Ingredients:

1 large head organic cauliflower, cut into pieces
2–3 TB extra virgin olive oil
4 TB chicken broth
Sea salt to taste

Boil the cauliflower for about 10 minutes in a small amount of water. Drain and put in a blender or food processor. Then, one tablespoon at a time, add olive oil and chicken broth, until desired consistency is reached. Season with sea salt to taste and serve immediately.

Are you diabetic? If so, you definitely need to check out the following supplements proven to naturally control wide swings in blood sugar and can be used in conjunction with medication therapy.
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Insinase: http://www.metagenics.com/products/detail.asp?pid=292
MetaGlycemX: http://www.metagenics.com/products/detail.asp?pid=246
Ultra GlycemX PLUS 360 Shake: http://www.metagenics.com/products/detail.asp?pid=578

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Nicole Andrews, RD, LD/
Nutrition Therapist & Lifestyle Educator
Website: http://www.livingfresh.org
For order information on the supplements mentioned, visit http://www.livingfresh.meta-ehealth.com. Click Register Now to create a username and password and click Quick Order Form to find and order the desired supplement.

Many people snack because they crave sweets, crunchy foods or cold foods.  Figure out what you usually crave and find a substitute.  For example, if you like crunchy foods, skip the chips and try crisp vegetables with low fat dip.  If you like cold foods, skip the ice cream and try a low fat frozen yogurt bar.  Individually portioned foods often make for good snacks because the calories are controlled.  It is also ok to satisfy cravings ONCE IN A WHILE.  If you always crave chocolate, give in once in a while and get yourself ONE chocolate bar or ONE chocolate cupcake, etc.

When you do snack, make sure that is all you are doing.  If you snack while watching TV or working on the computer, you will often lose track of how much you have had and will end up over snacking.  If you are a nighttime snacker, make sure you designate a place for your snacks.  Snack only in the kitchen or at the dining room table.  This will stop you from snacking mindlessly.  With evening snacks, try to recognize if you are hungry or if your snacking is purely recreational!

3 Main Tips to Successful Snacking:

1. Schedule your snacks 30 minutes to an hour before your hunger usually hits.

2. Control wide swings in blood sugar and stay satisfied by combining foods that contain a little protein, fat, or fiber with other snack foods.

3. Treat snacks like a mini-meal, with a beginning and an end. Back and forth snacking will get you in trouble every time.

Create healthy snacks by combining foods from the following categories:

Protein-rich Foods
Bean spreads or dips, bean soups, soy foods, nuts and nut butters, tuna, salmon, yogurt, milk or soymilk, string cheese or other low-fat cheese, low-fat cottage cheese, eggs, edamame (green soybeans in the pod)

Carb-rich Foods
Whole grain crackers, instant oatmeals, whole grain cereals, healthy tortillas, whole grain bread, rice/ popcorn cakes, energy bars, popcorn, low-fat granola bars

Fruits & Vegetables
Baby carrots, celery, cut up apple slices, cut up bell pepper slices, cherry tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, dried fruits, whole fruits, applesauce, salsa, other fruits & veggies

Healthy-Fat Foods
Nuts and Nut Butters, Olive, canola, walnut, grape seed, flaxseed oils, olives, olive spread, avocado

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Nicole Andrews, RD, LD/
Nutrition Therapist & Lifestyle Educator
Website: http://www.livingfresh.org
For order information on the supplements mentioned, visit http://www.livingfresh.meta-ehealth.com. Click Register Now to create a username and password and click Quick Order Form to find and order the desired supplement.

1 medium chicken fillet
1 can mixed beans (or favorite beans), rinsed and drained
½  of avocado (or more as desired)
8 cherry tomatoes halved
1/2 red pepper chopped
2 tsp of olive oil
2 tsp of limejuice
1/4 tsp of chilli powder
Sea salt & Pepper to taste

Cooking Instructions:

Cook the chicken fillet either by grilling it; pan frying it or roasting in the oven. Cut the chicken into strips or cubes, and place in a bowl with the beans, sliced avocado, tomato halves and pepper. Mix the olive oil, chili powder and limejuice and then drizzle over salad. This salad can be refrigerated and makes great leftovers too!
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Nicole Andrews, RD, LD/
Nutrition Therapist & Lifestyle Educator
Website: http://www.livingfresh.org
For order information on the supplements mentioned, visit http://www.livingfresh.meta-ehealth.com. Click Register Now to create a username and password and click Quick Order Form to find and order the desired supplement.

