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August 31, 2009
Snack Savvy
Can snacking help you lose weight? It all depends on what you consider a snack and what the rest of your caloric intake looks like.
The main benefit of snacking is that it can curb feelings of starvation before a meal and thus prevent gorging. But when one considers that a typical cookie nowadays is the size of a Frisbee, and one bagel contains as many as 4 or 5 servings of carbohydrates, who's to say what a "small" looks like anymore?
Done appropriately, snacks can help you eat less at mealtime. However, you have to follow a few rules.
1. Plan ahead: Food is not just going to magically appear in the fridge or in your office drawer. Make a grocery store run at least once a week.
Spend time washing, peeling, cutting and whatever else is required to make your snacks ready to eat. If the snack is in the fridge and ready to go, that's what you'll eat. If it isn't, that's when you'll go for the bag of chips.
2. Pack something you like: There's nothing worse than being hungry and having a snack that you're not into. Don't pack rice cakes if you don't like them. Pack hummus with carrots if that's what you like. Pack ¼ cup of lightly salted edamame for a salty snack, or an apple with a thin spread of peanut butter.
3. Portion it out: Remember, this is a snack, not a meal. Snacks should range from 175 to 225 calories. If you're not into measuring out your food just yet, then opt for individually packaged items. Good options include part-skim mozzarella cheese sticks, 6-ounce low-fat yogurts and single-serving containers of such foods as cottage cheese or whole wheat pretzels. Whole fruits are a great snack, of course. Dried fruits are almost as good, but they do contain excess sugar. It's easy to overeat on dried fruits -- about ¼ cup is generally a single serving.
Posted by Lisa at 07:28 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 27, 2009
More reasons to eat fruits and veggies.
Fight off gray with a multi-hued diet? It may be possible as many experts believe our own environmental (ex: smoking or UV rays) and dietary habits (ex: red meat or trans fat) may be to blame for premature aging. A rainbow of fruits and veggies may be just the solution to maintain your mane.
Hair naturally produces its rich hue from the melanin producing cells found at the base of the hair follicle called melanocytes. As biological and environment stressors damage these color creating cells, melanin production decreases and the hair follicle becomes more and more transparent until it eventually becomes white. The ‘stressors’ are also known as free-radicals, unstable molecules seeking out healthy cells to stabilize them, while injure the other. In example, let us return to the melanocyte striving to maintain that beautiful brunette shade… Once a free-radical attaches to that molecule, it is unable to carry out its role therefore producing fewer color cells and fading your hair. The negative effect of free-radicals is also referred to as oxidation, a process which also causes rusting on your car.
One way to fight off damaging free-radicals and prevent rusting in, or on, your body, is to consume a diet rich in whole foods. Mother Nature has provided us with an army of oxidation fighters in the form of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Whole foods are rich in antioxidants, in fact in many cases the more colorful your food the more antioxidants it contains! There have not been many studies suggesting that a single supplement or antioxidant pill will have the same beneficial effect of real food and in some cases a pill may cause more harm than good! A typical vegetable contains over 10,000 phytonutrients, many of which have yet to be identified or understood. While we are truly making amazing strides in science, until we understand which pills will or will not increase the risk of cancer or heart disease, the best alternative may simply be to base your diet on all food in its natural form.
Do yourself (and your hair color) a favor by eating foods rich in free-radical-fighting antioxidants such as pomegranates, tomatoes, blueberries, leafy greens and broccoli – while perhaps cutting back on some of those free-radical inducing habits.
Posted by Lisa at 07:08 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 23, 2009
Nutrient Analysis
Want to know how much calories, fat, protein, carbs, fiber, etc are in specific foods? Go to CalorieKing.com! This is a huge database of food which is really easy to use and search. It includes some brand names, restaurant food and generic foods as well. Also try going to specific restaurant websites to find their nutrition information.
Posted by Lisa at 09:44 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 18, 2009
Blueberry Power Muffins With Almond Streusel
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups vanilla low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup 2 percent reduced-fat milk
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
Cooking spray
Streusel:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup slivered almonds, chopped
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter, melted
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
To prepare muffins, lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 11/2 cups all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, oats, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk.
