New Years's Resolutions

It is that time of year! Time to say "Bye-bye" to 2014 and "Hello" to 2015. It is not just a time to celebrate, but also to renew and make fresh beginnings. People do many things to celebrate the coming of a New Year – an important one being New Year resolutions.

Did you know that 45% of Americans make resolutions? Wondering how many of them actually follow through with it by the end of the month? Actually, just a meager 8%!

Resolutions can be very hard to keep for many reasons. Some people find it hard to stay on track. Others make their goals too broad or challenging. Resolutions are meant to be small goals that will become habits over time that will help your life positively - not big life-changing plans.

Pizza and French Fries are Vegetables???

Did you know that in 2011 Congress has declared that pizza and french fries are vegetables?

Halloween: A Candy Fest!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween began as a festival to ward off the spirits of the dead several centuries today. We have come to know it today as a festival of costumes, pumpkins and candy.

Food Day!

Food Day is October 24th. It is a nationwide celebration of the foods we eat. 

Don't miss all the exciting ways in which you can participate and learn about your food. 

Fresh, Local, Seasonal - Fruits

Summer has come (finally) and so has the heat. Oh! wouldn't we all like some ice creams, soda, energy drinks, popsicle or anything sweet and cold?

Fats Part II - Mono, Poly, Trans and Saturated?

Fats are essential for a healthy functioning body. That does not mean that we load up on just about any fat. Fats are of different types -some are better than others while some should be totally avoided. 

So what are they? Lets find out.

Fats - An essential nutrient. Are you serious?

Fats in our foods - sounds scary! When we think fat our mind imagines obesity...

But actually Fats are important for us. Yes, it is true! 

Did You Know? Fat Facts

Fats from junk foods trigger the brain to want more food. This effect can last for several days!

Illustration: Cathy Wilcox

Added Sugars Part II

how many sugar names are
 in the ingredient facts?

As I promised in my previous blogpost here are some of the ways sugars appear disguised in our foods. 

If you happen to see any of these names on your food labels, remember to turn on your alarm bells....

Added Sugars - The Seductive Killer

Recommend Limit: Do you follow it?

That soft chocolate chip cookie or the melt in the mouth doughnut are both full of one ingredient - Sugar, not natural, but the added kind.

Added sugars refer to sweeteners and syrups that are added to foods or beverages when they are processed or prepared to make food not just tasty but preserve them too. Meanwhile, foods in nature come with their own naturally occurring sweetness. Did you know that milk contains natural sugars and so do fruits? 

The biggest issue with added sugars is that they are biggest source of empty calories!

Sodium - The Salty Truth

Sodium, one of the elements on the Periodic Table is essential for our bodies to function efficiently. It helps control blood pressure and blood volume. Sodium also assists our nerves and muscles.

Sodium is an ingredient found in most foods as it is a great preservative. It is also the main component of table salt (sodium chloride). Processed meats, such as bacon, sausage, ham, canned soups and vegetables are all examples of foods that contain added sodium. Fast foods are generally high in sodium. 

Them Cunning Calories

Calories - a word that everybody knows they have to watch, they think they understand what it is, and yet it is totally misunderstood. Most people think that calories are unhealthy and that it makes people grow fat or gain those adipose tissues! 

Actually calorie is nothing but a simple unit of measure - not height, weight or length, but of a unit of energy. So lets get to the bones of these calories and find out what they really are:

Updates to our nutrition label Part II

Were you able to spot the seven major differences from the picture posted in the previous blog post? If not, check the link out before reading this.

Updates to the food label: Can you spot the differences?

It has been more than 20 years since the food labels were standardized. Many things have changed in these two decades -  from ingredients, to processes and quality of products and even more so the health of consumers and the growing obesity issues. 

However labels have not kept up with the times, Until now.......

Understanding Serving Sizes

Have you paid close attention to the white box on any packaged food that is sold in the US? The little box called "Nutrition Facts" contains a lot of information about the food in the package. 

But how many people bother to read the labels or let alone understand what it says? How about we look at it closely and understand at least the first two pieces of information there? 

Becoming Food-Aware!

Who doesn’t like snacks, chips and candy? I too am a foodie. I love eating foods that please my senses, after all they are the ones which are tasty and sweet. 

My mom always tells me to eat junk foods in moderation, but I had never really paid much attention to what she told me, until recently.