How can a child eating chicken nuggets and having drinks loaded with sugar possibly be able to focus through a math period?

When I was growing up, my elementary school did not have a cafeteria so it was our parent’s responsibility to send us to school with a packed lunch that we would eat in our individual classrooms. It wasn’t until I got to high school that I got to indulge in all the goodies that school cafeterias had to offer. Whether it was pizza or French fries it seemed like such a treat to have these options at school and not have to ask permission to eat them. Lucky for me I was still young and not financially independent so my opportunities to indulge in such foods were few and far between.

Unfortunately, that is not the case for most children in schools where these are the types of foods being served each and every day and many children rely on these meals. To help communicate how poorly children are being fed and the importance of eating healthy meals, a teacher in Illinois committed to eating school lunch just like her kids every day in 2010. I love the idea of a teacher experiencing the impact food has on the body and brain to better understand how the kids are functioning. Even better I love that each meal is being photographed and blogged.

To really experience your kids’ lunch visit Fed Up with School Lunch Blog and start talking to your school administrations and tell them how important it is to have healthy meals with whole foods for your kids and all kids.

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Are you Fed Up? A Teacher’s School Lunch Blog Project

The link between what we eat and mental health: The participants in the “processed food” group were 58 percent more likely to develop depression, while those with a “whole foods” diet were 26 percent less likely to develop depression. Interestingly, the researchers were cautious to draw any specific conclusions based on these correlations.

Researchers proposed several explanations for their results. It was suggested that antioxidants in fruits and vegetables could have a protective effective against depression for those with a “whole foods” diet. It was also suggested that the polyunsaturated fatty acids in fish could have a protective effect from depression. Researchers also proposed that the combined effect of different nutrients from a variety of foods was important in preventing depression. Although the researchers recognized that a healthier diet can help create a healthier mood, the possibility that a diet heavy in “processed food” may actually harm mental health was not mentioned. I think there are many reasons why this should also be considered.

The average age of participants was 55; the title of the orignal research article “Dietary pattern and depressive symptoms in middle age” (published in the British Journal of Psychiatry); however, this does not mean this research is not applicable to those who are not yet “middle age.” The habits you create now, and the habits you are creating for your children, will create your dietary patterns for the rest of your life, and may have a major impact on mental health as well.

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Eat Whole Foods to Avoid Depression

These crispy, chewy-gooey food bars are packed with healthy ingredients like fruits, nuts, honey, and crisp rice. And they are whole-grain, contain nine vitamins and minerals and soy- and gluten-free, with no trans-fats or high fructose corn syrup. JamFrakas come in five flavors, each with its own funky name: Chocolate Chip Cosmocrisp, Banana Chocolate Blastocrisp, Strawberry Crispiscrumptious, Peanut Butter Blisscrisp and Apple Crispalicious. Each one has 90-120 calories, 4-5 grams of fat, 2 grams of fiber and contain all organic ingredients.

If you are looking for an awesome snack that you can quickly toss in your kid’s lunch box or that you can quickly toss back when a snack-attack hits you, look no further than JamFrakas.

Since these tasty bars are packed with things like dates, apples, honey, cashews and almonds, you don’t have to worry about them melting in the late-summer heat. They are the perfect size for an on-the-go nosh that won’t spoil dinner; and since they are made with whole foods, they won’t send your kids (or you) in to a sugar frenzy.

Look for JamFrakas at Whole Foods, Trader Joes and other large grocery stores in the energy or nutrition bar section.

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We Love JamFrakas from Lara Bar

1. Eat food that has lived a good life.
If you’ve ever seen a time-lapsed photo of a flower’s journey from bloom to whither, then you already have a perfect example of how your food should have lived. Whether it’s a vegetable, a fruit or an animal, they all have one thing in common: They lived! Start by eating only these foods and the rest will follow.

2. Just because it isn’t plastic doesn’t mean it’s real food.
The concept of modern food packaging is meant to fool you into thinking what you are about to eat is “fresh”, and therefore guilty of being real by association. “Packed fresh” and “over processed” do not cancel each other out. Be wary of packaged goods.

3. Your workouts should be defined by strife.
When you see someone working out with a smile on their face, chances are they aren’t trying hard enough. Fitness under the Paleo lifestyle is meant to be difficult, challenging and explosive at the same time. So dismiss the concept of “cardio” and opt for a more high intensity interval approach.

