App Review: Daily Green Smoothie Challenge

{via}

Sometimes, life is just easier when we can revert to our childhood days and have someone decide what we should eat for us. That is where dieticians, nutritionists, meal plans, and handy-dandy apps can come in quite useful- especially if you do not have the extra dough laying around to hire a private chef.

I have been using a few smoothie and juicing apps to get on a healthier habit pattern. One of these is the Daily Green Smoothie Challenge. This smoothie app has plenty of great smoothie recipes along with all the nutritional information your heart could desire. Another great perk is that you can easily add all ingredients to a shopping list that will place all items on a categorized list according to where they are in the grocery store.

The smoothie recipes for this challenge are meant for mornings and are filled with fruits, honey, flax seeds, yogurt, and a few other knick knacks from here and there. I opted to add fresh baby spinach or baby kale to most of my smoothies to increase the vitamins, minerals, and proteins. It did not make them taste worse and the only one that tasted bad at all was the first Orange Creamsicle Smoothie. Be weary though, not all smoothies are created equal. Some are ridiculously low in calories and sugar while others are (what seems) like the equivalent of a Chipotle burrito.

Now to the app... Once you get into it, the app is quite clean and easy to navigate. There is plenty of information available about each smoothie and plenty of smoothies to choose from. It's also free, which is pretty great too. Unfortunately, like my Dad has always told me, "nothing is ever free, not even the prize in the Cracker Jack box." What this app lacks in price, it makes up for in advertisements. Any time you open the app or your phone goes to sleep, a new advertisement pops up and must be exited out of then a pop up will appear confirming you want to exit out. NOT FUN.

Other than the ridiculous free-not-free side of this app, it is pretty good. If you are looking for a price happy way to reboot your diet, I would suggest trying this one out. The app is free and there are no ridiculous ingredients that cost more than the mixer you are putting them in. A pretty good thing the way I see it :)

The Pros and Cons of Drinking Coffee

{via}

Coffee is great and the hoard of Starbucks receipts you could find in my purse at any given time would not argue that fact. But, for as good as coffee is, it has also been getting pretty mixed signals for the health world. Sure, the sugars, creamers, and flavors that are just more sugar are not great- Well, actually, they are quite bad- but, what about coffee itself. If you are one of those highly disciplined people out there who never touches a Starbucks drive-thru or coffee creamer with a 10-foot pole, there is a pretty good chance you are doing quite well since most of the pros for coffee are when it is in it's purest form. 

Go ahead, give yourself a pat on the back all you black coffee drinkers. Now, go on and read the good, bad, and ugly of that cup of jo.

Brain Health

Pros

One of the biggest, and best, pros to drinking coffee is the brain health that comes along with it. Researchers from some of the leading Universities have found that coffee increases memory retention and also decreases our risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease. This is because, like all plants, coffee has phytonutrients and antioxidants that fight free radicals in our body. Free radicals are the things that reduce cell production and harm our DNA and include UV rays, carcinogens, and even the air we breathe.

What is even more incredible is that coffee has been found to actually repair damage to our DNA. This means that our DNA has fewer errors in reproduction and stays longer for longer (all about those telomeres). Keeping our DNA healthy also goes a long way for reducing our risk of cancer. Specifically, coffee helps reduce the risk of brain cancers.

Heart Health

Pros

The antioxidants found in coffee are not just for the brain. Turn's out, that they also reduce inflammation in our arteries and can lower our blood pressure. Both of these being extremely great for that ticker. The reduction of swelling in the arteries decreases one's risk of a stroke. the Nitric oxide found in coffee may also increase the diameter of arteries, lowering blood pressure and the risk of heart disease.

Cons

With all these great pro's, the only con to drinking coffee for a healthy heart is the caffeine. The caffeine found in coffee regular will actually negate the health benefits, making it a "con" instead of a "pro". Caffeine in coffee can also caused increased heart rhythms and an abnormal heart beat.  If heart health is on your mind, switch that caffeinated coffee out for the decaf variety.

Diabetes and Weight

Pros

That's right, coffee reduces our risk of Type II Diabetes. Researchers have found that those who drink 4-6 cups of coffee (decaf or regular) reduce their risk of diabetes by, up to, 30%. Those that drink more than 6 cups per day reduce their risks by a whopping 35%. This crazy decrease may be due to the antioxidant compounds cholorogenic acid and quinides found in coffee that reduce cell's sensitivity to insulin and help regulate sugar levels.

Cons

Unfortunately, this benefit is mainly found in the decaffeinated version since caffeine increases insulin sensitivity. The sugar high that you get from caffeinated coffee will also adversely effect most people's diets when they get to that sugar crash. This is because most people will reach for something high in fats and carbs to even out their blood sugar levels once more.

Weight gain can also be associated with coffee. New research has found a correlation with coffee drinking and an increased sweet tooth. This may be because of chemical reactions in our body, or simply because, as a society, we associate coffee with sweets.

Aging

Cons

Drinking too much coffee can dehydrate the body, causing premature aging of the skin. If you are wanting to drink your usual coffee, it is best to drink it with a cup of water on the side. This will also decrease the headaches that some associate with their morning cup of jo since most coffee related headaches are a symptom of dehydration.

Cholesterol and Your Liver

Pros

Well, this is a mixed bag if I ever saw one. Turns out that caffeinated coffee might just lower your risk of liver cancers by, up to, 43%. Just like it worked in our brains and arteries, coffee limits swelling and inflammation in the liver, thus reducing the risks of many liver diseases. Likewise, caffeine may help inhibit cancer cells from forming.

