• Priscilla Nason Shartle

hearthealthyboomer

~ Living healthy after age seventy.

hearthealthyboomer

Tag Archives: calories

Clean Eating

15 Wednesday Jun 2016

Posted by prisnasonshartle in Clean Eating

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Tags

calories, God, healthy eating, my garden, organic foods, vegetables, weight loss

My Garden Bounty

My son is 42 years old and recently was given a clean bill of health from his family doctor. His once high blood pressure has returned to normal and his life-long history of allergies have disappeared and he has the body of a 20 year old man. Two years ago he started a regime of eating clean. According to Fox News Health, “The primary principle of eating clean is to replace processed foods with fresh and natural foods. This means foods that haven’t had anything added to them, and haven’t had anything valuable taken away. “

“In addition to reading ingredient lists, so you can ditch products made with artificial additives, including flavors, sweeteners, colors, and preservatives, clean eating is about steering clear of foods made from genetically modified organisms, and those treated with hormones and antibiotics, and going organic when possible, to reduce foods grown with man-made pesticides and fertilizers,” writes Cynthia Sass, a registered dietitian with master’s degrees in both nutrition science and public health.

She goes on to explain that clean eating is not a trend but a movement focusing on how food we eat affects our body as well as our planet. My son says he doesn’t “live to eat.” Instead he “eats to live.” He doesn’t eat clean to change or influence others but he is an inspiration. At the same time he began this way of life, he gave up alcohol and meat. He eats fish and sea food and eggs, but no dairy.

I do not eat clean totally, however I do read labels and try as much as possible to eat fresh organic foods especially ones I’ve grown myself. I do eat meat and drink a glass of red wine every day and I understand that high fiber foods that are good for me are also high in calorie. Combine that with the wine, odds are losing weight might not be in the picture.

However, like my son, I have the power to choose how I want to look, feel and weigh. When I turn to the Spiritual connection I have within I realize what a young girl suffering an eating disorder realized, “A turning point for me, I can remember,”  says Emily, “it was as if God was speaking to me directly, saying, ‘It’s not how you see yourself but how I see you that will heal you.’ And I started seeing more of what God sees. God doesn’t see imperfection, God sees good and only good.” And like my son, she went on to not only heal her eating disorder but also the need to wear glasses.

It occurred to me that if I combine my healthy eating habits with my connection to God and begin as Emily suggests: to see me as God sees me, I can then truly become the person I want to be.

Good Food, Good Drink, Good God, Let’s Eat!

07 Tuesday Jul 2015

Posted by prisnasonshartle in Bountiful Raised Garden

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Tags

baking, Braggs Organic Apple Cider, calories, eating healthy, family, friends, garden, Huffington Taste, organic, raised garden, vegetables, vegetarian

vegetablesGone for five days and it rained for four of those days.  Lucky days for our garden (and for our son Brian who offered to water both our garden and his brother Daniel’s garden.)  We came home to brand new vegetables and an abundance of others that had already been producing.  Always grateful, we love sharing and my new neighbor mentioned she was a vegetarian (for 55 years now) and she got a large brown bag of assorted vegetables right after I cleaned them. Included in yesterday’s pickings were cucumbers, squash, zucchini, lettuce, beets, purple hull crowder peas, bell peppers, okra, and three varieties of heirloom cherry tomatoes.

Yesterday for lunch I made a green salad with three varieties of lettuce, the cherry tomatoes, avocado, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, boiled egg, chopped broccoli, cucumbers, and quinoa.  It was delicious.  We had a half a grilled cheese sandwich to top it off.  For dinner, I made cheese grits from organic polenta and because we do eat meat from time to time, I sautéed some chicken and then added a cold salad I made early in the day which had cucumber, tomato, and onion soaked in my homemade dressing of Bragg Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, olive oil, and honey.  For lunch today, I stir-fried slices of zucchini and veggie burger (which we split), deviled an egg for each of us, sliced some cold cumbers and tossed on a few cherry tomatoes and topped it all off with a couple of spoons of my homemade bread and butter pickles that I made last week.

Tonight I am making a zucchini risotto with sun-dried tomatoes and lots of other herbs and greens from our garden.  I’ll grill a slice of pork loin topped with garlic, grated lemon, red pepper flakes and some Louisiana seasoning.  And we will finish off our dinner with a flourless chocolate cFlourless-Chocolate-Chip-Banana-Muffinship almond butter muffin.  I found this recipe at the Huffington Taste website. Every once in a while it’s nice to not know the calorie count on something.  But eating healthy the majority of the time allows for a few hiccups and I do love chocolate chip anything!

But most of all, I enjoy taking advantage of the bounty from our raised gardens in our little back yard.  When I think about all the years we didn’t have one, I say a prayer of gratitude for what we have now.  Growing our own vegetables helps with our budget and it helps us know that what we are eating is organic and good for us.  And we get to enjoy new foods, create new recipes, and share our bounty with friends and family.

The 100 Calorie Challenge

30 Friday Sep 2011

Posted by prisnasonshartle in 100-calorie snacks

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Tags

baby boomer, calories, heart healthy, lifestyle changes, Mayo Clinic, nutritionists, snacks, weight control

A registered dietitian at a local hospital lifestyle center was quoted in the newspaper recently referring to the 100-calorie snacks made popular by Nabisco and Frito Lay saying, “You’re not getting much quality food, and it’s not really filling.  It’s Dieting 101 for lazy people.”

As offensive as this sounds to those of us who welcomed these small portions of chocolate or salt to get that little taste we crave so much, the message nutritionist are trying to send is that there are more healthier options.   This is when an age-old dilemma of what is more important nutrition or calorie count comes into question.  And the answer is finding the happy median where both work together.

The older a baby boomer gets, the harder it is to lose weight.  According to the Mayo Clinic web site, “Muscle mass gradually diminishes with age, and fat accounts for a greater percentage of your weight.”  Most sedentary women baby boomers, over 51 should be eating 1600 calories a day.  But if you are trying to lose weight, as I am, 1200 calories a day is the recommended count.  Choosing between a healthy snack and a 100 calorie snack that lacks nutritional value makes sense.  Well-planned, healthy snacks can complement a weight loss plan.  The one redeeming value of the 100-calorie snacks is according to a registered nutritionist at another local hospital is that it holds us down to a certain amount.

And therein lies the real dilemma, how badly do we want to take care of ourselves?  Do we have it in us to make the lifestyle changes we need to make to live another twenty years healthy and strong?  Do we have it in ourselves the courage to look up healthy snack options from cookbooks, the Internet, and local nutrition specialists and then follow through by choosing 100 calories of fruit/ vegetables/ whole grains, nuts and seeds instead of a tiny bag of cookies, crackers, or air?  Because that’s what it is folks and when we accept that, we are ready to make the switch.

Here are some examples the Mayo Clinic gives for 100 calorie snacks:

  •  1 cup sliced bananas and fresh raspberries
  • 2 cups of carrots
  • 3 1/2 cups air-popped popcorn
  • 5 melba toast crackers, rye or pumpernickel
  • 2 tablespoons of peanuts
  • 2 domino-sized slices of low-fat Colby or cheddar cheese
  • 1 fat-free chocolate pudding cup

 I think I’m ready to make the switch, are you?

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