Archive for Living Happy

5 simple superfoods for energy!

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By: Tamara Jacobi

Looking to increase your energy levels? Check out these 5 superfoods that your kitchen can’t live without!  But first, here’s a quick intro to the wonderful world of superfoods. Labeling a food as a “superfood” is essentially a way of giving it a gold star for it’s nutritional qualities. Superfoods are “multitasking” foods, which means that they give your body a broad spectrum of essential nutrients that benefit your health in a variety of ways.   Superfoods often contain antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, probiotics and more! It’s also important to note that superfoods are foods in their natural state, which means that the food is unprocessed and has only one ingredient. These are truly the healthiest foods you can find!  Read more

Conquer your sweet tooth!

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By: Tamara Jacobi

Sugar. This white, powdery stuff might seem simple, but the role it plays in many of our lives is incredibly complex.  A sugary treat can give you a burst of energy and even boost your mood.  Sounds good right? Unfortunately, sugar has worked its way so deeply into our lives that many of us are now struggling with a sugar addiction. Read more

4 simple ways to give your metabolism a healthy boost

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By: Tamara Jacobi

Part of the aging process is that your metabolism naturally slows down.  I’m guessing that you’re probably not thrilled about this part of getting older; the idea of carrying around extra pounds is not always welcome. Though your first response to your slowing metabolism may be to reduce your calorie intake or extend your workouts I highly recommend that you think twice. Eating less and spending more hours at the gym may not be the most enjoyable or the more effective way to deal with a dropping metabolism. Instead, why not try these simple tricks to give your metabolism a gentle (and natural!) boost.   Read more

Naturally Cooling and Nourishing Foods For Summer

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By: Tamara Jacobi

With the temperature rising, you might be tempted to reach for some cooling and refreshing treats.  Summer often inspires thoughts of ice cream, popsicles, cold soda and foods associated with a variety of other childhood memories.  While these foods offer temporary cooling for your body and a blast of nostalgia, they can actually inhibit your body’s natural cooling mechanisms.  Now is a great time to put a spotlight on some foods that will support your body’s internal cooling system.  Also, if you’re ready to give your body a nutritional blast for summer be sure to check out my 30 Day Nourishment Challenge!

To get you started, here are some great cooling and nourishing foods for summer.  

Watermelon

Watermelon is one of my summertime favorites! A watermelon roughly contains 80-90% water making it a great thirst quencher. It also has a light taste of sweet sugar syrup that can be much more tasty than plain water. Juicy and delicious watermelons are a rich source of essential vitamins like vitamin A, B and C and anti-oxidants. Eating a cool wedge of watermelon is one of the best ways to enjoy the crunchy cooling fruit. Another great way is to make a watermelon drink: simply blend sizeable watermelon cubes with fresh lime juice and add in a few ice cubes.

Cucumbers

This wonderful water-filled vegetable is not only a great way to beat the heat but it’s also low calorie, easy to digest and high in nutrition.  Also, when eaten with its peel, it is a good dietary fiber that helps prevent constipation and that in the long run, prevents extra buildup of heat in the body.  Be sure to add cucumbers and other leafy vegetables with high water content to your summer diet. Fresh salads are a great way to go.

Coconut water

Coconut water is basically the translucent juice found inside a coconut when cracked open. The sweet water is packed with sugars, vitamins, minerals, electrolytes that make up this most refreshing natural drink. It replenishes and hydrates the body, keeping the body water levels balanced. It should be taken without any additional ingredients and immediately be used or stored in the refrigerator because it spoils easily. A simple way to enjoy this drink is by adding lime and mint leaves to iced coconut water. 

Lemonade

Once summer pops up, there’s a lemonade stand in every street you turn. Gulping down a chilled glass of good old lemonade is simply bliss on a hot sticky day. It has high water content and is rich in Vitamin C since it is made out of lemon.  Be sure to avoid highly sweetened varieties or whenever possible, go for a lemonde that is naturally sweetened with agave, honey or stevia.

Citrus fruits

Apples, lime, oranges, grape fruit, peaches, pears among others have high water content and are rich in Vitamin C. Citrus fruits also aid in digestion and help in the breakdown of fatty foods, thereby keeping you in shape. By releasing heat from the body, they regulate the body’s hydration levels. Toss a handful of citrus fruits in your fruit salad and enjoy a healthy and fruity desert that will keep you cool in the summer.

