Post Tagged with: "diet"

health.com

With 2013 just a few days away, resolutions for the new year are already coming to mind. Most people will be resolving to lose weight or get in shape, and we’re here to help!

To lose one pound you have to burn, or cut out, 3,500 calories. If you’re aiming to lose one pound a week, that’s 500 calories a day you’ll want to cut from your diet. But it’s easier than you may think!

With these tips you won’t have to deprive yourself at all. Just a few simple swaps and changes to your regular diet is enough to help you cut calories and drop those unwanted pounds!

Thanksgiving is a time for gratitude, spending time with family or loved ones… oh, and indulging in tons of rich and savory foods. If you’ve been on your workout grind, Thanksgiving has the potential to undo all of your hard work. It has been estimated that the average Thanksgiving dinner sets us back about 2,000-3,000 calories–more than the entire daily allowance for the average woman.

If you’re nervous about gorging on turkey and stuffing, don’t fret! Follow these tips during your Thanksgiving festivities tomorrow to ward off excess calories and enjoy your meal without the guilt or the weight-gain!

Losing the pounds to achieve the body you want is hard work! And for celebrity women who want to get fit and slim down, being in the public eye doesn’t make it any easier.  Despite the scrutiny and pressure that goes along with life in the spotlight, these stars were able to shed the unwanted pounds and get on track with their new, healthy lifestyles.

Losing weight after having a baby can be a difficult task. And it’s not easy when some celebrities seem to drop the pounds in a flash after giving birth. While they do have expert help in the gym and in their kitchens, we can still take a few pointers from these famous women who have slimmed down post-pregnancy. Here are four fierce celebrities who have bounced back to their pre-baby weight, and we’ll tell you how!

How do you make pesto less fattening and more natural? You do it paleo style!

If you haven’t heard of this latest craze, it focuses on avoiding processed and cultivated foods; in short, if it can’t be hunted or gathered it’s not paleo.

This pesto trades in the traditional olive oil for its paleo counterpart the avocado, and nixes the parmesan cheese (you won’t even miss it).

Try it out for a healthier and heartier pesto tonight.

Here’s what you’re going to need:

• 2 packed cups fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup Avocado puree
• 1/3 cup raw pine nuts (Macadamia nuts and walnuts can be used as a cheaper alternative)
• 3 garlic cloves

 Let’s get started:

1. Start by removing the avocado from its skin, and disposing of the pit.

2. Chop basil and garlic.

3. Combine all ingredients in a food processor (I used a Magic Bullet) and pulse until smooth.

4. Serve immediately over tomatos & crustini (pictured) as a great appetizer, whole wheat pasta or use as a salad dressing.

There’s just something about fall that makes me feel “nutty” (I set myself up for that one!) Embrace autumn with this cinnamon spiked almond shake.

Gather Up:

• 1 scoop Vanilla Live Rite protein powder
• 1/3 cup almond meal (you can make your own by blending raw almonds in a food processor
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 6-8oz almond milk (you can substitute skim milk)

Let’s get blending:

1. If you’re making your own almond meal, use 1/2 cup of raw almonds, and pulse in food processor. The moisture from the almonds may make the almond meal sticky, bit that’s okay.

2. Combine all ingredients in a blender and pulse until smooth.

3. Serve with an extra dash of cinnamon on top.

allwomenstalk.com

With flavors that range from mildly sweet to tart and tangy, blueberries are nutritional superstars bursting with flavor while being very low in calories.

A few years ago, researchers at Tufts University analyzed sixty fruits and vegetables for their antioxidant capability. Blueberries came out on top, rating highest in their capacity to destroy free radicals. Packed with antioxidant phytonutrients called anthocyanidins, blueberries neutralize damage from free radicals that can lead to cataracts, glaucoma, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, peptic ulcers, heart disease, and cancer.

Anthocyanins, the blue-red pigments found in blueberries, improve the integrity of support structures in the veins and entire vascular system. Anthocyanins have been shown to enhance the effects of vitamin C, to improve capillary integrity, and to stabilize body cells’ collagen matrix (the ground substance of all body tissues).

