Tag Archives: oatmeal

Health Buzz June 15: Yoga Barbie Controversy, Worst Grilled Foods, Dad’s Weekend Recipes

Yoga Teacher Barbie Bends Children’s Advocates Out of Shape

Add yoga teacher to Barbie’s list of careers. Mattel added yoga Barbie to their exclusive line “I Can Be…”,  which is supposed to inspire girls to strive for more than just the ordinary. Once again Barbie stirs up controversy and we hear from people on both sides of the argument.

A Carrot Had More Nutrients 50 Years Ago Than it Does Today

Nutrition from your fruits and veggies isn’t going away, but studies show that there were more nutrients in them years ago than today. The environment is responsible for less nutrients in your fruits and vegetables. But don’t shy away from these essentials because those guys still pack a punch when it comes to nutrition.

Zero Weights, Zero Problem: Strength Training Without Weights

Can’t get to the gym or don’t have your own weights at home? That’s no excuse to skip strength training. We show you a variety of moves that rely on your own body weight to get toned. (more…)

Posted on June 15, 2023 by Samantha

An Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Baking Accident with a Lower Calorie Surprise

Full disclosure: I’m a terrible baker. My husband warns people not to eat anything I bake.

That said, I get the itch to bake periodically and it always has to be scratched. Quiet, uneventful Sunday afternoons get the better of me and my well-stocked pantry. Once I’ve made up my mind, the oven’s on and the flour’s flying.

This past Sunday, I was already in cooking mode, with Chef Devin’s turkey meatballs and homemade marinara simmering on the stove (see the Biggest Loser Family cookbook). When I pulled the oats out of the cabinet to combine with the turkey, I immediately thought “cookies!”. I also had mini chocolate chips left over from a birthday party the previous weekend. A couple of tiny cookies would be the perfect end to our dinner and weekend.

I started reading through the ingredients listed on the oatmeal container and pulling each out of the cupboard and refrigerator. It called for butter. I froze. No butter. Then I remembered the healthier baking swaps article we did last year, and recalled Marisa Churchill’s suggestion for replacing butter with cream cheese. An entire brick of neufchâtel cheese sat in my fridge. Ball dodged.

Then it called for granulated sugar. Completely out. So I Googled “honey replacement for sugar” and found several suggestions for a 1:1 swap. Completely doable. (more…)

Posted on May 8, 2023 by Natalie K

Quaker Oats Logo Gets a Weight Loss Makeover

The man on the front of Quaker Oats, known as Larry to insiders, may not be as famous as the Apple Logo or the Nike Swoosh but you would still recognize him if you saw him. And the next time you see him, you may ask yourself, “Is it just me, or does he look thinner?”

The answer is yes. Known for his rosy cheeks and white hair, Larry has gotten a makeover. According to the Wall street Journal, his hair is slightly shorter and he has less of a second chin. They also made him appear younger with a more pronounced jaw line and broader shoulders.

PepsiCo, the parent company of Quaker, said they wanted Larry to reinforce the idea that oatmeal is a healthy option, so in addition to the haircut they had its artist give him the appearance of “looking five pounds thinner.”

It isn’t the first company to give its logo a health makeover. Morton Salt’s “Umbrella Girl” has gotten noticeably thinner overtime and Betty Crocker looks more youthful than ever. (more…)

Posted on March 30, 2024 by Kristina

Healthy Fall Produce Recipes for Crisp Days

Summer is fun – especially going to the beach and other water events – but fall is my favorite season. Wearing jeans, watching football, and the crisp fall weather all comes together to create a delightful time.

One of the stand out features of the fall is the availability of fall produce – the cooler days make it perfect to turn on your oven and slow roast the heavier squashes and comfort soups for which the season begs. Try some of these terrific, tasty fall dishes that won’t break the calorie bank but will satiate your taste buds and warm you from the inside out.

Puree butternut squash in small batches in your blender to make this Butternut Squash Soup recipe from Elana’s Pantry. Top each bowl with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt to lend depth of flavor.

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Posted on September 17, 2023 by Carmen

Try These 6 Healthy Foods for Your Kids

By MyDailyMoment.com Editorial Team

Making sure your kids are eating healthy is hardly child’s play. Good nutrition is integral for ensuring that your children develop healthy minds and bodies. The sooner you introduce power foods into your child’s diet, the better. They’ll quickly become acclimated to feasting on nutritious foods.
Here are our picks for six of the best foods for kids.

Oatmeal
Oatmeal is a great source of fiber. Additionally, cognitive performance is increased because there is a slower release of glucose into the body’s blood system when fiber is eaten. Oatmeal doesn’t have to just be served for breakfast. Enjoy it in in other foods and snacks, such as cookies and bars. Instead of adding sugar to sweeten the pot, try honey, fresh berries, dried cranberries, granola or crushed walnuts.

Try this: Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

Eggs
Eggs are a great source of protein and are also rich in important vitamins and minerals. Eggs contain vitamin D, some iron and are rich in choline. Eggs help the body absorb calcium, along with building and repairing muscles. Although eggs contain some cholesterol, they do not have a lot of saturated fat, or bad fat. So an egg every other day is perfectly fine. Scrambled eggs in the morning or an egg sandwich at lunch can be an egg-scellent way to get your kids on board.

