PEERtrainer

3 Tips to Make Your Water Taste Great And Refreshing

WATER:  To Drink Or Not To Drink (8 glasses a day)

I've seen both sides of the water debate.  Some suggest you MUST get in 64 oz of water a day.  There's even a neat little customized formula. Take your weight, divide by 2 and you have an invidividualized water prescription.    If I weigh 120 pounds, I divide that by 2 and get 60, so my personal optimal intake is 60 ounces of water a day.

The other side of the water debate claims drinking all that water a day is nonsense and completely uneccesary.  You will be at your optimal water intake if you consume your calories from water rich foods such as fruits and vegetables.  If you're eating an adequate amount from this food group, you will be hydrated.

Regardless, most agree that water is a better option than sugar fruit juice or a coke.  But I often hear this:

"I know I should reach for water instead but I just don't like the taste. It's not satisfying".  Take a look:  69 responses to this question in the community:  "I don't like the taste of water!"

I agree.  The only time I've found that plain water tastes great is after a workout.  I've spent years experimenting and finding ways to make water taste great and satisfying.

The reason for my blog post is I stumbled on the lastest way by pure accident and I wanted to share!  I've listed the others below but I must start with my new favorite:

GINGER WATER!

 
I've added fresh ginger to my hot green tea for years.  Over the last few months, I watched my husband squeeze it into cold water and didn't find it appealing until a couple of weeks ago when I sprained ankle and I wanted to find ways to help with the inflammation.  I was plopped on the couch doing mental gymnastics trying to figure out ways to speed up my recovery while watching him and his ginger ritual.  I thought, I have to try that!  It was AMAZING!!

This has become a daily ritual. I squeeze about a finger of ginger into my thermos of water and I add a bit of lemon as well.  I use this Lime Squeezer which I bought because I squeeze lime into almost everything I eat and it works perfectly for lemon, oranges and now "ginger".  Even if it sounds weird you MUST try it!

Other great ways to make water taste great:

1.  Spa water: Place sliced cucumber in a pitcher of water with ice.  Add a bit of lemon or lime.

2.  Citrus Splash:   Use that lime squeezer and drop in any of the following:

•     lime
•     lemon
•     orange
•     grapefruit

  
3.  Mix it up and get exotic!

•    Mandarin orange
•    Citron (from India)
•    Blood orange
•    Pommelo. 
  
  •     One of my favorites.  Also a symbol of the Chinese New year.  This fruit is   a cross between a grapefruit and orange and it is sublime!
•     Fresh pineapple
•     Clementine

For hot water, mango can work well. Many times we keep frozen mango in the freezer for an alternative to hot tea.

Have other suggestions?  Share them here because it's a big frustration for so many people who write me.  Share the wealth.

 

Jackie

 

 

 

Is Coconut Bad For You Because It Contains Saturated Fat?

On the new PEERtrainer Facebook page recently somebody posted something to the effect of "Your vegetable soup recipe is great, but I took out the coconut milk because my friend the cardiologist says that the saturated fat in coconut is bad for you."

We had been thinking about this question for a few days. Then today a box arrived in the mail with 6 books from Dr. Jonny Bowden. He is someone that we have gotten to know recently, and have begun to dig into his work. What we have found so far is someone who has taken all the "health stuff" and made it very understandable.

Anyway, we were flipping through one of the books, titled "The 150 Healthiest Foods On Earth." And one page 107 there was a section on Coconut, that answered this exact question! Bowden writes:

"I really looked forward to writing this section, because I felt that it would give me a chance to right one of the greatest nutritional misconceptions of all time: the idea that coconut, because it contains saturated fat, is bad for you."

Summary of Dr. Jonny Bowden's insights on coconut:

• Coconut and coconut oil are superfoods. Coconut is one of the most healthy, amazing things you can ingest.
• People in Asia and the Pacific Islands whose diets are high in coconut oil have low levels of chronic disease- cancer, heart disease etc. 
• The fat in coconut is actually good for you. The book explains the science in detail, but the basic idea is that the fatty acids in coconut are easier to metabolize, and are different from the fatty acids in other forms of saturated fat. 

These fatty acids are called Medium Chain Triglycerides or MCT's. From Wikipedia:

"Some studies have shown that MCTs can help in the process of excess calorie burning, and thus weight loss. However, close to half of the calories in one's diet would have to be from the MCTs themselves. Therefore, consuming medium-chain triglycerides in a regular diet may or may not be beneficial to weight loss; studies are still being conducted" 

Anyway, the bottom line here is that we now have a greater level of understanding now of WHY our soup recipe has been such a hit. Most of the calories in the soup come from the coconut milk, which might explain why so many people have found that it helped them lose weight.

