Author: hajaf

Protect your brain from stress – Harvard Health

Stress can interfere with the way the brain functions, in some cases resulting in permanent changes and increasing the risk for a memory disorder. Certain…
— Read on www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/protect-your-brain-from-stress

9 Science-Backed Reasons You Should Meditate on a Daily Basis

These powerful health benefits are more than enough reason to meditate every day!
— Read on info.totalwellnesshealth.com/blog/9-science-backed-reasons-you-should-meditate-on-a-daily-basis

Breast Cancer Awareness

www.thriveglobal.com/stories/45681-we-need-more-than-breast-cancer-awareness

October is breast cancer month. I want my blog to not only be about wellness related to food but personal wellness in general, in which food plays a big role but so do many other factors.

I personally and deeply feel that as women we need to listen and be intuitive to our bodies. No spouse, partner or Doctor knows your body like you.

We need to take prevention in our own hands and do our mammograms and breast exams regularly, This is important for early detection and being able to stay and live WELL.

The articles that I attach to this blog are articles that help me stay healthy and well and hopefully will do the same for you.

Genetics is not the only cause of breast Cancer and many times the cause is unexplainable. So please be

Be proactive about your health.

You have only one life, so live it WELL!

Figs

I was at the farmers market and I saw fresh black figs, I got so excited I bought 2 boxes. I decided I would blog about this amazing fruit as many people have not tried them and their nutritious benefits are huge. I had some as a snack with cheese and then used the rest in a salad.

Figs are the fruit of the Ficus tree, which is part of the mulberry family. They are native to the Middle East and Mediterranean. The taste is sweet, soft and they have a chewy texture and have lots of slightly crunchy seeds. They can be  addictive. My father was visiting and has never tried fresh figs and loved them.

Most people including my dad have eaten dried figs, they are available every where and are high in fiber, but when dried the natural sugar content increases and unlike fresh figs which are perishable they last much longer.

Figs are high in minerals, such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron and copper. They are a good source of antioxidant vitamins A, E and K. They are high in soluble fiber. Figs also contain prebiotics which help support the pre-existing good bacteria in the gut improving digestive wellness.

A 100g serving of fresh figs provides approximately:

43 calories, 1.3g protein, 0.3g fat, 9.5g carbohydrate and 2g of fiber

A serving of dried figs provides approximately:

227 calories, 3.6g protein, 1.6g fat, 52.9g of carbohydrate and 10g of fiber

Fresh figs can be black, brown and green. They can be eaten just sliced with  any cheese or added to a salad.

Fantastic Fiber and Whole wheat Oatmeal pancakes.

Getting enough fiber is something people don’t think about all that often. Most of us haven’t a clue how many grams of fiber we’re taking in on a typical day.
We’re not even close to meeting the recommended intakes of 20-35 grams a day for healthy adults (25 daily grams for those eating 2,000 calories per day, for example, and 30 grams for 2,500 calories a day) according to the American Dietetic Association. The mean fiber intake in the U.S. is 14-15 grams a day.
We get fiber from unprocessed foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and beans, and most Americans aren’t exactly loading their plates with these items. Americans are definitely eating more prepared and processed foods.

A higher-fiber diet has been shown to lower blood cholesterol levels and prevent constipation. High-fiber foods also tend to contain more nutrients and fewer calories, are digested more slowly, and help us feel full sooner.

How do we get that fantastic fiber in our diets, below are 5 easy ways to add foods to try and get the daily 25 grams.

1. Get Those Whole Grains

1 cup of cooked brown rice = 4 grams of fiber.
1/4 cup of whole-wheat flour, used in baking = 3 grams of fiber.
The next best thing to whole-wheat bread is fiber-enriched white bread (such as School Bus or Iron Kids). 2 slices = 3 grams of fiber.
7 Reduced-Fat Triscuit crackers = 3 grams of fiber.

2. Choose High-Fiber Breakfast Cereals

1 cup of Raisin Bran = 7.5 grams of fiber.
1 cup of Quaker Squares Baked in Cinnamon = 5 grams.
2 slices of whole wheat bread = 4 grams.
3/4 cup of cooked oatmeal = 3 grams of fiber.
1 cup of cooked Cream of Wheat = 3 grams of fiber.
1 cup of Multigrain Cheerios = 3 grams of fiber.
1 cup of Wheaties = 3 grams of fiber.

3. Eat Beans a Few Times a Week

1 cup of canned minestrone soup = about 5 grams.
1/2 cup of vegetarian or fat-free refried beans, used to make easy microwave nachos = about 6 grams of fiber.
1/4 cup of kidney beans, added to green salads = 3 grams of fiber.
A bean burrito at Taco Bell (or made at home) = 8 grams.

4. Work in Fruits Whenever You Can

Try to get several servings every day. Add fruit to your morning meal, enjoy it as a snack, and garnish your dinner plate with it. You can even have fruit with — or instead of — dessert!

