Life Lately

Happy Saturday everyone! I am so glad it is finally the weekend. I am currently icing my ankle as it has been randomly swollen all week. I had pain and tingling in it at the beginning of the week but worked out through the pain, then Thursday I noticed that it was seriously swollen! So I am icing and elevating and hoping it's nothing serious!

I thought I'd share my latest eats with you all and how life has been lately. In one word, life has been BUSY! I feel like every second of my week and weekends are accounted for. Thank God all my plans are fun with some lovely people, but I am actually looking forward to during the day today! Work has been keeping me busy too...always learning something new and slowly getting more and more comfortable! At least I have been able to keep up with my workouts and healthy eating through it all!

My latest pre-workout meals have been either toast with peanut butter, or some kind of baked good creation. This week, I used Nature's Own Honey Wheat bread to put my peanut butter on.

I also baked some banana oat bread (recipe already posted!) with some added flaxseed (about 2 tablespoons) and an extra banana. This bread came out amazing!

My workouts have been about 40-45 minutes long as I do not have much time in the AM before work! However, I am NOT an evening worker-outer, and will definitely blow off my workout the minute I get home from work. So I love getting my workout done in the morning because it fills me with a sense of accomplishment, as well as energy to sustain me throughout the day! I've been doing 30-40 minute bike workouts with some toning work at the end. Short and sweet!

Post workouts have been tricky. Some mornings, I have time to make a nice meal after my workout. This week, I made oatmeal with half a scoop of protein powder, flaxseed, almond milk, bananas, and nuts! Oh and of course, tons of cinnamon!

I also had some leftover beans in the fridge one morning and sautéed some kale and ate that with half an avocado. Seems more like a lunch, but it tasted great as breakfast too!

And some mornings, I just grab a quest bar and go. I love these bars because they are full of protein and fiber and really act well as a post-workout meal when I am short on time!

Lunches have been delicioussss this week. I packed tuna earlier on in the week, and had some trouble getting excited about it. Usually I love tuna, but I wasn't feeling it this week. I decided that I MUST pack foods I am excited to eat! Especially at work when that 30 minute lunch break is something I really look forward to! So, my mom and I made a Seven Bean soup recipe we got from our William's Sonoma soups cookbook. It's basically sautéing onions, garlic, bell peppers, and whatever veggies you have, adding however many types of beans you want, a can of diced or crushed tomatoes, and some broth. And viola! You've got a nice and healthy chili to take with you all week to work!

I also made a salad with tons of greens, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, black beans, and avocado. Let's just say I've been on a bean and avocado kick lately :) such a great combo!

Well, that's it for my update. I hope this post gives you some meal ideas for your busy week to come! Use this weekend for some serious meal planning and prepping to ensure healthy choices all week long! Enjoy the weekend everyone!

The Magic of Avocados!

Wow, it has been such a crazy and busy week! I feel like I have barely had time to breathe with my work schedule and evening activities. Since I don't work until 11am today, I figured it would be the perfect time to post about a topic I have been wanting to post about for a while! This will be an review on two articles all about the greatness of avocados! Avocados have become so popular lately, so I thought I'd do some research on the specific health benefits researchers have associated with the consumption of this fruit! Yes, even though avocados are high in healthy fats (which we will get into later), they are actually botanically a fruit. Their widespread health benefits, and their effect on overall health, will be the focus of this review.

The two articles I read are entitled: "A randomized 3x3 crossover study to evaluate the effect of Hass avocado intake on post-ingestive satiety, glucose and insulin levels, and subsequent energy intake in overweight adults."

and...

"Avocado consumption is associated with better diet quality and nutrient intake, and lower metabolic syndrome risk in US adults: results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2001-2008."

Here are the citations!

Wien, M., Haddad, E., Oda, K., & Sabaté, J. (2013). A randomized 3x3 crossover study to evaluate the effect of Hass avocado intake on post-ingestive satiety, glucose and insulin levels, and subsequent energy intake in overweight adults. Nutrition journal, 12(1), 155.

III, V. L. F., Dreher, M., & Davenport, A. J. (2013). Avocado consumption is associated with better diet quality and nutrient intake, and lower metabolic syndrome risk in US adults: results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2001-2008.

Review:

I was actually really excited when I found these articles because the first one was written by many of my former graduate school professors at Loma Linda University! This article focused on the satiety effects of avocados. Satiety is the feeling of fullness we experience after a meal. Some foods promote satiety, while others do not, and actually promote the opposite: overeating! Obviously, if we want to eat healthy amounts of foods, we want to pick foods that promote satiety and keep us full until our next meal. This study also measured the glucose and insulin effects of avocado, as well as its impact on over energy intake. All of these factors were measured in overweight individuals. What the researchers found is that, by adding half of an avocado to your lunch meal, meal satisfaction significantly increased by 23%, while the desire to eat or snack again over the course of 5 hours post lunch decreased significantly by 28%. When avocado was included in the meal (replacing the avocado for another food item), satiety increased significantly by 26%, while the desire to eat over the course of 5 hours post lunch decreased significantly by 40%. Eating the avocado portion at lunch also produced a more favorable blood glucose and insulin response compared to those who did not include or add avocado to their lunch meals. This study shows that eating even half of an avocado with your lunch, or replacing part of your lunch with this food, increases your satisfaction with your meal, and will keep you full for a LONG while afterwards! This is good news for you afternoon snackers out there, who are ready for some crackers or chips just a couple hours after lunch! Even though the avocado adds calories (about 115 calories in half of an avocado), the quality of and satisfaction with your lunch increases, leaving you full and energetic long after your lunch meal.

Which brings me to my second article, which measured the diet quality and nutrient intake of avocado consumers, as well as participants' overall risk of metabolic syndrome. Compared to non-avocado consumers, this study found that diet quality was significantly higher in those who consumed avocados. These people had an increased intake of micronutrients from fruits and vegetables, and a decreased intake of foods with added sugars. Those who ate avocados had a higher total fat, fiber, vitamin E, magnesium, potassium, and vitamin K intake. They also tended to consume less carbohydrates, and have a  lower body weight, BMI, and waist circumference than those who did not consume avocados. Yet another reason to include these delicious fruits in your diet! Even though those who ate avocados had a higher fat intake, they actually weighed less. These people also had a lower risk of developing metabolic syndrome, which includes a myriad of health problems including poor blood glucose control, high triglycerides, low protective HDL cholesterol, high blood pressure, and a large waist circumference. In addition to all of these health benefits, avocados are also high in monounsaturated fatty acids (or MUFAs), which have cardiovascular benefits and prevent the oxidation of small LDL particles. Oxidized LDL is a huge contributor to heart disease, which is the main reason why avocados promote heart health as well.

My opinion:

Wow, how much more of a reason do we need to eat avocados? Not only do they taste creamy and delicious, they also provide a large host of health benefits. They are good for our bodies and our brains. Promoting satiety helps us focus on other things because, as we all know, when we are hungry, food is all we can think about! The satiety promoting factors in avocados are a great reason to include them in your breakfasts, lunches, or dinners. They are also good for our health and protective against heart disease. I recommend having 1/2-1 avocado per day, depending on your activity level and overall size. I also suggest replacing your usual nutrient poor foods, such as bread, rice, or pasta, with avocados, which are much more nutrient dense and have higher satiety signals and fullness cues than our other refined carbohydrate choices! Some ways to include avocados are with your eggs in the morning, with salads at lunch, or by making some guacamole to dip veggies in at dinner! So enjoy some avocado today and I hope you all have a great Wednesday!