Archive for the ‘Foods’ Category

Making Better Ice Cream Choices

While much of the country has been toiling under extreme heat this summer, Southern California has been experiencing one of the mildest summers on record. But this week, summer finally made an appearance. And with the hot weather comes the yearning for frozen confections. Fortunately, there are now plenty of low calorie/low fat ice cream treats and frozen yogurts that can satisfy your sweet tooth without packing on the pounds. WebMD has created a list of the best light ice creams/yogurts, bars and sandwiches. Here are the recommendations:

Best Ice Creams/Frozen Yogurts

• Dreyer’s/Edy’s Slow Churned Yogurt Blends with Live and Active Cultures
  Vanilla
  Cappuccino Chip
• Dreyer’s/Edy’s Slow Churned
  Raspberry Chip Royale
  Cookie Dough
• Breyers Light
  Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry
  Vanilla Bean
  Rocky Road
• Ben & Jerry’s Lowfat Frozen Yogurt
  Strawberries & Cream
  Half Baked
• Haagen-Dazs Lowfat Frozen Yogurt
  Vanilla
  Vanilla Raspberry Swirl
• Starbucks Lowfat Ice Cream
  Latte

Best Bars/Sandwiches

• Breyers 100 Calorie Cups
  Vanilla Fudge Swirl
• Starbucks Bars
  Frappuccino Mocha
• Skinny Cow
  Lowfat Fudge bar
  Ice Cream Sandwiches (Assorted Flavors)
  Cone: Vanilla with Carmel
  Cone: Mint with Fudge
• Weight Watchers
  Giant Cookies & Cream Bar

You can find complete nutritional information for the treats listed, above, as well as honorable mentions and low sugar options by visiting the Health & Cooking section at WebMD.

Believe it or not, Men’s Health Magazine has created an “Eat This, Not That” guide for making healthier choices at the ice cream truck. Check out this video from The Early Show with Matt Bean, brand editor at Men’s Health, discussing healthier frozen treat options: Ice Cream Truck: Eat This, Not That.

So raise a cone to summer and enjoy. 

Push ups with weights

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) is that achy feeling you get in your muscles, usually accompanied by grunting and groaning, when you try to get out of your chair the day after a strenuous workout, or working in the yard all day, or helping a friend move.

According to David O. Draper, professor and director of the graduate program in sports medicine/athletic training at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, “DOMS is a common result of physical activity that stresses the muscle tissue beyond what it is accustomed to.”

While many of us were taught that muscle soreness that appeared 24-48 hours after a workout was caused by lactic acid (which is now known to dissipate within 30 to 60 minutes of ending exercise), the real culprit is microscopic tears in muscle fibers. No wonder it hurts.

Scientists believe that the damage, along with the resulting inflammation, causes the pain. According to Carol Torgan, an exercise physiologist and fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine, “The muscle discomfort is simply a symptom of using your muscles and placing stresses on them that are leading to adaptations to make them stronger and better able to perform the task the next time.”

Any movement you aren’t used to can results in DOMS. The pain is usually greater with increased duration or intensity of exercise. Eccentric muscle contractions seem to cause the most damage. In this case, eccentric refers to a lengthening muscle contraction, not your uncle who collects velvet Elvis paintings. Examples of eccentric muscle contractions include running downhill, lowering weights and the downward motion of squats or push ups.

While muscle soreness is actually a sign that you are using your muscles in a way that will make them stronger (assuming the soreness is minor and not the result of an injury or overuse), people new to working out may think that something is wrong. Rest assured, it’s perfectly normal and happens to everyone, from exercise newbies to elite athletes. It’s the body’s way of letting you know that your workout is working.

It’s important to note that minor muscle pain is not a requirement for a good workout. Working out without experiencing DOMS can be just as effective. The old adage “no pain, no gain” doesn’t always apply.

What you do after a workout can help minimize DOMS and speed recovery. Here are a few post-workout suggestions from about.com’s sports medicine section:

• Rest
• Gentle stretching
• Cool down: slow down but don’t stop completely
• Eat properly
• Replace fluids
• Try Active Recovery: perform low intensity exercises after workouts
• Get a massage: you might want to try a foam roller or my personal favorite, The Stick, to avoid the price tag of a sports massage
• Take an ice bath or try contrast water therapy (alternating between hot and cold water)
• Get lots of sleep
• Avoid overtraining

And remember to listen to your body. There will be days when you simply may be too tired and/or too sore to workout. Give yourself a well-deserved break but don’t give yourself excuses. You might want to try cross-training and alternating upper body and lower body workouts so you don’t have to worry about overworking the same muscle groups day after day.

