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Learn to Love: Persimmons

FitSugar — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:00:01 -0800

Now that berry season is long gone, I'm expanding my breakfast fruit horizons. Celebrate the cold weather with pomegranate seeds in your oatmeal, or slice pears or persimmons and serve them with nut butter on toast or whole-grain waffles.

You probably know how to pick and slice a pear, but persimmons have a steeper learning curve. They're worth learning to love, so read more.

Persimmons come in two varieties: hachiya, which are orange-red and shaped like acorns, and fuyu, which sort of look like yellow-orange tomatoes. The hachiyas are bitter and astringent when they're not ripe, but when ripened, they have a soft, jelly-like texture. Fuyu persimmons are a bit firmer like a pear when ripe and can be sliced up like apples.

This fruit is an excellent source of antioxidants and chock-full of vitamins. One persimmon packs 55 percent of your daily allowance of Vitamin A and 21 percent of your recommended Vitamin C, plus six grams of fiber. In addition to having persimmon for breakfast or a snack, you can slice them up and serve them in a pretty Fall salad.

Have you tried persimmons? Tell me how you like to eat them in the comments.

Food Review: Forze GPS Shakes and Bars

FitSugar — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:00:46 -0800

I'm typically wary of fitness drinks with gold packaging; they remind me of the weird muscle-building brands I see at the gym. But when I read the label on Forze GPS shakes and bars, I was intrigued.

This line of snacks, including chocolate and vanilla shakes and four flavors of energy bar, is described as a "weight management tool designed specifically for athletes." They promise to activate your appetite control signals, so they can be used as a between-meal or pre- or post-workout snack. Hear what I thought about their taste and the results.

Can You Scale the Food Pyramid?

FitSugar — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:00:40 -0800

The old food pyramid you remember from grade school got an upgrade in 2005, but the basic sentiment remains the same. The government guidelines advise eaters to choose a variety of foods from the different food groups in order to eat a balanced diet. How much do you know about the food pyramid? Take my quiz and see how you measure up.

Take the quiz

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.

Review: GU Espresso Love Energy Gel

FitSugar — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 03:00:39 -0700

I have been experimenting with different sports gels lately. My latest venture into the world of gooey non-food energy supplements was Espresso Love by GU and it felt like I was going back to the source, since I think of GU as the originator of these energy packets. I ate (or rather gummed and swallowed) this caffeinated GU 15 minutes prior to an early morning swim. If I eat before swimming, I tend to get a cramp, but feel I need some kind of fuel. Since I am a morning coffee drinker, the espresso flavor seemed a perfect fit.

To see how the GU tasted and the nutritional information, read more.

I actually liked the way the Espresso GU tasted because it reminded me of Coffee Nips candy. If you like the taste of coffee, you'll also like this GU. Once in the pool, I felt awake and ready to swim. I had a good 50-minute workout and didn't feel draggy at the end.

Serving size	32 grams (one packet)
Calories	100
Fat	0 g
Sodium	50 mg
Carb	25 g
Potassium	40 mg
Sugar	5 g
Protein	0 g
Vitamin C	130 %
Vitamin E	100%
Caffeine	40 mg

Ingredients: MALTODEXTRIN (GLUCOSE POLYMERS), FILTERED WATER, FRUCTOSE, GU AMINO ACID BLEND (LEUCINE, VALINE, ISOLEUCINE, HISTIDINE), POTASSIUM AND SODIUM CITRATE, GU ANTIOXIDANT BLEND (NATURAL VITAMIN E AND VITAMIN C), NATURAL COFFEE FLAVOR, CITRIC ACID, SEA SALT, GU HERBAL BLEND [CHAMOMILE, COLA NUT (HAS CAFFEINE), GINGER], CALCIUM CARBONATE, SODIUM BENZOATE, POTASSIUM SORBATE, PECTIN

My only complaint about this GU was that I had to go online to find out how much caffeine it contained. The packaging only reads "2X caffeine." Many of their flavors contain 20 milligrams of caffeine, so the Espresso Love contains two times that. I thought, "Why not just conveniently list the amount of caffeine in the nutritional info?"

Do you use energy gels? If so tell me your favorite flavor, so I can expand my taste horizons.

Organic Food No Healthier Than Conventional?

FitSugar — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:00:00 -0700

Everywhere you turn lately, it seems more and more foods are being labeled organic. It's definitely been a huge craze, although sales have fallen since the recession. Sales may fall even further after people hear about a new study published Wednesday that states organic doesn't mean healthier when it comes to nutrition

A review of 162 scientific studies carried out over the past 50 years found no significant difference between organic and conventional in regards to health benefits. Although, individual studies have found organic produce is higher in vitamin C than conventional produce. There have been similar findings when comparing the antioxidant levels of organic tomatoes with conventional, with the organic ones containing almost twice as many healthful nutrients.

