Healthy Meal Planning

Meal planning is a great tactic to keep yourself on a healthy diet. It’s much more than just cutting down on the time it takes for you to get ready in the morning. Here are some tips on why meal planning can change your daily routine, and give you lasting results as well.

Benefits of Meal Planning

Measurable Progress

When you are making your meal plans, you can determine how many calories you’re putting into each meal. Additionally, this provides data from meal to meal that will show you where you’ve made the most progress and what you can improve on. Having this reinforcement, both good and bad, inspires improvement. You can no longer just think about where you’re making progress and consider how you’ve gotten better. Instead, there’s cold hard results in front of you.

Save Money

Meal planning also allows trips to the grocery store to be far less expensive. Since you have predetermined lists of all the items you have to get, you’re in and out without any excess purchases. Even in just a week or two, you’ll be amazed at the difference this little change makes. Even if it doesn’t feel significant within a week or two, you’ll notice it in the long term.

Healthier Diets

In a way, meal planning almost is a form of dieting. It forces you to hit the main food groups and give yourself quality, healthy meals daily. This cuts out fast food for the most part, and even if it just changes your trip from 4 to 2, that’s huge progress made instantly.

How to Meal Plan Effectively

Vegetables

First, you’ll need a veggie. Find vegetables that you genuinely enjoy, and slowly branch from there to create variety with your meal planning.

Starch

Starches are just as vital as veggies to create a complete meal. Meal plans that have too much of any one thing are not going to be as healthy for you. Balance your meals with low-to-medium calorie starch.

Protein

Protein is the driving force for creating energy in your meal plan. Without a strong protein, everything else will feel less effective. Grilled chicken is a good starting point for a lower calorie, energy-boosting protein to implement into your meal planning.

Overall, making a meal plan for yourself weekly is a great step-by-step process to get healthy solutions for yourself. Additionally, juicing and other healthy food options you can find at our shop. Build a strong meal plan with some of our foods today!

What Foods Are Best For A Sensitive Stomach

If you are someone that has an especially sensitive stomach and you struggle to find meals you can eat that don’t give you a stomach ache, then it is important to take time to find the foods that will be able to properly fuel your body with the nutrition it needs without giving you stomach pain. This process may require some trial and error, but to make things a bit easier on you, we will be discussing the various foods that are best for people to eat who have sensitive stomachs and the benefits of those foods.

Foods for people with a sensitive stomach

• Cooked fruits and vegetables (vitamins and minerals)

• Lean chicken (for a protein source)

• Grains (fiber)

• Ginger (good for reducing nausea)

• Peppermint (beneficial for those with IBS)

• Flaxseed (relieves constipation)

• Rice (easy to digest)

• Papaya (can work to remove parasites from the body)

• Bananas (a great source of potassium and magnesium)

• Berries (can ease bloating and related discomfort)

• Nuts and seeds (high in fiber and healthy fat)

• Broth (collagen to support healing the lining of the gut)

• Fermented foods (balance the microbiome of your gut with natural probiotics)

• Coconut water (a great source of hydration and electrolytes)

As you can see, there are many different foods that can be incorporated into the diet of someone who has a sensitive stomach, and not only will these foods most likely soothe the stomach, but they are also highly beneficial to fueling the body with the right nutrients it needs to function at it’s best. Many of the foods listed above provide the body with vitamins and minerals, protein, fiber, potassium, magnesium, and electrolytes… all things essential to a healthy gut and digestive system.

The tricky thing about having a sensitive stomach is that it makes it harder to find the types of foods that won’t hurt your stomach, and then if you eat the wrong thing, it can end up making your stomach even more sensitive. That is why we at Earthtone Natural Kitchen are proud to be able to offer various juices and wellness shots to help you get in all of your fruits and vegetables each day, smoothies, organic wraps and bowls, and plenty of vegan and gluten-free options. Our priority here at Earthtone Natural Kitchen is to be able to provide our customers with meals, snacks, and beverages that they can rely on to fuel them, taste great, soothe their stomachs, and provide them with the nutrients they need to get through their day.

We hope this information was helpful to you if you are someone that suffers from a sensitive stomach and you struggle to find foods that don’t hurt to digest after eating them. If you have any further questions regarding this information, our menu, or anything else related to what we offer, please do not hesitate to reach out to us! We look forward to speaking with you soon.

What Are The Benefits Of Kombucha?

Kombucha is one of the many health-oriented beverages we offer at Earthtone Natural Kitchen. Kombucha has been around for many years, but it has recently become a more popular drink for individuals looking to boost their overall nutrition and gut health. There are many health benefits to drinking kombucha, so we will be discussing these benefits so that you can be more informed on how you’ll be helping yourself when you come in for one.

