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Tag Archive for Health and Nutrition

FoodDay.org

Posted by html404 on April 12, 2011
in Food and Treats, Health, Health & Garden Tuesday, Health and Nutrition

We are excited to present a major new campaign that we are launching today with some of the most prominent voices for change in the food policy world. Organized by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Food Day will encourage people around the country to sponsor or participate in activities that encourage Americans to “eat real” and support healthy, affordable food grown in a sustainable, humane way.

We’ve modeled Food Day on Earth Day. It is led by honorary co-chairs Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Rep. Rosa Delauro (D-CT), and is backed by an impressive advisory board including author Michael Pollan, physicians David Satcher and Michael Roizen, professors Walter Willett, Kelly Brownell, and Marion Nestle, and prominent chefs such as Alice Waters, Dan Barber, and Nora Pouillon. Food Day also has the support of a wide range of national and local organizations focused on hunger, sustainable agriculture, animal welfare, and public health.

We envision thousands of events on October 24, 2011, from coast to coast, ranging from small events in homes and classrooms, to large rallies in public parks, and hearings in city councils and state legislatures. A Food Day event could be as simple as a vegetable-recognition contest in a kindergarten, a potluck dinner with friends featuring locally sourced ingredients, a spirited debate on a college campus, or celebrating the harvest from an urban garden.

Food Day is all about solving local communities’ food problems. Nationally, we’ve identified five key priorities:

– Reducing diet-related disease by promoting healthy foods

– Supporting sustainable farms and cutting subsidies to agribusiness

– Expanding access to food and alleviating hunger

– Reforming factory farms to protect animals and the environment

– Curbing junk-food marketing to kids
Can we count on you to participate in a Food Day event near you, or better yet, will you organize a Food Day event in your community? If none of the topics above appeals to you, is there another food issue confronting your community that needs attention? A growing network of partner organizations, advisors, and Food Day organizing staff will help putting a Food Day event on the calendar. (In weeks we’ll have a web-based map that lets you schedule or RSVP to Food Day events with just a few clicks of a mouse).

Please email us at foodday@cspinet.org, or call us at 202-777-8392. Food Day is just a little more than six months out. That’s more than enough time to plan, and let’s get started together!

You can keep up with Food Day and other exciting things by ‘liking’ Food Day on Facebook, or following us at our Twitter handle (#foodday).

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Little Switches Make a Difference

Posted by html404 on April 6, 2011
in Blog Stuff, Health and Nutrition

Have you ever tried to change your habits or make a new year’s resolution but never seem to stick with it and accomplish what you set out to do? Little switches seem to be what makes new habits stick, rather than huge changes. Slow and steady wins the race, right? It is the little changes that make a difference in the long run.

Little Switches to Healthier Eating

Take the way we eat. Years ago we were a split family when it came to eating, but once children came along we wanted to model good eating habits (for the record we are still working on modeling good eating habits, as we are a work in progress!). When I wanted to switch us over from white bread to wheat bread, I made our bread with half wheat flour and half unbleached flour. Yes, that was back when I was actually making our bread. Then I slowly increased the wheat until we were eating all whole wheat.

I did the same thing for refined white sugar. Although organic cane sugar, sucanat, or honey can pretty much be switched evenly with very little noticeable difference. The honey being a liquid is a bit trickier, but sugar can be decreased in most recipes by about half.

We have also switched from using so much butter to using half applesauce (unsweetened). This is one we have not stuck with very well, but it is a great way to cut down on the fat content in favorite baked goods.

Organic vs Non-Organic

Organic food is expensive, but we try as much as possible to buy organic. Making this switch has been the biggest challenge to our pocket book, but we feel it is an important one for our health and to support the local growers – considering that 98% of our food is bought outside of the state of Illinois!

Buy Local

Buying locally is an area we are currently working on, rather than always giving the “big” guys our money. It is our desire to support the “little” local businesses that are usually family owned and literally dying for business.

This might mean going to the little mom and pop copy store rather than Staples, Office Max or Office Depot. Or it could mean going to the quaint cafe or family restaurant in town rather than a fast food chain. Or simply going to the family owned grocery store rather than a major chain – I know, they are a dying breed.

It is difficult to stick to buying local because it often costs more money to support these businesses than it does to go to the major chain stores. Nevertheless, we are trying to make that switch over ever so slowly.

