From Health magazine
Let’s face it: The dream of having our very own personal spa chef whip up delicious, good-for-us grub probably isn’t happening in this economy. So we found the next best thing—great stuff that makes eating healthy affordable and, honestly, almost effortless. Check out our top picks:
1. The end of the brown rice rut
Because nobody has an hour to devote to a midweek side dish, quick-cooking quinoa and whole-wheat couscous are truly revolutionary. With the same satisfying texture and nutty flavor as brown rice (plus more fiber), these 10-minute grains give new meaning to fast food.
2. Almonds by the pound
If you’re sick of schlepping to crunchy co-ops to buy nuts, dried fruit, and grains in bulk, you’ll be happy to hear that mass grocery stores are rediscovering these money-saving bins. That means we can buy less-processed, less-pricey raw almonds, unsalted sunflower seeds, organic trail mix, and more where we stock up on milk and other basics.
3. Generation 2.0 market bag
Buying fresh means buying often. And if you’re biking or walking to the market to stock up, you need a tote that’s up to the task. The new reusable, planet-friendly bags do it all—they’re big enough to carry loads of goodies, truly leakproof, and way cuter than granny carts. On the fence about bringing your own? A single reusable bag could eliminate more than 1,000 plastic grocery bags in its lifetime.
4 and 5. Our own herb stash—and mincer!
Fresh herbs add flavor and depth to a dish but practically zero calories and no fat. They also bruise easily, spoil quickly, and aren’t cheap. So we’re all for the grow-your-own-herbs window boxes that are everywhere now. Get an herb mincer to prevent bruising those delicate leaves. If you have a black thumb, herbs in a tube are a good alternative to the fresh stuff. With a fridge shelf life of three months, your cilantro won’t go bad before you can use it up.
Next: The mini movement
Comments (38)
i hate places that put their articles on 2 pages. thumbs down on stumble
Great ideas in this blog! Thanks for the info :~)
hint. adverbs
what’s so bad about co-ops? local anyone??
I know some people who think they’re messy or ill-managed, when in reality it’s the opposite.
I can honestly say that this web site has helped me out alot.
1-which fruits,vegetables,botanicals has the most beneficiary qualities.
2-which fruits,vegetables,botanicals has the least beneficiary qualities.
3- i have artschelrosois,heart disease,lympeedema,high blood pressure,poor circulation condition.what would be a good diet regimen i can live by (and,what should be avoided)at age 53.
4-ex-smoker,subdued drinker.they say i should start a better diet now if i want to live longer.but,from the diet that was duggested of me.should i continue and live happy or refine myself and live miserable.after all wheter now or later death becomes us all.i had a freind who quit drinking and smoking.he found life to be boring to live without a buzz.he died in an auto accident.it was quivered at his wake would he had lived better doing what he did,if he had only knew his fate.he had quit his bad habits only four months before the accident.
*Real* free range chickens are not fed a veggie only diet. *Real* free range chickens eat a whole range of bugs and grubs over the course of their day.
If someone is telling you that a chicken is free range *and* ate only veggie products? They’re lying, or their definition of free range doesn’t involve grass or sunshine.
You cannot buy raw almonds, in bulk or otherwise, anywhere any more. They are ILLEGAL. All raw almonds in North America are required to undergo mandatory pasteurization. They are NOT raw.
What are the health risks of eating almonds raw?
Kayla I thing eating almonds raw is not bad but in winters. If you eat dry almonds in summers it will produce excess heat in your body. Put almonds in the water for 20-25 minutes, remove the upper brown part and have almonds (Take 5-6 Almonds a day with hot milk in morning)
For more health tips:- http://www.easy16.com
Fresh herbs are great, especially if you are a millionaire. This company is the best I’ve seen in making the compromise of dried and delicious. Julietmae.com
That’s why they say to GROW your own herbs–not buy them!! It’s a very cost effective way to enjoy herbs in your kitchen. I have a little window box with, flat leaf parsley, cilantro and basil. :-)
Juliet Mae makes dried herb blends for those of us who cannot afford fresh.
Regarding your comment about course sea-salt containing less sodium than table salt is a bit incorrect. Salt (no matter what form; sea, table, kosher) is a particular combination of sodium and chlorine. The main reason people get away with saying one has “less sodium” than another is because of the fact that the calculation is made by volume. A tablespoon of sea salt will have less sodium than a tablespoon of table salt because of the difference in grain size.
Different brands of salts, from Flor De Sel to run-of-the-mill table salt are specifically processed to have a particular crystal size and shape. Table salt is grown in perfect cubes so that they will dissolve quickly in a dish to add overall saltiness (or aid in baking). “Finishing salts” (kosher, flor de sel, etc) have different crystal forms. These are attained by pressing or crushing the salt crystals. The difference in shape allows them to stay on the tongue longer, and add a significant amount of flavor to a dish AFTER it is cooked.