I leave you with a quote from Plato “Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it.”

Fresh Produce

Yesterday I was able to visit a second farmers market in the Orange County area, and this time I came back with  several “prepared” foods as well as fresh-baked whole grain bread and a bouquet of fresh flowers.

One company that had some really delicious offerings was Baba Foods (headquartered in San Diego, Calif.). Baba Foods sells a large variety of hummus, tapenade, assorted “dips” and fresh pita bread. You can sample everything. Everyone in the KeepWell office recommends the Triple Layer Appetizer which consists of feta cheese, sun dried tomatoes, pesto, parsley, basil, oregano and extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). The roasted garlic and artichoke hummus is also a hit. Besides the great taste, I appreciate the short, all natural list of ingredients.

Another product with a very short, easy-to-understand list of ingredients is tamales from Gourmet Tamales, located in Oceanside, Calif. Gourmet Tamales offers more than 20 different types of fillings, from chicken and pork to vegetarian and even dessert tamales (how did I not know about these?). The chicken with red mole sauce is excellent as is the spinach, feta and tomatillo vegetarian tamale. My husband, who leans toward being a meatatarian, even enjoyed the veggie version. I think because it wasn’t soy trying to taste like chicken. They are a little heavy on the masa, but the filling is delicious. I have yet to try the orange mango dessert tamale, but I’m looking forward to it.

Fresh-baked Whole Grain Wheat Bread

I enjoyed my conversation with the proprietor of the fresh-baked bread stand. She educated me about spelt, an ancient grain that is a sort of predecessor to our modern day wheat. But I preferred the whole grain wheat so I took home a fresh-baked loaf. The only downside is that the bread is unsliced (she told me the key is to cut the bread on its side, not the top). I am concerned that my kids will end up slicing off 2-inch thick pieces of bread and we’ll only get 3 sandwiches out of the loaf. She also told me how to store it so it will stay fresh as long as possible.

I encourage you to visit a farmers market in your area. Just make sure you allow yourself plenty of time to check out all the vendors, sample products and talk to the sellers to find out how foods are grown and/or prepared. As one mother explained to her two young children while they sampled a piece of fruit, “You know how we buy fruit at the grocery store? Well, this is where the grocery store gets their fruit.” Yes, and it’s fresh and delicious.

Beautiful Produce

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has declared August 1-7, 2010 National Farmers Market Week. If you haven’t been to a farmers market, or, like me, its been a while since you’ve been, it’s a great time to check one out. 

You can find farmers markets in your area by visiting the USDA’s Farmers Market Search site at: http://apps.ams.usda.gov/FarmersMarkets/. Unfortunately, this site does not work for me. It yields no results in an area with plenty of well established farmers markets. Maybe it works better in other areas of the country. However, a national site that does work is Local Harvest at http://www.localharvest.org/farmers-markets/which lists many, but not all, of the markets in my area. I did a Google search and came across a local resource in the Orange County Farm Bureau (OCFB). They provide a list of certified markets along with facts about products and recipes. 

What does it mean to be a certified market? According to the OCFB “every farmer who sells at a certified market is inspected by the county agricultural commissioner to make sure he/she actually grows the commodity being sold.” 

There is a farmers market in our area, but until yesterday, I had not visited for more than 5 years. What a fool I’ve been! Especially since I routinely complain about the quality of berries at our local grocery store (I think the produce buyer needs to have his/her taste buds examined). I was so pleased to see over 30 tents with everything from fresh, ripe fruits and vegetables to fresh seafood, nuts and even tamales (more on that later in this post). Many vendors are certified organic. Others are pesticide and fungicide free, but not certified organic. 

Trio of Berries

There are so many benefits to buying produce at a farmers market. Besides the fact that you are supporting local farmers, you get to sample just about everything to ensure you are getting the most flavorful items. You also get expert advice on how to pick the best fruits and veggies: some by color, others by touch, smell our sound (melons). 

I’ve been wanting to try pluots (a plum/apricot hybrid) and there were many varieties to choose from. I asked one of the vendors which one he recommended and he suggested the Flavor Queen. I was not disappointed. They are delicious – more plum-like than apricot, but still a wonderful piece of fruit. I also purchased softball-sized yellow peaches, a variety of berries,  and pistachio nuts. 

Delicious Pluots - A Plum/Apricot Hybrid

There is another farmers market a little bit further away that is open on Tuesdays and is supposed to be the best market in the area. When I visit  tomorrow I plan  to purchase tamales from a couple of vendors and have a little taste test. As many of you who live in Southern California know, homemade tamales are the best. 