Cons

Now, for the mixed part of this bag. Unfiltered and boiled coffees increases the LDL or bad cholesterol found in our blood. This is especially evident in French presses and Turkish coffee makers that do not filter the coffee first. To decrease the LDL increasing properties, opt out of non-filtered options and get a drip filter coffee maker instead. It may not be quite as good (so true), but you won't be increasing your cholesterol with each cup.

Energy

Pros

Ready? Caffeine makes you more awake. Bam. Mind blown.

Not quite. Caffeine keeping you awake may not be such a mind blowing idea, but it sure can be a pro in a pinch. There are many people out in our world that rely on that morning cup of jo for their eyes to open and their foggy brains to clear.

Cons

The only bad thing about this increased energy is when it gets in the way of when we need to sleep. Coffee can increase your risk of insomnia since the brain is wired and simply cannot turn off. Everyone reacts differently to caffeine, but it is best to not drink coffee within 6-hours of hitting the hay. Even if you have an easy time falling asleep, your sleep will not be as deep or rejuvenate you quite as well with caffeine in your system.

As our bodies become more accustomed to the effects of caffeine, we will also begin to need more to feel the effects. This can be a not-so-great addiction that will only increase over time and decrease the proper sleep we need to be getting.

Pesticides

Because of all the places coffee comes from, it is one of the most pesticide laden foods we can get. Pesticides in coffee are absorbed into our bodies when we drink it. And, they are not easily gotten rid of. To reduce your pesticide intake (which can lead to multiple diseases including different forms of cancer), opt for the organic option. The coffee industry is pretty strict on what makes coffee organic. This means that you can feel at ease knowing your organic coffee does not contain harmful chemicals.

Here is my favorite organic coffee brand :)

Mornings and Diets

{via}

Good morning! I hope that you have had a wonderful Monday and you Tuesday is starting off just as great! We got back from Panama City Beach quite late last night and I am not quite sure that I am back to life yet. For this reason, today's post is a little shorter and is simply going to show you an article you may have missed by Darya Rose over at Summer Tomato. I think almost every person out there can admit to going on or wanting to go on a diet. Personally, there are very few that actually work for me other than those that help me change my lifestyle and eating habits rather than making me eat less of a certain (o any) food.

In the article, Darya talks about why diets do not work on both a psychological and and physical level. Weight loss systems that encourage healthy eating and a change of eating habits going in and coming out of the system are very different than so many of these fad drink diets or no carb options. Darya explains, simply, why these can be so detrimental to our overall health is when we go on these fad diets.

Funny, but diets must be on the mind. Elle, from According to Elle, also did a fantastic breakdown of a recent study related to low carb diets.

Although I have never done the Atkins, South Beach, or lemon water diets, I have seen results with following a meal plan that is well balanced and changes my thought patterns on unheallthy foods. Are there any eating plans that have worked well for you?

TBT: The First P+K Post!

There are times when everyone would prefer to eat a big mac, fries, mac and cheese, pizza or anything else on the “no go” list rather than the salad their diets recommend. For cheat days like this along with all those other days that we would just prefer eating something absolutely delicious, I have created a list of cheats and alternatives. This is definitely not a diet list and I would not recommend using this system if you are trying to loose weight, but it will at least help curb some of those cravings without sending all of our hard earned fitness success down the drain.

Tip One, A Pizza Secret:
I am a pizza fiend. Literally. There is absolutely no difficulty for me in finishing an entire large Pizza Hut pizza in one sitting, on my own. Pizza is my kryptonite. For that reason, I was very happy to learn this little tip. If you are going through a pizza binge and have decided to eat all pizza in the world, go for the veggie. Veggie pizzas have a slightly higher nutritional content and average 1-3 grams less fat and up to 50 calories less per slice. This is because there is less cheese and none of the high fat meats.

Tip Two, Sweets:
Here is another thing I L-O-V-E, cookies. They are warm and yummy and I am drooling. There are times in my day where I could battle a fleet of ninjas for that one cookie. For me, this is usually late at night or early in the morning. Oddly though, the time that a cookie is best for me is the same time that one is more than enough to appease my craving. Afternoon, between dinner and lunch is the best time for that extra burst of sugary noms. This is the time of day when we can start getting a little sluggish and our bodies are able to digest that sweet, sweet goodness more easily.

Tip Three, Carbs:
Bread is something that oh so many people love. Starchy things are seen all over fast food menu’s and are a staple of almost every American comfort food. Too bad every health conscience person out there curses that corner of the food groupings. Oh how we love carbs and how we love to hate them even more.

Fortunately, there is a good time of day to eat them with less impact on your body. Morning is the time that our bodies are best able to process and regroup after a carb load. This energy can be used for the rest of the day and has less of a chance of being stored than that plate of spaghetti you (by you I mean me) are thinking of eating for dinner. If a starch-tastic meal is something that is happening, better to make it breakfast rather than dinner or a late-night snack. Just remember to reduce your carb intake for that day since you hit it out of the park at breakfast.

This was the first ever post on P+K way back on October 18th, 2012. It is so fun to see where a blogger (or any writer) started out compared to where they are now. An extra perk is that these tips still stand the test of time and can be super handy when those pesky cravings hit ;)

Happy Thursday and the last of our TBT series!