Did you know that lack of water might also lead to fluid retention and weight gain? It sounds contradictory, but it is true.

Did you know that drinking water might also help reduce your risk of a heart attack? Drinking water can benefit your heart – maybe as much as diet and exercise.

However, the most compelling reasons for drinking water are that water keeps you alive, gives you proper hydration, and gives life to all your body functions.

Hence, the importance of drinking at least 8 glasses of water daily.  Read more... (108 words, 1 image, estimated 26 secs reading time)

Shop Smart at the Supermarket

When you go into the grocery store, do you get confused?  Did you think you were eating healthy only to find out that you’re not? Are you unclear about what constitutes a “balanced diet“?  Can you identify a “fresh, whole food“?  If not, you are not alone! With so much information available, it is almost overwhelming trying to sort it out and make sense.  I’m going to bring it back to basics in order to make eating healthy, simple, flavorful and fun!  Read more... (721 words, 2 images, estimated 2:53 mins reading time)

 Read more... (289 words, 2 images, estimated 1:09 mins reading time)

"FREE Foods"

Many foods have few carbs in a standard serving. We call these “free foods” since they are essentially free of any serious impact on your blood sugar.

Any food with fewer than 5 grams of available carbohydrate in a 100 gram portion is a “free food.”

You can easily check the carbohydrate composition of any food at the USDA Nutrient Database by CLICKING HERE. 

BEVERAGES:
Coffee (without cream or sugar) 0.00
Diet Soda 0.00
Tea (without milk or sugar) 0.00
Water 0.00

DIETARY FIBER:
Soluble and insoluble fiber (a part of other foods) 0.00  Read more... (382 words, 2 images, estimated 1:32 mins reading time)

Oatmeal Pancakes

Ingredients:
1/2 cup oatmeal
6 egg whites
1 tbsp raspberry fruit spread (double fruit, no sugar added)

Directions:
Heat a small frying pan over medium heat for several minutes. Mix oatmeal, egg whites and fruit spread together. Spray pan with non-stick spray. Pour mixture into pan. Flip after approximately 5 minutes and cook for an additional five minutes on other side.

Hot Boneless Chicken Wings

Ingredients:
33 grams Bread Crumbs
8 ounces Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast cut into nugget sized pieces
6 tsp Tabasco Sauce
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Put bread crumbs in dish. Add a dash of each of the seasonings and mix well. Place chicken pieces in a separate dish, and cover and toss with hot sauce. Spray a baking pan with nonstick spray. Give each chicken piece a shake (so it’s not dripping with hot sauce), and then coat it evenly with the crumbs. Lay the nuggets on the baking pan. Place in the oven, and bake for 10 minutes. Then flip the wings over, and return them to the oven for 10 more minutes, or until outsides are crispy and chicken is cooked throughout.

Number of Servings: 3  Read more... (163 words, 1 image, estimated 39 secs reading time)

Steak Salad with Roasted Sweet Potatoes

The sweet potato cooked like this make a great alternative to wedges served with sour cream and sweet chilli sauce.  It’s worth buying a really good steak from the butcher, which might seem expensive but is well worth it if it’s only every week or two you have it.

1 large sirloin steak
2 sweet potatoes, skin on, cut into wedges
1 small punnet of cherry tomatoes
50g rocket, washed
sumac, to serve (optional)  Read more... (191 words, 1 image, estimated 46 secs reading time)

Ingredients (Serves 4):
8 – boneless skinless chicken thighs
2 – tbsp. olive oil
2 – tbsp. lemon juice
3 – cloves garlic, crushed
2 – tbsp. white wine

Directions:
Mix chicken with all ingredients in a bowl. Once chicken is thoroughly coated, chill for 20 minutes. Then grill under high heat for about 10 minutes per side, or until cooked. Serve with steamed broccoli and baby carrots, plus basmati rice.

Serving guide:
Fill one quarter of a regular dinner plate with rice (or other starchy carbs), one half with vegetables, and the remaining quarter with your cooked chicken recipe.

You just can’t imagine how light and moist and tasty these cupcakes are unless you try them! Any nutritionist would agree that eating one of these as an occasional treat is 186 calories well spent. Makes 12 large or 48 mini cupcakes.

½ cup tub margarine or light butter
¾ cup sugar
1 egg plus 1 egg white or ¼ egg substitute
½ cup cocoa powder, unsweetened
1½ cups natural applesauce
1¾ cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt

   Read more... (255 words, 1 image, estimated 1:01 mins reading time)

• Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF. Grease and flour the cupcake tin.