Nutrition Frenzy

The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy found that over a 15-year period the cost of fresh fruits and vegetables rose 40 percent, while prices on sweets and soda dropped. Adam Drewnowski, PhD, director of the University of Washington Center for Obesity Research, found that a dollar buys 1,200 calories worth of potato chips and cookies but just 250 carrot calories.

Buy direct
Jake Brown, a communications director in Montpelier, Vermont, bypasses the supermarket whenever possible. Each fall, he buys a lamb from the farmer down the road, paying $70 for 50 pounds of meat that comes butchered and wrapped in meal-size portions. Another local farmer sells him a box of freshly harvested fruits and vegetables each week at a 15 percent discount.

Make it automatic
Set up a shopping list at a site such as peapod.com or freshdirect.com in the East, or winderfarms.com in the West, and you can do a week’s shopping in minutes and have it delivered. For nonperishable items, consider amazon.com, where signing up for regular deliveries will knock 15 percent off your bill.

Don’t rule out warehouses
Bottom line: Buying in bulk can save significant money. Tropicana orange juice costs $1.31 a quart at Costco versus $2 a quart at Giant. Filippo Berio extra-virgin olive oil costs $6 a quart, versus $15.92 a quart at Giant. Got a newborn? Parents can save about 10 cents a diaper by going with the Costco brand; that adds up to nearly $200 saved a year.

the frozen-food aisle
While your instinct may be to buy fresh food, you can save time and boost the nutrition factor by heading to the freezer case.
Bottom line: You’ll cut your vegetable bill in half by going with frozen. In a survey, we found that fresh broccoli, snap peas, squash, and green peppers ran $3 or more a pound, while the frozen versions were $1.50 or less a pound. To maximize your savings, look for bags of frozen vegetables, which tend to cost less than the boxed variety.

Know when to go organic
When is it worth it to go out of your way and spend more on organic foods? Studies have shown benefits for milk and eggs, largely because they have more omega-3 fatty acids.

Plant a garden
The cheapest, most convenient, most carbon-footprint-friendly source for healthful food is your own backyard. Even a little container garden can produce enough lettuce, tomatoes, and herbs for a summer’s worth of salads.

Welcome to the September 10, 2007 edition of the Health and Fitness Forum.

The purpose of this forum is to feature well-written articles that provide easy-to-implement tips and information on health, fitness, nutrition, weight loss, beauty and overall well being. We have several great articles this week.

Please read, share and enjoy.

Diet Tips

Weight Master presents Reason why calorie-restrictive diets are unhealthy… posted at Weight Master.

Rob presents The Koda Kumi Diet; eating your way to weight-loss posted at Dusk and Dawn, saying, “This is a short article about a small change I’ve made in my life that has been having a continuous, positive effect on my health.”

Exercise Tips

EnduranceNinja presents Go for a walk. posted at The Adventures of the Enduranceninja, saying, “Beginners guide to becoming an Endurance Ninja”

Kimberly Linton presents Take Charge of Your Lunch Hour! posted at Living the Fit Life.

John Hill presents Get Bigger Biceps and Triceps for Hardgainers posted at Big-Arms.com.

John presents How to Get a Big Wide Muscular Back posted at Muscular-Fitness.

Alvaro Fernandez presents 11 Neuroscientists Debunk a Common Myth about Brain Training posted at SharpBrains, saying, “Exciting quotes on exercising our brains…”

Fitness Tips

Zoe Anderson presents Pilates as Smart Exercise - Principles and Efficiency posted at thinkpilates.com, saying, “Pilates terms to help you integrate a pilates based form of exercise into your schedule. Also included are three different ways to get started with pilates.”

General Health and Wellbeing Tips

Tiffany Washko presents Battle of the BPA Free Sippy Cups - A Review posted at Natural Family Living Blog.

Becky Gillaspy presents Common Thought Traps posted at Weight Loss without Worry

Amanda Harris presents Pajama Mommy Community posted at Pajama Mommy.

Andrew Edgington presents What is the Future for Bodybuilders? (Part 2) posted at Mick.

Healthy Eating Tips

FitBuff presents posted at FitBuff.com’s Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog, saying, “There’s nothing more deflating than ruining your diet by succumbing to the speed and convenience of fast food. It may seem trivial in the grand scheme of things, but this minor failure can lead to a downward spiral in all areas of your life.

