By day, guest blogger Maris Callahan is a publicist in New York City. In her spare time, she is a freelance writer and food blogger at In Good Taste, a blog about cooking and eating good healthy food when you’re busy or on-the-go (with a few indulgences, because everyone needs those!) When she isn’t cooking or writing she enjoys running, knitting, photography and a good latte.
We all know to put honey in our tea when we have sore throats, but most of us don’t stop to ask why. For centuries, honey has been used as a topical application to help prevent infection, due to naturally occurring antiseptic and antibacterial qualities. With the invention of antibiotics, this practice became less frequent, but consuming honey is still said to have health benefits and might even reduce sensitivity to certain environmental allergens.
The weather is cooling off, and now is the perfect time to get out there and exercise. It’s so much easier to run, walk, bike or skate when it’s not a million degrees out with 500% humidity. Fall is my favorite season, and one of the greatest things about fall is eating home style soups, stews and the like.
What do those three sentences have in common and how can you use that commonality to your advantage while pursuing healthy eating? Both call for easy, hearty meals, and both can be resolved with my greatest kitchen friend – the slow cooker. Thick, rich, hearty soups and stews are comforting and filling, and can be made inexpensively – always a bonus in these tough economic times.
When you think of soup, do you think of a health food or a heart attack? Believe it or not, most people consider soups to be more harmful to health than beneficial. But I’m here to help soup reach its full potential and earn its way back on your “health hero” list. In this post, I’ll explain the pros and cons of soups and I’ll show you how you can enjoy a bowl of healthful goodness no matter what your time availability or cooking skill level.
The Pro: A nutrition boost! Soups can be a wonderful way to get more veggies, fiber, and plant-based protein in your diet. Soups made with low-sodium broth, veggies, beans, and lean protein have a lot of nutrition to offer for 100-200 calories per serving.
The Con: Most people worry about the sodium content of soups so they avoid them altogether. The reality is you have room in your sodium “bank account” for about 600-700mg of salt per meal. If you generally eat a healthy breakfast and lunch then you have room for a soup-salad combo at dinnertime every once in awhile.
Now that fall is on its way, the fresh summer bounty is dwindling down; but the truth is your diet doesn’t have to hibernate for the winter. You can get lots of great foods in the canned and frozen food aisles that are full of nutrition at a price that will have you dancing to the cash register. In this post, I’ll share some of my favorite picks and recipe ideas.
Canned beans
Not just the “musical fruit,” beans provide complex carbohydrates, protein, and fiber. In fact, a one-cup serving provides one-third of your day’s protein needs, half your fiber needs, and 65% of your folate needs (an important B-complex vitamin that helps prevent osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease, anemia, and homocysteine buildup in the blood). For less than a dollar a can, you can-not go wrong! Try cannelini beans, black beans, kidney beans, lentils and black-eyed peas. You can buy them with no salt added, low sodium, or rinse them before use to remove about half the salt.
Recipe ideas: add to salads, home-made bean dip, three bean chili, and breakfast burritos.
September 24th, 2009
by Rebecca
Tags: beans, canned goods, fish, frozen foods, fruits, grocery shopping, healthy eating, Recipes, vegetables, weight loss
Posted in Diets in Review
He’s back at the ranch and sure to bring even more healthy cooking knowledge! Tune in tonight, September 22, to the second episode of Biggest Loser to see what this attractive chef is serving. Curtis Stone is the Aussie chef who first showed up at Biggest Loser during season 7 with recipes so good it was hard to believe they were good for us. Now he’s back to help the newest cast of Biggest Loser contestants overcome their old habits in the kitchen by introducing healthier tips and tricks that anyone can use to make delicious, healthy meals.
Tonight Curtis also has a pop quiz prepared for the contestants, sure to test their nutrition knowledge. It might only be week two, but we’re hoping to see nothing but right answers.
If you missed his season seven appearance, then you must try these recipes:
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