Diet and Nutrition

Ocean Spray Craisins Recalled Due to Metal Fragments

three bags of Ocean Spray Dried CranberriesThis past weekend, Ocean Spray voluntarily recalled some of its Original Flavor Craisins Dried Cranberries, because some lots were found to contain hair-like fragments of metal. The recall includes Craisins sold in five-ounce, 10-ounce, 48-ounce packages and 10-pound bulk packages. No other Ocean Spray products are affected.

However, the metal pieces do not appear to pose a serious problem to consumers, as the FDA states that the recalled products are unlikely to cause injury and that the measure was taken “out of an abundance of caution to ensure the safety of our consumers.”

Below is a list of the recalled products and their associated “Best By” dates. Only dates followed by the letter “M” are affected.

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Posted on November 28, 2023 by Margaret

Kombucha Tea Touts Health Benefits but Experts Aren’t Convinced

In 2024, kombucha tea made headlines for its anecdotal health benefits and alleged medicinal purposes. Kombucha is a fermented tea beverage made with sugar, bacteria and yeast. Kombucha is sold in many specialty grocery and health food stores, but some fans make their own at home by adding a colony of yeast and bacteria to a sugar and tea combination and allowing the mix to ferment.

Kombucha tea has a number of noted health benefits including vitamin B and a variety of minerals that stimulate the immune system, help prevent cancer and improve digestion and liver function. Just as these helpful effects have been noted, medical experts also report that kombucha can cause adverse effects, such as stomach upset and infections in tea drinkers.

To make kombucha, brewers use a “starter” or a bit of already fermented tea to add to a tea and sugar mixture and let it sit unrefrigerated in a large container or basin for 7-14 days, during which bacteria and yeast grow atop the surface.

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Posted on November 27, 2023 by Maris

Pros and Cons of Weight Loss Surgery

Not everyone who struggles with their weight is a candidate for weight loss surgery. Let’s say you are considered a viable candidate. If so, you need to consider the pros and cons that come with each surgical option.

There are three primary “restrictive” weight loss surgeries, meaning those procedures that restrict the amount of food a patient can eat at one time: laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy and laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding.

Even though all three procedures are restrictive, there are significant differences, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. (more…)

Posted on November 25, 2023 by Jason

8 Tips to Healthier Holidays

Christine Koh is the founder and editor of Boston Mamas, the designer behind Posh Peacock, and writes a personal blog at Pop Discourse. She
lives in the Boston area with her husband Jonathan and daughters Laurel (7 years) and Violet (8 months). She tweets about it all at @bostonmamas.

The holidays are, characteristically, a challenging time of year for many. Emotions often run high (e.g., due to missing loved ones or interfacing with family members with whom there is friction) and there are physical challenges as well — the abundance of sweet treats challenges even the most disciplined, and busy schedules and overwhelming to-do lists can shift self care to the back burner. In my opinion, it’s thus even more important to step back and reflect on your actions around this time of year. Here are eight things I recommend doing to enjoy a healthier holiday season – both mentally and physically.

1. Bring and/or serve alternative treats. One Christmas, my sister-in-law
brought healthier snacks as a hostess gift for my mother – items such as a prettily arranged dried fruit platter and yogurt covered pretzels instead of yet another tray of cookies or bowl of candy. And everyone gravitated towards these offerings because they provided a welcome respite to the super sweet treats! Consider healthy alternative treats as either a hostess gift or if you are looking to put out snacks at your own holiday gathering.

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Posted on November 25, 2023 by GuestBlogger

Discover the Mighty Lentil

There are many reasons to love lentils for all the health benefits and nutrition they provide at such a low monetary cost. With almost 18 grams of protein and 15 grams of fiber in one cup of cooked lentils it is no wonder that cultures the world over consider lentils essential to their diet. In marked contrast to the long soak and cooking process of beans lentils take less than an hour to simmer and in some cases, such as sprouting and soaking for pancakes, they require little or no cooking at all.

