KurtMIND

Warmer weather is finally kicking in and you're ready for it.  Sunscreen (check) Floppy Hat (check) New swimsuit you've been working out all winter for ( check ) What happened? What do you mean you STILL can't fit in it? Have you stopped losing weight? Picture this: As dedicated as a soldier, you stayed with your chosen regimen/diet path to the bitter end. Only problem is that  the bathroom scale's numbers are suddenly NOT going down. What's going on??? You were losing weight at one point, but now you seem to have hit a wall. Days or weeks can go by with next to no movement on the scale. It can become very frustrating.  All that hard work and no results. It's a difficult puzzle. Everything happens due to patterns. If you can figure out the pattern, you can solve the puzzle. This series of patterns can help you figure out your shortcomings: This post may contain affiliate links. Upon purchase, we may earn a commission. Remember, affili

Are your cholesterol levels out of whack? There are literally hundreds of ways to bring your cholesterol down and I could write several novels about it. That, of course is not the purpose of this article. I'm going to show you how to do it using food.  As with most things health-related, eating right and working out are the two fundamental elements. Another thing you should be aware of is the distinction between LDL and HDL cholesterol. In simple terms think of HDL as "good" or "healthy" and LDL as "bad" or "unhealthy" HDL can in fact carry bad cholesterol away from your blood vessels while LDL helps it to deposit inside your artery arteries. Your diet is very important to controlling your bad cholesterol levels. Exercise is a very pivotal part of achieving lower cholesterol, but if you want long term results, you need to make sure your diet is in shape as well as your body. The best news is the fact that you actually can change yo

In this article we'll address one of the most important aspects of your weight-loss goal: good eating. For optimal fitness at home, we all know we need to consume a well-balanced diet. With each meal, make sure you have a large amount of steamed veggies to go along with your proteins and carbs. It's pretty simple to achieve your weight reduction goals using a common sense approach to grocery shopping and prior meal planning....but what about when you're not at home? This post may contain affiliate links. Upon purchase, we may earn a commission. Remember, affiliate links that may appear on this blog are at no extra cost to you. You are only billed by the seller for purchasing products or services. See our  affiliate link disclosure page  for details.* Dine Out--Smarter Clearly, eating at home has financial as well as nutritional advantages over eating out. If you absolutely must eat at a restaurant, keep in mind that you may be tempted to consume greater portions th

This is a continuation of an article I wrote some time ago ... The Perfect Pepper Cayenne pepper is a natural blood thinner. It's good for improving blood circulation. Cayenne is available in capsule form with varying strength levels. Typically available from 5,000 heat units (HU) to 100,000 and up. Cayenne fruit is a natural home remedy that is effective in producing peristalsis in your colon and aids digestion. It can be used regularly at every meal and when needed for constipation relief. Burn, Baby, Burn! When used with other herbs, cayenne helps to deliver these herbs more efficiently to where they are needed in the body. As a constipation home remedy, start with one capsule of 40,000 HU and always take it after you eat. You'll likely feel a slight burning sensation in the upper portion of your stomach. This is to let you know that it's working. This burning sensation will pass as your body gets used to you consuming cayenne. Do not use cayenne

Love what you're looking at? We KNEW you would! Get instant access to all future KurtMIND updates! Join The Health Revolution!! Sign up today to get Get FREE UPDATES! RSS FEED is available as well! Do not get left behind! Don't Forget to +1 us on Google Plus !!! "Your Health Is Your Wealth!!" ** KurtMIND's writers and owner(s) may receive compensation for content-applicable placement of certain products and/or services by your clicking on links posted on this blog.**

Many people do not know the difference between an herb and a spice. There are many similarities between the two, and some of the differences are very subtle, but they are still valid.

Hello everyone, I hope you are all doing well. I wanted to share with you an experience I had with a good friend of mine while I was out one warm summer evening in downtown Chicago last month (and believe me, we have had a lot of them here in Chicago). We were looking for a place to "cool our heels" so to speak and have more time to chat.  My friend knows that I am a bit of a health fanatic, so he was quite apprehensive about suggesting some of his normal chow-down spots for us to get refreshments. You know, the places where "fat is king & lean is mean"? There's a lot of great spots in downtown Chicago to eat (one day I'll have to give you a list of some of my favorites), but finding one that fits with a healthy lifestyle can be a bit challenging at times...unless you know where to look.

It's hot almost everywhere. Folks are looking for ways to stay cool. Of course, you want to stay hydrated and keep up your vitamin intake through healthy foods. Salads are one of the best resources for both. Here's a familiar salad that everyone can dig into: Caprese-Style Salad 2 medium red, ripe tomatoes, cut into eight slices 1 bunch fresh basil, leaves removed, washed and patted dry with a paper towel 8 oz. fresh mozzarella, cut into eight slices 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil 1/8 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper (optional) 1/8 teaspoon sea salt (optional) Preparation: On a large serving platter layer slice of tomato, larger basil leaves, and mozzarella slices. Repeat the layers while fanning them out slightly on the plate until you’ve used all of the mozzarella and tomato. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with freshly cracked black pepper and sea salt, if desired. Finish the salad by garnishing with a few small

2 cups of chicken or vegetable stock 2 cans of low sodium cream of mushroom soup 3-4 carrots peeled and sliced or julienned 1/2 teaspoon black pepper  1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper 1/2 teaspoon cumin 1/2 oz  fresh rosemary leaves (chopped or minced) 1 large or 2 medium potatoes peeled and cubed (sweet potatoes can work for this recipe as well) 2 cups of frozen peas (thawed) 1 cup of cooked navy beans 1 medium white or yellow onion 2 lbs of fully cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts (strip cut for small chicken fingers)* 2 celery stalks (cleaned & sliced) 2-3 cloves of garlic (minced) Use a slow cooker for the best results: Add your stock and all the other pre-measured ingredients to the slow cooker on low to medium setting and allow them to cook for up to 6 hours. Serve warm, garnish with your favorite green leafy veggie. * You may choose to add the chicken into the pot at the same time or cover and refrigerate the chick

