Acai Smoothie Bowl (no sugar or sweeteners, no overt fats, plant-based, vegan)
Posted on April 30, 2024 Leave a Comment
written by Nina Shantel, blog: RealDietHelp.com, published April 30, 2024
The majority of acai smoothies and acai smoothie bowls contain added sugar. I don’t consume sugar because it causes inflammation and my blood sugar to rise, so I created this deliciously sweet acai smoothie, and an acai smoothie bowl (two recipes), without any sugar or sweeteners. You’ve got to try it.
Acai Smoothie Ingredients:
2 ripe fresh bananas, broken into 1-inch pieces
1 ½ cups unsweetened almond milk.
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon alcohol-free vanilla extract (optional)
1 tablespoon freshly ground flax seeds
½ cup frozen pineapple chunks
½ cup frozen blueberries
1 tablespoon Acai powder
Place all ingredients in a high-speed powerful blender and blend until creamy.
(Nativas Organics is my favorite clean acai powder. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases)
Pour into two small glasses. Nutritional information for each smoothie drink (serves two): 209 calories, 3 grams protein, 37 net grams whole food carbohydrates, 4 grams healthy fats
Acai Smoothie Bowl
(no sugar or sweeteners, no overt fats, plant-based, whole foods)
Acai Smoothie Bowl ingredients:
Acai smoothie recipe above
½ cup fresh blueberries
Make açai smoothie recipe above and split evenly into two chilled bowls.
Add ¼ cup of fresh blueberries in the center of each bowl and drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Serves two.
Nutritional information for each smoothie bowl (serves two): 239 calories, 3 grams protein, 42 net grams whole food carbohydrates, 4 grams healthy plant fats
I’ve updated Healthy & Clean Vegan Cosmetics list by removing the items that are discontinued and added some new favorites. Check it out:
If this post is located on any other website other than mine, which is RealDietHelp.com, it’s been unauthorized, plagiarized (copied without my permission). The other social media sites where my articles and videos are approved to be published are on my YouTube channel (Nina’s Nutrition & Exercise Videos), my Fit Girl Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TheHighFiveDiet/
Do people like or dislike the word plant based? (Interesting Study Findings)
Posted on April 23, 2024 Leave a Comment
written by Nina Shantel, blog: RealDietHelp.com, published April 2024
People have argued with me about using the word vegan to describe my diet because of negative connotations. No one should be afraid of telling others what they eat or be ashamed of it. I was born with a severe dairy allergy, and I never lost friends or had a date cancelled because I ate a dairy-free diet.
My rebuttal to vegans who avoid using the vegan label and use plant-based instead, is that people who eat vegetables and also eat animal products are claiming, they too, eat a plant-based diet. To avoid confusion, I tell people that I eat a plant-based vegan diet, but now I’m rethinking that, here’s why.
In an excellent article, titled, “Plant-Based Has Lost All Meaning,” by The Atlantic, explains that plant-based now has negative associations due to mock meats and fake cheeses who have branded their products as plant-based, because they are not plant based; they are ultra processed, and contain oils high in saturated fats which raise cholesterol, just like animal flesh and animal fats. These so-called plant-based Frankenfoods commonly contain numerous bizarre ingredients, chemicals, flavorings and may be genetically modified. They cost more, and some taste terrible.
Most people who shun animal products do so for health reasons. If you’re not vegan for animals and you think plant-based meat reproductions are unhealthy, why would you make the switch?
Companies use the term plant-based, the same way they use the word “natural,” to convince you that it’s healthy when it may not be. The term plant based has no mandated rules and is used solely as a marketing tactic.
A 2023 study suggests that people are less likely to eat foods with labels such as “plant based” or “vegan” are more likely to choose food labels with “healthy” or “sustainable” (1).
The company Meati did their own market research and found that food labeled plant-based corresponded with “bad eating experience, bad flavor, bad texture, poor nutrition, too many ingredients, and overprocessing” (1) so the brand intentionally avoids the label altogether, choosing instead to focus their marketing on healthy foods in their products, like mushrooms (1).
