Tag Archives: Nutrition

Is it Better to Skip Breakfast or Eat a Doughnut?

Assorted donuts on pastel blue background

You’re running late for work and first thing on the agenda is a big meeting. You meant to grab a banana and a yogurt on the way out the door but you were in such a rush, they are still sitting on your kitchen counter as you sit in traffic. You finally get to work and plop down in your chair, ready for the meeting, when your tummy starts to grumble.

“Look, everyone,” one of your coworker says. “I brought doughnuts!

Normally, you’d politely say no thank you and opt for a healthier choice, but there’s no other food in sight for the next few hours and your tummy will not shut up. So, should you eat the doughnut, or go hungry?

(more…)

Soylent: The Anti-Food of the Future. Or Is It?

How would you feel about giving up food? Not for a fast, not for a cleanse, but giving up food completely and instead consuming pure nutrients in a daily “smoothie.”

eating together

That’s the idea Rob Rhinehart and his team stumbled upon when they were working on a technology startup at the end of 2024. Funds had run low, and they realized food costs were draining what little funds they had left.

He added he tried cheap food options, but they weren’t what he needed. So he decided to approach food like he would any other engineering problem.

“You need amino acids and lipids, not milk itself,” he said in an interview with the New Yorker. “You need carbohydrates, not bread. Fruits and vegetables provide essential vitamins and minerals, but they’re mostly water.”

“It just seemed like a system that’s too complex and too expensive and too fragile.”

(more…)

Chia Seeds Live Up to the Hype

The chia plant didn’t have the best introduction to the American market. (Ch-ch-chia, anyone?) But don’t be fooled into thinking that chia seeds—which are being added to everything from smoothies to cookies—are all hype. The truth is, chia seeds may be just what your diet is missing!

chia

Chia’s Superfood Superpowers
Chia is the ancient Mayan word for “strength” and these tiny seeds, which are primarily grown in Southern Mexico and have been eaten for thousands of years, live up to their name. They’re packed with amazing amounts of goodness to keep you strong and vibrantly alive. Here are just some of the superpowers packed into the minuscule seeds. A serving boasts:

  • more Omega-3 fatty acids than salmon
  • more calcium per ounce than milk
  • more Vitamin C than an orange
  • fiber, iron, magnesium and potassium
  • tons of antioxidants and anti-cancer properties
    (more…)

Nature’s Best Nutrition Secret is Raw Cacao

I get many funny looks when I tell my health coaching clients that I whole-heartedly endorse a fully stocked chocolate supply in every household. Afterall, it’s one of the most important food groups!

We’ve all heard about the benefits of dark chocolate, but you can get even more nutrition by eating the beans themselves. Raw, unprocessed cacao is one of nature’s best nutrition secrets.

cacao

It’s super food with super powers:

  • Loaded with tons of magnesium for muscle and nerve function and to stabilize heart rhythms
  • More antioxidants and disease fighting properties than red wine or green tea!
  • Improves focus and pleasure: cacao stimulates the euphoric neurotransmitters in the brain
  • Aids in calcium absorption 
  • Stabilizes mood swings (more…)

Algae, Peas, and Crickets: 3 New, Sorta Out There Sources of Protein

Athletes need proteinit’s a must. According to a recent article from Runner’s World, athletes can expect fatigue, loss of muscle mass, and heightened risk of injury when protein consumption is low. (The article recommends 0.55 to 0.77 grams per lb of body weight, meaning a 130-pound person should eat 72 to 100 grams of protein a day.) Meat is often the first protein people consider, but studies confirm it’s not necessarily the best option. So, why not try something new?

Check out three of the newest forms of protein to hit the market:

spirulina

1. Blue-green Algae: Forget steak, eggs, or even tofu, you can get your protein from algae. ENERGYbits has hit the fitness scene with tiny little bits made of spirulina, a blue-green algae. The bits contain a complete protein with the algae, glucose, and nitric oxide. The company claims that these three ingredients can provide an athlete with the rapid access to glucose and protein for top performance. Additionally, the bits claim to give the body an energy boost that many have to use caffeine or chemicals to achieve. ENERGYbits’ protein concentration is at 60% which is very hard to find in most protein sources. A lot of research states that spirulina contains the highest concentration of protein in the world.

(more…)

3 Hot New Celebrity Diet and Fitness Reads: How You Can Eat and Exercise Like the Stars

Being a celebrity certainly doesn’t necessarily make you an expert on anything in particular (except maybe acting, or putting together awesome outfits), but it puts you in a good position to draw attention toward a particular issue. Like your diet. Which is why so many celebrities choose to share their diet plans and health regimens with the world in book form.

This makes a lot of sense to me—the general public admires a particular celeb for their smokin’ body, so why not share their wealth of personal information? Sure, they might not be certified nutritionists and the like, but chances are they’ve worked with dozens of them and have come to form their own opinion on what is good and not-so-good their—and yours.

