Healthy Lifestyle Tip--Glassware Should be Taller Than Wide

Monday, March 28, 2016



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Easy & Healthy Comfort Food Dinner--Mediterranean Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Friday, March 25, 2016
Stuffed Sweet Potato--Easy and Tasty (photo by LivligaHome)

Sometimes you just want something easy for dinner. It doesn't mean it has to be packed full of calories. And, of course, every meal can be tasty and visually appealing. One of my easy go-to-dinners is a stuffed sweet potato.  

Why a sweet potato? Sweet potatoes have an amazing amount of health benefits including being an excellent source of vitamin A (beta-carotene). They are also a very good source of vitamin C, manganese, copper, pantothenic acid, and vitamin B6. Additionally, they are a good source of potassium, dietary fiber, niacin, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, and phosphorus.

This recipe combines the sweet of the sweet potato with the savory of the feta and sun-dreid tomatoes. This makes the meal more satisfying and filling. You will feel sated and full at the end of this simple vegetarian meal. 

Mediterranean Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients
2 medium sweet potatoes (8-10 ounces each)
2 tablespoons black olives, chopped
2 tablespoons sundried tomatoes, packed in oil, drained and sliced 
2 tablespoons feta cheese, crumbled
¼  cup parsley, chopped
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons olive oil
coarse sea salt and pepper, to taste


Directions

  1. Wash and clean potatoes. Wrap them in foil and place them in a preheated oven at 350 degrees. Make sure to put a cookie sheet lined with foil on the rack below your potatoes to catch any of their drippings. Bake around an hour, until they give when you squeeze them in the middle.
  2. While the potatoes are baking mix together all remaining ingredients in a small bowl.
  3. When potatoes are done remove them from the oven and take them out of the foil. Place them each on a plate.
  4. Cut the potato lengthwise then fill each potato with half of the mixture and serve.


Serves 2. Serving size 1 stuffed sweet potato. Calories: 242.


Enjoy! And Live Vibrant!


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Healthy Lifestyle Tip-- Add Savory Flavors to Your Sweets To Please Your Palate

Monday, March 21, 2016



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Exercise Keeps Our Brains Young According to New Research

Friday, March 18, 2016


The next time you feel too tired or worn out to work out think again. Recent research shows us that exercising regularly and for the long term keeps our brains healthier and more robust longer helping us to stave off cognitive decline and dementia.


Regular exercise may shrink waistlines, but a long-term study suggests it increases brain volume and lowers the risk of age-related cognitive decline. Researchers followed 1,583 middle-aged men and women with no personal history of dementia or heart disease over the course of two decades. At the start of the study, participants underwent an MRI and took a physical fitness test on a treadmill, during which their heart rate and blood pressure were also monitored. The procedures were repeated 20 years later, and after factoring out people who had developed heart disease and high blood pressure, the researchers found that the ones who kept in shape were more likely to have larger brains. On the other hand, poorly conditioned participants had lost gray matter. “Our brains shrink as we age, and this atrophy is related to cognitive decline and increased risk for dementia,” study author Nicole Spartano of Boston University tells CBSNews.com. “This study suggests that people with poor fitness have accelerated brain aging.”

Sourced from: The Week
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Healthy Lifestyle Tip--Eat More Complex Carbohydrates

Monday, March 14, 2016








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Wilted Kale Salad with Pancetta and Fried Egg

Friday, March 11, 2016
Wilted Kale Salad with Pancetta and Fried Egg (photo by LivligaHome)
Pancetta has the wonderful flavor of a cured bacon without all the fat. It has just enough fat and salt to please your palate. I love making this dish when I don't want the hassle of a full blown dinner but do want to provide a healthy and flavorful dinner. It almosts qualifies as comfort food for me. And what's great is that it is packed full of health and goodness. Because it is warm it is a meal that can be served any time of year, including the dead of winter.

Ingredients~
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 package Pancetta, 3 ounces, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 package prepared Kale
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 eggs
Cooking Spray, olive oil flavor
2 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar

Directions~
1. Place oil in hot skillet, preferrably cast iron, and add onions. Saute for 3 minutes. Next add Pancetta. Cook until slightly browned. Then add garlic. Keep on high until garlic starts to turn brown. Remove from heat and place ingredients in a bowl.
2. Put the skillet back on the stove on medium heat. Spray with olive oil spray. Add kale until mounded. As it wilts add more until all of the kale is in the skillet. Pour the chicken broth on top. Cover and let simmer 3 to 5 minutes until the kale starts to wilt but is not completely cooked. Remove from stove.
3. Place wilted kale in bowl and add other ingredients, toppped with the Balsamic vinegar. Toss and divide between two plates.
4. Spray skillet again with olive oil spray. Fry eggs sunny-side up. Place one egg on top of each serving of salad.

Serves 2. Calories per serving 340.


Enjoy! And Live Vibrant!
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Healthy Lifestyle Tip--Eat Off A Right-Size Plate

Monday, March 7, 2016






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Social bonds keep you healthier

Friday, March 4, 2016

It is a good thing to note that humans are needy. It takes a lot for us to live healthy, happy and productive lives. So much of the time we focus on what we eat, how much we eat, the exercise we need to incorporate in our daily routines and the amount of sleep our bodies require to stay healthy. Much less often we focus on how profound our need is to have relationships with others. I recently came across this write up on research concerning our social bonds, It shows us how social bonds, or more specifically the lack of them, can effect our physical health as much as if we are sedentary or eat an unhealthy diet. Bottom line, social connections help us manage stress and enjoy life more.  Here is the write up on the research:

Doctors often tout regular exercise and a sensible diet as keys to good health, but new research suggests that forming social bonds is just as important. Social scientists at the University of North Carolina analyzed four studies involving more than 14,000 people ages 12 to 91, The Washington Post reports. The results indicate that the number and quality of a person’s social connections affect specific measures of health over the course of a lifetime. Older adults who feel socially isolated are more than twice as likely to develop high blood pressure, making loneliness a more significant risk factor for the condition than diabetes. Social ties are also crucial early on in life. Lonely teens, for example, are as likely to develop inflammation as young people who are sedentary, the study shows. For all age groups, researchers theorize, social connections mitigate the harmful effects of daily stress. “Do have a good and healthy diet, and exercise,” advises study author Yang Claire Yang, “but also try to have a good social life.” 

Source: The Week-- January 14, 2016
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