The Healthy Food Review (TM)

How To Have A Healthy Super Bowl Party

Update January 2011:  So maybe I wasn't so good at picking the winner of the Super Bowl the year I did this post, but the classic advice on how to have a healthy super bowl party lives on. Pig out wisely!

It's hard to maintain healthy eating habits on Super Bowl Sunday when you're often surrounded by junk food if you aren't in charge of the day's menu, and even if you try to resist having unhealthy food around, you're bombarded with ads for fast food and more junk food!

Well, here's a favorite article I'd like to share with you to let you have all the fun comfort foods of Super Bowl Sunday, without having it spell dietary disaster that you can use to put together your Super Bowl party, or if you're invited to a party, bring one or more of these suggestions--you just might save a friend's or loved one's waistline!

5 Ways To Give Your Super Bowl Party A Healthy Food Makeover

http://www.healthyeatingcoach.com/superbowl.html

By the way, since I love a Cinderella story in sports and I went to the Arizona Cardinals - Atlanta Falcons playoff game for a weekend getaway, this photo shows my pick to take it all on Super Bowl Sunday

Most importantly, let's have a great Super Bowl!

Get a FREE 3-chapter book excerpt from Have Your Cheeseburger And Keep Your Health Too! and never miss another blog post by joining my list CLICK HERE  Have you given The Healthy Food Review Facebook Page A Like?  CLICK HERE

 --Melanie R. Jordan, Author of Have Your Cheeseburger And Keep Your Health Too!  Available 24/7 at http://www.HealthyEatingCoach.com

"Healthy eating with favorite comfort foods...it's deliciously possible!"

Don't miss a post--subscribe to The Healthy Food Review feed. 

Check out more of Melanie's empowering publications on work-at-home lifestyles, foreclosure investing and learn about her Marketing and Infopreneur Consulting and Coaching Services at http://www.SunLoverPublishing.com

Check out Melanie's other Blogs and Podcasts:

NEW! NEW! NEW!  Melanie's podcast on infopreneuring--What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM) at http://www.WhatYouKnowIsWorthMorePodcast.com

What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know - The Blog For Infopreneurs at http://www.WhatYouKnowIsWorthMore.com

Please note that I do not have an affiliation with any of the companies featured in this post--they are simply products I am personally familiar with.  The views expressed are my opinion only and you should decide, along with your healthcare professionals, on the appropriateness for your personal use.

Copyright SunLover Publishing LLC 2009

98HUCBFZBVRU

Healthy Food Review Health Is Wealth Veggie Egg Rolls

When you go into the freezer section of any supermarket, you're going to find all kinds of convenient frozen snacks--one of our favorite comfort foods.  Especially at Super Bowl time when every unhealthy munchie known is heavily advertised in the supermarket flyers and in-store displays.  And they all look wonderful except that they're almost all disastrous to your healthy eating intentions.

One of the popular frozen snacks are egg rolls, so if you crave them as a snack, or a side dish to a chinese food main dish, how do you make an egg roll even better? 

You buy Health Is Wealth Veggie Egg Rolls from a natural foods market or an enlightened traditional supermarket's healthy frozen food section.  Health Is Wealth Veggie Egg Rolls are every bit as convenient and delicious as the unhealthy snack food offerings, but they know how to do it right.

Health Is Wealth Veggie Egg Rolls have a wheat wrapper (partial whole wheat) filled with crunchy cabbage, carrots, celery and a tiny bit of soy crumbles (you won't even know they are there, trust me), and use only expeller-pressed oils (a healthier way to process oils). 

Each of the Health Is Wealth Veggie Egg Rolls is 130 calories, 4 grams of fat (0 grams of saturated fat and 0 grams of trans fat), 3 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein.

All it takes is just a few minutes in the oven or microwave, and you've got a delicious side dish to a healthy stir fry main meal or a great snack for the Super Bowl.  Keep a box in your freezer at all times like I do.

And by the way, Health Is Wealth is one of the leaders in doing healthy food makeovers of all the standard frozen snack foods in their healthiest vegetarian and vegan forms--but you don't have to be either of those to enjoy them!