Spicy Foods

The idea of spicy foods in the summer may not be appealing, but spicy foods actually cool the body by increasing circulation of blood and by helping us break a sweat. This releases the excessive heat from our bodies. Adding spices like hot chili pepper, capsicum or ginger helps to rapidly raise your body temperature then lower it, which lowers your internal body temperature. Might be time to have some Mexican or Thai food!

Green Tea

For tea lovers out there, it’s a relief there’s something called iced green tea which you can enjoy in summer. The light green drink originated from China and can simply be made by boiling green tea leaves in distilled water. Green tea is full of anti-oxidants and had anti-aging properties. Some studies show that sunburns can be healed by taking green tea. Because of its slightly bitter taste, green tea maybe unpleasant but you can add a little zest by brewing it with mint leaves for a refreshing taste and serve over ice.

Summer squash

What food says summer more than summer squash? This creamy fleshy white food is a good source of anti-oxidants and it belongs to a family of plants that are related to watermelon and even cucumbers. Apart from having anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties, summer squash has healthy nutrients that help regulate blood sugar in our bodies. You can prepare a healthy meal of this yummy food by steaming it, which helps to retain most of the nutrients contrary to boiling or cooking using a microwave. It is better to eat summer squash alone or 30 minutes before a meal to prevent bloating.

Tamara Jacobi, Certified Health Coach

 

Tamara Jacobi is a certified health and nutrition coach who received her training at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. She is the founder of Jungle Girl Health, www.junglegirlhealth.com, offering health coaching over the phone to individuals who are ready to feel and look their best. By using whole foods for healing and lifestyle balancing techniques, Tamara helps people understand how to heal and nourish their bodies completely.

Tamara leads an adventurous and active lifestyle, dividing her time between the Colorado Rocky Mountains and the Mexican Pacific coastline.  In Mexico, she is the owner and manager of the Tailwind jungle lodge, a certified sustainable jungle lodge and adventure tour company just north of Puerto Vallarta, www.tailwindjunglelodge.com. Tamara also guides adventure tours for the Tailwind jungle lodge including sea kayaking, stand up paddle boarding and hiking. In her free time she spends as much time as possible playing outside. She is a passionate skier, road biker, trail runner and stand up paddle boarder.

 

 

 

 

Study Claims Eggs Have Better Protein Than Other Breakfast Options

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A recent study by the Pennington Biomedical Research Center showed that eating eggs for breakfast will make you more full than other breakfast proteins found in cereal. Though the study was funded by the American Egg Board, likely the arch nemesis of the European Bagel Council, it does reaffirm previous research on higher value and lower level proteins. The most important part of this research shows that it is the quality of the protein, not the quantity, that makes you less hungry throughout your day.

The study focused on 20 obese people and researched how their group’s breakfast affected their lunch time eating. Those who ate eggs at breakfast ate significantly less at lunch and reported feeling more full than those who ate a wheat breakfast. Not only did the study measure how they felt but also the actual physical effects. Researchers found that hormones that signal hunger were considerably lower and hormones that signal satiety were considerably higher among those who had egg breakfasts.

The reason for this, according to lead researcher Dr. Nikhil Dhurandhar, is that eggs provide the highest level of biological value – meaning they contain the ten essential amino acids, while cereal had a biological value of 42. Certainly makes sense considering eggs are entirely natural while cereals are processed.

Protein is a key element in hunger because it prevents spikes in your blood sugar. Eggs are by far the most filling breakfast food while choices like lean beef, fish, tofu, and nuts make for great protein-rich day time choices. Fiber is another food that will help you feel fuller without eating more, some great fiber-rich choices include beans, pears and apples, grapefruit, and green vegetables.

Going for high value protein and fiber food choices allows you to satisfy your hunger without consuming unnecessary calories. Just another reason to go with all-natural options at every meal rather than processed food that claims to have the same levels of protein and fiber.

Why Go Raw?

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By: Tamara Jacobi

As the summer approaches you might naturally be shifting your diet towards more raw foods: salads, raw fruits and veggies, smoothies, etc. Summer is a great time to consider the benefits of raw foods in your diet.  I think you may also enjoy that raw foods will do wonders for keeping your body cool as a cucumber!

Here are some of the top reasons to consider integrating more raw foods into your diet.  In the summer months, a good goal is to try to shoot for 50% of the foods on your plate each meal to be raw.  I think you’ll find this actually a fairly reasonable (and tasty!) goal.  Don’t worry, I’m not going to encourage you to be a raw food extremist, but I do highly recommend that you consider focusing on raw fruits and veggies in the summertime. 

