FitSugar

Analyze This: Nutrition Data Recipe Feature

FitSugar — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 08:00:00 -0700

If you have a recipe that you've followed for years, but are not quite sure how it stacks up nutritionally or calorically, then I have an answer to your query - or at least a website for you to check out. One of my favorite healthy eating sites, Nutrition Data just created a new feature for analyzing recipes. After entering your ingredients by pulling them from the website's database of food, Nutrition Data creates a very complete analysis of the recipe, from fat content to sodium content and everything in between.

I just analyzed my recipe for Potato Salad with Cornichon and Capers. While the recipe is high in vitamin C, it is also very high in sodium. Darn those salty capers and pickles! If you have the time, because looking up all the ingredients for a recipe can be a bit time consuming, this is a fun and useful tool. After analyzing my potato salad, I am going to decrease the salt and double rinse the capers and cornichons.

With Teen Obesity, Inactivity Is Only Part of the Problem

FitSugar — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:32:46 -0800

I panic every time I see another "exercise doesn't work!" story - until I read between the lines and learn once again that exercise is a good thing. On the heels of its conversation-starting cover story on the exercise "myth," Time is tackling a new study of teen obesity that claims inactivity is only partly to blame for heavier kids.

Obesity rates in teenagers have triple between 1976 and 2004, with lack of exercise the suspected culprit. But a new report published in Obesity Reviews says that physical activity levels among teens have actually stayed fairly steady. So does that mean that exercise doesn't matter? Hardly, so read more.

Unfortunately, this latest study only looked at activity levels, not eating habits, and the participants were self-reporting on their own habits, which can lead to unreliable data. These figures merely suggest that the increase in teen obesity can't be explained away by teens' lack of exercise, according to Dr. Youfa Wang, the lead author of the study. Here's more:

So does this mean that exercise isn't important in controlling weight? As tempting as that conclusion might be, Wang and other health experts say that's not exactly what the new data show. . . . While exercise may not contribute directly to weight loss, it is critical for maintaining a healthy weight, since it helps calibrate the balance between energy taken in and energy burned off. "The data is too gross, and too general, to assume that [exercise doesn't count]," warns Dr. Janet Walberg Rankin, a professor in the department of human nutrition, foods, and exercise at Virginia Tech. "We need to have a dual approach to weight involving both activity and diet. I would hate for people to take away from this study that activity has nothing to do with weight."

Phew! Thanks, doc. I also hope that's not what people take away from this study. In fact, to me, it says the opposite. If teen obesity is going up because teens have increased their calorie intake without increasing their activity levels, then that seems to say pretty clearly that exercise does make a difference. Do you agree?

Healthy Dose Link Time

FitSugar — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:00:53 -0800

Workout headphones to keep your tunes in your ears - Shape
Is sourdough bread pumped full of probiotics - Nutrition Data Blog
The real reason you won't catch Cindy Crawford on the runway - Never Say Diet
How a numberless scale can help you lose weight - Fresh Fitness Tips
Why Jillian Michaels is a health superstar - Health
13 ways to keep toxic groceries out of your cart - Forecast Earth
How Tyra Banks is losing weight without dieting - FitCeleb
A little Salba sprinkle goes a long way for health - Vital Juice

Studies Have Confirmed: Sugar, Models, and Clowns

FitSugar — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:00:34 -0700

Some health studies make headlines and they seem quite shocking and sad, like this one from CNN: Tweens Challenged by Grown-Up Malady: Breast Cancer. Others bring out my inner fourth grader, and my response to them is sophisticated "no duh." But stories are often more complicated than their headlines, and it is nice to have scientific studies confirm a few assumptions.

Kids' Cereals Pour on the Sugar and Sodium - USA Today
A new study illustrates what we have long since learned by reading nutrition labels: cereals aimed at children have 85 percent more sugar, 65 percent less fiber, and 60 percent more sodium than cereal marketed to adults.

Models Strike a Chord in Self-Esteem - New York Times
A study to soon appear in the Journal of Consumer Research found that when women look at photos of models they think about their weight and their self-esteem is affected.

Talk on Your Cell, Risk Missing the Unicycling Clown - CNET
Pedestrians talking on their cell phones were considerably less likely to notice the conspicuously dressed clown riding a unicycle compared with other pedestrians. If you have ever ridden a bike on a city street, chances are high you probably already know this. Extrapolate this data to drivers and realize you need to bike, run, and walk defensively.

Looking to Move? Try Burlington, VT

FitSugar — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:00:13 -0700

After looking at the 100 largest metropolitan areas in America, Burlington, VT, came out on top as Self magazine's "fittest, healthiest, and happiest" city to live in for women. The magazine studied almost 8,000 different pieces of data in 50 categories and consulted a panel of experts to come up with its rankings. Information factored into the creation of this list includes rates of diseases, air quality, unemployment statistics, and health habits such as exercise and smoking.

