Resolving to treat your body better in 2011? Karolina Starczak, founder of FitCentrik.com, is back to share some of the surprising benefits of calcium, just how much you need, and where you can find it.  (And while you’re at it, throw in a few arm curls with that gallon of milk!)

Calcium: More than Bones

By  Karolina Starczak, RD, ACE-CPT

Unless you’re reading this while sporting a delicious milk moustache, chances are you are not getting the calcium your body needs.  The truth is about 78% of women aged 20 years or older are not meeting the recommended 1,000 milligrams of daily calcium and according to the U.S. Surgeon General’s Report on Bone Health and Osteoporosis, by 2020, half of Americans over the age of 50 will be at risk for fractures from osteoporosis and low bone mass. Currently ten million people over the age of 50 suffer from osteoporosis in this country alone.

Shocking isn’t it? Especially since calcium is needed for much more than strong, healthy bones and teeth. It also plays a vital role in muscle contraction, hormones and enzyme secretion, and nervous system function. So how can you use the New Year to separate yourself from the crowd and up that calcium intake?  It’s a lot easier than spelling osteoporosis. Read the rest of this entry »

What’s the secret to staying slim? There isn’t one – there are 150 inside Patricia Bannan’s brand new book Eat Right When Time Is Tight: 150 Slim-Down Strategies and No-Cook Food Fixes. Just to whet our soon-to-be controlled appetites, she’s sharing Master Strategy 8 to help you stabilize and energize your days by eating…wait for it…MORE OFTEN! Sounds like a secret we can sink our teeth into!

Oh, Patricia! We’re feeling slimmer already!

Master Strategy 8: Energize in 3-5

by Patricia Bannan, MS, RD

This strategy is not only about what you eat but when you eat. The typical busy person eats little throughout the day and then overeats in the evening, but starving all day and binging at night is not only hard on your psyche, it’s the most inefficient way to provide your body with the energy you need. Yet many of us follow this pattern of skimping throughout the day, only to overeat at night.

For optimal energy levels, you want to stay in “energy balance”—or close to it—throughout the day. That means providing your body with the amount of fuel it needs at regular intervals so you’re neither overeating nor under-eating. Understanding how your body’s blood sugar levels rise and fall explains why this is critical, whether you want to lose weight or simply have more energy and feel better throughout the day. Read the rest of this entry »

Who is this gorgeous woman holding that delicious apple, you ask?  Is it Eve herself? No, but what she has to offer is equally as tempting: her new book Eat Right When Time Is Tight: 150 Slim-Down Strategies and No-Cook Food Fixes made our mouths water! And lucky for us, and for you, author and nutrition expert Patricia Bannan will be sharing a few of her ten master strategies to help people eat right when time is tight – right here on SqueezeItIn.com!  Take it away, Patricia…

Master Strategy 3: Munch Every Morn

by Patricia Bannan, MS, RD

If you’re counting every calorie, you may think going without breakfast will help you lose weight and slim down. In fact, the opposite is true. Eating a healthy breakfast every morning will make you more likely to shed pounds and keep them off. Statistics from the National Weight Control Registry, which tracks the habits of people who lost more than 30 pounds and kept the weight off, reveal that 78 percent of successful “losers” eat breakfast every morning. A mere four percent never eat breakfast. Read the rest of this entry »

She’s back! Nikki Ver Steeg, a Registered Dietician, Certified Wellness Coach, and founder of Your Diet Designer LLC is taking a swipe at breast cancer one menu at a time. This week she’s sharing her favorite delicious recipe for avocado dip.  Make sure to check out her wonderful website while you dip those chips and squeeze in some Park Bench Dips!

Avocado Dip Recipe

1-2 avocados, diced

2 Roma tomatoes, diced

1/4 cup feta cheese crumbles

2 Tbsp light Zesty Italian bottled dressing

Stir together.  Serve with cut up veggies, multi-grain tortilla chips or whole wheat pita triangles.

You can learn more about Nikki’s quest to fight cancer with nutrition at YourDietDesigner.com.

Please note: The information provided here is for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for the advice or treatment given by your doctor or dietitian. Please consult with a registered dietitian or your doctor if you have any questions about the information in this post.