1)    Basic Nutrition. There is a lot of evidence that shows that the simple act of cooking fruits and veggies changes the nutritional value of the food.  After a temperature of 130 degrees F many vitamins (such as Vitamin A, D, E and K) are destroyed.  Unfortunately, boiling point is 212 F, so we may be losing some valuable nutrition here.

2)    Raw foods have lots of wonderful enzymes! Enzymes help us digest our food.  Particularly as we age, enzymes are crucial for the digestive process. Specifically, they are necessary to break down food particles so they can be utilized for energy. Raw vegetables and fruits are particularly rich sources of enzymes. However, enzymes have a very specific 3-dimensional structure. Once they are heated much above 118 degrees, this structure often changes.  When you’re eating cooked veggies you’re no longer benefiting from the valuable enzymes that they may have provided in their raw form.

3)    Increased energy.  Due to the living enzymes in raw foods, many people find that they experience higher energy levels when they’re consuming raw foods.  The nutrients and enzymes are more easily digested and more easily assimilated into the bodies.  Rather than getting fatigued from breaking down hard to digest foods, raw foods deliver your body energy that is much more available to your body.

4)    Flavor! Some find that raw foods often have a fuller flavor than cooked foods. In its raw form a food often offers a stronger, more vibrant, flavor, requiring fewer additives such as salt, oils and sweeteners. When you steam or boil veggies (beets especially!) you can probably see the minerals being leached out into the water that you drain into the sink.  As you lose these valuable nutrients, your loosing a lot of flavor as well.

5)    Cool for the summer.  In the summer months you may find your body craving more raw foods.  This is a natural reaction to the increased temperatures and is your body’s way of supporting its self with keeping cool.

Want to boost your energy for the summertime! Join me for my 30 Day Nourishment Challenge: Nutritional SECRETS Revealed! This 4 week series of audio-classes is going to give every cell in your body a blast of nutrition that will boost your energy so that you can do all the things that you love!

Ready to get started with adding more raw foods into your diet? Try out this great recipe!

Basil, Lime, Avocado Soup

Serves 1

1 lime (to juice)
3 cups coconut water ( or 1.5 cups coconut water and 1.5 cups filtered water)
1 tbsp fresh ginger
1/8 teaspoon cayenne or ground chili flakes
1 small handful of basil leaves
1 large avocado or 2 small

Blend all the soup ingredients together in a blender until completely smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

 

Tamara Jacobi, Certified Health Coach

 

Tamara Jacobi is a certified health and nutrition coach who received her training at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. She is the founder of Jungle Girl Health, www.junglegirlhealth.com, offering health coaching over the phone to individuals who are ready to feel and look their best. By using whole foods for healing and lifestyle balancing techniques, Tamara helps people understand how to heal and nourish their bodies completely.

Tamara leads an adventurous and active lifestyle, dividing her time between the Colorado Rocky Mountains and the Mexican Pacific coastline.  In Mexico, she is the owner and manager of the Tailwind jungle lodge, a certified sustainable jungle lodge and adventure tour company just north of Puerto Vallarta, www.tailwindjunglelodge.com. Tamara also guides adventure tours for the Tailwind jungle lodge including sea kayaking, stand up paddle boarding and hiking. In her free time she spends as much time as possible playing outside. She is a passionate skier, road biker, trail runner and stand up paddle boarder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unhealthy Food We Should Avoid Completely

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There is food that is good for you and food that is bad for you. Increase the good food, cut down on the bad food, and you’re healthier, right? Well, when it comes to foods that are high in trans fats, saturated fats, or LDL (bad cholesterol), some foods need to be cut out of your diet entirely. Even moderate amounts of these can contribute to heart problems, weight loss, and generally make you feel tired and sluggish. That also means that cutting these out of your diet will have an immediate effect on how you feel in your daily life.

Foods that have high levels of LDL, or “bad cholesterol” as your doctor calls it, is a substance found in processed meats and high fat fried meats, that builds up over time on your artery walls. Inevitably this leads to heart disease if not kept in check and steps are not taken to lower it. This means you need to cut out the processed meats like bacon, sausage, and cold cuts as well as ice cream, butter, and pork – foods that will not only contribute to cholesterol build up but slow you down during the day.

