healthy eating – My Healthy Life

Turkish Food! Voilaaaa ;)

February 20, 2017 by Noureen, posted in Eat Well, My Food Diary, My love for food

Hi guys, how are you all? I welcome you to my food diary. Check this pic guys, my mouth has just started drooling after posting this yummylicious food pic 😀 Well, today in my food diary I present to you this delish dish of “Chicken Shish Plate” which is a plate of marinated chicken cubes served with a bed of Turkish rice with a side of Shepherd Salad, Turkish bread and my favourite Jajik dip (which is made of shredded cucumber with crushed garlic, dill, mint and home made yogurt) Yummmm! Isn’t it tempting? You might have eaten this kinda food before, If you haven’t then let me introduce this Turkish dish to you. ‘Chicken Shish Plate’ – Voilaa! Turkish cuisine is one of my favourites that’s why I’ve decided to know more about it and find out why is it healthy? I’m going to share all this info with you …

Food History:

Did you guys know that Turkey is one of only seven countries in the world that can produce enough food to feed its people. This advantage gives the Turks access to fresh, locally grown ingredients that help to create some of the freshest dishes available. Turkish cuisine is often regarded as one of the greatest in the world. Its culinary traditions have successfully survived over 1,300 years for several reasons, including its favorable location and Mediterranean climate. The people of Turkey enjoy a Mediterranean diet, (which has been promoted as one of the healthiest diets on Earth) with emphasis on: vegetables, legumes, grains, oily fish, seafood, nuts, fresh fruits and olive oil. Contrary to common belief, Turkish cuisine is generally not spicy (though this varies throughout the seven regions). Seasonings and sauces, although frequently used, are simple and light and do not overpower the food’s natural taste. The most popular seasonings include dill, mint, parsley, cinnamon, garlic, cumin.

Why is Turkish Food Healthy?

I believe most Turkish food is healthy because of healthy ingredients and the use of healthy cooking methods. Let’s discuss few of them in detail …

Healthy Ingredients:

Yoghurt – is a staple ingredient in Turkish cuisine and is included in many forms. Yoghurt is used in many marinades for chicken and lamb. It is also widely used to make many dips such as humus. It is used as a dressing for salads and as a sauce for grilled vegetables or even eaten on its own as a snack.

Olive Oil – Olive oil is a very healthy component of Mediterranean diet due to the high levels of monounsaturated fatty acids and high level of antioxidants. In Turkish cuisine olive oil is used for salad dressings, and for preparing a wide range of dips and vegetable dishes.

Healthy Cooking Methods:

Grilling and Barbecueing – Grilling and barbecueing meat and vegetables is a long established tradition in Turkey. Red meat, chicken and fish along with an array of fresh vegetables such as tomatoes, onions and various bell peppers are all grilled. This is a very healthy way to eat vegetables. Grilled vegetables are generally served sprinkled with dried chilli powder and with some garlic. Grilling is a healthier cooking method than frying and choosing a mixed Turkish grill is a very healthy option.

turkish-shepherds-salad-2 — Shepherd Salad

Healthy Salad:

Often a salad is included as a side dish. A typical salad is shepherd salad, made from cucumber, parsley, tomato and green onion with olive oil and lemon juice dressing. And sometimes they serve it with yogurt dressing as well. Ask for the dressing to be served on the side, because you can then control the amount of oil in the salad to control the calories.

Turkish Rice:

If you’re familiar with Turkish food, you’ll know that rice features quite heavily in the eating process. A lot of Turkish recipes end with, ‘serve with rice’. If you go to a Turkish Restaurant, whichever dish you choose from the menu it’s highly likely that you’ll be asked whether you would like a side serving of rice to go with it. Turkish rice were new to me, when we were in restaurants, eating meals, we always wondered what those ‘brown bits’ were in our servings of Turkish rice. I became curious and did some reasearch and found out that those ‘brown bits’ are orzo (şehriye) and are a type of pasta, as you can see in the photo below.

Some Turkish rice recipes will use vermicelli, instead. Both are quite common and healthy. Turkish rice are made with very few and simple ingredients like rice, şehriye (orzo or vermicelli), butter, hot water or stock. I must admit that Turkish rice (şehriyeli pilav) is very tasty & nutritious – It’s rich and buttery and is indeed delicious on its own and definitely one of the most famous dishes in Turkey!

I hope you enjoyed Turkish food talk today and this chicken shish plate. 😉 I will catch you guys with another topic soon. Till than take care! 🙂

SPIRULINA – My Favourite Superfood!