The New England city boasts some of the lowest rates of cervical and ovarian cancer deaths in the country, and healthy habits prevail: women walk to work regularly and don't smoke. Where Burlington really shines is in nutrition and food - the city has six times as many food co-ops than the national average, and its farmers markets accept food stamps.

What to see how your hometown fared? Check out the entire ranking here.

Healthy Dose Link Time

FitSugar — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:00:55 -0700

A healthy twist on a comfy standard: Shepherd's Pie revamped - Mark's Daily Apple
Simple fitness prop for a great workout: a wall - Fresh Fitness Tips
Musicians are cooking up low-cal meals for late night Denny's menu - FitCeleb
Remove your roadblocks to healthy eating - Shape
Tales from the frontline battle against H1N1 - Vitamin G
Taste test: three coconut waters compared side by side - Mind Body Green
Does purslane measure up to its omega-3 hype? - Nutrition Data Blog

Healthy Recipe: Roasted Beet, Goat Cheese, and Sweet Pecan Salad

FitSugar — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:00:10 -0700

I was surfing the FitSugar community page, checking out the recipes in the Healthy Recipes Group and I saw this amazing salad delorganic added to the page.
It looks really tasty and is a great way to incorporate nutritious and colorful beets into your meal. Do you have a healthy recipe to share? Join the my recipe group, since healthy food is a cornerstone to living the fit life. To check out the recipe and possibly learn a new technique for roasting beets, just read more.

Roasted Beet, Goat Cheese, and Sweet Pecan Salad
Original Recipe

The sweet-salty contrast of the roasted beets, the tang of the goat cheese and crunch of the pecans is a delicious combination and the colors are absolutely beautiful.

Ingredients

2 beets, green cuts off, and skins trimmed
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/4 cup goat cheese crumbled
3 cups mixed greens
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
6 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Thinly slice the beets (about 1/4-inch thick slices) and toss with coconut oil and season with sea salt. Place on baking sheet in single layer, roast for 15 minutes, Remove pan from oven and turn beets over using a spatula. Return beets to oven and roast for another 10 minutes. Set aside and cool completely.

After beets are out of the oven, lower temperature to 250 degrees. Toss pecans with the maple syrup and spread out on a cooking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, stir and then bake another 15 minutes until pecans are dried and crispy. Set aside to cool.

In a small bowl whisk together balsamic vinegar and olive oil. In a large bowl toss mixed greens with 3/4 of the salad dressing. Season to taste with sea salt and pepper and add more dressing if needed. To assemble, divide salad greens on four plates. Divide the beets evenly and place on top of greens. Sprinkle with maple pecans and goat cheese. Serve immediately.

Print recipe with images | without images

If you would like to read up about coconut oil, my pals at Nutrition Data have some great information on the subject.

Healthy Dose Link Time

FitSugar — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 11:00:03 -0700

Get the skinny on supplements - Shape
Happy 95th birthday for Jack Lalanne - Social Workout
Do you Skimble? - Vital Juice
Find out why Martha Stewart only sleeps five hours a night - Vitamin G
Kristen Bell likes to know what is on her plate - FitCeleb
Vitamin D can help you fight the flu - Nutrition Data
Cook and freeze to eat healthy for a week - Self
Make your workout work for your favorite sport - That's Fit
Jump your pound away with this jump-rope workout - Health

Healthy Dose Link Time

FitSugar — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:00:34 -0700

Attention! Army appoints first female drill sergeant - That's Fit
Find low-cal meals on the run using the Internet - Vital Juice
Squeeze more antioxidants out of your tea by adding this ingredient - Health
Photoshopped ads in France to include disclaimers - FitCeleb
Bounce, baby bounce! Trampolines are back in fitness fashion - Vitamin G
Cubicle-tested exercise by the new receptionist on The Office - Fresh Fitness Tips
The skinny on Shape-Ups, the fitness shoe by Skechers -Fit Bottomed Girls
Why do restaurants put soooo much salt in their food? - Daily Spark
Tropical oils vs. saturated fats - Nutrition Data Blog

Healthy Dose Link Time

FitSugar — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:00:24 -0700

What dudes think of plus-size Lizzie Miller - Vitamin G
Do race and gender matter for benefits of exercise - That's Fit
Count 'em: 7 reasons to use the cable machine - Daily Spark
Kombucha is on tap at Whole Foods - Social Network
The FitWit educates you on 5 diet fads to skip - Fit Bottomed Girls
The magic of the Mediterranean diet - Nutrition Data Blog
Why is it that only men get to be fat and funny? - Never Say Diet
Stuffits could be the RX for your stinky running shoes - Fresh Fitness Facts
Hemp ice cream makes its debut - Healthy Bites