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You are here: Home / Archives for nutrition

nutrition

Ocean Spray Juices That Give You Both Fruit and Veggies? Pour it On!

May 4, 2010 By Joi Sigers

For Self Help Daily, Out of Bounds, and Get Cooking, I do A LOT of research about healthy living, healthy eating, disease prevention, and nutrition. I’m amazed – again and again and again – at the number of times I read the words EAT MORE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES.  Whether an individual wants to prevent cancer, lose weight, look and feel their best, age well, improve their heart’s health,  improve their memory… or a countless other positive pursuit… the experts, without fail, point to the importance of a healthy diet – one in which many fruits and vegetables are consumed regularly.

It’s pretty easy for those of us who love fruits and vegetables.  We delight in our fruit and vegetables at supper and try to squeeze them into lunch and breakfast as often as possible.  Trouble is, it’s  not always as easy to do as it is to say. And if we think we have our hands full, just think how tough it is for those people who aren’t that crazy about fruit or vegetables – or those who, like a few members of my family, just want the same vegetables and fruits over and over again?!

Ocean Spray has served up a couple of delicious solutions.  I was fortunate enough to receive a few of their new outstanding juices.  I’ve tried the 100% Juice Fruit & Veggie Cranberry Strawberry Banana Flavored Blend of 8 Juices and the 100% Juice Fruit & Veggie Tropical Citrus flavored blend of 7 juices.

About the Ocean Spray Juices

When you think of Ocean Spray, you probably think of Cranberry Juice.  With the hilarious commercials (I love those guys!) and the popularity of the Cranberry juice, itself, their brand identity is as strong as any.  However, what a lot of people don’t realize is that Ocean Spray is cock of the walk when it comes to other juices and products as well.  You can taste the quality and the goodness in each drink.  If you’re like most of us, you’re looking for healthier drinks for your family to enjoy and would love to steer them away from soft drinks as much as possible.

The problem was that most juices just don’t motivate kids (or anyone for that matter) to put down the Coke and pick up the juice.  Ocean Spray is exactly what parents need – delicious motivation!  Their juices are also available in “On the Go” sizes that are perfect for grabbing on the way out the door whether you’re going for a walk, to the beach,  to the park, to a ballgame or just to sit in the front yard and watch the commotion around your bird feeder.

I’ve noticed something with my family – if I have juice in individual serving containers, they’re a lot more apt to grab them instead of something else.  Same holds true with water.  Most young people just don’t want to slow down long enough to get a glass, fill it with ice, get the container, and pour the juice in the glass.  After all… Heaven forbid… they’d then have to clean up after themselves.

Horrors!

From Ocean Spray.com:

When most people think of Ocean Spray, they think that we’re the Cranberry Juice folks. And if you’re reading this, then it’s likely you’re already a fan. The question is, which juice is your favorite? Check out all our varieties of cranberry juice, grapefruit juice and our juice blends.

  • Blueberry Juice and Juice Drinks
  • Cranberry Juice Cocktails
  • Cranberry Juice Drink Blends
  • Cranergy® Energy Juice Drinks
  • Fruit & Veggie Juice and Juice Drinks
  • White Cranberry Juice Drinks
  • Grapefruit Juice And Juice Drinks
  • Light Juice Drinks
  • Diet Juice Drinks
  • 100% Juice Blends
  • Sugar Free Drink Mixes
  • On the Go Juice and Juice Drinks

My new favorites are the Fruit and Vegetable blends.  I think it’s partly because of all the research I do about nutrition and healthy living.  I KNOW the importance of getting more fruits and vegetables in every possible way.  Now, having said that, if these juices weren’t exceptional, I probably wouldn’t bother!  Fortunately, they are outstandingly delicious and I’d just as soon grab one of them for lunch or breakfast (or for a walk) as anything else.

To know that I’m drinking something that’s so good for me while serving up my taste buds a little party makes it all the better.

The next time you’re at the store, you’ll definitely want to try these juices for yourself.  They’ll flat blow you away.

For more information, recipes, and a super cool website experience, visit Ocean Spray’s website.

