Detoxing with "Super Kale"

Spring is just around the corner!  Just like we take time to clear away the dust and stale winter air from our homes this time of year, it's important to do the same for our bodies.   Did you catch last week's episode on cleansing with "Lion's breath"?  For a good roar, check out Motivated Nutrition and Sparkes Wellness HERE.

Our bodies are smart and know how to clean themselves when we put delicious, nutritious foods into them.  My idea of a "detox" is to cut out everything that comes in a can, box or package, eating only foods that Mother Nature provides.  Spring is a time of rebirth, renewal and all things fresh and green.  This time of year, Mother Nature sprouts out a plethora of fibrous, nutritious, leafy greens for us to help clean out our bodies.  

One of my favorite leafy greens is kale.  This nutritional power house is loaded with vitamins A, C, and K.  It packs a punch of iron, calcium and a hearty dose of fiber and sulfur to boost our bodies natural detoxification enzymes. 

It's great sauteed, steamed or my personal favorite, baked into crispy kale chips!  This recipe is super fast, super easy and super awesome...just like super kale.  Speaking of super...don't Sparkes Wellness and I make a great team?*

 Kale Chips

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Wash kale
3. Dry thoroughly (you can use a salad spinner or a paper towel) Any dampness will result in soggy chips!
4. Remove stems
5. Tear into bite sized pieces
6. Spread kale across a baking tray
7. Coat evenly with olive oil
8. Sprinkle with sea salt
9. Bake in the oven for 12 min (or until crispy)
10. ENJOY! Mmmm

*Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channels so you don't miss any of our "Spring Cleaning from the Inside Out" series!

Sparkes Wellness 

Motivated Nutrition

Regulations on Sugar and Ratty Tee's

#StyleMeJuly challenge Day 25

Whiteout: Regulations on Sugar and Ratty Tee's

Healthy Tip: We all know the unhealthy effects of over-indulging in alcohol.  No one is going to argue that an alcohol induced "blackout" is harmful to our bodies.  It's about time we start viewing a sugar "whiteout" with the same seriousness.  New research published in the scientific journal, Nature, states the sugar is toxic to our systems and should have regulations similar to alcohol.  Sugar alters your state of mind, metabolism, hormones, blood pressure and in excess over time leads to obesity and liver disease.*  (*Read it to believe it).  I know what you're thinking, "That would never happen to me. I don't eat that much sugar!"  Unless you live on a 100% whole, living foods diet, you're probably consuming A LOT more sugar than you realize.

What's a super sweet tooth to do?  Get more natural sweeteners into your diet to control your cravings.

• Eat fruits and sweet vegetables
• Drink seltzer with a little juice instead of soda
• Chew grains thoroughly for a sweet taste
• Make your own cookies, treats and baked goods using natural sweeteners like honey, maple syrup, agave, or molasses. 

Fashionista Wannabe: I'm working from home today and getting lots of writing done.  I used this as an excuse to dig my favorite ratty Tee out of the "get rid of" pile to wear just this one last time.  (I have said this on more than one occasion.)  How about this?  I promise never to wear this shirt out in public again if you promise to consume less sugar and eat more natural sweeteners.  Deal? 

In naturally sweetened health,

Joanie

Joanie Johnson, CHC

Motivated Nutrition

www.motivatednutrition.net

814-442-5311

Daydream Vacation: Life's a Peach

#StyleMeJuly challenge Day 17 

Daydream Vacation: Life's a Peach

Healthy Tip: When was the last time you took a mid-workday "vacation" to re-energize your brain?   I had 15 minutes between teaching classes today and rushed to the nearest NYC green spot I could find to kick off my shoes and munch on the juicy peach I'd been dreaming about in my bag all morning.  Did you know that taking a "brain break" will increase your productivity?  Next time you think you are too busy to kick off your shoes, eat lunch in the park, take a walk or do jumping jacks in your office, remember that you will get much more done once your brain waves kick back into action.  You'll return to your work with much more focus, clarity and motivation.  Tell your boss I said so.  :)  And eat peach while you're at it.  It's good for you.  

