In today’s world, people will try all kinds of diet fads in an effort to lose weight. Everyone has a different opinion about what works. What definitely does not work is a diet where carbohydrates are cut out in their entirety. A healthy eating plan should include fats, carbohydrates, and protein. To follow a diet without them would be to endanger your health.

Carbohydrates are the most plentiful of all the nutrients. Carbohydrates can be found in most foods that we eat. Carbohydrates are made of simple and complex sugars that are metabolized by the body for energy or stored as fat when no more is needed. Examples of simple carbohydrates include fruits and dairy products such as milk and cheese. Complex carbohydrates are your heavier foods such as pastas, breads, potatoes, rice, and cereals. Eating less of the complex and more of the simple types may be a good way to lose weight.

Diets that advocate no carbohydrates force the body to obtain all of its energy from protein and fats. When protein from food is no longer available to meet the body’s energy needs, the body begins siphoning it from the muscle tissue of the body. In essence, the body begins eating itself for fuel. No one wants that. The body needs glucose (sugar) to function. Interestingly enough, the glucose needed by the brain must come from carbohydrates and not protein sources.

Now, carbohydrates have been classified by their glycemic index (GI) number. This method of rating carbohydrates helps people make wiser choices about what they include in their diets. Foods with high GI’s (greater than fifty) cause the body to store fat. Foods with a low GI number (less than fifty); cause the body to burn fat.

On a diet that features low GI carbohydrates, the insulin level in the body is maintained at a steady level. These carbohydrates are processed at a slower rate by the body. The other hormone, glucagon, can work to burn the sugars for energy in the cells. You don’t feel hungry all the time when the insulin hormone level in the body has no major fluctuations. When you expend energy during physical activity, the body starts releasing fat stores to use for energy metabolism. Low carbohydrate diets provide the body with energy without going into crisis mode.

Eat the right carbohydrates. Choose fresh vegetables and fruits. Whole grain or seven grain breads and pastas are preferred to those made with white flour. Beans and nuts are good for a low carbohydrate diet. If you must have potatoes, try sweet potatoes. The GI number is lower and they are great with non-fat spray butter.

Don’t try to cut out all of your carbohydrates. Reduce them to lose weight, but choosing the right types is as important as how much you consume.

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Green tea has a long history of healthful benefits and its qualities are significantly more effective than black tea. Both teas come from the carnellia sinensis plant but green tea leaves are steamed rather than fermented like black and oolong teas. This prevents a powerful anti-oxidant, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), from being oxidized and therefore diminished.

Antioxidant Properties

Most of us have heard of the positive effects red wine can have on a fatty diet and its healthful benefits on heart disease. High amounts of catechins polyphenols, particularly EGCG, are present in green tea. And EGCG has twice as much resveratrol as red wine, making it a powerful weapon towards lowering cholesterol, inhibiting blood clots and negating the effects of a fatty diet.

EGCG is also used to treat diabetes and is reported to have glucose-lowering effects. In addition glucose can cause a person to feel hunger and by controlling insulin levels, you control appetite. Try drinking a mug of green tea at the first hunger pain and you are well on your way to managing your appetite.

Thermogenesis

Thermogenesis literally means heat generation. Green tea increases thermogenesis in the body, becoming a potent appetite suppressant and increasing fat oxidation, helping the body to use fat as an energy source. This means the body is preferentially burning fat over protein.

Green tea also raises the body’s metabolism, increasing the rate at which calories are burned. In a recent study, the combination of green tea and caffeine burned more calories than those given a placebo.

Add to its thermogenesis benefits, green tea also has energy-boosting properties, which makes it a perfect breakfast tea or mid-afternoon pick me up.

Other Healthful Benefits

There are many other conditions in which green tea is reputed to be helpful:
Killing cancer cells, while leaving healthy cells untouched
Treating Rheumatoid arthritis
Lowering LDL cholesterol
Preventing thrombosis which causes heart attacks and strokes
Addressing cardiovascular disease by inhibiting abnormal formation of blood clots
Preventing infection
Improving impaired immune function
Stopping certain neurodegenerative diseases (such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s)
Treating multiple sclerosis
Preventing tooth decay by killing the bacteria that causes dental plaque

When you compare the heath benefits of green tea with the harmful effects of regular and diet soda, coffee and other damaging drinks, it is easy to see why green tea has a long and successful history of benefiting the drinker.

Adding Green Tea to Your Diet

Green tea has become so popular that it can be found in mainstream grocery stores as well as gas stations and convenience stores. There are many flavors and varieties of green teas so you will be sure to find a combination of flavors you’ll enjoy.