It's winter season folks! Time to bundle up and get a hearty (and heart-healthy) meal going to fight off the effects of the cold weather.  What better way to do that than with a tasty soup or stew! This sweet potato soup is not only absolutely delicious, but it's also very good for you.  Check out the recipe below the image & try it out yourself! Gingery Sweet Potato Soup Recipe type: Soup Prep time: 15 mins  Cooking time: 50 mins  Total time: 1 hour 5 mins.  Serves: 4 This is where healthy and tasting great meet!! INGREDIENTS 1 very large sweet potato  ½ large sweet onion, diced  2 carrots, diced  1 large clove garlic, minced  3 tbsp. olive oil, divided sea salt and pepper to taste  4 cups chicken or vegetable stock  1 tbsp. butter  2 tsp. freshly-ground ginger INSTRUCTIONS:   Preheat oven to 400 Fahrenheit ( 204.44 Celsius) . Peel and large dice sweet potato. Place sweet potato on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tbsp. olive oil and s

It's summer time folks! Enjoy one of the season's best treats for its many health benefits as well as flavor. Try this unique recipe out before you decide to toss out your watermelon seeds! Roasting watermelon seeds is common in many parts of the Middle East and Asia, in the rest of the world, the seeds are little more than a hindrance in the way of that sweet, juicy fruit. But pro-seeds folks are on to something — not only are roasted watermelon seeds delicious, they are also loaded with nutrients like iron, magnesium and copper, and are an excellent source of unsaturated fat. So what should you do with the seeds?  Here are some suggestions:   Add to a salad both fruit and vegetable - Top grilled vegetables with the seeds  Add them to a homemade trail mix  Snack on them on their own You can also roast the seeds of cantaloupe and honeydew melon!  Ingredients:   1 Cup black watermelon seeds (discard white seeds) Olive Oil  1 Tablespoon salt Instruction

Vegan breakfast burritos are really delicious when made with sweet potatoes and avocados. Make a Vegan breakfast burrito with sweet potato and avocado with help from a body and life stylist in this free video clip. Love what you're looking at? We KNEW you would! Get instant access to all future KurtMIND updates! Join The Health Revolution!! Get FREE updates using our sign-up options in the "Comments" box under the articles! RSS FEED is available as well! Do not get left behind! Don't Forget to +1 us on Google Plus !!! "Your Health Is Your Wealth!!"  ** KurtMIND's writers and owner(s) may receive compensation for content-applicable placement of certain products and/or services by your clicking on links posted on this blog.**

Believe it or not, many people out there have found only one use for basil herb and that is cooking.. This versatile herb has many benefits that you may not be aware of. 

Cayenne peppers are no joke.  I'm going to break down for you a few reasons as to why this pepper is absolutely one of the most powerful tools you can use to maintain your health. Don't go anywhere, alright?

Russian Nobel Prize Winning Biologist Elie Metchnikoff (1845-1916) is credited with the famous expression " Death Begins In The Colon ".  Photo credit: wikipedia I couldn't agree more with him.  Recently, I was asked about the best way to take off the pounds & improve your health overall. There is no easy answer to this question because there are literally thousands (even tens of thousands) of techniques and methods to achieve this goal. I decided to start off with one of the most elementary and ancient techniques available. What Exactly Is Colon Cleansing? Simply put, it is the process of cleaning the intestinal tract and the colon for removing the toxins. Some of the methods used for the colon cleansing are injecting water, dietary supplement, laxatives, and herbs. People resort to colon cleaning mainly because any accumulation of the toxins in the intestinal tract will lead to various diseases. In The Beginning... It is believed that the ancient

I have been asked to provide a more suited recipe for the colder months, so I reached out to my culinary contact & was provided the following recipe for your enjoyment. Please let all your friends know where you got it from!!

Hello everyone! As I promised you a few weeks ago, I have completed my short list of top non-vegan & non-vegetarian Chicago restaurants. These spots cover a fairly wide range of tastes & cuisines, but they all share on thing in common---quality. Please feel free to comment & share socially with all your family, friends, acquaintances, etc. In no particular order here's my list folks! Explore, share and enjoy!!!

Hello everyone! I hope that you are doing well during this winter season. You may recall some months ago I posted an article about an outing with a close friend of mine here in Chicago.  Early on during the post, I hinted that I would share some of my favorite healthy restaurants to dine in. Well, I have compiled a short list for you along with popular/unique dishes as well as related links for additional info. Please comment & share with family, friends, associates (and yes even, enemies if you want the last word) freely. Here's the list for your review:

I have been asked  numerous times about the healthiest way to eat after the holidays. But what about during the holidays?   It is a known fact that many Americans experience substantial weight gain between the months of October through December.  Some may ask why this occurs.  The truth is there are a myriad of reasons as to why this occurs: inclement weather tends to make one less likely to want to exercise outdoors, limited sunlight can cause your circadian rhythms to become off balanced and may make you more sedentary, and at least a few dozen other factors. However, overwhelmingly, food is typically the culprit. We tend to consumer fattier & less nutritious meals during the late fall to early winter seasons. As weight loss becomes more challenging this ultimately causes you to work out even harder after the holiday seasons...unless you take action to offset the excess weight.    I believe that it is quite possible to create a nutritious and de