That's Fit

If you're trying to lose weight, you'll have to fill up on salads and veggies. But salads can get boring -- fast! And when you get bored with your meals, that's when you reach for the junk food.

Which is why we need to keep our healthy foods fresh and interesting -- Fitsugar calls it 'Pimping your greens.' Here are some of my favourite ways to spice up my salads -- feel free to share some of your own in the comments.

• Try different dressings, but make sure to check the label before buying because certain dressings (like the creamy ones) can be loaded with fat and calories. Better yet -- try making your own!
  
• Add some nuts and seeds. They'll add protein and flavour to your greens.
• Think outside the veggies. Slices of fresh fruit can add a lot of flavour to your salad -- strawberries, grapes and mango are my favourites.
  
• Cheese, please. I love cheese and if adding it to my salad means I look forward to chowing down on my greens, so be it.
  
• Get inspired. I sometimes spend my lunch hours perusing the internet for interesting salad recipes -- I rarely follow a recipe by the book but it's great for ideas and inspiration.

When you're grabbing a meal on the run, most of us know better than to order our meal with fries. Why? They're loaded with fat and sodium, and will make a big caloric dent in our daily intake.

But when a sandwich isn't enough, what can we get to go with our fast food entree? Most places now offer sides of stuff like salad, fruit or other healthy fare. And at Wendy's, you can even enjoy potatoes without having to order them deep-fried and covered in salt -- you can order a baked potato on the side.

But are baked potatoes a healthier option than fries? One would think so, based on the fact that they're cooked in the oven instead of the deep fryer. But what baked potatoes lack in deep-fried goodness, they make up for with add-ons like sour cream, bacon bits, butter and cheese. Still, how bad can it be? You tell me.

You know which foods give you more energy, and you're aware of the foods that will pack on the pounds. But, can certain foods help your love life? According to a recent article on MSN, the answer is yes!

There's a reason people have turned to aphrodisiacs throughout the course of history -- while oysters alone won't turn you (or your date) into a raging sex machine, certain foods have been shown to have a subtle effect on "how amorous you're feeling."

Want to know what foods you should order on your next date? Check out the gallery!

Quesadillas are a standby meal for many people -- no matter where you get them, they're typically fairly satisfying and decent tasting. After all, how can you go wrong with some cheese and perhaps a bit of meat and vegetables baked between tortillas? Even if the quesadilla is bland, the salsa and sour cream that comes with it is sure to spice things up. Really, It's a fairly fool-proof dish.

But taste isn't everything, especially if you're watching what you eat. And as a rule of thumb, anything that lists cheese as it's main ingredient is probably not the best choice calorie-wise. But how bad are quesadillas? I picked a fairly average-sounding dish -- the Fajita Steak Quesadillas with guacamole from Chili's -- and did a bit of investigating. What did I find? Cast your vote:

If you're on antibiotics, or about to start taking them, you may want to steer clear of dairy products. Granted, your doctor will likely clue you in on this, but just in case he or she happens to forget (hey, doctors are human too), consider yourself informed.

This comes from a study conducted at the University of Maryland, where it was found that antibiotics, when mixed with diary products, bind to the calcium in the stomach. As a result, the antibiotics will not be fully digested, thereby rendering it less potent and less effective.

This doesn't mean that you have to stop eating calcium-rich foods if you're on antibiotics; rather, it simply means that you should not take the medication around the same time you've eaten some dairy products. The researchers recommend waiting around two hours after eating calcium-rich foods to take antibiotics.

Of all the burgers out there, I think the general consensus is that veggie burgers are the healthiest of the bunch. They're low in saturated fat, and fat in general, plus they're lower in calories than regular beef or chicken burgers. As a non-vegetarian, I always get the same reaction when I order a veggie burger at a restaurant: 'Huh? Are you on a diet or something?' But I suspect that what veggie burgers lack in calories and fat they make up for in add-ons like cheese and sauce. But then again, I could be wrong.

What do you think? Are veggie burgers healthy or not?

Love cheese, but don't love the fat and calories that come with it? You might be able to add a little extra nutrition to your daily cheese quota by switching to yak cheese. Yes, I realize I just said yak cheese, and if you're a non-adventurous eater like myself, well, that just made you squirm a little.

However, a recent study that compared yak cheese produced from animals that were pastured on Nepal's highlands to cheddar cheese made from grain-fed cows in Canada found that the yak cheese was three times higher in omega 3 fatty acids. It was also rich in alpha-linolenic acid, a fatty acid found in flaxseed. Conjugated linolenic acid, a cancer and diabetes fighter, was also discovered in higher levels.

I really wish that they had compared the nutrition of cheese made from grass-fed cows to those of the yaks. Because grass is a much more natural diet for cows than grain, it makes sense that the grass-fed yaks' cheese was more nutritious. Still, if you're in the market for something new and can afford gourmet prices, yak cheese is supposed to smell and taste much like cheddar. Anyone ever tried it?

Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answer. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose two per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Dear Fitz. My high school offers very few sports, but I'd like to play something. I'd like to try out for football, but my old-fashioned mother thinks that will make me a "tomboy". What do you think? Katie

A. You've come to the right place Katie! I happen to have embedded myself in the traditionally male sport of full-contact kickboxing, and you know what? It made me a better woman! Sports are sports. Whether you play with a ball, racket, gloves or sneakers...sports are just a more fun way to exercise and flex your competitive muscles. Period.

