Water is Vital to your Health

http://www.fitness.com/articles/118/the_importance_of_water_consumption.php

One of the pieces of the health puzzle that is often forgotten is water.  I'm as guilty of this as anyone.  But if you think about it, with our bodies being about 2/3 water, it should be the first item we address on our checklist.

Many experts suggest that the amount of water you drink every day is calculated simply by dividing your current body weight in half, and drink that many ounces of water every day.

For example, if you weight 150 pounds, you should consume 75 ounces of water every day.  If you weight 200 pounds, you should consume 100 ounces.

Their are a ton of benefits: less toxins in the body, better digestion, better joint health, better blood circulation, etc... essentially everything your body does will work better when it has enough water.

Creamy Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-303-504-13847-0,00.html

this dish is one of my favorites.  We enjoy adding Pepperjack cheese to give it a little heat.

420 Calories per serving, 57 Grams of Carbs, 20 Grams of Protein, 15 Grams Fat

Healthy Mexican Chicken Soup Crockpot

Ingredients

2 uncooked chicken breasts
10-16 oz black beans (not canned)
10 oz can Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies
28-32 oz chicken broth (depending on how much liquid you like in soups)
1-2 cups wather (depending on how much liquid you like in soups)
10 oz can tomato sauce
6 oz chili sauce
1 chopped onion
1 chopped bell pepper
1/2 chopped Anaheim or Jalapeno Pepper
2 cups spinach

Instructions

Combine all ingredients accept black beans in crock pot and cook on Low for 3 hours of High for 8 hours.  Begin soaking black beans.  Black beans should soak 4-6 hours and boil for 20 to 25 minutes before being added.  Prior to serving, remove chicken, shred and put back into crock pot and stir.

Healthy Granola Recipe

This granola is one of my favorites plain, in yogurt, or on pancakes.

Granola recipe:
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup honey
1 cup natural sugar
2 tablespoon vanilla and/or almond extract
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3-5 tbsp dark chocolate baking cocoa
 
You need 9 1/2 cups total of these 2 ingredients:
7 or 8 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (no less then 7 cups of rolled oats)
1- 2 1/2 cups of any of the following items combined: almonds, walnuts, pecans, raisins, any dried fruit, chocolate chips, coconut, pumpkin or sunflower seeds
 
Heat oven to 325.  You need 2 rimmed baking sheets or pans.  Combine over medium heat the first 6 ingredients until the sugar dissolves and bubbles- about 3 minutes. 
In a large bowl combine the oats and other fruit/nut items. Add the warm mixture and toss thoroughly to combine. Spread the mixture evenly on the baking sheets. Bake for 20 minutes stirring 2-3 times until the granola is crisp and golden.  Cool completely before putting in containers. (I stir the granola once or twice after taking it out of the oven to keep it from sticking to the baking pans)

Pesticides in your produce

When it comes to buying produce someone once told me a good way to decide whether to buy organic. 

"If it has a skin that you remove before you eat it, you generally don't need to worry about pesticides or buying organic".

What that means is that a banana should be low in pesticides because you don't eat the outer skin.  In contrast, an apple should be higher because we eat the skin along with the rest of the fruit.

An article in USA Today was recently brought to my attention.  Apples are the No. 1 produce for pesticide contamination outlines some findings of a report done by public health advocacy group EWG.

There's some nice information on how they scored the 'Dirty Dozen' and the 'Clean 15'.  

I see the online publication doesn't have the graphic but the printed copy had a nice graphic which I'll show below. 

Dirty Dozen (Highest in pesticides) 1. Apples 2. Celery 3. Strawberries 4. Peaches 5. Spinach 6. Nectarines (Imported) 7. Grapes (Imported) 8. Sweet bell peppers 9. Potatoes 10. Blueberries 11. Lettuce 12. Kale/collard greens

Clean 15 (Lowest in pesticides) 1. Onions 2. Corn 3. Pineapples 4. Avocado 5. Asparagus 6. Sweet peas 7. Mangoes 8. Eggplant 9. Cantaloupe (Domestic) 10. Kiwi 11. Cabbage 12. Watermelon 13. Sweet potatoes 14. Grapefruit 15. Mushrooms

In Marathon Nutrition Guide

I've completed 4 marathons and I've always wondered how much fuel I should be consuming during the race.
Active.com has a nice article about in race marathon nutrition.
There's a nice description of the hows an whys.  The best part is the graphic.

http://www.active.com/nutrition/Articles/How-to-Create-Your-Marathon-Nutrition-Plan.htm?cmp=282&memberid=60446460&lyrisid=22643835

A Better Blend: Smoothies

I've been thinking of staring a personal blog for some of my non-professional interests, a place to put information that I find interesting and useful.

Like what?  Well, in my personal time I enjoy running, biking, and swimming, competing in running races and triathlons.  Over the years, the sports geek in me has grown to love the statistics of fantasy football and fantasy baseball.

Whenever I read about an interesting article about eating healthy or whatever, now I have a place to post that.


So to get started, here's a link to a Runner's World article with some great ideas for healthy home made smoothies.

A Better Blend: Smoothies