Try this: 5-Minute Breakfast Crumble (more…)

Posted on July 8, 2023 by GuestBlogger

How Fast Food Buzzwords Fool Consumers

Fast food restaurants try really hard to fool us into thinking their foods are good for us, as counter-intuitive as that may be. It starts with the images in their commercials where the foods are glistening with each slice of tomato, lettuce, and grilled chicken breast or burger nicely stacked on top of each other.

Then you have some of the buzzwords that they use. This part really gets under my skin because it’s such a brazen way of being deceptive – walking that tight rope of legality, while using words that imply the other words that they can’t actually use!

So, when a fast food commercial wants to tell you that their foods are healthy, but obviously can’t, they go for the next best thing: words like wholesome, fresh, all-natural, premium, or 100 percent whatever. (more…)

Posted on March 15, 2024 by Jason

Leave it to McDonald’s to Turn Oatmeal in to Junk Food

How does a warm bowl of fruit and oatmeal rate on the healthy-breakfast scale? Surprisingly low, if it’s from McDonald’s. Fast food joints have a stunning talent for taking a nutritious meal and morphing it into junk food. It’s only natural for McDonald’s to lead the pack with their Fruit and Maple Oatmeal.

Mark Bittman, writer for The New York Times, put it perfectly when he said, “A more accurate description than “100% natural whole-grain oats,” “plump raisins,” “sweet cranberries” and “crisp fresh apples” would be “oats, sugar, sweetened dried fruit, cream and 11 weird ingredients you would never keep in your kitchen.” Bittman also points out that you may as well grab an Egg McMuffin, it’s only 10 calories more than the FMO (as McDonald’s so affectionately calls it) and in some areas costs half as much. To be fair, it is among the healthiest items they have available, but that really isn’t saying much.

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Posted on February 24, 2024 by Theresa

McDonald’s Healthiest Menu Choices

It’s happened to all of us. You’re on the road, you’re hungry and your only option is fast food. So what do you do? You choose the healthiest option possible! But looks can be deceiving. We did some research on what is the healthiest menu option at the popular fast-food chain McDonald’s and if you’re looking for a meal, there weren’t a lot of choices, but there are some.

We selected the below food options based on feedback from registered dietitian Rebecca Scritchfield. All meals have less than 500 calories and about 500 milligrams of sodium, as part of the new daily sodium recommendations from the U.S. government.

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Posted on February 4, 2024 by Jennipher

McDonald’s Fruit and Maple Oatmeal is Maple Free

McDonald’s new Fruit and Maple Oatmeal has landed the company in a syrupy spot with the Vermont Agency of Agriculture. The company alleges that the oatmeal doesn’t actually contain maple, and they’ve requested that McDonald’s change the recipe or change the name. Labeling a food as containing maple when it actually doesn’t is in violation of Vermont’s well known “Maple” law.

“What we understand, is there is no actual maple in the [McDonald’s] product being advertised. Vermont maple law and regulations are very specific for how the term maple is used in advertisements,” Kelly Loftus, VAA spokesperson told Slashfood. “It is illegal to use the word maple  on a product unless the sweetener is 100 percent pure maple. Artificial maple flavoring should be clearly and conspicuously labeled on the principal panel with the term ‘artificial flavor’.”

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Posted on January 14, 2024 by Carmen

9 Heart-Healthy Foods You Should be Eating

February is American Heart Month, but that doesn’t mean you should only worry about having a healthy heart for 28 days out of the year. Heart health is incredibly important; if you take care of your heart, you’ll be less likely to suffer from heart disease and stroke, the most common killer in the USA.

The foods that you eat can have a great impact on your heart’s health. Think of your heart as a high performance sports car: if you put super-premium fuel in, you’ll get better results. Here are nine super-premium foods to keep your ticker in tip-top shape:

Oatmeal Oatmeal is good for your heart because it contains omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, potassium, and folate. The fiber in oatmeal is very beneficial for your heart because it can lower levels of your bad cholesterol (LDL), which can clear up your arteries.

Avocados Like oatmeal, avocados will help lower your LDL cholesterol levels; they will also raise the amount of good cholesterol (HDL) in your body. They also make it easier for your body to absorb other nutrients that are good for your heart, such as beta-carotene and lycopene.

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Posted on January 4, 2024 by Health Buzz

10 Breakfast Foods With as Much Sugar as a Candy Bar

Would you eat four candy bars for breakfast? What if your kids asked for this for breakfast, would you let them? The answer is likely no, because it’s candy and we don’t eat that for breakfast. But did you ever stop to think that the things you typically grab for breakfast, for yourself or your kids, might as well be candy? It’s true! Most of our go-to breakfast items have as much sugar as our favorite candies. No wonder our kids can’t concentrate in school and we don’t have the energy to get through a 10 a.m. meeting without bum-rushing the coffee machine.

If you’re looking to make some healthy changes for the new year, we can tell you that changing the way you do breakfast should be a priority. The cliche that it’s the most important meal of the day is very true, and if you can conquer that meal, then you’ll be able to start conquering the others.

We compared 10 of the most popular breakfast items, some of which actually give the illusion of being health foods, to our favorite candies to show you that a cup of yogurt or bowl of cereal is sometimes no better than the treats Santa left in your stocking. (more…)

Posted on December 28, 2023 by Natalie K