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Understanding Irritable Bowel Syndrome and What To Do About It

Angela — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:06:26 +0000

Guest Post By Ren’e Matheny-Spires

Do you have IBS and don’t know what to do about it? Is your IBS keeping you from living life?

Irritable Bowel Syndrome has many names. It can be called “Spastic colitis”, “nervous Indigestion”, “mucous colitis”, and “intestinal neurosis”, and finally in short we will address it as “IBS”.

IBS is not a disease it is a functional disorder. It is treatable by diet, lifestyle changes, stress reduction, nutrition, and movement. It affects 55 million Americans a year. It can affect you in different ways. Some report that any number of the following symptoms. Abdominal pain, bloating, more frequent bowel movements with pain, or bowel movements that relieves pain sensations, constipation, diarrhea, excessive production of mucus in the colon, indigestion, flatulence, nausea, anorexia, anxiety and or depression.

IBS is usually associated with a food allergy, stress, or a lack of fiber and water in the diet. I want to stress right here that just because you have symptoms of IBS does not mean that you have it. There are many things that mimic IBS. (cancer, antibiotic or antacid over usage, diverticular disease, infectious diarrhea, inflammatory bowel disease, intestinal candidiasis, lactose intolerance, laxative abuse, pancreatic deficiency, celiac disease, fecal impaction, adrenal insufficiency, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, reactions to coffee, teas or carbonated drinks and sugars). You see there could be many different things that could be wrong. Make sure you get your diagnosis from a doctor.

So, you have IBS and you’re wondering just what can I do about it. You should really consult a professional like a holistic health counselor. Why? Because, they will work with you and your doctor if you choose. They will guide you through a diet and lifestyle change gradually. It will take about 6 months to really put your IBS to rest.

We want to start by:

Drinking more water.
Increasing your fiber.
Keeping a daily diary. Keep track of what you ate or drank and how it affected you. You should also include and medication, vitamins & probiotics.
Eat more cooked greens
ELIMINATE the following items:

Coffee, caffeinated teas, carbonated drinks, alcohol, white flour, sugar, artificial sweeteners and if you have allergies to dairy and wheat eliminate them. You should consult with a doctor or health counselor to try an elimination diet to see if food allergies exist.
Eliminate eating fast. Chew your food at least 25 times. This helps aid in digesting your food better.

YOUR PLATE:

What your plate should look like is ½ the plate should be cooked greens. Then ¼ of the plate should be a complex carbohydrate (like brown rice or spelt noodles) the other ¼ should be a protein (beans, fish, meat, chicken) with a healthy fat like avocado, olive oil, or seeds.

The easy way to add fiber to your diet is ground up flax seeds. You can add these to your breakfast lunch or dinner. They will keep your system clean from top to bottom.

Eat more organic fruits and vegetables. Keep it balanced though.

BLOATING

For those of you who suffer from abdominal pain and or bloating. I want to give you some simple tricks that can help. The easiest one is lying down with a hot water bottle. You should try sleeping with a hot water bottle every night as well. This helps to aid in passing a bowel movement and or trapped gas. It does this by relaxing the muscles. The other one is if your able to do a few sit ups you might dislodge the gas pocket. Most of the time the pain is gas. You can also by a anti-gas supplement from your local health food store. You can also take a probiotoc everyday as it helps in creating good intestinal balance.

LIFE STYLE CHANGES

You definitely need to implement some life style changes. Start by walking. You can start by just taking a leisure stroll for 20 minutes a day. Your movement will cause movement.

STRESSED? Then try mediation or yoga relaxation therapy or get a message.

Early childhood trauma or sexual abuse seek a mental health counselor. You need someone to talk to. You need to release this from inside of you. When you hold your thoughts or feelings in. It can cause digestive issues. They can show them shelves in many ways and one way is IBS.

I hope that you found this article helpful. If you should need any further assistance please contact me at ReneMatheny@yahoo.com. You can also visit our website New Seasons Health Counseling and join us in our webinars or talks on IBS.

Photo from Google.com

Receive a $25 Gift Certificate to the Good Bite Store!

