FitSugar

Healthy Meals Made Easy: Make a Big Salad

FitSugar — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 10:15:00 -0700

A great way to make sure you get your veggies for the week is to make one big salad. I'm more likely to eat a salad everyday if it's already made, as opposed to having to take time to make one everyday. Who has time for that?

It'll take about 30 min to an hour to buy all the stuff you need, and another 30 minutes to wash and cut everything up.

Here are some tips to make it go by even quicker:

Make a list of all the things you love in your salad including fresh veggies like carrots, cucumbers, yellow, green, orange, and red peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, and celery. Don't forget the fresh and dried fruit, nuts, flax seeds, and salad dressing as well. Having a list will help you remember everything. There's nothing worse than getting home and realizing you forgot the lettuce.
If you don't have a big huge plastic container with a lid, make sure to pick one of those up too.
Look for pre-washed lettuce in bags or plastic containers, and baby carrots. Buying these will save you a lot of time.

Want some more tips? Then read more

Once you get home, you won't even have to waste anytime putting your groceries away. Just wash everything and cut it up, and throw it in the container, pop on the lid and place it in the fridge.
If you like fresh fruit in your salad, cut it up, squeeze some lemon juice on it, and place it in a separate container.
Keep the dried fruit and nuts separate as well, and add them to the individual salads when you make them.

Now you'll have salad ready to have with dinner every night of the week.

Fit's Tips: If you prefer to eat salad for lunch, you can spread that big salad out into 5 separate containers instead of one big one. Then in the morning, you can just grab it before you go.

Evert-Fresh Bags

FitSugar — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:30:58 -0700

When I first saw Evert-Fresh Bags, I thought they were a gimmick. The thought of a bag being able to keep produce fresh for up to a month seemed impossible. But one of my old colleagues said that they worked for her, which made me curious enough to try them myself.

The bag is supposed to keep produce fresh by slowing down the ripening process and keeping bacteria from forming. The claims are pretty impressive - it absorbs the harmful gases that fruits and veggies give off like ethylene and ammonia, controls humidity, and minimizes moisture. From a scientific standpoint I have no idea if that's what's really happening inside those bags, but I can say that they do work.

To hear how they worked for me, read more.

I think I store my fruits and veggies pretty well to begin with, so I was pretty shocked that the bags impressed me. I use mine to store lettuce and berries, and they definitely work in keeping my produce fresh longer than my previous storage methods. I don't let produce sit around too long to begin with, but after returning from a week-long vacation nothing I left in the fridge spoiled - not my strawberries, arugula, or peppers, all of which had been there two weeks!

I still try and eat my produce ASAP, but the bags are a great option if you're worried about letting produce you buy from a farmers market go to waste or for times you can't get through your produce fast enough.

Food Review: Cascadian Farm Fiber Right Bars

FitSugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:00:02 -0800

Women need between 25 and 30 grams of fiber a day, and sometimes meals alone won't bring you to your daily quota. I'm always looking for quick snacks that are high in fiber, and when I came across these new Cascadian Farm Fiber Right Bars ($4) at the store, they looked like a tasty way to help me reach my goal.

To find out how these Almond Butter Crunchy Granola Bars taste and see how many calories are in one serving continue reading

Are the Kardashians' QuickTrim Diet Products Quackery?

FitSugar — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:50:02 -0800

A very pregnant Kourtney Kardashian is having a hard time accepting her baby weight. Slim sis Kim says that "Kourtney is going crazy. She feels so big right now. She's just ready to have the baby." According to Us Weekly, sisters Kim and Khloe are both dieting with their QuickTrim diet products and expectant mom Kourtney is jealous because she sees how they're both losing weight.

I've got to admit that I'm sick of hearing about the Kardashians, and now they're promoting this diet product and proving that it works. Ever wonder what it is exactly, or if it's even healthy? My gut says it's not, so I decided to check out the website to see what I could dig up. Here's what I found: QuickTrim Fast Cleanse ($30) is a "lemonade flavored drink designed to help rid the body of excess water weight, belly bloating, and intestinal bulk." So are you supposed to drink these magic citrus beverages all day and that's it?

To hear more about QuickTrim and what the ingredients are, read more.

