Anti-aging food #3

Anti-aging food #3  - Blueberries

The most healthful way to eat blueberries is raw.  Off the bush or out of the basket!! 

You can also add blueberries to your morning oatmeal 

or your afternoon yogurt 

 

1. The highest antioxidant capacity of all fresh fruit: Blue Berries, being very rich in anti oxidants like Anthocyanin, vitamin C, B complex, vitamin E, vitamin A, copper (a very effective immune builder and anti-bacterial), selenium, zinc, iron (promotes immunity by raising haemoglobin and oxygen concentration in blood) etc. boost up your immune system and prevent infections. Once your immunity is strong, you won’t catch colds, fever, pox and all such nasty viral and bacterial communicable diseases.

2. Neutralizes free radicals which can affect disease and aging in the body: Blue Berries bring you the brightest ray of hope, for they are laden with anti oxidants and rank number 1 in the world of anti oxidants. This is mainly due to presence of Anthocyanin, a pigment responsible for the blue color of the blue berries. The abundance of vitamin-C is also a big factor for this as well.

3. Aid in reducing Belly Fat: A new University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center study suggests that blueberries may help reduce belly fat and risk factors for cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome. So far, we know that the fruit works on rats, which were the test subjects. A blueberry-enriched powder was mixed into the rats' diet, which was either low-fat or high-fat rat chow. After 90 days, the rats with the blueberry-enriched diet had less abdominal fat, lower triglycerides, lower cholesterol and improved fasting glucose and insulin sensitivity. And their health was even better when combined with the low-fat diet. That group had lower body weight, lower total fat mass and reduced liver mass than the rats on the high-fat diet. An enlarged liver is linked to obesity and insulin resistance, a hallmark of diabetes. Although more research is needed to confirm these results in humans, a related study presented at the same conference showed that men with risk factors for heart disease who drank wild blueberry juice for three weeks seemed to experience slight improvements in glucose and insulin control.

http://www.womenfitness.net/blueberries.htm

Blueberry Smoothie

http://media.canadianfamily.ca/images/cf_smoothie_main_.jpg

1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup plain, low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup washed, stemmed blueberries
honey to taste

1. Place all the ingredients in a blender. Blend on high speed until smooth.

*you can also add a banana for a thicker smoothie!

Serving Size: about 1 cup

 

Anti-Aging #1 = Avocado

Anti-Aging #2 = Sweet Potatoes

 

……….. stay tuned for #4

Wishing you all a Happy and Very Healthy New Year !   xo Cheryl

focus

Add another line of lights.

Decorate another corner of the room.

Merry Christmas!

it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas …

 
From as far back as I can remember, I have always wanted different “themed” trees throughout my home.
That is a hard task to accomplish because you would have to have oodles and oodles of ornaments all in different themes.  Well, who can afford that?  Not me.  I have a great collection of Santa ornaments but that is about the only theme I have collected. This year I decided that I was going to start a “kitchen” themed tree.  So I set out to Garden Ridge to see what I could find on a budget.  They had a 6 ft artificial tree for $7.  I bought two! Then I wandered on over to the “sweets” ornament isle.  How cute!   Well, I got about 10 ornaments for $30 and thought that was a good start for my kitchen tree. 


I’m crazy for glittery ornaments




As much as I think I would like to try a white themed Christmas decor ~  I always get lured back to the “lime” green and red decor.  Lime Green being the Key Color  ~ I just can’t stay away from it ! 


 
  

 
Love those socks and shoes ~ 



this little reindeer is my tree topper.  i adore her “lime green” sexy little skirt with the lambs wool trim ~ 


Gotta add some Texas to the tree! 


The Glow of Candlelight ........
 

 
Now that the house is all trimmed, it is time to start shopping!  …..  It’s the 7th of December and I have yet to have one gift purchased.  I never have been an early shopper ~ I like to get all my decorating done first and I love the hustle and bustle of starting my shopping around the 10th of the month right up to the 23rd …. that gives me just about two weeks to exhaust myself !!  :-)  

Wishing you a Very Merry Christmas!  ~ Cheryl

To revisit Christmas Decor 2009, click here