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Spring Fruit Breakdown

FitSugar — Wed, 06 May 2009 10:00:00 -0700

Spring means gorgeous weather for outdoor workouts, but it also means scrumptious fresh fruit. You can say goodbye to using frozen bags of berries and dried cranberries, and say hello to biting into juicy slices of mango, oranges, and strawberries. When you choose fruits that are in season, they'll taste much richer, and should be less expensive than when you buy them off-season.

If you're curious to know how these sweet types of produce compare, then check out the nutritional info when you read more.

Fruit	Calories	Carbs (g)	Fiber (g)	Sugars (g)	Protein (g)	Iron (mg)	Calcium (mg)	Potassium (mg)
1 apricot	17	4	1	3	0	.1	4.6	90.6
1 medium banana (enjoy all year)	105	27	3	14	1	.3	5.9	422
1 cup diced honeydew (20 pieces)	61	15	1	14	1	.3	10.2	388
1 cup sliced mango	107	28	3	24	1	.2	16.5	257
1 large orange	86	22	4	17	2	.2	73.6	333
1 cup diced papaya (enjoy all year)	55	14	3	8	1	.1	33.6	360
1 cup diced pineapple	82	22	2	16	1	.5	21.5	180
1 cup sliced strawberries	53	13	3	8	1	.7	26.6	254

Speak Up: How Do You Find Seasonal Allergy Relief?

FitSugar — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:00:00 -0700

A good percentage of the population suffers from seasonal allergies, and springtime can be the worst with all the new plants budding. To find relief, I'm a regular neti pot user and am always telling people to use one too. The warm salt water helps flush pollen, dust, and mold spores out of my nose, which helps prevent symptoms. When dealing with pain from sinus congestion, I also suggest people use a therapeutic warming pillow. The heat helps loosen up mucus, which helps alleviate sinus pressure.

If you too deal with seasonal allergy symptoms, I'm sure you have some great remedies, so share them in the comment section below.

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Seasonal Allergies, Foods, and Itchy Mouths

FitSugar — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 10:00:00 -0700

About 20 percent of the population suffers from the itchy eyes, sneezing, runny nose, and sinus congestion that accompany seasonal allergies. Of those people, 25 percent also suffer from oral allergy syndrome (OAS). Symptoms include uncomfortable itchiness, tingling, or swelling in the mouth, lips, or throat when consuming certain fruits, vegetables, or nuts. Proteins in allergy inducing pollens are so similar to the proteins in certain types of foods, and this similarity creates the OAS reaction. Kind of creates a different meaning to "cross pollination." The body recognizes those food proteins as an allergen, and as soon as the person eats the offending food, it triggers their sensitive immune system to release chemicals that cause cells in the mouth and throat to swell. These reactions, called cross reactions, are usually mild and last for 10 to 30 minutes. Only fresh fruits, veggies, and nuts can cause OAS reactions. Eating canned, cooked, dried, or frozen versions of those same foods usually cause no reaction. Also, just so you know, OAS is different than a nut allergy. In order for a person to have OAS, they must have an allergy to pollen.

Are you curious to know which foods are connected to which allergens? Then read more.

Note: Cross reactions may occur with some or all of the foods listed in the right-hand column.

Type of Allergy	Foods That May Cause Cross Reactions
Birch Tree pollen	Almonds, apples, apricots, carrots, celery, cherries, coriander, fennel, hazelnuts, kiwi, lychee fruit, nectarines, parsley, parsnips, peaches, pears, peppers, persimmon, plums, potatoes, prunes, soy, wheat, zucchini, walnuts
Grass pollen	Celery, watermelon, oranges, peaches, tomatoes
Ragweed pollen	Bananas, melons (watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew), gourd family (cucumber, zucchini and squash), chamomile, echinacea, sunflower seeds, zucchini
Alder pollen	Celery, pears, apples, almonds, cherries, hazelnuts, peaches, parsley
Mugwort pollen	Celery, fennel, carrots, parsley, coriander, sunflower, peppers

Just because you have an allergy to one of the pollens listed above, does not mean you'll automatically have a reaction to the foods listed to the right. If you've been noticing swelling, itching, or tingling in your mouth or throat, it's best to get tested by an allergist.

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Healthy Recipe: Sesame Maple Roasted Tofu

FitSugar — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 03:30:00 -0700

Spring weather not only encourages us to exercise outdoors, but it also brings new foods to our plates. One of my favorites is fresh maple syrup (a friend from Vermont sends me a bottle every year). Pouring it on pancakes and French toast is always a favorite weekend treat in my house, but I also like to cook with it. This vegetarian dish is flavored with mother nature's sweetener, so it tastes savory yet sweet, and because it's made with tofu and quinoa, it's full of protein and fiber.

To see my recipe read more.

Healthy Recipe: Sesame Maple Roasted Tofu
Inspired by recipe from Eating Well

Ingredients

1 8-ounce block of tofu, cubed
1 red pepper, sliced
2 tsp canola oil
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1 cup shredded carrots
1 tbsp tahini (or use ginger salad dressing)
1 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp pure maple syrup
1 tsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tsp fresh ginger
1 clove fresh garlic, minced

Directions

Preheat oven to 450°F.
Toss tofu, red peppers, canola oil, sesame oil, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Spread on a large baking sheet and roast until the tofu is lightly golden on top and the red peppers are browning in spots, 15 to 20 minutes.
While the tofu and peppers are roasting, make the quinoa. Put one cup of quinoa and two cups of water in a covered pot. Cook on high, and once it starts boiling, lower the heat to simmer. Cook for 10 minutes. Then stir in the carrots and cook for another five to 10 minutes, or until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is fluffy.
Whisk tahini, soy sauce, maple syrup, and vinegar in a small dish until combined.
Remove the tofu from the oven, drizzle with the maple sauce, and stir to combine. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Return to the oven and continue roasting 8 to 12 minutes more.
Add the fresh ginger and garlic to the quinoa and stir completely.
Remove the tofu and peppers from the oven. Scoop out quinoa onto a plate and top with the maple sesame tofu and peppers. Enjoy!

