozen and processed foods.  Your taste buds will go through an adjustment period.  Although it is less expensive to eat clean and nutritious foods, it does require more time in the kitchen planning and cooking meals.

Give yourself time - I promise you, your body will LOVE you and you will reap the long term benefits!

Source:http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/the-clean-eating-diet-whats-it-all-about.html

7 Minute Workout with Chris Jordan

 

I love the 7 minute workout. Here it is, with a few options for modifications...

 

 

 

 

Source:https://youtu.be/lDxvHiyDros

Is Your Low Carb Diet Hurting Your Bones?

Everywhere I turn it seems that there’s another spin on low-carb diets. There’s Atkins, Paleo, LCHF (low-carb, high-fat) and meat and cheese diets, to name a few, with a new one popping up seemingly every week. As a nutritionist for 25 years, that means I’ve seen a lot of low-carb diets come and go over the years. I’ve also heard a lot of questions inquiring whether these diets are a healthy option at all.  Not all low-carb diets are created equally; some help and some outright harm the body, particularly when it comes to the bones.

New research in the European Journal of Nutrition found that a low-carb, high-fat diet like its namesake LCHF, meat and cheese and Atkins diets may pose a threat to bone health, particularly in men. In this study scientists found that a low-carb, high-fat diet negatively affected three markers for bone health and bone building, including: blood levels of growth hormone, bone volume and a compound that determines new growth of bones (called bone formation marker P1NP). The same study found that this was a male-specific effect and low-carb, high-fat diets did not have the same effect on female bones.

Does that mean that women should run out and gorge on bacon, pork chops and cheese platters? Absolutely not. A Harvard University study published in the journal Nature found that in as little as two days of eating a diet high in meat and cheese, the resident microbes in the human gut shift to higher numbers of inflammation-causing ones. Considering that even low grade inflammation is increasingly linked to dozens of diseases including arthritis, heart disease and cancer, anything that increases the numbers of inflammation-causing gut microbes is not a good indicator for long-term health.

So, how can you tell if your low-carb diet is right for you? Here are some of the factors I consider when evaluating low-carb diets:

1) Any diet that eliminates or reduces “good carbs” like vegetables and legumes is unlikely to support health in the long-term. An ever-growing volume of research shows the value of plant-based diets.

2) Any diet that does not differentiate between sources of proteins, claiming that all protein sources are beneficial or acceptable on the diet, is of little value. The reality is that there is a huge difference between the body’s ability to digest and absorb amino acids from different types of protein. And, let’s face it: nitrite-packed, high-fat bacon does not offer the same health benefits as raw nuts, seeds or fish.

3) If you’re worried about bone health and are male, you should definitely skip low-carb diets that are also high in fat.

4) Gut health is increasingly linked to the health of every other part of the body. Throwing off gut health through consumption of high amounts of meat and cheese is never going to be a strategy for health.

5) Even a plant-based diet should include a small amount of protein (4 to 6 ounces of fish or chicken) or a handful of nuts or seeds every few hours to help keep blood sugar levels stable. Stable blood sugar levels means balanced energy and moods, less risk of obesity and improved overall health.

6) Your diet should differentiate between real food and “faux food”—what I refer to as chemical-laced, additive-rich “foods” that don’t really resemble anything actually grown or raised in nature, such as margarine or soda.

7) A diet should differentiate between good carbs (nuts, seeds, vegetables and legumes) and bad carbs (candy bars, cakes, pastries, soda, white rice, white sugar, white flour, etc.). Obviously, a diet high in good carbs and low in bad carbs is superior to one that doesn’t differentiate between them.


source:http://www.care2.com/greenliving/is-your-low-carb-diet-hurting-your-bones.html author Michelle Schoffro Cook

Scary Reasons to Quit Soft Drinks

Enjoy a cold soft drink or two during the day? You are not alone. I too crave and can down a can in no time. More recently, though, my partner started to subtlety encourage me to dramatically decrease my consumption or to give it up altogether. My response?
“But it tastes so good!”

I know the drawbacks to the drink, but it has me hooked. A Diet Dr. Pepper in the morning instead of coffee. A few more during the day to keep me going. Pepsi rolled out the old school Throwback with real sugar last year and I continue to find it on the store shelves. Tough to ignore such a sweet taste.
I’ve gained a little weight, don’t drink enough water and consume that terrible phenylalanine that might not do good things to my body. So what? I am awake and alert while typing this out. Diet Dr. Pepper by my side.

Drinking regular soda, or pop depending on your word of choice, causes weight gain. No shock there, but the areas of the fat build up should give you pause.
But I drink the diet stuff and just the occasional regular stuff (at least when I am being good). I should be fine. Nope.

Researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center monitored 475 adults for 10 years, and found that those who drank diet soda had a 70 percent increase in waist circumference over the 10-year study, compared with those who didn’t drink any soda. Those who drank more than two diet sodas per day saw a 500 percent waist expansion! A separate study the same researchers conducted on mice suggested that it was the aspartame, which raised blood glucose levels, that caused the weight gain; when your liver encounters too much glucose, the excess is converted to body fat.

Crap. I have the diet soda belly. While I don’t believe I have seen a 500 percent waist expansion, it sure is something I am not proud of right now. Hmmm.

