FEATURED ARTICLES

• healthy diet
• eating healthy
• cranberry recipe
• cranberry

Details

Written by Lisa Jillanza

The holidays are here, so most families are thinking about what side dishes to bring to the parties. Cranberries are staple ingredients for fixings, but what makes up this fan favorite?

• Cranberries contain high amounts of vitamin C, fiber, and antioxidants. They also include only 45 calories per cup.
• Cranberry's juice can be used for the prevention of urinary tract infections and bacterial adhesion in the stomach.
• The same bacteria preventing ability of the cranberry juice can avert the formation of plaque, which leads to fewer cavities.

Recipe: Easy Cranberry Bread

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup butter

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon finely grated orange rind

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon, rind of

3/4 cup orange juice

1 3/4 cups cranberries, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda into a large bowl. Cut in butter until the mixture is crumbly. Add egg, finely grated orange peel, lemon peel, and orange juice all at once; carefully stir until the mixture is evenly moist. Fold in cranberries. Spoon and spread evenly into a greased 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Bake for 55-65 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack.

Recipe:  Cranberry Sauce

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

4 cups (1 12-oz package) fresh or frozen cranberries

Optional: Pecans, orange zest, raisins, currants, blueberries, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice.

Place the cranberries in a colander and rinse them. Pick out and discard any damaged or bruised cranberries. Put the water and sugar in a medium saucepan on high heat and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve the sugar.  Add the cranberries to the pot and return to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until most of the cranberries have burst.  Once the cranberries have burst you can leave the cranberry sauce as is, or dress it up with other ingredients. We like to mix in a half a cup of chopped pecans with a few strips of orange zest. Some people like adding raisins or currants, or even blueberries for added sweetness. You can also add holiday spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, or allspice. Remove the pot from heat. Let cool completely at room temperature, then transfer to a bowl to chill in the refrigerator.

• winter health tips
• staying fit winter
• winter motivation
• winter health

Details

Written by Lisa Jillanza

Fitness for All

The weather outside is truly frightful, which makes it easy to stay indoors and be super lazy during the winter months.  But you don't have to anymore. There are plenty of things that you can do to stay motivated this winter:

• Listen to motivational tapes and/or read motivational books to help gain some inspiration to keep going.
• Learn to breathe correctly. You will feel more relaxed and when you are more relaxed you will also be more apt to stay motivated than when you are stressed.
• Keep a positive attitude. Even though it is easy to be depressed when the long, cold winter months drag on, try to remain positive and you will notice that motivation comes along with being happy.
• Remind yourself that progress is what is important and not perfection. This is especially important when you are looking at your long-term goals, at your long-term goals, as they may seem like the most unreachable.  Remember all of the short-term goals that you have met and you will be more successful.
• Build a support system of friends and family members that are typically motivated. By keeping like-minded people close to you, you will become motivated by just being in their presence.

While these are only a few tips to get you motivated during the next few months, everyone is different, so do what works best for you, and you will see that spring will be here before you know it!

• unhealthy city
• healthy city
• Healthiest Cities
• least fit cities

Details

Written by Lisa Jillanza

In the recently released American College of Sports Medicine's (ACSM) 2015 American Fitness Index data report, 10 cities ranked lowest in overall health and fitness. Each city received a ranking and areas that needed “worked on” as a whole for the city.

#10: Dallas, Texas : score 38.8/100

#9: New Orleans, Louisiana : score 36.8/100

#8: Charlotte, North Carolina : score 37.4/100

#7: Birmingham, Alabama : score 34.5/100

#6: Nashville, Tennessee : score 33.0/100

#5: Louisville, Kentucky : score 32.1/100

#4: San Antonio, Texas : score 32.0/100

#3: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma : score 29.6/100

#2: Memphis, Tennessee : score 27.3/100

#1: Indianapolis, Indiana : score 26.8/100

To view the full report and see the full results of these cities and other major metropolitan cities included in the ACSM's research, visit www.americanfitnessindex.org.

And, the Fittest cities are,

#1: Washington, D.C.

#2: Minneapolis, Minnesota

#3: San Diego, California

#4: San Francisco, California

#5: Sacramento, California

#6: Denver, Colorado

#7: Portland, Oregon

#8: Seattle, Washington

#9: Boston, Massachusetts

#10: San Jose, California

• quit soda
• negative effects of soda
• stop soda

Details

Written by Lisa Jillanza

Top Reasons to Quit Soda Drinking, NOW

Gone are the days when everyone you ran into was drinking a sugary soda : whether regular or diet.  While you do still have those “die hards” who drink their soda every single chance they get, many others have caught onto all of the warnings that nutritionists have been telling us for years about the effects that soda has on our bodies.

But if you are still in the minority and enjoy your soda, here are some great reasons to quit drinking soda : both regular and diet : TODAY!

You eat less : in particular sweets.  At (on average) 150 calories per can, you can significantly reduce your sugar intake if you quit drinking soda.  The artificial sweeteners in diet soda are the worst for you, too, because they are 400 to 8,000 times sweeter than sugar.

You lose weight.  Even though diet drinks are calorie-free, they cause insulin to be released in your gut because of the artificial sweeteners and prevent weight loss.  Insulin is your body's primary fat storage so it will have the body hold onto any extra fat.

You improve your immune system.  The acidity in soda is bad for your digestive system, erodes tooth enamel, and worsens acid reflux.  Research shows that artificial sweeteners affect our healthy gut bacteria, which can greatly affect our immune system.

You stop your bones from breaking down.  The caramel color in soda contains artificially created phosphorus that can be bad for long-term bone health.

• avoid mosquito bites
• mosquito bites

Details

Written by Lisa Jillanza

Got Mosquitoes? Myth vs. Fact!

It's summertime and that means that the days are getting longer, the sun is shining later and the mosquitoes are biting everyone!

But how much do you know about these little buggers? Here we separate the myths from the facts: 

MYTH: All mosquitoes will bite you.

It is only the female mosquito that bites you because she needs the blood for protein and energy to produce eggs. Male mosquitoes feed on flower nectar. 

MYTH: Mosquitoes are more drawn to people who eat sweets.

Blood is blood. It is more how a person smells than how they taste, that attracts the most mosquitoes. 

FACT: Mosquitoes prefer certain blood types.

Studies show that mosquitoes like to feast on Type O blood, but only the portion of O's who are “secretors” meaning their bodies infuse specific molecules into their saliva, sweat and mucus. 

FACT: Pregnancy increases your chances of being devoured by mosquitoes.

A study in 2000 reported that mosquitoes tend to bite expectant women more than others. Some think it is due to increased blood volume, while others believe it is due to pregnant women producing more heat and carbon dioxide, both which are bait for mosquitoes. 

MYTH: Citronella and bug zappers are the best protectors against mosquitoes.

Actually your best defense is the 3 D's : drain any standing water, dress in bright colors, and defend using Deet.