Are you already stressing today about what you'll do for lunch tomorrow? Here's an idea: Pass on the temptation to eat out -- it's much healthier and much more affordable to brown-bag it -- and consider throwing some of these items together. Don't wait until the craziness of morning arrives, though -- do it today so all you'll need to do as you head out the door for work is grab your lunch and go.

• Think fruits and vegetables, and drop a few servings in your lunch box. Portable fruits, like apples, oranges, and bananas, are great for snacks throughout the day.
  
• Top sandwiches with cucumbers, tomatoes, and spinach.
• Work in some whole grains but vary your choices from day to day so you don't get bored. Try popcorn, whole grain crackers and bagels, rolls, pitas, and tortillas.
  
• Consider making extra portions of healthy dinners so you can pack up leftovers for work the next day.
  
  

The message here: Plan ahead to beat the lunch rush -- and eat well too.

Source

This morning, my kids asked for cinnamon toast. So I made it for them. I used whole wheat bread, light butter with Canola oil, and a few sprinkles of McCormick's cinnamon sugar. My kids gobbled it down, which makes me happy for whole wheat purposes. My husband tends to think the rest of the equation -- the butter and cinnamon sugar -- is crap. I argued with him a bit, not trying to convince him butter and cinnamon sugar are good for our kids, just to let him know that our kids eat pretty darn healthy most days and there are far worse foods they could have ingested, with far more crap packed into them. Then I questioned myself. Then I did some research.

Hungry Girl says in one of her Chew the Right Thing posts that cinnamon sugar is something we ought to fight, not bite. Now she's speaking mostly to us grown-up calorie-counting folks and not to the kids of the world, but here's what she says: "McCormick's Cinnamon Sugar has only 15 calories per teaspoon. So why are we telling you to 'fight it!'? Well, we just don't see why anyone should waste any calories at all on this sweet spice when there is a just-as-good no-cal version available. After all, when you're watching your weight, every single calorie counts. Fifteen calories here, 30 there, another 40 here ... it can all add up." HG doesn't mention sugar in her opinion but clearly, there's sugar in cinnamon sugar.

So what does the Hungry Girl suggest? San Sucre Cinnamon Sugar. It uses Splenda and makes a great sugarless cinnamon sugar blend, she says. No calories in this goodie either. HG's final piece of advice: "Cinnamon helps keep blood sugar levels low, so sprinkle away!"

Source

I wrote not too long ago about my transition to whole wheat bread. I knew it would be a smooth change for me and my husband -- and it was -- but I feared my little boys would mourn the loss of their honey wheat variety. They didn't. Instead, they moved seamlessly from one bread to the other, one boy not even aware anything had changed. Here's how it happened.

Almost five-year-old Danny enjoyed his favorite egg and cheese breakfast sandwich one morning without even noticing his bread had been switched up. Nope. Didn't detect a change in color or taste. Just gobbled the daddy-made sandwich down. He's still doing it, a few mornings a week, and still doesn't have a clue.

Seven-year-old Joey did notice the substitution. And he liked it. "Hey, I see we have new bread," he said one day after returning home from school and handing me his lunch box. "Yes," we do have new bread," I replied. "Do you like it?" He told me he did, and I told him that made me happy since it is healthier than our old bread. Whole wheat bread is packed in his lunch box every week day, and never does a complaint come my way.

Whole wheat is a hit in our house. How about yours? If you haven't yet made the transition, give it a try -- it's likely those living in your household will enjoy it more than you think.

Source

I'm on board for this whole grain thing. If it's the best for my body, then I'm game. And yes, I'm just now committing to it. I happen to be one of those people who considers her diet a work in progress. I can't change everything at once and amazingly, while I've known certain things are bad for me for quite some time -- excess sugar, lots of fat, loads of sodium -- other Aha! moments strike me long after others catch on. Case in point: Whole wheat.

I guess I've known for longer than I let on that whole wheat is the way to go. Maybe it's just that I like the whiter versions of breads better. Perhaps preference and habit have kept me grabbing at that honey wheat bread for so long. Well, no more. Because yesterday, while grabbing my two loaves at the grocery store, I checked out not only the nutritional label but the list of ingredients too. My kid's school newsletter tells me this week that the word "whole" should be listed first on the healthiest of products -- manufacturers must list ingredients in descending weight order so you want your whole grains to be tops -- and sure enough, things just didn't read this way on my bag of honey wheat bread, which also happened to hide the bad words "high fructose corn syrup" amidst the tiny typed paragraph I tried to decipher. So the bread went back on the shelf. And whole wheat, without any of that fructose stuff, became content in my cart. One-hundred percent whole wheat, I should add.

