Category: Healthy

Categories
Breakfast Fruit Healthy Low Carb Recipes Smoothie Vegetarian

Grapefruit, why it helps with losing weight!

The grapefruit and lose weight

grapefruit lose weightGrapefruit with sugar, just like in the old days …
Not everyone is a fan of grapefruits, the taste is a combination of bitter and sour and you really have to love that. I remember that in the past we dipped the grapefruit in granulated sugar …

The fruit is a cross between an orange and a grapefruit. Did you know that a grapefruit contains no less than half the daily amount of vitamin C, also a good reason to add the grapefruit to your diet.

Naringenin, an important substance!
The bitter taste of the fruit is caused by the substance Naringenin. The substance belongs to the group Phytonutrients. In addition to the bitter taste, the substance has an even more important function, namely the stimulation of fat burning. Naringenin reacts to fat molecules that will burn faster due to the substance. Your metabolism also speeds up, this causes your body to burn the fat instead of storing it as an energy reserve. That is one of the reasons that grapefruits also help with weight loss.

Benefits of grapefruit

A grapefruit has many advantages, including:

Contains few calories
A grapefruit contains less than 100 calories and is therefore one of the fruits with the least calories! In addition, it also contains a lot of vitamins C and A. These vitamins

ensure that your immune system becomes stronger. Vitamin C combats bacteria and harmful substances and vitamin A ensures that you do not contract infections and inflammations.

Contains many antioxidants

Lycopene can lower the risk of various cancers.

Your blood sugar levels remain balanced
By eating grapefruit regularly you prevent the cells in your body from becoming less sensitive due to insulin. Insulin controls many processes in your body including your blood sugar level. If your cells become less sensitive to insulin, your blood sugar level rises. That is not a healthy consequence and it can even lead to type 2 diabetes.

Smaller chance of kidney stones
Your kidneys filter all waste in your body. It can sometimes happen that the waste forms stones. The citric acid in grapefruits reduces the chance of this happening.

Good for your heart
The grapefruit contains an important mineral for your heart, namely potassium. This mineral ensures that your heart stays healthy. It prevents that you get too high blood pressure or too high cholesterol.

Recipes with Grapefruit
grapefruit lose weightGrapefruit as the start of the day
Now that you know how good grapefruits are for you, you may want to know how to prepare them. I prefer to eat a (red) grapefruit on my sober stomach, sit comfortably and chew up. But if that is too intense for you, I have a few ideas for you here.

Recipe # 1: Smoothie

Ingredients:
100 ml organic carrot juice (or freshly squeezed in a juicer)
1 grapefruit
1 cm ginger
A fruit piece of your choice, for example: a banana, an apple, 100 grams of blueberries

Necessities:
Blender
Cutting
board Cutting knife
Grater

Preparation method:
Peel the grapefruit and cut into pieces.
Peel the ginger and grate the piece above the blender.
Cut the extra piece of fruit into pieces if necessary.
Put all the ingredients in the blender and make sure everything is blended well.
Dilute it with some extra juice or water.
grapefruit lose weightFresh grapefruit drink

Recipe # 2: As a fresh juice

 

Ingredients for 4 glasses (or a large can)

1 grapefruit
1 hand of mint
1 lemon and / or lime
(Source) water and ice cubes

Preparation method:

Scrub the outside of the (preferably organic) citrus fruit well.
Cut them in half and divide them over the glasses or in a nice water jug.
Add the coin and top up with water.
Recipe # 3: Salad

Ingredients for 4 portions:

200 grams mixed salad
2 grapefruits
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 ripe avocado
1 teaspoon honey
A handful of walnuts
Pepper and salt

Necessities:

Bowl where the lettuce can go
Bowl for the grapefruit juice
Cutting
board Cutting knife

Preparation method:

Clean the lettuce with water and drain. Once it is almost dry, put the lettuce in a bowl.
Peel the grapefruit over a small bowl. This way you catch all the delicious juice that is released. The juice is in fact the basis for your dressing. Separate the segments and add them to lettuce.
Peel the avocado and cut the avocado into thin slices and add it to the lettuce. You can also cut the slices in half if you prefer.
For the dressing: Combine the collected grapefruit juice with the honey and olive oil. Season the dressing with salt and pepper.
Mix the dressing with the salad.
Sprinkle the lettuce with a handful of walnuts.

