Eat a burger.

Totally spur of the moment, as soon as I started cooking dinner last night I thought I ought to show you guys this awesome burger. A burger might not be what comes to mind when you think "healthy," but if it's a burger you crave, here's how you make it better.

The Meat

This is your meal's source of protein, so you want it to be as clean and lean as possible. A ground chuck burger (what you'll get at a restaurant) is 70-80% lean, at best. Opt instead for 96% lean ground beef or ground sirloin, which has a lower fat content.

Even leaner are ground turkey burgers. Jennie O extra lean fresh (not frozen) ground turkey is rated highest on Fooducate. Jennie O turkey burgers are next in line, getting a B+. Ground chicken is also an option. Tonight we made Jennie O turkey burgers.

Frozen Burgers

Watch for fat content, fillers, additives and sodium content in frozen burgers, most of them are crap. If you're into frozen burgers, Trader Joes has an amazing selection of hormone/antibiotic free frozen bison, beef, chicken, salmon, and turkey burgers. 

Condiments 

A burger isn't a burger without something on it. Mustard is always an acceptable condiment, but ketchup, cheese, and mayo will all sabotage your diet. 

Ketchup: Use Simply Heinz instead of regular ketchup because it has no high fructose corn syrup.

Cheese: Fat free cheeses are full of chemicals, but sim or low fat cheeses aren't, since they're just made with skim milk. Opt for a cheese that's low in fat. 

Mayo: If you're trying to lose weight, mayo isn't going to do you any favors. But, if you're going to use it, use this:

It's got half of the calories and fat as real mayo, and olive oil is a healthy fat. 

The Bun

As for the bun, don't use one! Two pieces of romaine lettuce instead of a bun will save you at least 100 calories, extra carbs and sugar.

If no bun seems like blasphemy, try it on a sprouted grain wrap. (Ezekiel tortilla).

If you're feeling really saucy, make a burger salad with ketchup and mustard dressing.

Blasphemy, I know. 

Serve it with a side of fresh veggies and viola, a healthier burger. This was one of my lower carb days, so I didn't add any carbs other than my veggies. If you need carbs, add that sprouted grain wrap, some brown rice, or a baked sweet potato.

The pickle really makes the burger for me. I usually dip my few veggies in Opa Greek Ranch, too. 

A healthy burger and healthy ranch dressing. Who'da thought.

We keep basically a raw veggie tray in our fridge at all times. Sometimes there's some cheese cubes in there too (I like Colby Jack because it's low lactose). You should be eating raw veggies every day, so if you're not already doing this, get on it! :)

What's your favorite raw veggie??

The Greatist Table: 5 Healthy Lentil Recipes from Around the Web

5 Healthy, Budget-Friendly Edible Gifts from Around the Web

Oh man, every one of these. Especially the Dark Chocolate Bark with Superfoods. Gimmeeeeee.

Why is your digestive system important?

Did you know that about 60% of your immune system is located in your gut?

A standard American diet (one low in fiber and nutrients, high in sugar, simple carbs, and chemical additives) changes the ecosystem of our guts and promotes an unhealthy gut. An unhealthy gut means it's going to be reeeeeallly hard to lose weight.

How your digestive system works

First, the bugs in your gut function like a rainforest — a diverse and interdependent ecosystem. The 3 pounds of bacteria there include some 500 different species that act as a chemical factory — helping you digest your food, produce vitamins, regulate hormones, excrete toxins and produce healing compounds that keep your gut healthy.

But for you to be healthy, these bacteria must be in balance. Too many of the wrong bugs, like parasites, yeasts and bad bacteria — or not enough of the good bugs, like lactobacillus or bifidobacteria — can seriously damage your health.

This means chronic inflammation (which can manifest itself from anything from fibromyalgia to  headaches to eczema), a jacked up metabolism (you're dieting and exercising but not losing anything), improper nutrient absorption (your body isn't absorbing vitamins from food).

Second, the gut is delicate. Your entire immune system and the rest of your body are protected from the toxic environment in the gut by only a one-cell-thick layer — the epithelium — that covers a surface area the size of a tennis court! If that barrier is damaged, you will get sick and your immune system will become overactive, producing inflammation throughout the body.

And then there’s your second brain. That’s right, your second brain. Your gut literally contains its own nervous system. In fact, the ”brain” in your gut contains more neurotransmitters than the brain in your head.

