NorthStar Nutritionals Blog

Many things change as our bodies age, some good, some not so good.

For some people, it becomes more important to eat east-to-digest foods and meals than it once was.

But that doesn’t mean your meals have to be bland, uninteresting, or tasteless.

Your digestive tract may need a little TLC, but your taste buds are just fine!

So, we’ve collected four recipes, and even a few tips, that taste good AND keep your tummy happy.

The Keys to Creating an Easy-to-Digest Meal

Nutritionists have known for decades which foods are easy-to-digest and which ones are harder, and yet that information has never quite made it into the mainstream.

However, if you’re going to create easy-to-digest meals in your own kitchen, it’s important to know which foods to embrace, and which to eliminate or minimize.

Look for:

• Foods with high water content
• Foods with high fiber content
• Plant-based fats
• Whole, unprocessed foods

These four categories of food will work with your body to be digested easier and more fully. They digest faster, as well, leaving less time for problems to arise.

With that in mind, here are four delicious recipes to start with!

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner – Making Every Meal Work

Oatmeal – serves 1

If you want to get your day started off right, it’s hard to beat a bowl of oatmeal. Not only is it easy-to-digest, but it’s heart healthy and keeps you fuller, longer. Be sure to use traditional or even quick oats, but not the instant packets. Add honey – another easy-to-digest foods - and have a sweet, delicious, and hearty breakfast. Most people know how to make oatmeal, but just in case, here’s the classic recipe.

• ½ c uncooked oats
• 1 c water or milk
• Dash of salt
• Honey

1. Put oats, water or milk, and a dash of salt into a sauce pan.
2. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for approximately five minutes, or until creamy and thick.
3. Remove from heat. Drizzle with honey and enjoy.

Modern Day Lox – serves 1

Take your lox and cream cheese to the next level – and make it easy-to-digest – by swapping out avocado for the heavier cream cheese. The fiber in the whole grain bread, the salmon, and the avocado are all easy on your stomach. An easy-to-digest lunch has never tasted so good!

Ingredients:

• 1 piece thick cut whole grain bread
• 1/2 avocado
• freshly squeeze lemon juice
• Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
• 2 thin sliced smoked salmon
• thin sliced of red onion (optional – onion is difficult for some people to digest, while others have no problem with it)

1. Toast the bread.
2. Mash ½ an avocado. Season with a squeeze of lemon, salt and pepper to taste.
3. Spread avocado on toast.
4. Top with salmon and onion.
5. Serve immediately.

Grilled Chicken with Spinach and Brown Rice – serves 6

If you’re looking for a dinner that’s tasty and easy-to-digest, look no further. Just don’t expect this to be a bland chicken dinner, because it’s loaded with flavor!

• 2 T olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 ounces (approximately 1 good sized bunch) baby spinach leaves

1. Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook and stir 10 minutes or until browned. Add onion; cook and stir 5 minutes or until softened.
2. Stir in tomatoes, water and seasonings. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 3 minutes or until heated through.
3. Stir in spinach; cook 2 minutes or until spinach begins to wilt.

Afternoon Snack Smoothie – serves 2

Bananas and yogurt are both easy-to-digest foods, and BenVia Gold has the fiber and nutrients to help keep your digestive tract healthy, so even your snacking works for you!

Ingredients:

• 2 ripe medium-sized bananas (hint – there should be brown flecks on the peel)
• 1 c vanilla yogurt
• 1 scoop BenVia Gold
• 3 c ice

1. Add bananas, yogurt, and BenVia Gold to blender.
2. Add ice to blender last.
3. Blend until smooth and thick.

Final Thoughts

While these are great recipes to start with, you can’t eat these four meals every day for the rest of your life.

Once you start planning your own easy-to-digest meals, keep these four thoughts in mind –

1. Watch portions. Even easy-to-digest meals need to be a reasonable size if they’re going to be good for your digestive tract. Keep your portions in check and it will be easier on your tummy.
2. Some people find raw veggies to be far easier to digest than cooked ones. For other people, it’s the exact opposite. Remember, there are no hard and fast rules. Eat what works for you.
3. High fat foods are harder to digest than naturally lower fat ones. If you find yourself struggling, take a look at how many high-fat foods you’re eating.
4. A healthy digestive tract needs support. Vitamins, minerals, fiber, nutrients. They all play a part in keeping your digestive system healthy. A single scoop a day can do wonders for your digestion.

