Diet and Nutrition

Why You Should Cook with Clover for St. Patrick’s Day

We commonly think of clover as the lucky little leaf that has ties to St. Patrick’s Day. But what exactly is it?

Technically speaking, the binomial name for clover is Trifolium, which in Latin means ‘three leaves.’ It can be commonly identified by its three heart-shaped leaves, which are often marked with a distinctive white chevron or ‘V’ in the center. Red and white clover have colorful red and white blossoms that can be easily picked and either dried for use as herbal remedies, or eaten fresh like other edible flowers.

The health benefits of clover are vast. Red clover specifically is found to be high in calcium, magnesium, potassium, thiamine and vitamin C. Menopausal women who take red clover might also improve their cardiovascular health and reduce menopause symptoms, including hot flashes, because of its ability to help balance estrogen levels. And while white clover is not usually eaten or used as an herbal resource like its red counterpart, it is known to be relatively high in protein and is also safe to consume. Clover can also be used topically as a salve, cream or oil to help skin conditions such as eczema. (more…)

Posted on March 5, 2024 by Dana

Dr. Oz’s Diet Tips for the Lazy Girl

It’s clear by our nations’ current health status that many, if not most, of us feel getting healthy is too much work. Or it requires giving up all the good things in life. Dr. Oz will be offering tips on how to take the easy way out and still reap health benefits. Today’s Dr. Oz Show is titled, “The Lazy Girl’s Guide to Getting Healthy.”

Now, Dr. Oz has dedicated his life to teaching people how to get healthy, so the title is a bit strange. However he’s speaking out to those who are admittedly lazy and showing them things they can do with minimum effort to gain maximum results. He tells his guest, “if you’re going to be a lazy girl, do it right.”

Dr. Oz will demonstrate how you can skip workouts and he’ll explain how one can “burn calories without exercise.” The doctor will even discuss how one can eat what they want and still lose weight and prevent cancer. He tells the guests they don’t have to cook, in fact Dr. Oz says, “you can order pizza, you can order Mexican, or Chinese.” (more…)

Posted on March 5, 2024 by Lacy

Elisa Zied’s Plate for National Nutrition Month

I had breakfast over the course of two hours today. I woke up and while dressing had a low-fat organic chocolate milk box. Then I made breakfast for my family which consisted of a cheese omelet (made with 4 eggs and 4 ounces of shredded organic cheddar cheese and cooked with nonfat cooking spray); instant oatmeal (1 packet, for me only, made with one teaspoon vegetable oil spread); and 1 cup of cut up strawberries and pineapple (I had the fruit late morning, after I dropped my younger off at school). (more…)

Posted on March 5, 2024 by Health Buzz

Beginner’s Guide to Container Gardening for Healthy Veggies

by Rachel Berman RD, Director of Nutrition, CalorieCount.com

Growing your own food sounds very overwhelming but you can do it easily with very little space, even in an urban environment. March is also the perfect time to start preparing your own garden to grow plants and herbs for the spring and summer months ahead. As if you need reasons why, it ensures you have fresh produce on hand, is a great way to teach your children about eating healthy, can help you save money, plus studies show that gardening relieves stress! From an environmental standpoint, you can help decrease pollution by growing without the use of pesticides and reduce the need for trucks that transport food all over the country. Finally, what could taste more delicious than a plant that you grow and pluck at its peak of ripeness just steps away from your kitchen door?

Contain your garden

Many people in urban environments do not have a backyard let alone a square foot of land to grow plants. By practicing ‘container gardening’, basically growing in any sort of container that can hold soil, plants and drain water, you can bring your garden to a patio, or even indoors as long as there is plenty of sunshine. Check out this comprehensive guide to how to get started with container gardening and what fruits, vegetables, and herbs are easiest to grow.
(more…)

Posted on March 4, 2024 by Calorie_Count

Kardashian Sisters and QuickTrim Face $5 Million Lawsuit

Kim Kardashian along with two of her sisters are being sued for $5 million dollars for allegations the sisters and the makers of QuickTrim made false claims about the product’s weight loss effectiveness.

