by Kami | Jan 13, 2016 | Healthy Eating Tips, Healthy Foods, Healthy Foods for Kids
We were recently invited to review some Made In Nature’s products since New Year’s brings a renewed desire to eat and live healthy. Sabrina and I over at Everything Food are already huge fans of healthy snacks and treats… SO we were more than willing to try out some of Made In Nature’s tastiness. With the new year, we agree with Made In Nature that too many people set New Year’s resolutions around changing their diet which become too drastic, too restrictive, and just not fun. Healthy eating can be very enjoyable, doable, and sustainable thanks to companies like Made In Nature. Since we all need quick and tasty snacks, organic Made In Nature has created delicious, nutritious snacks which can easily swap out those unhealthy eats. Here are our suggestions on some of their sweet and savory options. 1. Coconut Chips - Vietnamese Cinnamon and Italian Espresso I’m a huge fan of anything coconut. Coconut is already packed full of nutrition and taste and then Made In Nature went and added some bold flavors. Italian Espresso is bold, rich, and tastes like espresso coffee. I personally preferred the Vietnamese Cinnamon Swirl flavor. Crunchy and cinnamon make this girl happy. I wish it was a little sweeter, but I still enjoyed the Vietnamese Cinnamon Coconut Chips. The texture and bold flavors reminded me of Corn Nuts. It would be an easy and healthier swap out for Corn Nuts. 2. Kale Chips - Rosemary Truffle I love baking my own kale chips, so I was excited to try these. These are perfect substitutes for bold flavored potato chips. I prefer lightly salted snacks over...
by Kami | Mar 5, 2014 | Healthy Eating Tips, How to Get Healthy
I love sneaking health and nutrients into refreshing, sweet, and dessert-like smoothies. As my sister says, “I feel like I’m indulging in something I should feel guilty about.” Smoothies can fool the pickiest of eaters… yes, I’m even talking about your 3 year old who will only eat chicken nuggets. In order to have success in making your smoothie healthy and creamy, here are some absolute must’s: 1) You must… uh hmm… must have a quality blender! I, myself, am a Vitamix girl. I know they’re a little pricey, but worth every. single. penny. Here’s a post on why I decided on a Vitamix. If you’re not ready to take the plunge on a Vitamix, others have had success with either a Ninja or a BlendTec. Whichever you choose, I promise it will be used daily. I’ve made baby food, puree soups, ground wheat and other grains, and of course made rockin’ smoothie recipes. Your health is worth investing in a quality blender! 2) Your vegetables and fruits pass through lots of hands, dirt, pesticides, and other contaminates before reaching your lovely home. Wash your vegetables! I don’t mean rinse under water. I mean scrub those bad boys. It takes 10 extra seconds and removes lots of nasty stuff from your fruits and veggies. I have tried numerous of vegetable washes and keep coming back to Fit: Fruit and Vegetable Wash. Here’s a post on why you should wash your vegetables. 3) Sneak at least one vegetable into every smoothie. You can play around with different vegetable and fruit combinations. If it’s too sweet, add another vegetable. If it’s not sweet...
by Kami | Aug 12, 2013 | Healthy Eating Tips, Healthy Foods, Healthy Substitutes, Snacks (Kid AND Inner-Kid friendly)
You need to eat more FAT! No, no… don’t go run to McDonald’s for a cheeseburger. Try eating these healthy fatty foods. They help fight off cancer, stabilize cholesterol levels, burn fat, enhance your bodies ability to absorb nutrients, decrease heart disease, and improve memory and ‘brain’ health. If that isn’t motivation enough, they are also mouthwatering and scrumptious. 1. Avocados Avocados are nature’s power food. They’re very low in fructose and provide close to 20 essential health-boosting nutrients. Avocados are one of the safest fruits. Most experts believe you do not need to purchase organic ones because of their thick skin which protects against pesticides. They are great for sandwiches (try mashed avocado instead of mayonnaise), smoothies, salads, soups, guacamole, dips, and toppings for about anything. 2. Coconut Milk Coconut Milk contains mostly medium chain fatty acids which are more easily burned as energy which makes it a great option for a ‘good’ fat. It almost maximizes calcium absorption. This is a great substitute for heavy whipping cream in soups, milk in oatmeal, and many other recipes. Lots of people have commented they don’t like coconut. It actually DOES NOT taste ‘coconutty’ at all. Trust me. You won’t taste the coconut. 3. Coconut Oil Coconut Oil, just like coconut milk, have lots of health benefits. It’s packed with anti-oxidants and medium-chain triglycerides which help with skin and hair care, stress relief, weight loss, immunity, digestion, diabetes management, and heart health. Instead of butter or other oils, try using coconut oil! Just like coconut milk, you WILL NOT taste the coconut. Promise. Also,...
