Food - The 15 Most Pointless Foods in Your Supermarket

What I love about the 15 Most Pointless Foods in Your Supermarket article from Rodale News is how many items I actually purchased from the list! If only I'd read this sooner...

Media is brilliant in how they hype up new products including those wonderful packages and trick consumers into buying things that are not healthy. It's a real lesson in reading those ingredient lists!

Some of the examples include:
• Mio Water Enhancer
• Uncrustables
• Bagel-Fuls
• Splenda Essentials with Antioxidants
• Yoplait Low-Fat Yogurt
• Lucky Charms Cereal
• Special K Cereal Bars
• VitaMuffin Vitatops
• WhoNu? Nutrition Rich Cookies
• Chocolate Milk with Omega-3s
• Pediasure Shakes

Food - 7 Food Swaps That Will Make You Skinny

Rodale News has a great article, Seven Healthy Food Swaps That Will Make You Skinny that has a slideshow with some really easy changes you can make to start saving calories and eating healthier today. Each slide also includes the benefit of the swap as well as healthy perk or tip.

Swaps include:
• Cabbage or Collard Greens Instead of Bread
• Summer Squash Instead of Hash Browns
• Spaghetti Squash Instead of Pasta
• Cauliflower Instead of Potatoes
• Lettuce Instead of Hot Dog Buns
• Oatmeal Pancakes Instead of Flour Pancakes
• Portobello Instead of Pizza Crust

Health - Boosting the Immune System - The Cold and Flu Season

Ask Dr. Mao, the website for author and doctor Mao Shing Ni, is an informative Natural Health Search Engine filled with articles aimed at healing your body naturally and taking care of your health in a natural or more holistic way.

One of the articles I found on Ask Dr. Mao's blog was Boosting the Immune System - The Cold and Flu Season.

We are in the midst of fall, which means cold and flu season is upon us. If you have kids, then you are probably already enjoying an onslaught of back-to-school germs!

Some suggestions for building up your immune system include:
• Simple Strategies for a Stronger Immune System
• Maintain a positive attitude.
• Eat lots of garlic, ginger, cilantro, oregano and other herbs and spices.
• Get enough rest—eight hours a night.
• Keep stress low with meditation, tai chi or yoga.

There is also a recipe for Immunity-Boosting Cream of Mushroom and Cauliflower Soup

Food - 5 Healthy Breakfast Ideas

Women's Health Magazine has lots of great recipes and workout tips - that both men and women can use. Don't be intimidated that it's main appeal is to women...

This particular nugget I found shows some yummy breakfast recipes that are quick and healthy. We like quick.

Click here to see 5 Healthy Breakfast Ideas article.

Recipes Featured:
• Breakfast Burritos - these will keep you feeling full through the morning
• Strawberry Parfaits - you can easily throw in your favorite fruit(s)
• Scrambled Eggs with Smoked Salmon, Asparagus, and Goat Cheese
• Orient Express Oatmeal
• Multigrain Blueberry Waffles

Exercise - 15 minute workout to fit into skinny jeans

Women, ever tried to pull those pair of skinny jeans on only to get them stuck as soon as they hit your thighs? Or if you manage to pull them on, how about that belly blob that hangs over?

Women's health has a great segment of 15 minute workouts and my favorite is the one targeting those skinny jean problem areas! And you can't make too many excuses since it's ONLY 15 minutes!

Click here to see the workout: Skinny Jeans Workout

Moves include:
• SQUAT, LUNGE, CURL
• DUMBBELL SUMO SQUAT
• STABILITY LUNGE

Food - 5 Vending Machine Snacks to Avoid

Yahoo Health does a great job posting relevant food articles with nice slideshows. This article, 5 Vending Machine Snacks to Avoid (and 5 Healthier Options) comes at a great time for us - deciding what to buy to quelch those afternoon munchies! Snacks to avoid run around 280 calories (also check the number of servings on your favorite snack)

Snacks to Avoid:
• Lays Classic
• Famous Amos Cookies (which are my favorite!)
• Snickers (breaking into a Snickers Bar will cost you 280 calories)
• Skittles
• Entenmann's Jumbo Iced Honey Bun (I don't know about you but the ones in our work vending machine look like they've been rotting the past year!)

Healthier Choices:
• Triscuit Original
• Chex Mix Traditional
• Planters Peanuts
• Planters Trailmix (just keep an eye on the number of servings!)

Food - Vegetarian Recipes

You don't have to be a vegetarian to enjoy vegetarian meals. It's great for non-vegetarians to eat at least one vegetarian meal a week for a healthier, more balanced regimen. Mayo clinic has some great recipes here Recipes include: Chinese Noodles with Spring Vegetables, Soft Tacos with Southwestern Vegetables, Eggplant with Toasted Spices, Apple-fennel Slaw, Baked Apples with Cheeries and Almonds