Cooking Healthy

Will MBT Sneaker Make Your Fitness Walking More Efficient?

2008-07-18T15:00:21Z

Even though the MBT sneaker has been out there for fifteen years already, it's only the last couple of years that it has become a popular training gadget.

So, can this shoe really get you fit? Can it strengthen your stomach muscles, reduce cellulite, and even help control diabetes, like they claim it can?

Many big studies have been done on the shoe and it sure seem like the medical benefits of MBT's are proven. It's used as a rehabilitation mean among physiotherapists, often used for rehab by athletes suffering from muscle traumas. When using the MBT sneaker, you use your body in a way that you don't use when walking in regular trainers, so therefore, you will get more firm if you use them every day.

Produced by the engineer Karl Muller, who himself suffered from severe back pain for many years, the MBT sport shoe imitates how the body uses its muscles when moving on soft and uneven surfaces, like sand or moss.

Walking on those soft surfaces you would use the whole foot from heel to toe, and this makes the body take a natural position, and the back muscles gets activated, to build up support and strength. You will strengthen the back thigh muscles, stomach muscles, and at the same time take pressure off the knees.

When trying them on for the first time, it does feel a bit unsteady, until you get used to them. Before walking long distances with them, get used to them bit by bit, because you can get quite a muscle ace if you don't take it quite easy in the beginning.

Many people call the MBT sport shoe the complete small gym; because it gives the whole body a workout, and because it can be used for recovering for physical injuries. If your purpose for using them is cellulite reduction, there are thousands of testimonials on the net.

Want to know more about MBT shoes and fitness walking? Sign up for a free e-mail course on MBT walking or just take a look around around: .mbtshoes.efven.com

About the Author: Beatrice Stephenson is a freelance writer on health and recreation issues.

Tips to Achieve Your Optimal Weight Loss and Body Shape
air travel and heart problems

your recipes wanted

2008-07-09T17:39:42Z

I just received this pan as a gift.

http://www.amazon.com/Chicago-Metallic-Commercial-12-Cup-Cheese/dp/B0006SJZJ8

I'm eating healthier these days so what else can I use this pan for?

Chocolate pudding with bananas and graham crackers

2008-05-15T15:35:08Z

Prevention's Chocolate Pudding with Bananas and Graham Crackers recipe as someone posted below doesn't seem very healthy as is, but I made it with some adjustments that I think improve it a great deal.

My thoughts on what's right (and disturbing) about the recipe, and changes I had to make .

The pudding was very good, for one with no butter or eggs involved. In fact, as I made it I realized that it's just a basic homemade pudding recipe, one like I've made many times before, with the omission of butter and/or egg yolks, of course.

It's definitely a nice treat to make for a chocolate fix without a bunch of fat and calories, and without artificial sweeteners, since sugar is used. Splenda could probably be substituted for less sugar, but I'd rather have the real stuff if anything at all.

Here's the breakdown of the recipe: 391 cal, 7 g pro, 65 g carb, 4 g fiber, 15 g fat, 8.5 g sat fat, 6 mg chol, 150 mg sodium

And as I was making it, I couldn't figure out quite why it had so many calories and fat grams. No butter or added fats, no eggs. . . .

If you actually used the 1/4 cup of chocolate chips to each serving that the recipe calls for (and I did NOT) then you're not just giving yourself a chocolate burst of goodness in each bite, you're adding almost 300 calories. TO EACH SERVING.

My bag of chocolate chips says 70 calories per Tablespoon, so that's 280 calories in 4 Tbsp of chocolate chips. 4 Tbsp = 1/4 cup. Do I really want to throw that on top of a perfectly good chocolate pudding? That's kind of like slapping an inch of fat onto a neatly trimmed rib-eye. And that's just the calories. By adding the chocolate chips on top as the recipe states, you're adding 16 grams of fat to each serving of pudding. 16!!! Which makes it surprising they list each serving as having 15 grams, less than the even the amount in the chips, and not evening counting the milk used. And with the 16 grams of fat in each Tbsp of chips, 12 grams of that is saturated. I can't find anything about Mono-unsaturated fat on my bag of choolate chips, it's 75% saturated.