T. Colin Campbell, author of the famous nutrition book, “The China Study,” with over 2 million copies sold, connects foods and diseases, who came up with the term plant based “…acknowledged that it was a limiting, potential misleading phrase that left too much room for unhealthy ingredients, such as sugar and flour.”
I took a poll on my YouTube channel, Nina’s Nutrition and Wellness Videos, and even though only 15 people answered, most would more likely buy a product that was labeled “vegan,” but that may be because most or all of them are already vegan.
I took a different poll on my YouTube channel, Nina’s Plant-Based Vegan Recipes, and 75% of vegans preferred to describe their diet as “plant-based” over vegan (15%). (20 people responded to the poll below)
Some vegans conceal the fact they are vegan because vegans are viewed negatively in their community, and they prefer to used the word “plant-based” over “vegan,” to express they eat whole foods, and limited or no processed foods.
I describe my way of eating as a plant-based vegan. I purposely buy vegan cosmetics that are not tested on animals, and I won’t purchase leather or anything that caused an animal pain or death.
Sometimes I’ll say I eat a zero-cholesterol diet so people who have high cholesterol may be more inclined to avoid eating animal products.
Some other terms that people use to describe this way of eating include plant-exclusive, 100% vegan, herbivore, phytophage, unprocessed, strict vegetarian, plant-only, non-animal, animal-free, no meat, non-meat, and no animal diet.
Which term do you prefer?
Lastly, when I was looking for vegan recipes online, many contained fake meats, sugar, flour and oils. The truly plant-based vegan recipes were usually bland or tasted terrible so that’s why I created my own recipes and share my favorites in my book The High-Five Diet, like my cheesy veggie casserole made creamy with cannellini, spicy stuffed red bell peppers with black beans and corn; and salmon steaks with tofu and seaweed.
If you have a sweet tooth, like I do, you’ll love the lemon bars with macadamia nuts and coconut, and my pecan pie almond cookies.
If you are interested in learning more about nutrition, my crazy health history story, or making delicious plant-exclusive recipes, order your copy below.
Source:
- Tayag, Yasmin. “‘plant-Based’ Has Lost All Meaning.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 12 Jan. 2024, http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2024/01/plant-based-food-meat-alternatives/677057/?utm_source=apple_news.
If this post is located on any other website other than mine, which is RealDietHelp.com, it’s been unauthorized, plagiarized (copied without my permission). The other social media sites where my articles and videos are approved to be published are on my YouTube channels (Nina’s Nutrition & Wellness Videos, Nina’s Exercise Videos and Nina’s Plant Based Vegan Recipes), or on my Fit Girl Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TheHighFiveDiet/
Is the glycemic index accurate?
Posted on April 16, 2024 Leave a Comment
written by Nina Shantel, blog: RealDietHelp.com, published February 3, 2024
The glycemic index is seriously flawed because people react differently to carbohydrates. Bananas have a low glycemic index of 48 and blueberries have even a lower glycemic index of 25, but my blood sugar goes up and stays up longer when I eat blueberries than if I eat bananas, and I know this because I’ve tested it many times with a glucose meter.
The glycemic index guide states that it can be used to prevent disease and weight gain, but the foods with a low glycemic index, like butter, cheese and fried chicken are more likely to trigger Type-2 diabetes and weight gain (1).
Dr. McDougall, a physician, recognized as a nutrition expert, who earned a position in the Great Nutrition Debate 2000 presented by the USDA, writes that the glycemic index “…often causes people to make incorrect diet choices…” (2).
John Hopkins researcher Lawrence Appel says that the glycemic index “…is inconsistent and there are a lot of technical issues that make it problematic,” (3).
A published article in the NIH, abstract states, “A one-dimensional indicator like the GI runs the risk of being interpreted to mean foods are “good” or “bad,” and it does not characterize the multiple contributions of carbohydrate-containing foods to diet quality, including nutrient density” (4).
Let me know if you have any questions.
Sources:
- “Low Glycemic Index (GI) Foods List. Complete Information.” Glycemic Index Guide, 8 June 2023, glycemic-index.net/low-glycemic-index-foods/
- “Carbohydrates & Sugar.” Dr. McDougall, 31 Mar. 2021, http://www.drmcdougall.com/education/nutrition/carbohydrates-sugar/
- Appel, Lawrence. “The Truth about Low-Glycemic Diets.” Johns Hopkins Medicine, 27 Oct. 2021, http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/the-truth-about-lowglycemic-diets.