The many amazing benefits of drinking kombucha (regularly)

• Aids digestion because it is full of antioxidants, probiotics, and live bacteria to promote optimal gut health

• Boosts the health of intestinal cells

• Prevents constipation and cleanses the colon

• Reduces belly fat and inflammation

• Reduces excess gas and bloating

• Aids in weight loss if that is a current goal of yours

• Rids your body of various toxins that it may already be trying to get rid of

• Significantly boosts energy levels to become more efficient when working physically or mentally

• Boost your immune system, making it harder to get sick or acquire illnesses

• Can help to fight off various infections like the common cold, sinus infections, or the flu

• Can be used to treat bronchitis

• Detoxifies the body, ultimately helping out the liver and kidneys

• Helps to prevent high blood pressure

• Prevents high blood sugar levels

• Helps to prevent heart disease

• Prevents high cholesterol from developing

• Prevents acid reflux and helps it go away

• Prevents cancer from developing inside the body

• Improves overall skin hydration

• May improve sleep

• Can enhance hair growth, heals dandruff, and prevents hair loss

• Prevents pain from arthritis

• Can decrease the severity of allergies

• Can be used to treat asthma

• Can ensure a healthy gallbladder

• Packed with Vitamin B

• It is available in many flavors and can be found in most grocery stores (especially health-conscious ones)

Now that you are aware of all of the amazing benefits that drinking kombucha has to offer, you’re probably asking yourself why you haven’t been drinking it on a daily basis (if you haven’t been already). It is truly incredible how many bodily issues that kombucha can help with. If you are currently experiencing any of the issues listed above, then trying out kombucha may be the next step for you to take to begin improving your overall health so that you can become more physically fit and mentally clear to take on each day with your best self.

If you have any questions or if you would like to know more about the kombucha we offer, please contact us!

What Are The Best Juices For Indigestion?

If you’re suffering from indigestion, bloating, or just the occasional abdominal discomfort, it may be due to the types of foods you’ve been putting into your body. Actually, this almost certainly is the reason for these types of symptoms. Fueling your body with the right fruits and vegetables on a daily basis is absolutely essential for your body to stay well and function properly. There are many kinds of fruits and vegetables that have various benefits. However, if you’re suffering specifically from indigestion issues, there are certain fruits and vegetables that we recommend incorporating into your diet through juicing that could make all the difference for you and your gut health!

The top juice ingredients for indigestion:

• Carrots (controls high blood sugar)

• Aloe Vera (high antioxidants and reduces constipation)

• Beets (high in fiber)

• Spinach (weight loss aid)

• Cucumber (promotes hydration)

• Ginger (reduces nausea and speeds up digestion)

• Apples (promotes strong gut health)

• Celery (anti-inflammatory)

• Mint (improves irritable bowel syndrome)

• Apple Cider Vinegar (reduces belly fat as a natural laxative)

Many of these foods are not only useful for fighting indigestion, but many of them are also cancer-fighting foods, promote heart health, and much more. One of the best and quickest ways to consume all of these highly nutritious fruits and vegetables is to juice them. Not only will you be able to quickly get all of the nutrition you need in just one glass a day, but it will also taste great (especially when you add apples, beets, and/or carrots to your juice for some extra sweetness).

Now that we have explained what juicing can do for your indigestion and what fruits and vegetables are best to use, we will now give you some general tips to get you started on your juicing journey!

Juicing tips:

• You can pick sweet (apples), tart (lemons), or spicy (ginger) for the type of juice you’d like for the day, or even roots (beets), greens (kale), herbs (mint), or high-yield (cucumber)

• Juice the fruits and vegetables together that you would actually like to eat together

• Try to balance high-yield (cucumber) with high-potency (mint) ingredients in your juices

• Don’t be afraid to take sips as you go and add the ingredients that you think would taste best

• You don’t usually need to remove the skin from the fuits and/or vegetables that you buy, but it is good to do so for kiwis, citrus fruits, and any produce that might have wax on it’s exterior

• If color significantly affects the way you view taste, you can always add beets for a nice purplish red hue and some apples or lemon to make the taste of your juice better

Juicing and Dieting: Controlling and Monitoring Nutrition

Your daily nutrition is something everyone can improve on. Getting it regimented and ensuring you have consistency in that diet takes solid effort and preparation. Here are some tips to set that expectation for yourself, how to improve on it, and what other like-minded folks have done to accomplish healthier lifestyles.

