Monthly Archives: May 2012

Energy For Workouts Myth: No Food Required

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Once you’ve made the commitment to start losing weight and getting fit, it can be tough to wait to see the results of your hard work. Many people start off with great intentions and set tough goals for themselves, taking on hours of exercise and a drastically reduced-calorie meal plan. But sometimes, these good intentions can be too much, and actually sabotage your goals. Sometimes working too hard or cutting back too much is detrimental in the long run.

A great example of this kind of harmful behavior is skipping meals before exercise. In theory, it sounds like a good idea: there will be no food in your belly to slow you down, plus less food before a workout means less total calories to burn off. But this strategy can really backfire. Because the body needs energy for workouts, The Food Network says that exercising on an empty stomach is one of the worst fitness mistakes you can make.

Why You Need Energy For Workouts

Imagine your body as a car or other machine that needs fuel to perform. A car that is running out of gas will start to lurch and sputter and will eventually give out and come to a stop. The body will do the same thing without the proper nourishment. Skipping a meal before a workout can make you feel fatigued or dizzy. And neglecting to fuel up can even backfire and cause you burn less calories. Without the proper energy, you may be more inclined to not push yourself or might slack off when you should be exercising harder.

Healthy Energy For Workouts

Just because there is no need to workout on a empty stomach doesn’t mean that you should eat a five course meal full of rich foods right before you hit the gym. Too much food right before vigorous exercise can make you feel nauseous and sluggish. The key is to find the perfect balance. Prevention Magazine suggests eating a 200-calorie snack 1-2 hours before you begin your exercise routine. Try foods that increase energy like an apple or banana with almond butter, a healthy energy or protein bar, or a low-fat yogurt.

When it comes to exercise success, remember to think long-term. Don’t let your weight loss goals tempt you to make unwise daily decisions like skipping meals. Choose food that boosts energy before your workouts, stay positive, and you’ll be seeing results in no time!

Sources:

  • “5 Workout Myths that Mess with Results”, Prevention Magazine
  • “5 Food and Workout Myths, Busted”, Food Network
Get more tools for planning healthy meals here. 

Yeast Intolerance Symptoms and Solutions

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According to BBC Health, food intolerance occurs when your body isn’t able to produce the chemicals and enzymes needed to properly digest a particular kind of food. Yeast intolerance is one of the many types of food intolerances. You’ve probably heard of lactose intolerance and gluten intolerance, for instance. Yeast intolerance and other forms of food intolerance are different from a food allergy, which has more severe effects on the body because of adverse interaction with the immune system. Yeast intolerance can cause mild to moderate levels of discomfort. If you find out your body can’t properly digest yeast, it’s best to eliminate yeast from your diet.

Yeast Intolerance Symptoms

  • Stomach bloating
  • Halitosis (bad breath)
  • Mood swings
  • Heartburn
  • Nasal congestion
  • Sugar cravings
  • Mouth ulcers
  • Fatigue after eating
  • Skin rashes and psoriasis
  • White discoloration of the tongue

As you can probably tell, the symptoms of yeast intolerance are subtle, and there are several different factors that could cause many of the same symptoms. Talk to your doctor if you think you may be yeast intolerant. He or she will be able to help you rule out other possible causes of the symptoms you’re experiencing, and he or she will be able to diagnose you with yeast intolerance.

Yeast Intolerance Solutions

Just as you might eliminate gluten from your diet if you were gluten intolerant or had celiac disease, you should try to eliminate yeast from your diet if you are yeast intolerant. If your body has difficulty digesting yeast, here are some foods to avoid and some drinks to avoid:

  • Bread
  • Soy sauce
  • Peanuts
  • Cheese
  • Dried fruit
  • Baked goods made with brewer’s yeast
  • Beer and Wine

Living with yeast intolerance requires some dietary adjustments. Fortunately, once you change your diet, the symptoms of yeast intolerance will fade, and you’ll feel like a whole new you!

Source:

• “Food intolerance,” Dr. Trisha Macnair, BBC Health

Better meals begin with better planning. We can help. 

