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Healthy Recipe: I Heart Artichokes Salad With Tuna

FitSugar — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 09:00:00 -0700

March means it's time to start mixing Spring salads, and since artichokes are one of my must haves this month, allow me to tempt you with this big green bowl of Mediterranean flavors. This salad uses canned artichoke hearts, so you can make it even when the veggie isn't in season. The hearts still offer health benefits, including lots of fiber and B vitamins.

Toss half a bag of baby spinach (or a spinach/baby lettuce blend) with some antioxidant-laden mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, and carrots, then add some water-packed tuna for protein. If you don't eat fish, the salad is still delicious without it. Spice it all up with a vinaigrette that uses fresh thyme and a tiny bit of hot sauce. The result is a salad that tastes decadent but delivers a diversely nutritious punch. To get the recipe, read more.

Artichoke, Tuna, and Mushroom Salad With Thyme Vinaigrette
Original Recipe

Ingredients

For dressing
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 clove of roasted garlic, minced
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 dashes hot pepper sauce, such as Tabasco
1 pinch sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme
Pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil

For salad
3 ounces baby spinach or baby spinach/lettuce mix
7 ounces artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
3 ounces brown or white mushrooms, ends trimmed and thinly sliced
5 medium sun-dried tomatoes, drained of oil and cut into strips
3 ounces chunk white or albacore tuna in water, drained
1/2 cup nicoise olives
1/2 carrot

Directions
Makes 2 entree-size salads.

Make the dressing: In a small bowl, combine first 8 ingredients and mix well with a whisk. Gradually add olive oil, whisking until emulsified.
In a large salad bowl, combine spinach, artichoke hearts, mushroom slices, sun-dried tomatoes, tuna, and olives. Using a cheese grater, shred the carrot on top.
Add dressing and toss to combine.

Print recipe with images | without images

Best Foods For Runners

FitSugar — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 05:30:00 -0700

You guys picked running as one of your favorite sports, and while it's great, it can also drain your energy if you're not eating properly. If you're a runner, be sure to fuel up using Health's picks for the top foods for runners, rounded up in this slideshow.

Source

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How Much Tuna Is Too Much?

FitSugar — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 12:30:00 -0800

With all the mercury scares going around these days, are you curious how much tuna is too much? I am.

The Environmental Working Group has created a tuna calculator that uses the FDA's guidelines for what constitutes a safe dose of mercury. It will calculate the maximum amount of canned tuna that you can safely eat each week and not exceed what the FDA considers a safe exposure level. All you have to do is enter your weight and the calculator does the rest. Pretty cool, especially if you eat a good amount of tuna.

How many cans per week are safe for you?

Mercury and Fish: What's the Deal?

FitSugar — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 13:00:00 -0800

I've heard people say that pregnant women shouldn't eat a lot of fish because of the mercury content. What's so bad about mercury and why is it in fish?

Although fish contain high-quality protein and other essential nutrients, are low in saturated fat, and contain omega-3 fatty acids, nearly all fish and shellfish contain traces of mercury.

Mercury occurs naturally in the environment, and can also be released into the air from pollution. The mercury falls from the air and accumulates in oceans, lakes, and rivers. Fish absorb the mercury since they live and feed in these waters, and the mercury builds up their bodies. That's why larger fish are the ones to watch out for when it comes to mercury, because they've had more time to accumulate it.

Some fish and shellfish contain higher levels of mercury that may harm an unborn baby or young child's developing nervous system. That's why nursing mothers, women who are pregnant, and those who are trying to become pregnant are advised to watch their mercury intake.

For everyone, elevated levels of mercury can lead to nervous system problems with brain or nerve damage. Mercury levels can be measured by blood tests, or tests using hair.

If you regularly eat types of fish that are high in mercury, it can accumulate in your blood stream over time too. The body naturally removes it, but it may take over a year for levels to drop back to normal. That's why it's important for women who are trying to get pregnant to think about their mercury intake beforehand.

Want to hear about some guidelines from the EPA? Then read more

Do not eat Shark, Swordfish, King Mackerel, or Tilefish because they contain high levels of mercury.
You can eat up to 2 meals (total of 12 oz) of fish a week.
5 of the most commonly eaten fish that are low in mercury are shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, and catfish.
Albacore ("white") tuna has more mercury than canned light tuna. So, when choosing your 2 meals of fish and shellfish, you may eat up to 6 oz (1 average meal) of albacore tuna per week.
Check local advisories about the safety of fish caught in lakes, oceans, and rivers near you. If no advice is available, only eat 1 meal (6 oz) a week of fish you catch, and no other fish that week.

Check out this poster. It's a great visual for which fish are low in mercury, and which ones to watch out for.

Lite'N It Up: Tuna Salad Redo

FitSugar — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 07:30:00 -0800

Mayonnaise is considered one of those truly bad for you foods. There's about 100 calories in a tablespoon of what might just be America's favorite condiment.

With this in mind how are you going to satisfy your tuna fish fix? Here's a great recipe for you to try.

