Fruit is so beneficial for us and I truly see it as Nature’s Medicine.
We should be eating watermelons all year long. They are sooo good for us!
For one thing they are SUPER hydrating, coming in at about 92% water. They provide water, fiber and lots of nutrition like vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. These babies nourish every cell in your body!
They are also easily assimilated by the body and are utilized immediately. This is super for people who have digestive issues as they are not able to utilize their food as well as they should, meaning to break it down and extract the nutrition. Watermelon bypasses this problem and is like a direct hit of nutrition for the body.BAM! ποΈβοΈ
There are many ways to eat watermelon and there are many ways to slice it. Eat or slice it anyway you wish, but make sure you eat it and often!!
Here is a little video with one idea of how to prepare a watermelon for a gang or to prepare and keep in your fridge.
Watermelon slicing or carving
I hope you enJOY β₯ more watermelons in your daily diet. π
Like this info? Why not Pin it over on Pinterest? Here is a picture to pin:
Looking for some great ways to add in more fruits into your daily diet to nourish every cell in your happy body? π Why not take advantage of my hugely discounted Juicing Recipe book?
You just can’t go wrong with these two fruits! Watermelons πππ and Strawberries. πππ
I wrote a blog post in the past called β₯ “Miraculous Melons”. β₯ They really are amazing. Make sure you read this one too so you can get excited about how healing and nutrient dense melons are. Here is the link to Miraculous Melons (γ£ββ‘β)
And Here is the Juicy Juice Recipe:
Ingredients:
1 cup unsweetened almond milk or other non dairy milk of choice
1 cup frozen strawberries πππ
1 cup watermelon πππ
1 tablespoon fresh basil
1 cup ice
Directions:
Add the ingredients to a blender and blend until it reaches a smooth texture. EnJOY and drink often.
βStrawberries always fill my heart with joy.β πππ JOY JOY JOY
Lately I have fallen More in Love with Oranges! And why not? With all this talk of the coronavirus and just colds and flus in general, it is always good to incorporate more micro-nutrients that come from things such as fruits and veggies into your daily life.
Oranges are ΛβΒ°β’.ΛβΒ°β’ AMAZING β’Β°βΛ.β’Β°βΛ and are not only absolutely delicious but are also nutritional powerhouses! We all know they are loaded with good old Vitamin C, but there is so much more to oranges.
I am always learning from Anthony Williams, The Medical Medium, and here are some things he says about oranges:
Protect Against Viruses & Heavy Metals
. Oranges (and their cousins, tangerines and grapefruits) are full of the coenzyme glutathione, which goes into activation because of their high content of flavonoids and limonoids. Together, glutathione, flavonoids, and limonoids fight off viruses, protect the body from radiation damage, and deactivate toxic heavy metals in the system.
Calcium
. Oranges and tangerines are also abundant in a form of bioactive calcium you canβt get anywhere else. The body instantly absorbs this calcium, which means that these citrus beauties actually help regrow teeth, not destroy them.
Kidney & Gallstones
Their acid content is not destructive; rather, it works for you by dissolving kidney stones and gallstones.
Liver Love!
. Oranges and tangerines: Provide a combination of calcium and vitamin C; when both are combined from the same food source, the liver can use both better than it could from separate sources.
PhytoNutrients/Vitamins/Minerals/MicroNutrients
. Oranges have been called a βperfect foodβ and contain an amazing array of healing vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytonutrients. They are high in vitamin C, vitamin A, B-complex vitamins, folate, beta carotene, lutein, and minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron, and potassium.
. Oranges have been known to help prevent cancer, lower high blood pressure, fight off viral infections, relieve constipation, keep bones and teeth strong, prevent kidney stones and macular degeneration.
Prevent Acidosis/Remove Toxic Debris From Colon
. Oranges are rich in lime and alkaline salts that help to counteract and prevent acidosis in the body. They are also excellent for the digestive tract and help to remove toxic debris from the colon through enhanced peristaltic action.
Eye & Lung Function
. Oranges contain a significant amount of glutathione which is critical for healthy eye and lung function
Respiratory Issues/Cardiovascular Support
. Oranges are very good for respiratory problems such as asthma or bronchitis and cardiovascular issues such as hypertension and COPD.
Purify/Natural Antiseptic/Strengthen Organs
. Oranges act as an internal antiseptic to the body and have the ability to purify and strengthen all the organs in the body.
Colds & Flu
. Oranges contain anti-inflammatory and anti-viral properties which are particularly beneficial for those suffering with a cold or flu or an auto-immune disorder such as shingles, arthritis, IBS, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and raynaudβs disease.
Weight Loss
. Oranges are an excellent weight loss food due to their high pectin content which also helps to reduce blood cholesterol.
Notes on Oranges:
. Fresh squeezed orange juice is a predigested food and allows for immediate absorption of all itβs abundant healing properties.