Little Switches in Daily Life

With spring upon us, one of our family’s goals has been to get up earlier. When our children were all little it was easy because they would be in bed by 7 or 8 o’clock at night and up at 6 o’clock in the morning. Switching from staying up late to going to bed early has been hard but I think it is important for us so we can get up earlier in the morning. I love the long days of summer and want to make the most of them and get a walk in before the heat of the day!

To be successful in any sort of change, I like deciding what is important to us and then moving forward with little switches at a time, making a difference for the long haul.

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Cottonelle blogging program, for a gift card worth $25. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”

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Yoplait Yogurt & National Nutrition Month

Posted by html404 on March 21, 2011
in Health & Garden Tuesday, Health and Nutrition

By posting this information I am being given a chance to win a prize provided by Yoplait through MyBlogSpark.

As we have previously mentioned, this month is is National Nutrition Month and there’s no better time than us to determine to commit to more wholesome snacking options. Getting enough calcium is very important and I try to get a portion of my calcium by eating yogurt as much as I can. I really enjoy Yoplait Yogurt when we buy it. It has great taste and is actually the brand I used to get my husband to start eating yogurt. His favorite is orange cream or creamsicle. We also like keylime, banana/strawberry and blueberry.

To give Yoplait a hand in expanding its community on Facebook, and to keep up with all the exciting news and offers they have, be sure to “Like” Yoplait on Facebook today.

Explore the many nourishing options that Yoplait has to offer – with varieties like Yoplait Light, Yoplait Original, Yoplait Fiber One, Yoplait Kids and Yoplait Delight Parfaits. Each product offers different benefits, and loads of variety, to make eating well a no-brainer. Here are five great ways to ‘get your snack on’ with Yoplait this March!

Start spring off right with Yoplait Light’s Two Week Tune Up Plan – Replace breakfast and lunch with a cup of your favorite flavor of Yoplait Light, a whole grain and a piece of fruit and you could lose 5 pounds in two weeks. Go to Yoplait.com for full diet details.
Get more calcium with Yoplait Original style yogurt – Now with two times the calcium of the leading yogurt (50 percent of the Recommended Daily Value) in one convenient 6-ounce cup*, Yoplait Original style yogurt is committed to women’s health, offering a product that has even more of the calcium women need for strong, healthy bodies. Grab a free cup while supplies last during the Million Cup Giveaway on Yoplait on Facebook!
Try the newest flavor from Yoplait Fiber One – Yoplait Fiber One’s new Blueberry flavor yogurt is packed with filling fiber, calcium, vitamins A and D, real fruit and the great taste of blueberries. With only 50 calories, 5 grams of fiber and 0 grams of fat, this deliciously creamy yogurt won’t break your calorie bank.
Stress less over snack time with Yoplait Kids yogurt – With a wholesome and fun snack like Yoplait Kids yogurt in the fridge, you can feel good about what your children are eating at snack time. Yoplait Kids provides an excellent source of calcium and vitamin D, and has 25% less sugar than the leading kids’ yogurt**. With yummy flavors, and favorite friends like Dora and Lightning McQueen on the packages, Yoplait Kids is a hit with moms and children alike.
End the day with a Delight Parfait from Yoplait – Even with two luscious layers providing a double shot of rich and creamy yogurt, these 100 calorie indulgences from Yoplait contain only 1.5 grams of fat per serving. Now available in two new flavors, Chocolate Éclair and Cherry Cheesecake, you can enjoy a dessert that’s 100 percent guilt-free.

*Leading yogurt has less than 25% Daily Value calcium per 6 oz.

**Yoplait kids has 9 grams of sugar per 3oz. the leading kids’ yogurt has 13 grams of sugar per 3oz.

“Like” Yoplait on Facebook to keep up with the latest news and great opportunities to save on your favorite products from Yoplait yogurt.

***Just so you know: Coupon offers for Yoplait yogurt are not valid in all states.

Remember, Yoplait provided me with this information, and you can visit Yoplait on Facebook to become a fan

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Interview with Dietician Katherine Brooking

Posted by html404 on March 15, 2011
in Health and Nutrition

March is National Nutrition Month (don’t you just love the image above? I do!) and last week I had the privilege of interviewing Katherine Brooking, a registered dietician, who has appeared on national morning shows including the TODAY show, Live with Regis & Kelly, The Early Show on CBS, and Good Morning America Health. You can access her full bio here:

Interview

Moms are busy, what kinds of tips can you offer to help us take care of ourselves while taking care of our families?

Yes, we moms tend to put ourselves last, but we need to put ourselves first because our health is critical to our family’s well-being.