- “Perspective: The Glycemic Index Falls Short as a Carbohydrate Food Quality Indicator to Improve Diet Quality. ” NIH. Frontiers in nutrition. April 2022, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9067577/
If this post is located on any other website other than mine, which is RealDietHelp.com, it’s been unauthorized, plagiarized (copied without my permission). The other social media sites where my articles and videos are approved to be published are on my YouTube channel (Nina’s Nutrition & Exercise Videos), my Fit Girl Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TheHighFiveDiet/
Italian Pasta Salad (high fiber, high protein, gluten-free, vegan)
Posted on April 9, 2024 Leave a Comment
written by Nina Shantel, blog: RealDietHelp.com, published April 9, 2024
This vegan, gluten-free, high fiber, high plant protein, whole food, high-raw cruciferous salad is so delicious, it’s surprisingly healthy.
The pasta is from 100% red lentils, but you wouldn’t know it unless you looked at the ingredient list because it tastes like regular penne pasta.
The cheesy sauce is made from herbs, spices, nutritional yeast (high protein), and healthy fat from avocado, which makes it creamy.
The high fiber (19 grams of fiber!) comes from lentil pasta, nutritional yeast, avocado, green beans, cabbage and kale.
Salad Ingredients
- 1 medium red kale leaf
- 3 oz Trader Joe’s red lentil Sedanini (penne) pasta
- 1 tsp Nutritional yeast (Anthony’s unfortified)
- Handful of long French green beans (Costco)
- Handful sliced raw purple cabbage
- salt
Vegan Cheese Ingredients
- 1 mini cup Costco’s Wholey Avocado, Smashed Avocado with Sea Salt (1 puréed avocado)
- 2 tsp Nutritional yeast (Anthony’s unfortified)
- A few twists of ground black pepper
- A few shakes of onion powder
- 2-3 teaspoons dried oregano
- A sprinkle of dried garlic powder
- a pinch of truffle salt
Italian Pasta Salad
High-Raw Cruciferous Salad Instructions:
Boil water in a medium size pot on the stove. Remove the center kale ribs, chop and chiffonade, or pulse in a small food processor. If you hate kale, skip this ingredient.
Grab a handful of long raw French green beans, cut off the ends, slice them down the center and place in a colander to hold them for now.
Add pasta to boiling water, a few dashes of salt, and set the timer for 5 minutes, stir pasta with a fork to prevent the pasta from sticking together.
Cut off the ends of a large carrot, peel off the rough skin, shred, and add to the bowl with the chopped kale.
After the pasta has been cooking for 5 minutes, add the green beans, and set timer for another 5 minutes, stir again and adjust the heat down if necessary.
Cut off a corner of red or purple cabbage, removing any limp sections, and thinly slice. The portion ends up being about a handful. Add the sliced cabbage to the chopped kale and shredded carrot in a large wide bowl and gently toss with your fingers to combine.
When the five-minute timer goes off, pour the cooked pasta and green beans into a colander and rinse with cold water. The goal is to bring the temperature of the cooked food down to room temperature, so it doesn’t cook the raw vegetables. Thoroughly drain off any excess water.
Scoop pureed avocado into a soup bowl, add freshly ground black pepper, onion powder, 2-3 teaspoons dried oregano, dried garlic powder, and a pinch of truffle salt, or just use your favorite sodium. Mix the seasonings into the pureed avocado. Add 2 teaspoons of unfortified nutritional yeast, mix again.
Add the cooled pasta and green beans back into the pot, add the seasoned pureed avocado mixture on top of the lentil pasta and French beans, and mix. This will taste like a cheesy sauce.
Add some of the raw vegetables on top and mix again to coat them with the sauce too. Add all the ingredients to the large bowl and toss again to coat every vegetable coated with the delicious seasoning.
To finish off, add 1 teaspoon of nutritional yeast on top, a sprinkle of extra salt & garlic powder.
This is a lot of food, so I’ll eat part of it and save the rest to eat as a midday snack.