Some vendors accept credit cards, but many only accept cash. And sometimes you can haggle to get a better deal, especially if you buy in larger quantities. 

So if you get the chance, stop by your local farmers market. You won’t be disappointed. 

Stay tuned for the tamale update later in the week.

Demonstration of Slackline Yoga Courtesy of lululemon

All of us at KeepWell Foods are honored and extremely excited to be invited to the lululemon athletica store in Newport Beach, Calif. on Saturday, August 7 for Salutation Nation. This is a nationwide event and its free. You can get more information by visiting Salutation Nation. In case you are not familiar with lululemon, they make beautiful, functional clothing for women and men for yoga, running, dancing and many other physical activities.

Here is the scoop from lululemon on the Salutation Nation event:

Salutation Nation is a nationwide outdoor yoga event being held on August 7th at 9 a.m. initiated by lululemon athletica. It’s an hour-long vinyasa class to recognize that we are part of a community (not “we” as in lululemon, but “we” as in humans). It’s about our friends, teachers, neighbors and their friends, teachers and neighbors joining as one to practice yoga together! Ambassador Erika Burkhalter will be leading the practice in the courtyard outside of our store. All levels and athletic abilities are welcome to join! See you there! *Please bring your own yoga mat for the practice! 

KeepWell will be featured in the store and we’ll be handing out free samples and talking to guests about the benefits of our drink. If you are in the area we hope you will stop by and say “hi”. We’d love to meet you. 

I was looking around the lululemon web site and after buying a pair of shorts that I needed (yes, I need them, no matter what my husband says) I came across photos of a type of yoga I had never heard of. It is called slackline or slackasana yoga. Slackline yoga requires a person to balance on a 1-inch piece of webbing (similar to what rock climbers use) lightly tensioned between two solid anchor points, and perform yoga poses on it. The sense of balance is truly amazing – like Cirque du Soleil amazing. I can barely do a downward facing dog, let alone balance myself on a rope and attempt to do a yoga pose. 

You can see more lululemon slackline photos on flickr  and a remarkable video demonstration from Yoga Slackers on You Tube. 

Hope you have a great weekend. Namaste.

128 Calorie Strawberry & Low-fat Cream Cheese Sandwich from Eating Well

The idea of eating 3 square meals a day is going the way of the typewriter (does anyone besides me remember carbon paper?) in favor of eating 5-6 times a day in order to boost metabolism and maintain energy throughout the day.

To increase your metabolism and lose weight, the American Dietetic Association (ADA) recommends eating numerous, nutritious small meals or mini-meals a day instead of the usual three.

The ADA has put together a list of healthy snack choices that contain a variety of fruits, vegetables and grains. Here is a sampling from the ADA’s list, broken down by the amount of calories:

Snacks with 200 Calories or Less:

• One tablespoon of peanut butter spread on a medium-sized sliced apple
• One cup tomato soup with 5 whole grain crackers
• One 6-inch flour tortilla with 1/4 cup black beans and 2 tablespoons fresh salsa (my suggestion: go with a whole wheat tortilla, instead)
• Toaster waffle topped with 1/2 cup blueberries and 2 tablespoons low-fat yogurt

200-300 Calorie Snacks for Active Adults, Teens & Athletes:

• Instant oatmeal with fat-free milk and 1 tablespoon honey, 1/2 cup sliced peaches and a dash of cinnamon
• Veggie pizzas: split whole wheat English muffin, top with 2 tablespoons low-fat cream cheese, 1/2 cup diced fresh veggies and 1 ounce low-fat mozzarella cheese
• Banana split: banana sliced lengthwise topped with 1/2 cup frozen yogurt and 1 tablespoon of chopped nuts

You can see the complete list here, Smart_Snacking_for_Adults_and_Teens1 along with tips for healthy snacking.

It’s important to remember, snacks require portion control. Like all foods, if you eat more than the recommended serving size, you will add calories to your diet. Even if you cheat “just a little” by eating an extra 100 calories a day, you could gain 10 pounds in one year. Yikes!

You can find more healthy snack ideas by checking out the web. Here are a few sites that may come in handy. Many list snacks by calories and some according to food group. There’s a great variety to choose from. (Although, Good & Plenty is suspiciously missing from the lists. Hmmmm.)