Video Review: A Mexican Influenced Ratatouille

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 ”Voila! Summer on your plate!”

In this video, Bruno Albouze of Bruno’s Kitchen shares his family’s traditional baked ratatouille recipe. He says that his parents live in a small village in the south of France, where his father grows beautiful vegetables in the garden and his mother is famous for her wonderful vegetable ratatouille and couscous.

THE RECIPE:

1 chopped onion
2 chopped carrots
2 chopped celery stalks
1 tbsp butter and olive oil
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 yellow bell pepper and 1 red bell pepper, charred and peeled with the seeds and ribs removed
1 can crushed tomato
1 tsp herbes de Provence
salt and pepper to taste
6 fresh basil leaves
2 yellow squash sliced into 1/1 inch rounds
2 zucchinis sliced into 1/16 inch rounds
2 Japenese eggplants sliced into 1/16 inch rounds
6 Roma tomatoes sliced into 1/16 inch rounds
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp chopped thyme leaves

Char bell peppers over the flame of the stove until blackened. Put roasted peppers into a bowl then cover with plastic wrap and steam for fifteen minutes.

While the peppers are steaming, chop the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic, and slice the zucchini, yellow squash, Japanese eggplant, and tomato into 1/16 inch rounds. Open peppers, remove seeds, then chop them into small pieces.

Saute carrots, onion, and celery in oil over low heat for about ten minutes. Add garlic and cook for about three more minutes, stir in peppers and herbs de Provence, then cook down for about 20 minutes. Remove mixture from heat and gently puree with basil, then add puree back into pan.

Arrange the sliced vegetables in alternating strips on top of the puree, then season with salt, pepper, olive oil, and thyme. Cover with foil then bake for three hours at 280 degrees. Right before serving, bake uncovered for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

PROS:

The sounds of Bruno’s Kitchen are wonderful: the sizzling peppers, crackling foil, and satisfying snap of chopped vegetables really add to the viewing experience.

CONS:

There is some strange editing at the beginning, including some confusing footage of Bruno preparing and eating a chocolate cake.

THE TAKEAWAY:

A lively host and a gorgeous summery recipe.

Get more tools for planning healthy meals here.

Home Freezing Tips and Tricks

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According to sources at CBS News, there’s a right and a wrong way to freeze food at home. Improper home freezing can lead to freezer burn, loss of flavor, and even harmful contamination of the food. If you want to save your fruits, veggies, meat, or other type of food for a rainy day, you may be researching how to freeze food. Fortunately, freezing food at home isn’t difficult, if you take the right precautions and follow the proper protocol. Here are a few suggestions to help you freeze food at home while preserving flavor and nutritional value:

  • Blanch vegetables before freezing them – Vegetables can lose flavor and color when frozen. To prevent this from happening, it’s a good idea to partially cook vegetables before sticking them in the freezer.
  • Keep canned food in the pantry – Canned food should not be frozen. Canning and pickling preserves foods, so if it’s canned properly, your canned food should have a pretty long shelf life. If you open up some canned food but don’t eat all of it, you can freeze the remaining food, as long as it’s not still in the can.
  • Store frozen food at 0 degrees or below – Before you freeze any food at home, check the internal temperature of your freezer. It should be at least 0 degrees (Fahrenheit) or colder. Even if your freezer’s just a few degrees warmer than 0 degrees, you may not be able to prevent the harmful growth of bacteria on your food.
  • Freeze foods early – The quality of your frozen foods will depend on their quality before you freeze them. So, freeze food when it’s fresh for the freshest taste after you thaw.
  • Package appropriately – You can store meat and fish in the packaging you bought it in at the store. Fruits, veggies, and meat that’s not in packaging should be stored in freezer safe plastic bags or other types of wrapping or packaging that keep air away from the frozen food.
  • Use your quick freeze shelf, if you have one – Some freezers come with a shelf that’s specifically used for freezing foods rapidly. If your freezer has such a shelf, it’s a good idea to use it for your home freezing needs. Foods that are frozen rapidly usually end up maintaining their taste and quality better than foods that are frozen at a slower pace.

