The Bonner Community Food Bank, located in Standpoint, Idaho, along with eight other groups in the area, gave away lake trout and whitefish that were caught at Lake Pend Oreille.

The fish were given away to the region’s low-income households without the warning that pregnant women and children should eat just one montly meal of lake trout and just four monthly meals of whitefish.

The question really is, should people go hungry or experience some mercury problems.  Your thoughts?

This new Hand-Crank Smoothie Juicer will assist you on the road to health by easily providing you a tasty way to create and maintain healthy alternatives.  All you have to do it stick in your choice of fruit and veg and you’re on your way to creating a delicious shake. 

Cost, $45.

Researchers looked at the nervous system of a worm and how serotonin levels in the nervous system had an important impact on how much the worms ate as well as what the body did with the calories.

As it turns out, when serotonin levels are low, more fat is stored.  This basically means, applied to humans, why diets usually fail.  It is not so much what food you are eating, but what your body is choosing to do with that food.

This study may be considered a breakthrough in dieting, as it has always been a focus of what and how much you are eating.

Here are a few tips for eating healthier at restaurants. All you frequent travellers will appreciate these:

1. When asked for your drink order, choose water or tea over sugar-laden or alcoholic drinks. If you insist upon having soda, opt for diet over regular in order to save on calories and sugar.

2. Whenever possible, try to order a salad first. Salads are low in calories in fat, but are loaded with healthy nutrients and vitamins. Eating a salad first will allow you to fill up on healthy vegetables before you tackle your main course. Just remember to request your salad dressing on the side, that way you will be in charge over how much is added.

3. Opt for grilled vegetables or fish whenever possible. You can usually specify that the meal not be grilled in oil or butter, or at least that it is prepared with very little. Oil and butter is essentially just unnecessary fat, so avoid it whenever possible. There is a really good chance that you will not even realize that it is missing from the meal.

4. If you do not opt for salad at the beginning of your meal, consider a bowl of soup. Soup can be a healthy choice before your main course, but you should try to avoid soups which are cream based because they tend to be higher in fat. Soups make great appetizers because they tend to be healthy and low in calories, but can fill you up fairly quickly.

5. If you are in the mood for a baked potato, request salsa which is a healthy option instead of choosing the sour cream, bacon, butter or cheese that normally comes on a baked potato. Salsa is a low calorie option which packs a serious amount of flavor without all the calories and fat.

6. If instead you are in the mood for a pasta dish, you should pass up cream based sauces and opt for tomato based instead. Tomato based sauces tend to be significantly lower in fat, making them a great alternative for healthy eating.

7. When your main dish does arrive, eat slowly. A great way to ensure this is to take one bite at a time, setting your fork or spoon down between bites. Because the eating process is slowed down, you will know that you are full before you end up eating too much. It can take as many as twenty minutes for your brain to receive the signal that you are full. Take your time while eating out, and make a point to savor every single bite.

8. Never forget that you can easily ask for a doggie bag so that half of your meal can come home with you. You will not be wasting food simply by controlling how much you eat. Cutting your meal in half right off the bat will make sure that you make two meals out of one.

If you have your own tips to share, besure to leave them in the comments below. We’re always looking for cool ways to eat healthier.

The following are a few tips on choosing the right options when it comes to healthy snacks and foods, to ensure that you truly are eating healthy, rather than simply being deceived!

Yogurt: This is a great snack, because yogurt is generally very high in calcium. What many people do not realize however, is that many yogurt brands pack a lot more sugar in their yogurt cups than you really need. Sugar-laden yogurt cups are missing many of the nutritional value that you believe that you are getting. Make sure to read the labels, and look for yogurt cups which are low in fat and sugar. You can always opt for the non fat plain yogurt, then add your own fruit to give yourself more control over the content of your snack.

Fruit: Fruit is available with many different choices, ranging from fresh, to water-packed pre-cut, to canned. Fresh fruit is always going to be your best choice, because canned fruit is boiled before it is canned. Canned fruit is processed with heavy syrup which adds significantly to the sugar content of the fruit. If you cannot acquire fresh fruit for some reason, your second choice should be frozen fruit. You may lose some of the nutritional value by buying frozen, but fresh and frozen fruit is much healthier and more nutritious than the canned varieties.

Vegetables: Fresh vegetables, or vegetables which have been pre-washed and cut and have been packaged in water are much more nutritious than canned vegetables, which like fruit have been processed and canned. The water in cans of vegetables typically contains more sodium than you really need to consume, so avoid canned vegetables if you can. Frozen vegetables are also an option, but nutrients are generally lost in the process. Also, try to cook your vegetables as little as possible because much of the nutritional value of the vegetable is lost while it cooks.

Fruit Juices: Make sure that any juice you purchase is 100-percent juice, because many juice brands only actually offer 30 to 40-percent juice, which means that the rest of the bottle is filled with sugar, water and corn syrup. Sugar fruit juices actually work to dehydrate rather than to hydrate, which makes them practically worthless to drink. Make sure to read every juice label before you purchase anything.

