I’m not one of those people who tries to use scientific research to support a naughty habit of eating hostess cupcakes because they are chocolate, and chocolate has health benefits, and therefore…
No. Bad. Shame. BUT, there’s no harm in taking note that some foods do boast an edge of health benefits over their competitors. Take the pistachio for example. You find it in a lot of holiday foods for some reason- like these yummy chocolate pistachio biscotti that I Read the rest of this entry
Here are a few things you should know about brussels sprouts:
1) there is an “s” after brussel: brusselS sprouts.
2) they only smell like stinky feet if you microwave them- so dont do it.
3) they are uber healthy for you because they belong in the cruciferous family of veggies (like cabbage, kale, and collards).
4) they are easy to prepare
I am secretly on a mission to see how many varieties of Read the rest of this entry
There are few things that make me so happy as cooking a dish for someone I know will love it. Example: Zach loves french toast. So being the merry little domestic wife I am, I decided to whip up some french toast this Saturday morning for brunch. Now, French toast may be the world’s most adored breakfast food, but it sure isn’t Read the rest of this entry
Zach and I did something so fun this week. We had our first tasting for the wedding! It was amazing. But what really got me excited was when I saw Quinoa (pronounced: keen-waa) on the menu. It sounds weird, I know. But to your trusty nutritionista, quinoa is like candy!
Most people think of quinoa as a grain. But they’re wrong. It has very similar texture to grain like cous cous, but it is actually a seed. So now you know, and you won’t be one of the people who is wrong. Because it is a seed and not a grain, quinoa has a high Read the rest of this entry
I’d just like to talk for a minute about something that drives me nuts. That would be things that like yogurt, juice, and ice cream that are not naturally a source of fiber, but suddenly claim to be “a good source” of the roughage. What? Who wants fiber ice cream? Yuck.
Fiber is awesome. I love it. You should too, because I do. But beware of all kinds of foods that have added fiber to give it a superior looking nutrition profile. It’s a fake, and your body knows it. Natural sources of fiber like vegetables, fruit, and whole grains are really super for your body (digestion, detoxification, reglarity, the whole works). But fake fiber has none of those benefits. Companies often use inexpensive refined flour and then add back in fiber so that it looks healthy again. Really they’re just being cheap. So when you see 10g fiber in a tortilla, dont be overly impressed. It might have a sky high amount of fiber, but whole grains dont have that much fiber. And honestly, it is much better for your body to eat a whole grain tortilla than to eat a refined flour tortilla with all kinds of inulin and other added fibers to it.
For grains, make sure the ingredients contain “100% whole grain” rather than “oat fiber” or “inulin.” For yogurt and juice, chocolate and other random foods that are suspiciously high in fiber, just skip it. The less processed and altered from it’s original state a food, the better.
Just keeping things regular…
Not to brag, but I’ve never broken a bone. Never. Not even a toe. And I’d like to say that it’s because I drank gallons of milk as a growing child, but honestly, milk was never my thing. Carrots, however were. And even though most people don’t think of carrots as bone-strengtheners, it’s time to break out of the milk carton and realize that there are other nutrients that keep your bones strong.
A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that fruits and vegetables rich in carotenoids help keep your bones strong. A carotenoid is a pigment found in fruits and vegetables with vibrant yellow, orange and red color. Carotenoids like lycopene and beta carotene act as antioxidants which ward off dangerous Read the rest of this entry
Cherries are about as all-American as apple pie. Minus the fat and laborious effort to prepare a good crust. And because I’m flat out sick of the exotic berry craze stealing attention from other great super-foods, I’m about to toot some cherry horn.
Like other berries, cherries contain plentiful antioxidants, but that’s just the tip of the iceburg. Researchers at the University of Michigan Cardiovascular center found that cherry-rich diets reduce both cholesterol and inflammation. Also in the study, animals fed cherry-enhanced diets had 14% lower body fat than the other animals.
But my favorite thing about cherries (besides the sweet deliciousness that they are in your mouth) is the sleep-aiding effect they offer. Cherries are one of just a few food sources of an antioxidant called melatonin. Melatonin is usually Read the rest of this entry
For those of you who haven’t heard, I have to share with you the biggest news of my life up to this point… On October 10th, 2009 I will be marrying my best friend in the whole world! We are so excited and busily planning the big day.
And part of the planning involves dress shopping…which I was doing last night. Bridezilla happened to be trying on dresses in the fitting room adjacent to mine. It’s no secret that many brides try to exercise/>lose exercise/>lose-weight-exercise/>weight to look their best for their wedding day, but apparently bridezilla has a lot of exercise/>lose-weight-exercise/>weight to exercise/>lose. She’s planning on losing 30lbs by August, and she plans to do it by not eating anything all day but a granola bar and yelling at the fitting room attendant to burn calories. Really?!
While this poor girl didn’t know that she was giving nutritionista in the room next to her good material to write about, a lot of people identify with her. Starving yourself to exercise/>lose a bunch of exercise/>lose-weight-exercise/>weight really quickly sounds morbidly unpleasant but somewhat successful in theory, only it actually is the worst possible way to exercise/>lose exercise/>lose-weight-exercise/>weight. You see, when you don’t eat, your metabolism turns to mush and Read the rest of this entry
Isn’t it funny how people are afraid of fat? If I didn’t know better, I’d think that people assume that if you eat fat, you become fat. Actually, I do know better, and I still think that. I could go on a bazillion of my famous tangents to explain the importance of healthy dietary fats, but really, when it all comes down to it, we just simply need to clear something up: FAT IS GOOD.
But don’t listen to me. Listen to the pros. A study done at UC Irvine shows that foods rich in unsaturated fats like avocados, nuts and olive oil actually curb hunger and help you feel satisfied before you’ve over-stuffed yourself. Why? Because the Read the rest of this entry
Rosemary is my favorite herb. of. all. time. It is so savory, flavorful, and always a perfect addition to chicken or foccacia. Plus it makes a nice name for an old lady.
Herbs really make or break a dish. You can’t make good guacamole with no cilantro. Or curry with no tumeric. Rosemary isn’t really like that, but I like those examples. Rosemary is just good by itself. Which is why I love it. Plus, the health benefits are fantastic. It is super duper high (for similar herbs in its class) in Read the rest of this entry
