General

I recently began reading food labels more closely than simply calorie numbers and the list of ingredients. Those labels have so many claims on the front and so many numbers on the back, it can get confusing! Here is a quick and easy way to read a food label: Ignore all the claims of “natural” and “99% fat free” on the front of any food product. In fact, ignore everything on that side and turn the package around to the nutrition facts label. Check the serving size. You’d be amazed how small they divide up the contents of jars and boxes so the numbers look healthier. Measure out how much ½ cup of cereal is and you will see what I mean! Check the calories. […]

When I went to Veggie Grill with Ian a couple evenings ago, I ordered a kale Caesar salad. It was not a very big salad, and it consisted of chopped kale, 10 croutons, a creamy vegan dressing with vegan parmesan cheese, and a bit of seitan the size of a thumbnail. Even though it tasted good, I was surprised and horrified to discover online what I had just eaten: 750 calories (1/3 of my usual 2000 calories a day in one pretty small dish); 1060 mg of sodium (my daily max) and 65 fat grams. (ditto). Yikes, no wonder it’s healthier to cook your own meals! If I had stayed home, I would have eaten no more than 500 calories and much less fat and […]

It is easy to get out of shape when you go on vacation or when work takes you on the road. Here are some travel apps that will help you maintain your health habits when you are not at home: Food Related Apps: Happy Cow – For vegans, vegetarians and healthy eaters, this app will find vegan and vegetarian markets and restaurants all over the world. I was filming in Bulgaria and this awesome app came up with veg friendly restaurants near my hotel. Food Tripping – This app gives you suggestions on nearby healthy food places (United States only). Cronometer – this app gives you detailed calorie counts for hundreds of foods from around the world. I use it myself, even when I am […]

When passion and intensity wane in a relationship, it is easy to think there is something wrong with you, your partner, or the relationship. However, the obsessiveness we have in the first year or so of being with someone cannot last – our biology is not wired to live every day of our lives in the fog and sexual frenzy that a new love brings. We would never get anything done, we would not pay enough attention to our children and homosapiens would have died out long ago. Researchers have found that there are several aspects of human nature that make a relationship feel stale: Negativity bias is a tendency to give more weight to negative than the positive – perhaps you have experienced getting […]