FitSugar

Weekend Well-Being: Make a Nalgene Bottle Lantern

FitSugar — Sat, 10 May 2008 02:00:00 -0700

The news about the Nalgene bottle and other shatter proof polycarbonate plastics being dangerous for human health hit me a little hard. I've had my Nalgene bottle for years and taken it on many hikes, road trips, and picnics. Lucky for me, I found a way to reincorporate my Nalgene back into my outdoor life.

The company Sol Light has come to the rescue, saving my old water bottle from spending an eternity in a landfill by turning it into a lantern. The LightCap 200 - Solar Powered Light ($20) fits onto any standard water bottle with a two inch wide mouth and turns the bottle into a light source. To make this an even greener experience, the LED light is powered by solar power, so no batteries are required. You can get a light cap directly from here.

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Holiday Healthy Punch: Mulled Wine

FitSugar — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:30:54 -0800

I hosted a jack-o'-lantern carving party at my house this weekend and needed to come up with a nice cocktail for my guests. During the holiday season I love warm and spicy drinks like eggnog and hot buttered rum but they're filled with tons of sugar or fat. A nice alternative is making a big batch of mulled wine. It's served warm and uses all the spices associated with the holidays, but has zero fat and contains the heart healthy benefits of red wine. It's a great cocktail for parties because it's really easy to make ahead of time.

Keep coming back to Fit throughout the holiday season because we'll be giving you all sorts of healthy recipes to enjoy this year.

To check out the recipe, read more.

Mulled Wine
original recipe

To make this recipe you will need an empty tea satchel for the spices. As an alternative, whole spices can be substituted for the ground spices. If using whole spices, tie them together in a cheesecloth or use a stainless steel tea infuser.

Ingredients

1.5 liter bottle of dry red wine
Zest from 1 lemon
Zest from 1 orange
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon cloves
1/2 tablespoon ginger
1/2 tablespoon nutmeg
Honey, agave nectar, or apple juice to taste
Orange slices or cinnamon sticks for garnish

Directions

Pour wine into large saucepan and cook over low heat.
Add lemon and orange zest to the wine.
Place the spices into an empty tea satchel. Put the satchel into the saucepan and brew the mixture for 30 minutes.
Add sweetener of your choice to taste.
Pour the wine through a strainer and serve in heatproof glasses. Garnish each glass with a sliced orange or cinnamon stick.

Serves 10-12.

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Please share your trimmed down, revamped, and low cal recipes in the Healthy Recipe group. I am always looking for new eats to try.

Play With Your Food: Exercise With a Pumpkin

FitSugar — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:30:34 -0700

Pumpkins just got even better. Aside from being lined with tasty seeds and being chock full of healthy goodness, the Fall staple also makes a great tool for resistance training. Confused? Think of your pumpkin as a medicine ball you can eat.

Check out this video to see how you can incorporate a pumpkin into your next workout - Halloween costume and Olivia Newton-John soundtrack optional.

Will you be doing this workout before you carve your jack-o'-lantern?

Biggest Headline of 2008: Nalgene and BPA

FitSugar — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:03:15 -0800

For fitness fanatics and nature lovers, owning a Nalgene water bottle was as essential as a sports bra - a must-have to stay hydrated and reduce your plastic footprint. For years it seemed like there was a Nalgene bottle next to every machine at the gym. Then the scare hit.

The chemical known as bisphenol A (BPA) used to make these polycarbonate bottles was found to possibly cause cancer, UTIs, and early puberty in preliminary animal studies. Other research showed that exposure to BPA was also linked to diabetes and heart disease. Women were worried because it was suspected to affect fertility and the development of babies.

Many people stopped using their Nalgenes immediately, replacing them with stainless steel (Klean Kanteen), aluminum (Sigg), or BPA-free water bottles. Folks who felt bad about adding to landfills found new uses for their bottles as lanterns.

So what did Nalgene do? To find out read more.

Even though Nalgene refuted that its products were harmful to humans, the company reacted quickly by designing a BPA-free water bottle. BPA is still found in some plastic baby bottles and the lining of cans, although many government agencies feel the risk is nothing to worry about. Many experts believe that the amount of BPA humans are exposed to is too small to cause any harm, and further evaluation is necessary.

