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The Skinny on Trick or Treating
Tweet Share on Facebook October 12, 2012 CommentTrick or Treat.
For children, Halloween is a candy dream come true. You would think it's a nutritionist's worst nightmare. It's hard to look past the sugar, calories, and fat consumed on this holiday. But that's just it—it's a holiday, and sometimes you have to let kids be kids.
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How to Eat Healthy on a Budget
Tweet Share on Facebook October 12, 2012 CommentYou may have heard of the "Freshman 15," a reference to the amount of weight some students seem to gain during their first year of college. But what about the "Recession 15"? That's right. If we're not careful, thinner paychecks could lead to heftier waistlines. But you can eat healthy on a budget.
Here are some tips to help you get the biggest bang for your buck without blowing your calorie allowance:
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Soda, Calories, and a Full Accounting
Tweet Share on Facebook October 11, 2012 CommentThe American Beverage Association (ABA) announced this week, with predictable fanfare, its plans to put calorie counts on soda vending machines in San Antonio, Texas, and Chicago, Ill. In principle, national expansion will follow, but those details are not yet in place. For now, the program can only do good so far as it goes geographically. The question then is: What good is that? What, exactly, will soda calorie counts do for the San Antonians and Chicagoans, as the rest of us watch from the sidelines?
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5 Food Trends to Watch
Tweet Share on Facebook October 11, 2012 CommentI just got back from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics' Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo, the world's largest annual meeting of food and nutrition professionals. Registered dietitians (RDs), like myself, from all over the country (and even overseas) attend for up to four days of cutting-edge nutrition science research, educational presentations, lectures, debates, panel discussions, and culinary demonstrations.
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Quick and Healthy Lunch Tips
Tweet Share on Facebook October 10, 2012 CommentWith the days getting shorter amid busy school and work schedules, it's easy for many of us to forget to plan lunch. Constructing healthy meals is my job, and I slip too!
As a dietitian, I'm always asked for suggestions to help people eat well on a tight schedule. In this blog, I'll be bringing you the inside scoop on what the Nutritious Life team is brown bagging. See what we're packing for lunch, and pick up some healthful tips that might work for you.
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It's Time to Reclaim Our Kitchens
Tweet Share on Facebook October 10, 2012 CommentI have a confession to make. Last weekend, I took my two youngest children out to breakfast. I was supposed to be joining my wife and oldest at a charitable race, but because the weather outside was dreary, I lazily decided to head to a local greasy spoon with the wee ones as the outing would serve to not only feed, but also entertain them. My 3-year-old ordered the $3.99 kids' chocolate pancake and my 5-year-old got the $3.99 waffle with whipped cream. When the meals arrived, I was flabbergasted to see two full-size dinner plates—one with a gigantic pancake, and the other, with a plate-filling waffle.
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The Energy Drink, Deconstructed
Tweet Share on Facebook October 9, 2012 CommentDespite a recent spate of bad press, the popularity of energy drinks has not waned. Energy drinks and shots represent a $9 billion business in this country, and the category has been growing consistently since Red Bull introduced the first such product in 1987. Domestically, Red Bull alone is a $3 billion brand, and the leading energy shot product, 5-hour ENERGY, boasts $1 billion in retail sales. A 2011 study published in the journal Pediatrics reported that 30 to 50 percent of teens and young adults use energy drinks and that people under the age of 25 account for half of all sales. Teen and young adult males are reportedly the leading consumers of energy drinks.
Clearly, there are plenty of people who are convinced that energy drinks deliver on their promise. But is there science to support the purported benefits of these formulations?
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Want to Maintain Your Weight? Get Moving.
Tweet Share on Facebook October 9, 2012 CommentI've always loved to be active. As a kid, I enjoyed ice skating, tennis, and any recreational sport offered at school or camp. I was never a great athlete, but my enthusiasm for participating in so many different activities certainly made up for what I lacked in skill.
Although I remained somewhat active as a teen, it wasn't until I was a young, overweight adult that I began to exercise regularly and consistently. The exercise, coupled with eating smaller food portions and making better food choices in general, helped me lose weight. I'm proud to say I've maintained my weight at about 30 pounds less than what I weighed at my highest weight in high school.
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Baking the Flavors of Fall: Pumpkin Bread
Tweet Share on Facebook October 9, 2012 CommentFall is in the air, and it's in our food as well. From lattes to cupcakes, the unmistakable flavors that signify the changes of season are all around us. Yes, I'm talking about pumpkin and the warm spices that go with it, like cinnamon and ginger.
Why not embrace the season with a delicious and easy recipe the entire family will love? Canned pumpkin can serve up way more than pie. How about combining it with banana, oats, eggs, and spices to make a moist pumpkin-banana bread? Believe it or not, this cake-like treat is chock full of nutrition. Check out the health benefits of these ingredients:
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How to Spruce Up Your Garden—or Take a Break From It
Tweet Share on Facebook October 9, 2012 CommentDon't feel like reading about gardening after a failed effort to turn your yard into an Eden-like fantasy? Don't worry—you have a friend in me. I can guess the story, at least loosely.
You got all excited about gardening. Maybe you had a revelation on a trip somewhere, and you realized, from that hermetically-sealed cabin 30,000 feet up in the air, how disconnected from nature your life had become. Or maybe it was when you shelled out an obscene amount of cash yet again at the farmers market and wondered if you could grow your own food instead. So you built or purchased the beds, got good soil, planted seeds, and watered. Things went well. You felt great. Your coworkers got used to you showing pictures of your plants as if they were babies. But then the seasons changed. You got busy. You kind of stopped going out there to check on things. Weeds grew. It wasn't so pretty and fun anymore, and, by the way, you now take a spinning class on Saturdays, leaving you little to no time to garden. Let's just say, the project has become a thorn in your side
