Category Archives: Health & Nutrition

Drinking Water Quality for Major Metropolitan Areas

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university-of-cincinnati-logo-7-09Would you like to check the quality of drinking water in your area?  Just go to the University of Cincinnati’s website and click on a major city on the United States map. A graph will show you the quality of the drinking water according to several different contaminates.

I’m surprised at how much chlorine is in our water. Well, actually I guess I’m not too surprised. We can definitely taste the chlorine in our water which is one of the reasons we’ve been using bottled distilled water.  However, we just purchased a “Pur” water filter so we won’t be buying gallons of water now. There’s no chlorine taste using the filter, and we like the taste of the water so far.

NO-AD Suncare Products

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This is not a paid ad, just a testimonial of a product that we have been using for years and have recommended to friends.  NO-AD is the best suncare product for our skin that we have used, and it’s also the best value!  They don’t advertise, thus the name “NO-AD.”

  • It’s an excellent sunscreen and also an excellent moisturizer.
  • They use the best quality products at the lowest possible price.  Since they don’t advertise, you get twice as much suncare product for the money.  Now that’s a good deal, and since most people are looking for ways to save money then this is a great way to save on summer expenses.
  • What really impresses me is that they are recommended by the Skin Cancer Foundation.

TIP: If you happen to forget putting on sunscreen and get a really bad sunburn, NO-AD is great to put on for a moisturizer.  If that happens, NO-AD Suntan Lotion with SPF 4 is excellent to help take away the pain of sunburn.

Choose Safer Cosmetics and Toiletries

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According to EWG, try to avoid toiletries with these ingredients listed in the label:

  • Words ending in “paraben”
  • DMDM hydantoin
  • Imidsazolidinyl urea
  • Methylchloroisothiazolinone
  • Methylisothiazolinone
  • Triclosan
  • Triclocarban
  • Triethanolamine (or “TEA”)
  • “PEG”
  • “-eth” in the middle (e.g., sodium laureth sulfate)

The ingredient “FRAGRANCE” can include a lot of different chemicals, some of which may pose a hazard.   Use EWG’s Cosmetics Database to choose safer products.

Chilled Fresh Fruit Salad – Refreshing!

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This is the fresh fruit salad I made yesterday.  It’s great to keep in a Tupperware type covered bowl in the fridge ready for a quick snack, but just make sure you do not add banana to the whole batch.  If you want to add banana, just add it to what you’re getting ready to eat since bananas turn dark quickly.  However, the juices from the other fruits keep the apples from turning dark, so they’re OK the next day.  It’s so delicious (not to mention being healthy) that it’s hard not to eat a second serving of it!

INGREDIENTS:

  • Organic apple with the peeling left on it, chopped (if it’s not an organic apple then it should be peeled because of higher levels of pesticides)
  • Orange, peeled and sectioned and then cut into bite-size pieces
  • Cantaloupe, cut into bite-size pieces
  • Organic Strawberries (regular strawberries have higher levels of pesticides than most fruits), sliced
  • Blueberries
  • Nectarine, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
  • Grapes (not pictured)
  • Fresh Pineapple (not pictured)

Click here to see a list of the top 12 fruits & veggies with the most amounts of pesticides.

A Great Way to Exercise!

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treadmill-5-27-09Pro-Form is having a big sale on their treadmills.  How I would love to have a treadmill, but we don’t have the space or the money to buy one right now.  I enjoy walking outdoors, but sometimes it’s too hot or it’s rainy.  Sometimes there is a stray dog out roaming around, and I head for home if I don’t know the dog.  (One time I had a dog almost attack me while I was out walking.)  A treadmill would be great to have for those occasions!

Spring Cleaning

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This time of year, a lot of people are thinking about cleaning.  Not just a quick, surface clean but a deep clean.  They want their house to be really clean through and through!  And some people think about cleaning themselves on the inside with a colon cleanse or some type of detoxifying cleanse.  They don’t want to be clean just on the outside but on the inside, too.

Natural Lunchmeat with NO Nitrates, Nitrites, or Artificial Ingredients

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Hormel Natural Choice is the only pre-packaged lunch meat that I usually buy.  It’s all natural and so I don’t have to worry about any unwanted nitrates, nitrates, or MSG that can mess up our hormones.   It’s gluten-free and doesn’t contain any artificial ingredients.  And the great thing is that it tastes good!  We usually get the Oven Roasted Deli Turkey, Honey Deli Turkey, or Smoked Deli Turkey.   The ham is good, too.  We haven’t tried the beef yet, but I imagine it’s just as good as the turkey or ham.  Here is their site where you can get Hormel Natural Choice coupons.

Refreshing Salad…Super Healthy!

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This is a very healthy salad with the dark green, leafy Romaine lettuce which is a great source of vitamins K, A, & C, folate, manganese, and other nutrients.

