Have the Sniffles?

Flu season is upon us and it seems like so many people are coming down with the flu or a common cold so I thought I’d talk a bit about the immune system and how critical it is to your health.

If you go back into history and look at the worst plagues known to man, some people were completely unaffected.

The bubonic plague killed 25% of the population in some parts of Europe, but 75% of the population recovered quickly or were never infected.

The Spanish Flu killed millions of people, but millions of others never even had a sniffle.

What was the difference?

It was their immune system that protected them.

There are several factors which contribute to optimal immune function:

1) Genetics

2) Nutrition

3) Lifestyle

4) Reducing Environmental Abuse

5) Stress Management

6) Supplements

We cannot control genetics however, the remaining 5 factors are within our control. As a starting point, there are 3 keys to a healthy immune system health.

1) Exercise - A recommended minimum of 20 minutes of daily physical activity is a good start. Muscle retention in our more mature years is crucial to our overall health as well, which you can be accomplished with regular physical fitness.

2) Rest - Waking up and getting to bed at the same time everyday, even if it’s the weekend, is important to your health.

3) Nutrition - Eating as much raw foods as possible - fruit, veggies, legumes, etc. Avoiding or reducing your consumption of processed foods and supplementing with whole food supplements will support your immune system.

For additional information or if you have any questions about what supplements which will support your health this time of year, feel free to contact me.

To your health,

Nadia

Your weight release partner

1-877-405-4471

healthyweightdancingfeet@gmail.com

http://healthyweightdancingfeet.com

More Tasty Recipes!

I believe that great taste does not need to be compromised for health. You CAN have your cake and eat it too! My last blog was just some of the recipes I enjoy. Below you’ll find two more recipes of my favourite smoothies!

Another great drink for all seasons is a Chocolate Dipped Strawberry Smoothie:

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 scoops of Strawberry Cinch Shake Mix

1/2 scoop of Chocolate Cinch Shake Mix

8 oz non fat milk or low fat soy milk

4-6 ice cubes

1 tsp dark chocolate (65% cacao, finely chopped or shaven)

1 large fresh strawberry (or more!)

DIRECTIONS:

Mix Strawberry Cinch and Chocolate Cinch Shake Mix powders with 8 oz of nonfat milk or soy milk into a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Add 4-6 cubes of ice, blend until frothy. Pour shake into a tall glass and sprinkle with shaven dark chocolate. Garnish with a fresh strawberry.

Makes 1 servings. Serving size is 8 oz

Calories: 295/serving

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION PER SERVING:

24 g protein

40 g carbohydrates

5 g fat

103 mg sodium

0mg cholesterol

6g fiber

And a refreshing drink for berry lovers: Pom-Berry Morning Smoothie

INGREDIENTS:

2 scoops Cinch™ Vanilla Shake Mix

1 cup nonfat milk or low fat soy milk

1/2 cup fresh strawberries

1 each pomegranate Cinch™ Energy Tea packet

4-6 each ice cubes

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all ingredients in blender. Blend until well mixed and smooth. Garnish with a fresh strawberry and serve immediately.

Makes 1 serving

Calories: 309/serving

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION PER SERVING:

24g protein

47g carbohydrates

3 g fat

7g fiber

Estimated Food Group Serving Equivalents: 1 serving of Cinch Shake plus 1 serving of fruit

If you have some healthy recipes you’d like to share, feel free to email me.

To your health,

Nadia

Your weight release partner

1-877-405-4471

healthyweightdancingfeet@gmail.com

http://healthyweightdancingfeet.com

Deck the Halls!

As promised, below you’ll find some tasty recipes for drinks and treats to spice up your holidays without the extra calories!

First, why not make a seasonal Apple-Cranberry Bake?

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1.5 lbs apples, Fuji, fresh, chopped

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all ingredients in a large dish (microwave safe). Microwave at high for 10-12 minutes or until apples are soft. Stir occasionally.

Makes 15 servings. Serving size is 1/4 cup

Calories: 73/serving

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION PER SERVING:

0.5g protein

14g carbohydrates

2 g fat

2mg sodium

0mg cholesterol

2g fiber

Or how about a homemade Strawberry Sorbet, perhaps topped with some chocolate sauce!

