Diet and Nutrition

5 Ways to Enjoy Halloween Candy Besides Shoving It In Your Face

*Knock-Knock* “Trick or treat!” And so it goes all evening long on Halloween as witches, ninjas and adorable super heroes make the annual trek through the neighborhood collecting sweets and treats. On this night, kids get candy by the bag, bucket and pillowcase full. It’s a glorious time for little goblins but a nightmare for parents who wonder, “What are we going to do with all this?” A small indulgence is okay but growing bodies don’t need all the fat, sugar and preservatives, and neither do moms and dads who end up raiding the stash, and you know you do!

One year, my brother and I hid our Halloween bags in the closet and then snuck goodies whenever we could until we had eaten all the choice pieces like Snickers and Milk Duds. Then we left the the inferior candy like gumballs, taffy and those weird orange slices sit in the corner until Mom found our stash a few months later. Busted! At Diets In Review we have a better idea. Instead of eating all that candy and having to monitor your child’s closet for possible Snickers-hoarding, we’d like to offer you five fun alternatives.

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Posted on October 31, 2023 by Dani Stone

Victoria Beckham Follows the Five Hands Diet to Help Shed Baby Weight

Everyone may follow Hollywood for the latest diet trends, but we’re pretty sure Hollywood follows Victoria Beckham. The former Spice Girl has seemingly tried every diet out there to keep her super-slim frame, and reports of her starting a new diet have only increased since the birth of her daughter in 2024.

After doing Yogalosophy, following the Alkaline Diet, taking sun chlorella supplements, adding seaweed to her diet and going gluten free, we have to wonder what else Beckham can try. Apparently plenty, as Beckham is reportedly now a follower of the Five Hands Diet.

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Posted on October 30, 2023 by Elizabeth

McDonald’s and Burger King Violate Children’s Advertising Agreement Making Up 99 Percent of All Fast Food Ads Aimed at Kids

McDonald’s and Burger King agreed to advertise only healthy food offerings as part of the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative. Let’s see if they’ve kept their word.

When it comes to child marketing, McDonald’s and Burger King are selling the experience, not the food.

The above study, funded and published by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has found the two largest fast food corporations aren’t as dumb as they look. They’ve figured out that showcasing their food is actually a bad idea. Obviously McDonald’s and Burger King cannot self-regulate their ads aimed at children. The facts are anything but elementary, as the tactics of these fast food behemoths are prolonging the childhood obesity epidemic. One-third of our children remain obese.

99 percent of all fast food ads aimed at children came courtesy of two companies.

Any guesses? Not a tough one here, folks. McDonald’s and Burger King placed 44,602 and 37,210 ads aimed at kids, respectively. This is disconcerting. Despite big fast food’s efforts to increase healthy offerings, the burgers, fries, and nuggets peddled in kid’s meals are highly caloric, highly fatty, and highly processed. To this day, no one really knows what McDonald’s chicken nuggets are made of.

Side note: A 3.3oz serving of McDonald’s eggs, which should be one of their healthiest menu items, contains 20 ingredients and 173 percent of your daily cholesterol intake. Just sayin’. (more…)

Posted on October 29, 2023 by Patrick

Major Organic Brands Still Funding Anti-GMO Labeling Efforts in Front of Washington’s I-522 Vote

They’re at it again, and this time just a little more sneakily than before. Not only are some of the biggest brands in organic and earth-friendly food still supporting anti-labeling campaigns, but now they’re trying to do it in secret.

A new infographic produced by Cornucopia.org shows which brands still oppose the labeling of GMOs. What’s more, after facing major backlash from their opposition to Prop 37, many of those corporations hid behind membership in the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) to secretly continue funding anti-labeling measures. (more…)

Posted on October 28, 2023 by Elizabeth

Pledging to Say No to Candy this Halloween is Less Scary Than You Think

Candy is undoubtedly a staple of the month of October. You can’t go into a grocery store without being bombarded by the sight of shiny orange and black packaging drawing you in for a “fun size” bite of chocolate. But what if this year, instead of falling for the tricks of holiday advertising, you gave your body a treat of a candy-free October?

