Pasta Salad
Pasta salads are delicious. Great for light easy, summer cooking. To maximize their flavour make sure you dress the pasta as soon as it is cooked while it is still hot. Try substituting fresh basil if it isn’t available, with dill, mint, oregano, or parsley.
For 8-10 servings:
Pasta:
2 pkts of brown rice pasta and vegetable pasta
Dressing:
2 large cloves garlic
1 tsp coarse mustard
2 Tbsp parmesan cheese
8-10 leaves fresh basil (or other fresh herbs)
1 tsp salt and pepper to taste
½ cup light Best Food mayonnaise
2 Tbsp pineapple juice with touch of cinnamon
Salad:
2 stalks celery, finely diced
1 red pepper finely diced
2 spring onions finely diced
½ cup toasted sesame seeds
Tinned pineapple pieces 125 g (unsweetened)
Boil the pasta as per the packet directions, until tender. ***
While the pasta is cooking make the dressing by pureeing the ingredients until smooth.
Drain the cooked pasta and put in a salad bowl and immediately toss the dressing through the pasta while it is still hot.
Allow to cool then toss the rest of the salad ingredients with the pasta.
*** Tip: Cook the pasta until just al dente; brown rice pasta will disintegrate if over-cooked.

To eat more healthily start by substituting healthier ingredients in your cooking, but keeping to tried and true recipes your family love. If they are particularly fussy eaters they may complain at first. Persevere though and before you know it they will eating it up, just as they did before.

In the recipe above I’ve exchanged plain old white wheat pasta with brown rice pasta, for two reasons. First, whole grains provide better nutritional value than processed grains. Second wheat based foods so predominate in the western diet that we miss out on the nutrients present in other grains, and many people have allergies to wheat and other gluten containing foods, so it’s a good idea to find creative ways of getting other grains into our diet. As we age too our bodies lose their ability to metabolise processed gluten containing grains well and this can cause a host of health challenges from easy weight gain to a tendency towards diabetes. Take home message, use whole grains, and vary them.

To reduce the number of calories in a recipe you can substitute ‘lite’ varieties of dressings as I’ve done here and help your cause of weight loss if that’s an issue for you or your family. If using canned fruit in a recipe go for an unsweetened variety for the same reason.

Using fresh herbs in your cooking as I’ve done here will increase flavour and nutritional value, because of the enzymes present in fresh produce verses cooked, canned or dried, all helping us toward our goal of optimum nutrition for better living.

The recipe above is contained in our nutrition book for more information on our products, go to www.flexibilityplus.com

Bon Appetite,
Yours in Health,
Nancy

Mexican Tortilla Tofu Stack for 12 servings

This has a Mexican flavour and is a tasty nutritious dish for any one keen on a healthy lifestyle and optimum nutrition. It may just change your mind on tofu if you’ve never quite been able to get into it.

Firstly, make the sauce:

Tomato Chilli Sauce

2 cans tomato puree 16 oz (425g) each
2 tsp ground cumin
1tsp oregano
1tsp ground coriander
1tsp sea salt
2tsp dark muscovado sugar ( unrefined sugar)
1/2tsp hot chilli sauce or to taste
Juice of 1 lemon

Combine all the ingredients in a pot and gently simmer as you prepare the other ingredients

Tofu Mixture

2 large onions
2 green peppers
4Tbsp exrta virgin olive oil
2lb (1  kg ) approx tofu firm or soft
2tsp sea salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
12 corn tortillas
2 cans 3oz (85g) each corn (or use the same amount of frozen corn)
Tomato Chilli Sauce
1 cup grated cheese

Chop the onion and green pepper and sauté these in a large pot or pan in oil on a medium heat
As this is cooking drain and crumble the tofu

Add the tofu and seasonings to the onion and pepper mixture and continue to cook until some of the liquid has evaporated.

To assemble the whole stack, lay two tortillas on the bottom of a medium-sized oval casserole dish so they overlap as little as possible.

Spread 1/3 of the tofu mixture over these, then 1/3 of the drained corn over the tofu mixture.

Place two tortillas on top repeating the process twice more so there are three layers of everything.