INGREDIENTS:

6 scoops Cinch™ strawberry shake mix

2 cups milk (I prefer almond milk but you can use whatever you prefer)

1 cup fresh strawberries

EQUIPMENT NEEDED: Ice cream maker for home use

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all ingredients in a blender & mix well. Pour contents into ice cream maker & follow directions until mixture is the consistency of sorbet. Once your frozen treat is ready, scoop half the amount into a bowl or parfait dish for immediate consumption or into a container and freeze.

Makes 2 servings, 310 calories

24g protein

42g carb

3g fat

480mg sodium

8g fiber

Here are a few tasty drinks to add to the festivities:

My favourite drink year round is a fresh Pina Colada:

INGREDIENTS:

2 scoops Cinch™ Vanilla shake mix

1/2 cup nonfat Milk (or soy or almond milk)

4 oz fresh chopped pineapple

1/2 tsp coconut extract

4-6 ice cubes

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until creamy.

Makes 2 servings, 300 calories

24g protein

48g carb

3g fat

7g fiber

This next drink is a perfect replacement for Eggnog and only a fraction of the calories with great flavour!

Holiday Shake

1 serving Cinch™ Vanilla Shake Mix

¾ cup nonfat milk

¼ cup light eggnog

¼ tsp. rum flavoured extract

Dash of nutmeg (or to taste)

Dash of cinnamon (or to taste)

4 – 6 ice cubes

Blend Cinch™ Vanilla Shake Mix, with nonfat milk, light eggnog, rum extract, spices and ice cubes in a blender until frothy. Sprinkle with additional nutmeg. Serve.

Makes 2 servings, 305 calories

24 g protein

44 g carbohydrate

5 g fat*

* Nutrient values when nonfat milk is used

Hope you enjoy these simple and tasty recipes! Tune in again next week for more recipes!! And if you have some you'd like to share, feel free to email me or comment to this blog post.

To your health,

Nadia

Your weight release partner

1-877-405-4471

healthyweightdancingfeet@gmail.com

http://healthyweightdancingfeet.com

Less than 2 months to go!

It’s November 1st and the “expand your waistline” holiday is approaching. This time of year, there is much to do, many people to see and many opportunities to ditch the healthy lifestyle - specifically nutrition and exercise. Of course, we all have the power to choose to continue to exercise and eat sensible meals and snacks. So resist the temptation and make it through the holidays in the same clothes!

There are two main aspects to a healthy lifestyle, exercise and nutrition. So let’s discuss some ideas to maintain both during the upcoming holiday season.

When it comes to exercise, as it stands, most people need to make time to fit it into their busy lives. So why not find yourself an accountability partner who is just as committed as you are to staying physically fit and make an appointment to exercise with this person(s) at least 3 times a week.

Another way to fit exercise in when you have additional social demands on your schedule is to workout shorter with more intensity. If this is something you need assistance with, you can seek out a class, a personal trainer or a workout DVD to fit your needs. You can also take the stairs at your condo, in your office building or go for a brisk walk everyday during your lunch hour instead of working through lunch at your desk!

When it comes to nutrition, there are many ways to sabotage your eating habits during the holidays including office potlucks. Instead of bringing fatty treats, cakes etc. Do everyone a favour and bring a healthy treat, salad, fruit salad or veggie platter. This way if there is any left over, you are bringing home your healthy contribution to the potluck and not eating extra fatty treats.

If you are faced with allot of unhealthy options at a social gathering, choose the healthiest option and load up on it. For instance, veggies and salads versus deep fried options, pizza and so on. And if you are going to eat something that is not so great for you, indulge in only one treat. Lastly, many holiday drinks, like eggnog are full of calories so opt for a hot tea or coffee with no added sugar versus the speciality coffees and other holiday drinks.

If you are looking for some healthy treat recipes, check in next week for a blog of a few recipes to help you get through the holidays.

To your health,

Nadia

Your weight release partner

1-877-405-4471

healthyweightdancingfeet@gmail.com

http://healthyweightdancingfeet.com

Ask Yourself, Am I committed?

You are the creator of your own destiny and therefore whatever your health, career, family life goals are, you will achieve them with the right tools and commitment. So if better health is truly what you desire, you WILL attain it.

If you’ve struggled with your weight for sometime, it’s likely because you weren’t truly committed. Perhaps it was impressed upon you by a spouse, parent, doctor or friend to do something about your weight and you started to but didn’t follow through. If it’s not something YOU really wanted at the time, you won’t succeed.