In all truth, salt is salt is salt. There isn’t any reason to waste money on expensive salts when all you really need is table salt for cooking, and kosher salt for finishing.
Scott,
Your definition of “salt” is not exactly correct. Chemically speaking, a salt is any METAL (in a possitive ion state) combined with an anion (which as a negative ion state). The most common anion found in most salts is Chloride (Cl-).
The metal can vary greatly. In sea salt, you not only find sodium (Na) based salts but manganese, magnesium, potassium, and other salts.
Therefore, the benefit of sea salt is the other natural metals your body needs small amounts of.
And remember, a small amount of potassium can have a dramatic affect on one’s heart: what is known as the calcium (and potassium) ion pumps.
Thank a lot . I have to be honest with you that I have been robbing my mind my body with junk food. Now that I know even if it means more money to cook better I am going to try my best.
Thanks again.
Regards
Xoliswa
like it, thanks
Firstly, to avoid the long cooking times for brown rice and other whole grains, I pick a day a week to devote to cooking and make a large pot, then I portion it out and freeze it in ziplocs. Brown rice freezes well, as do quinoa, millet, barley, and beans of all kinds.
Second, eating right doesnt have to be expensive: if you buy meat and whole grains in bulk and cook alot at once (freezing individual portions), it will reduce the cost. Also, fresh fruits and veggies are a lot cheaper than highly refined, HFCS and sugar filled junk. And even if you are buying organic, a meal made at home is usually cheaper than fast food.
Lastly, in response to the gentleman Charles Gittens asking about a healthy diet, I follow the eyou plan. Its full of fresh fruits, veggies, protein and whole grain. This plan is tailored to help you lose weight, increase metabolism, stabilize blood sugar and increase all the nutrients that are vital to health. I have my own skinny coach (skinnycoach.com) who helps me make healthy choices and stick to it. I am a nursing mother and this plan is wonderful-I can lose weight and increase my metabolism, and Im not starving! Check out elementalyou.com if you are interested. Other helpful things for me have been reading books on the subject- Sugar Shock, and Cereal Killer are two favorites.
Great advise.: )If you make a large pan of rice and get plain sick of eating rice all by itself you can also put it in a pressure cooker with some veggies and shreaded beef(10% fat)and it makes many other great and different meals. And you can just leave the pressure cooker to do it’s own thing while your doing your own thing. lol : )
” 10 Easy Ways to Eat Natural ”
To eat natural what?
Natural is *not* an adverb, it is an adjective.
I see were you might be confused. Since the word eat is a verb, the word natural is in fact an adverb because a adverb is usually attached to a verb, an adverb can modifying or qualifying a verb such as eat. In this case the adverb natural tells us the way in which the action of the verb is carried out.
Well, what unitron was trying to say was that “naturalLY” is the adverb form, while “natural” is an adjective. So technically, if you wanted to nit-pick, as unitron clearly did, it would be: “10 Easy Ways to Eat Naturally.”
But, sheesh, get over it.
By the way, you should probably look into the difference in meaning between “healthy” and “healthful”. There’s no such thing as healthy food, at least not by the time it’s actually been eaten, nor can one eat “healthy”, although one can certainly eat “healthily”.
Awareness is a must,dont wait till you are diagonsed with Diabetes 1 or type 2.
Work out for all ages.
2.Healthy diet.
3.No stress.
4.Fenugreek seeds lower blood sugar.
5.1 tablespoon of vinegar in the morning or before each meal.
6.1 tsp of powedered cinnamon with tea work too.
7.Bitter gourd slices though too bitter does lower blood sugar.
8.Basil leaves,curry leaves not only lowers blood sugar but controls BP and arthiritis.
9.The fruit of Neem tree works great.
10.Yoga excercises are good for the elders.
Those readers who criticize the use of adverbs and adjectives in this article sound incredibly pretentious.
Be positive, be healthy, live longer! Oh, look: I forgot to use parallel structure… I’m sure to get skewered for that!
Owe I don’t think Unitron ment it to be offensive or to sound negative I think they were just confused and needed clarification which I clarified except for a couple spelling errors. : ) lol
I agree with Petra–chickens are not naturally vegetarian–they like to eat bugs in the dirt, etc….makes free range chickens omnivores, if they also eat the corn that is fed to them.
If you want to eat REAL chickens, don’t eat chickens advertised as raised on vegetarian foods.
“crunchy co-ops”? Co-ops are not crunchy. They are in fact a great alternative to the traditional grocery store where people who shop their have a more personal shopping experience. I understand if the author of this piece has had a bad co-op experience and that saddens me but that does not mean that all co-ops are crunchy, whatever that means.
The information here is useful but I felt that I had to address that slated and frankly rude comment.
