by Cascade Ice on August 8, 2011
Just walking down the aisle of vitamins at the store can be overwhelming. A barrage of brands and hard-to-pronounce names makes choosing which vitamins you actually need difficult. However, making sure you are getting all the nutrients you need is important and can prevent heart disease, cancer and other health related problems.
Fortunately, finding out which vitamins are right for you and where to get them is made easy by Health.com:
- Vitamin A: It’s found in carrots, sweet potatoes and green peppers. It will help your skin, vision and immune system.
- Calcium: Found in dairy products like milk and cheese. If you have allergies or plain don’t like dairy products you can take a supplement, but be warned if you are prone to kidney stones supplements can actually make them worse.
- Potassium: This nutrient can lower blood sugar and is found in bananas, raisins and milk. However, if you have kidney disease be cautious with your potassium intake.
- Vitamin C: Found in citrus fruits, green peppers and broccoli. This vitamin is still a must-have for common-cold prevention. Most studies have found that a supplement doesn’t do you much good in this category, so opt for obtaining your Vitamin C from real foods.
What about a multivitamin? Multivitamins are okay if you are in a hurry, but you shouldn’t expect the same results as obtaining your daily nutrient intake from the real thing! Bottom line, eat real foods to get the majority of your vitamin intake and use supplements sparingly.
What vitamin do you not get enough of?
If you are looking at changing your diet please consult of a physician.
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Uncategorized
by Cascade Ice on August 2, 2011
With record-setting temperatures this summer, some people might find it harder to sleep. Why do we have trouble dozing off when it’s too hot out?
According to cnn.com, sleep is directly correlated with a steady decrease in core body temperature. Ultimately, if your body’s temperature can’t drop, it will be harder for you to fall asleep.
If you are having trouble sleeping during the summer and don’t have the convenience of air conditioning or simply don’t want your electricity bill to skyrocket, there are solutions.
Before you go to bed, take a cold shower. Your body will begin cooling and this will help you fall asleep faster!
If this doesn’t work, get a small water feature or fountain for your bedroom. The sound of water will make you feel cooler.
You can also make your bed a bit more comfortable by cooling off your pillow cases. Put your linens in a storage bag and pop it in the refridgerator for an hour. Climbing into bed will be a relief at the end of a long, hot day.
How do you fall asleep when it’s hot? Please share your tips below!
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Healthy Living
by Cascade Ice on July 25, 2011
Congratulations to Lindsay Cotter of Cotter Crunch! She is the winner of our Cascade Ice
Skinny Cocktail Creation Contest!
Lindsay created a super yummy Strawberry Limoncello Spritzer on the Rocks, and has won a Cascade Ice Cocktail Party!
Congratulations to Bambi McCole as well! Bambi was randomly picked as number 275 and has won our Cascade Ice Prize Pack!
We would like to give a special thanks once again to our other bloggers who participated in our contest: Laurel Moll and Tara Theoharis! You both were great competitors and made some amazing skinny cocktails!
Be sure to stay tuned for other contests coming soon to Cascade Ice!
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Healthy Living
by Cascade Ice on July 19, 2011
The Flavorful Life is featuring several “healthy living journey” stories from Cascade Ice fans around the country, where guest bloggers tell us their thoughts on how they face challenges and come up with new ideas to pursue better health and fitness lifestyles. The following is the latest update from Dawn Sievers of Knoxville, TN, and blogger for “The Healing Morning”
Fennel? Calming, you say? Yes, I do! Fennel is one of those overlooked vegetables, not all that common here in the southeastern region where I live. I have to go to a specific grocery store to find it, but it is well worth the extra trip. Once I began to research the health benefits of fennel, I found that it has been an ages old remedy for a wide range of ailments.
Fennel provides an excellent source of potassium, vitamin C and fiber. It is also a very good source of folic acid and phosphorous. In addition, fennel is a good source of iron, calcium, magnesium, molybdenum and manganese.
So, how is it calming? Consumption of fennel has been proven to release endorphins into the bloodstream. Endorphins are the feel-good chemical that helps calm fears and anxiety levels. You may have heard of “runner’s high” that marathon runners feel after running long distances. I don’t know about you, but I’d just as soon find a different method to access endorphins than tormenting my joints with marathon running! And I can report from my own experiences in my kitchen that fennel does give a sense of calm, without the carbohydrate overloads that you would have with chips, pasta or potatoes.
Fennel also aids in digestion and is often eaten at the end of a meal, in raw form. The taste is similar to licorice, and is stronger in raw form, milder after being cooked. My favorite method is cutting the fronds (leafy, feathery greens at the top of the bulb) off, splitting the bulb in half and brushing with balsamic vinegar, then grilling. You can also save the fronds and snip them into salads for a light, licorice flavor. Being a Cascade Ice Water fanatic, the other day I had leftover fennel fronds in the refrigerator and I snipped them into a glass of Cascade Ice Strawberry Lemonade – it was delicious!
Has anyone out there made any special dishes with fennel? Please share below!
