Good Low Carb Foods

By Dexter Matthews 

Many people don't begin a low carb diet, or don't stay with it, simply because they can't find tasty choices that are also low in carbohydrates. Actually, there are many foods that can be used for meals, in recipes or for snacks, when you're trying to maintain a diet that is low in carbs. Consuming a variety of foods that are naturally low in carbohydrates will allow you to eat a healthy diet that's tasty and also good for you.

Everyone is unique, and the same foods won't work for everyone, but there are foods that are very popular on low carb diets, and you can tailor your recipes to suit your tastes. Fish is a popular staple on low carb diets. But you don't need to restrict yourself to just the well-known types. There are many good low carbohydrate foods, and fresh fish are a healthy part of your low carb diet that you should eat at least several times a week. The best fish for your diet may include orange roughy, Alaskan halibut, trout, wild caught salmon, sea bass, cod and mackerel. Shellfish are healthy low carb choices that are full of taste, too. They include scallops, crab, shrimp, oysters, clams and lobster.

Eggs and egg whites can be included as breakfast essentials or as ingredients in other meals. Free range eggs are often preferred in low carb diets. You're not limited to chicken eggs, either. You might wish to try quail or duck eggs, to keep your diet alive and different from one day to the next.

Red meat is an important staple in low carbohydrate diets, because it allows you to get enough protein for a healthy diet. Lamb is a good choice, as is venison or deer meat. Cattle that have been grass-fed will be a positive choice, as will buffalo or bison meat, as long as the animals were not treated with antibiotics or growth hormones.

Poultry can be included in many low carbohydrate recipes, to make them tasty. Consume only poultry that was never treated with antibiotics or hormones. Some of the most popular poultry choices are chicken, duck, goose and turkey. Wild bird meat is also on the list of good low carb foods that provide quality low carbohydrate recipe mainstays, so add pheasant, wild turkey and quail to your list.

You should include vegetables and fruits in any diet, too, so that you reap the rewards of their many vitamins and nutrients. Vegetables that are not starchy are the best for your diet, including collard greens and spinach. Good tasting vegetables to use for recipes and healthy snacks or salads include Romaine lettuce, cauliflower, asparagus, cucumbers, mushrooms, turnip greens and celery. You can also add cabbage, zucchini, cilantro and mustard greens. Vegetable leaves and stems can help you to prepare healthy salads that are low in carbohydrates.

Fresh fruits are good choices, as parts of recipes or as snacks. Include fresh strawberries, raspberries and blueberries, and deduct any carb count from your allowance for each day. These do contain sugar and carbs, so they should be enjoyed sparingly.

Oils add omega fatty acids to your diet, so use them as desired in your recipes. Some of the best choices are extra virgin olive oil, flaxseed and canola oils. By using all these different good low carb foods, you can add good taste to your low carb, heart healthy diet.

Ideal Diet to Lose Weight

By Julius Daviz Galvez 

Many people have this misconception that in order to lower their cholesterol, they have to follow strict diet programs and take drugs or supplements. However, drastic dieting is not a good way to lower your cholesterol; in fact you are only endangering your body instead of helping it. Aside from that too much dependence on drugs or prescription will only lead to more years of being dependent on drugs and food supplements.

Now, to make matters worse, you were taking different cholesterol lowering pills and supplements but you are not pairing it with a healthy diet and regular exercise. According to many diet experts, in order to successfully lower your cholesterol levels and to make it stay on the prescribe level is to have a healthy diet, healthy lifestyle and regular physical exercise. In short, in order to get rid of bad cholesterol, you have to totally change your lifestyle, bad habits and diet. Stop being a couch potato and have a regular exercise.

It has been easy for us to lose weight because there has been many introduced weight loss methods. And this includes diet programs, it is easier for us to get rid of our fats and lose weight without doing rigorous exercises. Exercise often discourages people because it requires time and much energy, and that is people prefer to go for diet programs.