I agree with Tufts professor and researcher Dr. Ana Soto, who says, "We cannot wait that long to discover whether this chemical is harming human reproduction and development." If there is even a slight chance BPA could negatively affect humans, why take the risk? Do you agree, or will you continue to use BPA products until scientists declare this chemical a definite risk?

At Home Spa Treatment: Pumpkin Mask

FitSugar — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 02:30:00 -0700

Looking for a way to chill out this weekend? Why not treat yourself to an at home spa treatment using the most celebrated squash of the season, the pumpkin? A little facial may be just the thing to keep you from feeling like this jack-o-lantern!

Not only do pumpkins make tasty pies, their flesh contains many vitamins and minerals that are beneficial for your skin. It is high in vitamin A, which promotes skin healing, and vitamin C, which is an antioxidant. The flesh is also high in the mineral zinc, which supports collagen the support structure of the skin.

Here is a simple recipe for a pumpkin pie mask that I found on Annie's Care 2.

What you need:
2 teaspoons cooked or canned pumpkin, pureed
1/2 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon milk or soy milk

What you do:

Combine all the ingredients together in a small bowl.
Apply mask to clean, face avoiding the eye area.
Rest and relax for 10-15 minutes.
Rinse with warm water and apply the appropriate moisturizer for your skin type.

Check out Annie's Care 2 for additional variations for different skin types. If you feel like giving yourself a facial, but just don't feel like making your own, my gal Bella has some pumpkin products for you to try.

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Halloween Survival Guide: Candy Breakdown

FitSugar — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 15:45:00 -0700

I have a love-hate relationship with Halloween. I love going pumpkin picking, making jack-o-lanterns, roasting pumpkin seeds, and creating costumes. Oh, who am I kidding? I also love the candy, the bags of tiny bite-sized servings are my weakness. To keep my candy intake in check, I buy my candy a few days before Halloween and buy the candy I don't like.

How bad are these tasty little morsels, really? A few bites can't hurt, right? To see how many calories haunt your favorite Halloween candy, read more

The calorie content in this chart is based on one piece of Halloween ‘snack’ or ‘fun’ size candy, not full size servings found in the candy aisle. The good news is that on most bags of candy, the serving size includes 2-3 pieces/bags/packets of each. I guess those candy companies know how "fun" those fun packs really are.

1 treat size (fun size)	Calories	Fat (g)	Sugar (g)
Snickers	71	3.6	7.6
Reese's Peanut Butter Cup	88	5.2	8
Reese's Caramel Cup	100	5	11
Reese's Nutrageous	95	5.5	7.5
Milky Way	77	2.9	10.2
Butterfinger	85	3.5	8.5
Almond Joy	91	5.1	9.2
Milk Duds	40	2	6.3
M&Ms	90	4	11.5
Peanut M&Ms	93	4.7	9.1
Nestle's Crunch	51.3	2.7	5.6
Peppermint Pattie	47	1	8.6
Kit Kat	73	3.7	.67
Dots	70	0	11
Skittles	80	.8	15
Jelly Belly Jellybeans	35	0	7
3 Musketeers	63.3	2	10
Milky Way	75	3	10
Hershey's Bar	66.7	4	7.7
Take 5	105	5.5	9
100 Grand	95	4	11
Nerds	50	0	12
Whoppers	100	4	13
Mike & Ike	50	0	9
SweeTarts	10	0	2.4

Knowing the calorie count of some of my favorite treats, I don't feel so bad about stealing a few pieces of my daughters' candy.

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Get in Gear: Firefly Light Up Lid

FitSugar — Fri, 18 May 2007 11:45:00 -0700

Some friends of mine are trying to convince me to go camping with them in the near future and I may be into it simply because of all the cool gadgets that you can bring along with you. My newest little gadget discover really makes me think I should consider camping more seriously...

The Firefly Light Up Lid is this cool little contraption that allows you to light up most (including Nalgene, GSI, Cyclone, Bison, Stansport, etc.) standard sized wide mouth bottles, turning them into a cool and super handy lantern. I always carry a water bottle with me on my hikes and runs, so this would be a fun addition in case it gets dark while I am still out. I am even thinking about adding one to my emergency kit if the power ever goes out then I'll have water and light. Heck, I think it'd be good to use as a light to have next to my bed since I always keep a water bottle there anyway. Regardless of what you'd use it for, buy it from BaseGear.com for $17.95 (bottle not included).