-Drink 16 ounces of cool water.
-Make sure you’re balancing out your meals with whole grains.
-Eat palm-sized portions of protein
-Cut back on salty foods.
-Work out!
-Have a natural sweet treat instead like fruit, yogurt or natural nut butter on a whole wheat graham cracker

Here is a delicious shake that really satisfies my sweet tooth. It makes a great meal replacement too!
MUDSLIDE SMOOTHIE

Ingredients:
1 scoop Metagenics Ultra Meal Chocolate flavor
2 tsp. carob powder or chocolate syrup
¾ cup soy milk or rice milk
½ medium banana
1 t. almond, cashew, or peanut butter
1 t. honey or agave nectar
1 cup crushed ice

Instructions:
Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Serve in a tall glass.

To check out the shake mix mentioned above go to the following link. If interested in purchasing, just follow the instructions at the bottom of the page.

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UltraMeal Medical Food: http://www.metagenics.com/products/detail.asp?pid=20

Nicole Andrews, RD, LD/
Nutrition Therapist & Lifestyle Educator
Website: http://www.livingfresh.org
For order information on the supplements mentioned, visit http://www.livingfresh.meta-ehealth.com. Click Register Now to create a username and password and click Quick Order Form to find and order the desired supplement.

Here are my top 3 reasons why perimenopausal women gain weight:

Insulin Resistance
Insulin resistance can result from a diet high in refined carbohydrates and low in important nutrients. For some reason, glucose (the simplest of sugars) is not able to enter your cells and as a result, ends up staying in your blood. This means your cells cannot get the fuel they require to function. Therefore, signals are sent to your brain to increase insulin even though you may have enough in your blood already. This results in cravings for sugar because even though you may be eating enough, your cells aren’t able to access the energy from the food. When you are insulin resistant your body converts every calorie it can into fat (even if you’re dieting) because your body actually thinks it’s starving!

High Carb Diet
Insulin resistance is caused by a dietary lifestyle high in simple carbohydrates and refined sugars. Foods made from white flour and white sugar cause neurotransmitter imbalances that eventually lead to food cravings and suppressed serotonin levels. Since your body can’t maintain normal blood sugar levels you start to crave foods high in fat, sugar and caffeine to improve your mood. Unfortunately, these foods only cause more insulin resistance, add unwanted pounds and make you crave more, you guessed it-sugar, carbs and caffeine!

Stress
Did you ever think that stress could add inches to your belly? Well- it can. When we’re stressed, cortisol levels increase which not only prevents our body from burning fat, but also encourages our body to store fat- especially around our mid-section.  Stress can be emotional, physical, or even diet-related. Bingeing, unidentified food intolerances, yo-yo dieting and severe calorie restriction are all forms of stress. Stress can also come from unresolved issues that remain in our subconscious mind. Over time if left unrequited can lead to a chronic condition known as adrenal fatigue.
These deep-seated emotional issues are often times the root cause of unhealthy eating habits.

The bottom line: Determine what the core issues are. Are you insulin resistant? Do you have food allergies? What does your diet look like? How is your stress level? These are all questions that need to be answered in order to restore your body to optimal health and hormonal balance. Get back into balance by eating right, exercising and introduce stress-relieving activities into your day and say goodbye to the bulge!