Freezing food at home can be a great way to preserve food you aren’t ready to eat. So, consider the tips above, and enjoy your frozen food later!

Source:

  • “How to Freeze Food Properly,” Tatiana Morales, CBS News

Food On The Table can make dinner easier. Learn how here.

Crispy Snacks That Won’t Ruin Your Diet

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For every diet, there comes a time when you must decide between that piece of fruit and that decadent piece of cake, that salad and that steak, restraint and indulgence. For some, that moment is just a daily part of dieting. For others it is only an occasional siren. The fact is, you will face that challenge. Fortunately, you have some friends in the diet challenge. They are: baked potato chips and chili roasted chick peas.

If you’re the type of dieter who enjoys a nice crunch to their snack foods – the kind of crunch that typically emanates from something that leaves a heap of oil and salt on your fingers – welcome to the club. There is something so satisfying about that crunch. If your diet were a block of wood, the sound would be something like what happens when Jackie Chan’s fist comes thundering down upon it. In a word, ecstasy.

If you want to indulge your craving for crunch and your soft spot for the savory while still staying true to your healthy meal plan, check out these tasty and healthful crispy snack recipes.

Chili Roasted Chick Peas

1 cup dried chickpeas
2 teaspoons chili powder
1.5 tsp salt
1 tbsp lime juice

Wash the chickpeas and cover them with water about 2 inches abve the chickpeas. Soak them in this way overnight. Drain the chickpeas and place them in a pot with water covering them. Bring the pot to a boil. Once the pot is boiling, reduce the heat and add 1.5 tsp chili powder. Let the mixture simmer for 10 minutes, drain and place in a bowl. Toss the chickpeas with lime juice. Preheat the oven to 400F. Place the chickpeas on a baking sheet so that none are piled on each other and brush them with lime juice and chili powder. Place them in the oven and let them cook for about 50 minutes.

Baked Potato Chips

Medium Russet potato
Parchment paper
Salt
Seasonings: chili powder, creole seasoning, sea salt

Use a mandolin or v slicer to slice the potato into nearly identical wedges and place on parchment on the turntable of your microwave. Microwave at full power for 4-6 minutes or until brown spots start to appear on the potatoes. Turn off the microwave for one minute then turn back on full power until potatoes are golden brown.

Just because you’re on a diet doesn’t mean you have to give up that glorious feeling of crunching something between your mandible and maxilla. Enjoy these crispy snack recipes to add a little crunch to your daily routine.

Source:

  • “9 healthy crunchy snacks”, Best Health Magazine

Better meals begin with better planning. We can help. 

Peanut Reaction Risks and How To Avoid Them

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CNN reports that even a small amount of peanuts can cause a highly allergic person to have a severe reaction. Some of the symptoms of a peanut allergy reaction include hives, itching around the throat and mouth, stomach issues, chest tightening, sinus reactions, and shortness of breath. Peanuts can also cause anaphylaxis, a sudden and very dangerous reaction that causes a person’s blood pressure to drop and airways to swell. If you experience any sort of allergic reaction to peanuts, it’s best to seek medical attention immediately. Unfortunately, you can develop a peanut allergy at any time in your life. If you’ve recently developed a peanut reaction, you’ll have to take special dietary precautions to prevent future allergic difficulties.

Foods to Avoid

Unfortunately, many foods contain peanuts. So, you’ll have to be vigilant about what you eat. Some foods you should avoid that contain peanuts include:

  • Foods that contain peanut oil
  • Ground nuts
  • Peanut butter
  • Peanut flour

Sometimes it’s difficult to tell whether or not a dish at a restaurant or food you’ve bought at the store contains peanuts. Additionally, those delicious baked cookies your grandma sent you may have a dollop of peanut butter in them. To avoid a reaction to peanut butter or another food product that contains peanuts, it’s best to ask about the ingredients of anything before you eat it. Additionally, it’s best to check the ingredients list of food products before you buy them at the store. You may want to avoid the following types of food, which often contain peanuts:

  • Chinese and Thai food
  • Candy bars
  • Baked goods
  • Chili
  • Ice cream
  • Homemade granola

If you have a peanut allergy or other serious food allergy, it’s better to be safe than sorry. So, always do some investigating before you eat, and try to avoid the foods listed above.

