Eating fresh fruits and vegetables is a big part of maintaining a healthy weight; and when that produce is fresh, delicious, and exciting, it’s easier to stick to your healthy lifestyle. But if eating more healthfully is new to you and you don’t know much about produce, shopping can be daunting (and expensive!), so here’s our Dieter's Guide to Seasonal Produce.

Whenever I tell someone that I’m a dietitian, they automatically think that I’m going to tell them what they cannot eat – the “bad” foods. Similarly, many of my clients look to me as the person who will take their favorite foods away from them. Across the board, people are surprised when they find out that I’m a “nice dietitian”.

Water is amazing! Water can reverse the signs of aging, increase energy level and improve your overall health. In fact, water may be the single most important nutrient in our lives. Every system in our body depends on water from removing waste, to regulating body temperature, to lubricating joints, to name just a few. But, not only does water play a vital role in our general well being, it’s also a key... 

 

Imagine a food so powerful that it can help you lose weight, reduce your risk of cancer, make you look younger, strengthen your bones and has even been purported to even help you live longer? Imagine if this food tasted good, was readily available and relatively inexpensive. No need to imagine, it’s a reality and they're called...

Think of fall and what comes to your mind? Chances are it’s something along the lines of cooler temperatures, leaves changing colors and pumpkins. You’d be hard pressed to find another food that is so closely associated with a season. Pumpkins just... 

It used to be you could only get cherries in summer or parsley in the spring. But in today’s world of global commerce, eating almost anything, at almost any time of the year is commonplace, but is that a good thing? Should we try to eat foods that are in season more often? We hear about eating locally, but what about seasonally? Are there benefits to eating foods in season? Yes. Eating foods that are in season is...

Magic weight loss foods: foods that - just by the simple act of eating them - result in weight loss. Wouldn't that be incredible? Unfortunately it doesn't work that way. Losing weight isn't magic, it's math. And the math behind losing weight is pretty straightforward: consume fewer calories than you expend; 3,5000 calories per pound to be exact. In other words to lose just one pound of fat a week you'd need to eat 500 fewer calories each day or burn an extra 500 calories a day through exercise (or some combination thereof). Admittedly not all calories are alike. Different...

One of the great things about tomatoes is that there are so many great things about them. You can eat them cooked, steamed, sun-dried or raw. They are so versitile and because there are so many varieties, some type of tomato is always in season...

With so many varieties, colors, textures and tastes, the possibilities for tomato consumption are endless. But did you know that tomatoes were once feared to be poisonous? In fact, in Colonial times the thought was that if you ate a tomato, its "poison would turn your blood into acid"? Tomatoes didn't become a diet staple in Europe until...

EDITOR'S NOTE: Guest blogger Cynthia Parrott is a busy working woman who manages to find the time for fitness, diet and the writing of great advice for health-conscious women.I recently went apple picking. I know I can get apples anytime I want right at my local market but I just love picking and filling my own basket of fruit and carting it home. I chose a nice variety of organic apples, including bright green Granny Smith, Rome and Braeburns. Then i got home and realized as I sat surrounded by all these great apples, what was I now going...

EDITOR'S NOTE: Guest blogger Cynthia Parrott is a busy working woman who manages to find the time for fitness, diet and the writing of great advice for health-conscious women.If I had to choose only one condiment to keep in my fridge, it would be a container of low-fat plain yogurt. It's healthy, nutritious, low in calories, and easy to use.Yogurt is also packed with protein, calcium and potassium.I like plain yogurt because it is naturally tart and so versatile that you can add herbs, spices or your favorite sweetener to it. You can also mix it into just about anything,...

If iceberg lettuce is a mainstay of your diet, you need to know: The greens are greener on the other side of the produce department! Sally Ketchum takes a stroll down the greens aisle. **************************** Oh, dieting with iceberg lettuce! Take one head of crisp and beautifully cupped iceberg lettuce. Cut it into wedges neat enough to pass geometry class. Then, to add necessary flavor, dress the wedges with bountiful spoonfuls (and myriad calories!) of creamy Ranch Dressing, Thousand Island, Sour Cream Dressing, Cream Cheese...

Meet guest blogger Cynthia Parrott, a busy working woman who manages to find the time for fitness, diet and the writing of great advice for health-conscious women like you. One of the most tedious chores for us women has to be... grocery shopping.Supermarkets are the size of shopping malls. They're overstocked with so many different choices and varieties of everything under the sun that a shopping trip can last hours and quickly empty our wallets.I cannot count the number of times I went to the supermarket with good intentions and ended up with something completely different: a toaster (mine was...

My favorite food writer, Michigan's own Sally Ketchum, is back with a look at taste. You'll savor Sally's musings on how different foods appeal to our sense of taste.And for dessert, Sally tosses in a few timely tips for all of us green thumb-challenged home gardeners.Take it away Sally...Savoring the Tastes: Good Food & a Great Gardenby Sally KetchumSpecial for www.DiettoGo.comAh, tastings! Smart dieters know taste is a premier fat fighter. You know taste: sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Four of them. Yet, in India, chefs consider a fifth taste-hot/pungent. Makes me think Cajun food. Still another taste-UMAMI-is recognized...

In honor of April Fool's Day, food writer Sally Ketchum is serving up a fun look back at some of the zanier concoctions to ever grace our dinner tables.Get ready to sink your teeth into a banana 'n popcorn salad or how about a tomato frappe which is little more than a frozen can of soup!Take it away Sally... and happy April Fool's everyone.Silly Foods Through the AgesThroughout history cooks have concocted food eminently suitable for the April Fool's table. Many times, the concoctions are the result or famine or a depression.The Irish ate Seaweed (and now we have sushi),...

By following my Diet-to-Go Balance meal plan, I am eating foods that fit nicely into the suggested dietary guidelines of major health organizations like the American Heart Association and American Dietetic Association.It's nice to have good foods sent to me. I don't have to worry about plotting out a healthy week of dining. Nor do I have to go shopping and sidestep all those dietary landmines while buying only healthy foods.Why is it such a big deal? Well, most of us don't have a degree in nutrition nor do we take the time to research and study the foods...

I want to share with you some healthy tips and anecdotes to kick off the holiday season. It has been a tumultuous year for many however there is always something to give thanks for and our health is just one of those things.Here are a few things that can keep us counting our blessings as well as a few treats to celebrate them!Reduce, Reuse, RecycleReduce the amount of waste you produce by buying only as much as you need and choosing products that come in packaging that can be recycled. Carry reusable bags when you do your shopping, and use...

Who doesn't want fewer colds, softer skin or youthful vitality? Frances Sheridan Goulart, author of the ever-popular Super Healing Foods (McGraw-Hill), now brings you a program for the 25 foods that strengthen the body's six immune centers and help heal and reverse the most common ailments. Super Immunity Foods: A Complete Program to Boost Wellness, Speed Recovery, and Keep Your Body Strong (McGraw-Hill) focuses on the top 25 foods and provides a simple plan that you can easily incorporate into your lifestyle.With delicious recipes and complete menus, the newer, healthier you is just within reach. Ready to achieve optimal...

In order for you to lighten-up the fat or sugar in a recipe you need to understand how fats and sugar affects baked goods. Wheat flour contains proteins that when mixed with liquid form tough strands called gluten. Fat tenderizes baked goods by coating the pieces of flour so that the liquid ingredients cannot get to them, so to speak. This interferes with the gluten formation, and shortens the strings of gluten to allow a more tender structure. This is why removing the fat from baked goods often makes them tough and/or rubbery. Many recipes call for...