Insight from the popular QVC host

It’s hard to deny the fact that, sometimes, gluttony can be just what the doctor ordered, but after indulging one has to inevitably switch back over to somewhat more guilt-free eating. To that end David Venable, program host of QVC’s popular cooking and dining show In the Kitchen with David, has some helpful tips. Venable, tells us that rather than sacrificing taste when preparing a healthy meal, do the following:

Spice it up and switch it up: When preparing high calorie meals such as chili and mac & cheese, choose lighter ingredients. Use turkey instead of beef in your chili. Use reduced-fat cheese and milk in your mac & cheese. And, in all of your cooking, you can always replace sugar with a substitute or trade salt for extra spices.

Eat at home: Not only will your family benefit from the togetherness of gathering around the table every night, but you can control what your family eats. At restaurants, that’s virtually impossible. Encourage children to get involved during the cooking process so that they can learn how to make nutritious meals. And, always use the freshest ingredients possible.

Make dinner more colorful: Fruits and veggies are loaded with nutrients your body needs, so make an effort to incorporate rich color into every meal and not just dinner. In general, the deeper and bolder the color, the more of a health-punch it packs. If your family doesn’t like veggies, sneak them into foods they do love with recipes like chicken and broccoli casserole, veggie soup, and more. You can find these recipes [...]

Melting coconut water with coffee

Coconut water + coffee = sheer brilliance.

Who would have ever thought of combining two of our favorite beverages? Turns out a yogi/surfer who needed an extra AM boost to make it through his morning yoga practice did – and we’re quite grateful! The delectable beverage combines all of the health benefits of coconut water (think potassium, electrolytes, and antioxidants aplenty), with the stimulating effects of coffee for a perfectly balanced morning pick-me-up.

Made with low fat milk and fair trade organic espresso it’s mild in calories and works double duty to satisfy a mid-afternoon latte craving.

We’ll never down a Diet Coke or Starbucks Frappuccino again – no [...]

Drink the healthiest meal of the day

There are so many health drinks out there that do more bad than good it’s refreshing to come across one that we can actually trust and that, to boot, taste so good we have to restrain ourselves from downing more than one!

Called Orgain it’s the world’s first doctor developed ready-to-drink organic meal replacement (or if you’re trying to load up on protein and fiber, it makes a fantastic diet supplement), each of the two shakes offered – creamy chocolate fudge and sweet vanilla bean – blend organic protein, organic brown rice, fiber, organic green teas, and pomegranate extracts as well as 24 vitamins and minerals. More impressively for those days where the thought of trekking to the farmer’s market is too much of a burden to bear, Orgain has the antioxidant equivalent of 10 servings of fruits and veggies.

Wash Ensure, Boost, Muscle Milk, Slimfast, and all those other wannabees from your memory because Orgain trumps them in every aspect (including sugar content).

The one downside is [...]

The best kind of cookie

Keeping the kids (and the hubbies!) away from the cookie jar filled with sleeves-worth of Oreos is no easy fete. OK, we’re not going to lie, keeping ourselves from that very same cookie jar isn’t easy either, which is why we’re glad to report we’ve stumbled across a cookie that we can actually indulge in without the residual food guilt.

At about 100 calories for a hefty, hearty cookie that’s filled with protein, iron, probiotics, omage-3, and fiber thanks to ample seeds, fruits and nuts, each of Naked Granola’s cookies are made with organic oats. To boot they have no added sugar, no eggs, no hydrogenated oils, are low in fat and boast a low glycemic index. Their texture is pure chewy deliciousness – and we’ve tried cookies aplenty.

The brand’s motto is flavor over filler and you’ll notice it after just one bite of any one of Naked’s six flavors, each of which is inspired by the local flavors of a particular region: Seattle Nights, Maine, California, Key West, Maui and Down Under.

Our fave is Taste of Seattle Night which comes packed with oats, dried cranberries, honey, dark chocolate, raw sunflower seeds, raw sesame seeds, flax seeds, almonds, raw pumpkin seeds, and spices.

And yes, the families [...]

Slim bars for on-the-go

Any mama knows it’s always handy to have a healthful snack in arm’s length and now that NuGo has come out with their Slim line we have a new favorite. Nugo is the only nutrition bar company that enrobes their bars in real milk and dark chocolates (made in-house!), and they exclusively use all-natural ingredients. Plus given that every bar is low in sugar (2 grams!), high in protein and low in fat, it’s one bar we can truly indulge in without feeling like we need to jump out of the car and do 20 push-ups.

Are you a gluten-averse mama? [...]