Losing weight is all about making the right substitutions, author says

  More than one person this summer has asked about better choices when it comes to those cold coffee milkshake-like beverages that you see many people happily slurping away on hot, humid days.My answer has been the same each time: If you’re in the mood for one, have it and enjoy it, but perhaps make it a small one and forgo the added whipped cream and toppings.Some of those drinks, depending on the size, can pack as many as 640 calories — something you may want to avoid having daily if you’re trying to shed some weight. Or else count on throwing in some added exercise time to counterbalance that craving.Calories in vs. calo Read more…

Training for a marthon? Be sure to listen to what your body is telling you

  If you’re training for a fall marathon, chances are you’re in the middle of some of the toughest weeks of running. Successive weekends of back-to-back three-hour runs plus the normal mid-week training miles combine to play havoc with your body. Fatigue sets in and the body starts talking back.Some aches and pains are to be expected. After all, you’re pushing your body to accomplish something extraordinary — running 42 kilometres. But when you start experiencing more than just the normal post-run tenderness and fatigue, it’s time to start paying attention to what your body is trying to tell you.Sometimes the pain is such that you have no choice but to listen, which can strike panic in the hearts of runners who worry they won’t make it to the starting line.But according to Reed Ferber, director of the University of Calgary’s Running Injury Clinic and associate professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology, getting help is the smartest thing you can do. But many run Read more…

Shedding the salt

 More Images »  Nordica Cottage Cheese and Campbell soups have both announced plans to further reduce sodium levels, as a federal task force recently unveiled its voluntary measures to cut salt levels in Canadian diets. More than two years in the making, the long-awaited report by a federal Sodium Working Group advocates research, education and voluntary reduction in processed foods to cut sodium consumption to 2,300 milligrams a day from 3,400 mg. Health Canada’s current recommended adequate daily intake is 1,500 mg, or roughly half a teaspoon. Experts say sodium contributes to between 10,000 and 15,000 premature deaths from cardiovascular disease, kidney disease and stomach cancer, and is responsible for billions of dollars in health-care costs. Pa Read more…

Meal plan and Japanese culture

I am so fascinated by the dietary habits of the children in Japan. This is what we’ve learned from our exchange students staying with us:

• Japanese children do not eat sweet things for breakfast (like sweet cereals)  Typical breakfast is rice and miso soup, or a rice ball with tuna in the middle.
• Japanese mothers get very angry at the children if they are caught snacking on sweet things such as cookies or candy.
• Japanese children have to clean their plates!  No food left on their plate or their mothers will be mad.
• Japanese families have dessert almost every night.  When I asked what the dessert was… they responded with, “Fruit.”
• Many food products in America are too sweet for our Japanese friends.
• Bottom line.. they eat m

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The bottom of a caffeine cannon

  I remember when Red Bull, the industry leader in energy drinks, first emerged in the Canadian market. It was 1997, and after the initial brouhaha died down, I assumed it would remain a fringe product, much like Jolt Cola, the retro drink that once proudly boasted “all the sugar and twice the caffeine” of Coca-Cola.As it turned out, I was entirely wrong. Not only did Red Bull stick around, energy drinks have become a major player in the beverage industry, with Canadians guzzling some 35 million litres in 2006 (up from 26 million litres in 2001). Energy drinks are now the fastest growing part of the soft drink industry, with some 300 brands now available in North America alone. Read more…

Jury still out on benefits, risks of barefoot running

  If you travel deep into the Copper Canyons of Mexico, you will stumble across one of running’s best-kept secrets. Members of the reclusive Tarahumara tribe are considered to be the fastest long-distance runners in the world. They glide across the sharp rocks of the Sierra Madre, running for days with little history of injuries. And they do it all without wearing any running shoes. Many readers of the book Born to Run, which tells the story of these secluded ultra-marathoners, have tried to apply the technique to their own lives, but as the barefoot movement continues to grow, so does one slight problem. There is little scientific proof that this style of running is a cure for nagging injuries, and experts say this barefoot lifestyle could be doing more harm than good. Read more…

Fight Back Friday August 6th

Did you enter this week’s giveaway for an all grass-fed beef sausage sampler from U.S. Wellness Meats?

And also, have you heard about the new Surf & Turf cooking class being offered online by Ann Marie at Cheeseslave? Go check it out!

Welcome back yet again to another Fight Back Friday! Today we are bringing together another collection of recipes, tips, anecdotes, and testimonies from members of the Real Food Revolution.

Who are they? Why, they’re the Food Renegades. You know who you are — lovers of SOLE (Sustainable, Organic, Local, and Ethical) food, traditional food, primal food, REAL food, the list goes on. I bel

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