Eat Healthy on Mondays

Starting today – eat less, eat leaner and move more! – as your new approach to improve eating behaviors. Eat Healthy On Mondays builds upon Monday as a motivating weekly start to encourage consumption of fewer calories, more nutritious calories, and more calories burned off. By adopting Meatless Monday individuals can improve their health and potentially reduce demand for meat products, particularly industrially produced meat, which use huge amounts of natural resources and pose significant public health and environmental risks.


You may ask : Why Eat Healthy on Mondays?

Going meatless once a week may reduce your risk of chronic preventable conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. It can also help reduce your carbon footprint and save precious resources like fresh water and fossil fuel.

It's the January of the week, the perfect time for a fresh start. People are more likely to begin exercising, start a diet or quit smoking on Monday than any other day. It’s a call to action built into every calendar – offering 52 chances a year to live a longer, healthier life!

Read about these benefits below. But keep in mind that just going meatless is not enough. That’s why I give you the information you need to add healthy, environmentally friendly meat-free alternatives to your diet each week. 

Health Benefits

• LIMIT CANCER RISK: Hundreds of studies suggest that diets high in fruits and vegetables may reduce cancer risk. Both red and processed meat consumption are associated with colon cancer.
• REDUCE HEART DISEASE: Recent data from a Harvard University study found that replacing saturated fat-rich foods (for example, meat and full fat dairy) with foods that are rich in polyunsaturated fat (for example, vegetable oils, nuts and seeds) reduces the risk of heart disease by 19%
• FIGHT DIABETES: Research suggests that higher consumption of red and processed meat increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.
• CURB OBESITY: People on low-meat or vegetarian diets have significantly lower body weights and body mass indices. A recent study from Imperial College London also found that reducing overall meat consumption can prevent long-term weight gain.
• LIVE LONGER: Red and processed meat consumption is associated with modest increases in total mortality, cancer mortality and cardiovascular disease mortality.
• IMPROVE YOUR DIET. Consuming beans or peas results in higher intakes of fiber, protein, folate, zinc, iron and magnesium with lower intakes of saturated fat and total fat.

Environmental Benefits

• REDUCE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT. The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization estimates the meat industry generates nearly one-fifth of the man-made greenhouse gas emissions that are accelerating climate change worldwide . . . far more than transportation. And annual worldwide demand for meat continues to grow. Reining in meat consumption once a week can help slow this trend.
• MINIMIZE WATER USAGE. The water needs of livestock are tremendous, far above those of vegetables or grains. An estimated 1,800 to 2,500 gallons of water go into a single pound of beef. Soy tofu produced in California requires 220 gallons of water per pound.
• HELP REDUCE FOSSIL FUEL DEPENDENCE. On average, about 40 calories of fossil fuel energy go into every calorie of feed lot beef in the U.S. Compare this to the 2.2 calories of fossil fuel energy needed to produce one calorie of plant-based protein. Moderating meat consumption is a great way to cut fossil fuel demand.

Healthy Monday Tip: Pick a Petite Plate

Oversized plates lead to oversized portions, so slim your serving size this week by eating your meals on a salad plate. Your dish will seem just as full- that way you’ll be satisfied with less.

Eat Healthy on Monday Recipe: Enjoy this wonderful, vegetarian pasta courtesy of Chef Nathan Lyon any day of the week. 

Ingredients:

1 lb angel hair pasta, preferably imported 

2 very packed cups fresh basil leaves, plus more for garnish

2 medium garlic cloves, peeled

1/2 cup pine nuts, plus more for garnish

1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for garnish

Kosher salt, as needed

Freshly ground black pepper, as needed

Instructions:

In a food processor, process to combine: basil, garlic, and pine nuts. Scrape down the sides, then add 1/4 cup oil. Process once again. Add the remaining ¼ cup oil, and process one last time until the desired texture is achieved. Stir in the cheese, until combined.

In a large pot bring some water to a rolling boil. Add enough Kosher or sea salt to the water until the water tastes like the ocean. This is the only time that you are able to season the pasta properly. Add the pasta, stir, and cook according to package directions for “al dente”. Reserve about a cup of the cooking water, then drain the pasta and quickly toss with the pesto while pasta is still very hot. Add back some of the pasta cooking water if the sauce gets too thick. Garnish with Parmigiano-Reggiano, a few pine nuts, a light drizzle of olive oil, and some fresh basil.