. Oranges are an ideal βfast foodβ, easy to transport, delicious to eat, and provide a steady form of energy throughout the day.
. be aware that orange juice will lose the majority of its vitamin C content within 30 minutes of being squeezed, so for optimum results drink immediately
. Whole oranges, peeled or cut in slices, are the best option as the fiber and pith is where so many of the phytonutrients and healing properties are contained.
There you have it. I for one bought two cases of oranges yesterday and have been on an orange fest. I hope that you too, delight in these amazing, nutritional powerhouses that are truly gifts from the Gods! EnJOY!
Various fruits washed and lying on a terry cloth towel
I just finished washing up my medicine that I picked up at the grocery store today. π
Seriously this is exactly how I see fruit! Fruit is a true gift from the Gods. It is loaded with nutrition and is easily assimilated by our bodies.
I love preparing my fruit so that it is ready to go and I also like to leave my fruit out in plain view so that it calls to me to eat it as I walk by. Sometimes you just can’t resist and this is a good thing. π
If you look at fruit as the gift of natural medicine that it is, you start to appreciate it more and you will get even more benefit when eating it, after appreciating it. To me, fruits are truly magical in their ability to both provide nutrition to the body and to heal imbalances in the body.
Here is a link to my prior blog posts about fruit if you would like to view any of those:
I hope you take time to enJOY more fruits in your daily diet and that you also delight in preparing them so that you can indulge in their deliciousness and your body can enJOY the nutrition these fruits provide.
If you follow me at all when it comes to my nutritional beliefs you will know that I am a lover of fruit and becoming even more so.
I read an article yesterday talking about the body needing natural sugars and when it doesn’t get what it needs, it can cause cells to divide. You know what that means… Cancer! Now I am not going to go into any scientific references here because this is simply me talking about how much I believe in fruit to give us nourishment, nutrients and the natural sugars we need. I have written about this many times.
Today I wanted to share with you my fruit hack that is both pleasing to eat and better yet kid and hubby approved, which is why I now simply make a good sized pot of it later in the morning and leave it on the stove for that moment when my hungry daughter walks through the door after school and when hubby pops in the house sometime in the afternoon as he usually does. This of course, after I eat my delicious bowl of deliciousness. π
Today’s ‘Fruit Soup’ as I call it has blueberries (always wild blueberries), chopped cantaloupe, a chopped apple from the neighbor’s apple tree, two mashed frozen bananas and some maple syrup. I do not have a daily recipe and anything goes. It is soup remember? lol and in soup anything that you have on hand works in this case. Today I threw in the maple syrup because I’m guessing that apple from the neighbor’s tree was a tad sour.
Throw everything together in a pot and simmer it down and then it’s done. It is just enJOY time then. And it is ALWAYS good. Everytime I eat it I feel my body saying “Wow this is amazing!”
Here are a few pics of the raw chopped start and then the simmered down result.
Raw chopped fruitCooked Fruit Soup always Yummy!
I hope you too start incorporating more of this life giving, life saving, body loving, nutritious, and delicious fruit into your daily diet.
Here are some links to more fruit advocacy posts if you want to dig deeper … Oh and one for my banana hack too. π That’s handy for sure. π
Here is a banana hack you will want to know if you don’t already. So many people spend copious amounts of time prepping and freezing their bananas. Some people peel and chop them and put them into plastic ziploc type bags, others mash them and freeze them and I am sure there are numerous others ways.
But the easiest of easiest ways is fast, convenient and enviro friendly.
Just throw your ripe bananas (or not ripe) in your freezer. That’s it. When you are ready to use them, take them out of the freezer and allow to thaw for a bit and you are good to go. I usually pop mine in the microwave for about 30 seconds and then peel them and they are perfect.
They do not lose their color or flavor this way at all and the air does not get to them. I love bananas for having their own jacket or container… fast food to go … or pop in the freezer as they are.
I use frozen bananas in countless ways… in muffin recipes… banana bread… smoothies…. chopped fruit concoctions that I make on the stove so that they are warm and gooey… example: The banana you see in this picture was used today in a pan on the stove with blueberries and chopped cantaloupe cooked slowly till it was warm and delicious. Total nutrition there. My husband just popped home mid afternoon and had some for a snack and my daughter finished off what was left after school….. kid friendly to boot!
The perfect frozen banana to use in whatever recipe
With most of us trying to eat healthier any hack helps. I hope you enJOYed this one today. π
Woman looking at chocolate cake with adoration in her eyes. π
I found myself commenting on a FB post this morning about someone who is struggling with sugar addiction. After commenting with my input, I thought.. hey why don’t I write a blog post about this. π
After 30 years of studying nutrition both on my own, and through my certification as a Board Certified Nutritionist, I have come to some clear conclusions about sugar, sugar addictions, and cravings. I will keep it short and ‘sweet’ π hee hee
We need sweetness in our lives and we need sugar. However, it is the natural sugars that we need. Sugar is needed to uptake nutrients into the body, especially micro-nutrients which are vitamins and minerals in trace amounts. Honey is appealing to animals and to us for a reason… because we need it. I could write a whole chapter on the healing benefits of this ancient gift from the Gods, but you can do your own research when you have time… so back to sugar…
Your brain and liver demands natural sugars to function. When you do not get them, you will crave sugar, carbs and more!