Make a well in center of mixture. Combine yogurt, milk, oil, vanilla and egg, stirring with a whisk.
Add yogurt mixture to flour mixture; stir just until moist. Fold in blueberries. Spoon 2 rounded tablespoons batter into each of 30 muffin cups coated with cooking spray.
To prepare streusel, combine 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, almonds, brown sugar and butter.
Sprinkle evenly over batter. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pans. Serve
warm or at room temperature.
Makes 30 muffins.
Per 2-muffin serving: 244 calories, 2 mg cholesterol, 260 mg sodium, 42 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 6 g protein, 136 mg calcium.
From Cooking Light magazine
Posted by Lisa at 08:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 12, 2009
Brain Conditioning
The food industry focuses on several factors to influence irresistability, including calories, flavor and ease of eating. Food scientists create “hyperpalatable” foods and the food industry markets “fun foods.” One way marketers make food fun is by adding dips or sauces, such as Dippables products.
Foods such as milkshakes and candy bars stimulate the appetite and prompt us to eat more even after we’re full. These foods layer sugar, fat, and salt in optimal amounts in a way that conditions our brains to eat more and more.
Instead of satisfying our hunger, we are setting ourselves up to crave them again. By creating hyperpalatable foods that are entertaining, widely available and socially acceptable, the food industry contributes to this vicious cycle. Millions of Americans report loss of control in the face of food, lack of feeling satisfied, and a preoccupation with these foods.
Posted by Lisa at 07:17 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
August 07, 2009
In Season: Strawberries
Nutritional punch: One cup of strawberries contains 46 calories, 2.9 grams of fiber, and 50 percent more vitamin C than you need in a day. Other notable nutrients include manganese, folate (important to protect against birth defects and promote heart health), and vitamin B6, an energy booster.
Strawberries overflow with phytochemicals, including flavonoids (such as anthocyanins, antioxidants that give them their ruby red color) and ellagic acid, a phenolic compound (also found in blueberries, raspberries, and other plant foods) shown in laboratory and animal studies to have anti-cancer properties. Recent animal studies suggest that strawberries may protect and maintain your cognitive function by enhancing learning and memory in aging animals.
Quick Fix: Slice strawberries over yogurt for a yogurt parfait or try frozen yogurt for a sweet treat this summer.
Peak: April through July.
Posted by Lisa at 05:05 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 03, 2009
Sport Snacks for Kids and Teens
Is it your turn to bring snacks to the soccer, baseball or swim meet?
Don’t undo the good calorie-burning and muscle-building activities with high-fat, nutrient-poor snacks. Here are the top four healthy snacks for active kids and three snacks you should leave on the grocery store shelf.
1. Low-fat chocolate milk. A recent study with competitive college soccer players found low-fat chocolate milk to be a terrific muscle recovery food.
Researchers think that milk’s muscle-building properties result from two types of protein-whey and casein, as well as the carbohydrates in milk.
2. Fruit kebabs. Make fruit exciting by threading melon, grapes and pineapple chunks on a wooden skewer. Fruit provides needed carbohydrates for working muscles and has a high water content to replace lost fluids.
3. Trail mix. Mix up your own with whole- grain cereals such as Wheat Chex and Cheerios, raisins or other dried fruit, peanuts or other nuts and mini-pretzels. The salt in the pretzels will help replace sodium lost from sweating.
Three snacks to say “no” to:
1. Potato chips. Potatoes might be natural but when sliced, fried in oil and salted, they lose a lot of nutritional value. A fresh baked potato is high in potassium and low in fat and sodium; potato chips reverse the nutritional profile.
2. Soft drinks. Eight to 10 teaspoons of sugar are found in the average can of soft drink. All sugar and no nutrients is not a power-house beverage.
3. Candy. Even when disguised as “fruit” candy, candy is candy. A healthy snack provides quality carbohydrates and protein —- something that candy does not provide.
Posted by Lisa at 08:05 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack