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Dieting? These Foods Can Help You Lose Weight!

November 24, 2015 by

Dieting is never easy, but once you know the right foods to eat you'll start to see the pounds melt away. Here are a few smart foods that will help you to lose weight and stay fuller for longer.

  1. Beans and legumes. Foods like black beans, kidney beans, and chickpeas are high in fiber, which builds muscle and helps to keep you feeling full. Beans are also very inexpensive, and they’re a great alternative to meat for those who are vegan or vegetarian.
  2. Dark chocolate. If you have a sweet tooth that just won’t quit, it doesn’t have to sabotage your whole diet. Dark chocolate is a great alternative to sugary milk chocolate, cakes, and cookies, and it is also lower in calories. Just be sure to mind your portion sizes!
  3. Eggs and turkey sausage. Eating a protein-packed breakfast will help you to stay on track for the rest of the day. Eggs are great because they’re versatile and can be prepared a number of different ways, and lean turkey sausage is much lower in fat than traditional pork sausage. Eat this meal with a side of fresh fruit to start your morning off right.
  4. Avocado. You may think that you need to avoid eating fat in order to, well, lose fat, but healthy fats like avocado are actually an important part of any lean diet. The oleic acid found in avocados helps to quiet hunger, and these superfoods are also packed with fiber and protein.

9 Foods to Help You Lose Weight [WebMD]
Best Superfoods for Weight Loss [Health.com]
15 Foods to Help You Lose Weight [Good Housekeeping]
Use These 8 Foods to Help You Lose Weight [U.S. News]

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Healthy Seafood Recipes for Lunch or Dinner

December 23, 2014 by

Many home chefs are often intimidated by preparing seafood, either because of its delicate texture or because they simply don’t know which types to buy. These tasty and nutritious recipes can take the guesswork out of cooking with fish, shrimp and other types of seafood.

Baja-Style Salmon Tacos
Unlike many restaurant tacos, this recipe adds up to just 325 calories and is packed with 24 grams of necessary protein. The grilled salmon and whole wheat tortillas give these Baja-style fish tacos a healthy makeover that’s still a flavorful treat.

Fish Veronique
A traditional dish with a healthy, modern twist, this recipe for Fish Veronique creates a comfort food that won’t break your diet. By removing the fat from the chicken broth and using low-fat milk, you can create a decadent, creamy sauce with none of the extra fat or calories.

Baked Red Snapper With Zesty Tomato Sauce
Create an elegant dinner for your family or your guests with this low-fat, low-calorie Italian fish dish. Use your choice of either red snapper or bass to find the taste you prefer, and top with zesty tomato sauce for major flavor.

For more nutritious meals using seafood, visit the NIH website here.

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Healthy, Hearty Pancake Recipes

November 25, 2014 by

Pancakes aren’t normally considered a healthy food, and adding high-calorie butter and sugary syrup certainly doesn’t help. With just a few small substitutions, however, pancakes can become a healthy and hearty indulgence for brunch or breakfast. These websites are full of nutritious pancake recipes that you can make at home.

Health.com
Health.com’s list of pancake recipes includes unique options that are much more interesting than the usual buttermilk. They also include fat-free milk, whole-wheat flour and other healthy ingredients to keep the calorie count low. Try the Carrot Cake Pancakes for a sweet and spicy weekend brunch, or whip up some Oatmeal Pancakes with Wild Blueberry Sauce for a summer breakfast that the whole family will love.

Cooking Light
Cooking Light magazine’s website features delicious pancakes that are a bit easier on your diet than the usual recipe. Buttermilk-Banana Pancakes with Pomegranate Syrup are quick to make and full of nutrients from fruit, but they’re so delicious that your family will think you spent hours in front of a hot stove. The site also features blueberry pancakes, coconut pancakes, oatmeal pancakes and a number of other delicious and healthy breakfast options.

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Caffeine Hides in These Two Common Foods

August 26, 2014 by

Caffeine can give you a great boost of energy in the morning, but it can also cause headaches and annoying jitters when you drink too much. If you already cut out coffee but still feel the side effects of caffeine, you might be getting it from a different source altogether! Here are two surprising sources of caffeine that might surprise you.