Makes 3 servings.

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Healthy Eating Tip: Try a New Type of Vegetable Each Week

FitSugar — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:00:00 -0700

Spending more time in your kitchen is good for your waistline and your wallet, and the abundance of delicious Spring vegetables gives us another reason to choose eating at home. Challenge your inner chef and get excited about eating healthy by experimenting with something new from the produce aisle each week.

Take advantage of in-season bounty by creating a watercress salad, steaming artichokes for snacking, roasting asparagus for a side dish, adding fennel to pasta, or swapping your romaine for mustard greens. Don't be intimidated by any unfamiliar offerings you may come across; there are plenty of resources online for learning how to cook every vegetable under the sun. Following through with this little challenge will help you eat more vegetables, and you may find yourself wanting to continue the weekly routine when next season rolls around.

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Spring Hiking Essentials

FitSugar — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 04:30:00 -0700

Early Spring is one of my favorite times of year for hiking since the snow is all melted, you can see buds on the trees, and can catch glimpses and sounds of birds and other wildlife. Plus it's not unbearably hot, so you don't have to worry about sweating the whole time. Before you head out on the trail, check out these hiking essentials.
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How to Make Your Walk Work Harder

FitSugar — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 12:00:00 -0700

Since tomorrow is Start Walking Day, I wanted to stroll out some tried-and-true tips for getting the most out of your walk. Just because walking is one of the first things we learn to do as humans doesn't mean we don't have more to learn. If you're walking for exercise or if you just want to make your regular walks more fitness filled, here are some tips on making your walk work harder for you.

Pay attention to your posture. Look straight ahead with your chin parallel to the ground, rather than looking down. Meanwhile, keep your shoulders down and back, away from your ears.
Activate your abs. Stand up straight so your ribs are stretching away from your hips, and be careful not to lean forward or backward at the waist or puff out your chest. When going downhill, sit back slightly, but keep your weight over your feet.

For three more tips, read more.

Move your arms. Swing your arms back and forth to burn more calories, and bend at a 90-degree angle when climbing uphill.
Pick up the pace. To burn serious calories, you should walk at a pace of at least 3.5 miles an hour. A 130-pound woman will burn 236 calories walking for 60 minutes at 4 miles per hour. To speed up, take faster, smaller steps, rather than larger ones.
Take the hills. If you can, add some incline to your routine to burn even more fat and calories. Health recommends first replacing 25 percent of your walk with small hills, then ramping up from there.

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Healthy To-Do: Burn Calories While Spring Cleaning

FitSugar — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 04:00:00 -0700

Spring has sprung, so now it's time for some Spring cleaning. Maybe dusting and organizing clutter is not the most exciting way to spend your weekend, but you'll feel so much better you'll feel when it is all done. Go ahead and clean out your closet, dust under your bed and on top of the fridge, vacuum your mattress to get rid of dust mites, and open up the windows to get some fresh air circulating. A huge plus is you'll also be burning some major calories too. To find out how many read more.

These calculations are based on a 130-pound woman.

Activity:	Calories burned per 30 minutes:
Mopping or sweeping the floor	85
Dusting	85
Gardening/weeding	140
Ironing	74
Doing laundry	73
Mowing the lawn	163
Mowing the lawn (push mower)	172
Raking the lawn	125
Rearranging furniture	101
Washing dishes	85
Washing the car	101
Washing windows	85
Cleaning out the garage	101

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Fashionable and Practical: Biking Cargo Skort by Terry

FitSugar — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 11:00:00 -0700

Well situated in the land of spandex, biking and fashionable are two words seldom heard together. Times, they are a changing.

I just found this Cargo Skort ($100) by Terry. It is a little pricey, but it is nice to see a combo of padded biking shorts with a short wrap skirt. The fabric is made of quick-drying fabric and the large side pocket is both functional and cute. These are biking bottoms you can ride in and then socialize in. If you're ready to ride in style, the Cargo Skort is available online from Terry.

6 Steps For Getting Back on Track After Vacation

FitSugar — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 13:00:00 -0700

With Winter behind us, Spring can be an excuse to take a break from our daily lives, and many of us are antsy to take much-deserved vacations. Lying on the beach, sipping margaritas, and dining out daily are entirely relaxing and make it easy to think, "I could get used to this." Break temptation to continue your leisurely vacation habits and get back on track to your normal healthy lives with these six steps.

Write down how many days you plan to exercise the first week back, but start slowly. After taking a long break from your regular workouts, begin with a less-intense workout than you'd usually do. You don't want to be so sore from day one that you have trouble moving the next day or two.
Create a meal plan for the week. Outline a healthy menu and make a list for what to buy at the grocery store. Go to the store ASAP - your refrigerator is likely empty because you've been away, so leave only a small window to reduce takeout temptation.
Revisit your health goals to motivate you. Write them down in your fitness and food journals, and take a peek whenever you need a little push.

To see three more steps, read more.

Sustain your vacation-friendly mental health habits. Escaping with a book for 30 minutes in the evening instead of turning on the TV is reminiscent of your time off and a healthier habit overall.
Continue putting on sunscreen every day. Just because you're not spending all day in the sun, it doesn't mean you're not exposed to harmful rays. Apply as part of your morning routine.
Do some Spring cleaning. You're already doing loads of laundry from your vacation, so why not up the ante and get your home in Spring condition?

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