Easy-to-digest foods can – and should – be delicious, as well as healthy. So before you resign yourself to boiled dinners and gray food, give these easy-to-digest meals and cooking tips a try!

In an ideal world, how young you look would reflect how young you feel.

Reality, though, is rarely ideal, which means you have to worry about how to age gracefully every day.

But don’t just focus on every day – pay attention to every night, too!

Direct Steps for Your Skin

The obvious ways to age gracefully are obvious for a reason – they’re the ones most people think about when they think about skin care.

Surprisingly, they are also the ones that many people forget. So check these tips out and make sure you haven’t forgotten some of the basics to aging gracefully -

1. Take off makeup. It’s easy to think that taking off makeup isn’t as important once you’re past the teenage acne years, but that would be a mistake. First, clogged pores are always more acne-prone, regardless of your age. But perhaps more importantly, leaving makeup on your face overnight means leaving free radicals on your face overnight, too. The same free radicals that cause skin damage and lead to premature aging. There are even makeup removing wipes that make it easier than ever.

2. Wash your face. Don’t think that taking off your makeup is the same as washing your face. Both are essential – and separate – steps towards aging gracefully. Look for a soap-free cleanser in order to cleanse without drying.

3. Exfoliate. When dead, dry skin builds up on your face, it can cause dullness and clog pores. And since nighttime is when your whole body, including your skin, restores and rejuvenates, it’s also the best time to buff your way to beautiful.

4. But don’t exfoliate TOO often. While sloughing off dry, dead skin is important, make sure you aren’t exfoliating too much. Doing so can cause the tiny blood vessels just under the skin to rupture, making you look even older – the exact opposite of aging gracefully! Stick to exfoliating once a week. That’s enough to uncover young-looking, healthy skin, but not enough to cause damage.

5. Moisturize the right way. Hopefully, by now, you know that moisturizing in the mornings is one of the most effective skin care tips. Which probably means you’ve been moisturizing at night as well. But if you really want to age gracefully, invest in a cream specially formulated for night use. Your skin can take a heavier, creamier solution at night, so give into the luxury and pamper your skin – and yourself.

6. Boost collagen. Collagen is what keeps your skin elastic, plump, and smooth. When you’re younger, your body makes enough of it to keep you looking your best. But as you age, your body stops making as much collagen. That’s why it’s so important that you find ways to boost it in order to age gracefully. Topical vitamin A is an easy and effective way to help boost collagen, and keep your skin firm and supple.

Unexpected Ways to Age Gracefully

If you’re thinking that these tips were a little too obvious, keep reading, because there are still steps you can take – even if you’ve got the basics down.

7. Floss every night. No, we’re not talking about oral health. We really are talking about aging gracefully and looking good for years to come. And yes, flossing every night really is a part of that. Unhealthy teeth make you look older – and if you start losing teeth due to poor oral health, it doesn’t matter how young you actually are. And brushing just doesn’t remove enough of the plaque and germs to keep your mouth and teeth truly clean.

8. Disconnect before bed. Studies indicate that the light emitting from electronics can keep you awake longer, and may even prevent you from getting as restful a night’s sleep as you can get if you disconnect earlier. So instead of using an e-reader or computer in bed, turn off your electronics and read a book, listen to music, or pick up a pen and paper crossword puzzle once you’re in bed and get a great night’s sleep. It’s called “beauty rest” for a reason, after all.

9. Change how you sleep. Dermatologists and estheticians can tell which side people sleep on because that side tends to have more fine lines and wrinkles. So how do you prevent more lines and wrinkles? Simply fall asleep on the other side or on your back. Yes, you may roll onto your standard side during the night, but you’ll still spend less time putting pressure on one side of your face.

10. Work from the inside out. So far, all of these aging gracefully tips have been external tips, but one of the single most effective ways to hold back time is to work from the inside out. Anti-aging supplements, like Lumivella, nourish your skin naturally, so you look as good on the outside as you feel on the inside!

Aging beats the alternative, and we all agree on that one. But you don’t have to accept the way you look when you age. Age gracefully – and less visibly – starting tonight.