Fit Fare

While on a cruise, I enjoyed one of the most wonderful dishes I had ever tasted. The taste of Conch fitters while sailing toward the Bahamas was magnificent . But my joy over a spectacular dish took a turn for the worse. It started with itchy eyes and a scratchy throat, but quickly progressed to a life threatening stay in the ICU unit of my cruiseliner. I was in full anaphylatic shock. To make a long story short, I almost died from the incident. It was a life changing moment in many ways, spiritually, mentally and physically.

Oddly enough, Doctors tell us that a reaction of this magnitude changes your body’s chemistry forever. Up until this point, I had enjoyed a variety of seafood and shellfish my entire life. So you can imagine my shock when my cruiseliner Physician said in a very heavy Swedish accent, “You can eat nothing that swfims in da sea.” And he meant nothing. A slip up years later, and another life threatening incident, proved him correct.

Almost 13 months ago, I took a dramatic look at my life and made a decision to get healthy, lose weight and take better care of my body, which I believe is a temple of God. I made some drastic changes in diet and lifestyle.

One of those changes was determining that I needed Omega 3s in my diet, as do you. Omega 3s are essential to heart health. Study after study has shown that a diet heavy in healthy Omega 3 fatty acids significantly reduces incidence of heart disease. And with a grandmother who died from a heart attack and a father who had triple by-pass surgery, I need to be concerned with heart health.

The average diet is lacking in this essential fatty acid. The most plentiful and some argue the most tasty way to incorporate Omega 3s into your diet is by eating cold water, ocean born, oily fish. But what about folks like me who can’t eat fish or for someone who just flat doesn’t like fish?

There are many dietary Omega 3 supplements to use including fish oil, but for folks like them, those are not options I can use. Thankfully there are many other ways to get Omega 3s!

Dark, Leafy Greens, Flaxseed and walnuts are all natural sources rich in omega 3s.

Flaxseed is a part of my daily “fishless”diet. My favorite way to include flaxseed in my diet is grinding them up into a fine powder and including them in my morning smoothie. Not only does it provide the omega 3 fatty acids that I need, it also helps with regulating digestion with it’s high fiber content. Which also makes it a great supplement for those suffering from many colon disorders. Flaxseed is also rich in lignan, an antioxidant that shows promise in fighting many diseases, including breast cancer.

Morning Smoothie Recipe

3 Tbsp. Flax Seed (Ground with a coffee grinder) 160 calories
1/2 cup lowfat, light yogurt 40 calories
1 1/2 cup diet cranberry juice 7.5 calories
1 Cup frozen berry mix (blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and raspberries) 70 calories

Blend all these ingredients in a blender until smooth and serve immediately. This 277 calorie smoothie is a great way to include omega 3s in your diet while also getting loads of fiber, probiotics and antioxidant rich dark berries into your morning meal or afternoon snack!