Nutrition
- Back to Weight Watchers
- Mercury in Fish
- Foods That Fool You.
- Cloned Animals in the Food Supply
- Joys Fit Club
- My Year Anniversary!
- New Years Resolutions
- What is free range?
- Never mind the broccoli
- Gluten Free Tortillas
Posted by
Samantha Rufle
Even a food writer needs a little help staying on track.
Sometimes I need a little help eating right, just the same as everyone else. I have to admit, I am still trying to shed my holiday weight. It seems that when I got used to eating larger portions and tons of sugar, I lost a little perspective on how much I was eating. Plus I was craving sugar!
So to counter all the stuff I was eating I decided that doing the online Weight Watchers program will help me keep track and keep my portions to a more reasonable size. One thing that is really cool about going back to Weight Watchers online is that all my old info, meals and such is still there so it is easy to get right back on track!
So wish me luck! I only need to lose about ten pounds (thank goodness).
So to counter all the stuff I was eating I decided that doing the online Weight Watchers program will help me keep track and keep my portions to a more reasonable size. One thing that is really cool about going back to Weight Watchers online is that all my old info, meals and such is still there so it is easy to get right back on track!
So wish me luck! I only need to lose about ten pounds (thank goodness).
Posted by
Samantha Rufle
Tests shows that fish tested in New York have dangerous levels of mercury.
Here are a few facts to consider when eating fish.
What is so dangerous about eating mercury?
It cumulates in the body. It can take up to a year to leave the body. It can cause damage to heart, kidneys, and can especially effect neurological development.
All fish have at least some traces of mercury but preditory fish like tuna and sword fish have higher levels.
Some studies have concluded that some fish may have dangerous levels of mercury.
Who should be concerned?
If you eat 20 to 30 peices of sushi a week you are probably getting too much mercury.
If you are eating more than the recommended amount of fish (two servings) and they are peditory fish like tuna or sword fish.
If you are pregnant or trying to become pregnant, avoid fish know to have high levels of mercury.
To get omega threes with out the risk of eating too much mercury- eat flax seeds!
What is so dangerous about eating mercury?
It cumulates in the body. It can take up to a year to leave the body. It can cause damage to heart, kidneys, and can especially effect neurological development.
All fish have at least some traces of mercury but preditory fish like tuna and sword fish have higher levels.
Some studies have concluded that some fish may have dangerous levels of mercury.
Who should be concerned?
If you eat 20 to 30 peices of sushi a week you are probably getting too much mercury.
If you are eating more than the recommended amount of fish (two servings) and they are peditory fish like tuna or sword fish.
If you are pregnant or trying to become pregnant, avoid fish know to have high levels of mercury.
To get omega threes with out the risk of eating too much mercury- eat flax seeds!
Posted by
Samantha Rufle
Check out the list of foods that may food you as you walk the isles at the local super market.
The Today show has this amazing resource on their web site. It is a list of fifteen foods that can fool you at the grocery store. What is really nice is that you can click on the list and it gives you reasons these foods can be tricky and a few solutions so that you do not fall prey to clever advertizing. Love it!
Another section has the 16 Secrets Resturants do not want you to know about. This is a great resource that shows you how deceptive some of the big chain resturants can be to keep you in the dark about what you are eating.
I love these two resources because they give you the information you really need to make an informed desicion about what to buy at the local grocery store and when you eat out! Maybe with knowing the truth we can all work toward eating healthier with a little less effort!
Another section has the 16 Secrets Resturants do not want you to know about. This is a great resource that shows you how deceptive some of the big chain resturants can be to keep you in the dark about what you are eating.
I love these two resources because they give you the information you really need to make an informed desicion about what to buy at the local grocery store and when you eat out! Maybe with knowing the truth we can all work toward eating healthier with a little less effort!
Cloned Animals in the Food Supply
Posted by
Samantha Rufle
Raise your hand if you think eating the product of cloned animals is a good idea?
Putting cloned animals in the food supply raises tons of red flags for me. As a nutritionist and ethicly. There are several things that make me very uncomfortable.
- No labeling requirements. So you will not know if you are eating cloned or the product of cloned meat.
- Cloned animals do not live as long as their noncloned counterparts. Does this mean there is something wrong that we are not seeing?
- The study of cloning animals started only seven years ago, which hardly is enough time to deem this practice safe.
Posted by
Samantha Rufle
Joy Bauer's weight loss plan on NBC is fantastic and doable plan for most people.
This morning I was watching the Today Show and she was giving tips on how to follow her plan Joy's Fit Club. Here is the link to the video that gives to overview of the plan. It is really nutritionally sound and it looks fairly easy to follow and adaptable to many different lifestyles.
Here is more a more in depth look at the plan and information on how you can sign up.
A few of things that I like about Joy Bauer's Fit Club Plan are
Here is more a more in depth look at the plan and information on how you can sign up.
A few of things that I like about Joy Bauer's Fit Club Plan are
- It realistic about sweets and snacks. The snacks are not so small they hardly count for anything.
- The meals look great, nutritional and easy to make.
- The plan offers plenty of solutions to common problems when following a weight loss plan
Posted by
Samantha Rufle
It is hard to believe that I have been writing here for almost an entire year!
I am just a couple of weeks away from my one year anniversary with Suite 101! My how things have changed. Writing for Suite101 has really changed my life in a good way. I spent thins year figuring out what I want. The greatest thing is I think that I have found it and this next year I will be spending it getting what I want!