And we have also found a great book, one that that we will be referring to again and again.  Also- if you are interested in our recipes, please keep reading this post for information on how to be sent new recipes from PEERtrainer that meet our criteria of being easy, tasty, cheap, nutrient dense, fill you up, give you energy....

Here Is One:

Spicy Thai Curry Recipe

 

Calories in Coconut Milk

How To Feel Great Right Now

A couple of weeks ago, Isaac Alfandry, a subscriber to the Tip Of The day (click here to sign up for our free daily motivation email) emailed that delicious smoothie recipe which I quickly posted on the blog. 

We chatted back and forth a few times and he mentioned that he would love to write a follow up to our motivation article about 'The 7 Steps Of How To Change Anything'.  I was thrilled.  He is 49, full of energy and inspirational.  I suspected he would write something highly motivating and I was right. Read on...

So how's everybody doing today? I want to encourage all of you (and me), to think really hard about what's motivating you to stay healthy and fit. Do you want to look good in your clothes? Do you want to wake up in the morning all ready and raring to greet the day? Do you want to inspire others and yourself? Think hard about your reasons.

Here's mine: I want every day to be the best day I've ever had. Now, how can that be, you ask? How can your days consistently improve? How can one day ALWAYS be better then the next? Here's how: By keeping this awareness that you are creating your reality every moment through thought, word and deed.

Let's break it down. Think: Today will be the best day I've ever had! Say "Today will be the best day I've ever had". ACT like you're having the best day you've ever had!

If you truly believed that today was the best day you've ever had, you probably would take the time to really nurture yourself. You'd be open to others, open to your emotional intelligence, open to what the world is offering to you. You'd be keenly tuned in to your body's wisdom, reaching for only the healthiest foods, thoughts, and behaviors. You'd want to be embodied, you'd want to stretch out your muscles, maybe run, jump skip or play.

Ever heard of the term jumping for joy?

If you were acting like this was the best day of your life, you'd probably be smiling a whole lot. People would probably smile back. You'd inspire joy and happiness in others, and in turn, without even realizing it, they'd begin to inspire smiles and happiness in all of the people they came into contact with.

You'd be setting off a chain reaction of joy that could go viral.

If today were the best day ever, you'd accept yourself as you are while challenging yourself to be even better, all through thought, word and deed.

When it comes to weight loss, weight loss maintenance, being fit, being healthy, being emotionally, mentally and spiritually vibrant, it's your attitude that gets you there in the first place, your attitude that keeps you there, and your attitude that takes you to ever greater heights and depths of understanding about what this all means for you and everyone all around you.

I'm a huge believer in raw foods these days. Here's why: What you eat is who you are. Literally. And to eat the freshest, most nutrient rich, uncooked, live, super foods that are available on the planet means that my essence, my being, my body, my organs, my brain, liver, pancreas, lungs, heart, stomach, muscle tissue, tendons, bone, skin, eyes, knees, hands, feet and glutes are all getting fed in ways that maybe 2% or less of the general population gets to experience. You cannot believe what eating this way does for your energy levels, your attitude, your spiritual development.

Here's the deal: I encourage everyone of you in the next few days and weeks to seriously investigate the arguments for adding in more and more uncooked, nutrient dense fruits, and super-foods into your diet. The way that I began was with the "morning smoothie". I have done about 400 smoothies over the last 13 months, by my count. Everyone of them has been slightly different. But what they have in common: Rice Dream or filtered water is the base, about 4 cups, because I'm making one for my wife every day too. If it's just for you, then 2 cups is enough.

Then I add organic strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, dark sweet cherries., pineapple, or mango. You only need about a cup and a half of fruit. Most of the fruit I put in is frozen but I often use fresh in season. Organic is the way to go. Use organic as your first choice!

Now the superfoods: You can find most of the following at health food stores:
A TBSP of sprouted flax powder: Has Omega threes
A TBSP of organic hemp powder (high in protein)
A TBSP of Super Green Powder ( A mix of 35 or 40 different dehydrated green vegetables and fruits, super high in chlorophyl, antioxidants, minerals, vitamins)

Recently I started doing raw CACAO powder. Yes, this is what the native Americans call chocolate, and what the Spanish call coco. The cacao fruit's seed pod holds cacao seeds. These seeds are harvested, cold pressed and powdered. This is the most nutrient dense food on the planet. High in Manganese, which is the primary mineral in your heart, Chromium, antioxidants, polysacharrides, it's an incredible food. It's a super-food!

