Do One Thing: Start your day with a stretch

According to Dr. Mehmet Oz, one of the "7 Deadly Habits You Need to Break Now" is not stretching in the morning before starting your day. A morning stretch helps to release stress first thing, so you start off your day on the right foot. An easy and invigorating stretch for the whole body is the Sun Salutation, a series of poses often used to warm the body at the start of a yoga session, but that can also be used as a practice in and of itself. It is a way to get the whole body awake and prepared for the day, that almost anyone of any age can do, anywhere and without any equipment. Here, YogaJournal.com provides demonstration videos for three variations on the Sun Salutation, including one for beginners. Select the variation that most appeals to you and tomorrow morning, give it a shot! See how many rounds you can get through on the first day and set yourself a goal to aim for going forward; maybe you'll try to fit in 10 rounds, or 10 minutes worth, each morning.

Alternatives: create your own morning stretch or choose another of Dr. Oz's 7 Deadly Habits to correct in your own daily life as your "Do One Thing."

Image: federico stevanin / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

According to Dr. Mehmet Oz, one of the "7 Deadly Habits You Need to Break Now" is not stretching in the morning before starting your day. A morning stretch helps to release stress first thing, so you start off your day on the right foot. An easy and invigorating stretch for the whole body is the Sun Salutation, a series of poses often used to warm the body at the start of a yoga session, but that can also be used as a practice in and of itself. It is a way to get the whole body awake and prepared for the day, that almost anyone of any age can do, anywhere and without any equipment. Here, YogaJournal.com provides demonstration videos for three variations on the Sun Salutation, including one for beginners. Select the variation that most appeals to you and tomorrow morning, give it a shot! See how many rounds you can get through on the first day and set yourself a goal to aim for going forward; maybe you'll try to fit in 10 rounds, or 10 minutes worth, each morning.

Alternatives: create your own morning stretch or choose another of Dr. Oz's 7 Deadly Habits to correct in your own daily life as your "Do One Thing."

Image: federico stevanin / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Give me your two cents

I want to hear from you! I love sharing with you the nutrition, exercise and stress management information and resources that I find most interesting, but I also would like to know what's most interesting to you. This is a call for ideas from you, the readers. If there is something you'd like to learn more about, please write to me and let me know. You can comment in response to this post or e-mail me at pieceofcakewellness@gmail.com




Image: Michal Marcol / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I want to hear from you! I love sharing with you the nutrition, exercise and stress management information and resources that I find most interesting, but I also would like to know what's most interesting to you. This is a call for ideas from you, the readers. If there is something you'd like to learn more about, please write to me and let me know. You can comment in response to this post or e-mail me at pieceofcakewellness@gmail.com




Image: Michal Marcol / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

NutritionData.com brings it all together

Eating more healthfully just got easier, with a website that pairs nutrition facts and straight talk on nutrition topics with recipes and personalization. NutritionData.com is exactly what it sounds like: It takes loads of nutrition data and compiles it together in one well-organized, easy-to-use website. On NutritionData.com you can calculate your own personalized daily nutrition needs, search for recipes (including nutrition information) and read up on nutrition news. The website also contains handy tools like a unit conversion tool (for recipes), a nutrient search tool that allows you to find foods high in a given nutrient, and a tool that allows you to compare the nutrient content of different foods. You can even create your own profile on NutritionData.com, called “MyND,” where you can track your diet with a daily food log, and collect all your favorite and most frequently used recipes and foods in one place.

NutritionData website

Eating more healthfully just got easier, with a website that pairs nutrition facts and straight talk on nutrition topics with recipes and personalization. NutritionData.com is exactly what it sounds like: It takes loads of nutrition data and compiles it together in one well-organized, easy-to-use website. On NutritionData.com you can calculate your own personalized daily nutrition needs, search for recipes (including nutrition information) and read up on nutrition news. The website also contains handy tools like a unit conversion tool (for recipes), a nutrient search tool that allows you to find foods high in a given nutrient, and a tool that allows you to compare the nutrient content of different foods. You can even create your own profile on NutritionData.com, called “MyND,” where you can track your diet with a daily food log, and collect all your favorite and most frequently used recipes and foods in one place.

NutritionData website

Bulgur Wheat & The Good Mood Food Blog

When my husband and I went vegetarian for Lent, we discovered the beauty of Bulgur and some of the delicious dishes one can make from it. Bulgur is a whole grain. One cup of cooked Bulgur contains only about 150 calories, but provides about one-third of your daily fiber needs, 11% of your daily protein needs and 10% of your iron needs (based on a 2,000 calorie diet).