I would definitely recommend writing for Suite 101 if you want an idea of how to start a freelance writing career. I know I am definately a better writer for it. That is for sure! I also should thank one of my best friends (who is like a sister to me) for turning me on to writing in the first place. I only wish I had realized earlier in my life that I wanted to do this!
I would definitely recommend writing for Suite 101 if you want an idea of how to start a freelance writing career. I know I am definately a better writer for it. That is for sure! I also should thank one of my best friends (who is like a sister to me) for turning me on to writing in the first place. I only wish I had realized earlier in my life that I wanted to do this!
Posted by
Samantha Rufle
Why do we resolve year after year to eat better?
Personally, I think it is a conspiracy. We are encouraged to have a new years resolution right after the "feast" month of the year. So, of course we have this (losing weight) as our New Years resolution. I would like to challenge everyone this year to pick something a little more interesting. Resist going to the book store and buying the next diet book and then resolving to "eat like that" the entire year (which you are not going to do BTW). Instead resolve to doing something really new. Learn guitar, or origami. Resolve to get a better job, take a once in a lifetime vacation or spend more time with the family.
As a nutrition writer I definitely do not want to discorage you from eating healthy. Oh no. Please eat healthy, please read here for more information but I am suggesting that you do not resolve to eat better. Just do it. Start off with breakfast. If you do not eat breakfast then eat it!. If you are going to make one nutrition related New Years resolution then make it- TO EAT BREAKFAST. Then find a healthy breakfast. Like my smoothie for instance.
The thing is, giving yourself something to live for will motivate you to take better care of yourself and in turn hopefully you will work in some healthy eating, right?
RESOLVE TO MAKE A MEMORY! (and nobody wants to remember a diet!)
As a nutrition writer I definitely do not want to discorage you from eating healthy. Oh no. Please eat healthy, please read here for more information but I am suggesting that you do not resolve to eat better. Just do it. Start off with breakfast. If you do not eat breakfast then eat it!. If you are going to make one nutrition related New Years resolution then make it- TO EAT BREAKFAST. Then find a healthy breakfast. Like my smoothie for instance.
The thing is, giving yourself something to live for will motivate you to take better care of yourself and in turn hopefully you will work in some healthy eating, right?
RESOLVE TO MAKE A MEMORY! (and nobody wants to remember a diet!)
Posted by
Samantha Rufle
To my dismay, it was not what I thought it was.
At Thanksgiving I was watching the news and the program had a segment with what they called a "turkey expert". They were standing outside the pen where he keeps what he calls "sheltered free range turkeys". I was shocked that he could call them that. They were hardly free range. It looked like ten to fifteen birds to a ten by ten or maybe a fifteen by fifteen pen. Sure they could walk around a little but it wasn't any kind of life. How can he claim they are free range? I mean the words free range give my mind the image of animals roaming free on a farm. Happily eating and playing in the morning sun.
As it is I have to let go of the idea that these animals are often killed quite young. So this free range thing is really weighing on me.The turkey farmer on the news program said that this is what was best for them. I beg to differ. Wild turkeys do not build pens and then NEVER leave them! In human terms, this is the life of a shut in! We see this lifestyle as tragic.
So next time you purchase a free range meat- realize that you pictures of animals running across open fields of grass in the sunny morn' is just not reality.
As it is I have to let go of the idea that these animals are often killed quite young. So this free range thing is really weighing on me.The turkey farmer on the news program said that this is what was best for them. I beg to differ. Wild turkeys do not build pens and then NEVER leave them! In human terms, this is the life of a shut in! We see this lifestyle as tragic.
So next time you purchase a free range meat- realize that you pictures of animals running across open fields of grass in the sunny morn' is just not reality.
Posted by
Samantha Rufle
Sometimes eating certain foods even so called healthy foods like broccoli can make some people sick.
Last night I had broccoli with my dinner and boy o boy, for me this an extremely poor idea. I felt ill for hours. I am not sure how common this is or if there is a remedy for it. Maybe it is time for a Google search to find out. Last night was just as painful as any bout I have had with Celiac disease. That is for sure. So I am swearing off broccoli as have United States presidents in the past. Now I wonder if it was for similar reasons?
Posted by
Samantha Rufle
I have seen several incarnations of gluten free tortillas. The new brown rice ones are the best.
There is a new generation of gluten free food that is coming out that rival any non gluten free products out there. One of these is the new brown rice tortilla. I am not sure how long these have been out but they became available only recently in my area. They are not exactly the stretchy doughy goodness of a regular one but they fit the bill for several dishes where the corn tortilla just doesn't.
One of my recent favorites is a been burrito. Just refried beans, cheese and salsa. Another of course is the quesidilla. Cheese, green chilies and just crisp the outside and melt the cheese in a nonstick pan.
One of my childhood comfort foods is to crisp the tortilla on a stove burner being very careful and flipping the tortilla often. When warm and crisp spread with butter (or use a butter spray) and honey. Yum!
One of my recent favorites is a been burrito. Just refried beans, cheese and salsa. Another of course is the quesidilla. Cheese, green chilies and just crisp the outside and melt the cheese in a nonstick pan.
One of my childhood comfort foods is to crisp the tortilla on a stove burner being very careful and flipping the tortilla often. When warm and crisp spread with butter (or use a butter spray) and honey. Yum!