Diet and Nutrition

Food Blogger Spotlight: Janetha Gallegos of Meals and Moves

You likely have at least one person in your life who is endlessly inspiring, always pushes the limits of their fitness, and dreams up healthy meals that taste better than takeout.

That person in my “blogging life” is Janetha Gallegos – author and creator of the healthy living blog, Meals and Moves.

Janetha is one of the fittest women I know and is always churning up healthy, mouth-watering recipes much to the delight of her ever-growing readership. We had the pleasure of talking with Janetha recently about her blog and where she draws her inspiration for healthy living. Here’s what she had to say.

Why did you start your food blog?

I started Meals & Moves to share my healthy meal ideas with friends and family and also to keep myself accountable for what I was eating. Since I had recently lost a lot of weight, I wanted to be sure to keep it off and my blog helped me do just that.

How would you describe your approach to eating/health? (more…)

Posted on February 24, 2024 by Dana

Blue Apron Meal Kits Put Dinner on the Table for $10 per Person

Survey your current subscriptions. Do any of them include food? If so, you may not be in the minority for much longer. Blue Apron, a Brooklyn-based meal kit start up, wants to ship you all of the ingredients you need for a fresh, healthy meal for less than the cost of your average takeout order – $10 per person.

Blue Apron meal “kits” are delivered once per week in a cold pack box with all the pre-portion ingredients for three meals. And we’re not talking chicken enchiladas every week. The company touts exotic ingredients and adventurous recipes, which come printed on clear recipe cards and require just 35 minutes on average. Meat and vegetarian options are available, and each meal contains between 500-700 calories per serving.

The $10 per person monthly subscription can be suspended (for vacations) and cancelled any time. A family of four would pay an average of $480 a month for the three meal delivery, but would still have to figure out meals the other four days of the week. Blue Apron tries to keep its meals as affordable as possible by buying in bulk and planning for meals on a seasonal basis. (more…)

Posted on February 22, 2024 by Dana

Your Red Snapper May Actually be a Mercury-Filled Tilefish

The nonprofit ocean protection group called Oceana has been performing a study, the results of which were released last week. The question – whether or not we’re being sold, and therefore eating, the fish we think we are.

Oceana took a sum of around 1,215 fish from 12 different parts of the country and examined them to see if they matched their labels or not. Listed below are the study’s findings.

  • About one-third of the 1,215 fish samples bought from 2024-2024 were mislabeled.
  • In a collection of 120 samples that were marked as red snapper fish, 28 different species of fish were discovered. Of those, 17 were not even within the snapper fish family.
  • Southern California was the region most likely to be misinformed with 52 percent of the samples bought there actually being something different. (more…)
Posted on February 21, 2024 by Danielle

Sweet Potatoes Are Saving Lives – Will You Help?

Food is the one thing that always unites us – be it a celebration, a mourning, or charitable cause. Today, One.org is using food to unite the blogging community to help a cause we should all be hungry to fight – malnutrition. They’ve banded 25 food bloggers to share the sweet potato love today, and in doing so, help raise awareness of chronic malnutrition, which they say is, “a hidden killer of nearly 2 million children around the world.”

It’s something that mothers around the globe face for their children. We tend to immediately think of poor, underdeveloped countries – those scenes are stark and real and very much deserving of our efforts. It’s very much a domestic issue, too, but one we think isn’t possible right here in our own neighborhoods.

According to CharitySub.org, which made hunger its charitable focus last winter, one in seven American homes is considered food insecure, with one in four children living in food insecure homes.

One.org thinks we can reverse this trend with one little super food – the sweet potato. “We’re on a mission to make the sweet potato famous. Why? Because it packs a huge vitamin A punch, and it’s saving lives in Africa today.” (more…)

Posted on February 21, 2024 by Natalie K

3 Health Food Fake Outs and 3 Healthy Alternatives

By Janis Jibrin, M.S., RD, TheBestLife.com Lead Nutritionist

When you see “whole grain,” “low fat,” and other health buzzwords on a food label, you might assume you’re picking up a more nutritious choice. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Some products don’t offer much of an advantage compared to the original or, even worse, aren’t inherently healthy at all. Let me share a few examples.


Health Food Fake Out: Neufchatel (cream cheese with 1/3 less fat)

It’s true that this product has about a third fewer calories and saturated fat grams than regular. But still, just 2 tablespoons (an ounce) contains 3 grams of saturated fat—that’s a sixth of your daily limit on an 1,800-calorie diet. And the 33 milligrams of calcium it provides aren’t worth it. (more…)

Posted on February 20, 2024 by BestLifeDiet

Spinach Recalled for Possible E. Coli Contamination by Taylor Farms

Taylor Farms Retail Inc. has voluntarily recalled its fresh baby spinach in 39 states for a possible E. coli contamination.

Consumers should check 5- and 16-ounce containers under with a “best by” date of Feb. 24, 2024.

