Healthy through optimum nutrition / Fruit Muesli

Good morning everybody!

I am so excited! Tomorrow I will finally get to see Patrick Holford! He is coming to Dubai and I will attend his full-day workshop on 100% Health! Check out this page: http://www.patrickholford.com/index.php/events/event/831 

I really like his logical and easy way of informing his audience about what to eat and how to eat, what supplements to take and so on. No end to it.

So as I started my day with a nice bowl of healthy muesli to keep my little body fit and in shape I will provide you with this simple, but gorgeous recipe for fresh muesli. There is nothing like a "homemade" muesli! No however healthy looking ready-made cereal mixture from your local supermarket can replace your own mixture. And it really does not take much time if you prepare everything already in the evening!

 SIMPLE FRUIT MUESLI
(serves 2)

75-1007 mixed cereals (oat flakes, rye flakes, millet, rice etc)
1 tbsp raisins
4-5 almonds, chopped
4 walnuts, chopped
1 tbsp linseeds
1 tbsp sunflower seeds
150g low-fat natural yogurt (I love the Greek yogurt by Onken!)
250g chopped fruits to your likings (apple, pear, banana, papaya, mango etc)


Place the mixed cereals, nuts and fruits in 2 nice soup bowls, top with yogurt and spoon the fruit onto the muesli.
You CAN soak the cereals and nuts/seeds as well as- if you like it- 2 tbsp of buckwheat in drinking water overnight. 


Enjoy your day!!! 

LINKS:

The New Optimum Nutrition Bible
The 10 Secrets of 100% Healthy People
 

A healthy mind in a healthy body - Some myths about Margarine

Dear readers,

so you had - or are still having - a relaxing or very active weekend and I hope, you are enjoying it to the fullest! For sure you indulged in an extended breakfast with all the good things you like and which you do not necessarily eat on a normal weekday. Maybe some smoked salmon, a nice omelet, some really great cheese and the ever oh-so-yummy serano ham. 

Nothing wrong with that! 


Question is: what do you put on your bread? Butter or Margarine? If it is butter you can stop reading now and go back to bed or work or ...gym! 
 
Margarine it is??? I recommend you to continue reading...strongly recommend...

So you still think that butter is the bad guy and margarine is the good guy that keeps your cholesterol levels at normal, that is not fat and just provides you with good stuff? 

Let me tell you one thing: It is Margarine that will harm your health in the end! 

Butter is a natural product made from cream with a low content of saturated fat.
Butter is an excellent source of fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamin A, D, E and K. These are not found to any degree in margarine.

Margarine rather than a nutrient is a technical, pharmaceutical or therapeutical product! Margarine begins as chemically-extracted, refined vegetable oil. This is a poor quality product to begin with. After the whole processing there is nothing left of the initially great ingredients like seeds, beans or kernels. The refining of the product also produces trans-fatty acids, which are really bad for you. They can cause colitis or even arthritis. In the end, you will eat a chemical fat. Do you really fancy that? 


Yes, there IS less or no cholesterol in Margarine and it costs less than butter. BUT: 
Very recent research indicates that trans-fatty acids in margarine raise LDL levels. LDL is the "bad" cholesterol. Plus you do not need to put 1kg of butter on each slice of bread. The great taste of butter allows you to use a small amount and get a lot out of it.


And regarding the money...rather put nothing on your bread if you are not ready to spend a few bucks more on your healthy nutrition!


Some more facts about cholesterol if you are STILL shaky about it:

Most cholesterol is manufactured within the body. A maximum of about 4% of all cholesterol comes from the diet. Cholesterol is the raw material for the adrenal stress hormones and the sex hormones. The body often reacts to stress by producing more cholesterol. This allows the body to make more stress-fighting hormones. As biochemical stress is reduced through a scientific nutrition program, cholesterol levels often decrease without the need for restrictive diets.

In fact, eating some animal products often helps balance body chemistry. In these instances, cholesterol levels or the cholesterol/HDL ratio improves although the diet contains cholesterol-containing foods.

Quote of the day

Egoism does not mean living according to your own desires, but expecting the others to live the way we want.

Healthy food - Pumpkin and Feta Frittata

Good afternoon to all of you!

Weekend in our part of the world is approaching and before I will leave my appreciated audience for 2 days I would love to share this delicious recipe with you. I tried it last night and my husband liked it so much that he had another piece after midnight (not recommendable, but might happen...) and the rest for breakfast. 

And do not worry about the eggs! There is nothing wrong with eggs. They are still an excellent source, actually the best in case you do not eat meat, of protein and on top of that they

1. provide you with all 9 essential amino acids
2. help to prevent blood clotting 
3. contain choline, which is vital for your brain and nervous system
4. have only 1,5g saturated fat out of 5g of fat
5. IMPROVE your cholesterol 
6. and (ladies!) improve your hair and nail.

But remember: 2 chicken eggs/person/week is sufficient! 

Recipe:
(Serves 4)

-4 cups (650g) of coarsley chopped pumpkin
-1 large potato, chopped coarsley
-100g baby spinach leaves, chopped coarsley
-200g feta cheese, crumbled
-3/4 cup coarsely grated cheddar cheese
-8 eggs, beaten lightly
-1 small red onion, sliced thinly


Preheat oven to very hot. Grease deep 23-cm cake pan. Steam pumpkin and potato for about 5 minutes until just tender, drain.

Combine them in a large bowl and add spinach, cheeses and egg, stir to combine. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and top with onion. I personally spiced it up with some salt and pepper, do that to your own likings. Frittatas normally are a bit bland, you can season it when serving.


Bake in very hot oven about 25-35 minutes or until firm. Stand 5 minutes before serving.


Along with that serve some rocket or spinach salad.


ENJOY!!!!





 

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Office workout - keep fit at your desk

Dearest readers,

sometimes it is a good thing being married to a smart person :). My dear husband despite of being a really busy manager takes his time to read through my posts - highly appreciated! Then - he also makes remarks about them. That is the hard part about it...but still highly appreciated. So that man came up with the idea to rather than pushing you guys through that tough tummy workout I'd rather tell you how to do some mini exercising during your long working hours to keep your muscles loose and working so they do not forget what they are there for!

Here we go....

The easiest thing to start with is NECKROLLS.
They relieve tensions around your head area and also help to get rid of headaches. 

Looking forward allow your head to relax to one side of the shoulder. Gently roll the head forward and up to the other side and return to the opposite direction. Ear to shoulder, chin to chest, ear to shoulder. Avoid turning your head so far that you are looking upwards.

Next exercise your ARMS a bit:

1. Extend your arm in front of you, placing your palms up,
2. With the other hand, grab your fingers.
3. Gently stretch your hand down, bending your wrist backwards. Feel the stretch in your forearm?

WRISTS, FOREARMS and CHEST

1. Press hands together in front of chest. Keep elbows bent and parallel to the floor.
2. Gently bend wrists to the right and left.
3. Repeat several times.

For your BACK:

1. Sit straight in your chair and place right arm behind your right hip.
2. Twist to the right. Hold for a few seconds.
3. Repeat on the left side.

And your CALVES:

1. While sitting, lift up your legs onto the balls of your feet and then release.
2. Continue until your legs and calves are tired.
3. Repeat every 10-15 minutes for an hour.

And as for that famous TUMMY:


Just draw it in and extend it combined with breathing ever so often. Nobody will notice apart from your stomach muscles. 


This does NOT replace your gym workout, but see it as a healthy add-on to your exercise routine! 


Stay tuned, next will be some recipes coming up..... 

Quote of the day

It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop. (Confucius)