Look what I made!

Yogurt with blueberries, strawberries and spinach!

Just a little bit of honey and natural peanut butter!

Cheap eats for the family

Calorie Count

You can find free, intelligent, online dieting resources at Calorie Count, as a service of About.com Health.

Talk about easy. It only takes a few minutes to join and once you answer a few easy questions, your individual diet page is all ready to go. Just type in the foods you eat and the amount of exercise you do, and Calorie Count tells you how many calories you have eaten, or burned, and how healthy your diet is for the day.

I use Calorie Count a lot, and here is why I love it:

1. The diet profile quiz helps you figure out what kind of an eater you are. Are you an emotional eater? An excessive eater? A strategist? Calorie Count has tips to help you change your eating habits to fit your dieting type.

2. Almost every food you can eat and any activity under the sun is available in the databases. Even brand names and restaurant foods are available. Just browse or search and add to your daily food or activity log. For easy entry, you can tag the foods and meals you eat frequently -- awesome, fun and easy.

3. You can pick your portion so it easy to choose the portion sizes you actually eat. It is so frustrating to use a book or a diet site that has ounces of peanuts when you just ate a quarter of a cup. Calorie Count makes it easy to choose your portion size -- no math required.

4. The recipe analyzer might be the coolest tool on the site. Just how healthy is grandma's tuna casserole? Enter the ingredients and the number of servings and Calorie Count gives you the nutrition information per serving in the style of a Nutrition Facts food label and gives your recipe a grade of A through F.

5. Join the Calorie Count community -- share the pain and share the joy. I know that dieting really isn't much fun. Sometimes it helps to share your experiences with other people going through the same thing. At Calorie Count, you can post messages on a forum or write your thoughts in a private daily journal. Or both.

   You have your own home page where you can create a personal journal, photo gallery, links to you friends, tools to track your weight changes, and automatically track the threads you start and posts you make to the forums.

6. You can get nutrition info on your phone. If you aren't next to your computer at lunch, you can still find out how many calories are in that bagel by looking it up on your cell phone.

7. You have an eat meter and burn meter right on your account page or displayed on your Tool Bar to let you know instantly whether you are on track for your daily calorie counts.

8. Calorie Count analyzes your diet for calories and nutrients. Hmm...dinner time and not enough fiber? Better eat more vegetables. Too much sodium? How about fresh fruit for dessert? Hold your cursor over the date for more information.

9. It's free!

Remember that a healthy diet is more than just calories, it is also vitamins, minerals, fats, carbohydrates, protein and fiber. One of the reasons diets fail is because people focus on just the calories or the carbs or the whatever, but not on the whole picture. Calorie Count gives you everything you need to eat healthy and be fit.

Superfoods that make you feel sexier

Eating healthy foods with lots of nutrients and antioxidants can help you feel (and look) more vibrant by keeping your skin and hair healthy. In addition, eating a healthy diet (and some exercise) helps to keep your body strong and fit. Whether you are a man or woman, beauty really does come from within.

Start with the basics -– eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, lean protein sources, low-fat dairy, whole grains and a few good fats (and know how many calories you need every day). Then add these sexy superfoods, which are extra high in certain nutrients, to your healthy diet:

Non-fat Yogurt

Dairy products are rich in vitamin A that is important for beautiful skin, and calcium for strong bones and healthy hair. People who eat dairy products every day appear to have an easier time losing excess weight and keeping it off. Non-fat yogurt has all the benefits of dairy, plus the friendly bacteria found in yogurt are probiotics that help keep your digestive system working normally.

Tip: Enjoy some plain non-fat yogurt mixed with fresh blueberries, chopped nuts and a little honey for additional protein and vitamins.

Oranges

Citrus fruits contain lots of vitamin C. Eating an orange a day gives you all the vitamin C your body needs, plus it helps to increase absorption of iron from vegetables and legumes that your body needs for energy. Vitamin C also helps keep your skin beautiful by keeping the connective tissue under the skin strong, which helps to stave off wrinkles.

Tip: Eat an orange every day as a healthy snack or drink orange juice with meals. And perhaps hand-feed a few slices to your significant other?

Berries

The beautiful pigments that give berries their colors also contain phytochemicals that boost the antioxidant activity in your skin, which may help you age more gracefully. Berries are also low in calories and rich in vitamin C and potassium.