4. An ever-changing variety will set you free to reach your goals
Cavemen and women had all kinds of physical and nutritional obstacles in their way. This led them to eat what they could and exert their power as was necessary. Thus was born the concept of variety being the spice of life. So spice up your meals, workouts and your life by avoiding consistency for too long!

5. Cavemen evolved by outsmarting the world – Give them credit!
You will hear all kinds of criticism for embracing this way of life. But the bottom line is that cavemen had to out-hustle, out-smart and out-last every animal on the planet to become the dominant species. In order to understand this way of life you must give credit to the architects who forged the way!

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If you would like to apply to be featured as a guest blogger, please contact us.

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Top Five Cave-Person Checklist Starting a Paleo Diet

Noble Bars: The Food of Ancient Rome

So when I heard about the Noble Bar, an all-natural fruit, nut and whole grain bar that coins itself as being The Food from Ancient Rome, I had to give it a try. Then when all I had to do was send the company an email to receive a free bar, I really had to give it a try.

Just a few days ago, the whole-foods enthusiasts at Noble Bar sent me a sample of Centurion Fig in the mail. And quite different from the four lines of ingredients that accompany most nutrition bars, many of them unrecognizable, the ingredients of the Noble Bar contained only five items – organic figs, apples, walnuts, organic hard wheat berries and honey. Already, I liked it. And when I tasted it, it was like eating a sweet and nutty mixture blended up by Mother Nature herself. I loved it! The sweetness from the natural fruits, crunch from the wheat berries and figs and moistness from the all-natural goodness created a yummy bar that felt super healthy - in a good way.

The nutritional stats are quite comparable to other bars. One very generously-sized bar contains 230 calories, 7 grams of fat, 6 grams of fiber and 3.5 grams of protein.

Noble bars come in six flavors: Centurion Fig, Spartan Pear, Viking Cherry, Samurai Persimmon, Kobukson Asian Pear and Han Dynasty Apricot. There are more flavors rumored to be on their way. All of them contain only a handful of ingredients and similar nutrition stats. Each bar is completely preservative free (except the Han Dynasty Apricot which contains sulfur dioxide to preserve the dried apricots) and they are all hand-crafted at the Noble Bar HQ in Tacoma, Washington. Currently, only select stores in Washington sell them but you can order them online through the Noble Bar website. One bar costs $2.

The mission behind the Noble Bar is to create a nutritious, whole-foods bar that is based on the foods our ancient ancestors like the Romans, Greeks, Vikings, and Chinese ate. To sustain the labors of our hard-working forefathers, they relied on foods that were natural, whole and healthy like dried fruits, nuts, and grains. The Noble Bar thus honors and remembers our ancient ancestors, their values and their contributions to our world today through its taste and pure ingredients.

A bar that tastes great, is great for you and takes us back to a time when life was a bit more natural, I can eat to that.

Happy Noshing!

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Food Find: Noble Bars

Melissa received her professional training at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition which is affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. She is certified by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners.

Melissa is a featured contributor of girlawhirl.com. Girlawhirl.com is an online magazine for busy women. It’s updated every weekday with the latest fashion and beauty news, home decorating, nutrition, fitness advice and more.

After hearing about the health concerns associated with highly processed foods, we began to read food labels more closely. Some of the most significant changes we made were to replace partially hydrogenated vegetable oil with trans fat free foods as well as to buy only 100% whole grains and look for ways to upgrade refined foods with natural whole foods. It is now time to upgrade our sweetener.

We are what we eat and what we eat affects how we feel – and of course, we all want to feel our best.

Everyone has dealt with a 3PM slump by grabbing a cookie, a piece of candy, or something packaged from the vending machine, only to find themselves feeling worse than before, just 1 hour later. Wouldn’t it be great to enjoy your favorite sweetened foods without feeling the ups and downs of the sugar rollercoaster? Wouldn’t you love a sweetener that is natural plant-based, organic, gluten and allergen free, kosher, and shelf stable? Of course you would; AGAVE NECTAR is the answer.

The Agave plant grows wild in Mexico. The juice of the plant is cleaned and filtered with no chemical processing to produce deliciously sweet Agave Nectar. As with most of the whole foods we are learning about and enjoying today, the sweetness of Agave has been enjoyed for a very long time by Native Americans.

You can include this sweetener as part of your overall health and wellness plan, as Agave rates low on the glycemic index (ranking of how quickly a food is processed and turned into glucose), and therefore does not result in the roller coaster effects of simple sugar. Agave Nectar is sweeter than sugar, so less is needed and fewer calories are consumed.

