Lately, I have been hooked on the Discovery’s Channel “Man vs Wild” with Bear Grylls, a fearless man that demonstrates survival techniques in the wild. While watching his show, I couldn’t help but think about what I would do if I was stuck on an island or jungle. For food, I guess I could munch on some leaves, pick some fruit or even attempt to capture an animal if I was ravished with hunger. I don’t know why this thought lingered in my mind, but how would I keep my teeth clean and prevent cavities if I was stuck on an island?

I did a little searching and found the following tips!

When you’re Listerine-less, try to scavenge for crunchy fruits and vegetables. Apples, carrots, cauliflower, celery or even pears provide a crunchy texture and contain natural fibers that when combined with saliva, they help wash food particles away and fight stain causing bacteria.

Need to give your teeth a nice shine without toothpaste? Slice a strawberry and rub it on your teeth to give them a shine. Rinse thoroughly after since the fruit contains sugars and acids that can lead to tooth decay.

Want to create toothpaste in the wild? Mix dried orange peel with dried bay leaves and create a paste. Use your finger or the orange peel to brush your teeth, leaving them clean and shiny!

I’m sure this next one would interest Heidi Montague who spent a few hours in the wild on “I’m a celebrity. Get me out of here!”. I know no matter where this girl ends up, white teeth are top priority. Here’s how to bleach your teeth in the wild.  Find a lemon tree and mix some lemon juice with salt from the ocean and start scrubbing. Lemon juice has whitening agents that will leave your smile shiny and white. Due to its acidity, be moderate with how many times you apply lemon juice to avoid harming your tooth enamel.

You don’t have to wait until you’re stuck in the wild to start applying these teeth cleaning techniques. Start munching on more carrots and celery throughout the day, and ask for lemons when dining out to clean your teeth after your meal.

I’ve always loved apple pie, but since it’s packed with butter, flour and sugar, I decided to reinvent my own version that’s healthier and tastes just as good.

Ingredients:

• 2 Golden delicious apples or any you prefer
• 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 1 oz crushed walnuts
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• pie pan

Preparation:

• Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
• Cut your apples in half and dig some of the core out for the filling
• Put apples in pie pan, add 2 tbsp of water and cover with foil
• Put in oven for 10 minutes while making filling
• Filling: mix rolled oats, walnuts, cinnamon, orange juice and honey
• Take apples out of oven 10 minutes later and fill core with mixture
• Bake another 10 minutes

Serve this warm apple & oat dessert with a small scoop of ice cream or low-fat yogurt. I can’t wait for you to see how easy this recipe is, and how great it will taste in your mouth!

Yay!

I’m finally on Twitter!

I am not a computer savvy chick, so trying to figure out this Twitter mobile has been a little bit of a challenge. I’m so impatient when it comes to reading and clicking on tutorials so bare with me, because I’m still learning

At first, I was a bit hesitant to sign up for a twitter account because I felt that I would bore people to death with my little tweets, but I felt the need to connect with the audience more often.

Since I travel quite often, I’m always on the road meeting new people, trying new foods and learning new things. There is only so much I can share with you in four posts a week, so I chose to twitter to keep you updated throughout the day!

Joining Twitter has allowed me to tweet updates on my newest findings on health, nutrition and fitness, what workouts I’m doing and what’s on my menu for that day. Twitter also allows me to communicate with you one on one and answer any questions that you may have.

So far, I’m having a blast!

Twitter is an amazing place to meet people in all industries, get inspiration for new topics and promote my blog.

I would love for you to join and add me as your friend! My screen name is Ghadasmallworld and my icon looks like this (left)

I can’t wait to receive your tweets! Xoxo

Wow.

I just noticed that 4th of July is only a few weeks away!

Some may associate this holiday with Independence Day, but the majority of people in the US associate it with family, fun, fireworks and lots of food!

This year, I got invited again to spend 4th of July at the Mountains with my sweetheart and his family where a lot of grilling and grubbing will take place. I had such an awesome time last year hiking in the mountains, witnessing a black bear, sitting around the fire, playing with the niece and nephew, learning how to fish and just plain ol’ relaxing by the serene lake. It’s not a secret that overindulged in holiday food.

I stuffed my face with great tasting foods like burgers, steaks, grilled veggies,hot dogs, potato rolls and his mom’s famous potato salad.

Like I mentioned in a previous post about overeating, one cheat day is not going to wreck your fitness plan or body. It’s when that cheat day becomes more frequent that you’re asking for trouble!