Consider also adding green tea water to some cooked foods. Adding tea to a pot of boiling pasta will affect the flavor in a fresh new way. Toss that same pasta with pine nuts, pesto and a dash of olive oil and you have a healthful dish with many antioxidant properties. Challenge yourself to find new and exciting ways to add green tea to your diet.

Are cravings for sugar, carbs, salt, junk food, sodas, and coffee running your life? For over 20 years, Diana Walker, the Cravings Coach, has assisted people like you in using natural, safe options for creating vibrant health. Receive Diana’s free Cravings Coach TIPS at http://www.thecravingscoach.com/blog

This article was written by The Cravings Coach Diana Walker.
(You may not reprint this article.)

Keep up with what’s happening at Mom’s Talk Network, by clicking here.

Do you have trouble getting your kids to eat their veggies? I sure do.

My daughter used to be great about trying and eating just about anything-and then she turned 2 ½. Now it is pretty much impossible to get her to eat anything other than corn when it comes to vegetables. So I had to come up with some fun and sometimes sneaky ways to get some veggies in her. Here are a few of my favorites.

1) Make big pot of vegetable soup, and then add some fun noodle shapes. You can use alphabet noodles or look for some fun novelty shapes. You may be able to find some cartoon characters, toy and sports shapes etc. I have even seen pumpkin and Christmas tree shapes. With a little luck your kids will be too busy spelling words, or identifying the shape to notice all the veggies they are eating in the soup.

2) If you can’t make them eat it, make them drink it. Pour some vegetable juice over ice and add a straw, a cocktail umbrella or a stick of celery and watch them drink it up. Your kids may not get as much fiber as eating the entire vegetable, but getting them to drink their vegetables is better than not getting any vegetables in their system.

3) Have you tried offering them some raw vegetables with some ranch dressing to dip them in? Many kids who don’t care much for cooked vegetables will eat them up if they can dip them. Just grab a bag of baby carrots and cut up some red and yellow peppers and some cucumber. Arrange them on a plate with a little bit of ranch dressing or your favorite vegetable dip on the side.

4) Take it even a step further and let them create artwork out of their vegetables. Offer raw vegetables in different colors and shapes and encourage them to make a vegetable collage on their plate. You can easily make a face using slices of cucumber as eyes, a baby carrot as nose and a slice of red pepper as a mouth. You can use watercress or shredded carrots or even some cheese as hair. Before you know it, you’ll find them sampling their “art supplies”.

5) To get them to eat more vegetables at dinnertime try a little salad bar. Put out some lettuce, some sliced or chopped tomato, slices of cucumber, shredded carrot, slices of red and yellow peppers, small broccoli flowerets and anything else you can think of. You may also want to offer them some choices when it comes to salad dressing. Favorites in our house are Ranch, Italian, Catalina, and French. To top it all of set out some croutons and shredded cheese.

6) Get the kids together and make a cold vegetable pizza. Start out with a can of crescent rolls. Unroll the dough, but don’t pull the triangle shapes apart. Instead push the seams together and bake on a baking sheet according to the package directions. Let the sheet of dough cool completely, then spread with some cream cheese (we like a vegetable or herb flavored one) and top with some thinly sliced raw veggies. Cut into squares and serve.

7) Get them involved in the kitchen especially when it comes to cooking. Ask them to wash the vegetables, if they are old enough let them cut veggies (under your supervision of course), let them help you stir, or anything else you can think of that would be age appropriate. You’ll be amazed at how proud they will be of their finished product. Believe me, they’ll try just about anything if they made it.

If everything else fails, hide the vegetables in other food. My mom used to make us some special orange mashed potatoes. We thought it was very fancy, but all she did was to cook some carrots with the potatoes and mashed them right in there. You can also cover broccoli with tomato sauce or cheese. Think of a dish your child really enjoys and sneak a little bit of vegetable in there.

Give a few of these ideas a try and see which ones work best for your children. Keep at it and sooner or later they will start to develop a taste for vegetables.

Susanne Myers together with Christine Steendahl, owns and publishes the Healthy Menu Mailer. Each week, we provide you with 7 dinner recipes.

To learn more, check out the Mom’s Talk Guide to Raising Happy & Healthy Kids – Tips and resources address nutrition, exercise, sleep, routines, and much more.

Cool Me Off Watermelon & Fruit Salsa

Ingredients:

2 cups variety of fruit (strawberries, kiwi, berries, peaches, etc.)
1 seedless watermelon (or other seedless melon of your choice)
1/4 cup bottled sangria or sparkling white grape juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions:

Slice the melon of your choice into 4 pieces 1/2 inch thick and refrigerate. Cut fruit into small bite sized pieces. To make the salsa combine fruit pieces in a bowl with sangria or white grape juice. Toss together, cover and refrigerate for 2 to 5 hours. When ready to serve, sprinkle lemon juice over melon slices and top with salsa.