by Kami | Jun 24, 2013 | Health Myths, Healthy Eating Tips, Kitchen Essentials for Getting Healthy
Okay, be honest with me. Do you wash your fruits and vegetables? I’ve discovered everyone interprets the meaning of ‘washing’ a little different. Do you think blowing off any visible dirt or rubbing it on your shirt is a valid cleansing method? Or do you briefly run it under water or give it a ‘spit shine’ and think it will do the trick? I’m here to tell ya… If you don’t wash them, THEY’RE DISGUSTINGLY DIRTY! They have wax, pesticides, soil, and other things such as bacteria that can lead to food-borne illnesses. Trust me. It’s worth the few extra seconds to clean your veggies. These grapes have NOT been washed. Do you notice the wax, dirt, and film on their surface? These grapes have now been washed and rinsed with WATER ONLY. They don’t look much different than the previous picture, right? These grapes have been WASHED with Fit Fruit & Vegetable Wash and rinsed. Look at their clean and smooth surface! Not only can you see a distinct difference, you can feel and taste the difference. You’ll never look back. Promise. Fit: Fruit and Vegetable Wash has become a kitchen essential here at No Diets Allowed. Fit Fruit & Vegetable Wash is a 100% natural produce wash. I’ve tried NUMEROUS different produce washes and methods, but I keep coming back to Fit. Tips and Suggestions for washing fruits and vegetables 1) Fit has 12 oz spray bottles and 32 oz large refill bottles (picture above). The spray bottle is reusable, of course. I always mix 1/2 water with 1/2 washing solution in the spray bottle. It’s just as effective and allows the solution to last longer. 2)...
by Kami | May 28, 2013 | Excuses and Myths, Health Myths, Healthy Eating Tips, Healthy Substitutes, Unhealthy Foods
Got Milk? Almost every celebrity, athlete, politician, musician, and public figure has displayed the ‘white mustache’. After all, drinking milk only makes you healthy and strong, right? 10 reasons why you’ve been deceived! 1) Most milk goes through some type of processing or alteration such as homogenization or pasteurization. These processes compromise the milk’s quality and interfere with calcium absorption. 2) When homogenized, milk becomes very powerful and efficient at bypassing normal digestive processes and delivering steroid and protein hormones to the human body (both your hormones and the cow’s natural hormones and the ones they may have been injected with to produce more milk). Check out this link to learn more! 3) Humans are the only species to frequently continue drinking milk after infancy. 4) 60% of adults can’t digest milk. The enzyme lactase which breaks down the main sugar in milk, lactose, usually stops being produced between the ages of two and five. This leaves the undigested sugars to ferment in the colon creating very unpleasant symptoms such as gas, cramping, bloating, nausea, constipation and/or diarrhea. 5) Countries with the highest milk consumption are the countries with the highest levels of osteoporosis. 6) There are plenty of plant-based foods—including green leafy vegetables (like broccoli, kale and collards) and beans—that are excellent sources of calcium which the body is much better equipped to absorb. 7) Chronic constipation in children is related to milk consumption. 8) The most popular form of calcium found in milk, calcium carbonate, which is not even absorbed well. Calcium citrate is the best absorbed supplemental form of calcium. 9) I lived in Hong Kong for 3...
by Kami | May 20, 2013 | Benefits of Water, Healthy Eating Tips
I enjoyed reading this post from one of my friend’s Facebook wall and wanted to share! I added some links to other articles which supports some of these statements. Water or Coke? I’ll let you decide. WATER 1. 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. 2. In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger. 3. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one’s metabolism as much as 30%. 4. One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University of Washington study. 5. Lack of water, the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue. 6. Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers. 7. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page. 8. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer. And now for the properties of COKE 1. In many states (in the USA) the highway patrol carries two gallons of Coke in the truck to remove blood from the highway after a car accident. 2. To clean a toilet: Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the toilet bowl and let the “real thing” sit for one hour, then flush clean. The citric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous china....