Filed Under: Beverages, Food Reviews, Health and Fitness Tagged With: fruit, health, nutrition, Reviews, Vegetables

Eating Healthy: My Top 10 Tools of the Trade

December 7, 2009 By Joi Sigers

Vanilla Rice Dreams

In the quest to eat healthier and, even more importantly, to feed my family healthier foods and drinks, I have stumbled upon one blinding fact:  If you don’t buy it, it won’t be eaten.  This fact, of course has a twin:  If you buy it, chances are good that it will be eaten.

Fancy that, potato chips left in Kroger stay in Kroger.  Soft drinks unpurchased will be unopened.

Cool!

Naturally, some “healthy” foods and drinks fall flat and my husband and daughters let me know they have no desire to ever see it again.  However, I’ve been delighted to find that 98 percent of the foods and drinks we’ve tried have become MUST HAVES in our house – and I never allow us to run out… or even low.

Below are my top 10 current healthy food/drink favorites.  Some are new to me while I’ve been enjoying others for some time now.

  1. Diet Arizona Green Tea with Ginseng. This is THE miracle worker drink – the drink that got me off of my diet soft drink obsession. I used to go through  a 2 liter of Diet Dr. Pepper daily.  I tried to switch to other drinks, but to no avail. I’d always go back to “the stuff.”  Then I happened upon Diet Arizona Green Tea with Ginseng and have that was that.  I think it’s outstanding.
  2. Vanilla Rice Dream Refrigerated Non-Dairy Beverage. How’s that for a mouthful?  I just call it the one way I  get my calcium.   Not only am I a little lactose-intolerant,  I’m honestly not too fond of the taste of milk.  I always wanted to up my calcium intake but didn’t know quite how to go about it… not with a smile on my taste buds, anyway.  Fortunately, Vanilla Rice Dreams doesn’t just make my taste buds smile, it makes them sing, dance, and break out in giggly fits of joy.  I love it on cereal as well as straight from the glass.  As a matter of fact, I’m enjoying every sip of a glass right now – as I do every evening.  It seems to make my sleep even sweeter.  Rice Dream is also available in Original, which is also fantastic.  Look for them both in the health food section of your favorite grocery store.  I just noticed on their website that they have non-dairy frozen desserts.  I haven’t, yet, had the pleasure.
  3. Nutri-Grain Apple Cinnamon Bars

  4. Nutri-Grain Apple Cinnamon Bars. Perfectly delicious!  I keep intending to try the other flavors, but this one is so remarkable that I can’t tear myself away.
  5. Butterball Turkey Bacon. I’ll admit, my husband isn’t sold on this one, yet.  However, my daughters (the two who aren’t vegetarians, that is) and I absolutely love Butterball’s turkey bacon.  I’ve tried different brands and Butterball is definitely the best.  Makes sense, right?
  6. Stonyfield Farms Organic Yogurt. You can taste the quality and commitment to excellence in each bite.  This stuff is creamy and dreamy.
  7. Stonyfield Farms Cream Top.  Use Stonyfield’s Cream Top in place of sour cream on bean burritos, potatoes, or anywhere else – no one will ever know the difference.  Stonyfield products are often found in the health food section of your grocery store.  Personally, I’ve never seen them grouped with the other yogurts.
  8. Sargento’s Reduced Fat Cheeses. Each time I take a bite of one of Sargento’s reduced fat cheeses I think, “Nuh-huh.  No way are you reduced.”  Then, I double-check the package, and return to my sandwich, panini, or folded cheese that creates its own little sandwich – sans bread.  I’ve used the shredded reduced fat varieties in salads, scrambled eggs, on pasta, pizza, and so on.  The slices?  I’d challenge you to name one thing I haven’t slapped them on.   The reduced fat Colby Jack is stupid good.  They even offer string cheese that has been reduced in fat.  (Although the taste will make you say, “Nuh-huh.“)
  9. Quaker Oatmeal Squares. I’m huge on cereal – especially now that Rice Dreams has entered my life.  For a great, eye-opening article on Choosing the Healthiest Breakfast Cereals, click the link.  I had to smile when I saw some of my favorites on the list.  Only problem is, where oh where are Coco Crispies?!
  10. Truvia. Nature’s perfect sweetener, and as always – nature knows what it’s doing.  If you’re wanting to pull yourself away from artificial sweeteners (and, come on, shouldn’t we all put as much distance between ourselves and artificial anything?) – give Truvia a try.  I love it muchly.
  11. Eggland’s Best Cage Free and Organic Eggs. As someone who loves making, serving, and eating breakfast food, I’m delighted with the taste and quality of these wonderful eggs.  As someone who loves animals so much it makes her head spin, I’m overjoyed that they’re Cage-Free.  From Eggland’s Best.com:Q. What does “cage free” mean?
    A. The hens selected to lay Eggland’s Best Cage Free eggs are not kept in cages and are free to roam. The hens are provided with sunlight, shade, shelter, an exercise area, fresh air, and are protected from predators.

