That's Fit

Did you resolve to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables in 2008? How about including avocados in that plan?

The avocado contains more fat than most fruits, but it's mostly the heart-healthy monounsaturated kind of fat. It also contains vitamins A and E, B vitamins, potassium and protein. And recently, avocados have even been shown to fight oral cancer cells. Many people are afraid to add avocados to their diet, even after hearing about all the health benefits. It's such a rich, creamy fruit that it feels like you may be loading up on calories each time you eat one. You may be surprised at how many calories an avocado actually contains!

Fruitcake is the butt of many jokes. Like fruitcakes as paperweights. Fruitcake football. The tradition of re-gifting the fruitcake that Grandma always brings. And that rumor that fruitcake lasts forever (it doesn't.)

It's one of the few foods that is better known as a joke than a food. Most people I know haven't ever tried fruitcake before, so they have no idea what it tastes like.

But lots of people who eat fruitcake love it just as intensely as the mockers mock it. Fruitcake fans feel that this dense loaf of fruit and nuts in cake has gotten a bad reputation for no good reason. For the fruitcake lovers out there, a quiz:

Sweet potato casserole, or candied yams as your family might call them, are another one of those holiday staple foods. Maybe you just had some at Thanksgiving; maybe you'll have some more at Christmas. This dish is another one of those foods that confuse people when it comes to being healthy. Yams = healthy, right? But that word "candied" usually makes dieters cringe.

Like any homemade food, there are tons of different family recipes, all with different nutritional information. I searched for a sweet potato casserole recipe that seemed to include a happy medium of average ingredients (but did include a marshmallow topping, which is a must in my family!) Keep in mind that we're talking about a serving size of approximately 1/8 of a 9 x 12 inch casserole dish.

The holidays are almost here! That means it's officially pumpkin pie season. It's strange, I get a craving for the taste of homemade pumpkin pie from November through January, and the rest of the year it sounds completely unappetizing to me. The pumpkin is healthy for you, but then we add all those ingredients that make it creamy and sweet, and a homemade crust . Is it still a healthy dessert?

Halloween! It's the day when kids go trick or treating, and every office candy dish is filled with candy corn. Candy corn has a reputation for being one of the healthier candies, since it contains honey. But I wonder how many calories are in each handful (and I'm talking about nice big handful, about 22 pieces.) Care to guess?

Cool weather calls for hot drinks. My latest guilty pleasure is the Starbucks Caramel Macchiato. It's made with espresso, steamed milk, vanilla, foam and caramel sauce. It kind of looks like a fancy little pie, doesn't it?

When it comes to guessing calorie counts, the fact that this drink looks like a miniature pie worries me a little. How many calories are in a Tall Starbucks Caramel Macchiato with 2% milk?

A) 100 calories
B) 180 calories
C) 250 calories
D) 290 calories

We all need to spurge a little from time to time. We treat ourselves to dessert, and the very slurpgiest (that should be a word) of desserts, for me, is creme brulee. I realize the recipe is simple, but there's something about creme brulee that says "celebration!" I think it's the way you get to crack of the sugar top with your spoon. Plus, making it requires a torch.

This isn't something we're eating everyday. When we splurge, how many calories are in one average serving of creme brulee?

A) 280 calories
B) 350 calories
C) 420 calories
D) 575 calories

There are certain foods that I crave only in certain seasons, and caramel apples are definitely one of them. If autumn comes and goes and I haven't eaten at least one caramel apple, I feel a little bit deprived. I think we all have little food traditions like that.

My annual caramel apple-eating tradition will continue, regardless of the answer to this question. But just out of curiosity, I wonder:

How many calories are in an average caramel apple?

A) 80 calories
B) 150 calories
C) 300 calories
D) 500 calories

As fabulous as we at That's Fit think this blog is, the truth is there are hundreds of wonderful blogs on healthy living to be seen all over the blogosphere. So in this feature, Fit Links, we'll introduce you to some that have caught our eye.

Some foods just can't stop getting positive press coverage lately, and cranberries are one of those "it" foods. Keep all the news straight by checking out Get Fit Source and Whole Food Supplements, which both have information on all the reasons to love cranberries for their health benefits.

Then, while you're feeling all informed and in love with cranberries, try out some new cranberry recipes like the ones you can find at Alder Lake Cranberry Corp.'s recipe page.

