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Bring a healthy taste of Hawaii into your homeNow home from a trip to Hon-
olulu, I return with a renewedsense of fresh foods. EverythingI tasted in Hawaii — from theahi tuna sashimi to the acaismoothies and fresh guava juice— was sublime. Fresh fruit tookon a whole new meaning, theminute I stepped into the tropi-cal paradise.
I knew I was in for a treat —and a healthy one at that —when the first thing the hoteldid was welcome us with chilledhibiscus tea, sweetened withlemon, acai and vanilla. Would-n’t life be grand if every day wecould all arrive home to a re-freshing, antioxidant-packed teadrink?
If you live on the islands, youcertainly know the meaning ofhigh quality, fresh ingredients.Whether it is the delicate tealeaves, aromatic Kona coffeebeans or sweet pineapples,Hawaii knows the importance of
full flavored, nutrient-rich foodsand drinks.
So, as I return to North Car-olina, I bring back the memoriesof beautiful Hawaii and alsosome new ideas as to how to in-corporate more nutritious, fla-vorful and fresh ingredients intothe cold winter days on the EastCoast. Maybe it is in hopes ofbringing a taste of the tropicshome, but it certainly will alsocontinue to emphasize the im-portance of eating good quality,fresh foods every day.■ Try a breakfast smoothie for achange. Look for frozen fruits(since they are picked at peakripeness and will offer more va-riety this time of the year) incombination with readily avail-able fruit like bananas.■ Make fresh squeezed juicesometimes. It is amazing howmuch better freshly squeezedjuice tastes. Seek citrus fruit forwinter cost-effectiveness and
freshness. Tomake exoticjuices, youwould likelyneed a juicerand a good fruitsupplier to en-sure qualityfruits.■ Serve fruit onthe side — of
everything! If you have a sand-wich, have fruit on the side.Serving eggs or cereal for break-fast? It’s easy to add fruit. Atdinner, try fruit-based saucesand toppings.■ Add fresh fruit or vegetablesto a pitcher of water in the fridgeto encourage more water con-sumption. Strawberries and or-anges in the water taste great.You can also try cucumbers,lemons and limes or fresh herbslike basil or mint.■ If you make it look festive,your children may eat more fruit
or vegetables. Kabobs or fruitslices on the side of beverages al-ways look enticing!■ Put fruits or vegetables intopancake, waffle or muffin batter.Strawberry or banana nutmuffins are great, as are zucchi-ni or spinach pancakes (forbreakfast or dinner).■ Try other ways to eat morevegetables at breakfast. Sauteedspinach instead of hash brownswould make a nutritious swap.Broiled tomatoes on the side ofegg dishes adds a healthy doseof lycopene.■ Toss more veggies and fruitsinto your salad. Besides the usu-al cucumbers and tomatoes onyour salad, try tropical additionslike diced pineapple or papaya(look for canned or dried ver-sions, too), chopped dates, shred-ded coconut, fresh baby greensand herbs.■ Consider your fats. Opt for thehealthful fats from fish, nuts,
nut oils, seeds and seed oils. Trya handful of macadamia nuts fora tropical flare. They make a nu-tritious and satisfying alterna-tive to snacks like chips andcrackers. Six nuts have about100 calories.■ Consume fish at least twiceper week. Ideally, grill, broil orbake fish. If you can get high-quality sashimi grade fish, rawfish (such as in sushi) is a nutri-tious option. Avoid raw fish ifyou are pregnant, a child or havea compromised immune systemdue to the risk of food borne ill-ness.■ Consider coconut water as ahealthy, natural electrolyte re-plenishment beverage.
Enjoy a taste of the tropics!Aloha!
Julie Whittington is a registereddietitian in the Lake Norman area.Reach her at [email protected].
EatingSmart
HOW TO MAKE IT CLICKBy Kelli Robinsonw�²GªK¤ �� �¬² x2�
The New Year is one month old andone question begs asking: How are yourNew Year’s resolutions going? Remem-ber the goals you happily set on Jan. 1 toexercise more, eat less, quit smoking orget out of debt? Unfortunately, the reso-lution list is often as endless as the rea-sons people break them.
Congratulations if you’re still stickingto the “new you” plan. But if you’ve hadsome setbacks — or abandoned the reso-lutions altogether —– you aren’t alone.According to a 2007 survey by theFranklin Covey time management firm, athird of those who make New Year’s reso-lutions don’t make it to the end of Janu-ary. Reasons cited include lack of timeand lack of commitment.The bottom line,however, is that resolutions are difficult.
“Making changes is hard!” says AmyBernstein, owner of Lakeside Counsel-ing & Hypnotherapy Center in David-son. “It takes determination and motiva-tion to make changes in your life.”
Bernstein opened her practice in 2000and uses a variety of techniques includ-ing counseling and hypnosis to helpclients with a variety of topics such asstress relief, smoking, weight loss, confi-dence and self-esteem. Many clientsbenefit from hypnosis sessions, whichBernstein says unlock the subconsciousmind to help achieve goals.
“It’s so easy to resort back to negativepatterns because relying on willpoweruses only 10 percent of your mind,” shesaid. “Hypnosis reaches the other 90 per-cent, your subconscious mind, so youhave 100 percent of your mind helpingyou reach your goals.”
January and September are thebusiest months for the center: Peoplemake resolutions at the beginning of theyear, and parents take the initiative todo something positive for themselveswhen the kids return to school in thefall. However, Bernstein believes limit-ing goal-setting to specific times of theyear can is detrimental to keeping them.
“I call anytime you’re inspired to makechanges in your life ‘the click,’ ” she said.“When you hear that ‘click’ message,even if it’s in April or May, listen to it: Itmeans the time is right for you to makea change.”
Bernstein also advises working on onegoal at a time. Making one change inyour life leads to other positive differ-ences. Someone who makes the decisionto stop smoking might find themselvesheading to the gym, and thus losingweight and gaining confidence are alsoachieved. “It starts with an initial goaland often the others take care of them-selves,” she offers.
Another obstacle to keeping resolu-tions is not allowing enough time forchange.
“Whether it’s flossing your teeth dailyor committing to an exercise program, ittakes three weeks for any habit to takeeffect,” Bernstein said. “Sometimes peo-ple can change their habits instantly, buton average most of us need three weeksfor new routines to stick.”
As you head into February revisit, re-new and readjust the resolutions youmade. It’s never the wrong time to startdoing things right.
Ways to stay on track with your health goals
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It takes at least three weeks to form a new routine — so no excuses skippingyour next trip to the gym.
TIPS FOR KEEPING RESOLUTIONS
1.Don’t think in “all-or-nothing” termsLosing 30 pounds might be your goal; but,
don’t view losing 10 pounds as a failure.2. Set realistic goals:Is it realistic to quit drinking soda entirely?
Perhaps you could resolve to cut back theamount you drink in a week or month.
3. Avoid resolution overload:Prioritize your goals. Trying to achieve too
many at once will more likely lead to abandon-ing all of them.
4. Establish a support group:Don’t keep your goals to yourself. Let family
and friends know your goals.5. Keep trying:Just because you had a setback doesn’t
mean you have to wait until January 2012 totry again. Start over tomorrow.
