Benefits of Olive Oil

People tend to steer clear when they hear the word oil. That's the right move when it's hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil, but you shouldn't be scared of consuming all oils. Olive oil, which is rich in monounsaturated fats, is highly recommended by the FDA.
Olive oil can help prevent stomach ulcers, heart disease, and certain types of cancers. Olive oil also doesn't raise your cholesterol levels and keeps your skin looking great. 
Olive oil is a big part of the Mediterranean Diet (to read more about this diet click here)

Spices for Breast Health!

A study at the University of Michigan provided evidence that the main ingredients in black pepper and curry powder may have a role in stopping stem cell growth that may lead to the growth of breast tumors.
Read more...
Article

Muffins with Granola & Raisins

This healthy muffin recipe is from The New York Times. I made a few changes to make it a little healthier. This recipe is a good source of fiber and contains mostly natural sugars from the honey and raisins. I highly recommend it as a mid-morning snack or dessert!
   1 cup low-fat granola
   1/2 cup skim milk
   1 cup golden raisins
   1 cup whole wheat flour
   2 tsp baking powder
   1/2 tsp baking soda
   1/4 tsp salt
   2 eggs
   1/4 cup honey
   1/2 cup plain non-fat yogurt or vanilla nonfat yogurt
   1/4 cup canola oil
   1 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Spray baking spray into muffin cups. Combine the granola and milk in a bowl and let sit for about 30 minutes. Cover the raisins with hot water and soak for about 15 minutes. Drain and dry.
Sift together whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Beat together the eggs, honey, yogurt, canola oil, and vanilla extract. Whisk in the flour mixture, then add the granola and raisins.
Spoon into muffin cups (about 3/4 full). Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until light brown. Cool.
Yields about 14 muffins.

Safeway Coupons

I stumbled across these coupons for free items at Safeway including free bagged lettuce, potatoes, and eggs.
Safeway Coupons
I'm really not one to turn down free stuff, so I'll probably be there sometime this week...

Baked Chili Fries

Rachael Ray has this great recipe for chili "fries" that she debuted on her show yesterday. I just tried them last night even though I was a little skeptical because I LOVE french fries and couldn't imagine a substitute. Surprisingly they are really delicious! 
Poblano peppers are low in calories and a great source of vitamin c. Since these are baked and not fried they are a much healthier alternative to french fries.
Ingredients
   1 1/2 pounds poblano peppers
   1 cup flour, divided
   2 eggs
   2 tablespoons mustard
   1 cup breadcrumbs
   1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
   Salt and black pepper
Preheat oven to 400ºF. Set up 3 plates; one for the flour, in the second beat the eggs with the mustard and about 2 tablespoons of flour, in the third mix the breadcrumbs, grated cheese and salt and pepper.
Coat the peppers in the flour, next coat them in the egg mixture, and then in the breadcrumbs. Bake the peppers in the oven, turning each halfway through baking until golden and crispy, about 16 minutes.
Serves 4.
I didn't have any whole-wheat flour, but that would be a great substitution for the white flour. I used honey mustard, which tasted great, but you can use any kind you have.

Benefits of Berries

Berries are low in calories, high in fiber, and full of antioxidants.
Blueberries, rasberries, strawberries, blackberries, goji berries, etc are great fruits to snack on. Their fiber content fills you up, their calorie content won't sabotage your diet (a cup of berries is usually less than 100 calories), and the phytochemicals and flavonoids may prevent forms of cancer. So stock up!

Healthier Cookie Bars

I started with a typical Nestle chocolate chip cookie recipe and twisted some of the ingredients to make a healthier cookie bar recipe. Light butter, splenda, and dark chocolate make this treat less of a diet disaster!
   2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
   1 tsp baking soda
   1 tsp salt
   1 cup Land O Lakes- Light Butter with Canola Oil
   1/2 cup granulated sugar mixed with 1/4 cup Splenda
   3/4 cup packed brown sugar
   1 tsp vanilla extract
   2 large eggs
   1.5 cups chocolate chips with at least 60% cacao
Preheat oven to 370° F.
Mix flour, baking soda and salt in bowl. Beat light butter, sugar mixture, brown sugar and vanilla extract in bowl until creamy.
Add eggs, beat, and then gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate.
Pour batter into greased square pan and cook until knife comes out clean when stuck into center of pan (about 20-30 minutes).
Let cool and cut into bars.
ENJOY :)

Fiber!