Being the health nut that I am, I’m already preparing for the upcoming eat-a-thon. I have decided to tighten up on my eating for the next four weeks in order to have a guilt free, fun-filled cheat day on the 4th of July.

So here’s my little plan for the next few weeks:

• Instead of having my regular cheat meal once a week, I’m going to go for every other.
• I will avoid red meat and opt for lean protein like eggs, egg whites, chicken and turkey
• Eat greens with every meal, Kale in my smoothie for breakfast, salad for lunch and steamed veggies for dinner.
• Eat fruit only on my workout days to cut down on sugar

Another part of my plan is to head to the mountains stocked up with a few of my favorite essentials. Here’s what I’m taking:

• Sneakers and ipod to go on nice walks and hikes and stay active
• Bathing suit just in case we go swimming
• Healthy snacks: protein bars and powder, raw almonds, green tea, raw veggies and some apples
• Hygiene products: cleansers, body wash, tooth brush and paste, and floss.

Please don’t feel like you have to follow my plan to the T. Depending on your current diet, just make a few tweeks by substituting a few foods with healthier, low fat options and cutting down on some calories.

Tightening up on your nutrition now, will lead you to less guilt when you overeat on the 4th of July!

Make sure you read my post about how to bounce back from a night of overeating too! Click here

Here are a few more pictures from last year’s mountain trip.

There’s nothing more attractive than a man who knows how to feed his body with nutritious foods. Just the sight of a man eating a lean steak with a side of brown rice and sauteed broccoli drives me wild! A guy that eats right and works out is even more appealing! Do you feel me on this one ladies?

I recently read a study in the journal of Fertility and Sterility stating that men who consumed a diet high in anti-oxidant rich fruits and vegetables, carbs and fiber, folates, Vitamin C and Lycopene, showed a boost in sperm quality and overall health.

If you and your partner are considering children in the future, then you should start suggesting more of the recommended food groups mentioned in the recent study. I have listed a few examples for you below:

Anti-oxidants are packed in most fruits and vegetables, and help prevent and repair oxidative stress and free radicals. Suggest these anti-oxidant rich foods:blueberries, tomatoes, broccoli, spinach, kale, tea, cinnamon and oregano. Don’t forget the bottle of wine that swims in resveratrol, a potent anti-oxidant found in red grape skin.

Carbs & Fiber are very important to the proper functioning of your man’s body. Carbs are the number one source of energy that your body needs. Fiber will slow down digestion and help with bowel movements. Have your honey try some of these: Beans, peas, strawberries, potatoes, figs, broccoli, oatmeal and apples.

Folates or B9 is a vitamin B found in some vegetables, that is important in the growth and development of new cells. Great sources of folate can be found in calve’s liver, pinto beans, asparagus, kidney beans and collard greens. (Psst.. I love liver!)

Vitamin C is an anti-oxidant that helps protect against oxidative stress and plays a key role in building collagen and wound healing. Try incorporating some of the following fruits and veggies in his meals: Guava, grapefruits, mangoes, brussel sprouts, kale, cauliflower and cabbage.

Lycopene is a cartenoid found in red fruits that acts like an anti-oxidant. Studies have shown that lycopene can decrease the risk of certain types of cancer and heart disease. Tomatoes are great sources of Lycopene. Try adding more tomato sauce on your man’s whole grain pasta, chop up some watermelon, papaya and apricots and serve a lycopene-packed fruit salad.

The next one wasn’t mentioned in the study but I thought it was important to mention: Protein and calories.

Men need more protein and calories than us females. Like mentioned in previous posts, protein is a major building block in the proper functioning of the body. Feed your man some eggs in the morning, turkey breast for lunch and grilled fish for dinner.

If you’re man is already on top of his game when it comes to nutrition, then he’s a keeper! I know mine is

If not, then put your food Nazi hat on and start dictating!

To all my carb conscious individuals, this recipe is perfect for you! When you start craving some pasta, grab this vegetable instead. Substitute Spaghetti squash for your carbo loaded pasta. It looks just like angel hair pasta and has a similar texture so your mouth won’t miss much.

Try this recipe out and decide for yourself

Ingredients:

• 1 medium spaghetti squash
• 1 medium eggplant
• 1 medium onion
• 1 cup mushrooms
• 1 can chicken broth
• 1 jar of pasta sauce
• 1 oz pine nuts
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1 tbsp salt n peppa

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 450
• cut spaghetti squash in half and let it roast for 30-45 min
• Meanwhile, saute onions, mushrooms, and eggplant in oil
• When veggies start to cook, pour can of chicken broth
• Pour 1/2 jar of pasta sauce on top
• lower heat and let it simmer until squash is done
• In another pan, saute some pine nuts then set a side
• After squash is cooked, scrape the insides and set a side

Now that we have all the ingredients ready to go, let’s set the table. Grab a plate, scoop a cup or so of spaghetti squash (remember, it’s low fat and low carb), pour your eggplant and mushroom red sauce on top like you would with pasta and then sprinkle your toasted pine nuts on top. Why not sprinkle a little touch of parmesan on top and really get the feel of a heavy pasta dish.

