We consider the Banana to be another Super Food.  Bananas contain considerable amounts of vitamin B6, vitamin C, potassium, and dietary fiber.  Regular consumption of foods high in vitamins and minerals and antioxidants, like bananas, will help you live a healthy lifestyle.

Along with other fruits and vegetables, consumption of bananas is associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer, breast cancer and renal cell carcinoma.  Foods high in potassium, like bananas, have been shown to lower blood pressure.  Studies have also shown that foods high in fiber, like bananas, help prevent heart disease. 

Bananas are loaded with potassium.  According to The World’s Healthiest Foods, the average banana contains 467 mg of potassium.  A banana or two a day will help get you to the daily recommended intake of 3,500 mg of potassium. 

Bananas are easy to add to your daily routine.  They require no preparation and come in their own natural carrying case.  Throw a banana or two in your bag when you are leaving for the day.  They make a healthy & filling snack.  For breakfast, slice a banana and add it to your cereal or oatmeal.  Or try one of Elvis Presley’s favorites – a peanut butter and banana sandwich.  

We recommend eating bananas regularly as a part of a healthy diet.  For suggestions on other fruits to keep yourself healthy and Forever Slim, see Chapter 18 of You Forever Slim.

Healthy Spinach Dip Recipe

• 1 envelope Lipton vegetable dip mix
• 16 oz fat free sour cream
• 1 cup fat-free mayonnaise
• 1-10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1-8 oz can of water chestnuts, drained and chopped
• 3 small green onions, chopped

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate for several hours.  Serve with whole wheat crackers, bread or pita chips.

Yields: 6 cups, Serving size: ¼ cup. Nutritional information.

Added sugar is found in most processed foods like soda, cereals, bakery and snack foods.  A recent article on Yahoo! Health by health expert Joy Bauer suggested that consuming a diet high in added sugar can increase your risk of developing high cholesterol levels and heart disease.  Sugar has already been linked to weight gain and diabetes.

If you want to stay Forever Slim, limit the amount of sugar in your diet.  If you like the sweet taste of food, try fruit instead.  The natural sugars in fruit don’t have the negative health affects that refined white and brown sugar do.

Read the other reasons we have listed as the Top 10 Reasons we’re so Fat.

Divide the number of calories in the snack by 150 and this will tell you how many half-hour walks you’ll need to take to make up for eating the snack.

A typical candy bar contains 250 calories.  So it would take about 50 minutes of walking to make up for eating the candy.

In the future, whenever you’re tempted to eat something unhealthy, check out the calories and figure out how long you’d have to walk to make up for it.  Then ask yourself if it’s really worth it.

For more information on how this technique can help make you Forever Slim, see our Chapter – What’s It Worth? in our Book – You Forever Slim.

Hummus is usually found in the deli cooler at the grocery store, and there are many different types available.  Varieties include classic hummus, roasted red pepper, pine nut, garlic, pesto, artichoke, and others.  Hummus can be eaten with crackers, pretzels or veggies.  Hummus is also a good alternative to mayonnaise on sandwiches.

• 1 large red onion, chopped
• 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 cans of low sodium black beans, rinse and drained
• 3 ½ cups of low sodium vegetable broth
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can green chilies, chopped
• 2 tbsp. cilantro, chopped
• ½ cup fat free sour cream
• ¼ cup shredded part-skim mozzarella

1) Saute onion, peppers, and garlic until tender.
2) Stir in beans, broth, tomatoes and green chilies. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 25 minutes. (Can use a food processor or potato masher for desired consistency).
3) Remove from heat. Serve in bowls and top with cilantro, sour cream and cheese if desired.

Yields: 12 servings (3/4 cups serving size).  Nutritional Information.

Studies have shown that not getting enough sleep may be a cause of obesity.  Most adults should get at least seven hours of uninterupted sleep every night.  But, there’s also an obesity risk from getting too much sleep.

To learn more, see our Chapter Good Night – Sleep Tight in our book You Forever Slim.

Read the other reasons we have listed as the Top 10 Reasons we’re so Fat. 

This is a good idea in more ways than one.  It will preserve your paint finish but it will also force you to walk further.

So, why not pretend you have a new car whenever you go to the grocery store or the mall or to work and park as far away as possible.  If you walk regularly it will help make you Forever Slim.

See our chapter titled Meet me at the Mall in our book You Forever Slim.

It’s better to eat wild salmon than farm-raised.  Wild salmon is generally higher in omega-3.  When cooking salmon, bake or broil it.  Or try canned salmon.  It’s usually wild caught, but it is higher in sodium than fresh salmon.

We classify salmon as one of the super foods that can help make you slim and healthy.  To see our previous posts for our other super foods click here.  To learn more about why it is good to add salmon and other fish to your diet, see the chapter Go Fish in our book You Forever Slim.

The World’s Healthiest Foods website has a comprehensive discussion of the health benefits salmon offers.

This recipe is a healthier, lower calorie alternative to mashed potatoes. 

Ingredients:

• 8 cups bite-size cauliflower florets (approximately 1 head)
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup skim milk
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. light margarine
• ¼ tsp. salt
• Ground pepper to taste

Place cauliflower and garlic in pot and steam or boil until very tender. Mash cauliflower and garlic with remaining ingredients using a potato masher. You may also use food processor to blend.

Serving size ¾ cup, makes 4 servings.  For more information about the health benefits of cauliflower see our previous blog post titled: Cauliflower the Cruciferous Cancer Cure?

Nutritional Information.