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Yummy Links: From Choco Tacos to Food Journals

partysugar — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 07:50:46 -0800

Learn how to make a homemade Choco Taco.- Serious Eats
Twenty tools and technologies that have changed the way we cook. - Gourmet
Would you eat the McGangBang burger - a grotesque creation that involves a McChicken Sandwich inside a double cheeseburger? - Eat Me Daily
Here are 10 quick and easy meatless mains to help you get through Lent. - The Epi-Log
This St. Patrick's Day, try your hand at making corned beef. - Chow
Do you keep a food journal? - The Kitchn

Healthy Holiday Eating: Keep a Food Journal

FitSugar — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:00:22 -0800

If the thought of decadent holiday food is stressing you out already, take control and try keeping track of your holiday eating with a food journal. It seems simple, but by writing down what you're eating throughout the day, you'll develop a real awareness of what you're putting in your body. A treat here and there, if you're not keeping track, can feel like it's no big deal, but writing it down will give you a real record of what you've eaten and make it easier to judge if you really do want dessert.

As a trial, test out how food journaling works for you over Thanksgiving, and if it seems to boost your healthy eating habits, keep it going through Christmas and the New Year. Plus, you can make it even easier to keep track by using your phone to journal, or if you decide to get into it, pick up one of these inconspicuous little journals or try an iPhone app. You might just find that this is a health trick you want to stick with.

Keep On Track With My Food and Fitness Journals

FitSugar — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 07:30:00 -0800

A lot of us have resolved to get healthy in 2008, this includes eating healthy, drinking more water, and exercising more. One of the best proven ways to stay on track with healthy choices is by keeping a food and fitness journal because it allows you to examine and to be accountable for your lifestyle choices.

I am not sure if you've heard yet, but I've got free downloadable food and fitness journals right here on FitSugar - they're simple, easy, and cute! All you have to do is download them, print them out, and start keeping track to be well on your way to keep on track for a very healthy and happy 2008.

Download them now:

Fitness Journal in color.
Fitness Journal in black and white.
Food Journal in color.
Food Journal in black and white.

Tiny, Inconspicuous Food Journal

FitSugar — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 03:00:00 -0800

One weight loss tool that is known to work is food journaling. Keeping track of what you eat is a surefire way not to overdo it at meals or snack time. I just found a tiny, inconspicuous food journal by PicoPad ($3.99) that will fit into any wallet. This means dudes can use it too.

Sized like a credit card, the food journal comes with two two-week inserts and a tiny pen, so no matter where you are, you can keep track of your food intake. It also comes with a handy checklist for water as well as fruit and veggie consumption. You can use the journal to keep track of your exercise too. Since it has two columns, one for calories in and one for calories out, you can tally your total consumption at the end of the day. I tried it for a week and found it really helpful. I learned that I was seriously slacking on eating at least five fruits and veggies a day.

You can buy a three-pack for this tiny, inconspicuous food journal Amazon for $10; that's 12 weeks worth of food journaling. Or you can always download mine for free.

To see inside the food journal, read more.

Have You Ever Kept a Food Journal?

FitSugar — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 04:30:00 -0700

I'm one of those detail-oriented people who loves making lists. I like to keep track of my mileage, X my calendar after a workout, write down how many reps I do at the gym, and even keep a food journal. It's amazing how your memory of what you ate and what you actually ate differ. Writing down what you eat every day has been proven to help people lose weight. It can also help you figure out if you're missing out on certain vitamins, nutrients, or food groups. So I'm wondering . . .

Source

Is McDonald's Launching a Dollar Breakfast Menu?

YumSugar — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:00:56 -0800

In this economy, even the savviest of fast food diners have a hard time stretching their dollar. But if the rumors are true, value-seekers may soon find it a lot easier to fill up for a buck early in the day. According to the Chicago Tribune and the Wall Street Journal, McDonald's plans to reveal a nationwide breakfast dollar menu.

Based on internal documents obtained by the two publications, the McDonald's breakfast dollar menu will begin a national advertising run in January 2010. Although McDonald's has declined to comment, the burger giant tested a breakfast menu with $1 items in August in its Chicago stores, offering items such as a sausage McMuffin, breakfast burritos, and hash browns.

The chain, which is also rolling out the Mac Snack Wrap nationwide in January, will face some stiff competition.

Burger King recently added the quarter-pound Double Cheeseburger to its menu through March, and Dunkin' Donuts just rolled out a temporary $0.99 menu in Chicago. If two leading newspapers are publishing stories on it, the alleged menu can't be too far from the truth. What would you hope to see on a $1 breakfast bonanza?

