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Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Name five things inside your refrigerator right now and how you feel about them.



Greek Yoghurt
I cannot survive without my yoghurt every morning.  I do not like eating breakfast but know it’s the most important meal of the day.  As a vegetarian, I need protein, so the yoghurt is my kick start to the day.  I used eat those lovely flavored yoghurts but was told by my Doctor that my bad cholesterol was border line.  Hence changing to the 0% fat Greek stuff as my yoghurt of choice and it’s an excellent sources of calcium, potassium, protein, zinc, and vitamins B6 and B12.  I must admit it is a nice creamy consistency but very bland in taste.  So I decided to ‘spice’ it up by adding a few mixed berries.  They are a great way to get the important antioxidants in your diet.  Also, a teaspoon of Wheat Germ in the yoghurt, berry mix helps add a little bulk to my first meal of the day.
Humus
This is another important item in my diet.  Due to the ‘Cholesterol watch’ and not many choices for my diet that I like, the humus is a good supplement.  Cheese and eggs have all that ‘bad’ stuff, so are only on the menu a couple of times.  Otherwise, I would live on these two.  Humus is mad from chickpeas, sesame, lemon, and garlic. 
According to Wikipedia
Hummus is high in iron and vitamin C and also has significant amounts of folate and vitamin B6. The chickpeas are a good source of protein and dietary fiber; the tahini consists mostly of sesame seeds, which are an excellent source of the amino acid menthionine, complementing the proteins in the chickpeas. Depending on the recipe, hummus carries varying amounts of monounsaturated fat.  Hummus is useful in vegetarian and vegan diets; like other combinations of grains and pulses, it serves as a complete protein when eaten with bread.
Mixed berry juice
I love berry juice, it’s tasty and good for me in many ways.  As a supplement to my vegetarian diet, I take a spoon of powdered wheatgrass each day.  But yuk!  It does not taste good.  Mixed in glass of berry juice the wheatgrass goes down a treat
Berry juice is another way of getting the antioxidants like anthocyanins that are necessary for a healthy heart.  Anthocyanins protect the artery walls, aid vitamin C in the construction of collagen, keeping the arteries supple and elasticated. 
Lettuce
Salad is nearly always part of my meal.  I may have a side salad with something else or it might be the main dish.  Lettuce is always the base ingredient for the dish.  Many other vegetables are added to enhance the meal, make it different and tasty, but I will never leave out the lettuce.
Skin benefits of lettuce
1. Lettuce is a rich source of vitamin A with six leaves providing more than 100% of your DV (daily value) of vitamin A. Vitamin A increases the cell turnover, thus revitalizing your skin.
2. It also contains potassium which gives a rich supply of nutrients and oxygen by improving circulation, thus resulting in a healthy and glowing skin.
3. The combination of vitamin E and vitamin C in this vegetable helps in keeping your skin healthy as you age. Vitamin E also provides protection against the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays and reduces the risk of cataracts and macular degeneration.
4. Consumption of lettuce stimulates appetite and removes toxins from the body. Furthermore, it can also cure deficiency of hemoglobin and mineral salts resulting in clear and radiant skin.
  5. The compresses of this vegetable is effective against several skin problems. Boil two salads of the lettuce leaf in 1 litre of water for about 20 minutes. The resulting liquid can be used as a compress on the face and other body parts. This compress can help in curing acne and psoriasis by cleaning the skin. To be effective, compresses should be at room temperature and kept for 10 minutes.
6. Compresses also help in toning your facial skin and can be used as masks, particularly for dry skin.
7. The infusion made from lettuce salad has anti spastic effect and acts as a diuretic and sedative. Drinking this infusion induces a good night sleep yielding the resultant benefits to the skin.
(Source http://www.stylecraze.com/articles/best-benefits-of-lettuce-for-skin-hair-and-health/)
Tomatoes

Most people think of tomatoes as a vegetable when in reality it is a citrus fruit.  A Tomato a day, keeps the doctor away!  They are tasty, versatile and have health benefits that are so numerous they are considered the world’s healthiest food.
One medium whole tomato contains around 22 calories, 0 grams of fat, 5 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 1 gram of protein and 6 milligrams of sodium. It also provides 40 percent of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin C, 20 percent of the RDA of vitamin A, 2 percent of the RDA of iron, and 1 percent of the RDA of calcium. To read more about the health benefits of tomatoes go to http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/5-health-benefits-of-tomatoes.html
So...according to the five most important items of food I have in my fridge, I should be one of the healthiest people on the planet!  In my later years I do feel pretty good.  And plan on continuing eating what I like, which is all of the above and more that is similar.  Plus yoga, walking and lots of sun, expect to live many more enjoyable years.

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