How to Prepare Your Healthiest Source of Omega-3 Fats in 15 Seconds

Omega 3 fats are essential nutrients.  This means we must eat them in our diet in order to survive. 

They're essential for our membranes, nerve tissue and endothelial cell function.  

A-linolenic acid (ALA), is an essential omega-3 fat.  When we eat it, out bodies convert it into EPA and then into DHA.  

But how much ALA do we actually need in our diet?  The Institute of Medicine recommends women eat 1.1 g of ALA each day and men consume 1.6 g per day (1).  

When you hear about omega-3s, the sources most commonly associated with these nutrients are fish and supplements.

However, there are much safer and healthier ways to consume omega-3s other than fish and supplements. 

Like plants!  All whole, plant foods contain small amounts of ALA.  Kale, collards, brocolli, potatoes and so on.  When you consume whole, plant foods at every meal (like I recommend), you should get enough ALA in your diet. 

Plants are where fish and all animals get their omega 3s from -- from the algae and phytoplankton in the ocean.  Fish are a secondary source of omega-3s while plants are a primary source (1a).

So what’s the best plant/primary source of omega-3s?  Ground flax seeds and english walnuts.  They're your omega-3 'insurance' foods.

One tablespoon of flax (10.3g) contains 2.35 g of ALA omega-3 fat (2).  With one tablespoon of flax, we’ve already surpased the recommended intake of 1.1 g/day for women, set by the Institute of Medicine.

How much ALA is in this same amount of wild, Atlantic caught Salmon?  0.03g (3). 

Flax seed has more omega-3 ALA fat than wild salmon!

Plus with flax, you won’t consume any environmental carcinogens like mercury, that accumulate in fish; you’ll consume less fat; you’ll skip the dose of cholesterol found in fish; and you’ll get more vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytonutrients.  

So add ground flax to your oatmeal, smoothies or use as an egg replacer when baking.  

Answer this question in the comments section below and lets hear what you think of this information.

Take Control Now

How will you incorporate ground flax into your diet?  Are you surprised there's more omega-3 ALA fat in flax than fish?  

Sources: 1, 1a, 2, 3

3 Quick + Easy Ways to Make Oatmeal

Breakfast is really the most important meal of the day.  But many of us skip it because we don’t make the time to prepare and eat it.

Oats can be a quick and easy breakfast.  It takes me 5 minutes to prepare it every morning.  While they're cooking, I brush my teeth, wash my face and begin getting ready for my day.  

If you really struggle getting out the door on time in the morning, you can also prepare oats the night before.  Just reheat in the morning or, let them soak with plant-milk over night and eat them cold.  

And oats are an awesome food to eat for breakfast!  One cup has 8g of fiber, 307 calories, 10.6g of protein, 42mg of calcium, 293 mg of potassium, 26mcg of folate and 0 cholesterol (1).  Not to mention all of the high nutritional value from the added fruits and or nuts that normally accompany them.  

Oatmeal is really filling and 2/3 C easily keeps me filled for 3-4 hours.  Other breakfast foods such as eggs and bacon are loaded with fat, cholesterol, zero fiber and less bulk so you could end up eating more calories and become hungrier sooner, further increasing the amount of calories you could eat in day.

No thank you!

Here are 3 quick and simple ways to prepare oatmeal.  
 

 Take Control Now!

If you enjoy oatmeal, which of these 3 options would you prefer?  Or, is there another way you enjoy preparing oatmeal you'd like to share?

Type your answer in the comments section below.  

How to Achieve Accelerated Weight Loss

Today is New Year’s Eve and the number one New Year’s Resolution made by Americans?  You guessed it, losing weight.   

Now I know you’ve tried to lose weight before and you get tired of trying diets that don’t work.  And maybe you’ve even lost all hope.  But I want you to know something... you are not a failure and you CAN do this.  

And it’s going to be easier and more delicious than you’d imagine.  

