Diet and Nutrition

Watch What You Drink, Not Just What You Eat

When we talk about diet, it’s almost always about solid foods. But don’t overlook what you drink. It’s a big mistake, as it impacts our weight a great deal. Here’s the report from CNN:

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Posted on April 10, 2024 by Jason

We Love Easter Eggs

eggsThis week we love eggs. In celebration of Easter, we’re applauding the incredible-edible egg, which is as close as you can come to a perfect food despite suffering ridicule in years past for its potentially cholesterol-raising effects.

Whether you love to scramble them, whip them up into a quiche, sunny side them up or hard-boil them, the egg’s versatility and its stellar nutrition profile makes it a no-brainer why these cute, compact wonders are at the top of any nutrition expert’s healthy-eating list.

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Posted on April 10, 2024 by heather

Kathy Ireland: From Super Model to Muffin Top

There’s been a lot of discussion this week about Kathy Ireland’s “muffin top,” after a photo of her, taken by her son, was released to the media. By Ireland! You could say it was a promotional stunt to garner attention for her new book “Real Solutions for Busy Moms.” Is all the scrutiny really fair? I mean, super model or not, compare any of us to our selves 20 years ago and we’re bound to have a little more padding.

We like to believe that when a woman has been in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition 13 times that she’s got all the ins and outs of maintaining that bikini body down to an art form. Then we’re awe-struck when we find out that super models aren’t super human. She aged (now 46), had three kids, became a busy mom and launched a successful career outside of modeling. (more…)

Posted on April 9, 2024 by Natalie K

Vegetarian for a Week Challenge – Day Four

We’re in the thick of it now. We’ve made it to day four of the vegetarian challenge and really no complaints. It hasn’t been nearly as difficult as I had anticipated, but I also don’t foresee a complete lifestyle change coming out of this.

Watch now as I recap our day four vegetarian meals, including a tip for stretching your economical and nutritional dollar.

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Posted on April 9, 2024 by Natalie K

Vegetarian for a Week Challenge – Day Three

Day three of the vegetarian challenge seems to have been another success. My husband asked me if I had cheated by sneaking meat and I declared no! This has been a lot more trying for me than it has him – he’d eat anything where I’m a little more particular.

Tuesdays are what we call “YOYO Night” in my house (you’re on your own). I do dinner on my own on Tuesdays, usually some leftovers or some fruit and cheese, but last night I didn’t want to cop-out of the vegetarian plan. Watch now as I prepare one of my favorite personal recipes, a Southwestern Salad with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette.

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Posted on April 8, 2024 by Natalie K

Vegetarian for a Week Challenge – Day Two

We’ve made it into day two of our vegetarian for a week challenge, and so far so good. Yesterday seemed to go more smoothly than day one, mostly in that the feelings of hunger all day were absent.

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Posted on April 7, 2024 by Natalie K

My Dirty Diet Secret

secretAs I dumped the cheapo brownie mix into the mixing bowl, adding just enough water to give it a nice consistency, and started eating straight out of the bowl – after midnight no less, I was thinking that if anyone who reads my articles knew about this, I might lose my credibility.  Unfortunately, I’m going to share this dirty little secret because I think it can be an excellent example of how we can develop some very strange dietary habits. Fortunately, my stomach has never really liked much sugar and grumbles until I put away the brownie mix after just a few bites. Unluckily, it will sit in the refrigerator tempting me and creating stomach aches for several days.

Why in the world would I do this to myself with everything I know about nutrition, processed food, and metabolism?!? On the one hand, I was probably craving something sweet as I was trying to get a few more things accomplished before going to bed and starting the next work week. The real reason goes slightly beyond bad habit, unfortunately; it is learned behavior. (more…)

Posted on April 7, 2024 by Brooke Randolph

We Love Walking Outside

walkingThis week, what we love doesn’t require that you go to the grocery store in search of a few healthy snacks, but instead, it’s simply an action that we do every day and quite honestly, should do more: walking.

With the long-awaited arrival of Spring, nothing feels better than taking a simple 20-minute walk on your lunch break or a leisurely stroll after dinner. Walking doesn’t cost you a dime, but its health benefits are likely to do more than just keep money in your wallet. (more…)

Posted on April 7, 2024 by heather

Vegetarian for a Week Challenge – Day One

It’s finally here, my vegetarian for a week challenge. I explain the background of the challenge here, but to recap, my husband had this “brilliant” idea to go vegetarian for a week and I accepted. Watch to see how day one went.

Day one was relatively easy on us. Our vegetarian meals were all simple to prepare, tasty and rather filling. One of my only real concerns going into this was feeling hungry. I admit I felt some hunger yesterday; I don’t know if I was just psyching myself into it, or if the pangs were legit. (more…)

Posted on April 6, 2024 by Natalie K

Humana Challenges Kids and Congress to a Race

According to the Centers for Disease Control, one out of every three children in the United States is overweight.Humana, the health and supplemental benefits company, has an interesting challenge underway to help combat that horrible statistic. It’s called The American Horsepower Challenge, which is a part of the Humana Games 4 Health.

Here’s a nice background video on the event, including interviews with participants:

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Posted on April 6, 2024 by Jason

Can Vegetariansim Mask an Eating Disorder?

Most of us know that when followed correctly, a vegetarian diet can be incredibly healthy for both humans and the planet. But what happens when someones’ intentions for being healthy go too far? According to the Journal of American Dietetic Association, twice as many teens and nearly double the number of young adults who had been vegetarians reported having used unhealthy means to control their weight like diet pills, laxatives, vomiting or diuretics, compared with those who had never been vegetarians.

These recent findings underscore a chicken-or-the-egg scenario: does being a vegetarian enable an adolescent to develop an eating disorder, or does the youth’s choice to become a vegetarian mask an underlying eating or body image issue? Health and nutrition experts see it as more of an issue with the latter, namely that there are predisposing factors that initially lead a child to choose to abstain from meat and also carry out unhealthy behaviors to control their weight. (more…)

Posted on April 6, 2024 by heather