Early Riser Shake

Ingredients:

1 large banana, cut into chunks and frozen
1 cup of orange juice
1 cup of fat free milk
1/4 cup of wheat germ
1 teaspoon of vanilla
4 ice cubes

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth (shake like consistency). Pour into 4 glasses and serve immediately.

Breakfast Muffins

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
8 oz. can crushed pineapple, undrained
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2/3 cup finely chopped Canadian bacon (about 3 1/2 oz.)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat muffin tins with cooking spray. Mix flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl and set to the side. Beat eggs, oil and sugar in a bowl. Stir in previously set aside mixture, pineapple, cheese and bacon. Fill muffin tins 3/4 full and bake until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of muffins (approximately 30 minutes). Serve while still warm for best results. Makes 12 muffins.

Chocolate Banana Mousse

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons low-fat milk
4 teaspoons sugar
1 medium banana, cut into quarters
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
Banana slices for garnishing

Instructions:

Place the milk, vanilla, sugar, cocoa powder and banana quarters in a blender and blend until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and gently mix in the yogurt. Chill until set. Spoon mixture into serving bowls and top with banana slices.

To learn more, check out the Mom’s Talk eBook’s Freezing It & Loving It!

Everyone can imagine the warm, spicy spell of cinnamon in the air at Christmas or on your breakfast toast. Cinnamon was one of the first commodities traded regularly between the Near East and Europe. Surprisingly, cinnamon is a small evergreen tree. It is the bark that is processed which turns into the ground cinnamon and cinnamon sticks (or quills) we are used to seeing. Its active and healthful components are cinnamaldehyde, cinnamyl acetate and cinnamyl alcohol which are derived from the essential oils in the bark.

Ceylon and cassia are the two most popular varieties of cinnamon, even though there are hundred of varieties. Cassia, the stronger of the two and the less expensive, is more common in North America. Both cinnamons are an excellent source of trace mineral manganese and a good source of dietary fiber, iron and calcium.

Insulin Reduction

By just digesting a ¼ teaspoon a day, patients with type 2 diabetes had lowered their blood sugar, cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Levels increased when they stopped adding cinnamon to their diet.

Cinnamon normalizes blood sugar levels. This helps to control blood glucose levels by preventing insulin spikes after meals. It reduces serum glucose, triglyceride, LDL cholesterol as well as total cholesterol.

Other Healthy Benefits

Cinnamon has anti-clotting properties; helps prevent the unwanted clotting of blood platelets, which places cinnamon in the category of an “anti-inflammatory” food. This anti-inflammatory benefit can help relieve arthritis as well as relieve pain and stiffness of muscles and joints.

Cinnamon also has anti-microbial actions, stopping the growth of bacteria as well as fungi and yeast Candida. It is so successful as an anti-microbial, that it has been used as a food preservative.

There are so many other helpful benefits of cinnamon, beside the affect it has on blood sugar and its anti-clotting and anti-microbial properties. Just a few benefits of cinnamon are listed below:

Supports digestive function
Relieves congestion
Constricts and tones tissues
Boosts brain function by boosting cognitive function and memory
Relieves menstrual discomfort
Improves circulation by thinning blood
Provides calcium and fiber protect against heart disease
Improves colon health, by removing bile salts from the body
Prevents urinary tract infections and irritable bowel syndrome
Helps address tooth decay and gum disease

How to add Cinnamon to Your Diet

Adding cinnamon to your diet can be easy as making toast. Just add a touch of honey and a sprinkle of cinnamon to whole grain bread for an adult version of cinnamon toast. Sprinkle cinnamon onto your whole grain oatmeal or cereals or on yogurt, soups and sauces.

Simmer your favorite tea, coffee or soy milk with cinnamon sticks, creating the perfect breakfast drink or bedtime nightcap.

For an ethnic flair, add liberal amounts of cinnamon to beans or meat in your Mexican dishes. Or add to curries and chilis for a warm, spicy kick. You can also saute vegetables with cinnamon sticks for unique flavoring and healthful benefits. (Remove the cinnamon sticks before serving.) Let cinnamon add some spice to your life.

Are cravings for sugar, carbs, salt, junk food, sodas, and coffee running your life? For over 20 years, Diana Walker, the Cravings Coach, has assisted people like you in using natural, safe options for creating vibrant health. Receive Diana’s free Cravings Coach TIPS at http://www.thecravingscoach.com/blog

This article was written by The Cravings Coach Diana Walker.
(You may not reprint this article.)

To learn more, check out the Mom’s Talk eBook’s Freezing It & Loving It!