Double meals. Doubling them does not take that much more effort and will give you a meal for another day.

Buy frozen and fresh fruits and vegetables on a regular basis. Cut up fresh veggies while on the phone or the night before so they are readily available the next day without much thought or effort.

Munch on veggies while talking on the phone.

Carry healthy snacks in your purse. Apples, pears, bananas, baby carrots will all transport easily, if you are a mom on the run.

Get enough calcium/vitamin D. Did you know that 1/2 of all women over 50 will break a bone. Bone health is very important. Yoplait is still offering their Free cup giveaway of 1 Yoplait Original, which contains 2x calcium of other brands. This is an easy way to get the DRA of calcium our bodies need. They are also easy to carry and take with you.

Maintain an healthy weight. Do something active every day.

http://www.appforhealth.com/about-us/katherine-brooking

What are some nutritional myths we may believe?

There are so much weird info about sugar out there. Be mindful of added sugar in products because added sugar has no nutritional value. For example: A diabetic may not be able to eat a ripe banana because it has its highest sugar content at that stage. However, they may be able to eat a banana has lower sugar content when it is less ripe, plus it has potassium and vitamin C that everyone needs. It will depend on how they are maintaining their sugar levels. (if this question seems a bit “off” it is because I kind of interrupted with a blurb about how my mil, a diabetic, could not eat bananas or at least a whole one)

Carbohydrates. There is a lot of confusion surrounding carbohydrates even though we are out of the Atkins fad diet. Carbohydrates are important in a healthy diet. The USDA is now recommending more whole grains, but choose wisely. Things like barley, quinoa, oats rather than cakes and cookies.

Don’t eat after 7-8pm. So often TV watching triggers eating or a stressful day or you may just be a night time eater. If you eat after 7 o’clock, again make wise choices. It is the quality and quantity of food that matters. Choose low caloric foods and know that the body treats calories the same no matter what time of day it is.

What can we do to teach our children to eat a healthy balanced diet?

Many children have a relunctancy to eat new foods. Be a role model. Our example is important. They are more than likely to to follow our example. Therefore, if we are eating right, they will most likely eat well too.

Contrary to popular belief, we do not have to serve 3-4 meals. As parents, we control the shopping, we choose the foods our families eat. Not in an ogre way; we don’t have to be short order cooks.

Eat together.

Be patient while introducing new foods. It takes 15-20x of exposure to a new food for it to grow on a child/person. This is not in a force way but a gentle way. Give options to pickier eaters, at least a couple of times in case one fails. This also gives a child the option to choose.

Be persistent.

Talk to children about healthy eating, not just about the food choices. Relate to them that if they want to be healthy and strong then eating healthy foods will help them grow, help them run faster. Children relate better to that official health terminology.(Not that we are advocating you eliminate health terminology from your vocabulary but often quick words of encouragement are more readily accepted.)

What does “Eat Right With Color” mean and what is the easiest way to do this?

It means a variety. Different colors offer different nutritional value. Seasonality is important too, if possible. Frozen veggies can play a huge role in this. Availability affects eating seasonally. Research shows there are more health benefits to eating more fruits and veggies.

Finally, what kinds of things can you suggest we do to celebrate National Nutrition Month to make it fun for our families?

Of course it will depend upon the ages of your children, but here are a couple to get you started:

~ Visit a local farm, it’s fun, shows children where our food comes from and shows support for local food.
~ Start a strawberry patch. Grow your own food.

Thank you, Katherine, for sharing your expertise.

Free Cup of Yoplait Original

Remember, you can still get a free cup of Yoplait Original yogurt as part of the “Million Cup Giveaway” by going to www.facebook.com/yoplait or the direct link is http://www.facebook.com/Yoplait?sk=app_168462209855664

Feel free to visit Katherine’s website too at

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How to Peel a Boiled Potato Without a Peeler or Knife!

Posted by Brande on March 10, 2011
in Family Stuff, Food and Treats, Health and Nutrition

I got this video in an email this morning and was very skeptical. Thinking to myself, there’s no way you can peel a boiled potato without a peeler or knife. Then I watched it.

YouTube – Dawn Wells Potato Peeling Video

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7375897927147969009#

How cool is that! I’m trying this the next time I make potato salad. It’s a great tip! If you’ve done this, does it really work? I wonder if she did that on Gilligan’s Island?

