Healthy Power Meals

This the last in the series of dieting for weight loss and better health, so I thought I would give you examples of "Power Meals." Meals that not only taste good and fill you up but add much needed vitamins and minerals to your daily diet.


Breakfast

A quick and easy power breakfast full of antioxidants and calcium is the following smoothie. Blend a pint of fresh fruit, such as bananas, strawberries or blueberries (my favorite) with a scoop of any breakfast powder mix (Carnation makes a great one) a cup of crushed ice and plain yogurt. Blend until smooth and you're good to go.


For a great source of fiber and energy providing B vitamins, try cooking a pot of brown rice the night before. In the morning add honey, cinnamon, raisins or blueberries. Add milk and heat. A nice change from cold cereals and oatmeal.


QUICK NOTE
* Bananas help lower high blood pressure
* Blueberries help battle urinary tract infections.
* Yogurt helps irritable bowel syndrome and yeast infections.


Mid - Morning Snack

Try snacking on nuts. Unsalted seeds such as pumpkin are rich in iron. Brazil nuts are an excellent source of selenium which has shown to help prevent depression. Also try drinking unsweetened orange juice or a couple of fresh oranges. Studies have shown that drinking at least three glasses of orange juice a day over a month raised good cholesterol by 21 percent.


Lunch

This is usually the killer meal of the most healthy diets because we tend to look for food that we can eat on the run. There's nothing wrong with "fast food," but you need to choose wisely. When ordering choose the broiled, grilled or steamed items. I personally like to get a grilled chicken sandwich and a salad. Cut up the chicken on the salad and I'm full for quite awhile. .


I also make a large salad like this from scratch at home. I can add more items than just lettuce and tomato, like different types of greens (spinach), cheese, apples, croutons, chopped boiled egg, chopped nuts, celery and onions, topped with grilled fish, turkey or chicken. Sometimes I add all these items and believe me -- that's a complete meal. I must admit I do add Ranch or Blue Cheese Dressing and no not the low-fat. :( Changing our eating habits is a process and with all that fiber, the process of elimination will help to reduce the fat. :).


Afternoon Snack

If you're like me this is the most tiring time of the day. Between two and three o'clock in the afternoon I'm wiped out. One little trick I learned years ago is to sit in the sunlight for at least ten minutes so I can get a quick boost of vitamin D and reduce the amount of melatonin -- the sleep hormone. .


Try to skip the candy bars because the sugar will only give you a temporary boost of energy with a big fall. Believe it or not, but the good old fashioned peanut butter and jelly (whole fruit) sandwich on whole wheat bread will add fiber, protein, and complex carbs. This will help to bring the blood sugar levels up and keep them up. You ever notice how much energy little kids have after eating one of those sandwiches?.


Dinner

When shopping for dinner try to buy fresh foods. If your cart is full of boxed or prepared foods than you definitely need to shift your eating and shopping habits. I like to set aside one day a week that I cook and I'm not a person who really likes cooking. I prepare two or three different meats and vegetables, then freeze them. For example, when you buy your chicken, turkey, etc., bake, grill or BBQ then freeze it individually. When you have a day that you don't feel like cooking, you just pull out the Ziploc or Tupperware and have a full course meal. .


I fill the Ziplocs with just enough for one meal or wrap the meat pieces individually in plastic before I put them in the bag, so I can pull out just enough for one day. It may take longer to prepare than microwave dinners but adding fresh fruits, vegetables and seafood to your diet will be the healthiest change you can make. Make the time now to buy, cook and eat healthy foods or take the time later to take your medication. You're worth a million so be good to yourself..

To your health.