INFObite

Good article about the book Thinfluence by two Harvard researchers, Walter Willett MD, Malissa Wood MD, FACC and Dan Childs MA.

Tackling a weight problem is often viewed as a personal responsibility that requires making healthier choices. The latest research, however, shows that external factors—from family and friendships to advertising and the workplace environment—make an equal, if not greater, contribution. Just look at the stats: A person’s chance of becoming obese increases by 57 percent if a close friend is obese, 40 percent if a sibling is obese, and 37 percent if a spouse is obese.

5 Surprising Ways Your Friends Are Influencing Your Weight

INFOBite

Informative 2-minute video from Consumer Reports about Healthy Foods Gone Bad.

Some of their examples are pretty obvious, like hazelnut peanut butter; a healthy food is not still healthy when you add lots of sugar. Any food that needs a marketing plan or an eye-catching package design to draw your attention is probably not a good choice.

Eat whole foods.

Buy packaged products with limited ingredients.

Read. Labels.

INFObite

For friends/family in east Knoxville, remember to buy your Swiss chard and other veggies from Holden Nursery!

Holden Nursery is a family business started in 1976. Kim and Kim Holden started as a small Nursery and now have a large wholesale and retail business. Locally and family owned we are proud to provide our community with quality plants and vegetables.

 

INFObite

Not our actual dinner, but looks pretty close.

Just to let you know that tonight I tried the red beans & rice recipe from the Meatless Monday website. It was good, but needed a lot more spice and/or a little Tobasco sauce. I put our leftovers in the freezer and plan to eat it again next week after spicing it up and maybe making some cornbread to go with it! Tonight we enjoyed it with brown rice, salmon and broccoli. Hope your Mardi Gras was a great one!

INFObite

My weekly email from Meatless Monday included this link to an online recipe book to celebrate Heart Health Month. You should check it out too!

Eat Real Food



I want to use today's post to remind you that healthy eating is a journey. Don't get bogged down with the "right" way or the "wrong" way. Please remember that no natural foods are taboo. Unless it's by doctor's orders or health reasons or your food journey does not include it (gluten-free, vegetarian, etc.); no real foods are off limits.

When I mention specific foods, it's only to bring them to your attention. A balanced diet that includes healthy, natural foods is the way to go. You are the only one who knows what is right and what works for your body. And if you are the cook in your family, then what's right for you is probably what's going to be right for everyone else. ha ha!

For anything I post - read it, think about it and see if you can and want to incorporate it in your diet. Try a recipe if it sounds good or don't. I do not have all the answers, but I sure do lots of reading, researching and experimenting. Hopefully that will help someone else not have to spend as much time on a subject or topic!

I've enjoyed hearing from some of you via email, text, comments and phone calls. It not only gives me good ideas of topics to post, but also introduces me to new things! Please keep the feedback coming.

So here's some good information for today from O Magazine. It's similar to the information that I posted in my first INFObite.

Make Your Own Junk Food

Sure, there are moments when no one can come between you and your potato chips. Which is why banning them isn't the goal -- it's making them at home. "Junk food is wonderful," says Michael Pollan, author of Cooked. "But it's become so cheap that we eat it too often. When we used to have to make it ourselves -- and a long time ago we did! -- there was a built-in check on overconsumption." Take French fries: You peel the potatoes, cut them into matchsticks, fry them in oil, and make a mess in your kitchen while you're at it. If you decide to go the DIY route, says Pollan, "you will not do that more than once a month -- I promise you."

Action Item: Work on your willpower muscle some more today. When you're hungry and in need of a snack, take time to make a beautiful bowl of yogurt and fruit or whole-wheat toast, peanut butter and banana. You're energy level and body will thank you!

 

For Further Reading: 10 Essential Rules to Healthy Eating (the entire article from O Magazine)

INFObite

When I have random things to share, I'll add an extra post and for now call them INFObites :)

This video from Upworthy takes less than 2.5 minutes to explain some great info: How Cooking Can Change Your Life.