Diary of a Loser

10 Super Foods That Give Super Results

Super foods are what could be considered the ultimate multi-taskers in the food arena.  These are foods that possess nutritional as well as medicinal properties.  Super Foods are getting a lot of attention lately, and for good reason.  There are numerous superfoods, many of them derived from vegetables or fruit. Surprisingly, there are a few superfoods that wouldn’t be things you’d normally just sit down and eat alone. For instance, cocoa is considered a superfood because it contains flavinoids, which have antioxidant properties. What's better than learning that chocolate not only is delicious, but has even more redeeming qualities?  Put on the brakes for a second!  The chocolate referred to as a superfood is one that is unprocessed - look for cocoa nibs in your natural foods market to see what I mean.

Incorporating super foods into your diets has

Listed below are just some of the reasons to include super foods in your diet—every day:

• Prevent or reduce inflammation
• Help regulate metabolism and burn body fat
• Lower total cholesterol & blood pressure
• Help protect against heart disease & cancer
• Help protect organs from toxins
• Promote digestive health

Just to take it up a notch, Oprah and Dr. Perricone focused on super foods that pack an additional benefit beyond nutrition and medicinal - beauty! 

Açaí -

• A remarkable concentration of antioxidants that help combat premature aging, with 10 times more antioxidants than red grapes and 10 to 30 times the anthocyanins of red wine.
• A synergy of monounsaturated (healthy) fats, dietary fiber and phytosterols to help promote cardiovascular and digestive health.
• An almost perfect essential amino acid complex in conjunction with valuable trace minerals, vital to proper muscle contraction and regeneration.

Allium Family (Onions, Garlic, Chives, Leeks, Shallots & Scallions)

• Lowers total cholesterol (but raises HDL—"good"—cholesterol)
• Lessens the risk of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries)
• Lowers blood pressure
• Reduces the risk of blood clots (cause of the majority of strokes and heart attacks)
• Destroys infection-causing viruses and bacteria
• Reduces the risk of certain cancers, in particular, stomach cancers
• Produces more "natural killer" cells in the blood to fight tumors and infections
• Helps fight against neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's
• Enhances detoxification by reducing toxins

Barley -

• Lowers blood cholesterol levels
• Protects against cancer because its high fiber content helps speed food through the digestive tract, and because its a good source of selenium, shown to significantly reduce the risk of colon cancer
• Is a good source of niacin, the B vitamin that is cardio-protective
• Slows starch digestion, which may help keep blood sugar levels stable
• Provides high concentrations of tocotrienols, the "super" form of Vitamin E
• Provides lignans, phytochemicals that function as antioxidants. Women who consume lignans (also present in high levels in flaxseed) are less likely to develop breast cancer.

Beans & Lentils -

• Lowers blood cholesterol levels
• Protects against cancer because its high fiber content helps speed food through the digestive tract, and because its a good source of selenium, shown to significantly reduce the risk of colon cancer
• Is a good source of niacin, the B vitamin that is cardio-protective
• Slows starch digestion, which may help keep blood sugar levels stable
• Provides high concentrations of tocotrienols, the "super" form of Vitamin E
• Provides lignans, phytochemicals that function as antioxidants. Women who consume lignans (also present in high levels in flaxseed) are less likely to develop breast cancer.

Buckwheat -

• The specific characteristics of buckwheat proteins, and the relative proportions of its amino acids, make buckwheat the unsurpassed cholesterol-lowering food studied to date.
• Its protein characteristics also enhance buckwheat's ability to reduce and stabilize blood sugar levels following meals—a key factor in preventing diabetes and obesity.
• Like the widely prescribed "ACE" hypertension drugs, buckwheat proteins reduce the activity of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), thereby reducing hypertension.

Green Foods (foods that includes young cereal grasses like barley grass and wheat grass, as well a blue-green algae known as BGA.)

• Contain marked beneficial effects on cholesterol, blood pressure, immune response and cancer prevention. These effects are attributed in part to their high concentrations of chlorophyll.

Hot Peppers -

• All peppers contain compounds called capsaicinoids. This is especially true of chili peppers, which derive their spicy heat—as well as extraordinary anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-cancer, heart-healthy effects—from very high levels of capsaicinoids, the most common form of which is capsaicin.