January 21, 2017January 21, 2017 by Noureen, posted in Eat Well, Super Foods

Hey Guys! I am back. 🙂 Today I am gonna talk about SPIRULINA — Natures perfect multivitamin and my favourite super food!!! I am sure you all have heard a lot about this super food and have seen it as an ingredient in green energy drinks, smoothies and natural supplements, but do you know that spirulina benefits are so amazing that if taken on a daily basis they could restore and revitalise your health.

It’s a very good source of vitamins like (B6, B1, B2, B12, Biotin, Niacin, E, Folic acid, Inositol, Pantothenic acid, Carotenoids, Beta carotene) and Minerals like (Calcium, Potassium, Zinc, Magnesium, Manganese, Iron, Phosphorus, Selenium). Another good thing is spirulina will be from 65% to 71% protein, depending upon growing conditions. This protein content is said to be biologically complete. That means that all 8 essential amino acids are present in their correct ratios. Plus 10 non essential amino acids as well. How amazing is this? 🙂

20170120_111719 — Nature’s way is the best brand when it comes to superfoods!

Now I am going to share some of its health benefits with you guys:

According to the University of Maryland Medical Centre, “A number of animal and test tube studies suggest that spirulina increases production of antibodies, infection fighting proteins and other cells that improve immunity and help ward off infection and chronic illnesses such as cancer”.

I am sure you all know that foods which are high in protein promote weight loss and low fat stores because it requires more energy to metabolise. As I mentioned earlier that Spirulina is an excellent source of protein which makes it a great food to speed up weight loss.

Helps in lowering high cholestrol. A recent animal study published in The Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology took rabbits, fed them a high cholesterol diet (HCD) containing 0.5% cholesterol for four weeks, and then fed them a HCD with 1% or 5% spirulina for an additional eight weeks. After the eight-week trial was complete, LDL levels decreased by 26% in the group eating 1% of spirulina and 41% in the group eating 5% spirulina, which heavily suggests that the more we eat the more benefits we will receive! Serum triglycerides and total cholesterol were also significantly reduced.

Researchers also discovered that the spirulina supplementation lowered intimal aorta surface by 33% to 48%, which suggests that it can prevent atherosclerosis and subsequent stroke. Click here for detail study.

Spirulina lowers high blood pressure and it also boosts our energy. In short there are sooo many health benefits of spirulina. I will highly recommend you add this superfood into your daily diet. You can find this in the health section of your local grocery store or in pharmacies. You can add spirulina in your salads or fresh juices. I love to add 1-tsp of spirulina in my juices, smoothies or salad dressings. Preferably in my juices or green drinks as it has a pond like taste. And if you wanna read more about healthy drinks and how to incorporate them into our diet then check out my article here.

I am gonna share two of my favourite recipes here. I call it ‘Green Energy Drink’ as it looks sooo green and gives me energy 😀 kidding! You can create your own recipe with fruits and veggies of your choice.

‘Green Energy Drink’

Ingredients:

2 green apples

1 cucumber

1 stalk celery

2 stalks kale

2 handfuls of lettuce

Few leaves of coriander or mint

4 medium carrots

1tsp spirulina

Method:

Add everything into a blender. Blend it. So simple and easy, and way better for you than a can of energy drink.

‘Coconut Drink’

You can also add 1 tea spoon of spirulina in 2 cups of coconut water, stir it & your drink is ready. Easy peasy!

That’s all for today, Subscribe for more! Take care xx

Portion Control & Weight Loss!

January 14, 2017January 14, 2017 by Noureen, posted in Eat Well, Health Tips, My love for food, Prophetic Food

Hey friends! How are you? I am sure you all will be in the best of your health and fitness. Okay! So in the beginning let me discuss little bit about ”the stress around food” that many people have these days. Well, this is not my topic today so please bear with me while I share my thoughts on this. I see these days women have developed a very complicated relationship with food – they have this fear of eating even the healthiest foods because they will put on weight or they wanna look good, they wanna attend this wedding, or wanna fit into their old skinny jeans or wanna achieve that ‘Zero figure’ which only exists in the photos and movies (all the photoshop stuff you know) – all this agony and misery what for? To show the world how beautiful your body is? For a selfie or to take group photos and post them on social media so you can get good compliments and many likes. (I know it’s not the case with everybody but I am sure many will fall under this category) Wow! Seriously! Is it worth it? Do we really need to do this? I mean really? Losing weight and looking good should be a permanent lifestyle change to eat healthier. It should be with a purpose of achieving good health or remaining healthy or in order to improve our productivity not for some specific event or to impress somebody.

