Recipe - Green Smoothie with Kale, Banana, and Milk

As I was making my breakfast this morning, it hit me that this would make a wonderful breakfast for an athlete on-the-go because it is so quick to prepare. It is a light breakfast, but still packs in a good amount of carbohydrate with some added protein. Adding in the kale really gives this smoothie an extra punch of nutrition. Who says you can't have your dark leafy greens in the morning? This smoothie is also an excellent source of calcium because both the kale and milk are rich sources. 

In my breakfast smoothie that I have pictured, I used:

1 cup of chopped kale
1 cup of vanilla soy milk
1 banana
1 tsp chia seeds (optional)

I blended those ingredients until smooth, then I added in a few ice cubes and blended again.

Nutrition facts: 258 calories, 49 grams carbohydrate, 11 grams protein, 5 grams of fat

Another Reason Not to Skip Breakfast

You have heard it all before. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It's so easy to come up with reasons to skip this meal, such as not enough time, not hungry in the morning, etc...

It is important for everyone, especially athletes, to fuel your body right away in the morning. After a night of sleep, your body is running low and breakfast is needed to give you the jump-start you need. When choosing what to eat for breakfast, be sure to include a good source of protein. Often times people eat a lot of protein later in the day and forget to include it in with breakfast. Your body needs it in the morning, too! It will also keep you feeling full longer.

Another reason not to skip breakfast comes from a study done by the Imperial College of London. Subjects who skipped breakfast craved higher fat choices once lunch time came around. Those who ate breakfast did not have such intense cravings and ate fewer calories at lunch. It offers interesting insight to how our brain thinks about the food we eat. A more detailed summary of the study can be found in the link below. 

From BBC News, Skipping breakfast primes the brain to seek out fat

Eating Disorders and Athletes

Maintaining a healthy body weight is crucial for overall good health.  At the core of this philosophy lies a balanced diet and plenty of physical activity.  Although that rule is true for everyone, it holds a special meaning to athletes.  The desire for an athlete to improve performance is usually a good trait; but, in some cases, it may be taken too far. A major cause of concern comes from the mentality that thinness is directly related to an athlete’s self-worth and the ability to become better at his or her sport.  At this point, it is time to

seek help.

In general, an eating disorder is a condition when a person suffers from an unhealthy body image paired with harmful eating practices.  The three classifications of eating disorders are anorexia nervosa (restrict food with or without binge-purge cycles), bulimia nervosa (binge-purge cycles), or eating disorders not otherwise specified (EDNOS).  They are often connected with psychological disorders including anxiety, depression, and over-compulsive behavior.  Current research is unable to accurately show how prevalent eating disorders are within the athletic population.  Data suggest that the number of athletes affected by this disease could range anywhere between 1% and 62% in females and between 0% and 57% in males¹.

Participating in athletics is demanding on the body.  The body requires a substantial amount of energy and other nutrients to perform repeatedly or for a long time, and even more to fully recover from that physical activity. This underscores why nutrition counseling is an important aspect in successful training and competition. The body receives most of its energy from carbohydrates and fat.  Protein is also needed to help build and repair muscle.  Athletes who inappropriately restrict the amount of food they eat will hinder their training and athletic performance by decreasing muscle mass and allowing fatigue to set in more quickly.  A diet too low in calories can also make it much more difficult to reach the minimum level of nutrients needed to stay healthy.  Calcium, vitamin B-12, and iron are common nutrient deficiencies found in food-restricted diets¹.  Because the body is weakened from the lack of energy and other nutrients, there is also an increased risk of injury.

Athletes put a lot of pressure on themselves to get the best score or lowest time. Many sports also have the added pressure of achieving and maintaining a certain body image. Some sports in particular, such as running and gymnastics, have some of the highest rates of eating disorders when compared to other sports ².  

Signs and Symptoms:  Signs and symptoms of an eating disorder can vary greatly by individual.  Restricting food is not the only sign of an eating disorder so it is important to be aware of other characteristics.  The American Psychiatric Association provides this list to help identify a person with an eating disorder:²

• Intense fear of gaining weight
•  A connection between body shape and size to self-worth
• A weight loss that drops him or her below 85% of a normal weight for age and height, and the inability to see the danger of the extreme weight loss
•  In females, the loss of menstruation for longer than three months
• Episodes of binge eating, which is eating an unusually large amount of food, followed by a purge, which may be self-induced vomiting, misusing laxatives, or over-exercising. 
• Binge eating and purging at least twice a week for three months

In athletes, over-exercising is more difficult to recognize when compared to non-athletes, but it is still an issue that needs to be considered.  If the motivation to exercise changes from improving athletic performance to only thinking about burning calories from the previous meal², then it may be a sign of something else going on, such as an eating disorder.