Have you tried Health Is Wealth Veggie Egg Rolls?  What did you think?

Get a FREE 3-chapter book excerpt from Have Your Cheeseburger And Keep Your Health Too! and never miss another blog post by joining my list CLICK HERE  Have you given The Healthy Food Review Facebook Page A Like?  CLICK HERE

--Melanie R. Jordan, Author of Have Your Cheeseburger And Keep Your Health Too!  Available 24/7 at http://www.HealthyEatingCoach.com

"Healthy eating with favorite comfort foods...it's deliciously possible!"

Don't miss a post--subscribe to The Healthy Food Review feed. 

Check out more of Melanie's empowering publications on work-at-home lifestyles, foreclosure investing and learn about her Marketing and Infopreneur Consulting and Coaching Services at http://www.SunLoverPublishing.com

Check out Melanie's other Blogs and Podcasts:

NEW! NEW! NEW!  Melanie's podcast on infopreneuring--What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM) at http://www.WhatYouKnowIsWorthMorePodcast.com

What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know - The Blog For Infopreneurs at http://www.WhatYouKnowIsWorthMore.com

Please note that I do not have an affiliation with any of the companies featured in this post--they are simply products I am personally familiar with.  The views expressed are my opinion only and you should decide, along with your healthcare professionals, on the appropriateness for your personal use.

Copyright SunLover Publishing LLC 2009

Eating Out Healthy The Burger King BK Veggie Burger

I know Burger King and eating out healthy in the same title seems to be a typo, but while I'm not big into eating fast food, when you're traveling, sometimes one of the few food choices you can count on is from one of the major fast food chains.  And, as a flexitarian, one of my core fundamental healthy eating beliefs is that you can eat pretty much any food you like, as long as you make it over to its healthiest, and preferably plant-based, form. 

So here's an easy way to keep your healthy eating aspirations intact at Burger King:

The BK Veggie Burger

I have to give Burger King credit, they are the only fast food chain that offers a meatless burger (you can get them easily at many casual dining chains including Denny's, Johnny Rockets and Fat Burger (ironically).  They use the Morningstar Farms Garden Veggie Burger which I personally am not as much of a fan of as I am of a Boca Burger (because soy-based meatless burgers always taste more like the real thing to me than veggie burgers), but it's certainly an option. 

My husband is totally hooked on them.  I even gave him a Burger King gift card for Christmas as a stocking stuffer just for him to buy a BK Veggie Burger when he's traveling on business, or I'm busy giving a teleseminar and am not cooking dinner.

TIP:  Leave off the mayo to bring the fat and calorie content of the BK Veggie Burger way down.  It may be hard to find this menu item when you first look, because it will usually be buried on the menu board, but it's there.  We recently traveled in a pretty remote area on a road trip, and this Burger King in no man's land even had them. 

TIP:  You can pair the BK Veggie Burger with a side salad that unfortunately is 99% iceberg lettuce, unlike McDonald's who actually does a pretty good job with their side salad contents.  Plus, the light dressing choices at Burger King while better than the full fat versions, are much more fattening than the Newman's Own light salad dressing line offered by McDonald's, so you have to drizzle the dressing on at best.  Still, it will make you feel fuller and keep you away from making your side order fries.

Attn Burger King:  Do you have something against whole wheat rolls?  We appreciate the meatless choice provided by BK Veggie Burger, but hate the white flour bun.  And there are more vegetables in life besides iceberg lettuce. Study McDonald's side salad and boost the nutrition in yours for higher sales!

Have you tried a Burger King BK Veggie Burger?  What did you think?

Get a FREE 3-chapter book excerpt from Have Your Cheeseburger And Keep Your Health Too! and never miss another blog post by joining my list CLICK HERE  Have you given The Healthy Food Review Facebook Page A Like?  CLICK HERE

--Melanie R. Jordan, Author of Have Your Cheeseburger And Keep Your Health Too!  Available 24/7 at http://www.HealthyEatingCoach.com

"Healthy eating with favorite comfort foods...it's deliciously possible!"

Don't miss a post--subscribe to The Healthy Food Review feed. 

