Healthy Christmas Breakfasts!

Wake up bright and breezy on Christmas morning after Santa's visited and enjoy a healthy and delicious breakfast to set you up for a hectic (and calorie laden) day..

Casserole

Breakfast casserole is a common Christmas breakfast that allows you to prepare the meal on Christmas Eve and pop it in the oven when you wake up. Don’t use unhealthful ingredients like sugar, syrup or sweetened bread, though. Make breakfast casserole with egg whites as the base. Spinach or other greens will bulk your casserole and add an enticing texture. Cherry tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes or red bell peppers add flavor and the right color to contrast the greens, making breakfast more festive. For a bit of meatiness, add crumbled turkey bacon or tempeh. Don’t spray the casserole dish with oil; use parchment to prevent sticking and to shave calories and fat from the dish. Most importantly, stick with one 4-ounce serving to keep from overeating. A 4-ounce slice of casserole made from egg whites, spinach and sun-dried tomatoes has around 100 calories and 0.25 grams of fat.

Oatmeal Muffins

Normal sugary muffins typically are unhealthy, but if you make an oatmeal substitute, you can have something similar on the menu. Use plain, rolled oats and season them with warm, inviting flavors such as cinnamon and nutmeg to make the muffins smell like Christmas. Adding water to the oats until the mixture is thick and soupy creates the “batter” without excess calories. Muffin cups negate the need for oil and give you the chance to choose Christmas colors. Sprinkle red fruits over the top for added sweetness. An oatmeal muffin with 1/4 cup of rolled oats and a halved strawberry on top has just 90 calories and 1.2 grams of fat.

Broiled Grapefruit

A tangy grapefruit with a flavorful topping of sugar and spice is an ideal choice for Christmas morning. Sugar creates a crisp, caramelized coating on the grapefruit that makes this dish seem more complicated than it really is. Once you slice the grapefruit in half, you’re ready to sprinkle it with cinnamon, nutmeg, cumin or allspice for a pleasing aroma and then sprinkle a pinch of sugar over that. As the fruit broils, the sugar will melt and the grapefruit’s flesh will soften. A half grapefruit with 1/2 teaspoon of sugar has 60 calories and 0.2 grams of fat.

Fresh-Squeezed Fruit Juice

Skip sugar-laden fruit juice and make fresh-squeezed juice for Christmas morning. The juice from three oranges is enough to yield a 1-cup serving that brightens Christmas morning breakfast. Squeezing juice isn’t time consuming if you have a juicer. Alternately, make a pulpy juice by pureeing a peeled fruit in the blender. A 1-cup serving of fresh-squeezed orange juice has only 112 calories and 0.4 grams of fat.

http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/healthy-christmas-morning-breakfast-5413.html

Healthy Christmas Dishes!

Christmas is certainly a time to indulge in family time, a deserved rest and delicious foods. Delicious doesn't always have to mean calorie laden however as the recipes below prove..

Spiced Apple Cider 

Start your meal off with this spicy (and slightly spiked) 

cider. Brown sugar, cloves, and cinnamon add the classic 

holiday flavors, while keeping each cup under 200 calories. 

And be sure to make an alcohol-free batch for the kids. 

Roasted Green Beans

This simple side combines olive oil, balsamic vinegar, tarragon, and green beans to create a delectable dish. You'll get 4 grams of figure-friendly fiber for only 50 calories. 

Garlic Mash

Small amounts of butter and milk give this recipe a rich texture, but garlic finishes the dish with an added zing. Plus, this recipe calls for unpeeled potatoes, which means you're getting all of the heart-healthy fiber in the skin. 

Brussel sprouts and Roast Chesnuts

Add some serious seasoning to your sprouts with this low-cal side dish recipe. Caraway, chestnuts, and just the right amount of olive oil are the perfect addition to this mild veggie. If you have the means, roast your own chestnuts, but bottled chestnuts will save you time if you're in a rush. 

http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20327055_4,00.html

Tips to sleep well!

With the festive season looming, it's inevitable late-night shopping, office parties and excited children may hinder you from hours in bed. Therefore, now is the time to make the most of your sleep with these tips..

1. Maintain a regular bed and wake time schedule including weekends.

Our sleep-wake cycle is regulated by a "circadian clock" in our brain and the body's need to balance both sleep time and wake time. A regular waking time in the morning strengthens the circadian function and can help with sleep onset at night. That is also why it is important to keep a regular bedtime and wake-time, even on the weekends when there is the temptation to sleep-in.