The Fast Cleanse drink I just described is one product made by QuickTrim. It contains many ingredients including pure lemon juice concentrate, chicory root (fiber), and aloe vera gel. Although it's made with natural ingredients, detoxing your body isn't necessary.

QuickTrim makes two other diet supplements, but these are in tablet form: Extreme Burn ($50) and Burn & Cleanse ($60). Extreme Burn claims to burn up to 8,000 extra calories per month. Burn & Cleanse is a 14-day diet system that promises to burn calories all day, and cleanse and detox you all night. They're made with ingredients such as cocoa extract, acai fruit extract, hyssop, false unicorn root, and green tea leaf extract. Sounds like a witch's potion to me. But at least you're instructed to take these tablets between meals, not in place of them.

These pills are supposed to stimulate your metabolism, maintain your blood sugar levels, burn fat and calories, and contain antioxidants to promote a happy mood. Safety-wise, QuickTrim products are not FDA-approved, so I'd skip them completely and save your moolah to buy things you know will help shed pounds, like a gym membership or fresh fruits and veggies. If you're trying to lose weight, don't fall for this quick-fix diet scam. As I've said before, the safest and most effective way to slim down is with a healthy diet and regular exercise.

Your Healthy Food Swaps

FitSugar — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:00:27 -0800

Since decadent foods like ice cream, baked treats, and fried foods tend to be high in the calorie department, it's good to have a few healthy food swap ideas up your sleeve. Here are some shared by fellow FitSugar readers.

"Avocado instead of mayo . . . sure it may have fat in it but it's healthy fat and tastes delicious. Hummus instead of cream in sauces and soups . . . adds a ton of flavor and protein." - mamasitamalita
"I use balsamic vinegar (not vinaigrette) on my salads without any oil. It gives the same powerful flavor kick but for a lot less calories." - laellavita
"Replace ranch dressing on my salad with cottage cheese." - genipher85

For more great ideas, keep reading

Product Review: Greens First

FitSugar — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:00:53 -0700

I try my absolute best to eat five to nine servings of fruit and veggies a day but sometimes I fall short. I also find that sometimes it's hard for me to digest all that roughage. I talked to my nutritionist about this problem and she recommended Greens First - a megablend powder that contains super foods, organic fruits and vegetables, probiotics, fiber, enzymes, and more.

It's lightly sweetened with stevia and has a slight minty flavor, it definitely tastes better than any of the other "green" drinks I've tried. I mix the powder with a glass of cold water in the morning and I'd say that within 30 minutes I feel a boost in my energy level. The website says that one serving of Greens First fulfills your fruit and veggie quota for the day but I still eat as much fresh stuff as I can.

Plain Yogurt vs. Flavored Yogurt

FitSugar — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 05:50:03 -0700

For breakfast, yogurt with fruit and granola has become my favorite. I love that the yogurt offers lowfat protein, and the granola gives me fiber to keep me satisfied until lunch. With all this talk about how Americans are getting too much sugar, I'm trying to do what I can to cut back on added sugars.

I was wondering if there's a huge difference when choosing between plain yogurt or one that's flavored. So here's a comparison between a few flavors of Chobani Greek yogurt. To see the chart, read more.

These numbers are based on six-ounce containers.

	Plain	Vanilla	Blueberry	Honey
Calories	100	120	140	150
Saturated Fat	0 g	0 g	0 g	0 g
Cholesterol	0 mg	0 mg	0 mg	0 g
Sodium	80 mg	75 mg	65 mg	75 mg
Carbs	7 g	13 g	20 g	20 g
Fiber	0 g	0 g	less than 1 g	0 g
Sugars	7 g	16 g	20 g	20 g
Protein	18 g	16 g	14 g	16 g
Ingredients	Cultured Pasteurized Nonfat Milk.	Cultured Pasteurized Nonfat Milk, Evaporated Cane Juice, Natural Vanilla Flavor.	Cultured Pasteurized Nonfat Milk, Blueberries, Evaporated Cane Juice, Locust Bean Gum, Pectin, Natural Flavor.	Cultured Pasteurized Nonfat Milk, Clover Honey.

