Sandy Todd Webster
Article Archive
Junk food marketers are successful with children because they make food fun and approachable. Why not use the same tactics to make healthy foods just as pleasing? A few years back, a study by Just Kid Inc. pinpointed a few common characteristics that kids identify as fun when it comes to food. Try these approaches with 6- to 12-year-olds and see if you get any added enthusiasm when serving up healthy fare that is not processed and packaged. Finger Foods. Children are tactile and like to be literally hands-on with their food. Dipping and Scooping.
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In 2008, David Rowlands, PhD, senior lecturer with the Institute of Food, Nutrition, and Human Health at Massey University in New Zealand, published a study showing that male cyclists who ingested protein and carbohydrates between intense training bouts gained distinct performance and postexercise recovery advantages over men who fueled only with carbohydrates (Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 33 [1], 39–51).
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These delicious, nutritional sandwiches have it all—a good, nutty crunch juxtaposed with the smooth-mouth feel of cream cheese and the sweet note of pears. Crisp, ripe Bartlett pears and toasted walnuts from autumn’s outdoor pantry blend beautifully in these quick and tasty sandwiches. Try them for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Pair them with a sweet…
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There’s nothing better than a home-cooked meal—especially when someone else makes it for you! Help a family member, friend or neighbor in need by stepping aboard www.mealTrain.com.
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In one of the earliest written references to pears, Homer waxed poetic in The Odyssey, calling them “gifts from the gods.” If you’ve eaten any variety of this fruit at peak ripeness, you well understand his homage. Pears, Pyrus communis, are a relative of the apple and rank with their close cousins as one of the most popular fruits in the United Staes.
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Do you ever feel like you’re full from snacking by the time dinner makes it to the table? Are you snacking throughout the day as well as eating full meals? According to recent research in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, we are eating 276 more snack calories per day than we did in 1977. We are also eating and drinking about 123 more calories per day at meals. Such increases hardly make our world’s ongoing battle with overweight and obesity a mystery. Nor do they make it an easier fight to win.
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Three studies presented in July at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Honolulu point toward exercise, tea consumption and vitamin D as promising measures to keep dementia at bay. Exercise. The first study, derived from data collected in the Framingham Heart Study, found that those who engaged in moderate to heavy levels of physical activity…
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Drat! The growing season is winding down in most parts of North America. By next month, many parts of the country will have experienced their first frosts and most garden beds will lie fallow until spring. But there’s still plenty of seasonal freshness out there if you seek it.
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We’re in that limbo between summer and autumn, and our palates are craving something to suit both sides of the approaching equinox. This recipe pays homage to the fading days of summer with fresh herbs and chili-citrus flavor while welcoming fall by using a plentiful and very healthy root vegetable. This side dish is perfect…
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Nonfat milk is probably not at the top of most women’s lists as the go-to beverage after a tough strength training workout, but recent research shows that perhaps it should be.
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The percentage of moms greeting kids at home after school with a healthy snack and serving a hot-from-the-oven dinner after homework is quite small in this era. Stay-at-home motherhood is practically an unheard-of luxury as families try to make ends meet. But is the cost of mom working literally penny-wise and pound-foolish? Recent research suggests it could be.
The growing number of full-time working moms in the past few decades could be one of the factors contributing to the concurrent rise in childhood obesity, new research hints.
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The Food Network is working hard on behalf of kids and families—again. The network’s semiannual food and wine festivals (February in Miami and October in New York City) are indeed star-studded events, with the most famous celebrity chefs and some of the best food and wine on the planet. Even so, their affordable educational programming for kids and families continues expanding and growing more meaningful to keep pace with the rising incidence of childhood obesity.
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It seems every time you turn around these days, there is a new food allergy in the news. There are horrific stories of kids who cannot even be in the same room as a peanut. Gluten-free products have sprung up all over the supermarket shelves. You probably know someone who is lactose-intolerant. The question is, are food allergies really more prevalent these days? A group of researchers did an exhaustive research review to get to the heart of the matter.
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Chili peppers have a reputation for “kicking things up a notch,” as chef Emeril Lagasse would say. But not all of them are mouth burners, and they have some meaningful health benefits—in particular, they are an excellent source of vitamin C, provitamin A and vitamin B6—so it might be time to give them another look…
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If you eat seasonally, you’re in for a treat this month. September is a bountiful time for fresh produce choices as well as a transitional time for our taste buds. There may still be some hot days and nights lingering as summer gets her last hurrah, but cooler weather is on the way. Right now it shouldn’t be too hard to find bumper crops of plump, sweet fruits right next to early autumnal items.
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Ginger root has been used for centuries as a folk remedy for ailments ranging from colds to upset stomachs. To add to the root’s healing resumé, this month The Journal of Pain will unveil a study by researchers at the University of Georgia showing that daily ginger consumption also reduces muscle pain caused by exercise.
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A hip fracture can devastate the life of older adults and their families. Seniors lose their independence, suffer terrible pain and in many cases never regain their quality of life postinjury. However, some encouraging research has emerged that has the potential to lower the incidence of hip fractures in the elderly.
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IDEA Fitness Fusion couldn’t be a more apt name for our annual spring education conference. Concepts from all corners of fitness have fused, morphed and layered beautifully over the past few years to give professionals from all disciplines interesting and meaningful exercise choices for their clients.
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Read MoreThe vibe of the Big Apple is organic. The sidewalks hum with the whoosh of the subway underfoot; the air is a noisy conversation of rumbles, horns and sirens; and the streets are a feast of lights and odd sights for the eyes to consume, one blink at a time. The vibe hits you in the gut and radiates outward, an aura of energy leaving traces of vitality everywhere—a force that can’…
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