Angela — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 22:51:16 +0000

(Just click anywhere on the video as it plays)

The first 5,000 users to sign up for the Good Bite Store newsletter will receive a $25 gift card to the store…just for signing up!

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Sans Sucre Baking Mixes Review

Megan — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 14:53:28 +0000

Family, fun and food surround the holiday season. For those watching what they eat, this time of year can be stressful due to the number of parties with excessive amounts of sugary snacks and desserts. Sans Sucre Baking Mixes are flavored with Stevia, an all-natural sweetener so that desserts can be enjoyed without the extra calories. In addition to being sugar-free or no sugar added, they are low fat, no cholesterol, lower in calories and lower in sodium. However, there is a distinct difference in taste between Stevia and regular sugar. “Like soda and diet soda both Stevia and sugar have different flavor profiles,” says Steven Bernard, chief executive officer of Bernard Food Industries, the manufacturer of Sans Sucre mixes.

I’m not sure a baked good could get much better, especially during the holiday time! Instead of serving up those deliciously fattening and sugar-filled brownies, why not serve up some delicious sugar-FREE brownies? If you are someone who likes and enjoys Stevia, than these brownies are definitely for you!

Sans Sucre sent me one of all 4 of their baking mixes. Though it came down to a close call between the Classic Blondies and the Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake, I think the Blondies won out as my favorite mix! I made the Chocolate Fudge brownies first, and they were devoured in no time. My only comment about them is that I prefer a more fudgey brownie, and these were more on the cakey side than the fudgey side. That’s just my personal preference though – everyone is different when it comes to brownie preferences! Next I made the Classic Blondies, and to kick them up a notch I added chocolate chips. Sure, that doesn’t make them “sans sucre” anymore, but they were still delicious, especially since I sliced them up and served them still warm out of the oven! Next up was the Apple Cinnamon Cake mix which I added in a handful of chopped walnuts. I also really enjoyed these guys, which is why they are a close #2 behind the Classic Blondies. I finished up by making the Milk Chocolate brownies – but again, my preference is fudgey brownies so whereas there’s nothing wrong with the flavor or deliciousness of the chocolate brownie mixes, I just wanted a bit more “goo” from them!

Each mix was super easy to prepare – just add oa little water and a couple tablespoons of oil, mix, pour into lined baking pan and bake. Almost immediately, the entire kitchen and house begins to smell like cake or brownies you’ve been working on for much longer than a few minutes. Within a half an hour your brownies or cake is ready to come out of the oven. The hardest part of the process is waiting for them to cool before digging in right away!

If you can’t find these mixes in your local grocery store, you can definitely find them online at Amazon.com and eDietshop.com! Each mix retails bewteen $3.99 – $4.49.

A Guilty Pleasure, Sans the Guilt!

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Original & Hand Written
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Megan@MommyPR.com

New! Holiday Recipe Videos

Angela — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 00:08:35 +0000

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PTPA: T-Fal Actifry Classic Review

Angela — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 07:14:47 +0000

New and revolutionary: the world’s first appliance capable of making 2lbs of crispy delicious French fries with just one tablespoon of oil!! Actifry, a healthy and easy solution to address our love for fried foods: a large number of family favourites and gourmet recipes can be cooked in an easy and healthy way with Actifry: chicken wings, stir fried vegetables, seafood, meat, chicken, fish, risotto, desserts, granola… etc.

Ok, I will be the 1st to admit I almost turned this one down. I hate fryers with every fiber of my being. Not because they are fattening but because I am scared to death of using oil on anything. I am just one of those paranoid people who look at oil as an instant fire starter. So being offered something called the Actifry I thought oh no, I don’t need “one of those”.

However I started reading the directions and seen a video for it. WOW. I wanted it. This thing is completely awesome. Its the 1 item you want ON your counter all the time. You can cook anything in it!