2. Establish a regular, relaxing bedtime routine such as soaking in a hot bath or hot tub and then reading a book or listening to soothing music.

A relaxing, routine activity right before bedtime conducted away from bright lights helps separate your sleep time from activities that can cause excitement, stress or anxiety which can make it more difficult to fall asleep, get sound and deep sleep or remain asleep. Avoid arousing activities before bedtime like working, paying bills, engaging in competitive games or family problem-solving. Some studies suggest that soaking in hot water (such as a hot tub or bath) before retiring to bed can ease the transition into deeper sleep, but it should be done early enough that you are no longer sweating or over-heated. If you are unable to avoid tension and stress, it may be helpful to learn relaxation therapy from a trained professional. Finally, avoid exposure to bright before bedtime because it signals the neurons that help control the sleep-wake cycle that it is time to awaken, not to sleep.

3. Create a sleep-conducive environment that is dark, quiet, comfortable and cool.

Design your sleep environment to establish the conditions you need for sleep – cool, quiet, dark, comfortable and free of interruptions. Also make your bedroom reflective of the value you place on sleep. Check your room for noise or other distractions, including a bed partner's sleep disruptions such as snoring, light, and a dry or hot environment. Consider using blackout curtains, eye shades, ear plugs, "white noise," humidifiers, fans and other devices.

4. Sleep on a comfortable mattress and pillows.

Make sure your mattress is comfortable and supportive. The one you have been using for years may have exceeded its life expectancy – about 9 or 10 years for most good quality mattresses. Have comfortable pillows and make the room attractive and inviting for sleep but also free of allergens that might affect you and objects that might cause you to slip or fall if you have to get up during the night.

5. Use your bedroom only for sleep and sex.

It is best to take work materials, computers and televisions out of the sleeping environment. Use your bed only for sleep and sex to strengthen the association between bed and sleep. If you associate a particular activity or item with anxiety about sleeping, omit it from your bedtime routine. For example, if looking at a bedroom clock makes you anxious about how much time you have before you must get up, move the clock out of sight. Do not engage in activities that cause you anxiety and prevent you from sleeping.

6. Finish eating at least 2-3 hours before your regular bedtime.

Eating or drinking too much may make you less comfortable when settling down for bed. It is best to avoid a heavy meal too close to bedtime. Also, spicy foods may cause heartburn, which leads to difficulty falling asleep and discomfort during the night. Try to restrict fluids close to bedtime to prevent nighttime awakenings to go to the bathroom, though some people find milk or herbal, non-caffeinated teas to be soothing and a helpful part of a bedtime routine.

7. Exercise regularly. 

Vigorous exercise is best, but even light exercise is better than no activity. Exercise at any time of day, but not at the expense of your sleep.

8. Avoid caffeine (e.g. coffee, tea, soft drinks, chocolate) close to bedtime. It can keep you awake.

Caffeine is a stimulant, which means it can produce an alerting effect. Caffeine products, such as coffee, tea, colas and chocolate, remain in the body on average from 3 to 5 hours, but they can affect some people up to 12 hours later. Even if you do not think caffeine affects you, it may be disrupting and changing the quality of your sleep. Avoiding caffeine within 6-8 hours of going to bed can help improve sleep quality.

9. Avoid nicotine (e.g. cigarettes, tobacco products). Used close to bedtime, it can lead to poor sleep.

Nicotine is also a stimulant. Smoking before bed makes it more difficult to fall asleep. When smokers go to sleep, they experience withdrawal symptoms from nicotine, which also cause sleep problems. Nicotine can cause difficulty falling asleep, problems waking in the morning, and may also cause nightmares. Difficulty sleeping is just one more reason to quit smoking. And never smoke in bed or when sleepy!

10. Avoid alcohol close to bedtime.

Although many people think of alcohol as a sedative, it actually disrupts sleep, causing nighttime awakenings. Consuming alcohol leads to a night of less restful sleep.

http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/sleep-topics/healthy-sleep-tips

Top 10 Best Fat Burning Exercises!

Don’t feel like going to the gym? With these fat burning exercises, you don’t even need a gym membership – or even any equipment, for that matter.

The best workouts are always going to be those that consist of moves that engage multiple large muscle groups. You can easily take a simple, conventional toning move and turn it into a something more efficient that gives you the most bang for your buck for every moment that you spend on your workout.

