Happy Easter!

Have a great time!

Please remember that Easter is not about eating eggs and chocolates! Take your family and friends out for a walk and a nice day instead of sitting at home and being stuck in the old ‘munching business’.

Be Smart! Think Smart! Eat Smart!

Enjoy a great day

Sandy

The Best Place to Store Chocolates and Pralines

Hi everyone,

My friend recently found a great spot where to best store the chocolates and pralines that we all love so much. It keeps them fresh, safe …

… and with some luck you even completely forget about them just like I did.

Try it! I think it’s a much better spot than putting them into our tummies and on our waist. What do you think?

Let’s keep our chocolates safe!

Sandy

Antioxidants and our body!

Say hello to a great day!

(Even if you have just slipped on the shower mat – it could have been worse …)

I’ve been talking a lot about Antioxidants and we read about the benefits in many magazines and health books.

How many of us actually know what exactly they are?

Antioxidants fight “free radicals”.

Normal cell function in our body produces molecules that are called “unstable oxygen molecules” or better known as “free radicals”. These molecules are highly unstable which can lead to dysfunction of body cells, speed up aging and contribute to many diseases like heart disease, cancer and many more.

Even the development of Parkinson ’s disease, Alzheimer’s or Arthritis are thought to be linked to free radicals.

Facts about free radicals:

• The older we get the more free radicals we face
• Workouts and exercise increase free radicals – this does not mean we shouldn’t exercise (our body needs exercise) but that we need antioxidants to keep those free radicals busy so that they don’t attack our body.
• Other factors that increase free radicals are: smoking, foods that are high in fats and sugar, too much sunlight & pollution, …

Luckily, there are Antioxidants available to help us prevent those free radicals from damaging our body.

Free radicals are trying to steal electrons from other molecules in our body which damages them and creates aging and diseases. Antioxidants are the “friendly neighbours” who give those free radicals exactly what they need: Oxygen!- so that everyone is happy and no molecule or body cell gets damaged or destroyed.

Can you see how important Antioxidants are? Without Antioxidants we would be dead!

Can you see that the more Antioxidants we have in our diet – the more we are able to protect our body from aging and diseases?

So keep looking out for Antioxidants.

Here is a hint: – Mostly you’ll find them in fresh vegetables and fruits.

Sounds good? -To me it does!

Sandy

More Author Talks by Sandy Bröcking about ‘Think Smart & Lose Weight

Lose Weight the smart way – and for good!

For anyone who has missed my previous  talks and for all those who are eager to invite their friends to my next talks here are the dates for upcoming events:

12 April 2012 @ 1 pm          Campsie Library       Call (02) 9789 9413

4 May 2012 @ 10:30 am     Hornsby Library        Call (02) 9847 6666

5 June 2012 @ 10:30 am   Kincumber Library   Call (02) 4304 7641

7 July 2012 @ 12:30 pm     Tuggerah Library     Call (02) 4350 1560

All talks are free but bookings essential as seats run out fast.

Invite your friends, family and colleagues and join me for a unique and inspiring time.

Sandy

Yoghurt and Weight Loss vs Grapes and Health – Part 2

Hi everyone

Remember last weeks question on yogurt for weight loss? Again I’d like to say that fruits and vegetables are much more beneficial for a healthy way of life and for anyone who wants to lose some weight.

I found out that there is much more to the food we eat on a daily basis than what we usually get told. For anyone who is interested in this subject: Think Smart & Lose Weight has a lot of answers to these questions as well as answers to many questions that  most of us would normally not even know to ask.

Well, here comes another wonderful fruit product that I’d certainly always prefer to any yogurt:

Grapes – are much better for our health than most of us think. They are actually some wonderful miracle fruits.

Grapes are:

• Not only high in water content and a great snack for everyone who would like to lose weight.
• Well known to be able to cleanse our body from toxins
• Known to help lower high blood pressure
• Likely to be able to encourage brain health and therefore act against diseases like dementia
• Especially the dark red or black grapes are high in antioxidants and therefore a great force to help protect our body from many diseases

Always remember: Fruits and especially grapes have natural sugar content. Which means, of course they have calories as well.

Important is: These are natural food contents and much more beneficial for your body than other “man made” food products. Therefore have them instead of your yogurt or slice of toast, cake or biscuit – not both. Does this make sense?

