Healthy Recipe: Grilled Cheese Makeover

Wanna add a little spice to the classic grilled cheese: 2 slices cheese, 2 slices white bread, and 2 tablespoons butter?

On average that traditional grilled cheese contains:

• 410 calories
• 29 grams fat
• 18 grams saturated fat
• 840 mg sodium
• 1 gram fiber

  Make some simple changes and it a healthy gourmet Grilled Cheese Panini!

• Use whole-wheat bread instead of white bread
• Use less cheese to reduce fat and saturated fat
• Add shredded zucchini and carrots
• Add salsa
• Add chopped jalapenos and onion
• Omit the butter and use non stick spray

This sandwich has about 25 percent fewer calories, 60 percent less fat, 70 percent less saturated fat and 38 percent less sodium.  Plus we’ve upped the fiber from 1 gram to 5 grams and increased vitamins A and C as well as iron. 

From: eatingwell.com

Detoxing Your Body

If you are feeling sluggish, tired, have aches and pain, digestive problems, or just out of sync, it might be time to detox your body. Every day our bodies are being filled with toxins and chemicals from our environment. Chemicals, pollutants and hormones are found in all of the processed foods we eat and can lead to illness, depression and obesity.  Under natural circumstances, which our bodies have the proper nutrition in correct proportions, our body is able to detox many of the toxic substances safely.  Unfortunately, this is not the case in today’s world. Most people are taking in more toxins than the body can eliminate, which leads to illness, obesity, and diabetes.  This is because of the lack of nutrition and abundance of unwanted substances in the body. Detoxing can have beneficial effect on all systems of your body. This is why it is important to detox your body at least once a year.

Detoxing is resting, nourishing, and cleaning your body from the inside out.  When you detoxify your body you are cleaning your blood by removing impurities of blood in the liver which is where toxins are processed for elimination. A detox program will help the body naturally cleanse in a number of ways. It will rest the organs while you are fasting, stimulate the liver to get rid of toxins, improve circulation of the blood, and will help refuel the body with healthy nutrients.

Below are a few ways to help detox your body:

•   Begin your detox on the weekend or at a time when you don’t have much going on.

•    Drink at least 2 quarts of water a day!

• Eat an abundance of fruits and vegetables.

• Have no more than 2 proportions of grain each day, this could include brown rice, corn, and millet.

•    Don’t have fish more than once a day.

•   Have a handful of nuts a day.

•  Try to avoid all wheat products, all meat and dairy products, fried foods, salts and spices.

•  Take Vitamin C, it helps produce a liver compound to drive away toxins.

•   Try to avoid stress.

•   The most important way to help detox your body is by exercising. Walking everyday would be beneficial as well as doing Yoga. Try do exercise at least one hour every day.

How many calories are in your Valentines day treat?!

Valentine’s Day is here! Many people show their love with a sweet treat. Before you devour a box of chocolates, you may want to know how many calories, and how many grams of fat and sugar you’re about to consume.

Hershey's Kisses Well, who doesn’t like to get kisses on Valentine’s Day? If you prefer the chocolate candy kind, you can find these little treats from Hershey’s wrapped in pink and red, with all sorts of flavor variations now. You should be able to find anything to suit your valentine’s taste. But if you’re keeping track, a serving is 9 pieces, and with that comes 200 calories, 12 grams of fat, and 23 grams of sugar.
Conversation hearts Those cute little hearts with words like Be Mine are a sweet way to tell your valentine how you feel. If you’re watching calories and fat, it’s one of the friendliest treats you can have. A box (.88 ounces), which contains about 25 hearts, has 100 calories and 0 grams of fat. The only downfall here is the 22 grams of sugar.
Reese’s hearts If your lover is a little more complex, they may be a chocolate and peanut butter fan. Because, you know, sometimes two things which are pretty good on their own are even better together. A serving of Reese’s peanut butter hearts is 5 pieces, and with that you get 210 calories, 13 grams of fat, and 22 grams of sugar.
M & Ms Like the Hershey’s Kiss, you can find M & Ms in a variety of flavors. If your valentine likes to keep things simple, a 1.5 ounce serving (about 1/4 of a cup) of plain M & Ms, has 210 calories, 9 grams of fat, and 27 grams of sugar.
Dove dark chocolate hearts Studies show that dark chocolate, in moderation, can be good for your health.  So if your sweetie craves the dark, you may want to know that a serving of Dove dark chocolate hearts is 6 pieces, and contains 220 calories, 14 grams of fat, and 19 grams of sugar.
Dove milk chocolate hearts Got milk? If your other half prefers milk chocolate, the serving is still 6 hearts and 220 calories, but with 13 grams of fat and 23 grams of sugar.
Dark chocolate covered cherries Just plain chocolates won’t do it for your darling. This is actually one of the better choices in terms of fat and calories. A serving of dark chocolate covered cherries is 3 pieces, and contains 160 calories, 7 grams of fat, and 20 grams of sugar.
Ferrero Roche chocolates Maybe your significant other is a little bit, well, nuts? But that’s probably why you love them so much. These little chocolate and hazelnut confections can be addictive. And compared to some of the other choices, the sugar is not so bad. A serving of Ferrero Roche chocolates is 4 pieces, and has 240 calories, 16 grams of fat, and 16 grams of sugar.
Lindor chocolates Your valentine has a taste for the finer things in life. No cheap drug store candy box for them. The Boise Healthy Living Examiner is not ashamed to admit that if she’s going to indulge in chocolates, Lindor is at the top of her wish list. A serving of 3 chocolate balls has 220 calories, 17 grams of fat, and 19 grams of sugar.
It’s a holiday. There’s no reason to make a tofu cake with carob icing, unless you’re really into that, of course. But if you want to indulge a little, now you know what you’re dealing with. Happy Valentine’s Day.

Information from: www.examiner.com

What is Fascia?

Fascia is connective tissue that connects muscles, bones, organs, nerves and blood supply to the body. Essentially it is the glue that holds our bodies together.  It also provides the structure and relationships to most parts of the body. Fascia wraps around each of your individual parts, keeping then separated and allowing them to slide easily with your movements. It helps prevent over stretching of your muscles. Fascia is a three dimensional web of fibers that run vertically, horizontally, front to back, and other angles, which is what help makes it so strong. 

It is made up of three components. Elastin, which are rubber like fibers that have stretch and recoil in them, they provide the stretchiness of the fascia. They are similar to a rubber band. The second component is collagen, which act as tough threads and form the strength and support of the fascia. The more collagen fibers the stronger the fascia will be. The third component of fascia is ground substance. This can be thought of as thick goo. It provides shock absorption as well as lubrication to the fascia.

When your fascia is healthy it is smooth and slides easily, which allows you to move and to stretch to your full length in all directions, then it returns back to its normal state. Without activity it is likely that your fibers will become cemented in place. Poor posture and lack of flexibility and repetitive movements will pull the fascia into incorrect patterns.

It is important to take good care of your fascia to help prevent injuries. Below are a number of ways to help to keep your fascia healthy:

• It is important to keep moving, with whole body movement. Also adapting into complex movements instead of repetitive exercise programs is important.

• Drink plenty of water, which helps to keep your fascia lubricated.

• Be sure to stretch your muscles and your fascia. Fascia stretches slower than your muscles.  When stretching your fascia, hold stretches for three to five minutes, relaxing into a hold.

• Don’t forget to relax! This will help to loosen up your tight fascia.