Fashionista Wannabe: Do bare feet count as fashion?  They do today.  Life's a peach.  Kick off your shoes, scrunch your toes in the grass and take a 15 min "vacation".  

In daydreaming health,

Joanie

Joanie Johnson, CHC

Motivated Nutrition

www.motivatednutrition.net

814-442-5311

Retro Moment: Cooking in heels (a la June Cleaver)

#StyleMeJuly challenge Day 10

Retro moment: Cooking in heels ( a la June Cleaver)

Instagram awesomeness by Micah B. Rubin

Healthy Tip: Never underestimate the benefit of a home cooked meal.  If you are guilty of ordering take-out most nights of the week, you can easily shed unwanted poundage by a little down home cookin'.  When you order out, you don't have control over important eating rules like knowing: exactly what ingredients are going into your body, sodium content, the freshness of the food, where your ingredients were purchased, how much grease/oil/fat went into the preparation, and having control over the actual serving size.  These are just a few of the no-brainers.  If you cook at home, you are the ingredient boss and can pour a super sized amount of love into the preparation.  Super sized love is the best ingredient by far.  I hear it's also good for weight loss.  

Fashionista Wannabe: My retro moment today is cooking in heels, a la June Cleaver.  Why?  Because it makes me feel awesome.  As you can see, I worked a 12hr day in exercise clothes and kicks.  I'm sweaty, disgusting, hungry and lets just face it, some days, I just want to come home and throw on some heels and feel womanly again.  Of course wine helps too.  Thank goodness I don't have to wear these crazy things all day!

In "Leave it to Beaver" health,

Joanie

Joanie Johnson, CHC

Motivated Nutrition

www.motivatednutrition.net

814-442-5311

Healthy Fashionista Challenge

I'm a health coach.  I eat and work out really well.  I'm a dancer.  I can touch my toes and bust a move in heels.  I work with kids.  I can create fun games at the drop of a hat and run circles around the fastest 3 yr old in the room.  I'm a fitness instructor.  I can rock my hot pink Nikes as I jump rope and do crunches into oblivion.

What I'm not, is a fashionista.  My boyfriend, who used to work in fashion magazines is constantly offering gentle suggestions on how I might alter my outfits before leaving the house.  Ok, it's not usually gentle.  It's usually delivered in the form of, "Uhhhh...are you really wearing that!"

Since we've gotten back from our 7 1/2 months of travel (You missed our travel blog?  Where have you been? http://bucketbath.travellerspoint.com/ ) and wearing the same 3 outfits for that amount of time (don't worry EVERYTHING was given away before we even boarded the plane home from India) I find myself longing for an amazing New Yorker wardrobe.  Unfortunately, 90% of my clothing is STILL in storage and I've been forced to get creative while I run around the city as my fabulous, health coaching, dancing, kid wrangling, fitness instructing self. 

This has all lead me to become obsessed with the fashion advice of fellow Brooklyn-ite, Hilary Rushford and her blog, Bow Ties & Bettys.  I'm waiting for the day I can afford (or be given the awesome gift...anyone?) to have her over to do a wardrobe edit.  Until then, I'm taking her July Instagram photo challenge.  I'm hoping it brings out the fashionista that is hidden under all the workout clothes and sweat every day.

As and added challenge, I'm going to try to accessorize it with some healthy advice, work-out move or recipe.  

Wish me luck!  Better yet, join in and take the challenge with me!  Check it out here:

Was this your weekend?

Was this your weekend? 

It's already midday and you spent a few too many hours lounging around, noshing on bagels and catching up on Facebook.  You're officially late to your friend's afternoon BBQ.  You know, the you've been looking forward to all week?  Where did your lazy morning go?!  To make the panic worse, you realize you forgot to prepare anything to bring.

Pack that 6-pack of Trader Joe's Lager from the fridge and whip up this delicious (and easy) chickpea, tomato and cucumber salad.  I don't know how long it's going to take you to shower, but I've done my part.  You're out the door in 10 min flat.  