Source:

  • “Peanut allergy,” CNN Health

Better meals begin with better planning. We can help. 

Spices and Flavors That Benefit the Body

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The best chefs know that the secret to truly delicious food lies in quality ingredients, careful preparations, and perhaps most importantly, the perfect blend of spices and flavors. The right spices are essential to a meal’s success, but did you know that some spices have incredible health benefits are well? Fitness Magazine reports that many spices have more antioxidant power than some superstar fruits and vegetables. Here are five spices and flavors that are not only winners when it comes to taste, but go the extra distance toward health:

  • Cinnamon – This festive spice is the star of snicker-doodles, pumpkin pie, and apple cider, and can brighten up anything from toast to oatmeal. Though it is often included in sweet, rich foods, cinnamon may actually help weight loss. Cinnamon can level out blood sugar levels and lower cholesterol, plus it can be used as a flavorful substitute for sugar.
  • Ginger – Ginger is an important ingredient in Asian cooking, and has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine. Ginger causes a warming sensation in the body, so it is often used to improve circulation and blood flow. Also, ginger can be used to treat motion sickness and nausea.
  • Paprika – This lovely red pepper is often used to enhance the color of food, but there is more to paprika than just a pretty color. Like other peppers, paprika contains capsaicin, an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory phytochemical that makes these foods taste hot.
  • Oregano – This pizza sauce-enhancing spice holds the special distinction of possessing the highest antioxidant activity of all the spices, clocking in at over four times the amount that blueberries have. Oregano also contains antibacterial agents that may stave off infection.
  • Garlic – Garlic may be most famous for warding off vampires and causing strong-smelling breath, but garlic’s real worth lies in its health effects. Garlic boosts the body’s levels of hydrogen sulfide, a naturally occurring substance that increases blood flow by relaxing blood vessels and acts as an antioxidant. This increase in hydrogen sulfide has linked garlic with protecting against colon, breast, and prostate cancer. It may even protect the heart.
The next time you are cooking up your favorite meal, why not try playing with these healthy spices and flavors. You might be surprised how something so healthy can taste so good!

Sources:

  • “7 Miracle Spices With Huge Health Benefits (and Big Flavor)”, Treehugger by Discovery Channel
  • “Spice of Life: Health Benefits of Spices and Herbs”, Fitness Magazine

Food On The Table can make dinner easier. Learn how here.

Egg Nutrition Info Myth: Hard On The Heart

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Eggs are a divisive ingredient, with some plans like the Atkins diet advocating for them as a daily meal ingredient while others denounce them as cholesterol filled and hard on the heart.

So who is correct in this debate? Harvard School of Public Health reports that there is no connection between eating eggs and heart disease. When eating moderately (the recommended limit is one per day) eggs are perfectly safe for healthy people to eat. Plus, there is a lot of nutrition in a boiled egg.

Egg Nutrition Info: Cholesterol

The most common complaint about the health of eggs is that they are chock full of cholesterol. This statement is factual, but misleading. While eggs yolks are certainly high in cholesterol, the Harvard School of Public Health says that the mix of fats that someone eats affects their blood cholesterol much more than the amount of cholesterol in their food. One whole egg a day is the generally accepted safe amount. However, this recommendation is fairly limited to healthy people. For people that already have heart disease or are struggling with diabetes, they should eat three or less egg yolks over the course of a week.

Other Beneficial Egg Nutrition Info

Besides being an affordable and easy to prepare source of protein, eggs boast a variety of important nutrients. They are packed with many of the essential vitamins and nutrients for healthy living, including riboflavin, folate, vitamins B12 and D, choline, lutein, and zeaxanthin.

The evidence shows that eggs are still worthy of inclusion in a healthy diet. If cholesterol is still a concern but you’d like to eat eggs, try eating boiled egg whites or egg white omelettes instead of preparing the whole egg.