Today, I'll have a sandwich for lunch on my new bread. So will my kids. Not so sure how they'll react but it's just got to be this way. For my health. And theirs.

For a bunch of whole grain guidance and inspiration, check out The Whole Grains Council here.

Source

I'm on a mission to better understand whole grains because as we all know and Maggie recently told us, it's kind of confusing trying to figure out what counts as a whole grain and what doesn't. Slowly but surely and with some help from The Whole Grains Council, I'm unraveling the mystery. And so I thought you might want to know what I'm learning.

First, a definition from The Whole Grains Council: Whole grains or foods made from them contain all the essential parts and naturally-occurring nutrients of the entire grain seed. If the grain has been processed (e.g., cracked, crushed, rolled, extruded, and/or cooked), the food product should deliver approximately the same rich balance of nutrients that are found in the original grain seed.

And now, here are examples of whole grain foods and flours.

Amaranth
Barley
Buckwheat
Corn (including whole cornmeal and popcorn)
Millet
Oats (including oatmeal)
Rice (both brown rice and colored rice)
Rye
Sorghum (also known as milo)
Teff
Triticale
Wheat
Wild Rice

This list is not comprehensive but serves as a general guide of whole grains most familiar to consumers.

Oilseeds and legumes -- flax, sunflower seeds, soy, and chickpeas -- are not whole grains.

This is just a snippet of what The Whole Grains Council has to offer. I'm definitely going back for more. I'll let you know what else I discover.

Source

You've hear it before: Eat smaller portions. Use smaller plates. A little friendly reminder never hurt, though, and to drive these points home, consider this: A muffin once weighed 1.5 ounces and housed about 210 calories. Today's muffin is not so dainty with its hefty four ounces and 500 calories. I know. I know. I ate a pumpkin muffin recently and was appalled at what actually went into my body.

The point here, according to the Publix Greenwise magazine is that everything, from bagels to burgers, is ballooning in size. So are our waistlines. It's more important than ever then to watch ourselves. Watching how we distribute the food on our plates is a good starting point. So start with a nine-inch plate and proceed as follows.

Divide your plate into quarters. In three of your quarters, pile on the whole grains, the veggies, the fruit. Fill the remaining quarter with lean meat, fish, or poultry. That's it. The smaller plate, dominated by plant-based foods, is key for keeping calories in check. Simple stuff, right?

Source

We all know the foods that help us pack on the pounds. It's time to focus on those with the power to help us drop a few. Check out these four.

Walnuts
They're high in calories but have lots of protein, healthy fats, and omega-3 fatty acids which will keep you feeling full. They can also help lower cholesterol. Don't go overboard but try 10-12 walnuts for a mid-afternoon snack. Or add a few on top of your salad at lunch.

Whole Grain Cereal
This high-in-fiber food takes longer to digest and keeps you feeling full longer. Oatmeal, also a cholesterol-lowering food, does the same.

Watermelon
The water in this fruit -- try lettuce, cantaloupe, and cucumbers too -- will fill you up without a lot of calories. The vitamins and antioxidants in this treat will also boost your immune system.

Green Tea
Green tea can help you lose weight because of compounds called catechins which increase metabolism and help your body burn fat more quickly. Forget the milk and sugar and this tea has no calories.

Check out this AOL Body site for more diet basics.

Source

Maybe all I need to deflate my small but stubborn belly roll is a healthy dose of whole grains.

In a study of obese adults at risk of heart disease, researchers found that those who trimmed calories and increased their whole-grain intake shed more belly fat and lowered their risk of heart attack and stroke. Those who ate refined grains -- like white bread -- still lost weight but trimmed less fat from their middles. They also didn't shave off any heart risks.

This study, the first to prove that whole grains can lead to weight loss and fewer chronic diseases, might just get me eating more oatmeal, brown rice, and barley. How about you?