Fiber gets a pretty bad rap. We often associate fiber with gas and bloating, but fiber is so important for so many reasons! Why is fiber important?
   -Fiber can help you maintain a healthy weight by keeping you feeling full
   -Fiber is key to a healthy digestive tract and can prevent diverticulitis
   -Eating the right amount of fiber can help prevent certain types of cancer
The American Heart Association recommends that we eat 14 grams of fiber for every 1,000 calories we eat. So for women eating 2,000 calories a day you should be eating about 28 grams of fiber. Most Americans are only eating half of what they should be.
But now supplements are emerging that make eating fiber so much tastier, like Vitafusion Fiber Gummies. They come in all different fruit varieties and taste like candy! You can buy them at Target or in some grocery stores or online at Amazon.com or Drugstore.com.
If you do take this advice and start increasing the amount of fiber in your diet, be sure to also up your water intake so you avoid bloating and gas.

Wellness Tip

Watch this video :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Bmhjf0rKe8

Salad Bar Safety

I thought this would be an appropriate topic because Jason's Deli kept me up vomitting from some food poisoning last night...
I've always been a fan of self-serve salad bars, but have you ever thought of how contaminated they are?
People grabbing food with their fingers and grabbing spoons with dirty hands and then dropping them back in the dressing. Do you ever notice that the employees working at the salad bar just put food that has been spilled on the counter back into their containers? Do you want people sneezing, coughing, and getting hair in your food? Just some things to think about that next time you eat at a self-serve place...even salad bars are unsafe.

You think it's healthy...but it's not

Breakfast:
Pop-Tarts Whole Grain Brown Sugar Cinnamon
400 calories
14 g fat
28 g sugars
Don't be fooled by the use of the term "whole grain". There is still too much sugar in this breakfast and it will not fill you up.


Lunch:
Spicy Tuna Roll
460 calories
9 g fat
64 g carbs
Sushi always seems like a healthy option, right? Nope.
A lot of sushi filling is mixed with full-fat mayo and cream cheese. Be cautious when "spicy" and "crunchy" are in the title.


Dinner:
Turkey Burger from Ruby Tuesday
890 calories
47 g fat
49 g carbs
I always used to choose the turkey burger option at restaurants, but never again.
Try Fuddruckers and choose their ostrich burger on whole wheat, which is leaner than chicken!


Dessert:
Low Carb Cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory
610 calories
57 g fat
39 g carb
I'm not sure how 39 gram of carbs counts as low carb and 57 grams of fat is more than a person should eat in an entire day.

Can you pass some bacteria with the turkey?

Besides the insane amount of calories in a typical Thanksgiving meal, the next most alarming thing about this holiday is the increased risk to contracting foodborne illness. Food is rushed out of the oven, left out for hours at a time, and usually kept as leftovers way too long.

Here are a few highlights I learned from the CDC's Fight Bac website:
-Keep your hot food above 140° F or you could end up with Staphylococcal or Perfringens food poisoning. Eating food that has been left out at room temperature too long can lead to cramps, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting.
-How does bloody diarrhea sound during your Thanksgiving weekend? If meats are not cooked to their appropriate temperature, you could end up with E-coli O157:H7. Invest in a meat thermometer! Poultry should be cooked to an internal temperature of at least 165° F.
-Salmonellosis and Campylobacteriosis (which is one of the longer-lasting foodborne illnesses) can both easily be prevented by using precaution while handling raw meat and poultry.

Follow the CDC's four easy steps and you will not let lazy food handling ruin your holiday..
-Clean your hands and surfaces.
-Separate food so as not to cross-contaminate
-Cook foods (especially meat and poultry) to their proper temperature
-Chill food promptly

Check out this website to learn how to purchase and cook your holiday food safely: http://www.holidayfoodsafety.org/

Thanksgiving is the time for turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and PIES !!

