That's Fit

We often think about ground flax seeds as being something we add to other recipes to give them a little boost of nutrition: toss some into smoothies, muffins, granola.

How about recipes that use flax seeds as a main ingredient, though? We don't see too many of those, yet the health benefits of flax seeds are so bountiful that we should all be eating more.

Did you ever think of making a flax seed pizza crust? It only takes 15 minutes and I suggest using honey as the sweetener, so you'll end up with a honey-wheat type of dough. It promises to be hearty and nutritious!

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.

I don't know about you, but I find news stories like this to be a bit scary. Not to sound like an alarmist, but something called the "doomsday vault" connotes certain images of widespread panic and global strife -- at least it does in mind. Then again, considering that this vault -- which is filled with samples of the world's most important seeds -- is already being called a Noah's Ark of food, it would appear that I'm not the only person who harbors this sentiment of concern.

The vault itself has been carved into the permafrost of a mountain located in the arctic, not far from the North Pole. According to a report on Yahoo! News, the vault has the capacity to hold up to 4.5 million batches of seeds from all known varieties of the planet's main food crops, making it possible to re-establish plants if they disappear from their natural environment or are obliterated by major disasters.

To read the full Yahoo! News article on the so-called "doomsday vault," click HERE.

We're going to plant a garden. This is the year. We're really going to do it. Our kids have been begging to plant seeds and watch them grow for a while now and we just haven't made it happen. But a garden is in the works now. It has to be. We made a promise.

John promised Joey and Danny that he'll till up a portion of our back yard so they can bury their seeds deep in the dirt. He even asked his mom, a successful gardener herself, for tips and tricks. And for a quick start, he's decided to buy a strawberry pot and begin this crop while the rest of the garden takes shape. They boys are thrilled and while they experienced a temporary set-back last night when they couldn't locate such a pot at any of our garden shops, they are patiently optimistic that their garden will soon be up and sprouting.

Besides strawberries, we hope to grow tomatoes, zucchini, carrots and if Joey has his way, we'll have pumpkins, sunflowers, beans, watermelon, peppers, and more. He'd buy every package of seeds available if he could. He's that excited.

I'm excited too -- about the prospect of growing our own healthy foods, about saving a few pennies at the grocery store, about my boys witnessing firsthand the wonder of nature. The family time will be a treasure too. What better way to grow together than joining forces and enjoying the fruits of our labor.

Each week, we'll be offering original recipes and unique ways to use those Super Foods that pack nutritional power. After all, you are what you eat -- make it count!

Oprah loves pomegranate martinis. They're full of good enzymes, she told her audience on Friday. Hey, guess what? Enzymes aren't everything when it comes to the power of the pomegranate, a fruit that grows on a shrub in southern European and Asian countries and can also be grown in California.

The size of an orange, consisting of seeds surrounded by pulp, and separated by a membrane, the pomegranate is is chock full of health benefits.

One of the great joys of cooking ultra-flavorful dishes these days (or reviving bland foods) is to add herbs. I add herbs to almost everything I eat except fruit. From whole-grain muffins to fresh broccoli, herbs make everything taste good and are quite a bit more healthy that loads of salt.

Wouldn't it be nice to grow your own herbs? Many people I know do this in windowsills and other lightful areas in their homes. I tell you what -- those folks never have a bland-tasting meal that I've ever seen.

Get a nice foot-tall terra cotta pot, some sunlight, water and soil and you're prepped for growing a small (but fruitful, heh) mini-herb garden right inside your home. Try that fresh dill on salmon and thyme on top of red potatoes. Oh my -- my stomach's already rumbling!

Each week, we'll be offering original recipes and unique ways to use those Super Foods that pack nutritional power. After all, you are what you eat -- make it count!

What do we want from our lunches? Well for me:

• I want to replenish the energy stores I have used all morning long.
• I'd like to get enough energy from my lunch to get through until my small afternoon snack.
• I need to feed the beast -- I am starving by lunchtime.
• My lunch should be something to look forward to because it is going to taste so good.

Mostly, besides my insatiable appetite and taste buds, it is all about energy!

So, let's take a closer look at what energy foods are and how we can make sure our lunches have 'em.

Omega-3s have the medically proven ability to reduce the amount of fat in your blood and help lower triglycerides. Triglycerides are a huge risk factor in heart attacks. Not only are they good for the heart but they help with depression, type 2 diabetes, fatigue, dry and itchy skin, brittle hair and nails, joint pain and other inflammation in the body, and the inability to concentrate. Here are some top 10 food sources for Omega-3s. Start a healthy habit by adding some of these items to your daily diet and remember to buy organic when available.

Flax Seeds
Dried Ground Cloves
Walnuts
Salmon, Halibut, Cod
Cauliflower
Cabbage
Dried Ground Oregano
Mustard Seeds
Brussel Sprouts
Cooked Soybeans

As of the time you read this, I will be on the open road, travelling around 850 miles across country to visit friends. Since I'm spending a large amount of time in the car, I'm going to need some snacks. One of my favourites -- in the summer especially -- is sunflower seeds. It's not just that they're tasty, it's the whole experience of eating them that I enjoy -- It requires concentration, yet it's still pretty mindless. I can eat sunflower seeds constantly while in the car, which is why I probably shouldn't. I heard they were fairly high in calories but I've never actually looked in to it. Well, I am now.

How many calories does 100g of sunflower seeds have?

A) 80 cal
B) 220 cal
C) 385 cal
D) 585 cal

Eating mainly a whole foods diet can be very time consuming. I am alway on the lookout for convenience foods that are healthy, something I can grab and keep in my bag or my car.

When the baby carrots and apples get old, I reach for a bar. I am very picky about my nutritional bars or my cereal bars, and not many make the cut. I don't believe in soy isolates, so that brings my list way down. I look for low sugars (unless all the sugars come from dried fruit, and then I sometimes make an exception). And, I have to avoid cashews, pistachios and peanuts due to my son's food allergies. At this point, you may be wondering why I bother at all.

Enter Boomi Bars "Perfect Pumpkin" flavor. Do they make the cut? Oh yes, but if I am being super-picky, they aren't perfect.