Supplements that may help…

UltraMeal PLUS 360:  http://www.metagenics.com/products/detail.asp?pid=570

MetaGlycemX: http://www.metagenics.com/products/detail.asp?pid=246

Insinase: http://www.metagenics.com/products/detail.asp?pid=292

EstroFactors: http://www.metagenics.com/products/detail.asp?pid=214

NuSera: http://www.metagenics.com/products/detail.asp?pid=600

A study performed by Harvard researches found that drinking coffee (up to six cups) has the potential to cut diabetes risk in half! Of course more research is needed, although overall research does show that coffee is actually more helpful then harmful. Other studies show that people who drink coffee are 80 % less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease, have a 25% reduced risk of colon cancer, 80% reduced risk of colon cancer, and are 50% less likely to develop gallstones. Other beneficial properties of coffee include fewer asthma attacks, headaches, cavities and elevated mood.

These beneficial boosts to our health are attributed to the compounds discovered in coffee. It appears that coffee contains the antioxidants, chlorogenic acid and tocopherols.
Trigonelline is another compound in coffee that gives it its bitter taste and contains antibacterial properties.

The caffeine in coffee can also enhance our athletic ability by causing our muscles to make stronger contractions, which in turn helps us to burn fat more efficiently.

The downside however is that drinking coffee may cause you to ignore fatigue and your body’s natural cry for relaxation. If we choose to ignore these signs and continue to drink down the “jo” –day in and day out– we may end up with what’s known as chronic fatigue syndrome due to exhausted adrenal glands.

If you suffer from anxiety, drinking coffee can exacerbate symptoms and may cause more frequent panic attacks. This reaction is very individual so if you find that coffee causes nervousness, rapid heartbeat or trembling, you may want to start decreasing your intake to prevent such reactions.

Coffee also takes between 3-6 hours to get out of our system depending on your metabolism, and very often times sleep is affected by caffeine intake. If you have problems getting enough sleep, you may want to limit your coffee to a morning cup if at all. In addition, coffee may also increase cholesterol levels in some people.

Other folks that should limit or avoid caffeine include heart patients, pregnant women, and people at risk for oseatporosis since caffeine intake has been shown to cause calcium loss in the urine.

There are pros and cons to everything, so depending on your current state of health and what issues you are dealing with, coffee may or may not be a superfood you need to include in your daily routine.

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Nicole Andrews, RD, LD/
Nutrition Therapist & Lifestyle Educator
Website: http://www.livingfresh.org
For order information on the supplements mentioned, visit http://www.livingfresh.meta-ehealth.com. Click Register Now to create a username and password and click Quick Order Form to find and order the desired supplement.

How much weight should you expect to gain?
Underweight:     18-40 pounds
Normal weight:  25-35 pounds
Overweight:       15-25 pounds

How fast should you weight?
First trimester (1st 3 months): 2-4 pounds
Second & Third (3-9 months): One pound each week

What should you do differently?

• During Second & Third (3-9 months):
• • Eat an additional 250-300 calories each day. Example- Sandwich;
  • Crackers & nut butter w/ fruit; Yogurt w/ granola
  • Eat an additional 25 grams protein each day. Example- 3oz chicken, turkey, other; 2 Tbsp nut butter; Yogurt w/ slivered almonds.
  • If breastfeeding, Eat an additional 500 calories/ day.  Ex: Sandwich plus a fruit; Soup & Crackers; Cereal, milk + fruit

What nutrients are especially important at this time?

• Calcium: Important for the developing bones & teeth of your baby                                                Sources- Fortified milks, Yogurt, Soy products, Green leafy vegetables
  Need: (19-50) 1000mg; (14-18) 1300mg
• Iron: Assists in making new red blood cells & tissues
  Sources- Meat, fish, poultry, Trail mix, Fortified cereals, Molasses
  Need: 30mg/day (If anemic- 60-120 mg/day)
• Folic acid: Aids in new cell development & prevents birth defects
  Sources- Fortified cereals, Green leafy vegetables, Citrus fruits
  Need: 600 mcg/day
• Zinc: Essential for tissue growth & brain development
  Sources- Lean meats, Nuts & seeds, Seafood
  Need: 15 mg/day
• Omega-3: Aids in memory function & Brain and spinal cord development
  Sources- Fatty fish (salmon, anchovies, sardines), Flax, Kelp
  Need: 1-2 grams/day
• Choline: Aids in memory function & Brain and spinal cord development
  Sources-  Eggs, Meats, Oatmeal, Lettuce
• Vitamin C: Reduces high blood pressure & prevents miscarriage
  Sources- Citrus fruits, Peppers, Cruciferous vegetables

