Tag Archives: kale

17 Most LOL Food and Fitness Puns, Featuring Michelle Obama

Sure, they’re super cheesy and a little overplayed at times, but you know you can’t help but crack a smile and a you-got-me laugh when the perfect pun comes along. With as heavy a scene as we all try to paint when it comes to our food and fitness, it feels good to look at all of it from the lighter side. And this week, we have first lady Michelle Obama to thank for the cunning reminder that puns, are in fact, fun!

Enjoy our favorite actual laugh out loud puns!

1. FLOTUS throws it down.

She’s nacho average first lady! #turnipforwhat

2. Oh my Quad, Becky!

…It’s like one of those rap guys girlfriends.

oh my quad becky

FitBottomedGirls

3. What the Kale?!

So many kale puns, so little time.

kale yeah (more…)

What Do Americans Eat? Kale, Gluten-Free, and Organics Top 2024 Food Trends

food statistics

Food trends come and food trends go. One year we’re all raving about Sriracha, the next we’re falling for the cronut. For the last 30 years, Parade has surveyed those trends and other American eating habits.

This year, foods like snack bars and frozen sandwiches have risen in popularity. As more people eat on the go, convenience foods are going to see a natural rise. According to Parade‘s survey:

  • 27 percent of main dishes made at home are frozen or ready-to-eat meals.
  • 80 percent of our meals are prepared at home, and over half of them are made from scratch or fresh ingredients.

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Fall for Kale and White Bean Stuffed Sweet Potatoes for Dinner

kale-bean-sweet-potato

As fall approaches, I can’t get enough of nutrient dense root vegetables. Most notably: the sweet potato. While some prefer variety in their diet, I could eat some form of sweet potato every day: mashed for breakfast, fried for lunch, and stuffed for dinner.

sweet-potatoes

Stuffed sweet potato, you ask? Yes. My multiple experiments in the kitchen to include as much sweet potato as possible has led to one of my staple year-round dinners –the kale & white bean stuffed sweet potato. Who needs to wait for fall to have a hearty, yet surprisingly light, dinner? Not me!

Sweet potatoes are an all-star source of beta-carotene, vitamin A, and the purple sweet potatoes are even thought to have anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Just as the recipe name implies, you simply bake the sweet potatoes, choose your green and your white bean, prepare as directed, then stuff the greens & beans into the sweet potato for a healthy and satisfying edible boat! It’s truly delicious. (more…)

Sorry Trader Joe’s! This DIY Bistro Salad is Better Than the Original

trader joes copycat bistro salad

I love me a quick trip to Trader Joe’s as much as the next person (hello cheap and yummy wine, grab-and-go healthy snacks, free samples…). But sometimes, I don’t always love the price you pay for the convenience of their healthy prepared snacks and meals.

One of my favorite options for a to-go lunch is the Trader Joe’s Bistro Salad: kale, garbanzo beans, chopped nuts, edamame, and dried cranberries. I’m such a sucker for dried cranberries! But paying a few too many dollars for a very DIY-able salad? Not so much.

bistro salad ingredients

I set out to create a similar salad, and came out with something that the tummies in my household believe to be much better! Not only for your wallet, but for your taste buds, too! (more…)

How to Lose a Guy in 12 Meals: Foods Your Man Just Doesn’t Understand

man gross

Want to ditch a guy you’re not in to? Maybe passively scare off your boyfriend? A nice green smoothie or cup of Kombucha ought to do the trick!

Shape Magazine talked with men to find out which foods they can’t stand, and landed on 12 bites and sips that they just don’t get.

We know there’s “guy food” that involves nachos, burgers, wings, and beer. But who knew they were so averse to the most basic garden variety produce like beets and zucchini? Which, according to Matt O., is “an inferior cucumber in every possible way.”

Homemade Sweet and Spicy English Cucumber Pickles

Twelve men dished to Shape the foods that turned them off completely. Just as women don’t understand the need to sit around drinking beer up to our elbows in barbecue sauce, men are apparently lost on our desire to turn kale in to chips and almonds in to milk. (more…)

Kale Not King? New Study Says Watercress is the Top Green

If you think kale is the top pick for powerhouse fruits and vegetables, a new study may have you thinking again about which produce packs the most punch.

watercress

Researchers from William Patterson University looked at powerhouse fruits and vegetables (PFV) in order develop a way to classify the fruits and vegetables that are more nutritionally dense. They measured the levels of 17 different nutrients in 47 fruits and vegetables, and found 41 of them contained enough of the nutrients to keep the label PFV.

To be a PFV, a food must provide 10 percent or more daily value per 100 calories of the measured nutrients.

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The Secret Health Benefit of Cruciferous Veggies

cruciferous

By Team Best Life

All vegetables are good for you, but certain groups may pack a greater nutritional punch than others. Take cruciferous vegetables, the family that includes broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy and more. They’re loaded with antioxidant vitamins and phytochemicals, which offer protection against a number of illnesses, including heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s, according to research.

Now, experts say they may have figured out why these veggies are so beneficial: They seem to reduce inflammation, which plays a role in many of these diseases. In the study, people who ate the most cruciferous veggies had the lowest levels of three different inflammatory compounds—as much as 25 percent less—in their blood compared to those who ate the least cruciferous veggies. (more…)

Go Green! 6 Great Green Foods to Enjoy This St. Patrick’s Day

It is easy being green! At least it is today. St. Patrick’s Day is here again, and with it comes the desire to wear, eat, and drink all things green.

green foods

Though traditional Irish fare can be a little heavy, we think you can still celebrate the spirit of the holiday with green foods worked into some of our favorite healthy, and delicious, recipes.

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Veggie Variety a Must for Good Health (AKA: Why We’re Glad Dr. Oz’s Kale-Only Diet is a Prank)

Dr. Oz recently asked his fans to play a prank. The hoax: Tell a loved one they’d be joining you on a one-year kale-only diet. Kale, kale, and more kale. 

Screen Shot 2014-03-12 at 8.31.08 AM

 

Funny, but some people sort of do become singularly focused on certain veggies, eating a lot of kale, or broccoli, or spinach, and not much of anything else. We were curious: What type of variety should we be aiming for when it comes to produce?

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Food Blogger Spotlight: Liesl from Lieslicious

Liesl resizeAt Diets In Review, one of my responsibilities is to seek out food bloggers who are interesting, have a great voice and create healthy recipes. This week, Liesl Maggiore from Lieslicious, made my job easy.

Lieslicious is not cluttered or fussy. The header is a close-up picture of a paper towel, for heaven’s sake, but once you dig in, you realize that Liesl approached her website creation the same way she approaches food – clean, simplistic and lovely.

We asked this wife, mama, animal-enthusiast and self-described, “booty-shaker,” a few questions about her blog, and she was kind enough to share.

Why did you start your food blog? Working as a food stylist, I have been exposed to amazing recipes and surrounded by inspiring, creative people for years. I guess they rubbed off on me and I realized I have my own stories to tell through food. I wanted to share the foods I was making every night in my own home, and hopefully inspire other families to get cooking!

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Your Ultimate Guide to Greens: 15 Greens, What They Do, and How to Eat Them

Growing up, most of us were told at some point to “eat our greens.” We may not have listened at the time, but maybe we should have. As a group, leafy green vegetables, or “greens,” are known for their bounty of health benefits. As a whole, they are great sources of vitamins A and C, and each green has its own broad nutritional profile.

We share 15 greens, why you need to eat them, why they’re so good for you, and even recipes to best prepare and enjoy them!

View Your Ultimate Guide to Greens Slideshow (more…)