Healthy Snack Ideas for Adults

This is a fantastic topic; snacking. Too many people struggle, or do not take the time to portion out snacks that are healthy and provide energy. Keeping good alternatives close at hand, will help you achieve your long term goals. Why waste money on low calorie count individual servings that are bought when you can put your own together. You will also teach your children or show coworkers that it can be done.

Cooking with Kathy Man

Healthy snacks are an important part of balanced eating. Snacks are foods that are eaten between meals. They have a very important job: they keep energy levels up and provide nutrients that our bodies need. A healthy snack can also help control your appetite and make you feel less hungry between meals.

Not all snacks are created equal

For many people, the word “snack” makes them think of chips or chocolate. However, these are not the type of healthy snacks that give us important nutrients that the body needs.
The key to healthy snacking is to follow Canada’s Food Guide and include foods from at least two of the four food groups in each snack. Ideas include fruit, whole grain crackers, cheese, hummus and vegetables.

Watch your portions

A healthy snack should have between 85 and 250 calories. One way to control portion size is to serve yourself a single…

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Healthy Superbowl Sunday Recipes

Here are a few football themed alternatives, for healthy snacking during the big game. Many people derail their diet and exercise resolutions at this time of year. If you have a healthy favorite, please share it.

8 Nutritional Tips for Cyclists – Infographic

I saw this posted by a fellow blogger and biker. He just celebrated his 75th birthday and when I saw this posting, I knew I had to reblog it. I hope you enjoy it.

Wellness Secrets of a SuperAger

Must confess I couldn’t resist this infographic. Superheroes riding bikes!? It doesn’t get any better than that. It also offers some good nutritional ideas, too.

Enjoy!

If you are a bike rider, you may enjoy the following posts:
Favorite Facts About Bicycling – Infographic
Is Cycling Past 70 Different Than Cycling Past 50?
One of the Secrets of Safe Cycling
cyBicycling vs Driving a Car – Bike Snob
Safe Cycling … the value of common courtesy
Exercising Outdoors in Cold Weather
7 Things I Love About Biking
The Agony and The Ecstasy of Summer Biking
The Joy of Spokes
The Joys and Benefits of Bike Riding – May is National Bicycle Month

Tony

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Thyme-yogurt walnut dip/spread

Are you constantly searching for new dip options that are healthy, tasty and easy? Then give this a try. Used as a spread or a dip with veggies and crackers, this is sure to please.

Chitra's Healthy Kitchen

About:

It comes together in just a few minutes. The dip is salty, tangy and just pretty with that flavour of thyme. It goes well with seasonal veggies or spreads easily on breads and sandwiches. It’s the perfect thing to share. Usually feta cheese and cream cheese is used for thick and creamy texture but just to keep it healthy I used very less amount of low fat cheese and most of greek yogurt.

Yields-3-4 servings
Preparation time-10 minutes

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Study: Pizza Takes a Slice Out of Kids’ Health

Have you ever wondered what that occasional pizza may do to your diet or long term health?

Cooking with Kathy Man

Children, teens consume more calories, fat and salt on days they eat this American staple.

On the days your kids eat pizza, they likely take in more calories, fat and sodium than on other days, a new study found.

On any given day in the United States in 2009-10, one in five young children and nearly one in four teens ate pizza for a meal or snack, researchers found.

“Given that pizza remains a highly prevalent part of children’s diet, we need to make healthy pizza the norm,” said study author Lisa Powell, a professor of health policy and administration at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

“Efforts by food producers and restaurants to improve the nutrient content of pizza, in particular by reducing its saturated fat and sodium [salt] content and increasing its whole-grain content, could have quite broad reach in terms of improving children’s diets,” Powell said.

Pizza’s…

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Too Much Sitting Can Be Deadly – Even if You Exercise

Even more reason to move more. Fidgeting, taking the stairs, parking a little farther out, standing more, are all great examples of extra movement that we can and should incorporate into our daily lives. .

Cooking with Kathy Man

Researcher suggests ways to include movement in your day that goes beyond that hour at the gym.

Regular exercise doesn’t erase the higher risk of serious illness or premature death that comes from sitting too much each day, a new review reveals.