There are varieties of diet programs so it is not so hard to find and choose the appropriate diet your body needs. Low-carbohydrate diet is the more quite known, it reduces and cut off the calories that people regularly take. Usually the foods that are high in carbohydrates also have the high calorie content. The consumption of calories is keenly regulated in the low-carb diet by reducing the daily serving of the rich in carbohydrate foods. The type of foods that this diet usually consists is dairy products such as milk and cheese, and strictly do not include foods like bread, rice, potatoes. The diet is the best and safest way to weight loss because it satisfies the hunger without doing tiring exercises.

Discover How to Lose Weight Fast

You must know the foods and drinks you must avoid, for you to only eat the proper diet and successfully lose weight. The following are the things you must know and do:

1. Eat Vegetables and fruits! Go sweet fruits as an alternative for eating sweet chocolates and snacks. Organic vegetables with low-calorie content should be prepared for every meal. Vegetables and fruits are a great source of fiber that helps in dissolving harmful fats in the body and lose weight faster.

2. You must forget soda, soft drinks and alcohol. These drinks may taste good but remember that the only significant liquid need by the body is water. Go for healthy drinks suck as green teas, and other natural refreshments containing antioxidants! Plain water is still the best!

3. Eat more of whole grains and less of processed foods because your body does not need preservatives, artificial colors, sodium, fat and sugars. Instead you must supply your body of good nutrients like protein and carbohydrates to aid your body in losing weight.

What Makes The Healthiest Energy Drink

By Greg N Reed 

The popularity of energy drinks has increased tremendously over the years especially among children and teenagers. The consumption of these drinks has been castigated by the media and most parents are worried about their safety. One of the main ingredients in most of these drinks is caffeine, which is associated with many negative health effects. However, many people can control the amount of caffeine they take by consuming such drinks in moderation. The population can enjoy moderate quantities of caffeine in these drinks without getting any undesired outcomes. The most important thing is to determine the amount of caffeine in any such drink as this will help in moderating consumption. The healthiest energy drink contains other ingredients that are beneficial to the body as will be discussed below.

Taurine

This is an amino acid that is made by the body from the foods we consume. Animal products, such as chicken, beef, pork and lamb contain high taurine levels. Some fish, such as oysters, cod and clams also have high amounts of taurine. Taurine helps in regulating mineral and water levels in the body as well as supporting neurological development. The reason why taurine is included in these types of drinks is because it helps in improving physical and athletic performance. There were rumors that consumption of taurine increases the risk of getting cancer. However, this was dispelled by the 2003 report published in the European Food Safety Authority whereby studies conducted showed that there was no link between cancer and consumption of taurine because it is a naturally occurring element in the human body.

Ginseng

This is herb that is associated with numerous health benefits ranging from lowering glucose levels in the blood, boosting the immunity, increasing physical performance and stamina and enhancing mental performance. Ginseng also hastens recovery in people suffering from various illnesses and can be found in the healthiest energy drink.

Guarana

This is a South American plant that is used in sodas and energy drinks. It contains some caffeine and is usually added to these drinks to improve mental and physical performance by providing the much needed energy. It might not be indicated on the container of the energy drink, but it is still a main ingredient. In the U.S., guarana is recognized as a natural flavoring ingredient that is safe to use.

B Vitamins

B vitamins occur in various food stuffs and are useful in regulating metabolism. Cobalamin and thiamin are some of the main examples of B vitamins. B vitamins contained in these types of drinks help in maintaining and enhancing mental functions.

Caffeine

This is the primary ingredient in most energy drinks as it helps in improving mental and physical performance and for increasing the flavor. Caffeine is not bad for the body as long as it's taken in moderation as it provides the body with the energy boost needed to enhance performance.

Carnitine

This is a substance obtained from a certain amino acid and it stimulates the cell to produce more energy. This increases metabolism, improving physical performance. Most healthy people have adequate quantities of carnitine as it is naturally produced in the body and from foods consumed.