So if your main concern is quality of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients, then there's no need to spend the extra dough. However, if you're worried about ingesting chemical pesticides, or want to support farming practices that have the least negative impact on our planet, then continue to splurge on organic foods.

Tell me, will this news change your grocery shopping habits?

Source: Flickr User A.D.A. ~ Anna Duncan Art

Healthy Eating Tip: Add Some Fat to Your Tomatoes

FitSugar — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 09:00:39 -0700

After years of being maligned, fat is making a comeback. Fat is necessary to absorb fat-soluble nutrients, like carotenoids, the antioxidant that the body converts to vitamin A. This family of antioxidants gives fruits and veggies their orange and red hues as well.

Take tomatoes, for instance. They're known for being high in the antioxidants lycopene and beta carotene, both types of carotenoids. But since lycopene and beta carotene are fat soluble, tomatoes need to be paired with a bit of fat for us to absorb these important nutrients. Spritzing a little olive oil over your tomatoes adds flavor and will help you reap the benefits of this fruit disguised as a veggie.

18 Foods to Eat to Fuel a Pregnant Body

LilSugar — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 06:00:54 -0700

What moms-to-be eat affects their growing babies. While they don't need to consume too many extra calories (300 per day) while pregnant, it's what one puts in her mouth that counts. Expectant women should keep all the vital vitamins and minerals that contribute to their child's development in mind when making meal choices. To make it easy, we've rounded up the recommended daily doses and the foods that provide the nourishment.

View Slideshow ›

Foods With the Most Nutrition For the Price Per Portion

FitSugar — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 14:30:00 -0700

The majority of you haven't felt the recession in terms of gaining weight - you've figured out that just because you might be feeling a financial pinch, you don't have to resort to junk food that adds inches to your waistline. Because we're all concerned about balancing our diet while keeping balanced checkbooks, Dr. Adam Drewnowski, who directs the University of Washington Center For Public Health Nutrition, took it upon himself to research
which foods provide the best nutrition for the buck.

Dr. Drewnowski used federal statistics to compare average national prices per portion with the nutritional value of different foods, per 100 calories. He compared the two rankings to find the best buys, which he defined as the "middle ground between most nutritious yet expensive and the not-so-healthy in each food group." His list favors carrots over peppers and apples over strawberries for their longer-lasting qualities, and lean hamburger over pricier salmon and cheap bacon. For other foods singled out, read more.

Low-fat dairy (milk, yogurt, cheddar, American, or mozzarella cheese)
Lean ground beef, chicken, canned fish
Whole eggs
Beans
Peanut butter, sunflower seeds, almonds
Bread (enriched or made with whole wheat), tortillas, rice
Bananas, apples, frozen orange juice concentrate, 100 percent fruit juice or fruit-vegetable blends
Potatoes, iceberg lettuce, canned corn, canned tomatoes

I'm surprised that iceberg lettuce passed the nutrition component of Dr. Drewnowski's research. Do any of the foods stand out as surprising to you?

Into the Mouths of Babes: Food Facts For Kids

LilSugar — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 07:00:00 -0700

The anecdotes that come out of the mouths of babes entertain parents, but what goes in can consume them. Last week, we tested your toddler nutritional needs knowledge and many of you were surprised by the facts.

To help mamas understand just where their children should be getting their food, we consulted the USDA's Food Pyramid. The pyramid, which was updated late last year, emphasizes protein and vegetables opposed to the grains.

To see the specific requirements for your lil eaters, read more.

Food Group	Daily Requirements for 2 & 3 Year Olds
Grains	3 ounces, half from whole-grain sources
Vegetables	1 cup
Fruits	1 cup
Dairy	2 cups
Meats, Beans, Fish & Nuts	2 ounces

Food Group	Daily Requirements for 4 - 8 Year Olds
Grains	4-5 ounces, half from whole-grain sources
Vegetables	1 ½ cups
Fruits	1 ½ cups
Dairy	2 cups
Meats, Beans, Fish & Nuts	3-4 ounces

Food Group	Daily Requirements for 9 - 13 Year Olds
Grains	5-6 ounces, half from whole-grain sources
Vegetables	2-2 ½ cups
Fruits	1 ½ cups
Dairy	3 cups
Meats, Beans, Fish & Nuts	5 ounces