It is when you introduce the mighty lentil into your diet that you discover that this powerhouse food is not only packed with nutrition, but is also delicious and can be prepared in a wide variety of ways. If you are only familiar with the common Spanish Brown or the small French puy lentil than you are in for a pleasant surprise to discover that there are many more types and each a powerhouse in its own way.

Lentils originated in India and became a daily part of the Indian diet. Meals almost always include a lentil dal, for instance and are balanced with a serving of rice, rotis, a vegetable dish, yogurt and a salad. Here you find a variety of lentils providing a more diverse protein source, especially for vegetarians and vegans. Look for these lentils in your local health food store or Indian market and try them out for yourselves.

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Posted on November 25, 2023 by Care2

Beanitos Tortilla Chips Add a Satisfying Crunch to Snack Time

I’m a sucker for Mexican food, and eat it all the time because it is so easy to get the same delicious flavors you would find in your favorite cheesy, greasy restaurant entrees in a healthy, fresh and easy meal at home. I always have fresh tomatoes, onion, cilantro and avocado stocked to dice and add a little Mexican flare to chicken, fish, fajitas, and salads for hardly any calories. Keeping soft, corn tortillas on hand over the bleached flour ones lends a more indulgent restaurant-style feel to a meal, but, you know, I could never find a healthy and satisfying substitution for the crunch of a traditionally lard-laden tortilla chip.

Enter Beanitos: crunchy, yummy tortilla chips made from whole beans and whole grains. These fiber-filled little guys are always gluten-free, wheat free, and soy free, packed with 4 g of complete protein, with no cholesterol and no trans fats. They come in 4 great flavors, including Pinto and Flax and Cheddar Cheese, which boasts whole pinto beans, whole brown flaxseed and whole grain rice as their first three ingredients and Black Bean and Chipotle BBQ, whose first two ingredients are whole black beans and whole grain rice. At 140 calories per serving, and 20 percent of your daily fiber these make a healthy filling snack that fits into almost anyone’s diet.

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Posted on November 25, 2023 by Kelly

Quick Holiday Cranberry Multigrain Bread

This healthy and delicious whole grain bread takes 5-10 minutes to prepare (plus baking time). It makes the perfect accompaniment to a holiday meal or a great gift to take to a dinner party. Enjoy!

  • 1-3/4 cups whole spelt or whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup multigrain cereal
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 eggs
  • 1-1/4 cup soymilk, rice milk or almond milk
  • ¼ cup honey
  • ¼ cup olive oil (cold-pressed organic preferably)
  • ½ cup dried organic cranberries (be sure to use organic dried cranberries found in health food stores since non-organic ones typically contain sulphites.)

Mix dry ingredients (excluding dried cranberries) together in a food processor or mixer. In a separate bowl, whisk liquid ingredients together. Slowly pour into dry ingredients. Mix. Add dried cranberries and mix briefly. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes.

Also Read:

7 Vegan Homemade Bread Recipes

Simple Fat Swaps for Better Baking

 

By Michelle Schoffro Cook for Care2.com

Posted on November 24, 2023 by Care2

Learn to Separate Thanksgiving the Meal From Thanksgiving the Holiday

Robby is a 30-year-old weight-loss/health-gain/rad-maintain fanatic in Washington, DC. You can find her at fatgirlvsworld.blogspot.com and @fatgirlvsworld on Twitter. In the “real world” you can find her being tortured by an elliptical or throwing punches in a boxing ring. She has two cats who use her as a trampoline in the middle of the night. She loves wine, hates umbrellas, and has never seen an episode of True Blood. She may or may not be a ninja.

I don’t even want to imagine how ludicrous it might have looked: everyone sitting around the Thanksgiving table trying not to say the wrong thing in front of my boyfriend or stare at him too long. Sure he was a little big, and a bit different than the rest of us, but he and I had been together for so many years and I had grown to love, cherish, and rely on him. But I can see things from my family’s perspective as well. Why did Robby bring her refrigerator to Thanksgiving?

