Feed your soul!

Celebrate Black History Month by feeding your soul with faith, family, friends, and food, of course!  Soul food, a delectable cuisine that mixes roots from Africa, the Caribbean, and the South, has a deep history that can only make each morsel taste even better.  With nutritious staple ingredients like collard greens, yams, and beans, it’s one cuisine that can truly nourish your body, mind, and soul, and taste so good you’ll want seconds.  These recipes have been simmering for hundreds of years, passed down in an oral tradition, which leaves much room for adaptations over time.

As the melting pot of the country has added processed and fatty foods in place of wholesome healthy ingredients, many of the cultural dishes have also used these substitutions, including soul food.  What’s sad is that the more conveniences we have, the less time we have for slow, home-cooked, nutritious comfort food.  Fortunately, you can probably still find some healthy soul food spots that will fill up your stomach and not your waistline, whether they are a family-owned joint or a family friend’s kitchen.  But if you’re trying to keep the tradition alive by spending some time in the kitchen, try these healthy tips to keep this food at a comfort level, without having to grab your sweat pants!

• Gotta get the greens.  Collards, chard, spinach, kale….yum!  Slow-cooked greens can give your body a good dose of Vitamin A and calcium.  Sure, hickory-smoked bacon can make the greens taste even better, but try substituting the meat with something more on the lean side, like smoked turkey.
• Let the sweets shine.  Sweet potatoes and yams have such a good flavor, you only need a little bit of seasoning to make it taste even better.  Skip the sugar, and even the marshmallows, and try using just cinnamon and apple juice. Remember, the deep orange colors also can be a good dose of Vitamin A for healthy vision.
• Substitute the sugars.  Use a ‘lil bit of honey, 100% maple syrup, or even molasses anytime you need to sweeten anything up, whether it be your greens, beans, or sweet potato pie.
• Baked, not fried.  This tip might be the most difficult to appreciate, but after you learn to love it, your body will love you even more!  Try using a cereal-based breading, like cornflakes, and place the chicken or the catfish in the oven, not in a pot of hot oil.  It will feel less heavy and still have that crunchy texture that makes fried foods so comforting.
• Keep the fats healthy.  No grease.  No trans fat.  No partially hydrogenated oils.  Use olive oil when you can, and if you need to use some real butter, use it sparingly.  The bad fats can lead to clogged arteries, which is not good for a healthy heart.
• Load up the mac.  I have a weakness for mac ‘n cheese and while it’s not the healthiest dish to enjoy, you can load it up with vegetables like spinach, broccoli, or even carrots to make it more nutritious for you.  You won’t feel as guilty when you go for seconds.

Just remember to eat in moderation.  Seconds can be a good way to show a chef that you love what you’re eating, but thirds?  Too much of a good thing can be enough!

Oatmeal: good for the heart and for the skin!

It’s the morning after that crazy heart-filled holiday, and if you spent it with your special someone, whether it’s someone else or yourself, continue on with a healthy heart diet by eating some good old oatmeal.  Oatmeal can help reduce cholesterol and since it is a whole grain, you can except to have a good dose of digestive-cleaning fiber as well.  But, check this: oatmeal is good for so much more!  Not only does it taste deliciously comforting morning ritual for your diet, it is a great element to add to your morning skincare routine.

M.I.S.S. Michelle’s clay mask uses oatmeal to help rejuvenate the skin, and now, First Aid Beauty uses oatmeal as a key ingredient in their Intense Therapy Ultra Repair Cream.  Just how eating oatmeal can help to repair the body internally, using oatmeal externally can have ultra effects on the skin.

I received a jar of the cream and from just reading the label, I could tell that this was the right stuff for me.  It claims to relieve minor irritation and itching from eczema, harsh weather, cosmetic treatments, and other conditions and although I don’t have eczema, I do have the dreaded keratosis pilaris, a hereditary skin condition that causes dry bumps on the upper arms.  My skin feels like it has goosebumps all the time!  Not so cute for the sleeveless looks that I love to rock.  I’ve tried so many products and I can say that from trying this one it does help.  It is  cool cream that goes on smoothly and doesn’t have a sticky residue.  After putting it on my upper arm, I noticed that it feels soft to the touch, and although it doesn’t have any exfoliating properties to it, if I were to use actual oatmeal to exfoliate prior to application, I’m sure my skin would have felt as soft as a baby’s!

I also have used this cream for more than just my affected areas.  I like to use it in place of my typical lotion for my legs and feet because I know that it has more beneficial properties than regular lotion.  Aside from oatmeal, the Ultra Repair Cream also contains Allantoin and eucalyptus oil to help heal and soothe skin, and even shea butter to moisturize and protect the skin’s barrier.  This product also contains the company’s Antioxidant Booster to combat free radicals, something that we need not only in our diet but also in our skincare.

What’s great about the company is that they believe in the healthy stuff.  It’s allergy-tested, fragrance free, and contains no harsh chemicals.  You want to eat healthy, so make sure you treat your skin healthy too!

A 6oz. jar of cream retails for $28 and can be purchased exclusively at the Sephora website.  Definitely worth checking out!

Being healthy is not only about what you eat, but also how you take care of your body.  Take care of yourself and you’ll be looking and feeling good for years to come!

*Sample jar of product was sent and used to write this review

MISS HEALTHY BITES: Feb 8, 2010

So the saying goes, “The way to a person’s heart is through the stomach,” and for this Valentine’s Day, hook up your special someone with some good food for the stomach and for the heart.  If you really care about someone, show them that you want a piece of their heart by feeding them more than just a piece of red velvet cake.  Sure, chocolates and candies are nice and sweet, but those are not always the best thing to eat.  Open your mind to other ways of showing love and hopefully your sweetie will open their heart to you.  And since it’s American Heart Month, it’s just as important to take care of the hearts of those you love.

