Super Foods Salad

In my attempts to eat better I have been looking to eat at least one meal a week loaded with super foods. I plan on doing a post about super foods. But right now I will give you my latest super food meal.

This is Super Food Salad...

Ingredients
Salad:
5 c. fresh Brussels Sprouts, very thinly sliced
3 c. large kale leaves, ribs removed, and finely chopped
1/2 c. dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
1/4 c. sunflower seeds
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
Dressing:
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 T. pure maple syrup
1 1/2 T. fresh lemon juice
1/2 T. whole-grain mustard
salt to taste

Directions
In a large salad bowl, combine the sliced Brussels sprouts, chopped kale, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, and crumbled bacon. Toss together.
In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, maple syrup, fresh lemon juice, mustard, and salt. Whisk with a fork until well mixed.
Pour the dressing over the Brussels sprouts mixture; toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Brussels sprouts are a great source of vitamin C and vitamin K. They are also a good source of folate, manganese, vitamin B6, dietary fiber, choline, copper, vitamin B1, potassium, phosphorus, and omega-3 fatty acids.

Kale is a good source of protein, fiber, Vitamins A, C, and K, Folate, a B vitamin that’s key for brain development. Also there is alpha-linolenic acid, and omega-3 fatty acid, and minerals including phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and zinc.

Sunflower seeds are loaded with vitamins like vitamin E, vitamin B1, magnesium, vitamin B6, vitamin B3, just to name a few.

That is just a few of the nutrition of the ingredients in this salad.

It's important we try to eat healthy even if its once and a while. If this salad replaces a night you would have had burgers or take out then you have improved your eating. Just remember, we only have one body, we should treat it like our most precious possession.

Healthy Alternative: Soda

Here is my first Healthy Alternative post. I'm very excited to share this new journey with you. I am hoping you find my reviews useful when deciding what recipes and products work best for you.

My first Healthy Alternative is a product. It makes a good soda alternative. Sparkling Ice is a naturally flavored sparkling mountain spring water that has zero calories. It contains vitamins and antioxidants. Looking at the nutrition facts on the back of the bottle, I was surprised.

In comparison to my caffeine free Pepsi which has 150 calories per serving, 30mg of sodium, and 41g of Carbohydrates. Sparkling has none of any of those bad things. In fact it has vitamins D, B3, B6, B12, B5, and Biotin. The Pepsi contains things like high fructose corn syrup and Sparkling Ice has juices to sweeten the taste.

I had the Coconut Pineapple flavor which was pretty tasty. Would of been better if there was rum in it but still it was a great refreshing carbonated drink. There was green tea extract in there as well which gives it that antioxidants boost. The only problem I found with it was it had yellow #5 and yellow #6 in it. These are the same dyes that are why I have stopped eating the US version of Kraft Mac and Cheese. I failed to read the whole label before buying and drinking.

There are plenty more flavors to try which I plan on doing and I will continue to post my reviews on those and other healthy alternatives.

Thank you for reading. Comment below with any suggests on healthy alternative for me to try.

Summer is coming to an end but I'm beginning something new!

This summer was a great summer because I got to have so many great first experience with Freya and I got to share something I loved as a kid with my family.

As the summer ends and fall will soon begin I found the need to make a change. Being out so often this summer we ate terrible. We ate more take out, drank more soda, just had terrible eating habits. It was time we change that.

I have purposed we, as a family, try to find healthy alternative as often as we can. I enjoy the food I eat so I don't want to stop eating them. But a healthy alternative is an adjustment I can make.

I want to share with you my reviews on products and recipes that are healthy alternative and tell you what actually worked for me.

I will be making a special post when I find something and it will be labeled Healthy Alternative.

I would also love some suggestions from you. So leave comments either below or on any Healthy Alternative post.

Trying almond milk

In a attempt to be healthier while pregnant I have been trying new founds and trying my best to eat those foods that are healthy but I just don't like. One of my biggest issues is my calcium. I don't drink milk, I hate milk with a passion. I also don't eat many other things that contain calcium. I happen to enjoy cereal, I prefer Life cereal but you just can't eat it without milk to soften it up. But I can only get so many spoonfuls in before I start to regret my decision.
I have heard of almond milk and assumed it was just another Wholefood none sense product. I was surprised to see it at Stop and Shop. On the box it said "50% more calcium" which caught my eye but also almond milk  including vitamin E, manganese, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, selenium, iron, fiber,and zinc as well. I didn't know this at the time I decided to give almond milk a try but it also is free of both saturated fat and cholesterol. I am borderline with my cholesterol though I don't eat much that is high in cholesterol, my whole family suffers from high cholesterol so my doctor encourages me to watch my cholesterol intake.
The best part of almond milk is the taste. As someone who cant even pinch my nose and down a glass of milk to save my life I was so relieved to find that almond milk tastes amazing.It does taste a bit like cows milk but without the sour bitterness I taste when I drink cows milk. I first tried the unflavored almond milk, it was good but wasn't great. The taste was very bland and it was unsweetened so it was like watered down milk. Then I tried the vanilla flavored almond milk and feel in love with cereal all over again. Where has almond milk been all my life. I can finally drink milk without having to brush my teeth right after. I can't wait to try the chocolate flavor as I imagine it will taste similar to a Mounds bar without the coconut.
My husband is a big milk drinker and he loves having a glass of milk with dinner. I sit and gag at the very idea of drinking milk with my alfredo sauce covered pasta. Yuck! Even he enjoyed the almond milk which was a surprise as my husband is a pure flavor, toss out the health food kind of guy.
The issue with almond milk is the cost. For a 32 fl oz of Blue Diamond Almond Breeze it cost close to a gallon of cows milk. I went through the 32 fl oz container like nothing. To me, its worth the price!