The latest trend to hit fast food menus is the iced coffees and iced mochas. I love my iced coffee, and given a choice would always buy mine from the local coffee shop. But if I'm traveling, I never know where to find a coffee shop and the drive-through version starts to look pretty good . I noticed that McDonald's even has my favorite flavor, hazelnut, on the menu.

How many calories are in a medium McDonald's iced coffee (any flavor)?

A) 120 calories
B) 195 calories
C) 280 calories
D) 340 calories

As fabulous as we at That's Fit think this blog is, the truth is there are hundreds of wonderful blogs on healthy living to be seen all over the blogosphere. So in this feature, Fit Links, we'll introduce you to some that have caught our eye.

Don't forget about your core muscles! Strengthening these muscles with balancing exercises have all kinds of benefits beyond just looking better. Here's some blogs to get you pumped about core training this week:

Prevention.com's Get Fit blog with Chris Freytag talks about trying out the BOSU® ball.

Fit Sugar has one balancing move in particular, the forearm stand, that you may not have tried before. If you can do a headstand but not a handstand, this may be the perfect next step for you.

Fit Fiend also has advice on core training, plus scroll to the end of the post for a funny clip of what NOT to do, taken from The Office.

As fabulous as we at That's Fit think this blog is, the truth is there are hundreds of wonderful blogs on healthy living to be seen all over the blogosphere. So in this feature, Fit Links, we'll introduce you to some that have caught our eye.

When the "school supplies" section is moved front and center of every store, and those isles are full of parents holding crumpled checklists and a mix of excited and panicked-looking children, you know that back to school time is getting close.

Such a big part of your child's life obviously plays a big part in their health, so here's a few blogs to keep you in the back-to-school health loop this year!

Back2School2007 is on top of all kinds of health issues relating to school, from backbacks and back health to the campaign for healthier school lunches.

The Lifestyle Section of the Detroit News has medical checklist to help make sure you haven't forgotten anything your child needs to get a healthy start to the school year.

Busy Moms Recipes has a great list of healthy lunch and snack ideas - beyond sandwiches!

One of my first jobs was as a waitress at Outback Steakhouse. The most popular appetizer we sold, by far, was the Bloomin' Onion. Other restaurants have their own versions and they're all basically the same thing: a huge sweet onion that's been cut, breaded and deep fried, served with some kind of dipping sauce.

The entire time I worked at Outback, I never got sick of eating the Bloomin' Onions that the cooks would give us for for free when they accidentally made too many. They're delicious. They're pretty. It didn't bother us that if we didn't eat them when the were hot and freshly cooked they became a slimy, greasy brown wad within an hour.

We knew back then that all of those Bloomin' Onions were unhealthy, but now I wonder just how bad they really were. How many calories are in a whole Bloomin' Onion from Outback Steakhouse?

A) 820 calories
B) 1450 calories
C) 1780 calories
D) 2210 calories

As fabulous as we at That's Fit think this blog is, the truth is there are hundreds of wonderful blogs on healthy living to be seen all over the blogosphere. So in this feature, Fit Links, we'll introduce you to some that have caught our eye.

The coffee versus tea debate can divide people just like politics, and it doesn't help that there are constantly new headlines about which one is healthy and which one does more harm than good. No matter which side you're on, you should stay up to date with this week's Fit Links:

The Tea Blog by the teavangelist (cute name) covers all things tea, especially tea making health headlines.

Morning Coffee and Afternoon Tea has an amazingly good recipe suggestion for Jasmine Orange Iced Tea.

Health and Coffee is exactly what the name suggests, news and information regarding my two favorite things, of course, coffee and health!

As fabulous as we at That's Fit think this blog is, the truth is there are hundreds of wonderful blogs on healthy living to be seen all over the blogosphere. So in this feature, Fit Links, we'll introduce you to some that have caught our eye.

For serious runners, choosing the right running shoe can make the difference between success, failure, and permanent injury. But the best choice isn't always obvious. What's comfortable in the store may not be comfortable after a twenty mile run, and what looks pretty on your foot might not be comfortable at all.

This week I'm passing along some fitness blogs that offer advice on choosing the right running shoe:

FitFAQ.com, Not Your Average Fitness Blog, and the final blog, Trying Fitness I'm throwing in mostly because I like their tag line. Trying Fitness: Because you've tried everything else.