How to Lose Weight with Secret Foods

Anybody who is interested in healthy weight loss has probably heard of some of the commonly known super foods that can help to take the pounds off – foods such as avocados, cherries and extra virgin olive oil.

However, there is a group of “secret” super foods that taste great, help to elevate your mood and help you to lose weight as they enrich your body with a wide variety of minerals.

These foods come from all around the world.  Include them in your diet and you will be adding necessary nutrients while you simultaneously are curbing your hunger.  What could be better than that?

Raw Chocolate – One of the Best Super Foods

One of the best super foods that you can add to your diet is raw chocolate.  Sometimes referred to as cacao, raw chocolate is a food that you can literally enjoy for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

If you’re feeling a bit run down and would like some almost instant energy, eat some raw chocolate.  The reason this happens is because cacao is packed with magnesium.

Upwards of 80% of Americans have a magnesium deficiency and that can be a problem.  If you don’t have enough magnesium then you tend to be sluggish, stressed and agitated.  However, if you have enough magnesium then you will feel more alert, you will be more active, and you will be in a better mood.

You may have heard that chocolate is good for you.  Although chocolate bars that have at least 70% cacao are pretty good for you, the ones that you can buy in the supermarket are cooked and processed.  They just don’t have the same composition that raw chocolate which was either been sun dried or cold press has.  Hence, heat processed chocolates don’t have nearly the same amount of nutrients as raw chocolate.

In addition, processed chocolates often have things that are not healthy; things that can add weight such as sugar and oils.

Serotonin is sometimes referred to as the “happy hormone”.  Raw chocolate contains something called tryptophan, which is an essential amino acid. Tryptophan helps our bodies to naturally produce serotonin.

That’s why, if you’re looking for an emotional boost, cacao can do the trick.

Although raw chocolate is available in the shell, as a bean, you’re probably better off buying it as a powder or as a cold pressed bar.

Maca – A Weight Loss Super Food from Peru

Maca contains a higher mineral content than carrots or potatoes.  It’s loaded with calcium, iodine, iron, magnesium and potassium.

It’s a root powder from Peru that many Peruvians use to increase their vitality and their strength.  Some Peruvians claim that Maca can also improve your overall memory while it helps to fight both depression and anemia.

And it has been known to stimulate the libido.

For the uninitiated, Maca has a rather strong taste.  It’s best taken when mixed into a tea made with warm water.  And because of the taste you might want to add some honey or goji berries.

Raw Honey – Another Super Food

Raw honey is not the stuff that you can grab off your supermarket’s shelves.  Instead, raw honey is real unprocessed honey.  It’s full of phytonutrients, resins, enzymes, and propolis, which is another way of saying bee glue.

Because of this very unique combination, raw honey is an anti-bacterial agent as well as a super food.

Raw honey does a lot of things such as restoring muscle glycogen after you work out, lowering your cholesterol, raising your antioxidant levels, and lowering your risk of certain types of cancer.

If used topically it can decrease the chance of getting an infection.

And, as recommended here, you can use it as a sweetener.  Just put a small spoonful into water, tea, or your Maca beverage, and it will sweeten the beverage as it picks you up.

However, make sure that you don’t heat raw honey to a high temperature because doing so will destroy a lot of its best qualities.

Good Snacks to Keep your Kids Healthy

Many parents spend hours combing the shelves of supermarkets looking for snacks for their kids, and it can be frustrating for many to see the many snacks that contain high amounts of chemicals, artificial flavorings, and sugar. If you are looking for snacks to send to school with your children, there are a number of things that you can use to provide a tasty treat to take along with them.

One of the best snacks that you can send with your children is oats. Oats can be prepared in many ways, and they are an excellent choice of snack for your children thanks to their high protein content. The natural protein in oats will help your children to grow properly. You can prepare a low fat granola by toasting the oats in the oven instead of in a buttery pan, or you can make oatmeal cookies using honey, brown sugar, or molasses as the sweetener. Add some raisins to some muesli or a bowl of cooked oats, and you have a healthy natural snack.

Despite the fact that many children don't like fruits and vegetables, most children will love a package of carrot or cucumber sticks in their lunch. The fun of eating these sticks often outweighs their dislike of vegetables, and you can prepare a nice dip for them using vinegar and olive oil as the base, rather than a cream based dressing. You can even use a bit of natural peanut butter as a dip, with a bit of honey to make it sweet. These vegetable snacks are the best for kids to eat healthy, and they will ensure that your kids consume enough fiber in their diet.

Fruits can also be a good snack to send with your children, and you can make a nice fruit salad to send with them. The downside to sending fruit with children is that fruit is a bit unappealing when it is warm, so send it with them to eat first thing in the morning. Leaving it in the fridge to chill overnight will make it more appetizing for your children, and they will appreciate the extra sugar that the fruit provides.

Crackers are a great snack to send with your kids, as they provide a salty and filling food for the children to munch on. Using whole wheat crackers is a great way to ensure that your children eat healthy snacks, and you can use some light cheese or tuna fish as the perfect filling for the crackers. Whole wheat bread is another excellent food for your child's snack, as it contains a good deal more fiber than regular bread.

Raw chocolate is another great food to send with your child. There are tons of antioxidants in the raw chocolate, which will help your children to remain healthy. You can add some natural sweetener on your own to make it more appetizing to your children, and you can use it on crackers, bread, nuts, or fruits to make a special, healthy treat for your children.

Nuts are also good to feed your children for snack, as they have a number of natural oils and fats that your child will need to grow. Look for unsalted and untoasted peanuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, pecans, and cashew nuts, as they contain none of the sodium and chemicals that toasted and salted nuts have. You can actually toast them yourself, which can help you to keep the amount of salt used in the toasting process to a healthy minimum.

Sending some cheese is another great way to give your child a healthy snack. Many children love cheese and can eat it on its own. Whether you send it with bread and crackers or on its own, cheese has vital protein and calcium that your children will need to help them grow, and it can be a filling snack that will keep them from wanting to eat unhealthy snacks.