Check out more of Melanie's empowering publications on work-at-home lifestyles, foreclosure investing and learn about her Marketing and Infopreneur Consulting and Coaching Services at http://www.SunLoverPublishing.com

Check out Melanie's other Blogs and Podcasts:

NEW! NEW! NEW!  Melanie's podcast on infopreneuring--What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM) at http://www.WhatYouKnowIsWorthMorePodcast.com

What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know - The Blog For Infopreneurs at http://www.WhatYouKnowIsWorthMore.com

Vegas Inside Scoop for Las Vegas locals and Las Vegas visitors at http://www.VegasInsideScoop.com

Please note that I do not have an affiliation with any of the companies featured in this post--they are simply products I am personally familiar with.  The views expressed are my opinion only and you should decide, along with your healthcare professionals, on the appropriateness for your personal use.

Copyright SunLover Publishing LLC 2009

Healthy Food Review Amys Cheese Lasagna

Sure it's great to make your own lasagna, but it's one of the most labor-intensive dinners you can make (even with no cook noodles).  And as a busy writer, I love lasagna, but am so often pressed for time.  If you want a delicious, low-calorie meal for the microwave at work, or want to easily watch your portion sizes, you can count on Amy's Organic Cheese Lasagna.  A quick healthy dinner is a snap when you pair it with a salad using organic pre-cut greens.

I love the fact that the pasta is whole wheat--how many frozen lasagnas have you seen with whole wheat so that you get 4 grams of fiber?  And many of the ingredients are organic.  The lasagna comes out well when you cook it--just be sure not to overdo it as I did one time. 

My only criticism is that with 14 grams of fat (8 grams saturated, 0 trans fat), Amy's Cheese Lasagna is much higher in fat than I would normally like, although better than just about any restaurant's, and the total calories for the package is 380--a small price to pay for a satisfying portion of yummy lasagna.  And overall, I eat a very low-fat diet so I can afford it from time-to-time. 

Still, because of the fat content I can't have Amy's Cheese Lasagna as often as I would like (hey Amy's, how about some low-fat or fat-free cheese).  However, many other low-calorie/low-fat frozen brands contain hydrogenated oil, so they are a lot more fattening and damaging long-term to your health than you might think.

Have you tried Amy's Cheese Lasagna?  What did you think?

Get a FREE 3-chapter book excerpt from Have Your Cheeseburger And Keep Your Health Too! and never miss another blog post by joining my list CLICK HERE  Have you given The Healthy Food Review Facebook Page A Like?  CLICK HERE

--Melanie R. Jordan, Author of Have Your Cheeseburger And Keep Your Health Too!  Available 24/7 at http://www.HealthyEatingCoach.com

"Healthy eating with favorite comfort foods...it's deliciously possible!"

Don't miss a post--subscribe to The Healthy Food Review feed. 

Check out more of Melanie's empowering publications on work-at-home lifestyles, foreclosure investing and learn about her Marketing and Infopreneur Consulting and Coaching Services at http://www.SunLoverPublishing.com

Check out Melanie's other Blogs and Podcasts:

NEW! NEW! NEW!  Melanie's podcast on infopreneuring--What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM) at http://www.WhatYouKnowIsWorthMorePodcast.com

What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know - The Blog For Infopreneurs at http://www.WhatYouKnowIsWorthMore.com

Vegas Inside Scoop for Las Vegas locals and Las Vegas visitors at http://www.VegasInsideScoop.com

Please note that I do not have an affiliation with any of the companies featured in this post--they are simply products I am personally familiar with.  The views expressed are my opinion only and you should decide, along with your healthcare professionals, on the appropriateness for your personal use.

Copyright SunLover Publishing LLC 2009

Getting Back To Your Exercise Routine After Illness Sets You Back

Last week, despite all my best efforts to stay healthy, I somehow came down with a very bad cold.  My guess is that, ironically, it was probably some germs I was exposed to while working out at the gym.  I had to put my workout routine on hold for a few days which was very frustrating to me since I was in such a great exercise groove.  Fortunately, this was a very minor setback, unlike the time I was stricken with the worst flu of my life after a trip to Mexico.