That’s the idea behind HealthyLiving How To’s second annual No Candy Pledge. Taking place through the entire month of October, the No Candy Pledge encourages you to stay away from sweets in order to start the holiday season off right. The holiday season can wreak havoc on a healthy eating plan, so removing sweets from your diet in the month before it really starts can be a good way to avoid extra holiday weight.

The pledge asks you to say no to all pre-packaged Halloween candy, sweets, treats and desserts. With so many other sweet options for fall, we don’t think that’s a particularly unmanageable challenge. Instead of snacking on mini chocolate bars or other sweets, try enjoying the fruits of the season, like apples or pumpkins. (more…)

Posted on October 28, 2023 by Elizabeth

Food Blogger Spotlight: Abby from The Frosted Vegan

My favorite place is over the Kitchen Aid, covered in flour/powdered sugar/batter in yoga pants or a favorite pair of too fancy shoes while trying to keep the kitchen from looking like a bakery exploded. ~Abby The Frosted Vegan

People, I have five words for you: Cinnamon. Raisin. Loaded. Almond. Butter. This is just one of the many recipes that has me adoring The Frosted Vegan this week.

In the past, if you’ve avoided vegan websites because you thought they were all about 101 ways to cook tofu, think again. Abby has been in the kitchen helping her Dad and Grandma since she was old enough to reach the countertop. Her blog is loaded with delicious recipes, vibrant photos and stories about the inspiration behind each dish.

Recently we asked Abby to tell us a bit more about The Frosted Vegan.

Why did you start your food blog? I have always wanted to start a food blog, but I finally decided to take the plunge last year after I moved away from my hometown and I wanted to share dessert recipes with my dad. I honestly wish I’d started sooner, but already so thankful for the community I’ve become a part of, food bloggers are pretty awesome people.

How would you describe your approach to eating/health? I eat a primarily vegan/plant-based diet, occasionally eating cheese or dairy in baked goods, but I try to stick to whole foods as much as possible. I believe in indulging in moderation and that nothing should be “off limits”, if you want it, have it! I connect more with how I feel after I eat something, if I feel bad after, I probably won’t eat much of it again.

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Posted on October 27, 2023 by Dani Stone

Amanda Shepherd’s 60 lb Weight Loss was Spurred by Knee Surgery

Today’s true weight loss story comes to us from Las Vegas, Nevada where Amanda Shepherd is enjoying the freedom of being 60 pounds thinner and has her eye on a future Tough Mudder competition. The look on her face in the before and after pictures says it all, she’s a pretty happy girl. We asked Amanda to tell us about her journey.

Tell me when your weight struggles began. I’ve always been the bigger kid in school. I was made fun of, but I always chose to surround myself with friends who didn’t care that I couldn’t fit in to double zero jeans. I never noticed that I was the bigger kid. I was a cheerleader, even though I was the biggest one.

It was in college that I stopped being as active, and started eating (and drinking) a lot more than I should have. That’s when the weight started coming on strong.

What habits specifically led you to gain weight? I ate whatever tasted good, and I ate a lot of it. I drank on the weekends because it was the cool thing to do. I wasn’t active at all. Exercise was not in my daily routine. I took the “freshman 15” seriously.

What caused you to realize you needed to change? The day I stepped on the scale, realized I hit 240lbs, looked in the mirror and cried. I just had knee surgery and it was hard to hold my weight. I could hardly walk up the stairs without breathing heavily. I knew that if I wanted my life to go somewhat back to normal after surgery, I had to start losing weight, immediately.

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Posted on October 26, 2023 by Dani Stone

Hot Lunch! Four People Who Made School Lunch Reform Happen

The wheels of school lunch reform are finally starting to turn, even if pizza is still considered a vegetable.

The days of fuzzy chicken nuggets, grey burgers, and gelatinous square pizza are fading away. President Obama signed the Child Nutrition Bill three years ago, which gave the USDA authority to set nutritional standards for all foods regularly sold in schools during the school day, including vending machines, the “a la carte” lunch lines, and school stores.

School lunch

Congress passed the $4 billion bill, but regular citizens are responsible for getting their attention. Although schools have started serving more nutritious foods—breads and crusts with whole grains, fruits and vegetables, salads—the war is still on. The USDA had a PR nightmare in 2024 with “pink slime”—a meat byproduct made of random cow parts and ammonia—yet schools in Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota continue to serve the stuff.

