health foods

[napoleon]

i've really been trying to start eating healthy foods here lately. i've given up all drinks except for water, milk, and natural juices. and i've been eating a ton of fruits and vegetables.

 

i'm no nutritionist, so what would you guys recommend for really healthy foods? what kinds of tea would be really good for me? what would be good for cleaning out my body?

[Duck-Billed Catechist]

I'm a big bean booster.

 

Are you sure that your body needs cleaning out?

[napoleon]

I'm a big bean booster.

 

Are you sure that your body needs cleaning out?

 

well, its more of a OCD thing. i want to get in a habit, and get myself as healthy and clean (inside) as possible.

[Skian]

For what it is worth - health foods vs wholesome foods. I lean towards things that have real ingredients or that are fresh or freshly picked or freshly baked. Some things that stand out for me lately (for grab and go) during my busy day are the Odwalla drinks, bananas/apples and Big Sur Bars . The combination keeps me going and I'm able to avoid eating the other - not so healthy stuff.

 

[explodo]

Green tea is supposedly the best for you. Peppermint teas aid in digestion and make you feel clean inside, chamomile makes you go to bed, etc. If you can find some milk thistle tea, you can get your liver all cleaned up. I don't know a ton about the rooibos teas except that they are caffeine free and still loaded with antioxidants, which is a good thing.

[napoleon]

For what it is worth - health foods vs wholesome foods. I lean towards things that have real ingredients or that are fresh or freshly picked or freshly baked. Some things that stand out for me lately (for grab and go) during my busy day are the Odwalla drinks, bananas/apples and Big Sur Bars . The combination keeps me going and I'm able to avoid eating the other - not so healthy stuff.

 

 

yeah. thats one of the main things i go for when i buy stuff. i just get the 100% natural stuff.

 

 

Green tea is supposedly the best for you. Peppermint teas aid in digestion and make you feel clean inside, chamomile makes you go to bed, etc. If you can find some milk thistle tea, you can get your liver all cleaned up. I don't know a ton about the rooibos teas except that they are caffeine free and still loaded with antioxidants, which is a good thing.

 

yeah i've read green teas the best. i've tried reading up on other teas, but the names get me all confused. i think im going to study up some more and go to a fresh market and see what all teas they have.

[cryptique]

i've really been trying to start eating healthy foods here lately. i've given up all drinks except for water, milk, and natural juices. and i've been eating a ton of fruits and vegetables.

"Natural juices" aren't really that healthy for you (depending on what you're actually drinking). Fruit juice in general has a very high glycemic index and spikes your blood sugar, and that's not healthy. It's much healthier to eat an entire piece of fruit, so you get some fiber to balance out all that sugar.

 

 

I'm not an nutritionist either.

[yermom]

"Natural juices" aren't really that healthy for you (depending on what you're actually drinking). Fruit juice in general has a very high glycemic index and spikes your blood sugar, and that's not healthy. It's much healthier to eat an entire piece of fruit, so you get some fiber to balance out all that sugar.

I'm not an nutritionist either.

 

That makes sense...bummer. I was just trying to convince myself that drinking bunches of Naked Juice was a really good idea.

[Lammycat]

Natural cigs are the best, too.

 

 

The natural food market is taking over the feeble minds....

[bjorn_skurj]

Whole grains, soymilk and Stonyfield Farms yogurt. And more fiber than you can shake a poopstick at.

[froggie]

Natural cigs are the best, too.

 

plus there's low carb beer now down here - stops your arse and gut from getting fat, apparently

[viatroy]

Im with Bjorn on that. I stopped eating crappy processed food a couple months ago and I feel much better.*

 

One thing I'd been curious about was quinoa, which appears to be a grain but is actually the fruit of a succulent plant. I had some at a dinner last night -- it looks and tastes and has a texture similar to rice, but is a complete protein, easily digestible, lots of antioxidents and minerals.

 

I think this may become one of my staple foods.

 

 

more on quinoa, and generally a great source of nutrition info

Although not a common item in most kitchens today, quinoa is an amino acid-rich (protein) seed that has a fluffy, creamy, slightly crunchy texture and a somewhat nutty flavor when cooked. Quinoa is available in your local health food stores throughout the year.

