The Healthy Foodie

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Healthy Foodie Principles: How to Be a Healthy Foodie

“The Healthy Foodie” loves to eat, cook, eat out, and  share good times with friends and family—and also wants to live a long, vigorous life. Our philosophy is you can have both: revel in the enjoyment of  food  and keep yourself in good shape.

Mediterranean Diet

Maintaining a Healthy Weight

Submit your delicious and healthy recipes to us to include in the on-line data base!

      We know that you are creative and interested in not compromising flavor just because you eat healthfully.  Submit your favorite recipes to us at healthyfoodierecipes@gmail.com, include your name and city where you live.  We'll let you know when your recipe is included (with credits to you!) on the site.

 

 

Hazelnut Ice Cream
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Learning to Cook Healthy Foods
Healthy Foodie Recipes

Our recipes use a fusion of great spices,
low sodium and nutritious ingredients,
everything you need to eat healthy
but not compromise on gustatory delight! 

We have articles and more recipes in the Whole Living Journal.

 

Can Food Contaminants Affect the Risk of Obesity in Children?

The short answer is 'Yes!'.   Pesticides used to improve food production have been implicated in a variety of diseases, including cancers, premature puberty and obesity.  The foods with the highest levels of pesticides include apples, celery, strawberries, peaches, spinach, imported nectarines, imported grapes, sweet bell peppers, potatoes, domestic blueberries, lettuce and kale.  Buy organically produced fruits and vegetables whenever possible.  But even when you do, give your produce an extra rinse to remove any residue. 

Update on Heart Disease in Women

More women die from heart disease every year than men, but this increased risk is not well publicized.  Women tend to have symptoms that are not as typical as those in men;  many symptoms are vague feelings in the chest, making clinical diagnosis a challenge for the health care community.  EKG's are not very sensitive at detecting coronary artery disease (the precursor to heart attacks).  If women have symptoms, however, stress tests have a great track record in published studies in detecting disease. 

Prevention of heart disease is key to the maintenance of health and independence.  Central risk factors that are modifiable include avoiding cigarette smoking, treatment of high cholesterol and blood pressure, control of diabetes, prevention of obesity, inclusion of healthy diet and exercise.  The mediterranean diet has been shown to prevent and treat heart disease as well as other chronic illnesses.  

The risk of heart disease can be reduced by over 80% in women who maintain a healthy diet, exercise at least 30 minutes a day, maintain a healthy weight (BMI < 25), do not smoke, and consume light to moderate levels of alcohol intake.   Modifying your diet and exercise habits requires changing what you do in your free time and changing how you think about, buy and prepare food.  These changes can be huge, but learning to slowly incorporate small changes over time can add up to large differences over time.  Be gentle with yourself.  Anticipate set backs; we juggle many responsibilies that can undermine our efforts.  But make a commitment to improve your health, and do the best you can.   

Our review on the Mediterranean diet and heart healthy recipes can help you achieve your goals. 

The Healthy Foodie website is all about:

  • Helping you make healthy choices when you eat out

  • Finding ways to add physical activity - exercise - to your daily routines

  • Tips for snacking smart

  • Creative ideas to add more fruits and veggies to your family's diet

  • Separating fad nutrition and diets from sound scientific information

  • How to eat healthy on a budget

  • Raising children with healthy eating habits

  • Controlling/losing weight  ... AND MUCH MORE!

This recipe is a fun addition to a gathering of friends and family.  Once all the ingredients are prepared, everyone can dig in and create their own dinner!