Feel the DailyBurn

FitSugar — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:00:43 -0700

I'm becoming a big fan of DailyBurn - a website that lets its users track workout, diet, and health goals in easy-to-read charts and graphs. There's a ton of great health and fitness information on the site and it has a social side that lets users interact with other members.

If you're not very tech savvy, don't be afraid. The site is easy to use and is laid out in a friendly and intuitive way. There are three main areas to DailyBurn - nutrition, exercise, and social networking. To find out how they work, read more.

Nutrition: This is basically an online food journal on steroids. Its food database contains the details of close to 200,000 foods, which makes it easy to track your diet and calorie intake and get a complete nutritional breakdown of what you're eating. There's also a pretty good database of healthy recipes, too.

Exercise: In this area you can design a fitness program for yourself or use one of the 80,000+ existing programs already on the site. If you don't understand an exercise, it's OK, because DailyBurn has tons of videos detailing the exercises. The exercise tracking tool is awesome - you can track your stats for weight loss, muscle gain, strength, and endurance. If you need better improvement in a certain area, it's really easy to adjust your fitness program.

Social Networking: This is where DailyBurn really sets itself apart from other sites. Use this section to find online workout partners and confidants who end up being your biggest cheering section while you reach your goals. And if you like a little healthy competition, you can go up against one another in fitness challenges much like The Biggest Loser. There are also groups members can join depending on their interest.

The basic tools on DailyBurn are free but paid members get access to advanced options like meal planning. The site is a great tool for burning fat and gaining muscle, as well as helping make smarter food choices. I like that I don't need to spend a lot of time inputting information onto DailyBurn because everything I need is already in its databases and navigation tools.

Keep Track of Your Diet and Exercise Goals With Fitbook

FitSugar — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:00:00 -0700

If you're serious about getting in shape and eating right, documenting your plan of action and your daily progress is a great way to meet your goals. I found an easy way to keep track of all your stats - the fitbook ($20). It's 12-week fitness journal and food diary that's 5.5 square inches, so it's small enough to tuck in your purse or gym bag. It's made of 100 percent recycled paper, and comes with a little pen to jot down your info. It has neat little charts so you can see how much you've worked out, what you've eaten, your weekly weight, and your body fat percentage.

A fit and healthy lifestyle doesn't come easy to many people. It takes discipline and a lot of planning, so using a journal like this one is a great way to set yourself up for success. Plus research shows that those who write down their goals are 75 percent more likely to achieve them.

If you want to take a peek inside this neat little fitbook then read more.

View 7 Photos ›

If your goals will take more than 12 weeks to accomplish, or you have some friends who want to get on the fitbook boat, you can purchase a set of four for $75. Since we're all pinching pennies, if you don't want to splurge on a fitbook then you can download my fitness and food journals for free.

When to Buy Organic (and when not to)

FitSugar — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 16:15:00 -0800

Organic seems to be the way to go these days. Problem is, it's expensive. So what do we really need to buy that is organic?

Recently there was a great article in the Wall Street Journal detailing when it is a good idea to buy organic and when it is a good idea to save your money.

Worth it:

Apples, peaches, bell peppers, strawberries, imported grapes, spinach, lettuce, potatoes and carrots
Milk and dairy products
Meat and poultry
Baby food
Foods you eat a lot of

Not Worth it:

Broccoli, bananas, frozen sweet peas, frozen corn, asparagus, avocados, onions
Seafood
Some processed foods such as bread, chips, pasta, oils
Foods you eat only occasionally

Cool Healthy Gadget: Little Black Book

FitSugar — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 15:45:00 -0700

I am a big fan of journaling your food intake for weight management to identify eating habits and behavior patterns. I've even suggested a fitness journal for the same reasons.

One way to make journaling a bit easier is by using a specialized journal such as The Little Black Book (starts at $19.99). The book is made of well-organized forms, listing the time you eat, the food/drink consumed, serving size and calories. The forms also include colorful boxes for marking off your consumption of the recommended daily servings of each USDA Food Pyramid group. There’s even a place to check off any medications or vitamins and supplements you take. Unlike many food diaries on the market today, this one is convenient and discreet because it's small enough to fit in your pocket or purse. Buy it from DailyFoodDiary.net.

They do say organized people are more successful at weight loss, so keeping a journal like the Little Black Book could get you well on your way.