Back then, I wrote a favorite article called Making A Healthy Comeback After Illness that I'd like to direct you to, since we're currently in the heart of Winter, and chances are you, or someone you know, may have recently gotten sick, and are in need of assistance and encouragement to get back on track with workouts.

Please take a moment to check it out, and share it with everyone you know.  And, as always your comments are welcome.  Thanks for reading The Healthy Food Review--Happy New Year!

Get a FREE 3-chapter book excerpt from Have Your Cheeseburger And Keep Your Health Too! and never miss another blog post by joining my list CLICK HERE  Have you given The Healthy Food Review Facebook Page A Like?  CLICK HERE

--Melanie R. Jordan, Author of Have Your Cheeseburger And Keep Your Health Too!  Available 24/7 at http://www.HealthyEatingCoach.com

"Healthy eating with favorite comfort foods...it's deliciously possible!"

Don't miss a post--subscribe to The Healthy Food Review feed. 

Check out more of Melanie's empowering publications on work-at-home lifestyles, foreclosure investing and learn about her Marketing and Infopreneur Consulting and Coaching Services at http://www.SunLoverPublishing.com

Check out Melanie's other Blogs and Podcasts:

NEW! NEW! NEW!  Melanie's podcast on infopreneuring--What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM) at http://www.WhatYouKnowIsWorthMorePodcast.com

What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know - The Blog For Infopreneurs at http://www.WhatYouKnowIsWorthMore.com

Vegas Inside Scoop for Las Vegas locals and Las Vegas visitors at http://www.VegasInsideScoop.com

Copyright SunLover Publishing LLC 2009

http://www.healthyeatingcoach.com/comeback.html

Ask The Healthy Eating Coach Are 100 Calorie Snack Packs Healthy

Question: 

It seems there a million of those 100 calorie pre-packaged food products out there, but are they really healthy?

Answer From Healthy Eating Coach Melanie Jordan:   

You're right that these 100 calorie snack packages seem to be all the rage.  Leave it to the food industry to jump on the bandwagon big time once they catch wind of a fad and smell money!  And it's not just the major brands, you're now seeing lesser-known organic brands and even store generic brands with 100 calorie snacks.

The major plus of 100 calorie snacks is that they represent favorite comfort foods you'd probably eat anyway in their much more fattening versions, and eat a lot more than 100 calories worth if it were not for the 100 calorie pre-packaging.  So in that sense, they are probably healthier for you because of the portion control aspect. 

And if you're counting calories, you can't beat knowing exactly what you're getting into when you snack.  Psychologically you are eating the whole bag, but you only ate 100 calories worth!

 

Where the problem lies is that 100-calorie snacks, unless from one of the organic brands, may not always lead to foods with the healthiest ingredients.  For example, many have all the chemicals, preservatives and food dyes of their traditional siblings.  Plus, many have tiny amounts of trans fats, that can add up if you eat more than one of these packages a day, and there is no acceptable level of trans fat.  

So generally view 100 calorie snacks as another way to do a food makeover from a "lesser of two evils" and portion size perspective--important benefits for most people, but don't necessarily assume they're "health food".

Got a question, or a bunch of questions of your own?  I'd like to invite you to become a subscriber to my list where you'll be able to ask questions on any aspect of healthy eating, weight loss, fitness, healthy food products as a benefit of being a subscriber.  I answer all questions personally as my schedule permits.

Get a FREE 3-chapter book excerpt from Have Your Cheeseburger And Keep Your Health Too! and never miss another blog post by joining my list CLICK HERE  Have you given The Healthy Food Review Facebook Page A Like?  CLICK HERE

--Melanie R. Jordan, Author of Have Your Cheeseburger And Keep Your Health Too!  Available 24/7 at http://www.HealthyEatingCoach.com

"Healthy eating with favorite comfort foods...it's deliciously possible!"

Don't miss a post--subscribe to The Healthy Food Review feed. 