If you want the dressing creamer, add more pureed avocado. If you want it cheesier, add more nutritional yeast (aka nooch).
How it tastes: The green beans are sweet with a little bit of a crunch to it, so they’re not mushy or undercooked, and the sauce held onto them, so they have extra flavor to them.
Even though the package on the pasta says to cook it 5-6 minutes, it’s al dente; the cheesy seasoning is subtle with a hint of garlic. It’s not too salty. I like the crunch and sweetness from the purple cabbage. The combination of textures makes this Italian pasta salad interesting and delicious, so I’ve been making it over and over again.
Serves 1-2
Watch how to make this recipe:
Nutritional information:
Calories 517
Protein 31 grams
Carbs 74 grams gross carbs / 55 grams net carbs
Fiber 19 grams
Fat 12 grams (10 grams from avocado)
If this post is located on any other website other than mine, which is RealDietHelp.com, it’s been unauthorized, plagiarized (copied without my permission). The other social media sites where my articles and videos are approved to be published are on my YouTube channel (Nina’s Nutrition & Exercise Videos), my Fit Girl Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TheHighFiveDiet/
Exercises in Bed Follow Along Video
Posted on April 2, 2024 Leave a Comment
written by Nina Shantel, blog: RealDietHelp.com, published 2024
Some days we don’t have the energy to do much, but we still want to move without draining our energy so I created a gentle, strengthening workout you can do in bed or on a yoga mat. There is no standing, all exercises are performed either sitting or lying down.
This full bodyweight workout is ideal for seniors who are not comfortable getting down on the floor.
All that is needed is a soft surface, like a bed or a yoga mat and two pillows.
Play the YouTube video below and join me in these movements.
Below are the exercises, in order:
1. Side leg lifts, in and out, back and up. 10-15 reps.
2. Glute bridges. 10-15 reps.
3. Lay on back, bend knees, move legs in and out to work the inner thighs
4. Lay on back, bend one knee, point and flex one foot 10-15 reps. Repeat with the other foot
5. Ankle rotations (I forgot to do this exercise in the video)
6. Happy baby pose
7. Lay on your back or prop yourself up on your elbows. Place one pillow under one bent knee. Perform 10-15 single leg extensions by bending and straightening the leg with a flexed foot. Repeat with the other legs.
8. Same as number 8, except perform double leg extensions (both legs bend and straighten) 10-15 times.
9. Roll to the side for a quad stretch. Repeat on other side.
10. Roll onto stomach for 10-15 cobra pushups
11. Child’s pose yoga stretch
12. Lay on your stomach. One pillow is cuddled under your chest and the other pillow is positioned under your thigh. Perform 10-15 hamstring curls on one leg by bending and straightening the leg with a flexed foot. Repeat with the other leg.
13. Repeat number 12, but with both legs to perform double leg hamstring curls.
14. Superman’s with prone lat pull downs. Lay on your stomach, forehead on your mat or bed, extend arms over your head, fingers stretched, clench hands, raise arms so they aren’t touching the mat/bed, bend elbows wide to do a pull-down. Extend arms overhead and repeat 10-15 times.
15. Hamstring stretches on your back. Lay on your back and extend one leg up in the air, interlace your fingers behind your thigh and gently bring your leg towards your chest.
16. Seated T’s. Sit on your bed or mat, bring arms out to your side, straighten arms, bring arms forward, in front of your chest, and bring arms backwards. Arms should be straight the entire time.
17. Bicycles on your back
18. Neck, chest, shoulder stretches (see video)
If this post is located on any other website other than mine, which is RealDietHelp.com, it’s been unauthorized, plagiarized (copied without my permission). The other social media sites where my articles and videos are approved to be published are on my YouTube channel (Nina’s Nutrition & Exercise Videos), my Fit Girl Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TheHighFiveDiet/
PectaSol Does it Work for Pain Relief (It works!)
Posted on March 26, 2024 Leave a Comment
written by Nina Shantel, blog: RealDietHelp.com, published March 2024
I saw a YouTube video from Mastering Diabetes about a powder supplement that provides pain relief in a short period of time. Mastering Diabetes rarely recommends supplements and the only supplement I can recall Mastering diabetes recommend is Amla tea, so this product intrigued me.
