Eating Healthy: List Small Changes That Have Big Impact

[SUPerstitious]

Thought I would start a thread and hopefully have it grow to include a list of foods that we should be eating, when faced with choices or alternatives.

Meaning for example, it's burger night and if one has a choice between grain fed beef vs. grass fed beef vs. bison, which is best? In the example given, my choice is bison (grass fed, lower calories, higher percentages of all the good fats, etc.).

So to kick this off, I will throw in the following:

Grain fed ground beef vs. grass fed ground beef vs. ground bison:
Bison, followed by grass fed beef.

Celery sticks with peanut butter vs. celery sticks with almond butter:
Celery and almond butter.

There must be literally 100's of these...and I look forward to hearing of some of those that all of you have come up with.

[PonoBill]

Check the label on your almond butter, a lot of them have sugar added to counteract the bitter taste. I prefer the bitter stuff to begin with. One of the organic brands (Barney Butter) lists "evaporated cane juice" as the second ingredient. WTF! If you're gonna put sugar in it just says so, lying liars.

[blackeye]

Cut out sugar and salt and eat Fibre, fibre, fibre.  Not glass, carbon or kevlar.

Breakfast: Chia seed, flax seed, both ground in a coffee grinder, dumped on cooked steel cut oats.  Pumpkin and sunflower seeds, and nuts for the fatty acids. 

Lots of vegetables at dinner. 

[SUPerstitious]

Check the label on your almond butter, a lot of them have sugar added to counteract the bitter taste. I prefer the bitter stuff to begin with. One of the organic brands (Barney Butter) lists "evaporated cane juice" as the second ingredient. WTF! If you're gonna put sugar in it just says so, lying liars.

Good point. Cut the sugar!

Regarding almond butter, there are several brands that include nothing but almonds (Trader Joe's has at least two like this).

[Chilly]

What PonoBill said, a lot of items contain sugar using another name.
So for Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich, change it to Natural Peanut butter and Pure Honey.

[T-Boy]

Got a Nutribullet and started making my own green juice with impressive results. My energy level is up, I'm drinking less coffee and feel great after a long surf session,the combination of leafy greens like spinach, kale and chard plus fruit, nuts and some coconut water make for a great morning drink. Got our tugboat crew going on these and our galley has turned into a juice bar in the morning, big change from spam and eggs with two scoops of white rice!!!

[kayadogg]

T-Boy, can you list the recipe for some of your green drinks?  I just got a blender type thing called a Ninja and I've been making protein smoothies nonstop but would love to get some other ideas for healthy drinks.  Anyone else with some smoothie/protein/drink recipes?  Sorry if this is somewhat of a hijack.

[Strand Leper]

Cut the carbs.  Snack on protein or fat.  Eat when you are hungry, not when you are "supposed to" eat.

If you can manage that, you can meet your goal weight.  End of story.

When I get off track, I just go back to those basics.

SL

[SUPerstitious]

T-Boy, can you list the recipe for some of your green drinks?  I just got a blender type thing called a Ninja and I've been making protein smoothies nonstop but would love to get some other ideas for healthy drinks.  Anyone else with some smoothie/protein/drink recipes?  Sorry if this is somewhat of a hijack.

Kayadogg,
At our house, we keep the juices simple. Basically a huge handful of greens (spinach, kale, carrot tops, beet tops, arugula, etc.), blueberries, banana, carrots, cucumbers, basically as much veggies of any sort as possible and a small amount of fruit (mostly for flavor), and sometimes a scoop of protein powder. We thin it with either coconut water or plain carbonated water. Pretty simple, and we try to use what we have on hand.

Our goal is 'make it green'.

[TN_SUP]

Just watched "Fat, sick, and nearly dead" movie about the guy crossing the country with his juicer. Shopping for them now, although some people forego the hard core juicer with fresh veggies for just a blender and the powdered kale & veggie mix which is easier. On the fence which to get, but have a compost tumbler to handle spoiled produce.

[Strand Leper]

I blow out a blender every few months.  Three Cuisinarts and two Magic Bullets in the last two years.  Magic Bullets are pretty much junk.  The low end torque is what is missing in most blenders... and what kills mine.  I like my shakes cold, and the frozen berries, or spinach or kale, plus almond milk... equals a very hard thing to chop through.  My father in law has the vita mix and it is the bomb.  There are a bajillion models, but Mens Health just did a review so you might want to check that out.  I am going with the super simple model... just dials and switches... no programming.  I just want a blender/ juicer that will last.  When I add up what I paid for the three Cuisinarts and two MB's, I am approaching the cost of a vita mix.

SL

[TN_SUP]

Never thought it would come to having to choose a new board or a blender....

[Fark]

T-Boy, can you list the recipe for some of your green drinks?  I just got a blender type thing called a Ninja and I've been making protein smoothies nonstop but would love to get some other ideas for healthy drinks.  Anyone else with some smoothie/protein/drink recipes?  Sorry if this is somewhat of a hijack.

I bought a Ninja and I think it works great.  All looking to get a new one should think about checking these out.  I've been doing the Sambazon smoothie packs with protein powder, frozen berries, greens, and occasionally I'll throw in some greek yogurt.  No problems so far.  Strand, I replaced my Cuisinart with this one.

[supthecreek]

At my bar I used cheap blenders ($29 variety) instead of the commercial "Bar Blenders" at $200
Much cheaper to burn through a couple of "cheapies".... than one big buck blender.

Great smoothie ideas... I'll have to try some.

Replace Potato's....
with Butternut squash with a glisten of butter from grass fed cows
tastes great... lots of fiber... very satisfying...
I even use Butternut squash to make homefries for Sunday Brunch
Not that it matters.... but  even "weight Watchers" gives it a BIG thumbs up... they say "eat as much as you want"

Great thread SUPer!

[kayadogg]

Thanks SUPerstitious, good advice.  I made a killer combo the other day... kale, kiwi, wheatgrass, banana, chia, avocado and almond milk.  

SL, check out the Ninja Master Prep.  My girl just got this for me as a gift and it rocks.  Like an iPhone, only 1 button to worry about.  You can pulse it or hold it down for full steam.  Also the easiest blender I've ever had in terms of cleaning.  The motor sits on top and the blades come right out so you can clean them separately.  I've had it for about a month and have been using frozen fruit with almond milk almost every time and it's never felt like it was straining at all. Pretty moderate in price compared to some of the big names too.  

http://www.amazon.com/Ninja-Professional-Blender-Chopper-Crusher/dp/B003O47MKA