Best Way to Solve This?
Eat as much natural sugar as you can get into you in the form of fruits of all varieties, honey, and maple syrup. These are all forms of natural sugars and they ALL have healing properties beyond the sugar. They are super foods really.
Fruit is especially amazing as it is easily assimilated, is loaded with nutrition and has the natural sugars so you can uptake the nutrients. And let’s not forget about the high fiber content too especially in fruits like apples.
I try to eat fruit everyday and sometimes I find I miss a day of eating fruit. I have not met a person yet who is able to get too much fruit into them in a day. For one thing, in my opinion there is no such thing as too much fruit, and secondly good luck trying to. Most people have a token apple or banana throughout the day or one smoothie with a few berries and a banana…. we need MUCH more than this.
Of course check with your medical professional and follow their advice for any particular diet you may have been prescribed for a particular medical condition, but for me, if I was ill and had to pick one food group to eat for easy assimilation, easy nutrient uptake, sweetness and appealing to the palette, nutrient dense, and miraculous, I would pick fruit!
And one final thought. Addictions of any kind can be helped by more fruit intake and thus nutrient uptake. Addictions deplete the body of nutrients and natural sugars. The body and brain both desperately need the natural sugars and nutrients to function and to create homeostasis or to put it simply ‘balance’.
I hope you enJOYed my thoughts for the day on sugar. Life is meant to be enJOYed and to be sweet. π
Children are very prone to dehydration. We often work hard at making sure our kids eat their meals and snacks but hydration often gets overlooked.
Children are even more prone to dehydration because of their size, activity level, often lack of interest in drinking fluids, as well as dealing with sensitive taste buds.
If you notice that your child is not urinating frequently and/or their urine is of a darker color and has a strong smell, your child is probably dehydrated. Dehydration can show itself as constipation, low energy, crankiness, nausea, dry mouth, dry skin, lack of tears, skin that does not bounce back when pinched, sunken eyes, diarrhea, urinary tract infections, and even headaches, to name a few!
One of the best ways to help with hydrating the body is to encourage the consumption of vegetables and fruit, especially fruit. Fruits are jam-packed with micro-nutrients and lots of water.
Easy ways to encourage fruit eating, is to:
. Lead by example! Eat fruits often and find creative ways to eat more fruits and to try new fruits
. Incorporate fruits into meals as salsas, in salads, as toppings on desserts etc.
. One of my favorite ways and it works very well. Leave cut up pieces of fruit in the reach of children. When my daughter has friends over for a sleepover for example, in the morning I knock on the bedroom door and say something fun like “Room Service” and deliver a plate of various fruits cut up. They always eat it! They may not eat the whole plate but they always eat quite a bit.
. Make fruit bowls. Take a banana and chop it up in small pieces or even mash it and then add any other chopped fruit that you like. I change it up all the time and add things like chopped apples, berries, pears, melon and whatever I feel like. I even sometimes drizzle maple syrup or honey on top for added nutrients and for more deliciousness. I have not met a person yet, child or adult, who can resist my fruit bowls. When you make them into bowls like this it is like eating something substantial and the taste is incredible!
. Make fruit smoothies and homemade fruit juices. There are tonnes of recipes if you search Pinterest or Google. I saw one the other day where you put frozen pineapple and orange juice and it looked amazing!
. And on that note, keep bags of frozen fruits in your freezer and let the kids go at it. My daughter loves to make smoothie concoctions with her friends and they have a lot of fun doing it. Frozen fruits make it really easy.
. Lemon water is a GREAT way to hydrate the body. In the morning juice a half of a lemon, add hot water and a bit of honey in a large cup or tea pot and let it sit for a minute. This is the BEST way to start the day. It wakes up and energizes the liver, provides micro-nutrients like vitamins and minerals, and hydrates the body big time! It is a great source of Vitamin C too. Anytime you can add lemons or the juice of lemons to your child’s diet, it’s a big win! Squeeze lemons on salads and even vegetables and other foods. Lemon helps to kill bacteria and also enhances the flavors in food. You can’t go wrong with lemons ever!
Lemon and honey water
As a side note, as a Nutritionist who is also a forever learner and education seeker, I can say with complete confidence that I NEVER worry about the sugar in fruit, if that is something that comes to mind. The natural sugars in fruit are necessary for the brain and the liver to function properly. People are suffering out there because a lack of this natural sugar!!!! And let’s face it, it is almost impossible to have our kids overeat the healthy stuff, so I just work at ‘more’… getting in more of the good stuff.