So, do you have to avoid ALL fast food ALL the time? Not if you are informed and make the healthiest choice possible when you indulge.

That’s where this great tool comes in. It not only shows you the best option for each type of fast food, but there is also a list of nearly 30 popular fast food chains, with their complete menus and nutrition guides available for you to see.”

Wenchypoo presents How’s Your Health Been Lately? posted at Wisdom From Wenchypoo’s Mental Wastebasket.

Sohail presents Sugar Beverages: Drinks of Mass Destruction? posted at The HealthBlogger, saying, “Sugar Beverages: Drinks of Mass Destruction?”

Jeremiah Reid presents Should We Eat Grains? posted at I’m an Omnivore.

Nneka presents How to Stop Eating Compulsively posted at Balanced Life Center.

Dean presents Top Ten Fast Food Meals That Make You Fat posted at Mr. Cheap Stuff, saying, “What is on your list of worst fast food meals?”

Nutrition Tips

John Hill presents Calcium Deficiency posted at Universe Of Success.

Weight Loss Tips

Shaheen Lakhan presents Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters: The Eating Disorder Expose posted at GNIF Brain Blogger.

Paul Heingarten presents Weight Loss Secrets Revealed ? posted at workout ebooks, saying, “It seems there is a mystery which surrounds all people on a diet: how to find the “weightloss fat burner secrets” that will end their misery, obesity, or simple desire to be thinner, ultimately without too much extra work or additional suffering.”

Alternative Health Tips

TheNourisher presents Nourishing the Liver posted at Nourished Magazine.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the health & fitness forum
using our submission form.

health and fitness tips, health and fitness forum, health and fitness, diet, exercise, healthy eating, celebrity diets

Raw almond lovers are grieving.

As of September 2007, The California Almond Board will require that ALL almonds sold commercially will be heat treated, aka pasteurized. This requirement is effectually the death knell of the truly raw almond.

While you may still see almonds labeled “organic and raw”, this packaging will be deceptive as ALL almonds sold commercially will be treated with high-temperature heat.

How To Beat The Ban

In October 2007, “Organic Pastures”, a family owned and operated dairy, farm and creamery will begin home delivery of organic, TRULY RAW, Butte and Padre variety almonds.

Organic Pastures is the superior company from which I buy raw milk, raw kefir, and raw cheese (they deliver an array of raw products or check stores like Whole Foods or Wild Oats in California ).

To reserve your raw almonds call Organic Pastures at 1-877-729-6455.

Prices begin at $20 for a 2lb bag and large orders are also accepted. What could be better than having one of the most nutritious, delicious and versatile nuts delivered tight to your door?!

Also, be sure to check www.organicpastures.com for informative articles about why organic, raw almonds are not only safe to eat, but extremely nutritious. You’ll also find enlightening information regarding the deceptive labeling practices that will be instituted by The California Almond Board.

If you hadn’t noticed, I’m totally bugged by the whole raw almond ban. Therefore, my pledge is to find EVERY high-quality, organic, raw almond source that I can and then relate them to you.

More power to you if you choose to buy heat treated or pasteurized almonds, but I want you to at least have a CHOICE where your nutrition is concerned.

Next on my agenda: a quality source for organic truly raw, almond butter. Life just won’t be the same without it!

Hear this California Almond Board - where there’s a will, there’s a truly raw almond!

The other night I went to dinner at a very elegant establishment. I was psyched for a beautifully prepared fish dinner (anything prepared by someone other than me is always beautiful as far as I’m concerned).

Enlightened consumer that I am, I inquired as to whether the broiled salmon entrée was wild or farmed. The rest of the exchange with my waitress went like this:

WAITRESS WITH A BLANK LOOK: “Wild or what???”

PAIN IN-THE-ASS CUSTOMER: “The fish . . . Any idea where it came from?”

PATIENT WAITRESS WITH JUSTIFIED HINT OF ANNOYANCE: “ Well, it came from the kitchen, but I’ll run and ask the chef.”

Five minutes later:

WAITRESS WHO NOW HATES MY GUTS: “Ma’m, all of our salmon is freshly farmed!”