Wow. Plain yogurt is clearly the better option when it comes to sugar. The vanilla, blueberry, and honey flavors have more than twice the amount as the plain. Plain yogurt also contains fewer calories and more protein, so I'll definitely stick to plain.

If you're trying to cut down on sugar, but can't stomach the sour taste of plain yogurt, mix in fresh, frozen, or dried fruit. It not only offers added fiber, but it will sweeten your yogurt naturally, unlike the flavored yogurts that contain evaporated cane juice. Tell me, will this info make you choose plain over flavored yogurts?

Can You Identify the Produce?

FitSugar — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 05:50:11 -0700

We are all striving for five daily servings of fruits and veggies. Fresh produce can be difficult to identify, but knowing what's what is key to a healthy diet. I'm curious how well you know your Fall produce. Take this little quiz and see if you can identify different types of seasonal fruits and veggies available in grocery stores right now.

Question 1 of 7

What is the name of this Fall fruit?

Reasons People Go Raw

FitSugar — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:00:12 -0700

It's World Vegetarian Month and many people are going meat-free for their health, but others are taking their diets to a whole new level - going raw. A raw food diet consists of consuming unprocessed, preferably organic, whole, plant-based foods, at least 75 percent of which should be uncooked.

A raw-food eater might enjoy uncooked veggies, fresh and dried fruits, nuts, seeds, seaweed, soaked dried beans, young coconut milk, and sprouted seeds and breads. The other 25 percent of a raw foodie's diet includes foods that are lightly cooked in a dehydrator, but foods can't be heated above 116° F, because it's believed to destroy valuable enzymes that help our bodies digest and absorb our food. If the good stuff is destroyed, what's the point of eating healthy foods?

Here are some reasons I've heard people give for deciding to go raw:

It's a simple, natural diet, devoid of artificial and processed foods.
For increased energy.
To improve appearance of the skin.
To improve digestion, and prevent constipation.
For weight loss.
To reduce the risk of heart disease.
To eat in a humane way.

Going completely raw may not fit your lifestyle, but it can't hurt to add some raw meals and snacks into your diet. For some raw-food recipes, read more.

	Edamole (substitute minced hot pepper for hot sauce)
	Mango Red Pepper Salsa
	Mixed Nut Butter (use raw nuts)
	Chickpea, Carrot, and Currant Salad
	Corn and Black Bean Salad

If you have a raw food recipe to share, post it in the Healthy Recipe group.

PMDD: My Dirty Little Secret

FitSugar — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 10:00:00 -0700

Three years ago I was diagnosed with PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder) - it's sort of like PMS on overdrive, except way worse. Before the diagnosis I was embarrassed at how unstable I felt as my period approached, especially when all of my girlfriends seemed to be handling their PMS symptoms in a manageable way.

My menstrual cycles were always preceded by feelings of severe depression, crying bouts, anxiety, fatigue, and extreme back pain that would disappear the day my period started. I decided that I could no longer live like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and had a conversation with my doctor. To my relief she confirmed that what I was going through was much more severe than PMS.

For those of you who might be suffering with PMDD, here are some tips I've learned from my doctor over the years to make life more bearable. You'll want to do everything on this list during the two weeks leading up to your period.

To see my tips, read more.

Keep a rigorous calendar of your cycle so you can anticipate when your symptoms will start. Knowing this time frame helps calm anxiety and allows you to take the necessary precautions to offset PMDD. It's also helpful to let those close to you anticipate these dates since they can help offer extra support during this time.
Exercise has been shown to help decrease symptoms of PMDD - go on more walks or bike rides leading up to your menstrual cycle.
Uncontrollable cravings and fatigue are signs of PMDD and can be offset by having a balanced diet of fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains, and lean proteins. Adjust your diet by reducing caffeine, salt, refined sugars, and high carb meals.
Take the herbal remedies chasteberry and L-tryptophan. In clinical trials, both have shown to help decrease the emotional effects of PMDD.

If these tips don't improve your PMDD, talk to your doctor about other options. I've also had great success taking Yaz, the only birth control pill approved to treat PMDD, but some health experts are not convinced that Yaz is as safe as it claims to be.

Many women have symptoms so severe that they go on short cycles of antidepressants each month or take oral contraceptives to help with hormone regulation.