The intestinal nervous system is wired back to your brain, and messages travel between the two. When those messages are altered for any reason in any direction — from the brain to the gut or the gut to the brain — your health will suffer.

But wait, there’s more: Your gut also has to dispose of all the toxins created as a byproduct of your metabolism. If things get backed up, your entire body can become overrun with toxins.

Get it? Weight loss = impossible.

Finally, in the midst of all of this, your gut must break down all the food you eat, separate all the vitamins and minerals, and shuttle everything across the epithelium into your bloodstream for you to stay healthy.

-experiencelife.com 

So how do you know if yours is healthy or not?

First, take a look at your diet. Are you eating lean proteins, complex carbs, and healthy fats? Or are you eating fast food, processed garbage, and too much/not enough calories?

Second, do you frequently have any of the following?

• Gas
• Bloating
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Bad breath

Before you can lose weight, your digestive ecosystem has to be in check. A book called The Schwarzbein Principle explains, in full detail, why the health of your digestive system determines whether or not you will be able to lose weight.

So what do I do?

Doctors tend to overlook digestive health because it's not exactly life threatening. It will, however,  make you and keep you fat, it'll drain your energy levels and wreck your immune system. How do you fix your digestive system? Simple. Eat clean.

- Eat whole, unprocessed fiber-filled foods like whole grains, beans, vegetables, nuts, seeds.

- Take digestive enzymes**

- Add a probiotic supplement into your diet (and eat more greek yogurt!)

- Take Omega 3 supplements, which help with inflammation in the gut

- Glutamine and Zinc can also be gut-healing supplements **

**Always discuss with your doctor before taking any supplement.

Did we even need another reason to eat healthy? Next time you reach for that sugary latte or piece of pizza, think beyond just the calories. A healthy gut means a healthy, fit body. 

What happens when I don't eat enough calories?

For your body to function properly as a whole, you need to eat enough calories. Exactly how many? Calculate here. When you aren't getting enough calories, here's what happens:

Heart Problems

When someone restricts their caloric intake for an extended period of time, malnutrition can occur. People who have an eating disorder, such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa, are at risk for becoming malnourished. People who severely restrict their calories have slower metabolisms because their body goes into starvation mode and slows the body's functions to conserve energy. Frances Sizer and Eli Whitney write in "Nutrition and Concepts and Controversies" that people who are malnourished, the heart beats irregular or too quickly, the heart muscles can become thin and weak and the chambers of the heart decrease in size. As a result of malnutrition, heart attacks can occur.

Digestive Problems

When a person does not eat enough calories, the digestive tract can slow down to conserve energy. The digestive tract is responsible for breaking down food and drinks to the simplest form so that the body can use the nutrients to function. When a person isn't consuming enough calories, the stomach empties slower and the lining of the intestinal tract can shrink. When a person does eat, the digestive tract has been damaged so severely that it cannot properly digest food. The pancreas produces digestive enzymes more slowly and the person may experience diarrhea. Diarrhea only makes the problem worse by dehydrating the person and depleting essential vitamins and nutrients.

Nutrient Deficiencies

People who are restricting calories can develop nutrient deficiencies. Several deficiencies -- including iron, folate and vitamin B-12 deficiencies -- cause anemia, a disease that affects red blood cells. These cells are responsible for carrying oxygen to the organs and tissues of the body. An anemia associated with nutritional deficiencies can cause fatigue, shortness of breath, pale skin, irregular or fast heartbeat, dizziness, cognitive problems, cold hands and feet and headache. At first people who are anemic may not have any signs or symptoms, but as the condition goes untreated, signs and symptoms worsen and become noticeable. Nutritional deficiencies can also cause a range of other symptoms, including skin lesions, a lack of energy and diminished cognitive functioning.

Unhealthy Weight Loss

If you're restricting calories with the goal of losing weight, consuming far too few calories might sabotage your weight loss before it starts. Not only is severely restricting calories not sustainable -- you're bound to fall off the wagon and return to your old eating habits -- but it also causes your body to destroy muscle tissue. You should not lose more than two pounds a week during safe weight loss, explains West Virginia University. If you lose more than that, you're consuming too few calories.

Source: livestrong

Low Carb Spaghetti!

This may be the 300th post about pasta, but I couldn't resist. 

I found these this morning and ordered them immediately. The only ingredient is BLACK BEANS!

Tell me you're not amazed. 

Order them here.