Trans fats are so bad that many cities are banning the use altogether. Unlike other fats, no amount of trans fat is good for you and it’s important to check the label of any food product to make sure it’s trans fat-free. Fast food chains are notorious for their trans fat use but other top offenders to avoid include margarine and butter spreads, pre-prepared soups, frozen food, baked products and cake mixes, chips, cereals, and candy.

Unlike trans fats, saturated fats don’t need to be completely eliminated but they definitely need to be severely limited. It is best to get your low amount of saturated fats from natural sources like salmon, beef, eggs, or nuts rather than processed food like ice cream. Some foods you should definitely avoid include butter, lard, many high fat cheeses, processed meat, and any kind of cream product.

Can Probiotics Make You Sexier?

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Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology were surprised to find an unexpected result in their study on probiotics and obesity – increased levels of mouse…for lack of a better word, sexiness. It is unclear whether these results will be relevant to humans, though they certainly have the potential, but researchers are convinced that they have found a correlation between probiotics and what they call “mouse swagger.” Whether probiotic yogurt is the next big aphrodisiac remains to be seen, but if your pet mouse is having a tough time with the ladies, perhaps you should add some probiotics to their diet. Read more

Embrace The Nourishment of “Greenness”

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By Tamara Jacobi, Holistic Nutrition Coach

In the spirit of Earth Day, green is definitely the color of the moment.  Let us celebrate green!

Green is the color of life.

Green is a way of life.

Green is a fuel for life.  

Clearly, Earth Day is devoted to caring for our beautiful planet and embracing the environmental aspects of green living.  Why not take this one step further and celebrate the value of green nourishment as well. 

Green is a fuel for life. From kale to seaweed, greens are truly one of Mother Nature’s gifts for us to enjoy.  Greens spring out of the ground and reach up to the sky, offering a contagious and uplifting, energy. Put these on your plate and this energy will be easily assimilated into your body.   The nutritional benefits of greens are endless and the saying “if you’re green inside you’re clean inside” is one of my personal mantras.   Greens are beyond doubt one of the cornerstones of good health.

The green that surrounds us nourishes us as well.  Nourishment from the natural world is invaluable; this is the essence of holistic nutrition.  At my home in the jungle, I revel in the sway of the green palm trees of the jungle. I run along green jungle ridges on my morning trail run.  I do yoga beneath a canopy of green. I stand up paddle board alongside a glowing green coastline!  I am always eager to see the green that awaits me around the next bend in the road of life.

Green is also a friend. Green life surrounds me in a comforting embrace, a reassurance that I am never alone; there is life all around me.   I am empowered by green, reminded of the magic and potential of life. Yet, at the same time I find calm and tranquility, reminded of the need to be present and get slow.

So let’s celebrate green! Green inside, outside, upside down. I am known as the “jungle girl” and I love green. 

Are you ready to begin a new healthy relationship with your body? Adding some green to your life is a great way to get started and I’m ready to support you!  My holistic health coaching program focuses on sustainable weight loss, increasing energy, listening to your unique body and taking care of yourself.

Please contact me for your free health breakthrough consultation, www.junglegirlhealth.com

Tamara Jacobi, Certified Health Coach

Tamara Jacobi is a certified health and nutrition coach who received her training at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. She is the founder of Jungle Girl Health, www.junglegirlhealth.com, offering health coaching over the phone to individuals who are ready to feel and look their best. By using whole foods for healing and lifestyle balancing techniques, Tamara helps people understand how to heal and nourish their bodies completely.

Tamara leads an adventurous and active lifestyle, dividing her time between the Colorado Rocky Mountains and the Mexican Pacific coastline.  In Mexico, she is the owner and manager of the Tailwind jungle lodge, a certified sustainable jungle lodge and adventure tour company just north of Puerto Vallarta, www.tailwindjunglelodge.com. Tamara also guides adventure tours for the Tailwind jungle lodge including sea kayaking, stand up paddle boarding and hiking. In her free time she spends as much time as possible playing outside. She is a passionate skier, road biker, trail runner and stand up paddle boarder.

Help Your Heart With Cocoa!

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Let’s be honest, most of us love chocolate!  Women crave it, men hoard it, and in Aztec times, kings were the first to have reportedly consumed it. Living to be a ripe old age of 122, the oldest woman who ever lived, Jeanne Calment, was even reported to eat two pounds of chocolate weekly! We know why we love it, but here are some reasons why we should not give it up completely.  Chocolate really is good for our hearts! Read more