The Kardashian sisters had an endorsement deal with the supplement company. Their participation and the company itself came under attack when a lawsuit was filed in a New York federal court this week. The suit is on behalf of four plaintiffs from New York, California, and Florida.

The plaintiffs stated that the claims made by QuickTrim and their spokeswomen, the Kardashians, were “false, misleading, and unsubstantiated.” In addition, the suit stated that there was “no competent and reliable scientific evidence supporting any of these claims.”

According to the lawsuit, QuickTrim’s main ingredient is a large dose of caffeine and various herbal ingredients. It’s claimed that the supplement was never clinically proven as effective.

(more…)

Posted on March 3, 2024 by Lacy

5 Reasons Not to Ditch Your Diet This Weekend

When 5:00 on Friday hits we let our inhibitions run wild. Adults running from their jobs on a Friday evening looks a lot like the last day of school – mass exodus. We trade our pencil skirts for yoga pants and get 48 hours to just not care. Is that the best approach? Probably not.

Everyone says they’re going to start a diet on a Monday. So why make yourself live in a constant cycle of re-starting every Monday? Here are five things to consider before you uphold your Saturday night cookie bake-a-thon.

1. Stop thinking of it like a diet. If you’re on a diet, then the cyclical nature of five good days and two “bad” days just feeds the machine. However, if you’re just living, just eating well, being active, and being cognizant of your habits, then it’s not about ditching a diet or splurging or rewarding yourself.

2. Keep it all in balance. If you over do it on dessert at your friend’s wedding, then don’t stop for ice cream on the road trip home. If you’re kicking off the weekend by grilling burgers on Friday night, maybe grill chicken on Saturday. It’s OK to give in a little, but you don’t have to throw away all of your efforts just for a little weekend romp with calories.

3. You finally have the time. You spend all week rushing through breakfast, getting to work on time, packing lunches, racing from meetings to soccer games and trying to make dinner. It’s all too much for most of us. So if you’re ever guilty of saying “I don’t have time,” then consider two whole days that aren’t eaten up mostly by work. Hit a yoga class, go for a run, heck, just go play at the park with your kids. Just move!

4. Stop working against yourself. If you’re starting off two days behind every Monday, your goals are just going to keep getting pushed further back. Just keep moving forward. Carrots are a lot easier to chase than to go hunting for.

5. The sweet taste of accomplishment. Imagine waking up on Monday morning and not regretting, not rethinking your weekend, and just embracing the week ahead. That would feel pretty good, right? Not to mention a lot better than a case of the Mondays! Try balancing your goals with your urges this weekend and see how much better you feel come Monday morning.

Posted on March 3, 2024 by Natalie K

Celebrate Strawberry Festival at Home with These Recipes

We’re still three weeks and an entire season away from summer officially starting, but that’s not keeping anyone in Florida from celebrating strawberries. The 77th annual Florida Strawberry Festival has kicked off in one of the warmest states in the union. Taking place in Plant City, the festival focus is on juicy red berries, but beyond that the food vendors, crafts, entertainment, and parades mimic festivals throughout the country.

We love that while some fairs, like the State Fair of Texas, are synonymous with the most gut-busting food creations around, Florida’s festival is focused on fruit! They’re obviously preparing for the season early as strawberries are traditionally in season June through August.

Truly, there isn’t anything much sweeter or more delicious than a ripe strawberry. While the taste is remarkable, so are the health benefits. You can practically eat as many as you want. One whole cup of strawberries has about 45 calories and they’re full of fiber that promotes digestion. Additionally, hidden under that leafy green top are antioxidants and anti-inflammatories that make this a cancer-fighting food. You’ll get a big boost of vitamin C and the mineral manganese from strawberries, and the potassium, vitamin K and magnesium promotes strong, healthy bones. (more…)

Posted on March 2, 2024 by Natalie K

Kathryn Budig’s Plate for National Nutrition Month

“This is a picture of my steamed artichoke with a lemon/olive oil/nutritional yeast dip. I’m not gonna lie—I probably eat this at least 2 times a week. Artichokes are filling, great for your liver, and when paired with this tart dip it’s full of nutrients and proteins thanks to the yeast. This makes me a very happy girl (smile!).”