Check out more of Melanie's empowering publications on work-at-home lifestyles, foreclosure investing and learn about her Marketing and Infopreneur Consulting and Coaching Services at http://www.SunLoverPublishing.com

Check out Melanie's other Blogs and Podcasts:

NEW! NEW! NEW!  Melanie's podcast on infopreneuring--What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM) at http://www.WhatYouKnowIsWorthMorePodcast.com

What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know - The Blog For Infopreneurs at http://www.WhatYouKnowIsWorthMore.com

Vegas Inside Scoop for Las Vegas locals and Las Vegas visitors at http://www.VegasInsideScoop.com

Copyright SunLover Publishing LLC 2009

Healthy Food Review Banana Nut Cheerios

I first found General Mills' latest entry in its Cheerios line, Banana Nut Cheerios, browsing the aisles at Big Lots.  Since Banana Nut in just about anything is one of my favorite flavors, I just had to try this cereal.  I tried it and fell in love with the taste immediately.

Of course the problem with such stores is that what you find there is often discontinued, so I actually contacted General Mills and they wrote back with the happy news that this was a new product that had previously only been sold in Club stores (I guess not Costco because I never saw it), but was rolling out to stores nationally on 12/29.  Well I couldn't find it on that date, but yesterday it was in my local Von's supermarket on sale prominently displayed on an end cap.  So I can get Banana Nut Cheerios as much as I like.

So the upside is the great taste, the downside is the lack of much nutrition.  A serving is just 100 calories with only 1 gram of fat, no saturated fat or trans fat. But then there's only one gram of fiber and 1 gram of protein as well.  It's so easy to have a cereal be nutritious on both counts (think Barbara's Bakery Shredded Oats Cereal Vanilla Almond ), there's really no excuse to come out with these essentials missing.

As a regular reader of The Healthy Food Review, you already know that I've been following a flexitarian diet for years, rather than a true vegetarian one because I like to eat fish regularly, and a handful of turkey or chicken meals a year, so I do eat a lot of cereal.  I basically divide my cereal choices into two kinds:

1. Meal Cereals--highly nutritious cereals that I will eat regularly for just about any meal of the day

2. Snack Cereals--cereals with great taste without harmful ingredients like partially-hydrogenated oil, but that rank low on nutrition.  The purpose of these cereals is to be a healthy food makeover for a more "dangerous" food.

In my opinion, Banana Nut Cheerios are in the snack cereal category.  Which is okay, because they will keep me from eating fattening Banana Nut Muffins, and being a member of the Cheerios family, they travel well and are easy to eat on the run since they don't need milk.  I think they'd also be a great sweet snack for toddlers and kids instead of candy.  I know my nieces always had fistfuls of Cheerios when they were very little.

Just don't assume with Banana Nut Cheerios you're getting much of the health benefits of a real banana, or whole grain (even though it is "made" with whole grain).  But as a snack or a way to save hundreds of calories and tons of fat from comfort foods like traditional banana nut muffins, it's a winner.

Have you tried Banana Nut Cheerios?  What do you think?

--Melanie R. Jordan, Author of Have Your Cheeseburger And Keep Your Health Too!  Available 24/7 at http://www.HealthyEatingCoach.com

"Healthy eating with favorite comfort foods...it's deliciously possible!"

Don't miss a post--subscribe to The Healthy Food Review feed. 

Check out more of Melanie's empowering publications on work-at-home lifestyles, foreclosure investing and learn about her Marketing and Infopreneur Consulting and Coaching Services at http://www.SunLoverPublishing.com

Check out Melanie's other Blogs and Podcasts:

NEW! NEW! NEW!  Melanie's podcast on infopreneuring--What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM) at http://www.WhatYouKnowIsWorthMorePodcast.com

What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know - The Blog For Infopreneurs at http://www.WhatYouKnowIsWorthMore.com

Vegas Inside Scoop for Las Vegas locals and Las Vegas visitors at http://www.VegasInsideScoop.com

Please note that I do not have an affiliation with any of the companies featured in this post--they are simply products I am personally familiar with.  The views expressed are my opinion only and you should decide, along with your healthcare professionals, on the appropriateness for your personal use.

Copyright SunLover Publishing LLC 2009