Happy Monday, Happy Reading and remember to share this healthy blog with family, friends and coworkers!

Eat Well, Eat Healthy, Enjoy Life!

To your health always,

Lisa

LQ Wellness

973-383-0955

Dangers of Artificial Sugar

It's not really better for you...

Did you know "research has shown that artificial sweeteners can stimulate your appetite, increase carbohydrate cravings, and stimulate fat storage, and weight gain? In fact, diet sodas may actually double your risk of obesity!" 

Splenda (a popular artificial sweetener) is made by chlorinating sugar, changing its molecular structure to sucralose. 2% of sucralose contains heavy metals, methanol, and arsenic. It has been found to cause diarrhea, swelling of the liver and kidneys, decrease in fetal body weight, and genetic, immune system, and reproductive damage. What a splendid product!

So many people have been sickened by aspartame that there are victim support groups. Some of the 92 aspartame side effects listed by the FDA include: nerve cell damage, migraines, reproductive disorders, mental confusion, brain lesions, blindness, joint pain, Alzheimer's, bloating, and hair loss. Fox5 News investigated, you need to watch what they discovered.. 

Nutrasweet and Equal contain aspartame. When ingested, one of aspartame's ingredients, methyl alcohol, converts into formaldehyde, a deadly neurotoxin. Equal also contains the amino acid phenylalanine. Phenylalanine occurs naturally in the brain, but high levels can increase the chance of seizures and lead to depression and schizophrenia. Sweet & Low is no saint either. It contains saccharin, a coal-tar compound.

Check your labels for aspartame, acesulfame-K, saccharin and sucralose. Since there are too many to list, here are a just a few products that contain artificial sweeteners.  

We truly are damaging our bodies if we continue to eat or drink products with artificial sweeteners.   Honor your body by sticking with fruit and natural sweeteners.  Change the fate of your health and that of your children.  

Say NO to artificial sweeteners! Beware of what you and your family are consuming!

Relax and have a great weekend!

Wishing you health and wellness from the inside out,

LQ Wellness

973-383-0955

UNSAFE INGREDIENTS = UNSAFE PRODUCTS

Many common cleaning products that are purchased at the grocery store contain warning labels that the products are dangerous, poisonous, or flammable. When exposed to heat, aerosols can explode and cause accidents, serious injury or death. Cleaning your home or offices shouldn't be a risky job. Unfortunately, the majority of cleaning products available in retail stores are unsafe, harmful, toxic, and even deadly. The American Association of Poison Control Centers reported that exposure to many popular household cleaning substances can be serious enough to require treatment in a medical health facility.
  Unsafe cleaning products can be more dangerous than a loaded gun. The National Safety Council reported that "more children under four die of accidental poisonings at home than are accidentally killed with a gun at home" You wouldn't keep a loaded gun under your sink or in your bathroom yet millions of households keep extremely dangerous household products where children or pets might accidentally get them. How many chemicals do you breathe in your home?
 
  You know that good, healthy feeling you get when you've just cleaned your house? Sorry to spoil it, but you may have just made your home dirtier. Think of it this way. You wouldn't let your kids play with toxic chemicals, so why would you let the baby crawl over a floor that's just been wiped with them. That's much more dangerous than the orange juice that was just there.

 How dangerous? Just take a look at these statistics.

•  Over 90% of poison exposures happen at home.
• Common chlorine bleach is the #1 household chemical involved in poisoning.
• Organic pollutants, found in many common cleaners and even air fresheners, are found at levels 2-5 times higher inside your home than out.
• A person who spends 15 minutes cleaning scale off shower walls could inhale three times the "acute one-hour exposure limit" for glycol ether-containing products set by the California Office of Environmental health Hazard Assessment.
• Common cleaners give off fumes that can potentially increase the risk of kids developing asthma, the most common chronic childhood disease.
• 1 in  13 school-aged children has asthma. Rates in children under five have increased more than 160%.
• Children are highly vulnerable to chemical toxicants. Pound for pound of body weight, children drink more water, eat more food, and breathe more air than adults. The implication of this is that children will have substantially heavier exposure than adults to any toxicants that are present in water, food, or air.   