Sources:

  • “Egg Nutrition and Heart Disease: Eggs aren’t the dietary demons they’re cracked up to be”, Harvard Health Publications Harvard Medical School
  • “The Nutrition Source Eggs and Heart Disease”, Harvard School of Public Health

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Dehydrated Apples and Dried Fruits For Snacking on the Run

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The facts about the nutritional value of dried fruit are more cut and dried than you might think. Dried fruits like dehydrated apples carry many benefits, including more concentrated nutrients, longer storage potential and normally more fiber. If you’re thinking about drying fruits to use as snacks for you or your kids, just remember that because the moisture has been removed, each piece will be less filling but have a higher concentration of calories. This can be great news if you’re doing a rigorous activity like hiking or biking, but if you’re on a diet, it’s probably best to just stick to regular fruit.

For those looking to make a foray into drying fruit, check out this method, which can be used to make a range of dried fruit treats including apple chips, dried banana chips and dried grapes.

First, choose your fruit and make sure it is ripe. Next, wash or peel them and pit or core them. Once you’ve washed and pitted your fruit, slice them into uniform pieces and place them on a baking sheet. The thicker the slices, the longer it will take to dry. Place the baking sheet in the oven and turn the heat to 90° F – 150° F. Anything higher than 150° will cook the fruit and you simply want to dehydrate it. Leave it in the oven for many hours and check every couple of hours to see how squishy the fruit is. Dehydrated fruit should be chewy and not squishy. Let the fruit sit out over night before packing them away in containers. When placed in hermetically sealed containers and kept around 70°, dried fruits can have a shelf life of about five years.

If you’re looking to make apple chips, keep in mind that you will want a bit more of a crispy texture to the chip so be sure your slices are not too thick and feel free to turn the heat up as high as 225°.

Dried fruit is a great on-the-go snack that is high in nutritional value and can be stored for a long time. When it’s this easy to dry fruit, you almost don’t have an excuse not to be making your own healthy snacks of dried fruit mixture!

Source:

  • “A fresh look at the value of dried fruit”, The Seattle Times

Food On The Table can make dinner easier. Learn how here.

Hot Spices Myth: Ulcer Causing Jalapenos

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Anyone who has felt the acid-induced aftermath of a spicy meal can understand why hot spices are often believed to cause ulcers. But while spicy foods may indeed aggravate ulcers, there is no evidence to suggest that they cause them.

The University of Rochester Medical Center says that bacteria called helicobacter pylori causes most ulcers, and anti-inflammatory painkillers cause the majority of the rest. Tobacco and alcohol use further exacerbate the risk of developing an ulcer. Spicy foods may intensify the painful effects of an ulcer, as can stress.

The Benefits of Hot Spices

A spicy diet has actually has several health benefits. Surprisingly, Best Health Magazine reports that hot chili peppers can work to protect the stomach lining and fight against the damaging effects of anti-inflammatory drugs. The risk of stomach cancer may increase when someone eats the equivalent 9-25 jalapenos per day, however that number is large enough that most people will not have a problem. Additionally, research has shown that capsaicin, the substance that gives spicy spices their kick, may kill lung and pancreatic cancer cells.

Great Ways To Incorporate Hot Spices Into Your Diet

  • Two words: hot sauce. Hot sauce can be used on everything from eggs to sandwiches to noodle dishes. Sauces vary in specific flavor and spiciness, so there is a variety out there for everyone.
  • Curry is a well-loved spice that is found in many Indian and Thai dishes. Some curries also include hot peppers, for a double whammy of spice flavor.
  • Mexican food is also a typically spicy cuisine. Prepare a spice mix of chili powder, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, dried chipotle chile pepper, oregano leaves, and salt. Use on meat or in chili dishes.
Spicy food is nothing to be afraid of, and can be a great component of your healthy eating plan. The next time you need to spice things up in the kitchen, reach for the hot stuff!

Sources:

  • “Why spicy food is good for you”, Celia Milne, Best Health Magazine
  • “Digestive Myths Slideshow”, WebMD
  • “Health Myths and Facts”, University of Rochester Medical Center

Get more tools for planning healthy meals here.