A few bites in and you’ll forget that you’re eating all veggies. Let me know your thoughts after making it.

Love,

Ghada

I can find a million and one snacks to satisfy my taste buds, and I almost never feel deprived or tempted to cheat because my options just taste so good! My favorite snacks are inspired from my childhood, to recipes that I stumble upon while watching TV or surfing the net.

Check out some of my top favorite summer snacks.

I love this snack because it reminds me of my childhood years when the family used to meet at the park for picnics. Grilling meat is typical at any picnic, but in the Middle East, no picnic is complete without some watermelon and cheese. Whenever I suggest this snack, I always get weird looks but you have to try it! Cut up 1/2 cup of watermelon, and compliment it with 1 oz salty cheese. Try feta, sharp parmesan or goat cheese.

On those hot summer days, I crave chilled salads to cool me off and satisfy my appetite. Try this Edamame, corn, cucumber and tomato salad. Use 1/2 cup of edamames, 1 med tomato and cucumber and 1/2 cup of corn. Dress it with some oil and vinegar.

Craving something bitter sweet?

Try this delicious endive, blue cheese, walnuts and cranberry snack.

The fresh crispiness of the endive goes perfectly with the sharp blue cheese. The cranberries sneak in to give you a taste of sweetness, while the walnuts give you a buttery crunch. Amazing!

This next snack was also inspired by my childhood. This is a middle eastern style egg salad. Soft boil two eggs, slice/mash them up, drizzle virgin olive oil on top, then finish it off with some salt and pepper. This might sound unappealing, but I assure you it’s addicting! I love eggs!

Opa! For a quick satisfying snack, try some Cucumber and Greek yogurt. Slice up some cucumbers and dip it into some Fage, Oikos or Chobani Greek Yogurt. Sprinkle it with some dill and eat away.

After knowing what fresh figs taste like, dried figs are just boring. Goat cheese and figs on whole grain bread will make you drool all day. Toast a small slice of whole grain bread, top it with a “little” goat cheese and 1/2 a fig. The heat of the bread will make the cheese melt a bit. Mmmm mmm good!

Don’t laugh at this one! It really tastes amazing..

I have a confession to make. I love baby food. Earth’s Best Rice & Lentil Dinner contains organic brown rice, apples, lentils and free of preservatives and wheat. Drizzle a little honey in there and spoon away. 70 calories a jar and 99 cents. I could eat them all day!

What are your favorite summer snacks?

Are your cottage cheese thighs stopping you from loving yourself? Well, I hope that after this post I can make you love every dimple and work with your body to help reduce the appearance.

Cellulite is such a big topic among the ladies. Did you know that 90% of post-adolescent women will develop cellulite sometime in their life? That’s a huge percentage, so stop being so hard on yourself.

Fat is trapped in the subcutaneous fat layers and causes a dimpled orange peel look. Oh yeah.. that’s hot! There a many factors that can contribute to the formation of cellulite on your sexy butt, thighs and abs. Some of the factors are genetics, hormones, alcohol, drugs, excess caffeine, diet pills and laxatives, unhealthy foods and lack of exercise.

I definitely suffer from cellulite around the front and back of my thighs and on my nice tush. I am also guilty of indulging in most of the factors mentioned above. In previous posts, I discussed my childhood eating habits and how it was filled with processed cereals, fries and more junk. Genetics were also against me since puberty. As for my hormones, I had to get on the pill to get them in check, and diet pills were definitely consumed when I was depressed about my weight.

So is there a cure for cellulite?

During the beginning stages of my weight loss journey, I was so impatient to get my body together. I popped ephedra pills (extremely potent herb that should be taken with care), worked out twice a day and invested in cellulite creams and procedures. I’m sure you’re wondering if it worked.

The answer is not really. With the diet pills, I noticed a spike in energy but not a significant weight loss. The creams hydrated and plumped my skin, giving me temporary reduction in appearance. I also signed up for a few Acoustic Wave Therapy treatments which involved a pounding stick that was meant to break up the fat in my butt and thighs to eventually reduce the appearance of cellulite. It might have helped a tiny bit, but I knew that I had to dig deeper.