    Q. What does Organic mean?
    A. Eggland’s Best Organic brown eggs come from cage free hens that are fed a certified organic version of the patented, all-natural, all-vegetarian Eggland’s Best hen feed.

I hope you’ll start experimenting with healthier foods in your own home.  I wholeheartedly recommend each of the above.  I would like to give an extra little push for Cage-Free eggs.  I promise you, once you start buying Eggland’s Best Organic and Cage-Free eggs, you won’t want any other eggs… ever.

Eggland's Best Organic Cage-Free Eggs

EDIT: I tried the Nutri-Grain Blueberry Cereal bar today.  It’s every bit as delicious as the apple cinnamon variety!  Truly, truly delicious.  It tastes like a little blueberry pie without the scads of calories. Next up? Strawberry!

EDIT #2: The list has grown to a Favorite Top 11 Healthy Foods and Drinks List.  Click the link to see the newest member!


Filed Under: Beverages, Breakfast and Brunch, Health and Fitness, Table Talk, Tea Tagged With: green tea, healthy food, nutrition, Paninis, Sargento Cheese

125 Best Foods For Men from Men’s Health Magazine!

June 5, 2009 By Joi Sigers

Men's Health Magazine

The June “Food Issue” of Men’s Health magazine features “The 125 Best Foods for Men.” The magazine’s editors created the list which includes ten picks from each section of your grocery store: Breads & Grains, Dairy & Deli, Frozen Foods, Packaged Foods & Snacks, Drinks, Condiments, Spreads, and Cooking Extras.

What a cool approach!

They compiled this year’s list by first comparing the nutrition labels of competing brands in each of the categories. honest tea organicBonus points were given to those products with more protein and fiber, and less added sugar and sodium. They also took calories per serving into consideration, but didn’t penalize for fat—since it adds flavor, helps keep hunger at bay, and is part of a healthy diet if it doesn’t lead to excessive calorie intake. Once the editors pared their choices down, they matched them in a head-to-head taste test to determine the victor. As for draws, the nod went to the product with the fewest ingredients.

Grab an issue for each special man in your life and throw it into his Father’s Day gift bag or stick it into his gift box. What a perfect way to say, “I love you and want you to be around for years and years and years….” To that end, why not give each guy a subscription too?! Cool beans.

Below are a few resources you’ll want to take a look at:

125 Healthiest Supermarket Foods in America

The Truth About Diet Soda

Men’s Health – Eat This, Not That Newsletter

High Protein Fruit and Yogurt Shake

garden of eatin black bean tortilla chipsI just checked out the 125 Healthiest Foods – yes indeed-y, all of them – and I was thrilled to see that I’m already buying a majority of the healthiest.  Yay, me and my shopping skills!

The ones that I’ve been missing the mark on, I’m going to try out this week.

I figure if they’re healthy for men, they’re healthy for the rest of us, right?  Test yourself and see which foods you’re already buying and which ones you need to  take for a test drive asap.

Filed Under: Health and Fitness, Table Talk Tagged With: healthy foods, nutrition

Crab and Citrus Salad

October 12, 2008 By Joi Sigers

The following light and healthy salad recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks “Cooking Light: An Exciting Compilation of Light Recipes.” I actually found this unique cookbook on a bargain table of all places, in a bookstore in Pensacola, Florida about 4 years ago. I’ve used it regularly since and have never seen it anywhere else.

This is one of the recipes I promised in the last post – another “Pink Food!”