Not only do a lot of organic foods taste the way they’re -supposed- to taste, but a lot of them like wasabi are so much better for you! Along with the delicious taste and extra vitamins and minerals, organic wasabi can help prevent certain types of cancer; you can see for yourself at .
I’m a fit 93 year old, who people take for 70. I live alone in my own home now and like it. I owe my good health to the good genes my loving Mother gave me. She lived to age of 109.
I eat a porridge for breakfast around 8 am, (after taking my blood pressure pills) made with 3 tablespoons of oat meal, 2 of flax seed meal, one of toasted wheat germ microwaved together with half a cup of frozen blueberries, washed down with English glass of Concord Grape juice.
A mixed vegitable and fruit purrie for lunch around Noon. Consisting of 2 Tablespoons of strawberry Yoguof rt, 3 red beans, spinach, 4 frozen strawberries, 4 dates, 2 canned whole tomatoes, and half a fresh peeled apple, microwaved and blended into warm soup, eaten with 2 slices of toasted oatmeal bread with Smart Balance. one splice eaten with soup, second with wild honey. Washed down with glass of Cider.
Take a nap after lunch then go to YMCA to walk the treadmill, with two stops for a mile, plus their exercise machines for arms and legs.
Dinner around 7pm: Small piece of fish, broccoli, and brown rice, plus a boiled onion occasionaly, with a glass of Arbor Mist Merlot and blackberry 5% alcohol wine.
Snack in evening on 3 0-z of Hersey chocolate.
I eat out for a breakfast with eggs, and a scallop dinner twice a week.
Usually watch History, Discovery, and PBS TV. Go to bed after watching Charlie Rose.
I’m a well known activist who used to write more letters to press than I do now.
Still run the Samantha Smith Chapter of Veterans for Peace.
Problems: My legs muscles are weakening, otherwise I’m OK.
Will be inviting 50 plus old friends to a repeat of my succeful Ninetieth celebration dance party in a couple of years.
As I keep right on till the end of the road.
Paul,
The food you are eating sounds good, a suggestion would be to stop using the microwave,
it changes the food molecules so your body can’t
use it. I got rid of my microwave. Also are you on a statin drug for cholesterol? One of the side effects is muscle wasting. Also Hershey chocolate is not really chocolate, just milk fat with chocolate flavoring, try Dark Chocolate with at least 60% cocoa. I hope I am as independent as you when I am in my 90’s, I have been a Vegetarian all my life. I have a Friend who is a Health Minister and a Vegan who believes that Alzheimers is a form of Mad Cow disease. I see by your post that you don’t eat meat, and your mind is very sharp. I’m not taking any meds for BP or any “aging diseases”. I have found a Glutathione accelerator that I have been taking for a year that has given me amazing energy, none of my Friends can keep up with me. I’m in my 50’s, and have people tell me I look like I am in my 30’s. My Maternal Grandmother was 94 and my Paternal Grandfather was 93, when they died, so am counting on a long life.
Hope you have an incredible celebration on all of
your Birthdays until at least 100!
I have recently started eating quinoa and love the taste, nutrition and ease of preparation. I fix a bowl of quinoa with sliced scallions, tomatoes, cucumbers, chickpeas, a drizzle of EVOO and a squeeze of lemon, some sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, all on a bed of romaine. Food for the Gods! My question is where may I find quinoa reasonably priced? Is it available on any internet sites in bulk? I’m paying a high price for a one lb bag of Eden Organic. I would like to buy several pounds at a time since I live 40 miles from the store that carries it. How long would it keep in an air tight container? Thanks in advance for any help.
Just thought I would mention to watch your fish sources. There is a big difference in wild salmon vs farm-raised as far as nutrients and toxins. This article explains which is better and why: Wild Salmon vs Farmed Salmon.
Point number 9 is very misleading. Hormone use in poultry is not permitted by the US government and has been illegal for almost 50 years. NO chicken or pork in the US has growth hormones. I can’t speak for antibiotics but information regarding a ban on hormones use is readily available online.
I just stumbled across this website and the comments. What a refreshing chat board. Loved the comments from Paul Brailsford (may you continue with a long, healthy life) and the little helpful comment from Lauren about how microwaving changes the molecular structure of food. Very true. Does anyone out there subscribe to the notion of food-combining? Fruits should be eaten alone; various other foods are better together (high water content vegetables and protein vs. high starch content vegetables and protein) etc.?
Two comments. Soybeans that are not GMO are hard to find and chickens are not vegetarians. They naturally eat all kinds of bugs. Find a source that really lets the chickens run in the yard. To offset the cost, I get three meals out of one. Chicken with veggies on the side, chicken and dumplins and then chicken soup. My family loves them all.
Another big idea for eating naturally is to eat what is in season. The more miles the food had to fly the less natural it will be. And if it comes from the area near where you live all the better. And if it is on your own windowsill – best of all. Our bodies need different food in different seasons, and health problems are best solved in the season they relate to.