Over the weekend, I picked out a few yummy finds including sand pears, collard greens (thanks Doris for sharing your bunch!) and purple eggplant. The sand pears were new to my taste buds but I absolutely LOVE them. If I could describe them, they taste like an apple jolly rancher mixed with a little pear taste. So sweet and crunchy.
I have not yet learned to appreciate eggplant yet, except for eggplant on pizza, so I rubbed a little olive oil on sliced eggplant (eggplant loves to soak up oil!), sprinkled it with no salt seasoning, sliced a little garlic for on top and grilled it in the oven for until it was slightly brown. I set the oven at 450 degrees and it took around 10-15 minutes.
While the eggplant was cooking, I heated up some whole grain wild rice. Karel just loves rice so since I believe that families/couples/friends, etc. should eat similar "healthy" foods but in different quantities, I served myself a nice portion of whole grains (I aim to eat 3-servings of whole grains per day to help meet my vitamin/mineral and fiber recommendations) and let Karel serve himself since he has different energy needs than me.
To go along with our wild rice and grilled eggplant, I made a beautiful salad filled with:
Avocado
Romaine, collard greens and kale
Purple grapes
Chopped hard boiled egg
Fresh mozzarella cheese
Onions
Carrots
Green pepper
Tomatoes
Orange slices
Sand pears
On a different note, I am very passionate about getting adequate calcium in the diet, especially as an female athlete. We should never take for granted that our bones are the frame of our body...we must take care of them as we respect the body with wholesome food and adequate consumption of vitamins and minerals.
While reading the October 2011 issue of Consumer Reports on Health there was a fantastic cover article on Boosting the strength of bones for women and men.
Since I work with several athletes and individuals seeking weight loss, alongside working in the hospital where I learn at least one new drug/medicine/prescription every single time I am there, I thought I would share a list featured on pg. 5 of the magazine of the medications (listed drugs are also available as generics) that can weaken your frame, in the case that you are concerned about your bones and may be considering a bone density exam.
-Anticonvulsants - Dilantin, phenobarbital: used for epilepsy, nerve pain
-Aromatase inhibitors - Arimidex, Femara: breast cancer
-Estrogen blockers - Depo-Provera, Depo-subQ Provera 104, Lunelle: endometrisosi, pregnancy prevention, pelvic pain, abnormal menstruation
-Glucocorticoids- cortisone, dexamethasone, hydrocortisone, methylprednisolone, prednisone: arthritis, asthma, inflammation, lupus
-Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists- Zoladex, Vantas, Lupron, Synarel: breast cancer, early-onset puberty, endometriosis, infertility, prostate cancer
-Heparin - preventing blood clots
-Immunosuppressant- cyclosporine, prograf: organ transplants, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis
-Proton pump inhibitors-Nexium, Prevacid, Prilosec, Segerid, AcipHex: frequent heartburn, GERD, ulcers
-SSRIs-Celexa, Lexapro, Prozac, Luvox, Paxil, Pexeva, Zoloft: anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder
-Thiazolidinediones- Actos, Avandia, Avandaryl: Type 2 Diabetes
*If you are one of the 26 million people with Type 2 diabetes: Consumper Resports on Health pg 7 explain that aaccording to the FDA, both Actos and Avandia increase the risk of congestive heart failure and carry a black-box warning about the risk. One out of three people in 100 with no history of heart disease will develop heart failure as a result of taking Actos or Avandia. There is also a higher risk of bladder cancer in people who took Actos for more than a year. Avandia is associated with an increased risk of heart attacks.
I have not yet learned to appreciate eggplant yet, except for eggplant on pizza, so I rubbed a little olive oil on sliced eggplant (eggplant loves to soak up oil!), sprinkled it with no salt seasoning, sliced a little garlic for on top and grilled it in the oven for until it was slightly brown. I set the oven at 450 degrees and it took around 10-15 minutes.
While the eggplant was cooking, I heated up some whole grain wild rice. Karel just loves rice so since I believe that families/couples/friends, etc. should eat similar "healthy" foods but in different quantities, I served myself a nice portion of whole grains (I aim to eat 3-servings of whole grains per day to help meet my vitamin/mineral and fiber recommendations) and let Karel serve himself since he has different energy needs than me.
To go along with our wild rice and grilled eggplant, I made a beautiful salad filled with:
Avocado
Romaine, collard greens and kale
Purple grapes
Chopped hard boiled egg
Fresh mozzarella cheese
Onions
Carrots
Green pepper
Tomatoes
Orange slices
Sand pears
On a different note, I am very passionate about getting adequate calcium in the diet, especially as an female athlete. We should never take for granted that our bones are the frame of our body...we must take care of them as we respect the body with wholesome food and adequate consumption of vitamins and minerals.
While reading the October 2011 issue of Consumer Reports on Health there was a fantastic cover article on Boosting the strength of bones for women and men.
Since I work with several athletes and individuals seeking weight loss, alongside working in the hospital where I learn at least one new drug/medicine/prescription every single time I am there, I thought I would share a list featured on pg. 5 of the magazine of the medications (listed drugs are also available as generics) that can weaken your frame, in the case that you are concerned about your bones and may be considering a bone density exam.
-Anticonvulsants - Dilantin, phenobarbital: used for epilepsy, nerve pain
-Aromatase inhibitors - Arimidex, Femara: breast cancer
-Estrogen blockers - Depo-Provera, Depo-subQ Provera 104, Lunelle: endometrisosi, pregnancy prevention, pelvic pain, abnormal menstruation
-Glucocorticoids- cortisone, dexamethasone, hydrocortisone, methylprednisolone, prednisone: arthritis, asthma, inflammation, lupus
-Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists- Zoladex, Vantas, Lupron, Synarel: breast cancer, early-onset puberty, endometriosis, infertility, prostate cancer
-Heparin - preventing blood clots
-Immunosuppressant- cyclosporine, prograf: organ transplants, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis
-Proton pump inhibitors-Nexium, Prevacid, Prilosec, Segerid, AcipHex: frequent heartburn, GERD, ulcers
-SSRIs-Celexa, Lexapro, Prozac, Luvox, Paxil, Pexeva, Zoloft: anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder
-Thiazolidinediones- Actos, Avandia, Avandaryl: Type 2 Diabetes
*If you are one of the 26 million people with Type 2 diabetes: Consumper Resports on Health pg 7 explain that aaccording to the FDA, both Actos and Avandia increase the risk of congestive heart failure and carry a black-box warning about the risk. One out of three people in 100 with no history of heart disease will develop heart failure as a result of taking Actos or Avandia. There is also a higher risk of bladder cancer in people who took Actos for more than a year. Avandia is associated with an increased risk of heart attacks.