Nuts & Seeds -

• They're extremely filling and satisfying—and healthful.
• Decreases the risk of cancer, heart disease and diabetes, controls weight with no hunger pangs and reduce the visible signs of aging like wrinkles and sagging skin.

Sprouts -

• A concentrated source of the living enzymes and "life force" that is lost when foods are cooked or not picked fresh from your own garden. Additionally, due to their high enzyme content.
• Easier to digest than the seed or bean from which they came.

Yogurt -

• Ameliorate vaginal (bacterial and yeast), urinary tract, bladder infections & microbe-induced traveler’s diarrhea.
• Ameliorate inflammatory intestinal disorders, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
• Ameliorate food allergies and inflammatory, allergic conditions like asthma and eczema.
• Reduce several risk factors for cardiovascular disease, & intestinal cancers
• Reduce the duration of gastroenteritis and rotavirus-induced diarrhea in infants.
• Help prevent tooth decay.

Push-Ups Anyone?

Push-ups may not be at the top of your to do list when it comes to exercise, but they pack more punch than you may think!  Push-ups are actually a highly efficient exercise, offering the benefits of weight lifting, stretching and cardio all in one exercise. They're one of the oldest and most basic exercises and quite effective. Push-ups work out all the muscles in the upper body and build optimal strength in the forearms, wrists, upper arms, shoulders and chest.

Typically, women have less upper body strength than men. Push-ups can be the great equalizer - women who do push-ups can quickly build strength in the chest, upper arms, forearms and wrists. Doing three sets of 10 to 15 push-ups is a great starting point for women who want to get stronger.

To do push-ups properly, your elbows must be fully extended at the start and end of a push-up, your toes should be on the floor and your legs, hips and back should be straight.  The best way to learn push-ups is to follow an example of proper form.  Below are some videos of a traditional push-up along with some variations to get those arms up and pumping! 

Late Night Snacks without Guilt

Ever wake up in the middle of the night to that grumbling, churning feeling deep in the pit of your stomach?  Or like me, fallen asleep on the couch (usually within the first 15 minutes of a movie) to wake up feeling absolutely starved?  I always have trepidation about late night eating.  There's so much in print to not eat after 7pm if you don't want to pack on additional pounds.  C'mon, just one little bite?  It's not going to kill me - at least not like that awful feeling in my stomach! 

Fear not sleepy eaters!  Fitness Magazine has offered up some bedtime bites for under 200 calories in their December '09 issue.  And, these snacks do double-duty!  Any of the following combos have a fifty-fifty mix of carbs and proteins which will up your sleep-inducing serotonin levels.  So, snack up and sleep soundly!

• 1/2 cup whole-grain cereal with 1/2 cup nonfat milk (try All-Bran or Fiber One for fiber)
• 6 ounces low-fat yogurt and a sprinkling of berries
• 1 slice whole-wheat toast and 1 tablespoon of peanut butter
• 3.5 ounces of fat-free vanilla pudding and 4 graham crackers
• 1/2 whole-wheat pita and 2 tablespoons of hummus
• 1 oatmeal raisin cookie and 8 ounces of skim milk
• 6 whole-grain crackers and a small handful of walnuts

Go for Goji!

I recently had an opportunity to sit in on a nutritionist's lecture on super foods. These are foods that straddle the line between being food and medicine simultaneously.  There was one food in particular that caught my attention, the Goji berry.  Goji berries grow on an evergreen shrub found in temperate and subtropical regions in China, Mongolia and in the Himalayas in Tibet and are usually found dried, not unlike raisins.  They're rich in antioxidants, particularly carotenoids such as beta-carotene and zeaxanthin. One of zeaxanthin's key roles is to protect the retina of the eye by absorbing blue light and acting as an antioxidant, according to About.com. 

In traditional Chinese medicine, goji berries are eaten raw, brewed into a tea, added to Chinese soups, or made into liquid extracts, but they can also be found in juice form.  Goji berries have appeared in snack foods in North America. For example, the health food store Trader Joe's sells a goji berry trail mix.  And what's great is that you don't need to eat a large quantity of goji berries to reap their benefits, 1-2 tablespoons a day is sufficient.

According to the nutritionist who spoke to our group, a great way to consume goji berries is in a smoothie mixed in with a few other ingredients.  I've passed along her recipe below, but you may need to stop by a shop that stocks health food products to get all the ingredients, many of these are off the beaten supermarket aisle.