Categories
BEVERANGE Easy Recipes Fruit Healthy Low Carb Smoothies

Yummy AVOCADO SALSA

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

3 ripe avocados, diced ½ red onion, chopped 2 tomatoes, diced ¼ cup cilantro, chopped 2 limes, juiced 2 cloves garlic, chopped Salt, to taste Pepper, to taste 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar ½ cup feta cheese Tortilla chips, for serving

PREPARATION

 

  1. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and gently mix together. For best flavor, allow
  2. to set 30 minutes. Garnish with additional feta just before serving. Enjoy!
  3. Garnish with additional feta just before serving. Enjoy!

 

 
Categories
Breakfast Fruit Healthy Low Carb Recipes Vegetarian Video

Nut paste versus peanut butter

There is probably no peanut butter in your kitchen cupboard either. Peanut butter is integrated in the fixed spreads so that it is almost unthinkable that someone does not like it. If you have never been to a health food store, then you may not be aware that there are many more types of nut pastes that are very tasty but also very healthy.

Think cashew nut paste , almond paste and mixed types of nut paste , which are now gaining popularity. Not least because they are super healthy. These pastas are all made from pure nuts as opposed to peanut butter, which only consists of peanuts. And peanuts are not covered by the healthy nuts, they are legumes. Another reason why people who follow a Paleo diet do not eat peanut butter, but they do eat nut pastes.

I personally love nut pastes! Delicious in taste, filling and also good for me. The price of a pure nut paste is often higher than that of peanut butter, but it tastes so much purer and healthier that it is worth it to me.
I like to eat it on a spelled cracker or rice cake, preferably with some banana slices, but a snack of pasta on a piece of apple or with a large date is also very tasty.

Nut paste versus peanut butterNut paste with…
For the peanut butter fans I have compared the ingredients of peanut butter and almond paste.

Almond paste is slightly healthier than peanut butter because it contains more vitamins, minerals and fiber. Almond paste is therefore a precursor if you look at the vitamin and mineral content. It contains almost three times as much vitamin E, twice as much iron and seven times as much calcium as peanut butter. Peanut butter also contains vitamins and minerals including vitamin E, calcium and iron, but it does not contain as much as almond butter. Both peanut butter and almond butter contain a healthy dose of potassium, biotin, magnesium and zinc.

Peanut butter and nut paste also contain fibers that give you a full feeling faster, allowing you to maintain a healthy weight. It also helps to lower your cholesterol. Fortunately, all nuts contain fiber. When it comes to fiber content, almond paste comes out better when compared to peanut butter. Two tablespoons of almond paste contains approximately 3.3 grams of fiber, while 2 tablespoons of peanut butter only contains 1.6 grams.

Almond paste contains much less carbohydrates than peanut butter (nuts = proteins, legumes = carbohydrates)

In addition, it is also super healthy to consume nuts or nut pastes. Research studies have shown time and again that people who regularly include nuts or nut pastes in their diet are less likely to have heart disease or type 2 diabetes than people who do not regularly eat nuts. Research also suggests that regular consumption of nuts does not contribute to obesity, despite the fact that nuts are high in calories.

On a strictly nutritional basis, almond paste is healthier than peanut butter, but only slightly. But if you look at the benefits of eating nuts compared to peanuts, a nut paste is definitely a better choice.

If you prefer the taste of peanut butter, choose an organic version. Many ordinary brands of peanut butter are full of junk! Unfortunately, some brands mix their peanut butter with sugar, fructose-corn syrup, salt and hydrogenated vegetable oils. And beware of the low-fat peanut butter that are often the worst.

Do not forget the nuts pasta not properly read the label and choose one that contains no added sugar, partially hydrogenated oils or trans fats or artificial ingredients. The label must contain only one ingredient: “nuts” or “almonds” (and maybe a pinch of salt).

Categories
Healthy Vegetarian

How protein shakes help me lose weight

For a while I have been using proteins to lose weight. Inspired by the book by Timothy Ferriss, I went looking for scientific studies that found that a low-carb, but high-protein and fat-rich diet was healthier and produced better results. Losing weight with proteins is HOT! The scientific evidence appears to be in large quantities and the results do not lie. At the bottom of the article I have listed the 3 most important studies that show that weight loss works with proteins. The light was therefore green and I started the diet (or actually diet) of Timothy Ferriss.

Quite soon after I started the Timothy Ferriss diet ( body a body book ), I started protein shakes. The Timoty Ferriss diet is based on protein intake and low carbohydrate eating. But to make a good start, it is important to start your day with a breakfast free of carbohydrates and an intake of at least 20 grams of protein.