It's definitely not a recipe designed for anyone trying to lose weight. It's touted as a 'flat-belly diet' recipe, but I have my doubts about the wisdom of adding 300 calories and 16 grahams of fat to something, helping anybody lose belly fat.

Besides, the pudding's good by itself. I did add the banana slices and crushed graham crackers to the bottom of each cup, and that was nice, but it'd make a nice plain chocolate treat without either of those, too.

I made it in the microwave, just as I make homemade pudding and pie fillings, used skim milk (which cut even more fat) because that's all I have, and it did nicely fill 6 custard cups, as the recipe says. It'd probably be good with light vanilla soy milk, too, though more thickening agent might be needed.

As I made it, the pudding had only a little over 100 calories per serving (if the original calorie count is correct) and barely any fat, thanks to the use of skim milk and no chocolate chips. As written, I give the recipe a D, but the pudding recipe itself is at least a B+ for a quick and easy homemade chocolate fix.

Yummy Healthy Dessert!!

2008-05-15T12:28:36Z

I found this incredibly recipe for a dessert. The picture is what sold it for me! Who knew something this good could be so healthy. Enjoy!!!

TIME: 20 minutes + chilling time
SERVINGS: 6
Here is the complete recipe!!

Healthy Salmon Recipes

2008-05-07T17:47:43Z

I really like Salmon, it makes a really healthy dinner. I have found two easy recipes you can make quickly at home, like a chef! Being healthy and eating good....I love it!!

Prep Time:
15 min

Total Time:
1 hr

Makes:
4 servings, one foil packet each

3/4 cup A.1. STEAKHOUSE Marinade for Seafood Ginger Teriyaki with Orange, divided

4 salmon fillets (4 oz. each)

2 cups instant white rice, uncooked

2 cups hot water

2 cups shredded carrots

1 bag (6 oz.) snow peas

POUR 1/2 cup of the marinade over salmon in resealable plastic bag. Seal bag; turn to evenly coat salmon with marinade. Refrigerate 30 min. to marinate.

PREHEAT grill to medium-high heat. Remove salmon from marinade; discard marinade. Place 1 salmon fillet on center of each of four 18x12-inch sheets of heavy-duty foil. Combine remaining 1/4 cup marinade, the rice, water and vegetables; spoon evenly over salmon. Bring up foil sides. Double fold top and ends to seal packet, leaving room for heat circulation inside.

GRILL 15 min. or until salmon flakes easily with fork. Cut slits in foil to release steam before opening each packet.

This recipe taken from: Kraft

Another great healthy Salmon recipe is Grilled Salmon with Brown Rice...Yummy!!!

Diabetes recipes

2008-05-04T15:19:31Z

If any of you have any recipes that are suitable for diabetics, like low-carb and low-sugar recipes that you've come up with yourself (I'll bet there are many who read this journal who have such recipes) you might want to have a look at Prevention's Diabetic Recipe Contest.

You can win $1000 for an original recipe that's diabetes-friendly.

The only ones I have, I got from other sources, so I can't enter. But it'll be fun to see the winning entries and try them out (almost everyone in my family is diabetec).

Healthy Snacks

2008-05-01T01:35:02Z

Too Round, I agree completely about Prevention's recipes, I especially love their healthy snack ideas:

http://buzz.prevention.com/want-a-flat-belly-take-a-dip/

Spinach-Pesto Dip

Time: 10 minutes + chilling time
Servings: 6

Ingredients:

1 pkg (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
3 scallions, thinly sliced (about 1/2 c)
1/2 yellow bell pepper, finely chopped (about 1/2 c)
1/4 c + 2 TBSP pesto sauce (MUFA)
1/3 c reduced-fat sour cream
1/3 c fat-free plain yogurt
1 1/2 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 lg clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in medium bowl. Cover and chill at least 1 hour before serving.

