November 09, 2019 at 08:00PM by CWC Sussing out the differences between all of the supplements that are on the market is an undertaking, to say the least. Not only are hundreds of options on the market (as anyone who has wandered the vitamin aisle at Whole Foods knows), but there is also a host of conflicting information available in terms of what will work best for you and your lifestyle. One thing you can bet on? Fatty acids (think: omega-3s) need to be a part of your regimen. As practically any expert would tell you, fatty acids are crucial for optimal brain health, fighting inflammation, and promoting skin health. While there are certain food sources that contain various types of omega-3s, the territory becomes a bit stickier if you adhere to a vegan lifestyle. After all, popular fatty acid sources include fish oil supplements, as well as non-vegan foods like salmon and herring. But one trending supplement, ahiflower oil, could be the plant-based answer you’ve been waiting for. Several companies, from Clean Machine to Source Naturals, are touting the supplement as a sustainable, vegan alternative. But is it as good for your health as the fishy original? Here, Whitney English, MS, RDN, a dietitian and certified personal trainer in Los Angeles, weighs in on ahiflower, including what it is and how it will (or won’t) benefit your vegan diet. What is ahiflower? Ahiflower oil is derived from the corn gromwell plant (Buglossoides arvensis), a flowering plant that English says
Category: Vegetarians
Brunch is served in just 20 minutes with these delicious ‘sheet pan pancakes’
November 09, 2019 at 03:00PM by CWC I’ve never met a pancake I didn’t like. If I could skip the whole process of waiting for them to cook flipping them with a spatula, however, I would in a heartbeat. That’s where sheet pan pancakes come in. All an at-home chef has to do is spread normal pancake batter onto a sheet pan and pop it in the preheated oven. Brunch is served 20 minutes later. Although the exact (genius) inventor of sheet pan pancakes remains unknown, I first caught wind of the dish from vegan blogger Nisha Vora of Rainbow Plant Life. Even though she prepares her breakfast confections with zero animal products, there’s a pancake to fit every eating style and diet. So grab a sheet pan because your griddle gets the weekend off. How to make sheet pan pancakes vegetarian: WHOLE WHEAT GINGERBREAD PANCAKES Gingerbread season usually gets reserved for the end of the year, but if you ask me, the flavor really deserves to be eaten year round. The molasses in these pancakes give them a heartier consistency that’s made for breakfast in bed. Ketogenic Diet: BERRY, BERRY PANCAKES Although carbohydrates mostly get booted from the keto diet, you can still experience that fluffy, starch-like feel in the morning. This recipe uses sour cream, almond, and coconut flour to make dense sheet pan pancakes you can freeze and eat all week. Mediterranean diet: GREEK YOGURT PANCAKES Get all the protein greek yogurt has to offer in a
How to make healthier everything bagels with your air fryer
November 09, 2019 at 01:00AM by CWC You already know your air fryer turns vegetables into crispy perfection, but did you know you can also use it to bake up a batch of soft and fluffy everything bagels? Air fryer bagels topped with an ungodly amount of avocado? Sign me up. Kaila Proulx, the health coach and food blogger behind the blog Healthy Helper, came up with a wholesome vegan and gluten-free air fryer bagel that takes just minutes to make at home. “I’ve discovered some pretty cool uses for air fryers that you won’t find in any manual or recipe book. Namely… bagels,” she writes. “After seeing a few people attempt to make bagels in their air fryers on social media, I thought it was time to try my hand at the experiment.” View this post on Instagram Looks like it's turning into a bread filled week #ontheblog! First dinner rolls on and now we're onto #BAGELS! But not just any bagels…ones made in the #AIRFRYER. Yup that's right! ** Today I am sharing my Everything Air Fryer Bagels made with @so_delicious coconut yogurt. Your favorite salty n' savory Everything bagels gone #vegan and #glutenfree! Made in the Air Fryer, these healthy, whole grain bagels are high low-fat, high-protein, oil-free, and require no boiling/baking. Easy to make and SO delicious with your favorite vegan cream cheese spread! ** Post: https://buff.ly/2m6LvMf ** #linkinbio #nothingcompares #sodeliciousyogurt #veganfood #veganrecipes #healthyfood #healthyrecipes #healthyeating #cleaneating #plantbased #plantbasedfood #glutenfreefood #glutenfreerecipes #oilfree #dairyfree #noaddesugar #TODAYfood #wholefoods #realfood
How to eat healthy and hearty at Panera Bread, according to a registered dietitian
November 08, 2019 at 01:00PM by CWC As far as fast-casual restaurant chains go, Panera Bread is pretty up on it in terms of catering to the wellness set. The chain ditched all artificial ingredients years ago, launched a health conscious wellness series, and most recently, expanded their menu to include protein-rich grain bowls. When deciding the best place to eat healthy after spin class, you could certainly do worse than Panera. That said, if you adhere to a specific eating plan—such as gluten-free, vegetarian, or the Mediterranean diet—it does require a little menu decoding to figure out what’s truly best to order. Here, registered dietitian Chelsey Amer, RD, shares her top recommendations for what to choose for each of the aforementioned eating plans. Gluten-free Menu picks: Baja grain bowl with chicken; turkey chili What an RD says: If you’re can’t eat gluten because you have an allergy or intolerance, Amer says it’s important to stick with the recs on Panera Bread’s gluten-free menu. (The restaurant recommends that people with celiac disease or who are highly allergic to gluten should consult with their doctor before eating at Panera Bread due to potential cross-contamination.) Her top picks are the Baja grain bowl with chicken and the turkey chili bowl. The grain bowl has 31 grams of protein, while the turkey chili has 23 grams of protein—both high-protein wins in Amer’s book. Order tweaks: While the grain bowl has great fiber on its own (11 grams of fiber of the 25 grams you want to
Restrictive eating plans continue to dominate the healthy food landscape—where does that leave eating disorder survivors?
