Search Results for: blog dairy licious and healthy

Health Food Store DOs and DON’Ts

Across America you can find more than thirty-five thousand health food stores. But just because something is available at the health food store doesn’t mean it’s better than what is in your regular grocery store. Health food store DOs: Do take advantage of the dairy and nondairy selections to get plenty of calcium in your diet. You’ll find the usual milk and yogurt and cheeses that you’re used to from the usual grocery store, plus more exotic or unusual offerings like soy and rice-based dairy products and yogurt made from sheep’s or goat’s milk. Do investigate (and try) vegetarian meats … Continue reading →

Staying Healthy on Trips Abroad

Whenever I watch those Food Network shows following people on their exotic food eating adventures I often wonder if they ever sample dishes that have made them sick. In a previous blog I shared with you what happened to my brother the last time he got thirsty in Bali. And his story is not unique. Sampling local cuisine from the far ends of the planet is one of the most satisfying aspects of foreign travel. But while the delicious scents may draw you in and your palate might enjoy the culinary masterpieces, your stomach may not always be happy with … Continue reading →

What to Eat for Healthy Teeth

You can help keep your teeth healthy from the inside out — certain diet choices can help keep your choppers strong and shiny. Here are some tips to help protect your mouth against decay, disease, and more! Sugar isn’t the only thing that’s bad for your teeth — carbs can be just as damaging. After all, carbohydrates break down into simple sugars in your body. In your mouth, sugars are converted into plaque. That doesn’t mean you have to give up carbs! Just try to eat them only at mealtimes. Carbs are kind of sticky, so they tend to adhere … Continue reading →

Spicing Up the Holidays with Healthy Spices

My daughter and I spent the better part of last week in the kitchen trying to get our holiday baking done. We’ve got a few more batches of cookies to go before I can collapse under the Christmas tree and start enjoying the fruits of our labor. It’s been hectic, but there’s nothing better than having your home smell like the inside of a spice factory. The mouth-watering aroma of warm spices got me thinking about the nutritional value of some of the ingredients we’ve been adding to our recipes—-namely the spices. Obviously spices make a dish taste good, but … Continue reading →

Making Healthy Choices at the Thanksgiving Dinner Table

For many people who watch what they eat on a daily basis Thanksgiving is the one day of the year that they throw caution to the wind and devour whatever their stomachs desire. Not my sister-in-law. In fact, she won’t eat a bite of turkey (or ham) today. Rather, she’ll fill her plate with samples of all of the fabulous side dishes that surround the sliced up bird. It’s not because she’s a vegetarian; rather she believes that she’s doing her body good by skipping the meat dishes and eating the lower calorie menu options. (To each her own I … Continue reading →

Is Pasta Really Healthy?

This Sunday more than 35,000 runners will take to the streets of the Big Apple for the 2007 New York City Marathon. Prior to making their way along the 26.2-mile route runners have the opportunity to participate in the traditional night-before pasta dinner. Carb loading before a big race is part of the training process. At least it was for me. I pigged out on pasta before I ran the Chicago Marathon. I gorged on ziti at the Olive Garden before I ran the Madison Marathon and I had two plates of spaghetti plus four pieces of garlic bread the … Continue reading →

Eating Healthy At The State Fair—It Can Be Done

I know what you are thinking… Is it possible to eat healthy at a place where just about everything is deep-fried and impaled with a stick? Moreover, does anyone try to eat healthy at a local fair? I know I don’t. But then there are people like my friend (and running partner) Kim who do. Recently I detailed my adventures at our local fair and listed all of the tantalizing on-a-stick-creations my daughter and I gorged on during our time there. Kim attended the same State Fair with her kids and she left without ever wrapping her lips around a … Continue reading →

What Do You Mean Pop-Tarts Are NOT Healthy?

Okay, I’m not completely nutritional challenged. I know that the popular toaster pastry isn’t exactly packed with vitamins and nutrients. However, I didn’t realize that you are better off skipping breakfast altogether than downing one as you dash out the door. It was news to me. A nutritional update I got directly from someone who knows a thing or two about the health benefits of food. Last week I drove to the TV station I used to work for to drop off a birthday present for a friend/former colleague. (I was out of town and missed her party.) As I … Continue reading →

Eating Your Way To Healthy Skin

Last week I was watching some morning show that was promoting Catherine Zeta-Jones’ new movie “No Reservations.” In it she plays a high-powered chef in a busy Manhattan restaurant. Only in real life, Zeta-Jones told the interviewer that she rarely cooks for her family. Interesting (though not surprising, after all, how many millionaires do you know that don’t have a private chef), but that wasn’t the part of the interview that threw me. When Zeta-Jones’ was asked how she maintains such a flawless complexion given her work schedule (apparently many of the restaurant scenes were shot after midnight) she answered: … Continue reading →

Just How Healthy Is Your Salad?

I’m really not a burger and fries kind of person. Which is not to say that I don’t indulge in high calorie foods, it’s just that when I pig out it’s usually on pulled pork and bread pudding. The rest of the time I simply have a salad. Wait! Don’t stop reading. I’m not bragging… I’m segueing. For months (nay, years) whenever I was forced to eat at a fast food restaurant (I must confess I despise fast food restaurants but I have a kid who loves McDonald’s fries—hence our visits) I would order the salad. I did so simply … Continue reading →