Nutritional info per serving (1/3 cup dip only) 140 cal, 6 g pro, 7 g carb, 2 g fiber, 10.5 g fat, 3 g sat fat, 13 mg chol, 391 mg sodium

Recipe and review

2008-04-23T15:26:02Z

I made the Salmon with herb penne recipe, gave my thoughts about it (as well as my daughter's) and took a picture or two in this post in my journal

It was very good, but I'd make a few changes next time. It was very exiciting to not just have a piece of fish, but have it in something that wasn't Tuna Helper! I plan to make the Tropical Fruit Smoothie or the Kung Pao Chicken next. We LOVE Chinese food, and it looks like a very simple recipe, maybe one to have, though, when we've eaten extra light during the day?

New here

2008-04-21T05:31:37Z

I've recently decided to use LJ to help me with my weight problem, by making it a priority I focus on every day. I do cook healthy, but I don't have a very big repertoire of healthy foods (stir fry veggies, fish, salad, roasted chicken. . .) Those things get old fast. But I think I've been out of it for so long, I'm having to rediscover what's healthy all over again. I've been reading Prevention's blog for a few days now. Interesting stuff all around, but the recipes intrigue me. Can anything that chocolate be healthy? God, I hope so. :P

Their recipes are in a slideshow format at: http://buzz.prevention.com/show

Would anyone like to do a kind of community cook/swap? In person, we'd each try a recipe of choice and make enough to share. Virtually, a few people could each pick a recipe that looks good, make it, try it, and give a review to either encourage others to try a great recipe, or let everyone know it's not quite worth the time and effort.

I'm on a fairly tight food budget, so I can't go crazy and try several new recipes each week, I thought if a few people wanted to try that it would be a cost-effective way to narrow down the choices, for everybody.

Lunches for work.

2008-04-17T17:12:14Z

I don't have a problem eating healthy when I have something to eat. My problem lies here: I work from 1:30pm-10pm every day, and by the time I go to "lunch break" [somewhere around 5-6], I'm starving. I need to pack lunch in order to avoid eating things from work or food that the managers get out. Everything around us is fast food, not to mention eating out every day gets expensive. I need advice on things I can make ahead in the mornings to take with me to work. I have access to a fridge, a freezer, microwave, and salt and pepper... ha. Help? I'd like to have as much protein and as little fat as possible.

A bit of an oven issue. (x posted)

2008-04-12T23:31:20Z

Yup- Its broken.

The stove-top still works and we have a teensy weensie grill. We don't have the money just yet to get a new one and the repair would be just as pricey. So, for now we are limited to the stove top, the microwave, and the teensyweensie grill.

I would just love for you folks to PUH-LEEZE provide me with some of your best oven-less recipes. I'd love some help with all the courses. The only guidelines are a modest budget. (Oh- and if anybody has a substitute for brownies and cookies for this chocaholic, you'd be my ljbf 4 life!)

Thanks, y'all! I appreciate your help!

Happy 2008 & New community plug!

2008-01-28T03:33:43Z

Hi! I started a new community for people who are into kombucha. Ideally it will be a place where we can not only discuss tips and tricks for maintaining healthy cultures at home, but the physical benefits we gain from the consumption of the tea.

Since kombucha supports digestion, metabolism, immune system, appetite control, etc. etc. it would be a great thing for anybody who is interested in eating healthy. You can buy the stuff in the store for upwards of three dollars a 16oz bottle, but with minimal work you can maintain a culture at home that will produce endless amounts, and the cost is only the tea and the sugar you need to feed it.

Here is a wikipedia entry on kombucha:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kombucha

If you are at all interested, and especially if you have any knowledge you would like to share with other scoby enthusiasts, please feel free to check out and join kombucha_bucha.

:-) Hope everyone is having a healthy year thus far!

Healthy foods and what they're good for - B

2007-11-21T21:35:23Z

My friend sent me a thing on healthy food a while ago: "superfoods" and their properties. So I thought I'd share some wisdom (first post was here, "A" foods ~ http://community.livejournal.com/cookinghealthy/51720.html There was no source information included but it's a rather interesting list. Continuing with "B", will be posting more as requested. : )

BANANAS
Protect your heart
Quiet a cough
Strengthen bones
Control blood pressure
Block diarrhea

BEANS
Prevent constipation
Help hemorrhoids
Lower cholesterol & provide fiber
Combat cancer
Stabilize blood sugar

BEETS
Control blood pressure
Combat cancer
Strengthen bones
Protect your heart
Aid weight loss

BLUEBERRIES
Combat cancer
Protect your heart
Stabilize blood sugar
Boost memory
Prevent constipation

BROCCOLI
Strengthens bones
Saves eyesight
Combats cancer
Protects your heart
Controls blood pressure

Thanksgiving Menu

2007-11-20T05:07:47Z

My parents are coming into town and we are hosting Thanksgiving!