Among their rich supply of phytonutrients, blueberries include a flavonoid called kaempferol, which studies have shown can decrease the risk of ovarian cancer in women who consume kaempferol-rich foods.

In short, blueberries are a natural nutritional powerhouse and a healthy addition to your diet.  I know you’re wondering “how can I add these to a Live Rite shake?” well look no further than this “Black & Blue” and Toned Recipe right here!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nataliemaynor

Have you explored your local farmers market? Shopping and eating seasonally from a local farmers market tastes better, has higher nutritional values, promotes healthy eating habits, reduces environmental damage from shipping foods, and can even save you money.

When you shop at your neighborhood grocery store, you may not realize that most of the produce comes from thousands of miles away and is picked before it ripens. Often, the fruits and vegetables are not in season, even though the store is selling them. So you might see peaches, a summer fruit, in October and butternut squash, a fall vegetable, in June!

Here are our top 10 reasons for shopping at your local farmers market.

1. Flavor

Shopping at a farmers market that only features in-season produce means the produce is freshest and tastes its best. These fruits and vegetables ripen in the field and are brought directly to you. There is no tampering with the fruit and no sitting in storage on shelves  for long periods of time. There is a very good chance that the apple you’re buying was picked by a farmer a few days ago!

2. Nutrition

Fresh produce is rich in antioxidants and phytonutrients and is as pure as your shopping experience can be. A lot of the produce found in grocery stores is highly processed. The fresh produce you do find in the supermarket is often grown using harmful chemicals and tactics including antibiotics, hormones, pesticides and genetic modification. In many cases it has been waxed, or gassed in transit. This is not the case at the farmers market. Many farmers spend a lot of time nourishing their soil and giving their crops nutrients and you benefit from their hard work!

3. Saving Money

Seasonal eating habits are less expensive. The products you are buying are readily available and are grown close  by, which limits shipping costs. Also because there is no middle-man, like a supermarket, you are getting the best possible price.

Are you grilling this weekend? An average cheeseburger packs 319 calories and 18-23 grams of fat. You can build yourself a better burger with these great swaps.

Trade the White Bun for:

• 100% whole wheat or whole grain bun
• Portobello mushroom caps
• Sturdy lettuce or cabbage leaves

Pick a Prime Patty:

• Upgrade your beef to a 96% lean cut.
• Swap beef for lean turkey.
• Mix chopped veggies into your patty for some extra flavor and fiber.
• Trade in your patty for a portobello mushroom cap or a veggie burger

Trim Down the Trimmings:

• Choose full flavor but low-fat: mustard, ketchup, relish, and salsa pack as much flavor as mayo with much lower sodium, fat, and calories.
• Load up on fresh veggies, like tomatoes, onion, and pickle slices.
• Trade out full fat cheese for a low-fat variety or avocado slices.

By Ilise “Baker Babe” Reilly, manager of Lucille Roberts Jamaica.

Salmon is an excellent source of omega-3 DHA.

There’s a trend of fortifying foods with the omega-3 DHA. One of the reasons nutrition experts recommend eating fish twice a week is that fish is a good source of docosahexaenoic acide (DHA), an omega-3 fat that has heart-healthy benefits. Preliminary studies suggest that DHA may help boost brain power, too.

It makes sense: DHA comprises much of the cell membranes in our brains. And food producers are taking the concept and running with it–they’re adding DHA to foods like yogurt, soy milk, and eggs, then marketing them with “smart” slogans. But do these products really maximize mental performance?

Some research links higher intakes of DHA with reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease and the congnitive decline that prcedes it. In a 2003 study in the Archives of Neurology, people age 65 and up who ate at least one DHA-rich fish meal per week had a 60% reduced risk of Alzehimer’s. And growing evidence suggests DHA supplementation during pregnancy and early infancy may result in superior congnitive performance of the child. In June 2007, a randomized clinical trial in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition revealed that 9-month-old babies of mothers who had eaten DHA-fortified cereal bars (about 200 mg of DHA per day) during the last trimester of their pregnancies demonstrated better problem-solving skills than did babies whose mothers had consumed placebo cereal bars.