Goji Berry Super Smoothie

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp goji berries (soaked in 1/4 cup of water for 10 minutes)
1 Tbsp ground maca
1 Tbsp cacoa nibs
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 banana
1/2 cup organic blueberries
1 cup (organic/unsweetened) almond milk
1 Tbsp ground flax seeds
1 Tbsp hemp seeds
Ice to taste

Directions:
Place all ingredients, including goji soaking liquid, in a high speed blender, blend until smooth and enjoy!

10 Uses for Leftover Halloween Candy...

... or how will I save my hips and thighs from certain disaster?

Alright, now I know I'm not the only one who went out and over purchased for trick or treat!  But what's more frightening to me than the trick-or-treaters and their mischief, is all the leftover candy from overestimating tonight's take!  Eeeek!  In my household, we go through the ritual of determining what to keep or toss, and much to my dismay, I cave to the kids - "c'mon Mom, that's my favorite candy, you can't throw that out!"   I'm a sucker for my kids - but this year is different!  I'm taking a stand for my thighs and getting rid of that leftover candy out!

Here are some ideas that can help you work around your urge to dig into all your leftover Halloween candy.  For those of you (like myself) that need to have it out of sight, out of mind, look to some of the ideas below that remove it physically from your household - I tried to compile some ideas that involved getting it out of the house, or into the mouths of others!  Happy Halloween!

1)  Bring it to work!  A kitchen or open cabinet top is more than enough invitation for your co-workers to devour the candy.  Want to see it go really fast?  Put it in a bowl with a sign on it - please take!  If your co-workers don't plow through it, your custodial folks will!

2)  Bribery/Incentives - Call it what you will, candy is a great motivator for kids, and some adults as well!  It can be doled out for MONTHS as bribes. Need the leaves raked? A snack sized baggie filled with treats. Keep some of the packs of M&Ms or other small candies on hand for grocery shopping, and offer them as a reward for good behavior at the end of the shopping trip.

3)  Donate It - Nursing homes, doctor's offices, women's shelters - everyone loves candy, and spreading the sweetness can be a great way to avoid gorging on it all yourself.  At the school my kids attend, there's even a drive after Halloween to collect left over candy to bring to shelters.

4)  Pack it Up for the Troops - Not so much for chocolate (which doesn't travel well), but other candy is appreciated to fill care packages for the troops (US only, not sure about other nations' deployments).  Check out Operation Shoebox for the US troops.

5) Make an Advent Calendar, Pinata, or Holiday Centerpiece - Arts and crafts or countdown calendars to holidays are a great way to use up all those leftovers.  Channel your inner craft genius with some fun, candy-inspired creations! Check out Alpha Mom for great ideas on countdown calendars and other ways of re-purposing your Halloween candy.  

6)  Baked Treats - Here's a great way to get it out of your house, and one that will win points with friends and family!  Take your left over candy and bake it into brownies, cookies, etc. and hand out to family and friends.  CDKitchen's website has a pretty extensive list of recipes to do just this.

7)  Garnish for Holiday Platters - Weed out the Halloween themed wrappers or candies and save the remaining to  decorate platters of cookies, baked goods or other assorted treats during the holidays.

8)  Care Packages - Nothing is more exciting for a college student than receiving a surprise care package filled with goodies.  Get an old shoebox out, fill it with assorted goodies and treats for your co-ed and ship it off to school.

9)  Science Projects - Scientific blogging has posted a number of kid geared science experiments/projects that you can do with your kids that involve using up all those leftover candies.  See a Wint-o-green lifesaver spark, or create a Mentos geyser!  Top 10 Scientific Uses for Leftover Halloween Candy

10)  Math Practice - Instead of eating it, use it as a means to practice counting, addition and subtraction with your kids.  Small pieces of candy lend themselves better to counting practice, but fun size bars can also be a great means of some basic fraction practice (take 3 small fun-size bars and show what two thirds looks like).

Get a Slim & Trim Lower Body

For years, I really believed that getting my lower body in shape was beyond my control.  The large muscle groups in my thighs and rear end seemed to be beyond hope.  To make it worse, a friend informed me that once you give birth, a woman's hips expand.  What horror I thought!  My hips are wide enough already, you mean to tell me they're going to get even bigger?  I think I felt faint.