Combing through 47 prior studies, Canadian researchers found that prolonged daily sitting was linked to significantly higher odds of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and dying.

And even if study participants exercised regularly, the accumulated evidence still showed worse health outcomes for those who sat for long periods, the researchers said. However, those who did little or no exercise faced even higher health risks.

“We found the association relatively consistent across all diseases. A pretty strong case can be made that sedentary behavior and sitting is probably linked with these diseases,” said study author Aviroop Biswas, a Ph.D. candidate at Toronto Rehabilitation Institute-University Health Network.

“When we’re standing, certain…

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Be a Star, or, you are what you eat

  The Starfruit, or carambola, is an interesting looking fruit, that when sliced, reveals a star shaped cross section. This is a fruit that I had never tried for whatever reason. My wife picked up a couple the other day, so I did what came natural, I googled it.

Starfruit grows on the Averrhoa carambola tree and is native to Malaysia, Sri Lanka, India, Philippines, Bangladesh, and Indonesia. It is also cultivated in Latin America, Carribean and parts of the United States.

The fruit is usually 2-6 inches long, yellow when ripe, and the entire fruit is edible. The seeds can be discarded, however I found them to have quite a nutty flavor. When serving, the brown ridges may be trimmed, but it is more for presentation. The top, or end that grew from the tree, is also trimmed off.

                  

It is at this point that you can slice the starfruit into either thin or thick slices for serving. The entire fruit can be used for juice as well. Children will love the shape of this snack as a finger food, or you can serve it atop a salad, suspended in jello, pudding, relishes or jellies.

Apple, pear, grape and citrus would be the best description of flavor for the starfruit. There are sour varieties that are generally the smaller fruit, but typically the sweeter variety are found at the grocers. These will ripen after picked, but the sugar content will not increase.

Starfruit are rich in potassium, vitamin C and antioxidants. Antimicrobial and antioxidant properties exist as well. Like the grapefruit, check with your doctor or druggist, to see if there are any contraindications with prescription medicines. If you have kidney problems, the oxalic acid content may be an issue as well.

 No matter how you choose to use it, this is a must try. Be a star!

In fitness, Bob

The Best Baked Beans

Most everyone knows that I am a proponent of chick peas for their protein and complete amino profile. This is a must have baked bean recipe. Thank you Juliemontagu!

How Does Your Heart Feel About What You Eat? – Infographic

I was just having a discussion with my wife the other day, about the ease with which so many people go out to eat or grab fast food and take it home as opposed to cooking. The number of parents that grab carry out and feed their children consistently, with pre-made garbage points to the growing obesity epidemic.

Wellness Secrets of a SuperAger

When it comes to controlling our weight, a lot of people talk a good game, but the fact remains that 60 percent of us are overweight, 30 percent outright obese and adult onset diabetes is hitting our kids in their teens. So, we don’t do a very good job on controlling what we put into our systems. I thought this was a super infographic because it gets the reader to focus on what the impact of that slice of pizza is on his system.

As I wrote on my Page How to Lose Weight – and Keep it Off – everything you eat and drink becomes a part of you.

Tony

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Obligations

Are you obligated to accept food when someone offers it to you? How do you handle the situation if someone says, “Just have one”.

Adhering to a specific nutrition plan or diet, can be difficult in itself. Holiday parties, family gatherings and even pressure from coworkers can make sticking to a program almost impossible.

The pressure can feel like sabotage, even when the intent is innocent. “You can have a little”, “One won’t hurt you”, “It’ll be our little secret”, these sayings and others can be difficult to deal with.

Remember that everyone struggles with change to some degree. In dealing with clients that are going through multiple changes, they may have friends that are afraid to see them change. They may think that they could lose that friend due to different likes or priorities. I make it part of my responsibility to have a game plan in place in case these instances arise.

Be prepared to answer questions such as, “Why are you on a diet” or, “How much damage can one do”?                    It is acceptable to politely decline and say that “I won’t stop at just one” or, “I’m trying to better myself”.

Remember that you are in charge of the route you choose to take. Take control of yourself, your future, and your health.

In fitness, Bob