Healthy You

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Use less salt, here’s some tips

If you’ve followed me or know me at all, you’re bound to know that my favorite vegetable is by far, spinach. Apart from its fantastic nutritious qualities, its not only good for you, but it tastes amazing! Growing with such a limited amount of food (a.k.a what my parents like to eat), leafy greens consisted of iceberg lettuce and… iceberg lettuce. Even my dear spinach rarely made an appearance (mainly, believe it or not, this was my fault because I used to HATE spinach). It wasn’t until I lived in Florida that a certain leafy green came into my diet for the first time. My first night there, I was hanging out with my new roommates and we decided to go over to one of their friend’s apartments. The rest of us tagged along wanting to meet new people. When we arrived, we found his roommate in the kitchen super excited about his trip to the grocery store (like a girl when she gets new shoes excited). What was this crazy guy so excited about? Kale. Up until that day I had never met anyone besides myself that could get excited about vegetables like that, let alone the super healthy ones. Long story short, I ended up falling in love with the crazy kale guy and now he likes to point out that kale is superior in nutrient qualities than my beloved spinach. Regardless, I still eat spinach like its going out of style.

      This post however, is not to compare the two, but highlight what kale has to offer to you. Kale, like most vegetables, is considered nutrient dense (foods that are high in nutrients, but low in calories). It’s pumped with micronutrients, like Vitamins A, B6, C, E, and K. Phytochemicals are rich throughout and help with your daily intake of antioxidants (which can help prevent cancer), and not to mention, there’s always that lovely little thing called Fiber. Don’t forget the iron, calcium, copper, manganese, potassium, and even Omega 3 fatty acids, just to name a few… If you’d like to read up a little more, here’s a link my boyfriend so lovingly sent me as “Suck it spinach, Kale is the koolest.”

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-4072/Why-Kale-Is-the-Koolest-Vegetable.html

Let the inner you break through.

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Breathing the ambient air of the Krimml waterfall (by B℮n)

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Source: Flickr / visbeek

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Source: methmonday

Lately, the idea of getting off my butt is a challenge. Exercise has become a question instead of just an everyday thing (and yes, that is exactly what it should be). Watching tv (something I haven’t done since September) has become my best friend and the couch is starting to remember the view of my butt a little too well. Despite my lack of effort, the effort to get MOTIVATED enough to actually get up and exercise is still there. There have been times I have been so dedicated where I have literally fallen asleep while running. Don’t ask me why the thought of closing my eyes was so appealing at that moment in time, but I can assure you the feeling of my legs flying up underneath me was enough to alert me and keep me awake. Do I recommend this type of extremeness, absolutely not. For this particular instance, my goal was to get in shape to run a race. There’s something I can recommend. I find the easiest way to keep myself motivated is to set a goal. Whether you’re looking to run a race (mud runs are especially fun!) or to lose weight, keep that goal in mind. The more I build up that goal to myself and others, gives enough motivation to not let others down, but myself as well. As Walt Disney once said, “Keep moving forward.”

I am notorious for starting something and never finishing it. This blog of mine proves to be no different. I started this last summer after finishing my freshman year of college, determined to help those willing to listen gain a better understanding of living a healthier life. It proved to be a bigger success than I expected, and when summer came to an end and life started again, spreading the “good word” seemed not to be on the forefront as it once had. Two jobs, school, and the attempt of a social life proved to be challenging. Adding something extra to my long days meant cutting out my coveted sleep (which had been cut back to the bare minimum already). However, now that the only thing on my schedule this summer is work, work, and (you guessed it!) work, I can finally put the pen back on the paper (so to speak). I haven’t lost my belief that health and wellness are severely important, which is why I’m back this summer :) (yes everyone, this means you can now look forward to the never ending Healthy Youposts on my facebook page once again). Although this summer, I have changed a few things around, expanded my knowledge and library, and have set out to find more credited sources to ensure the best information on any subject is offered (not that my previous sources weren’t legit). Feel free to ask me any questions, tell me if and when I’m mistaken, and argue against any point I have made, but most importantly, feel free to start living a healthier life today.