Fortunately, with perserverence and consistency, I was able to finally whittle down those exapansive, child bearing hips acquired with the births of my two gorgeous children.  And it all began with small sets of squats!  Squats are a fundamental exercise and a great way of working your lower body.  They're easy to do, and you can do small sets of them while your favorite TV program is in commercial breaks.  Interested in giving it a try?  Below are some basic squat exercises to give you direction on form.  Take it from me, you don't have to buy into endlessly expanding hips & thighs!

The Bene-Fit of Fiber

The fiber advocates have taken over!  It's hard to crack open a magazine or watch a commercial without encountering some kind of message about fiber.  And for good reason!  Now it's not an unknown fact that fiber is necessary to regulate digestive health.  But did you know that it also helps to lower your risks of heart attacks, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, obesity and certain cancers. 

The National Fiber Council recommends 32 grams of fiber daily, based on 25 grams for women and 38 grams for men.  Fiber can be classified into two types: soluble (dissolves in water and may form a gel) and insoluble (does not dissolve in water).  Soluble fiber can help to lower cholesterol and regulate glucose levels as well as promote regularity.  Examples of soluble fiber include oats, fruits and vegetables, beans, barley and psyllium. Insoluble  fiber adds bulk to the stool and contributes to bowel regularity. Examples are whole-wheat flour, wheat bran and some vegetables. Virtually all plant foods contain soluble and insoluble fiber.

Want to find out how much fiber you need?  Visit the National Fiber Council's website, and take their Fiber Calculator for a whirl.  The recommendations are based on age and gender and the results are generated immediately.

Looking for some best bets when it comes to fiber?  Here's a list of five foods that are ideal choices for getting your daily recommended allowance of fiber ...

1. Corn niblets – Corn is a good source of fiber (3 grams per 1/2 cup serving). Whether it’s fresh, canned or frozen, corn is a great addition to chili, soups, salads, stews – or delicious on its own.

2. Beans – Canned or dry beans are a super-star of fiber because they provide anywhere between 5 and 10 grams per 1/2 cup serving (cooked). Beans are also a good source of protein and contain several vitamins and minerals. They come in a wide array of colors and shapes that make them visually appealing any way you use them. Drain canned beans then use as the main ingredient in a dip; or add them to salads, soups, casseroles and stews.

3. Dried prunes – For anyone with a sweet tooth, this is an ideal snack. Buy the pitted variety so you can add them to cereal (more fiber!) or yogurt. Many savory stews call for dried prunes to add contrast to other flavors. Dried prunes are also available in jars and cans; and they are great for keeping in the kitchen cupboard. Five dried prunes have 3 grams of fiber; and dried prunes in jars or cans contain 4 grams per 1/2 cup serving.

4. Cereals – Ready-to-eat breakfast cereal can be a powerhouse of fiber. Some contain up to 14 grams per 1/2 cup serving! Read the label before you make your final choice in the supermarket. Top any of these cereals with fruit and you’ll get even more fiber. Remember, cereal is not just for breakfast – it makes a great light lunch or dinner!

5. Sweet potatoes – Other than holidays, this nutritious and fiber-rich vegetable is often overlooked. A medium, baked sweet potato with skin has almost 5 grams of fiber. Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene) and a very good source of vitamin C. In addition, they provide vitamin B-6 and the minerals copper, iron and potassium.

Low Calorie Smoothies

Smoothies are a great way to fill your body with nutrition and gear yourself up for weight loss. They're cool, crisp, and nothing is quite as refreshing for breakfast on the run. But buyer beware, if you walk into a smoothie joint, you may want to read the menu for nutritional content, or you could be filling yourself with more calories than you want. You may be shocked to find that many of the popular chain stores also add scoopfuls of sugar, full fat milk, and even ice cream to their blend ...

• Smoothie King’s Pina Colada Island contains 550 calories, 11g fat, and 9g saturated fat.
• Tropical Smoothie Cafe’s Healthy Woman Power Smoothie has 504 calories and 2g fat.
• Jamba Juice’s Peanut Butter Mood contains a whopping 840 calories, 21g fat, and 4.5g saturated fat.

Here's a recipe from Eatingwell.com for a low calorie smoothie you can make at home without sacrificing taste ...