Healthy Pizza, Low Carb, Low Fat, High Protein

By J. Atkinson 

Healthy Pizza! Low carb, low fat, high protein

Most people like to get stuck into a pizza with extra toppings once in a while. But what if you are on a weight loss (Fat loss diet)?

Do you cut out your favorite foods all together? Or do you find an alternative?

Here is a healthy alternative to greasy pizza that you can eat on more than the odd occasion during your diet.

What You Will Need 

Chicken breast 

Tomato puree 

Peppers 

Olives 

Spinach 

Onion 

Cheese 

Mushroom 

Sweetcorn 

Oregano or mixed Italian herbs 

Garlic powder or crushed garlic

You can add other favorite ingredients also, but be aware of this if you are dieting as all those extras can add up.

Putting Your Healthy Pizza Together

First off, wash and flatten the chicken breast. Place the chicken breast on a flat surface and cover with cling film.Grab something heavy, a chair leg, bible, shoe... But a rolling pin would be ideal! Gently tap the chicken until it is about 1 cm thick all over. Take care not to damage the chicken breast too much as this will serve as our pizza base.

Put a good helping of tomato puree into a bowl and mix in the garlic powder or crushed garlic to taste. (If you are not a garlic lover, you may want to skip the garlic, it is not essential but will really add to the taste)

Go back to the chicken breast. I find that this method works better if you use the "underside" of the chicken breast i.e. not the smooth side. With the chicken breast flat on a surface, (Smooth side down), spread the tomato puree evenly over the full surface and put into a fridge while you prep the rest of the toppings. By doing this it gives the chicken breast chance to absorb some of the flavor.

Slice the peppers, olives, onions and mushrooms and tear the spinach up into small pieces

Take the chicken breast that you prepared earlier out of the fridge and sprinkle with oregano or Italian seasoning (This gives it a "Pizza" flavor)

layer on the toppings. I find it best to layer on the spinach then peppers first. Then the rest of the topping on in any order.

sprinkle with low fat grated cheese, this will bind the topping together. (You can put a small layer of cheese after the spinach and peppers but be aware of the amount of cheese you put on if you are on a fat loss diet.

Cook in the oven on 180c for 30-35 mins or until the chicken is cooked thoroughly ( make sure that the chicken breast is cooked thoroughly before serving).

I would serve this with a Jacket potato if I was not being "Carb conscious" but served on its own, this is low fat, low carb and high protein!

Enjoy!

As always, I'm happy to get feedback on how these recipes worked out for you. Let me know how you got on.

Chicken And Rice Is Not Just for A Bodybuilding Diet

By J. Atkinson 

Chicken and rice cakes

Struggling to get your chicken and rice in?

This meal of the week is a bit different. Although I have aimed this at bodybuilders on a pre contest diet, this recipe is one of the best choices for anyone with weight loss plans who are after a tasty meal idea.

As some of you may know, I am into bodybuilding. I competed and placed in late 2012. I did struggle with the constant "force feeding" of chicken, rice and broccoli. If any of you have done a pre contest bodybuilding diet, you will know how tough this can be... It got so bad for me early on in the 20 week diet that I literally wanted to cry every 2 hours when it came to getting this bland mixture down.

As I am really into my food, I looked at better ways to cook chicken and rice for pre contest. As this diet is extremely strict you are very limited with the type of seasoning you can use. Anything with sugar is a massive "NO NO" and if you look at the ingredients on most seasonings you will see sugar and salt. All sauces are out of the question as these have a big calorie content, most again are loaded with sugar and salt.

The calories I got had to come mainly from chicken and rice.

So these "Chicken and rice cakes" are something that I managed to invent when I was struggling one weekend when I had some time.

The measurements of chicken and rice will vary for each person if you are competing. If you are just using this as a healthy option you can follow the measurements that I used.