November 08, 2019 at 01:00AM by CWC Plant-based eating has never been more popular, as people have slowly become more aware of the negative health and environmental impacts of meat and dairy products. But for Melissa Stanger, LCSW, a love of animals and the planet was not the primary reason why she decided to go vegan in college. She did it, she says, because she was grappling with an eating disorder. “[Going vegan] was a way to control what kinds of foods I allowed myself. It was not a healthy way of doing things,” she says. She became extremely rigid about her exercise routine and eating patterns, and was ultimately diagnosed with anorexia. After she recovered, she earned her masters in clinical social work with a focus on eating disorders. She’s now 30, and works as a psychotherapist in New York City. This is not to say that becoming vegan is inherently going to lead to an eating disorder. But as the healthy eating space continues to be dominated by restrictive eating plans like the ketogenic diet, Paleo, Whole30, and intermittent fasting (IF)—all of which require people to cut out certain food groups or limit what and when a person is “allowed” to eat—experts warn that the continued trend is dicey for anyone with a history with disordered eating. The link between eating disorders and diets The DSM-5, the manual psychologists and psychiatrists use to diagnose patients, identifies three eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. While
The healthy weeknight dinner a top dietitian makes in 6 minutes or less
November 07, 2019 at 07:30PM by CWC Getting a healthy weeknight dinner on the table is a constant struggle whether you’re cooking for one or your whole family. In a perfect world, the fridge would be stocked full of pre-prepped proteins and veggies ready to heat and eat. But that doesn’t always happen. Keri Glassman, RD, relies on a three ingredient meal of grass-fed meatballs, marinara sauce, and spinach, which is ready to eat in just six minutes. Both the meatballs and the spinach can be found in the frozen food aisle, which has seriously become the new healthy hub of the supermarket. When choosing a marina sauce, Glassman just says to be mindful of the sugar content. To get this healthy weeknight dinner on the table, Glassman heats the meatballs on the stove while at the same time sautéeing frozen spinach in a separate pan. When the meatballs are almost done, she adds the marina sauce to the spinach (or you can heat it up separately in a small pot, if you don’t mind washing another dish later). Even with just three ingredients, this healthy weeknight dinner is completely balanced and nutrient-dense. Meatballs are rich in protein and spinach provides plenty of fiber—both are high in iron. The marina sauce adds antioxidants thanks to the tomatoes. Not too shabby for dinner in a rush (and on a budget). Glassman proves wrong the belief that eating healthy requires an abundance of time and money. The frozen food aisle wins again.