For example, consider the bicep curl. It is an extremely effective basic strength training or toning movement, however, 3 sets of them is not exactly going to crank up your calorie burning furnace or cancel out that cheeseburger and microbrew you had for dinner last night. Instead of isolating just the bicep, you could combine the move with a lunge to significantly boost the caloric burn, and simultaneously tone your lower body.

Apply the above concept to the exercises that make up your routines and they become dynamic, fat burning workouts. Here are the best examples that put this principle to work.


Top 10 Best Fat Burning Exercises 

1 Burpees - This at home cardio move tones your core, upper body and legs all at once- it’s a triple threat exercise that everyone tends to dread for good reason; they are hard! But they also work.

2 Jumping Lunges - Lunges are a fantastic thigh toning exercise; add in the momentum required to jump up in between lunges and the move turns into an incredible calorie burner.

3 Pilates Leg Pulls - Tone your core, glutes, and thighs with this one simple Pilates move. Because all of the large muscle groups involved, you burn a high number of calories while you are toning.

4 Jackknife Crunches - Jackknife Crunches are an advanced abdominal move that engage both the upper and lower abs for maximal toning in the least amount of time. They are especially beneficial because lower abs can be hard to target without equipment.

5 Lunges with Reverse Leg Raise - This tones the glutes, thighs, obliques, and lower back, all while building coordination and balance.

6 Jumping Squats - Do this exercise for a minute or two straight and you wont have any doubts about how challenging it is. This plyometric is also great for building explosive speed.

7 Push Ups - Push ups are a total body exercise that are easily modified and can be made to be very challenging, even for the most avid exerciser. If a regular push up feels too easy for you, try the Single Leg Push Up.

8 Side Planks with Leg Raises - While this most specifically targets the outer thighs, obliques, and deltoids, it requires the strength and coordination of the entire body to hold up the base Pilates side plank.

9 Mountain Climbers - Mountain Climbers can feel like a punishment, but they truly are one of the best overall toning and fat burning moves out there that don't require a bit of equipment.

10 Jumping Jacks - This simple at home cardio essential is an excellent way to get your heart rate up quickly. Add it in between strength training sets to keep your caloric burn high.




http://www.fitnessblender.com/v/article-detail/Top-10-Best-Fat-Burning-Exercises-Fat-Burning-Workouts-at-Home/8o/

Countdown to Christmas: Get killer abs fast!

Get that perfect physique in time for the festive season, starting with this video to help you on your way!

Hauntingly Healthy Halloween Recipes!

Halloween may be the time to enjoy sweet treats, but there's no reason to not make some healthy ones too..

Ingredients

• 8 cups chopped fresh pumpkin (about 3 pounds)
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 3 small tart Apples, peeled and chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh gingerroot
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• TOASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS:
• 1/2 cup fresh pumpkin seeds
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. In a 5-qt. slow cooker, combine the first eight ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until pumpkin and apples are tender.
2. Meanwhile, toss pumpkin seeds with oil and salt. Spread onto an ungreased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at 250° for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown. Set aside.
3. Cool soup slightly; process in batches in a blender. Transfer to a large saucepan; heat through. Garnish with toasted pumpkin seeds. Yield: 9 servings (about 2 quarts).

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/fresh-pumpkin-soup

Ingredients

• 
  Vinaigrette:
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• Salad:
• 1 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed
• 1 cup vertically sliced red onion
• 1 cup orange slices
• 1 cup seedless red grapes, halved

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/halloween-green-bean-salad-10000000222876/

Photo by Andrew Mccaul

Ingredients
2 cups packed dark brown sugar
4 cinnamon sticks, preferably Mexican
1 29-ounce can pure pumpkin (about 3 1/2 cups)
2 limes
Splash of rum (optional)
Pineapple chunks and/or pecans, for serving (optional)

Directions
Combine 12 cups water, the brown sugar and cinnamon sticks in a large pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Stir in the pumpkin and return to a simmer. Meanwhile, remove the zest from the limes in wide strips using a vegetable peeler; add the zest to the pot and simmer 15 minutes. Let cool, then refrigerate until the liquid is cold and the pumpkin pulp settles to the bottom, 2 to 3 hours.