Tip: Make a fruit smoothie with a banana, plain yogurt, frozen blueberries, sliced strawberries and a splash of cranberry juice. Or dip a few fresh strawberries in dark chocolate for a romantic treat.

Salmon

Fish contain essential fats and protein that are essential for healthy skin and hair. Salmon is especially high in omega-3 fatty acids that protect your skin from getting dry by keeping moisture in the skin cells.

Tip: Go out for salmon sashimi at a romantic sushi restaurant, or grill a salmon steak at home.

Oysters

Legendary as aphrodisiacs, oysters may live up to their sexy reputation. They’re rich in zinc, a mineral that's important for male sexual health, testosterone levels and sperm production. Zinc is also important for healthy hair and for your senses of taste and smell.

Tip: Enjoy raw or cooked oysters as an appetizer. If you don't like oysters, you can get your zinc from beef, pork or lamb.

Black Beans

Legumes contain protein, iron and zinc. Black beans are also a good source of biotin, a B vitamin that's important for healthy skin and hair.

Tip: Serve black beans as a side dish with dinner.

Walnuts

Nuts contain polyunsaturated fats, and walnuts are rich in alpha linolenic acid, the plant version of omega-3 fatty acids. They're also a good protein source and eating just a few walnuts helps to keep you feeling satisfied between meals. Some research studies have suggested that the phytochemicals in walnuts help keep the prostate healthy in older men.

Tip: Eat a handful of walnuts with a fresh piece of fruit for an afternoon snack.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are rich in vitamin C and a phytochemical called lycopene, a relative of vitamin A that helps keep a man's prostate healthy. Lycopene is thought to skin damage from too much sun exposure and getting adequate amounts of lycopene may help to keep your skin smooth and supple.

Tip: Make tomato bisque and serve it with a fresh salad and crusty whole grain bread.

Dark Chocolate

You may believe that eating chocolate improves your mood, which may or may not be due to any of the chemicals in cocoa. Research isn't conclusive on that. However, dark chocolate does have a super power. The phytochemicals in dark chocolate improve blood flow to all the parts of your body, including the brain and the sexual organs, which is an important component of arousal.

Tip: Enjoy one ounce of dark chocolate (not Dutch-processed) every night.

Water

Although water isn't really a nutrient, it's important for your health –- your body contains a lot of water. Not only is water good for your insides, it's also important for smooth healthy skin. Plus water has no calories so it's perfect for watching your weight.

Tip: Drink water with a slice of lemon or lime instead of sugary soft drinks.

Blueberries?

Highlighting this month's food of the month was pretty easy work. Blueberries, our choice for August, are truly nutritional superstars. They are also tasty and easily found in markets and stores across North America, with multiple varieties to choose from. The fruit can range in size from tiny pea-sized balls to those as big as marbles and can be any color from blue to maroon to dark purple. Blueberries can be tart and a little crunchy when unripe; as the berries ripen the flesh softens and the fruit sweetens. Nutrition Tidbits for Blueberries One cup of blueberries contains: Calories: 84 kcal Fat: 0.5 g Carbohydrates: 21.4 g Protein: 1.1 g Fiber: 3.6 g Glycemic Index (GI): Low (below 55) Blueberries are a great source of fiber, a good source of antioxidant Vitamins C and E, and manganese – a mineral that helps activate many important metabolic enzymes in our bodies. Additionally, the berries are chock-full of powerful phytonutrients called anthocyanidins, which are strong antioxidants (and give the berries their trademark bluish-purple hue). They also enhance the effects of Vitamin C. There is some evidence that the antioxidant capacity of blueberries increases as the fruit ripens. The berries will keep for a few days in the refrigerator, but they are best consumed within a couple of days because they are fragile. Freeze leftover berries because they make great smoothies and can also be added to batters or doughs for your favorite baked goods. Ways to Include More Blueberries in Your Diet Add them to smoothies, granola, cereal, yogurt, oatmeal, or salads Use them in homemade popsicles for a cool treat When making rice pudding, replace raisins with blueberries (add them in towards the end of cooking) Add blueberries to homemade iced tea, or mash them up and mix them with sparkling water and lemon juice Blueberries Recipes Chilled Blueberry Soup with Mint Flank Steak with Blueberry Marinade Blueberry Waldorf Salad

Menopause: Diet for
Hot Flashes

Written by Gloria Tsang, RD
Published in September 2005

(HealthCastle.com) Hot flashes seem to be a personal experience for women experiencing various symptoms in menopause. Many women we talked to tried various diet remedies and supplements but results are often inconsistent. Let's look at some common diet solutions for hot flashes.