Pregnancy MUSTS:

• Avoid alcohol- Linked to miscarriage, premature birth, complications
• Avoid caffeine- Stimulant that crosses the placenta & may increase risk of miscarriage
• Avoid smoking- Linked to miscarriage, premature birth, complications
• Take a prenatal vitamin- Prevents excess fluid retention, birth defects, maternal nutrient depletion
• Drink 2-3 quarts fluid/day (8-12 glasses)

What to avoid during pregnancy & lactation:

• Avoid fish high in contaminants: Tuna, Swordfish, Shark, Tilefish, King mackerel
• Eat only 1-2 servings of shellfish per week
• Only consume smaller wild fish: Wild salmon, Mahi-mahi, Snapper, Flounder, Sole, Talapia
• Avoid soft cheeses: Mexican soft cheeses, Feta cheese (sheep’s or goat’s), Brie, Camembert, Blue-veined cheeses
• Only used pasteurized dairy products
• Eat only thoroughly cooked meat, poultry or seafood
• Avoid meats purchased at deli counters
• Avoid meat spreads (pate’) & smoked seafood
• Canned or shelf-stable smoked seafood may be safely eaten

Are you pregnant or do you know someone who is pregnant? If so, you must check out the following prenatal vitamins. They are better than any prescription prenatal out there, and contain everything you need in just one little packet!
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Wellness Essentials for Pregnancy:  http://www.metagenics.com/products/detail.asp?pid=282
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Nicole Andrews, RD, LD/
Nutrition Therapist & Lifestyle Educator
Website: http://www.livingfresh.org
For order information on the supplements mentioned, visit http://www.livingfresh.meta-ehealth.com. Click Register Now to create a username and password and click Quick Order Form to find and order the desired supplement.

First and foremost – flaxseeds are a wonderful source of omega-3 essential fatty acids. This is a natural anti-inflammatory nutrient that has been shown to reduce cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, cancer risk, diabetes and help to manage many other conditions that involve inflammation such as asthma, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, migraine headaches, and osteoporosis. The type of omega-3 fatty acid in flaxseed is called alpha-linolenic acid or ALA and is not the same as the omega-3 in fish oil, which is referred to as EPA and DHA. ALA has to be converted in the body to EPA so we end up needed much more of ALA to get as much as we would in fish oil.

Flaxseeds are also a great source of fiber, manganese, folate, vitamin B6, magnesium, phosphorus, and copper. They are also contain lignans, which are a type of phytonutrient (plant nutrient) that has been shown to bind to estrogen receptors in the body so that harmful forms of estrogen that cause breast and other reproductive cancers have no where to attach themselves and hence get taken out of the body. This beneficial effect helps to relieve hot flashes in menopausal women. Flaxseed also helps to regulate menstrual cycles, which significantly boosts fertility and chances of conception.

Because flaxseed is a fat, it should be stored in a cool place such as the refrigerator or freezer to prevent rancidity. Be sure to purchase certified organic flaxseed in a vacuum-packed bag for optimum freshness and if you purchase oils look for expeller-pressed flaxseed oil “with lignans”. In order to achieve the health benefits of flaxseed- take at least 1 Tbsp of flaxseed. Up to 2 Tbsp ground flaxseed and 3 Tbsp flaxseed oil has been shown to be the optimal dose with regard to disease management and prevention. Although- if you are pregnant or are considering pregnancy, you should consult with your healthcare provider before consuming flaxseeds in high amounts.

Here are a few tips for adding flaxseed to your daily diet:

Sprinkle ground flaxseeds into your cereal (hot or cold).

Add to your homemade muffin, cookie or bread recipes.

Sprinkle onto salads or vegetables for an extra crunch and nutty flavor.

Add a tablespoon of flaxseed oil into smoothies.

