FitSugar

Go Nuts Nutritional Breakdown

FitSugar — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 11:00:03 -0800

Nuts have to be one of the world's perfect snacks. They're filling because of their fiber content, a great source of protein, and full of healthy fats. As wonderful as they are, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing, and in the case of nuts, I'm referring to calories. One ounce of nuts (about a handful) is the perfect serving size, but if you start mindlessly munching, you could be consuming way more calories than you thought. To see which nuts are high in certain nutrients, check out my breakdown below.

To see the rest of the snack breakdown, read more.

You Asked: 5 Ideas For Quick, Healthy Breakfasts

FitSugar — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 06:00:00 -0700

Dear FitSugar,
In my effort to be healthier and lose a bit of weight, I have decided to add breakfast to my daily meal plan rather than skipping it out of laziness and lack of time. Should I focus on protein or fiber in the morning? Can you give me some ideas for quick and easy balanced breakfasts?
- New Early Morn' Eater

I applaud your efforts to eat breakfast! I really do believe it is the most important meal of the day. It stokes your metabolism, provides sustained energy throughout your morning, and can help you from over snacking in the afternoon. Ideally, your first meal of the day should have both fiber and protein since both help keep you feeling full. Here are five breakfast ideas, to help you cover your nutritional needs.

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Is Trans Fat Sneaking Into Your Diet?

FitSugar — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 10:00:00 -0800

Sneaky trans fat. You could be consuming it without even knowing that it's lurking in your food choices. We can do our best to keep an eye on products that likely contain trans fat, like cake mixes, chips and crackers, fast food, and packaged cookies and candy, but the printed nutritional data doesn't always tell the whole story.

When a package pronounces that something is trans-fat-free, it does not mean there's zero trans fat - it means the product contains less than .5 grams per serving. Because these are the sneaky facts, it's important to look beneath the nutritional data to the list of ingredients. You can assume that food contains trans fat if the ingredients include any of the following: shortening, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, or hydrogenated vegetable oil. Be mindful of how much you're eating of foods containing these ingredients, because those smaller amounts of trans fat can add up.

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Downloadable Nutritional Charts

FitSugar — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 11:00:00 -0800

The government (and your mother) wants you to eat more veggies. In an effort to encourage retail stores that sell raw fruits, vegetables, and fish to participate in the voluntary point-of-purchase nutrition information program, the FDA has created downloadable posters for printing. It's hoping that you will see what is good for you and buy lots of fruits, veggies, and fish.

These posters show nutrition information for the 20 most frequently consumed raw fruits, vegetables, and fish in the United States. I think it's interesting to see what the most consumed foods are, but you can also download these charts for your own personal use. They're pretty handy and good to check out so download them by clicking the links below:

Odwalla Nourishing Food Bar: Peanut Crunch

FitSugar — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 11:00:00 -0700

It can be pretty overwhelming when you see the rows of energy bars at the grocery store, but I just found an awesome one made by Odwalla that I think you'd like too. I bought a box of the Peanut Crunch flavor, which are the same as the single bars you can buy, but they're half the size. That means they're only 120 calories instead of 240, so they're perfect for a light snack before or after a workout. I love how these are called "nourishing food bars" instead of "energy bars." That's because they're made with actual food like rolled oats, peanut butter, date and plum puree, and organic soy nuts.

OK, so they're made with healthy and whole ingredients, but do they taste good? Yes! So good! I love "nourishing food bars" that are chewy and these Odwalla Bars fit the bill. The oats, peanut butter and date and plum puree give these bars a wonderful consistency, like a homemade cookie. You can actually see the whole oats too, which is always a plus. They have a very strong "peanutty" flavor and I felt satisfied after eating one bar.

Want to know see the nutritional info on the Peanut Crunch Bars? Then read more

If you want to see how Odwalla bars compare to other energy bars, then check out this post called Energy Bar Breakdown.

Have any of you tried any of the other Odwalla bar flavors? I'd be curious to know what you thought, so tell me below.

Would You Like Nutritional Info Printed on Your Food?

FitSugar — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 11:45:00 -0700

Thanks to Giggle for this one...

Apparently there is a lot of buzz about a cookie that has the nutritional information printed right there on the frosting for everyone to see while you chow down. Would this stop you from overeating? Would you enjoy buying food with the nutritional information printed directly on the food? I'm curious what you think, Cookies with nutritional information printed in the frosting -- Cool or not?

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Food Review: Luna Protein Bar

FitSugar — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:00:58 -0800

The folks over at Luna did some field research before creating the brand's new protein bar, simply named Luna Protein. After researching women's snacking habits, Luna found that women want snacks to keep them full, but that the female snacker often overlooks the filling properties of protein. So the company created a new bar chock-full of 12 grams of the filling macronutrient. The Luna Protein bar comes in three flavors: chocolate peanut butter, cookie dough, and chocolate cherry almond.

To see how the Luna Protein bars taste and if they're truly filling, read more.

All three bars are reminiscent of candy bars, yet without being too sweet. And they all definitely satisfy the craving for chocolate. Luna sent me all three flavors to try; the chocolate peanut butter is my favorite, because I'm kind of a peanut butter fiend. I tested out the filling qualities of the bars by using them to ward off hunger during long stretches between meals, and the added protein seemed to help. I like pairing the bars with a piece of fruit. I wouldn't use this bar (or any bar for that matter) as a meal replacement, but the Luna Protein bar is a great post-gym treat. It certainly tides me over while cooking my dinner.

At 180 calories a pop, these bars are better for your waistline than a Snickers and have about half the sugar too. Plus, Luna products are fortified with nutrients most women need: iron, folic acid, and calcium. I will be keeping a stash of the peanut butter flavor in my gym bag for sure.

Caution: Salad Toppings Pack On the Pounds

FitSugar — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 05:50:32 -0800

A common suggestion to lose weight is to eat salads for meals. While the fresh veggies are healthy and delicious, the tasty toppings of cheese and nuts can add hundreds of extra calories. Meaning your simple salad could end up containing half a day's worth of calories!

Check out the list of popular salad toppings below, and be extra aware that the more toppings you add, the more calories are going into your body. I still believe salads make excellent meals, but hopefully this nutritional breakdown will help keep your salads healthy.

To see how your salad toppings add up, read more.

To see the rest of this breakdown, read more.

Do You Care About Nutrition Information?

partysugar — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:45:29 -0700

A couple of days ago California passed a law that requires chain restaurants to post nutrition facts. I think this is a great idea, but honestly I rarely check out nutrition information because I avoid processed and fast foods. However, I was wondering about you? How conscious of calories, fat, and sodium are you?

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Nutritional Information Printed on Receipt: Cool or Not?

FitSugar — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 03:30:00 -0800

Nutricate, a new company, has developed technology that prints the nutritional information of your purchased meal right on the receipt. The way I see it, it could go two ways: the new receipts may make some of us feel horrible that we just purchased a meal that has 1,000 calories while others can feel overjoyed with how many calories they are saving by simply saying, "Hold the mayo." I could see this becoming a problem when folks get their receipt and want to change their order completely after they've realized they've just purchased a heart attack on a plate.

What do you guys think - is nutritional information printed on the receipts of food you ordered cool or not?