How to Eat Cleaner - Day 4 of 31- Why Organic? Organic PLU Numbers.

How to Eat Cleaner - Day 4 of 31 - Why Organic? Organic PLU Numbers.

Hello everyone. I'm so excited that you decided to join me in our 31 days to cleaner or healthier eating. Each one of these videos will have 1 simple concept for you to chew on. It's your choice what you do with it. Try it for a day, a week, a month or implement for your entire life. My hope is it helps you open your mind to learning more about fueling your body more healthily.

Part of cleaning up what we eat is getting educated and alot of these videos focus on awareness. What you do with that is up to you.

So, let's talk organic. 2 reasons to go organic: the less chemicals you ingest the better and they may contain more nutrition than other comparable foods. Organic foods are supposed to be produced without chemicals and in general organic farmers take very good care of their soil so that there is more nutrition in it to be absorbed by your food. So, when comparing apples with apples, an organic apple should have more natural minerals in it than a non organic one, making it healthier and worth the added cost.

Since organic fruits and vegetables are not always clearly marked in the store, you can figure it out by checking the PLU or the numbered sticker on it.

A PLU with a number that begins with a 3 or 4 is conventionally grown with weed killers and pesticides.

A PLU with a number that begins with an 8 is genetically engineered. We messed with the genes somehow and it's probably chemically treated too. We'll talk more about this in another video.

A PLU with a number that begins with a 9 is grown organically with out chemicals and without genetic modification.

I challenge you to know what you eat. When you visit the store check your numbers. Check your fridge and work on adding more organic fruits and vegetables to your daily diet.

The organic topic is quite big so I will address it more in later video.

Thanks for your time. This is Coach Lana and I would love for you to join me at http://facebook.com/coachlana so we can connect.

How to Eat Cleaner - Day 3 of 31 - Water - How Much Water Do You Need?

How to Eat Cleaner - Day 3 of 31 - Water - How Much Water Do You Need?

Hello everyone. I'm so excited that you decided to join me in our 31 days to cleaner or healthier eating. Each one of these videos will have 1 simple concept for you to chew on. It's your choice what you do with it. Try it for a day, a week, a month or implement for your entire life. My hope is it helps you open your mind to learning more about fueling your body more healthily.

We have all heard you should drink 8 glasses of water a day. It's a very general rule that the Mayo Clinic says is probably ok for most people. But, honestly most people don't drink enough water. The average American drinks too much soda and other flavored drinks. Yes, these drinks provide water, but the sugar and caffeine they may contain either require alot of water to process or encourage water elimination. 

Water is essential for every biochemical process in our bodies. Feeling tired, constipated, bloated, headaches, things just don't feel right? I encourage you to track what foods you are eating that contain alot of water like grapes, cucumber, soup, etc. Also, note how much water you are actually drinking a day. Try substituting some of your high sugar and high caffeine drinks for water instead. Become aware of how much water you are consuming each day.

The general rule is, you know you are drinking enough water if you don't feel thirsty and your urine is clear to light yellow. So, you need to take a peek at your pee.

You can drink too much water, but it is very rare. If you are unsure how much water your body needs, you should consult your doctor especially if you have any kidney issue, are pregnant or nursing.

Thanks for your time. This is Coach Lana and I would love for you to join me at http://facebook.com/coachlana so we can connect.

How to Eat Cleaner - Day 2 of 31 - Planning: Containers & Coolers

How to Eat Cleaner - Day 2 of 31 - Planning: Containers & Coolers

Hello everyone. I'm so excited that you decided to join me in our 31 days to cleaner or healthier eating. Each one of these videos will have 1 simple concept for you to chew on. It's your choice what you do with it. Try it for a day, a week, a month or implement for your entire life. My hope is it helps you open your mind to learning more about fueling your body more healthily.

We live busy lives and planning is an essential element of any eating cleaner plan. What does each day, week, month look like? Can you make some items in large quantities, break them up and use them throughout the week? How will you store them?

One of the best investments you can make is small freezable and warm up able storage containers. They can be Corning wear or plastics or whatever works for you. You want to have lots of small containers so you can break up large recipes into smaller ones you can use throughout the week. Invest in an easily portable cooler and good ice packs. Also a refillable water bottle.

An example of how you would use your containers is, you cook a healthy lasagna from scratch. Cut it up into individual pieces and place them in easily reheatable containers. Now you have 1 meal set for the week. You can have lasagna for lunch one day then dinner the next. Cook another large meal and do the same for variety the other days of the week.

Thanks for your time. This is Coach Lana and I would love for you to join me at http://facebook.com/coachlana so we can connect.

How to Eat Cleaner - Day 1 of 31 - Food Log

How to Eat Cleaner - Day 1 of 31 - Food Log

Hello everyone. I'm so excited that you decided to join me in our 31 days to cleaner or healthier eating. Each one of these videos will have 1 simple concept for you to chew on. It's your choice what you do with it. Try it for a day, a week, a month or implement for your entire life. My hope is it helps you open your mind to learning about fueling your body more healthily.

Today is about reflection. Start keeping a food journal. It can be as detailed as you want and you can use any method you want. I have used apps on my iPhone and Excel documents depending on what my focus was. I would recommend looking backwards too. Look back at the last week or so and record what you can remember. This will help you get a better understanding of your habits. You can even record what you were feeling, why you ate what you did.. The journal can help you identify where you can improve.

An example of a couple journal entries would be. Breakfast. I was running late for work so I drove through McDonald's and got an egg McMuffin. Asked them to hold the butter and I removed the egg yolks. I realize I need to plan better next time. Lunch. Ate my kale salad I prepared the night before with my home made balsamic vinegar. Loved the added walnuts. Snack. Ate a dough nut in the break room. My boss was driving me crazy. Need to bring some healthier stress snacks tomorrow. These were more general. I highly recommend at least 1 day of measuring everything out. It's very eye opening.

The purpose of the food journal is to identify areas of improvement, not to get crazy anal retentive. As a recovering bulimic. I know that these things can get out of control. So, keep your focus on, we are trying to get healthier, not skinnier. A healthy body looks different for everyone. We should aim for strong, fit and happy.

Thanks for your time. This is Coach Lana and I would love for you to join me at http://facebook.com/coachlana so we can connect.

Holiday Kale Salad - Lana-fied

Got this great recipe from a friend, Kristine! I just made some changes to make it yummier to me. =]

2 Cups fresh cranberries

10 Gloves of garlic

1/3 Cup olive oil

1/4 Cup lemon juice

2 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1/4 Cup agave nectar

2 Tbsp finely sliced lemon peel

8 cups chopped kale

2 Cups cooked black rice

1 Large fennel bulb cut into thin strips

1-2 Cups chopped walnuts toasted

1 Red bell pepper thinly sliced

1/2 Red onion thinly sliced

Placed cranberries and unpeeled olive cloves in Ziploc with a little olive oil, Himalayan salt, & pepper to taste. Shake it up to coat, then bake in the oven at 375 for about 25 minutes.

For dressing combine garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, agave, lemon peel with salt & pepper to taste. Blend to desired consistency.

Combine everything with dressing and toss.

It makes alot! So it's great for a big family meal or for ready made salads for about a week depending on if it's a side salad or a meal salad. I use it as a meal salad and it lasts me about 4-5 days. But, I chow on it like a starving bunny!