So you want to be healthy huh? That is why you are visiting this wonderful site! Chelsea of ”Findyourselfhealthy?” contacted me a few weeks ago via Twitter, inviting me to guest post on her site. After checking it out, I am honored! What an amazing thing she has going here! I love her dedication to helping people get healthy! The information on this site can seriously change lives! I am so excited to contribute!
I thought, what better time to post about foods to add to your diet than New Years? We are all getting our resolutions in order and figuring out how we are going to commit to them. I have an easy solution for you. This will not take anything away from your diet, but only add food into it. Sounds reasonable huh? Sounds too good to be true even.
To tell the truth, after I added these foods to my diet, the unhealthy foods voluntarily went out the door! I did not crave them as much or as often. I still crave some sweets and fried food sometimes (like right now my family is having buttery grilled cheese sandwiches and I’m having carrots!), but let me tell you…. I DO NOT like the way they make me feel after eating them. Now that my body is used to eating healthy, it is not happy when I sneak in a candy bar or mozzarella stick. I’ve gotten to where I have to ask myself if the effect is worth the cause (or is that the other way around… well whatever). I hope you get to this point in 2016! I provide healthy recipes on my site, that include the foods I am telling you about in this post. Also, Chelsea has included some great recipes and workouts on this site to help you get healthy! Most of my recipes are for protein smoothies.
All of the foods I propose you add to your diet in 2016 can be thrown into a blender to make a scrumptious meal, in smoothie form! I find it much easier to get my vegetables it this way. For this post, I am literally putting in excerpts of my upcoming eBook to tell you the health benefits of these foods. I have spent tons of time writing about them and my eBook has the best information I could ever give! Keep on reading to the bottom for a link that will take you to download a preview of “22 Habits that Helped me Lose 22 Pounds.
MACA POWDER
To begin, I want to tell you about a super food that I am obsessed with.. okay I’m obsessed with all of the super foods I’m telling you about.. I not able to pick my favorite! They are all a part of my diet every day. The first one I am talking about is Maca powder. I learned about this while I was researching organic foods to boost libido. I noticed my libido had declined after having my daughter, so I found Maca. A couple teaspoons of this in a smoothie will boost ya right up! It has other benefits too, so if you don’t need a libido boost, you still should be having Maca in your diet regularly. Some of the health benefits are:
A nutty flavor but does not change the taste of the smoothie. Just enhances the nutrition!A nutty flavor but does not change the taste of the smoothie. Just enhances the nutrition!
Men and women benefit from maca in different ways. This will do nothing but good things for your life and your health. I add 1 to 2 teaspoons to either my breakfast smoothie or lunch smoothie every day.
Turmeric Root
I learned about turmeric root when researching smoothie recipes before I began creating my own recipes. I then met a Chiropractor who used turmeric root to make golden milk. So my love of turmeric grew as now I have multiple uses for it. I also use it in some of my dinner recipes! See my Metabolism Boosting Polska Kielbasa Turmeric root is a very bright yellow color and will stain! So be careful with it! I would use glassware when dealing with this stuff if possible. The potent color just proves turmeric’s nutrient density! Here are ways it can boost your health in 2016 and beyond:
I get turmeric root off of Ebay. It is sooooo much more affordable than buying it from the grocery store. You also have options to buy in larger quantities this way. A couple months ago I bought two, one pound bags for a total of $20. I sold one to a coworker for $10 and I am still using up the other bag!
Matcha Green Tea Powder
This is not what people typically think of when having green tea. This tea is ground up green tea leaves that you mix right into your water, milk, or whatever recipe you want! I’ve seen recipes for cupcakes, cookies, ice cream, bread, and much more. I like to mix matcha with water and vanilla protein powder in a blender cup to-go. If I feel like having a warm, relaxing tea, I mix it with boiling water and frothed milk with some honey to sweeten it a tad. I’m enjoying a glass of this right now actually, as my husband and daughter are playing in the living room! You do not have to be a tea lover to get matcha in your diet. It is so easy to sneak into smoothies or like I do, make a protein drink on the go with just water and protein powder. This is why matcha is so good for you:
I buy matcha off of Ebay. I have heard people say that “The price of Matcha is probably comparable to the price of crack.” I don’t know about that, but I have found it to be very affordable if you don’t get the highest grade. I get a medium grade matcha and I am extremely satisfied with it. Also, a package will last longer than you think because you only use about a teaspoon per serving.
Chia Seeds
Chia seeds are essential to losing and maintaining weight! I have at least 2 tablespoons a day in smoothies, 1 tbsp per smoothie. You can also sprinkle them over any food or include them in any drink because they have no taste. Chia seeds take on the flavor of whatever you add them to. They are neat little seeds that are solid until mixed with liquid; they turn to gel! This gel swells in your stomach making you feel full longer! Nature is so good to us! These seeds as small but mighty and keep me from craving snacks in between meals. Not only do they suppress appetite and curb cravings, see my list below of more health benefits. You will be impressed.
Chia seeds can be found in most grocery stores now. They are becoming very popular.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Drink it! Plain! I wish I could see your sour face right now just thinking about doing this. I do this every single morning; drink two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar before I have anything else. I chase it with a large glass of water. Then my breakfast smoothie… then coffee… then matcha tea. That is my morning routine in a nutshell.
Of course you can buy apple cider vinegar in any grocery story; it has many uses. It also does wonders for your health! Maybe not your taste buds, but it’s worth it! Some benefits apple cider vinegar has on your body, inside and out are:
There’s a start! Look for my eBook to launch on February 1st 2016 for more information about these healthy foods and much, much more! Happy New Year!! I hope you reach your goals this year and I hope you stick with your plan to get healthy! If you subscribe to my blog, and FindyourselfHealthy, I am positive that Chelsea and I will fill you full of good recipes, workouts, and motivation to see you to your health goals!
Click here to go to my caseysonlinekitchen to get your free preview of “22 Habits that Helped me Lose 22 Pounds
Casey Sanders
www.caseysonlinekitchen.com
