The Top 5 Reasons Why Chocolate is Good For You

Did you know that dark chocolate can be healthy for you? Chocolate unanimously gets a bad rap as a diet buster, and one look at any chocolate bar label will tell you why. But chocolate has amazing benefits if you limit your intake to a few ounces per week, go for dark chocolate (the higher cocoa content packs in much more health benefits), and eat less-processed bars (so not the Kit Kats and Snickers!) Chocolate has so many health benefits is that it is rich in flavonoids, which are naturally occurring substances found in plants that are antiocidant rich.

So here are the top 5 reasons why you should be eating chocolate!

I don't really need to convince you to eat me, do I?

1. Improve your vision. Researchers from the University of Reading in England found that people performed better on vision tests after eating the dark chocolate. This is because the flavanols in dark chocolate help boost blood flow to the brain and the retina.


2. Prevent cancer. Studies have shown that people who eat many flavonoids and antioxidant-rich foods develop fewer cancers than those who don’t eat them. There are many flavonoids in chocolate, but the two most prominent cancer-fighters epicatechin and quercetin.

3. Raise good cholesterol. Dark chocolate is also being studies for its cholesterol-lowering properties. Cocoa butter in chocolate contains oleic acid, which is a monounsaturated fat - the same fat found in olive oil. Studies show that monounsaturated fat helps to raise good cholesterol.

4. Be happier. Fatty acids can boost your mood, and dark chocolate contains two saturated fatty acids, palmitic and stearic acids. Studies have found that chocolate can make you feel happier and improve your mood, even over other foods containing fatty acids. The current thinking on this is that chocolate stimulates the neural activity in the regions of the brain associated with pleasure.

5. Live longer. Studies have found a link between eating dark chocolate and living longer. While more research needs to be done on this, it's safe to say that with chocolate's cancer-fighting, stroke risk-reducing, heart disease-preventing, blood pressure-lowering advantages and more, chocolate can definitely help you extend your life.

Look for bars like me...dark and unprocessed!

So don't be afraid to indulge!

The Best (And Easiest) Superfoods for Weight Loss

Eating superfoods can make losing weight easy and a lot more enjoyable! But a lot of them are strange and expensive and generally not suited to the tastes, budgets, and lifestyles of anyone other than a health nut. So here is my list of the top superfoods for college students and fitness beginners to eat:

Apples have antioxidants that can help you cut down on belly fat. Also, studies have found that people who snack on apples before meals eat less than with any other snack!

Eggs are known for being bad for diets, but the opposite is true. Their protein will keep you full and kill your appetite. Go for egg whites when possible, but don't be scared of the yolk!

Salmon is another superfood that controls insulin with its omega-3 fatty acids. Stock up and try it on the grill, baked with vegestables, or even make burgers with it.

Blueberries may be the best type of berry to eat, with the highest antioxidant content and over 3.5g of fibre in a cup.

Small but powerful!

Chiles are one of the most flavourful (and hot!) ways to trim down! Chiles contain capsaicin which instantly revs up your metabolism and causes you to burn extra calories for 20 minutes after you eat it, studies show. Try finding ways to add fresh chiles to your dishes to get the most out of them.

I burn calories and your tongue.

Avacados are known to be high in fat, but also to be extremely healthy. Both are true! The key is that avacadoes contain monounsaturated fat which is good for your heart and also helps you feel fuller longer. Do watch your portions though. Use avacadoes as a spread on sandwiches or make a healthy guacamole to use as a dip.

Olive oil is just like avacado in that it contains healthy fat that keep you feeling ful.. It should be your staple oil if it isn't already. The easiest way to get your fix is simply to cook with it! Also drizzle salads with it for extra benefit.

I'll keep you from reaching for a snack later!

Brown rice is extremely filling yet low in calories. Ditch white rice for it whenever possible to easily slim down. It also contains a special type of starch named resistant starch which is a metabolism booster and fat burner.