So what do you have to do to lose weight without restricting or depriving yourself?  And more importantly, how do you stay motivated to keep it up?  Well, I’m about to tell you exactly that. 

Watch this week's episode of Take Control Tuesdays below and find out how.

This is where your journey begins.  Do not expect to start doing this perfectly tomorrow, especially if this is the first time you are hearing this information.

You have be gentle on yourself.  Accept that you may not do this perfectly right away.  And if you fall off the horse so to stay, don’t just quit and start eating hot dogs and ice-cream again.  It is okay, just get back on your horse start eating well again.

And get help!  Research shows that people who get support get greater results.    That’s one reason why I’m here.  To help you!  So stay connected with the TrishaMandes.com community in the comments section below; schedule a personal session with me once a month; or join your local vegetarian network for monthly potlucks with like-minded eaters.  

When you sign up to be on my listserv, you receive a three page resource guide filled with the best books, movies and recipe websites for beginning a whole-foods, plant-based diet.  Get that resource guide and use it.  

One book I’ll highly recommend right now is, The McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss by Dr. John McDougall.  It also includes recipes.  

And stay tuned, because this week I’ll be sending out a special video with my goals for the new year which also includes a way for you to get at least one FREE personal session with me.  

Part of making a change is taking action.  And part of taking action is commenting on my Take Control Now question in the comments section below.  

And as always, if you like this video, please share it with your friends and family.  Tell them to sign-up for FREE tips at TrishaMandes.com, and like my page on facebook.

Take Control Now!

What is your healthy New Year's Resolution?  What support will you take to help you achieve that goal?

Should you go nuts over nuts?

When I began seriously learning more about diet and health I was 15 pounds heavier than I am now.  I wasn't huge by any means, but I had always been a lean athlete and wanted my body back.  I suffered a severe ankle break skateboarding the year before and the weight slowly packed on.  

I began eating a whole foods, plant-based diet after watching the jaw-dropping research of Dr. T Colin Campbell, author of The China Study, and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, author of Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease while working as a Nutrition Educator for The Food Trust.  

Now, not only could I maintain a healthy weight without restricting how much I wanted to eat (my favorite part!), but I could highly increase my chances of preventing the chronic diseases that killed my grandparents and help others do the same.  Yes!

But after months eating a plant-based diet, I didn't drop a pound.  I learned later, high-fat plant foods such as nuts, can be a weight-loss killer when not eaten correctly.  Do I still eat nuts now?  Hell yeah I do, but there is a trick to eating them correctly ;)

And it's not just about the weight... high-fat plant foods like nuts, can impede on lowering really stubborn cholesterol, and reversing type II diabetes and heart disease.  

So don't make the same mistakes I did!  Learn how to eat nuts correctly to reverse AND prevent disease in this week's episode of Take Control Tuesdays above.  And then get your booty over to comments section below and take action now towards better health!

FYI - commenting is part of taking action!  As the research shows... the more support people have, the more they adhere to diet aka get results ;)  So.. 

Take Control Now!

How did you use to eat nuts?  Out of the bowl perhaps ;-)?  How will you change how you eat nuts after watching this episode?

Do Low-Fat Vegans Lose More Weight in Intervention Study?

Where do I come off telling you to stop eating dairy products and get rid of all the oils?Where do I get this information from anyway?

My information and actions are powered by the "preponderance of evidence," as Dr. Pam Popper, owner of the Wellness Forum, frequently states.  I review scientific articles published in academic journals like the one below.  

Today I will discuss an intervention study that randomized overweight postmenopausal women into a low-fat vegan or National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) group for 14 weeks.  

Which group lost significantly more weight?  Which group reduced their waist circumference while never restricting their portion sizes?

Sources: study 1, study 2, study 3, study 4

Take Control Now!

Did you know plant-based nutrition was evidence-based?  What do you think about this study?

Write your answer in the comments section below.