EXCEEDINGLY RUDE CUSTOMER: “What the hell does freshly farmed mean ???” “Oh, just forget it, I’ll have the chicken.”

Honestly, I didn’t intend to be a nightmare customer, and I certainly don’t mean to demean wait-staff. I mean, how could I expect her to know the difference between types of salmon when confusion is perpetuated by marketing with labels like “Atlantic”, “Ocean-Raised,” “Farm-Raised” and what I guess is the newly coined, “Freshly-Farmed.”

Bottom line - what you want to eat is called “Wild Alaskan Salmon”, all other terms are almost always synonymous with “farmed”.

What’s the diff?, you ask.

Farmed salmon looks the same as Wild and it’s less expensive. Just cook ‘er up and don’t worry about it, right? But in order to be sure you are eating the type of fish that offers the most health benefits it’s important to understand a very real difference does exist between Wild Alaskan and Farmed Salmon.

World renowned health experts like Dr. Nicholas Perricone, Dr. Andrew Weil and Dr. Mercola all highly recommend Wild Alaskan Salmon for a variety of reasons.

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fish dinner, salmon, Dr. Nicholas Perricone, Dr. Andrew Weil, Dr. Mercola

For all concerned about the death of the true, raw almond come September 1st, here is some great news.

After making a few inquiries at my lovely Farmer’s Market this weekend, I learned that the California Almond Board’s bad decision to heat treat ALL almonds will apply only to those sold commercially. Private vendors (like the awesome guys at the Farmie’s Market), will still be able to sell the real thing - raw and unheated - in all their nutritional glory. Yippee!

I am thinking I’ll just have to start making my own raw almond butter at home once September rolls around (now the “S” word in my home). Could be quite messy, but worth it!

Long Live The Real Raw Almond!

Real Raw Almond

“Bring on the holistic horsecrap, break out the Bible bread!”, exclaims my husband the Neanderthal as he stands in front of the barbeque grill wielding a pair of tongs.

Please don’t take offense at this outburst. I know I no longer do. He can’t help it, he was raised on Oscar Meyer Weiners paired with “Wonder” Bread White-Flour Death Buns.

My Neanderthal’s insensitive reference is to the Food For Life line of “Ezekiel” sprouted grain products. The packaging of these all natural treasures is covered in scripture verses. Like the hot dog buns we use whenever we grill, all the Food For Life Ezekiel products are organic, whole sprouted grains.

The religious zealots who created these products are actually on to something. My husband and I enjoy several of their products on a daily basis. You’ll definitely want to try the hot dog and hamburger buns, English muffins (my favorite) cereal (think grape nuts minus the high fructose corn syrup) and pasta.

I know for a fact that most of the “Processing Pavilions” (as I call the major chain groceries) carry Ezekial bread. So, take the plunge and switch to a bread that is organic, sprouted 100% whole grains. Its stats also really rock: low calorie (80 a slice) low fat (5 grams a slice) high fiber and also a complete protein.

If you don’t regularly buy 100% natural bread products here is a heads up. To avoid funkiness, refrigerate Food For Life breads and muffins. Because these products have no artificial ingredients, they can start to look a little too natural a little too quickly if you know what I mean . . . .

This Sunday, dip some Ezekial bread in a mixture of egg white with a dash of cinnamon and vanilla to create a healthy French toast breakfast in bed for your lova. Or, serve your famous marinara over a bed of Ezekial sprouted grain pasta.

Sometimes love means giving a gentle push in a positive direction. Despite his teasing, my husband is secretly pleased that I care enough to find him a delicious and healthy new place to put his weenie.

grain products, natural bread products

DEMI MOORE IS GONNA BE SO MAD

Raw foodist Demi Moore attributes her glowing, youthful appearance and rockin’ body to a raw foods diet.

That’s why I have a feeling she’s gonna throw a major diva-esque tantrum when she hears the news about the imminent demise of raw almonds in the United States. Hopefully, some pissed off celebrities will help challenge this tragic measure.

Come on Demi, give us a hand – it’s time to put some serious A-list pressure on the California Almond Board.

RAW ALMONDS R.I.P.

I am saddened to tell you that due to a rash decision of the California Almond Board, come September 1st, 2007 you’ll no longer be able to buy untreated raw almonds. And yes, that means raw almond butter, a most delectable and nutritious treat, will become a distant memory as well.