I hope you found this post on hydration helpful and happy fruit chopping! π
Maggie Holbik.com is a Board Certified Nutritionist, Registered Nutritional Therapist, Natural Nutrition Clinical Practitioner, and Certified Life Coach who loves being a Mom to her daughter Sivanna Roses… as a side note Sivanna is working on a presentation for school called “Healthy Eating” and her mom is quite proud of this. π Oh ya!
When it comes to juicing or just getting good nutrients into your body, anything goes!
This morning I had my straight celery juice and then shortly after had this combo. How did I come up with it? I opened the fridge and voila… I picked from some things that were in there. Romaine Lettuce, 3 large pineapple spears, a piece of lemon I needed to use up, an orange, and then I grabbed a small sprig of mint from my indoor mini herb planters. I threw it in my juicer and it was delicious!!!
You really cannot go wrong. I often smile when I see the endless juicing books out there. Sure they are great for ideas and targeting health benefits but in all reality just take some things that are good for you and throw them in! Anything goes! Get creative.
This was my second round of juicing today… some gel from my filleted aloe leaf, strawberries, and apple. Once again it was yummy!
Recently I did a cooking demo at an Esthetics School and we were making Hemp milk. I accidently dropped in an extra date and more vanilla than ‘my recipe called for’. It was perfect. I told the class that it does not matter… throw in more, less, other things, change it up…. anything goes. Adapt and adjust as you go along. It’s all good.
Most of all have fun with adding in more nutrients and en-JOY! #nutritionIStheMission
Maggie Holbik.com is a Board Certified Nutritionist and Certified Life Coach who enjoys adding in more good things into her life. She is of the mindset that life is precious and our time is always shorter than we think so it is of the utmost importance to fine tune each and every day to the things that matter most.
On a side note, many of you have asked me about the best juicer. While there are many juicers out there and I have tried several smaller ones that I have picked up at thrift stores, I was lucky enough to get one of these Hamilton Beach 800 watt ones at a thrift store brand new. I loved it so much that I just yesterday, bought a second one from Lowes to have at my beach house where I work. I love this juicer. It’s easy to clean, has an amazing yield and saves me so much time. I really think it’s the best value for a mid-range juicer.
Here is a good deal for the Canadians out there – click the Canadian link:
I love the FB memories thing, but today when it came up, I was in for a shocker!
Looking at this picture from one year ago today (picture on the left) prompted me to take the picture on the right (just today) to compare the two. This was really a vulnerable experience for me and I debated whether to share it or not, but here I am.
I am amazed at the difference I see. It made me reflect on the changes I have been making in my life. As many of you know, I made a decision to NOT buy into the “I’m getting older” model and to flip it around to “I’m getting younger all the time and it’s working” model. π π
I have also coined a phrase for myself and for my nutritional practice which is “Nutrition IS the Mission”, and I am feeling really, really, good about the results I am seeing not only in myself, but in my clients.
When I look at these two pictures I realize yes, I have lost a lot of weight, but what gets me excited the most is how nourished I look in the 2nd picture. The weight is secondary to me. My skin looks so much better and I can see and feel an entirely different energy in picture #2. The person in picture #2 is embracing her health and the ability to transform it, and it’s working and it’s showing.
For me though most important is the personal empowerment I feel from knowing that changes can and do make a difference and I know that if they work for me, they can work for others. This is exciting!!!!
I do not aspire to any trendy diet, but focus on more nutrition, Joy and just more… more of the good stuff… especially fruit. I am an advocate of more fruit in the diet and even potatoes. Potatoes were something I did not eat, but now that I ‘know’ how good they are for us, I enjoy them like crazy. I really enjoy the work of Anthony Williams, The Medical Medium, and have learned from him and his teachings and that has been hugely helpful.
Another thing I am focusing on is removing heavy metals from my body and helping others with this as well. By adding in more nutrients and removing pathogens and heavy metals, we can help to balance our bodies and they can run at a more optimal level. Our bodies are always trying to heal us and when we support them, well they love it and do a better job at it. π
Anyhow thanks for reading along and I truly appreciate your support by being here.
I feel as though my entire life has prepared me for this time and I am looking forward to sharing all that I have learned through my own personal experience and my nutritional education. I am excited to continue improving my own life and in helping others on their journey to healthier lives using Nutrition as a catalyst to healing and to making positive change.
Maggie Holbik.com is a Certified Life Coach and Holistic Nutritionist who loves life and believes that if you love life it will love you back. She is super excited to be offering Hair Mineral Analysis for her clients and feels the presence of heavy metals in the body can be a major player in one’s overall health and wellness. For more info http://www.MaggiesHairAnalysis.com
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