100 Healthy Living Tips - #14 - Add Seeds to Your Diet

Did you know that adding sesame seeds, sunflower seeds and flaxseeds to your diet is good for your heart, your joints, your eyesight and your skin? Just 2 tablespoons of seeds daily can give great health benefits:

• Sesame seeds are great sources of copper which is an anti-inflammatory that will help ease joint pain. Inflammation also contributes to allergies and other health problems.
• Flaxseed contains heart-healthy alpha-linolenic acid with helps lower cholesterol, triglycerides and blood pressure.
• Sunflower seeds contain Vitamin E, which helps prevent sun damage to skin. Sunflower seeds also contain zinc which helps prevent macular degeneration in the eyes and helps boost your immune system.

How to get healthy seeds into your daily diet:

• Add 2 TBS of seeds to cereal, a smoothie or yogurt.
• Add sunflower seeds to your salad.
• Mix into salad dressings.
• Add a few tablespoons of seeds to your bread mixes, muffins, brownies,  pancakes or just about anything you bake.
• Keep sunflower seeds around for snacking. They also contain muscle building protein.

Adding seeds to your diet is a quick and easy healthy living tip that can fit into just about any meal or snack during the day.

Need Healthy Summer Snack Ideas?

Do you want to eat healthy snacks but often find yourself reaching for a bag of chips instead? The key to healthy snack options is to keep healthy foods on hand so you'll be prepared when a snack attack strikes.

Snacking is actually important for maintaining blood sugar and energy levels. We want to feed our children healthy, nutritious foods so, instead of eating foods laden with fat and calories, but lacking in nutrition, try some of the healthier snack foods from this list. It will help you lose weight, get healthy and feel more energetic.

• Oatmeal can be a healthy snack and not just a breakfast food. Oatmeal contains protein, carbs, vitamins and fiber. It's simple to make -- and cheap! -- plus you can add berries or fruit to make it even more nutritious. You can also bake oatmeal bars and cookies to get healthy oatmeal into your snacks.
• Apples are a quick and easy snack and you can take an apple anywhere with you. to grab and take with you anywhere. Apples are perfectly portioned in serving size, they contain fiber, nutrients and are easy on the budget.
• Yogurt contains calcium for bone health and are a great source of protein for muscles and energy too. Yogurt is also great for the digestion and is easy to take with you too.
• Berries of all kinds are in season in the summer and are number one on every superfood listing. You can eat them plain or add to that yogurt you're eating.
• Drink Tea - We all need hydration in the summer so if water gets boring, try some super healthy green tea. It's filled with antioxidants and contains no calories. You can get many fruit-flavored versions now too if you don't like plain green tea. Try making green tea Popsicles for the kids too!
• Nuts are super healthy and kids love them. Keep sunflower seeds, peanuts and mixed nuts on hand but purchase the dry roasted nut versions. Regularly roasted nuts are usually roasted in partially hydrogenated fats or trans-fats. Nuts contain lots of heart-healthy fats, vitamin E and zinc.
• Make your own trail mix or granola and have the kids help.
• Try this easy energy bar recipe.
  
• Make a fruit and cheese try with a variety of fruits, cheese, whole grain crackers and even some carrot sticks.
• Make your own yogurt dip for fruits and veggies, instead of using sour cream. Kids love dips and it will make them eat more of the healthy stuff.

More Healthy Summer Tips and Recipes


Need more Healthy Snack Ideas?