4 Low Calorie Snacks That Won’t Sabotage Your Diet

Your diet provides rules and regulations for each of your daily meals, but what about when your stomach rumbles in between meals? Sometimes snacking is inevitable, but you still want to make informed, healthy choices. These four snack recipes are low in calories but still delicious and filling.

Almond-Honey Power Bar [Eating Well]
Stop paying for expensive meal bars and start making your own nutritious versions right at home. These almond-honey power bars are filled with all-natural ingredients, and they’re high in protein that makes them ideal for a post-workout snack.

Guiltless Guacamole [Delish]
Regular restaurant guacamole isn’t the worst dip in the world, but it certainly isn’t a healthy snack. This flavorful recipe offers the same delicious guacamole taste, but with far less calories than the original.

Lemon-Parm Popcorn [Eating Well]
Popcorn is already a low calorie snack, but it’s often bland and flavorless. This zesty lemon and parmesan version is much tastier than the original, but it’s still as healthy.

Spinach and Cannellini Bean Dip [Cooking Channel]
Whether you pair it with fresh vegetables or sliced and toasted pita bread, this Mediterranean-inspired cannellini bean dip makes a great low-calorie snack. It’s flavored with fresh lemon juice and balsamic vinegar, and the baby spinach adds nutrients that most snacks simply don’t have.

Make Salsa 4 Ways With These Spicy Recipes

Whether you eat it with tortilla chips or use it as a topping on your favorite Southwestern dish, salsa is a healthy and flavorful dip with a variety of different uses. These simple salsa recipes are welcome alternatives to your usual store-bought jar, and they come in a number of unique flavors that you may not have ever experienced.

Restaurant Style Salsa [Pioneer Woman]
No matter which brands you buy at the grocery store, salsa just never tastes as good at home as it does at a restaurant. This expert recipe will show you just how your favorite Mexican restaurant creates their crave-worthy salsa.

Crunchy Tomatillo-Avocado Salsa [Rick Bayless]
Combining the cool taste of avocado with flavorful tomatillos, this authentic salsa recipe is one for the books. It’s ideal for those who love spicy foods because it is simply full of hot green chilies, but this recipe can also be toned down to become more family-friendly.

Mango-Tomato Salsa [Food and Wine]
Perfect for pairing with crunchy fish tacos or other summer dishes, this sweet salsa incorporates mangos for a unique flavor. It’s truly simple to make, and it even looks just as good as it tastes.

Tomatillo Salsa Verde [Simply Recipes]
Give the traditional red salsa a rest in favor of something greener and uniquely flavorful. The tomatillo gives this sauce its green color, and a dash of lime juice adds a juicy flavor that’s truly refreshing.

Question of the Day: What Causes the Seasons?

We look forward to the warmth of summer and we’re always surprised when the first snowfall hits, but what actually causes the Earth’s changing seasons? There are a number of different forces at work to make the leaves fall and the spring flowers bloom. Here are some facts about how the seasons change.

It’s not because the Earth is closer to the sun in the summer.
While this is a common belief, it’s simply not true. The Earth’s orbit is not perfectly circular and yes, the Earth is closer to the sun at certain times of the year. In the Northern Hemisphere, however, it’s actually winter when the Earth is closest to the sun, and vice-versa.

Earth’s tilted axis causes the seasons to change.
Earth has an imaginary pole that slices down its center, and it marks where the axis hits. The planet spins around this pole, but its uneven tilt causes different parts of the Earth to feel the sun’s direct rays at different times of the year.

The seasons aren’t the same all around the world.
While most of us in America associate December with winter and July with summer, the Earth’s tilted axis means that that is different all around the world. In December, it’s summer for everyone south of the equator because the sun shines directly on the Southern Hemisphere at that time.

What Causes the Seasons? [NASA]

Public Domain/Freeimagescollection

Plan Tonight’s Dinner With These 3 Nutritious Pork Recipes

While we’ve all had a classic pork chop, most people aren’t aware of the many other recipes involving pork. If you want to expand your at-home culinary creations without ruining your healthy diet, these delicious and nutritious pork recipes from the NIH will help you do just that:

Pork Chops in Warm Cherry Sauce
Add a sweet, tangy update to the usual pork chop with this simple recipe. By cooking the meat in red wine, cherries and a few common spices, this dish is both elegant and quick enough to prepare after a long day at work.

Pork Mignons With French Applesauce
Continuing the fruity flavor trend, this pork dish uses applesauce to add taste without adding fat and calories. These pork mignons add up to only 250 calories and a full 26 grams of healthy protein, with a cinnamon and apple flavor that’s perfect for fall or winter dinners.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin
The lean pork tenderloin has a texture similar to chicken, which makes it simple and quick to prepare. Seasoning with garlic, soy sauce and fish sauce helps the dish take on an Asian flavor that tastes much more complex than it actually is. At only 8 grams of fat, you really can’t go wrong with this unique pork recipe.

For more pork recipes and other healthy eating tips, visit the NIH website.

Public Domain/Public Domain

Happy Presidents’ Day

Remembering the courage and vision of past and present leaders, we honor and share the spirit of Presidents' Day together as a nation.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Wishing everyone a day filled with fun and happy memories!

Find Fresh Local Produce with a CSA Share

A CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, a community of individuals who monetarily support a local farm in exchange for fresh, seasonal produce and goods throughout the growing season. CSAs are wonderful ways to support local farmers and to ensure that you and your family eat locally grown vegetables. These sites can help you find a nearby CSA:

National Agricultural Library
The National Agricultural Library of the USDA offers a complete guide to CSAs on its websites. Here you’ll find information about how CSAs work, explanations of where food comes from, and educational literature about farming and agriculture. The site also offers a list of websites that can help you locate a CSA in any area across the country.

Local Harvest
The Local Harvest website offers informative tips and frequently asked questions to help visitors make informed decisions about becoming CSA members. It also features a map of CSA farms across the country, with a space to search by your own state or zip code.

Farm Locator
Not only does Farm Locator connect visitors with CSAs, it also connects farmers with other farmers, farmers to local businesses, and businesses to buyers to help improve the exchange of produce and goods from all sides. The detailed search bar even allows you to browse the site by product, type of market, or area to find the best farms for your needs.

Public Domain/Freeimagescollection

Improve Your Health in 5 Minutes or Less

Running a mile or cooking a nutritious meal require a chunk of time, but there are a number of other things you can do to improve your health that take less than five minutes. These simple tips from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can help you feel safer and healthier:

  • Wash your hands, and not just before meals. It only takes 20 seconds!
  • Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator – it only takes about 2 minutes per flight.
  • Schedule a doctor’s appointment, whether it’s for a check up or to look into that pesky pain. You can call them on the phone in 2 minutes without even leaving the house.
  • Put on a helmet any time you ride a bike! This quick tip can help save your life in the case of a fall.

You can find more of these tips at the CDC's website!

Five Minutes for Health [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]

Public Domain/Public Domain

Our New Facebook Sweepstakes Has Started! Enter to Win an iPad Mini!

To enter the Sweepstakes, Like our Facebook Page and then look for the Sweepstakes tab (image shown below) located on our Facebook Page to enter. Sweepstakes ends February 28th, 2014.

For mobile users ONLY, like our Facebook Page, and then click here to enter!

Hey Residents, Read All About It!

Check back for helpful information about pop culture, recipes, health and fitness, and much more! Thanks!

Pin It on Pinterest