This food and stress relationship is very prevalent in our society – I don’t understand why there is so much guilt and anxiety around food when food is there to nourish our body so that we can feel satisfied, energised and be productive. All this makes me really sad and compels me to write about how we can eat mindfully and still loose weight. If you ask me then I would say being a Nutritionist my theory around food is very clear. I am a foodie, I love food, I don’t believe in diets and I don’t believe in depriving myself from food which is there for us to eat and enjoy. I believe we are meant to have a good relationship with food not the other way around. I really believe in eating small amounts of any food really. It has to be healthy food on most of the days but I have my cheat days as well and they are guilt free. Yes!!! Here comes the art of mindful eating and how we can enjoy all kinds of food by controlling our portion sizes. If we control the portion sizes of our meals and be consistent in our exercise regimen (even if its 15-20 minutes a day) then believe you me we can eat everything and still loose weight.

You can eat whatever you want to eat but don’t overdo it. Moderation is the key! As we all know eating excessively causes harm to our systems and it also makes the heart heedless. (Muslim readers you know what I am talking about here). It has been said that: “Stomach is the home of ill health” and many ailments are related to uncontrolled eating habits such as diabetes, vascular diseases and heart disease. Our religion (Islam) teaches us to eat moderately. I am sure you all have heard of this Hadith (Hadith – means the actions and sayings of Prophet Muhammad PBUH, reported by his companions and collected by scholars who came after them in books) a ton of times which is:

“No human being has ever filled a container worse than his own stomach. The son of Adam needs ‘no more than a few morsels of food to keep his back straight’. If you must fill it, then one third for food, one third for drink and one third for air”.

Ibn Maajah

This is the teaching of our beloved Prophet PBUH. He only ate enough food so that he didn’t feel weak. So he ate enough food to keep his back straight. We should try to follow his footsteps and never eat more than our need. We should try to listen to our body, our body will tell us how much is our need. Every body has different requirements when it comes to portion control and a best way to judge how much you need is right infront of your hand. Yes a ”serving size is in your hand” ! Isn’t it cool? Take a look at your hand and use this as a measurement for portion control. This is an awesome graphic for people who say that they struggle with portion sizes. I think this can be a helpful tool. It is not, of course, a hard-and-fast rule to live by. Having said that, I think it can be of some use, therefore it’s worth explaining …

Your palm: is gonna be equal to 3 ounces. This is the ideal portion you’ll need when it comes to fish, chicken and meat.

Thumb tip: This is equal to about 1 teaspoon. You wanna use this portion size for things like peanut butter, mayonnaise and oils etc

Your Thumb: This is about a tablespoon. You wanna use this for things like cheese, sour cream etc.

A handful: is equal to 1 to 2 ounce of snack food. This portion is good for snacks like nuts, dried fruits.

A fist or a cupped hand: This is equal to 1 cup. It should be used for measuring out things like cereal, rice, pasta.

1 tennis ball is equal to 1/2 cup of fruits and vegetables, although you could definitely do more on the veggies and fruit side.

The Plate Method: You can also use ‘The Plate Method’ for your main meals. In this method, you fill 1/2 of the plate with 2 servings of non-starchy vegetables, fill 1/4 of the plate with lean meat (3 ounces cooked) or other high-protein food, fill 1/4 of the plate with a starchy vegetable or whole grain serving (amount varies depending on food selected). This figure below is the best example of a healthy Plate Method.

Note: Pork is forbidden for Muslims of course!

Lastly, I’m going to share some very useful tips for staying on track with portion control that will lead to weight loss. Here are the tips you need to know:

Be mindful when you eat, chew slowly and take smaller bites so you feel fuller more quickly.
Use a smaller plate when dishing your food. This way you won’t be able to put too much on the plate therefore reducing your portion size and of course your waistline. 😉
Eating smaller more frequent meals will increase your metabolism throughout the day, help your body more energised and in turn, burn more calories.
Include leafy greens, colourful vegetables, low GI (Glycemic Index)/complex carbohydrates and lean protein at every main meal.
Fill up on meals that are nutrient dense such as steamed vegetables, home made salads and soups.
Follow the plate method as explained above. What you do is you start eating veggie side of your plate first, this fills your stomach because of the high fibre content in veggies, you already feel full therefore you eat less of the other stuff in your plate.
Drink plenty of water and natural herbal teas to keep you satisfied and to help curb hunger throughout the day.
Drink a glass of water 15 minutes before your meals.
Get plenty of sleep. Make sure you get at least 6 to 7 hours good quality sleep to curb hunger and to reduce cravings for simple sugars.
Keep a food diary. This will help keep your eating on track and allow you to monitor exactly what is going into your mouth therefore keep you accountable of your daily food intake.