If you are struggling to set aside ample time for food preparation

Preparing food is a major deterrent for most who don’t necessarily feel they have the time to set aside for it. Luckily, there are a few methods to expedite the process.

Buying food primarily for set recipes - Planning out your week ahead of time can make this process far easier on you. Allocating finances towards between five and seven main dinner plans a week will not only lower your overall cost for groceries, but also help you stay on track with food prep. Having everything laid out for you cuts downtime spent in the long term, and also simplifies each task to feel more consolidated.

Cutting down the frequency of eating out - Eating out is not only more expensive, but it also creates an expectation. That expectation is that you can always fall back to eating out, which will lower your desire and motivation for cooking at home. Any sort of prep time then feels like it’s more of a chore than anything. 

Juicing - Another great option is juicing. This allows for nutrient intake to be expedited a great deal. Then, you won’t have to worry about the prep time as much either. All that is really necessary in terms of a time commitment is for cutting up fruits and vegetables, which then can be immediately juiced instead of being set aside for cooking later. 

Juicing put into nutritional practice

There’s a common stigma that juicing may diminish a fruit or vegetable's nutritional value. However, this isn’t the case for most of the nutrients. Some of the fibers are lost in the process, but the greater part of the fruit or vegetable’s overall value is maintained. 

If you have any questions about how to get started with juicing and which ingredients to include, give us a call or take a deeper look at our website today. We have loads of options and best practices for some of our pressed juices and snacks that will be great additions to any dietary plan. We’re looking forward to hearing from you soon!

What Can Juicing Do For Me?

Juicing is a great step to improving your overall health and well-being. It’s a unique step to help make you feel better throughout the day, have higher energy, and ensure your body is getting all the necessary daily-value nutrients. Here are some tips to get started today. 

What is your goal?

Setting a goal for a juice cleanse and how it’ll impact your day-to-day is a great first step. While results are of course rarely instantaneous, at the very least being aware of what you’re striving for can do a great deal for your own confidence.

Being accountable

Accountability is everything. Giving your goals and expectations for yourself to someone close to you is a strategy many people implement. This not only gives you a reason to stay consistent, but allows for someone to know if you aren’t. Committing to improving your health is the first step of the journey, while consistency is most (if not all) of the rest.

Of course, you plan to be accountable. You set out to accomplish your goal and have every expectation of completing it. However, things happen. Complications come up. Don’t fret, and remember that it happens to everyone. This is why it can be great to have someone that knows about your commitment, or better yet, is doing it with you!

Convenience of juicing

For some, getting daily nutrients simply comes down to a time commitment. Eating and drinking can be time consuming, which impacts how often and readily available you will have those nutrients you know you need to get. Fortunately, juicing allows for all those nutrients to be compacted into 1-2 servings. Also, prep for juicing is a fun process. 

Getting to see everything you’ll be drinking and getting more familiar with the ingredients makes you feel good. You can see that you won’t be ingesting a great deal of calories, getting all-natural values only. Also, if you have a predisposition to a particular vegetable or fruit, juicing allows stomaching those vegetables or fruits to come much more easily.

Overall, juicing is a fun and worthy journey to get started on. Take your time and get to know the terms of what you believe your goals to be, and try to find a friend or family member that can begin it with you. Healthy living benefits highly from juicing in your everyday routine. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us as well!

Does Juicing Benefit Kidneys?

A fruit and vegetable-rich diet lowers the risk of heart disease and stroke, protects against certain forms of cancer, and offers fiber, which lowers the risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and diverticulosis.

Juicing and Kidney Health

Juicing is being promoted as a way to reduce weight and stay healthy, and while it may appear to be a new trend, it has been around for a long time. As with any diet, there are advantages and disadvantages to consider, especially when it comes to your kidneys.

The Advantages of Juicing

Juicing can help you receive the vitamins and minerals you need without making you feel bloated. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, most adults should consume 1 12 to 2 cups of fruits and 2-3 cups of vegetables every day (USDA). Liquefying your raw food is an excellent way to consume the appropriate portions of fruits and vegetables.

Juicing can also assist kidney health by giving additional fluid to the body, which helps keep it hydrated.

The additional antioxidants found in the fruits and vegetables used to prepare the juice aid in the reduction of inflammation induced by oxidation. Oxidation is a normal bodily process that occurs when oxygen combines with lipids in the blood and cells. Kidney illness increases inflammation and hence oxidative damage in the body. As a result, juicing can help supply additional antioxidants as well as some vitamins and minerals that individuals with renal disease may be deficient, such as B6 and folic acid.