The health consequences related to an eating disorder include a disruption in normal hormone levels, depression, weakened bones, malnutrition, tooth decay, stomach problems, infertility in women, damage to the heart, and possibly death¹.  Successful recovery from this disease requires intervention from a team of professionals, typically including a physician, a mental health counselor, and a dietitian.  An appointment with any one of those providers will be able to offer assistance and make referrals.  

¹Beals KA. Disordered eating in athletes. In: Dunford M, ed. Sports Nutrition: A Practice Manual for Professionals. 4^th ed. Chicago, IL: American Dietetic Association; 2006:336-354.

²Clark N. Sports Nutrition Guidebook. 4^th ed. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics; 2008. 

Apple and Plum recipes cure for cancer

Fighting and healing cancer with fruit Apple and Plum Compote with Vanilla Custard This was so easy and delicious! To cut the calories, next time I will only use half the amount of sugar in the custard, blackberries peaches recipes

Ingredients
Compote
12 prune plums, or 8 red or black plums, pitted and chopped
1/3 cup apple cider
1/4 cup sugar, or
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 large apples, such as Mutsu (Crispin), Fuji or Gala
Custard
1 1/2 cups 1% milk, divided
1/4 cup sugar, or
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Pinch of salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation
To prepare compote: Combine plums, cider, 1/4 cup sugar (or Splenda) and cinnamon in a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the plums are soft and falling apart, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Peel and grate apples. Stir the grated apples into the plums. Spoon the compote into a large bowl and chill in the refrigerator.
To prepare custard: Heat 1 cup milk in a saucepan over medium heat until steaming; do not boil. Mix 1/4 cup sugar (or Splenda), cornstarch and salt in a medium bowl. Add eggs and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the remaining 1/2 cup cold milk. Add the heated milk to the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the saucepan. Cook over low heat, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in vanilla. Transfer the custard to a clean bowl and let cool slightly or refrigerate until chilled.
To serve, spoon custard into dessert dishes and top each with compote.

Tips & Notes
Make Ahead Tip: Refrigerate compote and custard in separate containers for up to 2 days.
Ingredient Note: In the EatingWell Test Kitchen, sucralose is the only alternative sweetener we test with when we feel the option is appropriate. For nonbaking recipes, we use Splenda Granular (boxed, not in a packet). For baking, we use Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking, a mix of sugar and sucralose. It can be substituted in recipes (1/2 cup of the blend for each 1 cup of sugar) to reduce sugar calories by half while maintaining some of the baking properties of sugar. If you make a similar blend with half sugar and half Splenda Granular, substitute this homemade mixture cup for cup.
 When choosing any low- or no-calorie sweetener, be sure to check the label to make sure it is suitable for your intended use.

Nutrition juice health facts
Per serving:  119 calories;  1 g fat (  0 g sat ,  0 g mono );  37 mg cholesterol;  18 g carbohydrates; 3 g protein; 2 g fiber; 37 mg sodium; 210 mg potassium.
Carbohydrate Servings: 1 1/2
Exchanges: 11/2 other carbohydrate
fateatingwell. Nutrition and List_of_nutrition_guides

Preventing Hair Loss

Hair loss could be the cause of our diet, lack of nutrients, medications, stress, or basically, our genes. Hair loss mostly affects middle aged to older people, and usually happens more to men. If you happen to feel that you are suffering symptoms of hair loss, have no fear, because here are a few tips on how you can make hair loss less of a problem to you.

How to prevent Hair Loss:

1. It's all about your diet

Eat foods that are rich in protein such as fish, beans and tofu. Foods rich in protein will help you maintain healthy hair as hair is primarily made of protein. However stick to healthier sources of protein as rich meats such as steak are high in fat.

