"Tuesday's Tip" (Good Fats)

I apologize for not posting last Tuesday. It was a long week and I just didn't have time to blog. I hate that. I have so much I need to write about, but with my computer down, I have to use Brian's Mac and I am just a PC girl.

I've been into food lately. Nothing new really, I LOVE to eat, but lately though I have been thinking and learning about the foods that go into my body. I've checked out some books from the library and bought a couple from Borders and when I get a free second I read. I ran across a list in one of my health magazines that I thought was really helpful. I cut it out and stuck it on my fridge.

So here is my tip for today. You should try to eat "good" fat with every meal. This helps you lose weight and get rid of belly fat. It also makes you feel fuller longer so you eat less. The following foods are also heart healthy. The idea would be to have one of these on the list with every meal.

Raw Almonds- 1 ounce (23 nuts)

Chopped Walnuts- 1/4 cup

Avocado- 1/4 California avocado

Olive Oil- 1 Tablespoon

Smooth Peanut Butter- 1 Tablespoon

Green or Black Olives- 8 jumbo

Unsalted Sunflower Seeds- 1/4 cup

Some other things to think about when buying some of these products. First let's take peanut butter. I prefer almond butter because it has been found to have more healthy properties than peanut butter and is a good source of boron, which is great in maintaining bone and joint health by making the enzymes stronger. With all the allergies kids can have to peanut butter, I started keeping Almond Butter in the fridge when Brooklyn was little and we all love it. Either one you decide to use make sure it is all natural. No Jiff or Skippy. :) Costco sells a huge jar of Maranatha Almond Butter for $7. You can't beat that price.

With Olive Oil you want to make sure you use Extra Virgin Olive Oil that says Cold Pressed on it. I have just come to learn why. When it says Cold Pressed it means it was extracted using no heat or chemicals. This is really important to get the most benefits out of the oil. Another tip you might not know is that you should not cook with Olive oil. Strange I know because if you watch the Food Network you will see them do it all the time. When you heat Olive Oil almost all the healthy benefits are destroyed. It can also cause chemicals to be released into your food. The best thing to cook with is a little water in the pan or organic butter. I use just a small amount of organic butter when I cook.

I will share more later about my journey to better health in later blogs, but I hope you have found this post helpful to you. I have been reminded lately that our bodies truly are a temple. I am blessed to be alive and I want to do my best to live the life that God intended me to live. I have found that hard to do when I am feeling tired and sick. Something I read the other day really stuck with me. It was talking about how when we pray before a meal we ask God to bless our food we are about to eat. It went on to say, "We believe God is going to come down and miraculously remove the physical toxins from the food we are about to consume or cancel out the effects of those toxins on our bodies". Hello. So true. Why do I believe I can fill my body with junk and think that the Lord will keep me from getting sick? It was a "ah ha" moment for me. I have to ask myself daily before I eat, is this something that will work for me or against me. If it will work against me than it's just not worth it. It's a battle and one that I am determined to win for me and my family.