Ingredients
1 - 6 1/2 oz. can Solid White Tuna (packed in water, drained and flaked)
1/2 - cup plain non-fat yogurt
1 - celery stalk diced
1 teaspoon coarse grained mustard
1/4 teaspoon dried dill

Combine the first five ingredients in medium bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste.

I like to serve the salad in half of a pita with lettuce or watercress and a of couple tomato slices. YUM.

Label Able: Dolphin Safe

FitSugar — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 16:10:00 -0800

We see the term Dolphin Safe a lot when buying tuna. Is it better for us or is it just good marketing?

Dolphin Safe on a label suggests that some level of dolphin protection has been taken when catching the tuna. In order to label the tuna as dolphin safe the fishers must not have intentionally chased, netted or encircled the dolphins during tuna fishing. Why search for dolphins when you want tuna? Well basically the fishers realized that where there are dolphins, there are tuna (because dolphins eat tuna).

The loophole is that encirclement of any other items is still allowed. The problem is that allowing encirclement with nets and other fishing techniques can still catch dolphins which can therefore still harm dolphins.

Fit's Tip: Buying tuna with the dolphin safe label is definitely best for the animal's safety, but it does not have any real health benefits. Some labels are verified so you can hope that the tuna you buy is one of those. Go here for a list of approved dolphin safe tuna. I can still remember the days when I refused to eat tuna because I thought that dolphin meat would be all mixed in that little can. That was never the issue -- the label is in place for the safety of the dolphins.

What's the Diff: Omega-3s vs. Omega-6s

FitSugar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:00:10 -0800

Omegas are all the buzz right now, and it seems like everywhere you turn, new foods are being enhanced with this essential fatty acid, or labeled as an excellent source. What people don't know is that there are different types of omegas, and eating too much of one kind can actually be harmful to your body.

Omega-3s are found in flax seeds, walnuts, cod liver oil, and fatty fish like mackerel, lake trout, albacore tuna, and salmon. Fish are the best sources because they are high in two particular fatty acids that are crucial to good health, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid).

Then there are omega-6s. These fats are found in eggs, nuts, chicken, and vegetable oils such as corn, soy, safflower, and sunflower oil. Omega-6s are high in LA (linoleic acid), which is converted by the body into GLA (gamma-linolenic acid), and then further broken down to AA (arachidonic acid).

Do you know which type of omega fatty acid we should be eating more of? To find out, keep reading

7 Steps to a Healthier Sandwich

FitSugar — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:00:04 -0800

Whether it's the recession or our increasing need for simplicity, sandwiches are having a moment. They're one of my favorite easy lunches and very healthy if you make them right. But it's important not to get stuck in an unhealthy or unimaginative sandwich rut.

Some healthy-sandwich strategies are obvious: avoid fried foods and super-oily sauces, opt for whole-grain bread instead of sliced white. But that's only the beginning. For my seven tips on making sandwiches that are both delicious and nutritious, read more.

Open it up! An open-faced sandwich made with one slice of wheat bread instead of two can save around 70 calories.
Go green. In place of empty iceberg lettuce, opt for iron-rich greens like spinach or romaine. Try pressing a cup of raw spinach into a hot panini.
Load up on veggies. Sneaking veggies into sandwiches is a great way to get your five a day. Think beyond tomatoes and add everything from roasted beets to cucumbers to carrots.
And don't forget fruit! Similarly, you can increase your fruit intake through your sandwiches. I suggest sliced apples and cheese or figs and nut butter.
Hold the mayo. I'm sure you know this, but here's a reminder: mustard is a much better choice. One ounce of yellow mustard has just 19 calories and one gram of fat, while the same amount of mayo packs 210 calories and 21 grams of fat.
Speaking of mayo, try swapping it out for nonfat yogurt to make a healthier tuna or chicken salad.
Don't say cheese. Rather than eliminating the creamy texture of cheese, replace it with sliced avocado. One ounce has just 45 calories and loads of healthy fat.

Healthy Eating Tip: Eat Two Different Fish a Week

FitSugar — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 09:00:10 -0700

Many people are worried about high mercury counts in fish, so they're swearing off seafood. The thing is, many types of fish are low in saturated fat, are an excellent source of lean protein, and are high in essential heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. I'm not saying that mercury is something to overlook, since this toxin can cause brain damage, and possibly cancer, but it doesn't mean you need to give up fish entirely.

It's safe to eat fish twice a week (up to 12 ounces), but you should choose two different types of fish to get a variety of nutrients. Good sources of low-mercury fish are shrimp, oysters, scallops, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, flounder, sole, halibut, and catfish. Young children, women trying to get pregnant, those already pregnant, and nursing moms are considered "high risk," since too much mercury can affect developing brains. So for those people, the EPA recommends limiting intake of seafood that's high in mercury such as swordfish, golden bass, golden snapper, and shark.

Trying to meet your fish "quota" doesn't need to be boring. Try poached salmon with curried yogurt sauce or halibut stir-fry for dinner tonight.

Road Tripping: Find the Food with Fewer Calories

FitSugar — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 12:30:00 -0700

Here's the scenario: You are out on a road trip with your friends so you are eating a lot of fast food. You are also watching your weight and counting calories.

When it comes to ordering fast food you want to choose the option with fewer calories....

Take the quiz