To ensure a healthy scalp, we need to ensure our blood is well circulated to that area. It is only through good blood circulation to the scalp that allows our scalp to stimulate and promote hair growth. Hence, foods rich in iron should be consumed as it promotes the creation of hemoglobin in our blood which functions as a carrier of oxygen to all parts of the body. Foods such as liver, cherries and cereals contain high iron content.

A high number of people who suffer from hair loss do not have enough zinc in their bodies. Zinc promotes cell reproduction and helps maintain hormonal balance, which helps in hair growth. They also manage the glands that attach to our hair follicles. When our zinc levels are low, these follicles become weak, causing strands to break off or fall out. To prevent this problem, try to eat zinc-rich foods such as mussels, shrimp and oysters. However, take these zinc rich foods in moderation as excessive amounts can cause hair loss too.

2. Reduce your stress

Stress is one of the main reasons for hair loss. When one faces stress, the frequency of hair loss increases. Hence, once can try to reduce their stress levels by sleeping early or by meditating.

3. Keep exercising

Now that we all know a well circulated scalp can promote hair growth, exercise is also key! Exercising increases our heart rate which increases blood circulation throughout our body, including our scalp! This helps prevent hair loss as well.

4. Treat you hair well

Don't subject your hair to frequent heating and drying. Heat weakens hair proteins and in worse cases, it damages the hair follicles permanently. Constant heating and drying of hair can cause our hair to be brittle and weak which causes hair loss.  Minimizing the usage of accessories like hair dryers or hair straighteners can make our hair last longer. If need be, use cool air from the hair dryer to dry your hair instead of hot air.

5. Massage scalp daily

Massaging our scalp helps circulate blood and brings nutrients to the scalp. To complement the massage, one tip is to use coconut oil while we massage our scalp as it acts as a natural conditioner that improves our hair growth. This is due to lauric acid found in coconut oil that moisturizes our hair, protects our hair roots and prevents breakage of our hair strands.

Hope this helps!

Living on campus? Save money on snacks!

• Buy items in bulk. They last longer are usually cheaper per serving. An example would be a box of triscuits or crackers rather than the buying the individual packages. 
• Keep an eye out for any items that you commonly use that go on sale at the grocery store. Remember - don’t buy a food item you will never use just because it is on sale. 
• If you have a microwave in your room: frozen (steam in microwave) vegetables is a healthy snack idea and are cheaper and easier to care for then fresh. Place them in the freezer compartment of your mini-fridge for storage. 
• Canned foods, such as tuna or canned fruit, have a long shelf life and are generally cheap. Place the tuna on crackers for a good snack or meal. Choose canned fruit that has been canned in water or its own juice. 
• Fresh fruit/vegetables are always a good snack idea and when on sale can be relatively inexpensive. One must eat it, however, before it spoils. 
• If buying lunch meats make sure you choose the leaner meat selections, such as chicken or turkey.

Guest Blogger: Duncan Anderson, USD Dietetic Intern

Tomato and Apple Juice

A drink to increase appetite and improve digestion.
What you will need:   
2 tomatoes
2 apples
10 ml lemon juice
10ml honey

Method
1. Rinse apples, peel and cut into pieces.
2. Rinse tomatoes, remove stems and cut into pieces
3. Add tomatoes and apples into juicer and mix well. Strain and pour juice into glass
4. Add lemon juice and honey with ice before serving

Benefits:
Apples are rich in various sources of vitamins and minerals such as vitamin a, vitamin c, potassium, malic acid and fibre.The soluble fibre found in apples helps to reduce cholesterol by binding with fats in the intestine. Apples also help reduce high blood pressure!

Tomatoes are high in antioxidants that help prevent cancer. They also contain important nutrients, such as niacin, folate and vitamin B6, that reduce chances of heart disease. Acids found in tomato juice help to break down fats and aid digestion. Drinking juices containing tomatoes help counter nausea and increases one's appetite as well.

Tips:
Choose tomatoes that are plump and whose peel is smooth and shiny red. Also check out the stems and ensure they are bright green.

For apples, choose those with a bright red colour and a glossy feel. The feeling of the apple should be smooth as well.

Remember to blend and serve quickly as once the apples are cut, the apple pieces will start to oxidize and may spoil the taste of the juice if left by itself for a longer period

Take note:
Remember to blend and serve quickly as once the apples are cut, the apple pieces will start to oxidize and may spoil the taste of the juice if left by itself for a longer period

Stay healthy!