Boxed or Frozen Meals: Although these meals may seem like a quick and easy fix, they tend to be high in both salt and calories. You can prepare many of these same meals on your own to save yourself and your family a lot of calories, and the real deal tends to taste a great deal better than what comes in a box or a bag.

Anyone else have anything to add to this list? Leave your comment below!

Good nutrition is just giving your body what it needs on a daily basis. And, when you do that, you’ll be amazed at how well your body treats you. You’ll have more energy, you’ll maintain a healthy weight, your blood pressure and cholesterol will stay within the normal guidelines and you’ll just feel good overall.

The key is to know what to eat. I do my best to eat a whole food diet. That means no processed foods, fast foods or junk. I’ve eliminated refined sugar and eat only whole grains. I also stay away from red meat, but that’s another conversation. I eat a lot of fish (usually salmon) and chicken or turkey and fresh fruits and vegetables.

If you’d like to eat healthier you can start just by adding one of two servings of fresh fruit each day. Remember that canned fruit is usually swimming in a sugary liquid, so it’s not a substitute.

Once you manage to get some fruit into yourself on a daily basis, then start adding fresh vegetables and whole grains. When you start adding more whole foods, you’ll notice that you’re consuming a lot more fiber than your body is used to, so it’s a good idea to take it slow. Also remember to drink plenty of water or you may find that you get slightly constipated.

Give it a try for 30 days and then see how you feel. I think you’ll be amazed.

1. Oranges – packed with vitamin C, potassium, B6 and B12. Vitamin C is commonly know to help prevent and cure the common cold and helps aid in iron absorption. Vitamin B6 aids your metabolism as well as other vital bodily functions.

2. Salmon – Salmon and other oily fish such as sardines, herring and trout are rich in omega 3 fatty acids, vitamins A, D and B vitamin. These vitamins are known to support your immune and reproductive systems.

3. Carrots – Carrots provide carotenoids (like beta carotene) and are all a good source of Vitamin A, calcium and vitamin C. The best way to eat them is fresh since cooking destroys most of the nutrition.

4. Spinach – Folic Acid is abundant in spinach. This is important for women of child bearing age since folic acid can reduce the risk of birth defects in newborns. Spinach also contains vitamins A, C and E. You’ll get the most nutrition if you eat it raw.

5. Broccoli – Broccoli is full of cruciferous compounds, which have been shown to reduce the risk of cancer. It also contains Vitamins K, A, C, calcium and fiber.

Ingredients:

1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons dried onion flakes
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch of cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons lime juice
1 ripe avocado, peeled and cut in chunks
1 tomato, peeled and chopped

Instructions:

In a blender or food processor mix onion, salt, lime juice, cottage cheese, garlic, cayenne pepper, and avocado. Blend until smooth. Pour into a bowl and gently fold in the chopped tomato.

Cover with plastic wrap allowing the plastic to actually touch the entire surface of the guacamole. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and serve. If storing for more than 2 hours, keep the avocado pit in the bowl to help the guacomole stay fresh looking.

Best served with reduced fat, baked tortilla chips, carrot sticks or celery.

In fact, she says that healthy eating will make a difference in your happiness, appearance and even your intellect.

By reading her article, Fish, Vegetable and Brown Rice, you can see that she really knows what she’s talking about. Here’s a little of what she has to say…

Benefits of Fish, Vegetables and Brown Rice

We’ve all heard vegetables are good for us. But new research published in Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology, shows that elderly people who eat more vegetables have much less cognitive decline – that means more awareness, perception, reasoning, understanding and better judgement.

Healthy eating can be that simple and the results that important.

Other studies show that those who eat more whole grains, such as brown rice, have less diabetes and are able to maintain a lower weight.

And there’s tons of research proving that the fish oil from cold water fish provides all of the above benefits (better brain development and cognition, less diabetes and obesity) plus a whole list of other health benefits, including lower risk of heart disease, stroke, arthritis and some cancers.

Make Time for a Healthy Diet

Now, I know you’re probably a very busy person. You have limited time to plan and fix meals for healthy eating. And there are so many convenience foods available these days that it’s difficult to resist taking the easy way out and just going with fast food for dinner.

But, it’s a trap. Don’t fall for it!

You can read the entire article here:

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art47825.asp

Here’s the nutritional breakdown:

• Serving size 1/2 cup (48g)
• Calories 20
• Calories from Fat 0
• Total Fat 0g
• Sodium 0mg
• Total Carbohydrate 6g
• Dietary Fiber 2g
• Sugars 2g
• Protein 0g
• Vitamin A 0% of daily value
• Vitamin C 10% of daily value
• Calcium 0% of daily value
• Iron 0% of daily value

As you can see, cranberries are low in calories, have zero fat and are a good source of Vitamin C.

Here are some of the health benefits of eating cranberries:

• prevent bacteria in the bladder, kidneys and prostate
• supports optimum urinary tract health
• may prevent kidney stone
• deodorize urine
• have both antiviral and antibacterial properties

Here are some fun facts about cranberries:

• More than 85% of the weight of cranberries is water!
• Native Americans used a brewed cranberry mixture to draw poison from arrow wounds
• Native Americans used cranberries as a natural meat preservative.