Monday Minute

"The best way to enjoy the present moment and avoid undue stress is to refuse to let every little thing upset you. In other words, choose your battles, and don't make mountains out of molehills. Before you devote your time, energy, and emotion to an issue or situation, ask yourself two questions:
1. How important is it?
2. How much of your time, effort, and energy is really appropriate for you to put into it?

Know what really matters in life, and focus on those things. Learn the difference between major matters and minor matters."

-Joyce Meyer, "Power Thoughts"




Copyright, 2015, Jackie Mart. For further information about this blog, or Optimum Wellness LLC, contact Jackie Mart at 712.790.5883 or Jackie@OptimumWellnessMN.com. As a holistic nutritionist and lifestyle coach, I will support you in taking steps to a healthier and happier you. My goal is to help you create an art of balance in your life. You will also learn how important balance between primary foods (relationships, physical activity, sleep, career and spirituality) and secondary foods (organic food and whole food) is.
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Bear Naked


Granola. A health food? This is one item I see many people throw in their shopping carts.  Here is a popular brand that frequents the aisles. If you look closely at the label you will see it contains 7 grams of sugar in a 1/4 cup serving.  The real number you need to look at is the carbohydrates because carbs turn into sugar in the body.  22 grams. Divide this number and divide it by 4.  Why 4? For every 4 grams listed on a food label there is one 1 teaspoon of sugar.  So a 1/4 cup serving of this granola really has 5.5 teaspoons of sugar.  Would you sit down and eat 5.5 teaspoons of sugar out of a sugar bowl? Probably not, but this is how much sugar you are consuming in that tiny amount of granola! 




Another thing to look at on the label is the ingredient list.  The first thing I noticed was the word, "processed." Processed foods are made in a factory and changed from their natural state to something man-made and devoid of enzymes and contain less nutrients.  Do you see the sugars in the ingredient list? There are 4 of them: brown rice syrup, apples (even though this is natural sugar it still contains fructose), sugar, tapioca syrup.  Another ingredient I want to point out is canola oil. Read about the health concerns of canola oil here: http://draxe.com/understanding-the-facts-about-canola-oil/

 If you need something crunchy to add into your yogurt add in raw nuts and seeds! 
*This is just one of the many topics I go over during my grocery store tours at the local store where you shop. To find out more information or to schedule a tour please contact me. 712.790.5883 or Jackie@OptimumWellnessMN.com 



Copyright, 2015, Jackie Mart. For further information about this blog, or Optimum Wellness LLC, contact Jackie Mart at 712.790.5883 or Jackie@OptimumWellnessMN.com. As a holistic nutritionist and lifestyle coach, I will support you in taking steps to a healthier and happier you. My goal is to help you create an art of balance in your life. You will also learn how important balance between primary foods (relationships, physical activity, sleep, career and spirituality) and secondary foods (organic food and whole food) is.

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Navigating the Salad Bar



Lunch time!! You forgot your lunch at home and had time to swing by your local grocery store to snag a salad.  
What to eat at a salad bar:

  • Green leafy lettuce (the greener the better)
  • Raw vegetables of any kind
  • Hard-boiled egg
  • Raw sunflower seeds or other raw nuts, chia seeds, ground flax seeds, hemp seeds
  • Grilled chicken or fish
  • Cheese (not too much)
  • Oil (extra virgin olive oil) and vinegar (don’t feel bad about over indulging on the extra virgin olive oil)
  • Quinoa 
  • Avocado

What to AVOID at the salad bar:

  • Salami type sliced meats (processed and have nitrates) 
  • Ice burg lettuce (no nutritional value) 
  • Deep fried chicken and other meats (self explanatory) 
  • Salted, roasted sunflower seeds and other nuts (made with damaged oils and added salt) 
  • Croutons (processed) 
  • Dressings made with sugar and mayo (this is where a lot of the calories are, food additives and chemicals) or pasta salads made with mayo
  • Fat Free dressings (when they take out the fat they add sugar and chemicals to make it taste better!) 
  • Bacon bits (processed and probably doesn't even contain bacon) 

Please contact me if you would like more information on how to make healthier choices. 712.790.5883 or Jackie@OptimumWellnessMN.com 

CLICK HERE for Clean Eating Lunch Recipes. 




Copyright, 2015, Jackie Mart. For further information about this blog, or Optimum Wellness LLC, contact Jackie Mart at 712.790.5883 or Jackie@OptimumWellnessMN.com. As a holistic nutritionist and lifestyle coach, I will support you in taking steps to a healthier and happier you. My goal is to help you create an art of balance in your life. You will also learn how important balance between primary foods (relationships, physical activity, sleep, career and spirituality) and secondary foods (organic food and whole food) is.


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Make or Break Breakfast

Here are the most common breakfast mistakes I've seen:

 Not Enough Protein

 Many of my clients have a bowl of cereal with milk for their breakfasts. Seems like a good choice, right? Yes, one cup of milk provides eight grams of protein, but think about it: How often do slurp down all the milk that accompanies our cereal? Not often, I would guess. Protein digests more slowly than carbohydrates, so without ample amounts, you'll be hungry sooner rather than later. If you don't want to drink the milk from the bowl, add a hard-boiled egg to your meal for extra protein. Cereal and milk are also loaded with sugar. Sugar causes inflammation, feeds cancer cells, weakens the immune system, and causes weight gain among other things. 4 grams of sugar listed on a food label= 1 teaspoon of sugar! 