Disadvantages of Juicing

There Are Some Cautions For ANYONE who chooses to employ juicing instead of eating entire fruits and veggies, there are some downsides or cautions to consider:

Fiber is lost. The fiber is lost when the pulp of a fruit or vegetable is removed during the juicing process. Fiber increases stomach size, which lessens hunger, and fiber decreases the likelihood of constipation.

Because fruit and vegetable juices are higher in natural sugar content (called carbs) than whole fruits and vegetables, people with blood sugar problems should limit their intake of many fruit and vegetable juices.

Juicing is not intended to replace all meals for an extended period of time because it does not provide a balanced supply of all the nutrients our bodies require.

For patients with impaired renal function, further precautions should be taken:

People with normal renal function do not need to limit their fluid intake. Fluids may need to be limited for someone with poor renal function, making it difficult to employ juicing to acquire the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables.

Certain nutrients may need to be restricted because the kidneys are incapable of adequately filtering them from the body. Potassium is one such example. Most juicing recipes include potassium-rich fruits and vegetables, such as oranges, bananas, mangoes, strawberries, spinach, and tomatoes or tomato juice, to mention a few. One orange contains roughly 240 mg of potassium, whereas 8 ounces of orange juice provides about 500 mg of potassium after juicing.

Some juicing recipes use for canned tomato or vegetable juice, which is heavy in salt. Many persons with impaired renal function must restrict their sodium consumption.

Many dark green vegetables, such as spinach and kale, are high in vitamin K, which aids in blood clotting. A high dietary intake of vitamin K can contribute to increased blood clotting in dialysis patients or people using blood thinners. If you are considering juicing and have diminished kidney function, you should consult with your renal doctor and/or a dietician beforehand to ensure that it is safe for your unique medical conditions. Your nutritionist can assist you in selecting the safest juicing recipes for your specific needs.

If you are considering juicing and have diminished kidney function, you should consult with your renal doctor and/or a dietician beforehand to ensure that it is safe for your unique medical conditions. Your nutritionist can assist you in selecting the safest juicing recipes for your specific needs.

Are Pressed Juices or Smoothies Better for Me?

What are the differences between juices and smoothies?

What is left out of the procedure itself distinguishes juicing from blending.

Juicing basically removes all fibrous elements, leaving only the liquid of the fruits and vegetables. Blending gives you everything — the pulp and fiber that bulks up the produce. This is when we start to distinguish the advantages of the two solutions.

Key Things To Know About Juicing

• Greater concentration of vitamins and minerals

• Nutrition absorption is easier

• Some juices have more sugar than sodas and lack fiber, which is necessary for proper digestion, blood sugar regulation, and lowering the risk of heart disease.

Key Things To Know About Smoothies

• Fruits and vegetables that have been blended maintain all of their fiber for good digestion. 

• The fibrous portions of fruits and vegetables fill you up and also include antioxidants.

• Fruits and vegetables that have been blended maintain all of their fiber for good digestion. 

Concentration of Nutrients in Juices vs. Smoothies

Blending fruits and vegetables may provide more concentrated, easily absorbed nutrients. This is because the majority of the vitamins and minerals included in fruit are often located in the juice, rather than the pulp and fibrous components found in a smoothie. 

Fiber Content

Juices have very little or no fiber. Fiber is crucial for efficient digestion and overall health.

Soluble fiber, which may be found in apples, carrots, peas, green beans, and citrus fruits, dissolves in water and delays digestion, which aids with blood sugar management. Insoluble fiber, found in vegetables such as cauliflower, potatoes, and dark leafy greens, adds weight to your stool and stimulates your intestines.

Antioxidants

Fruit and vegetable pulp include more than just fiber. A 2012 studyTrusted Source examined the levels of phytochemicals — antioxidant substances with anti-cancer effects — in grapefruit juice versus blended grapefruits. The researchers discovered that the mixed fruit had a higher concentration of the beneficial ingredient since that compound is contained largely in the fruit's fibrous membranes.

Digestion

Juicing proponents argue that eating fruits and vegetables without the fiber provides your body a respite from the laborious process of digesting. They also claim it improves nutrition absorption.

Low-fiber and low-residue diets are suggested in dealing with severe illnesses and malabsorptive disorders. Juicing would be appropriate in these situations.

While research is sparse, anecdotal data from persons who have completed juice fasts and cleanses and reported a range of health advantages is available. However, fiber is frequently left out of the equation, resulting in negative health effects. Consuming blended foods more frequently than juiced foods may therefore provide the benefits of both whole foods and juiced foods.