Working in batches, ladle the liquid into a fine-mesh strainer set over a pitcher (repeat if necessary to strain out all the pumpkin pulp). Discard the pulp and lime zest. Return the cinnamon sticks to the punch and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Pour the punch into ice-filled glasses. Add rum, pineapple and/or pecans, if desired. Serve with the cinnamon sticks.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/mexican-pumpkin-punch-recipe/index.html

Surprising (and delicious) ways to beat the Common Cold..

It sounds like another home remedy, but a Madras curry really is a great way to tackle a sore throat, says research.

Marshmallow, liquorice root, and a hot blackcurrant drink served at 70C are also rivals to the most widely used  over-the-counter remedies.

The Common Cold Centre at the University of Cardiff tested therapies.

Curry cure: A hot spicy curry is the ultimate way to stave off the common cold

The centre’s head, Professor Ron Eccles, said: ‘I recommend a hot spicy curry – it ensures you salivate and reduces your coughing and sore throat symptoms. 

 

• 
  

'Many spices have antiviral effects, which could also be beneficial, it’s also my personal favourite treatment for colds and flu. 

'We have also found that a hot fruit cordial drink had immediate effects on sore throats and other symptoms of colds and flu.'

Mellow mallow: A hot drink including marshmallows also help stave off the sore throat

‘The big advantage of this kind of treatment is that it is cheap as well as being safe and effective,' he added.

Almost every GP sees 120 patients a year with an acute throat infection.  

But for each person seen, another  18 do not seek help from a medic.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2456159/Order-curry-cure-common-cold.html

Low Cal Pasta? Bare Naked Foods!

Bare Naked Foods was a product recently featured on Dragon's Den, pitched by nervous and emotional Ross, the clever entreapeneur eventually managed to gain an investment from multi-millionaire, Peter Jones.
The product he brought in was an incredibly low cal and gluten free range of noodles..

They are a healthy alternative to other pastas and rice in recipes such as stir fries and chow meins.. below is a recipe provided by Ross on how to incorporate his noodles into a delicious and easy dining experience:

stir fry veggie

a great light and tasty way to fill your belly.

5 minutes

step 1

prep your ingredients, you'll need some fresh salad veg, noodles and some sweet chilli sauce

2 minutes

step 2

get your wok or pan nice and hot

1 minutes

step 3

rinse your noodles and add them to the pan

5 minutes

step 4

throw in your veg and cook for 5 mins

2 minutes

step 5

add your cooking sauce

2 minutes

step 6

let simmer for 2 mins then serve

enjoy!

• low fat
• no carbs

https://www.barenakedfoods.co.uk/recipes/vegetarian-stir-fry

Top 10 Healthy Habits

1. Evaluate your eating habits. Are you eating late at night, nibbling while cooking, finishing the kids' meals? Take a look around, and it will be easy to identify a few behaviors you can change that will add up to big calorie savings.

2. If you fail to plan, plan to fail. You need a strategy for your meals and snacks. Pack healthful snacks for the times of day that you know you are typically hungry and can easily stray from your eating plan.

3. Always shop with a full belly. It's a recipe for disaster to go into the grocery store when you are hungry. Shop from a prepared list so impulse buying is kept to a minimum. Eating right starts with stocking healthy food in your pantry and refrigerator.

4. Eat regular meals. Figure out the frequency of your meals that works best in your life and stick to it. Regular meals help prevent bingeing.

5. Eat your food sitting down at a table, and from a plate. Food eaten out of packages and while standing is forgettable. You can wind up eating lots more than if you sit down and consciously enjoy your meals.

6. Serve food onto individual plates, and leave the extras back at the stove.Bowls of food on the table beg to be eaten, and it takes incredible will power not to dig in for seconds. Remember, it takes about 20 minutes for your mind to get the signal from your belly that you are full.

7. Eat slowly, chew every bite, and savor the taste of the food. Try resting your fork between bites and drinking plenty of water with your meals.

8. Don't eat after dinner. This is where lots of folks pack on the extra pounds. If you are hungry, try satisfying your urge with a non-caloric beverage or a piece of hard candy. Brushing your teeth after dinner helps reduce the temptation to eat again.

9. If you snack during the day, treat the snack like a mini-meal. The most nutritious snacks contain complex carbohydrates and a small amount of protein and fat.