Taylor Farms sells its baby spinach under the following brand names: Central Market Organics, Full Circle Organics, Marketside Organic, Simple Truth Organic, Taylor Farms Organic. (more…)

Posted on February 20, 2024 by Natalie K

Food Blogger Spotlight: Katie Unger of Yes, I Want Cake

Some bloggers are known for their inspiring recipes, others for their lovely photography, and still others for their charm and personality. Katie Unger of Yes, I Want Cake boasts all three.

I discovered Katie’s blog several years ago and have been following ever since for the healthy recipes, fitness inspiration, and female voice of reason. I now also get to follow her life as a stay-at-home mother to her toddler daughter, Adrienne.

I can always count on Katie for a pick-me-up as she always seems to be beaming with positivity, and I love herb blog for that. But she knows how to whip up a mean salad and chocolate cake, too.

I also love that Katie feeds her whole family healthfully and tastefully despite her husband’s hearty “meat and potatoes” style appetite, and while sticking to a mainly vegetarian diet herself.

We recently had the pleasure of speaking with Katie about her blog and how she maintains a healthy lifestyle despite a busy schedule. Here’s what she had to say.

Why did you start your food blog? 

I started reading a few food blogs and then just decided…I could totally do this! (more…)

Posted on February 17, 2024 by Dana

Fast Food Industry Fails to Serve Healthy Fish Sandwiches – 8 of the Best and Worst

In case you were wondering why the ads for fast-food fish increase this time of year – here’s your answer. Catholics started Lent on Wednesday, a 40-day observance wherein an individual fasts or abstains from something worldly, including abstinence from meat on Fridays. Catholics are permitted fish, and the restaurant industry takes full advantage. While grabbing a fish sandwich from a drive-thru seems innocent enough considering how healthful fish can be, those combos are often no better than the cheeseburgers.

Once you batter, fry, slather with mayo, and stuff fish inside a big white, starchy bun, you’re left with alarmingly high sodium and diet-crushing calorie counts.

We scanned restaurant menus to organize a list of the healthiest fish sandwiches, but our direction had to change when we couldn’t find any. That’s right – the fast food industry fails when it comes to serving a sandwich that meets our nutritional criteria, which is 500 calories and 500 milligrams of sodium or less for a meal. A couple come close with modifications, but they often don’t leave room for any sides.

McDonald’s Filet O’Fish Sandwich “wins” for the “healthier” fast food fish sandwich, as long as you ditch the cheese and maybe even the tartar sauce. The Long John Silver’s grilled salmon option is the best meal we found, and you even get to order corn with it! And for cold sandwiches, Panera barely wins with its tuna sandwich (barely because the sodium is still too high).

Take a look at the break down of eight of the most popular fast food restaurants and why you should avoid their fish menu. If you’ve got to go meatless on Friday, consider their vegetarian options – or just pack a lunch! (more…)

Posted on February 15, 2024 by Natalie K

3 Meals That are Cheap and Healthy

By Janis Jibrin, M.S., R.D., TheBestLife.com lead nutritionist

Feeling like you’re about to go off your own fiscal cliff after all that holiday spending? No need to settle for cheap junk food to help pay down your credit card bills. The truth is, some of the least expensive foods are also the healthiest.

Here’s my core budget-but-healthy shopping list. (Check out my blog for more lower-cost items.)

Canned beans – dried are even less expensive, but require you to plan ahead
Canned tomatoes – no salt added (the store brand is cheapest)
Canned wild salmon and canned light “chunk” tuna
Dried herbs – whatever is on sale
Fresh fruit – whatever is on sale
Fresh vegetables – whatever is on sale
Oatmeal or steel-cut oats – large carton of plain oats (the store brand is usually cheapest)
Peanut butter
Tofu – for cooking pointers, click here.

The following meals use some of the items listed above. All three of these dollar-stretching dishes are also seriously nutritious.  I calculated the cost of each meal using prices at my local Giant supermarket in Washington D.C.; prices may vary in your area. (more…)

Posted on February 15, 2024 by BestLifeDiet

Dirty Details of What Soda’s Doing to Your Body and Checkbook

In this infographic, developed by Term Life Insurance, you’ll see a few of the many health issues that soda plays a large role in. Heart disease, obesity, osteoporosis, reproductive issues…the list goes on and on. I’m sure you’ve heard these warnings before, but have you really thought about what that can of Coke is doing to your insides? By consuming soda on a regular basis you’re basically asking to be miserable and sick. (more…)

Posted on February 14, 2024 by Danielle

Major Discrepancy Between a Restaurant’s Published Calories and Actual Calories

Basic nutritional guidance tells everyone to count their calories. It’s one of the simplest ways to lose and maintain weight. But what happens when those numbers are more or less lies? You’ll unwittingly consume more food than you planned to, or need to for that matter.

That’s exactly what filmmaker Casey Neistat discovered when he went beyond the published calorie counts in New York City restaurants.

In less than six minutes, he blows the calorie counts that millions of New Yorkers depend on completely out of the water. He worked with the obesity research center at St. Luke’s Hospital in New York to run his own nutritional analysis and find how their numbers matched those published on menus throughout the city. The discrepancy was alarming. (more…)

Posted on February 14, 2024 by Natalie K