There are 17 different types of sugar—but this one is truly problematic for your health
November 07, 2019 at 01:00PM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Lw-OEaThp0] Curious to understand exactly how sugar affects your health? We’ve got the intel. Doctors and healthy eating experts have been crystal clear for a long time that a diet high in sugar is bad news for your body—both in the short and long-term. But the topic is a bit more nuanced than just the simple equation of sugar = unhealthy. Fortunately, registered dietitian Tracy Lockwood Beckerman, RD, is here to spell out the straight facts in the latest episode of Well+Good’s YouTube series, You Versus Food. Beckerman says there are a whopping 17 different types of sugar that are commonly used in food products, including corn syrup, fructose, glucose, high-fructose corn syrup, and sucrose. (Try saying all of that three times fast.) “Essentially, these sugars are all the same, they’re just derived from different sources,” she says. That said, she adds that there’s an important distinction to keep in mind: sugar versus added sugar. “Natural sugars occur in foods such as fruits and veggies that normally have fewer calories and less sodium with a higher water and nutrient content than foods with added sugars,” Beckerman says. Added sugar, meanwhile, has been added to a food during the manufacturing or cooking process. “Sweeteners, or added sugars on their own, do not contain protein or fiber, which causes your body to digest them even faster and spike your blood glucose.” That spike comes with a big crash later on, and consistently uneven blood
Breast health is the surprising aspect of postpartum care everyone overlooks
November 07, 2019 at 12:00PM by CWC When it comes to feeding their newborn baby, the majority of new moms in the United States—a full 84 percent—will at least try breastfeeding. Whether a person chooses to (or is able to) breastfeed for a few weeks or a few years, it’s a pretty common part of the postpartum experience. Yet the hurdles of breastfeeding—and postpartum breast health in general—are rarely talked about in the open. Sure, there’s a lot of talk about the birth itself, but as soon as the baby is born, the vast majority of attention—and conversation—centers around the newborn. Exhausted new moms struggling to feed their babies while battling nipple or breast pain are often left searching random Internet forums trying to figure out what is happening to their (still) changing bodies. One new company, Bodily, is trying to change that by providing approachable, researched-backed information to educate new parents along with clinically-backed postpartum care products. (It’s joining other players in this burgeoning space, including Frida Mom.) Founder Tovah Haim started the brand after becoming a new mom and feeling shocked and overwhelmed by what was happening to her body. It’s not that the things she went through—including postpartum bleeding and breast milk leakage—were abnormal. It’s that she had no idea at all that they would happen. “I had friends who were already moms, a doula, all these people around me telling me about the birthing process, yet nobody told me what to expect in the recovery process
Instant Pot vs Air Fryer: Which gadget gives you more bang for your buck?
November 07, 2019 at 03:00AM by CWC For the past year, an Instant Pot versus air fryer debate has been raging. While both small appliances offer big possibilities for home cooking, Jessie Van Amburg, Well+Good’s senior food editor, and I simply cannot agree which kitchen gadget reigns supreme. I have even argued my case publicly. To know where I stand, just read Ode to My Air Fryer, a 1,000-word essay of adoration. Meanwhile, Jessie feels strongly that the Instant Pot is a superior tool. In order to settle the score once and for all, we conducted a side-by-side comparison of the kitchen appliances, considering price, pros and cons, functionality, and plenty of unsolicited personal opinions. Hopefully, by the end you’ll be able to decide which device is right for you (or you just might decide to buy both). Instant Pot vs Air Fryer: Once and for all, which one is better? Instant Pot Price: $95 Functionality: It makes stews and soups, slow cooks meat, makes effortless casseroles, and prepares eggs. Pros: It holds large amounts of food for bulk batching and meal-prepping, can easily be cleaned, and can tackle any meal of the day from breakfast until dinner. It also gives at-home chefs the opportunity sharpen their cooking skills with more difficult recipes like desserts. Cons: It comes with a learning curve: you have to learn how to use it before you can really appreciate it. It requires understanding many settings and can be intimidating to use. Jessie says: “I think it
Adding trace minerals to drinking water is the latest ‘healthy’ fad you can skip
November 06, 2019 at 10:23PM by CWC Whether it’s collagen or chlorophyll, there’s always some new product on the shelves calling your name and begging to be added to your water—all with the tantalizing promise of making your hydration experience even healthier. The latest? Trace minerals, a clear, liquid supplement that is added in a few drops at a time to your water to disappear…well, without a trace. It seems like a good idea. We already know that certain minerals are important for keeping the body running properly, from ensuring you have enough energy to providing your immune system with the support it needs to ward off that nasty office cold. While your body only needs trace minerals in small amounts (hence why they’re called “trace” minerals), Whitney English, RDN, a dietitian and certified personal trainer in Los Angeles, says they’re crucial for health. “These include minerals like selenium, which is required for making antioxidant enzymes and important for thyroid health; chromium, which is involved in metabolism and insulin sensitivity; and manganese, which is required for normal bone development and wound healing,” she says. “Most trace minerals have a very small window of optimal intake, meaning too little can cause deficiency and too much can cause toxicity.” Trace minerals sound important—should I add them into my water and food? Some companies argue that trace minerals are being stripped out of our water and soil by conventional farming practices—necessitating that we add them back into our diets. But English wants to