I've been to Thanksgiving dinners where there is a pie for every letter of the alphabet- apple pie, blueberry pie, cherry pie, etc. Of course the most popular Thanksgiving pies are pumpkin pie and pecan pie.
While it is hard to keep yourself from sampling each dessert on the table, choosing the healthier option could save you 200 calories!
Most pumpkin pies contain between 300 and 400 calories per slice whereas pecan pie usually has 500 calories or more per slice.
And if you are the one in charge of bringing/making dessert...try making mini, individual-sized pies like the recipe below from LIBBY'S®...

Ingredients:
4 (1-cup vol each) 4-inch diameter mini-pie shells
3/4 cup granulated sugar (or suberstitute Splenda baking blend)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Lowfat Evaporated or Fat Free Evaporated Milk

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425° F.
Mix sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in bowl. Beat eggs lightly in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.
Pour into shells.
Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350° F.; bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool for 2 hours.

Fake pasta!

For the past few years I have been a big fan of Tofu Shirataki Noddles. Each package contains only 40 calories, 6 grams of carbs, and even 4 grams of fiber. They come in different pasta shapes including fettuccine and angel hair. To get rid of the tofu flavor just parboil the noodles for 2 minutes.
You can find them at most Asian food markets, some larger grocery stores, and can buy them online in bulk.

  

SparkPeople

http://www.sparkpeople.com/ is a free website that allows you to track whether you are meeting your diet and exercise goals.
SparkPeople has also created a site devoted specifcally to healthy recipes- http://www.sparkrecipes.com/

Check them both out!

A little bit of neuroscience from The New York Times

"Phys Ed: Why Exercise Makes You Less Anxious"
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/18/phys-ed-why-exercise-makes-you-less-anxious/
This is a great article about how exercise helps your brain respond better to stress.

Can you substitute applesauce for butter or oil when baking?

According to most sources, it is best to only substitute applesauce for oil and not use it as a substitute for butter.
If substituting applesauce for oil use a 1:1 ratio and for best results use unsweetened applesauce.

www.thenest.com suggests first trying a mixture of half oil and half applesauce.

Tested recipe for healthy Egg Roulade

Egg Roulade

3 eggs

2 Tbsp flour

6 egg whites

Slightly less than ¼ cup chopped dill

2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

¼ tsp salt

¾ cup shredded fat-free mozzarella

½ cup diced bell pepper

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray pie pan with nonstick cooking a spray. In bowl, whisk whole eggs (one at a time) into the flour until smooth. Whisk in the egg whites, dill, Parmesan cheese, and salt until well combined.
• Pour mixture into pan and bake for 8 to 9 minutes until the mixture is set.
• Remove from oven and add the fat-free mozzarella and bell pepper over top. Let sit for 3 minutes.
• Cut like pizza or pie slices and serve.

6 servings

106 calories, 3.2 g fat per serving

Recipe from The Wellness Kitchen ©2003

Healthy Weight

The National Institutes of Health has a quick and easy tool to check your BMI (Body Mass Index).
http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/

If you've checked your BMI recently and found that it is 25 or greater, you are overweight.
A great way to motivate yourself to lose the weight is to see a picture of a healthier you!
http://www.weightmirror.com is a site that allows you to upload a picture of yourself and adjust your weight to see a thinner you.
Keep in mind that all bodies are different and everyone loses weight from different areas of the body at different times.

New Government Nutrition Site

http://www.myfoodapedia.gov

The site allows you to look up the exact calorie content of any food and see which section of the food pyramid it fulfills.
Additionally, you can search and compare the calorie content in two different foods.
However, it only lists the pyramid food group and calories, lacking all other nutrition data such as fat and sugar content.

(Site put together by my former employer the U.S.D.A.)

Home-made meals without going to the grocery store

It's very easy to get home from school or work and order some quick chinese food or pizza. However, making food in your own kitchen allows you to have more control of the ingredients that go into your food, which usually means a healthier meal.
I know most people don't like to spend free time at the grocery store like I do, so here are some websites that generate recipes from ingredients you already have in your kitchen or pantry.

http://www.recipepuppy.com

http://allrecipes.com/Search/Ingredients.aspx

http://www.recipematcher.com

http://www.cookthing.com

Welcome to Weighing in on Wellness

Welcome to my health and wellness blog. My name is Nicole Raimondo and I will be weighing in on ways to live a healthy lifestyle by posting nutrition advice, healthy recipes, etc.
Please share your comments!