Just remember this, staying consistent is the key to portion control and weight loss. One bad meal or over indulgence won’t set you off track. You are allowed to have a cheat day once a week. Yaaayyyy! 😉 But be consistent with your portion control, it takes approximately 30 days to make or break a habit. Don’t give up, be persistent and you will see results that will last a lifetime, In’sha’Allah (If God wills)!

I could eat FRUIT for every meal! ;)

December 30, 2016 by Noureen, posted in Eat Well, My love for food, Prophetic Food, Prophetic Medicine

You must have heard this saying:

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away” – this is true but it applies to more than just apples. All fruits are beneficial and packed with nutrients. I am sure you all must be aware of the fact that fruit is such a fantastic food. It’s a delicious form of energy. It’s full of vitamins, minerals, fibre, phytonutrients, fructose (a simple sugar) and fresh water. It is packed with enzymes to aid digestion and help clean out the body, flush out impurities. Plus it can help get rid of waste from your digestive system, blood stream, internal organs, and even your skin. And of course, it tastes great! I always try and have a fully raw breakfast that sets me up with energy I need to keep me going throughout my day, fruit is the first meal of my day – no preparation requires. I love it sooo much that I wish I could eat fruit for every meal. 😉

The best time to eat a bounty of fruit is either first thing in the morning on an empty stomach (which I prefer). What happens is when you go to sleep at night, your metabolism and digestive system slow down. A good way to wake your body and kick start your digestive system is to begin your day with some fresh fruit. It’s easy to digest, helps with bowel regularity and increase the body’s metabolic rate. So, if you are not already eating fruit for breakfast then make this habit of eating fruit first thing in the morning. Didn’t like the idea? It’s okay, you can also have fruit as a mid-morning snack, in between breakfast and lunch. 🙂

Another important thing about fruit is that it should be eaten alone or with other fruit on an empty stomach. This is because when fruit is eaten, the digestive process works very quickly and our body uses different enzymes to digest the fruit. The simple sugars contained in fruit need time to be completely absorbed by your body. When fruits are eaten alone, your stomach can more easily process all of the nutrients, fibre and the simple sugars contained in the fruit. This is the optimal ‘proper way’ to benefit from the fruit you eat. If you eat fruit close to a meal, especially right after a larger meal and combine with other foods, it’s held in the stomach too long along with other foods and will rot and ferment in the gut. If you experience indigestion, heartburn, burping and and other digestive discomforts and you blame on the meal – it could be the combination of the food, the fermentation with fruit that causes your upset stomach. If left uncontrolled it could lead to other health problems that stem from the digestive tract.

I will recommend that you eat at least four pieces of fresh fruit every day. Four pieces is just a guideline, if you want more, go for it. And by this I don’t mean, four grapes or four cherries – I mean an apple, a banana and a kiwi or peach, or a large section of watermelon/rockmelon, a bunch of grapes or cherries etc.

Grapes have become my most favourite fruit since the day I got to know that our beloved Prophet (PBUH) was very much fond of grapes and Allah (God), the Bestower mentions grapes eight times in the Qur’an (the Holy book of God) as one of the innumerable favors He bestowed upon His creation. Grapes are fruits found both on the earth and in Paradise according to The Noble Book – Quran and Prophetic traditions. In Medicine of the Prophet, Ibn Al-Qayyim (a commentator on the Quran and the theologian, his scholarship was focused on the Islamic sciences of Hadith, Fiqh, and Sufism) states that it is better and more nutritious to eat grapes two or three days old, (when the skin becomes soft), than those harvested on the same day. When eaten the same day of harvesting they produce flatulence and gas in the stomach and intestines. Otherwise, the nutritional benefits of table grapes are similar to those of figs and raisins. It purifies the blood, provides vigor and health, strengthens the kidney and clears the bowels. Grapes are categorized as one of the ‘Three Royal Fruits: namely grapes, figs and dates’.

Enough about fruits today, start eating and enjoying your daily portion of fruits. I will be back soon with another topic. Till than take care and eat healthy! 🙂 Xxxx

Not-so-obvious high protein vegetarian foods!

November 29, 2016December 16, 2016 by Noureen, posted in Articles, My Articles for Watchfit, Recipes

Raw organic quinoa in a bowl and vegetables

“Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.” (Albert Einstein). So true this adage is! Many of the world’s most important health advisory bodies are now in complete agreement – a vegetarian diet is one of the healthiest possible. The closer it is to being vegan, the healthier it becomes. Continue reading!