First I tried some popcorn shrimp in it. It was a night I needed a quick dinner for the girls and thought, well this should be simple enough. The box of shrimp is telling me it would be at least 45 mins in the oven and it was already so late I almost made P&J. I opened the T-Fal Actifry booklet and it said frozen breaded shrimp only takes 14 mins and no oil. Did I read that right? 14 mins. No Oil. I really thought the book had a typo. But, I threw about 20 pieces in the fryer and turned it on, and pressed for 14 mins on the timer. The inside turns as it pushes the food with it. As its turning, a piece on the inside blows heat inside. The only downfall is that the outside of the fryer does get really hot, so watch with children. Anyways, about 14 mins later, I had the best, browned, crispy shrimp for my girls!

We also tried fries in it. My husband loves to cut up his own from potatoes, so we washed some up, cut them perfect and threw them in the Actifry. Now this is where we add a little bit of oil. Only 1 Tablespoon! It did the same routine as the shrimp, turned in a circle, got hot, cooked my fries. I forgot to take a photo at the end…because I was eating the heck out of them! They turned out crispy and lightly brown. Delicious! Not too soft but not hard, they were absolutely perfect fries. I called them my McDonalds fries without the heart attack.

The T-Fal Actifry retails for $299 and is a PTPA Award Winner. I have no doubt in my mind why either. This machine will cook everything you never thought to even deep fry anyways. I love leaving it on my counter because I can cook everything in it, and healthy. I would recommend this machine in a heartbeat for a Christmas gift. This is especially great for folks of previous heart or cholesterol troubles, or even college students. To me, I swear it replaces my oven and microwave now.

There are 3 versions of the Actify and you can see them all on the nutritious-delicious.ca site. Pick which one works for you and I say, dive, and make the transition. Better for your body, family and home.

I am a PTPA Blogger. I received products to review.

Some information was taken from sponsors site.

Healthy Spaghetti Squash

Angela — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 02:28:09 +0000

YUM, Yum and it’s in season to. What a wonderful dish this is.

Ren’es Healthy Spaghetti Squash

1- spaghetti squash

1- purple onion diced

1- tsp. diced garlic

5- diced tomatoes (or you can use a can of organic tomatoes)

1- pkg. dehydrated shitake mushrooms (rehydrate while you bake squash)

1 – 1b. extra firm tofu (drained)

1- red bell pepper

2- celery stalks diced fine

spices to your taste…I used salt, pepper, oregano, fresh parsley, basil, thyme

Then you also need olive oil for saute’

First I preheat my oven for 375

Then I cut my spaghetti squash in half long cut

scoop out all seeds and wash good.

Get a baking pan out or cookie sheet and I use a cooking stone cookie pan. I usually just mist with olive oil. Rub sea salt on the inside of squash and then place it cut side down and bake for 1 hour at 375 degrees. It’s done when you can stick a fork easily in the skin side.

Now, while this is baking I go ahead and saute in a cast iron frying pan the onion, celery, red bell pepper for about 5 minutes, then I add spices and my tomatoes. Let this simmer about 5 more minutes and let sit until squash is baked.

Take your squash out of oven when done baking and scoop the flesh out should be spaghetti like and place into a casserole dish add the mixture from the frying pan and crumble the tofu into the casserole as well.

You will want to bake this for about 20 minutes and serve with a nice salad. Very filling.

Variations: You can add meat to this or vegan sausage, you can top with Parmesan cheese or mozzarella, I also suggest Nutritional yeast.

If you are interested in a cooking class with me please email me atReneMatheny@yahoo.com I offer Virtual classes as well as in home classes.

New Seasons Health Counseling
Ren’e Matheny ~ Counselor
“Fitness for your mind, body and spirit”
(757)652-7170
http://rene-matheny.healthcoach.integrativenutrition.com/

The Cooking Light Gluten Free Cookbook Review

Megan — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 13:04:05 +0000

Food is a huge part of my life, and I get so much joy from creating a meal that everyone will enjoy, which is why it’s disappointing that I’ve never really been good with gluten free options for my friends. If you’re like me, there are a handful of gluten-free friends or family members in your life. When I get together with these friends, I want to be able to create something they (and everyone else) can enjoy without thinking it’s just boring gluten-free food. Which is why I was so thrilled when the opportunity to review The Cooking Light Gluten Free Cookbook came along!