You will need-

4 chicken breasts

300g of wholegrain rice (uncooked)

Ground Black pepper

1 chili

1 clove of garlic

A bunch of fresh coriander

No sugar/ salt seasoning. (I used Singapore seasoning made by "Penzeys spices") but any other seasoning that meets the criteria of your diet Will do)

Olive oil or "1 cal none stick spray"

Step 1

Cook the rice so it is ready to eat, leave this to cool slightly but don't allow it to go totally cold

Step 2

Wash and cut the chicken breast into chunks. We are not looking for anything pretty here, just chop it up and spray with the 1 cal none stick spray a few times.

Step 3

Crush or finely chop the garlic (If you have seen good fellas, you can use a razor blade) and cut the chili up. Make sure you remove the seeds from the chili here if you don't want it to be too hot.

Step 4

Pull apart or chop the coriander finely and mix with the garlic, chili and coriander.

Step 5

Season the chopped chicken with the Singapore seasoning or what ever you chose to use. (the Singapore seasoning will give the food a nice spicy Asian taste). Then mix in the chili, garlic, pepper and coriander. It is best to coat all of the chicken with this seasoning, so get stuck in to it with your hands.

Step 6

Put the raw chicken covered in seasoning into a food processor and also add the rice. Blend this in short bursts, you don't want to make a raw chicken and rice soup! It is personal preference on how fine you want to go here but I like to keep it fairly course.

Step 7

Once this is mixed or "Blended" take this out of the blender and put into a bowl. Make the mixture into a ball. Half the ball and half this again, you should end up with 4 balls... Nice! Squash these balls down so they are about an inch thick

Step 8

Use the 1 cal spray to lightly grease a baking tray or some tin foil, then place the 4 cakes onto the tray and again spray with 1 cal spray (This will give the cakes a crispy finish) or if you are not on a pre- contest diet, you could top with Parmesan cheese. (I haven't tried this but I imagine that it would finish off the cakes nicely)

Step 9

Put in a preheated oven at 180 Celsius or gas mark 4 for around 30 mins or until they have started to brown. Make sure that these are cooked thoroughly before eating.

Step 10

Serve with your favorite veg and eat while hot if you can. I have also eaten these cold as I will normally make a big batch. It's best not to reheat these as reheated chicken can cause you problems if it's not done right.

As I am into experimenting in the kitchen I came up with this healthy recipe but there are things that you could do to make this more exiting, like add onions (Another no no on my pre contest diet) or cheese, change the spices you put in or maybe make a blue cheese sauce to put over the top... I'm getting hungry now so I'm going to wrap it up!

I hope this has been useful. It certainly was for me when I fancied a change from the usual chicken, rice and broccoli mix on my pre contest diet.

Good luck if you are going to try this, let me know how you get on.

Cooking Healthy Food Should Be Delicious, Not Disastrous

By Julie B Brown

When trying to cook healthy food it can be difficult to find meals that are low in refined sugar and saturated fat AND taste good enough to remove the temptation to eat junk food. A lot of "healthy cooking" can seem like a lot of work very little taste. It can be un-appetising at the best of times, especially when you're standing in a shop eyeing up the sausage rolls.

However, it only takes a touch of creativity to turn something like a boring chicken breast portion into something much more appetising. The foods, spices, tips and tricks below can all be used as an important part of any healthy eating plan, helping you to keep on the straight and narrow by adding taste to potentially dull dishes and keeping the calories down.

Spice Up Your Life

Whether you're using fresh basil or ground cinnamon, herbs and spices give healthier food the flavour it sometimes lacks, and have zero calories in them. They can be picked up pretty cheap, and last for a long time. These plants and powders can stop you from resigning yourself to a disappointing meal and using them might even spark off a whole new appreciation for food or a passion for cooking.

For example:

Marinating chicken completely changes the taste of the meat and stops it from drying out under the grill.

A sprinkling of garam masala on rye crisp-bread and cottage cheese makes this healthy snack a whole lot better and parsley, oregano, chives or paprika can all be used to spice up scrambled eggs.

If you don't consider yourself much of a cook then consider buying a herb and spice guide to teach you which flavourings go best with which foods. One final bonus of eating spicy food is that many spices have thermogenic properties, meaning that they make you produce more heat, thereby burning more calories.