Sprinkle the cheese on top and bake uncovered at 350F/180C/ Gas Mark 4 for 30 to 40 minutes. Until it is hot right through the stack

Serve with a green salad and steamed brown rice
Bon Appetite. If you like this, see our web site www.flexibilityplus.com for more tasty healthy recipes

Nancy

Get a big enough why: There’s enough in these two blog posts to supply that though isn’t
There, if painful premature death isn’t a big enough why than I don’t know what is. Since none of us think that’ll ever happen to us though sometimes even if we’ve had a close brush, maybe we might need to appeal to our vanity to find  the motivation, fear of abandonment, or pride, whatever it is “carrot and stick” yourself in whatever way you need to get yourself moving

Explore the reasons you are stuck in an unhealthy lifestyle: Without this step no amount of knowledge about nutrition and exercise and their importance will make a bit of difference. We often avoid this kind of self exploration because it deals with emotions, painful ones at times, but without resolving these we cannot clear a path that will lead us to a better lifestyle. For example I had to understand that my weight issues all those years ago had to do with my using food to sooth painful emotions like homesickness, desperate loneliness etc. Once I made the connection and found some strategies to deal with it. then I could move forward with my fitness and healthy eating

Commit to Change: Make a written contract with yourself if necessary, if that works for you. Hang it on your bedroom door or the fridge! Get buy in from loved ones to goad you into keeping you on track. Maybe you could return the favour.

Schedule it: Just like any other appointment make exercise and healthy eating appointments with yourself, and record what you’ve done in your diary so you can track your progress

Visualize the Benefits: Spend 10 minutes each day visualizing all the benefits that will come to you from leading an active nutritionally sound lifestyle. Why is this such an important tool used by top athletes and business people everywhere? Because, seeing is believing! Believing creates in us the desire and motivation to bring the visualisation into reality

Finally, in this economically challenging time we may feel there are more important things to do than committing to fitness, but this is a miscalculation. Exercise is a tremendous buffer against stress, once you learn to enjoy it you’ll find it will take you out of most negative mind states, because of the endorphins the happy brain chemicals that are released with exercise. Having a strong healthy body helps you become mentally stronger because it literally helps rewire your brain. See one of our earlier posts on exercise and the brain for more on this. Optimal nutrition will keep your medical bills down, because you will be healthier. It will keep your household expenses down because preparing your own wholesome food from scratch is far cheaper than going through the drive through. So there is no time like the present to invest in an exercise and nutrition plan. For information on how to do this go to our website www.flexibilityplus.com to check out our products and benefit for yourself and your family.

Yours in health,

Nancy

•    Our age in years and our age according to the way our body behaves can be one and the same or two different things
•    This matters because if our body behaves much older than our age in years this doesn’t bode well for our future health

Certain biological markers such as blood pressure, heart rate and pulse, blood sugar levels, hormonal levels, cholesterol levels, bone density, kidney and liver function can help identify our true biological age. For example if you 48 years old with a blood pressure of 117/ 76 you could be said to have the blood pressure of someone in their early 20s. Similarly if you are in your 30’s and have a blood pressure level of 140 / 90 you would be considered much older than your age in regards to blood pressure. In fact a 35 year old friend of a fellow personal trainer came in to her gym to train. He was some what over weight and was keen to shed some the extra pounds. So began an assessment with him, but by the end of the warm up he was perspiring quite profusely and feeling unwell, her gut told her something was a miss, she took his blood pressure and it was off the charts even though he had been cleared to exercise previously.

She called an ambulance immediately, he was rushed to hospital and was put on blood pressure medication to stabilise his condition. According to his doctor would need them for the rest of his life. The blood pressure rise he experiences came on with out warning, most likely as a result of unusual stress he was experiencing at the time. The situation came as great shock to my colleague who would not have suspected blood pressure as high as this man had in someone his age. He was lucky to have been in the gym that day undergoing an assessment where it was picked up otherwise he could have easily collapsed somewhere and had a heart attack, possibly fatal.

Keeping a healthy weight by following a regular exercise routine and a healthy diet has been proven by the research to add years to your life and life to your years. In our system at flexibilityplus.com we teach you the key principles of optimal nutrition and provide a broad range of exercises to keep every part of your body flexible and strong. Go to www.flexibilityplus.com to learn more so your age in years can match the age  your body is behaving or better!

Cheers,

Nancy

Below are the major points we need to follow for eating to achieve high energy and a healthy body:

•    Drink 4-6 pints (2-3 litres) of good quality water every day

•    Drink vegetable juices –fresh if you have an extractor and diluted fruit juices

•    Eat a variety of whole foods as close to their natural state as possible

•    Eat five to seven servings of fruit and vegetables a day. If possible organically grown, preferably fresh , though frozen is acceptable

•    Eat raw vegetables or lightly cooked (steamed) as certain vitamins are destroyed by heat

•    Eat nuts and seeds (e.g. almonds, pumpkin, flax, sunflower, sesame, walnuts), for their important omega 3 and omega 6 oils

•    Eat some garlic and onions each day. These may prevent respiratory, cardiovascular disease and even cancer. Eating parsley with garlic reduces the offensive odour on your breath. Deodorized garlic in tablet or capsule form is also available from most health food outlets.

•    Eat free range eggs, poached, as this is the best way to preserve their goodness

•    Eat yogurt containing live cultures, acidophilus and bifidus to support healthy bowel flora (not the sweetened fruit varieties).

•    Eat fish at least twice a week especially the fatty varieties such as salmon, mackerel, herring, and cod which contain the important omega 3 fatty acids. Broil, bake, grill or steam. Deep frying undoes the benefit.

•    Eat lean meat in moderation. Reducing consumption may prevent cancer. Think of meat not as a main, but as one of several ingredients in a main dish that incorporates vegetables, grains, and legumes

•    Avoid excessive salt, coffee, and processed anything

These are points are taken from our downloadable book, NutritionPowerPlus, available on www.flexibilityplus.com

Healthy eating!

Jonathan

“We’re not talking vegetables, are we? “
“We sure are. Lots of greens – there’s no way round it!”

People with more acidic blood are more likely to be ill.
Many factors affect the acid / alkaline balance of the blood. When foods are metabolized acids are produced which are neutralized by the alkaline salts(carbonates) of calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium.
So, our intake of these mineral salts through eating the right type of foods affects our acid / alkaline balance.
Food containing large amounts of chlorine, phosphorous, sulphur and nitrogen (that is most animal products) tend to be acid forming.
While foods rich in calcium, potassium, magnesium and sodium (most vegetables) tend to be alkaline forming.
It is worth noting that exercise makes the blood more acidic though deep breathing makes blood more alkaline.
Acidic blood produces grouchiness, sensitivity, exhaustion, aches and pains, headaches, insomnia and acid stomach.
Smoking also increases acidity in the blood, and it is worth noting that cravings are reduced with a alkaline producing diet.
Nearly all fresh fruit, vegetables and pulses (beans and lentils) are alkaline forming, with exceptions being broad beans, butter beans, asparagus, olives, watercress and mustard.
On the other side - meat, fish, eggs and butter are acid forming, while milk, both skimmed and whole are mildly alkaline forming.
A few grains are acidic, including oats, whole wheat, sago & tapioca, as are hazel nuts, but other nuts are alkaline forming.
Ideally, aim to eat 80% alkaline forming foods and 20% acid forming foods.
This means eating large quantities of vegetables, especially greens and fruit and less concentrated protein foods like meat, cheese, eggs and refined carbohydrates.
Good health

Nancy Rishworth

We’re not talking recycling, composting, and gardening are we?

Yup!

Organic food protects us and the planet- no pesticides, herbicides, GMO, hormones and antibiotics. It provides the basis for optimal nutrition.

Start with the foods you use most of and if you have infants and elderly in the household start with the foods they eat the most of, since they are the most vulnerable to the effects of toxins

The foods to begin with would be dairy, meat, chicken, vegetables, fruit and grains. Of the plant foods rice, corn, wheat, oats, peanuts, grapes, potatoes, cucumbers, strawberries, peppers are among the most heavily sprayed.

If organics are unavailable or are too pricey here is a recipe for a spray you can use on your produce to neutralize the toxic residue of herbicides. Mix together in a spray bottle: 1 cup water; 1cup white vinegar, 1 Tablespoon baking soda and 20 drops of citricidal or grapefruit seed extract.

Spray on your fruit and vegetables, leave on for 10 minutes and then rinse off.

Avoid plastic water bottles, they take one thousand years to degrade, clog land fills, and leech hormone disrupting poisons into the water they contain. Buy a reusable eco friendly bottle instead. The stainless steel ones are great because you can fill them with warm liquids in winter to take off the chill and they come in a variety of sizes including infant ones with sipper tops.

Avoid waste and produce your own beautiful health giving vegetables by composting. To make compost, use a large rubber drum or wooden bin and place in alternating layers of brown matter from your garden, such as lawn and garden clippings and sawdust, with green matter such as food scraps from your kitchen. These can include stale bread, coffee grounds, tea bags, egg shells, fruit, vegetable peelings, and shredded paper. Avoid putting in anything that might attract flies and rodents such as meat, chicken, dairy and other animal produce. Each week aerate your compost, by turning it well. Add earth worms and in six months you will have sweet smelling nutrient rich compost to fertilise your vegetable and fruit trees with.

Take care in your choice of skin care and beauty products as many contains known carcinogens and hormone disrupting chemicals. What you are after are products that are parabens, artificial fragrance, colour and sodium lauryl sulphate free . Here again organic is best. Become a diligent label reader.

Protecting ourselves through healthy food choices will pay dividends to our selves, our planet our pocket and ultimately future generations!

Yours in health,

Nancy

The Truth About Fats

For years many of us have been yoyo dieting and counting calories and been anxious about every fat containing morsel that has crossed our lips. A whole industry had evolved around food labels proclaiming the benefits of this or that product because of the miniscule percentage of fat it contains. After all fat makes you fat right? Well this is the danger of half truths.

Yes fat contains per gram almost twice as many calories as carbs or protein so on the surface of it it does have the potential to pack on the kilos more so than the other nutrient types. Also fat from most animal sources is saturated and is more difficult for the body to handle and as a result it can cause problems especially for one’s heart and blood vessels. Fats derived from plant sources such as nuts, seeds, and some animal sources (i.e cold water fatty fish such as salmon) have the ability to protect the heart and blood vessels as well as producing many other health benefits protection of the brain and nervous system to name one other.

“Ya great for my ticker” I hear you say “but what about my thighs?” Well interestingly enough the right kind of fats positively benefits your girth as well. For more on how go to our nutrition product on our web site www.flexibilityplus.com.

Yours in health,

Nancy

Fruit and vegetables contain a variety of antioxidants, and are fibre rich and calorie poor.
What those facts mean is that, by eating such foods, you will not only feel better, you will look younger while reducing the risk of having your quality of life severely affected through succumbing to one of the major chronic illnesses that are so prevalent in today’s world.

It has been estimated that every day your body takes billions of hits from free radical damage which is integral to the aging process. Though our bodies have their own built in defences against such free radical damage our foods supply much of the ammunition (antioxidants) which combat and prevent the free radical damage from adversely affecting our health.

If you eat foods that are sterile, full of empty calories, or even worse, eat foods that are high in pre-oxidants, such as deep fried foods and hydrogenated oils, your ammunition supply is insufficient to combat free radical damage and in fact aids the free radicals to more effectively attack your body’s immune system.

We will look at this in more detail in my next blog.

Cheers

Jonathan

www.flexibilityplus.com

Why should you care about this? Quite, simply your future health depends on it. If you are female, particularly though not exclusively, paying attention to how you feed your bones optimally now could mean the difference between an active healthy, independent elderhood and one, that sees you living out your life as a ‘shut in’, greatly dependant on family and friends for your basic survival, racked with the pain of arthritis, deformity, risk of fracture due to osteoporosis, increased frailty and even premature death. How does that strike you? Well if you don’t like the thought of pain, hip replacements dependence and the like listen up this blog post is for you.

A myth abounds that once our bones are formed what we eat has no influence on them, but bone is a living tissue that is formed, breaks down, and is reformed continually. Bones use calcium and magnesium and phosphorous as building materials. The ability to absorb calcium is dependent on Vitamin D and assisted by the trace element boron. Vitamin C makes the collagen the intercellular glue which collect calcium, magnesium and phosphorous. Zinc makes new bones cells. All these nutrients work together to create strong bones.

Here’s a list of foods you will want to include in your diet on a regular basis to help your body to build of strong bones:

Organic dairy products, brewers’ yeast buckwheat, sesame seeds and tahini or sesame seed paste, organic black strap molasses ( varies in flavours, if the first brand you strike tastes bitter persevere until you find a brand that tastes nice), nuts and seeds like almond, brazils, cashews, pecans, pumpkin, sesame, and sunflower seeds,  cooked dry beans, green peas,

Here’s to a happy skeleton!

Nancy