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Vietnamese Lettuce Wraps 
Serves 6 
1 jicama
½ cup Hoisin sauce
½ cup peanut butter
½ cup tomato sauce
3 carrots
1 onion
1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic, divided
¼ cup olive oil, divided
8 ounces frozen shrimp
4 eggs
2 ounces fresh cilantro
2 ounces fresh basil
¼ cup peanuts
1 – 2 bunches fresh romaine lettuce, leaves separated
1 package rice wrappers 
Combine Hoisin sauce, peanut butter and tomato sauce and whisk until thoroughly blended.  Set aside.   
Cut jicama, carrots and onion into julienned strips.  Saute strips with 2 teaspoons fresh garlic and 1/8 cup olive oil, stirring occasionally, until crisp tender.  Transfer to a medium serving bowl.  
Meanwhile, sauté shrimp with remaining olive oil and garlic until they turn white and lose their transparency.  Transfer shrimp to a small serving dish.  
Beat eggs until well scrambled, then fry in a large flat pan over medium high heat until thoroughly cooked without stirring.  Remove from heat and gently roll the egg and slice into strips.  Place in a small serving dish. 
Serve wrappers, lettuce leaves, peanuts, basil, cilantro, eggs, shrimp, jicama mixture and sauce. 
To assemble each wrap, dip a rice wrapper in a large bowl filled with hot water just until moistened.  Lay wrapper flat on a plate,   When the wrap softens, about 1 minute, place a leaf of lettuce in middle and fill with ingredients, as desired.   Pull wrapper gently, but tightly, around the filled leaf.  Serve with sauce for dipping.   

This easy recipe will wow your guests!  The best part is that the dairy and fruit make it (mostly) healthy!

Spiked Peaches and Cream Ice Cream 
Serves 6 – 8 
1 pound bag frozen peaches, semi-thawed
½ cup natural sugar
½ cup peach schnapps
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 pint fat free half and half (or whipping cream - if you really want to splurge!)
Place peaches, sugar, schnapps and vanilla in a blender and pulse a few times, until peaches are coarsely chopped. 
Pour peach mixture and whipping cream into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions. 
Garnish, if desired, with more schnapps. 

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The kids brought home hazelnuts for the holidays!  We made ice cream and added them to brown rice with raspberries, garlic and parsley for the family dinner.   

Chilled Asparagus and Tomato Salad
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with Greek Yogurt and Tarragon
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Grilling Sesame Ginger Kebabs

The second year Family Medicine residents at St. Elizabeth learn to make grilled tofu.

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Terry's Turf Club in Cincinnati

The Healthy Foodie goes to Terrys Turf Club!

Eating healthfully doesn't mean you can't enjoy going to this fun restaurant, known for having the best hamburgers in town!  See our restaurant review by clicking on the picture.

How did these pounds stick to me?
Why is it that weight seems to accumulate as our birthdays mount?
Our understanding of fat (weight) gain is not an exact science.  Several theories suggest that weight gain tends to level off with simple added calories.  However, over time our caloric needs drop, making even small increases in our intake stick to us like glue.
The US national assessment health (called NHANES) was started in the 70's and is reassessed every 5 years or so.  The first assessment determined that the average BMI for women aged 20 - 29 was 23 (19 - 25 is normal).  In 2003, the average BMI for women aged 50 - 59 was 29 (overweight).  These theoretically are the same women, which reflects a 30 pound weight gain over the 30 years.  One pound a year.  The weight slips on insidiously, one pound at a time. 

What kind of change is needed to cause an increase of 1 pound a year?  Eating one extra 60-calorie cookie a day.  Or drinking 1 ounce of sugar-sweetened drink per day.  Or walking 1 minute less a day.  Small changes over a life time make a big difference.
Whatever you do to control weight, you must do for the rest of your life.  Weight gain is insidious.  Weight maintenance or loss needs constant vigilence! 

Weight loss / maintenance is difficult.  Watch those small weight gains, as obesity happens 1 pound at a time.  My book, Fat Cells, Beauty and You!, brings together how your body stores calories, why exercise is important, and how to determine how much of which foods is best for you.  Psychological and spiritual factors of why we eat are also reviewed.  And it's a bargain! --- short, easy to read and inexpensive on Amazon.

Go to the book

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Pama's Healthy Foodie blog