Snacking on the Rise
by Shereen Jegtvig
According to a new report, Americans are snacking more often and that trend is going to increase. As it is, snacking isn’t good or bad, really, it depends on how you do it. Eating snacks can be bad if you choose foods high in calories with lots of sugar and unhealthy fats, or snacking can be good if you choose healthy snacks that can boost your daily nutritional intake. Of course, even with healthy snacking you’ll have to watch your calories if you need to maintain or lose weight. Adding a 250 calorie snack every day will also add about one extra pound of fat to your hips or belly every two weeks. If you snack, be sure to know how much you are eating and reduce the same number of calories from one of your regular meals.
Some people prefer to eat six or seven snacks every day instead of three full meals. Some people believe this practice helps keep blood sugar level because you avoid the natural rise of blood sugar due to eating carbohydrates and fall of blood sugar due to the increased production of insulin. Other people just feel it is easier to control their calorie intake if they just nibble snack size meals all day. The key is to not let small snacks turn into full meals, which will lead to too many calories and weight gain. Read more
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Multi-Grain Vs Whole-Grain
by Shereen Jegtvig
I think a lot of people are aware of the importance of dietary fiber for good health. Fiber keeps your digestive system functioning properly and keep you feeling full a bit longer. Some types of fiber also help to keep your cholesterol in check, like the fiber found in oats. All of the fiber in your diet comes from plants and the most important sources are fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
Whole-grains are a good source of fiber because they still contain their outer coverings, whereas refined grains such as white bread and pasta have had the outer coverings removed. While many people still prefer the flavor and texture of refined grain products, whole-grain foods are becoming more popular. Food manufacturers know this so they often use the labels to proclaim the goodness of whole-grains.
That’s fine (and better if 100% whole-grain), but don’t confuse multi-grain for whole grain. Multi-grain just means more than one type of grain was used in the product. Those multi-grains could still be refined, or even mostly made from plain old white flour with a little bit of whole grain flour tossed in. Read more
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Ten Tips To Healthy Eating on a Budget
Eating can be expensive, and let’s face it, in these tough economic times we have to be careful with how we spend our money. The good news is that eating well and saving money don’t have to be mutually exclusive. By combining the two you can discover some simple habits that will help keep you, and your piggy bank, fuller for longer.
Check out our top ten hints designed to help save you money as well as keep your health in check! Read more
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Food Tip: Finding Fiber
by Shereen Jegtvig
Dietary fiber is the part of the plant-based foods that your body can’t digest. You need a good amount of fiber every day to keep your digestive system healthy. Most people need more than the amount they’re currently consuming — men need at least 35 grams fiber every day and women need more than 25 grams each day. The typical American low-fiber diet might be one reason more than one billion dollars are spent on laxatives yearly.
Fiber does more than keep you regular. Eating foods high in fiber slow down the rate at which sugars are absorbed and also help keep you feeling full longer, which is so important if you’re watching your weight. Some types of fiber will also help to lower cholesterol levels. Read more
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Can Popcorn Really Be a Healthy Snack?
by Shereen Jegtvig
Popcorn is a favorite snack served at movie theaters, baseball games and other spectator events. Usually topped with lots of butter and salt. And calories. The calorie counts of the popcorn at the movie theater can easily be double or triple the calories in plain popped corn you make at home.
Popcorn is sort of a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde type of snack. It can be very good for you or very bad, depending on how it’s prepared. Read more
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One Brand, But Several Differences in Varieties of Pita Pocket Bread
by Shereen Jegtvig
Pita pockets are great for making healthy sandwiches or for dipping into hummus or olive oil, both of which contain healthy fats. Of course, you’ll want to keep it healthy by choosing the best pita pocket breads. Let’s check them out on our FoodEssentials database. We find seven pita pocket breads, all of which come from one manufacturer, Kangaroo. It will be interesting to how the much the varieties differ with their ingredients and nutritional benefit. Read more
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What to Look For When Choosing Bread
by Shereen Jegtvig
We eat a lot of bread. For many of us, it would be difficult to imagine going through a day without eating some type of bread. Toast at breakfast, sandwiches at lunch or as an accompaniment to dinner. Maybe even a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for a snack. The bread and cereal group is the foundation of the USDA food pyramid and the USDA suggests we eat 6 to 11 servings of bread and cereal every day. Does the type of bread you choose make a difference to your health? Read more
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Start Every Day with a Healthy Breakfast
by Shereen Jegtvig
Maybe your mother or grandmother told you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Well, it turns out she was right, and there’s plenty of science to back her up. Studies show kids who eat breakfast consistently perform better on cognitive tests than kids who skip their morning meals. The type of breakfast matters too. Children and teens who eat oatmeal or oat cereals tend to perform the best. Read more
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The Best Kids Cereals:
This post follows on from the last post “Kids Cereals – What to look for”. We put that knowledge in to practice to try and find the best children’s cereals considering their sugar, fiber, artificial color, and artificial preservative properties. The products analyzed come from the Foodessentials database that includes tens of thousands of lists of products including this list of 17 kids cereals. Read more
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Children’s Cereals – what to look for: sugar, calories, fiber, additives:
There is a lot of information out there in regard to children’s cereals and nutrition in general. In an attempt to help you to filter out some of the duplicate info and some of the less than credible sources we have published a list of decent information sources below. Read more
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