Eating For Health

Seems like everyone wants to jump on the latest trends in healthier food.    Many people are now choosing Chipotle over McDonald’s.    More of us are shunning artificial ingredients and artificial flavors in favor of real food.     So what is the Fast Food industry doing to get on the healthier bandwagon?   They are going to start removing artificial ingredients, preservatives and colorings from their food.   Who is doing what? Subway – I like Subway as one can get whole grain bread, lean meat and veggies on a sandwich.   They will be removing artificial colors, flavors and preservatives. Papa John’s – who doesn’t like pizza?   We usually avoid Papa John’s because of all the sugar they put in the sauce, it just tastes sweet.   But Papa John’s is planning on cutting out 14 not so healthy ingredients, like high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, artificial colors.   When?   By the end of 2016. They have already made some strides taking out MSG from their Ranch Dressing and elimina

Who doesn’t love to snack?   Summer time is the time to head off on a road trip, to the beach or mountains.   Some people say to avoid snacks, but why?   Snacks are important for kids as they have small stomachs and they need snacks between meals.   Adults love to snack.   So when you are on the go, how to make healthier choices on the run?   One way is to plan ahead and bring snacks with you.     I was at a car wash waiting for my car to get done and saw a mom and her 4-5 year old daughter sitting on a bench.   The daughter said, “I’m hungry”.   I thought for sure the mom would head for the vending machine.   But no, from her purse she pulled out a juice box and a baggie of orange slices, a baggie of whole grain crackers and asked her daughter which one she wanted.   I was pleasantly surprised and very impressed and told the mother how unusual she was to bring healthy snacks with you.   She planned ahead.   CVS actually had a health flier recently that gave some good advice. Focus

We all know people who are on a diet.   Usually some fad diet that they can’t stay on for a life time.   How often do we hear, “I am off my diet.”    “I am back on my diet.”    What are some diet mistakes that can sabotage your weight loss goals?   WebMD has a great article, 10 Diet Mistakes and How to Avoid Them . Crash diets – Many of us want to lose weight but not slow and steady, we want to lose it now.   So crash diets sound appealing.   When you lose weight that fast you not only lose water and fat but also muscle tissue.    Eating under 1200 calories a day can slow your metabolism and slow your chances of losing weight.   Go off this crash diet and the weight comes back as you haven’t changed your lifestyle and eating habits.     Skipping Breakfast – seems like an easy way to cut back on calories.   I was doing a diet recall on a friend who said they never ate breakfast.   Yet, when they got to work they went to the snack machine and got a donut, a candy bar or other hi

So many people now are into juicing and others love to make a smoothie.   Some make a smoothie for breakfast as a fast, take it with you meal.   So which is healthier for you, smoothies or juicing?   Both have advantages. Juicing Pros 5 A Day -   for those who aren’t into many veggies and fruits, this is a way to help you get your “Five A Day”, five servings of fruits and veggies every day. Variety – eating a variety of fruits and veggies is a key to good health.   Juicing makes it easy to vary your fruits and vegetables.   Cons Pulp and fiber – Depending on how you juice, you could be leaving behind the pulp, and along with it fiber and nutrients. Limit juicing to 8-12 ounces a day – about a cup or cup and a half.   Why?   To save space for fresh fruit and veggies and all the nutrients fresh produce and fruit provide Smoothies   Pros healthier than juicing as smoothies are usually blended which preserves the pulp, fiber and nutrients in the pulp. Dairy adds ca