Chrono-Nutrition, What and When to Eat

Hello everyone and welcome to Fall. Even though this is a beautiful time of the year, we are faced with the fact that our sunshine days will be shorter. This puts us in a situation of extending our days inside our homes with the help of electricity. We will be getting less daylight. The lack of sunlight is biologically not ideal for us. Chrono- nutrition is a practice of aligning your food habits with your internal clock. a

Eating Breakfast is a good way to start. Develop a healthy habit of eating breakfast. People that eat breakfast are less likely to want to snack mid-morning. Skipping breakfast elevates our blood sugars and increases our LDL (bad) cholesterol. Remember that you don’t have to eat the normal cultural foods for breakfast. I like eating a black bean burger, salad, and even salmon. Left over whole grain pasta, rice pasta, with pesto and olive oil is great too. Avocado on Ezechiel toast with tomato, is also delicious. Just remember that you don’t have to have bacon eggs, toast, pancakes etc. Whole grain cereals, steel cut oatmeal is great. Start your day with a good healthy breakfast. Remember, breakfast could start looking like Dinner!

Eating Lunch. This is my biggest meal of the day. By1:30, my tummy is growling, and YES, I am ready for some good food. Tip: When you find a recipe or a dish that you like, keep making it, just jazz it up with different ingredients. For example, if you like a salad for lunch, change up the protein. Instead of having chicken grilled, have shrimp or salmon. Instead of having the cold salad greens, choose grilled vegetables, or roasted. This technique will make you excited about eating lunch. By doing this, you will start to get a rhythm of smart eating. Plan ahead and keep it simple by having proteins and vegetables available to switch it up. Remember, also to experiment with spices and herbs. Your taste buds will thank you. Include citrus such as Lemons and limes also. Eat consistently each day.

Dinner should be the easiest meal of the day. It should consist of green leafy vegetables. Remember, your body is most insulin resistant (a resistance to the hormone insulin that increases blood sugars) at night, so you want to avoid simple carbs at dinner. This is really important for diabetics.

Eat, fiber rich vegetables and grains, such as quinoa, brown rice, beans, kale, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, and all root vegetables. Add a protein that is light, such as white fish, salmon, tuna or chicken. Avoid, beef, pork, ham and processed meats.

Remember to plan your meals so that your biggest are the first two meals of the day. Eat a lighter dinner that includes vegetables and a small portion of protein.

In just 1 month you can change to healthier habits.

Here are some great tips that are easy to prep and keep you on track for winter.

Veggie prep for fall and winter.

Recipe: Take any root vegetables, beets, potatoes, carrots, red onions, leeks, sweet potatoes, garlic. Clean and dry. Place on a cooking sheet pan, salt, pepper, garlic powder. Drizzle avocado oil, or Spanish olive oil. Toss and coat each vegetable. Tip: Always add the oil to the vegetables before the seasonings. If you add the seasonings first, they will be wiped away when you add the oil.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and cook for 15 minutes, turning then, 15 minutes more. Eat anytime. Add to a meal, or as a side. Or on a room temperature side salad. Don’t forget as a snack!

Chickpeas, when you don’t know what to eat, chickpeas are great for controlling our blood sugars. They make a great snack.

Recipe: Drain two cans of chickpeas, dry with a paper towel. Place on to a baking sheet. Add: Olive oil, salt, and pepper, garlic powder, and smoked paprika, coat them all. 425-degree oven for 20 minutes. Turn them after 10 minutes. This is a delicious snack! Like eating peanuts, but better. Golden brown and crispy.

When you are feeling low. Try eating some wild caught salmon. This is great full of Omega 3 fatty acids. Helps your brain re-boot!

Don’t forget SOUP! It is so comforting. When you want a comfort food, choose soup. As for soup, skip the creamy soups and chose the clear broth, or a tomato-based soup with lots of veggies. Soup is very easy to make, and another way to get your veggies and proteins in just one bowl.

Potatoes are underrated. Cook with the skin on, fork tender, place into your favorite bowl. Add 1/4 teaspoon of real butter, turmeric, salt, pepper to your tasting, and 1 tablespoon of low sugar salsa. Hot sauce too! You can also add 1/4 of an avocado, for extra fat. This will stick to your ribs and is a great comfort food.

Eat good food. Eat when you are hungry. Stop eating at the first feeling of being full. Chose small, delicious meals. Keep it simple in your cooking. Rely on your pantry for spices, and citrus flavors. Herbs will add lots of flavor also. Don’t be without: Onions, Garlic, Herbs, Spices, Fresh Greens, Frozen, Grains, and canned Tuna and Beans. Frozen Proteins, such as Shrimp, White Fish, Salmon, Tuna. Potatoes and Legumes. Always have Chicken, beef and bone marrow stock on hand. Lastly, fresh and frozen vegetables.

Eat well, remember to make a memory every day, and don’t apologize for who you are….Rebecca

From The Inside Out, Acid – Alkaline Balance

YOUR BODY NEEDS IT: ACID ALKALINE BALANCE
Hello and thank you for visiting. One of the basic necessities for the body to function properly is maintaining the proper balance of acidity and alkalinity (pH) in the blood and other body fluids. We hear the term  (pH)balance on the label of our deodorant and hygiene items at our grocery store.  Our bodies like to be (pH)slightly alkaline balanced at around 7.0-7.5
The acid-alkaline theory of disease is an oversimplification, but it basically states that many diseases are caused by excess acid accumulation in the body. There is accumulating evidence that certain diseases, such as Osteoporosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Gout, and many other diseases may be influenced by the dietary acid-alkaline balance.
Example: Osteoporosis, may be the result of a chronic intake of acid-forming foods that consistently outweigh the intake of alkaline foods, leading to the bones being constantly forced to give up their alkaline minerals, such as calcium and magnesium, in order to buffer the excess acid.
What To Eat! The dietary goal for good health is simple. just make sure that you consume more alkaline-producing foods than acid-producing foods.
Keep in mind that there is a difference between acidic foods and acid-forming foods. We get this wrong, just in basic thinking of what we have learned about food.
This is how pH balance works. Foods such as lemons and citrus fruits are acidic, they actually have an analyzing effect on the body! Who knew it? Not me before I started learning about the effects of food on our bodies. What determines the pH nature of the food in the body is the metabolic end products when food is digested! I love learning..and sharing..Here is a good example:
Citric acid in citrus fruit,  is metabolized in the body to its alkaline form and may even be converted to bicarbonate, another alkaline compound.
Many nutritionists and myself believe that if an 80:20 alkaline acid proportion is followed in your daily diet, (don’t worry, you DO NOT have to study food chemistry or worry any further about what you eat, I am going to make it simple.
pH= measures how acid or how alkaline a substance.
pH Scale=scale of measurement for the acidity and alkalinity.
Classifying our food:
*Note-Food is either alkaline forming or acid forming.
Alkaline-forming foods include: vegetables, fruits, soybeans, almonds, most legumes, potatoes with the skin, bananas, millet, and buckwheat.
Acid-forming foods include: meat, fish, eggs, cheese, most grains and nuts, peanuts.
Neutral foods include: fats, and oils (this may sound crazy) but they contain neither acid nor alkaline chemical compounds.
How Do We Know? Litmus Paper!! It works and you can buy it at the local Pharmacy. The regular blue and red litmus will give an approximate reading of acidity or alkalinity. Blue will turn red if the urine or saliva is acidic and Red litmus will turn blue if alkaline.
Keep your body balanced in every way. Check out this website: greenopdia.com for list of foods.

Remember, “make a memory every day, and don’t apologize for who you are!”

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