Wake-Up Smoothie

3 servings, 1 cup each
Active Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups orange juice, preferably calcium-fortified
• 1 banana
• 1 1/4 cups frozen berries, such as raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and/or strawberries
• 1/2 cup low-fat silken tofu, or low-fat plain yogurt
• 1 tablespoon sugar, or Splenda Granular (optional)

Directions:

Combine orange juice, banana, berries, tofu (or yogurt) and sugar (or Splenda), if using, in a blender; cover and blend until creamy. Serve immediately.

Nutrition:

Per serving: 157 calories; 2 g fat (0 g sat, 0 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 33 g carbohydrates; 4 g protein; 4 g fiber; 19 mg sodium; 430 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (110% daily value), Fiber (16% dv).

2 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 2 fruit, 1/2 low-fat milk

Holiday Diet Disasters

Halloween ushers in the beginning of the holiday eating season.  Being part of the 60% of Americans looking to prevent my waistline from expanding beyond the confines of my pants, I'm working to keep from over-indulging like everyone else.  According to WebMD, all it takes is an extra 100 calories a day to pack on 10 pounds in a year. Just one piece of Russell Stover chocolate-covered pumpkin caramel has 150 calories and 7 grams of fat. A fun-size Reese's peanut butter cup has 110 calories and 6 grams of fat.

Here are 5 diet disasters waiting to derail your efforts this holiday season ...

#1  Full size candy bars - The larger the bar, the more calories, fat and sugar you're ingesting.  Keep in mind too, they're also calorie dense, which means that it can take more of them to make you feel full.

#2  Snack size candy bars - Smaller sied candy is more condusicve to over eating.  Fun size portions of kit kat bars can carry as much as 220 calories and 11 grams of flat.  Opt instead for fun size Twizzlers (45 calories, negligible fat), Milky Way (75 calories, 3 grams of fat) or a peppermint patty (50 calories; 1 gram of fat). 

#3  Holiday Baked Goods -  Pumpkin muffins, donuts, cakes, and scones, just to name a few, are plentiful in restaurants, cafes and delis this time of the year.  A Dunkin' Donuts pumpkin glazed donut weighs in with 280 calories and 6 grams of fat, and their pumpkin muffin packs 560 calories and 24 grams of fat - how many sit-ups or round house kicks would it take to work that off?

#4 Hot Beverages - While there's nothing I love more than my lattes, they're the quickest way to pack on a set of love handles.   A medium Starbucks pumpkin spice frappuccino has 400 calories, Dunkin Donuts' gingerbread latte is a set back of 330 calories and 9 grams of fat, and a pumpkin spice latte packs 340 calories and 9 grams of fat.  Keep it light with skim/no fat milk, and skip the whipped cream.

#5 Seasonal Milkshakes and Ice Cream - Each holiday offers it's own special temptations.  Dairy Queen boasts a large pumpkin pie Blizzard with 1,080 calories and 40 grams fat (2 hours of jogging to lose this!), and an 8-ounce serving of Cold Stone Creamery pumpkin ice cream has 454 calories and 25 grams of fat.  Keep it simple with a small portion of ice cream without all the add-ins, or try frozen yogurt. You can enjoy a half-cup of any of Edy's slow-churned ice creams for under 150 calories.

Get Skinny Arms (Tricep & Bicep Exercises)

How embarrassing is this?  You're in your cutest summer dress, the sleeveless one that makes you feel like you look really hot.  You walk down the street and your eyes divert over to something reflective and you see bat wings hanging off the backs of your arms.  Yikes!  I can attest to the fact that a front view and side view can reveal very contradictory images of your body - take it from someone who has stood in front of a building with a look of horror as those wings swung in the breeze -- oh the agony!

Working your upper body will give you strength, improve your posture, and give your body better balance.  There are plenty of women out there fearful of building weight lifter muscles in their upper body.  Rest assured, the bodies that build massive muscles naturally are in the minority.  If you keep the weight low, and your repetitions high, you're more apt to build lean instead of bulk muscles.  I found some great videos of tricep and bicep exercises that you can do in the comfort and privacy of your own home.  I love that the instructor uses common objects found around any household.

I've traded my bat wings in for some lean and strong arm muscles, and now my arms are strong and sexy in my sleeveless outfits!