Healthy Snacks: How to Choose a Nutritious Granola Bar for Weight Loss

Granola bars are one of my favourite healthy snacks, especially to help lose weight. Nutritious, portable, and most importantly, delicious! They are a great energy snack, especially for students who need a boost to study. With so many choices, though, it's a little confusing.

Yummy, but healthy?

Here are a few tips for choosing the healthiest granola bar:

Choose whole grains: Any granola bar you choose should have whole grains such as oats as the first ingredient - not sugar or anything else. Studies show the people who choose more whole grains lose weight more.

Look for fibre: Whole grain bars should automatically have at least 3 grams of fibre per bar. Fibre is important for limiting the impacts of sugar and starch on blood glucose, which is something most students get more than enough of. So lok for as much fibre as possible in your bars!

Go low on sugar: Every 4 grams of sugar is 1 teaspoon of sugar! I like to keep my granola bards under 8g of sugar. The less the better, but you want to find the right balance of health and nutrition for yourself!

Be wary of trans fats: Companies don't have to report trans fats in their products if there is less than 0.5g of trans fats. So make sure to always read the ingredient list and make sure there are no "partitally hydrogenated oils" in the list - this means trans fat. Be especially wary of bars that have chocolate chips or yogurt/chocolate covering.

Go organic: Take a trip down your organic aisle, especially to check out any sales on granola bars to fit these into your budget. I always prefer fewer ingredients that are recognizable when possible. But remember - organic doesn't necessarily mean healthy. Read the nutrition information, as always!

Happy snacking and good luck choosing a granola bar to aid in your weight loss!

Simple Tips For Eating Out

Dining out seems to be something I can't avoid between constant invitations from friends, cousins, family, and colleagues. Everyone loves eating at restaurants, but it can be difficult to navigate eating healthy while surfing menus of various restaurants. So here's a list of simple tips for dining out:

1.       Research ahead, when possible. If you know where you're going, look it up ahead of time and try to get nutritional information so you can pick the healthiest dishes on the menu.

Go online for nutrition facts!

2.       Be aware of portions. Ever notice how huge the portions are at restaurants? Offer to split entrées and appetizers with your friends and family. Ask for a small plate and put your food on that so you can see your  portion clearly.

3.       Analyze how food is prepared. How food is cooked is the most important aspect. Avoid fried and breaded – instead, look for foods that are grilled, steamed, baked, stir-fried, or roasted.

Yummy, and healthily prepared!

4.       Eat vegetables! Vegetables are a sure-fire way to get needed nutrients and lower the calories in your meal. Whenever you can, get vegetable side dishes instead of fries or baked potatoes, especially if your entrée is carb-rich.

5.       Be wary of condiments. Yummy condiments and toppings like cheese, sour cream, and creamy gravies and sauces can quickly blow the calorie and fat count of your meal into the stratosphere. Avoid and lessen them when possible – and even better, get them on the side so you can control how much is on your meal.

We're out to get you!

6.       Drink water, milk, and fruit juice. Avoid sugary sodas, alcohol, hot chocolate, etc. which are often empty calories.

The 3 Best Potato Chip Replacements

I don't know about you, but I tend to get snacky when I study. The smaller meals I'm eating these days coupled with the dry boredom of textbooks always does me in. But what to eat? I eat fruit, veggies, yogurt, and granola bars, but I always miss eating chips. I just crave something salty and crunchy! But I certainly don't want to stuff my face with notoriously unhealthy fried, processed potatoes.

So I took a trup down my grocery aisle and discovered these yummy, satisfying snacks. Just remember: Follow the portion sizes or you can easily eat way too much and defeat the purpose.

Ritz Chips are Ritz crackers redesignd to be more crunchy and chip-like. They come in flavours like cheddar and sour cream and onion, and at 150 calories per 30g serving and 5g of fat (half that in a serving of Lay's potato chips!) they're definitely a great choice.

