EatingWell Blogs (Page 9)

All Blogs: Food Blog | Healthy Cooking Blog | Diet Blog | Health Blog | Food News Blog

January 25, 2013 - 11:46am

Cooking spray: should you use it?

By Stacy Fraser in Healthy Cooking Blog

In the EatingWell Test Kitchen, we use cooking spray because it’s a fast, no-mess way to make a tiny bit of oil go a long way so we can keep calories in check. Calorie for calorie, cooking spray is similar to other oils: spraying for 1 second (enough to coat a large skillet) is about 9 calories; 1/4 teaspoon canola oil is 10 calories and would be just enough to very thinly coat a skillet.

In addition to using cooking spray to quickly coat a pan with a little oil, we also use it to coat breaded foods like chicken and fish for “oven-frying.” The oiled breading gives a deep-fried crunch with a fraction of the calories and fat compared to deep-frying.

Cooking sprays do contain propellants to push the oil out of the can, but the propellants are on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s “Generally Recognized As Safe” (GRAS) list and...

read full post »

TAGS: Cooking tips, Health, Healthy Cooking Blog, Nutrition, Wellness, Stacy Fraser

comments (1) | read full post »

January 25, 2013 - 10:57am

What are trans fats & are there still foods with trans fats to avoid?

By Brierley Wright in Health Blog

First, some good news: manufacturers have significantly reduced the amount of trans fats in packaged foods. Even better, according to a 2012 Centers for Disease Control study of white American adults, blood levels of trans fats dropped by a whopping 58 percent between 2000 and 2009. “This decline shows substantial progress that should help lower the risk of cardiovascular disease in adults,” says Christopher Portier, Ph.D., director of the CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health.

Why? Trans fats raise your “bad” LDL cholesterol, possibly even more than saturated fats do. Trans fat also lowers your “good” HDL cholesterol. The American Heart Association recommends limiting the amount of trans fat to less than 1 percent of your total daily calories. If you eat 2,000 calories a day, that translates to about 2 (or fewer) grams.

...

read full post »

TAGS: Food & health news, Health, Health Blog, Nutrition, Wellness, Brierley Wright

comments (1) | read full post »

January 23, 2013 - 2:13pm

2 foods you should really be eating at breakfast (and probably aren’t)

By Brierley Wright in Health Blog

Recently EatingWell asked our readers what they focused on when it comes to feeding kids breakfast. I quite was surprised by the most common answer. Many parents said they were focused on getting their kids to eat protein at breakfast. (Sound familiar? Find recipes for protein-packed breakfasts here.)

Protein is an important part of a healthy breakfast—protein provides staying power to keep hunger at bay until lunch. A little bit of protein at breakfast in the form of milk, yogurt, an egg or peanut butter, for example, is a good idea, but you don’t need to overly focus on it. We tend to make up for any protein we didn’t get at breakfast at lunch and dinner, and overall Americans’ daily protein intake is just fine.

...read full post »

TAGS: Breakfast, Health, Health Blog, Nutrition, Wellness, Brierley Wright

comments (15) | read full post »

January 22, 2013 - 1:47pm

Set it & forget it: slow-cooker stout & chicken stew

By Wendy Ruopp in Food Blog

Whether you want a healthy comforting weeknight dinner or a delicious stew to enjoy on the weekend (say while you’re watching the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens in the upcoming Super Bowl!), a warming bowl of slow-cooked chicken stew with stout fits the bill with two of America’s favorites: chicken and beer.

More Slow-Cooker Recipes: Barbecued Pulled Chicken & Easy Crock Pot Meals
Easy Recipes For The Super Bowl

This recipe for Slow-Cooker Stout & Chicken Stew has a lot of flavor and it’s healthy too. It features lean chicken thighs and just a...

read full post »

TAGS: Budget meals, Dinner, Family meals, Food Blog, Wendy Ruopp

comments (1) | read full post »

January 16, 2013 - 1:15pm

Retrain your cravings: 5 ways to learn to love healthier foods

By Lisa Gosselin in Health Blog

Trying to clean up your diet and eat healthier this year but having a hard time loving the new healthy foods you should be eating? I’m the same way: there are so many bad foods I love and so many good ones I feel like I’m forcing myself to eat.

9 “Bad” Foods You Can Feel Good About Eating

The good news: in EatingWell Magazine, Holly Pevzner reports on new research that shows and curb your taste for those foods you may regret getting chummy with.

Ditch These 4 Foods to Clean Up Your Diet

The secret to learning to love healthier foods lies in using all five senses. “A food’s...

read full post »

TAGS: Cooking tips, Food & health news, Good choices, Health, Health Blog, Healthy kids, Lisa Gosselin