CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK (starting 1/11/08):
THE PROTEIN MEAL-ON-THE-GO
Create a new meal for yourself that is something you enjoy, but could easily take with you on the go. You must post a recipe of your creation to share with the group, and it must be posted by next Thursday at 11:59 pm EST to win.
The first two rules are simple - make it tasty and make it easy to take-along on the go - to work, school, or wherever! Here's where it gets challenging - it must contain at least 15 grams of protein (provided by meat, eggs, dairy, nuts, seeds, even celery!) - but please be more creative than a Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwich loaded with peanut butter. Sound like too much protein for one meal? Keep reading.
Protein is one of the basic building blocks of the human body, being about 16 percent of our total body weight. Muscle, hair, skin, and connective tissue are mainly made up of protein. However, protein plays a major role in all of the cells and most of the fluids in our bodies. In addition, many of our bodies' important chemicals -- enzymes, hormones, neurotransmitters, and even our DNA -- are at least partially made up of protein. Although our bodies are good at “recycling” protein, we use up protein constantly, so it is important to continually replace it.
Our protein needs depend on our age, size, and activity level. The standard method used by nutritionists to estimate our minimum daily protein requirement is to multiply the body weight in pounds by .37. This is the number of grams of protein that should be the daily minimum. According to this method, a person weighing 150 lbs. should eat 55 grams of protein per day, a 200-pound person should get 74 grams, and a 250-pound person, 92 grams.
See? 15 grams is a good goal to shoot for, for one meal.
****READ THE RECIPES HERE!!!!****
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
"It took me a long time not to judge myself through someone else's eyes." - Sally Field
TIP OF THE WEEK:
"Chew your food!!
Chewing is the first step of the digestive process. The fancy word for it is mastication. What it means is that what you put in your mouth is ground up into smaller pieces and mixed with some digestive enzymes to begin the digestive process.
What is the digestive process? To understand the process, it’s best to first understand the purpose. The purpose of digestion is to extract beneficial materials from what you eat and expel the rest. This process involves breaking down your food into smaller and smaller pieces. When some of those pieces are small enough they are absorbed into your bloodstream. Other components, like insoluble fiber, continue on through your intestines and help to expel other waste products and to clean the surfaces of your intestines.
So what does this have to do with chewing? If you do not properly to your food, what you have eaten will go through your digestive system as large pieces of food. You do not have teeth anywhere else in your body. After you swallow your food, there are no other opportunities to break up large pieces of food. The acid from your stomach and the enzymes from your small intestine will only be able to act on the exposed surfaces. Chewing properly is the only way to grind up your food so that it is small enough to allow the rest of your digestive system to extract as many of the available nutrients as possible.
So the next time you eat, put a little thought into the first step of digestion. Chew your food."
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Chew-Your-Food&id=27176
