Popular Diets

It’s that time of year…Holiday Season. Lots of fattening and filling goodies to smell, drink, and eat. It’s only after we have indulged that we step on the scale and find that we have “fattened up for winter”. That’s when we start setting New Year’s resolutions to lose the winter weight and start looking at diets. But why wait?

If you’re looking to shed a few pounds before the holiday season, check out this website from Health.com. It offers a very helpful tool to compare popular diets. It breaks down all aspects of each diet and allows you to compare up to 3 diets at a time.

If you are on BRT’s medical plan, you are eligible for a refund from Health America’s Learn & Earn Wellness Education Refund Program, which includes Weight Watchers. Click here to find more information.  

Have a happy & healthy Holiday Season! - Adam Burns

Fall Coffee Drinks

Fall is here, and with it comes the ubiquitous pumpkin spice latte or a spiced apple cider. While they may be delicious and comforting, these festive drinks can hide diet-rendering fat, sugar and calories, some with more sugar than candy bars and more than enough fat of your daily allowance. To combat calorie-laden drinks, the Centers for Disease Control recommends choosing the smallest size, replacing whole milk with skim where appropriate and forgoing the whipped cream.

Starbucks’ Grande Caramel Apple Spice With Whipped Cream -- Calories: 360

Dunkin Donuts Medium Pumpkin Latte With Skim Milk -- Calories: 260

The healthiest version of this drink – skim milk, no sugar or sweetener — can be a decent choice in terms of calories, fat and saturated fat. But with 51 grams of sugar, it’s still pushing it.


Source:  "Nutrition Facts: Favorite Fall Coffee Drinks." Arizona Foothills Magazine. 22 October 2012. 5            November 2012. http://www.arizonafoothillsmagazine.com/valleygirlblog/fitness/nutrition-facts-fall-coffee-drinks/

~ Christina Aaron

Candy

Halloween is just around the corner and for most kids (and adults, too) that means daily consumption of candy increases as well. We all know that candy is not exactly good for us; however, we still like to enjoy a piece of candy every once in a while. Take a look at the tips below to help you & family make good decisions when it comes to candy.

· Eat Dark Chocolate - studies have shown that there may be health benefits in moderate consumption of dark chocolate. These health benefits may include lower blood sugars, improved cholesterol, prevention of heart disease, improvement to your mood & protection of your skin. Chocolate still contains a significant amount of calories so make sure you consume it in moderation.

· Don't leave candy out where it is easily accessible. You will be more tempted to grab a piece of candy when it is visible then if you have to go look for it.

· Set a limit to the amount of candy you are going to allow yourself and your children to eat and stick to it.

·  The more you deprive yourself of candy, the more you are going to crave it so allow yourself a small piece of candy every once in a while. 

Down East Maine Pumpkin Bread

Here is a great recipe for the Autumn season! Enjoy toasted with apple butter or just by itself! Yum!


  Ingredients

• 

  

  Down East Maine Pumpkin Bread

  1(15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
  
•  4 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup water
• 3 cups white sugar
• 3 1/2 cupsall-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

·       Directions

 

1.     Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans.

 

2.     In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.

 

3.     Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Original recipe makes 3 - 7x3 inch loaf pans.

Enjoy! - Jean
Receipe from Allrecipes.com

Healthy Football Food

Football season is in full swing. For some of us, this means spending the whole weekend watching football. One of the best parts of watching football is the food. But it’s easy to lose track of how many calories we’re consuming while cheering for our favorite team. Between the pizza, burgers, wings, chips, pretzels, and dips we can easily consume a day’s worth of calories. And let’s not forget the soda, iced tea, and beer we wash it down with. These foods all have a low nutritional value.

Check out these websites for some healthy (and tasty) alternatives:  

A Healthy Twist On Your Favorite Football Snacks

Enjoy Football Season With Healthy Game Day Snack Alternatives

Healthy Snacks for a Football Game Party

Enjoy! - Adam Burns

Flu Shot

It's that dreaded time of the year again - flu season.  The best way to avoid getting the flu is by getting your yearly flu shot.  While it is important for everyone to receive a flu shot yearly, it is particularly important for the following individuals to receive the vacination:

• Pregnant Women
• Individuals over 50 years old
• Young Children - between ages 6 months through 4 years
• Individuals who have asthma
• Residents of nursing homes and other chronic-care facilities
• Health-care personnel
• Individuals who have daily contact with children who younger than 5 years old

You should not receive a flu shot if you are allgeric to eggs or have ever had severe allergic reaction to the influenza vaccine. 

Low Fat Pumpkin Pancakes

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

·         1 cup all-purpose flour

·         1/4 cup packed brown sugar

·         1 1/2 tsp baking powder

·         1/4 tsp salt

·         1/2 tsp cinnamon

·         1/2 tsp ground ginger

·         1/4 tsp nutmeg

·         1 large egg, lightly beaten

·         1 tbsp canola oil

·         1 cup nonfat milk

·         1/3 cup pure pumpkin

Preparation:

Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg together in a medium bowl. Combine egg, oil, milk and pumpkin in a small bowl. Stir pumpkin mixture into dry ingredients. Leave to stand for five minutes.

For each pancake, scoop 1/4 cup of batter on to a hot griddle or nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray. Turn pancakes when bubbles appear and edges are cooked, after about 2 minutes. Cook for 1 1/2 minutes on second side.

Makes 8-10 pancakes.

Per two pancake serving: Calories 226, Calories from Fat 46, Total Fat 5g (sat 0.6g), Cholesterol 53mg, Sodium 414mg, Carbohydrate 40g, Fiber 1.6g, Protein 4.9g

Enjoy! ~Christina Aaron