Practical Eating

Elixirs

Lemon Grapefruit Thirst Quencher

I woke up this morning totally parched. And since I just moved into a new place less than a week ago, I've yet to hook up all my gadgets, including my water filter. I'm not big on drinking straight from the tap so instead grabbed 2 grapefruits, one lemon and a big fresh aloe leaf. I'm just finishing my last sip now actually, and I have to say, I'm feeling way more awake and hydrated. This combo of ingredients just happened by chance one day when it was all I had and as I've mentioned in many of these recipes, the more you play the stronger your intuition will become about what is best to combine for your body. All the details on the recipe and the marvelous benefits of grapefruit, lemon, and aloe after the jump.

Lemon Grapefruit (via <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcsamsom/3031971120/">Marc from Borft</a>)
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KimkasJK said "

Thanks for the helpful post.
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" More comments...

Practical Eating

More Quinoa Recipes Than You Can Handle

New York Times food columnist Martha Rose Shulman recently put together a few recipes involving quinoa, and apparently, this whipped the world's NYTimes-reading quinoa enthusiast into a frenzy: “Every time I do anything with quinoa, I get more requests,” she said. “It’s clearly a grain people are excited about.” In order to give the people what they want, she's back in the Times with a handful of new quinoa recipes, including muffins and quinoa squash gratin. While you're salivating over those, check out a few of our favorite quinoa recipes as well. Five delicious quinoa treats after the jump.

Quinoa Muffins (via <a href="http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/24/theres-something-about-quinoa/">nytimes</a>)
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buildpro13 said "

I've been hearing alot about quinoa but I have never tried a recipe ..." More comments...

Scientific

Blueberries Can Help Bring You Back From The Diabetic Brink

May you never be pre-diabetic. But for the great host of Americans who are, very good news: New research shows blueberries have a powerful effect on insulin sensitivity. In the study, more than two-thirds of people who drank blueberry smoothies twice a day for six weeks showed a 10% or more improvement in their insulin sensitivity. And it's not like blueberry smoothies are spoonfuls of castor oil. This is both good news AND delicious news. 

Blueberries (via <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_t_in_dc/3666279673/">Mr T in DC</a>)

Practical Eating

The NFL Diet: It's Not So Easy Eating 4200 Calories A Day If You Exclude Haagen Dazs

Here's what I ate yesterday: a bowl of cold cereal, a plate of leftover Indian food, two cookies, half an orange strawberry smoothie, some pasta and a salad. Here's what your average Washington Redskins player ate yesterday: 

  • 2 cups of whole-grain cereal with 1 cup skim or 1 percent milk 
  • 1 banana
  • 16 ounces of low-fat chocolate milk 
  • Oatmeal: 1 cup of dry oats plus 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of raisins, 2 tablespoons of walnuts and skim or 1 percent milk 
  • 4 egg whites with vegetables 
Redskins
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Vegetable Matter

Does Loud Music and Doritos Packaging Make You Want to Eat Carrots?

The answer, at least for me, is yes. In case you missed it, baby carrots have taken a turn toward extreme marketing, complete with a loud and amusing new website, new packaging, and a new slogan: "Eat 'Em Like Junk Food." They also have a whole bunch of new ads. Which are, like the website, fairly amusing. Behold.  

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Online & Video

Practical Eating

The Newly Discovered Antioxidant Powers Of Black Rice

Blueberry season, sadly, is on its way out. So where are you going to get your antioxidants? Black rice! New research shows that black rice bran is packed with more antioxidant than blueberries, plus black rice has less sugar and more fiber. Eat up! Four tasty black rice recipes — from breakfast to dessert — after the jump.

Black Rice (via <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fotoosvanrobin/3663018458/in/photostream/">FotoosVanRobin</a>)
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michlny said "

I go to a sushi place that makes sushi rolls/maki with ..." More comments...

Practical Drinking

Jory's Cranberry Fiber Fix

After last week's discussion of the perils of high cholesterol in your 20s and 30s, fiber, which helps lower cholesterol, became a hot topic of discussion at Social Workout HQ. Jory, our super fit web designer, swore he had the ultimate fiber solution. "Have you ever tried psyllium husk?" he asked. Jory picked up a cranberry juice psyllium husk cocktail recipe a while back, and apparently he and everyone he's ever recommended the recipe to have had rather powerful experiences with it. Jory recommends drinking it just before bed. Without further ado, the recipe:

Cranberry (via <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/vieuxbandit/4031386541/">Helen Jutras</a>)
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Kaitlyn said "

Yup, this works. I recommend Lakewood cranberry juice because the ..." More comments...

Scientific

Meat And Weight Gain Go Hand In Hand

Bad news, meat lovers: An eight-year study of close to 400,000 people shows that the more meat people eat, the more weight they gain. It didn't matter what type of meat — chicken, beef, spam, doesn't matter — for every extra 250 grams of meat people consumed daily, they put on about 4 pounds over a five year period. This holds true, researchers say, regardless of other factors like weight, sex, amount of daily exercise, and total calories consumed. The study relied on individuals accurately self-reporting the food they ate, so if you find the conclusions horribly objectionable, your can hold out hope that all those meat eaters were fudging the truth and forgetting to document the tubs of ice cream they ate after their steaks... Otherwise, you may want to whip up some delicious gazpacho for dinner tonight instead of that chicken stuffed with ham wrapped in bacon thing you were planning. (via NPR)

Chicken (via <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/protohiro/89135876/">protohiro</a>)

Scientific

Chokeberries May Help Regulate Weight, Blood Sugar, and Cholesterol

Chokeberries have been enjoying a natural supplement renaissance, mostly because they're packed with antioxidants. But new research shows chokeberries may be more powerful than we thought. Scientists provided pre-diabetic rats with regular water or water spiked with chokeberry extract. After six weeks, the rats plied with chokeberry weighed less, had lower blood glucose, lower cholesterol, and lower plasma triglycerides, all alterations that lower the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Not exactly a human study, but still. Want to give chokeberries a try? Recipes after the jump.

Chokeberries (via <a href="http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/htmls/nerr0255.htm">NOAA</a>)
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Charity D. said "

You can grow them yourself, try to track them down at the farmer's ..." More comments...

Cool Down

You Scream, I Scream, Consumer Reports Testers Scream For Ice Cream

It's so hot that after her workout last night Bdwag was forced, absolutely forced, to eat ice cream to cool down. For all others who find your arms similarly twisted by the weather, Consumer Reports is out with a list of America's best ice creams. Their testers scrupulously and thoroughly tested various formulas and brands of chocolate and vanilla. Here's what ranked highest:

Ice Cream (via <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevendepolo/3797233796/">Steven Depolo</a>)
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sassletics82 said "

true. true. true. AND mr. softee is SATAN. Only false statement is ..." More comments...



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