NeverSayDiet.com’s Karolina Starczak is back with a bright summer healthy recipe that is as nutritious as it is delicious!  And we say multitask while making your lunch by adding some toning to your tuna with these SqueezeItIn.com moves: Squeeze Backs, Counter Top Push Ups, and the Dinner Twist.

Looking for a cool and refreshing way to spruce up old favorites this summer? Well it’s time to ditch the mayo and take your old tuna recipe off the back burner. Simply swap the mayo for avocado, toss in a few veggies, and get ready for a creamy and delicious protein packed delight.

Read the rest of this entry »

Just in time for your 4th of July picnic packing, guest blogger Elisa Zied is back with a snack list you can’t resist!

12 Healthy and Delicious No-Fuss Snacks for Parents & Kids

by Elisa Zied, MS, RD, CDN

1.  1 cup (8 ounces) Greek Yogurt (0% fat) mixed with ½ cup fresh sliced strawberries and ½ cup fresh or frozen unseetened blueberries

2.  Trail mix made with 2 tbsp each raisins or dried cranberry bits, crunchy whole grain cereal (like low fat granola), and mixed, unsalted nuts (like peanuts, cashews, walnuts or almonds)

3.  1 green apple, sliced with 2 ounces light cheddar cheese cubes

4.  4-ounce cup unsweetened applesauce plus 1 sheet graham crackers (2 squares)

5.  1 cup low fat plain yogurt mixed with ½ cup unsweetened apple sauce and a sprinkle of cinnamon Read the rest of this entry »

Oh How Sweet…Strawberries!

by Elisa Zied, MS, RD, CDN

They’re sweet and have lots of appeal simply because of their beauty. They can be eaten whole and fresh, sliced a top whole grain, high fiber cereal, oatmeal, or over low fat or nonfat plain yogurt. They pack in valuable nutrients including vitamin C, folate, potassium, and fiber as well as plant chemicals including flavonoids, anthocyanins, ellagic acid, and others that are protective against heart disease and cancer. Some studies show that consuming strawberries may even lower levels of homocysteine, an amino acid—high levels of it is linked with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke.

Here’s a quick, easy, delicious recipe taken from my second book, Feed Your Family Right! You can have this as a mini meal, split it in half and share with a friend or family member, or make more to serve in shot glasses to guests at your summer fete. Enjoy!! Read the rest of this entry »

This next idea idea from those fabulous gals Sue and Angelle of NourishMD is so simple it’s brilliant – and it works!  Follow the excellent tips in all four of their guest posts and you’ll be putting healthy, nutritious and delicious meals on the table in no time at all.

Thank you, NourishMD, for showing us how to easily squeeze so much REAL food into our lives!

Ever wonder how chefs can get so much food out to so many people so quickly?  It’s all about prepping.  The good news is you can get REAL food to your family REAL fast too with Step 3 of NourishMD.com’s One Easy System:  Prepping Made Simple.

Once you’ve Planned and Shopped for REAL food you need to prep your food so that it is easier and faster to grab REAL food snacks and meals than it is to drive through a drive through.

The key is to squeeze in some time once or twice a week to set-up your prep boxes just like chefs do before the restaurant opens for the evening.  Prep boxes (we like rectangular glass Pyrex dishes) are based on the ingredients you need for your planned weekly menu.   Some examples of prep boxes you will want to have in your fridge are: Read the rest of this entry »

Generous. Smart. Caring. Real.  We can’t say enough about our guest bloggers Sue and Angelle of NourishMD. They’re back this week to share another tool to help you keep it real at the grocery store:

In last week’s blog, you learned how 20 minutes a week spent on planning out your meals and snacks will increase your health.  You focused on adding more REAL food to your daily diet.  Now that you have your plan, it’s time to create your shopping list.  Taking 15-20 minutes to create a list will keep you on track when you get to the store.

Our free downloadable form will help ensure you have a good variety of Powerful Proteins, Friendly Fats and Colorful Carbs.  When your list is made, then you are ready to go shopping. Read the rest of this entry »