I, like so many people, have always thought that cooking gluten-free is a daunting task, and forget about the possibility of me baking anything gluten free! Well, I did it! Below is a baking recipe from The Cooking Light Gluten Free Cookbook but in addition to my gluten free baking experience, I also did a little cooking, too. I tried out the Chicken Tandoori recipe and might I say, this one is a keeper! The recipe uses a handful of great spices and calls for chicken thighs to marinade in the spices overnight so when it’s time to grill it up the next day, they are super packed with flavor! Paprika, cumin, coriander, garam masala, turmeric, red pepper…talk about delicious! The recipe also creates a yogurt sauce using some of the same spices to accompany the chicken, and I served it with a sauteed veggie mixture and naan bread. It was a perfect, delicious, and super simple meal that I will be making again (and will even pull out for my gluten free friends)!

The rest of the cookbook provides other flavor-filled combinations, each unique and different from the others. There are recipes for risotto, enchiladas, onion rings, smoothies, pancakes, main dishes, sides dishes and even desserts! I have always been convinced that gluten-free baking is impossible, but I am amazed and happy that it’s something I can actually do. I admit, it was a bit pricey to get all the start up ingredients to begin GF (aka gluten free) baking for the first time, but now that I have the staples it’ll be easy and less expensive to keep my pantry stocked. Possibly my favorite aspect about this cookbook is that the baking recipes provide “by weight” measurements (ounces, grams) in addition to “by volume” measurements (cups, tablespoons). Also, even though I am a strict no-box-mix person, there are a number of cake, brownie, or other dessert recipes that call for GF box mixes. This is perfect for quick and easy baking, or someone who finds baking itself a daunting task. But for those who are more comfortable with baking, this cookbook also provides quite a few from-scrath cake and dessert recipes for you to use. In the recipes that call for box mixes, you can easily flip through to find a from scratch recipe to swap it out with.

As promised, here’s a great example of a gluten-free baking recipe that is hard to tell it’s gluten free at all! I made these muffins and they are not only extremely delicious, but I had other people conviced they were regular ‘ol gluten-filled muffins. Nobody knew any different! My only comment is that I may have added a touch too much xanthan gum, because my muffins came out a tad bit too chewy. So my recommendation to you is to make sure you precisely measure all the “by volume” ingredients (I’m so used to “by weight” measurements). Give these a try yourself and let us know how they turned out, this recipe is courtesy of The Cooking Light Gluten Free Cookbook:

Cinnamon-Raisin Muffins with Streusel Topping

Streusel:
1?4 cup chopped walnuts
1?4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons brown rice flour(such as Bob’s Red Mill)
1?2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
11?2 tablespoons canola oil or butter

Muffins:
Cooking spray
3.3 ounces brown rice flour (about3?4 cup; such as Bob’s Red Mill)
4.1 ounces potato starch (about3?4 cup)
2.1 ounces tapioca flour (about1?2 cup)
3?4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
11?2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1?2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1?2 teaspoon salt
3?4 cup raisins
1?4 cup chopped toasted walnuts
1?3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup plain soy milk (note from Megan: you can use regular milk here if you don’t have soy or almond milk on hand)

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. To prepare streusel, combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl with a fork until mixture resembles small peas.
3. To prepare muffins, place 18 paper muffin cup liners in muffin cups. Coat liners with cooking spray; set aside.
4. Weigh or lightly spoon brown rice flour, potato starch, and tapioca flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine brown rice flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, granulated sugar, and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Stir in raisins and walnuts; make a well in center of mixture. Combine oil, vanilla, and eggs in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Stir in soy milk; add to rice flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Spoon batter evenly into prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle batter evenly with streusel topping.
5. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until muffins are lightly browned and spring back when touched lightly in center. Cool in pans 5 minutes on a wire rack. Serve warm.