Menopause Diet for Hot Flashes

Avoid the following food items in your diet. Most women found these foods make hot flashes worse. Tea Coffee Alcohol Caffeine containing soft drinks Spicy foods Smoking

Black Cohosh Black cohosh is an herb used extensively in Europe for treating hot flashes. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists supports short-term use of black cohosh - up to six months - for treating symptoms of menopause. But the exact effects of longer-term use aren't known. Studies are underway to determine the effectiveness and long-term safety of taking black cohosh supplements.

Soy Soy contains phytoestrogens, an estrogen-like substances. In Japan, where soy foods are commonly consumed daily, women are only one-third as likely to report menopausal symptoms as in the United States or Canada. In fact, there is no word in the Japanese language for "hot flashes". However, clinical trials have generally yielded unimpressive results. The safest approach is to incorporate whole soy products such as soy milk or tofu in you diet. Indeed, the North American Menopause Society in 2000 recommended that 40 - 80mg of isoflavones daily may help relieve menopausal symptoms - that is 1 - 2 servings of soy products.

Other common supplements for hot flashes: Vitamin E (400 - 800 IU) Dong Quai Wild Yam Evening Primose Oil Scientific evidence of these supplements for hot flashes is not strong. It's best to discuss with your physician before taking these herbal supplements as they may interact with drugs you are taking.

The Abs Diet....what is it?

This AT-A-GLANCE guide summarizes the principles of the Abs Diet: the 6-week plan to flatten your stomach and keep you lean for life.

Number of meal - Six a day, spaced relatively evenly throughout the day. Eat snacks 2 hours before larger meals.

The ABS DIET POWER 12 - Base most of your meals on these 12 groups of foods. Every meal should have at least two foods from the list.

Almonds and other nuts
Beans and pulses
Spinach and other green vegetables

Dairy (skimmed milk, fat free or low-fat yogurt and cheese)
Instant hot oat cereal (unsweetened, unflavored)
Eggs
Turkey and other lean meat

Peanut butter
Olive oil
Wholegrain breads and cereals
Extra-protein (whey) powder
Raspberries and other berries

Secret weapons	**Each of the ABS DIET POWER 12 has been chosen in part for its stealthy, healthy secret weapon – the nutrients that will help power up your natural fat burners, protect you from illness and injury, and keep you lean and fit for life.
Nutritional ingredients to emphasize	**Protein, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, fiber, calcium
Nutritional ingredients to limit	**Refined carbohydrates (or carbs with high glycaemic index), saturated fats, trans fats, high-fructose corn syrup, glucose syrup, and modified starch.
Alcohol	**Limit yourself to two or three drinks per week, to maximize the benefits of the Abs Diet plan.
Ultimate power food	**Smoothies. The combination of the calcium and protein in milk, yogurt, and whey powder, combined with the fiber in oats and fruit, makes them one of the more filling and easy options in the diet. Drink them regularly.
Cheating	**One meal a week, eat anything you want. (I love this one for not being strict)
Exercise program	**Optional for the first 2 weeks. Weeks 3 to 6 incorporate a 20 minute, full-body workout 3 days a week. Emphasis is on strength training, brisk walking and some abdominal work.
At-home workout	**Gym workouts and at-home workouts are both detailed to excuse-proof your fitness plan.
Abdominal workout	**At the beginning of two of your strength-training workouts. One exercise for each of the five different parts of your abs.

To see the detailed diet plan and exercises for your abs, you may check the book by David Zinczencho.

Tips to Burn Fat Faster

Top 6 Tips to Burn Fat Faster Than You Could Imagine

By Thong M. Dao

Do you want to lose fat? Have you tried different diets and failed consistently? If you answered yes to these questions, you are in good company. There are a lot of people who have been trying fat loss diets over the years and have failed. The reason they have not succeeded is that they used gimmicks and lose-weight-fast diets that do more damage than good. Here are some sensible things to keep in mind when you try to lose weight.