Happy fruit day

Sandy

Yoghurt and Weight Loss vs Plums and Health – Part 1

Hello everyone,

In one of my recent seminars I was asked the question: Which yogurt I recommend for weight loss: The standard yogurt which comes with a high fat content or the “low fat” yogurt which usually comes with huge amounts of sugar?

Well, here is my answer:

Rather than eating a yogurt, I personally prefer a piece of fresh fruit with all its health benefits, fresh and natural sweet taste and all that on a “low calorie budget”.

A great example of this are plums.

Did you know that plums are:

• Very rich in dietary fibre
• High in antioxidants
• Known to prevent many diseases like breast      and colon cancer, arthritis and even asthma.
• Like many other fruits a great help to prevent Macular Degeneration
• Also known to prevent constipation and help to eliminate toxins from our body
• High in water content and a great choice if you want to lose some weight
• Known to be a great help to prevent and reduce fatigue if eaten regularly

So if someone would offer me a yogurt or a plum, I’d certainly always go for the plum. What would you do?

Happy plum day

Sandy

This is hilarious! Try the “Cucumber Wrap”

Hi everyone,

A great friend of mine and reader of ‘Think Smart & Lose Weight’ gave me this absolute fantastic, very simple, extremely healthy and super low calorie lunch meal idea. Perfect if you don’t have much time, just need something straight away or for your lunchbreak at work.

What do you need?

• A (preferably) wholemeal wrap
• Tahini
• 1 cucumber (washed)

And?

• Place the wrap on a large plate
• Spread a bit of Tahini on the wrap
• Stick the whole cucumber on top and wrap it all up
• Enjoy!

Why?

Did you know:

• That cucumber consists about 95% of water?
• That cucumber is rich on minerals that strengthen our bones and nails, support hair growth and gives us a healthy skin?
• That cucumber is great for cleansing our body and can even help to lower high blood pressure?
• That most of the minerals are in the skin and therefore if you take the skin off you’ll lose most of it’s goodness?
• That due to its high water content cucumber is a perfect food for weight loss?

Try the “Cucumber Wrap”! It’s healthy, easy to make and fun!

Sandy

Healthy and Slimming Left Over Salad!

I think you all know by now that I love fresh salads. Why?

• They are easy to make
• It only takes a few minutes to be ready to eat
• You don’t need to wash up greasy dishes

…. And fresh salads are:

•  immensely good for our health
• A great way to detox your body
• A great supply of the nutrients our body needs to fight diseases like cancer and many more
• The perfect food to help you lose weight
• Don’t need to be expensive!

Here is one great example of a healthy, low cost and slimming

“Left over Salad”

This one is made of:

• Some red cabbage, washed and cut
• Some white cabbage, washed and cut
• Some celery, washed and cut
• Some cucumber, washed and cut
• Some carrot, washed and cut
• A few cherry tomatoes, washed and cut

Add a bit of Tahini and very little sesame oil. Some ground pepper and maybe a bit of lemon juice.

Serve with brown rice or a wholemeal roll.

Enjoy!

Sandy

Never too old …

Why don’t we occasionally forget about the seriousness of life. Nobody is ever too old to have some great fun and play around. I think that too often our lives end up much more complicated than they should be.

I think some days we just need to throw away the “etiquette”, forget about what others might say or think – and simply have fun and enjoy life.

If you are upset or frustrated about something … instead of having a jar of biscuits, chips or three bars of chocolate … why not grab yourself a horse and go for a “Wild Ride”!

Weeeee! … I love it!

What do you think? – Is life too serious? – Would you like to go for a “Wild Ride”?

I’d love to hear some answers ….

Sandy

Swap your Hamburger to a healthy and low fat “Gourmet Sandy Burger”

No matter if you’re out in a restaurant, travelling or having dinner at home with your friends and family. Everyone loves hamburgers and they are a big part of every menu.

Why not do yourself and your body a big favour and swap your usual burger to a delicious, healthy and low calorie “Gourmet Sandy Burger”?

How does it work?

A hamburger bun or Turkish roll is great. Skip the butter. Add lots of fresh mixed salad leaves, add sliced tomato, add sliced beetroot, plus add tasty cooked onion on top.

Have a big, fresh and healthy salad instead of the high calorie and fattening chips.

Add some sauce and pepper if you like.

Tip: If you make your burger at home use a wholemeal roll – it’s even better for your weight and your health.

Enjoy! … and invite your friends as well.

Sandy