The tuna and walnuts provide essential fatty acids which the body needs for many things, including healthy skin and hair.

Apples are the best source for the mineral boron which is good for bone growth and a great source of fiber.  Apples are also rich in quercetin, phytonutrients, and flavonoids which may reduce the risk of certain cancers.  The best way to get all of the health benefits of apples is to always eat organic apples with the peeling!

Cherries are considered to be a “Super Food,” containing beta carotene, vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, iron, folate, melatonin and also fiber.  They help with inflamation and cholesterol as well.

INGREDIENTS:

  • Fresh Romaine lettuce or your favorite green lettuce
  • Albacore Tuna in Water, drained
  • Apple, chopped  (If it’s an organic apple, don’t peel.  If it’s not an organic apple, then peel because of the high concentration of pesticides on non-organic apples)
  • Dried tart cherries
  • Walnuts
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Place lettuce in bowl and top with tuna, apple, cherries, and walnuts.  Drizzle with olive oil and add salt & pepper to taste.

Spice Rack: Thyme Fights Respiratory Infections

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2nd-sd-card-organic-bar-b-que-sauce-tea-3-4-09-002Not only does thyme add flavor to foods, but it is also great for fighting respiratory infections.  The oils in thyme fight viral, bacterial and fungal growth in the body.  Make thyme tea to relieve the following:

  • * Asthma
  • * Bronchitis
  • * Congestion
  • * Cough
  • * Hay fever
  • * Sore throat

Cooking with thyme:

Thyme is great for cooking.  I like to use parsley, thyme and rosemary in soups, stews and some chicken dishes for added flavor and nutrition.  It’s also good with bay leaf to season things as well.

Interesting Facts:

Thyme contains thymol which is found in Listerine and Vicks VapoRub and is used because of its antibacterial properties.  Thyme tea can also be used as a soak for Athlete’s Foot.

How to Make Thyme Tea:

Using either fresh (2 twigs) or dried thyme (2 teaspoons) per cup of boiling water.  Let it steep for 20 minutes.  There are various ways you can do this, either by using an infuser (as pictured above), placing tea in a piece of cheesecloth and using a twist tie to secure the top, or using tea filters which you can buy.

Sweeten with Stevia (which is what I use), honey, or agave nector.

* I’ve read that pregnant women and those trying to get pregnant should not use large amounts of thyme, but it’s OK in food.

Healthy Breakfast Basket: Grab & Go!

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2nd-sd-card-breakfast-basket-touch-of-red-mac-grill-2-17-09-003Mornings are such a hectic time, so I put out a “breakfast basket” for our son so he can grab something to eat in the car and/or later in the morning when he has a break.  This way he doesn’t skip breakfast.  These items are healthier than some other breakfast items that are low protein, low fiber, and high sugar.

I change the items up from week to week.  Fresh fruit is great to add. Variety is good!

Here are some ideas for what to put in a breakfast basket:

  • Stretch Island Fruit Co./All-Natural Fruit Leather (no sugar added, all natural fruit)
  • Fiber One Bars (2 grams of protein, 9 grams of fiber)  These are really good!  If you haven’t tried them, I recommend them.
  • Quaker Oatmeal to Go / High Fiber – Maple Brown Sugar  (4 grams of protein, 10 grams of fiber)
  • Quaker Oatmeal to Go (4 grams of protein, 5 grams of fiber)
  • Bags of peanuts (Hot Peanuts have 11 grams of protein, 4 grams of fiber)
  • Small boxes of raisins (fiber, antioxidants, good for teeth, gums, and eyes)
  • Bananas
  • Apples (already washed)
  • Oranges

Where Do You Walk?

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treadmill-2-11-09I really like going for walks outdoors, but when the weather is bad then that’s not possible.  Another solution is to walk at the mall which is fun because then I can pop into Old Navy or the Gap and see if they have any cute baby clothes on clearance for Baby J, our 18 month grandbaby (and now also for Baby C who is due in 2 1/2 months).  But it’s not always convenient to take a trip to the mall.  That’s one really great thing about treadmills. If the weather is bad, it’s inconvenient to go to the mall, or someone is in their pajamas, they can still exercise…any time of day or night.  That’s something to think about!

Saint Xavier University’s Online Nursing Master’s Degree

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nurses-2-3-09Saint Xavier University offers an online MS nursing degree and is known for being a “Center of Excellence in Nursing Education.”  There are only 14 other schools in the nation who have received this honor. That recognition says a lot to me about the quality of their program and their professionalism which is known nationally and internationally.   The professional faculty trains students to be leaders in health care and to meet the needs of our world today.  These are the kinds of nurses we need in health care, ones that will provide excellent patient care management while working with physicians and other health care professionals.