Special K Cracker Chips are pretty new to the market. My mom bought a box. They don't have quite the same crunch as a chip, but the taste definitely more than makes up for it. And they're 110 calories for a generous 27-cracker portion, so I'm definitely going to keep these in my cupboard!

No one I know likes Triscuit, but I love them! They might be an acquired taste, but they're definitely worth a try. They come in a range of interesting flavours, like Rosemary & Olive Oil and Roasted Tomato & Olive Oil. They're around 120 calories and 4g of fat per serving.

Favourite Ways to Eat Veggies

I love eating vegetables - when they're cooked the right way, that is. Here are my favourite ways to cook various veggies:

• Carrots are great roasted. I just cut them into pieces, toss them in olive oil, salt, pepper, and roast them in the oven.

My sister thinks these look gross.

• I like cauliflower, broccoli, red bell peppers, and zuchinni together grilled. I sprinkle salt, pepper, paprika, and whatever assorted seasonings are in my mom's cupboard, grill 'em, and they make a great side dish or snack.

• Asparagus is awesome sauteed in some balsamic vinegar and salt. Don't overdo it on the balsamic though.

Definitely my favourite!

• Peas, broccoli, or cauliflower I like to just steam and eat. You can add salt and/or pepper. I don't and I love them though.

• Butternut squash can be transformed into an almost-soup if you cook it in a pot with some cooked chicken and baby carrots. I add some potatoes sometimes as well too, as well as salt, pepper, and whatever other seasonings I feel like. The butternut squash melts right down.

• I make a stir-fry of mushrooms, bell peppers of any colour, cauliflower, broccoli, beansprouts, and bok choy. There are many complicated recipes out there but I just sautee onions and garlic in a little olive oil, add my vegetables, and cook it up with a little soy sauce.

I need a skillet like this.

• Don't forget raw, the best way to get all the nutrients! Carrots, red peppers, cauliflower, broccoli, celery, cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes are all yummy dipped in some hummus or low-fat dressing

The 5 Healthiest Foods to Eat at Timmy's

I was telling my sister about my last blog and my discovery of how bad in general the food there is for you (Ironically while stuffing our faces with fried shrimp at Red Lobster - but it was her birthday!). She inspired me to write this post because she asked, "So what is there to eat at Timmy's?" So here I present to you the 5 best foods to eat at Tim Horton's:

1. Chicken wraps: 190 calories each and relatively low-fat (4.5 - 6g depending on the dressing). Save more calories and fat by requesting less dressing.

Yummy AND one of the healthiest choices on the menu!

2. Oatmeal: For breakfast only, but the only breakfast item that's trans-fat free. Around 220 calories per serving. A little higher in sugar, but you can request less maple or berries on top to save some sugar.

3. Soups: Stick to soups with clear broth rather than cream-based soups - most of these have trans fat. Chicken noodle, minsestrone, and hearty vegetable are all good choices that are under 120 calories and low-fat.

Remember, avoid the cream-based!

4. Garden vegetable sandwich: This is the only sandwich I eat at Timmy's. Get it with swiss cheese to eliminate the trans fat. Around 320 calories.

5. Drinks: Coffee, lattes, and cappucinos are all under 100 calories. Try iced lattes instead of iced capps - 11g of sugar in a small vs. 32g in a small iced capp. Also, if you must have hot chocolate or french vanilla, try requesting it with half coffee to halve the sugar.

Hope this helps! Again, check out Tim Horton's nutritional info for further information.

The Top 5 Foods to Avoid at Timmy's

Most Canadians love Tim Horton's - myself included. But have you stopped to look at what their products contain? I did, and it really surprised me.

So here is my list of the Top 5 foods to Avoid at Tim Hortons:

1. Breakfast Sandwiches - Any of them, on a homestyle biscuit, will earn you 0.5g trans fat. Considering it's encouraged to eliminate consumption of trans fats as much as possible, that's a hell of a lot for one food item. On an english muffin, 0.2g.