 Too Little Fiber

 The more sugar in your breakfast cereal, the faster it digests, and the hungrier you'll be. Conversely, more fiber will keep you fuller longer. So, here's my rule of thumb if you do decide to eat cereal: There should always be at least five grams of fiber, and there should always be more fiber than sugar. For extra fiber, add chia or flax seeds. If you choose the latter, make sure to grind the seeds first, or else you won't absorb their nutritional benefits. 

 No Fat

 A meal with no fat can make you hungry again within an hour. Let's look at the supposed healthy breakfast of nonfat Greek yogurt, high-fiber cereal and berries. Where's the fat? I tell my clients to either switch to whole milk yogurt or to add some nuts to prevent feeling hungry. 

 Not Enough Food

 While a piece of fruit is rich in fiber, vitamins and minerals, it's not enough for breakfast. Many of my clients have found that a grab-and-go breakfast -- like an apple on the drive to work -- simply doesn't cut it. However, if they sit down and mindfully consume about 300 to 400 calories, they feel way more satisfied. By the time lunch approaches, eating breakfast has likely kept them from a day of overeating. Also- a cup of coffee and a donut is one of the worst things you could consume. Caffeine and sugar=afternoon crash!! 

 Too Late In the Day

 I usually recommend eating within an hour of waking, if possible. The longer a person waits to eat breakfast, the hungrier they usually become, making it harder to be satisfied once they eat. Remember: One of a breakfast's main purposes is to provide you with fuel after a long break from eating. Once your breakfast blurs with the lines of lunchtime, it no longer does its job efficiently! 


 Breakfast:  (Ideas: eggs with veggies, protein smoothie with almond milk, etc.) 

3 oz. protein
1-2 Carbs (Vegetables)
1 – Fruit (low sugar choices only) 
1-Healthy fat

Total Calories: 300-350 

Grain less Granola

 Ingredients:

1 cup Raw Organic Pecans, chopped
1 cup Dried Organic Apples, chopped
1 cup Organic Raisins
1 cup Raw Organic Sunflower Seeds
1/2 cup Raw Organic Almonds, chopped
Pinch of organic ground cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg

Directions: 

 Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
Flour-less Pancakes 

 Ingredients: (Organic if possible) 

2 Ripe bananas, mashed
3 Eggs
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
Sea salt to taste
Ghee or Coconut Oil 

Directions:

 1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl

 2. Pour batter into a pan with melted ghee or coconut oil over medium heat. Cook until small bubbles form and then flip.
CLICK HERE for more Clean Eating Recipes! 


Copyright, 2015, Jackie Mart. For further information about this blog, or Optimum Wellness LLC, contact Jackie Mart at 712.790.5883 or Jackie@OptimumWellnessMN.com. As a holistic nutritionist and lifestyle coach, I will support you in taking steps to a healthier and happier you. My goal is to help you create an art of balance in your life. You will also learn how important balance between primary foods (relationships, physical activity, sleep, career and spirituality) and secondary foods (organic food and whole food) is.



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Liver Cleansing Cocktail

Your liver is your main detoxifying organ, and it can get bogged down from time to time depending on your diet, activity level, and environment. When an overload of toxins becomes too much for your liver to handle, toxic compounds can store within tissues and decrease your quality of health. 

If you're cleansing your liver, you need to provide your body with nutrition that is easy to digest. You don't want your body to spend its energy digesting food, but you definitely need to keep a good balance of nutrients, electrolytes, and antioxidants to provide support during the detox. Juicing is a powerful way to support the cleansing of your liver without compromising the body’s natural healing process.

 Liver Cleansing Juice Cocktail


Ingredients:

 3 Organic Carrots 
1 Organic Beet 
2 Organic Apples 
6 Organic Kale Leaves
½ inch of ginger root
½ organic lemon, peeled


Why These Ingredients?

Beets and Carrots

 Beets and carrots are extremely high in Vitamin A. Eating these ingredients, along with other plant foods containing similar nutrients, can help stimulate and improve overall liver function.

 Apples- I use green apples (Granny Smith) because they are lower in sugar.  

 High in pectin, apples hold the nutrients necessary for the body to cleanse and release toxins from the digestive tract. This makes it easier for the liver to handle the toxic load during the cleansing process.

 Kale

 One of our most powerful allies in cleansing the liver, leafy greens such as kale can be eaten raw, cooked, or juiced. Extremely high in plant chlorophylls, greens suck up environmental toxins from the bloodstream. It has the ability to neutralize toxic metals, chemicals, and pesticides.

 Ginger Root -I'm allergic to ginger so I leave this out of my recipes but it has amazing health benefits! 

 Ginger has also been historically used for flatulence, constipation, bloating, and other digestive complaints. Researchers have found ginger to be effective for stress-related ulcers.

 Lemons

 Citrus fruits, such as lemons, contain very high amounts of vitamin C, which aids the body in converting toxic materials into substances that can be absorbed by water. Drinking freshly-squeezed lemon or lime juice in the morning helps stimulate the liver.
CLICK HERE for more Juicing Recipes! 
Source: http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/
Copyright, 2015, Jackie Mart. For further information about this blog, or Optimum Wellness LLC, contact Jackie Mart at 712.790.5883 or Jackie@OptimumWellnessMN.com. As a holistic nutritionist and lifestyle coach, I will support you in taking steps to a healthier and happier you. My goal is to help you create an art of balance in your life. You will also learn how important balance between primary foods (relationships, physical activity, sleep, career and spirituality) and secondary foods (organic food and whole food) is.
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