I don't always put Cacao powder in my morning smoothies. Sometimes I just blend it with rice dream and agave at night and cool it down in the freezer for a chocolate sorbet or I'll warm it on the stove for a hot cocoa. But I use it every day. It's an amazing, amazing mood lifter, full of incredible minerals and it's so good for you. Check out David Wolfe's Naked Chocolate or his You Tube Video "David Wolfe on Cacao"

I also put organic coconut flesh into the smoothie. Coconut is also a super-food that has incredible properties.

Lately I"m also adding baby spinach, or kale, or dark romaine. I only put a few leaves, you can't even taste it. But this way I'm getting my dark leafy greens in.

Color in foods is key. The richer, brighter, the more vibrant the color, the more pigmentation and antioxidants in the food. Eat color.

The more antioxidants, the more your will be able to counteract the free radicals in your bloodstream that are trying to damage your cell walls and defeat their functionality. Antioxidants are anti-aging formulas.

This is what you want to be eating if you are trying to look and feel your very best.

If you think about it just for a second, it makes perfect sense. Nature, it it's infinite wisdom, added in color so that we could find these fruits on trees more easily. Color is a natural attractant. Nature is trying to tell you something. Are you listening to your Mother?

My complexion has totally changed in the last few months. My skin is glowing.
Remember, I'm a 49 year old guy. You usually don't see that in 49 year old guys. Fat has burned away, muscle is more defined. ( I do work out a lot), but going raw has really helped me to show the definition that was hiding under the fat.

Here's the deal: You need to stay away from processed grains and sugars. These foods are your enemies. I'm not 100 % raw, and I don't know if I'll ever be. But I rarely if ever eat bread, or other baked grain products. And white, processed sugar is a battle, but I'm doing pretty good with it. The problem is we keep tons of candy around the office and sometimes I succumb during the mid afternoon when my energy dips. You already know I love chocolate, but I shouldn't be eating the processed white sugar kind.

I feel like a million bucks most of the time. The more I've gone raw, the more my energy levels have gone through the roof. There is a lot of intuition being released at this time in my sphere of life. I just know things, I sense them more than ever before. It's hard to explain. But women seem to have this skill. My guess is that Intuition is related to awareness. Awareness is related to our physical senses (smell, taste, touch, hearing) and the sensations that we come into contact with. 

As you clean up your diet and begin gravitating to super-foods, all of your sensory organs are receiving vitality and nourishment like they've never seen before. It only stands to reason that they are going to function more robustly. And that could be the reason that everything just becomes clearer, simpler, more beautiful, and more easily understood.

Here's something I can understand. Clean up your diet, gravitate towards raw, whole, organic, live foods, and the people that grow, deliver, prepare and consume them, and your life will change for the better.

It just so happens that the practices that go into creating this type of food for us happen to be better for our environment, too. So you are contributing to the best plant ever when you eat this way.

Finally, feel love in your heart for yourself at all times, if possible. This self love is what makes me gravitate towards my intuition, which is pushing me towards doing the best thing I do for myself in any given moment. Being the right weight doesn't mean anything if you don't have love in your heart for your self and the people around you. Having love in your heart will help you start the journey, arrive at your destination, and explore new vistas, all while feeling great and having a good time doing so. That's my two cents for now -- Isaac Alfandry

Thank you for sharing!!!

The Best Stuffed Pepper Appetizer Recipe Ever

I have never liked "stuffed peppers" because the mere title suggests bread crumbs, fried, cheese, cream, anything to make it taste good.  But then, I had this version of stuffed peppers last summer. 

They are so fresh, so light so incredibly good (and did I mention filling??) that you will make them for every dinner party, every potluck, and everyone will be raving about your stuffed peppers.  Who knew that a recipe could be so healthy and taste so good?  

They only take minutes of prep time and place them in the oven for 35 minutes and you're done.  The best part is after they are cooked, they taste even better at room temperature so they can keep for any party that you're preparing for ahead of time.

4 large sweet orange peppers
4 large sweet yellow peppers.
2 pkgs of mushrooms or one very large package
fistful of cilantro
4 Table spoons of olive oil.
squeeze of fresh lemon
salt/pepper to taste
6 shakes of red pepper chili flakes, more or less depending on your taste for "hot" things
1 large pkg of small cherry tomatoes,(if only large is available, this is ok, you'll just quarter them instead of 1/2 them)
6 cloves of garlic (again, depending on your taste)

Preheat oven to 400.

