FitSugar

Healthy Eating Tip: Have Your Produce Delivered

FitSugar — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 14:30:00 PDT

Sometimes it's hard to eat enough fruits and vegetables each day. Many of us would eat more produce if we had it right in front of us and this could not be more true for me. Over here at Sugar HQ, we have fruit delivered into the office and I know I eat more yummy fresh fruits (not to mention more of a variety) because of it. Inspired by this, I have decided to have produce delivered to my home as well. In my searches I stumbled on a fabulous list that Women's Health has already created of produce delivery businesses nationwide. Check it out. After all, having your produce delivered might help you stock up on healthy foods instead of the unhealthy ones.

Source

Cut Costs, Not Nutrition: Part One

FitSugar — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 08:00:00 PDT

In this time of economic hardships, it's getting harder and harder to put healthy foods on the table every day. It's tempting to just hit the dollar menu at your local fast food stop, but there are simple ways that you can cut costs and still eat healthy. Reuters has consulted with Holly Scherer, a registered dietician at the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor, for a few ways to cut costs but not nutrition. Here are highlights:

Eating in season is one key way to cut your food bill.
Local co-operatives where you trade money or labor in order to reap the benefits of a larger community garden or local farm are another option for fresh fruits and vegetables.
You can save money by planting your own produce and herbs.
When fresh options are too expensive or unavailable, consider frozen and canned fruits and vegetables.

What about the most expensive part of your grocery bill? Protein. There are ways to cut costs there too so

Get Your Five-a-Day In-Season

FitSugar — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 08:00:00 PDT

I usually figure out what fruits and veggies are in season when I shop at the farmers market. Unfortunately, that is not the only place I buy food. Since I prefer eating locally grown and seasonal produce it is a little problematic when I am trying to eat my five a day. You can imagine my excitement when I recently stumbled across the Seasonal Ingredient Map from Epicurious that makes figuring out which fruits and vegetables are in season each month for each state painless. It's easy to use, very helpful, and not to mention fun, so check it out here.

Five-a-Day Lowers Risk of Lung Cancer

FitSugar — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 03:00:00 PDT

If you're not already eating your five servings of fruits and vegetables a day then you may want to start, especially if you're a smoker.

New research has found that people who ate three servings of vegetables a day were 1.6 times less likely to develop lung cancer than those who didn't eat three servings. People who ate three or more servings of fruit were one-fold less likely to develop lung cancer. Researchers think that this is due to the fact that fruits and vegetables contain flavonoids, which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that stop the development of blood vessels that feed tumors.

Now that's not to say that if you are a smoker that eating fruits and vegetables can enable you to continue smoking and still be protected against lung cancer. The absolute best defense against lung cancer (not to mention a whole slough of other health risks associated with smoking) is to quit smoking altogether.

Source

Just 4 Things 4 Your Health

FitSugar — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 15:45:00 PDT

There are 4 simple things that have been proven to significantly reduce your risk of developing heart disease.

They are:

Eating at least 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day
Exercising at least 30 minutes every day
Maintaining a healthy weight (BMI between 18.5 and 24.9)
Not smoking

These four things are basic components of having a healthy lifestyle and are easy to do. In fact, starting these habits at any time can help improve your overall health. To hear more on this topic I highly recommend you listen to the Fitness Rocks podcast of an interview between Dr. Monte, the host of Fitness Rocks and Dr. Dana King. Dr. King authored a long-term study on the benefits of getting healthy in the middle years. But there is no reason to wait for the middle years to get healthy.

Taste Test: Jamba Juice's Fruit & Veggie Smoothies

Susannah Chen — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 03:10:47 PDT

Jamba Juice sure has a lot going on. It just rolled out probiotic smoothies and has been testing custom-blendable frozen yogurt, a new menu item that the company plans to expand over the course of the year. And beginning today, stores across the country will offer smoothies blended from both fruit and vegetables.

For now, the company's new Fruit & Veggie Smoothies come in three flavors: BerryUpBeet, Apple 'n Greens, and Orange Carrot Karma. All contain three servings of fruits and vegetables in every drink serving and are free of artificial flavors, preservatives, and high-fructose corn syrup. To find out what's in each flavor - and what the Sugar verdict was on each of the drinks - keep reading.

Toast to Valentine's Day With a Blood Orange Champagne Cocktail

Michele Foley — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:50:49 PST

Fruits and veggies can be slim pickings during the Winter, but not when it comes to blood oranges. Since the crimson color of the fruit's flesh makes it a perfect pairing for Valentine's Day, putting it in a celebratory cocktail makes total sense. It's full of nutritional goodness, too: blood oranges are a great source of vitamin C, and also contains a good amount of vitamin B1 and folic acid. If you're not a drinker, substitute the champagne for soda water in this recipe.

Check out this citrus twist on the champagne cocktail when you

3 Ways Snacks Can Help You Lose Weight

Jenny Sugar — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:09:19 PST

You might think snack time is just for preschoolers, but everyone can benefit from eating a few bites between meals. Aside from filling nutritional holes in your diet, snacking can also help you on your road to weight loss. If the numbers on the scale are on your mind, here are three ways snacking can help you lose weight.

Snacks Keep Blood Sugar Levels Steady
If you've ever gone too long between meals and have gotten a headache, the shakes, and a loss of concentration, then you've felt firsthand what it's like to have low blood sugar. Snacking between meals keeps blood sugar levels steady, which can help prevent you from grabbing the first (unhealthy) thing you can get your hands on and overindulging.

Fiber Fills You Up
Choosing snacks that are full of water and belly-filling fiber will help keep you full longer, so you actually eat less in the long run. Fruits, veggies, and whole-grain breads are great options, and if you need more ideas, here are 10 high-fiber snacks under 150 calories.

No More Overeating
You eat lunch around noon and dinner isn't until 6 p.m. or later. No wonder you hit the dinner table feeling so ravenous that you stuff yourself silly. Now if you enjoyed a pear with some almonds around 3 p.m., you'd avoid that famished feeling and have the patience to prepare a healthy, sensibly sized meal. It works the other way, too. If you're eating a meal and you know you'll be enjoying a snack in two hours or so, you won't feel the need to overeat at mealtime.

Sugar Shout Out: Get Close With Partnered Yoga Poses

Lindsay Miller — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:55:00 PST

NurturMe's Caroline Freedman: An Easy Way to Get Lil Ones to Eat Their Fruits and Veggies!

Kate Stahl — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:02:14 PST

As a soon-to-be first-time mom, a pregnant Caroline Freedman was obsessed with all things baby (sound familiar?), including what she would eventually feed her new lil one once she advanced past breast milk and bottles. "I was shocked at how little innovation there had been since I was a baby. It was still Gerber jarred foods," says Austin, TX-based Freedman, now mom to a 3-year-old and a 4-month-old. "Considering how parents are eating a lot differently now, it seemed so out of sync."

Freedman, along with her business partner Lauren McCullough (a former culinary arts teacher) decided to do something about the discrepancy. The result: NurturMe, the first certified organic, all-natural, gluten-free baby food made from quick-dried fruits and veggies. If a dehydrated baby food isn't inventive enough - each pouch is light as a feather and makes about 2.5 ounces of baby food when mixed with water, breast milk, or formula - NurturMe has yet another selling point: it's also an easy way to sneak fruits and veggies into older tots' meals. Keep reading for more from our interview with Freedman.