  With virtually every cleaning product available in the supermarket containing toxic, harmful, and potentially, deadly ingredients, how is it possible to keep a clean home while being as safe as possible? For over 50 years, Shaklee has been at the forefront of health and safety. The Get Clean  household cleaning line contains everything you need to keep your home clean and safe, while protecting the environment at the same time. The Get Clean Starter Kit contains all of the products in the Get Clean line, as well as accessories. The starter kit is available in regular or fragrance free. Shaklee is now offering Mini Kits get you started on your house, kitchen, or laundry!



  For more information on Shaklee's Get Clean product line 


go to my product website : healthnetwk.myshaklee.com. Please call or email me with any questions regarding Get Clean, the products which are safe for you, your family and the environment.




Have a great evening!
Remember wellness like charity starts at home.


Wishing you health & wellness from the inside out,
LQ Wellness

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." ~ Ghandi

973-383-0955

  

Celebrate Earth Day with Shaklee

• • • • • 
          

          • 

          • • Get Clean® Green Bundle

            • Item #59735

            • Happy Earth Day!

            • Celebrate Earth Day with Get Clean Basic H² Organic Super Cleaning Concentrate. The natural and nontoxic way to clean, Basic H² tackles literally a thousand household jobs. And it's safe for you, your home and your planet^®!

              Special offer: Buy a bottle of Get Clean Basic H² Organic Super Cleaning Concentrate (16 fl. oz.) and 3 spray bottles, get a Microfiber Cleaning Cloth for FREE!*

              Safe, Powerful, Green and Smart

              Get Clean Basic H² - each bottle contains an unbelievable amount of supersafe, really powerful, grease busting clean that saves money and helps keep the planet green. Just mix, spray, and wipe for sparkling windows, floors, mirrors, and more. One bottle of Basic H² contains the equivalent cleaning uses of over 5,000 bottles of Windex.** That’s over 5,000 fewer bottles going to the landfill!

              Get Clean Green Bundle includes:

              - 1 Get Clean Basic H² Organic Super Cleaning Concentrate (16 fl. oz.)

              - 3 Get Clean Spray bottles

              - FREE Get Clean Super Microfiber Cleaning Cloth

              Get Clean Basic H² is Super Concentrated

               

              - Window Cleaner – costs less than 1¢

                Just add 2 drops of Basic H2 to 16 oz of water

               - All-purpose cleaner – costs only 3¢

                Just add ¼ tsp of Basic H² to 16 oz of water

              
              

          One step at a time...we can create a clean, healthier and a better environment!

          
          

          
          

          
          

          Wishing you health & wellness from the inside out,

          
          
          

          LQ Wellness

          973-383-0955

          
          

          "Be the change you wish to see in the world. ~ Ghandi

          
          

Shaklee...Putting the Green in Clean

What is Earth Day?

Earth Day was founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson on April, 22 1970. He was concerned about the growing environmental crisis and sought to make it a known and debated issue. Beginning as an environmental “teach-in” in Philadelphia on April 16 lasting until April 22, with no official governing body, it grew at the grassroots level to a global day of environmental awareness.

 You can lead the Way to a Brighter Tomorrow and you can help the EARTH by helping your family and friends see the Shaklee difference. Shaklee has been the ENVIRONMENTAL LEADER for over 50 years, even before the first official Earth Day. Share the Dream of a Cleaner and Healthier tomorrow not just for Earth Day but EveryDay.

 In keeping with the pace and trend Shaklee has developed a cleaning system any steward of the environment would love to have. It is called Get Clean and comes in a starter kit that has everything you need to replace all the toxic cleaners most households now use and out-performs 11 national brands. This kit helps to eliminate 108 pounds of waste from landfills, 248 pounds of greenhouse gases and is the equivalent of planting 10 trees. People using these products have already saved enough plastic from going into landfills to circle the globe over 19 times.