The first week I started in the morning with 3 eggs with a little Zaanse mayonnaise, 4 slices of bacon and two large glasses of water. But after two weeks the eggs came out of my throat. You still have to do quite a bit to get those 20 grams of protein. And it is almost the basis if you want to lose weight with proteins. That is why I started looking for an alternative to the eggs. So you can start with 200 grams of chicken fillet, a generous salmon steak … but yes … who wants to get up early in the morning?

The outcome: Protein shakes
A turbulent diet period began … 🙂Protein shakes soon seemed the solution, but the road to the perfect shake was a long one. I tried maybe 10 different varieties … one even dirtier than the other! Some had
a very bad taste, others just couldn’t be plum and others didn’t really have a good impact on my diet.

I ended up with  these protein shakes because of the natural ingredients. The taste is great and there are few carbohydrates in it (which is very important!). I take about 1 scoop every morning and mix it with 250ml almond milk. My experience is that if you start your day with this, you will last at least 4-5 hours … without getting hungry. Eat some more fat (a handful of almonds for example) and the 4-5 hours after breakfast your body is burning fat. I lost more than 10 kilos with this!

Why proteins help in burning fat
Proteins prevent large fluctuations in your glycemic index. A low glycemic index means that the diet contains carbohydrates that are absorbed slowly by the body. This gives you a feeling of satiety for longer during the day. As a result, you do not feel hungry all day long and saying no to delicacies becomes much easier. [ 1 ] This forms the basis for weight loss with proteins. Of course there are more factors that play a role, but this is the most important.

You also need proteins to build and restore your muscles. And this is really not only important if you want to body build! Every effort you make causes small cracks in your muscles. Your body repairs those cracks with the help of proteins. If you do not get enough protein, your body will not repair those cracks at all or not enough … and then you break down muscles. People who exercise lightly also benefit from it. Mix the proteins with water and not with milk.

Why losing weight with proteins has no yo-yo effect
The reason why many diets cause a so-called ‘yo-yo effect’ is that many of those diets are used for calorie restriction. And calorie restriction leads to a number of reactions in your body, of which these two reactions provide the yo-yo effect:

Your body does not get enough energy to keep your body running properly. From ancient times it is genetically determined that our body will use less energy (and therefore calories) to survive. Your body goes into a kind of ‘fuel-efficient mode’. As a result, your body starts to prepare for difficult times … and it does so by building up fat reserves. So as soon as you stop your low-calorie diet, your body starts storing like crazy.
In addition, because your body doesn’t get enough energy, your body starts looking for natural energy sources in your body. A source that can always provide the body with energy are the proteins. And your body gets it from, among other things, your muscles. Your body will therefore break down muscles to get energy. And your muscles use a lot of energy, which means that you will use even fewer calories at rest. In addition, less muscle mass ensures less burn. If you are going to lose weight with proteins, you do not have that problem.
And so after your diet it seems as if every pound goes through your mouth, directly clinging to your hips and stomach … and actually that is true. Although with the best of intentions, because your body wants to prevent it from having to draw energy from muscles the next time.

Do I have to eat completely low in carbohydrates?
You don’t have to! I have benefited a lot from it myself and feel better since I did it, but…. it is not necessary. You can lose weight with protein shakes by just doing your breakfast low in carbohydrate with a protein shake and some fat, then you will get through the day whistling. No hunger, no muscle breakdown and more resistant to impulsive binge eating. Of course, the effect is 10 x greater if you eat completely low in carbohydrates. In fact … that is easier to maintain. But starting with baby scoops is better than not starting😉

Some small tips
This protein shake works best for me and I think the tastiest tastes (with free shake cup)
The book by Timothy Ferriss is highly recommended
For me, losing weight was a little faster when I started taking  these caffeine tablets  (don’t you bounce;))
Studies that endorse my experience
Effects of a low-carbohydrate diet on weight loss and cardiovascular risk factor in overweight adolescents
A Randomized Trial Comparing a Very Low Carbohydrate Diet and a Calorie-Restricted Low Fat Diet on Body Weight and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Healthy Women
Comparison of energy-restricted very low-carbohydrate and low-fat diet on weight loss and body composition in overweight men and women

Low carbohydrate food
On this blog we write a lot about low carbohydrate eating and low carbohydrate diets. Read more about the low- carbohydrate diet.