Getting Saucy

Instead of reaching for the vegetable oil, ketchup or barbecue sauce, consider alternative oils and sauces to help bring out the best in your food. Lemon juice gives a citrus kick to anything you put it on, wasabi naturally reduces your appetite and vinaigrette can be chucked on vegetables, beans, meat or fish to make them much more appealing.

Coconut oil is a particularly impressive substance - it helps increase the flavour and juiciness of anything you throw it on, and has a very high concentration of medium chain fatty acids. These MCFA's are a kind of carbohydrate substitute that don't send your blood sugar levels soaring, making coconut oil a top-notch fuel for the body. Various vinegars can also provide a strong taste to a meal, and with such a variety to choose from - balsamic, wine, sherry, herb - you're likely to find something you like.

Like for Like

Sometimes you can't resist a meal with unhealthy components, even though you know that the rice in your curry is full of carbs and the flour you use is packed with gluten. However, substituting unhealthy ingredients for healthier alternatives can allow you to have your cake and eat it.

Black beans or whole wheat flour can replace white flour in a cake or cookie recipe while stripping out a lot of the gluten.

Avocado purée or mashed banana can be used as a replacement for butter in baking, providing the necessary texture while avoiding the high fat and salt content of the dairy alternative.

Quinoa is a great replacement for couscous - it's a whole protein with a delicious nutty taste that knocks the comparatively flavourless, gluten filled couscous out of the park.

Zuchinni ribbons or whole wheat pasta are perfect replacements for pasta

Cauliflower has a number of uses as a replacement food - if you steam and grate cauliflower it can go alongside a chilli or a curry in the place of rice, and mashed cauliflower is a much healthier alternative to mashed potato

Prosciutto or pancetta can be used to give you the smokey taste of bacon with far less sodium, and replacing ground beef with ground turkey will make any meal much healthier with hardly any difference in taste.

Sweet as Sugar

When it comes to finding an alternative to white sugar, artificial sweeteners like aspartame and saccharin should be completely avoided. However honey, maple syrup and molasses are all healthier ways to satisfy a sweet tooth than refined sugar. An even better alternative is agave nectar - a type of sugary syrup made from the agave plant. It has a very low glycemic index and tastes pretty good to boot. It can be added to teas or poured into porridge to sweeten things up without sending your insulin levels through the roof.

Locking Nutrients In

Steaming is much healthier than boiling, as it stops vitamins getting leeched out into water and also retains colour, consistency and taste in most vegetables. Eating food raw is actually considered healthiest, as any form of cooking tends to destroy some of the nutrients in foods. This may not be to everyone's taste, but cooking food a little less rather than charring meat on the barbecue or turning vegetables into limp mush will definitely help you get the most out of your meals.

5 Essential Tips to Follow the Raw Food Diet for Weight Loss

By Ram Gupta 

The raw food diet has become popular lately as a weight loss method. However, there are a lot of people who are frightened away by just the name. 'Raw food diet seems to suggest a person munching on fruits, vegetables, leaves and shoots all day long, much like our vegetarian cousins from the animal kingdom. It feels primitive, severe and radical, and almost impossible to practice. However, rest assured that there is nothing primitive about the raw food diet,and there are several tips to help you follow it in a very practical manner, in order to achieve your weight loss objectives.

Phase In the Diet

If you think that you are just going to wake up one morning and begin your raw food diet for weight loss all of a sudden, it is not going to happen. You will simply frustrate and intimidate yourself out of your effort within days if not hours. Besides, your digestive system will not be prepared to handle this sudden change, and you may confront all kinds of digestive problems.

It is a much better idea to phase into the diet gradually. Start by including raw food snacks (nuts and fruits) into your diet, and substituting fruits for processed sweets, every time you have a sugar craving. At the same time, include raw foods into your meals, like a portion of salad with your dinner or a smoothie for breakfast. As the next step, you could replace one cooked meal with a completely raw one everyday. It could be breakfast, lunch or dinner. And then, when your body is used to the feeling of raw food items, you can make your complete switch.

