Organic Soda Extract

Top 5 Foods to Avoid While You Lose Weight

There’s plenty of tips out there on what you SHOULD do when you’re on a diet or trying to lose weight. But what about things to AVOID? Here’s a few things to keep in mind and stay away from during your weight loss journey:

1. Beverages: Drinking fruit juices, sodas, smoothies, and sports drinks can quickly add up to unwanted calories. Plus, many of you may not realize that you’re adding even MORE calories to your drinks when you do things like pour sugar in your tea or creamer in your coffee. Switch up your morning cup of joe for a hot cup of green tea — it’s calorie-free and offers healthy antioxidants to fight free radicals. And, of course, drink PLENTY of H2O! Eight glasses of 8 oz. a day is recommended for EVERYONE, regardless of whether they’re dieting or not.

2. Fast food: Face it, fast food is part of what’s making us FAT. More importantly, fast food preys on those who are on-the-go, looking for a quick hunger fix. Don’t give in! The last thing you want to put in your body is something that could only be defined as “food product,” full of fat, sodium, and carbs. Bottom line: no more drive-thrus. Your body (and wallet) will thank you.

3. White Bread: This kind of bread (or refined grains in general) really offers no nutritional value when compared to whole wheat breads. It’s low in fiber, high in carbs, and leads to a spike in blood sugar levels. Stick to whole wheat bread, or try whole wheat grains such as barley, oatmeal, buckwheat, brown rice, and pasta. Whole wheat foods contain more heart-healthy fiber, which also keeps you feeling full – an important factor in keeping yourself from overeating.

4. Processed snacks: Walk into any grocery store, and you’ll see whole AISLES dedicated to snack food. The trouble is, most of these snacks are heavily processed, adding refined sugar, trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenate oils, artificial flavors, and more unwanted chemicals, preservatives, and additives in your body. While we all like to snack, grabbing a bag of cookies is NOT the answer your to hunger. stick to healthier options such as fruit, nuts, and yogurt. These foods offer real nutritional value over empty calories, so reach for some walnuts or a cup of apple slices if you feel like snacking. (Be sure to drink Rescue Me to help curb hunger and reduce sugar cravings!)

5. Saturated fats: Okay, this isn’t really a food, but it’s very important that you watch how much SATURATED fat you’re eating, not just overall fat. Saturated fat, often found in certain meats and oils, raise your total cholesterol. Trans fats are especially dangerous, as they lower “good” cholesterol (known as high-density lipoprotein, or HDL) and raise “bad” cholesterol (known as low-density lipoprotein, or LDL). Avoid trans fats as much as possible, and try to limit your saturated fat intake to no more than 10 percent of your calories. What are foods you avoid eating while on a diet? Share your tips with us in the comments!

Photo: Poldavo (Alex’s) Flickr photostream/Creative Commons

Photo: grongar’s Flickr photostream/Creative Commons

Easy simple dessert recipe?

My dad and my bro want me to make them some dessert, as I’m wont to do.
I pretty much just have basic kitchen ingredients: butter, flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, vanilla extract, oil, eggs
I ran out of cocoa powder a couple weeks ago and never restocked, and I just recently made sugar cookies so I don’t want to do that. We have some marshmallows, nutella, and organic peanut butter. No chocolate of any kind.
I thought about PB cookies but my teacher said that you’re not supposed to use organic pb to cook with?
I like the suggestions but I wanted to bake something without running to the store. I did however just find a supposedly great PB cookie recipe: 1 cup pb, 1 cup w sugar, and 1 egg, cook at 350 for 8 min. I’m going to try them out!

Nutella Marshmallow cookies!

http://www.52kitchenadventures.com/2011/09/01/nutella-marshmallow-cookies/

Recipe for Nutella Cookies:
1 cup Nutella
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/8 cup marshmallows (optional)
1/8 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Stir together Nutella, flour, sugar and egg until thoroughly combined. Mix in marshmallows and/or chocolate chips if using.
Form dough into 1 inch balls and place on cookie sheet. Press down firmly with your palm and push marshmallows into the middle of the cookie. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until set.

Homemade Toothpaste

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