Don’t think that heart-healthy foods have to be bland and boring, causing your love interest to run to the door- or worse- the bathroom.  Foods that are good for your heart can be hearty and tasty, all it takes is a little bit of that special ingredient: LOVE.  Skip the fancy dinner and instead, turn your kitchen into a hot spot for a hot date.  It’s great to have a night out for some wine and dine alone time, but that can also be done at home, on a nice budget, that will leave plenty of time for dessert- in bed.  You’ll share the experience of a home-cooked meal with your honey, and you’ll know exactly what goes in your food.  Hopefully, this special dinner won’t be only for special occasions, because it’s important to give some lovin’ through your oven as often as you can.

What are some good eats for your honey?  Try these tips to give your babe a healthy meal for a healthy heart.

• Watch the fat.  Fats are essential for a healthy diet, but some fats can clog arteries, so make sure that what you’re cooking won’t break any hearts.  Limit the amount of saturated fats and trans fats, ie. butter and margerine, from your meal, and instead, cook with olive oil or safflower oil.  Here’s a hint: if it says “partially hydrogenated” in the ingredients list, it’s a bad fat!
• Some fat is good.  Fats found in nuts and even avocados are great for your body.  Top a salad with almonds or crumble cashews over a stir fry to get some of that good fat in.  Although avocados are not in season right now, it could be a nice time to plan for a sexy summertime picnic rendezvous.
• Get low, get low.  Get low-fat, that is.  Every meal should consist of protein, so make sure to choose the low-fat version so you two will still have the energy to play around after dinner.  Great choices would be lean meats, chicken, and even fish.  Salmon, for instance, contains high levels of omega-3 fatty acids and can reduce the risk of heart attack and lower blood fat levels.  If you’re doing a vegetarian meal, go for beans and soy products can fill that protein need.
• Be fresh.  Let fresh fruits and vegetables be the shining star for your dinner.  Fruits and vegetables all contain fiber that help to clean out the system, thus helping to prevent cardiovascular disease.  On top of that, fruits and veggies of different colors can benefit the body in different ways.  For instance, foods that are naturally red naturally help the heart.  Whatever you do, don’t fatten up your foods by adding cream or butter, or frying them, and instead, find different seasonings or marinades that can really let the flavors out.
• Don’t salt the game.  Too much salt can lead to high blood pressure, and if you’re really wanting to show your chef skills, skip oversalting everything you serve.  After all, the only salt that you should be tasting is off of a hot and sweaty body!  Try low-sodium versions of your store-bought condiments, and if possible, cook everything from scratch.  Many processed foods contain high sodium levels, so remember that fresh is best!
• Don’t complain about whole grains.  You give your love your whole heart, so why not give them whole grains?  Whole grains can help the heart, and they’ll fill you up faster so you won’t be as stuffed.  You can get whole grain varieties of pasta, breads, rice, and more.
• Too much is enough.  You don’t want to spend all day cooking up enough food to feed your whole family, because you might just end up eating it all!  And a stomachache at the end of the night could get in the way of any romantic plans you may have.  Cook just enough for you and your partner to be satisfied, so you can leave the rest of the night for more satisfaction.
• Work it out.  After a good, sexy meal, get your sexy on with some physical activity with your partner.  Maybe a little chair dancing?  Strip tease?  A good frolic in the bed will also burn some calories and get your cardio on.  Just make sure you’re giving enough lovin’ to get your heart pumpin’.

As for dishes…save them for the A.M.!  Hopefully your sweetheart will have a heart and do the dishes for you.

Miss Healthy Bites: Grape Fruit

When I think of grapefruit, I think of it as a fruit for a goddess.  Its citrus-y sour sophisticated flavor is not one that just anyone can handle, showing that only the special ones can bless themselves with the fruit. The size of a grapefruit, along with the super nutrient content, is the perfect offering to give to your shrine of a body.  And, since grapefruit is in season during the colder winter months, every goddess should flock to the shop to pick up one, or two, or three.  It’s not just anytime when a grapefruit tastes as great as it does now, so please treat yourself like the queen that you are and don’t deny yourself the greatness of grapefruit.  You wouldn’t want to miss out during National Grapefruit Month!

Grapefruits, like many citrus fruits, are a great source of Vitamin C, which is an excellent antioxidant to stock up on during the cold and flu season.  But what makes grapefruits stand out from any other citrus is the pretty pink color.  Pink and red hues in natural foods usually indicate that its high in yet another antioxidant, lycopene.  It’s always smart to stock up on antioxidants to help prevent certain cancers and other diseases.  And to top it all of, it has a flavor that just can’t compare to anything else.

But….if the thought of grapefruit already puts a sour taste in your mouth, try some of these tips to start feeling great with grapefruit:

• Chug it up.  Some of the healthiest people I know drink grapefruit juice everyday.  If you can’t handle the flavor, mix it up with another juice…just make sure it’s all 100% juice.
• You know the half.  A half of a grapefruit would  be a great breakfast treat.  For a sweet and sour flavor, drizzle some honey or sprinkle a little bit of sugar on top.  To make it extra special, use brown sugar and broil it for a few minutes.
• Be prepared.  Cut segments of grapefruit ahead of time and leave it in your fridge.  When you’re in need of some, add it to salad, to yogurt, or even cottage cheese.  But you might just find yourself grabbing a plain and simple bite each time you pass by.
• Go gourmet.  Grapefruit can bless so many dishes with its unique flavor.  From a seasonal salsa to citrus-glazed chicken and fish, grapefruits are a great way to go gourmet- on the healthy tip!

Can you get more grapefruit in your life during National Grapefruit Month?