  1. Decaf coffee. While you may think that switching to decaf is a solution to your caffeine problems, you still can’t go wild with your coffee intake. A cup of decaf coffee contains about five milligrams of caffeine, which is much less than a normal cup of regular, but it can still cause you to feel some side effects if you drink too much.
  2. Chocolate-flavored foods. Even if you opt for a plain old cup of hot chocolate instead of the espresso flavored truffles, many chocolate flavored foods contain a great deal of caffeine. Instant breakfast drinks can have about nine milligrams of caffeine, while powdered hot chocolate mix can also contain around nine milligrams. Be sure to check the label on any chocolate products that you purchase.

12 Surprising Sources of Caffeine [Health.com]
7 Hidden Sources of Caffeine [Eating Well]

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Learn to Make Lasagna 3 Different Ways

May 27, 2014 by

Lasagna isn’t the easiest dish to prepare, but like most dinners, having a great recipe can make all the difference. These flavorful, cheesy lasagna recipes will appeal to all tastes and ages, and if you follow the steps, they’ll surely become favorites in your recipe book.

Best Lasagna Ever [Pioneer Woman]
This recipe is great for the home chef who doesn’t want to hunt down sophisticated ingredients at fancy grocers. Most of the ingredients are likely already right in your own refrigerator. Using simple ground beef, your morning breakfast sausage, cottage cheese and sliced mozzarella, you can create a decadent lasagna in under an hour.

Simply Recipes Lasagna [Simply Recipes]
This traditional lasagna recipe offers a bit of sweetness for a surprising boost of flavor. It uses the usual Italian seasonings and tomato sauces to appeal to lasagna lovers, but it also incorporates extra cheeses that just about anyone will appreciate.

The World’s Best Lasagna [Allrecipes]
If you want to make lasagna for a large group, this is the recipe to do it with. This meat and cheese-filled pasta dish takes a bit more time and effort than your usual lasagna, but it’s well worth the wait on special occasions such as dinner parties or holidays.

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Healthy Grain Recipes

March 25, 2014 by

Though you should only eat them in moderation, grains are a necessary part of any nutritious diet. These simple, creative recipes will show you how to prepare healthy grains and properly incorporate them into your daily meal plan.

Quinoa-Stuffed Tomatoes
A unique take on traditional stuffed peppers, these quinoa-stuffed tomatoes combine the health benefits of quinoa with a serving of vegetables. By hollowing out a tomato and filling it with quinoa, mixed veggies, and a few simple spices, this makes a fun meal that even young children will enjoy.

Roasted Red Pepper and Toasted Orzo
Enhance the flavor of orzo with the addition of sweet roasted red peppers, chicken broth, and zesty spices. This delicious side dish pairs perfectly with a variety of meats or other main courses, and at just around 200 calories, it won’t ruin your diet.

Wow-y Maui Pasta Salad
Full of fresh island flavor, this Hawaiian-style pasta salad uses cucumbers, carrots, snow peas and pineapple in whole-wheat rotini pasta. It is ideal for a summer cookout side dish or as a light, warm-weather lunch, and its whole-wheat pasta base gives it a full 10 grams of protein.

For more healthy grain recipes, visit the NIH website here.

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Learn the Difference Between ‘Dice’ and ‘Julienne’ with This Helpful Glossary

January 15, 2014 by

Recipes often use fancy words like “dice”, “julienne”, or “mince” to describe how to prepare ingredients, without explaining the differences. Knowing proper food preparation techniques can greatly improve your cooking, and this informative guide from the NIH can help.

The NIH's Food Preparation Glossary defines common food prep terms, illustrating them with helpful photos. The Cutting section includes techniques that produce smaller, more irregular pieces, like mincing and chopping, as well as longer, thinner pieces, like julienning and slicing.

The Cooking section of the glossary describes cooking terms that use the stovetop or oven to prepare foods like meats or vegetables. For example, did you know that stir frying, pan frying, and sautéing a recipe essentially means exactly the same thing? This section also describes the differences between terms like “boil”, “simmer”, “brown”, and “grill” to help you follow recipes more precisely.

Food Preparation Glossary [National Heart, Lungs and Blood Institute]

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