Maintaining healthy blood sugar levels is important in managing many health concerns and this sweetener is a great alternative for weight management, diabetics and those at risk for heart disease and high cholesterol.

The versatile and easy-to-use sweetener will blend and dissolve quickly in all of your recipes. You can chose your favorite of Agave’s 3 varieties which each have their own individual flavor; light-mild, neutral flavor, amber-medium intensity flavor, most similar to maple syrup, with a dark-strong, distinct flavor. They are a great substitute for all other sugar alternatives.

Over 150 new products sweetened with Agave Nectar were introduced this past year including waters and juices, sauces and salad dressings, and granola and rice cakes.

My favorites are Wholemato, Agave sweetened ketchup and Purely Decadent Coconut Milk frozen dessert, sweetened with Agave and Baking with Agave Nectar: 100 Recipes Using Nature’s Ultimate Sweetener, a cookbook using only Agave as the sweetener.

Girlawhirl enjoys the benefits of this alternative sweetener and has found that she can carry it in her purse and keep it in her desk to ensure that she always has it on hand.

Using Agave Nectar, I can enjoy my favorite sweetened treats without the palpitations, sweats, and shakes associated with hypoglycemia. Agave Nectar is a great tasting, healthier alternative to other refined and artificial sweeteners, but sugar is sugar and should be enjoyed in moderation.

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Guest Blog: Agave the Natural Sweetener

Melissa received her professional training at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition which is affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. She is certified by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners.

Melissa is a featured contributor of girlawhirl.com. Girlawhirl.com is an online magazine for busy women. It’s updated every weekday with the latest fashion and beauty news, home decorating, nutrition, fitness advice and more.

For as long as I can remember, I have loved to snack on blueberries (the whole pint), my favorite breakfast and comfort food is thick and creamy, very hot oatmeal and my side dish of choice is sweet potatoes-roasted, fried, hot or cold. There were no classifications of super foods or conversations about their health benefits, but I do believe in the power of food, good food is necessary for good health and what you eat significantly impacts how you feel.

Can eating the right foods actually help prevent disease?  Scientists have identified chemicals in many nutrient dense foods that can prevent or reduce the risk of disease and many of these foods may be lacking in the standard American diet. Whole foods contain a unique combination of nutrients, vitamins and minerals which make them a better source for these compounds than supplements.

While there is a long list of SUPER FOODS, the one thing they all have in common is that they are all WHOLE FOODS. These nutritional power houses can be used as the foundation for healthy eating.  Eating a diet rich in whole foods is a diet rich in super foods.  These are MY 3 super foods:

Blueberries:
Mixed into plain yogurt, blueberries offer a sweet alternative to the over sugared commercial products available. Blueberries contain the antioxidant compound anthocyanins which reduce free radicals, improve memory and cognition and can lower cholesterol.  This colorful sweet fruit is also low in calories and full of fiber.
The frozen variety is delicious blended into smoothies or in your favorite muffin mix.

Oats:
Not just for breakfast anymore, oatmeal can be enjoyed as an addition to cookies, muffins and cake batter, in your own homemade granola or to add texture to a savory loaf.  Known for its cholesterol lowering effects due to its high level of soluble fiber, oatmeal is also low in fat, contains more healthy oils than any other grain and is high in protein. Oats are also low on the glycemic index, so diabetics and those with insulin resistance will benefit from their ability to stabilize blood sugar.

Sweet Potatoes/Squash:
Pumpkins and sweet potatoes have drifted beyond their traditional place as autumn holiday staples.   These hearty vegetables are an excellent source of beta carotene the antioxidant that converts to Vitamin A in the body and gives these super foods their bright color.  They are rich in calcium and support healthy skin. The lutein and lycopene found in orange colored produce can also reduce the risk for macular degeneration.  The sweet satisfying flavor of these rich vegetables will help curb sugar cravings.  For a change in texture and color, puree these vegetables into soups or as an addition to oatmeal cookie dough for an extra boost of sweetness.

Using simple whole food nutrition you can ensure a healthy life, and by eating well you can reduce the risk of disease.

Guest Blog Series: Look for the following badge on your favorite health sites to see if they have been a featured guest blogger on DietsInReview.com.

See other posts in the Guest Blog series. If you would like to apply to be featured as a guest blogger, please contact us.

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Guest Blog: Super Foods