What is going on?!?

In 2001 and 2004 there were two salmonella outbreaks stemming from conventional almonds. The Almond Board’s decision to heat treat ALL almonds is based on these outbreaks yet it ignores the important differences in how organic and conventional almonds are processed and stored.

In fact, conventionally grown raw almonds are stored in warehouses at room temperature which a makes them more susceptible to contracting disease-causing organisms, while organic raw almonds are kept refrigerated.

The other factor the Board ignores is the fact that heat treatment/pasteurization may in fact INCREASE the risk of almonds that become contaminated with salmonella. Studies show that eliminating bacteria from the surface of foods (heat treatment), can actually create a sterile surface MORE likely to foster the growth of bacteria like salmonella. Thus, a pasteurized almond that comes in contact with salmonella has a higher likelihood of spreading salmonella to a consumer than a raw almond would. Dumb Board.

Don’t be Fooled

You’ll probably continue seeing labeling of “Raw Almonds”. But be aware that these labels are misleading and there will probably be some small print somewhere on the package stating (heat treated). Unbelievably, even organic “raw” almonds will be subjected to a high-temperature, moist heat treatment. Bye-bye life-sustaining enzymes and so long to the health benefits of alive, raw almonds. Makes me so mad!

You REALLY Need To Go Organic Now

All conventional almonds will be treated not only with high-temp heat, but also fumigated with Propylene Oxide which is classified as “possibly carcinogenic to humans”, by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Uh-oh. I don’t like the sound of that. Add to that the fact that Propylene Oxide is banned in the European Union as well as other countries. Not a likely to be a contender for Healthy Chemical Of The Year, right?

Take A Stand

If you are as p.o.’d as I am by the Board’s decision, take a few minutes to contact the media in your area. Most people out there are still happily munching almond butter and apple slices, completely unaware that in just a few short months their favorite, healthiest snack will be a distant memory. Together we can use the time we have left to campaign and help prevent the almond crisis.

Help keep real almonds alive!

Sign the petition here: Online petition - Mandatory Almond Pasteurization is WRONG!!!

Trista and Ryan are gonna have a baby!

You remember Trista, the cute little bachelorette who scored the hot fireman (and former football player) Ryan? And you must recall that garish PINK wedding?

Well, it appears that the couple forged on the highly moronic show “The Bachelorette” (of which I missed not a single episode), have managed not only to stay together but to get pregnant! Apparently, Trista spent a few years struggling to conceive. According to an interview in Fertility Times magazine, she actually worked her way through at least a HUNDRED at-home pregnancy tests (and I thought I was the pee–on-a-stick world record holder). Happily, the girl is finally preggers! I bet the baby will be cute. Maybe not so brilliant, but cute.

Good luck Trista and Ryan!

As all my friends and some strangers are now aware (I shamelessly discuss my uterus with any breathing life form), I am deeply involved in the journey towards getting pregnant.

I’ll admit, I am now officially, legitimately obsessed with all things BABY. Yes, I spend hours perusing that adorable children’s wear at Neiman Marcus (Fantasy Baby wears only the finest). And those Bugaboo strollers! And the diaper bags! Oooh, I cannot wait! Yet, even in this state of baby–brain-freeze, I realize that the issue of greatest importance both pre- pregnancy and during pregnancy is proper nutrition.

Imagine just how much is riding on what you eat – what you put in your body is going to shape the life of your child! An exciting and huge responsibility!

You would never knowingly put your little Burberry-clad prince or princess in a room filled with toxins, right? But have you thought about the fact that what you put in YOUR body could be contaminating your baby in the same way? Numerous studies show that blood contaminants pass easily from mother to fetus and that the delicate, developing organs and tissues are extremely susceptible to damage.

A Great Book

Check out “The Complete Organic Pregnancy”, by Dolan and Zissu for additional, more in-depth information on how to make your pregnancy as naturally healthful as possible. For all of you still working on the conceiving the next Rembrandt, America’s Next Top Model, or Michael Jordan, this book is also a great way to start preparing your body for 9 months as a five-star Mommy Hotel.

Here are four of the basic steps Dolan and Zissu offer to get you started:
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Trista and Ryan