Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Delicious Carrot Pineapple Raisin salad can help you lose weight and gain health

This is a photo of leftovers from this delicious carrot salad recipe I made with last night's dinner. Not only does it taste good (and my husband loved it too, I might add), but it's a winning choice if you're looking to shed some unwanted pounds, eat an overall healthier diet and even relieve some stress.

Here's the recipe and all it's yummy health and weight loss benefts:
Recipe:

6 medium carrots peeled and thickly grated
3 pineapple rings cut into small chunks
1 green onion finely chopped
1/2 cup plain non-fat all natural yogurt
1/3 cup pineapple juice
1/3 cup raisins

Mix ingredients in bowl and serve.

Health Benefits of Carrots:
  • Carrots are naturally low in calories
  • Carrots are naturally low in fat and saturates
  • Carrots count towards your five-a-day
  • Carrots are naturally low in salt
  • Carrots are high in fibre
  • Carrots help boost our intake of vitamin A
  • Carrots may help you see in the dark
  • Carrots are great for healthy, younger-looking skin
  • Carrots may help to protect your skin from sun damage
  • Carrots help to keep your immune system strong
  • Adding a little fat enhances the goodness of carrots in salad
  • Eat them raw or cooked -  Research shows more betacarotene is absorbed from cooked, puréed carrots than from raw ones

Weight Loss Benefits of Carrots

To get the best nutritional benefits from eating raw carrots you need to chew them really really well. Eating my carrot salad recipe will take you time. The good news is that time is your best friend when you're trying to lose weight.

Most of us wolf down our meals. When we eat the typical fast foods available today such as burgers, pizza, hotdogs, wings, etc...they're so easy to eat that we don't even have to put the food down between bites. This is dangerous when it comes to health and digestion. It's the kind of less healthy hand to mouth foods that are easy and fast to eat and require such minimal chewing that get us into trouble. They go down so fast that before you know it we've overeaten and reaching for the antacids.

When you eat this carrot salad, it forces you to slow down and chew your food. This gives your brain a chance to catch up with your mouth and signal you to let you know you're actually full.

So how does this help with weight loss? Next time you're sitting down to a big meal, start with a carrot salad like my recipe and eat a half to one cup. By the time you're done you will already start to feel full and will be less tempted to over-indulge on the rest of your meal. Just watch how much the people around you will have eaten in the same timeframe. This is a great trick if you're going to a summer picnic or potluck. You be the one to bring this healthy, light salad that everyone will love and you be sure to eat a portion of it first before diving into the rest of the meal. You'll consume less calories, feel fuller sooner and your mouth will be so busy chewing that you won't have a chance to be popping those blocks of fatty cheese, or handfuls of chips into your mouth.

Stress Relief Benefits of Carrots

How does it help with stress relief? Often when we're stressed we turn to foods that we can crunch down on. Crunching down on raw carrots will relieve stress and give you way more nutritional benefits than potato chips or other crunchy snack foods.

Give it a try and let me know how it goes. roslyn@roslynfranken.com.
For more recipes, visit http://www.roslynfranken.com

Want to join my Lighten Up Wisdom Circle and discover how to lighten up for good in body, mind and soul? FREE 1-month membership now available. Limited number of V.I.P Passes.

Questions? Call me at 613-843-0155, toll-free 1-877-852-5852 or send email to roslyn@roslynfranken.com
..................................................................................................................................
Connect with Roslyn

Inspiring teens in the Netherlands with my parents’ story of love and hope after surviving horrors of WWII

I recently travelled to the Netherlands where I was invited to give a series of four school presentations to hundreds of students age 14 – 1...