A little knowledge....

 

I'm not suggesting you become a slave to calorie counting but it is important to have a rough idea of the calorie content of what you consume.
I rarely buy coffee when I'm out shopping but at this time of year I love to indulge in a certain peppermint mocha!  The great staff at the coffee shop will make your drink anyway you like it so be sure to mention 'low fat' or 'skinny' or 'no whip' to keep those calories in check.
For example my coffee choice was around 340 calories without whipped cream but nearly 450 calories with it!  
To understand what this means you need to know what proportion of your body's daily calorie requirement this is.  As an average, people need around 2000 calories a day (this varies between individuals but this gives a rough guide). So this coffee provided 17% of my daily calorie intake - nearly 20% just from a drink!!
It pays to be aware of the calorie content of our food  on a day to day basis so that on special occasions like birthdays and the holiday season we can relax and enjoy a little extra food knowing we're doing our best to keep healthy the rest of the year.
Happy Holidays!

Michelle Obama's Childhood Obesity Campaign

From planting a vegetable garden at the White House to highlighting the issue of Childhood Obesity Michelle Obama is raising awareness of the link between good nutrition & health! 

Stop by her Let's Move Campaign website http://www.letsmove.gov/eathealthy.php for healthy recipes & so much more!

Prevention is better than cure

Prevention will be a recurring theme in my blog. 

What better place to start than with children - lets teach them about good nutrition so they can avoid the health struggles the current generation of adults are facing.

This is a fun, informative website for children to learn about nutrition http://www.nourishinteractive.com/

Going Bananas!

According to Business Week:

"Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT - News), which registered $405 billion in sales last year and is the largest retailer in the world, sold more bananas than any other single item."

I must admit to being (pleasantly!) surprised by this fact!

Help yourself!

Indulged in something sweet?  That's ok - we all need a little treat now and then.  But it's so easy to forget you already ate the candy/cookie/doughnut/chips and overindulge throughout the day.

When my children have candy they often ask if they can keep the wrapper in their 'keepsake box'.  While this sometimes frustrates me later when I find the wrapper abandoned in a corner of the room, it made me realise that they just want to remember how much they enjoyed the lollipop.

Instead of helping yourself to more, use this tip to help yourself stop overindulging:  leave the wrapper on your work desk or kitchen counter instead of putting it straight in the trash - it will remind you that you already indulged today and may give you the will power to resist eating more!

Just for laughs!

Following my recent post Eat as Mommy says and as Mommy does!  I was interested to read some advice for Moms while I was flicking through Health Magazine. They were telling Moms not to eat food left on their child's plate but to consider it as trash.

They even had a name for this, which made me laugh out loud ~ Momnivore!

Water, water everywhere!

Looking for a drink that tastes great and has zero calories?  Try WATER!!

Just like plants, our bodies need a constant supply of water.  Hard as it is to drink water in the cold of winter it is essential for our bodies to function properly.  Now the warmer weather is here it's more important than ever to keep our water levels 'topped up' as we lose increased moisture through our skin in the heat.

If you're in the habit of forgetting to drink water try filling up a large jug or water bottle in the morning and keep it near you throughout the day.  Aim for 8 glasses of water a day.

Drinking more water will help you reduce intake of soda and will stave off those 'hunger' pangs you feel mid afternoon.  Often these are not 'hunger' at all but thirst signals that we are misreading!

So while we're being told to drink less caffeine, less alcohol and less soda - go ahead and drink MORE water!  Cheers!!