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Health and Garden Tuesday-10 Toxic Fruits and Veggies

Posted by html404 on March 1, 2011
in Health, Health & Garden Tuesday, Health and Garden Tuesday

Is it worth it to buy organic? We think so! Especially since the below fruits and veggies are filled with deadly pesticides and harmful chemicals that can cause fertilely problems, cancer, and more! See below:

Cherries- have a thin coating of skin that chemicals and pesticides can leak into. You should always buy these organic whenever possible. Because cherries contain ellagic acid, an antioxidant that neutralizes carcinogens, it’s worthwhile to buy organic.

Potatoes-Who doesn’t love potatoes? You should think twice before eating the skin as potatoes skin are coated with chemicals 36, according to the EWG.

Grapes- Like cherries, grapes have a very thin skin and chemicals can easily leech into this delectable fruit. Also think twice about buying non-organic wine as the chemicals in the grapes are in the wine.

Leafy Greens (spinach, kale, collards, and more)- These leafy green vegetables and more on our top 10 list. with spinach loaded with 45 different kinds of pesticides and kale 57. In 2006, Dole recalled bagged baby spinach after multiple E. coli illnesses associated with the vegetable made their way across the country.

Sweet Bell Pepper-This yummy vegetable contains up to 63 types of pesticides. Ewww!

Apples-need alot of attention from fruit growers and and pesticides are used to stave off mold, pests, and diseases. Research found 47 different kinds of pesticides on apples. And washing your apples with soap and hot water just doesn’t cut it anymore!

Blueberries- 13 pesticides are on a single blueberry. If you eat a handful of blueberries how much pesticides are you putting in your body?? Since blueberries have such a thin skin like grapes and cherries chemicals easily leech into the fruit.

Strawberries- Research has shown that a single strawberry can contain up to 53 pesticides.

Peaches-Are filled with 67 different chemicals, making them number two on the list of most contaminated fruit. On fruit farms they are sprayed frequently to ward off pests.

Celery- A single stalk contains 13 pesticides, while a whole, celery contained as many as 67 pesticides. Chemicals are all over this yummy vegetable and it doesn’t help that it has no protective skin. So if you like this crunchy veggie, go organic!

Buy locally, grown organic produce whenever possible for the best results for you and your family!

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Enhance Your Immune System with Echinacea

Posted by html404 on December 21, 2010
in Health and Garden Tuesday, Health and Nutrition

Enhance Your Immune System with Echinacea

The cold and flu season is upon us and the H1N1 Virus has once again made the news, you may be wondering what you can do to improve your immune system. After all, no one wants to get sick. The good news is that there are very simple and natural things you can do to start enhancing your immune system right now.

The first and often most common step is to take Echinacea. In fact, according to a study reported on MayoClinic.com, a 2006 study found that the likelihood of experiencing a clinical cold was 55% higher with placebo than with Echinacea. Here’s how to use nature’s addition to your medicine cabinet.

#1 Forms of Echinacea

Echinacea is a relative of the common coneflower. Echinacea purpurea herb is considered to be the most potent Echinacea species. They’re actually quite pretty and can be grown in your home garden. However, eating the flower isn’t going to give you the immune-boosting effects you need. It is the root of this plant which is said to hold the powerful properties.

You can take Echinacea in the form of:

* Tea
* Juice
* Extracts
* Capsule or powder, supplement form

You may also find Echinacea as part of an immune booster supplement

#2 Be aware of its limitations and side effects

Not everyone can take Echinacea, however. Some people can be allergic and suffer side effects. This is particularly the case if you’re allergic to ragweed, marigolds and daisies, and chrysanthemums. These side effects and complications can include:

* Rash
* Asthma
* Anaphylaxis
* Gastrointestinal side effects

#3 Make it part of a routine

To take Echinacea, it’s best to make it part of a daily routine. If you feel a cold coming on and rush to drink Echinacea tea, chances are it’s too late. Instead, make sure the supplement is safe for use – speak with your doctor if you’re unsure, and then find a form that appeals to you. It may be that you absolutely love the tea or perhaps a simple supplemental capsule better meets your needs.

Echinacea is an herb that is still being studied for its immune-boosting properties. In the struggle to stay healthy and cold free this winter, it may be the best natural weapon you have. Take precautions, plan ahead and stay healthy!

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Health & Garden Tuesday: Educational Classes

Posted by html404 on November 16, 2010
in Education, Health & Garden Tuesday

This new Health & Garden Tuesday will encompass all things related to health, nutrition, gardening and even our wee beginning farm adventures, as they relate to our family’s interests. It may just include an article that we read and liked or it may be what we are learning or experiencing in every day life. Please feel free to chime in with your own thoughts and ideas as well.