Now that I’ve got you all excited about Bulgur, you could probably use some recipes to get started. Enter my new favorite recipe site: The Good Mood Food Blog. Blogger Donal Skehan has put together a visually appealing website full of mouthwatering recipes for “simple, healthy, homecooked food,” paired with beautiful photographs of his recipes that he has taken himself. Below you’ll find a link to a handful of Donal’s recipes for Bulgur, including one for a simple preparation of Bulgur, as well as a beautiful roast vegetable and Bulgur wheat dish. You will find that, as Donal is writing from Dublin, Ireland, you may sometimes have to make minor conversions or translations (e.g., “rocket” is arugula, “aubergine” is eggplant and “courgette” is zucchini; 200g of Bulgur comes out to slightly more than 1 cup), but I think it’s well worth it for the great recipes and beautiful imagery.

The Good Mood Food Blog – Recipes for Bulgur

If that’s just too much work to get a delicious, healthy meal on the table quickly, try any of these recipes for Bulgur, from the Vegetarian Times website.

Vegetarian Times – Recipes for Bulgur

When my husband and I went vegetarian for Lent, we discovered the beauty of Bulgur and some of the delicious dishes one can make from it. Bulgur is a whole grain. One cup of cooked Bulgur contains only about 150 calories, but provides about one-third of your daily fiber needs, 11% of your daily protein needs and 10% of your iron needs (based on a 2,000 calorie diet).

Now that I’ve got you all excited about Bulgur, you could probably use some recipes to get started. Enter my new favorite recipe site: The Good Mood Food Blog. Blogger Donal Skehan has put together a visually appealing website full of mouthwatering recipes for “simple, healthy, homecooked food,” paired with beautiful photographs of his recipes that he has taken himself. Below you’ll find a link to a handful of Donal’s recipes for Bulgur, including one for a simple preparation of Bulgur, as well as a beautiful roast vegetable and Bulgur wheat dish. You will find that, as Donal is writing from Dublin, Ireland, you may sometimes have to make minor conversions or translations (e.g., “rocket” is arugula, “aubergine” is eggplant and “courgette” is zucchini; 200g of Bulgur comes out to slightly more than 1 cup), but I think it’s well worth it for the great recipes and beautiful imagery.

The Good Mood Food Blog – Recipes for Bulgur

If that’s just too much work to get a delicious, healthy meal on the table quickly, try any of these recipes for Bulgur, from the Vegetarian Times website.

Vegetarian Times – Recipes for Bulgur

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

One of my favorite things these days is new show, Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, which airs Friday nights at 9/8 central on ABC, and follows celebrity chef Jamie Oliver (aka "The Naked Chef"), as he tries to bring the idea of eating "real, honest, wholesome food" to Huntington, West Virginia. (Huntington, WV was named the unhealthiest city in the U.S. in a 2008 Centers for Disease Control report, based on 2006 data.) While this isn't necessarily a tip or resource for healthy eating, I wanted to share my excitement over this program because I believe in what Chef Oliver is doing. Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution is an inspiring show. If Jamie can help the people of Huntington embrace the idea of eating real, fresh, whole foods, then we can easily do the same for ourselves in our own homes.

To learn more, check out Jamie Oliver's website by clicking here.

One of my favorite things these days is new show, Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, which airs Friday nights at 9/8 central on ABC, and follows celebrity chef Jamie Oliver (aka "The Naked Chef"), as he tries to bring the idea of eating "real, honest, wholesome food" to Huntington, West Virginia. (Huntington, WV was named the unhealthiest city in the U.S. in a 2008 Centers for Disease Control report, based on 2006 data.) While this isn't necessarily a tip or resource for healthy eating, I wanted to share my excitement over this program because I believe in what Chef Oliver is doing. Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution is an inspiring show. If Jamie can help the people of Huntington embrace the idea of eating real, fresh, whole foods, then we can easily do the same for ourselves in our own homes.

To learn more, check out Jamie Oliver's website by clicking here.

Happy Easter!

For those of you who celebrate it...Happy Easter!

Piece o' Cake! will return on Monday, April 5th.






Source: www.freedigitalphotos.net
Photographer: Maggie Smith

For those of you who celebrate it...Happy Easter!

Piece o' Cake! will return on Monday, April 5th.






Source: www.freedigitalphotos.net
Photographer: Maggie Smith

8 Healthy office snacks from CookingLight.com

Click here for 8 great ideas for healthy snacks to have on hand at the office. When your stomach starts growling at 3PM, having a healthy snack at the ready will help you avoid the vending machine blues. Suggestions from CookingLight.com include mini pitas with hummus and whole wheat crackers with peanut butter.


Image: CookingLight.com

Click here for 8 great ideas for healthy snacks to have on hand at the office. When your stomach starts growling at 3PM, having a healthy snack at the ready will help you avoid the vending machine blues. Suggestions from CookingLight.com include mini pitas with hummus and whole wheat crackers with peanut butter.


Image: CookingLight.com