Friday 28 January 2011

good fuel = productive day

You know you’re a food nerd when you wake up to a text message containing a photo of a kale smoothie…

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…which inspired me to make my own smoothie this morning. Because I used up all the kale in stock during my recent experiment, I decided to try another leafy green…swiss chard.

swiss chard

Naturally, I had to play food detective to get the details on this colorful stemmed leafy green:

  • from the chenopod family (also includes beets, spinach, and quinoa)
  • contains at least 13 different polyphenol antioxidants that have detoxification and anti-inflammatory properties
  • may assist in blood sugar regulation
  • good source of thiamin, folate, zinc, fiber, vitamins A, C, E, K, B6; riboflavin, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper and manganese.

I have to say that my smoothie {which also contained an apple, banana, 1 T of almond butter, and 1/2 c. almond milk} was pretty fantastic.

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I felt super energized after drinking it…or maybe it was the yoga session right before? Regardless, it was good, and you should make it. Smoothies are a great way to sneak in extra servings of vegetables and fruit, too.

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Good nutrition helps set up a productive work day, right?! I conference called about the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans coming out on Monday [read my review of the first draft here], wrote material for cooking class # 2, and worked on info for private nutrition clients.

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What’s your standard morning fuel?

Happy Weekend!

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