-Meg

After months of waiting, I’ve finally made it to the one place I haven’t quite been able to get out of my mind since I was a little girl. It’s a place where dreams come true for all ages, and has already been making mine come true since three months ago when I received an email telling me I had been accepted to do an internship at Walt Disney World. Of course now you’re wondering why on earth this has to do with Healthy You. Well obviously, it’s the changes that lie in front of me. Do I tell myself I don’t have time for a workout, or that a greasy hamburger is the best thing for me on a busy day? Nope. I have to stay true to myself and keep up with what I’m doing (which is for no one but myself). Bottom line, I need to take care of myself! Don’t let a new surrounding take from you what you’ve been working so hard to get!

Nowadays, it seems like everyone’s favorite excuse is that they didn’t have enough time (me included). So we cut out the things that we figure can wait for another day or just aren’t important. Unfortunately, one thing many people have no problem cutting out is their workouts and unfortunately, it shows. If you Google “Americans” and click on images, it will ask if you’d like to re-search “fat Americans”. No joke.

So this is what you need to do. I’m sure you have a free half an hour in your day somewhere (perhaps you should record your favorite tv show or watch it online later), and you need to take that half an hour and do something involving exercise. Remember, a workout doesn’t have to involve the gym, nor does it have to involve a yoga mat. A walk, a game of basketball, or a swim in the pool will help you in long run! (no pun intended)

Before I head off on my internship at Disney for the next three months, I decided to head to Charlotte to visit some friends at school (seeing that I haven’t seen them all summer and they were going to be here early). Of course with a bunch of people here, someone had to cook and being that I love doing that more than anything, I accepted the challenge. For whatever reason I woke up the next morning before everyone else (never happens) and decided to make my stuffed french toast. Now thinking this wasn’t a healthy meal, I substituted some things and well, it wasn’t as bad as I thought. And literally my friend’s mom told me ten times that she couldn’t get it out of her head… ok, so I have to share….

Stuffed French Toast

3 eggs

1 cup organic fat-free milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 loaf of day old french bread (cut into thick slices, cutting 3/4 of the way into each individual slice in order to stuff it)

Mix first 4 ingredients into a bowl and soak the slices of bread in the mixture on all sides. Place bread into a preheated pan (with a little olive oil) until browned on both sides

The stuffing

1 pkg (8 oz) neufchatel cheese (like cream cheese, but better for you)

1/4 cup of granulated sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix ingredients together

The “syrup”

1 cup of strawberries (leave whole, remove tops)

1 cup of blueberries

1 tbsp of brown sugar

Puree strawberries and blueberries together in a food processor until well blended. Heat in a sauce pan and add the brown sugar.

Take two heaping tablespoons of the stuffing and put them in the inside of the french toast and drizzle the “syrup” on top and enjoy!

Nutrition Facts   7 Servings

Amount Per Serving
  Calories 347.0   Total Fat 11.0 g       Saturated Fat 5.6 g       Polyunsaturated Fat 0.9 g       Monounsaturated Fat 1.7 g   Cholesterol 102.2 mg   Sodium 565.6 mg   Potassium 159.5 mg   Total Carbohydrate 49.1 g       Dietary Fiber 3.2 g       Sugars 13.4 g   Protein 12.1 g   Vitamin A 4.5 %   Vitamin B-12 3.4 %   Vitamin B-6 4.2 %   Vitamin C 25.4 %   Vitamin D 7.9 %   Vitamin E 2.1 %   Calcium 10.8 %   Copper 7.3 %   Folate 27.6 %   Iron 12.1 %   Magnesium 5.2 %   Manganese 25.3 %   Niacin 15.8 %   Pantothenic Acid     3.4 %   Phosphorus     15.2 %   Riboflavin 18.3 %   Selenium 29.3 %   Thiamin 23.2 %   Zinc 5.8 %

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Summer is coming to an end sooner than you think! Take advantage of it and go for a swim :)