I loved getting in the ring to try and knock an opponent out. I loved the strategy, speed, and power of the event. Fighting, in fact, is one of my favorite things to do. Some of the girls I've competed against thought they had to take on some sort of macho persona. Short hair, yucky jeans, and mean snarls. I, on the other hand, preferred to act like a monster in the ring and show up to the after-party like a lady in a pretty dress and heels. Embracing my athleticism, strength and courage has allowed me to appreciate how wonderful it is to be a woman. A strong, athletic, educated woman who loves to have the doors held for her.

It's no secret that I love cheese. I have many vices, but cheese is definitely one of the front-runners for worst food that I can hardly ever resist. And although I make a point of uncovering ghastly ghastly calorie-laden foods for the artery-damagers they are, when it comes to cheese, I am too chicken to hear the truth because, for the love of pete, please give me this one indulgence and don't make me feel bad about it.

Fitsugar recently addressed the cheese issue, namely how much you can eat without doing yourself (or your heart) harm. If your cholesterol levels are healthy, it's ok to consume 300 mg of cholesterol a day, which means you can have your cheese and eat it too. But if you're cholesterol levels aren't looking good, you'll have to cut back on dairy. The bottom line? Talk to your doctor, and get your cholesterol checked, even if you're in your 20s.

If you happen to be the person who purchased food from the grocery store, you have the advantage of being able to check out its nutritional label. But what if you're not the one who bought the food? What if you're at a party, a neighbor's meet-and-greet, or even an office working lunch -- how do know what you're eating?

Asking to hop on your neighbor or boss' computer so you can research fat and calories in their food may not be the best option, so you have to rely on your own knowledge base. In many cases, you can play it pretty safe by sticking to foods you know are good for you. However, it's very easy to overindulge on these foods, too. Case in point - cheese.

Sometimes they're served on crackers, and other times just cubed and stuck with a toothpick, small servings of cheese are healthy snacks that, if eaten in abundance, can pack a caloric punch. Don't believe me? Check out the fat content and calorie count for a two ounce serving of some popular varieties.

Cheddar = 229 calories, 19g of fat, 12g of saturated fat

Blue Cheese = 200 calories, 16g of fat, 11g of saturated fat

Swiss = 215 calories, 16g of fat, 10g of saturated fat

Brie = 189 calories, 16g of fat, 10g of saturated fat

Mozzarella = 170 calories, 13g of fat, 7g of saturated fat

Gouda = 202 calories, 16g of fat, 10g of saturated fat

Chevre = 207 calories, 17g of fat, 12g of saturated fat

See? I told you those little two-ounce servings add up!!

Hey team! I just made one of my favorite "tastes really sinful but isn't" snacks and thought I'd share it with you. Cheese Fries are something I used to enjoy frequently while living in my former bigger body. Did they wreak havoc on my belly and butt back then? You betcha! Were they pretty darn tasty? You betcha! So, a while back I decided to use my moderate sized brain to create a version of them which wouldn't make my belly and butt so sad.

Have a looksy here at the recipe for my Low Fat Cheese Fries (page 33), give it a try and let me know what you think! I love great food, and have had great success substituting the fattening parts for equally tasty not so fattening parts. Enjoy!

Many diet books always suggest eating a certain number of ounces of food or a fraction of a cup. These portion suggestions may be easy to follow when you're preparing the food yourself, but what about when you're not eating at home? Unless you carry around one of those mini food scales and a measuring cup, your best guess is all you have to rely on.

That's why you should try to make your guesses as educated as possible. To assist you in that effort, here are a few common portion estimation tips you can try.

~ 3 ounces of lean meat is about equal in size to a standard deck of 52 cards

~ 1.5 ounces of cheese is about the size of three dominoes

~ 1/2 cup of fruit, veggies, or grains is equal to about the size of half a baseball

If your portions sizes are larger than those listed above, you can simply adjust the size of the comparison object accordingly.

Looking for a better bread to go with dinner? French bread is a thing of the past and whole wheat is the choice for those who want the best for their bodies. Check out page 17 of the recipe section at Fitzness.com and give my Cheesy Whole Wheat Breadsticks a try. They are easy to make, fairly quick, a healthier option and really yummy.

Bread of any kind is still bread. So stick to enjoying one sick alongside your fruits, veggies, legumes and lean meats. Share the rest with your friends and family!

Hola! I just made some of my favorite party dip tonight for a get together tomorrow and thought I should share it with you. I make my Fat Free Mexican O-Layered Dip often and it's always a crowd pleaser. It only requires a few simple ingredients and is quick and easy to just throw together. Add some lean meat to it and you can enjoy it as a meal.

Have a looksy here at the recipe, give it a try and let me know what you think! I love great food, and have had great success substituting the fattening parts for equally tasty not so fattening parts. Adios!

When you grab your veggies in the grocery store, do you go for fresh, frozen, or canned? If you grab frozen or canned vegetables, you may be onto something -- these options tend to deliver even more nutrients than their fresh counterparts.

All forms of produce are low in calories and contain fiber and phytochemicals -- plant compounds that provide varied health benefits. And when it comes to fiber, fresh is best. But for plentiful nutrients, already-cooked produce is tops. Cooking makes nutrients more readily available to the body, and the time fresh produce spends sitting on shelves depletes their nutrients.

There are some downsides to frozen and canned foods, however, like additives you won't find in the fresh produce aisles. So be careful. Look for low-sodium items, avoid all cream and cheese sauces, and steer clear of any label that reads "sweetened."