Slice the large peppers in 1/2 and clean out the seeds and pull off the stem.  Place on a large oven grill tray

Slice the mushrooms into small peices, about 4 or 5 per mushroom.  Slice the cherry tomatoes in 1/2, if they are large, slice them in quarters.  Grind the garlic cloves and cut up the "leaves" of the cilantro.  Throw the stems away.

In a large mixing bowl, throw in the mushrooms, tomatoes, olive oil, cilantro, garlic and squeeze of leomon  Mix together.  Shake on the red pepper flakes, little salt and pepper.  Mix all together.    Taste it.  It is soooooo good even by itself!

Then, take a spoon and place the mushroom/tomato mixture in the peppers.   You should see the browns, greens and reds mixed together in the large orange or yellow pepper.

Place the tray in the oven for 35 minutes.  The peppers should be somewhat soft and brownish on the outside edges.

Makes 16 halves.   1 halve of a pepper is only 1/2 a weight watchers point. 

Here is the community discussion about them.  Soon I will be making these on video so I'll post the entire thing!

Jackie

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Are You A Good Person Who Has Lost Total Control With Food?

Things To Keep In Your Freezer and Fridge

This is another video I put together to show you the kinds of staples I like to keep in my freezer and fridge. I have multiple objectives here.

1. Foods that fill me up and help me lose weight

2. Things that I can give the kids easily and quickly that are also good for them

3. Foods that are nutrient dense and help my family get as many micronutrients as they can.

I only featured five foods- another staple of our fridge is Bolthouse Farms Vedge Juice. It tastes great, is packed with micronutrients and phytochemicals and makes it really easy for members of my family to consume high doses of nutrients, quickly.

How To Eat At A Restaurant And Still Lose Weight: The 5 Golden Rules

I eat out frequently so over the years I've had to figure out how to resist high calorie/low nutrient foods when I can't control the environment.  It's took me a while to figure it out but I had to do it;  otherwise the scale would never show results.  So I created a segment:  The 5 Golden Rules:  How To Eat At A Restaurant And Still Lose Weight and it was a hit.   I stick to these rules every time except for Sushi and Indian Food dinners (and I've made up my own little rule set for that which I'll post separately). 

The 5 Golden Rules:  How To Eat Out, At A Restaurant And Still Lose Weight

1.  Say No To The Welcome Food.  No bread basket, No Chips, No Exceptions.  Do not let it hit the table no matter how hungry you are.

2.  Learn to See Water As A Drink Choice.  If you don't like it, try some squeezed lemon.  Sodas, sweetened teas and juice all add sugar and calories.

3.  Order An Appetizer As Your Entree.  Appetizers help you keep control over your portions.  If you're craving pasta or something in particular, find the appetizer size.

4.  If You Want To Order An Entree, Always Make It A Salad.  Make sure the dressing is on the side and your spoon to drizzle.  You must stop at 2 spoonfuls.  Say No to the croutons, crunchy things.

5.  Use the 3 Bite Rule For Dessert.  It's better to pass on Dessert or have tea or frozen berries but if you must, only take 3 bites.

If you have any rules, please add below!  Jackie

How To Make Vegetables Taste Good: How Even The Ones You Don't Like Can Taste Extraordinary

The title of this post should read, "How to Make Vegetables You Don't Like Taste Extraordinary without Butter and Cheese but that was too long.  Butter and Cheese make everything taste extraordinary.  The real challenge is how to make green beans taste good without it.

I was with a friend of mine the other day and she mentioned that her two boys ate an entire plate of green beans. I can't even eat an entire plate of green beans, no matter how good they are for you.  I don't like the taste.  

Then, as I was eating dinner with her family, I watched exactly what she did: She placed a bowl of soy sauce next to the plate for one son and a small bowl of freshly squeezed lemon for the other.  Brilliant. 

She chose the condiment that they loved the most and her boys, with their new "finger" food, started dipping away.  I had never thought of it.  I've always dipped fresh broccoli in mustard; it tastes like you're eating hot dogs.  It does!  Try it and let me know if you agree.  The trouble with mustard is that my daughter still likes it, but when my 5 year old decided that he didn't like mustard, there went my vegetable strategy.  

My friend Laurie helped me rediscover all the ways that you can make food you don't love, taste like food you can love. Since I'm no different than my children, this was a great realization for me - what other condiments do I like so I can eat green beans and like them?  I thought I'd list a few here to give us all some ideas:

- Low sodium soy sauce with wasabi:  I happen to love this stuff in my sushi, but I haven't tried it on it's own.  If you're allergic to wheat, stay away.  My friend's 7 year old loves it.