I have been going to some free educational classes this year. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate Audrey as a person and as a teacher. The first meetings were held at the beginning of the year and the last few were held just this fall. The topic: pure, therapeutic grade essential oils. The classes are very informative, not to mention interesting health education, especially if you do not know a lot about essential oils and how helpful they can be. I attended all of her classes she held this year, which was between 10 and 15, I believe. During the spring classes, I took our two older girls to many of them. They enjoyed them as well. Audrey switches a couple of classes each session so there is some new material covered as well. We are hoping to enjoy gleaning from them again in the new spring session.

This past weekend was the last class, which was on Healing Oils of the Bible. Extremely interesting and so much information to absorb! I should have been posting about each class as we had them, but didn’t think of that until now. I loved learning more about these oils that I had heard about all my life as I was taught the Bible or read it for myself. It was interesting to learn about their life giving properties and how using them can benefit our health. Truly enlightening to say the least. I still haven’t sorted out everything in my brain, so I plan to read over our notes and continue learning and absorbing this great health education.

Audrey’s classes are held in a building on her property called The Oil Drop Inn…. It’s the top of their barn! 🙂 Is it ever cozy though. Very homey and inviting. It’s like her own workshop. I felt a wee bit spoiled as she would always save her big comfy chair for me since I was the only nursing mama in attendance.

I am already looking forward to her spring classes. The amazing thing is that Audrey will travel to teach her classes. She just loves teaching and has been using essential oils for over 10 years. She is also an independent distributor, but has only been one for about 4-5 years. I feel privileged to know her and now have the opportunity to work as part of her downline in the business side of Young Living.

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Now, what do you think of ObamaCare?

Posted by html404 on October 30, 2010
in Health and Nutrition

Dr. David Janda explains rationing and why Dr. Rob Steele must defeat Dingell:

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Blog for Breasts Day – Kicking off Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Posted by html404 on October 1, 2010
in Community Issues, Health and Nutrition

I received an email inviting me to participate in Blog for Breasts Day to kick off Breast Cancer Awareness Month and thought it was a worthy cause to support and take part in. I had one or two great aunts die due to having breast cancer and would love to do something to help other women in my family and otherwise be saved from ever getting breast cancer.

We cannot cure something if we do not know what we are curing. That is why the Army of Women hopes to STOP CANCER BEFORE IT STARTS. By enlisting ONE MILLION WOMEN to participate in breast cancer research, we will be able to finally take the research out of the lab and look at real women. This will enable us to finally find the causes of breast cancer and ultimately figure out how to prevent it all together. Billions of dollars have been spent on breast cancer research to date, but we still don’t know what causes it. While many advances in treatment have been made, our goal is to eradicate it once and for all, by preventing it in the first place. We discovered that cervical cancer was caused by a virus, the HUMAN papillomavirus . The way we discovered the cause of cervical cancer was by studying WOMEN. With a lot less money, and in a lot less time, we now have a cure because we now know WHAT to cure. We need to follow the same path and move breast cancer beyond a cure.

The Love/Avon Army of Women (AOW) is a unique program of the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit breast cancer research organization. The program is funded through a grant from the Avon Foundation for Women. The AOW provides an opportunity for men and women to take part in breast cancer research studies aimed at determining the causes of breast cancer–and how to prevent it. The AOW is a groundbreaking initiative that connects breast cancer researchers via the internet with women who are willing to participate in a wide variety of research studies. The goal of the Army of Women is to recruit ONE MILLION men and women of all ages and ethnicities, including breast cancer survivors and those who have never had breast cancer.

If you choose to sign up at AOW you will be added to their database to hear about research projects—signing up for the AOW does not sign you up a study yet. These research studies are prevention based, not clinical trials and they desire all enthnicities, all ages 18 and older, healthy women, women with cancer and women who are survivors.

There is absolutely no cost to join to take part in something this important. They are not asking for donations, although I am sure if you are inclined they would be very grateful. They just want women to sign up and agree to hear about studies. Participation in any study is always, completely voluntary. We get to choose which studies we participate in. Type of commitment: Studies will require a variety of different things (we may be asked anything from filling out an online questionnaire to being asked for a blood sample). It all varies according to study.

So if you are interested in getting involved sign up at AOW and be sure to recruit friends and family by urging them to use the “invite a friend” link: https://www.armyofwomen.org/invitefriend

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