FoodTrients Created By Hunger for a Healthier Life

After I turned 50, I had my own health issues. I have problems with my knees, which led me to struggle with my weight – working hard to lose it only to gain it back again. But believe it or not, all of the work I have done on FoodTrients and writing The Age GRACEfully Cookbook and The AGE BEAUTIFULLY Cookbook  and using FoodTrients ingredients has helped me stay healthy – my cholesterol is normal, all of my bloodwork is normal. I don’t take any medication, I strive to add FoodTrients ingredients to all my meals, which helps me maintain good overall health. I even found ways to include FoodTrients in one of my first loves – baking—and have developed tons of tasty desserts along with all my other age-fighting recipes.

While losing weight is not easy for most of us, it is a step toward improved health and longevity. The first thing we have to conquer is the fear of feeling hungry. Hunger tells us that we are eating fewer calories than we normally do. This is a good sign on your road to weight loss: The more comfortable we are with feeling hungry, the likelier we are to succeed.

There are many tricks we can use to reduce calories while keeping our stomachs feeling full.

I like to soak dried quinoa or millet in soy milk overnight and then cook it on the stovetop in the morning for a filling, high-protein, low-fat breakfast. Monica Reinagel—the board-certified, licensed nutritionist and a professionally-trained chef who sits on my FoodTrients Board of Advisors — recommends eating foods rich in fiber to fill up the stomach and slow digestion so you feel satiated for longer.

For lunch, I’ll serve my Quinoa Tabbouleh on Pita recipe (which is in my cookbook), a nutrient-dense starter dish or snack—and it’s full of health-sustaining nutritional compounds including fiber, lycopene, sulfur compounds, choline, and chlorophyll, that help your skin stay elastic, reduce inflammation, and provide antioxidants.

Other grains with similar high-fiber, nutrition-dense properties include brown rice, freekeh, and wild rice. My Seafood with Wild Rice recipe makes a lovely low-fat dinner that’s high in the FoodTrients Omega-3s, fiber, and selenium.

This is Part 2 in a series of stories in which cookbook author and FoodTrients founder Grace O talks about her journey to FoodTrients and her books, The AGE GRACEFULLY Cookbook and The AGE BEAUTIFULLY Cookbook.