Mastering Diabetes has provided reputable information that has helped me, such as recommending adding more fruit to my diet and keeping saturated fats low, which lowered my blood sugars, increased my circulation and lowered my LDL cholesterol level. Cyrus Khambatta, the co-founder of Mastering Diabetes said after two to three days of taking PectaSol, his back pain went away. PectaSol is genetically engineered (not GMO) pectin. Pectin is what one would find under the peel in limes, lemons and oranges. EcoNugenics genetically engineered their product to make it much more powerful and effective than if a person ate the extremely bitter pectic from under the peel of certain fruits.
I am skeptical of claims, but the founders of Mastering Diabetes provide sound advice, so I bought the smallest canister of PectaSol to see if it would help reduce the pain in my fingers and toes due to a neurological condition connected to long-term diabetes, called Raynaud’s. After three days of taking the unsweetened PectaSol powder, three times a day, on an empty stomach, before breakfast, before lunch, and before bedtime, the pain and swelling in my fingers and toes was minimal. After one week or so, the pain in my fingers and toes went away completely.
Since Raynaud’s can be triggered by cold weather, and the weather has been warming up, I was unconvinced PectaSol was the sole reason my pain disappeared so I didn’t reorder it. Two weeks after discontinuing PectaSol, my pain reappeared and the swelling intensified so I bought another canister, this time the large canister since it’s better priced, and after taking the product, my pain lessened greatly.
Due to my personal experience with pain reduction with PectaSol, I now recommend it to others with pain. Even though I eat an anti-inflammatory high-raw vegan diet, that is plant-based with lots of cruciferous vegetables, sometimes food isn’t enough and supplements are needed.
Watch the video below to see how to dissolve the powder, how to make it taste better, how to determine which PectaSol product is best suited for you, and why you might like to order freeze dried ledidi berries to chew a minute or so before drinking the unsweetened PectaSol product with water and lemon or lime juice.
There are modified citrus pectin knockoffs that are cheaper, but I don’t want to waste my time or money on a fake that doesn’t work or doesn’t lower my chronic pain. ecoNugenics PectaSol product is patented and works for me, in regards to lowering my pain and reducing swelling in my fingers and toes. Let me know if you try it, what painful condition(s) it helps you with, or if it doesn’t help you.
Let me know if you have any questions.
PectaSol by ecoNugenics unflavored and unsweetened modified citrus pectin powder (that’s what I take). Trial size 30 servings, best price: https://amzn.to/4aoAvjE
Lime (flavored is more expensive) sweetened with stevia:https://amzn.to/4au9Phv
Freeze Dried Ledidi Berries (small pack) – Chew 1 ledidi berry piece, add ¼ cup of lime juice or ¼ cup of lemon juice to 14 oz of water with ice to make the drink taste like lemonade or limeade, without any sugar: https://amzn.to/493oD5j
If this post is located on any other website other than mine, which is RealDietHelp.com, it’s been unauthorized, plagiarized (copied without my permission). The other social media sites where my articles and videos are approved to be published are on my YouTube channels (Nina’s Nutrition & Wellness Videos, Nina’s Exercise Videos and Nina’s Plant Based Vegan Recipes), or on my Fit Girl Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TheHighFiveDiet/
How to Live to 100 HEALTHY
Posted on March 19, 2024 Leave a Comment
written by Nina Shantel, blog: RealDietHelp.com, published January 2024
In the Netflix Documentary, How to Live to 100, the host, Dan Buettner, visits the 5 blue zones, the locations where more people tend to live to 100 years old, to find out what they do differently.
In this blog, or you can watch the video below, I provide the highlights of what the people in the five blue zones do, which promotes their longevity.
The 7th Day Adventists in Loma Linda, California, USA
Exercise daily
Have a close-knit community
Volunteer
Avoid meat
Eat fruit, beans, nuts, legumes, and grains
Consume about 5% from animal products
(for context, if a man eats 2000 calories per day, which is ideal for most active men to prevent becoming overweight, five percent equals 50 calories from dairy or animal flesh).
