I’m so delighted to announce that I’ve been invited to join a cook-off judged by celebrity chef Andrea Beaman! This June 26th, two other bloggers and I will be cooking live for Veria & Whole Foods’ “A Taste of Summer Tour” at Glastonbury, Connecticut. We only have fifteen minutes to cook a dish – aren’t we supposed to have at least thirty minutes? Haha! But to be sure I’ll be going in there with pans blazing ready to do my culinary best.

You can actually join in on the action wherever you are. Just drop by Veria’s Facebook page at 11am ET on June 26th to see the contest streamed live, and tweet @Veriawellness with #unlocksummer to join the discussion.

In mid-January of this year, the USDA disclosed new guidelines (the first major overhaul in 15 years) it intends to pass to make school lunches healthier. The current guidelines for school lunches are so high in sodium, fat and calories that it’s no wonder the U.S. nation has such a drastic problem with childhood obesity.

The new proposed guidelines do attempt to reduce sodium, establish calorie limits by age (calorie limits have never been imposed in the past), switch from whole milk to 1% milk, add more fruits and vegetables and reduce starches/starchy vegetables (e.g. French Fries). According to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, over 32 million children eat school lunch, so clearly these menu choices have a huge impact on our children’s lives and the future of our country.

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Too much of a good thing?

One of the diets I skimmed through today is called “The Simple Pescatarian Diet” which adheres to some solid health principles, such as eating lots of fish, fresh fruit and dairy (mercury levels and lactose intolerance aside) but I feel its overuse of eggs is a tad questionable. The regimen advises the dieter to eat 6-7 scrambled eggs during the week, which led me to today’s blog question: how many eggs should you be eating?

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Southern Fried Anchovy: this would qualify as a diet buster

If you want to lose weight when eating out, you should ask for half portions even before the food arrives at your table. This really makes your healthy weight loss efforts count, as you won’t be tempted to overeat. But what about situations where you are unable to get half portions, or it’s inappropriate or difficult to request them? Situations like attending a business conference where you don’t want to take home leftovers or a fine dining restaurant where it’s not polite to ask for a doggie bag? Healthy weight loss is important, but so are social graces.

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A salad always adds color to packed lunches

It seems like every day is a rush for the average American family, so packing a lunch each day can be overwhelming and  another “to-do” to add to your inevitably long list.  However, making a packed lunch is simply one of the most significant things you can do for the environment, your wallet and your health.  Packing your own lunch can reduce the styrofoam and other trash from store/restaurant take out lunches.  We all need to do our part to reduce waste, not to mention saving a lot of money that would otherwise be wasted on packaging and food delivery costs.

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Berries go well with frozen yogurt!

Frozen yogurt is all the rage right now ^[1], especially with so many new types, brands, flavors, and stores being introduced. It’s cold, delicious and nutritious, but it can also pack a lot of sugar and hidden calories, as well as artificial ingredients. Today I’d like to discuss the pros and cons of frozen yogurt to help you decide if it’s the best dessert for you.

Grocery vs Store-Bought Yogurt: Health Benefits

Not every yogurt is created equal. Grocery or supermarket frozen yogurt is very inferior to most yogurt-shop varieties, as most commercial yogurts are subjected to heat, which kills the beneficial bacteria ^[2]. Eating the beneficial bacteria in the more tart frozen yogurt brands, such as Pinkberry and Red Mango (called probiotics, also in regular, non-frozen yogurt), helps your digestive system process food. But beware because not all frozen yogurt brands contain these special live bacterias, so if you are not sure, ask the store! More often than not, because live active cultures are such a health benefit, the yogurt store will advertise them in their product.

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Which will triumph in this bizarre turn of events?

One of the most interesting nutritional health questions I’ve heard these past few weeks was posed to me by my young son. He asked: “What’s better for you, fruit or vegetables?”  This is not a simple question to answer, and I love how my son’s inquiry has offered me something new and challenging to think about and now share with you.

Because a lively argument is so much fun, let’s do this debate style and hear from each side of the table, point by point. We should also clearly identify what’s considered to be a fruit and what’s a vegetable.

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It was another breezy summer afternoon when I opened up my laptop to find that a fan of my blog had sent me this tiny gem [1] from Wiki on Americans and weight loss:

Fad Diets: Do They Really Work?

“There is a substantial market for products which promise to make weight loss easier, quicker, cheaper, more reliable, or less painful. These include books, CDs, creams, lotions, pills, rings and earrings, body wraps, body belts and other materials, not to mention fitness centers, personal coaches, weight loss groups, and food products and supplements.”

It went on…

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Flipping through Dr. Sears’ book, I was alarmed to see that the book was full of ‘success stories’ while not containing an ounce of independent research I could evaluate. WebMD’s latest article on the Zone Diet seconds my concern about the validation of this diet’s success.

The American Heart Association Does Not Recommend The Zone Diet.

If you toss all the pricey meal plan books and glossy guides aside, The Zone Diet offers a relatively simple diet plan for you to follow – eat a balance of proteins, carbohydrates and whole grains, but in a rather strict and unwieldy 40-30-30 ratio[1]. Call me crazy, but I don’t want to force my clients to work out their meal ratio to this absolute percentage. Nor did I agree with Sears’ evaluation of ‘brown rice’ as a bad carbohydrate source, and his recommendation that we eat ice cream as it was a ‘good fat’, as ice cream is an undisputed source of saturated fat.

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Acai berries...another fad diet that does not work!

An Internet search for acai berries is like browsing a list of spam emails. A majority of these so-called ‘balanced reviews’ that weigh the ‘pros and cons’ of acai berries are thinly veiled marketing ploys that involve getting you to give up your credit card details for a free trial of acai berry supplements which you’ll find extremely hard to cancel later. Against all of these expert opinions, you may think, what makes my diatribe any different? Well, I work as a nutrition counselor, advising people on wholesome food and fitness. That’s my 9 to 5. I’m also a loving mother of two kids, whom I try to teach to think logically about nutrition, and I’ve never advocated a single fad diet. I am also not trying to sell you anything, and this blog post will not lead to some place where you can purchase some dubious supplements like acai berry or any other product.

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