cacao.chocolatey good.

The bean of the cacao plant is the nutritional flavorful source for all CHOCOLATE and COCOA products.  Cacao contains a naturally rich supply of antioxidants, iron, magnesium and fiber.  It is known to be one of the highest dietary sources of magnesium and possesses many other essential minerals in significant quantities.
You hear that dark chocolate is good for you, well, that is why. Actual chocolate candy is made of cacao and the darker it is and the more percent cacao it contains, the better for you. If you have not tried raw cacao nibs, they are very bitter tasting, eating them alone are not too enjoyable!! Add them to bars, smoothies, or use them as yogurt or icecream toppers.
I made a yummy and healthy smoothie today with cacao nibs in it, here's the recipe:

~chocolate almond milk                        
~frozen banana
~wheat germ
~scoop natural peanut ~butter
~cacao nibs



this is a great snack for anyone esp for kids in the morning or after school!!

Cacao nibs are available at any health food store, they run about $13 a bag but last quite a while. A little goes a long way!

Enjoy and BE WELL

flavor extracts

I found this product while reading a blog and thought I'd share it. They are fruit/flavor extracts and if you are like me, watching how much sugar you consume or how much you give your kids, I think its pretty nifty! 

Consuming fruits are good for you but you have to remember that fruits do have a lot of sugar. Yes, its natural sugar, but if you are insulin resistant or diabetic, too much fruits could be danger. I make smoothies for my boys almost everyday. I use a lot of berries, bananas, spirulina, chia seeds or throw in what ever I have. I seem to run out of bananas really quick and thought of trying one of these flavor extracts in banana flavor. They contain no sugar(bananas have a lot) and it will hopefully give it the same taste.

Please don't go out and substitute all your favorite fruits for extracts, fruits are good especially organically grown ones, but if you bake a lot or do a lot with fruit, try replacing one with one of these extracts. They have ones in chocolate, coffee and every other flavor you can think of!! 

I'm definitely gonna pick me up a few soon:)

Here's the link, check them out!

http://www.medicineflower.com/flavorextracts.html

BE WELL.

kid week...day 1:healthy snacks

Since all the kiddos are going back to school I thought I'd blog on some healthy snacks for kids. When kids come home from school they are hungry!! The last time they probably ate was at 11 or 12 for lunch, especially if you have younger ones!!  instead of tossing them a bag of chips or cookies here are some quick, easy and healthy snacks you can whip up for the kids.

plain or lightly salted rice cake with natural peanut butter (or almond butter)

 mixed nuts are great especially if they are raw, you can actually a little of your own salt or honey and bake them for a little in the oven to add flavor. Nuts are a great source of protein

smoothies are great especially now while its hot out. they are also a great way to "add" other healthy things in without your children knowing!! For example i put spirulina(super green food), chia seeds(plant based omega 3),flax(another plant based omega three) and even powdered probiotics(good bacteria) in my smoothies for my kids and they love them!!

simple piece of fruit is great and sweet, I am surprised at how many of my son's preschool classmates that didnt eat much fruit!! Wow, so simple and so yummy too!

lastly i have a peanut, almond or sunbutter granola ball (picture to come) You can use any low sugar granola, mix it with a little natural nut butter and some honey or agave syrup and roll them into balls, put them in the refrigerator and when you are ready to eat one take them out and enjoy!!

happy new school year to you all and BE WELL

whats in toothpaste. is fluoride safe for us?

 Is flouride safe, and what can we use to substitute to prevent cavities?  Check out this video I found about fluoride and its dangers.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSKToTFitd0

When our children are little the, Dr.s tell us not to use any toothpaste with fluoride in it because they dont know how to spit yet and it's not good for them to swallow it!!! If you think about it why isn't it safe and what makes it safe when they are older and for us as adults to then, swallow it??

So we go and buy a training toothpaste, such as this one in the picture because it has no fluoride in it but if you take a look at the ingredients there are also a bunch of "stuff" that is not good for them either. Here's some of whats in this Orajel tooth cleaner for kids:

water, sorbitol(chemical sugar substitute), propylene glycol, and a bunch of parabens(cancer causing). In other words....junk!!

So what can we use in place of fluoride for ourselves and our children that will be effective in preventing cavities? I use this brand  for my kids, its called SPRY and they love it! Heres the ingredients in this one:

Purified water, Xylitol, Calcium glycerophosphate, Cellulose gum (thickening agent), and Grapefruit seed extract (as a preservative).

Spry has an entire line of products for adult and children available at health food stores! Heres some info on xylitol (main ingredient in spry products):

What is xylitol?

Xylitol is a sweetener that occurs naturally. It can be found, for instance, in berries, fruit, vegetables and mushrooms.

How does xylitol differ from other sweeterners?

Chemically speaking, xylitol is not actually a sugar, but a sugar alcohol. It differs from other sweeteners such as sorbitol, fructose and glucose because the xylitol molecule has five, instead of six, carbon atoms. Most bacterias in mouth are unable to make use of such sugars. This is one reason why xylitol helps prevent caries.

Xylitol is much sweeter than sorbitol, for instance. Assessed in terms of calories, its sweetening power is the same as that of sucrose. It is also similar to sucrose in its technical and nutritive properties. Xylitol is an important supplement in the preventation of dental caries, and everyone interested in healthy teeth should be familiar with its properties and effects.

In terms of dental health, it is good to increase the salivary flow rate as often as possible, i.e. to secrete what is called stimulated saliva. The faster the saliva flow, the greater its buffer capacity, that is, its power of resisting the drops in saliva pH and thus in plaque pH.

In stimulating saliva secretion xylitol increases the amount of saliva in the mouth. At the same time it increases saliva's initiate chemical capacity for reducing the harmful effects of bacteria.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, I just  wanted to share some alternatives for you and your family's toothbrushing needs!!

BE WELL