Here are some favorite new health reads by some very familiar faces!

cameron diaz book

The Body Book, by Cameron Diaz

We already featured Body Book, but it is worth noting again that Diaz has recently released her first book, and it is a delightful read. Packed full of simple healthy tips and tons of personality, Diaz is definitely a person we can look to for body acceptance and surprisingly good eating advice. This girl is grounded and her outlook on food is too.

(more…)

Jillian Michaels Teaches You to “Maximize Your Life”

Everyone knows Jillian Michaels as the butt-kicking, brutally honest trainer on “The Biggest Loser” who can help contestants shed hundreds of pounds. She has a no-nonsense approach to exercise and healthy eating—which she’s written best-selling books about—but she’s really known for getting to the root of why so many of us are overweight and tackling the psychological issues around eating. That’s why I was so excited to get the chance to see her live!

For the second year in a row, Jillian is traveling around the country, speaking to thousands of loyal fans. She launched her Maximize Your Life tour in Denver, Colorado, earlier this month. The experience is described as this: Jillian shows how to harness your potential, kick-start your goals and live an exceptional life—sharing her keys to health, success and happiness. No hype, no false promises: Just results.

jillianmichaels

Tickets for the Maximize Your Life tour start at $25- and you can get a special VIP ticket for around $175. A VIP ticket includes the best seats in the house and a special meet & greet session with Jillian after the show. If you’re wondering what else you’ll get for the price of a ticket, here’s a few facts about the show and a preview of what Jillian shares with the audience: (more…)

Amazon Fresh’s Grocery Delivery Needs Some Work

Amazon has come a long way over the years and has certainly changed the way consumers shop. And with their recent launch of Amazon Fresh, they are slowly attempting to tackle the online grocery shopping industry as well.

food truck2

For the past five years the service has been available only in Seattle, where Amazon  launched the pilot grocery project and tried to work out the kinks. To be fair, this is one of the longest-running tests in tech history. But based on recent reviews about its newest expansions to Los Angeles and San Francisco, it sounds like maybe they should have kept trouble-shooting for a little bit longer.

(more…)

Chicken, Quinoa Dominate Top 10 Food Trends for Second Year

Want to know which foods were hot this past year and what to expect for 2024? Foodily, the world’s largest social recipe network, keeps tabs on what visitors have been searching for over the years. Since 2024 the site has seen “the decline of red meat and the increase of healthy eating related searches,” says Foodily co-founder Hilary Mickell.

quinoa

What else is on tap for 2024?  Here are the top 10 trendiest, most searched for foods in 2024. BONUS: We’ve included our favorite recipes so you can be sure to fit them in this year!

Top 10 in 2024:

1. Chicken. This standard red meat alternative can get a little plain sometimes, but not with this Apple and Herb Dutch Oven-Roasted Chicken! Check out our tips to use the leftovers for equally as awesome meals for the rest of the week.

(more…)

Kerry Ann King Lost 100 Pounds by Following Her Motherly Instincts

Kerry Ann King of New York City was never a willowy, lanky child, and instead carried a short and stout build. Being involved in ballet where tiny and petite were the norm left her feeling like a square peg in a round hole.

To make matters worse, the ballet school Kerry attended encouraged dieting even at a young age to keep a slim physique. Kerry, now 44, recalls dancing 10-12 hours days on nothing but a few pieces of fruit. But when she quit dancing at age 15, her less active lifestyle and confused metabolism led to quick and steady weight gain. When she ventured into other sports she eventually injured her knee, which led to a cycle of rehab/recovery/re-injury that only further piled on the weight.Kerry Ann King before and after

It wasn’t until Kerry became pregnant that she realized permanent changes to the way she ate and treated her body were necessary. During her first pregnancy Kerry found benefit in reading the classic pregnancy book, “What to Expect When You’re Expecting.” (more…)

The 15 Worst Pieces of Diet Advice We Feed our Kids

We’ve all been fed bad diet advice at some point in our lives, usually with negative consequences. But what about the diet advice we feed our kids? Is it healthy, constructive, inspiring? Are we setting them up for nutritional success or failure?kids-diet-advice

These are questions we should be asking ourselves when raising a child. The diet examples we set for our kids and the words we use to guide them will no doubt affect their relationship with food. Unfortunately, just one poor example or one piece of bad advice can cause a flurry of negative results.

While there’s a descent amount of truth out there regarding kids and diet, there’s also a lot of bogus advice. This is especially sad considering this is such a crucial time for our nation amidst a childhood obesity epidemic.

A recent study suggested that kids should simply eat off smaller plates to avoid obesity. This isn’t terrible advice, per say, but eating off a smaller plate isn’t going to solve the problem. Kids need to develop a healthy understanding of food as nutrition instead of learning little “tricks” to hopefully divert them from health disasters. (more…)