2. Iced Cappucinos - A small serving will get you 11g of fat - 6 saturated and 0.4 trans fat, both of which are considered "bad fats". Why? Because there is a lot of cream in there. Get it with milk instead - 1.5g fat, 1g saturated.

A customer favourite that you may want to rethink.

3. Honey Crullers - ALL the donuts and cookies have at least 0.1 g of trans fat, but this one takes the cake with 0.4g.

4. Hot Chocolate - A small. drink has the most sugar of any item on the menu - 38g. Also 6g of fat, 5g saturated and 0.2g trans.

5. "Real" Fruit Smoothies - These are really a travesty, and marketed as a healthy choice, which is severely misleading. It's 1/5 of some kind of alien fruit concentrate mix out of a box, and the rest a beverage base, which is basically sugar and water. Eat a fruit, for gosh sakes! Or go to McDonald's, their's are actually made from fruit. Small with no yogurt 30g sugar, all the way up to large with yogurt 60g of sugar.

Sorry, but what is your definition of "real", Timmy's? SMH!

Need more info? Go to Timmy's official nutition guide or their nutrition calculator.

African Mango Complete

My mom is constantly on a crusade to get me to lose weight. She asked me if I wanted diet pills - I obviously balked at the idea - but she is went ahead anyway and presented me with a bottle of pills the next week anyway. The bottle said "African Mango Complete". I figured, "Oh, why not try it?" - but only after reading the bottle and pamphlet and some research online. All-natural ingredients, blahblah, nothing chemical or strange (well, relatively) in it.

Will these actually work?

The main ingredient in this is African Mango, or Irvingia gabonensis extract. It also has psyllium husk, red clover powder, artichoke leaf extract, and dandelion root extract, all of which togethere supposedly form a potent mixture that claim to burn body fat, control appetite, increase energy, cleanse, detoxify, and lower cholesterol. "Lose 25 lbs. in as little as 4 weeks!" is the bottle's claim.

You take two pills a day, one in morning and one in evening. I read on the Internet to take it before meals, so I took mine a half hour before meals when I could. The main things of the laundry list of claims I'm concerned with are losing body fat and supressing appetite. I've tried these for a few days, and I have to say when it comes to suppressing appetite and my cravings they actually seem to work. I have a terrible sweet tooth, but my sugar cravings are pretty much nonexistant when I take these, and my appetite does seem lower. I really only feel like eating when I'm actually hungry.

Of course, I've only taken these a few days, so I won't make any claims about them yet, except for the few observations I just made. Maybe I'm feeling a placebo effect. I'll update in a few weeks to give my full opinion on these.

Vitamin D Deficiency????

The sun vitamin!

I recently did a full physical at the doc. It went well and he said all was fine with me, a

nd sent me to do some bloodwork. I thought getting pricked with the awful needle was the hard part. Apparently not. :( I got a call on Friday that the doctor wanted to see me to discuss my results. I freaked out all night and all of Saturday! I couldn't even imagine what could be wrong with me. When I finally got there on Sunday (after hours of waiting might I add), the doctor told me I had a Vitamin D deficiency.

I almost cried with relief! All he did was tell me to buy a Vitamin D supplement for the time being and work on incorporating more Vitamin into my diet naturally. And maybe go for a walk and get some free Vitamin D, you know, sunlight.

I'm naturally an indoorsy person. Especially with school. My last semester was absolute hell and with school being my main concern, I definitely let my diet slip! I ate tons of junk - I'm really surprised that's the only thing I'm deficient in.

I shied away from the supplements though. I'm not too fond of pills of any kind. Here's a list of foods rich in Vitamin D:

• Fish (salmon, halibut, tuna)
• Shrimp
• Soy Milk
• Milk
• All Bran Cereal
• Eggs
• Shiitake Mushrooms

And it's summer now, so hopefully I can get off my lazy butt and go outside - my nephew and I will be going to the park a lot more, so I guess that won't be bad. :)