1 cup of strawberries= 3.8 grams of fiber
1 apple = 3.7 grams of fiber.
1 banana = 2.8 grams of fiber.
1 pear = 4 grams of fiber

5. Work in Veggies Whenever You Can

Again, aim for several servings every day. Include a vegetable with lunch, have raw vegetables as an afternoon snack or pre-dinner appetizer, and enjoy a big helping with dinner. And make a point of having vegetarian entrees several times a week.

1 cup of carrot slices, cooked = 5 grams of fiber.
1 cup of cooked broccoli = 4.5 grams of fiber.
1 cup of raw carrots = 4 grams of fiber.
1 sweet potato = 4 grams of fiber.
1 cup of cauliflower, cooked = 3 grams of fiber.
2 cups of raw spinach leaves = 3 grams of fiber.

So on the note of fiber, I want to share the whole wheat and Oat pancake recipe. Its from Epicurious, but I added a cup of blueberries. It was filling and delicious. It had the fiber from the oats and the whole wheat flour and the added antioxidants and fiber from the blueberries.

Whole-Wheat Oatmeal Pancakes

INGREDIENTS

  • 3/4 cup quick cooking oats
  • 1 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons well shaken buttermilk
  • 3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 large egg lightly beaten
  • 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 cup blueberries

PREPARATION

Soak oats in 3/4 cup buttermilk for 10 minutes

Meanwhile, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl.

Stir egg, butter , brown sugar, remaining buttermilk, and oat mixture into dry ingredients until just combined.

Heat a griddle over medium heat until hot and lightly brush with oil. Working in batches pour 1/4 cup batter per pancake onto griddle until bubbles appear on the surface and undersides are golden brown, about a minute. Flip with a spatula and cook other side, about 1 more minute.

Recipe is by Andrea Albin.

I added the blueberries at the end and served the pancakes with bananas on top. The recipe does take some time but is great for a lazy Sunday morning. You will stay full till dinner.

5 Reasons Social Connections Can Enhance Your Employee Wellness Program

5 Reasons Social Connections Can Enhance Your Employee Wellness Program
— Read on www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/alankohll/2018/01/31/5-ways-social-connections-can-enhance-your-employee-wellness-program/amp/

Blueberries baked in French Toast.

Fresh blueberries in July from the farmers market are delicious, but nothing like picking your own blueberries from the farm.

I went to Portland Maine to drop my niece to college and on the way back stopped to pick blueberries, they were so delicious. There is huge taste difference between the Blueberries available at the supermarket and the local ones.

I used the fresh blueberries to make whole wheat oatmeal pancakes for my students and at home I made baked French toast for 4 sets of guests. It was quick and delicious. The pancakes were also great the recipe was from epicurious, I will post it later this evening, it has a host of benefits due to the oats and whole wheat, surprising it tastes good too. Even if you add maple syrup, you still get many nutrients compared to traditional pancakes.

Blueberries have so many benefits, that I could fill a whole page, but to me the most important are that they are a part of the MIND diet. They help against Alzheimer’s. They have many antioxidants and have a lot of fiber, vitamins A, C, K, B6, and minerals. The MIND diet is part Mediterranean and part DASH. Both diets have shown in several studies to help against many diseases like heart disease and stroke, but the MIND diet can help with Dementia and Alzheimer. The rates of Alzheimer’s in the USA are rising and it really is a scary disease, so let’s try to do all we can to help prevent it or slow its decline.

Taken from Wikipedia.org

MIND diet

“The Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay diet, or more commonly, the MIND diet, combines the portions of the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet and the Mediterranean diet.[1] Both the DASH diet and the Mediterranean diet have been shown to improve cognition; however, neither were developed to slow neurodegeneration (e.g. Alzheimer’s disease).[2] Therefore, a team at Rush University Medical Center, headed by Martha Clare Morris (a nutritional epidemiologist), worked to create the MIND diet.[3] Like the DASH and Mediterranean diets, the MIND diet emphasizes the intake of fresh fruit, vegetables, and legumes.[4] The MIND diet also includes recommendations for specific foods, like leafy greens and berries, that have been scientifically shown to slow cognitive decline.[3] Recent research has shown that the MIND diet is more effective at reducing cognitive decline than either the Mediterranean or DASH diets alone.[3] Additional testing has shown that the level of adherence to the MIND diet also impacts the diet’s neuro-protective effects.[5]”

The recipe for the pancakes and French toast are great to add blueberries.

Blueberry baked French Toast

Ingredients

  • 1 cup blueberries
  • 5 eggs
  • 1/2 a loaf of Challah bread or French bread
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1-2 Tablespoons butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar.
  • 1/4 cup shredded coconut

Method

Beat the eggs with the vanilla, cinnamon and brown sugar.

Cube the bread and layer it in a greased 8 inch square or rectangle glass dish, then add the blueberries.

Pour the egg mixture over the bread and blueberries. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, sprinkle shredded coconut over the dish and dot with the butter.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees, for 40 minutes.

Eat and enjoy. This dish can be frozen.

Sugars

Lots of articles and studies are being done on Sugar. The FDA has made it mandatory that all boxed items have added sugar on their label.