Here is my menu, I am going to do wine pairings with each course. Most recipes are out of Cooking Light Magazines:

First course: Goat cheese rolled in fresh herbs, wrapped in pancetta and seared ever so lighly.
Second course: Butternut squash, brussel sprouts, pancetta soup with spelt and water chestnuts, topped with parmegiano romano.
Third course: Lemon sage turkey with wild mushroom gravy, simple smashed potatoes, organic cranberry sauce made with apple cider and orange zest, garden herbed green beans, and my moms stuffing.
Fourth course: Spinach salad with red onions, pomegranate seeds, avocado and a light rice wine and cranberry dijon vinagrette.
Dessert: I am making Guiness stout ice cream to go with my mom's pecan and pumpkin pies.

I've made the turkey and gravy before. I've purchased everything except the produce and the wine.
Tomorrow I'll make the ice cream.
Wednesday I'll make the ciabatta for the stuffing.

I can't wait.

Chicken Stock Question

2007-11-01T19:12:40Z

(X-posted)

Hi fellow kitchen dwellers! I've got a question:

The other day I made chicken stock from scratch using 3 roasted chicken skeletons and giblets (minus livers: I froze them and blanched before putting in the stock), a package of backs & necks, and the rquesite amount of carrots/celery/onions/herbs and spices.

I boiled everything for about 5 hours. I chilled it overnight, and in the morning removed the layer of fat. HOWEVER: my "stock" looks like gelatin! I used it in a recipe last night and cut it with a small amount of water and the flavor and texture were fine, but what did i do wrong? I used roughly 3 quarts of water and between 4-5 pounds of chicken.

I love the idea of making my own stock, but I also need to eat healthy. If my little homemade venture is just resulting in a giant vat of fatty calories, I may have to abandon ship and go back to using the store bought pots of condensed stock that you refridgerate. (I don't want to...seeing as that I often roast chicken and like the idea of leeching out as much nutrients from my foods as possible before I send them off to a landfill....)

Any ideas? Thanks!

6 Food Facts for Thought

2007-09-30T19:03:16Z

I saw this in "The Great Big Burger Book" by Jane Murphy & Li Yeh Singh and thought I'd share.

~ You might be surprised to know that dark meat chicken is higher in fat than some cuts of beef.
~ Ground beef in the USA can't contain more than 30% fat by law and it must be labelled accordingly. (Fast food burgers will usually have that high a fat content - the more fat, the cheaper the meat.)
~ The 5 favorite US school lunches, according to the American School Food Service Association, are pizza, chicken nuggets, tacos, burritos, and hamburgers.
~ Mustard stimulates blood circulation, which is why mustard plasters are used to increase blood flow to inflamed areas of the body. Some people believe that sprinkling mustard flour in your socks can ward off frostbite.
~ According to the Dictionary of American Food and Drink, Americans eat 3 hamburgers per week per person. That's about 38 billion hamburgers annually, or 59% of all sandwiches consumed.
~ Global fish production exceeds that of cattle, sheep, poultry, or eggs. Fish are the largest source of protein in the world.

cookinghealthy @ 2007-08-16T05:53:00

2007-08-16T09:55:02Z

chefs_like_me

Peaches

2007-07-23T21:20:25Z

My boss has an over-abundance of peaches and they're starting to fall off the tree. SO, I want to make jam/jelly/preserves..whatever. Any sugar-free recipes? Well refined sugar, I'm thinking I'll use honey to sweeten it. But I'm also thinking that the peaches are sweet enuogh, I'd love to make it without adding any sweetener. What do you think? Any good recipes/tips for this type of thing?