Yield: 18 servings (serving size: 1 muffin).
CALORIES 201; FAT 8.5g (sat 0.8g, mono 3.9g, poly 3.2g); PROTEIN 2.3g; CARB 31g; FIBER 1g;CHOL 24mg; IRON 0.6mg; SODIUM 149mg; CALC 57mg

Original & Hand Written
Plagiarism Will Be Detected
Monitored By CopyScape & Copy Gator
Megan@MommyPR.com

Total Gym: The Finale

Angela — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 19:14:25 +0000

So here is… The End.

End of a fun, entertaining journey.

I will be honest and say, I don’t think I put in as much effort as the other ladies may have. Life in general would just in the way at various times. I did however maintain my weight. I fluctuate between 155 and 165 and I have managed to stay under the 165 the whole time. As far as inches, I did have to create a hole on my belt! That was awesome! And from all the leg exercises, skinny jeans are not really comfortable as my calves are kinda thick. (I am totally ok with that!)

I do wish I had put more time into this, but everyone’s time frame can vary. Another few months and let’s hope I can facebook a new skinnier me :- )

In the mean time check out the awesome results from the other Total Gym moms!

To see videos by Total Gym Mom’s, visit the Total Gym Challenge Youtube.

While you are at Total Gym, get 15% off.

The Total Gym Total Mom Challenge Campaign is being sponsored by the Total Gym & Blog Friendly PR. They are letting me review a Total Gym XLS Workout Machine with additional attachments All opinions expressed above and in any videos are my own.

Christine Avanti Tells Us How Metromint Can Cure Your Hunger

Angela — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 15:34:02 +0000

Christine Avanti, published author (Skinny Chicks Dont Eat Salads), chef, nutritionist and outspoken advocate of the trans formative power of REAL food, had an eye opening call with some select bloggers today. Christine told us about how we can use water to cure our hunger and keep hydrated.

Did you know 2011 Summer is shaping up to be the hottest summer on record! Most of us gain between 3-4 pounds during the winter season, so we have 5 tips for you to stay hydrated and keep that weight down.

Sip Yourself Skinny- Water with a hint of fruit or mint makes it easier to drink more during the day. Add cinnamon or mint
Boost your metabolism with mint- All natural ingredients help you stick to your health resolutions
Curb your cravings- Fight your desire for sugar by snacking on healthy treats. Like chocolate mint water!
Fight inflammation with hydration- Water is necessary to support the body’s processes
Hydrate to cleanse the body- Drinking water helps rid your body of toxin

Did you know that a mint study was done at Wheeling Jesuit, showed that 27 adults who sniffed mint under their nose every 2 hours ate 350 less calories a day!

A great healthy option is MetroMint Water! Actually created by a woman who wanted to add flavor to her water, she simply crushed up a mint and added it. Mint Water was born! It has 0 Calories, No Artificial flavors, sweeteners or flavoring! And it can help freshen your breath. To keep you on your toes- Next time you feel hungry, try drinking water instead. Your body may actually be thirsty from not getting enough fluids.

While you are over at Metromint, enter their sweepstakes!

Some Information provided by our MetroMint Call.

Total Gym- Its A Success Story

Angela — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 19:12:59 +0000

This week I was suppose to find a sucess story that I liked and share it with you and why it spoke to me.

I browsed the Total Gym site and found only 3 of the links/videos on the site, all celebrities. I am not one to really care what a celebrity has to say, so I ventured over to the Total Gym YouTube and found that some of the comments and actual user video’s spoke more to me. I want to hear about a mom from a small town who finally lost that last 20 pounds with this, or the dad who can run with his daughter because he can finally just see his feet. Those are the stories I love. I found a couple and loved them. One was from a reader who said The Total Gym helped them quit smoking and lose 80 pounds! I am all for someone quitting smoking in the 1st place, but to help lose that much weight as well is amazing. Think at how much better their life is now from kicking those 2 things.

I need to kick my late night snacking habit and perhaps go to bed at a decent time lol. Let’s see if the Total Gym can help me do that in these last weeks!

To see videos by Total Gym Mom’s, visit the Total Gym Challenge Youtube.

While you are at Total Gym, get 15% off.