Archive for June, 2011

Cool off with refreshing and wholesome summer meals

Thursday, June 23rd, 2011


 

By Para Mehta, RD/ www.healthfulfilling.com

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With the heat picking up fast this summer, cooking, ovens, stoves, seem to be out of the question! Fortunately, there are several options to eat chilled and delicious foods that pack a power of nutrients, too. Before the “S” word comes out, yes salads–as redundant and old as it sounds, don’t underestimate the dynamic nutrient value and flavorful flare that a salad can offer.

The best part about a salad is the rainbow of produce you can orchestrate together–tomatoes, red lettuce, fresh spinach, yellow bell peppers, mushrooms, purple onions, beets, snap peas, bean sprouts just to name of few. Other summer foods to try to help beat the heat are things like chilled hummus on pita, cold bruschetta, chilled pasta with pesto, or a cold marinated bean medley. Try to chill cold dishes a few hours before dinner or the day before to get a refreshing and cooling taste of delicious!



 
Summer is a great time to pack in more produce, which means a lot of valuable and healthy antioxidants (natural chemicals in foods that can be disease fighting.) In case you missed the blog last summer about summer superfoods, you can check it out at:

http://healthfulfilling.com/blog/2010/07/20/summer-superfoods-to-help-stay-cool-and-shed-some-pounds/

For more healthy eating tips from a registered dietitian, go to:

http://www.healthfulfilling.com/selfhealthebooks.html

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Dads Deliver!

Friday, June 17th, 2011


 

By Para Mehta, RD/ www.healthfulfilling.com

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With Father’s Day coming up this Sunday, Dads are looking forward to having a day to rest, have fun or do something special. Last Father’s Day, we talked about gifts to give Dad on Father’s Day, with the emphasis being on gifts that can help improve Dad’s health.

Is Dad in good health? If not, what are you and your family doing to help Dad get healthy or healthier? We owe a lot to Dad because Dads deliver! They are often the only or major provider, they deal with a lot of stress to “bring home the bacon,” to do well at their jobs, or work long hours for that next promotion, or just to keep up with job expectations! They do their best to help out at home and keep smiling even when things are rough at work. Oh and vacation, what about that? Only two, or maybe three weeks in a year? Not much at all. Let’s face it, Dads do a lot, and endure high levels of stress to help their families succeed.

That’s why we need to keep doing what’s best for Dad to make sure he maintains his health despite his stressful life. Going to work, fighting commutes, and a long, challenging day at work don’t make healthy eating and exercise easily build into a daily routine. Find out ways that you and the family can bring in healthier eating and exercise into the busy work week, like menu planning, cooking healthy meals together, going for walks in the evening, or playing a sport.

Don’t forget to be there for Dad when he needs you, just like he is there for you. Have a Happy Father’s Day, and make healthy habits part of each day.

Check out the self health ebooks page at:

http://www.healthfulfilling.com/selfhealthebooks.html

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Are you eating a healthy plate of food?

Friday, June 10th, 2011


 

By Para Mehta, RD/ www.healthfulfilling.com

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Remember the United States Department of Agriculture food guide pyramid which teaches the various food group recommendations? It has recently been revised and replaced with Choose My Plate. The new Choose My Plate teaching tool educates the consumer about making healthy food choices by identifying the food groups on the plate to help visualize what your plate should look like to be deemed healthy. The food groups on the plate include fruits, vegetables, grains, protein and dairy.

When you prepare your meals and serve the food on your plate, does it look like a wholesome, healthy plate of food with vegetables, fruits, whole grains and lean protein? Start checking for nutrient quality in your next plates of food. Check out more information about the new Choose My Plate at:

www.choosemyplate.gov

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Is healthy eating a chore?

Friday, June 3rd, 2011


 

By Para Mehta, RD/ www.healthfulfilling.com

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The last time you visited your doctor, did he or she tell you that you really need to start eating healthier and exercising to improve your health? Did you leave the office, saying that you’ll try, but it isn’t easy? Did his or her words linger with you for awhile and then start fading away as the days went by, but remained a soft whisper in the back of your head, with you thinking, “I will get to it, or do something about it, as soon as I can.”


 
Perhaps you even tried to start eating healthier but it didn’t last for long because you had a deadline at work, or you had to attend several activities for your kids, your teenager was having a bad week, or you are just too exhausted yourself, and have too much going on, so healthy eating–well, it’s just going to wait for awhile.

Eating healthy to where it becomes a lifestyle habit is not an overnight task. The tedious responsibilities of daily life can consume all your time and energy. What about developing an illness that can tack on an additional burden to deal with along with the everyday demands of life?

If you want to eat healthier and make it a permanent lifestyle change, checkout my new ebook, No More Excuses, Revitalize with Healthy Eating. Being a registered dietitian does not make me immune to daily stresses, responsibilities and jagged schedules that try to sabotage healthy eating attempts. But I live by a few golden tips that help me navigate through the juggling of daily schedules, which makes healthy eating consistently successful. Use the ebook as a professional guide to find answers and solutions to incorporate sensible healthy eating strategies, (which doesn’t mean eating a bag of carrots as part of each meal.):)

Pick up your copy of the ebook today at:

http://www.healthfulfilling.com/selfhealthebooks.html

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