That carmel coloring in most soft drinks causes cancer in animals. In fact, a nonprofit asked the FDA to ban it because it contains 2-methylimidazole and 4-methylimidazole. Main notes that just 16 micrograms per day can be a cancer threat. Yet most of the popular soft drinks have 200 micrograms per 20 ounces.
Oh my. I certainly do not want to give myself cancer. Maybe I will be lucky and not get it. Moving on then.

Another study on the phosphates in soft drinks suggests they might accelerate the aging process. The rats in the study died five weeks earlier than rats with normal phosphate levels. Phosphoric acid, the fourth listed ingredient in the can sitting to my right, can potentially cause heart and kidney problems, muscle loss and possibly osteoporosis.
I have a young-looking face, especially when I shave my beard. A little worrisome but I should be good on that front.

The artificial sweeteners like saccharin do not break down when they go through our bodies. Evidently these then end up in water systems because treatment plants do not catch them either. This leaves them to mess around with the natural feeding habits of the food chain. Now we are getting into the environmental impacts. Dang. I already feel guilty about the aluminum cans themselves.

If you like the more citrus-based drinks, then this next one might freak you out. Brominated vegetable oil, or BVO, can cause memory loss and possibly nerve disorders. Industries use this as a flame retardant in plastics while Pepsi puts it in Mountain Dew so the flavoring does not separate from the drink. Wow. Not to be out done, though, the chemical can also cause infertility.

Parents of young children should be familiar with bisphenol A (BPA). They chemical made headline news because manufacturers used it to line plastic baby bottles even though it can leach into the liquid and cause long-term problems. Those include hormone levels, infertility and obesity. While most baby bottles no longer contain BPA, the aluminum cans filled with the soft drink of your choice sure do.

Now I am getting a little hesitant. Maybe I should switch to buying two liter bottles.
Nope. Emily takes that one away from me too by highlighting another devastating environmental impact through the photographic works of Chris Jordan. Go head and take a look. They speak for themselves.

Last but not least, the corn-based ingredients like high fructose corn syrup probably come from genetically modified corn. We have no real idea what GMOs do to our long-term health. Scary.






Source: http://www.care2.com/causes/scary-reasons-to-quit-soft-drinks.html author Aaron Krager

8 Tips for Going Sugar Free

The average person consumes 150 pounds of sugar per year – compared to just 7 ½ pounds consumed on average in the year 1700.

Dr. Robert Lustig is a pediatric endocrinologist at UC San Francisco who is deeply concerned about the American addiction to sugar.  In a “60 Minutes” interview, he points out that children today are the first American generation to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents, in large part due to obesity.  According to Lustig, this obesity often comes from eating too much sugar.
Lustig believes that the consumption of added sugar has plunged America into a health crisis, whether it’s obesity, type 2 diabetes, or heart problems.

Sugar is a bigger part of your diet than you realize and it’s hard to avoid.  A recent study reveals that 80 percent of the 600,000 food items in America are laced with added sugar.  And yet our bodies do not need sugar. There is not one biochemical reaction in our bodies that requires sugar.
Clearly, it’s important to cut down on sugar, or eliminate it altogether.

8 Tips For Losing The Sugar Addiction
1.  Check the labels. All those bottles that proclaim “Low Fat!” or “Less Fat!” are probably loaded with sugar. You may not see the word “sugar” as the first ingredient, but instead you’ll see “High Fructose Corn Syrup” — we’ve grown to love it. Start checking out ingredients, and you’ll find sugar in the most unexpected places: salad dressing, wine, even your marinara sauce.

2.  Try not to let yourself get hungry. We’ve all experienced that mid-afternoon flag in energy, when it is so easy to just grab a cookie to get an extra boost to get through the day. Grab an apple before that happens.

3. Avoid processed foods. Even organic packaged foods often contain significant amounts of sugar. While many of them are preferable to their non-organic counterparts, the sugar content is something to be aware of. Don’t keep these foods at home, otherwise you may find them to hard to resist. Instead, make sugar-free snacks at home.

4. Make smart choices when eating out. Sugar is hidden in many dishes at restaurants, including unexpected ones like salad dressing and fruit juice, and of course their desserts can be tempting. If you are eating out, make sure you stick with dishes like grilled meats and roasted vegetables that aren’t as likely to be full of sugar.

5. Be ready to deal with cravings. You will probably be craving sugar for at least the first week or so. You might want to reach for some fruit when that happens, or alternatively, try drinking something slightly sour, which could help reduce cravings.

6. Challenge yourself to go completely sugar-free for two weeks. Sometimes when you simply try to reduce your sugar consumption, you end up eating only slightly less than where you started. Going completely sugar-free for two weeks will help you retrain your taste buds, and you’ll feel proud of yourself, as well as much healthier.

7. Get a friend to give up sugar with you. Sticking to your goals is easier if you have a buddy who you’re accountable to.
It could be a spouse, a sports pal, or a professional colleague. If you can’t find someone in “real life,” then how about an online friend?

8. Go have fun! You really don’t need to sit around thinking about sugar; in fact, that will only make your quest more difficult. Take a walk and enjoy nature, go to the park with your kids, read a good book. In other words, enjoy life. Really, you can enjoy it without sugar


Source:http://www.care2.com/causes/8-tips-for-going-the-sugar-free.html author Judy Molland