FYI:  I'm Betty Crocker's nightmare.  I don't measure ANYTHING and NEVER have all the ingredients.  Don't stress!  Use what you have, TASTE TEST it first and go.  It's a BBQ.  It's more important to have a fun, relaxing day with your friends. 

Chickpea, Tomato and Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 medium coarsely chopped tomatoes 
• 1-15 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 large cucumber, peeled, quartered and sliced
• 1 cup snipped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped 
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp coarse kosher salt
• 1 clove garlic, minced (or a few shakes of garlic powder)
• 1/8 tsp maple syrup

Directions:

1. In a very large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix like crazy.  
2. Cover and chill while you finish getting ready! 

What's your go-to BBQ recipe?  Please share!



Joanie Johnson, CHC

Motivated Nutrition

www.motivatednutriton.net

814-442-5311

New Yorkers Fight against General Junk and his army of Sugar Soldiers

Last Friday, I held a workshop at PS261 in Brooklyn leading the 1st graders into battle against General Junk and his evil army of Sugar Soldiers.  (Yes, my job IS awesome!)  We learned all about the detrimental effects of sugar on our bodies and how much healthier, stronger and more energetic we are without it.  After 45 min, they were able to tell me that they wanted to drink more water, less soda and wanted their bodies to be healthy and strong.  Ok, so there may have been a little bit of prompting on my part, but they are 7 and able to grasp the basic fundamentals of healthy nutrition. 

My question is, why can't adults do the same?  There has a lot of controversy in the media over Bloomberg's proposed sugar war this week in NYC.  (Read about it here.)  Intelligent adults are in an uproar that he is trying to ban sugary drinks over 16oz.  Do you realize how much sugar is in a 16oz Coke?  7 teaspoons.  Just in case you can't put that into perspective, I measured out 7 tsp for you in the glass above.  The new AHA guidelines recommend a daily maximum of 5 tsp for women, 9 tsp for men, and 3tsp for children.  Maybe the new sugary drink ban should be lowered to 8oz instead of 16. 

Bloomberg is asking New Yorkers to take into consideration the amount of sugar we are putting into our bodies...something we have trouble comprehending on our own.  He also banned smoking in NYC restaurants and put calorie counts on our menus.  Are you going to tell me those were bad ideas?  

When did you last think to yourself upon ordering a "biggie" sized anything, "Oh my!  That's a lot of sugar!"  You didn't.  You won't.  And the ban isn't proposing a limit on how many 16oz sugar loaded drinks you can order.  Most places will probably still give you as many refills as your chemically overloaded body desires.  It just means you have to get up from the table and exercise while walking to the refill station.  Guess what?  When you order a water, they hand you an 8oz cup.  You don't get the option to upgrade.  Ironically the healthier water drinkers take MANY walks back and forth to the refill station while watching all the sugar guzzlers happily gulp away in their zombie-like state.

I'm ranting now.

When a 7yr old can make healthier choices after 45 minutes of battling General Junk's Sugar Soldiers than an adult can make after YEARS of being educated, it tells me we can no longer use the excuse we don't know any better.  The media warns us everyday about the effects of sugar, fat, high calories, etc.  Granted, they are enticing us with high fructose corn syrup dripping from an over sized bacon burger during the commercial break, but it doesn't give us the right to play the victim.  Our society just doesn't want someone else telling us our lifestyle choices are wrong.  

You can be angry and spout sugar comma induced comments, but I'm fighting for your well-being! Instead of complaining against Bloomberg's new ban because it's an "infringement" of human rights, remember that you can still drink as many 16oz bottles of sugary soda as you please.  There's no harm in bringing an awareness to the public. 

Now stop being angry and go drink a glass of water!  

Healthy hugs,

Joanie

Joanie Johnson, CHC

www.motivatednutrition.net

joanie@motivatednutrition.net

Are you ready to make some healthy changes in your life?