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The last post in my series about eating healthy and finding deals on health food addresses a question many of us have had at one time or another: What does it mean to "go organic," and, "why buy organic?" Once again, Victoria has an awesome and informative post that addresses these questions, then finishes with mouth-watering recipe chock full of organic food.  Thank you for sharing your passion with us Victoria! Making the choice to purchase and consume organic food is a personal one. However, it is a choice that you should feel very good about making. By purchasing organic foods, you are ch......
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In part 3 of our series, Healthy Eating on the Cheap, financial blogger Victoria, happens to also be a health food nut who is passionate about organic eating. She has some great tips for buying organic foods if you are buying on a budget.  Thank you for blogging for me today Victoria! Buying Organics on a Budget Perhaps you have decided that purchasing organic foods is going to be a priority for your family. Although your budget may not have much wiggle room, there are ways to make this lifestyle work. Fortunately with more and more interest in organically grown food, there are many options a......
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We stump, stoop, slouch…so much so that the quality of our everyday lives can be directly affected from these posture problems.  I thought of this while sitting at the computer working, and had to stretch to relieve that nagging tightness between my shoulder blades. At the same time, I noticed a whole slew of other bad habits I was committing, and quickly set about practicing what I preach. Why good posture is important: Practicing good posture can improve your breathing, decrease your risk of injury, help you move more easily through the tasks of daily living, and also improve your sports ......
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Not long ago, if your neighbor had told you she was training for a triathlon, you might have looked at her crossed-eyed and with one eyebrow raised. Once thought of as an endurance sport for athletes who had both an unnatural pain threshold, and oodles of time on their hands, triathlon has in recent years become a sport for anyone who likes variety, has a few hours each week to dedicate toward training, and enjoys challenges small and large. No longer a sport just for the guys, the proliferation of female participants in triathlon events proves its growing popularity: in the late 1990s, women ......
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Did you give yoga a shot once upon a time, only to walk out mid-class, scratching your head and wondering, what was I thinking? It is possible the style you tried didn't match your personality, athletic ability, or just moved at a pace geared more toward advanced yogis than beginners. It isn't uncommon to feel lost during your first several classes, but there is a way to ensure you don't feel too out of place: pick the right style of yoga first. Before you write off yoga for good, try a class that is a better match for your personal style. I've compiled a short list of the most common yoga sty......
Jun

30

There is a “Dummy” guide for just about everything these days, and I think there should be one for reading food labels as well. Come on, raise your hand if you’ve held up traffic in the grocery isle while trying to figure out how many grams of saturated fat are in one serving of your favorite brand of ice cream? And do you fall into this trap too — reading the list of ingredients and wondering what the heck everything is, or if it is any good for you or not? I do this ALL the time. Luckily, there is help…check out eBrandAid, a website that helps you read the labels, and also compare brands, which is terrific if you also like to compare the ingredients between competing brands. The site also offers free email tips, the “best” brands (i.e, the healthiest options available), and answers to common questions, such as, “what is better, margarine or butter?”
Check it out – it’s free!

Oct

24

Finally, a better way to get the REAL scoop on your favorite foods’ nutritional content. Label Watch makes it a snap to find out if the number of fat grams in your favorite Starbucks Mocha Latte are within your daily allotment. You can also find out if the data provided on every box in your pantry is accurate or not (and don’t be shocked when you discover it isn’t — remember, no one is really policing this stuff, so you must learn to be your own “truth in nutrition” advocate.)

They also have recipes, health and nutrition advice, and a handy tool for creating a shopping list. And, it is FREE!!!
Check it out… Label Watch

Sep

05

We’re all well versed in what to look for on food labels:

Calories per serving
Fat percentages
Carbohydrate
Sodium
Vitamins/minerals

At a glance, we’re able to determine whether a food is good choice or not, and whether it will help us meet the daily quota for a particular food group.

Look further down the label to the “ingredients” list, however, and you see a very long list of ingredients – some of which are difficult to pronounce. “What is this stuff?” you may, and should, wonder. That is a very good question. The answer? Lots of stuff: chemicals, additives, flavoring, sweeteners, preservatives, moisture controls, nutritional supplements – some natural, some synthetic, herbicides (yes, I said herbicides), and pesticides. These “additives” do serve a purpose – they help food stay fresh longer, they are emulsifiers, texturizers, neutralizers, buffers, bleaching agents, clarifying agents…the list goes on. My point — there are many additives in food we regularly consume that our bodies don’t want, or need.

So how do you avoid consuming these food additives? Eat fresh. Buy and eat foods that are wholesome and natural (fresh fruits and vegetables) and organic, and try to avoid pre-packaged foods containing high levels of hydrogenated oils, nitrates and nitrites, and MSG.

If you see an ingredient listed on a food label and want to know what it is, find out on www.nutritiondata.com. This site lists most food ingredients in their database, and also has tools for analyzing recipes, so plug in your favorite dish and find out what you’re really eating. Another super site is www.foodadditivesworld.com — here you’ll be able to look up the ingredient in questions and find out other names for that ingredient, as well as what it is made of. This site also has information about the glycemic index and the effects of processing on food.

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