Snack Girl: http://www.snack-girl.com/healthy/
Self magazine: http://www.self.com/fooddiet/2009/06/30-healthy-snacks
Eating Well: http://tinyurl.com/2bx5avn
WebMD: http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/the-best-healthy-snacks-in-your-supermarket

There are some steps you can take to battle the supersizing phenomenon. For many of us it is much easier to visualize a serving size by comparing it to an everyday object rather than to a measuring cup or scale. To that end, WebMd has an interactive tool that allows you to see several food items from each of the major food groups displayed on a plate and compared side-by-side with an object that represents a portion size. For example, a cup of vegetables is roughly the equivalent of a baseball. Or, a piece of fish is approximately the size of a checkbook.

You can check it out here on WebMd: Portion Size Plate

There is also a pocket-size version you can print and keep in your wallet and a larger one you can post on your frig.

WebMd also recommends using smaller plates, dishing your food directly from the stove (not leaving serving bowls, platters, etc. on the table) and taking advantage of doggie bags. With the supersize portions at many restaurants you can now get lunch and dinner for the price of one. You can find more information on portion control at: Avoid Portion Distortion.

I love this line from WebMd “The best diet is not a diet at all but a way of life that lets you “eat to live” as you enjoy healthy food, exercise and optimal health“. *

• Low-carb diet
• Low-fat diet
• Liquid diet (using low-calorie, high fiber shakes)
• Grapefruit diet
• Detox diet (nothing says delicious and filling like a nice tall glass of lemon juice and cayenne pepper)
• Cabbage Soup diet
• Macrobiotic diet
• Juice diet
• Brussel Sprouts and Bananas diet

O.k., so I made that last one up. But if I put together an infomercial with a “doctor”, some great before and after testimonials, and a promise that you’d lose up to 30 pounds in 30 days, I could sell it, make a killing and retire to the Caribbean.

According to the Mayo Clinic, most people who keep weight off for the long term are those who adopt healthy eating habits as part of their normal lifestyle and who also get regular exercise. It is a lifestyle commitment – to yourself. Eating healthy can be challenging at times, so it’s important to educate yourself. This means learning who to trust for health advice – like your doctor – and not your friend whose aunt in Mexico sends special “magic diet pills” that make you lose all kinds of weight in just a couple of weeks. Oh, did I forget to mention that these same pills are essentially speed and will only allow you to sleep for 1-3 hours a night? And they make your heart beat faster than a hummingbird on caffeine? And that you are so on edge that you jump at the sound of your own name? And after you lose the weight it all comes back, plus more?

We have to get over this obsession with trying to correct long-term bad eating habits with a short-term fix and minimal or no effort. Fad diets simply don’t work. In most cases, they make the problem worse.

So after you decide to stop torturing yourself with fad diets, where do you turn? When it comes to choosing a weight loss program, the Mayo Clinic recommends that you “don’t fall for gimmicks when it comes to weight loss. Evaluate diets carefully to find one that could work for you for the long term.” You can find more information on choosing a weight loss program by reviewing the Mayo Clinic’s article “Weight Loss: Choosing a Diet that’s Right for You. The article recommends you do the following:

• Involve your doctor
• Consider your personal weight-loss issues
• Look for a safe & effective program (this includes balanced nutrition and exercise)
• Look for a program that encourages permanent healthy lifestyle changes

If changing habits were easy, we’d all do it. But isn’t your health worth the effort? I leave you with this quote from Lee Iacocca: “You’ve got to say, I think that if I keep working at this and want it badly enough I can have it. It’s called perseverance.”

*In the interest of full disclosure, I feel it’s important to tell you that I have never, and I mean never, been on a diet of any kind. I credit this to my parents, especially my mother, who encouraged an active lifestyle of playing sports and playing outside whenever possible, and not allowing me to eat too many processed foods full of added sugar and fat. But this does not mean that I am incapable of empathy when it comes to the challenges of healthy eating. As I write this posting, there is an empty box of Good & Plenty on my desk.

Healthy BBQ Grilling

The upcoming Fourth of July holiday usually includes get-togethers with family and friends that involve some great bbq and other summer-time favorites. Unfortunately, some of these foods aren’t very healthy. Instead of depriving yourself of your favorite summer-time foods you can enjoy healthier versions by swithching to lighter recipes that taste great but cut down on the fat, calories, sugar, and salt.

Here are a few web sites where you can find healthy recipes for the grill, side dishes and desserts:

• Food Networks Ultimate Better for You Grilling Guide
• Prevention’s Backyard BBQ Favorites: 20 Superhealthy Recipes for the Grill
• Cooking Light Fourth of July Celebrations

Enjoy your holiday. Be safe and keep well.