1. Fresh veggies are better than canned or cooked veggies. Try to have your veggies uncooked. If you cook them, you're indeed taking out nearly 50% the vitamins in them. And canned veggies also are processed and not nearly half as healthy as fresh veggies. Whenever you purchase your veggies it would be good to find out if the label states that it's pesticide free.

2. Chocolates should be treated as luxury items. Buy the good stuff and only eat them every once in a while. If you really savor each morsel, you'll experience that much more joy in eating them and they will taste even better.

3. If you can say no to alcoholic beverages please do. Alcoholic beverages are not good for you. Beer can be fattening and the rest of the alcoholic drinks may not be fattening by themselves but after a couple of swigs you will be in no position to watch your diet and your appetite too will be something to battle with.

4. Your diet should include all food groups including carbohydrates. In fact, your diet needs to be about 50 - 55% carbs. Carbs are a great source of energy. Those diets that prohibit carbohydrates are actually harming you and only making you crave them that much more. Your diet should not cause you to be deficient in anything.

5. Fats should make up 15-20% of your meal. This is really all the fat your body needs. A lot of this is going to be in your diet in the form of cream, sugar and the like.

6. Choose white meat rather than red. White meat, which includes fish and fowl, is miles better than red meat, which includes beef and pork for those trying to lose weight.

10 Super Foods

Dr Perricone's 10 Super Foods

By Helen Reese

How to look 10 years younger in 10 days as promoted on the Oprah show is generating a great deal of interest. The show was amazing in it's simplicity by focusing on eating commonly known foods. The benefits gained from eating healthy foods are often overlooked. According to Dr. Nicholas Perricone, certain foods help you look younger! According to Dr. Perricone and Dr. Oz eating "super foods" is easy. Oprah Winfrey did it. She wanted to look 10 years younger in 10 days and decided to try it.

So, what are these Super foods? And are they affordable and easy to find? The answer is yes to both. Each of the super foods is moderately priced and moderately common and some can even be found in powder or pill form which makes things even easier. The following is a list of the super foods shown on the Oprah show that are supposed to make you look 10 years younger in 10 days.

1) The "Allium Family" - Garlic, scallions, shallots onions, and leeks, etc are great for your health. All help the liver get rid of carcinogens. All of the allium foods are easy to incorporate into your diet. In my opinion, garlic is the most tasty and versatile. We go through many bulbs per week in our house. These foods are inexpensive and very easy to find.

2) Barley - Barley is an old-fashioned staple food. This grain can be used in many ways including as a breakfast cereal, as a rice or other starch substitute and in stews and soups. Barley is also high in fiber which helps manage and metabolize cholesterol, fats, and carbohydrates. . Barley is quite inexpensive and easy to locate.

3. Acai fruit - This little berry is one of the most nutritious, powerful and hyped foods in the world. It can often be found in juice form in natural food stores. Prior to the Oprah Show I had never heard of the acai berry. I will check at my local natural food store to find out about availability and pricing.

4) Green Foods - We all know to eat our spinach. Green Foods can also help manage cholesterol and blood pressure. Green foods like wheat and barley grasses can be bought in powder, tablet or juice form, and offer greater levels of nutrients than green leafy vegetables. The powder or the tablet form would be extremely easy to add to my daily food intake. Greens are easy to find and relatively inexpensive

5) Buckwheat: Seed & Grain - Buckwheat is loaded with protein. It also stabilizes blood sugars and is high in amino acids. Buckwheat is inexpensive and very easy to find. It does have an acquired taste though and is my least favorite of the super foods intended to make you look 10 years younger in 10 days..

6. Yogurt and Kefir - These cultured foods contain healthful bacteria that aid immune function. They both contain calcium which helps burn fat helps burn fat. Try using them as a base for a smoothie or with fresh fruit. Kefir is a cultured, enzyme-rich food filled with friendly micro-organisms that help balance your "inner ecosystem." More therapeutic and nutritious than yogurt, Kefir supplies a complete protein, essential minerals, and essential B vitamins. Kefir is used to restore the inner eco-system after drug therapy. Yogurt is easy to find and inexpensive. Kefir is less easy to find and slightly more expensive.

7. Nuts & Seeds - Walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, macadamia and pistachio nuts contain Omega 3 fats, which are great for your heart. Raw, unsalted nuts and seeds are healthiest. Nuts are easy to find and are moderately inexpensive. I use 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds in a number of different dishes I make for my family. Sesame seeds are the best when they are slightly toasted. Toast sesame seeds over low heat in a dry frying pan for about 2 minutes.