Kathryn Budig is a renowned yogi, who will be releasing The Big Book of Yoga later this year with Rodale.

March is National Nutrition Month and this year’s theme is “Get Your Plate in Shape,” focusing on MyPlate. We invited nutrition and fitness professionals to share their typical plate to give you a glimpse of how some of the healthiest people in the country eat on a daily basis. See the series.

Posted on March 2, 2024 by Health Buzz

7 Lessons Dr. Seuss Taught Us About Diet and Fitness

In the popular Dr. Seuss book Oh the Places You Will Go, he cautiously warns readers about the road ahead.

“I’m sorry to say so / but, sadly, it’s true / that Bang-ups / and Hang-ups / can happen to you… Be sure when you step. / Step with care and great tact / and remember that Life’s / a Great Balancing Act.”

You can apply his thoughts to your life in general, or break it down to summarize one particular area, like relationships, weight loss, work, or politics. “All things in moderation” is a common cliche, but one that rings true, especially when it comes to how we care for ourselves.

In light of the highly anticipated release of The Lorax on the big screen today, we thought we’d look at the lessons Dr. Seuss taught us about diet, fitness, and moderation. The messages weren’t always obvious, but we like to think they were subtly worked in to the whimsical stories.

Also Read: The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Diet

Posted on March 2, 2024 by Natalie K

Snacks, Not Soda, Responsible for Most of the Added Sugars in Kids’ Diets

Soda gets most the blame for all the added sugar pumping through our children’s veins, but new data shows the blame should lie elsewhere.

Children consume an average of 322 calories a day from added sugars. That’s a mind blowing 16% of their daily calories from extra sugars lurking in their diets, but according to the National Center for Health Statistics, 59% of that added sugar comes from food, not soda. But don’t keep you eye off the bubbly stuff just yet; soft drinks are still the largest single source of added sugars in our kid’s diets.

Added sugars come in the form of table sugar, brown sugar, high fructose corn syrup, maple syrup, honey, molasses and other caloric sweeteners in prepared and processed foods like cakes, candy, cookies, muffins, sodas, jams, jellys and ice cream. This study did not include natural sugars like those in fruit and 100% fruit juice.

A diet high in added sugars has been linked to obesity, high blood pressure and other risk factors for heart disease and stroke. The American Heart Association advises that most females consume no more than 100 calories, or about 6 teaspoons, a day from added sugars, and for males, no more than 150 calories, or about 9 teaspoons, per day.

(more…)

Posted on March 1, 2024 by Kelly

If Your Kids Shouldn’t Eat It, Neither Should You

More or less, my husband and I eat very healthily. Visiting family often roll their eyes at us for the complete lack of food in our house, or rather, food that they’ll actually eat. We limit processed foods and rely mostly on homemade meals made of fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains. We, like most people, splurge now and then. It’s a life of moderation, we say.

The occasional burger during a Friday happy hour was never a big deal. This “sometimes” treat would always be regretted but nevertheless enjoyed in the moment. However, it recently became a big deal when our nearly 2-year-old daughter asked for a French fry at one of these splurgy dinners.

I cringed. He cringed. I very, very hesitantly gave her the smallest one I could find. She, of course, asked for another. At almost two-years-old, a French fry is a foreign food to her. I told my husband that our moderation should be hers, too, and that the occasional fry wasn’t totally out of line.

He disagreed, and the comment he shared with me really struck a chord. “If we wouldn’t feed it to her, we shouldn’t be eating it either.” (more…)

Posted on March 1, 2024 by Natalie K

Diet and Nutrition

Advertising Disclosure