Mix into peanut butter or another nut butter and spread on whole grain bread.

Sprinkle into a yogurt parfait.

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Below are a few links to pure and clean essential fatty acid supplements.

Extra strength EPA/DHA Enteric-coated: http://www.metagenics.com/products/detail.asp?pid=33

EPA-DHA Balanced Liquid: http://www.metagenics.com/products/detail.asp?pid=254

Nicole Andrews, RD, LD/
Nutrition Therapist & Lifestyle Educator
Website: http://www.livingfresh.org
For order information on the supplements mentioned, visit http://www.livingfresh.meta-ehealth.com. Click Register Now to create a username and password and click Quick Order Form to find and order the desired supplement.

As I write this article I’m reminded of the fish I have to take out for dinner! OK-I’m back. By the way, I took out Mahi-mahi, one of the better choices, which I’ll explain.

Fish is one of the healthiest foods we can eat- Its low in unhealthy saturated fat, high in minerals and a terrific source of protein.

Unfortunately, over the years the fish industry has become extremely stressed. Certain types of fish such as tuna, swordfish and seabass are being “fished out”, tons of sea life is wasted in the process of catching large fish, reefs are being destroyed by large fishing vessels and nets, fish farms are getting contaminated by sewage run-offs and are sadly jam-packed with fish increasing the risk of infection and contamination to other fish, and some farms are not only contaminating the fish food with toxins such as PBB and PBB’s they are also giving fish that become infected antibiotics and hormones to grow large in a short amount of time in effort to increase their profits. Surprised? I certainly was too. A great place to educate yourself regarding this issue is http://www.seafoodwatch.org.

There are however some eco-friendly fish farms that are doing a terrific job of keeping our oceans stocked at the same time providing clean, heart-healthy fish for our dining pleasure. Some great choices for farmed raised seafood include catfish, trout, tilapia, caviar, striped bass, clams, mussels and oysters.

Other “best choices” include Alaskan wild-caught salmon and Pollock, halibut, herring, crab and cod. “Good alternatives” include wild caught cod, lobster, mahi-mahi, scallops, shrimp, sole, squid, swordfish and Albacore tuna. Seafood on the avoid list include Bluefin tuna, red snapper, shark, farmed salmon, Pacific rockfish, orange roughy, Atlantic cod, seabass, founder or sole and grouper.

The above list is categorized by how it was caught, where it is from, if it was farmed or wild and the level of contaminants it may contain.

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As mentioned- fish can contain an array of contaminants therefore fish oil can contain these same toxins that can potentially cause more harm than good. Check out the following link for high quality therapeutic grade fish oil supplements.

EPA/DHA Extra Strength Enteric Coated:  http://www.metagenics.com/products/detail.asp?pid=33

Nicole Andrews, RD, LD/
Nutrition Therapist & Lifestyle Educator
Website: http://www.livingfresh.org
For order information on the supplements mentioned, visit http://www.livingfresh.meta-ehealth.com. Click Register Now to create a username and password and click Quick Order Form to find and order the desired supplement.

Review the words below and look for these ingredients when you read the food label.

Hidden Sources of Sugar

•    Sucrose (table sugar)
•    Brown sugar
•    Fructose
•    Corn sweeteners
•    Corn syrup
•    High-fructose corn syrup
•    Dextrose
•    Honey
•    Invert sugar
•    Levulose
•    Natural sweeteners
•    Raw sugar
•    Molasses
•    Cane or beet sugar
•    Confectioners sugar
•    Powdered sugar
•    Carob powder

Hidden Sources of Fat

•    Shortening
•    Lard
•    Hydrogenated oil
•    Partially Hydrogenated oil
•    Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA)
•    Monoglycerides
•    Diglycerides
•    Triglycerides

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Nicole Andrews, RD, LD/
Nutrition Therapist & Lifestyle Educator
Website: http://www.livingfresh.org
For order information on the supplements mentioned, visit http://www.livingfresh.meta-ehealth.com. Click Register Now to create a username and password and click Quick Order Form to find and order the desired supplement.