Yep. I just said that. For years I had been in an exclusive, dependent, and toxic relationship with my refrigerator. I would come home from work and go straight to him. If work was bad, I’d find something inside that would comfort me. If work was good, I’d find something inside to celebrate. If work was neither bad nor good, I would still check in to see what was happening. Same thing when I was bored, excited, tired, stressed or even without any discernible emotion.

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Posted on November 23, 2023 by GuestBlogger

9 Sweet Health Benefits of Sweet Potatoes

Not only are sweet potatoes readily available, inexpensive, and delicious, there are many other reasons to love these yummy vegetables. Here are 9:

1. They are high in vitamin B6. Vitamin B6 helps reduce the chemical homocysteine in our bodies. Homocysteine has been linked with degenerative diseases, including the prevention of heart attacks.

2. They are a good source of vitamin C. While most people know that vitamin C is important to help ward off cold and flu viruses, few people are aware that this crucial vitamin plays an important role in bone and tooth formation, digestion, and blood cell formation. It helps accelerate wound healing, produces collagen which helps maintain skin’s youthful elasticity, and is essen­tial to helping us cope with stress. It even appears to help protect our body against toxins that may be linked to cancer.

3. They contain Vitamin D which is critical for immune system and overall health at this time of year. Both a vitamin and a hormone, vitamin D is primarily made in our bodies as a result of getting adequate sunlight. You may have heard about seasonal affective disorder (or SAD, as it is also called), which is linked to inadequate sunlight and therefore a vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D plays an important role in our energy levels, moods, and helps to build healthy bones, heart, nerves, skin, and teeth, and it supports the thyroid gland.

4. Sweet potatoes contain iron. Most people are aware that we need the mineral iron to have adequate energy, but iron plays other important roles in our body, including red and white blood cell production, resistance to stress, proper im­mune functioning, and the metabolizing of protein, among other things.

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Posted on November 23, 2023 by Care2

Shop Hard, Eat Smart this Black Friday with The Fresh Diet

Looking for a holiday gift that gives back? Then you might be interested in The Fresh Diet and the gourmet meals and snacks they deliver right to your door. Founded in 2005 by a Le Courdon Bleu trained chef, this Florida-based company creates mouthwatering dishes for its clients to help them eat better without sacrificing taste.

Each dish is based on a balance of 40% carbohydrate, 30% protein, and 30% “good” fats; however, clients have total control over what dishes make it onto their own daily menu. Once clients decide what foods they want to incorporate into their day, The Fresh Diet’s team of chefs whip up their daily set of meals and deliver it fresh. In fact, this  meal planning service  prides itself in never serving frozen, freeze-dried, or vacuum packed meals. This means you can expect great taste every time a meal shows up on your doorstep.

If that’s not enough, nutrition professionals are available to help clients with more specific nutrition needs. In fact, they will work with you to develop dishes that meet your unique needs and still satisfy your hunger.

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Posted on November 22, 2023 by Kati

Create Your Own Holiday Traditions

By Cynthia Crowsen from It All Changes

Growing up, Thanksgiving traditions were food, food, and more food. My grandmother’s formal dining table held everything you could imagine; olives in many flavors, several types of stuffing, mashed potatoes, candied yams, home made gravy and the turkey.

We were stuffed like the turkey after seconds and even thirds. After a few hours to let the food digest we had dessert of several homemade pies and cultural favorites.

Food and family are fantastic but there was nothing healthy about it. The one meal could last a week and tryptophan comas prevented any exercise from happening. It was tradition but not one I was looking to keep.

I met my Hunni soon after I lost almost 100 pounds. The traditional family Thanksgiving didn’t appeal to me…I wanted some changes. Our first year dating we decided to make our own traditions full of health and good food.

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Posted on November 22, 2023 by GuestBlogger