Not 100% Raw

Bear in mind that raw does not mean 100% raw. It is virtually impossible for anyone to practice a 100% raw food diet for weight loss. People who follow this diet plan, keep their diet about 75% raw. The rest 25% covers social occasions where cooked delicacies rule the roost, the occasional treat as well as certain regular exceptions.

Talking about exceptions, you may decide to include a certain 'extra' to your raw food diet for health reasons. There is nothing wrong in that. For instance, a lot of people continue to have soy milk to cover their protein needs.

A Lot More than Smoothies and Salads

If you thought that the raw food diet simply meant smoothies and salads, you will be surprised to find the amount of variety that can be achieved. Even with regular ingredients, people have come up with several remarkably creative recipes and alternatives for regular food items. As an example, you can easily make a 'nut milk' at home as well as 'raw cheese'.

Go Organic

This is a crucial tip, if you are going to be eating raw. After all, you don't want your body saturated with deadly commercial pesticides! With vegan and raw food diets becoming more popular, organic fruits and vegetables are not so difficult to get anymore.

Have a Time Plan

It is best to start with a 4-week raw food diet weight loss plan to begin with. See how you react, and how much success you achieve. Then you can begin another 4-week cycle, or extend your next period to a 6-12 week plan.

Bear in mind that the raw food diet is not the only healthy diet plan for weight loss. A lot of people find that it simply does not suit them or make them happy. If you are one of those, don't worry too much about it. Simply try other weight loss ideas!

Fruit Diet Recipe

Nowadays, there is a general increase in the interest in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. This entails regular exercise and eating a healthy diet. Both these things go a long way in reducing the chances of acquiring lifestyle diseases like coronary heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, obesity and cancer. A healthy diet must constitute of the four food groups, carbohydrates, proteins, fats and vitamins. Fruits are a good source of all the essential nutrients and they are delicious in the bargain. This means everyone should eat lots of fruit and have some good fruit diet recipes on hand.

A change in lifestyle for health reasons may require some detoxification and losing some weight. Going on a detoxification diet will almost always cause some weight loss. Eathing a lot of fruit is an excellent way to detoxify your body. Fruits are low in calories and are filled with lots of nutrients the body needs. They also have fiber which is essential for good digestion. Fruits are a good choice for detoxification because they are very effective in flushing out toxins that build up in the body from daily living and eating junk food, carbonated drinks, highly processed foods and foods with high sodium content. Fruit diet recipes can be a big help when it comes to detoxification.

Starting a fruit diet will require some planning. There are some fruit diets that are supposed to last for only 3 days while others are supposed to last up to 30 days. To make the fruit diet not seem long and interminable, you will require several different types of fruit diet recipes.

A 30 day fruit diet for detox can be especially difficult to stick to if you do not have a large variety of fruit diet recipes to try and make use of. It is a good idea to eat fruits fresh so it is best to incorporate fruits that are in season into your fruit diet recipes.

When choosing fruit for your fruit diet recipes, you should choose fruit that you enjoy. This makes the diet much easier to stick to. No matter what type of fruit you choose, always pick good quality fruit. Try to incorporate fruits like oranges and other citrus fruits because they are very good for detoxification.

Here are a couple of simple fruit diet recipes.

Fruit salad - This is a very simple and easy to make recipe. All you need is to get a couple of apples, red, green or both, some pineapple slices, peaches, mangoes, grapes, bananas or any fruit that takes your fancy. Cut all the fruits into small cubes and mix them together in a bowl. Sprinkle some cinnamon on top of the fruit mixture. You can pop this mixture into the refrigerator for about half an hour and eat it chilled. Add some low fat yoghurt for some variety. Another option is to pop the mixture into the oven and grill the fruit salad for about five minutes. This makes a delightful snack anytime of the day.

Fruit smoothie - Slice some strawberries and bananas put them in a blender. Add orange juice and low fat banana or strawberry yoghurt. Blend these ingredients together and after pour the mixture into a tall glass.