8) Beans & Lentils - You can reduce your cholesterol while beefing up on folic acid, antioxidants, and potassium. Try kidney, pinto, chickpeas, black, navy, soybeans, peas and/or lentils. Beans and lentils might be the easiest to enjoy of all of the super foods. Hummous adds two super foods together, namely chickpeas and garlic. The options availablewithin this grouping of foods is endless. Try a nice chilled bean salad for supper. Beans are cheap and easy to find.

9. Hot Peppers - Both bell peppers and chili peppers contain antioxidants and have twice the Vitamin C as citrus fruit. Best yet, they work as great fat burners. In moderation hot peppers had a delightful zing to most dishes. Bell peppers are a great addition to most dishes or salads.

10. Sprouts - There are numerous varieties of sprouts. The most common are bean sprouts and alfalfa sprouts. They're a great source of both Vitamin C and protein.. Try adding them to any dish and your immune system will get a turbo boost. These are both inexpensive and easy to find although be sure to wash them well. The easiest and least expensive way to get spouts is to sprout your own from any type of bean.

Top 10 Super Foods

Top Ten Super Foods For a Healthier You

By Spencer Gabato

Is there a secret to a healthy and long life? It starts in the food we eat. As you well know, some foods are healthier than others. Choosing what food you eat can determine your life expectancy and so too is the quality of your life.

There are power packed foods which can give you vitality, energy and great health. Here are ten of them:

1. Oatmeal - This food can lower your blood cholesterol as well as keep your blood sugar constant. It is growing in popularity as such. It does not matter how you prepare it, it can provide you with fiber that your body needs and keep hunger at bay.

2. Beans - If they give you gas, take precautions before you eat them. Soaking them first can help. Beans of all kinds (kidney, navy, lentils, chickpeas, Northern) are high in protein. This is plant protein so it [carries|contains very little fat, calories, carbs. If fiber is a problem in your diet, eating a healthy serving of beans each day can keep your digestive system healthy.

3. Allium foods - Onions, garlic, shallots and leeks belong to this class of foods. Allium veggies help can minimize cancer risk and other ailments. They can lower blood pressure and thin the blood preventing blood clots. As you may have already known, garlic can lower cholesterol levels. Eating these kind of food can increase your health levels.

4. Fruits - Fruits are filled with antioxidants such as Vitamin C and A. Antioxidants fight damage against free radicals in the body and reduce the risk of cancer. Berries such as blueberries, acai, and grapes have the highest amount of antioxidants. But choose an array of fruits in a wide variety of colors for maximum health. The antioxidants in fruit supercharges the immune system to fight the effects of aging in the body.

5. Flax seed - Like salmon it contains omega-3 fatty acids. These seeds also contain omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids. You get a lot of power to fight high cholesterol, heart disease and diabetes with this seed. Ground flax seed can be added to fruit smoothies, sprinkled in yogurt, ingested with cereal or added to pancake mix to name a few.

6. Salmon - One of the strong qualities of omega-3 fatty acids is that it can reduce the risk of atherosclerosis and reduce heart disease risk. These fish have good fats which are proven to boost the health of adults and children as well. Proteins in salmon can help build muscle tissue.

7. Nuts and seeds - Fats found in these food are the good kind. Brazil nuts, peanuts, almonds, pistachios and walnuts all provide good fat and protein. It can help lower cholesterol and it can be eaten raw untarnished by preservatives.

8. Peppers - Just like other fruits and vegetables, they contain antioxidants like vitamin C and beta-carotene. Some peppers can be very hot so eat little bits rather than large chunks. One notable substance found in peppers is the capsaicin which has pain relieving, anti-inflammatory, lowering heart disease risk and lowering cancer risk properties. They can be combined with all sorts of dishes.

9. Yogurt - The fat free variety can give more health benefits to you. It is high in protein, vitamin B, and calcium. You can take yogurt as a calcium source if you do not drink milk. Your digestive system can also benefit from this food because it contains live friendly bacteria.

10. Acai - This is probably the berry which contain the highest amount of antioxidants. This food can also increase your energy. Acai berry juice, drinks and supplements can be purchased from health food supplies.