10. Start your day with breakfast. It is the most important meal of the day. After a long night's rest, your body needs the fuel to get your metabolism going and give you energy for the rest of the day.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/top-10-habits-that-can-help-you-lose-weight

Nutrition and Health Live 2013

Health Fixes

Find out more here.

Why Gwyneth Paltrow's no-carb diet for children makes perfect sense

Gwyneth Paltrow has provoked the wrath of the dietetic establishment by saying that she avoids feeding her children bread, rice and pasta, because she believes that these carbohydrate foods aren't good for them. Paltrow was writing in her new low-carb, gluten-free cookbook, It's All Good, which is out in April, and whose recipes are said by her publisher to "form the basis of the diet Gwyneth goes back to when she's been overindulging, when she needs to rebuild, or lose weight."

Casting Paltrow in the role of the neurotic celeb, selfishly inflicting her own faddy and dangerous eating habits on her poor starved offspring, has undeniable appeal, especially for those of us who aren't rich or pretty and who struggle daily with our own excess weight. TheNew York Post says: "The book reads like the manifesto to some sort of creepy healthy-girl sorority." But Paltrow has a point: no one, not even a child, actually "needs" to eat carbs.Dieticians who subscribe uncritically to government nutritional guidelines have been wheeled out to testify to how 'vital' carbohydrate is in the diet, and warn in the bleakest terms of the dangers of restricting it. Paltrow is putting her children, aged eight and six, "at risk of nutrient deficiencies", warns one. Her children "won't be able to think straight as their brain won't be functioning", says another. In the same Daily Mail piece, it is even observed that Paltrow's children are thin – shock horror! – as if this was automatically cause for concern. So accustomed are we to the sight of overweight children, thin ones are beginning to look unusual.

Now, this may sound counterintuitive. That familiar notion of "[basing] your meals on starchy foods" is currently acentral plank of public health advice. But this orthodoxy is under attack from influential researchers and nutritionists. The fact of the matter is that there are no nutrients (vitamins, minerals, micronutrients) in starchy carbohydrate foods that we can't get elsewhere, and often in a superior form.

Of course, the processed food industry works ceaselessly to convince us that we must eat highly refined starchy foods, such as breakfast cereals and white bread, trumpeting that they give us energy. But all food gives us energy. Contrary to what we have been led to believe, there is no dietary "need" to eat starchy carbohydrates at all.

Now if Paltrow was to starve her children of protein, then social workers could quite legitimately come knocking at her door. We are made of protein. Our bodies require it to build and repair muscles and tissue. But we have no absolute requirement for carbohydrate.

It is only in recent times that starchy foods have been presented as health foods. For much longer, they have been seen as fattening foods. Why do farmers feed their livestock on grains? To plump them up for market.

For half a century we have been told to avoid saturated fat, even though there is no good evidence that fat is inherently fattening. By diligently avoiding it, we have ended up replacing whole, unprocessed foods, such as red meat and butter, with starchy carbs of the highly refined and processed sort, often containing added sugar. Net result? We're getting fatter.

The problem with sugar, and starchy refined carbs, is that the surge of energy they give you is shortlived. Like newspaper ignited with a match, refined carbs burn up quickly, producing a sharp spike in blood sugar level that encourages our bodies to produce insulin, the fat storage hormone, so encouraging weight gain. Unlike protein and fat, which give a longer, slower, steadier release of energy, when our blood sugar level crashes after eating carbs, our appetite is unsatisfied and we crave more food.

This is probably what Paltrow means when she writes in her book: "Sometimes when my family is not eating pasta, bread or processed grains … we're left with that specific hunger that comes with avoiding carbs".

Fruit and vegetables are, of course, carbohydrates, and do contain natural sugar. However, they also contain micronutrients, notably fibre, that slow down the rate at which sugar is released in the blood. The same applies to whole, unrefined carbohydrates, such as brown rice. What's more, the general effort required to chew fruit, vegetables and whole grains puts a natural brake on how much we can eat. But it's easy to overeat refined carbs, the kind Paltrow avoids.

If the daily diet in the Paltrow household includes protein (fish/meat/eggs/pulses), unprocessed fats (butter/olive oil), plenty of vegetables and some fruit, then it is healthy, nutrient-rich and lacking in nothing. If that's what the Paltrow kids eat, she's doing them a favour.

Yes, children do have slightly different nutritional requirements from adults: they need more fat and protein. But filling their plates with empty calories in the form of white pasta, bread and rice is no nutritional kindness.