(x-posted)

Sugar-free Brownies

2007-07-17T06:34:28Z

I'm attemping a Sugar-Free brownie recipe. The recipe calls for a cup of sugar. What's the rule with substituting with honey or syrup? 1 cup for 1 cup? Or is honey sweeter than sugar? Do I go say 3/4 honey for 1 cup of sugar?

What about butter, this recipe wants an entire stick of butter, is there anyway to cut down on butter but still keep the moistness?

x-posted

Healthy foods and what they're good for - A

2007-07-09T21:14:43Z

My friend just sent me a thing about healthy food - "superfoods" and their properties. So I thought I'd share some wisdom. Let's start with A, I may continue this later if you guys are interested.

APPLE
Protects your heart
Prevents constipation
Blocks diarrhea
Improves lung capacity
Cushions joints

APRICOT
Combats cancer
Controls blood pressure
Saves your eyesight
Shields against Alzheimer's
Slows aging process

ARTICHOKE
Aids digestion
Lowers cholesterol
Protects your heart
Stabilizes blood sugar
Guards against liver disease

AVOCADO
Battles diabetes
Lowers cholesterol
Helps stop strokes
Controls blood pressure
Smoothes skin

Lentil Feta Salad

2007-07-09T20:26:47Z

I got this from the food Co-Op the other day, it was soo good that I had to re-create it. I did a damn fine job, I don't mind sayin:

(Serves 4-6)

1 cup lentils
1/2 red pepper (about 1/2 cup)
2 celery stalks
1/2 medium red onion (about 1/3 cup)
1/3 cup flat leaf parsley
4oz feta, crumbled
2 TBSP olive oil
2 TBSP lemon juice
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced

Place lentils in a large pot with enough water to cover plus a few inches. Bring to a boil, and cook until lentils are tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water in a colander to cool. Let stand for a few minutes to drain well.

Finely chop all veggies & feta, put in bowl. In a seperate container mix olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt & pepper. Once lentils are cooled add them to the bowl with the veggies. Pour the olive oil/lemon juice mxture, mix well. Allow to sit in fridge a few hours at least before eating. If you made it the night before that would be ideal.

(x-posted)

Healthy Desserts

2007-07-05T15:31:51Z

What's your best dessert recipe that has no sugar in it, but rather is sweetened with honey or maple syrup etc...?

X-Posted

cookinghealthy @ 2007-04-09T15:23:00

2007-04-09T19:24:30Z

quick question.

is it bad to eat fish and/or seafood once a day? i know canned tuna isn't good to eat a lot because of the mercury, but what if i bought frozen fish filets or fresh shrimp or crab meat?

Adding up Nutrition

2007-04-03T17:20:45Z

Right, since I'm watching my diet currently in a bid to lose some weight, and I'm also actually quite curious about what I put into my body, how do you work out the nutrition in a meal you make?

I'll give 2 examples.

This morning I had 2 bowls of Crunchy Nut Cornflakes.
That was really easy to work out as Kellogs are nice and have done the work for me and have a panel with the data per usual serving.

However, let's say tonight I take some of my lovely fresh spinach and ricotta tortellini, then I make a sauce for it with some canned tomatoes, some veggie bouillon, maybe a bit of mushroom and pepper, without forgetting a dash of lime juice.
How on earth do I work out the nutritional data for what I'm eating there?
Do I have to measure every single bit that I'm putting into the sauce, and work out what amount of 100g it is, so I can get to the right amount from the 'per 100g' data?

If so, I can see this being quite tedious for every single meal.
I know there are programs like CalorieKing, but that doesn't really do what I want.
If this is the way to do it, I might just write a small program that lets you put in nutritional data for 100g of all your usual ingredients, and then for each recipe you could specify how much of the ingredients you use in the recipe and it would do all the work for you and tell you how much you're getting in a normal serving.

cookinghealthy @ 2007-01-27T22:54:00

2007-01-28T05:52:52Z

I just want to spread the word on this because for some reason, I guess I'm disturbed. This isn't some prank on public access television (which I've seen several times) but this is a seriously enormous corp. doing this on a seriously enormous channel. Anyways, here's the link