That's Fit

Do you love how great you feel after yoga class, but your a bit crunched for time? Try these yoga moves -- no mat required!

Cynthia Sass, registered dietitian and co-author of Flat Belly Diet! has compiled a new annual list of belly-flattening foods that are full of fat-blasting nutrients like heart-healthy MUFAs (monosaturated fatty acids) and whole grains. These top 27 foods flat-belly foods are her favorite low calorie, non-processed snacks that will help you keep your summer weight-loss promises. Everything on the list is worthy of a try but I've narrowed down my top five favorite snacks:


My favorite from the list:

• DeBoles Organic Ancient Grain Penne. Regular pasta semonlina flour may be tasty but it's calorie content isn't. Each serving of DeBoles provides 7 g of protein, which helps control blood sugar levels and regulates energy to keep hunger away.
• Naked Juice Probiotic Tropical Mango 100% Juice Smoothie. This yummy juice is made from 100 percent all-natural fruits and contains healthy bacteria that boosts immunity and promotes digestive health. Each bottle has 180-calories but gives you a day's worth of vitamin C and 60% of your daily intake of vitamin A. Plus it counts as two servings of fruit.
  
• Kraft LiveActive Mozzarella Cheese Sticks. This little cheese snack is perfect when you're on-the-go. Plus it contains 8 grams of protein and will only cost you 80 calories.
  
• Garden of Eatin' Baked Blue Corn Tortilla Chips. I love these organic blue corn chips. Not only are they tasty but each serving contains 3 grams of fiber and protein, 300 mg of omega-3 fatty acids and only has three grams of fat per ounce, which is half of what fried chips have.
  
• World of Grains Blueberry Snacks. These crunchy little blueberry treats are made from nutritious whole grains and contain real blueberries and each serving gives you 12 percent of your daily fiber intake.

What are your favorites from the list?

You've heard that old phrase "never go to bed angry," right? It never seemed reasonable to me. Maybe I'm too hot-headed, but I just couldn't imagine being married and never going to sleep upset at my husband. Heck, there are days that I'm annoyed or angry with my son and we don't end the day on a good note. It's amazing how a night's sleep can wash away bad feelings.

According to an article on Revolution Health, it's OK to go to bed angry once in a while. If you think about it, staying up for hours on end talking over everything you're annoyed about could actually be counterproductive at times. Sometimes calmer heads will prevail in the morning after having a good night's sleep.

The article also recommends sleeping in the same bed as you usually do, even if you're angry. If you're up to it, you can even try making love. So what if you're a bit angry? Turn the energy into something a bit more fun than fighting. Also, sometimes it's necessary to agree to disagree. Stating something like "I'm angry with you right now, but I love you very much" can help put a temporary stop to an unresolved argument. For more healthy relationship tips, see AOL Health.

Summer is a time for outside grilling, barbecues and summer cocktails, which usually means you'll be consuming a lot more calories. You'll be shocked by the amount of calories in some of our favorite summertime foods -- like corn. Try boiling your corn as opposed to grilling it, this will save you about 10 grams of fat and 30 to 100 calories per ear.

If you enjoy slathering your corn in a little butter, don't worry about the added calories because summer is also a great time to get outside, enjoy the weather and get active. You can burn off 60 calories in one cob with a fun 15-minute walk. The best summer workouts are those that allow you to strike the best balance between calories in and calories out.

What do you guys do to burn off those extra summer calories?

We all know broccoli is good for you, right? Not only does it have anti-cancer compounds, and anti-oxidant containing vitamins (vitamin-C and bets-carotene) but it's loaded with fiber. But which way is the best way of cooking broccoli and other vegetables, to preserve the most nutrients?

Believe it or not a recent study done at Cornell University said microwaving (behind steaming) is one of the best ways to cook vegetables and retain the nutrients inside. The study found that cooking vegetables on a grill, which exposes them to higher temperatures, is actually more destructive.

But be careful not to add too much water when cooking your veggies in the microwave. Researchers suggest that in order to keep the nutrients undamaged when microwaving you should only use a couple of tablespoons of water to cook raw vegetables and no extra water to cook frozen ones. That's because vegetables lose water-soluble nutrients like folic acid and vitamin-C when they are immersed in cooking liquid.

What tips do you have for steaming or microwaving your veggies?