In Ikaria, Greece, the people
Drink tea with raw honey
Consume olive oil instead of butter
Eat fresh food
In Nicoya in Costa Rica, the people here
work outside
Eat a diet primarily of beans, squash and corn
In the Mountain Villages in Sardinia, Italy, the people have
A Strong Faith
A sense of hope
Walk daily
Have limited stress
Don’t have retirement centers – family and friends are nearby to help
Move throughout the day
Take daily naps
Consume a high carbohydrate diet of mostly bread, pasta whole grains, beans, minestrone soup and vegetables
In Okinawa, Japan, the people
Enjoy life
Stop eating when 80% full
Try not to get angry or stay angry
Sit on the floor
Tend to be more flexible
Garden
Eat a high carbohydrate diet
Sing and dance
Have a sense of community
Visit with friends or family daily
Eat less than 2000 calories per day
Consume lots of tofu and purple sweet potatoes
Have close-knit families
The differences between the blue zones & the US is, people in the United States of America:
Don’t exercise enough
Mostly work indoors
Are stressed out
Don’t take naps
Don’t sleep enough
Don’t eat enough whole-carbohydrates
Eat a lot of processed foods
Sit a lot
Are overweight
Overconsume
Eat a high-animal protein diet
The goal shouldn’t be to live to 100, but live to 100 HEALTHY. The people who live to 100 in the blue zones are healthier than the typical American, but that doesn’t mean they are a healthy bodyweight, aren’t on medications, aren’t in pain, and are free of diseases.
We should all aspire to live to 100, but healthy.
We can do better than what people are already doing in the blue zones. Their diets contain between zero and 10% percent of calories from animals, whereas, in the American Diet, 32% comes from animal products, 57% from processed foods, and only 11% from whole plant foods. Most of the people in the U.S. don’t consume a diet based on recommendations (1).
Moving to the blue zones seems like a dream come true. Unfortunately, health in blue zones populations is declining due to increased consumption of processed foods and animal products.
Eating whole, unprocessed, pesticide-free, non-GMO, oil-free, plant foods will allow people to live longer, healthier lives, with fewer medications.
The host of the documentary “Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones”, is not a doctor, nutritionist, or an expert on health. He said incorrectly in the film that Type-2 diabetes is caused by sugary foods. Sugar consumption causes high blood sugar if a person has Type-2 diabetes, but sugar by itself doesn’t cause diabetes. High blood sugar is a symptom, not the cause of diabetes. What triggers Type-2 diabetes is excessive amounts of fat, which is why people who are overweight are typically diabetic. Slim people can become diabetic too because fat inside tissues and organs damage insulin receptors. The problematic fats are saturated fats found in coconut, oils, dairy and animal protein.
The choice is yours: give up meat, oil & most processed foods, which may be a challenge at first trying out new foods and combinations; or sacrifice your health, your looks, livelihood, happiness, sex life, and longevity.
My mom used to say, “If you don’t have your health, you have nothing.”
I used to eat a lot of processed foods, fried my food in oil, and ate animal protein with every meal. My health declined every year. I ended up heavier, on medication, in pain, with many chronic autoimmune diseases, high blood sugar and high cholesterol. I turned my health around with a plant-based, unprocessed, oil-free vegan diet, high in cruciferous vegetables and healing omega 3 fats from flax seeds.
If you need help transitioning to this new, wonderfully fulfilling way of living, schedule a consultation with me though my website the High-Five Diet.com or order my book, The High-Five Diet.
Let’s make your community the new, improved blue zone!
Sources:
- 1. “Standard American Diet.” NutritionFacts.Org, nutritionfacts.org/topics/standard-american-diet/#:~:text=According%20to%20U.S.%20Department%20of,fruits%2C%20vegetables%2C%20and%20nuts. Accessed 15 Nov. 2023.
- Live to 100, Secrets of the Blue Zones. Dan Buettner, Netflix, January 2023.
If this post is located on any other website other than mine, which is RealDietHelp.com, it’s been unauthorized, plagiarized (copied without my permission). The other social media sites where my articles and videos are approved to be published are on my YouTube channel (Nina’s Nutrition & Exercise Videos), my Fit Girl Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TheHighFiveDiet/ and my cancelled Twitter account https://twitter.com/medairyfree