On a global scale, school lunch reform has been a common theme. In England, flamboyant chef, Jamie Oliver, took up the cause, and in the U.S., blogger Sarah Wu (aka Mrs. Q), First Lady Michelle Obama, and Chef Ann Cooper have carried the torch. All of their efforts worked to ensure that the future leaders of the world wouldn’t be fed the cheapest, most processed, and least nutritious junk imaginable.

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Posted on October 25, 2023 by Patrick

PSPfit Boot Camp Cycle 2 Partners with Lane Bryant in Time for Holiday Fitness Season

CeCe Olisa is at it again. The “Plus Size Princess” from TheBigGirlBlog.com is launching the second round of the popular #PSPfit fitness and nutrition boot camp.

This time it will take place during the 30 days leading up to Thanksgiving, from October 26 to November 27. “The holidays can be brutal! It’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of shopping and parties and before you know it you’re not taking care of yourself the way you usually do,” CeCe shared. “This pre-Thanksgiving boot camp will bring us through the holidays more mindful of what we eat and how much activity we get.”

Partnering again with nutritionist Abra Pappa, CeCe is setting out once again to bring #PSPfit to any woman in the world. The boot camp utilizes social media to bring nutrition and fitness coaching to its participants. Women of all sizes are encouraged to take part in the 30-Day Pre-Thanksgiving boot camp. (more…)

Posted on October 25, 2023 by Elizabeth

Fernanda Abarca is Biggest Loser’s First Elimination, but Down 70 Pounds at Home

Last night on the The Biggest Loser, an unlucky roll of the die put Jillian’s White Team in jeopardy for the second week in a row, and Fernanda took the fall. We spoke to her about her short time on the ranch, what Dr. H. had to say about her overall health, and how much weight she’s lost since the elimination.

Nobody likes week 2 on The Biggest Loser ranch. Some even talk about the week 2 curse. Fernanda isn’t superstitious but wishes she’d had one more week to show what she could do. “Now that I’ve been home, my weight loss fluctuates high one week, then low the next,” she explained. “One week I’ll lose 10 pounds, the next week I’ll lose 2. Everybody’s body is different.”

During the first week, Fernanda lost an encouraging 12 pounds but at last night’s weigh-in, the scale only budged by two pounds.

This may be the second episode of Season 15, but Fernanda is actually the first contestant eliminated. In a new season twist, trainers are allowed to save one eliminated contestant and Jillian used hers right out of the gate on Craig, the warehouse supervisor from North Carolina. We asked Fernanda how she felt about Craig receiving the save. “I was totally fine with it,” she replied. “I was so concerned about working hard to save the team in case my number came up that I didn’t think about it. He deserves to be here. I was happy for him.”

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Posted on October 23, 2023 by Dani Stone

Boomers, Get Your Groove Back! 5 Ways to Enjoy the Active, Healthy Retirement You Want

A recent study by Prevention Magazine and Kellogg’s found that Boomers (ages 48-67) are looking forward to an “active, healthy retirement,” yet one-third of them don’t know where to start, while a full half of those surveyed would make positive changes if they knew how those changes would affect them.

As an active, healthy Boomer, I am going to share some simple steps you can take to come over to the two-thirds light!! But first, why the heck do 81% of you know your credit card balance, while only 49% of you know your body mass index (BMI) or cholesterol levels? You cannot buy better health with that credit card!!

1. Add in one healthy food to your daily diet and cut out one unhealthy food. Rather than look for fat content (some fats are healthy), look for the number of ingredients. The fewer, the better. The closer to the ground, the better. Think of the difference between an apple sprinkled with cinnamon (two ingredients) versus an apple-cinnamon toaster pastry (more than 25 ingredients). Do this once a week and by the time you’re one year older you will have completely revamped your diet.

2. Move a little more than the day before. Not only does movement keep you fit, it makes you smarter. Can you walk just 22 minutes a day? Or dance? Some laps in the water? It’s common knowledge that movement helps you lose weight and stay heart healthy, but being able to outsmart your kids, grandkids, friends, partner and cat (you can tell who’s boss in my house), well, that’s pretty motivating! (more…)

Posted on October 22, 2023 by GuestBlogger

Diet and Nutrition

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