Don’t get discouraged, because I eventually did end up revealing something that worked better than all of the above! Nutrition and Exercise.

I am by no means a doctor or expert in cellulite elimination, but I will give you my personal testimony. I found that adopting a nutritious packed diet, staying hydrated and exercising, dramatically reduced the appearance.

I eliminated processed junk food and filled my fridge with fibrous veggies, fiber-filled fruits, whole grains, healthy fats and lots of water. I learned how to maximize my workouts by exercising smart, through combining cardio and resistance training. My body became and still is my art project and I am determined to keep sculpting it.

Think about it. Cellulite is trapped fat, so the less fat and more lean muscle you have, then the less dimples will be visible on the skin. I am still open to the idea of applying creams that will give me temporary smoothness until I reach my goal. When choosing a cellulite/ firming cream, I look for the active ingredients caffeine and Aminophylline (a brochodilator that causes a chemical reaction that enables fat cells to change to fatty acids, allowing them to slide through cell walls and into the blood stream).

It took time for my dimples to form, so it’s only fair that I give my body some more time to rid of its appearance. It’s easy to fall into the hype of a cellulite products but ask yourself this.. If there was a true cure for cellulite and obesity, wouldn’t everyone be smooth and thin?

I recently heard a few great words from a husband to his wife “If you women stopped worrying about your thighs, you could rule the world”

Right on brother! So stop counting those dimples and get to work.

Love your body and it will love you back

That’s too funny! My love and I recently had an hour conversation about our favorite childhood cereals. Even though I was a Palestinian born and raised in Kuwait, and he was a Greek/Italian born and raised in Pennsylvania, it was interesting how we shared the same taste for certain brands. We’re soul mates!

I can’t believe I’m confessing to eating this junk, but I loved the original Frosted Flakes with Tony the Tiger on the box, Rice Crispies (with a few teaspoons of sugar), Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Honey Smacks (we called it Frog cereal)Cocoa Pebbles, Apple Jacks, Trix (silly rabbit), Fruit loops!Cookie Crisp and others. Ha ha ha.. Can you believe I tasted all that! It’s ok, that was the past and this is the Now.

Oh… and the best part… wait for it….

The left over milk! Yes! The milk left over after every cereal was eaten, was so sweet and delicious. I wished they made Frosted Flakes milk. The mission was also to find the largest bowl and fill it up! Cereal and an episode of the Thundercasts was a good ol’ time. Cheetara’s character was my favorite! 

Enough with high fructose corn syrup cereals, let’s get to this new study.

The University of Texas recently led a study to see how normal every day foods compared to sports drinks affected the body post exercise. The scientists paid close attention to how the foods replenished glycogen in muscles and protein synthesis.

Their study concluded that for the average and moderate exercising individual, a bowl of whole grain cereal with some milk showed to replenish muscle glycogen just as good as an expensive protein drink.

Personally, I am a gym rat who loves to run and lift heavy weights so a bowl of cereal may not cut it for me unless I added a scoop of protein to it. But like the study stated, if you’re the average athlete then save some money by running home a fixing yourself a bowl of cereal.

Please avoid sugary, high fructose corn syrup filled cereals like the ones I mentioned in the beginning of the post.

Check out a few of my favorites:

 Nature’s Path: Optimum Zen, Ezekiel Almond and Old Wessex 5 Grain Cereal are some of my favorites. Remember, just because it’s “healthy”, please watch your portions because the calories can add up with a simple bowl of cereal and milk.

Try alternating days and have a nutritious shake in between. Check out my Green Monster Shake by clicking here.

In last Monday’s post, I showcased the amazing benefits packed in the super herb, Parsley. I also mentioned that my parents raised me to eat Tabouleh Salad and that it was a staple in my diet. Here’s an easy  recipe that you can make at home.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of finely chopped flat leaf parsley
• 4 or 5 finely chopped spring onions
• 4 tomatoes medium size chopped into small cubes
• 1/2 cup of fine bulgur wheat
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 4 tbs olive oil
• Salt n Peppa

Preparation

• Soak Bulgur wheat in cold water for 30 minutes then drain
• Mix Blugur with chopped parsley, onions, and tomatoes
• Drizzle olive oil, lemon juice and season with Salt n Peppa
• Mix again

How easy was that! Serve this disease-fighting salad along side any main dish. Serve the tabouleh on lettuce leaves for a pretty presentation.

It’s so refreshing, tangy and filling! I love Tabouleh!