 

Most commonly considered a grain, quinoa is actually a relative of leafy green vegetables like spinach and Swiss chard. It is a recently rediscovered ancient "grain" once considered "the gold of the Incas."

 

 

*Brownies are not crappy processed foods. I try to force myself to eat something from the brownie food group each day. It's not easy, but I'm committed to it.

[M. (hristine]

The most politcal thing I do in everyday life is eat food that has been grown/produced in my geographic vicinity. I buy food from a local dairy, beekeepers, several wineries, buffalo farm, brewery, free range egg/turkey/chicken/beef farm, pick your own blueberry farm (), and wonderful farmers' markets. Supporting locally produced food encourages smaller labor intensive family farms, and reduces the energy used to transport food.

 

Corporate farms are evil.

 

I rarely eat anything that is from a box.

 

If you want to have your mind blown about the things that we consume, read Michael Pollan's book, The Botany Of Desire. I'm about to jump into his latest, The Omnivore's Dilema, A History Of Four Meals.

 

Good luck with the changes you are making. Excellent food and body movement will really benefit your life.

[austrya]

Eating fruit is fine, but make sure you're not eating too much. It has a lot of sugar, although it's natural. Stick with stuff like apples and grapes (with the skin on) as opposed to oranges for the fiber.

 

Also, make sure you're eating protein to balance out any carbs you are eating and make sure you're getting enough fiber. If you're not much of a meat eater, cottage cheese, beans, and eggs are great protein choices.

 

If you haven't already, stop eating stuff made with white flour and stick to whole wheat. Stuff like bread, pasta, tortillas, etc. Also try to stay away from white rice. Stuff with white flour doesn't have much fiber, so your body turns the carbs to sugar and then to fat a lot faster. If you have more fiber, your body has more time to burn the energy contained in the carbs before they turn to sugar and fat.

 

Also, a lot of people forget that corn isn't a vegetable, it's a grain and it's very starchy. Stick with veggies that are green and orange. Sweet potatoes are a good alternative for white potatoes and they make awesome oven baked fries.

 

Watch your carbs, but don't try to limit them too much. Just try to remember that the carbs you eat shouldn't be "empty carbs" but should contain lots of fiber.

 

I'm not a nutritionalist by any means, but I am diabetic (for the next month or so) and have done a lot of research and talked to a couple dieticians about food choices. I'm on a way low carb diet right now, but I think after the baby is born, I'm going to stick to the basic guidelines of the diet that I'm on. I feel a lot better eating what I do now, as opposed to what I was eating before.

[napoleon]

my mind has just blown from the intake of all these words i don't know.

 

this is an overall reply to all of you, out of order.

 

i've really been trying when i eat fruit, not to eat really sweet fruit alot. (which is hard because i could live off pineapples) but i try not to eat stuff with high amounts of sugar. after drinking sodas for years, it's felt great to get all that sugar out of my system.

 

i never realized there was a difference between white flour and wheat. i've just been trying to get a good amount of different forms of bread into my diet. is white rice really not good? because besides the fruit and stuff, thats the main thing i eat.

 

i'm not going to be big on watching my carbs. i work out and play hockey so i'm pretty physically active. i'm not going to gourge myself though.

 

to cryptique, i don't drink natural juices that often, but i usually have a small carton during lunch to get energy to make it through the rest of the day. i've basically been sticking to drinking all water, and having atleast one to two glasses of milk a day. i'm looking into starting drinking a few different kinds of tea though. but i won't let them outweigh my water. i want to keep water my main drink.

 

to christine, i live in tennessee, and all the counties around us are farming communities so it's really nice to get fresh food. plus, supporting your local economy. i'll look into that book. i've been wanting to start reading up on all these big food words and expand my knowledge in basic physical health.

 

what would you people reccomend as a daily multivitamin? i hate taking pills and don't take them unless i'm required to, but i've been thinking about getting a multivitamin.

 

thanks for all your input!

[explodo]

Sweet potatoes are a good alternative for white potatoes and they make awesome oven baked fries.

This is very true. I eat sweet potato fries more than I would like to admit.

[Lammycat]

The difference in taste between an organic Pink Lady (or your preference) apple and a "traditional" apple is vast. Yet so is the price. Therein lies the dilemma for most of us. If I could afford to eat the organic stuff on a regular basis, I would.

