Two Delicious Superfoods to Add to Your Diet for the New Year

A new year provides an opportunity to look at your health and to decide how well you are doing in terms of your eating habits. Instead of starting this year off being negative and looking at the habits you should not be doing or the foods you should not be eating, why not turn the tables and focus upon the foods you want to start adding to your daily meals?

Adding superfoods to your diet plan is always an excellent way to spruce up your health and to give you more of the antioxidants you need to stay healthy and strong.

If you do not know what a superfood is then here is a quick explanation of it. Superfoods are foods that contain compounds that have been found through medical studies to prevent the onset of disease. They are also capable of optimizing your overall level of health and well-being. Superfoods are fabulous and health enhancing!

Here are two delicious superfoods to think about adding eating more of to your diet in the coming year:

Eggs:

Many years ago eggs were blamed for contributing to high cholesterol levels and we were told that we should limit the number of eggs we ate per week. With time has come knowledge and we now know that it is saturated fats and trans fats that raise cholesterol levels and that eggs are not such villains after all.

Eggs are a superfood that you need to make sure you eat regularly to improve your health. Eggs are very high in protein – most of it in the white and not the yoke – and provide up to seven grams per serving. This helps to make you feel full and it also helps to break down fat in your body. If you have no cholesterol problems whatsoever then eating six to eight eggs per week (omega-3 free range eggs are best) is perfectly fine. However if you are looking for ways to reduce fat in your diet then eat only the egg whites.

Greek Yogurt:

If you have always found yogurt kind of a blah food then you have not been introduced to Greek yogurt yet! This type of yogurt is creamy and tastes more like an appetizing dessert. In fact for non-yogurt lovers you may not even realize that you are eating yogurt because it tastes so darn good!

Greek yogurt is high in protein, full of probiotics and is low in fat. It is also very thick in its consistency which gives it the creamy taste. What makes Greek yogurt different from regular yogurt is an extra straining process it is put through that gets rid of the liquid that it is common to see resting on top of regular yogurt. The fact that Greek yogurt does not have this liquid means that it is thicker and is also more concentrated in regards to the amount of protein and calcium that it contains. Consuming one half cup will provide you with 18 grams of protein and 50 percent of the daily dietary requirement for the mineral calcium.

Add berries to your yogurt for breakfast and any time of the day. Mix in some flaxseed powder, some wheat germ or some granola. Adding a tiny amount of honey to fat-free Greek yogurt can also give it an extra special taste!

Becca

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Nourish Your Skin and Hair with Natural Ingredients

Nourishing your skin and your hair does not have to involve expensive trips to the beauty salon or pricey products from department stores.

To make both your skin as well as your hair as healthy and as strong as possible all you require is a couple of very basic ingredients that you likely already have in – guess which room? – your kitchen!

Eggs and honey are two ingredients that can be used to make natural skin treatments as well as natural hair treatments. Yogurt and blueberries also work well for your skin when combined together.

Eggs are Eggcellent for Natural Beauty:

Eggs serve as a wonderful base for many different kinds of natural skin care and beauty products. Eggs cleanse and strengthen at the same time. They can be used for facial scrubs, facial masks, hair masks and conditioners for the hair.

Egg whites contain an ingredient known as lysozymes. This important ingredient fights bacteria and is instrumental in cleaning the skin. If you whip up a facial mask that contains both egg whites and honey this will help to rid the skin of impurities and will draw out blackheads on the face. The mask will do even more than that however, as it will hydrate the skin and then smooth and firm it until it looks as good as new!

Another excellent aspect of eggs is that they contain an abundant supply of protein.

Apply egg whites as a base before you shampoo and/or condition your hair. This will not only strengthen the hair shaft but will provide more bounce and volume to your hair.

Honey – Healthy on the Inside and Outside!

Honey is one of nature’s best overall ingredients as it is extremely versatile and can be used to improve the condition of the hair and the skin.

Honey is abundant in many valuable things that make it a worthwhile choice. These include water, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and carbohydrates. All of these items taken together can hydrate the hair and skin and make it healthier instantly.

Honey is sticky as you very well know so the thought of applying it to your skin or hair may not seem very appealing but once you get the hang of using it you will be so glad that you did! You are probably better off buying a squeeze bottle of honey for the purposes of using it as a beauty product. Rest assured that honey rinses off the skin and out of the hair with ease.

Honey works well when used as a face mask as it purifies the skin. It is also excellent for dry skin because it is a natural emollient as it helps to keep moisture in the skin where you want it. Nature’s antibacterial agent is potassium and honey is abundant in this mineral. Honey kills bacteria in the skin and it gets rid of impurities that are hiding in the pores.

Honey can benefit your hair tremendously as well. It helps to bring life back into hair that is damaged, dull looking or has been colored or over processed.

Apply honey to your hair, starting at the roots. Do not touch your hair right away but allow the honey to work its way into the hair shaft. Leave the honey on for approximately 20 minutes and then rinse it off before you shampoo.

Yogurt and Blueberries – Not Just for Eating:

Eating foods rich in antioxidants on a regular basis is essential to your good health. Here is another way to keep your skin healthy – apply antioxidants directly to your skin by way of a facial mask.

Take approximately five to eight blueberries, and squash them up. Then combine them with plain yogurt and mix the concoction up before applying it carefully to you face. Leave it on for about five to 10 minutes and then rinse it off. Your skin should be glowing with health and vitality thanks to the blueberry/yogurt mix!

Becca

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Why the Time is Right to Switch to Your Local Farm Produce

The recent national recall of eggs and the Salmonella scare should not deter you from eating eggs. The problem is not with eggs themselves but with the supply.

Salmonella in eggs is the outcome of feeding hens contaminated food, and the contaminates can get into their bloodstream and passed through to the eggs they lay. When you purchase eggs from your local supermarket there’s no way of you knowing where those eggs came from.

Eggs can come from variety of farms, many of which keep hens in stressful conditions and feed them low-cost feed. Sure purchasing eggs labeled organic and cage-free from somewhere like Whole Foods or a natural health store is better, but best is to buy from a local farmer. One you can go and visit and see the conditions under which the hens live and understand what they’re fed.

Chickens should be cage-free with plenty of room to move around, and eating grass and fed a high-protein chicken feed with no added hormones.

In addition to eggs this may be a good time for you to look at what else your local farm or specialist market can provide you for safe organic foods. When I buy meats I always look for grass-fed beef and buy organic vegetables.

Yes, you’re going to pay a little extra for organic foods and grass-fed beef but what price is your family’s food safety?

It seems a shame we have come around to not trusting our food supply. The FDA standards and watchdogs have let us down, and quick profits have caused many farmers and the food industry to lose focus on producing safe and healthy foods for us to consume.

For a list of local grown produce near you check out this website: http://www.localharvest.org/

Becca

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