Oh How Sweet…Strawberries!

by Elisa Zied, MS, RD, CDN

They’re sweet and have lots of appeal simply because of their beauty. They can be eaten whole and fresh, sliced a top whole grain, high fiber cereal, oatmeal, or over low fat or nonfat plain yogurt. They pack in valuable nutrients including vitamin C, folate, potassium, and fiber as well as plant chemicals including flavonoids, anthocyanins, ellagic acid, and others that are protective against heart disease and cancer. Some studies show that consuming strawberries may even lower levels of homocysteine, an amino acid—high levels of it is linked with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke.

Here’s a quick, easy, delicious recipe taken from my second book, Feed Your Family Right! You can have this as a mini meal, split it in half and share with a friend or family member, or make more to serve in shot glasses to guests at your summer fete. Enjoy!! Read the rest of this entry »

The Ultimate DIET

(or the “Do It Every Time” diet)

by Elisa Zied, MS, RD, CDN

Imagine a diet that includes ALL your favorite foods, and doesn’t require you to buy special foods or clear out (if not fumigate) all your cabinets or the shelves in your refrigerator. Imagine that from this point on, when you eat out with a friend, family member, or significant other, you’ll feel comfortable and relaxed (not anxious and unsatisfied) when ordering and eating your food. Take it a step further—imagine a diet that’s not something you repeatedly go on and off of, but one that you can live with day in and day out— one that actually becomes a way of life instead of a transient state of eating.

From now on, each and every time you eat, try to do all of the following. You’ll find that by following this “Do It Every Time” diet, you’ll not only eat more healthfully and mindfully, but you’ll likely shed a few pounds (or at least prevent further weight gain which typically happens as we age) and stay healthy and energized along the way. Read the rest of this entry »

This next idea idea from those fabulous gals Sue and Angelle of NourishMD is so simple it’s brilliant – and it works!  Follow the excellent tips in all four of their guest posts and you’ll be putting healthy, nutritious and delicious meals on the table in no time at all.

Thank you, NourishMD, for showing us how to easily squeeze so much REAL food into our lives!

Ever wonder how chefs can get so much food out to so many people so quickly?  It’s all about prepping.  The good news is you can get REAL food to your family REAL fast too with Step 3 of NourishMD.com’s One Easy System:  Prepping Made Simple.

Once you’ve Planned and Shopped for REAL food you need to prep your food so that it is easier and faster to grab REAL food snacks and meals than it is to drive through a drive through.

The key is to squeeze in some time once or twice a week to set-up your prep boxes just like chefs do before the restaurant opens for the evening.  Prep boxes (we like rectangular glass Pyrex dishes) are based on the ingredients you need for your planned weekly menu.   Some examples of prep boxes you will want to have in your fridge are: Read the rest of this entry »

Generous. Smart. Caring. Real.  We can’t say enough about our guest bloggers Sue and Angelle of NourishMD. They’re back this week to share another tool to help you keep it real at the grocery store:

In last week’s blog, you learned how 20 minutes a week spent on planning out your meals and snacks will increase your health.  You focused on adding more REAL food to your daily diet.  Now that you have your plan, it’s time to create your shopping list.  Taking 15-20 minutes to create a list will keep you on track when you get to the store.

Our free downloadable form will help ensure you have a good variety of Powerful Proteins, Friendly Fats and Colorful Carbs.  When your list is made, then you are ready to go shopping. Read the rest of this entry »