- Ketchup: They have organic ketchup now, heinz makes it without the corn syrup.  Warning - it doesn't taste as good but if you're children don't know the difference yet, it might be perfect.

- Mustard - my favorite standby:  There are so many varieties now that you can most likely find one you like.  I love the standard Dijon but honey mustard might be a great dip.

- Chutney: my friend used to be addicted to this stuff.  It is an acquired taste.

- Salsa - You can get some great tomatoes and just great taste in general.  There are also some mild kinds without all the onions and peppers for the children.

- Fresh squeezed lemon and wasabi: my husband has a wheat allergy so he invented this.  It tastes amazing and really "fresh". 

- Mashed up avocado with lemon: takes a little more preparation but kids usually love avocado and you're getting a huge extra dose of vitamin C.  If you have an extra 5 minutes, it's totally worth it. 

- Lemon/mustard/garlic dressing: again, takes a little extra time so this isn't necessarily the best standby but you might want to try it when you're having a big sit down dinner.

- Strawberry with soy milk: mix it up in the blender and make sure you use frozen strawberries.  It becomes a strawberry sauce and it's excellent with fruit.

If you have any, please add them! (Here's what other people are doing)  I'm on my way to buy wasabi....

We also have a nice discussion going in our community on how to make vegetables for people who just don't like them. Lots of very practical suggestions there.

March 1, 2011 Update: We probably need to drop the low sodium soy sauce suggestion here, or change it to a wheat free option. Since I wrote this I have discovered that many people will benefit from a serious reduction in wheat in their diets. In fact, all gluten products are on the right side of the new PEERtrainer Cheat System. If you have not yet downloaded your free copy, you can still do so here.

How I Became A Hot Chocolate Pusher

A few weeks ago, I stopped at Starbucks and saw an advertisement for their new Signature Hot Chocolate.  The ads were so inviting and so nicely designed that I felt compelled to just try it.  It was cold outside, I was on the low end of my "weight range" and I thought, oh, what could it hurt and it will taste soooo good.  Well I was definitely right about part of my thesis - it tasted sooooo good.  Beyond soooo good.  It is a truly extraordinary invention.

That one choice, that one minute when I made the decision to just try it that day, turned into 3 days in a row.  I got so into them that by the next week, on my way to a playdate with my son's friends,  I mentioned that I would be a few minutes late, I had to stop for a Signature Hot Chocolate.   One of the other moms replied with "Hey, are those good?  I'll have one too."  About 4 days later, one mom pulled me aside and said, "Jackie, I can't get into my jeans.   I am up to 3 salted caramel signature hot chocolates a day.  And while I'm telling you this,  I think I'm going out to get another one."  The next day, a few other mothers were also talking about the new habit I had introduced and how good those hot chocolates are.  They started comparing the hazelnut to the salted caramel and I was jokingly called a hot chocolate pusher.  ME!!  I couldn't believe it.  One little choice, less than a minute choice, led to a 3 week hot chocolate habit and had also led many other people down that same road.

Then I thought this:  I only get one a day, but I wonder what's in those things? It was one of the first times that I can remember that I didn't bother to think about what might be in it before I bought it,   I just wanted it.  I had guessed that it was about 150 calories and 3 weight watchers points but then when I actually took a moment and thought about it, I realized they probably made it with whole milk to make it taste that good and added whatever makes it "signature" and uh oh, it's got to be more than 150 calories.  When I asked,  I found out that it was a pre-made mix with non-fat milk and a grande was 380 calories and 7 weight watchers points!   I have since see 470 calories in other places which would be 9 ww points but I'm thinking that is with the whipped cream.  I got my info directly from the starbucks employee.  I was dumbfounded.  And pretty upset.  How could I have not even asked?? After the shock, I was completely over it.  Maybe not for good, but as a daily habit.  The knowledge about what it was, what was in it and how many calories it had was enough for me.  I haven't ordered one since (it's been about a week now). 

The learning here?  The moment I discovered what was actually in it, it became effortless to give up.  Look at the labels and if there aren't labels or nutrition facts,  just ask.  That little petite scone might be just as satisfying as the grande hot chocolate was and it would have been 280 calories less.  A decision that took 10 seconds to make can snowball into an extra 2800 calories a week, and not just for one week, but for three weeks! Mine did.  This time of year is crucial - with the holidays and parties and family get -togethers, the mine fields are everywhere.  Next time a 10 second decision presents itself, just think, do I potentially want an extra 3000 calories this week?