        

GET CLEAN is safe for you, your home and planet. Many household cleaning products not only have serious health effects, but they can be just as dangerous to the environment. When left-over cleaning products are discarded, they can add toxic and poisonous chemicals to the earth. Also, storing partially used chemicals can cause toxins to seep out and pollute the air indoors, posing serious risks to those in the home. In a 15 year study released at the Toronto Indoor Air Conference, women who worked at home had a 54% higher death rate from cancer than those who worked away from home. The study concluded that the deaths were a direct result of increased exposure to toxic chemicals....many of which are found in common household cleaning products.

 At Shaklee, we believe every day is Earth Day, and that each and every one of us can make a difference and an impact on our planet, one person at a time. This Earth Day, we have a mission and a goal to keep the planet and families healthier, creating 50,000 healthier homes by introducing Shaklee products to our loved ones and our community.

Yes, you can make a difference. Start with your household, your family, your friends, your community, your city. It can have a ripple effect which can literally and figuratively change the face of our planet.

 If your home is anything like the average U.S. home, you generate more than 20 pounds of household hazardous waste each year ( the EPA designates toilet cleaners, tub and tile cleaners, oven cleaners, and bleach as hazardous waste).

If you would like more information on the Get Clean Starter Kit go to my product website: http://healthnetwk.myshaklee.com. Get Clean will give you revolutionary cleaning choices that are SAFE, POWERFUL, GREEN & SMART. YOU can make a difference for your family & the world our children will inherit. Purchase a Get Clean  Starter Kit and save $7.00 now thru April 30,2011. When you order direct from my site a refund will be mailed to you.

 

Whether or not you agree with the politics behind Earth Day, leaving our planet better than we found it has to count for something. We can choose to buy concentrated products that we add water to, to lessen the amounts of waste or reuse or recycle our trash. We can use non-toxic cleaners that keep chemicals out of our water. Our world is changing as it has throughout history, what we choose to do or not to do, will impact our future.

Have a great week and remember to make every day count and live energetically, live purposely and live completely!

Remember wellness like charity starts at home.

Wishing you health & wellness from the inside out,

LQ Wellness

973-383-0955

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." ~ Ghandi

Fitness Friday

Exercise of the Day:  Modified Squats with Band

Starting Position

Grab each handle and place feet on band, slightly wider than the hips, toes forward. Stand tall with back straight, abs engaged, legs straight and arms at your sides.

Action

INHALE: Slowly bend at both knees to lower down towards the floor, not exceeding 90-degrees at the knees. EXHALE: Slowly straighten the knees to push back up to the start position to complete one rep.

Special Instructions

Minimize any forward leaning from the waist and keep chest lifted. You should feel resistance only when pushing up to the start position. Make it easier: Bring legs closer together (closer to center of band) for less resistance. Make it harder: Place legs wider (closer to handles) to increase resistance.

Muscles Worked: Legs (quads, hamstrings, calves) and glutes 




Keep moving with small steps and have fun!
Best in health always,
Lisa
LQ Wellness
973-383-0955

Tasty, Healthy Thursday

Today's Recipe – Honey Garlic Dressing

By Rosa G

Difficulty: Easy  Time: 10 minutes  Yields: 1/4 cup

This is a smooth, creamy dressing that goes well with most salads.  Try it on dark greens such as Kale, or Spinach.  The spicyness of the garlic, sweetness of the honey, and slight bitterness of the dark greens will give your taste buds all the flavors needed to make a satisfying meal.

Ingredients

• 2 garlic cloves, minced or squeezed through a garlic presser
• 1 teaspoon honey
• pinch of sea salt
• 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions

Combine the garlic, honey, and sea salt in a small bowl.  Mix thoroughly.

Add balsamic vinegar, and olive oil.  Mix all ingredients thoroughly until it forms into a creamy, blended dressing.  Add more olive oil or vinegar to desired thinness.

Pour over your salad.  Enjoy!  This dressing will last in the refrigerator for 2 days.

Tip #1:  Substitute balsamic vinegar with apple cider vinegar, or red wine vinegar for a different texture.

Tip #2:  If you like hot, spicy food then add another garlic clove or a pinch of cayenne pepper to the dressing, and mix thoroughly.

Enjoy!

One step at a time... we can achieve optimal wellness.

Lisa

LQ Wellness

973-383-0955