We as consumers have to really step up and take care of our health. We need to read labels and the list of ingredients. Sugar has many sneaky names hidden in the label so beware.

The below article is taken from the Tufts Health and Nutrition Update-

“In addition to those white crystals in your sugar bowl, added sugars come in many forms, including corn syrup, honey, molasses, maple syrup, brown sugar, agave syrup, fruit juice concentrates, and evaporated cane juice. Most forms of sugars are chemically similar, so switching from one kind of sugar to another won’t make a huge difference in terms of your health. The key is to cut back on sweet treats in general. It’s estimated that 75 percent of packaged foods sold in the U.S. contain added sugars. If you see a sweetener listed as one of the first three ingredients in a packaged food, it likely contains a significant amount of added sugar.

Nearly half of added sugars that people consume are in the form of sugar sweetened beverages, especially soft drinks, but also fruit drinks, coffee, tea, and sports and energy drinks. Other major sources of added sugars include sweets and snacks such as candy, ice cream, cookies, granola bars, flavored yogurts, cake, and doughnuts. People also get a significant amount of added sugars from less obvious sources, such as pasta sauces, salad dressings, ketchup, barbecue sauces, breakfast cereals, breads, baked beans, and many other packaged foods.

Spotting Added Sugars in Packaged Foods

The American Heart Association recommends woman and children limit intake of added sugars to 6 teaspoons or less a day, and men aim for less than 9 teaspoons. But food labels list sugar in grams! To figure out roughly how many teaspoons of sugar are in a packaged food, divide the number of grams by 4.

Added sugars go by many names on package labels, but the body metabolizes them all in essentially the same way. Check ingredient lists for:

• Sugar (white granulated sugar, brown sugar, beet sugar, raw sugar, sugar cane juice)

• Other common names for sugars: (cane juice, caramel, corn sweetener, fruit juice/fruit juice concentrate, honey, molasses

• Nectar (agave nectar, peach nectar, fruit nectar)

• Syrup (corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, carob syrup, maple syrup, malt syrup)

• Words ending in “-ose” (including sucrose, dextrose, glucose, fructose, maltose, lactose, galactose, saccharose, or mannose)

• Foreign or unusual names for sugars (demerara, muscovado, panela/raspadora, panocha/penuche, sweet sorghum, treacle)”

Nut Free Pesto pasta

Fall has arrived and regretfully I did fall off the bandwagon for my blog. The whole month of August, I had an endless stream of guests and was working full time at Harlem Children Zone as a Culinary/ Nutrition Educator.

I introduced the high schoolers to recipes that were easy and nutritious, but I did receive a lot of push back. Students wanted foods they were used to, but I did try pushing them out of their comfort zone.

I did a survey at the end of the summer to list the recipes from 1-10. The recipe that was liked by the majority was the whole wheat bagel mini pizzas and oat and blueberry pancakes, next was the nut free pesto pasta. The recipe that was the least popular was the black bean and corn salsa.

The pesto pasta was made with fresh basil that was grown in the out door rooftop garden and had fresh spinach leaves, Parmesan cheese and garlic. The pesto can be made in advance and frozen for a quick meal. It can be used with pasta or fish.

Basil is a great herb with a lot of flavor and nutrients, it is rich in Vitamin A, vitamin K, Vitamin C, magnesium, iron, potassium and calcium.

Basil’s proposed benefits include reducing inflammation, it is said to have anti-aging and antibacterial properties. I have discussed the benefits of spinach and garlic in previous blogs. The recipe is below.

Nut Free Pesto pasta salad

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 4 cups spinach leaves
  • 2 cups basil
  • 2 clove garlic
  • 2 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 teaspoon chilly flakes
  • 16 oz whole wheat fusilli pasta
  • 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
  • 8 oz fresh mozzarella small balls
  • Fresh basil for garnish

Method

Place the first 8 ingredients in a food processor or blender. Blend till smooth. Boil the pasta according to directions then drain.

Add 3/4 cup of the pesto and stir until the pasta is well coated. Stir in the tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil. Season to taste.

Red pepper and quinoa salad

I wanted to make a hearty salad to eat for my aunt who is a vegetarian and was not eating the chicken we barbequed, so I added chickpeas and quinoa to some fresh vegetables I got from the market. The red pepper added a lot of vitamin C, the mint added a fresh smell and flavor and the quinoa and chickpeas made the salad into a high  protein meal. quinoa and chick peas are both great additions to a salad.

Ingredients
1 can chick peas
1 cup quinoa
2 red bell peppers
1 cucumber de seeded
1/2 chopped red onion
8-10 mint leaves
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon chopped fresh garlic
Method
Make the quinoa according to the packet directions. Let it cool.
In a large dish chop the red bell peppers and onions and cucumbers, then add the chickpeas and cooled quinoa. Chop the mint and add it to the bowl.
For the dressing, in a bottle add the garlic, seasonings and honey, add lemon juice and slowly whisk in olive oil. Shake well and pour and mix into salad. This salad can be kept in the fridge for 1-2 days

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