Source

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. Hi Fitz, I'm trying to lose weight, but exercising is a problem for me since I am almost 300 pounds. I have a bad knee and my hip hurts, so I am looking for an exercise tape that is low impact but helps me burn as many calories as possible during the work out. Thank you, Paula

A. Hello Miss Paula, I'm glad to hear from you. I've trained many people who weigh between 300 and 500 pounds, and the pain you're feeling in your knees and hip is not unusual. The more weight we carry, the more strain our joints endure. You're wise to look for low impact exercises.

Source

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!

Source

I stood on a whole-body vibration machine recently. Didn't like it. Couldn't wait to get off the darn thing, in fact. For those who like shaking about on a platform designed to enhance fitness and promote weight loss, though, maybe this vibrating thing is wise step in the direction of overall health. Or is it?

There's no definite evidence that whole body vibration provides any fitness or weight-loss benefits, says Mayo Clinic physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist Edward Laskowski, M.D. It may even be harmful for people with certain medical conditions, such as low back pain, or women who are pregnant.

Manufacturers of vibrating platforms claim that training sessions of only a few minutes twice a week can produce measurable effects. How can this be? How can merely standing still while your body shakes be effective? It can't, says Laskowski, who reports that we can't get the benefits of physical activity without doing any of the work. Passive exercise via vibration just isn't an effective means of increasing your endurance, flexibility, strength, or stability. Maybe, just maybe, it's possible to burn a few extra calories but if you're looking for any measurable weight loss or fitness gains, nothing works as well as good old-fashioned exercise.

Source

The nutrition folks at Canyon Ranch offer a great tip for grocery shopping excursions. Before you drop anything in your cart, ask youself, "Did my great-grandmother eat this?" If the answer is "no," then it's best to pass that item right by.

It's best for all of us to eat a variety of healthy foods, the same healthy foods our ancestors ate -- fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains, fish, and lean meats. Not all that packaged stuff, that processed stuff, that trans fat stuff. Even the stuff we think is good, like "low-fat products," are often full of sodium and corn syrup and other sweeteners.

Our food nowadays is too loaded with gunk to be wholesome. Sticking with whole foods is our safest bet. If it worked for great-grandma, it can work for us too.

Source

If you're busy prepping for your upcoming holiday travels, you may want to consider what nutrition experts have to say about eating healthy at airports.

Definitely avoid the fast food spots, they say. And since flying makes you incredibly dehydrated, they recommend picking snacks with high water content -- like apples and pears. Instant soup works too, but only if sodium levels register at 500 milligrams or less.

More tips: During airport layovers, give dairy foods such as yogurt and cheese a try. They contain amino acids which increase blood flow and tryptophan which promotes relaxation and calmness during air travel. Almonds are another wise choice -- just limit your portion to a healthy one-ounce serving.

Low sodium is key for travel. So pass on the potato chips and try something like low-sodium beef jerky. It's low in calories and carbohydrates and has lots of protein. Optimally, though, whole foods top any sort of processed food. The fewer the ingredients, the better.

Source

Eating out can be a dangerous proposition for those trying to maintain healthy eating habits. It's just so hard to tell how restaurant chefs prepare their menu items. Ordering a piece of fish may seem like a safe choice but what if it's been doused in butter, cooked in oil, and sprinkled with salt? Not so healthy anymore, right? Right.

Before heading out for your next out-to-eat experience, find out just what's in store by giving this tool at try. I just gave it whirl by typing in my city, state, and zip code and a desired price range. Up popped three dining locations with links to nutritional information for various dishes. Not everything I found met my healthy criteria, but that's the point -- to determine what's good and what's not so good for us.

This online option -- healthydiningfinder.com -- does operate according to some nutritional criteria. Everything you find when you visit must fit these guidelines:

Source

Diabetes can be prevented. Do you know how? Surprise: Diet and exercise.

According to the website HealthyUpdates.com, about 54 million American adults have pre-diabetes, a condition in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be considered diabetes. These people can prevent their conditions from evolving into type 2 diabetes by employing these three strategies.

1. Eating right. Studies show an increase in fiber, whole grains, and cereal can prevent the development of type 2 diabetes.

2. Moving. Exercise can reduce insulin resistance.

3. Losing Weight. Exercise plus weight loss cuts the risk of developing diabetes, says data from the National Institutes of Health's Diabetes Prevention Program. It only takes a loss of four to six percent of body weight to make a difference.

Source