CRAB AND CITRUS SALAD

8 oz. crab meat (or imitation crab – it’s what I actually use)
2 oranges
2 lemons
2 limes
1 pink grapefruit
1 small head of iceberg lettuce
1/2 cup plain yogurt
6 TBS heavy cream
1 TBS chili sauce
1 TBS brandy (I use flavoring)
Pinch of cayenne pepper
salt
2 TBS salad oil

1. Chop up the crab. You want bite-sized servings. Set aside.
2. Mix the the following together: yogurt, chili sauce, cream, brandy flavoring, cayenne pepper, and a pinch of salt. Toss with the crabmeat.
3. Take a very thin strip of peel from each of the citrus fruits. Scrape off the bitter pith and discard. Cut each strip of peel into thin slivers. Put into boiling water and allow to boil for about 1 minute. Drain, refresh under cold water and set aside.
4. Peel each of the citrus fruits and cut into segments. Do this over a bowl, so you can reserve the delicious juices.
5. Add the salad oil to the juice in the bowl, and toss with the fruit segments. Shred the iceberg lettuce and arrange on plates. Put the crabmeat mixture on top of the lettuce.
6. Arrange citrus segments over and around crabmeat and sprinkle citrus peel over the top.

If you read the articles I told you about in the last post, you know how much your body’s going to love all of this citrus. This salad is as good for you as it is good. It’s also very, very, very beautiful. If you’re making food for a “Pink party,” you could of course either add a little more grapefruit or just make sure you place it all on top. 😉

I’m making this beautiful salad sometime this week – and I’ll put a picture in this post as soon as we take one. (I was planning to make it this weekend, but can’t find crabmeat in my local stores!)

VEGETARIAN ALTERNATIVE: Leaveth out the crab.

Filed Under: Health and Fitness, Seafood, Summertime Favorites Tagged With: breast cancer diet, eating for better health, food blog, food to fight cancer, fruit salads, healthy food, nutrition, pink foods, recipe blog, salads

If We Are What We Eat, Why Do We Keep Eating Junk?!

July 30, 2008 By Joi Sigers

Broccoli! Sometimes we’re more like children than we are adults, aren’t we?  We know, full well, what foods we should be eating more of and what ones we should be eating less of – yet, off we go on our merry way to the nearest hamburger in a hurry joint.  What’s worse, when we get there we almost always make our sinister selection as large as possilbe and, yes, of course, we would very much like fries with that.

Maybe, just maybe, if we were to concentrate more on the Positive Foods and less on the Negative Foods – we’d fill up so much on the good stuff that we wouldn’t even want the bad.  Worth a try?  Worth a try.

The following are a few ideas for sneaking more of the highly recommended foods into your day.  If we fill up on what we SHOULD, it’ll leave very little room for what we SHOULDN’T.  Well, that’s the plan anyway.

Garlic
Garlic is known to be one of our heart’s favorite foods. Fortunately, it’s very simple to up our garlic intake. Garlic goes beautifully with just about every meat and bread you can think of. To get the most from garlic, we should eat several cloves a day, so we need to work it into our meals as often as possible.

In addition to serving garlic with meat dishes, minced garlic is heavenly when served over steamed green beans. If, like me, you’re trying to wean yourself off of bacon fat for seasoning (Yum….sorry, but yum), garlic makes a great substitution. I’ve also used slivered almonds (more on them later) on my green beans.

Crushed Garlic can be added to Salad Dressing or Mayo to create a Kicked Up Sandwich spread.

If you don’t get too crazy, garlic can also be addded favorably to Ranch Dressings for salads. It’s especially good if you add a little finely chopped basil with it.

Olive Oil
Since our heart also loves Olive Oil, it would be a great idea to keep a bottle or two on hand at all times. Even though you may think it sounds excessive, keeping regular olive oil AND Extra-virgin olive oil each in your pantry is a good idea. Why? Extra-virgin olive oil packs extra polyphenols (compounds that keep LDL cholesterol from sticking to artery walls) than the other varieties. But, since it costs several dollars more, I’m not that keen on cooking with it. I like to save it for drizzling over salads, pasta, breads, and steamed vegetables.

Almonds
Almonds are proven to lower LDL levels – they’re brillaint at it, actually. While all nuts are healthy and should be included in our daily diets, almonds have a bit of a heart-healthy edge – they have vitamin e and are also a good source of calcium. If you toast them in the oven, you’ll bring out more of their flavor, without lessening their nutritional benefits.