 

We always buy our fruits with a thin skin, and with skins you eat, organically (grapes, apples, peaches, strawberries, etc.). The oranges, bananas, etc. we buy traditionally as they have a thick skin and we don't eat that part.

 

Blue Sky soda is damn near perfect. Less carbonation, less sugar, coloring, etc. and yet a fantastic taste. Almost like a notch above selzer water.

 

 

We also get our milk delivered from an organic farm once a week. I had pretty much given up on the blah/rank taste of store-bought milk until I met this stuff. Crisp. No aftertaste. Good for the body. I realize you can get Horizon, etc. at the market, but we actually pay about the same with the delivery and with two young boys it gets used up quick.

 

 

The Morningstar products are quite good, too. Then again, so is a well-marinated flank steak done up on the grill....

[austrya]

I'll try to explain the difference between white and whole grain...

 

I'll use tortillas as an example.

 

A regular flour tortilla has 24g of carbs and 1g of fiber. So you eat it and your body has to break down 23g net carbs before the carbs are turned to sugar and eventually to fat.

 

A whole wheat tortilla has 19g of carbs and 14g of fiber (I'm not kidding). So when you eat that, your body only has to break down 5g of net carbs.

 

That's how the whole glycemic index thing works.

 

My dietician told me that if you're eating mostly white flour products, it's not much better than just eating sugar.

 

If you're really active, you're going to need lots of carbs, but make sure they are the right kind.

[austrya]

Oh yeah, instead of white rice try Basmati rice., which is lower on the glycemic index. Also, Uncle Ben's Converted rice (which is white) is supposed to be good too. Also, "cloudy" apple juice is supposed to be better for you than clear, something to do with the fructose...

 

Here are the benefits of a lower glycemic index diet:

 

reduce the risk of heart disease

reduce blood cholesterol levels

reduce hunger and keep you fuller for longer

prolong physical endurance

help re-fuel carbohydrate stores after exercise

[Guest Speed Racer]

Oatmeal. Oatmeal and blueberries. I love oatmeal.

 

My breakfast consists of oatmeal, a spinach/tomato salad, and a banana. With water and coffee. I'll give up a lot of things, but not coffee. I don't particularly enjoy fruit, but I recognize the benefits of it. I have a banana in the morning, frozen blueberries* on the oatmeal, and apples for the rest of the day (sometimes an orange/grapefruit).

 

The important thing for me is eating what I like, which is why I have the salad - I *love* vegetables and leafy greens, and so I eat them whenever I can. Eat what you like, and recognize the importance of making yourself eat a few of the things you don't like.

 

If you eat directly after you excercise, understand that your body is still burning a TON of fuel from the workout. That is the time to put a lot of good stuff in your body, also recognize that you probably will be hungry later. Again, good time for good foods. I try to have a really good salad and some whole grains after practice, with attention to my salt intake as well. Rich proteins, too. Workouts break and take things, and recovery is about repairing and replenishing.

 

* A lot of frozen fruits have sugar added, so be cognizant of that if you go that route. Ones that don't still lack a lot of the nutrients of fresh fruits, for whatever reason. I'm at the whim of food service right now, though, so I take it as I can.

[jahilia]

I use this website alot:

World's Healthiest Foods

Here's the list - it has nutritional info, health benefits and recipes for the 130 healthiest foods.

[napoleon]

I use this website alot:

World's Healthiest Foods

Here's the list - it has nutritional info, health benefits and recipes for the 130 healthiest foods.

 

thank you very much! i was looking for something like this. this will keep me entertained all afternoon.

 

thanks again!

[Nonlinear Nonfiction]

How the hell do they make FAT FREE HALF & HALF?! I use it to make delicious chocolate pudding.

[Dreamin']

wild salmon

[M. (hristine]

How the hell do they make FAT FREE HALF & HALF?! I use it to make delicious chocolate pudding.

"The first five ingredients of "fat free half and half" (and I agree with you - in literature class this would be called an oxymoron) are nonfat milk, milk, corn syrup solids, artificial color, and sugar."

 

Soon, everything will be made from corn syrup. It's frightening. And it's also making Americans obese.