See, even if you know you should take care of your health, that doesn’t mean you’re motivated to. My husband is a perfect example of this. He has dieted off and on for years and no matter how much I love and direct him to healthy eating habits, it didn’t help. In fact, for him, it encouraged him to eat what he wanted when I wasn’t around. Thankfully, he has recently come to the conclusion, on his own, that he wants to be the healthy man I married nearly 15 years ago and has started on his path to a healthier person.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if time is limited. If you truly want to be healthier, you will make 20-30 minutes a day for physical activity and find quick and simple yet healthy recipes for your meals. These reasons are simply obstacles we put in our own way when we are not really committed to something.

As Ted Karam said, “"Those with goals tend to succeed because they are focused and know where they are going, while those without goals do not."

What are your goals? Spend some time thinking about this and be sure to write them down!

To your health,

Nadia

Your weight release partner

1-877-405-4471

healthyweightdancingfeet@gmail.com

http://healthyweightdancingfeet.com

More Apple Recipes

Whether you’ve made it over to a local farm, farmer’s market or the grocery store and picked up some seasonal local apples, I’ve got some more recipes for you to enjoy!

Apples are a diverse fruit which I’ve added to make various salads but an old fashioned apple pie is always a great desert, particularly a la mode.

Hope you enjoy these recipes. If you have your own recipes you’d like to share, please comment or email me directly.

Salad:

1 small or half a Daikon (Lobok), grated

1 large Zucchini, grated

1 large carrot, grated

2 Green Apples (preferably Granny Smith), grated. The apples should be grated last to avoid oxidation.

Tamari sauce, Lemon juice and Olive oil to taste

Handful of dried cranberries

Handful of walnuts (optional, do not add if your guests have nut allergies)

Handful of pumpkin seeds

Here’s my variation of apple pie. There is no crust and therefore takes less time to make and contains less calories!

Apple Crisp:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Peel and cut approximately 8 apples, in bite sizes and put into square pan

Drizzle about 3 tablespoons of lemon juice on the cut apples

Drizzle 1/4 cup sugar on the apples

Mix together the following ingredients then distribute over top of apples:

1/4 cup Oats

1 cup whole wheat, spelt flour or white flour; dependent on your preference

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon cinnamon; dependent on your taste for cinnamon

A dash or two of nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 to 1/2 cup butter; dependent on your preference

Bake uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes, until top is crispy and brown. Serve it hot or warm, on it’s own or a la mode.

Enjoy these apple recipes!

To your health,

Nadia

Your weight release partner

1-877-405-4471

healthyweightdancingfeet@gmail.com

http://healthyweightdancingfeet.com

An Apple A Day!

My trip to our local farm to go apple picking this weekend inspired me to blog on the health benefits of apples.

There are many health benefits to apples as we’ve all heard the saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”. There is a great deal of truth to this expression.

Here are the top 5 health benefits to eating an apple (or more) a day:

1) Flavanoids and boron found in apples helps strengthen bones and protect against osteoporosis

2) Quercetin found in apples has been shown to protect brain cells from free radical damage which could lead to Alzheimer’s disease

3) The pectin in apples lowers LDL cholesterol (bad). If you eat 2 apples a day, you effectively lower your bad cholesterol up to 15%

4) Daily consumption of apples has been clinically proven to reduce one’s chances of developing various forms of cancer including lung, breast, colon and liver cancer.

5) The pectin in apples helps the body to manage the body’s insulin levels which is ideal for diabetics

These are just some of the top reasons for eating an apple or two a day! So, why not go to a local farm and pick some apples while they are in season. This is the time of year to pick apples from your local farmer!

It’s always beneficial to eat local fruit and veggies when they are in season. You get more of the nutrients from the fruit or veggie when you eat local.

As for apples, there are so many great things you can do with them. In the last two days, since we’ve picked the apples, I’ve used them in salad, made apple pie, apple crumble, apple cider and apple jam and I haven’t even got through half the apples yet! Of course, we’ve also been eating them raw.

All those tasty uses for apples that my house still smells like baked apple! Yummy!

Here’s one recipe for a quick and tasty use of apples:

1 large grated carrot

2 medium sized grated green apples

1 chopped leek

1 cup yogurt or sour cream

Mix all together and you have yourself a refreshing salad

Stay tuned for our next blog with more apple recipes! If you have some apple recipes you’d like to share, please feel free to post them in the comments section or email them to me.

To your health,

Nadia

Your weight release partner

1-877-405-4471

healthyweightdancingfeet@gmail.com

http://healthyweightdancingfeet.com