Carrots
A Harvard University study found that a half cup of dark yellow vegetables, like carrots, eaten daily cuts the risk of diabetes in women by 27 percent. They’re one of those foods that seemingly increase their nutritional value daily, so it would be ridiculous NOT to use them in our meals more. As an added bonus, they’re not nearly as costly as other vegetables. (I made a huge salad last night with a Ravioli meal that nearly required a small loan. Cauliflower and Broccoli should be ashamed of themselves.

Personally, I love carrots (and celery, for that matter) enough to eat them in the raw – them, not me. But, if you require a little more flavor, a buttermilk ranch dressing is always a delicious way to go. You can work a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil into your portions and get a one-two punch by drizzling it over steamed carrots. Finish it off by snipping a little thyme on top. Fresh herbs are also healthy – and add an aggreable flavor to everything. Rosemary and Thyme are perfect with everything known to man or woman.

Salmon
Salmon is one of the biggest of shots when it comes to omega-3 fatty acids. I can’t understand anyone NOT love, love, loving salmon – but if it’s not your favorite thing, experiment with different flavors. Add a little dill and lemon, and never forget the pepper.

In a Saving the Best for Last type of thang – see the following post on Self Help Daily. Of course, if (nudge, nudge) you’re really just not that into chocolate, don’t bother.

Filed Under: Chocolate!, Health and Fitness, Oh, Nuts!, Seafood, Vegetables Tagged With: healthy food, heart health, nutrition

Frito Lay Cuts Back on the Salt and Makes Even Better Chips !

June 17, 2008 By Joi Sigers

Ruffles Pinch of Salt ChipsNot long ago, my doctor told me that my blood pressure was a little higher than normal.  The result, I’m certain, of tons of allergy pills necessitated by May and June.  She said it wasn’t any cause for alarm (after all, mine is normally low, so “normal” would be high for me).  She did say, however, that I’d be wise to cut back on salt.

My inner coffee addict raised her mug and yelled, “Yeah, baby! She didn’t even mention caffeine!”  But just behind her, my chip fanatic cluched her Frito’s behind her back as a tear trinkled down her little cheek.

Bitterly, I stopped buying as many Frito’s, Ruffles, Dorito’s and Cheese Puffs (Chester Cheetah called to see if I was still alive.) –  I still bought them, of course, but I did try to cut back.

Recently, however, the inner chip fanatic had cause to wipe away the tears and smile again!  Frito Lay has come out with a line of “Pinch of Salt” chips.  They’ve cut waaaaay back on the sodium, ditched the cholesterol altogether, and have even used an All Natural Oil for these snacks. 

I first tried the Ruffles Pinch of Salt chips.  I have to admit, I opened the bag half-expecting to laugh the chips to scorn, but instead of laughing, I just reached for more.  These chips are absolutely delicious!  I honestly like them better than the regular chips – you taste the wonderful potato chip and realize they are made out of potatoes, after all!  I promise you, these are incredibly good.

Fritos Pinch of Salt Corn ChipsAfter discovering that Frito Lay was onto something, I tried the Fritos Pinch of Salt Corn Chips.  Even better!  I’ve been a fanatical Fritos eater since I carried lunch boxes (The Hair Bear Bunch…remember them?) – my mommy put Fritos in there along with my Peanut Butter and jelly sandwiches, Dr. Pepper, and Reeses Peanut Butter Cups.  Awwww.

I was even more skeptical of the Corn Chips weathering the salt reduction but, yet again, it actually improved the chip.  Just like the Ruffles Pinch of Salt Chips allow you to focus more on the potato flavor, the Fritos Pinch of Salt Corn Chips, allow you to totally enjoy the delicious corn-ocity.  Yes, I made that particular word up for the occasion. 

To learn more about the Nutrition Facts, you’ll want to pay a  visit to  http://www.fritolay.com/.  This website is absolutely gorgeous.  You feel as though you’re looking out a farmhouse window.  There’s a tractor going about its chores, birds flying by, a flag waving in the breeze…  Cool stuff.  There’s also a section on Being Green – My inner Environmentalist chick loves them for that.  She frees one arm from the tree she’s hugging to give them a thumb’s up.

You HAVE to try both of these chips!

Filed Under: Health and Fitness, Reviews, Table Talk Tagged With: health nutrition, nutrition

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